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Trim Challenge 2022 – Community and Announcement Thread
I have two tions for #24: Summer at the Garden Café by Felicity Hayes-McCoy or The Girl Who Played with Fire
Olivermagnus wrote: "October 2022 Pick is #24"NOVEMBER pick # 24 ...
Mine is I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
October #5Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman
3 stars
In this short book author, Alice Hoffman, tells of the lessons she has learned in life and those people who have inspired her. She had recently recovered from cancer and talks about sadness and joy. She relays stories of growing up and of loss.
She gives topics, but it is the personal examples throughout the book that the reader can relate to. This is a touching books that everyone has something to learn from.
Finally got my copy of my August read, finished The Social Graces-my review is here:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Finished my #5 for October: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell - 10/24/22 - 4* - My Review
“Everyone believes in the atrocities of the enemy and disbelieves in those of his own side, without ever bothering to examine the evidence.”
George Orwell’s memoir about his experiences as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War fighting the fascists. He was a soldier in the POUM (Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista), which was part of a loose coalition of left-leaning forces on the side of the Republic opposing Franco’s right-wing Nationalists. Orwell explains the organizations involved and the political in-fighting that accompanied their attempts to band together. He gradually became less idealistic and realized the likely outcome would be some form of dictatorship.
Orwell describes the fatigue and frustrations on the frontlines, where troops were equipped with outdated weapons, were poorly trained, and only sporadically encountered the enemy’s troops. His account is infused with irony and humor. He relates his excursions in Barcelona, and the street-fighting that occasionally ensued.
He was shot in the neck, and attempts to convey the experience:
“Roughly speaking it was the sensation of being at the centre of an explosion. There seemed to be a loud bang and a blinding flash of light all round me, and I felt a tremendous shock—no pain, only a violent shock, such as you get from an electric terminal; with it a sense of utter weakness, a feeling of being stricken and shrivelled up to nothing.”
He thought he would die:
“There must have been about two minutes during which I assumed that I was killed. And that too was interesting—I mean it is interesting to know what your thoughts would be at such a time. My first thought, conventionally enough, was for my wife. My second was a violent resentment at having to leave this world which, when all is said and done, suits me so well. I had time to feel this very vividly. The stupid mischance infuriated me. The meaninglessness of it! To be bumped off, not even in battle, but in this stale corner of the trenches, thanks to a moment’s carelessness!”
Eventually the POUM was outlawed, becoming a scapegoat for war, and Orwell (and his supportive wife) had to flee Spain to avoid arrest, and a high probability of execution. It is written in a straight-forward manner and is an interesting first-hand account of what it was like to live through this piece of history. It is easy to find the seeds of his future anti-totalitarian works in this memoir.
“Now that I can see this period in perspective I do not altogether regret it. I wish, indeed, that I could have served the Spanish Government a little more effectively; but from a personal point of view—from the point of view of my own development—those first three or four months that I spent in the line were less futile than I then thought. They formed a kind of interregnum in my life, quite different from anything that had gone before and perhaps from anything that is to come, and they taught me things that I could not have learned in any other way.”
My #24 for November is:
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
Joanne wrote: "I have The Tuscan Child at #24"I have this at #24 as well. My library hold is due in in about a week.
My library has it, Hannah but not sure when I can get to it
Joanne wrote: "My library has it, Hannah but not sure when I can get to it"I won't be able to start as soon as I get it either - I've got about 15 other library books out at the moment, and some of them are on hold for other people so I can't renew them.
LoL-same, only I only have 12 sitting here
October 2022 - # 5
The Turtle Warrior – Mary Relindes Ellis – 5*****
An emotionally difficult book to read; involves alcoholism, war, child abuse, PTSD. But there is a hopeful ending to reward the reader who can get through all that despair.
Full review to come.
#15 - The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers by Terri-Lynne DeFino2 stars
This one gave me many fits and starts. First, for whatever reason, I thought, from a brief glance at the blurb coupled with the title and cover, this was going to be light, a bit humorous, maybe have some mystery to it, and remind me of my recent trip to Maine. I was pretty much completely wrong.
Literary giant and enfant terrible, Alphonse Carducci arrives at the Pen, the nickname given to the Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers that he helped establish in his youth with the deceased great literary agent Cornelius Traeger. In fact, Traeger left him his suite and his ownership interest. Alphonse, like others he knows living there - Olivia, Switch, Judith -- has not written or worked at their art in years, decades. Now, Alphonse is living on borrowed time as his heart and lungs give out, so sure there is no more writing in him. Then he meets Cecibel, one of the orderlies with horrific scarring on the outside and inside, and he finds words and a story rising within him. As he renews his friendship with Olivia and the others, and becomes closer to Cecibel who becomes closer to all and opens up, his words lead to new words on the page for first Olivia, then Switch, as a story evolves through collaboration - the final words all will write. What also happens is Cecibel and other staff experience their own healing and growth through the contact with these reunited friends as they write.
I found this so sad a story when I first started reading, one that was totally not what I was expecting. It languished, reading was slow, disappointment mounting. But there were moments of brilliance and light that kept me going, some really beautiful passages, amusing moments here and there (how can you not find Olivia and her pot smoking amusing?), even a welcome surprise or two. The events at the Pen primarily take place in the year 1999. Oh, and we won't discuss how long it took me to realize that when then residents refer to the home as the Pen, they are using a play on words -- Pen as instrument for writing vs. a prison. I'm a little slow to catch on some times.
What's also told, in chapters here and there, is the actual book (novella really) that's being written by these great writers in their final years. It's a romance set in the 1950s and Patterson, NJ (a much more incorporated geographic location than Bar Harbor Maine), each taking a different character POV, althernating chapters, no plotting, no discussing just picking up where the prior chapter ended. I've mixed feelings about this ploy. At times the story was more compelling than the main story, at others very weak. I have serious reservations as to whether it adds more than a diversion to the book as a whole. I really never had any curiousity to know what they each were writing until the story was 3/4 told.
Another major complaint I had was there was absolutely nothing in the book that spoke of Bar Harbor or even Maine - so why set it there? By the end I just found it a rather confusing mess. I did like the characters, I'm glad we learned the secrets that formed them and that we saw Cecibel and the other orderlies move on from the past that was trapping them. I'm even glad we ultimately find out what happens with the novella written by these famous writers. I also enjoyed the quirky aphorisms credited to the fictional Cornelius Traeger that start each chapter at the Pen. But I can't recommend the story.
There are the bones of a really great novel here. It needs a lot more rewrites and a much sharper tougher editor.
24 - NovemberAnd Now She's Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall
4 stars
This book is certainly a thriller. In it Grayson Sykes is working on her first case as a private detective. She is searching for a woman and a dog that have gone missing. As Grayson digs deeper she finds layers of deception. The woman is not who she said she was and she may be involved in fraud and other crimes. Grayson is also not who she lets on to be and her past is quickly catching up to her.
This is an exciting book and through Grayson's backstories the reader sees how she has changed and hardened over the years. Grayson is trying to find information on the case she was hired for, but also looking to protect herself. The author does a good job of keeping people guessing how it will play out until the end. It is the unknown elements in the book that create tension and cause characters to be scared. However, this is part of what makes a good mystery and you want to keep on reading.
October - # 5
The Turtle Warrior – Mary Relindes Ellis – 5*****
When James enlists at age seventeen and goes to Vietnam, his nine-year-old brother, Billy, has only the protection of a turtle-shell shield and a wooden sword to keep him from harm. It will be a long and fraught journey to manhood for the sensitive Billy. This is a marvelous debut. There are some horrific scenes in this book, and it is an emotionally difficult read. But the reader who can get through the horror will be rewarded with a hopeful ending.
LINK to my full review
Morning. I am on the search for some ideas. I have a nephew who is reading rather above his level but is still very young in other ways. He is 10. At 6 he read Harry Potter and quite liked it. At 7 I got him the Percy Jackson series which he adored so much he went and got everything else he could find by the author (ergo not sure which he has/hasn't read now). Do any of you have any suggestions which might suit him for Christmas/Birthday? He is Pokémon obsessed when not reading too if that helps at all.I'm not used to small children so have based my previous choices for gifts for him on what students said they liked at that age.
Jen wrote: "Morning. I am on the search for some ideas. I have a nephew who is reading rather above his level but is still very young in other ways. He is 10. At 6 he read Harry Potter and quite liked it. At 7..."I'm not up on current series for kids, but maybe he would like the "His Dark Materials" series by Philip Pullman.
The first book is The Golden Compass. Lots of action and adventure. And a great movie was made out of the book.
Also when I looked at The Golden Compass page here on GR, it's tagged as "middle grade". That might be a good tag to explore to see if there are other series that might look good.
Sue wrote: "Jen wrote: "Morning. I am on the search for some ideas. I have a nephew who is reading rather above his level but is still very young in other ways. He is 10. At 6 he read Harry Potter and quite li..."I found this: https://www.readbrightly.com/books-li...
I would also suggest looking at Hugo and Edgar and other award lists at nominees and winners to find others. After all, both Harry and Percy won awards.
I read and liked the Artemous Fowl ones. There is also the prolific Rick Riorden and isn't Anthony Horowitz famous for some young reader series?
I loved Carl Hiassen's middle grade series - Hoot, Chomp, etc. Standalones but great reads.
I also think Cora has middle grade shelf as her son, now a little older than your nephew, is and was a reader.
As for a stand-alone - look at A Time Traveler's Theory of Relativity by my friend Nicole Valentine. Squarely middle-grade and I found delightful. Set in Vermont - a real town.
As for Pokemon - this amused me - https://nymag.com/strategist/article/...Even Good Housekeeping is in on it
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holi...
Personally I am hunting for perfect dice to give a girly 10 yo who loves Dungeons and Dragons. Share your favorite shop links please.
My kids really liked Fablehaven and Gregor the Overlander after they finished and enjoyed Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
I am tuned into kids books because of the retail stores (in house and online) that I run for my library-here are two (both series) that sell well when I have themThe Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Darkstalker by Tui T. Sutherland
Thank you guys I will be looking at all those suggestions when I get home tonight. Also gives me some options for next year by the number of suggestions so thanks again.
I know I'm late to the game. I've been offline due to an injury. My #24 is The Society of S by Susan Hubbard.
My trim for November: Sankofa 4 starsAnna is a mixed race British woman in the midst of a mid-life crisis. She's separated from her husband (who cheated on her), her relationship with her adult daughter is evolving and she no longer feels as needed, she's never met her father, and her mother recently passed away. Just writing all that makes me feel like I'm having a mid-life crisis on my own!
After her mother's death, she finds an old diary that belonged to her father as a young man. Before finding this diary, she never even knew her father's name, whether he was still alive or even knew she existed. This part of the book I find to be deeply unrealistic. I have multiple friends who were either adopted or had a missing parent - and none of them "just let it go" without wondering and searching. There's no way I believe a person would make it to middle age with the mystery of the missing parent not being a HUGE issue.
Armed with the old diary, Anna goes on a journey to find out who her father was, is he still alive and still in England? Her journey takes her to a small West African nation where her father was the first president after independence. Or depending on the point of view - a guerilla turned dictator.
She does find him (not a spoiler - it's in the book description) and finds both more and less than she's looking for.
Overall I thought this was an interesting exploration of race, prejudice, first world/third world culture clash and the difficulty of finding a parent later in life. I can see where this would bring out great discussions in a book club setting.
punxsygal wrote: "January #10My read was The Circle by Dave Eggers. Speculative fiction about a big tech company taking over every aspect of our lives. Made me uncomfortable."
I agree The Circle was really creepy. The overwhelming and invasive company culture was so close to a cult. I work for a really big high tech company (not the company The Circle was modeled after) and have to agree I occasionally feel like I'm part of some sort of odd modern-day cult culture.
Finally getting to my November book Daughter of Fortune
Finished #24 for November:Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen - 3* - My Review
Susanna Kaysen’s memoir about her 1967-1968 stay in McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. At age eighteen, Susanna was put into a taxi by her therapist and ended up voluntarily admitting herself to a mental hospital. She was suffering from bulimia and had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She obviously disagrees with her diagnosis and refutes it within the narrative, saying she was an adolescent going through normal teenage anxieties.
This book explores the nature of sanity, but I remain unsure of exactly what points Kaysen is trying to make (other than disputing her diagnosis). Her stay in the hospital was decades ago and one can hope methods have improved since that time. Her writing style is not in any way polished. She jumps from one topic to the next without tying her ideas together. I am interested learning more about mental health and have read widely on the topic. This book falls in the middle of the pack.
November #24 finishedSummer at the Garden Café by Felicity Hayes-McCoy
4 stars
It is summer on the Finfarran Peninsula on Ireland's West Coast, with bees buzzing and birds soaring over the herb and flower beds in Lissbeg's Old Convent Garden. The town is thriving after the successful campaign to save the library housed in the Old Convent told in the first book of the series. Excitement abounds as the grand opening for the medieval Carrick Psalter exhibition space draws nigh.
All the villagers we met appear and their stories continue. Librarian Hanna is still the primary narrator, as she slowly claims happiness and even opens to the possibility of loving again. Her daughter Jazz is struggling with her own life choices along with the emotional and physical aftermath of her car accident in the firstborn. We spend time with Hanna's bold irascible mother, Fury and The Divil, awkward young lovers Aideen and Conor, and Pakistani immigrants Ameena and her mother Saira. All charm and embrace you, welcoming you into this so Irish community.
But the heart of this story is Maggie, the great aunt from whom Hanna inherited her cottage. Finding her aunt's diary literally buried under a foundation stone to a collapsed shed, gradually we learn through Maggie's voice of the Irish War of Independence and the personal impact hidden behind silence. This theme of silence, of not talking about great and harsh and tragic events, covering them with silence, is one the author has explored in her non-fiction works. I know my uncles never talked about their experiences in WWII. I think this is true throughout history.
One of the things I loved about this book was just how smoothly and organically books are woven in. One example that amused me was Librairian Hanna's rueful description of her treatment of potential love interest Brian:
Ever since the night of Jazz’s accident she’d felt she’d been behaving like a character in a Georgette Heyer novel, leading him on and then smacking his wrist with her fan.
I found myself at one point adding all Conrad Richter's books to my TBR. I also added the next in this series.
I've finished two books this monthMay's pick finished on 04Nov
Nov's pick finished on 14 Nov
Now I just have to get the reviews written ....
Book Concierge wrote: "I've finished two books this monthMay's pick finished on 04Nov
Nov's pick finished on 14 Nov
Now I just have to get the reviews written ...."
I am still behind, though mostly the second book in a month where I had doubled up those I missed last year. I am fitting them around books needed to finish other annual challenges and reading obligations. And striving for a balance between heavy or serious or slow reading with lighter and sometimes shorter reads. Also juggling ebooks and print books. Most of my print books are hardcover at the moment which I am finding hard to hold for long periods these days. Especially after a long day working on my computer.
ANNOUNCING the final pick for 2022 ...December's number is # 17
I have two. I wonder if one was a buddy read. I have A Fire Sparkling and When We Believed in Mermaids. The second is one I wonder if I added because other people might have chosen it as well.
I had two books on this number which I decided I'd choose from. So I'll go with The Lathe of Heaven in December.
My #17 is The Shining Girls.Theresa, I have Migrations on my TBR, maybe we can do a buddy read, depending on when you are planning on reading.
My # 17 is Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard-picked it up this morning at the library.
I'm currently reading #24 for this month (hope to finish today or tomorrow) and listening to #5 for last month (over 1000 pages... it was read about 2/3 of the way through before I set it aside to listen to a couple of other books, and am now back to it - should be able to finish in the next week or so).And #17 for December is
A Cabinet of Wonders / Renee Dodd
My #17 is the Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Booknblues wrote: "My #17 is The Shining Girls.Theresa, I have Migrations on my TBR, maybe we can do a buddy read, depending on when you are planning on reading."
I have to find which TBR pile it is in and exhume it. Also have to finish 4 ... or is it 5? ... other books I have going. And finish 2 year long challenges (close on both). Plus intense work period coming up.
BnB - if it works for you, probably start around 20 Dec. It is only 248 pages so should not be time consuming and easily finished in Dec.
Joanne wrote: "My # 17 is Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard-picked it up this morning at the library."Never heard of this or the author! Very curious to read your review.
Theresa wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "BnB - if it works for you, probably start around 20 Dec. It is only 248 pages so should not be time consuming and easily finished in Dec ..."That sounds good. I should be wrapping up other reads by that point.
Finished my #22 for September:The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – 4 Stars
This retelling of the story of Achilles by the author of Circe focuses on the relationship Achilles has with Patroclus, from a friendship they share as boys as it changes into a romantic relationship. I haven’t read Homer’s Iliad, but I didn’t need to have read it to enjoy this book. Miller manages to stay close to the well-known Greek myth whilst putting her own twist on it, and she really drew me in. I really liked that we saw the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus change and develop. I also really enjoyed the writing, and how Miller really made the setting seem so vivid. I found the beginning of the book to be a bit slow, and the pace and plot only seemed to pick up about a quarter of the way in, but I felt that by the end of the book, Miller had written a very powerful story.
My #17 is Stanley and Elsie. My library has this available on audiobook, so I should get to it next week. I've also got quite a few I want to catch up on by the end of the year, so I'm hoping it will be quite a quick read.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Homage to Catalonia (other topics)The People of the Abyss (other topics)
Girl, Interrupted (other topics)
The Shadow King: The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy (other topics)
Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Johann Hari (other topics)George Orwell (other topics)
Paul A. Offit (other topics)
Susanna Kaysen (other topics)
Jo Marchant (other topics)
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Edited to add 7 people labeled it as Book Club. It is going to be like favorites, I'm afraid.