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Post by Liiisa on Jun 23, 2019 19:38:35 GMT -5
28) David Szalay, All That Man Is
Hey wow, another really good book.
This novel is really a group of stories that mostly aren't related except that each has a man as a protagonist who reaches some kind of realization about his life while traveling.
Szalay is such an insightful writer - the stories aren't always happy but I ended up finding them all very satisfying. He was the author of the book "Spring" that I read a couple of years ago and greatly enjoyed as well.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 24, 2019 1:11:30 GMT -5
#43 Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder
First in the series featuring Thora Gudmundsdottir. Quite a good crime novel, with dark themes but not too gruesomely described.
#44 Thirteen months of sunrise by Rania Mamoun, translated from the Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette
A tiny volume of short stories from Sudan (I believe one of the first works of fiction by a Sudanese woman to be translated into English?). I liked these stories, they mostly do not have a great deal of plot and hardly anyone is named, but they are accessible and interesting.
#45 Ways to disappear by Idra Novey
Novel about a literary translator whose Brazilian author disappears and she sets off to find her. I thought this was highly readable and fun. Obviously there's an added attraction for me as I'm a translator myself, although I think the chances of me becoming involved in a kidnap are slim. Maybe if I'd done Portuguese insead...
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 26, 2019 10:18:29 GMT -5
37. Vi Agra Falls, Mary Daheim. One of my favourite cozy mystery series, set in a B&B in Seattle. This is a great story for anyone familiar with the characters living in the cul de sac on Heraldsgate Hill, but I wouldn’t recommend it as the book to start the series with. Lots of fun and mayhem in the neighbourhood and lots of progress in the family story. Another fun read.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 27, 2019 5:08:29 GMT -5
29) Jim Crace, Quarantine
A novel take on the story of Jesus spending 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, in which he's one of a group of people who've gone into the desert to live in caves and fast.
Crace is a very good writer, with interesting ideas; I've read a number of his books.
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Post by mei on Jun 27, 2019 10:28:28 GMT -5
#12 'Along the Yellow River' by Bert van Dijk. A Dutch journalist's exploration of the Yellow River in China and associated water (pollution) problems which are huge. Interesting (and long-neglected e-reader) read.
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Post by sophie on Jun 27, 2019 11:36:52 GMT -5
The Wedding Guest by Jonathan Kelllerman. Decent murder mystery, with his two main detectives (Sturgis and Delaware) doing their thing. Not one of his best, and too many red herrings out and about, but for my current brain capacity, decent.
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Post by snowwhite on Jun 27, 2019 16:28:30 GMT -5
Coraline - Neil Gaiman. I think this could be really scary/creepy if I hadn't managed to keep a bit detached from it. I like Neil Gaiman's writing, but I really wish he'd write something that wasn't (verging on) horror, which isn't something I don't much enjoy. You know, just shade towards the funny sci-fi fanatasy stuff and I'd be a huge fan.
Still Me - Jojo Moyes. Third in the series (?trilogy) about Louisa Clark, and I think probably the best so far. Me Before You wasn't really my thing, although I enjoyed it, After You was OK, and I still enjoyed it, but more of a sequel than a good book in itself, whereas this latest one had a plot I really enjoyed (even if you sort of know everthing's going to work out for everyone in the end).
Other news: there's a new Jackson Brody book (by Kate Atkinson) out, and I have it on reserve at the library. Plus I should be getting the first of the Chronicles of St Mary's from the library soon too (it's in transit) which I think may be something really good fun to read - anyone here a fan?
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 27, 2019 20:27:47 GMT -5
30) Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation
Well, I couldn't put that down, obviously... I see I finished the last one just 15 hours ago. The plot can be boiled down to: the protagonist decides to deal with the stressors in her life by basically drugging herself into sleep for a year. That sounds depressing! But I really liked it.
I had resisted reading any of the author's books to date because despite all reviews making her sound like one of the most interesting young writers out there these days, they also made the books sound possibly kind of gross and unpleasantly intense. But this wasn't at all - I found it pretty amusing, at least at times, and quite gripping, so there's another author to put on my list.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 28, 2019 1:12:21 GMT -5
30) Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation Well, I couldn't put that down, obviously... I see I finished the last one just 15 hours ago. The plot can be boiled down to: the protagonist decides to deal with the stressors in her life by basically drugging herself into sleep for a year. That sounds depressing! But I really liked it. I had resisted reading any of the author's books to date because despite all reviews making her sound like one of the most interesting young writers out there these days, they also made the books sound possibly kind of gross and unpleasantly intense. But this wasn't at all - I found it pretty amusing, at least at times, and quite gripping, so there's another author to put on my list. That's why I haven't read her either I think. I've heard that all her characters are really unlikeable! But I've also heard plenty of good things about her writing. |
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 28, 2019 4:53:14 GMT -5
They were all really unlikeable, yep! But I found myself identifying with the protagonist and wanting her to be happy anyway. It was just so well written - even though it was pharmacologically unrealistic (part of what amused me was how all the drugs she was taking were described), it felt very honest and true.
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Post by sprite on Jun 28, 2019 5:07:35 GMT -5
I'm struggling to read anything book-length at the moment unless it's a murder mystery. This is probably not healthy.
i have buckled down to start 'Everything is Illuminated' and was giggling non-stop through the first chapter--it was so familiar to what i often read in student writing.
Then today i got an email from a prospective student, and i think he was using the same thesauras as Alex, so laughed again.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 28, 2019 7:04:01 GMT -5
Drugging myself into sleep for a year sounds pretty attractive right now to be honest (don't worry, this is tongue in cheek... mostly!) :-)
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 28, 2019 9:56:33 GMT -5
Plus I should be getting the first of the Chronicles of St Mary's from the library soon too (it's in transit) which I think may be something really good fun to read - anyone here a fan? A friend introduced me to them as audiobooks. So far I’ve listened to the prequel and the first full book, and I’m hooked. |
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Post by Oweena on Jun 28, 2019 12:16:36 GMT -5
#11 of the year: Becoming by Michelle Obama. I don't remember seeing it mentioned here often, but I really loved this. Fascinating account not only of the madness that is being the President's wife and family, but also a great read about making choices in life, being a woman etc. Took it everywhere to be able to finish it this week. Yes, I loved this book. But know you'll be sad at the end because it makes you miss the Obama family all the more. |
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Post by Oweena on Jun 28, 2019 12:29:58 GMT -5
OK, back from my trip and here's what I read while away:
Nicotine by Nell Zink Hated this. Hated every character, thought what there was of the plot was completely unrelatable. I picked it up because I liked her book Mislaid. It was supposed to be the story of a conformist in a non conformist family after the death of the father, yet I found it ridiculous in parts, and in all honesty I struggled through 80% of it and then finally told myself the aggravation of trying to get through it wasn't worth the aggravation of doing so.
The Last Cruise by Kate Christensen. It was slow to start, telling the stories of 3 different characters (a passenger, a head chef, and a musician) who are passengers on the last cruise of a ship. The cruise leaves California for a 2 week out and back to Hawaii but about 4 days in there are mechanical issues and they are dead in the water with no help coming for days. It delves into the ways the different characters deal with the loss of water, food, internet access, hygiene, etc. The characters all grew on me and as I love an ending that doesn't sew up everything in a tidy bow, I liked this.
The Senator Next Door by Amy Klobuchar. The next book in my attempt to read the books authored by the Democratic presidential candidates. Of course after the debates, I'm not sure she'll be in the race much longer. It's an easy read, she writes to tell her story in (of course) the most positive light yet I was interested in her story and how it developed.
I read a 4th book during my trip and for the life of me can't remember it right now.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 28, 2019 12:42:08 GMT -5
I've read so little this month! This last week at work I expected to finish a couple books - but I ended up working late a few times, and having almost no reading time at all. So I'm still only 1/3 of the way through a 900 page book, and just over half way through the other 2 (shorter) ones.
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Post by Oweena on Jun 28, 2019 12:49:11 GMT -5
The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami
I liked this one so no idea why I mind farted on not remembering it. Let's blame it on too much Guinness in pubs.
It was a bit dense at the start but definitely got better as it went on.
it tells the story of a failed Spanish expedition in the late 1500s from the point of view of a slave. Many on the expedition die, but the slave (and his master) are 2 of the 4 who survive for 8 years making their way around what would later become the United States. It's based on a real expedition, but this story is fiction. The narrator's viewpoint is what made it compelling to me.
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Post by Webs on Jun 28, 2019 13:52:22 GMT -5
Just finished "The Bookshop on the Corner"
Very fluffy.
One of my problems with this book and most other books like it (pretty much every synopsis of The Chronicles of St. Mary's books has it) are the words "And nothing will ever be the same again"
I have made the decision that if a book description includes that phrase or something similar I will walk away from it.
I have decided to go with a Maeve Binchy because it's about a whole bunch of different people and house that is in disrepair and I can stop if I want. "A Week in Winter".
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Post by sophie on Jun 29, 2019 9:39:25 GMT -5
The Burglar by Thomas Perry. A very good murder mystery , set in LA. A burglar, during the course of her ‘work’, discovers some bodies and takes something which makes her a target. I liked the main character and the plot. Couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 29, 2019 23:01:21 GMT -5
Just finished a Mordecai Richler - Son of a Smaller Hero. I think it's one of Richler's earlier books. As usual, it deals with the Montreal Jewish Community. In this one, his main character is a young man who breaks from his family and community, the disassociation he feels, but then his realization that it is all part of him, too.
Although it's a very strongly Jewish community and that's a huge part of the book, his feelings are universal - the ties that bind but also constrict, the inability for people to communicate with those they love, the instinct to rebel struggling with the instinct to belong. I also (usually) just really like Richler's writing.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 30, 2019 14:11:39 GMT -5
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky. Set in France in WW2, the first half holds a number of vignettes showing the evacuation of Paris following several different people; the second half focuses on a small village/town occupied by the Germans, and mostly examines the conflicting emotions and behaviour of people in that position. The connections that make everyone seem to be "the same" - pictures of family, hobbies in common, etc. - versus the ever present knowledge that these soldiers could be the ones who took your brother captive or killed your husband.
It was published posthumously - the author died in Auschwitz (or another camp, I"m not positive). It wasn't ever finished - it was the first draft that was found and published as it was. I think it could have been a fantastic book had the author been able to finish it/polish it - I've read a couple of her shorter works and her writing was stunning. In this one, there were lots of parts when it felt more like she was just getting the ideas down on paper and hadn't finished developing them yet, although the last half was much better than the first.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jul 2, 2019 3:32:25 GMT -5
Last June books:
#46 Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
Phew, everyone should read this, although unfortunately it doesn't do much for your blood pressure - which is particularly unfortunate because if you do have a heart attack, as a woman, you're more likely to be misdiagnosed and more likely to die. You're also more likely to die in a car accident because you're too small for the Airbag or the seatbelt to work properly on you, because that car has not been tested on the female Body. You're also more likely to be injured at work because your protective Equipment doesn't fit you properly. And of course, you're going to be paid less for that work than a man. Read this and then say "but what about the sex-disaggregated data?"
#47 Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
We draw to the end of my Audio rereads of the Little House series. Laura is 15 now and there are glimpses of her teenager-ness - crazes at School, her delight in the few social Events open to her - that are reallly fun.
#48 Meg Wolitzer, The Female Persuasion
I don't think this is a bad book at all but I was Kind of bored by it. I wasn't really in the mood for a book about a young American white woman, but it was a book Club pick. Wolitzer can write, certainly.
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Post by sprite on Jul 2, 2019 6:17:08 GMT -5
i haven't finished "invisible women" partly because it makes me so angry.
i was listening to "the life scientific" with a statistician who was part of the move to analyise large groups of data for trends. he was asked about a study on the effects of aspirin interventions for heart attacks which made him famous. he'd been asked to disaggregate the data by sex/age/race and instead sorted it by zodiac sign in protest. he claimed this was as useful as the others, which was ironic as i'd just read the bit about how aspirin interventions don't work as well for women as for men...
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Post by lillielangtry on Jul 2, 2019 6:32:06 GMT -5
Ugh, sprite...
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Post by sprite on Jul 3, 2019 3:01:28 GMT -5
sadly, the host hadn't read the book, so...
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