What I'm Reading MAY 2015

[Jane]

I just finished All Quiet on the Western Front, and thought it excellent. I learned a lot about a soldier's life in World War 1. A timeless book that I would recommend to everyone.

[Kat]

Jane wrote: "I just finished All Quiet on the Western Front, and thought it excellent. I learned a lot about a soldier's life in World War 1. A timeless book that I would recommend to everyone."

I read that years ago,Jane, and found it powerful, but when I tried to reread it for a book group last summer I couldn't get through it, I found it too upsetting (possibly because my mom was dying at the time). It's interesting how books strike us differently at different times in our lives.

[Donna]

I am reading Bettyville, George Hodgman's memoir about returning home to small town Paris, Missouri to care for his very elderly and increasingly confused mother, Betty. George tells his story with wit and honesty and Betty is a real character. My mom is 93 and there is much in the book that strikes a chord for me.

[Jane]

Kat wrote: "Jane wrote: "I just finished All Quiet on the Western Front, and thought it excellent. I learned a lot about a soldier's life in World War 1. A timeless book that I would recommend to everyone."

I..."

I agree Kat, timing is everything. I meant to have read last Veterans Day, however I to had a family illness. So I thought Memorial Day weekend was a good time for me.

[Book Concierge]

The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman – 3***
The subtitle of this book is: Practical & Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying. Orman includes practical information and clear, understandable definitions of various terms.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Book Concierge]

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini – 4****
Hosseini is a great storyteller. This is his most ambitious novel, covering several generations over six decades and across continents from Afghanistan to Paris to San Francisco to Greece. There are many heart-wrenching scenes that echo what happens to Pari and Abdullah, the two motherless siblings whose story bookends this novel, but however far apart – in terms of time, or distance, or relationship – these stories are, they are all connected. His central theme is the moral complexity of life. The audio features three skilled narrators: Khaled Hosseini, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Navid Negahban.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kat]

I'm trying to think of a multi-generational saga I've enjoyed, or even completed. There must be at least one. But for some reason the moment I hear it lasts more than one generation I find my interest flagging.

Finished Looking for the Possible Dance, still puzzling over it. Very Scottish, not English. Short with short chapters. A bit poky till the last 40 pages, which are gripping. Interesting characters, a bizarre crime. Hmm.

Am now reading (in addition to Decent Hour and Palfrey @ Claremont) Brother of the More Famous Jack. English, not Scottish. Rather delicious.

[Barbara]

Kat. did you try Some Luck or Early Warning, the first two volumes of Jane Smiley's trilogy? Admittedly, I like multigenerational sagas but these are particularly outstanding.

[Kat]

Barbara wrote: "Kat. did you try Some Luck or Early Warning, the first two volumes of Jane Smiley's trilogy? Admittedly, I like multigenerational sagas but these are particularly outstanding."

I haven't, Barbara. That would probably be a good place to begin overcoming my aversion if I gather up the energy someday! My problem is that after bonding with one set of characters, I hate to lose them and to have to bond all over again with a new set. Like finding out your favorite TV series has replaced important characters with new actors. I think it's the same reason I tend not to read short stories--I call it "low starting energy."

[[deleted user]]

Kat wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Kat. did you try Some Luck or Early Warning, the first two volumes of Jane Smiley's trilogy? Admittedly, I like multigenerational sagas but these are particularly outstanding."

I ..."

Oh, Kat, I agree with you so much. I find myself constantly falling asleep over the end of a book I'm loving. And I understand about the short stories, too. I enjoy, though, the short stories that meld into a world, like olive kittridge and especially, my absolute favorite of that genre, Wendell Berry's A Place in Time: Twenty Stories of the Port William Membership, which just bloomed for me.

[Joan]

Barbara wrote: "Kat. did you try Some Luck or Early Warning, the first two volumes of Jane Smiley's trilogy? Admittedly, I like multigenerational sagas but these are particularly outstanding."

I loved Some Luck and am just starting Early Warning. I hope I like it as much.

[Carol]

Joan wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Kat. did you try Some Luck or Early Warning, the first two volumes of Jane Smiley's trilogy? Admittedly, I like multigenerational sagas but these are particularly outstanding."

I ..."

You will. I am almost finished. It flows nicely from Some Luck to Early Warning. Keeping character's straight is challenging, and caused my brain to work at keeping who belonged to whom.

[Barbara]

I missed the emphasis on Walter and Rosanna initially, Joan, but then was totally caught up in their descendents and how different and yet alike they are. It's difficult to keep everyone straight so I needed to make frequent use of the cast.of characters. If you're reading it on a Kindle, the x-ray function is very useful.

[Geoff]

Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist, a strange and fun book.

[Donna]

I'm reading David Axelrod's political memoir, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics - a very good read so far. If you believe him, he became enamored with politics at the age of six!