What are you reading the week of May 21, 2022?

KeskusteluWhat Are You Reading Now?

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What are you reading the week of May 21, 2022?

1fredbacon
toukokuu 20, 2022, 9:54 pm

I have about 50 pages to go in Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin by Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy. I'm also reading Maigret's First Case by Georges Simenon. I should finish both this weekend.

2rocketjk
toukokuu 20, 2022, 11:26 pm

I'm just about halfway through Conjure Women by Afia Atakora. It's good, though maybe it could have used some editing.

3Molly3028
toukokuu 21, 2022, 7:50 am


Enjoying this OverDrive audio ~

The Joy and Light Bus Company: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, #22
by Alexander McCall Smith

4framboise
Muokkaaja: toukokuu 21, 2022, 8:14 am

Just finished Stumbling on Happiness, which didn't make me so happy (the reading of, not the ending).

Will continue Fiona and Jane.

5PaperbackPirate
toukokuu 21, 2022, 5:59 pm

I have about 100 pages left of Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore. I got to see the author last night and he was hilarious.

6seitherin
toukokuu 21, 2022, 6:30 pm

7Shrike58
toukokuu 21, 2022, 7:40 pm

Decided that Battle of the Linguist Mages was too one-note to hold my interest (though the beginning was actually fun) and moved on to Fevered Star, which is looking like it was worthy of my anticipation. Autonorama and The Invention of International Order are also on the table for this week.

8threadnsong
toukokuu 21, 2022, 9:10 pm

Halfway through two wildly (widely?) divergent books: The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer for the CATWoman Challenge, and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco for the MysteryKit Challenge. And just picked up Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman for a F2F book club on Thursday. Surely I can make some headway in it between now and then!

9BookConcierge
toukokuu 22, 2022, 10:08 am

I've been MIA for a few weeks ... so bear with me while I try to catch up...


L.A. Weather – María Amparo Escandón
3.5*** Rounded up

The Alvarado family has always been close-knit. But now the patriarch, Oscar, has retreated and seems to have lost all desire, content to obsessively watch the Weather Channel. His wife, Keila, has had it with Oscar’s moods and has instituted a “Crossed-Legs Strike,” and now at the weekly family dinner, she’s announced to their three adult daughters that their marriage is kaput.

This is a funny, engaging, endearing novel that looks at a year in the life of one affluent Mexican-American family. It starts with a near tragedy and the characters (and reader) hardly have time to recover from that event when yet another crisis looms. The girls have their own issues, and before long everyone in the family is spinning and bouncing from issue to issue, like balls in an out-of-balance pinball machine.

Unlike many popular BIPOC novels (and, I love them, too), this one does NOT focus on an immigrant story. No, the Alvarados have been in California since the King of Spain still ruled, and their family was given a land grant to help settle what was then a distant and mostly uninhabited land. And they’ve prospered over many generations.

It’s not really a novel about climate change, but the winds, drought and fires add more tension to the family’s internal strife, and ultimately help them focus on the things they CAN change, rather that what they have no control over. They still make bad decisions, and there is no HEA ending, but I was completely invested in these characters by the end, and I want more!

10BookConcierge
toukokuu 22, 2022, 10:08 am


The Power Of One – Bryce Courtenay
Audible audiobook performed by Humphrey Bower
4****

How had I never heard of this book before? A challenge to travel the world combined with a challenge to read a book that “made-me-cry” brought this one to my attention, and am I ever glad it did!

Courtenay’s autobiographical novel tells the story of a small boy sent to boarding school because his mother has had a nervous breakdown. He’s bullied and terrorized, but learns how to get along with the help of a pet chicken and a native medicine man. Peekay (a nicer version of the nickname the bullies christen him with) is an intelligent, bookish kid and his reading ability helps him advance in school far beyond his chronological age. Just when he figures he’s gotten the hang of this boarding school, he’s advised that he’s leaving for a new home.

A six-year-old on a several-days-long train journey is pretty vulnerable, but the porter, conductor and other railway employees take Peekay under their wing. This is where he learns about boxing and sets a goal for himself that he pursues relentlessly.

I’m not the writer Courtenay is, so can’t really do justice to the plot of this coming-of-age story. But the writing grabbed me from page one and I was sorry to see it end. Peekay has more than his share of difficulties and tragedies befall many of the people he comes to love and rely on. He’s a great kid and I was cheering for Peekay throughout. And while I’m no fan of boxing, I even enjoyed the lessons on strategy and technique.

Humphrey Bower does a great job of performing the audiobook. He really brings the characters to life, though I did have some difficulties understanding the accent at times.

11BookConcierge
toukokuu 22, 2022, 10:12 am


Tooth And Claw – Jo Walton
4****

What a fun romp of a story! It’s a typical regency (or Victorian) romance: the females cannot inherit and must marry well; there are rather rigid rules of etiquette and social classes should not mix; country houses and balls in town; young females are presented during the season; oldest sons inherit the title while younger sons need to into the military or perhaps the clergy. BUT … all the characters are dragons.

I was captured from the first page and enthralled and entertained throughout. Oh, how I wish this was a series, because I want to read more about the Algornin family, but apparently, it’s not.

12BookConcierge
toukokuu 22, 2022, 10:14 am


What We Keep – Elizabeth Berg
Digital audiobook performed by Stephanie Roberts.
4****

Do we ever really know our parents? Would we still love them if we did? Could we forgive them their mistakes?

The novel opens with Ginny Young on a plane, flying cross-country to see her mother, whom she hasn’t seen in thirty-five years. She thinks back to 1958, when she and her sister, Sharla, were young girls, and a new “exotic” neighbor moved in and opened their eyes to glamorous possibilities. But it was also the summer their family fell apart.

The novel moves back and forth in time as Ginny recalls her childhood and how she felt about the events of that summer, and on the years since, including her own experiences as a mother. She learns a few things she’d been unaware of before and adjusts her long-held opinions based on new evidence.

Berg writes family relationships so very well. All the ways in which we rely on and trust one another, show our love and loyalty, and hurt or betray one another. There are always two (or more) sides to any story, and it takes a mature person to wait to pass judgment until all parts are known. My heart broke for all the family members, and my loyalties shifted as I learned more.

Stephanie Roberts does a marvelous job of performing the audiobook. Ginny’s character as an adult woman is very different from her 11-year-old self and there are many other female characters in the book, which Roberts very well.

13LyndaInOregon
Muokkaaja: toukokuu 22, 2022, 3:10 pm

After a stuttering start with a couple of other books, I finally settled down with Jane Kirkpatrick's Homestead, which gets extra points from me because it's set in my neck of the woods. (Or in my span of sagebrush, if you prefer.) If you've ever thought you wanted to "go back to the land" and be "self-sufficient" ... stop and read this first.

Next up is Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, and I'll probably also keep pecking away at Dan Rather's What Unites Us. I tend to have problems with collections of short pieces, because I like to become immersed in the narrative, and short stories or essays break that flow, so I just nibble at them in odd moments and it takes a while to get through them.

14ahef1963
toukokuu 22, 2022, 5:03 pm

I've been laid up with Covid/omicron this week and have not read as much as usual. I did read two Swedish crime novels by Kristina Ohlsson - Unwanted and Silenced. After that, though, I have discovered that not one book, film, or webpage can hold my interest for more than about ten minutes, so I'm not reading a physical book at the moment.

Still listening to Shantaram - only 12 hours left. Not enjoying it as much as I hoped, largely because I don't like the main character.

15JulieLill
toukokuu 23, 2022, 12:02 pm

Where Are the Children?
Mary Higgins Clark
4/5 stars
Years ago, Nancy Harmon was accused of killing her children. However, her sentence was overturned, allowing her to start her life over again. Married with two new children, she feels her life is more settled. But once again, her life is in turmoil when her new children are missing and she is suspected in their disappearance. I enjoyed this book and it kept me reading to see how it was going to end.

16LyndaInOregon
toukokuu 23, 2022, 4:23 pm

>15 JulieLill: This was the first Mary Higgins Clark book I ever read, and I still think it was her best. My youngest was about the age of one of the "disappeared" children, so perhaps that made it more immediate to me. I remember staying up most of the night to finish it. The vision of that one little mitten caught in the chain of the swing still stays with me.....

17snash
toukokuu 23, 2022, 7:06 pm

I finished the entertaining tale, Bogmail set in Donegal, Ireland

18LyndaInOregon
toukokuu 24, 2022, 12:16 am

Raced through Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects in about 20 hours -- I did sleep somewhere in there. This was her first novel, and while it's a bit more on the Grand Guignol side than the *GOTCHA!* double-twists of Gone Girl, it's still a dark and twisty tale with some seriously sick characters.

Next up is probably the nonfiction The Code Girls, about women cryptographers in WWII.

19seitherin
toukokuu 24, 2022, 8:43 am

Finished One Foot in the Fade by Luke Arnold. Enjoyed it. Haven't decided what to read next.

20JulieLill
toukokuu 24, 2022, 11:40 am

>18 LyndaInOregon: I do like Gillian Flynn's books!

21msemmag
toukokuu 24, 2022, 12:00 pm

>8 threadnsong: The Name of the Rose and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine are both on my TBR too- I hope you enjoy them!

22Tara1Reads
toukokuu 24, 2022, 5:46 pm

Currently reading and enjoying both Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data by Charles Wheelan and Surveillance by Jonathan Raban. I’m concentrating on Surveillance during the week and slowly reading the statistics book on weekends.

23seitherin
Muokkaaja: toukokuu 24, 2022, 10:07 pm

24BookConcierge
toukokuu 25, 2022, 9:24 am


Subpar Parks – Amber Share
3***

You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but a 1-star review of Yosemite National Park (“Trees block the view, and there are too many gray rocks.”) or the Grand Canyon (“A hole. A very, very, large hole.”)?

Amber Share is an illustrator / graphic designer, and also a life-long afficionado of the United States’ National Parks. She’s an avid hiker and finds much to enjoy in wildly different climates and ecosystems, including some of the most remote park settings. So, when she stumbled upon some of the clueless 1-star reviews she just had to shake her head, and then laugh.

She turned to her talent for illustration and painted some wonderful depictions, graced with the clueless remarks of seriously underwhelmed visitors, and began posting them, once a week at first (on her blog? Instagram? … whatever). People loved them and clamored for more. This book is the result.

Each park “visited” starts with the illustration and the clueless remark, but Share then gives an informative description of the park, including some ranger’s tips / cautions, and other hints on best enjoying nature’s splendors. She also incorporates Native American culture and significance for most of these parks.

The text does get somewhat repetitious, especially when you’re reading this as a book, rather than using it as a handy reference guide, hence the 3-star review. But she gets 5***** for her illustrations! I’m inspired to visit another “Not much to do” park!

25Copperskye
toukokuu 25, 2022, 9:56 am

I finished Long Bright River which I had difficulty putting down once I got into it. Now I’m reading Denver Noir.

>14 ahef1963: I hope you’re feeling better!

26rocketjk
toukokuu 25, 2022, 5:49 pm

I finished and enjoyed Conjure Women by Afia Atakora, a fine if a bit overlong novel about two generations of African American life on a Southern plantation, both just before and during the Civil War, and then in the seven years just after. I've posted a longer review on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

Next up for me will be some American popular music history -- Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'N' Roll by Colin Escott with Martin Hawkins.

27enaid
toukokuu 25, 2022, 8:45 pm

I finished the brilliant Nervous Conditions and plan to read her latest book, This Mournable Body as soon as I get more of the garden planted.

I'm reading a couple of poems a day from I Know Your Kind. These poems are stunning in their clarity and honesty. He writes about opioid addiction and poverty in West Virginia in a way that is both unsentimental and tender. It makes for powerful poetry.

I've been reading The Dower House Mystery before bed. Kind of silly but interesting.

29BookConcierge
toukokuu 26, 2022, 9:56 pm


Eat Cake – Jeanne Ray
Audiobook read by the author
4****

Ruth Hopson likes to bake cakes. She finds comfort in comforting others, and lately everyone – including Ruth – needs some comfort. Her mother has moved in after a day-time burglary at her home, her teenage daughter has all the sullenness and angst of most 16-year-olds, her son’s away at college, and her hospital administrator husband has just lost his job. Then her father, a traveling piano player whom she hasn’t seen in 35 years, breaks both wrists in a fall and has nowhere else to go. Can she bake enough cakes to soothe everyone – and herself?

I have loved every book I’ve read by Jeanne Ray, and this one is no exception. Her writing reminds me of Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Berg. Her characters experience everyday life, with all its joys, crises, heartaches and triumphs.

I loved Ruth. I liked how she came to grips with her anxieties, how she reached out for help when she needed it, how she listened to advice but still made her own decisions. I loved the interactions between Ruth and her mother, or Ruth and her daughter. This is a woman I want to be friends with … and not just because of her cakes, though I would love to try them!

And I really liked the addition of Florence, the occupational therapist who makes house calls as a favor to the family to help Ruth’s father recover the use of his hands. This is a no-nonsense yet compassionate woman that everyone needs as a best friend. She’s a wonderful addition to the mix of this household.

The audiobook is performed by the author, and I cannot imagine anyone else doing a better job. She really brought these characters to life. One little quibble with the audio version, however, is that it is difficult to tell when Ruth is saying something out loud or just thinking it. But that didn’t really lessen my enjoyment of the book.

The text includes detailed recipes at the end.

30LyndaInOregon
toukokuu 27, 2022, 11:50 pm

Just finished Code Girls, which is another nonfiction look at women's contributions to WWII, which were largely hidden (this time, for security reasons) for decades even after the conflict ended.

It's not a perfect book -- a bit overstuffed with some of the technical details, a bit repetitive in places, but definitely worth the read.

Next up is Jodi Taylor's Just One Damned Thing After Another, which is the first of a fantasy time-travel series. I generally avoid series on principal, but thought I'd give this one a go after seeing several positive reviews.

31fredbacon
toukokuu 27, 2022, 11:55 pm

The new thread is up over here.

32RodneyGMiller
Muokkaaja: kesäkuu 6, 2022, 3:54 pm

>10 BookConcierge: Had a similar response to "The Power of One" years ago. You might also enjoy Courtenay's "Matthew Flinders' Cat."

33BookConcierge
kesäkuu 6, 2022, 5:07 pm

>32 RodneyGMiller: Thanks, I'll check that out.