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What did you read last month?
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What I read in March - 2015
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Wow ! Really excellent month, GJ ! All highly rated reads. Nice. I agree. In the Garden of Beasts is a terrific read.
Still Alice and All the Light are on my TBR list. I'm glad to see you enjoyed them.
Nothing to Envy is a new to me title. Sounds interesting. Thanks. I will read more about it on Amazon.
Great month's reading, Gjs. You are on a positive roll! I agree about the book featuring Garfield (Destiny of the Republic). I ended up admiring that president so much & actually felt the pain he must have experienced as the doctors worked on him over those months. Poor man. Excellent writing.
madrano wrote: "Great month's reading, Gjs. You are on a positive roll! I agree about the book featuring Garfield (Destiny of the Republic). I ended up admiring that president so much & actually felt the pain he m..."Speaking of Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
has anyone read the authors other book ?
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
I like to read about TR so I've had my eye on this one.
Alias Reader wrote: "Nothing to Envy is a new to me title. Sounds interesting. Thanks. I will read more about it on Amazon. ..."I highly recommend it Alias.
Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "Nothing to Envy is a new to me title. Sounds interesting. Thanks. I will read more about it on Amazon. ..."I highly recommend it Alias."
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I see it has over 1000 reviews on Amazon.
I don't think I've ever read a book about N. Korea.
I will add it to my TBR list.
Thanks !
Alias Reader wrote: "Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "Nothing to Envy is a new to me title. Sounds interesting. Thanks. I will read more about it on Amazon. ..."I highly recommend it Alias."
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I just checked to see if my library has it in their catalog. They do.
My library allows patrons to post reviews. One of the reviews recommended this title if you want to read more on the topic. I thought I would share the title.
Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite--Suki KimA haunting memoir of teaching English to the sons of North Korea's ruling class during the last six months of Kim Jong-il's reign
Every day, three times a day, the students march in two straight lines, singing praises to Kim Jong-il and North Korea: Without you, there is no motherland. Without you, there is no us. It is a chilling scene, but gradually Suki Kim, too, learns the tune and, without noticing, begins to hum it. It is 2011, and all universities in North Korea have been shut down for an entire year, the students sent to construction fields—except for the 270 students at the all-male Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), a walled compound where portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il look on impassively from the walls of every room, and where Suki has accepted a job teaching English. Over the next six months, she will eat three meals a day with her young charges and struggle to teach them to write, all under the watchful eye of the regime.
Life at PUST is lonely and claustrophobic, especially for Suki, whose letters are read by censors and who must hide her notes and photographs not only from her minders but from her colleagues—evangelical Christian missionaries who don't know or choose to ignore that Suki doesn't share their faith. As the weeks pass, she is mystified by how easily her students lie, unnerved by their obedience to the regime. At the same time, they offer Suki tantalizing glimpses of their private selves—their boyish enthusiasm, their eagerness to please, the flashes of curiosity that have not yet been extinguished. She in turn begins to hint at the existence of a world beyond their own—at such exotic activities as surfing the Internet or traveling freely and, more dangerously, at electoral democracy and other ideas forbidden in a country where defectors risk torture and execution. But when Kim Jong-il dies, and the boys she has come to love appear devastated, she wonders whether the gulf between her world and theirs can ever be bridged.
Without You, There Is No Us offers a moving and incalculably rare glimpse of life in the world's most unknowable country, and at the privileged young men she calls "soldiers and slaves."
Amy wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "One question. You said, "Read this for a postal book group". What's a postal book group ? ..."There are 6 of us who live in different states across the country. At the beginn..."
Thanks for posting this! I put it out there on Facebook and 8 friends and I are going to do it. I have never heard of a Postal Book Group and love it! Everyone said "great idea, love it" and I wanted to pass onto you since it was your idea! Thank you again! :) Ginny
Alias Reader wrote: "madrano wrote: "Great month's reading, Gjs. You are on a positive roll! I agree about the book featuring Garfield (Destiny of the Republic). I ended up admiring that president so much & actually fe..."I have not been reading enough and now I have just added these two books to my list -- they both sound fascinating.
Bobbie57 wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "madrano wrote: "Great month's reading, Gjs. You are on a positive roll! I agree about the book featuring Garfield (Destiny of the Republic). I ended up admiring that president ..."That happens to me every time I look at this group! :) I always feel so inspired and the books are ones that I don't always think of but the recommendations are always solid! :)
Alias, i have not read anything else by Candice Millard but, based on Destiny of Rep., i wouldn't hesitate to do so. And thank you for the review of Without You. Coupled with Ginny's comments, i've added the book to my TBR. It sounds very good.Gjs, you'll have to keep us posted on how your Postal Book Group fares. Good luck, it's a neat idea.
Gjscollins wrote: "Thanks for posting this! I put it out there on Facebook and 8 friends and I are going to do it. I have never heard of a Postal Book Group and love it! Everyone said "great idea, love it" and I wanted to pass onto you since it was your idea! ..."Well, it wasn't my idea, so I can't take any credit--I just signed up for the group when the opportunity arose because I too thought it sounded like fun. But I'm glad you are going to create one with your friends! Hopefully yours will last longer than one complete cycle. :)
Alias Reader wrote: "Speaking of Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President has anyone read the authors other book ?
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard..."
I have not--it's on my TBR list, though.
Amy wrote: "The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard..."I have not--it's on my TBR list, though. "
Ditto -- now. Always up for more of Teddy R's adventures.
I'm rather behind in my reviews. So I probably type a lot of mistakes now. 1: The Kept by James Scott; 5 stars
In the winter of 1897, Elspeth Howell returns home. Elspeth is the bread winner. Her husband Jorah, takes care of their five children and the farm. When Elspeth is nearly home she has a odd feeling. She finds the farm in darkness and she doesn't hear a sound. Her husband and four of her children are dead, murdered. Only Caleb survived the brutal killing. Mother and son set out to track down the killers and they end up in Watersbridge.
The Kept is a very dark story, but I really liked how it develop. Each part has its own atmosphere. I also liked the interaction between mother and son.
2: Home of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev; 5 stars.
My first Turgenev and certainly not my last. Up till now I always found it hard to get into Russian literature. But I really enjoyed the prose of Home of the Gentry. The protagonist Fyodor Ivanych Lavretsky, a nobleman, returns home to his estate after a long stay abroad. He returns without his wife Varvara as he has severed all contact with her after finding out she betrayed him. Back home, he falls in love with Liza. When he reads about his wife's death in a newspaper, he confesses his love to Liza and learns she loves him in return. Unfortunately for both Fyodor and Liza, Varvara is still alive and in need of money - so she turns up quite unexpectedly.
Home of the gentry is a story about a love not mend to be. Besides the beautiful prose there is also quite a lot of music in the novel. Four of the characters play the piano, each according to their own temperament and character. Turgenev also uses music to enchance high lights in the story.
3: Final Witness by Simon Tolkien; 4 stars.
One summer night, two men break into an isolated manor house and kill Lady Anne Robinson. Her teenage son, Thomas, has witnessed the murder. Two days later he convinces the police that Greta Grahame, his father’s beautiful personal assistant, sent the killers. Thomas’father, Sir Peter Robinson, the British minister of defense, refuses to believe his son. Instead, he marries Greta and is prepared to testify for the defense at her trial. Is Peter right in not wanting to believe his son? Or is he wrong about Greta?
Really loved the built up. Tolkien knows to smoothly combine actions in the past and in the present.
4: The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville by Clare Mulley; 4 stars.
Fascinating biography of the first female spy working for British intelligence.
5: Burmese Days by George Orwell; 4 stars.
I read both Animal Farm and 1984, but this is quite a different sort of Orwell. I did like it though.
Burmese Days is set in 1920s imperial Burma, in the fictional district of Kyauktada. As the story opens U Po Kyin, a corrupt Burmese magistrate, is planning to destroy the reputation of the Indian Dr. Veraswami. The Doctor's main protection is his friendship with John Flory. Dr.Veraswami wants to become a member of the British club so that U Po Kyin's intrigues against him will not prevail. However, U Po Kyin also wants to become a member of the all men's white club.
Themes of this novel are racism and imperialism. Due to the racism not such an enjoyable read, but an interesting one.
6: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed; 3 stars.
I didn't really care about Strayed's story, but I liked her adventures on the PCT. The latter kept me going while I skipped some parts of her personal story.
Danielle, you may enjoy Finding George Orwell in Burma since you've read Burmese Days, Animal Farm and 1984. One of the things the author explores is that Orwell meant for these three books to be a trilogy about Burma and its political/social situation.
For anyone who has not read these three Orwell books, Finding George Orwell In Burma has a lot of spoilers.
Thanks for sharing, Danielle !I didn't care for Wild either. I was looking for a book on hiking not so much on her messed up life.
Petra wrote: "Danielle, you may enjoy Finding George Orwell in Burma since you've read Burmese Days, Animal Farm and 1984."Seconded. That was a very good book.
I recently read All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays, a collection of Orwell's essays (including the classic Politics and the English Language) as well as Burmese Days. The essays are quite good; Burmese Days, not so much. I guess I was hoping it would be more like Shooting an Elephant.
Mkfs wrote: "Petra wrote: "Danielle, you may enjoy Finding George Orwell in Burma since you've read Burmese Days, Animal Farm and 1984."Seconded. That was a very good book...."
I really liked it, too, Mkfs.
Danielle, you had an interesting lot of books in March. The Strayed book was the only poorly reviewed. I'm glad you shared your list.
A huge Thank You to all you shared their monthly reads with the group. :)The May thread is now up.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Finding George Orwell in Burma (other topics)Finding George Orwell in Burma (other topics)
All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays (other topics)
Finding George Orwell in Burma (other topics)
Finding George Orwell in Burma (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
George Orwell (other topics)Clare Mulley (other topics)
Simon Tolkien (other topics)
Cheryl Strayed (other topics)
James Scott (other topics)
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I'm plugging through Destiny of the Republic and am really enjoying it. I have checked a couple times to make sure it is non fiction because it reads more like a mystery to me.