Bookfoolery
All kinds of foolery, with focus on books, life and regular kitty reports
Wednesday, July 03, 2024
Everything I Read in June, 2024
Saturday, June 01, 2024
Everything I Read in May, 2024
![]() |
May:
51. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann - If you read last month's post, you know I avoided this book for ages because the murders happened a bit too close to my hometown in Oklahoma. But, my local book group (which I no longer attend, although I'm still keeping in touch) was planning to discuss Flower Moon this month and friend Linda encouraged me to read and share my thoughts by email. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. It's still a miserable thing to read about, just knowing the horror the Osage Indians went through and the trauma they still live with, today. But, I thought the book was thorough, well-written, and it held my attention. I also appreciated all of the photographs. The "Birth of the FBI" side of the story was much more fascinating than I expected. I particularly admired the FBI agent in charge of the investigation into the murders. True crime is not generally my thing because I find it so upsetting, and often nightmare-inducing, but I would definitely recommend Killers of the Flower Moon.
52. The Hopkins Manuscript by R. C. Sherriff - A new favorite Persephone title. Edgar Hopkins is an amateur astronomer and a country gentleman, retired school master, and avid chicken breeder in the 1940s. When his astronomy club announces that the moon is going to crash into the Earth, his story begins. Long after everyone in England has died of starvation, his manuscript is found in a Thermos flask, telling the story of how he found out about the coming cataclysm, the early years with those who survived, and then the reason everything went downhill. The story is both gripping in the lead-up to the cataclysm and has a lovely "found family" aspect. Just a rocking fine bit of storytelling. I didn't want to put it down.
53. Otis and the Kittens by Loren Long - This children's picture book is one from a big box of Dolly's Imagination Library books that was donated to our local library sale. I grabbed just the one (we have a lot of children come to the library sales so I felt like they needed to be saved for the littles) because kittens . . . a favorite children's book subject, of course! Unfortunately, the story was really about Otis; it was not a kitten story at all. It told about Otis the Tractor, how he loved to play tug-of-war with his animal friends, and then his heroic trips into a barn that caught fire to save a litter of kittens, the last trip ending in the disaster of Otis falling through the floor. I found the story a little too frightening and not the message I would ever want to send to a small child about how to react to fire. From reading reviews, it appears Otis has an entire series. I'm not surprised. The illustrations are marvelous and a friendly tractor on a farm is always a fun subject but this particular book is not one I'd give to a child in my family.
54. Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow - I got this book from the library sale, as well, a cutesy book in which there's a single sentence on each page and sometimes just a word. "Frolic!" with an illustration of Tootle, for example (Tootle the Train frolicking amongst the buttercups). It's silly and I expected that. I was really in it to enjoy the illustrations from various Little Golden Books and the words were almost superfluous. I enjoyed looking at the illustrations because they bring back memories. But, honestly, I'd rather just sit on the floor with a pile of the old Golden books. The only one I know we still own is actually Tootle, though, so that's not happening. If you're a person who loves old illustrations, this book is fun to flip through. Otherwise, it really has no purpose; it's just a novelty book.
55. Glitch by Laura Martin - A super fun middle grade time travel. Elliott and Regan are Glitchers, people who have the genetic ability to travel through time. On a secretive island, there's an academy to train them in traveling to the past without doing damage while capturing the bad guys, known as "Butterflies" who seek to change history. Unfortunately, Regan and Elliott can't stand each other. But, when they're put together to train as a team and then things go horribly wrong, will they be willing to break the law together to save everyone they know? I enjoyed this book, although I thought the animosity between the two kids went on for an annoyingly long time and then the segue to getting along was a bit abrupt. But, it's adventurous, thrilling, and even a bit educational as the main characters travel to the past and historical events are described, so it gets a big thumbs up.
56. French Windows by Antoine Laurain - The latest from one of my most recent additions to my favorite authors is about a psychiatrist, a patient of his who will only speak through typewritten stories, and a dark secret. Nathalia is a photographer but she's been unable to do her job since she witnessed a murder. Dr. Faber can get no more out of her but she mentions that she writes, so he suggest that she write stories and then analyzes the stories for clues to what's going on. Each story is about someone living in Nathalia's apartment complex, in the building visible from her windows. From them, he draws clues. But, what is Nathalia trying to say? I've been working on slowly trying to read everything Antoine Laurain has written so it's especially exciting when an unexpected Antoine Laurain book shows up in the mail. His stories have two elements I love: an especially surprising ability to make the reader think, "Where is this headed?" and then pull all of the various strands together beautifully and with wit; and, a unique charm, often due to a romantic element. The charm is lacking in this story, but the pulling together of elements in a clever way is there, so I still enjoyed it. I received an ARC of French Windows from Meryl Zagarek Public Relations. Its release date is sometime in June. Thank you so much, Meryl! Here's a link to another of Antoine Laurain's books that I enjoyed: Red is My Heart
57. Clarice the Brave by Lisa McMann - Clarice and her brother Charles Sebastian were born on a ship at sea. There, they were taught to be cautious by their mother before her tragic demise. There are many dangers on the ship, including cats, the boots of humans, and some very mean chickens. When a band of mutineers take over the ship and toss the captain and his loyalists into a launch boat, Clarice ends up on the launch with one of the ship's cats, Special Lady, and Charles Sebastian must fend for himself on the ship. Before the launch pulls away, Clarice shouts to Charles Sebastian that she believes in him. He's been coddled all of his life and she worries about his ability to make it on his own. Determined to find each other, they must first find a way to survive. Clarice wisely finds a way to keep Special Lady (who ate her sister) from turning her into lunch while Charles Sebastian befriends a girl who has been thrown into a cage and chained for the error of overhearing the mutineers' plans. While each of the mice is forging special relationships, they must also survive their own harrowing adventures. Will they ever find each other? There were times I thought Clarice the Brave might be a little too frightening for middle graders and one time the events were so upsetting I refused to believe a particular death had occurred but I closed the book feeling immensely satisfied. What an adventure!
58. Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy - Yippee! A new book by Simon! Helen Cartwright has lost everyone she loved and returned to her hometown in England after 60 years in Australia. She spends her days simply, eating very little and drinking lots of tea, taking warm baths to soothe her aching body, watching TV and listening to the radio. She is waiting to die. When a neighbor puts an aquarium full of toys and garbage outside, Helen is drawn to an object that stirs a distant memory. But, bringing it home leads to a mouse entering her life and the mouse will change everything. Helen doesn't want a mouse in her house. The mouse, though, ends up bringing new friends into her life. Found family! My favorite trope. Sipsworth begins slowly as you get to know Helen and her routine while experiencing her pain and loneliness, but then the pace picks up as Helen reaches out for help. Another lovely, heartwarming story from Simon Van Booy, highly recommended.
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest - In my quest to read and part with older books I've been hanging onto for eons, I found this 1970s gem that was made into a movie and it became my latest stationary bike read. Cal and Beth, Buck and Conrad were a happy, active family until tragedy struck. Now, Buck is dead and Conrad has attempted to take his own life. Cal is the sensitive parent, the one who tries to understand what happened and guide Conrad back to normality. Beth seems distant, eager to escape from home and keep herself busy with tennis and golf. While Conrad drifts from his friends and goes through therapy, tension builds between Cal and Beth. Then, a second tragedy rocks Conrad but simultaneously helps him understand his own emotions. And, new love will help him regain his hope. The book is much like it sounds, a story of ordinary people dealing with loss in their own ways but ending with a ray of hope. I liked it, although it was an emotional rollercoaster. Now, I want to rewatch the movie.
60. Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring - I found a copy of this play (which you may know from the movie starring Cary Grant) at a recent library sale and decided to read it when I was looking for something quick to read while we were going through a very busy week with a guest in the house. As it turned out, it's a fun, easy, slapstick read and I could practically see Cary Grant while I was reading, but it took me days because having a houseguest is not a typical thing for us and I was flattened by the end of each day. At any rate, I'd normally read it in an afternoon and it was an absolute delight in spite of being spread out over several days. Now, I need to re-watch the movie.
61. Pioneer Women: The Lives of Women on the Frontier by Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith - A heavily-researched (the bibliography is huge) book about women who lived on the American Frontier, including non-whites, single women, women left on their own to cope when the men were away, and widows. A nice, all-encompassing look at what life was like for women and how many of the early female settlers of the West went on to be leaders in business, law, medicine, social structure (including the building of churches and libraries as well as organizations for women's suffrage, temperance, etc.). I think the most eye-opening thing about this book is the fact that it appears that life was somewhat more progressive amongst the Western settlers than American life is today, although there were certain religions that were adamant about a woman's place being in the home. The second and third generation women of the West pretty much ignored them, though. Lots of photos in this book and enough information to make me want to read more.
62. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - A reread for group discussion but the leader of this discussion never did set a discussion date, so . . . can't say what others think. I liked this book just as much the second time around with one exception: I got tired of the Navy SEAL jargon. Otherwise, the concepts still resonate with me. I'm all in favor of the idea that one should own his or her actions. My husband has participated in the Echelon Front leadership training and believes it's made a difference to his team at work. But, I have no use for business advice so I looked at the various concepts from more of a viewpoint of interacting with others. At any rate, it's a good book and I still highly recommend it after a second reading.
63. Vertical Run by Joseph R. Garber - Another reread, a 90s thriller that I first read not long after publication. David Elliott served in the Special Forces in Vietnam. 25 years later, he's a successful businessman. So, why does everyone suddenly want to kill him? While a large number of people who clearly have the same training as Dave are hunting him down in the NY skyscraper in which he works, Dave uses the same skills to set traps and elude them while trying to unravel the mystery of why he's being pursued. The story is a bit dated and becomes more implausible the farther you get into it. Even the main character is baffled as to why they didn't just tell him the truth, when he finds out. No biggie. It's taut and exciting with an intelligent hero, if a bit high in body count. I enjoyed it every bit as much the second time around.
64. No Better Medicine by Kelly Meister-Yetter - What a lovely memoir. Kelly Meister-Yetter tells about her love of animals and how they and a new man in her life helped her heal from childhood abuse. Told as a series of vignettes, the author describes how she, known locally as "the Critter Lady", helped care for discarded pet ducks and her own little menagerie of cats while also visiting a local barn full of rescued animals, where she learned how to ride horses and eventually leased a horse who needed help dealing with his own fears. You can't help but admire Kelly's fierce love of animals and the time and dedication she has given to caring for them. I confess to tearing up a little, at times. I may not be acquainted with any ducks or horses but I can relate to the deep affection she has for animals and how they help one deal with chaotic emotion.
May was a pretty good month! There was only one book I didn't really like: Otis and the Kittens, although Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book was just a gimmick, much as I liked the illustrations. Fortunately, both of those took no time at all to read. I had a lot of favorites: Glitch, The Hopkins Manuscript, Sipsworth, and Vertical Run are among them. No Better Medicine, Arsenic and Old Lace, Clarice the Brave . . . oh, goodness, just about everything was fantastic. Ordinary People eventually became tiresome but that's often true of stationary bike reads. I end up taking them off the bike rack to finish.
I included the cat picture because I'm relieved that Isabel has more energy than she's had, recently. I can't recall if I've mentioned that she has a degenerative neurological condition. She was looking scruffy, not grooming herself as well and acting a bit sluggish for a couple weeks. But, her steroid shot seems to have finally helped her perk up, even though it took about a week to take effect. At any rate, she's looking better, for now, and I have my fingers crossed that she'll keep on ticking.
©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
Friday, May 03, 2024
Everything I Read in April, 2024
April:
42. Ruby Parker Hits the Small Time by Rowan Coleman - Ruby has always been dramatic, so her parents signed her up for drama lessons when she was very young. At her Saturday drama class, at the age of 6, she was discovered and since then she's been acting in a soap opera called Kensington Heights and attending an exclusive drama school. At the time she began acting in the series, her blonde ringlets and dimples made her appealing. Now 13, Ruby is going through an awkward stage. When she overhears talk about killing her character off and then her parents announce that they're separating and her father is moving out, effective immediately, Ruby's world is turned upside-down. Can Ruby convince her parents that they should stick together for her sake (if they really love her)? Will Ruby's character be killed off the show? How will she survive school if she loses her job? She's already a bit of an outcast. With the help of her friend Nydia (who makes hilariously bad suggestions), Ruby pursues her goals. Not the greatest middle grade book but I liked the fact that part of Ruby's dilemma was about already being successful at a young age, which kind of turned the "dreaming of being famous one day" trope on its head.
43. I Will Not Die Alone by Dera White and Joe Bennett - A book of interconnected comics, I Will Not Die Alone starts out with some very silly images saying things like, "I will pursue my dreams, regardless" (not necessarily the exact wording) showing a mole with a telescope. Haha, good one. I wasn't sure of the point, at first, but then midway through the book, someone looks through the telescope and discovers that a comet is headed toward Earth. The pithy comments below each image continue as you view the animals realizing what's coming, grieving, and then just going on with life in spite of knowing it's going to end, soon. Honestly, I was totally lost until the comet. Then, I got it: whatever happens, you just have to get on with your life. I read some reviews and a lot of people were left flat but I found the storyline both poignant and hilarious.
44. Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan - Published in 1990, Mean Spirit is a fictional account of the murders in Osage County in the 1920s that are better known through the book and movie Killers of the Flower Moon. I've avoided reading Flower Moon because my hometown was maybe 5 miles from Osage County, so I can't compare the two (I thought fiction would be easier to handle — yeah, no). Wow, what a difficult read. It's told from the viewpoint of the Native Americans and I appreciated that, although it was awful reading about the horror and fear as people were being murdered left and right. Mean Spirit also brought back some unsettling memories, for me. For ages, I have remembered going to a big white building, where my father had a friend working and we would play with that friend's children, for a year or two when I was very young. But, I didn't know what the building was until the teenagers in the book were sent off to Indian school and I thought, "Wait a minute. Indian school." I googled Indian school near [my hometown] and yep, that big white building was Chilocco Indian School. Knowing what we now know about Indian schools, I was teary off and on all evening when I figured that out. As of the book's publication, people who stole land in the 1920s were still receiving royalty checks from the oil found on that stolen land. That's insane and should be fixed, if it hasn't already (I doubt it has). A 5-star read, painful but important and beautifully rendered.
45. The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis - Francie's friend is getting married in Roswell, New Mexico, and she's the maid of honor. Knowing friend Serena has a tendency to get engaged to very strange men, Francie thinks her job will likely be talking the bride out of marrying. But, when Serena sends Francie to her car to grab some sparkly lights, Francie is kidnapped by an alien. The alien wants her to drive somewhere but she isn't able to communicate with it. Along the way, more people are kidnapped until there is an RV with an ensemble of nutty people, all trying to figure out what the alien (whom they call "Indy") wants, his intended destination, and why he's in such a hurry. Like Project Hail Mary and the movie The Arrival, there's a linguistic aspect to this story as Francie attempts to figure out how to communicate with Indy, which is enjoyable. But, in general, the tone is funny, light, even goofy. A great book to read after you've read something heavy, when you need a mental break.
46. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice - Evan and his wife Nicole, and their two children are going about their lives in their small Anishinaabe community when they lose power and then phone service. At first, everyone is certain that the power will return and the food shipment will eventually arrive. But as time drags on, nothing happens and it becomes important for the community to band together to share resources, conserve energy, and help out the elderly as it's going to be a long, harsh winter. This story is very everyday but with a tense undercurrent. I liked it particularly for both the Indigenous influence (the descriptions of tradition and the use of native language) and the survival aspect. The pacing is slow but the pages flew and I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.
47. We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett - This month's Zoom book group selection is a fantasy based on the real-life WWII female pilots known as the Night Witches. Two women are being punished, one for using magic to save herself and someone else when her town was being bombed, the other for pretending to be a male and joining the army. Their punishment is to become part of a group of women who will use their special talents to fly the oldest, slowest planes available. The better planes are to be saved for the men. A good portion of the book is dedicated to the personalities of the pilots and how they learn to work together while also learning how to fly, navigate, and drop bombs. Then, they are sent to bomb the enemy. One problem: anyone who is shot down but survives and finds their way home is considered a spy. But, staying behind enemy lines means certain death. Who will live and who will die? I generally dislike fantasy but the basis in a piece of WWII history that I was familiar with kept the pages turning, early on, and then it eventually became very tense and exciting.
48. Spy X Family, Vol. 11 by Tatsuya Endo - Quite possibly the best of the series, Volume 11 of Spy X Family focuses on a single story about the children from Anya's school. Out for a field trip in several buses, two of the buses are highjacked and the kidnappers threaten to kill the children if they don't get what they've asked for. Anya's ability to read minds is helpful as she's able to hear what the kidnappers are planning. Meanwhile, her fake father is off on a mission but her fake mother's brother is determined to become involved in the rescue. It was interesting seeing very little of the two main adult characters but what made this such a great entry in the series was that it was just a good story, all around, and Anya's mind reading made for some light moments.
49. The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson - I loved Tunneling to the Center of the Earth (and at least one short story I've read by Wilson in McSweeney's) so I bought several of Wilson's books before my book-buying ban started. The Family Fang continues to display his quirky style, bouncing back and forth between examples of the "art" the family makes, creating chaos and filming it, and the current chaos that's caused the grown children, Annie and Buster, to return home. Annie is now an actress and Buster is a writer. When Annie becomes tabloid fodder and Buster is seriously injured by a potato gun, they go home to recover but are no longer interested in their parents' form of art. But, then their parents disappear. Convinced that they must be creating art, again, rather than truly kidnapped as the police say, Annie and Buster attempt to draw their parents out. Are they dead or alive? I liked this book but about halfway through it I became rather weary of the story, so I took about a week off and then returned to it. In the end, I found it satisfying but The Family Fang is not a book I'll keep for a reread.
50. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald - In spite of my vow not to participate in any challenges, I have been quietly joining in on a Wichita library challenge for which friend Carrie sent a bookmark with blanks beside particular categories. Since I'm not buying books, I'm using only books already on my shelves for this challenge. In 1959, Florence Green, a middle-aged widow, has decided to open a bookshop in her small English village. A place called The Old House has been sitting empty for years, so she buys it and moves in. But, then she's invited to a party hosted by someone she doesn't really know, a posh woman who wants to turn The Old House into an arts center. Florence is already living in the house and setting up her store, so she ignores the rude implication that she should move out and lives, mostly comfortably, with a poltergeist occasionally creating a nuisance and help from a couple villagers. While The Bookshop is a novel, it's a short one at 124 pages so it has the feel of a snapshot in time like a short story. I quickly realized that I've read this book before but it was just as enjoyable the second time around. Lovely writing with some sly British humor.
©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
Tuesday, April 02, 2024
Everything I Read in March, 2024
March:
28. The Actual by Saul Bellow - POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS BRIEF REVIEW hidden from view — click on white area to view. My first stationary bike read of the month, The Actual is a novella narrated by a successful businessman who has spent most of his adult life overseas, never content. Years ago, he dated Amy but then they went their separate ways, she married, they had a weird threesome in a shower with her first husband, she divorced, married again, her second marriage ended, and her ex died. Throughout all these years, Harry has been in love with her. When Amy and Harry are unexpectedly thrown together, he reflects on what they've been through and how they've changed. Will Harry finally confess his feelings? I mean, who cares? What's with old white guys and their obsession with sex? Not the first famous author whose work I've started with from the wrong end. He could write (and the book was blessedly short or I wouldn't have finished) but the story was just meh. Also, this is the third book I've read this year that's involved dead bodies: in The Actual, an exhumation. Apart from any cracking murder mysteries, future books that revolve around death and cemeteries will be abandoned.
29. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center - Hannah is an executive protection agent, a bodyguard who does assignments worldwide for wealthy individuals in need of security. She's small but tough. However, she's been emotionally flattened by a relationship that's just ended and her boss has her competing with her ex for a coveted job in London. While her boss decides, she's stuck in the Houston area. Jack Stapleton is a famous leading man who has become reclusive after the tragic death of his brother. Now, he's back in Texas to be near his sick mother and Hannah absolutely, utterly does not want to have to be involved in his security. So, of course they're thrown together. Because The Bodyguard is a romance, it's clear how the story is going to end. But, Katherine Center does a bang-up job of making it fun getting there. The slow growth of affection between Jack and Hannah is surprisingly believable, entertaining, and satisfying. A bit of a Notting Hill in Texas with family instead of a circle of friends as the ensemble.
30. The Wild Robot Escapes (The Wild Robot series #2) by Peter Brown - I decided to go ahead and read the second in the Wild Robot series so I can go ahead and pass them on together. In The Wild Robot Escapes, Roz has been refurbished and sold to a farmer whose wife died in an accident that also injured his leg. Roz quickly becomes friends with the cows and the children and gets the farm equipment in working order. She plans to eventually escape to return to the island where her adopted son, a goose named Brightbill, still lives. But, she has a built-in tracker. You know from the title that she eventually escapes. And, her escape is a harrowing adventure. Some of the time, Brightbill is with her; at times they're separated. The RECO robots (short for reconnaissance?) are searching for her, throughout. Will Roz make it home? Some edge-of-your-seat moments in this one, for sure. I loved it as much as the first book. I feel like the ending of this book – while hinting at a third book, which does exist – had a satisfactory ending that would make a decent stopping point. But, I might see if my library has the third book, at some point.
31. The Valley of Adventure (Adventure series #3) by Enid Blyton - Jack, Lucy Ann, Dinah, and Philip are going to go on a plane trip with their friend Bill and spend the night. They pack their bags and are given some snacks plus an admonishment by their mother not to get into anymore dangerous adventures, before they head for the airport. The children are excited. But, when they hear gunfire, they throw their luggage onto the plane and hide without locating their adult friend, who will fly the plane. When strangers climb aboard and fly them to a valley surrounded by mountains, the children are uncertain what to do. But, they do know to stay away from the men who flew the plane. One of them has a gun and they seem to be up to no good. The children have little food and no idea how to escape the valley. And, when they find out what the strangers are up to, they know they're in deep trouble. How will the children survive, much less escape? Well, they're very resourceful children, I'll tell you that much. Another great book by Blyton. I may never read her children's books again, once I finish this boxed set, but I'm glad I have finally gotten to find out what the fuss was all about (I'm looking at you, British friends).
©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
Sunday, March 03, 2024
Everything I Read in February, 2024
February
17. The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 7 by Kousuke Oono - When I picked up my copy of the 7th book in the Way of the Househusband manga series, I noted the cat on the cover and hoped it meant there would be plenty of cat stories in this particular volume. And, there were! In the first story, a woman wears sunglasses because she doesn't want to be seen as she enters a cat cafe. Inside, Tatsu is working and shows her how to give a cat a meat tube treat then she lets her guard down. There are several other cat-centered stories and at the end of the book, the author's note tells you why. He had recently adopted a cat. This is by far my favorite in the series, although they are all wickedly funny. The cats made it blow to the top of the list.
18. How to be Both by Ali Smith - There are two sections in this book and I found out after reading it that they're reversed in some books. Half of those printed had one section at the beginning and half the other. In my copy, the part at the beginning of the book is about a girl who is a bit precocious and has quite a clever rapport with her mother. Her mother becomes obsessed with a fresco in an Italian castle and books tickets to go see it. Then, the mother tragically dies and George (short for Georgia) is grieving. In the second section, a very talented child (who also loses her mother) is the child of a bricklayer who builds walls. When her talent is discovered, the father agrees to help her get art training. But, in order to do so, she'll have to pretend to be a boy because it's the 15th century. There's a lot of word play and what I've read indicates that the use of "both" is quite ingenious. But, that went right over my head. I liked the book better when it was about a special rapport between a mother and child and then her grief and that of her family. The art bits . . . at some point Francesco views and follows George as a spirit so George is brought back and there is a bit of a conclusion to her story but it's from a distance and kind of vague. I liked George enough to want to finish her story out with her, so that was disappointing but I've found most of Smith's books are a bit of a head trip.
19. The Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett - The movie made from this book in the 1960s is one that I watched over and over again as a child but, like my recent discovery that The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was a book first, I had no idea there even was a book. So, I was excited when I found a copy in the book sale. It's only 127 pages long and illustrated, so The Lilies of the Field is a very quick read, which I appreciated after finishing How to be Both. Homer Smith has decided to see the West. He's from South Carolina but learned some skills in the Army and that's freed him up to travel and occasionally stop to earn enough money to keep going. When he sees some women working in a field, he pulls in. They are nuns who escaped from East Germany and they're trying to get a farm up and running with the ultimate goal of taking in city boys who need guidance. Mother Maria Marthe thinks Smith (whom she calls Schmidt) has been sent by God and she puts him to work, first on the roof of their house and then building a chapel. Smith doesn't even know why he's staying. She's not going to pay him. But, he likes the nuns, eats and works with them and occasionally brings them food, sings with them, and teaches them a bit of English. Just a lovely story. I need to see if I've got a copy of the movie. Must watch it, again!
20. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - I would probably not have read this book if not for friend Carrie sending it to me and when I did, I was quite surprised. I'm not sure what I expected. Maybe a coming-of-age story? And, once I got into it, I was a little confused. Why was it called Olive Kitteridge when the beginning of the book seemed to be about her husband, Henry? When the second chapter had an entirely different focus from the first, I finally looked at the cover blurb. Ooooh, it's a book of interconnected stories in which Olive is always present in some fashion but not really a book about Olive. From then on, I read the book like I do short stories, giving each separate story/chapter time to roll around in my head before I moved on to another set of characters and their challenges. Gradually, you get to know Olive as a complex character who has both good and bad characteristics. Some people are afraid of her or find her unlikable. But, Olive is just Olive and at times she can be an incredibly understanding and soothing soul. It didn't take long for me to appreciate both the writing and the character, once I understood the format of the book. A 5-star read and a Pulitzer Prize winner. I often dislike award-winning books but I loved Olive Kitteridge. Thank you, Carrie!
21. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa - I tried to read The Memory Police a year or two ago, but couldn't wrap my head around the concept of things disappearing but still existing in the world, so I set it aside. This time, I knew what was coming: a world in which it's the perception of objects that disappears but there are people who don't lose that perception and if they're discovered, they're taken away by the Memory Police. It's the kind of world building that requires you to simply let go of reality and accept that something weird is happening. When the heroine, an author, is asked to shelter her editor, who hasn't lost his memories, she and an elderly friend accept the challenge. But, while she is working on her novel and protecting her friend, things continue to disappear and life becomes more difficult. Meanwhile, there is a story within the story as the author/protagonist continues to write her novel, which has parallels to her own reality, with something crucial disappearing forever. I'm glad I gave this book a second chance. While I never was fully able to let go of disbelief, the dystopian island where memories disappear was an unusual and fascinating concept and I found Ogawa's writing quite lovely.
22. Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto - Three novellas in which sleep plays an outsized role. In the title story, "Asleep", a young woman is having an affair with a married man whom she refers to simply as "my boyfriend" or by his formal name with "Mr.", never by his first name. His wife is in a coma and he didn't start dating the heroine until after his wife had been comatose for a while. She has quit her job and he's paying to keep her in an apartment and unemployed. But, she's constantly sleeping; her level of sleep mirrors the unconsciousness of his wife. In another story, a woman describes how the cousin who had become her brother's lover is sleepwalking after his death has sent her into a spiraling grief. This is my first book by Banana Yoshimoto and it's been sitting on my shelf for probably at least 2 decades. I didn't love it but at the same time I appreciated her unique word choices, to the point that I found myself rereading lines. I would definitely read more by this author.
23. The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh - I couldn't find my personal copy of The Loved One when I looked for it, hoping to join in on a group discussion. But, after the discussion had ended, I managed to locate a copy at the library sale. It's a large print and quite thin, so it was perfect for stationary bike reading. In The Loved One, a British poet named Dennis is unsuccessful at selling his poetry so he gets a job at the local pet mortuary and cemetery, The Happy Hunting Ground. When his roommate loses his job and then passes away, Dennis handles the funeral and burial details and meets Amy, a makeup artist who pretties up corpses. They fall in love, although she's uncertain that a poet is necessarily the right man to marry when Mr. Joyboy comes calling. Amy is Mr. Joyboy's protégé and he is helping her to work her way up in the funeral home. A wickedly funny and kind of stomach-turning satire with a love triangle.
24. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin - A book about religion (Pentecostal), racism, sex, desire and sin, poverty, and how these things all fit together in the world of 1950s Black life. Having read The Fire Next Time, I presumed that Go Tell It on the Mountain was at least partially autobiographical and after reading the book I found out I was correct, but there were things I totally missed, like the fact that the characters all had Bible names. A very slow and somewhat difficult read but written with such detailed description of emotional and physical sensations that it's almost painful yet pretty damned impressive. What I read indicated that critics have difficulty determining whether it's an attempt at scathing rebuke of religion or the opposite. I lean toward rebuke.
25. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown - When a hurricane sinks a ship and most of its cargo goes down with it, a few crates float to a nearby island. There, a single crate is left mostly intact with a robot inside. Roz is activated by a romp of otters (I looked it up; a group of otters on land is a "romp"). Roz explores the island and introduces herself to the animals but they think she's a monster until . . . well, that's probably a spoiler. I liked the way the book unfolded so I won't mess it up for anyone who reads this. However, I will tell you that I found The Wild Robot slow in the beginning, but once something happened to soften the hearts of the animals and allow Roz to make friends with them, the book became a pure delight and actually quite heartwarming. By far the sweetest robot story I've ever read but with some heart-pounding moments, as well.
26. You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh - A reread. The first two books I read by Thich Nhat Hanh were excellent but I didn't read him again for a long time. Recently, I've been reading his books with some regularity and I think I've finished 6, now. What I've found is that reading his books regularly helps me to keep my eye on the ball, so to speak, to stay grateful for the present moment and learn to take joy from little things. "Mindfulness" is such a wonderful concept. There is a particular poem in this book that I've been reciting to myself when needed, since I first read it. It doesn't rhyme so I gave it a tune (admittedly a terrible one but it helps me recall the words) and when I need to calm down, deal with anger or hurt or frustration, it helps immediately. I can't recommend Thich Nhat Hanh enough.
27. Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington - One of my Aussie Instagram friends mentioned this book amongst her Australian favorites before the end of the year and all of the others on her list that I'd read were books I enjoyed, so I grabbed a copy before the start of my book-buying ban without knowing a thing about it (I have never seen the movie, either). For those who don't know, Rabbit-Proof Fence is the true story of three half-caste Aboriginal/White girls who were taken to have their native language and knowledge replaced by the White immigrant's preferred methods and the English language. There's some history leading up to their forcible removal from Jigalong Station to the "school" North of Perth, then the journey they were taken on, followed by their observation that the place was more jail than school and their escape back home, which took 9 weeks and was done with such cleverness and skill that even professional trackers couldn't locate them. An amazing story but so depressing to find that natives in Australia experienced the exact same kind of forced removal to horrible so-called schools that Native Americans went through.
©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
Saturday, February 03, 2024
Everything I Read in January, 2024
January:
©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
Wednesday, January 03, 2024
2024 Reading Goals
My goals are pretty simple for 2024 but I like to write them down so that I can look back, at the end of the year. So, here goes:
1. 2024 brings the return of the full-year book-buying ban. I have two exceptions, books for book group discussion and library sale finds. However, I can only bring home as much as I donate. So, if I take a single book to donate when I work in the library sale (I'm a volunteer!), I can only bring one home. If I'm miserable, mid-year, I will allow myself one Book Outlet purchase, but only one. And, I'm going to do my best to avoid even that.
2. Read from my own collection, particularly the floor piles. I have too many books, hence the buying ban. There's no longer any remaining shelf space (partly because I gave my son 3 bookshelves, last year — that's one way to force yourself to go through your books!) I do also plan to work on thinning the many remaining titles on my shelves.
3. No floor piles by the end of the year. Good luck to me.
4. Read what calls to me. The only exceptions will be books read for my book group and any unsolicited arrivals that appeal to me. I still occasionally get a book in the mail and I will always read those in a timely manner if they interest me.
My numerical goal is set to 100 at Goodreads because that's usually an easily achievable number (I don't want my book goal to become something stressful) but I'd like to try to read more novels. I have a handful of remaining manga and graphic novels and I always have a nice stockpile of middle grade books, so I have books to turn to if I'm feeling bogged down and need something light. But, I felt like I read a bit too many very short books in 2023, so I want to stretch myself a bit.
I usually choose one or two classic chunksters to try to read (last year, I read one of the two I chose). This year, nah. If I feel like reading a classic chunkster, I will. But, I'm not going to make any particular title a goal.
The same is true of genres. I have some things I'm letting float around in my head that I'd like to focus on: more classics, some Japanese and Australian titles. But, I find that if I let books call to me rather than making a plan, I enjoy my reading more. Challenges, in particular, seem to bog me down, which sucks but it is what it is, so I'm just going to let my own needs dictate how I read.
By the way, is that image above beautiful, or what? It was taken in Poland by someone called @freestocks and I found it at Unsplash, a great place to find free images.
©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.