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What books did you get from the library, bookstore or online ~ 2022
True, John. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the reminder!
Last year Alias posted a list of books & one, Firekeeper's Daughter, drew my attention, but i didn't rush to it. At year's end GoodReads readers voted it the tops for YA fiction. As it's set in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, a town i like very much, i decided to read it. Now i have finished it. Good Book.Daunis Fontaine is set to begin college, having had a successful high school career, particularly playing ice hockey. Her life quickly becomes complicated after her uncle dies and her grandmother has a stroke. From there things get worse, if you can imagine.
This story is also about indigenous people, who qualifies as a tribal member, the process Councils have created to decide whether or not one is a tribe member and much more. The tribal aspects of the book, including the fact that across the river is Canada with its own tribe, is worthy of a good story on its own.
However author Angeline Boulley has mixed in a heavy story line of meth distribution among students. Daunis helps officials figure out what is happening. Tragedy pursues.
The wonderful thing about Boulley's work is that despite the awful things that happen, Daunis and her tribal family help her cope with her emotions and try to give her strength. I really liked this YA.
Glad to hear it was a good YA book for you, Deb.
I just got The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed by Wendy Lower delivered from my local library.
Julia, i hope you find it as rewarding a book as i did.
Last year Barbara reviewed Joanna Schaffhausen's Gone for Good, apparently the first in a new series by her. It sounded good, incorporating a group of amateur sleuths into the story. Detective Annalisa Vega is assigned the case of a long dormant serial killer who appears to have begun killing again. In this latest case, it's a member of the amateur group--had she gotten too close to solving the 20 year old murders?Thanks for Barbara for the encouraging review. The story held my interest and i was always eager to return to it. Still, per my usual, i am only interested in continuing the series if it includes the amateurs, as they appealed to me more than the police. One more thing i liked is that the detective recalls dreams of traveling she shared with her high school boyfriend. I'd not heard of two of the places, which sound amazing--Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, which looks like a mirror lake and Zhangye National Geopark, in Gansu, China. Who knew? Not i!
I found a little Amazon money, so I bought this book to read sometime this year: Here We Go Again: My Life in Television by Betty White.
John wrote: "I found a little Amazon money, so I bought this book to read sometime this year: Here We Go Again: My Life in Television by Betty White."She certainly had a long and successful career. I am sure she has a lot to say.
I hope the book is as promising as it sounds, John. Lucky you--found money!
Alias shared an item from the news about a book which France embraced during their COVID confinements--The Anomaly--Hervé Le Tellier. Here's the post--#227 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...I finished reading it this weekend and liked it. As we noted at the time it sounds akin to the tv show Manifest and Stephen King's The Langoliers. The premise is that a flight from Paris to NYC arrived twice, once in March, the second time in June. All the passengers are the same but now there are two of each person.
There was much i liked about the novel, including the idea. The author gives us story bits about several of the passengers, including a hired assassin, a translator and actor, a lawyer, and two siblings and their mother, to name a few. We follow them both before the anomaly and a bit afterwards.
Additionally, readers learn some things about those who are investigating the landings. These include the usual suspects--FBI, CIA, NASA, aeronautics experts and more. Additionally, philosophers and psychiatrists are called in for discussions on what this means to humanity. Parts are amusing, as it's clear there are no answers, but part offer intriguing questions.
Personally, i felt the book went a bit all over the place but i liked the exploration. It was a bit more than i expected but still not great. I think those who like science fiction when it addresses interesting ideas, as well as points to consider about why/who we are, would enjoy the story and ending which was different.
madrano wrote: "Alias shared an item from the news about a book which France embraced during their COVID confinements--The Anomaly--Hervé Le Tellier. Here's the post--#227 https://..."It does sound like an interesting concept. It sounds as if you enjoyed it but it wasn't a top rated book for you.
Exactly. You put it in words i can endorse. LOL!I returned to state something i neglected to share. Looking at the US from a French vantage point didn't seem to be too much of an issue. What i expected, i don't know, but i felt his representations of Donald Trump as President and Stephen Colbert's program were pretty much as anyone would have presented them. Not buffoonery nor too seriously, just right.
My aunt suggested i read a book by James McBride, specifically mentioning The Good Lord Bird. It took me longer than usual to read because initially i wasn't much into it but i was rushing to see how it would end, so much wrapped up was i.The story is of a 12-year-old male slave who is rather kidnapped into freedom by abolitionist John Brown. This takes place in Kansas, where, for reasons to complicated to explain, Brown thinks the kid is a girl and gives him a dress to wear. Not wanting to offend a white man, he wears the dress and thus begins this historical novel.
Using lively language and with amusing takes on the people he meets, we grow to see the predicaments the child, called "Onion", experiences. I liked the book and will probably read another by McBride but not any time soon.
madrano wrote: "My aunt suggested i read a book by James McBride, specifically mentioning The Good Lord Bird. It took me longer than usual to read because initially i wasn't much int..."I read and enjoyed his non fiction book
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride
I remember you posting about that book, Alias. At the time i didn't know who McBride was. Very Interesting. Thanks for that reminder.
Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office
I was working at the library yesterday and found this on the shelf. I loved The Office and though it is not on my reading list, I just had to get itl
Julie, what a delightful random find! I hope it's a joy to read for you.
Julie wrote: "Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office
I was working at the libra..."
This sounds like a fun book. I liked The Office but it went downhill after Steve Carell left; they added too many characters to fill the void (in my view).
Somehow i missed the beginning of this series, so that by the time i tried, i was lost. Therefore, sometime in my future i have a binging planned. :-)
I went through my long, long TBR list and found this one when craving a mystery. Antti Tuomainen's The Healer is set in the near future, in Helsinki. Poet Tapani returns from a short absence to realize his wife is missing. The search for her, while the systems of society are failing, involves friends, one detective (who only points the ways), his wife's editor, a random taxi driver and others.Interesting premise to set it in that sort of time, where most people are out for themselves, eager to find a safe haven. His own friends are planning a move north for less wet climates. It is harrowing and the way it is written, we understand why systems fail as they do.
madrano wrote: "I went through my long, long TBR list and found this one when craving a mystery. Antti Tuomainen's The Healer is set in the near future, in Helsinki. Poet Tapani re..."That's why I keep a TBR notebook. When I am unsure what to read next, I have tons of ideas.
The mystery you chose sounds interesting and unique, deb.
This week i unearthed my very first list, begun in 1973. Running through the line of books, i see i've eliminated very few since i entered the world of Computers. Now i get my suggestions from this book group & such. I'm not even sure now how many i still want to read.Oh! i just recalled the genesis of the list was from a list F Scott Fitzgerald created for his lover, Sheilah Graham. I read her book, College of One and wrote down that list.
madrano wrote: "This week i unearthed my very first list, begun in 1973. Running through the line of books, i see i've eliminated very few since i entered the world of Computers. Now i get my suggestions from this..."Just like my Books Read journal, I love looking back on my TBR notebooks.
I just finished reading Michelle Zauner's memoir, Crying in H Mart. Of course the title is a good one, particularly as it is about how Zauner's mother's death affected the daughter. I'm not familiar with Zauner's music and haven't heard of her band, Japanese Breakfast but can see why it is a good name for the group. The loving descriptions of Korean food, both as made by her mother and as they tasted/experienced when visiting South Korea for summer vacations, make the book a tempting one. I'm ready to dip into some of the dishes mentioned.
Alias mentioned reading this book last year & i've had to wait for it, as the hold list was a long one. Thanks for mentioning it--the wait was worth it!
madrano wrote: "I just finished reading Michelle Zauner's memoir, Crying in H Mart. Of course the title is a good one, particularly as it is about how Zauner's mother's death affe..."You're welcome, deb.
So I just finished "Siren Queen" by Nghi Vo and it was sooo good. It mostly has to do with a Cantonese girl, born in America, and how she wants to be in Hollywood as an actress. And it was really good, because this Hollywood had magical creatures (changelings, lizards, magicians etc.) but it had a certain reality that was refreshing!
Sofia Kyriaki wrote: "So I just finished "Siren Queen" by Nghi Vo and it was sooo good. It mostly has to do with a Cantonese girl, born in America, and how she wants to be in Hollywood as an actress. And it was really g..."
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing with us. Cool cover.
Neat review, Sofia. The notion of a Hollywood with magical creatures sounds fascinating.
Deb and Alias....reading old post and just read your posts about Sherry. Her death made me so sad.....she was having such a good time with her art during her retirement. Damn cancer!
Got Stewart O'Nan's latest book at the library today.....OCEAN STATE. I usually, but not always, like his books. Hope this is a good one for me
John mentioned The Late George Apley.I've actually read Apley, also his H.M. Pulham, Esq. and B.F.'s Daughter. The latter is a classic movie with Van Heflin and Barbara Stanwyck.
But I love those old books. I've read some Marcia Davenport (her East Side, West Side is also a Stanwyck flick) and Frances Parkinson Keyes and Louis Bromfield too, and some Olive Prouty (she wrote Now Voyager and Stella Dallas). Oh, and Cameron Hawley (Executive Suite) and and and...
Today I downloaded 2 books.One is a book I started but didn't finish. Not because I didn't like it, I think I just ran out time and couldn't borrow it again.
The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
I'm an avid listener to her podcast.
I also downloaded
The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World by A.J. Baime
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Deb and Alias....reading old post and just read your posts about Sherry. Her death made me so sad.....she was having such a good time with her art during her retirement. Damn cancer!"I hear ya, JoAnn! I enjoyed reading Sherry's thoughtful posts about books she read. As i look up books on GoodReads, it saddens me when i see that Sherry tagged a book as one she wants to read but didn't get to.
I also ran across a post by another woman we all knew this week in a file i keep on travel. EACurran's post was about her trip to Ireland early this century. She shared bits my husband & i ended up pursuing as well, thanks to her post. I'm grateful to have known such joyful readers.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Got Stewart O'Nan's latest book at the library today.....OCEAN STATE. I usually, but not always, like his books. Hope this is a good one for me"Good luck on this one. I still haven't read anything by O'Nan.
madrano wrote: "JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Got Stewart O'Nan's latest book at the library today.....OCEAN STATE. I usually, but not always, like his books. Hope this is a good one for me"Good luck on this one. I st..."
My mom and I both liked Last Night at the Lobster and Emily, Alone a lot! She felt the latter truly nailed widowhood (from a male author no less).
Jennifer wrote: "John mentioned The Late George Apley.I've actually read Apley, also his H.M. Pulham, Esq. and B.F.'s Daughter. The latter is a classic movie with Van He..."
Haven't read Apley yet, but also have a copy of Think Fast, Mr. Moto for a challenge category this year.
Jennifer wrote: "John mentioned The Late George Apley.I've actually read Apley, also his H.M. Pulham, Esq. and B.F.'s Daughter. The latter is a classic movie with Van He..."
Jennifer, i enjoy those oldies, as well. You mentioned Olive Higgins Prouty later in your post. I found her work to be rewarding today. I also enjoyed Jan Struther, thanks to the movie version of Mrs. Miniver. A few others i recall, mostly thanks to films are the following:
The Uninvited--Dorothy Macardle
National Velvet--Enid Bagnold
Double Indemnity--James M. Cain
The Homecoming--Earl Hamner Jr.
The Enchanted April--Elizabeth von Arnim (leading to Mr Skeffington)
They Stooped to Folly: A Comedy of Morals--Ellen Glasgow
and on.
Alias, enjoy those two books. They both sound right up your alley, different as they are.
I've read Skeffington and Miniver, and also Rachel Field's All This, and Heaven Too which is the basis for the Davis-Boyer film of the same name. I've also read Edith Vance's Winter Meeting, another Davis flick, and In This Our Life, also Ellen Glasgow, and also another Davis flick. I could list others: I suffer from the same sickness as you in this regard, John!
Thank you, Jennifer. I couldn't recall the other Glasgow i read and it is the one you mentioned.How did i come to Glasgow? It happened when we were in Cross Creek, Florida, visiting the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who is best known for writing The Yearling. When we visit homes open to the public, i seek out the bookshelves, to see what is placed there. (Sometimes i learn they are actually originals from the estate, sometimes not.) Two Glasgow books were on the mantelpiece in Rawlings's bedroom, so i took note. And have been pleased i did so.
Your post reminds me that i've also longed to read Leave Her to Heaven--Ben Ames Williams, thanks to the Gene Tierney movie.
So, from the small world file ---- I actually live in Gainesville, which as you probably know is 10 miles from, and in the same county as, Cross Creek. Marjorie, in addition to writing her books, was a celebrated local cook. I made her recipe for hearts of palm (which is called "swamp cabbage" in backwoods Florida) one time because I'd never had hearts of palm. I noticed at the time that other recipes of hers called for "Dora's butter" or "Dora's best cream" and I thought that was a long-extinct brand name until I discovered that Dora was one of Marjorie's cows. (Come to think of it, that *IS* sort of a long-extinct brand name then...)
When the group read The Bookshop earlier this year, i found myself liking Penelope Fitzgerald's work. John mentioned others he read by her, including The Golden Child, which i read yesterday, as it was short and i was intrigued.This book is quite different from the small town atmosphere in the Bookshop. Here the small atmosphere is a museum, not unlike the British Museum, where competition for funds is tight, yet seemingly civil. The main character, Waring Smith, is someone very like most of us--working, mortgaged, and content. He has a friendship with Sir William, an old well known man with money, who pretty much lives at the museum, with the understanding he will leave much money to them when he dies.
The novel begins the opening day of the exhibit of Garamantian artifacts including the Golden Child, which Sir William excavated decades ago. For me, the best part was her descriptions of the back rooms of the museum, the offices and work spaces and store rooms that the public never sees and the politics within. There is an absurdness to it (a trip to Russia), as well, which i could have done without but as the novel is so slender, i didn't mind.
Within the "about the author" segment there is a the following:
"Dinitia Smith, in her New York Times obituary of May 3, 2000, quoted Penelope Fitzgerald from 1998 as saying, “I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?”
Perfect. Thanks, John, for the introduction to Fitzgerald.
Great that it worked out so well for you! Novella is the perfect length for Fitzgerald's style, as I think I'd find a full-length story of hers to feel dragged out.
Jennifer wrote: I noticed at the time that other recipes of hers called for "Dora's butter" or "Dora's best cream" and I thought that was a long-extinct brand name until I discovered that Dora was one of Marjorie's cows. (Come to think of it, that *IS* sort of a long-extinct brand name then...)"
lol
madrano wrote: quoted Penelope Fitzgerald from 1998 as saying, “I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?”Perfect. Thanks, John, for the introduction to Fitzgerald...."
That is spot on. That explains a lot about The Bookshop.
madrano wrote: "Alias, enjoy those two books. They both sound right up your alley, different as they are."Deb, The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World has already earned high marks from me as it included a wonderful comprehensive timeline of events at the start of the book.
When I read biographies or history, I find it so helpful if the author includes maps, photos, timelines, character lists etc.
Oh enough already Alias, I already put the book on my TBR. You don't need to sell it anymore.... LOLOLOL
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Sounds like you have challenge category #84 (mentioned/recommended in book you read) covered! 😉