|
Post by scrubb on Jul 26, 2021 0:20:29 GMT -5
Akin, by Emma Donaghue.
Her writing always keeps me reading. I should have been working hard all day today, but I finished this instead.
An old man (just retired university prof, about to turn 80) whose family (wife, sister, nephew) is all gone is thrown into being a guardian for his 11 year old grand nephew who he's never even met before. It happens the day before his long-planned trip back to Nice, where he was born shortly before WW2. So he has to take the kid, who has grown up on the wrong side of the tracks, along.
A little bit cliche and predictable but well enough done to be enjoyable. And I liked the main character who has a fair bit of personal insight, recognizing his fears of post retirement life (which is why he waited till he was 80).
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Jul 26, 2021 5:30:21 GMT -5
48. Indistractible, Nir Eyal. An excellent book on how to avoid distraction, particularly from technology, with great suggestions for children. I am relieved to know that I already do some of the things he suggests.
|
|
|
Post by Oweena on Jul 26, 2021 10:16:10 GMT -5
That's interesting Oweena. My dad was a dentist in the 80s and I also remember him complaining about the introduction of mandatory gloves and masks. Seems so weird now. Yes, can you imagine going to a dentist now and them not wearing gloves? You'd probably file a complaint with the dental board.
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Jul 27, 2021 5:20:27 GMT -5
21) Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise
A history of classical/orchestral/non-pop music in the 20th century.
I really enjoyed this, partly because it was nice to read about composers and pieces I'm familiar with but also because there's a vast stretch of modern classical music created since The Rite of Spring that I really don't know at all but probably should since I like weird, dissonant music. So it was interesting and useful. As I read it I pulled up Youtube and listened to the pieces he describes, though there's also supposedly a website where you can go to listen along with the book. It was great learning about some of that stuff that I didn't know - I now know that I love Messaien's "Turangalîla Suite" but can live without Milton Babbitt (sorry Milton).
I was at a bit of a disadvantage because I don't know how to read music, so when he described important pieces he'd say something like "it descends from that E triad into a passacaglia" or something and I had no idea what that means. But I just skimmed those parts, they weren't that integral to the piece.
|
|
|
Post by sprite on Jul 27, 2021 14:51:11 GMT -5
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me.
I thought this was going to be a look at Black American history in novel form, but it's more of political and philosophical thought in the form of a long letter.
it is beautifully written, but I haven't go thes head for it right now.
|
|
|
Post by mei on Jul 28, 2021 9:28:44 GMT -5
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me. I thought this was going to be a look at Black American history in novel form, but it's more of political and philosophical thought in the form of a long letter. it is beautifully written, but I haven't go thes head for it right now. I read his The Waterdancer a while ago, which was good but that is actually the Black American history in novel form, while I was expecting something more like Between The World And Me. I keep meaning to read this one.
|
|
|
Post by mei on Jul 28, 2021 9:31:00 GMT -5
Finished #12 while on holiday: 'Onder de Paramariboom' ("Under the Paramaribo-tree" roughly translated, there's a pun in there which is really clever but I can't translate it properly) by Johan Fretz. A really touching and well written autobiographical novel of the author's first trip to Surinam which is the home country of his mother. It's about identity, relationships, belonging, equality, racism. Very good.
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Jul 28, 2021 18:41:42 GMT -5
22) Yu Miri, Tokyo Ueno Station
A very short novel that is from the perspective of a ghost of an elderly man who lived his last years as a homeless person in the park outside Ueno Station. For such a short book - I read it in a single day - it was packed with so much imagery, and of a Japan that I don't remember reading about, the Japan of urban and rural poverty. Plus his family were Pure Land Buddhists, which I've only just heard of, never really read much about. So it wasn't a happy book, but it was a very good and interesting one.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Jul 29, 2021 15:18:34 GMT -5
Goodbye Tsugumi, by Banana Yoshimoto.
THis is the second book I've read by Banana Yoshimoto - both good. Quiet stories. Maybe a bit like Murakami, but much shorter and no magic realism. I enjoy them but I do wonder about the translation, especially this one. One character is supposed to be brash and rude a lot but the translation comes across very stilted.
Anyway, I liked it. She shows ordinary things, that the little things are what make up our lives, and that they can be profound even if we can't articulate quite why.
|
|
|
Post by sophie on Jul 29, 2021 17:04:01 GMT -5
The hidden Palace by Helene Wecker. The second book by this author with the same main characters, the first was The Golem and the Jinni. Interesting novel, tied up lose ends from the first book but also a good stand alone. I read it while in emergency today so I am would say I enjoyed it as it transported me away from the reality of an emergency room! Decent escapism!
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Jul 29, 2021 18:34:19 GMT -5
Isn’t it great having books to read in waiting rooms! The reason I have kindle on my phone.
|
|
|
Post by riverhorse on Jul 30, 2021 2:40:42 GMT -5
At almost the end of July I have a few to catch up on listing:
"Khaki Town"by Judy Nunn. Now that I know this former soap actress really can write good historical novels, I checked this one out. It's based on the true background of a riot that took place in Towns ville, North Queensland, during WW2 by American soldiers of colour protesting their unequal treatment and unofficial segregation. Some interesting characters, side stories, and just shone an interesting light on a part of history so few of us have ever heard about, but should. Oh, and I learned something about President Lyndon B Johnson's involvement in it that I'd never known about before either.
"The Authenticity Project" by Clare Pooley. An easy to read novel with interesting characters who are all connected by an anonymous notebook that is left in a quirky London cafe, for people to pick up and write their "stories" in, in which they reveal the reality behind what the world thinks they see. At times the connectedness stretched the limits of credibility a little too much, but all in all it was an enjoyable read.
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens. A very hyped book I was a bit skeptical about, but once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Beautifully written, and the main character is one that will stay with me for a long time.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Jul 31, 2021 12:08:08 GMT -5
One Day, by David Nicholls.
I didn't read it when it was a huge deal, several years ago, but I read something else by the same author a while back that I liked quite a bit, so thought I'd give it a try. It tells the story of 2 people, who are friends, one day per year. Like checking in to see what's going on with them. But the guy is a douche and it's really hard to see what she likes about him.
The idea of seeing what they're doing on the same day every year is interesting, but it's not done particularly cleverly or well - there's lots of summarizing events.
Easy to read, and some bits were worthwhile, but overall, meh.
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Aug 1, 2021 4:12:17 GMT -5
49. Earthly Delights, Kerry Greenwood. Very different to Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher stories, but just as much fun. Set in today’s inner-city Melbourne, with a very quirky set of characters, this is the first in a great series. ( finished two days ago, but no time to report since.)
|
|
|
Post by tzarine on Aug 1, 2021 11:38:10 GMT -5
That's interesting Oweena. My dad was a dentist in the 80s and I also remember him complaining about the introduction of mandatory gloves and masks. Seems so weird now. Yes, can you imagine going to a dentist now and them not wearing gloves? You'd probably file a complaint with the dental board. my dentist has always worn gloves even before covid! he doesnt like bodily fluids on his hands
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Aug 1, 2021 19:37:47 GMT -5
23. Patrik Svensson, The Book of Eels
Oh this book was amazing - a lot of surprising information about eels, but it's also interwoven with the author's memoir of growing up in Sweden and fishing for eels with his father. Informative, fascinating, and also touching and heartfelt - definitely recommend.
(It made me not want to order unagi anymore, which is sad because I love unagi. OK maybe just once or twice a year.)
|
|
|
Post by sophie on Aug 2, 2021 11:51:11 GMT -5
Kingdom of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. This was the final book of the Daevabad trilogy. My venture into this particular fantasy world was very successful for me. I was able to lose myself in a world of djin and various mythical creatures which was very well written. The characters were well developed and believable; many elements of the story line had parallels in modern Middle East events. A very minor irritant was the way sexual attraction was mentioned/written (shades of Harlequin romances) but it was such a small part of the whole story that I could live with it.
|
|
|
Post by scrubb on Aug 2, 2021 15:35:54 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Queen on Aug 2, 2021 16:57:43 GMT -5
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys Spooky, almost psychological thriller feel to it. It’s a precursor to Jane Eyre and would have provided a warning to the governess.
|
|