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What I'm Reading FEBRUARY 2015
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Ann D
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Feb 08, 2015 01:13PM
Thanks, Katy.
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I've only read one, The Birds of the Air. I liked it and do intend to read more, but right now I'm on an Italian jag: The Leopard and The Story of a New Name are both by Italians, and How to be both is set partly in Italy. Has anyone else read HOW TO BE BOTH? It's the one with two sections, titled EYES and CAMERA, and you can begin with either section.
I just read Big Little Lies. I ended the book with mild enjoyment, but cannot believe that it somehow got over 4 stars on Goodreads (I would give it maybe 2 to 2.5 stars). The characters (parents) throughout much of the book to have the social depth of middle schoolers themselves, as did the quality of the writing, and the plot foreshadows itself like a hammer. (I kept reading because I badly wanted to escape into a book and that book was what I had.)
Ann, I think so far my favorite has been The Sin Eater, though I'm also very much liking the one I'm in the middle of now, Fairy Tale. I think what I like about her is that she describes wildly dysfunctional people in a dispassionate, almost analytical way. Though there is some humor there too. But not light or gentle humor. Acerbic, as Katy says, seems about right. A Fairy Tale has actual fairies in it, but describes the reactions of regular people, some of them not very nice, to this situation, instead of making them also semi-supernatural. Sort of a narcissist gets fairies for in-laws. It sounds weird to describe it, but it works.
Kat, my in-person book group is reading Italian literature this year. (So far the best has been Calvino, though we have lots more to go before summer.)
Nicole wrote: "Kat, my in-person book group is reading Italian literature this year. (So far the best has been Calvino, though we have lots more to go before summer.)"I've never read Calvino but intend to sample him (at least) sometime this year. Does anyone have a suggestion about where to start?
Thanks, Nicole. I appreciate the information and recommendations.
Kat, I really liked If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, though I read it many years ago. Recently, I read three short pieces (collected together as Our Ancestors: The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees, The Non-Existent Knight. The last of these was excellent, and very short. The Baron in the Trees was also quite good, though a bit longer.
Thanks, Nicole. I remember there being a lot of press about IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELER at one time. (Yes, I'm that old.)
Just finished The Wheeling Year: A Poet's Field Bookby former poet laureate Ted Kooser.The tone of these wonderfully perceptive prose poems is frequently elegiac as might be expected of a poet in his 75th year. Kooser is an acute observer of the smallest things: a spider, an embroidered pillowcase, a morning glory, a mouse, that serve as metaphors for the larger philosophical ponderings: how to live, what to value, the nature of passage. This is a book to savor and return to.
Joan wrote: "Just finished The Wheeling Year: A Poet's Field Bookby former poet laureate Ted Kooser.The tone of these wonderfully perceptive prose poems is frequently elegiac as might be expecte..."Sounds good Joan. Thanks for that review.
I was talking with a real-world friend about Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World and she said that she was going to buy it for her Nook. I asked her how she liked her relatively new Nook and she said that she liked it a lot but she was concerned that she might not be able to download her books (in the epub format that B&N uses) one day in B&N went under.I told her that if she really was that concerned she mighty consider buying a program that converted her books into the DRM-free mobi format. I actually mentioned a program by name but I won't mention it here. Piracy is easy enough without telling people how to be a pirate. But I also told her that I wouldn't worry for years. If B&N went out of business, I expect someone else to pick up the Nook line so that it lasts for at least a decade.
The matter of how long any ebooks will last is a general concern... Will Amazon be around in 20 years .. in 50 years? (Rome may be eternal, but I doubt that AZW files are.) Can you pass on your ebook purchases to your heirs? This is where buying software that takes out DRM becomes something to think about. Does Amazon care? I would guess that Amazon cares if you turn AZW (Kindle format) into MOBI files. But I bet that Amazon smiles if people turn epub (Nook format) files into MOBI files that can be read on Kindles and help move people away from Nooks to Kindles.
One of the reasons that I generally discourage all this is that once people take out the DRM, they tend to share those files. So it's not just a matter of making archival copes. It becomes a matter of file sharing (or piracy). It's hard enough to be a writer these days without more piracy.
All this from talking about a book on Rome and how it is acquired and read and kept ... I got my copy as a physical book from my local library. I'll borrow it again if I need it .. and if it gets deacquisitioned by the library in the next few years, and I then want it, I'll either buy a used copy from Amazon or buy a Kindle copy.
Nicole wrote: "Ann, I think so far my favorite has been The Sin Eater, though I'm also very much liking the one I'm in the middle of now, Fairy Tale. I think what I like about her is..."
Nicole and Ann, on the subject of fairy tales, or fantasies, have you ever read John Crowley's Little, Big? It is easily my favorite modern fantasy, and the awards (Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (1982), Nebula AwardNominee for Best Novel (1982), Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (1982), World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (1982), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (1982)) that it won when it was published testify to its many strengths. Crowley has recently become a bi-monthly essayist in HARPER'S MAGAZINE. He's had a long career of thoughtful writing.
Michael Crichton's Disclosure was the first novel available on Library2Go a few days ago, so I downloaded it to my Kindle and read it. It was an enjoyable read with interesting plot twists, and I was surprised to learn in the ending notes that it was based on actual events, although no details were given (published in 1990s, so older).
Larry, I've actually looked at it, but I'd have to buy it, and I'm trying to cut way way back.
Thanks for the recommendation of Little, Big. I've never gotten into full fledged fantasy fiction, but maybe I should. Our library has this one, so I made a note of it.
Hmmm ... not really current reading but getting ready to reread Homer's Iliad ... so I wondered what translation the Loeb library used. It's one by A.T. Murray, one that I don't know at all. Harvard's Loeb Library has gone digital with both institutional and individual (still a bit pricey for me, but if you're interested, go here: http://www.loebclassics.com/) subscriptions available. The current Iliad is still the Murray translation, but it's revised by William Wyatt (see here: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.ph...)
There are free pdfs of the 274 Loeb Library volumes that have fallen into the public domain. http://ryanfb.github.io/loebolus/
If you're an aspiring classics scholar, you may be interested in all of the preceding. But if you want to just read the Iliad, I recommend buying one of the recent translations (here's a nice article from 2011 by Daniel Mendelsohn discussing four of them http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t... ). I recently bought Robert Fitzgerald's translations for my Kindle. Although I really don't like poetry on Ebook readers, these works don't seem to have the line spacing problem that comes with some ebook versions of poetry.
Larry, I'm so glad you are joining in with the Iliad discussion. Did you consider the Fagles translation?
Barbara wrote: "Larry, I'm so glad you are joining in with the Iliad discussion. Did you consider the Fagles translation?"Yep, I have a Kindle copy of that and will use it for the Iliad conversation. It's a great translation and has an introduction by the brilliant Bernard Knox. I know that I made this point earlier somewhere else, but when I read the Iliad and the Odyssey in high school in the 1960s, it seemed to be fairly well established that the Odyssey was the more highly regarded of the two works by whoever wrote each or both of them (who was Homer ... what was a Homer???). Sadly, I think that the last 50 years of war has made the Iliad the more relevant of the two for the United States.
I finished John Gribbin's Before the Big Bang a few days ago. As a Kindle Single, it is a short book (47 pages ???) which probably makes it perfect for the attention span of those who live in this digital age. But in those few short pages, you will learn how the universe unfolded in the first few fractions of the first second and then the first few minutes of its existence ... and, yes, you will learn how we know these things to be true. And then as the title suggests, you will also learn what happened right before the big bang ... as cosmic inflation happened. In short, it's a great book.
Larry wrote: "I finished John Gribbin's Before the Big Bang a few days ago. As a Kindle Single, it is a short book (47 pages ???) which probably makes it perfect for the attention span of those ..."Glad to hear high praise, we just put it on both our kindles the other day. :)
Anne of the Island by L M Montgomery – 4**** I never read these books as a child, but I am certainly enjoying them now. Anne is a marvelously engaging character and the interactions of the college roommates seems spot on perfect for students of that age. Susan O’Malley does a fine job performing the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I didn't read them as a child either, but read the first--Anne of Green Gables--when I went to visit Prince Edward Island, where they are set. I couldn't believe I'd missed out on it when young, as I read most of the standard children's lit available at the time. I loved it!
Kat wrote: "I didn't read them as a child either, but read the first--Anne of Green Gables--when I went to visit Prince Edward Island, where they are set. I couldn't believe I'd missed out on it when young, as..."It's certainly easy to see how they've remained popular for 100 years.
Book Concierge wrote: "Kat wrote: "I didn't read them as a child either, but read the first--Anne of Green Gables--when I went to visit Prince Edward Island, where they are set. I couldn't believe I'd missed out on it wh..."I have a very specific memory of these books, namely unearthing them from a suitcase of old clothes which had been an aunt's and which I had been given as a box of dressing up clothes. I'm guessing my age must have been around 8-10. In amongst the fox furs and elegant dresses most unlike anything I knew anyone wearing, were this series of books, old hardback editions. I must have read them, but I cannot recall little about them except for their association with those clothes. Weird how age and the mind play tricks on you :)
Finally finished working my way through Alice Munro's book, Dance of the Happy Shades. Thanks to all of you who wrote such high praise of her work. I'm not much of a short story reader and would not have found her on my own. She does a fabulous job of capturing the awkwardness, intense feelings and poignant comedy of adolescent girls in stories such as The Red Dress - 1946 and An Ounce of Cure. She uses language that gave me a strong sense of time and place as in A Trip to the Coast. In several stories I found myself thinking "I know that feeling". I am in awe of her ability to find the perfectly descriptive language to capture emotion, location, personal characteristics, the small details of a scene or action that make it real.
I want to thank John for recommending Andy Miller's The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life. Miller, an editor and writer, decides to tackle a list of books that he has never had read, although he has indicated to friends and colleagues that he has.
The book is also very much about the important role reading has played in his life, from childhood on. As you can tell from the list in the appendix of 100 books that have influenced him most, Miller was already very well read.
His reading list for The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life includes a heavy dose of classics, but also some rather idiosyncratic choices of cult books, teenage favorites, and even comics. If you are looking for capsule reviews of all books on his list, you will not find them. I don't always agree with his opinions, but he makes me think a lot more about the pleasures of reading something challenging.
Sometimes were are even in total sync. How could I not like someone who loves Anna Karenina and War and Peace (if not Tolstoy the person)?
What I enjoyed most about the book is Miller's wit. He makes me laugh. I particularly found his chapter "Ten Astounding Similarities between the DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown and MOBY DICK by Herman Melville amusing.
Another humorous book that I really enjoyed lately is Love Nina: A Nanny Writes Home by Nina Stibbs. This book was mentioned by Anne Tyler in a recent interview in the New York Times Book Review. Fortuitously, the Amazon Kindle version is on sale for $2.99.The letters tell the story of a nanny's life in a literary family during the 1980's. The family consists of 2 boys and a loving, if somewhat unconventional, editor mom - The London Review of Books subeditor, Mary-Kay Wilmers. Famous "artistic" people are always dropping by. Playwright Alan Bennett is a very regular dinner guest. Nina fibs all the time, she is a horrible cook and she neglects all cleaning, but it is clear that she has an excellent relationship with the two boys.
If you ever read and enjoyed Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole series, you will like this book. However, like all books, it's not for everyone. I happen to enjoy that dry English wit.
Doing a bit of escapist reading and I was pleasantly surprised to find The Last Juror a cut above the typical Grisham. One of the best Grisham’s that I’ve read. The protagonist is a journalist/editor rather than a lawyer; the story focuses on the town and its inhabitants rather than a courtroom and while the plot is driven by the rapist/killer Danny Padgett and his gangster-like family, it’s really incidental to a tale of the changing of the South after the Civil Rights era and how small towns were (mostly negatively) transformed by Walmart type takeovers. Again, unlike many of Grisham’s narrators, Willie is genuinely likeable. A fine read.
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers – 4**** PVT John Bartle met PVT Daniel Murphy in basic training, and promised Murph’s mother that he’d bring the 18-year-old back from Iraq. The novel relates Bartle’s experiences in Iraq – the horror, excitement, confusion, mental and physical stress. His internal struggle to come to grips with his actions, his regrets, his losses is what makes this novel so powerful. There were sections of this book that had me completely immersed in the narrative, but I think that I, like John Bartle, was looking for answers where there are none. As a result, the ending was less than satisfying for me.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just read What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. It was mildly interesting. It made me remember that many of the "what if" questions from when I was a teacher were clearly a way to try and derail the lesson being taught, be funny, and garner peer attention (I liked those that were funny, though).
I finished The Invention of Wings which I liked very much and learned a lot from and Orphan Train which I liked and learned from as well. I am now reading How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at An Answer by Sarah Bakewell which is a somewhat slower read (I am slower generally with non-fiction than fiction) but absolutely fascinating and wonderful.
I liked the Montaigne book, Ellie, although you are right that you have to go slow.I also enjoyed Orphan Train.
Ann wrote: "I liked the Montaigne book, Ellie, although you are right that you have to go slow.I also enjoyed Orphan Train."
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's not zipping through the Montaigne. There's so much to think about!
I'm about a third of the way through Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage and finding it thoughtful and interesting.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster – 5***** I’ve been hearing about this book forever, but never read it before. I’m so glad I finally got to it! It is an absolute delight. I love Milo – a boy “who didn’t know what to do with himself” – and his spirit of adventure. What I find particularly delightful is the way Juster plays with words and ideas. Introducing readers (young and old) to some lofty ideas and imparting more than a little wisdom along the way. It’s been over fifty years since this book was first published, but I feel certain it will remain popular for at least another fifty years.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've now started Philip Hensher's The Emperor Waltz. I read his semibiographical The Northern Clemency's a few years ago and remember being positive about it, so finally got round to another of this British author's books. It is another massive 600+ pager . I am only 50 odd pages in amidst early 20th century German society caught between the old ways and the novel approach of the Bauhaus movement as a young Christian Vogt arrives in Weimer to begin his studies at the new art school. It's going to be one of those sweeping novels that takes you to a huge variation of time and place and I'm really interested to see how he pulls it all together. It got reasonable reviews from the critics here
Ann wrote: "I'm reading All the Light We Cannot See for a couple of in-person book clubs. So far, very good."Ann, I think you will really like this. I certainly did.
Just finished Suspended Sentences: Three Novellas by this year's Nobel Prize winner for literature, Patrick Modiano.Loved it-very mysterious, moody, beautiful.
I'm starting The Paying Guest by Sarah Waters and I am venturing into it without any preconceived ideas. Well without "many" preconceived ideas. I regret reading the reviews on Amazon
Outline by Rachel Cusk, a novel which I think is proving far better as an audiobook than it would in print.
So I finished The Lifeboat last night (***) and have to choose one from the 9 that are on the nightstand to start at lunch today. Stoner is there, has been there for 2 years, but I'm thinking either a comedy - First Contact-Or, It's Later Than You Think - or this dark Cormac McCarthy 'Road' sounding book, Rivers. I am, for the last 3 days, sick as a dog, so the comedy could win this round. We will see.I think when I checked out The Lifeboat the only Constant Reader rating I found was from Ruth, who was not at all crazy about it. But it was a page-turner, more than I expected when the time-setting was revealed. And the narrator, Grace, is quite a character. A survivor in every sense of the word. I know this woman, LOL.
Speaking of, there are at least 13 novels called "Lifeboat" or "The Lifeboat." Tempting setting, I would say.
Thanks, Cateline. In the end there was no contest: 1st, Jerry came thru and made a little joke, to which I chuckled. Then spent 5 minutes hacking until it settled down, so the comedy was out. Then I learned that Rivers is a first book; I am a sucker for 1st books.Then I opened to the epigraph:
Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportionate, the absurd and the forbidden. --Thomas Mann, Death in Venice
Yep, I think this is the one for now.
Tonya wrote: "Thanks, Cateline. In the end there was no contest: 1st, Jerry came thru and made a little joke, to which I chuckled. Then spent 5 minutes hacking until it settled down, so the comedy was out. Then ..."Isn't it terrible when laughing hurts?
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Constant Reader
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Jostein Gaarder (other topics)Patrick Modiano (other topics)
Philip Hensher (other topics)
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Alice Thomas Ellis (other topics)
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