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What books did you get from the library, bookstore or online ~ 2021
This novel was quite a contrast from the first i read by Yōko Ogawa. The Memory Police was a science fiction work about a society in which items and even the name of such items are somehow "disappeared", in that most people no longer remember the item (hat, for instance) nor the word for it. Frightening concept.Good writer!
Looking (again) through the lists from our own thread, i see i haven't read many listed. I'll have to take notes another day, as i've liked most of what i've read from Asia. Thank you for the reminder, Alias.
I've just finished a recent postmodern novel, Sara Davis's The Scapegoat. I'm not a fan of the genre, basically described as "characterized by the use of metafiction, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, intertextuality, and which often thematizes both historical and political issues", per Wikipedia.What the description doesn't add is that they are often frustrating because upon completion, you may wonder what happened. This is true of the short debut novel by Davis. But her prose grabbed me from the beginning and i couldn't read fast enough to find out more.
In essence, N, our narrator, has just lost his father but feels something is "wrong" about the death. Working at a school akin to Stanford in California, while he works on the puzzle, he also runs into people upset that the college is the site of massacre of native tribal people long ago. Are the two entwined or the mere nuisance N must face in untangling the mystery?
I can't figure out where i heard of this novel, as the GR search for our group, Book Nook Cafe, lists nothing about it. Perhaps my library suggested it. Regardless, i liked it, frustrated though i was, I found a blogger who summed it up perfectly for me.
Will you like it? Maybe, depending on how willing you are to suspend reality. :-)
And i must thank NFL football for freeing up my weekend to read this book. My husband was in one room watching, while i read in another & we were both quite satisfied.
madrano wrote: "characterized by the use of metafiction, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, intertextuality, and which often thematizes both historical and political issues", per Wikipedia...."===============================================
Yikes ! I'll admit that description is enough to send me running in another direction.
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madrano wrote:And i must thank NFL football for freeing up my weekend to read this book. My husband was in one room watching, while i read in another & we were both quite satisfied.
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😂 lol
Doubt that one would work for me, so congrats for getting through it!
I hear ya on "postmodern" novels. Somehow i didn't realize that was what i was heading toward. As i wrote, the writing kept me going, as well as wondering how it would end. If only it really had ended! LOL
I saw Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers available on my library's ebook "shelf" yesterday. As the Mary Roach book has been on my TBR for a decade or so, i checked it out & began reading. I'm through the first chapter now, about cadaver heads being used for face lift practice. This is something i hadn't considered. There must be a need!Roach's writing is relatable and i feel she covered my questions and more. I hope this continues to be the case.
I liked her Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, so have had Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers in mind for a while.
John, good to know. I feared i'd be let down, so long have i waited. So far, so good.
Well, i'm getting a bit tired of Roach's sophomoric comments about the dead. In one chapter, as the decaying of a body is described she ends with, "sounds like some frat party." Really? It goes on & on with few of the "asides" bringing even a smile to my lips. They just seem so obvious. Possibly she is using that humor to relieve possible tense feelings about the subject but i'm finding it tougher to want to pick up the book.After what should have been a strong chapter on the body farm, where cadavers are left exposed to the elements to determine exactly how bodies break down, i was ready to quit. Next up is crash course cadavers, which will explain why a human corpse is the best test subject for car accident investigations.
madrano wrote: "Well, i'm getting a bit tired of Roach's sophomoric comments about the dead. In one chapter, as the decaying of a body is described she ends with, "sounds like some frat party." Really? It goes on ..."Sorry to hear you aren't enjoying the writing, deb. I've never read her books but I recall a few here have and enjoyed them quite a bit.
I may well be the grouchiest reader i know. And let it me known, i didn't start out this way! I've become more & more picky about books as i age. Sometimes i feel my book time ticking away when i read some books.To be fair to Roach, however, i'm learning quite a bit and finding answers to questions i hadn't quite verbalized. So, in all it's worth the lousy jokes. :-)
madrano wrote: "I may well be the grouchiest reader i know. And let it me known, i didn't start out this way! I've become more & more picky about books as i age. Sometimes i feel my book time ticking away when i r..."I've been in "Goldilocks mode" for a while - many books just haven't done it for me, even when trying to be objective the writing itself isn't flawed - choppy, lots of dreary passages, etc.
Thanks, John, i needed that. Oddly enough when i pick up Robert W. Merry's bio, President McKinley: Architect of the American Century i'm quite content. It's written just the way i want a bio to be and full of good new-to-me information. Unfortunately, my eyes can only tolerate one chapter a day because it's a print book. No e-versions, so i'm sticking with it.
madrano wrote: "Thanks, John, i needed that. Oddly enough when i pick up Robert W. Merry's bio, President McKinley: Architect of the American Century i'm quite content. It's written..."Unfortunately, my eyes can only tolerate one chapter a day because it's a print book. No e-versions, so i'm sticking with it.
I just checked Amazon and there is a Kindle version.
I'm guessing you mean a free eBook.
madrano wrote: "Thanks, John, i needed that. Oddly enough when i pick up Robert W. Merry's bio, President McKinley: Architect of the American Century i'm quite content. It's written..."Added to my never ending reading list!
Sorry, yes, i meant a free eBook, via my library. The fact that this is one of the few paper Presidential bios i own adds to feeling i want to read it in that form. That way i can bookmark much easier & so can find them. Julie, the book looks bigger than it is due to his end notes, i hasten to add. Every time i pick it up, i have to remind myself of that. And those notes are part of what makes this biography so fine.
I finished reading Mary Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers today. Overall, i liked it for all i learn but plan to avoid future books written by her, as i just didn't like her continued humor. There were few times when two pages would pass without one unamusing joke. While i wanted the science the levity failed to amuse.However, i was pleased to learn the many ways scientists use dead bodies and parts. If you imagine your donated body would stay in one piece, you are sorely mistaken. For instance, legs are preferred when used to test ballistics and/or bullet proof items. Only heads are used for other products, as well. Apparently you can state how you'd like your donation used but there are no promises and your donation could well just be buried instead, if there is no call for your specification. And on!
Whether i was just "in a mood" or not, i cannot say. However, her composition, organization and facts were well presented. So, i pass these comments on for your own decision making enjoyment. :-)
madrano wrote: "I finished reading Mary Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers today. Overall, i liked it for all i learn but plan to avoid future books written by her, as i ..."I appreciate the honest review, deb.
Sounds a bit gory to me, but interesting. As I've mentioned before, I almost never remember details of books I've read but retained an impression of whether I like them. So, I might re-read Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife instead at some point?
John wrote: As I've mentioned before, I almost never remember details of books I've read but repainted impression of whether I like them."I have to say I am happy to hear I am not the only one who can't recall plots and facts from some of the books I've read. I do try with some books making notes.
I've kept a book journal since 1999. When I look over the older entries there are a few I have to say I have zero recall having read them.
When it comes to novels, i'm the same way. For the last several years i've made one or two sentence comments to jar my memory, which helps. But it also reminds me how much literature i've read which failed me. :-(When i realized that i could not recall some of the NF books, as well, i started making a few notes about what the various chapters addressed, in case i want to locate a fact later. To me, that is sad, as usually i read the book because i was interested in the topic, not because someone else recommended it. *sigh*
Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: As I've mentioned before, I almost never remember details of books I've read but repainted impression of whether I like them."I have to say I am happy to hear I am not the only one wh..."
My reviews (comments) at Goodreads are as much for me as other readers. A couple of times I've had people click that they like my review of a book, where for the life of me I had absolutely no recollection whatsoever of ever having read that one!
John wrote: " A couple of times I've had people click that they like my review of a book, where for the life of me I had absolutely no recollection whatsoever of ever having read that one!"Deb & John, I do believe reading helps my brain somewhat. It does make it work harder than just watching TV. At least that is what I want to believe. I will admit my memory isn't what it was when I was in my twenties. Names particularly fail me. When talking with my sister our conversations usually have us saying, You remember that actor that was in that show? What actor ? What show? Ugh. LOL
Yea, I also know that problem. Some years ago I started a journal for nice facts, citations and similar and now it started to become a book journal where I summarize the book in short and write down what I liked, I found interesting or noticed.I also have to say that there are some books I read as a child where I can remember the content better than in some books I read some years ago. What I noticed is, that I remember the content better when I can combine the experience of reading a specific book to a special situation (e.g. a special place where I read it or music I listened to while reading). What I also did different as child is that I thought way more about the book and the character afterwards in that kind that I imagined my own characters in the world of the book or other adventures and similar. I did this more often back then, and now less. Maybe that's a reason why I don't remember some stories that well nowadays.
Florian wrote: What I noticed is, that I remember the content better when I can combine the experience of reading a specific book to a special situation (e.g. a special place where I read it or music I listened to while reading)...."Interesting, how the brain catalogs things.
Many people with dementia can still recall song lyrics or still play a musical instrument. I don't know if scientists know why this happens.
madrano wrote: "I finished reading Mary Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers today. Overall, i liked it for all i learn but plan to avoid future books written by her, as i ..."I love her books- I believe this is the first one of hers that I read. So interesting!
John, that's a clever way to store some facts to locate when you want them. I'll keep that in mind when i read and write.Florian, i've noticed that tendency, too. My memory of the book is seldom because it ends up being a favorite. For instance, when my son was 2 years old, he was in the hospital for two nights while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong (turned out to be large reaction to first mosquito bites). While there, he slept & i read E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime. I didn't care much for the book but i astonish myself by the scenes i remember from it. There are many books like that, linked in my mind to a particular event, mixing with memories from both. Odd.
Alias, i love your example of forgetfulness. This is probably the one i experience most. I suppose i should be glad it's an actor's name i'm forgetting, rather than that of my siblings. LOL!
Julie, i still haven't figured out why Roach's writing in that book bothered me so much. Even when i thought she may have employed humor to the uncomfortable facts, i couldn't cut her slack. It was probably the frequency of the "jokes".Perhaps that's just her style & i didn't get it. That happens. This isn't the first time i've run across it but none employed the technique as often.
madrano wrote: This is probably the one i experience most. I suppose i should be glad it's an actor's name i'm forgetting, rather than that of my siblings. LOL!..."True !
madrano wrote: "Julie, i still haven't figured out why Roach's writing in that book bothered me so much. Even when i thought she may have employed humor to the uncomfortable facts, i couldn't cut her slack. It was..."I used to be a nurse so (mostly) nothing fazes me. Sometimes joking relieves the tension of discomfort.
I thought that might be the case, Julie. And i'm usually opened to seeing the humorous side, i just thought Roach overdid it. Again, it just may have been my mood.
In an effort to read more fiction, I went to the library today determined to bring home a promising novel: Everything I Don't Remember won!
The GR synopsis sounds intriguing. I hope it's as good as it sounds. I look forward to reading your thoughts on this one. I've not heard of it or the author.
Last night i began reading Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl. Author Jonathan C. Slaght has been fascinated by Blakiston's Fish Owl since he saw one early in his youth, while living in Russia with his diplomat/father. The story is about work he did searching for the rarely seen Owl for his doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Interesting story about a frigid area where Russia, China and Korea meet in the forests of Primorye. Thanks to Alias and her November 2020 post on finalists for the National Book Award for nonfiction, i made note of this one.
madrano wrote: "Last night i began reading Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl. Author Jonathan C. Slaght has been fascinated by Blakiston's ..."A Goodreads friend I trust gave it four stars, so happy reading!
madrano wrote: "Last night i began reading Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl. Author Jonathan C. Slaght has been fascinated by Blakiston's ..."I'm glad you are enjoying it, deb ! Does the book have photos ?
When I looked online they seem to be various colors.
Thanks, John. Thus far, i like the writing and feel the cold!Alias, the sole photo i've found in my e-book has been of the bird's track in snow! I found that amusing but am hoping there will be more. I saw a good photo of it online, which i meant to share when i posted but forgot.
madrano wrote: "Thanks, John. Thus far, i like the writing and feel the cold!Alias, the sole photo i've found in my e-book has been of the bird's track in snow! I found that amusing but am hoping there will be m..."
What an interesting looking owl -great shot of the bird!
madrano wrote: "Thanks, John. Thus far, i like the writing and feel the cold!Alias, the sole photo i've found in my e-book has been of the bird's track in snow! I found that amusing but am hoping there will be m..."
That's too bad that there aren't more images in the book.
For some reason I keep getting image errors, so I appreciate you posting a pic.
Julie, it is an interesting bird. Last night i learned that because their prey (salmon & other fish) are underwater, their flapping wings are loud, whereas most owls are almost silent when they fly. Neat info.Alias, at first i got image errors but when i selected a smaller jpg, it worked. At last!
I have little interest in her fiction, but as the Kindle edition of the travel narrative Passenger To Tehran by Vita Sackville-West is only $1.99, I went for it!
I kinda feel the same way about her fiction, John. Although i must say i've not read anything else by her, either. I hope it is pleasing for you.
madrano wrote: "Thanks, John, i needed that. Oddly enough when i pick up Robert W. Merry's bio, President McKinley: Architect of the American Century i'm quite content. It's written..."Just a note to mention that i finished this well-written bio of McKinley today. Quite pleased.
Alias, i looked at the list of Theodore Roosevelt bios you read and wondered which of those you liked best. I'm inclined toward Aida D. Donald's Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt but i noticed some GR readers objected to aspects of it. I know it's not a thorough bio but i've read a couple of books which shed much light on him (i.e., The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, which was satisfying, as i've come to expect from Doris Kearns Goodwin).
Just wondering. I do not want a multi-volume tome, nor autobiography, which i believe you already know. LOL! Thanks for thinking about this for me.
Deb, I read the book back in 2013. So I'm sorry to say my memory of it isn't that clear. I see I gave it a top rating, which I don't often do. Also at 300 pages it isn't a huge tome. I recall that it was you who also alerted me to the TR house that I went to see in Manhattan and enjoyed quite a bit. It was closed quite awhile for renovations and now it seems closed due to covid. :(
This reminds me I've been slacking on both my Presidential reading challenge and my 2021 reading challenge. I better get going on that. Yikes to think there are only a few more months to the year. :(
Thanks, Alias, for your comments on the book. I think i will go for it as my TR bio. I remember liking the tour of the Roosevelt home in Manhattan when i visited. One really felt for all Theodore experienced as an unwell child.
I had been waiting for my next book for my challenge to come in from the library and saw Trejo's book on the shelf Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood so I grabbed it and so far so it is really pretty good!
Julie, i am sure my brother & husband would like reading this book. Thanks for drawing it to my attention.
madrano wrote: "Thanks, Alias, for your comments on the book. I think i will go for it as my TR bio. I remember liking the tour of the Roosevelt home in Manhattan when i visited. One really felt for all Theodore..."
I remember the pocket doors that were Tiffany glass. Gorgeous !
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Thanks, deb !
Also love the cherry blossom cover !