Bookfoolery : September 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Finna by Nate Marshall

fin-na /ˈfinə/ contraction: (1) going to; intending to. rooted in African American Vernacular English. (2) eye dialect spelling of "fixing to." (3) Black possibility; Black futurity; Blackness as tomorrow.

dispatch from the 6th circle

Crawfordsville, IN

I count the Confederate flags

around town, a surprise considering the geography.

what earnest confusion, honest mistake it takes

to fly a rebel flag in the North. this makes the most

sense: us turning against us, the cannibal instinct, the

vote against self. self-hate is something i've known.

hear the way my voice lilts too many

ways, my vocabularies wrestle themselves, scrap

amongst the street in between my teeth. watch my mouth slang

& stutter into eloquence. watch my mouth whistle

this simple Dixie.

~p. 86

If you hang around my blog much, you might remember that I accidentally bought the wrong book entitled Finna. I mean . . . you wouldn't think there'd be two by that name, would you? Here's a link to the other Finna, by Nino Cipri.

Finna by Nate Marshall is the book I intended to buy, a book of poetry from which I read an excerpt online somewhere (Instagram, maybe?) that I absolutely loved. Although I didn't buy it specifically because of the fact that the author is Black, that's a definite side benefit because I am trying to buy more books by people of color to amplify their voices.

You can see the author is both serious about racism and playful. I enjoyed his ability to stab the heart with irony.

Highly recommended - An outstanding poetry collection. Sharp, insightful, descriptive of both pain and anger but with humor. I love this collection of poetry about blackness and claiming one's name, place, and people. I gave it 5 stars and am so glad I bought a copy so I can return to it.

©2020 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, September 29, 2020

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman is a young adult novel about a teenager who has an undefined mental illness (possibly a combination of illnesses). After his grades drop and he becomes paranoid, telling his father he thinks someone at school wants to kill him and then he acts strangely at school, as well, Caden is eventually hospitalized in a mental ward. There he meets other teenagers who have similar issues, sees a counselor and a psychiatrist, has his medications adjusted and readjusted, and learns to deal with an illness that can only be controlled, at best.

While Challenger Deep is a young adult book it's not an easy read, emotionally speaking, since you're in the mind of a teenager who's had a break from reality. Sometimes he's hallucinating but the sights and voices are very real to him.

I can see why this book is an award winner. After reading, I feel like I "get" what it must be like to experience both the illness and the fogginess that goes with having to take a cocktail of drugs to control it. It's clear why people dealing with severe mental illness have a problem with occasionally being non-compliant about taking their medication.

Highly recommended - I had tears of relief streaming down my face when the main character, Caden, was finally able to leave the mental ward. A beautifully-written, engaging, distressing, fascinating book about what it's like to lose touch with reality and how it feels to be treated so you can get back to at least a tolerable life, if not a totally normal one.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

I'm the first to admit that the premise of The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell just sounds boring. Sam Hill is born with a condition called ocular albinism, which means his eyes are red. In school, he's given the nickname "Devil Boy" and even his friends call him Sam Hell instead of Hill, at times. In the present day, he's an eye doctor who wears colored contact lenses. The book goes back and forth between Sam's present and his past, where he constantly dealt with a bully and now has discovered that same bully has grown up to be a wife beater and a dangerous cop. Sam's unmarried but close with his female business partner, who was one of his childhood best friends.

While Sam Hell is mostly about his childhood and how he became the man he is now, there's that touch of mystery in the future. Will Sam be able to help the wife of the man who used to torment him at school? Is he in danger, as well, now that the bully has come back into his life? Will Sam ever realize who he belongs with?

Highly recommended - Seriously, the premise did not interest me at all. But, my friend Paula said, "I think you would like this, Nancy," and then my friend Eileen recommended it to me through Goodreads, so I decided if two friends thought I'd like it I should give it a go. And, sure enough, they had me pegged. I found The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell almost impossible to put down. I was completely immersed in Sam's life, his challenges, his friendships, and the romance that clearly needed to happen.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell does have its flaws. For example, not once did the author mention a sensitivity to light, which seems like a no-brainer. I looked it up and yes, ocular albinism should cause photophobia. I have gray eyes and am so sensitive to light that I wear sunglasses even when it's cloudy, sometimes in the rain. I turn down the light on my electronic devices, as well. So, that naturally jumped out at me. I also thought it was strange that he was still insecure about his eye color, even when he was wearing contact lenses, especially given the fact that he always had a nice circle of friends and plenty of support at home. But, the story was so captivating that I didn't care about its flaws and only felt like I was briefly pulled out of it, now and then. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell is definitely one of the most enjoyable books I've read in 2020.

Sunday, September 27, 2020

The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson

First, apologies for not having a better image of this book's cover. I am having some formatting issues and the new Blogger platform is giving me fits, so I've defaulted to an image I took for Instagram (complete with tap shoes). You should be able to click on the image to enlarge it. I couldn't get a saved image of just the cover to load properly.

The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson is a middle grade book about a boy named Ailey who desperately wants to win the role of the Scarecrow in his school's production of The Wiz. He's a rapper and a dancer but he can't sing and he's not so hot at memorizing lines. Still, he's made up his mind; Scarecrow is the role he wants and he's certain he can make the role unique, both in the way he moves and dresses.

But, when it's Ailey's turn to try out for the role, he totally freezes and can't remember a single line. His competition, a girl named Mahalia with a fabulous voice, does a fantastic job of trying out so Ailey is certain he won't get a callback. Feeling defeated, he goes home and later admits what happened to his grampa [sic], who is in a hospital bed. Grampa tells him the secret he's kept from all but one person, about his own personal defeat and how he's lived with regret his entire life.

Grampa sends Ailey to fetch and care for a pair of tap shoes that were given to him by the famous dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and when Ailey makes a wish, the shoes magically transport him back in time, to the day of Grampa's mistake. Can Ailey convince a young Grampa, then known as "Taps", that he has the talent and help him summon the courage to dance for Mr. Robinson? Together, will they change the way the stars align for the old man he adores?

Recommended but not a favorite - I didn't love the writing style, which kept The Magic in Changing Your Stars from being a favorite, but I did love the story and got totally sucked up into it, at least partly because I'm a sucker for anything that involves time travel. But, I also liked the theme that hard work pays off and even if it's painful or embarrassing or terrifying, you should do your best to make your heart's desire come true.

I recognized a few famous names used by the author as character names but only a few, so I also really loved the fact that the author included a substantial list of character names she used in the book and where they came from. That list would be terrific for kids looking for ideas for Black History Month as it described each famous Black person briefly but enough that it certainly piqued my interest to read more about some I'd never heard of.

Friday, September 25, 2020

Fiona Friday - Mine, all mine

Harmonious grass sharing.

Or not.

Monday, September 21, 2020

Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals (top to bottom):

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo and
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - both purchased
Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain - gift from publicist Meryl Zegarek (Thank you!!!)
The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson - from Sterling Kids for review
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse - bought for an Instagram buddy read
Rage by Bob Woodward - purchased
Not pictured: Becoming by Michelle Obama - also purchased

Confession: I gave in and accepted a few books from publishers, this past couple of weeks. Only one has arrived so there will be probably be a few ARCs in the next Malarkey. I have no regrets. But, while I've updated my review policy to say I'll take on children's books, I'm thinking of the other books I accepted as a hiccup. Hic. Oh, excuse me.

Books finished since last . . . well, it was a Tuesday Twaddle (thank you, holiday):

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Finna by Nate Marshall
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
Fear by Bob Woodward

Yikes, not my best fortnight.

Currently reading:

The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson
Becoming by Michelle Obama

I didn't mean to start Becoming but it arrived Sunday afternoon (still strange getting mail on Sundays) and I was stuck with a cat on my lap, a pair of reading glasses, and Becoming. The other books I was reading were in the bedroom. So, I had no choice but to pick it up and start reading. Uh-huh. No choice at all.

Posts since Tuesday Twaddle:

Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake and Jon Klassen (book review)
Fiona Friday - Isabel desires a jelly doughnut (cat photo)
One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes (book review)
Tokyo Ueno Station by Yū Miri (book review)
Five Minute Pete the Cat Stories by James Dean (book review)
Fiona Friday - Kissies (cat photo)

In other news:

Our first cool front arrived so we were able to open the windows part of the day, starting Friday! That first cool day of fall is always my favorite day of the year. And, I was also excited to catch and release (with the help of Huzzybuns, who took the jar outside) a Mediterranean gecko that was hanging out in my bathtub before the kitties spotted him. The perfection of Friday was wrecked by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, unfortunately. Favorite tweet of the day:

TV-wise, we haven't watched anything new and it just occurred to me that I haven't even checked to see if my favorite shows have returned for the fall season or the possibility of new episodes evaporated with the arrival of the pandemic. Except for one. We're looking forward to Season 2 of The Mandalorian. But that's about the only thing I know about that's coming up, soon. In the meantime, we've decided we need to watch Hamilton, again. We've only watched it once. Once is not enough.

Friday, September 18, 2020

Fiona Friday - Kissies

Smooch

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Five Minute Pete the Cat Stories by James Dean

I bought this Pete the Cat collection out of curiosity and because I love cats. It's clear the stories are meant for beginning readers. In fact, it's such an easy-reading book that I felt like I'd been caught in the act of doing something subversive when my husband walked in the door while I was reading 5-Minute Pete the Cat Stories.

Having said that . . . they're simplistic, yes, but I love Pete's attitude. His boundless cheer had me smiling all the way through the book. Too bad my grandkids are 1200 miles away. I'll hang onto this book and hope we can read it together (or eldest granddaughter can read it to me) when the pandemic ends.

Recommended - Simple text for early readers, cute illustrations (who doesn't love a blue cat?), and everyday happenings and adventures that most children can probably relate to make 5-Minute Pete the Cat Stories a great book for gift-giving or having on hand when grandchildren visit. As to parents . . . sorry, guys, you're really going to have to fight to keep from being asked to read 12 stories in a row. I'd make sure to have a bookmark on hand for bedtime reading and say, "We can read X Pete stories, but then we'll save more for later!" Been there with the begging for more.

On a different note: Blogger has rolled out its new platform and no longer offers the option to revert to the historical version. I don't like it; I never like dramatic change because I become accustomed to a certain set of icons and learn to use them quickly. I'll get used to it, I know, but there is one thing I haven't figured out and if anyone knows how to work it, I'd appreciate the help. I tried to remove the image above and replace it with one that is more accurate as to color (Pete is blue, not black) but I cannot find a "remove image" feature, anywhere. And, now the option to contact Blogger about problems with the new platform has also disappeared. Anyway, let me know if you can help!

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yū Miri

I never carried any photos with me, but I was always surrounded by people, places, and times gone by. And as I retreated into the future, the only thing I could ever see was the past.

~p. 17

And in the winter, my mother and Setsuko would knit sweaters for everyone in the family. We could only afford cheap yarn and thread so the sweaters quickly developed holes, but the women would repair them neatly.

~p. 37

I confess that I bought Tokyo Ueno Station by Yū Miri (who also goes by Miri Yū) for two completely shallow reasons:

1. I loved the cover
2. It has Tokyo in the title and I've been slowly collecting Japanese titles, particularly if the setting is a place I've visited.

The interesting thing is about buying Tokyo Ueno Station based mostly on the cover is that I saw the train station, the bus, the man in the fancy suit, the runner, the panda . . . and totally overlooked the homeless people lying on the ground, on a pile of possessions, in front of a makeshift hut. But, that's the one of the main settings and the viewpoint of the main character, who is looking back at his life. He's speaking from beyond, now, but his last years were spent in a homeless encampment in the park adjoining a Tokyo train station. And, as you're reading it, you can't help but theorize about how he ended up there.

Kazu was born in Fukushima in 1933. His family lived in poverty and even after marriage he had to travel wherever necessary to earn money. Most of the time, that meant he wasn't home to spend time with his wife and see his children grow. When tragedy struck for the first time, Kazu was shocked to his core and grieved deeply. More tragedy followed and eventually he moved to Tokyo, but why? What happened that led to Kazu's homelessness? And, what are the odd parallels between Kazu's life of struggle and the Imperial family?

I think one of the things that fascinates me the most about Tokyo Ueno Station is that it sounds like it is an utterly depressing story and yet I didn't find it depressing. Yes, Kazu's life appears to fit the words, "Life sucks and then you die." And, yet, there is something about his acceptance of all of the hardship thrown at him and his final passing that I found almost uplifting. At any rate, I didn't find the book depressing at all.

Recommended - I would not read this book when you're already down in the dumps because it might affect other people negatively, but I found Tokyo Ueno Station brilliantly written and engrossing. The story jumps back and forth in time but you don't know till nearly the end (although, when you hear the name "Fukushima" you can assume the final tragedy) what happened to Kazu to drive him to life in a hut made of cardboard and other scraps. It was not exactly what I expected.

What I love best about Tokyo Ueno Station is the way it places you in Kazu's world, so you really get a feel for why that expression about poverty being expensive means. The story about the cheap yarn made me think of the story I recently read about how a wealthy person can afford quality boots that will last years and years but a poor person will have to buy several pairs over the same time period because s/he can afford only a lesser quality that falls apart. In the long run, the person with less money ends up spending more.

You also see how the homeless are overlooked, almost invisible until they become an eyesore and must be tucked out of sight. You get an idea how grief can drive someone to run away from himself and his life. Tokyo Ueno Station is a harsh story but a deeply meaningful one. I'm so glad I bought it on impulse.

©2020 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.

Monday, September 14, 2020

One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes

The raspberries, Mrs. Marshall said, would he net the raspberries? That, too, was pushed through the keyhole, and back came the little shrill whistle. Oh yes, he would net them. If he netted himself, the birds would see no difference. He would bud, he would blossom, his toes would take root in England, his fingers would splay down comfortably into the soil.

~p. 46

But first, thought Laura, she would start some of the evening's cooking before eating. She began to move pans back and forth off the stove. She used the colander, the grater, wooden spoons of various sizes, and a small army of basins. Her cheeks became flushed. Would the sauce bind? And lo, it bound, while her heart did likewise. But with a hiss, something else boiled over disastrously, so that the cat, who knew Laura, got up and withdrew in prudent haste. A sad brown smell invaded the cluttered kitchen. Mopping up the ruins, Laura thought of Mrs. Abbey, their former and best cook, Mrs. Abbey, who had been killed by a flying bomb while taking a cup of tea with her niece Flo in Putney.

~p. 66

Now that her father was home, her mother always seemed to be standing by the stove, stirring things, and frowning at the book in her hand. Victoria's bedtime, which had been an elastic affair, returned to a legal appointed hour.

~p. 156

I must be in a Mollie Panter-Downes mood, lately, because I went looking for One Fine Day after reading her Postwar stories, Millie's Room, and now I'd really, really like to start on her WWII dispatches (but I think I'll wait so I don't totally run out of Panter-Downes books).

One Fine Day is about a small family, the Marshalls, and it's set a year after the end of WWII on a single day. You're mostly in Laura's head, but occasionally you'll also spend a little time in the minds of her husband Stephen and daughter Victoria.

Before the war, the Marshalls had a bustling household with servants, a nanny, and at least one gardener. Their house is large for a family of three and they're clearly very well off but now that the war is over, the young gardener has been killed, and many of the servants have found alternative employment, the majority of the cleaning, cooking, and some of the gardening is left to Laura to handle.

The reader follows Laura as she does a little gardening and cooking, goes to pick up her food rations, visits the home of a young man to see if he'd be willing to help out her elderly gardener, bikes to a young Roma man's home to which she knows her dog will have run after escaping the house, stops on the way to visit with the family who own the largest home in the village, and visits a scenic point.

Both Laura and Stephen consider the fact that their house is too large and their chores overwhelming. Should they sell and move to a smaller place? They think about the fact that upkeep of their home dominates their time and energy. Maybe they should take more time to enjoy life and occasionally take a holiday or go for a nice visit to the point to picnic and enjoy the view. They think about their lives and how they've changed: what life was like before and during the war, and how different everything has become in a few long years.

Recommended - A very understated, very English story of a day in the life of a family that survived the war. I had a little trouble getting through the book because I was having a tired week and kept falling asleep, but at the same time I kept marking passages and I was very aware of Panter-Downes' unique turn of phrase. She was really quite a brilliant wordsmith. If you want to know what life was like in England during or after WWII, Mollie Panter-Downes places you within everyday life like nobody else I've encountered.

©2020 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, September 11, 2020

Fiona Friday - Isabel desires a jelly doughnut

She is genuinely driven crazy by the scent of strawberries. And, yes, I was eating in bed. tch, tch

Wednesday, September 09, 2020

Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake and Jon Klassen

In Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake, Badger lives in his aunt's brownstone and spends his days studying rocks (although I don't think the word "geologist" is ever used). Since Aunt Lula moved out, Badger's had the place to himself and he's turned the living area into a study with all of his rocks and tools. He's content. He has a routine. Then, one day Skunk shows up on his doorstep and is shocked to find that Badger has no idea why he's there. Skunk says Aunt Lula has told him he can stay with Badger.

They have a little conflict and Badger rudely tries to pass off a small closet as the guest room, but Skunk is a happy-go-lucky little stinker and spends his time making the acquaintance of all the neighborhood chickens, cooking very nice meals for the two of them, and generally being a nice housemate. As they get to know each other, Badger begins to question his desire to have the brownstone to himself, again. But, he's already written a letter to Aunt Lula insisting that he can't work properly with a housemate.

When Badger finally goes far enough to offend Skunk and Skunk abruptly moves out, Badger realizes that a little compromise is not a bad thing if you have a companion to enjoy meals and conversation with. He doesn't want to go back to being alone. Will Badger be able to find Skunk and make amends?

Highly recommended - I'm not sure of the age range for Skunk and Badger but I'm presuming it should be called a middle grade book. You could read it aloud to a not-quite-yet-reading child and readers in second to middle grades would probably read it on their own, depending on the individual's skill level. What I love most about Skunk and Badger is that it's very silly but has a sweet theme. I loved the chicken invasion and the way Badger slowly softens to the chickens. I also just happen to be a fan of rocks (I wanted to be a geologist, at one point, hence the availability of rocks to photograph with the book). So, I had fun reading a children's book with a geologist in it, even if he happened to be a badger.

Also, very important: the illustrations are marvelous. It's a fine thing when even illustrations make you smile or laugh, as these do.

I received an ARC of Skunk and Badger from Algonquin's Young Readers line in exchange for an unbiased review and I can tell you in a completely unbiased way that it's one of my favorite books of the year. I found myself yearning to have my grandchildren nearby. I know Skunk and Badger will make them giggle, when we're finally able to see each other, again. I loved the characters, the often-unexpected word choices, the wackiness, and the gentle undercurrent about the importance of friendship.

The scheduled release date for Skunk and Badger is September 15. Many thanks to Algonquin for the review copy!

©2020 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, September 08, 2020

Tuesday Twaddle

Recent arrivals (all purchased, clockwise from top left):

The Joy of Botanical Drawing by Wendy Hollender
The House on the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune
Tokyo Ueno Station by Yū Miri
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

I've already read two and both were excellent. My thanks to Paula and Eileen for the Sam Hell recommendation!

Books finished since last Monday Malarkey:

Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams
Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake
One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes
Tokyo Ueno Station by Yū Miri
5-Minute Pete the Cat Stories by James Dean
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

I set aside Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig. It just wasn't the right book for the moment, although I love his writing and I am freaking dying to read his new release, The Midnight Library. That may be my next purchase. We shall see.

Currently reading:

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

I finished The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, last night, and decided to set aside Lolly Willowes, which I started at the same time as Sam Hell and which is a very, very good book but maybe a little too similar to One Fine Day, stylistically. I will return to it, I just lost track of the characters after getting immersed in Sam's story and then started thinking about the fact that it had the same sort of atmosphere as One Fine Day, in a way (mostly because it's an older title; the two books are otherwise nowhere near the same), and decided that I didn't want to restart it to familiarize myself with the characters, right now. I'm only on p. 15 of Challenger Deep and I am in a flighty reading mood, obviously, so don't be surprised if it also doesn't stick.

Posts since last Malarkey:

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD (book review)
A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier (book review)
Fiona Friday - Fun with ribbon (cat photo)
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin (book review)
Minnie's Room by Mollie Panter-Downes (book review)
The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain (book review)
Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams (book review)
Fiona Friday - Claimed (cat photo)

In other news:

Last week I watched a series called The Other One, a British comedy about a wife and daughter who find out the man of the house was a bigamist, after his death, and have to deal with both their grief and their newly intermingled lives.

There are only 7 episodes, including the pilot, and I can't recall which channel I watched this show on. BritBox, maybe? I don't think it was Acorn. Bottom line, it's more stupid than funny but The Other One is what I'd call stupid with heart, particularly in the relationship of the half sisters, Cathy and Cat. When they each find out about the half-sister they never knew, both are . . . kind of thrilled. They may be grieving and Cathy goes a little nutso, at one point. But, they both appreciate having a sister and Cat, in particular, is determined that "sister" must mean "friend". Also, best final episode ever. While I didn't find the series exactly laugh-out-loud funny, we were in hysterics over the ending. It was worth it for the ending alone.

We took a few short foodie road trips over Labor Day weekend. One was to the butcher and the grocery store in our favorite little MS town. Husband had heard the grocery store carried BBQ sauce from one of our favorite restaurants, The Blue Rooster, so we went to check that out and bought a bottle. We were surprised to find that they also carry the BBQ sauce made in my hometown (which I naturally think is excellent), Head Country.

That was Friday. Huz took off an extra day to make it a 4-day weekend. On Saturday, we drove to Donna's Produce #6, our favorite outdoor produce market. I just ate some of the honeydew we bought. Oh, wow. Best honeydew I think I've ever tasted. We also went to a little shop that's new, not far away. It's basically a storefront for a meat processing establishment, I think, but they had some terrific variety for such a small store. We bought crab-stuffed green peppers and ate them for supper on Saturday. Yum. Too crowded, though, and a bit ironically everyone at the outdoor market wore masks except for the cashier but there were a lot of under-the-nose or -chin mask-wearers in the meat market. So, if we go back to the meat store during the pandemic it'll have to be a quick in-and-out.

I can't remember what we did on Sunday. Hmm. On Monday, we were going to go fetch food from my favorite sandwich shop (they also do pizza) but they were apparently closed so that was a #fail. Later, we drove younger son's car back to his apartment. We had a socially-distanced chat on the patio on Saturday afternoon, but Kiddo and Daughter-in-Law came in separate cars, went to run some errands after, and then he was too tired to drive his car home. We planned to grab some chili con queso from our favorite taco place while we were in town dropping off Kiddo's car but they appeared to be closed, too, so that was another #fail. We're finding, though, that just taking a 30-minute drive is incredibly refreshing and helps blow away that trapped sensation that you get during a pandemic.

Our mask mandate ends in a couple weeks so we may feel a little less confident about shopping, at that point, and we're trying to squeeze in as many errands as we can, till then.

If you're American, how was your Labor Day weekend?

©2020 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, September 04, 2020

Fiona Friday - Claimed

This is a vinyl tablecloth I've been using as a painting dropcloth but I think it's been claimed.

Also noteworthy: Today is Fiona's fake 11th birthday. And, by "fake" I mean "estimated". We can only guess because she was found by a highway, as a kitten. It seems like just yesterday that she adopted us. Love this sweet girl.

©2020 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.

Thursday, September 03, 2020

Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

I bought a copy of Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams after seeing that Mike Chen, author of A Beginning at the End, was going to talk to Kelly McWilliams about what it's like to release a pandemic novel in the midst of a genuine pandemic (which both of them have done). I neglected to put the time for that talk on my calendar but would have really liked to sit in. However, I did make a beeline to buy a copy of Agnes because I love a good pandemic novel.

In fact, I don't really consider Agnes at the End of the World a "pandemic" novel, per se, although there is a pandemic in the book and it is the catalyst for change. The vast majority of the book focuses on Agnes, her life as a woman in a restrictive and isolated apocalyptic cult community that's been around for several generations, how she became the perfect, compliant member of her community and what caused her to break the rules, in the first place, then really break them when the "Prophet" in her community forces everyone to go into a dark and terrifying underground bunker and Agnes breaks away with her little brother.

There's what I'd call a paranormal, spiritual, or mystical aspect to this story. Agnes has a special ability to hear the natural world. The stars sing, the trees hum, sometimes she thinks she's spoken to directly by God. The cult and Agnes's realization of how she's been deceived is a major part of the storyline but first you get to know Agnes and see her daily life. Then, you realize something is going to have to change (it's obvious why). But, it's not clear that Agnes will have to do more than just run away till later in the book, as her powers grow.

Highly recommended - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣ Excellent writing. I felt entirely immersed in Agnes's uncomfortable world. While not exactly what I was expecting, once I got into Agnes at the End of the World, I was eager to race to the ending and particularly enjoyed what happened after she escaped.

The religious/mystical aspect of Agnes at the End of the World was a little off-putting to me, at first, but also a bit familiar as I grew up Baptist and dated a fundamentalist during high school (women only were allowed to wear skirts or dresses in his church, which I attended while we were dating). I could relate to the tug between personal beliefs and the thought that there must be something better, at least as far as the treatment of women. And, there's this: A friend of mine (now deceased) once told me she learned her psychic abilities by first learning to listen to the land when her father, a farmer, picked up a handful of dirt and said, "The soil will tell you what it requires." Partly because of that friend, Mary, the woo-woo part of the book actually felt quite real to me.

Many thanks to author Mike Chen for the recommendation. Also, you should read his books.

©2020 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, September 02, 2020

The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain

In The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain, Violaine LePage awakens in the hospital to find that she was badly injured in a plane crash, she is missing pieces of her memory, and the author of a bestselling mystery that she published cannot be located. With the Prix Goncourt coming up and Sugar Flowers a likely contender, this is a serious problem that could end her career.

The author of Sugar Flowers has never made an appearance at the publishing company, instead asking for his or her contract (the name of the author could be of either gender) to be sent to a hotel in London. And s/he has stopped responding to emails.

When a police officer shows up at the publishing house to say that she's read Sugar Flowers and the murders described in the book exactly match two murders that she's investigated, then a third person the officer thought connected to the murdered men is killed, Violaine and her employees come under suspicion. Who wrote this wildly bestselling book? Is there a connection between Violaine or any of the other employees and the victims? If so, what is it? And, what do sugar flowers (made by bakers) have to do with their deaths, if anything?

Recommended - I found The Readers' Room captivating and couldn't put it down. The ending was a little disappointing but I enjoyed the book enough that I dashed off to see what else Laurain's written and have added another of his books to my wish list.

I received a copy of The Readers' Room unsolicited in the apparent hope of my unbiased opinion (there ya go) but I didn't keep the publicity material so I'm afraid I have no idea who sent it. Whoever you are, thanks!

Vintage 1954 is the other Laurain title I put on my wish list, if anyone wants to buy me a birthday present. ;)

©2020 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, September 01, 2020

Minnie's Room by Mollie Panter-Downes

I had my husband buy me a copy of Minnie's Room by Mollie Panter-Downes on one of his trips across the pond because I love, love, loved Good Evening, Mrs. Craven. It's one of my all-time favorite short story collections for the way the author was able to plunk you in the midst of wartime England (WWII) and reveal what everyday life was like. So, I had high hopes for Minnie's Room, her collection of postwar short stories.

While the stories themselves could be a little ho-hum, not much to see here (everyday life after the war apparently interests me a lot less than during), Panter-Downes' writing style absolutely blows me away. She had a phenomenal ability to place the reader in a scene, making the characters and their surroundings so vivid that you can practically see the "miniature Gobi" brought in from the seaside, feel the wind, smell the cooking or the wine or the musty dampness.

The title story is actually the only story I fully recall off the top of my head. "Minnie's Room" is about a woman who works in an upper class home but has decided it's time for her to retire and get a small place of her own. What you see in the brief interaction between Minnie and her employer of many years and the family's quiet mumblings is what we now call a sense of entitlement. Minnie has been important to the running of their household, she'll probably be impossible to replace, and they think she should stay. The family feels a bit wounded by her announcement. But, Minnie has a mind of her own. "Minnie's Room" is really kind of a bland story and yet it's also very revealing in a fly-on-the-wall kind of way, like you're eavesdropping on the boss and his wife and daughter.

Recommended but not a favorite - Brilliant writing but possibly not the right book for the moment. While Minnie's Room will not end up in my favorite short story collections, I liked the stories for the author's stunning ability to choose the perfect descriptor and it seems likely that I'll give it a second reading in the future.

©2020 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.