|
Post by Webs on Mar 18, 2019 10:20:51 GMT -5
I'm hating this book - Early Riser by Jasper Fforde. His Thursday Next books were, for the most part, witty and had a lot of action. The Easy Over books were clever.
But this book is just repetitive and dragging and really stupid.
I just don't care about this story or it's characters. In the book they retire people who become zombies during hibernation. I'd like them to retire me so I don't have to finish this book.
|
|
|
Post by sophie on Mar 18, 2019 11:38:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up, Webs. I liked his previous stuff and found it very witty. I will avoid this one.
|
|
|
Post by Oweena on Mar 18, 2019 12:20:41 GMT -5
The Day That Went Missing by Richard Beard.
Tells the story of one day during the author's family holiday in 1978. Beard was 11, and he went swimming with his 9 year old brother and they were both caught in an undertow. Beard was able to struggle to shore, but the younger brother drowned. The family never spoke of the incident again, and this book is the author's attempt to reconstruct the day, what the facts were, and how it affected the family. There's a lot of stiff upper lip involved, along with the juxtaposition of how his surviving brothers and mother remember the day and it's aftermath quite differently. Well-written, it reinforced for me that we need to change how we talk about loss as not much has changed in 40 years. It also once again proves that secrets create more problems than the pain they're meant to lessen.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Mar 19, 2019 15:56:33 GMT -5
Eleanor Catton - The Rehearsal
Very stylized - it's a confusing mix where you can't tell which things really happen, which are part of a re-enactment of events, which are fantasies, etc. There's an acting school, and also a girls high school, and a saxephone teacher, and different people's versions of events. It's entertaining and some of the people are very well drawn, but it's also more like an experiment than a story.
|
|
|
Post by mei on Mar 20, 2019 4:04:59 GMT -5
I'm struggling with Milkman. Partly because (after my flying start in January) I have had hardly no time to read so I need more than 1 or 2 pages to get into it. The writing style is quite difficult and complicated so takes time to really follow the story again.
Think it's time to put it on hold for now, and start on my next book club read. Will pick this up again once I have some uninterrupted reading time!
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 22, 2019 9:32:12 GMT -5
16. Dial P for Poison, Zara Keane. Quite a good start for a series set on an Irish island. Interesting characters that could develop well, plenty of suspects and a lovely setting. It even has animals in support roles.
|
|
|
Post by Oweena on Mar 22, 2019 20:27:59 GMT -5
The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon
If you like well written history, or have an interest in the Maritimes, WWI, or early US/Canadian relations then this book will tick a box or two. I liked how the author gave background in an interesting way. The telling of this disaster wasn't dry at all, I cared about the individuals involved and their story both before and after the explosion.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Mar 23, 2019 16:02:23 GMT -5
Yesterday I needed easy entertainment, and found it breezing through a couple of Lemony Snicket books - #3 and #4 of the Series of Unfortunate Events. I watched some of the (very well done) series recently, and now I realize that it followed the books VERY closely.
|
|
|
Post by HalcyonDaze on Mar 23, 2019 18:00:25 GMT -5
As a massive fan of both the books and the TV series, LC can tell you in minute detail the places it did deviate. Endlessly. If you really want to know.
|
|
|
Post by Oweena on Mar 23, 2019 20:05:26 GMT -5
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
This one is from 2015 but was recently recommended to me based on my library history. I heartily recommend. Each chapter is told from a different character's POV, and as the story moves, the pieces come together. The plot revolves around a small town in Connecticut both before and after a house fire that kills 4 people.
I'm guessing some of you may have read it back when it came out as it was nominated for several awards and had good reviews.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Mar 23, 2019 22:17:09 GMT -5
As a massive fan of both the books and the TV series, LC can tell you in minute detail the places it did deviate. Endlessly. If you really want to know. I'll keep that in mind, thanks.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Mar 25, 2019 15:07:37 GMT -5
Just finished "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce. Feels good to be finished ;-)
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Mar 25, 2019 17:53:46 GMT -5
12. John McPhee, Assembling California
Wow, I loved this book!! An engaging account of the geologic history of California. Admittedly I'm a little bit of a plate tectonics nerd so I was prepared to like this, but he's such a good storyteller that I think even people who don't get all flustered about oceanic plate subduction might enjoy it. The end is a detailed retelling of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco, both its technical details and people's stories.
It was great the way I heard about this: I was in REI buying a hat and when the cashier asked me where I was going I said Baja, and then the other cashier started telling me Geology Facts about Baja. So then when I was done paying for the hat I went to nerd out with the other guy, and he recommended this book.
Anyway, next on the list is an Elena Ferrante... rather different, though Naples is also pretty seismically active.
|
|
|
Post by HalcyonDaze on Mar 25, 2019 21:46:56 GMT -5
22. Because of You - Pip Harry. YA. Absolutely brilliant novel. One of those times that 5 other books I'd listed on Goodreads triggered the recommendation along with decent reviews from the bookshop owner I follow on social media. And it was correct. Set in a realistic Sydney that I recognised (so just beaches and sunshine) it is the tale of a growing friendship between two girls and how it changes them. Nola is in Yr 12 at what reads as an elite high school and has to do so many hours of community service before graduating. Tiny is staying at the homeless shelter where Nola ends up volunteering. Well worth reading. Just because it is classed as YA doesn't mean it is light and fluffy. 23. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets - Nancy Springer Middle Grade. Third book in a series of stories where Enola Holmes, younger sister to Sherlock, is the one to solve mysteries. Very easy read. 24. The Lido - Libby Page One of those feel good reads. A local lido is in danger of closing and being sold to developers. Kate, a local journalist, is given the task to write about this and so meets Rosemary, and 87 year old widow who has swum at the lido her whole life. It is a tale of making friends, standing up for what you believe in, emerging from depression and the benefits of finding your community. The book could easily be seen as trite but it was what I needed at the time.
|
|
|
Post by lillielangtry on Mar 27, 2019 2:57:17 GMT -5
I have several books on the go at once, for various reasons, one being that my Kindle broke while travelling. Fortunately, I had an emergency paper book with me at the time ;-)
But completed on Holiday:
#19 Ben Aaronovitch, Lies Sleeping (Rivers of London #7) - saved this as a treat for my London trip. In a lovely coincidence, the book mentions the Temple of Mithras near St Paul's, and then my friend mentioned it too, and we actually went there. So cool.
#20 Rita Indiana, Tentacle I only read this at the end of last year but it was quite confusing so I've been meaning to read it again. It was worth doing that.
#21 Samanta Schweblin, Mouthful of Birds (trans Megan McDowell) Short stories from Argentina. As always with short stories, I enjoyed some more than others. But wow, Schweblin can set up a creepy atmosphere. She's an absolute expert at that.
|
|
|
Post by tzarine on Mar 27, 2019 17:58:18 GMT -5
scrubb
i loved portrait of the artist when i read it in high school! love love love dubliners
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Mar 27, 2019 19:08:05 GMT -5
I like mountaineering books, especially those set in the Himalaya, so I got a BookBub deal on "Just for the Love of It: The First Woman to Climb Mount Everest from Both Sides" by Cathy O'Dowd.
Then, looking at the intro, I realized that she was on the South African team climbing the mountain in 1996 when the "Into Thin Air" disaster happened. I have read a lot of very strong criticisms of that team - that the leader was a manipulative, unqualified asshole who drove most of their team (including all the experienced climbers) to quit before getting out of base camp and who took a black woman climber who he left off the permit and never actually intended to let her climb; that they were uncooperative with the other teams; and that they refused to let people use their radio during the rescue attempts.
So it was interesting to read her point of view, but I admit I was negatively biased against her going in.
Nothing she wrote changed my opinion, at least not much. She lambasted all the experienced climbers who quit the team; she wrote unbelievable stuff about the team doctor who also quit/was fired; she excoriated the journalist and photographer from their sponsoring newspaper who accompanied them part way but quit/were fired and wrote harsh criticisms. In fact, she lambasted pretty much everyone who found fault with her or her team leader. Which only left about 3 people out of dozens.
She also dismissed and/or downplayed and/or denied all the other criticisms/accusations. Her version of events is pretty different from all the others and although I'm sure that some things were distorted and mis-reported, I didn't find her version all that convincing. Almost everyone else on their team and in their support crew, and all the people who were actually on the mountain with them, agree that they behaved terrible - so I'm inclined to think that maybe the problem wasn't the OTHER 24 people.
That all said, she seemed to get along much better with other people when she went back and climbed from the other side a few years later. The book was really only interesting in terms of seeing her version of the '96 events, though. IT wouldn't have been worth bothering with otherwise.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Mar 27, 2019 19:09:22 GMT -5
scrubb i loved portrait of the artist when i read it in high school! love love love dubliners I loved Dubliners when I read it, many years ago. I liked Portrait too, it was worth reading, but it just didn't really speak to me. I think it has convinced me that maybe I don't have to read ULysses afterall.
|
|
|
Post by Oweena on Mar 27, 2019 20:35:44 GMT -5
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai This one brought back not-always-great memories of what it was like in the early days of the AIDS crisis. The uncertainty of who would be diagnosed, the decision to be tested or not, the paranoia, etc. It's a good read with interesting characters I could relate to. The plot centers around a group of gay men and the sister of one of them, alternating chapters between 1985 and 2015.
Good luck with the Elena Ferrante Liiisa. I read the trilogy and did not like them. I couldn't relate to the supposedly wonderful friendship between the two women as I've never experienced a close friendship so full of angst and/or competition.
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Mar 27, 2019 21:03:05 GMT -5
Good luck with the Elena Ferrante Liiisa. I read the trilogy and did not like them. I couldn't relate to the supposedly wonderful friendship between the two women as I've never experienced a close friendship so full of angst and/or competition. This one isn't one of the Naples novels, but a shorter novel that's nonetheless along the same lines. I realized a couple pages in that the first chapter was given as assigned reading in a writing class I took in the fall. I'm enjoying it because it's good writing, but it's not really "fun" (it's also pretty angsty).
|
|
|
Post by tzarine on Mar 28, 2019 18:45:10 GMT -5
scrubb
i love the molly bloom monologue of ulysses it's one of those books i have read parts of
|
|
|
Post by Oweena on Mar 29, 2019 11:57:42 GMT -5
All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
Her memoir of growing up as an adoptee in small town Oregon. She's ethnically Korean, adopted by white parents with the best of intentions. But like so many adoption stories, the inability of all parties involved to be honest and open causes her long standing issues.
As an adoptee myself I can relate to some of what she went through (the longing to see someone that resembles you, to know your birth story, know the whys of your relinquishment, etc.) yet I couldn't relate to her constant not moving forward with her search for answers due to being concerned about hurting someones feelings. I also didn't have the transracial issue, which is it's own set of barriers.
Not sure it would be of much interest to anyone who isn't part of the adoption scene, and the book could have been condensed down, losing some of her repeated introspection on the same topics.
|
|
|
Post by sophie on Mar 29, 2019 18:36:58 GMT -5
Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Painful to read, a novel which deals with abuse and ‘Poor white trash’ from a young girl’s POV. This book had been the subject of censorship in some American school districts when used in a high school curriculum. Well written, excellent book but probably not for everyone.
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Mar 29, 2019 18:46:12 GMT -5
13) Elena Ferrante, The Days of Abandonment
This is one of those books that stress you out because of the plot, but keep you going because of how well it's written.
A woman whose husband leaves her basically loses her damn mind. I spent about half of it going "GET IT TOGETHER Olga!" It was maddening. But so insightful as to how people think.
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 29, 2019 19:25:34 GMT -5
All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung Her memoir of growing up as an adoptee in small town Oregon. She's ethnically Korean, adopted by white parents with the best of intentions. But like so many adoption stories, the inability of all parties involved to be honest and open causes her long standing issues. As an adoptee myself I can relate to some of what she went through (the longing to see someone that resembles you, to know your birth story, know the whys of your relinquishment, etc.) yet I couldn't relate to her constant not moving forward with her search for answers due to being concerned about hurting someones feelings. I also didn't have the transracial issue, which is it's own set of barriers. Not sure it would be of much interest to anyone who isn't part of the adoption scene, and the book could have been condensed down, losing some of her repeated introspection on the same topics. Not sure I would read this book, but I was also adopted, and relate to what you say about meeting someone and recognising the family resemblance. I did take a long time searching, and am still reticent, due to other people’s needs. I didn’t start while my adoptive parents were alive, but the laws were changed after they died anyhow. My adoptive sister has never told her husband or children, so I can’t really go public if I could be identified. We hit a dead end when my birth mother disappeared off the electoral roll, and felt it would be inappropriate to contact her husband. We finally contacted relatives on the other side of the country through Ancestry. I also hosted a delightful American student a couple of years ago, Chinese born, adopted by white Americans, who seems amazingly well adjusted. Maybe this author needed to tell her story to come terms with it.
|
|
|
Post by Queen on Mar 30, 2019 2:20:38 GMT -5
I feel like there should be drum rolls and waving flags
Finally finished Middlemarch. Whew!
It's long, there are three couples at the core of it but I only really cared about one of the three. Interestingly the characters that are the most good are women, with only mild gossip amongst other minor characters and shallow vanity in one of the wives of the three couples. The commentary on gender roles is interesting throughout, and I enjoy period books to see contemporary accounts of normal life.
But I'm glad I've finished, it's long.
On to something modern now.
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 30, 2019 10:03:13 GMT -5
17. Never Steal a Cockatiel, Edie Claire This book had most of my favourite cozy mystery themes. Families, believable characters, animals and mayhem. Edie Claire writes well, and her stories, while developing the characters, are always different and always complete in themselves.
|
|
|
Post by snowwhite on Mar 30, 2019 14:28:45 GMT -5
In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan.
Enjoyed this - thought-provoking. And in other news MrSnow found my missing library book today in the nick of time!
|
|
|
Post by lillielangtry on Apr 1, 2019 1:03:55 GMT -5
#22 Isabel Allende, In the Midst of Winter (trans Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson) Disappointed by this. It has promise, Allende is a good storyteller obviously and there are some good parts, but I ended up Feeling it was forcing in all sorts of things to be "current". I almost laughed when it was suddenly announced that one of the main characters had a daughter who was "gender fluid" - not because there's anything wrong with that, but because it just seemed to come out of nowhere, as if Allende had reached the check-box that said "introduce gender-fluid character", and we weren't shown anything in particular about her gender other than her announcing it. I also felt that the sections about Chile contained a lot of spoonfeeding Background Information for a non-Latin American audience. I mean that's partly my perspective because I know quite a bit about the dictatorship, but I'm sure Chilean Readers must have felt even more so. It's as if you were reading a US book and it said something like "The United States had a president called John F Kennedy, and he was known as JFK, and he was assassinated". Anyway. That was harsh of me. Hopefully onwards and upwards in April!
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Apr 1, 2019 16:38:09 GMT -5
|
|