Michele's 2024 Book Challenge

[Michele]

James: I hope you love it!

[John]

Michele wrote: "I finished All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby yesterday. I gave it a 3/5 and filed it under Crime, F or NF. It was fiction. Gruesome crimes, good old boys, black sheriff, racism, pornography, pedo..."

Definitely NOT a book for me - impressed you made your way through it!

[Michele]

Yeah. I wonder whether I should have continued, but it got good write-ups in general and I thought I might miss a stupendous twist at the end.

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "Yeah. I wonder whether I should have continued, but it got good write-ups in general and I thought I might miss a stupendous twist at the end."

Isn't that the way? I love that comment, Michele.

[Michele]

Finished The Wizard of the Kremlin by Giuliani da Empoli. I loved it. It's a novel, historical fiction about some real and imagined Russian government officials and billionaires and other random people. The author is an experienced political strategist who has previously been elected mayor of Florence and worked for an Italian PM. He calls himself Swiss/Italian, but his book was translated from French.
I will not bore you with lots of details here, but I gave it 5/5 in my review on GR. I used it for a number of prompts: historical fiction, political science or govt, debut novel, took place in a city that I don't live in.
I think it's an important reminder of the mentality of our adversaries at home and abroad. We know what they're doing, now we have to teach our minds how to deal with it so it doesn't matter so much what they're doing to the minds of susceptible people. And do you know why every book I've read this month contains-- prominently --references to wolves? Did I miss something?

[madrano]

The Wizard of the Kremlin sounds intriguing but i'm not one who has patience reading about politics any more. Yet you make a good point about needing to know more about those minds.

What a curious fact about the author, Giuliano da Empoli, and the fact the book was written in French, apparently. Publishing in Europe must be quite different...or maybe i just don't know enough about it to understand.

Your concluding comment about wolves is interesting. I hadn't realized this was happening in your books. Did you only now realize it? I've had something similar occur as i read books, but usually it was just a coincidence. Odd, that.

[Michele]

I guess i’m in the minority when it comes to my interest in politics. We’d be much better off if more people got interested, IMO. Democracy requires attention.

My list of books i read recently with references to wolves: North Woods, The Wizard of the Kremlin, All the Sinners Bleed, Chain-Gang All-Stars and Ali & Nino. The cosmos is trying hard tell me something, but I don’t know what.

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote:
And do you know why every book I've read this month contains-- prominently --references to wolves? Did I miss something?

lol

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote: "I guess i’m in the minority when it comes to my interest in politics. We’d be much better off if more people got interested, IMO. Democracy requires attention. "

I agree. That is one of the reasons I'm reading Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present . I want to know the signs to look for. Things can change on a dime as history has shown.

[Michele]

I’ve been looking at that one myself I’ll be interested to see how you like it.

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "I guess i’m in the minority when it comes to my interest in politics. We’d be much better off if more people got interested, IMO. Democracy requires attention. ..."

I'm torn on this front, Michele. I believe more of us need to become interested in our nation and politics seems to be the best way to do so. But oh! those choices! The principles are one thing, the practice something else.

Maybe it's the sort of people i'm drawn to (who are drawn to me, maybe?) but i seem to know quite a number of people who are interested in politics and actively, at that. But there is a level of frustration there, as well. I'm not sure there is a book about that because we need an "Action Handbook".

Nope, because each party probably already has one and still we seem more mired in the now-out-of-the-closet hatred that was festering for decades, apparently. Can you tell i'm avoiding news programs and books about this? As a lifelong pessimist, i didn't think i could go much darker. It seems i can.

[Michele]

The Wizard of the Kremlin argues that we in the West are fighting the wrong battles because we don't understand the Russian psyche. Focus is on Russia. Useful to analyze the enemy, I believe.


BTW: Started new books. Both have wolf mentions. One set in Ireland suburb of Dublin where there are no wolves for real, one is about an Indian boy from Manitoba , where thinking about wolves makes some sense.

[madrano]

Thanks for the additional info on Wizard O K, Michele. Often i feel we are actually fighting the wrong battles in this century.

Very curious about Wolves, i must say. As it happens one of the fake characters, created for an online identity was named Wolfe. Possibly you need to read Day--Michael Cunningham, too.

[Michele]

I hope I'm not bothering people by reporting these books individually or in pairs as I read them, as if whatever I have to say about a book is vital. It isn't, I'm aware, and I hope you will ignore whatever you don't care about.

That said, I didn't like this book at the start, and compared this novel unfavorably to first-person accounts I had read covering similar territory. By the end, I saw its value and was very moved by authenticity that I hadn't felt initially as Wagamese described his early years. I gave it 4/5 stars. It filled the prompt about POC as authors and characters. This one had both of those.

[Michele]

I forgot to describe the book, Indian Horse. by Richard Wagamese. It was a coming-of-age story about an Ojibway boy of eight who was forcibly removed from this family to attend a residential Indian school. He was saved from despair by his hockey talent, and by the support of his coach, a young priest at the school. He is allowed to leave and live with an Ojibway family as a result of his great talent at hockey.. The father is the local hockey coach and his son it the captain of the team. The boy, Saul Indian Horse, gains recognition and promotion until he is stopped cold by anger and racial abuse by teammates and fans. And then the real work begins. Thank you for your attention.

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "I hope I'm not bothering people by reporting these books individually or in pairs as I read them, as if whatever I have to say about a book is vital. It isn't, I'm aware, and I hope you will ignore..."

Indian Horse--Richard Wagamese Thank you for these posts about Wagamese's book, Michele. I, for one, am not bothered whether you post about books you've read in pairings or alone, just as long as you post about books!

I appreciate your comments about this and have added it to my TBR. As i read additional reviews from others here at Goodreads who read the book, i was struck by one. In it, the reviewer reminded us that in the US we basically repeated these events with the removal of children from their parents when we took migrant children from their migrant parents at the border. This hadn't exactly dawned on me but a valid case can be made for that.

The things we do to children.

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote: "I hope I'm not bothering people by reporting these books individually or in pairs as I read them, as if whatever I have to say about a book is vital. It isn't, I'm aware, and I hope you will ignore..."

That's why we are here at BNC. We want to hear all about books and authors. However you want to share is fine with us! Keep on !

[Michele]

My latest book is The Bee Sting by Paul Murray.
It's the story of a family, beginning with the parents of a young couple who get married under unusual circumstances. Almost nobody in their circle thinks this marriage is a good idea, but the young people are convinced it is their answer. The bee stings and the wedding is ruined. But also, a prophecy made by the local lady seer does not come true, or at least not in the way the bride expected. From there it becomes a family saga--Romeo marries Juliet, etc. They have 2 children of their own who are screwed up, and each of the four family members, Mom, Dad, daughter and son, have a connection to an abandoned shed that stands in a woods behind their home. There was a lot of yadda-yadda, all of which took a very long time to develop, and a few welcome surprises, ending in an effort to get all the important characters together at the shed in the woods for a super-special bang up ending that never happens. Murray leaves characters and readers standing in the woods and apparently expects the fun to happen after the book is closed and you're trying to figure out which ending would have been best. It was too long, too conventional, then unconventional in bad ways. For me, a 2/5.

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote: "My latest book is The Bee Sting by Paul Murray.
It's the story of a family, beginning with the parents of a young couple who get married under unusual circumstances. Almost nobody in their circle ..."

I liked it more than you did, Michele. I hope your next read is a good one for you.

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "My latest book is The Bee Sting by Paul Murray.
It's the story of a family, beginning with the parents of a young couple who get married under unusual circumstances. Almost nobody in their circle ..."

I appreciate your review, Michele. Congratulations on adding to your prompt list!

[Michele]

Alias, I would love to hear your thoughts about The Bee Sting. It had a lot going for it, but got lost somewhere/—or was I the one who got lost? Enjoy listening to John Adams.

[Michele]

TY. Maybe my expectations were elevated.

[Michele]

For some reason, GR says this book is not currently on my Book List, but it refuses to add it in. The book is His Final Battle: the Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt by Joseph Lelyveld. It is a history book with pictures about a man with a significant disability, that takes place during WWII.

The author deftly uses the letters, notes, libraries and memories of hundreds of people who knew FDR and who worked with him in politics or in government to narrate the events of his last days. He went to great lengths to prove what had been proven many times before.---that FDR could handle people, and frequently did.

Roosevelt did not like confrontations, nor did he like to make decisions prematurely. He wanted to see how things developed before committing to a course of action. He kept many possibilities in his mind at the same time, and tried to put off a final decision, especially if he was losing the argument. He always had a Plan B and C and maybe D and E. When he reached what appeared to be an impasse, he would suggest another route, a different wording, a trade of this for that. His goal, of course, was to keep the discussion going until a compromise could be found.

His techniques for people-management included being unfailingly polite and entertaining with guests, welcome and unwelcome. He reacted positively to their suggestions and demands, leaving the impression that he was in agreement with them, which he often was, at least partially. But he never made promises until the problem had ripened and a decision was needed immediately. FDR was not a linear thinker, and the ones who called him a man without principles were most often people who thought in black and white terms, or had career goals in mind. Roosevelt was a thinker, a visionary, who was surrounded by men with far less vision and more absolute certainty than was warranted. His biggest job, it seemed, was to hold them off until they saw the light. (e.g. Churchill with D Day and with Stalin)

On one issue, I thought Lelyveld was off base. He suggested that FDR didn't understand atomic energy or the implications of using the bomb. In fact, Roosevelt was aware that the bomb could not be kept secret forever, and that Stalin was already learning things that would lead him to the Manhattan Project before much longer. Nobel scientist Neils Bohr asked for a meeting to mansplain all this. FDR sent him to Churchill, who sent him right back. That took about 6 months. Finally, the scientist and the president met. Bohr explained. Roosevelt was entertaining and friendly, but did not follow his advice to inform the Russians about the atomic research. In fact, the thought of Bohr running around with the most secret information in the world was frightening. He asked his minions to keep track of what Bohr was up to. Churchill wanted to fit him for a casket, but refrained. Lelyveld concluded that FDR did not understand what Bohr was telling him. But using his own research, I believe Roosevelt not only understood, but that he had already played out all the implications in his own mind. He was way ahead of Bohr, already planning postwar management of disputes and weapons.

I don't see Roosevelt as very different from Lincoln in respect to his ability to charm and divert advisors until he was ready to make a decision. But I do think Lelyveld did his homework and presented a winning case for FDR's extraordinary skills.
4/5 stars

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote: "For some reason, GR says this book is not currently on my Book List, but it refuses to add it in. The book is His Final Battle: the Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt by Joseph Lelyveld. It is a his..."

His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt

That's odd.

Are you putting in a start and finished date?

[Michele]

Didn’t get that far. The book has been in my library for years, when I opened it on my Kindle a week ago, it came up & showed that I had read a small percentage at some point. I started over, marked it finished today on my kindle but I cant find it in My Books. This whole thing us pre-history at this point. I don’t need a fix, just hope other people can find the book in spite of whatever happened between Kindle & GR at the turn of the century when I bought the book!

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "For some reason, GR says this book is not currently on my Book List, but it refuses to add it in. The book is His Final Battle: the Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt by Joseph Lelyveld. It is a his..."

Michele, i appreciate that you took the time to write a review of this book. Your comments are fascinating, whether you agree or not with the author.

One question i wanted to pose, which i don't want you to feel obliged to answer, is whether or not the following could have also been interpreted as being wishy-washy, the prototype for most of our politicians today.

Roosevelt did not like confrontations, nor did he like to make decisions prematurely. He wanted to see how things developed before committing to a course of action."

While i believe doing so was useful, particularly for our entry into WWII, it also sounds like an excuse for someone trying to appease those against joining the action in Europe. Was this addressed?

Regardless, your summation is impressive. I'm befuddled by Lelyveld's conclusion FDR didn't understand what Bohr told him about the bomb. The very fact that he didn't want the USSR to know about it seems to declare differently.

Again, thank you for sharing about this book.

[Michele]

You got to the essence of FDR, Mad. I believe FDR was clearly an outlier. But Lincoln got the same criticisms for the same reasons. He convinced people he was on their side by giving all comers approval that was carefully non-commital. Because he wanted to avoid making a decision that had to be rescinded later. You can see that as vacillation or brilliant management. I think that’s what makes politics so difficult. There’s always pressure to be both faster than a speeding bullet and infallible.

I think the author’s best work was his description of FDR’s dealings with Stalin, and how he slowly and reluctantly relinquished his hope that compromise could be found. Nobody could have made Stalin more amenable without dropping a bomb on him.

[madrano]

Michele wrote: " I think that’s what makes politics so difficult. There’s always pressure to be both faster than a speeding bullet and infallible...."

And demand for speed has grown since then, thanks to communication satellites and other technological advances. No time to think until they have to backtrack. You make a good point, Michele.

Interesting about the writing of the FDR/Stalin actions.

[Michele]

Newly finished:
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - popular book last year. About a woman who doesn't want to live. When she tries to kill herself with pills, she wakes up in no-man's land and is given a chance to change her fate at the Midnight Library where books containing every possible version of her life exist and may be checked out. Rules apply. 3/5 stars . I put it under sci-fi and fantasy.

Going Infinity by Michael Lewis - Biography of Samuel Bankman-Fried, newly convicted felon who lost billions of dollars while playing at being a real businessman dealing in cryptocurrency. Another billionaire on the spectrum who is more like a robot than most men and has a superpower talent that leads everyone to believe he can do everything. Like Elon Musk in many ways. Did you know there is a philosophy called effective altruism (EA) subscribed to by people who think they are more moral than anybody else, which says you need to maximize your earning potential in order to do good for humanity and then nearly kill yourself taking advantage of opportunities to bamboozle the investors? I put this one under biography and business 4/5 stars

[Alias Reader]

Well done on the prompts, Michele.

You liked Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon more than I did. I felt Lewis came into the project too much of a fanboy. I gave it 2/5

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "Did you know there is a philosophy called effective altruism (EA) subscribed to by people who think they are more moral than anybody else, which says you need to maximize your earning potential in order to do good for humanity and then nearly kill yourself taking advantage of opportunities to bamboozle the investors?.."

Great work, Michele, on two prompts.

In answer to the above question, no i didn't. What a mission they set for themselves. Thanks for that bit of info!

[Michele]

I finished listening to Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. She is 100% Kristin Hannah in that her characters are not nuanced or described with too much depth. Her women are all beautiful and the men are big and strong. Her daughters are polar opposites at first, but as they learn the secret of their beautiful mother's cold detachment from them, they begin to come to a new understanding of their childhood. Not bad. 3.5 or so for me. Historical fiction prompt.

[Alias Reader]

I've only read one of her books. I thought it was just okay.

The Nightingale I gave it a 3/5

Nice job on the prompt, Michele !

[madrano]

LOL on me. It appears i haven't read any Kristin Hannah novels. I thought i'd read her Home Front but i'd actually read The Kitchen Front--Jennifer Ryan. Both are historical fiction but the only similarity is the WWII setting.

Meanwhile, cograts on effortlessly fulfilling another prompt, Michele. And thank you for the incidental memory search. 😀

[Michele]

I finished the very short novel, Khirbet Khizeh, in which a veteran of the 1948 war that confirmed Israel as a state describes the effects on Israelis and Arabs of living on the same land as neighbors but not friends. It is hard to read because it is written as a stream of consciousness, but also because the author writes in Hebrew, an ancient language being rapidly retooled for modern times.

Yizhar explains the effect of war on the Arabs who are being chased from their homes, but also on the young Israeli soldiers who are ordered to do the chasing. It makes the case for peace in a way that's personal and not political. If you can wade through the unfamiliar verbiage, you will be moved. And the afterword is worth reading as an explainer of all the things you would never have known otherwise. I thought it was a worthwhile effort. I learned things. 5/5 Category: History
Maybe I should make another category: History I have lived through, or something like that. For now, it's plain history.

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote: "I finished the very short novel, Khirbet Khizeh, in which a veteran of the 1948 war that confirmed Israel as a state describes the effects on Israelis and Arabs of living on the same land as neighb..."

That sounds like a very timely and poignant read, Michele.

[madrano]

Michele, thank you for telling us about this book. It sounds like something we need to know.

In the last sentence you mentioned, "History I have lived through...". Do you mean history that took place in your lifetime or that you lived there at some point?

Just curious. and you do not need to reply. :-)

[Michele]

I read The Brothers K, a recasting of the Dostoyevsky classic, set in Washington State in the 1960's and '70's. Hugh Chance is a very special fastball pitcher pursuing a career in baseball despite the strong disapproval of his British mother. His wife Laura is a Seventh Day Adventist. Hugh suffers from interruptions and injuries and ends up working in a local factory for low wages. His wife's extreme piety results in the fracture of her family of four boys and twin girls. Her husband struggles to hold it all together. The boys grow up, each one representing broadly a type of reaction to the turbulence of the era. One is a campus radical, another studies eastern philosophy who winds up in India to study. A third son, innocent and cheerful, decides he has to go to Viet Nam to fulfill promises made to others, and the fourth is the relatively even-keeled narrator. Some of the book was awkward, trying to create situations powerful enough to change each brother in a way that brings them all back together, but I have never read such a beautiful tribute to families and to baseball, which are two reasons why I really loved this one. 4.5/5 Fills prompts about family relationships in the title, and also sports.

[Michele]

madrano wrote: "Michele, thank you for telling us about this book. It sounds like something we need to know.

In the last sentence you mentioned, "History I have lived through...". Do you mean history that took pl..."

I wish I could remember why I implied I lived through the first Arab-Israeli war--or any war, for that matter. I was only months old and living in New Jersey at that time. I guess Oct 7 activated my always-strong identification with Israel. I went out and bought a Star of David necklace (as did my 14-year-old Chinese grandson who was adopted to the USA at the age of 2 and who has been raised in a different religion), I have my reservations about what unrelenting hatred and existential threats have done to Jewish religion and society, though. Netanyahu. Enough said.

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "I wish I could remember why I implied I lived through the first Arab-Israeli war--or any war, for that matter. I was only months old and living in New Jersey at that time. I guess Oct 7 activated my always-strong identification with Israel..."

Thanks for the reply, Michele. I think there are some scars on our psyche which transcend our actual presence. This one was an important one for many of us. It's touching to read how your own family reacted.

[madrano]

Michele wrote: "I read The Brothers K, a recasting of the Dostoyevsky classic, set in Washington State in the 1960's and '70's. Hugh Chance is a very special fastball pitcher pursuing a career in baseball despite ..."

I'm always intrigued more by the notion which occurs to an author in reimagining a well known novel, than i am by the results. Thank you for sharing about this one. Not having read the classic, i would be unprepared to make observations about the new version.

It's that awkwardness in trying to create powerful-enough circumstances which strikes one as unfortunate. The very era in which one lives would place the circumstances in a strong light. What changes people in the 19th century, might barely be significant enough in the 21st.

Michele, thank you for sharing about this one.

[Michele]

Finished at long last, Starkweather by Harry N Maclean. It was hard work. Had some detail, but author seemed squeamish about describing the murders.. Lots of repetition of other details, eg, how many times Charlie drove his beater into a ditch in the dark. All in all, no In Cold Blood. 3/5 Filled the prompt about crime stories, F or NF which may be my prompt only.

[Alias Reader]

Good job on the prompt, Michele.

I'm squeamish when it comes to violence in book, TV and film, so I probably would appreciate less specific details.

[madrano]

Nicely done, Michele.

It must be challenging for some authors (& editors, if they have one) to decide what crosses the line when describing murders. I've read reviews over the years which have mentioned both too much & too few descriptions as marring a book. I don't need to hear about viscera oozing but do like a sense of how brutal a killing was. Again, it must be a tough call.

[James]

Michele wrote: "Finished at long last, Starkweather by Harry N Maclean. It was hard work. Had some detail, but author seemed squeamish about describing the murders.. Lots of repetition of other details, eg, how ma..."

Congratulations on that prompt, Michele!

[Michele]

I finished a re-read of The Brothers, The Road to an American Tragedy by Masha Gessen, originally read in 2015. I have learned a lot since then, and I thought this book raised some interesting questions about the behavior of the FBI and local police authorities in the aftermath of the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Patriot's Day. Having lived through the ten years plus that have elapsed since, I have become much more persuaded that there was some funny business going on during the investigation. First, what was that "shelter in place" shutting Boston down thing? Second, how bad do the police have to be to create an old-time shootout with a valuable suspect in a residential neighborhood? And mishandle it so badly that one of the suspects was able to get into a car and run over his dying brother as he was escaping? Where was the evidence connecting the Tsarnaev brothers to the bombs? Where were they made and who made them? What about the univestigated murders of Tamerlan's partners in drug sales, men who were thought to be in cahoots with some bent Watertown police? Why did the Florida guy, friend of Tamerlan, get killed by a group of inept FBI and Boston law enforcement officers who were sent to question him in FL? I am all in for more investigation of the mess made of this case by incompetence and design. I have seen too much since then to just accept that the authorities got it right, or even tried to get it right. Call me crazy, but I can now believe that all the mistakes were not due to incompetence. This book fulfilled numerous prompts including a book that takes place on a holiday, about immigrants, has a relationship in the title, is about family, and about crime. I think it's at least a 4 out of 5 in 2024.

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote: "I finished a re-read of The Brothers, The Road to an American Tragedy by Masha Gessen, originally read in 2015. I have learned a lot since then, and I thought this book raised some interesting ques..."

Interesting. I see the one star reviews take the author to task. It would probably make a lively debate read for a book club selection.

The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy by Masha Gessen by Masha Gessen

I've toyed in the past with reading another book by this author.
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
Have you read that one ?

[Michele]

I started it, but I never finished. I have been thinking about looking it up again. Masha Gessen is on TV sometimes talking about authoritarian regimes and how to respond and with luck prevent them. She is so very Russian that I think she doesn't always get her points across to Americans as well as somebody like Prof. Timothy Snyder.

[Alias Reader]

Michele wrote: " She is so very Russian that I think she doesn't always get her points across to Americans as well as somebody like Prof. Timothy Snyder."

I read his On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

[Michele]

He’s on Deadline Whitehouse today re Ronna Mc Daniel being hited by NBC News. He doesn’t like it.