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Constant Reader
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What I'm Reading - July - August 2021
I just finished Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - a fun, fast, spooky tale that I picked up at the library based on a whim and the beautiful cover art. Traditional gothic horror with a unique setting, in the vein of duMaurier's Rebecca, but with a much weirder plot.
I’ve wondered about that, Donna. Now I’m more intrigued.
Donna wrote: "I just finished Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - a fun, fast, spooky tale that I picked up at the library based on a whim and the beautiful cover art. Tradi..."I've had this for ages in my to be read pile, must def get round to it, esp as you say it is like Rebecca, which I adore
Sheila wrote: "Donna wrote: "I just finished Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - a fun, fast, spooky tale that I picked up at the library based on a whim and the beautiful co..."Yes, but Rebecca on steroids.
All Quiet On the Western Front – Erich Marie Remarque – 4****
Many have called this the “greatest war novel of all time.” I’m not certain I agree with that superlative, but it IS a powerful, emotional, gripping, disturbing, enthralling, and honest exploration of war and its effects on the young who become the pawns of their leaders.
My full review HERE
Book Concierge wrote: "All Quiet On the Western Front
– Erich Marie Remarque – 4****
Many have called this the “greatest war novel of all time.” I’m not certain I a..."
Do you have a favorite war novel, BC? Wondering, is all.
Ken, I'll jump in here with my fav war novels:Regeneration, Pat Barker
The Siege of Krishnapur, J.G. Farrell
The Tartar Steppe, Dino Buzzati (re the anticipation of war; not a shot is fired).
Bonus: Favorite War short stories:
"Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor (Irish Civil War)
"Dolgushov's Death," Isaac Babel (Russian Civil War)
"How to Tell a True War Story," Tim O'Brien (Vietnam War)
"The Village," Kate Wilhelm (Vietnam -- wild Sci Fi twist with quaint American small town attacked by U.S. troops as if it were a Vietnamese village)
Tom wrote: "Ken, I'll jump in here with my fav war novels:Regeneration, Pat Barker
The Siege of Krishnapur, J.G. Farrell
The Tartar Steppe, Dino Buzzati (re the antic..."
Thanks, Tom. Of the novels, I've only read Pat Barker's. Am tabbing The Tartar Steppe to hunt down. Is Obie's short story part of his collection The Things They Carried? That I read, too. It's in the stacks Dewey Decimaled with a number meaning "Long Ago."
Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land, by Métis author Toni Jensen, is a collection of powerful essays and stories about dispossession, trafficking, gun violence and general abuse of and disregard for the First Nations peoples of the Americas.Jensen has had quite a life and shares it, warts and all.
4★ Link to my review of Carry
Ken wrote: "Tom wrote: "Ken, I'll jump in here with my fav war novels:Regeneration, Pat Barker
The Siege of Krishnapur, J.G. Farrell
The Tartar Steppe, Dino Buzzati (..."
Ken, that story is indeed from O’Bs TTC. I could have just as easily chosen title story or “On the Rainy River,” as well. The latter has best ending of entire collection.
Tom wrote: "Ken wrote: "Tom wrote: "Ken, I'll jump in here with my fav war novels:Regeneration, Pat Barker
The Siege of Krishnapur, J.G. Farrell
The Tartar Steppe, Di..."
A reread of that book is in order. I joined GR to keep track of all the books I've read, and it's been quite effective at that. Still, even with reviews, it hasn't helped This Old Brain (now playing on PBS) to remember the books' content. With time, they make like Huck's raft and go down river....
Ken wrote: "Do you have a favorite war novel, BC? Wondering, is all."Hard to say it's a "favorite" because it's so disturbing but the one that made a huge impact on me was Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. I read it sometime in the '70s ... long before I was tracking books regularly (either in a handwritten journal or on any website) ... so it's not in my GR record. But I'm sure I would have rated it 5*****
I just started an epic 880 pager Neal Stephenson's Seveneves. It has been on my To Be Read list since it came out in 2015, Surprisingly, I picked up a spruce, as new hardback copy in a charity shop a couple of years back and have had the audio lying around for a couple of years as well. My only excuse is one does have to be in the mood both for hard scifi and for such lengthy opus. It has been calling to me for the past few days and clearly the time is now right. I started this afternoon. I intend to read it along side other reads in a totally different style.
Book Concierge wrote: "Ken wrote: "Do you have a favorite war novel, BC? Wondering, is all."Hard to say it's a "favorite" because it's so disturbing but the one that made a huge impact on me was [book:Johnny Got His Gu..."
I'm aware of that one but haven't read it yet.
As for pre-GR, I actually made a GR bookshelf category for those books. Whenever one passes by and I say, "Oh, yeah. I read that in 1970-something," I simply put it there sometimes with a rating from memory (dangerous) but more often without comment.
Ken, meant to read JGHG after watching movie "Trumbo," with Bryan Cranston in lead, but, per usual, got sidetracked. Story of my reading life.Though technically not a novel, I'll toss in Christopher Logue's War Music: An Account of Books 1-4 and 16-19 of Homer's Iliad. Some really wild descriptions here.
I read Johnny Got His Gun in one of my high school English classes (can't recall which year, but probably senior), along with All Quiet on the Western Front and Catch-22. It must have been a theme read... I guess the topic of war was not too surprising, considering that I graduated in 1971.
Book Concierge wrote: "Ken wrote: "Do you have a favorite war novel, BC? Wondering, is all."Hard to say it's a "favorite" because it's so disturbing but the one that made a huge impact on me was [book:Johnny Got His Gu..."
Oh gawd, that one knocked me over!
Tom wrote: "Ken, meant to read JGHG after watching movie "Trumbo," with Bryan Cranston in lead, but, per usual, got sidetracked. Story of my reading life.Though technically not a novel, I'll toss in Christop..."
Put it on my reading radar (handy device). Thanks, Tom.
Mrs. Wiggins by Mary Monroe, He Is Watching You by Charlie Gallagher, Casting Doubt by Patricia MacDonald, and All Yours by Ja'nese Dixon. Whew...
Sheila, Seveneves is on my TBR also - and I’ve been sidestepping it because of its length. I’ll be interested to know what you think of it.
Trumbo’s JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN is on sale on Kindle for $0.99 today.
Mary wrote: "Sheila, Seveneves is on my TBR also - and I’ve been sidestepping it because of its length. I’ll be interested to know what you think of it."Mary I got well stuck into it last night with about 2 hours of reading and am hoping to get back to it this evening. It is an epic over multiple generations and so still feel like I'm early in the story line yet but going well, it is classic hard sci fi genre fiction rather then literary fiction but then that is what I expected and signed up for.
Ursula K. Le Guin’s THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, a BBC performance. Intriguing story. Wonderful performance. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sheila, I loved ANATHEM. It was after I read that one that I added SEVENEVES to my TBR so I expect to like it.
Mary, I've not read Anathem. I managed to get my in person book group to 'tackle' LHoD a few years back and many were surprised by enjoying it. Re Seveneves I recall Ron Howard had bought up the film rights but I suppose it has been much delayed because of CoVID, althought this first part of the book is set on the International Space Station, so lots in the way of SGI and set construction will be needed, so perhaps folks are working on those aspects. If they make as good a job of translating it to the big screen as they have done with The Expanse ( James S.A. Corey's series of books) I'll be mightily pleased.
I started to read The Cold Millions by Jess Walter, but gave it up before the first 50 pages. What is all the hype about? Maybe someone can explain.
Two more unusual war stories (not World War 2) I've read recently are Mornings in Jenin about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and Traveller about the civil war told from the point of view of Robert E Lee's horse. My all time favorite is Catch-22.
Mary Anne, I nominated THE COLD MILLIONS, although I haven't read it yet. I was swayed by the stellar reviews which promised a socially relevant historical novel that was hard to put down. It was on numerous best books of the year lists.It was published right before the 2020 election and a lot of reviews mentioned the parallels to our own time, such as free speech issues and the big gaps between rich and poor. Maybe that influenced the reviewers.
That said, different books appeal to different folks and it's always fine to put down a book that doesn't interest you. I hope I have a different experience, but time will tell.
I
Roxanne, thanks for adding your rave comment to Sheila’s and my exchanges about Seveneves. It’s definitely moving up on my list.
Ann D wrote: "Mary Anne, I nominated THE COLD MILLIONS, although I haven't read it yet. I was swayed by the stellar reviews which promised a socially relevant historical novel that was hard to put down. It was o..."Ann, I knew there was a reason this was on my list, but forgot about the upcoming discussion. I apologize for preemptively scuttling your discussion. Who knows? Others may really enjoy it, and I will have to pick the book up and finish it.
Speaking of our discussions, next week, we start to discuss Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi. This book just went on sale today in paperback.
Mary Anne, I am already reading Transcendent Kingdom and I am looking forward to the discussion.I have been following The Murmur of Bees discussion. I liked the book when I read it awhile back and it's a great discussion but I dont remember the details enough to participate.
Don't worry about expressing an honest opinion about a book! Im a history nerd, so it might appeal to me more than some, but I will see.
I'm at the tail end of Transcendent Kingdom now, and I have pretty mixed feelings about it. Will be interested to see the discussion on it.
Joyce Carol Oates’s HAZARDS OF TIME TRAVEL, narrated by Andi Arndt. Disappointing. I kept reading, hoping it would get better. It didn’t.
Mary wrote: "Joyce Carol Oates’s HAZARDS OF TIME TRAVEL, narrated by Andi Arndt. Disappointing. I kept reading, hoping it would get better. It didn’t."I gave up on all three (Joyce, Carol, & Oates) long ago, so I can sympathize, Mary.
Ken wrote: "Mary wrote: "Joyce Carol Oates’s HAZARDS OF TIME TRAVEL, narrated by Andi Arndt. Disappointing. I kept reading, hoping it would get better. It didn’t."I gave up on all three (Joyce, Carol, & Oate..."
Ken, I hear the musical version, by Hall & Oates, is way better, and highly danceable for those readers who value rhythm on the floor as well as on the page.
Tom wrote: "Ken wrote: "Mary wrote: "Joyce Carol Oates’s HAZARDS OF TIME TRAVEL, narrated by Andi Arndt. Disappointing. I kept reading, hoping it would get better. It didn’t."I gave up on all three (Joyce, C..."
Ha-ha. I'm a big fan of "Daryl's House" now playing on a YouTube near you!
Karen Armstrong’s MUHAMMAD: A PROPHET FOR OUR TIMES, narrated by the author. Interesting. I particularly appreciated learning about the early roots of Islam, how it built on existing traditions and practices, how Muhammad responded to local political threats and opportunities, and how early Islam tenets evolved as a consequence of those responses. Clearly, in my opinion, both Islam and Christianity would benefit from their practitioners more closely adhering to early beliefs in non-violence, tolerance and forgiveness.
Finished The Night Watchman, where Erdrich once again creates a realistic native American Chippewa community of characters, based on her grandfather, tribal heritage, and the Congressional attempt at final termination of the tribes. Believable, respectful, and interesting.Also finished just a fun one, Raft of Stars, with two boys on a Wisconsin northern woods journey with others following to find them.
Starting A Promised Land, once again relishing the intelligent and thoughtful nature of former President Obama.
Little Big Man – Thomas Berger – 3.5***
Berger’s novel purports to be a memoir/autobiography of Jack Crabb – frontiersman, Indian scout, gunfighter, buffalo hunter, adopted Cheyenne. I was completely entertained by this novel of the American West. Berger gives the reader quite the raconteur in Crabb, with a gift for story-telling and colorful language. By the narrator’s own account, he certainly has a gift for landing on his feet, managing to get out of more than one potentially deadly scrape by his wits or sheer dumb luck. If the scenarios stretch credulity, well that is part of the fun.
My full review HERE
A Little Bit of Courage is all you need to fly high! Author/illustrator Claire Alexander created cute little "Ploofers" to show kids how to learn to be brave.
5★ Link to my review of A Little Bit of Courage with many illustrations
South Australian author Garry Disher's recent book Consolation is my favourite kind of writing. Perfect for place, plot, and people. This is rural Australia where crooks think they can get away with murder. 
4.5~5★ Link to my review of Consolation
I started reading Neal Stephenson’s SEVENEVES this afternoon. I’m hooked. It got off to a great start.
Oh Mary you'll be catching me up and bypassing me soon I suspect! I've just passed page 360
Where We Come From – Oscar Cásares – 4****
The setting is Brownsville, Texas, a border town with a mean reputation as a haven for human traffickers and drug runners. But it’s also a community of hard-working, middle-class people who want nothing but a safe home for their children, decent schools, good roads, a thriving business district and reliable city services. Cásares focuses on one such family. I really enjoyed this exploration of a complex issue. There are multiple layers to the novel and much fodder for a stimulating book club discussion.
My full review HERE
I'm in the middle of a book given to me by a friend, The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, a fascinating account of Teddy Roosevelt's journey of 1913 to do a first descent of a river deep in the Amazon wilderness that had never been explored before, leading to harrowing experiences. Amazing to read about the conditions that early Amazon wilderness explorers faced.
Lyn wrote: “...Teddy Roosevelt’s journey of 1913 to do a first descent of a river deep in the Amazon wilderness that had never been explored before”Wasn’t that area not only explored, but actually inhabited at the time, by the Cinta Larga people?
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Constant Reader
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I just finished So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but admired quite a lot. I gave it 4****.