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What I'm Reading - Jan & Feb 2022
I went to the latest edition of Clarkesworld Magazine ( Speculative Fiction) https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ to read an interview with famous world building couple Ann and Jeff VanDerMeer and got side tracked by the opening short story The Uncurling of Samsara by Koji A Dae https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/dae_... available to read and on audio. It is not listed on GoodReads so see My Review at http://www.ashramblings.com/2022/01/s...
I have started Cloud Cuckoo Land too, Mary Anne. Can this be read without constantly bringing Cloud Atlas to mind? Time will tell, I guess, but for now I'm thinking a lot about the similarity of how they are constructed.
I started my reading year with the last and final installment in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series, The Story of the Lost Child. Next up is The Lincoln Highway.
Like minds, Donna. I started THE STORY OF THE LOST CHILD this morning. One of my reading goals for this year is to finish this series and I figured I might as well do it right away.
I'm also reading Cloud Cuckoo Land - that's why I'm so far behind in Hope Against Hope. I also got Five Tuesdays in Winter from the library and it is due soon so I'm cramming it in also. First two stories, I'm not totally impressed, but I loved Writers & Lovers.
Tonya wrote: "I have started Cloud Cuckoo Land too, Mary Anne. Can this be read without constantly bringing Cloud Atlas to mind? Time will tell, I guess, but for now I'm thinking a l..."I know just what you mean, Tonya. Why do I have freckles on my mind?
I've just spent the last three days in a sweet Oregon coastal yurt to see the king tides, and have been reading a combination of two books, depending on my mood:Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, and
Mike Nichols: A Life.
Very different kinds of reading experiences, but both have quality.
Donna, The Lincoln Highway is fun!
Lyn, I’m reading Braiding Sweetgrass, too. It’s interesting. I am intrigued by the concept of a gift economy.
I am reading Ann Patchett's latest, a book of essays, titled - These Precious Days. So far, I really like it. Books under the Christmas Tree included: Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice; Dave Dempsey, Great Lakes for Sale; Erik Larsson, The Splendid and the Vile; Victor Davis Hanson, The Dying Citizen; Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Hurricane's Eye; and finally, Lauren Groff, Matrix. So many good books to look forward to this winter.
Happy New Year to all. It's got to be better than last year!
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen – 4****
What a delight to listen to this again. Having done so previously, and also having watched the PBS miniseries, I have an even greater appreciation for Austen's send-up of gothic novels. It's just a charming story and so well told! And, of course, we have a romantic HEA ending! What's not to like?
My full review HERE
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Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo – 4****
Evaristo’s collection of short stories earned her the 2019 Booker Prize, the first black woman to be so honored. As the title implies, the stories all focus on women and girls from childhood to old age and are primarily set in current-day Britain. The book features wide variety of unforgettable characters that fairly leap off the page, and the stories are loosely interconnected. I can hardly wait for my F2F book club discussion!
My full review HERE
Sequoia National Park is a perfect setting for the thriller Vanishing Edge by Claire Kells, where glam-campers have - yep - vanished!
3★ Link to my Vanishing Edge review
A little girl finds a penpal at The Mailbox in the Forest. Author Kyoko Hara shows how to make friends in unlikely places.
3.5★ Link to my Mailbox in the Forest review with several illustrations
I've decided to read some of the 'good' books I somehow missed when they were published, and the 1995 Pulitzer winner, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields was one. What a writer! A life in a century!
5★ Link to my Stone Diaries review
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I've decided to read some of the 'good' books I somehow missed when they were published, and the 1995 Pulitzer winner, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields was one. What a..."I loved this, too. I think I’ll reread it.
Jack Maggs – Peter Carey – 3***
I had heard that this was inspired by Dickens’ Great Expectations . I can see similarities, though the focus here is not on Pip but on Magwitch. I did get quite caught up in Jack Maggs’s story and wondered a few times how Carey was going to wrap this up. The plot is definitely convoluted in places, with many twists and turns, and I did not really appreciate the Tobias Oates subplot. Carey’s writing is very atmospheric, and the city of London is explored in some detail, especially the impoverished slums and criminal underbelly.
My full review HERE
NOTE: The old locked thread is still pinned to the top of this folder.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies – Deesha Philyaw – 4****
In this wonderful collection of short stories, Philyaw explores the modern African-American woman and her hopes, dreams, relationships, and actions both in and away from church. The stories feature all ages, from children to great-grandmothers. Philyaw does a marvelous job of bringing these many characters to life. I could see a few of these stories expanded to novel length, but I find them satisfying in and of themselves.
My full review HERE
Book Concierge wrote: "NOTE: The old locked thread is still pinned to the top of this folder."Thanks, BC. I fixed that.
I cannot contain myself to reading only one book at a time. I have three underway right now, each from a different genre.The most amazing book is a non-fiction Science book entitled Until the End of Time by Brian Greene. because Dr. Greene is such an amazing and capable writer, this book is easy to understand. Dr. Greene explores the fundamentals of physics to account for both the creation of the universe and the force of evolution that created life on earth. His capacity to formulate and use excellent analogies makes the scientific content and concepts of the book both understandable and enjoyable to read.
The second book I am reading is a historical fiction biography of the personal librarian of J.P.Morgan, the mega-wealthy industrialist and philanthropist of the early 20th Century. The book is entitled The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
The third book I have underway is a WW I novel set in Belgium, Half in Shadow by Gemma Liviero.
Paul, I attended a virtual book talk for the Personal Librarian and am interested in reading that someday. I also read multiple books at once and currently am close to completing Shadow of Spain by Fiona Buckley, an historical fiction, The Truth and Other Stories by Stanislaw Lem, science fiction, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, fiction., and The Village of Eight Graves, a Japanese mystery.
I just finished Lucy Gayheart by Willa Cather. It reminded me of how much I love Cather's writing - so I picked up O Pioneers! when I returned Lucy to the library. In some ways, Lucy reminded me of the protagonist of The Song of the Lark, though it is in some ways a very different story.
Another in the Little People/BIG DREAMS series for children is the stunningly colourful Pablo Picasso by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara. The illustrations by Teresa Bellón are outrageously wild - as was the artist himself, of course. Loved it!
5★ Link to my Pablo Picasso review with several of the striking, detailed illustrations
I enjoyed Isaac Asimov's aptly named short story The Gentle Vultures about aliens waiting for us to blow ourselves to kingdom come. I share his anti-nuclear-war sentiments.
4★ Link to my review of Gentle Vultures with a link to this very short story online
I greatly look forward to the discussion about Cloud Cuckoo Land! I'll just say that I've finished the book and loved it.
I should be finished with Cuckoo Land, but there was a big interruption. I'm about half-way. Just now it is ranking below All the Light We Cannot See , which bums me a bit.
It gets better as it goes Tonya. The first part was confusiing because of the introduction of multiple story lines and time shifts. Once I got that straight I got wrapped up in the story telling.
Ann, I agree with your comment about CLOUD CUCKOO LAND. I read the first 3 chapters twice in order to get the structure and the characters settled in my mind. Since then I’ve been enjoying it very much.
Sue wrote: "Paul, I attended a virtual book talk for the Personal Librarian and am interested in reading that someday. I also read multiple books at once and currently am close to completing Shadow of Spain by..."I chose to read The Personal Librarian because I had previously read a biography of Edward Curtis, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher about the ethnographer of the American Indians whose photography provided the best record of the numerous Native American cultures across North America. Curtis, whose works you have seen even if you do not realize it, financed his work through the patronage of J.P.Morgan through the insights of his personal librarian, Belle daCosta Greene, the subject of this novel. I have only read halfway through so far and have not yet come across any reference to Curtis or Morgan's patronage of him which began in 1906. Since you do seem to enjoy biographical books, I encourage you to consider Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher about a man who made an important contribution to American history. Actually, the section on the infamous 'Custer's Last Stand' alone is worth reading.
Resistance Women – Jennifer Chiaverini – 3.5***
This is a work of historical fiction concentrating on the women who worked in Germany as part of the resistance movement to thwart Hitler’s ambitions. I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. The novel spans the time from June 1929 to the year following the end of the war, 1946. I had to wonder at times, whether Chiaverini was lifting certain phrases and descriptions of the political climate that led to the rise of Nazism from current-day news reporting and commentary. It was chillingly familiar.
My full review HERE
Paul, thanks for mentioning that book. I believe that is one of the neglected books on my shelves. I will now definitely have to fit it in over the next couple of months. I had no idea of this connection.
Women's words - finally found? Imaginative Aussie author Pip Williams's young character, Esme, wants to put together The Dictionary of Lost Words. Why were all the ignored words for, by, and about women considered dirty? (Many still are.)
4★ Link to my Dictonary of Lost Words review
I'm currently reading Consumed by L. Wild, My Grandmother's Hand by Resmma Menakem, and Send Me by B. Love.
“O” Is For Outlaw – Sue Grafton – 4****
Book # 15 in the popular Alphabet series starring private investigator (and former cop) Kinsey Millhone. I love that the series is set in a time before computers and cell phones, when investigators (whether police or private detectives) needed to be both inventive and persistent in tracking down all the leads and possibilities.
My full review HERE
Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia – 3***
This is not the kind of book I normally read, but I was fascinated by the story and gripped by the tension. The atmosphere is dark and chilling. It reminded me a bit of The Ruins by Scott Smith, and/or Stephen King’s The Shining . But it entirely Moreno-Garcia’s own story. I did wonder why she incorporated an English family with their English-style mansion; perhaps she felt her readers wouldn’t identify with malevolence in an adobe hacienda.
My full review HERE
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I've decided to read some of the 'good' books I somehow missed when they were published, and the 1995 Pulitzer winner, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields was one. What a..."Patty, I also like Carol Shields , for another by her I recommend Larry's Party and Unless
Book Concierge wrote: "Mexican Gothic
– Silvia Moreno-Garcia – 3***
This is not the kind of book I normally read, but I was fascinated by the story and gripped by the tension. The ..."
I have it on my TBR list
Sue wrote: "I also read multiple books ...The Truth and Other Stories by Stanislaw Lem, science fiction, .... and The Village of Eight Graves, a Japanese mystery...."I've always wanted to read more Stanislav Lem,. Have you read the other Yokomizo Seishi Detective Kosuke Kindaichi Series? I read the second The Inugami Clan.
I also noticed a few you had either commented on or marked recently from Peirene Press https://www.peirenepress.com which a friend just introduced me to , one was The Murder of Halland but I can't remember what the other one was. I just wondered if you had 'discovered' this translation press. They seem quite good. All short novellas of under 200 pages. Thought the idea might be up your street. I'm just reading The Dead Lake by Hamid Ismailov an exiled Uzbek journalist from Kyrgyzstan.
As with all translations the translator is important in this case it is Andrew Bromfield who has translated some other Russian, Ukrainian writers I have read including a series by Kazak sci-fi writer Sergei Lukyanenko starting with Night Watch. It is sort of a vampire story, good v evil, light v dark, I loved them and also have them as movies https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403358/ directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who also directed the recent excellent movie Profile https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7826276/ starring my actor of the moment Shazad Latif, about a woman investigating ISIS brides who goes online undercover and gets in contact with smooth and nasty recuiter played by Latif.
Sheila wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I've decided to read some of the 'good' books I somehow missed when they were published, and the 1995 Pulitzer winner, The Stone Diaries ..."Patty, I also like Carol Shields. For another by her I recommend Larry's Party and Unless
Thanks for that, Sheila. I'll go look them up!
I loved Aussie author Christian White's latest novel Wild Place. The local Neighbourhood Watch group gets a little too active during the 1989 Christmas holidays when a teen disappears. 
5★ Link to my Wild Place review
Jeffery Deaver's short story, Captivated, is a prequel to his Colter Shaw series. Shaw is using some old-school tactics - actual maps and interviews - to find a missing wife.
3.5★ Link to my review of Captivated
I’m halfway into THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles.
Larry wrote: "I’m halfway into THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles."Larry, We are about to start discussion on the Short Story Thread on Amor Towles story The Line available online, see https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... The discussion hasn't kicked off yet so you'd have plenty of time to read it :)
Thanks, Sheila. I’ll read anything by Towles.
Sheila, this is my first time reading Lem. I understand he’s almost a cult-like figure and certainly seems ahead of his time. I have read the Honjin Murders which is the first in that series of mysteries, published by Pushkin here. I make a point of looking at what they have on NetGalley as they are different and interesting, from all over the world.
The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides – 3.5***
Eugenides’ debut work focuses on one family in a Detroit suburb. The five Lisbon sisters chafe against their mother’s strict rules and attract the attention of the neighborbood boys. Eugenides can write characters that fairly jump off the page, they are so real and so passionate about their feelings. But this book is somewhat different. There is an ethereal quality to this novel. We never really know what happens inside the Lisbon home, we have only the memories of men who, some twenty years later, cannot let go of the events of that year. What they remember most clearly is how they felt – their hopes, dreams, passions, fears. And although they witnessed the girls’ final acts, they are haunted by what they did not – and never will – know.
My full review HERE
I loved Geographies of the Heart by Caitlin Hamilton Summie. She writes wonderful short stories, but this is her first novel.
4.5~5★ Link to my review of Geographies of the Heart
How disappointing. I have enjoyed many of Aussie author Di Morrissey's historical fiction novels, but this contemporary one, Before the Storm, seems embarrassingly amaeurish as well as preachy. Could do better.
2.5★ Link to my review of Before the Storm
I recommend The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans, a collection of stories and a novella. I've given it 5*****. Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Yellow Wallpaper and Selected Writings – Charlotte Perkins Gilman – 4****
The title short story is Gilman’s classic story of a woman driven mad by her husband’s controlling “remedy” for her post-partum depression. . First published in 1892, Gilman’s story ignited some controversy, and she has been hailed as a feminist. She certainly is that. Frankly, I was not a great fan of this story and dreaded reading the rest of the collection as a result, but I’m glad I persisted. The stories celebrate the advantages of living a full life, identifying one’s strengths and nurturing those talents, and following one’s dreams. While the focus is on women – how they are repressed, how they overcome, how they succeed – more than one man benefits from adapting to a change in traditional roles.
My full review HERE
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I am currently reading Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, which will be discussed on Constant Reader later this month.