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Post by scrubb on Apr 2, 2017 19:54:00 GMT -5
Here's the thread to discuss the books you read in April (2017). Link to March's thread here. I have nothing to report yet - I'm in the middle of 3 books. One is the story of Alexander Dumas' father, "The Black Count", who apparently was the model for many of the writer's characters and whose life events were echoed in the literature. Born to a slave in Haiti, it's pretty remarkable that he became a General in the French army. I'm not very far in yet, though. |
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Post by mei on Apr 3, 2017 4:25:59 GMT -5
thanks Scrubb!
also nothing to report yet... slow going in a collection of short stories by Alice Munro.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 3, 2017 6:49:14 GMT -5
Bookmarking. Thank you Scrubb.
I'm in the middle of several in various formats.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 4, 2017 21:25:59 GMT -5
Just finished #27 Wintersmith, one of the Discworld books with Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men. I realize that these ones are aimed at younger readers but they are really excellent. I enjoyed it a lot.
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Post by Queen on Apr 5, 2017 12:03:37 GMT -5
I'm in the middle of four books right now... lets see if I can finish them before the end of the month.
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Post by sophie on Apr 7, 2017 10:17:52 GMT -5
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See. Loved this book.. Well written, engaging story line and realistic characters. Enjoyed the setting (hill tribe area of Yunan) and the issue of foreign adoptions. Recommended.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 7, 2017 22:19:20 GMT -5
Another Discworld book sort of, though with none of the usual characters - The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. I think i read that it won a Children's Book Award. I think it might have been too gruesome in some parts for kids, though. Anyway, I think it got me through my "I can't concentrate" week and I am now starting a book that was recommended to me a couple years ago - The Golden Son.
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Post by sprite on Apr 8, 2017 9:20:25 GMT -5
nowhere near finished, but i'm a couple hundred pages into Sapiens and it is wonderful. it is it so well-written, last night there was a harry potter reference. just the right touch of humour for a pop science book.
of course, some of the concepts are thoroughly depressing, but i'm really enjoying this book.
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Post by sophie on Apr 8, 2017 9:38:24 GMT -5
Agree, Sprite! A book with many thought provoking bits.
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Post by sprite on Apr 8, 2017 9:46:02 GMT -5
Just finished #27 Wintersmith, one of the Discworld books with Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men. I realize that these ones are aimed at younger readers but they are really excellent. I enjoyed it a lot. i love his children's books. Truckers is another great little trilogy. |
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Post by Bastet on Apr 8, 2017 18:18:49 GMT -5
#13 for the year.
I'm on #6 (Bands of mourning) in the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. He creates amazing worlds.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 8, 2017 22:43:22 GMT -5
19. The Chocolate Mouse Trap, JoAnn Carl. Quite a good cozy mystery, the third I've read in the series. While the story and plot were good, I found the descriptions of the chocolates, and the MC's malapropism sand constant excuses for making them a bit annoying.
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Post by Queen on Apr 9, 2017 10:50:28 GMT -5
#11 The Guest Cat
Takashi Hiraide
I've had this book for ages on my bedside table but never read it.
It's a very gentle story about a cat, but really about change. It's very descriptive and I found I could imagine all the details of the house and garden that he described. It left me feeling nostalgic for a something I never had... I feel there might be a Japanese word for that.
Back to reading Frederick Douglass' narrative - it's great but harrowing. It should be compulsory pre-read for anyone entering public office in any former colony.
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 9, 2017 16:09:56 GMT -5
Thank you! Bookmarking. (I've been traveling & offline, so just showing back up now.)
Currently halfway through the amazing new Kim Stanley Robinson book about climate change and economics in 22nd century New York. (Yes mei, you do want to read it!)
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Apr 9, 2017 17:42:48 GMT -5
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See. Loved this book.. Well written, engaging story line and realistic characters. Enjoyed the setting (hill tribe area of Yunan) and the issue of foreign adoptions. Recommended. I've read some other books by Lisa See in the past and enjoyed them - will look out for this. |
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 10, 2017 5:09:35 GMT -5
20. Girt, the unauthorised history of Australia, by David Hunt. Brilliant. I had it as an audiobook to listen to on long road trips, and it had me laughing uproariously. The history of the first 5 governors of New South Wales, and prior explorers, including what they negelcted to tell us in school.
A bit gory in parts, but mostly hilarious.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 10, 2017 21:58:10 GMT -5
29. The Golden Son, by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. It was enjoyable. The story of a young man from India doing his residency at a hospital in Dallas, his challenges with fitting in to his new land, and his responsibilities back in India. It also follows the life of a girl back home who he'd been childhood friends with.
Overall it was very very easy reading and a little too facile. It wasn't bad at all, I did enjoy reading it - but it wasn't necessarily very good, either.
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Post by sophie on Apr 10, 2017 23:36:09 GMT -5
Murder on the Serpentine by Anne Perry. I usually like her Victorian mysteries, but I thought this one was not as engaging as others I had read. Still, a nice fast read for a rainy evening.
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Post by lillielangtry on Apr 11, 2017 14:05:45 GMT -5
#20 Philip Roth, The Human Stain - many people probably know the premise of this either from the book or from the film starring Anthony Hopkins, but in case you don't I won't give it away! It's about an aging professor who leaves his job under a cloud but it turns out he's hiding a big secret.
Roth can really write and gets under his characters' skin... well, the men anyway. Not so sure about his women. It's a very good book. But I don't read many old white American guys, so I won't rushing to add the rest of his works ;-)
#21 David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas - I allowed myself a reread treat. I love Mitchell but this is no longer my favourite and that first section is still hard to get into. Great though.
#22 Zadie Smith (ed.), The Book of Other People - this was a charity book my mum got me years ago where Zadie Smith got a load of authors to contribute a chapter, each focusing on a particular character. Some of these were pretty good.
#23 Nasty Women (various authors) - a collection of essays about being a woman in the 21st century. This was crowdfunded (I contributed) and it's very timely, but the quality of the writing is uneven.
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Post by mei on Apr 11, 2017 14:19:28 GMT -5
hmm, I have Roth at home too - have been hesitating about tackling it. may give it a try now, as I've given up on Alice Munro unfortunately. thanks lillie!
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Post by Queen on Apr 12, 2017 10:15:10 GMT -5
#12 Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity Katherine Boo Worth reading; this follows the lives of several families living in a Mumbai "Undercity" or slum. I got very involved with the whole story, assuming it was fiction and wondering if the author had some Indian connection because she seemed to have captured the precarious lives of the families. Turns out; yes. She is a US journalist (writing for the New Yorker) but married to an Indian man, and spent several years working with the people of the city and documenting their stories. It's worth reading her notes on the process at the end. ETA; here's the website about the book if anyone wants any further info. (I have just recommended this to my book group) www.behindthebeautifulforevers.com |
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Post by Queen on Apr 12, 2017 10:21:16 GMT -5
#13 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
I should cross reference this to the "good things about the orange menace" thread. I've known about Frederick Douglass for a long time, and have read passages of his writing in various other books. But the Idiot-in-Chief's comments during Black History Month triggered me to go and read the real words.
It's not easy reading, but it should be compulsory for all of us to read.
For anyone that doesn't know; it's a first hand account of Frederick Douglass' life, he was born a slave but as a young man ran away and started his life as a free man in the North. He talks about the violence he witnessed and experienced. The daily humiliations, and the risk of separation in families; his mother used to walk several miles to share his hut at night, and then leave before dawn - and that was when he was a toddler. Oh, it's all awful. But we should know it.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 12, 2017 16:46:42 GMT -5
Just finished a disappointing book - Out in the Midday Sun, by Elspeth Huxley. Her autobiography, "The Flame Trees of Thika", was great so I had high hopes for this one. They weren't met. It's just some nostalgic stories of people she met or knew in Kenya in the 1930s, really. Some of them were nation shapers or otherwise had interesting lives, but the snippets or summaries of their lives aren't very satisfying.
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Post by Queen on Apr 13, 2017 7:02:04 GMT -5
Did anyone read "The Sixth Extinction"?
I had a free read of it in a bookshop and like it. Not sure if I like it enough to buy it.
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 13, 2017 13:50:54 GMT -5
OH YES - Sixth Extinction was one of my Best Books of the year that year. Definitely definitely read it!
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Post by lillielangtry on Apr 14, 2017 0:54:08 GMT -5
No but if Liiisa says you should, you should!
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 14, 2017 3:27:21 GMT -5
21. The Chocolate Bridal Bash, JoAnna Carl. Quite a good mystery, mostly dealing with a the reasons for a historical runaway bride, on the eve of her daughter's modern day wedding.
A historical murder and a present day one are connected.
The chocolate takes more of a back seat in this book than it did in the earlier books, as the wedding and the family are the focus.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Apr 14, 2017 4:52:43 GMT -5
33.Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness (Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency #1) - David Casarett
Interesting book set in Thailand with a Thai nurse ethicist as the detective. One for fans of the Dr Siri books.
34. The Lie Tree - Frances Hardinge
It took me a long time to finish this. I found it mentioned alongside Essex Serpent and as I'd enjoyed that so much thought I'd read this. That was my mistake - this was a decent enough book on it's own, it didn't need comparisons that didn't work. While this does delve into Victorian Era science and discoveries and blends in fantasy with the magical fruit of the Lie Tree it is a very different tale.
35. Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot - Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stevermer
All the way through reading this I had a feeling I'd read it before. I'm still not sure if it was a reread or just so similar to a lot of the other YA Regency Era fantasies. A book of letters that was fun if rather predictable.
36. Jolly Foul Play - Robin Stevens
Book 4 in the series. Still good fun.
37. Mistletoe and Murder - Robin Stevens
Book 5 - one of my favourites so far. Set in Cambridge it is a wonderful look at college life in the 30s. And it also clearly shows the racism and sexism that existed at this time. Clever books and a good way to introduce some ideas to the kids. There was also a subtle mention of a possible gay couple. All handled very well along with an excellent crime to solve.
38. The Grand Tour - Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stevermer
A bit meh after the first book. Not as funny or entertaining.
39. Caraval - Stephanie Garber
YA fantasy. A magical game that is played each year. Blah blah, sisters, finding true love, evil fathers.
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 14, 2017 5:05:40 GMT -5
Aw heck jeepers lillie thank you.  I loved "The Sixth Extinction" because while sure, the topic is depressing, you also get to spend time with the scientists who are researching the issues she's discussing, and she does that in an engaging way. Plus I loved how she presented the current extinction in the context of geologic time with the others, like "for the sixth extinction it wasn't about an asteroid or volcanoes; this time this one species became so successful that they overwhelmed every niche on the planet." OK, that sounds miserable but I really loved it. |
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Post by Queen on Apr 14, 2017 10:30:56 GMT -5
Met a scientist last night who has read it, she has also worked with some of the bat scientists, and knows a coral scientist. She was talking to one of the bat scientists about work and the scientist started to cry... I mean I've been sad or mad about work before but not like that. Also the coral scientist has said that every conference and paper on coral is the same story. Scientist said - it's not a happy read and for her it didn't go into enough detail (but she acknowledged that enough detail would probably be 20 volumes) but it's worth reading. So I guess this means I'm sold  |
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