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2023 Independent Challenges
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Ioana's 2023 Independent Challenge
Michelle wrote: "Even when you give a less than stellar review, you tweak my interest in another nonfiction. You are my best nonfiction resource. If Ioana liked it I better try to get it on the hold list."Awwww, thank you. It was good, informative, but no emotion. I can't imagine I read about such a horrible event, the girls involved in it, and not even once had teary eyes. And I don't need much to get emotional...
Mod
How did I not find them until now???"
YT is not popular or talked about. To me, it seems specific to the user. If you are looking for docs on poverty, there is a rabbit hole of info on YT; if you're looking for dance videos, there is a rabbit hole for that; so on, and so on. I watch YT more than regular tv; which I don't watch at all.
Alondra wrote: "YT is not popular or talked about. To me, it seems specific to the user. If you are looking for docs on poverty, there is a rabbit hole of info on YT; if you're looking for dance videos, there is a rabbit hole for that; so on, and so on. I watch YT more than regular tv; which I don't watch at all."I agree. I've been through some rabbit holes myself. Easy to fall through, hard to come out. But you're right, it's not like FB where stuff you don't want gets thrown at you, you need to actually go look for it.
But wow, so many documentaries, now I need an extra life to watch YT 😱
Christine. I've never seen the movie and I've read the blurb long time ago, when I added this to my TBR, so I didn't know what to expect. Imagine my surprise...Christine is a car! The car is a "she"! I really enjoyed this, but like other SK books, I think it could've been 100 pages shorter. Nevertheless, a very entertaining story, because he's a great storyteller and the audiobook was very well narrated. 3 stars.
Babel: An Arcane History is a lot more than a fantasy story in an academic 1830s Oxford setting. Actually, the setting is the only part of the fantasy. The rest, the social, economic and linguistic aspects are all real. Important topics are discussed: being a non-white in a white society/group, being a woman in a male-dominated society/group, how to change a set social order (can it be done peacefully, or does it require a revolution?), colonization viewed from both the colonizer's and the colonized's perspective, and so much more. On top of all this, so much linguistic history, origin of words and certain idioms, my head is spinning, and in a good way. Highly recommended, 4 stars. Maybe 4.5 even.
Ioana wrote: "Babel: An Arcane History is a lot more than a fantasy story in an academic 1830s Oxford setting. Actually, the setting is the only part of the fantasy. The rest, the social, economi..."Glad to hear you enjoyed Babel. It was a four star read for me too. There is a lot in there to unpack.
Michelle wrote: "Glad to hear you enjoyed Babel. It was a four star read for me too. There is a lot in there to unpack."I agree. This reader who generally does not enjoy fantasy, really enjoyed this one.
Ioana wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Glad to hear you enjoyed Babel. It was a four star read for me too. There is a lot in there to unpack."I agree. This reader who generally does not enjoy fantasy, really enjoyed t..."
It's a rare author who can write a unique and interesting fantasy story and still combine it with so much real world social commentary.
Ioana wrote: "Have you read any of her other books?"No but the new one looks equally tempting.
Lea wrote: "I'm hoping to start Babel: An Arcane History today. I'm excited to hear how much you liked it!"I hope you'll like it. I feel like I need to read it again, and take notes on all the sections about the origin of certain words. Those parts were fascinating.
Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction. If anyone deserves to be called a "trailblazer", it's Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt. What an amazing life, passion, career and legacy. We owe her so much!!
I did not know when I started it that Paula was a NF book. I was familiar with Isabel Allende's fiction books, so this one was a surprise.When her daughter becomes sick of? from? porphyria, a rare genetic disease, her mother, Isabel Allende starts writing a book. It's about their family's history, Chile's history as she lived it, her life and thoughts, things she hopes to someday share with her daughter, when she would recover.
It's written in 2 basically long chapters: the first one when hope is still present, written as a story told to Paula. The 2nd one when reality hits and she realizes Paula will never recover, written in a different tone, more somber and heart breaking.
There are a lot of intertwined paragraphs, not always following in chronological order, but the way we talk...jumping from an idea to another, from a thought to another. However overall, a continuous thread keeps it all together.
As always, beautifully written. 4 stars.
Wrong Place Wrong Time. I almost DNF'ed it after the first few chapters, but decided to keep reading. So glad I did.Time loop/time travel kind of book, when Jen, the mother, witnesses her almost adult son stab and kill somebody.
The next day she wakes up on day -1, then day -2....and so on, going back in time, learning new things about her family and their relationships, further and further back to understand what triggered this and if it's possible to change the future.
A very entertaining read, 4 stars.
I just got The Empress of the Nile back from the library. I've enjoyed what I've read so far. Love reading about people I've never heard of; but should have!
Patricia wrote: "I just got The Empress of the Nile back from the library. I've enjoyed what I've read so far. Love reading about people I've never heard of; but should have!"Good point, Patricia! And the more we read, the more we realize there are so many people and events worth knowing about that we've never heard of! Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt was one of those people.
The Pawn New 1st in series that I really enjoyed. Nicely paced, good story, and a Special Agent (Patrick Bowers) that has good opportunities to grow and evolve (a daughter, maybe a love interest) in the following books.
Mod
Christine was hilarious. The best part of the book (view spoiler)
LOL
Alondra wrote: "Christine was hilarious. The best part of the book (view spoiler)"LOL, so true! I did not see that coming 🤣
Collision Course: The Classic Story of the Collision of the Andrea Doria and the StockholmYes, I knew about the Andrea Doria name (the boat, not the man) but nothing beyond that. This is the story of how/why the accident happened, the main characters, the rescue of the passengers, the aftermath, including the maritime code changes and the dives/divers to the wreckage. Really interesting, 3.5 stars
It's been a while, so here is a mid-Aug updateLightning Down: A World War II Story of Survival. Interesting WW2 story about a downed pilot who ended up in Buchenwald. I had no idea military personnel was not treated as POWs, but sent to an extermination camp. The descriptions are raw and gruesome, what these men endured is beyond imagination. 3.5 stars, because it took too long for the story to find its rhythm.
The Family Upstairs. It was ok. Not bad, it kept me interested, and I am debating if to read the 2nd book in the series or not. 3 stars.
Lady Tan's Circle of Women Set in 15th century China, this reminded me of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but it did not match it. I enjoyed it, but I could not help reading it based on my values now, and wanting to scream at Yunxian and shake her. (view spoiler)
I feel Lisa See made this society prettier, less controversial than it probably was. 3 stars.
Looks like you're having a hard time finding that "perfect" or just great book. lol I really enjoyed The Family Upstairs as well as the next one. You definitely have to like a bit of crazy to like them.
I don't know if you do audio or have already read this one, but The Night She Disappeared is excellent on audio. Narrated by Joanne Froggatt (of Downton Abby fame).
Patricia wrote: "Looks like you're having a hard time finding that "perfect" or just great book. lol I really enjoyed The Family Upstairs as well as the next one. You definitely have to like a bit ..."
LOL, it surely looks like that. I'm not in a reading slump, but I can't find that book to not be able to put down. I'm still searching...
Yes, I do audiobooks a lot, and The Night She Disappeared is on my TBR, I'll give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation.
Sorry to hear that Lady Tan's Circle of Women wasn't as good as you hoped. I will get to it eventually, but I am not going to rush. I have been also looking at The Family Upstairs - I haven't read anything by Jewell yet. It looks like everything you're reading should stay on my TBR, but I don't need to rearrange everything. :-)
Lea wrote: "Sorry to hear that Lady Tan's Circle of Women wasn't as good as you hoped. I will get to it eventually, but I am not going to rush. I have been also looking at The Family Upstairs - I haven't read ..."I agree. None of these were bad, but not earth shattering either. Lady Tan was fine, but I did not get emotionally invested in it as I was in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. For me, a 5 stars books needs that.
The Family Upstairs was my first Lisa Jewell too, and I'll read more of her books; I just don't feel the need to rush to it.
When in doubt, go to something familiar. Two Kinds of Truth was perfect (familiar) but not the 5 stars I was looking for.I think this book that actually spans over 5 maybe 6 or 7 with the intro in the book, took a whole season in the TV show 🤣
A good, entertaining boo. 3.5 stars
The list of 3-stars reads continue. None of these were bad, and none were amazing. I'm glad I read them, but the search for the next 4-5 stars continues.Ghosts Of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad Interesting non-fiction book, about the Chinese workers, their lives and struggles while building the US Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. Unfortunately, had too many dry chapters...
Think of a Number 1st in a new series, that looks promising, even though I found some of detective's Dave Gurney deductions a little bit too stretched. Leaping from A to B was a little bit too much at times, but it was entertaining.
Go Tell It on the Mountain I had high hopes for this, and it may be the monotonous tone of the audiobook that made me take an extra star from it. This was one of those books that have an interesting premise and a poor delivery, it just felt disjoined.
Falling A book club read, where you know from the 1st page how the book will end. All the characters are either black or white, very good or very bad, depending on who they are: Americans or terrorists. But a page turner, and it was a fun read for a couple of summer days.
The Drifter 1st in a new series, and I enjoyed it. We get to know Peter Ash, some of his history, some of his current ailments (he's an Afghanistan/Iraq vet, so he deals with some issues) and I'm curious to learn more, and even if the story was somewhat predictable, it was good. 3.5 starsConqueror the 5th and last in a very good series, which follows the Mongol empire from Genghis Khan to Kublai Khan. Really fascinating, and I will definitely read the author's other series about the Ancient Rome and The War of Roses. 4 stars.
Mod
I hate when that happens. I usually have such high hopes for a read, and when the pacing tanks or the plot is ridiculous, I just tune out.
I hope next month is better for you.
I know I am getting stingyer with my stars, but I've only had 2 5-stars books this year. Then almost equal numbers of 3 and 4 stars, with the 3 stars winning the race. Not bad, but not what I was hoping for.I know there must be some great books out there...
I had stopped reading Jodi Picoult's books some years ago, but my book club picked Mad Honey for September, so I read it. I enjoyed it, interesting (and important) topic to be discussed with lots of good explanations and information, but it felt long at times and preachy at others. I loved the section about bees, I think I have another book about bees, and I'll look for it. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Mod
You'll find some more 5-star reads. I'm finding the same but am exploring a bit more. Maybe that's the reason?
Bill wrote: "Ioana wrote: "You'll find some more 5-star reads. I'm finding the same but am exploring a bit more. Maybe that's the reason?"Could be...I don't know. I've started a few more series this year, none bad, but none brilliant. Maybe they will get better as the characters get developed more, fingers crossed.
The Hero Two Doors Down: Based on the True Story of Friendship between a Boy and a Baseball Legend Nice little story about Jackie Robinson the man, not the player. Inspired by real events, it's about the friendship between him and a little boy, two doors down the street. Topics about racism, relationships between blacks and whites, Christians and Jews, they are all explored and beautifully handled by Jackie. He was not only a great player, but a great human being too.
My Brilliant Friend I've had this on my TBR for a long time, on and off. No idea why it came off several times, but I'm glad it got back on at some point. It 's the 1st in a series of 4 books following the friendship of 2 women, from early childhood. Set in Naples, Italy in the 50s, this one ends with the wedding of one of the young women, and I'll definitely read the next one. Interesting characters, life situations and writing, recommended. 4 stars.
Ghost Boy: My Miraculous Escape from a Life Locked Inside My Own BodyThis was a fascinating story. Martin Pistorius, 12, comes home from school and in a matter of days becomes bed-ridden, unable to talk, unable to move his arms, hands, legs and nobody can tell why. His brain function is also gone. Many years pass and at some point a nurse realizes his brain is actually functioning. It came back at some point, the coma lifted, but nobody noticed, and he was trapped in his body for years.
There are gruesome stories of abuse, painful times of not being able to tell anyone if something hurts, or food is too hot, or watching Barney on TV over and over again drove him nuts, but in the end he escapes and learns to communicate via an AAC device.
There's more to it, and I really enjoyed it. 4 stars.
End of September update:The Firemaker, my first Peter May book. I really enjoyed this police procedural one, set in China, with lots of references to the Chinese life and culture. Will definitely continue this series. 4 stars.
Saga, Volume 6 and Saga, Volume 7. The story of Marko, Alana and Hazel continues, and it's very good. Another series I will continue, 4 stars.
The Haunting of Hill House is a horror classic, but I did not find it scary at all, which was fine with me, and the progression of the story was nicely paced. I did not love it, but I'm glad I've read it, 3 stars.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City is about a world I know little of. While set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin it can be the same in any major US city, and it's truly sad and disturbing. These are working or disabled people, and not without income. Some are on SSI, some on low paying jobs, but the housing market and the landlords always have the upper hand. Extremely sad and eye-opening, 4 stars.
Mod
The Firemaker, my first Peter May book. I really enjoyed this police procedural one, set in China, with lots of references to the Chinese life and culture. Wi..."
Great update, Ioana.
I agree; Haunting of Hill House is not scary; but it is enjoyable. Glad you checked it off your list.
Alissa wrote: "I LOVE Saga"Yessss, cool story and graphics! I think it was you who suggested it first, so thank you!
Five Little Indians is one of those stories that must be told, read and discussed by all. So we don't repeat this history.It's the story of 5 young children, each removed from their indigenous (Canadian) family to be raised in a residential school, run by white nuns. Each has their own past, their own path of getting out of the school, and their own way to cope with the past and the present. There is torture and abuse, and it's not an easy read.
Unfortunately, I disliked both the writing (both style and content) and the narration. The entire book is written in short sentences, which made the story disjoint and there are big gaps in time that are not explained; the reader needs to figure out that the new chapter is actually years later, but there is no bridge to explain what happened during all the years. 3.5 stars, rounded up because of the topic.
Sounds like you've been reading some important books. I agree re: The Haunting of Hill House. I'm glad I read it, but it won't be a favorite.
Lea wrote: "Sounds like you've been reading some important books. I agree re: The Haunting of Hill House. I'm glad I read it, but it won't be a favorite."Yes, some important ones, and on topics that I didn't know much about. Which makes 18 NF books for the year, so far. Not bad 😉
The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World My personal belief is that in life, many things happen by chance, and a lot of NF books cemented that belief. It is true for a lot of catastrophes, and a lot of achievements. It's hard to talk about Rudolf Vrba as lucky, after all he was a prisoner at Auschwitz, but he was smart and lucky in his attempt to escape. The book is not only about life (and death) at Auschwitz and his escape, but the enormous amount of info he carried in his mind, how he let the world know about what happened there, and what the world did (or didn't do) with that information.The entire book is fascinating, and should be read. 4 solid stars.
Blindsighted No, I did not need to start another series, and I knew from prior books that Karin Slaughter has a sick imagination, but I did start another series of hers. It did not disappoint, and could not put it down. I will continue the series for sure. 4 stars
I'm hoping to read The Escape Artist this month!! I'm so glad to hear that you thought it was fascinating. We can discuss when I finish. I'm NOT looking at any of the Karin Slaughter series at this time. No, I'm NOT. :-) :-) :-)
Lea wrote: "I'm NOT looking at any of the Karin Slaughter series at this time. No, I'm NOT. :-) :-) :-)"Hmmm, maybe you should 🤔
Bastard Out of Carolina is only my 2nd 5 star book this year. Well, technically a 4.5 stars rounded up, but well deserved. Set in South Carolina, told from Bone's (who's 13) point of view this book is about so many things...poverty, family, child abuse, physical and sexual, life in general, and life in a poor white southern family, where children abound and men are short tempered, drink and have a hard time holding a job; a low paying job. It's dark and depressing and heart wrenching, but it kept me interested and invested.
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Even when you give a less than stellar review, you tweak my interest in another nonfiction. You are my best nonfiction resource. If Ioana liked it I better try to get it on the hold list.