What Are You Reading / Reviews - January thru June 2023

[Book Concierge]

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Read any good books lately? We want to know about them.
How about real stinkers? We want to know about those too!


Enter your reading list and/or reviews here. Did you like it? Hate it? Feel lukewarm?

Share your thoughts with us.

Happy reading!

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[Sheila]

Have to recommend Christmas Traditions, Truths and Total Baubles by Nick Page. 5/5

It was one of the funniest books I've read.

Here's the review:

Nick Page takes the traditions of Christmas and shows us when they began, why they began, where they began, and what is myth.

I had so much fun reading this. I laughed out loud throughout the book. He is snarky. He is tongue-in-cheek. And he has it documented in the back of the book! I loved the way he parodied A CHRISTMAS CAROL and its ghosts as he takes Scrooge and the Ghost-of-Christmas-that-never-was through the myths and truths of Christmas. The carols he talks of are a hoot as is everything we think of tradition is from the Nativity to Christmas trees to mistletoe, etc.

This is one book everyone should have on their shelves to read as it is a blast for required Christmas reading!

[Book Concierge]

Paper Money – Ken Follett – 2.5**
Before he rocketed to fame with Eye of the Needle , Ken Follett published a couple of crime novels under a pseudonym: Zachary Stone. In this one he explores how crime, high finance and journalism are connected through corruption, with the action taking place in a single day. The relatively small volume is tightly packed, with a dozen (or more) characters and a complex plot, which tested my ability to focus. I’m not sure the mid-1970s plot has stood the test of time very well.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Flower Net – Lisa See – 3***
Before she rocketed to fame with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan See wrote a short series of mysteries, of which this is the first. What I liked most about this book was the look at China – from karaoke bars to the neighborhoods housing the working class, from high-powered businessmen to prostitutes, See gave the reader a look under the blanket of the typical tourist-friendly experience. The plot is convoluted and full of twists and turns, as much political intrigue as murder mystery. Not her best book, but it held my attention.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Sweetness of Water – Nathan Harris – 5*****
In his debut work, Harris explores rural Georgia shortly after the end of the Civil War, when slaves had been emancipated and Union soldiers moved in to enforce the terms of surrender and “reconstruct” the South. Full of complex characters and gripping scenes that move the plot forward, this is a marvelous debut. Harris explores moral dilemmas and the difficulties of trying to do the right thing against a post-war upheaval and tension. He gives us characters with strong principles who can be blind to their flaws, some of whom overcome and some who give in to those weaknesses.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Sheila wrote: "Have to recommend Christmas Traditions, Truths and Total Baubles by Nick Page. 5/5

It was one of the funniest books I've read.

Here's the review:

Nick Page takes the traditions of Christmas and ..."

Sounds interesting. Have you read The Battle for Christmas? It's another good book about the origins of Christmas, not intended to be funny but it couldn't help it.

[James]

Widukindus Corbeius, Rerum gestarum Saxonicarum libri tres Book II [967?] 38 pages [HTML, Biblioteca Augustana] [in Latin]

Following the death of Henry and the naming of Otto as his successor, there were rebellions by the Hungarians, Slavs, and other peoples who had been subjugated by Henry, as well as civil dissensions among the Saxons, the most important of which were led by Otto's brothers, first Thancmar and later on Henry junior. For the first decade of his reign, Otto was continually at war to hold together the empire of his father and keep it under his own power. That is the content of this second book. At the end of the book, he has defeated all his enemies and reconciled with his brother Henry (Thancmar was killed in his rebellion.)

The style is basically the same as Book I, although the facts being contemporary are presented more straightforwardly and soberly, for the most part. One exception is Duke Henry Junior's war with Count Immo over Immo's stealing of Henry's pigs. Immo escapes from a seige by Henry by throwing down beehives on Henry's horses, who go crazy from being stung so that Henry has to abandon the seige. This sounds like a folk story. (Widukind does actually say that he doesn't know whether this story is true or false.)

The book ends with the death of Queen Edith in 946.

[James]

Widukindus Corbeius, Rerum gestarum Saxonicarum libri tres Book III [973] 54 pages [HTML, Biblioteca Augustana] [in Latin]

At the beginning of the third book, Otto wages new wars against the Franks and the eastern barbarians, and his son Liudolf campaigns in Italy, extending the empire. In this book Otto is referred to as the emperor rather than the king. King Luthwic dies, and Otto marries his widow. Then a new rebellion breaks out led by his son and heir Liudolf, which occupies most of the first part of the book. This part is very condensed and difficult to follow, whether because Widukind assumes his readers will already know most of the facts or because he doesn't want to discuss things at length which would still be painful memories to Otto, and to Mathilda, to whom the book is dedicated. Understanding this section well would really require some prior knowledge of the history which I don't have.

After Otto's reconciliation with Liudolf, the book turns to further wars with the barbarians (and if they are barbarians compared to the Saxons, one can imagine how bad they are); the narration once again becomes fairly easy to follow. The main villain in this part is a certain Wichmannus who makes alliances with the barbarians. There are further wars in Italy and against the Byzantines and Saracens.

One manuscript ends with the death of Wichmannus in chapter 69; the other manuscripts continue for another seven chapters to the death of virtually everyone important in the book, ending with the death of Otto himself and the coronation of Otto II. It isn't known certainly whether these seven chapters are by Widukind himself or by a continuator.

[Book Concierge]

Whip Hand – Dick Francis – 3***
Book # 2 in the Sid Halley series. The plot is intricate and includes a couple of different mysteries, both of which involve unscrupulous business dealings and which involve Sid’s two loves: his ex-wife Jenny and thoroughbred racing. Sid is forced to face his greatest fears and answer for himself: Is there anything you’re afraid of?
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

ver:
Lady In Waiting – Anne Glenconner – 3.5***
Subtitle: My Extraordinary Life In the Shadow of the Crown. Glenconner has spent her life as an intimate friend of the royal family. As a child she played with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. She served as a Maid of Honor for Elizabeth II’s Coronation, and as Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret. She was married to Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, and they bought an developed the Caribbean island, Mustique – THE place where Jet-setters escaped in the 1970s-‘80s. A fascinating autobiography.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Edwin A. Abbott, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions [1884] 83 pages

Whenever I read a popular science book which deals with speculations about string theory and extra dimensions, it always mentions this classic little book from the nineteenth century. This time, I decided to check it out from the library and read it, which only required a couple hours. It is very short, and a fun read. The premise is that a being called A. Square, who lives in a two-dimensional world called Flatland, is visited by a three-dimensional creature called The Sphere. At first the Square cannot understand the concept of a third dimension, until the Sphere actually lifts him up and he can see the whole of Flatland from above. The Sphere explains to him that just as a point moving in one direction creates a line, and the line moving parallel to itself produces a square, so by analogy a square moving parallel to itself in another direction (which to a Flatlander is invisible) can create a cube, or a circle a sphere. Once the Square has understood the analogy, he immediately asks the Sphere to show him the Fourth Dimension, which must exist by the same analogy; the Sphere indignantly replies that there can only be three dimensions. The point of course is that the Sphere's refusal to accept a Fourth (and higher) dimensions is as much a limited perspective as the Flatlander's refusal to accept the Third Dimension. Even more modern sounding is the suggestion that Flatland actually must have a third dimension which is too small to be perceived, and the three dimensional world must have a small fourth dimension.

However, therr is much more to this little book than the reasoning about dimensions. The account of Flatland is actually a biting satire on the British aristocracy and the crushing of the Chartist movement (Universal color = Universal suffrage), as well as the treatment of women and various other subjects which were topical when the book was written, and many of which still are.

[Book Concierge]

This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing – Jacqueline Winspear – 4****
Jacqueline Winspear, perhaps best known for her Maisie Dobbs cozy mystery series, turns to autobiography / memoir in this wonderful work. With honesty, humor, tenderness and compassion she explores her family background and her own childhood in the English countryside. I doubt I would have picked up this heartfelt and touching memoir were it not a book-club selection. I’m so glad I read it, and I think knowing Winspear’s own background will give me additional insight into her fictional characters.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Naughty in Nice – Rhys Bowen – 3***
Book five in the Her Royal Spyness cozy mystery series had Lady Georgiana Rannoch headed to the Riviera to try to retrieve a snuffbox that has been stolen from Queen Mary’s collection. I came late to this party, but I’m really enjoying this series. Bowen took inspiration from some real-life historical coincidences to build her mystery. Coco Chanel really did spend time in Nice with her business partner Vera Bate Lombardi; she really did put on a fashion show that featured jewels on loan from Queen Mary. I enjoyed hobnobbing with these people as much as Georgie did!
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Boxcar Children – Gertrude Chandler Warner – 4****
This is the first in a very popular series for children. First published in 1942 it introduces readers to the four orphaned siblings: Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny. They may be alone except for one another but they are very resourceful and work well as a team. It’s a grand adventure and a charming story with a happy ending.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Neither Here Nor There – Bill Bryson – 2**
Subtitle: Travels in Europe. First published in 1993, this is not aged well. I’ve read several of Bryson’s books and found some of them hugely entertaining. But not this one. He seems far too snide and complaining, the “Ugly American” come to life.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Being Dead Is No Excuse – Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays – 3***
"The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral" is charming and has some great casserole recipes. Metcalfe and Hays have crafted a charming book on the etiquette of funerals in the South, specifically in the Delta, from the proper hymns to sing, to the use of Cream of Mushroom soup, to the power of the restorative cocktail. They sprinkle in a wealth of anecdotes on colorful friends and relatives who have had proper send-offs and give us the recipes to create our own funeral masterpieces. Funny and informative.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Cooking With My Sisters – Adriana Trigiani – 3***
Trigiani is well-known for her fiction, frequently drawing from her family history to draw her characters and launch her plots. This book is a combination of memoir and cookbook, in which she relates many family stories and provides the recipes that bring back those memories. A delicious treat.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Anxious People – Fredrik Backman – 3***
It starts with a really bad idea born of desperation, follows a group of strangers at an apartment viewing who are now hostages, and the two police officers (father and son), who are trying to find the truth. It’s a bit chaotic, much as the real-life scenario would be, and the reader is kept guessing as to what really happened for most of the book. The ending is totally unrealistic, but nonetheless satisfying, as befits a fable.
LINK to my full review

[Melissa]

Broken (Will Trent #4) by Karin Slaughter
4 ★

Will Trent travels to Grant County to investigate the death of an inmate and finds more than he bargained for. The police department is still recovering from the violent death of their police chief and is not happy to have Agent Trent around.

The last book in the Grant County series broke my heart and I was very hesitant to start another series by Karin Slaughter. I was convinced by my Goodreads friends to give Will Trent a try and I have enjoyed it. This book was no exception. It brought back a lot of heartbreaking memories from the Grant County series and I did have to put the book down a few times when the events around Chief Tolliver’s death were mentioned. I am glad that the author revisited the incident so that her readers could get some closure.
Dr. Sara Linton has a lot to deal with in this book. She returns to Grant County for the holidays and gets involved in the death investigation of an inmate. An inmate who was being charged with the murder of a college student. She is also very adamant that she wants nothing to do with Lena Adams. She knows in her heart that Lena is why Jeffery Tolliver is dead. Sara is a great partner for Will, though. They worked very well together. Sara knows how to work with Will’s dyslexia without making him feel stupid.
Lena has not changed a bit and is still doing things her way regardless of the effects on other people. Once again people get hurt when they are around her. She does finally make some changes and admits to what she has done, but in the last chapter she turns right back around. She’ll never learn.
This was a really good mystery. There were many twists and turns. Things came together slowly and I missed many clues throughout, but the ending was fast paced and explained most of what was going on. I had no questions at the end. I am very excited to see what happens between Sara and Will, though. There seemed to be “something” there.

[Book Concierge]

Cathedral Of the Sea – Ildefonso Falcones – 4****
Spanish journalists / reviewers have called Falcones “Spain’s new Dan Brown” or proclaimed “A new Ken Follett is born!” I can certainly see why those comparisons are made. This is an epic historical novel focusing on one character’s connection to the church, and more importantly to the Virgin Mary. It’s an engaging story that kept me turning pages – all 611 of them!
LINK to my full review

[James]

Naguib Mahfouz, The Journey of Ibn Fattouma [1983, tr. 1992] 148 pages

In this short political fable, the protagonist, Ibn Fattouma, angry because a powerful flunky of the Sultan has taken the woman he is engaged to, leaves his homeland, a fairly normal if corrupt Islamic country, and journeys in search of the utopian land of Gebel. In the course of his travels, he visits various flawed utopian and dystopian societies: one with sexual freedom (Mashriq), one with an all-powerful ruler (Haira), one with complete freedom but no economic justice (Halba), one with economic justice but no freedom (Aman), one totally mystical (Ghuroub). He marries twice, and spends twenty years in prison. The book ends with him on the verge of entering the supposed utopia of Gebel. Definitely one of Mahfouz' best.

[Melissa]

Forestfall (World at the Lake’s Edge #2) by Lyndall Clipstone
4 ★

Some oaths can never be broken…
Violeta Graceling sacrificed herself to end the Corruption. She now lives in the world Below with the Lord Under and she must find a way to get back home. She is still connected to Rowan by a tether spell and will do anything and everything she can to return to him.

I was so very excited to go back to Lakesedge and everyone who resides there. I was eager to find out what actually happened to Leta when she destroyed the Corruption. The Lord Under used Leta, but she gets him back. This story is very dark and haunting. There are parts of the world Below that are so beautiful and others that make you want to hide. The story was also very interesting. I was intrigued by the others who resided in the world Below and also how they were able to change their appearance so that you were unable to see their true self.
Violeta did irritate a bit though. Every time the Lord Under told he stay at her “home” and not wander into the forest, she would disobey and end up getting into some pretty serious trouble. I could see doing it once, maybe twice, but after a while you just want to slap her because she ends up getting the Lord Under in trouble. I know he wasn’t the best person, but he did end up growing on me. Leta, too.
There is a lot that goes on in the second part of the book that really had me hooked. It ended on a positive note with a twist. I know this was probably only a duology, but I wouldn’t mind if the author decided to revisit Lakesedge in the future.

[Book Concierge]

The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles – 4****
This is a quest and a road trip, a saga of family and friendship, an exploration of morals and principles against temptations which are seemingly impossible to resist. It begins when Emmett and his younger brother Billy decide to set out for California and a new start in life. But their plan gets derailed when two friends show up and suggest a “side trip” to New York. The result is an odyssey worthy of Homer, but rather than ten years, THIS odyssey takes only ten days. I loved these characters, though I am not sure I like the ending, which leaves the reader to imagine what will happen next, and hungry for more details of future adventures.
LINK to my full review

[Koren]

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman
3 stars


I can't say I'm a major Paul Newman fan. Paul Newman died in 2008, before he finished this memoir, and his family finished the project for him. If you are a fan, I think you will like this book, although he is not always the nice guy you think he is. The title An Extraordinary life, I don't feel is accurate. Having read many celebrity memoirs, I didn't feel that this one was the most interesting. I did like that he didn't dwell overly long on making his movies, and instead focused more on his personal life. Hats off to him for donating all of his profits from his salad dressing business to charity.

[Book Concierge]

The Big Door Prize – M.O. Walsh – 3***
My F2F book club chose this book for discussion; I knew nothing going into it and expected a charming, quirky character-driven ensemble of small-town Southern America. I got some of that, certainly, but so much more. There are some pretty heavy issues here, including unrealized dreams, peer pressure, drug abuse, and grief. There are scenes that are introspective and give the reader some insight into what these characters are thinking. Other scenes are light-hearted and break the tension. And there are very dramatic scenes that made me afraid to look, and more afraid to look away.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Koren wrote: "The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman
3 stars
..."

Thanks for your review. I'm not big on celebrity memoirs, in general, but I do have an interest in Paul Newman. My college roommate's family were neighbors and she and her younger sister frequently babysat the Newman's girls.

[Book Concierge]

Stay Where You Are, Then Leave – John Boyne – 3.5***
The Great War (WWI) began on Alfie Summerfield’s 5th birthday, with the result that few people attended his birthday party. That was okay … more cake for Alfie! This is a book suitable for middle-school children, but deals with some serious issues, including poverty among the families of fighting men, conscientious objectors and “shell shock” (now called PTSD). Alfie is a marvelous character. He’s curious, intelligent, a hard worker, resourceful and tenacious.
LINK to my full review

[Sheila]

I recommend Horse by Geraldine Brooks. 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of racehorse Lexington considered the greatest racehorse of the Civil War era. It is also the story of his groom, Jarret, and the men who owned and sold them both. It is also the story of the people today and how those men and that horse still follow us today.

Jarret is there when Lexington (nee Darnley) is born. He raises the horse from his childhood through both their adulthoods. There is a trust and bond between them. There is only one period when they are separated and problems arise with Lexington because of poor handling. When Jarret is called to help with Lexington, he will never again give up control over the horse. He fights to keep the horse under his control. He is so strong in those moments that his masters do not even attempt to take Lexington away or punish Jarret for standing up to them. They know he is right. I appreciated Jarret's thoughts during those times as well as when Mary Barr Clay, the granddaughter of the first owner of Lexington, and Thomas J. Scott, the painter who immortalized Lexington on canvas, speak to him of freedom. He knows how it is for him no matter how unfair. He is also aware of what life is like after the war for him and the others who were grooms and jockeys and trainers before and during the war. He speaks his mind to the editor of Turf, Field and Farm, a magazine focusing on horseracing.

There is also two other stories from 1956 and 2019. Both these stories focus on the paintings Scott did of Lexington and gave to Jarret. The 1956 story is Martha Jackson's tale of how she got the painting. The 2019 story is Theo's story of how he ended up with one of the paintings. It tells of his research into the painting and Lexington. Jess's story is wound around his as she is the researcher who helps Catherine find Lexington's skeleton in the attics of the Smithsonian. Between Jess, Catherine, and Theo, their discovery of the skeleton determines the horse has been put together wrong and Jess rectifies it.

This is also a story of how the sins of the past are still with us today. Theo pays the price for those sins just as Jarret paid the price as did his father for those sins. No matter how good, smart, or talented these black men are or were in their jobs, they are not seen beyond their skin color. There is a justifiable anger in Jarret and Theo that only those who go through it can understand. While Theo's friend tries to explain to Jess, she, and many of us readers, don't comprehend these feelings and the ability to hold them in check. I was not happy with Theo's ending, but I see where it was important to the story. Everything in interconnected no matter how much we deny it or wish it were not.

[Book Concierge]

This House Is Haunted – John Boyne – 3***
It is 1867 and Eliza Caine, whose father has just died and left her virtually penniless, responds to an advertisement for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall in Norfolk, England. In this work, Boyne focuses his considerable talent on writing a classic gothic ghost story, with a writing style that is reminiscent of Dickens and Bronte. Eliza is a great heroine. The big climax is a bit overdramatic, though typical of the genre. But the ending is downright chilling.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Claude Lévi-Strauss, Le cru et le cuit [1964] 402 pages [Kindle, Open Library] [in French]

The first volume of Lévi-Strauss' series Mythologiques, this long book in very small print (not enlargeable in the format Open Library uses) is a classic of twentieth-century anthropology (also available in English translation as The Raw and the Cooked.) He begins by analyzing a myth of the Bororo people (one of the central Brazilian tribes which were the subject of his own fieldwork, described in Les tristes tropiques) about the origins of destructive weather (heavy wind and rains). He then moves to a group of similar myths of neighboring tribes which speak languages of the Gé family, dealing with the origins of (domestic cooking) fire, which have elements in common with the Bororo myth. Throughout the book, he picks up new elements in certain myths and then seeks other myths which contain those elements, ending up discussing groups of myths about (inter alia) the origins of cultivated plants, fishing and hunting with poisons, death and diseases, and the differentiation of various species of animals and birds. In so doing, he also brings in many different regions of Brazil and the Amazon basin, and occasionally analogues from elsewhere in South and North America.

Lévi-Strauss' basic theory of structuralism is that myths (and other cultural traits), like language, are built up from underlying (and pre-conscious) structures of oppositions analogous to phonemes, which are expressed in various "codings" analogous to grammar, then modified by sytematic transformations to provide specific messages (content). Important oppositions include Nature/Culture (which can be coded as the raw and the cooked), Heaven/Earth/Water, Male/Female, Life/Death, Animal/Human/Plant, and so forth. Some categories "mediate" others; thus the cooked mediates between the raw and the spoiled (pourri). He explains the functions of particular birds and animals through the various myths in terms of the oppositions they represent (many myths are about opossums, vultures, jaguars, turtles and armadillos, for example.) His theory is much too complex to summarize in a short review.

Whatever one thinks of structuralism as a theory, this book would be worth reading just for the myths alone.

[Book Concierge]

The Exiles – Christina Baker Kline – 3***
Historical fiction that looks at the issues of “transport” wherein women convicted of crimes were sent to Australia territories to “work off” their sentences. Kline also deals with the issues surrounding colonialist’s treatment of the indigenous population, with the story of Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of an Aboriginal chief, who is taken in by the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania). The treatment these women endured was brutal and dehumanizing, but Kline’s characters band together to support one another and triumph.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Lisa Randall, Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions [2005] 500 pages

A few years ago I read Lisa Randall's 2011 book Knocking on Heaven's Door, which she described as a "prequel" to her 2005 book Warped Passages. I recently found a copy of this in a used book store and added it to my reading list. The later book, as I said in my review, was essentially two different books in one: a description of scientific method and a technical-historical description of the Large Hadron Collider which was then first starting up. It had a bit of the science that the LHC was looking for, but not a great deal, mainly on the Higgs boson. This book, on the other hand, goes into depth (as much as a mid-level popularization without much math can do, of course) about the different speculative theories that the LHC might test. It is one of the better books I have read on the state of speculative physics at the beginning of the present century.

The framework, as the subtitle indicates, is the idea of additional spatial dimensions. After an introductory section briefly explaining the notion of dimensions and the concepts of branes and bulks first proposed on the basis of string theory, and a section outlining relativity and quantum theory which is obligatory for any low to mid-level popular physics book, she turns to her own area of specialization, particle theory, and outlines the Standard Model, symmetry-breaking and the Higgs mechanism, and proposals for Grand Unified Theories, along with the hierarchy problem. This section has some of the clearest explanations I have read of these questions, especially the hierarchy problem, and the book would be worth reading for these chapters alone. Randall, as she explains, comes from particle physics and a "model-building" approach, that is a bottom-up approach which tries to imagine solutions to actual problems in known theories, rather than from the theoretical, top-down approach of deducing consequences from string theory or M-theory, although unless I have misunderstood totally any theory involving branes depends on supersymmetric string theory in some form.

She then gives a somewhat more in-depth explanation of string theory and branes than in the introduction, and proceeds to the last section which outlines various theories of extra dimensions, from the usual string theory account of compactified dimensions in Calabi-Yau spaces (less detailed than in Brian Greene's books) through sequestering and large extra dimensions (ADD model) to her own models of warped dimensions between branes (SR1 and SR2). All this is very interesting speculation which I wasn't previously familiar with, but it is of course unknown whether any of it is relevant to the real world or not; some is obviously just exploring mathematical possibilities for their own sake, but others may be testable.

Here we come to the main problem of the book: it was written nearly two decades ago, before the LHC was completed. Throughout, she points to predictions which she believes will be testable once the LHC is operational: besides the Higgs boson, there should be light supersymmetric particles to solve the hierarchy problem, or Kaluza-Klein particles as indications of extra dimensions, and possibly five-dimensional strings and black holes — the list goes on. Shortly after the LHC went on line, the Higgs boson was discovered. But in the decade since, as the LHC reaches higher and higher energies, no further particles have been found. At all. No light supersymmetric particles, which rules them out as a solution to the hierarchy problem, and while not disproving string theory makes it much less attractive; no evidence at all for extra spatial dimensions, although maybe the evidence is just beyond. So, is the speculation in this book no longer worth reading? I don't think so; the book makes clear why the negative results of the LHC matter, and what theories it does or doesn't rule out, and that is worth knowing. I would like to read a revised edition of this written since the LHC results have come up negative. In the meantime, my next popular science book will be Brian Greene's latest — since he is one of the most enthusiastic popularizers of string theory, I want to see what modifications he has made in his account.

[James]

Paul Kriwaczek, Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization [2010] 310 pages [Kindle Unlimited]

Paul Kriwaczek is a Viennese journalist for the BBC, and amateur historian; his popular histories, based on mostly popular secondary works, are essentially background material for the stories he covers. Thus this history of Mesopotamia begins with Saddam Hussein's attempt to identify his government with the ancient history of Mesopotamia. This book, like most books that have Babylon in the title, is actually about the whole Mesopotamian world from the Sumerian beginnings to the Persian conquest. While given the amount of material available on the period there were bound to be some facts I hadn't come across before, essentially there is nothing in this book that will be new to anyone who has read other books on ancient history. What it is, is an attempt to work the material up into a "story" with a simple "plot" of rise and fall, achievement and decay. It might have been a good book for lay (and mainly younger) readers who might be put off by a "drier" more scholarly popularization, like the books this is based on (van Meerop, Leik, Roux, etc. — I've reviewed most of his "Further Reading" in the past couple years.)

Unfortunately, though, there are two problems I had with it. First, he is relentlessly idealistic. He explicitly rejects the idea that Sumerian culture was a result of material forces, or that it's decline was based on material causes, whether economic, climatic or external. Rather, everything is due to the desire of the Sumerians for change, their ideology of progress. He claims, for example, that the Neolithic Revolution was due to people abandonning an easy, abundant life of hunting and gathering for a harsh and difficult life as farmers just because they wanted to do something new, and then spreading agriculture as a messianic religious ideology. He loves to repeat the word "ideology" as an explanation for anything. As an example, he mentions that the collapse of the Uruk culture has been attributed to climate, war or economics, but that it was really due to a change in attitudes:

"Their world probably collapsed as much because its citizens lost faith in the benefits of their beliefs, the ability of their ideology to assure them a happy and rewarding life, as from any external pressures. The later Sumerians did not remember, or did not choose to remember, any of this. We find no explicit references in the myths, legends and epics that have come down to us."

In other words, this is how it happened but there isn't any evidence. The same thing is true of his explanations of Babylon, Assyria, and so on.

The other problem is that he identifies anything he doesn't like in Mesopotamian culture with the Soviet Union or China, taken out of any context. It's odd to find that kind of obnoxious cold war propaganda in a book written decades after the collapse of the USSR.

The only worthwhile part of the book is "For Further Reading": look at that, then read the books he lists instead of this.

[Book Concierge]

An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good – Helene Tursten – 3***
This was a book group selection so I was expecting a fun romp of a story, and was surprised by the murder. The book is actually a series of short stories, all featuring 88-year-old Maud and her interactions with various neighbors in her apartment building. It’s a fast read with an interesting premise.
LINK to my full review

[Sheila]

The Maid by Nina Prose 5/5

Molly is a maid at the Regencey Grand Hotel. She's different from everyone else who works there. She takes her job seriously. She is very conscientious. When she goes to clean a room, it is spotless when she leaves. She has been giving Juan Manuel, a dishwasher in the hotel's kitchen, a key card for a room every night so he won't be homeless since his work visa expired. She has befriended Giselle Black, one of the hotel's clients. On one of her cleaning jobs, she goes back to clean the bathroom of the Blacks suite which she had cleaned earlier to find the rooms a mess and Mr. Black dead. What is she to do? What happens when the police suspect her?

This was not what I expected. I loved it, but because Molly is different, I got so angry I cried as the police railroaded her. I also cried as she relived things from her past especially her gran's death. I was glad that she had friends to help her. I also loved when she finally put things together in her mind and figured out who was friend and who was foe. I absolutely loved the scene in court when Molly hit one out of the ballpark. Molly sprinkled her gran's sayings throughout the story. When she finally understands it all, she then knows what they meant.

There were a lot of curves thrown my way as the story progressed. I did not expect any of them. I certainly did not have the killer right. But in the end, I think everyone got what they deserved. Molly is not someone I will forget.

[Book Concierge]

The World According to Bertie – Alexander McCall Smith – 3***
Book four in the 44 Scotland Street series continues the varied stories of the current (or former) residents of the apartment complex. What I love about the ensemble series is that each book gives us just a glimpse into their lives. We pick up where the last book left off, and end with many issues still unresolved. It’s the same way we encounter casual friends, catching up when we see them, but not knowing how things will turn out once we depart. And yet, happy to see them again and catch up once more.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams – 3.5***
A troubled teen with a summer job in the library and an aging widower who still feels lost without his wife forge an unlikely alliance based on a reading list found tucked into a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird . This is a very good debut for Adams. The characters are complex and have a variety of issues. On the surface one wouldn’t expect them to have anything in common or to be able to relate to one another at all. But Adams brings them together, first by happenstance, and slowly by shared experiences and their individuals needs for human connection.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Mario Benedetti, La tregua [1959] 145 pages [Kindle] [in Spanish]

A novel in the form of a diary, La tregua is the story of a middle-aged widower in the last few months before his retirement from a meaningless job as a middle manager. The main theme is his May-December romance with a young woman from his office, but there are also subplots (never resolved) dealing with his three adult children and one or two acquaintances. It's all rather quotidian and even banal, but Benedetti manages to keep it interesting and cast light on the human condition as it was experienced in mid-twentieth-century Montevideo. The end is somewhat melodramatic and sentimental, and touches on religious themes, which I didn't appreciate.

[Melissa]

Flesh and Bone (Body Farm #2) by Jefferson Bass
4 ★

Dr. Bill Brockton, founder of Tennessee’s Body Farm in Knoxville, TN, finds himself in hot water when an unexpected corpse shows up on a re-created scene for an investigation out of Chattanooga, TN.

This is a very interesting, informative book. The author (actually there are 2) goes into great detail explaining how everything happens when a body decomposes. The descriptions go so far as to tell the reader the life span of a blowfly and how to tell the time of death using them. If you are squeamish, this is probably not the book for you. I personally found it fascinating.
My favorite character in the book is Ms. Georgia Youngblood. She is feisty and very helpful to Dr. Brockton and medical examiner Jess Carter. She bringing a bit of humor to the case and lightens the mood for Bill many times. She also helps him see things from another perspective, and Ms. Georgia definitely has a different perspective on things than most people.
The unexpected corpse is someone the reader meets in the book (not going to spoil it) and I was deeply upset by it. I know authors usually have a reason for killing people off, but I don’t have to like it. The mystery and research into finding out who did it is challenging and surprising. Bill teams up with a lawyer, he calls him Grease, that he never thought he would ever associate with and “Grease” ends up being a pretty decent person by the end. I think the case changed him a bit and I hope to see him in future books. There were many great characters throughout the book that I hope to see again.
The thing I liked best about the book was the location. I live in TN and have been to Knoxville. It was fun seeing places I know in a book and it mentioned places that actually exist, so now I have new places to see and eat at the next time I’m in Knoxville.

[Melissa]

The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) by Stephen King
4 ★

Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger, wakes up on the beach of Mid-World’s Western Sea and sees three doors. Each of these doors opens up in New York in three different moments in time. The Man in Black had told Roland that he must draw three people to complete his quest to the Dark Tower: The Prisoner, the Lady of Shadows, and The Pusher. All three ventures into New York teach Roland very valuable lessons.

What a cast of characters this book presents to us unexpecting readers. Eddie Dean: heroin addict, Odetta Holmes (AKA Detta Walker), and Jack Mort (AKA Death). The time periods that Roland encounters through the doors may be different, but all 3 people are connected in some way. Eddie isn’t a bad character. He knows he has flaws and does what to change. Odetta Holmes is an absolute doll until Detta Walker decides to come visit. These two personalities are as different as night and day. Jack Mort, well, he’s just a bad guy.
The story flows at a very irregular rate. Sometimes it’s slow and way to drawn out, while the next moment it moves so fast that you can’t put the book down. There are also some places that are very wordy (typical Stephen King) and a bit confusing for me. I had to reread them at a slower pace. Over all a fairly interesting book that keeps the reader intrigued enough to read the next book to see what happens.

[Book Concierge]

Great Or Nothing – Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood – 3***
This re-imagined Little Women set during World War II began when Jessica Spotswood posted a story idea she found daunting on Twitter. Her fellow authors joined with her to flesh out this story where Jo is queer and working in a factory, Amy has run away to join the Red Cross in London. With four authors, the four sisters had more equal roles than in the original work, which really focused on Jo. And, while the time frame is World War II, this is NOT a soldier’s story, but of how the women left behind dealt with their fears, and rose to the challenge of supporting those fighting overseas.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The US National Figure Skating Competition has been on all week ... thought this was appropriate.



Beautiful On the Outside – Adam Rippon – 3.5***
Memoir of Olympic medalist and self-proclaimed America’s Sweetheart Adam Rippon. Gosh this was fun! Rippon details his life growing up as the oldest of six children, and the sacrifices his mother made to help him achieve his dream of making it to the Olympics. From his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania to the independent Adam being too poor to eat anything but the free apples at his gym, he covers it all with grace and humor, while sharing the life lessons he learned. Rippon is more than just a pretty face (and the world’s BEST spinner), he’s also a thoughtful and assertive spokesperson for LGBTQ rights. I’ve always loved his skating, but now I love HIM even more!
LINK to my full review

[Melissa]

Lethal Justice (Sisterhood #6) by Fern Michaels
4 ★

Alexis Thorn, once a well-liked and successful securities broker, now has nothing after spending a year in jail for a crime she did not commit. It is now her turn with the Sisterhood to get revenge on her former employers.

This was definitely the mildest revenge so far. Other than Alexis’ added surprise at the end, no real physical harm came to the two thieves. Roland Sullivan and Arden Gillespie are truly despicable people. Roland probably would not have ever done any of this if Arden wasn’t in the picture. Roland was so taken in by her that he was unable to see anything else going on around him. He did feel bad for what they did to Alexis, but he never put his foot down with Arden. I really felt bad for his wife.
The reader gets to meet another lifelong friend of Myra’s and she is a delight. Once she makes it past her grief, she really comes out of her shell. She becomes a huge asset to the Sisterhood throughout the 2nd half of the book and the ending made me happy.
Even though I know how many books are in the series, this book had me nervous. Those 2 darn reporters really had me worried that the Sisterhood would be exposed. I love how Nikki and Charles handled it.

[Book Concierge]

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle – Matt Cain – 3***
A 64-year-old postman about to retire decides to make one more effort at finding his lost love. This was just delightful. My heart went out to Albert and I loved watching him bloom as he slowly made efforts to truly connect with the people on his route, and to begin searching for his lost love. Once Albert comes out of himself a bit he learns that many other people have struggles and face heartaches of their own. He learns much about compassion and friendship, and learns to open up and live rather than just exist. He certainly deserves his HEA!
LINK to my full review

[James]

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim, Hrotsvithae Opera Book I [mid-10th century] 111 pages [Kindle, Open Library] [in Latin]

Hrotsvitha was one of the very few important women authors of the early Middle Ages, best known for her plays (which are in Book II). She was a nun at the convent of Gandersheim in Germany in the tenth century; most sources say she lived from about 935 to somewhere after 973, although some believe she lived into the early eleventh century. Little is known about her except what she says herself in the prefaces to her works. The works were largely forgotten until resdiscovered at the beginning of the sixteenth century; they are usually divided into three books, the first containing the eight "legends" (hagiographical poems), the second containing the six plays, and the third containing her histories of the reign of Otto the Great and of the convent of Gandesheim. The edition I read in e-book format was the edition by Karl Strecker published in 1906, which is considered a very good version.

The first five poems in the book were probably her earliest work, written at a relatively young age; the last three were added later. As she admits in the prefatory poem, addressed to Abbess Gerbirga, the prosody is somewhat weak, and like many poets starting out, she chooses an unusual vocabulary to make it easier; for instance, she uses many diminutives without diminutive force for the sake of the rhythm (although that was a feature of Mediaeval Latin in general, she very much overdoes it) and invents many compound words which are not found elsewhere, which makes her Latin more difficult than in the other tenth-century works I have read in the past few months (the epic Waltharius and Widikund's prose history of the Saxons). The poems are obviously influenced by those of Venantius Fortunatus and C. Sedulius, but the use of internal rhyme and alliteration makes her seem less close than these to the classical authors and more a forerunner of later poetry. The subject matter is of course religious and obsessed with chastity, as one would expect from a mediaeval nun.

The first poem, which in the manuscript bears the grandiloquent title (not necessarily by Hrotsvitha) "Historia Nativitatis Laudabilisque Conversationis Intactae Dei Genitricis quam Scriptam Repperi sub Nomine Sancti Iacobi Fratris Domini" but is usually just referred to as "Maria", is interesting above all because it is based on an apocryphal gospel, the so-called Protevangelium of James (and partly on another apocryphon, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, which at that time was apparently incorporated into it.) In the prefatory poem Hrotsvitha claims she didn't know when she wrote it that the book was not accepted by the church as genuine, but that she hopes it may turn out to be true anyway. It tells the story of the miraculous birth of the Virgin Mary and her childhood up to her marriage to Joseph (miraculously chosen as her husband by a rod which turned into a dove) and the birth of Jesus. She summarizes the gospel account of Jesus' birth very briefly but dwells on the non-biblical story of the midwives who find Mary's virginity still "intact" even after giving birth. It then turns to the flight to Egypt and recounts a number of fantastic miracles from pseudo-Matthew. Both the Protevangelium and Hrotsvitha's verse are intended to emphasize the "perpetual virginity" of Mary, which was not yet an official dogma; that is they are part of the process which substituted chastity for charity as the main virtue of Christianity.

The second poem, "De Ascensione Domini . . .", is an account of the last days of Christ on Earth (after the Resurrection) and his discussions with his disciples. According to the rest of the long title it is based on a Greek account translated into Latin by a Bishop John; neither the Greek or Latin is known. The remaining poems are martyrs' legends: "Passio Sancti Gongolfi Martyris", "Passio Sancti Pelagii Pretiosissimi Martiris qui Nostris Temporibus In Corduba Martirio est Coronatus", "Lapsus et Conversio Theophili Vicedomini" (considered a precursor of the Faust legend, although I don't think there is any real comparison, beyond the fact that they both sign pacts with the Devil. There's a wicked Jew instead of Mephistopheles), "Basilius" (another pact with the Devil), "Passio Sancti Dionisii Egregii Martiris" (notable for the hero walking two miles carrying his cut off head), and "Passio Sanctae Agnetis Virginis et Martyris" (with such an obnoxious heroine it was a relief when she was beheaded and had to shut up).

[Book Concierge]

Strangers On a Train – Patricia Highsmith – 4****
Two men meet on a train, and one is an alcoholic psychopath who proposes a plan for two perfect murders that will solve all their problems. It’s a wild ride. The suspense comes from one man’s clever and persistent pursuit of the other, not just as an accomplice to murder, but as a best friend. He behaves like a love-sick boy, and his careless actions are bringing an equally determined detective closer and closer to the truth. Will they truly get away with it? If not, who will get blamed? Who will crack first?
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Last Night At the Telegraph Club – Malinda Jo – 4****
I really liked this YA work of historical fiction that focuses on the Chinese-American experience during the McCarthy Red-Scare period. Lily is a typical teen of the era, but somewhat naïve. When she stumbles on a book depicting a lesbian relationship she is puzzled, intrigued and excited. Coming out in this time period was not easy and fraught with danger. Though Lily starts out naïve and unsure, she shows herself to be principled, compassionate, and willing to stand up for herself. I really appreciated the author’s note at the end which detailed the history of the era.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Jean Piaget "with the assistance of seven collaborators", The Moral Judgement of the Child [1932, tr. 1932] 410 pages

Piaget's fifth book, The Moral Judgement of the Child is one of his most interesting. He begins with a study of how children understand the rules of marbles at different ages, and shows that there are two different ways of looking at rules: the younger children consider them as something objective which must be followed exactly (although in fact they seldom do so), while the older children change them according to circumstances by agreement and then follow them consistently. He then shows in the second chapter that young children tend to see moral rules also as objective ("moral reality"), based on "expiatory" punishment and "objective responsibility" and imposed by the constraint of adults or older children, while in the third chapter he shows that the older children tend to see them as more subjective, a result of mutual agreements, and emphasize reciprocity and equality (and at the highest age, equity.) The fourth chapter is a theoretical polemic with Durkheim, M. Bovet and G.M. Baldwin on the origins of morality based on his observational results. As opposed to the previous four books, he is less concerned with consecutive "stages" than with changes in the proportions of the different types which all exist to some extent at all ages. He also mentions for the first time that his researches were all with children from very poor families, which may explain why the average ages of the various stages seemed to me to be rather higher than I would have expected.

[Melissa]

Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody
5 ★

When Enne Salta’s mother goes missing, she leaves her finishing school and heads to New Reynes, also called City of Sin, to find her. There she meets up with a street lord and con man named Levi who promises to help find her, for a price.

I absolutely loved this book. The setting, the characters, and the secrets and surprises. All of it put together was a great example of fabulous storytelling. The story is intense and sad, but so intriguing.
Enna does not really know who she truly is and learns so much about herself and her family throughout the book. I was very surprised by one revelation, but pleasantly surprised. It was a great twist.
Levi and his gang, The Irons, try not to be as ruthless as the other street gangs, but they sometimes don’t have a choice. There is quite a bit of violence throughout the book and The Shadow Game is not one that I would want to play. The rules are stacked against the player whose life is on the line.
The search for Enne’s mother is dangerous and eye opening for her in the City of Sin. I loved her guide book and how she used it. I also liked the fact that there is a map in the book so that the reader gets a sense of where things are.
I already have the next two books in the trilogy waiting for me and I look forward to seeing what happens next. The epilogue in this book gives the reader an idea what is to come and it’s a doozy.

[Book Concierge]

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket – John Boyne – 3***
Eleanor and Alistair Brocket are perfectly normal, and that is what they want. But their youngest child, Barnaby, is decidedly and obviously “different.” This is a fable and a children’s adventure story full of improbable and exciting adventures but teaching a lesson about acceptance and compassion and courage. The entire story is a lesson on tolerance.
LINK to my full review