Laytonwoman - Reading for Pleasure in 2023 - Take Two

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Laytonwoman - Reading for Pleasure in 2023 - Take Two

1laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 1, 2023, 12:48 pm



A brief introduction, or reminder of who I am: My name is Linda, and I am a retired paralegal. I've spent most of my life in Northeastern Pennsylvania, with brief interludes for college, my husband's military service, and paralegal training, in Central PA, New Orleans and Philadelphia, respectively. Since giving up the legal grind, I have kept busy with volunteer work centered around libraries, cemeteries, and genealogy. I serve on the Board of Directors of the Scranton Public Library, and several of its committees. I am President of the Equinunk Cemetery Association, which is located in my home village along the Delaware River, and do as much grave-hunting and photographing as time and weather will allow for the website Find-A-Grave.com. I also participate as I can in the reclamation and restoration of a long-neglected cemetery in the area where I now live.

LT has been an essential part of my life since I joined in 2005, after my daughter lycomayflower told me about "this site where you can catalog your books." My response was something like, "Why would I want to do that?" HA! I simply can't imagine life without it anymore. I never knew how much I needed a reading community, until I found one. There are links on my profile page to my earlier reading threads. My goal is always to read more of the books I already own, and to acquire fewer books than I remove from the house. In past years this has been a big joke, but it has become an absolute necessity due to space considerations, and the older I get the less stuff I feel the need to keep, so not only books, but a lot of "I-might-want-that-someday" nonsense is being deaccessioned these days.

I've been hosting an American Authors Challenge in the 75 Book Challenge Group for a few years, and details of this year's monthly challenges can be found down-thread.

And as some of you know, I'm averse to gifs and listserve-type greetings, but I LOVE visitors who comment on my reading, or on other topics introduced here. Everyone is welcome to lurk or engage, as you see fit.

2laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 1, 2023, 12:49 pm

My ticker for keeping track of my total books read:

3laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jul 4, 2023, 3:55 pm



Here will be a list of the books I read in the current quarter of 2023. (I usually have one thread per quarter, but it may only be three in some years.)
I use some shorthand to help me keep track of my reading trends:

ROOT identifies a book that I have owned for at least a year at the time I read it.
CULL means I put the book in my donation box for the library book sale after finishing it, or otherwise gave it away.
DNF means I didn't finish the book, for one reason or another, usually explained in the related post.
ER means I received the book from LT's Early Reviewer program.
GN refers to a graphic novel, GM a graphic memoir This is not a category I use much.
An * asterisk indicates a library book.
LOA means I read a Library of America edition;
SF means the book was a Slightly Foxed edition, (NOT science fiction, which I so rarely read);
VIRAGO means it was an original green-spined Virago edition from my own collection;
FOLIO indicates a Folio Society edition.
AUDIO and e-Book are self-explanatory, and probably won't appear very often.
AAC refers to the American Author Challenge.
NF indicates a non-fiction read.
TR indicates a work in translation
RR means it's a re-read for me

Clicking on titles in this post will take you to the message in which I reviewed or commented on that book.

JUNE

45. Stonewall by Martin Duberman ROOT, CULL, NF, LGBTQ
*DNF. Gray Mountain by John Grisham
44. Memoirs of a Book Snake by David Meyer ROOT, NF
*43. Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie
42. Alfred & Emily by Doris Lessing NF, ROOT
*41. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
DNF. Pearl by Mary Gordon AAC
40. A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean ROOT, CULL
*39. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie

MAY

38. Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire NF
37. Damballah by John Edgar Wideman AAC
36. Writing to Save a Life by John Edgar Wideman AAC, NF
35. Firestorm by Nevada Barr CULL
*34. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

APRIL

33. Love Songs From a Shallow Grave by Colin Cotterill ROOT
32. Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey NF
31. Willnot by James Sallis
30. The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich ROOT
*29. Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
28. This is Happiness by Niall Williams ROOT
27. Trudi & Pia by Ursula Hegi, Ill. by Giselle Potter AAC

4laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jul 4, 2023, 3:56 pm

Here is the list of my reading in the first quarter of 2023:
MARCH

26. Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey AAC, ROOT
25. Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver AAC
24. Delaware's Forgotten Folk by C. A. Weslager ROOT
23. Scranton Lace by Margot Douaihy AAC
22. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
*21. The Carrying by Ada Limon AAC
*20. The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham
19. Shore Road to Ogunquit by Harold Plotkin ROOT, CULL, AAC

FEBRUARY

18. Peace by Garry Disher
17. Night Came with Many Stars by Simon Van Booy ROOT
16. Sidewalk Saint by Phillip DePoy ROOT
DNF The Overstory by Richard Powers ROOT, AAC, CULL
15. The Judge is Reversed by Frances and Richard Lockridge ROOT
*14. Girl at War by Sara Novic
*13. Any Other Name by Craig Johnson
12. Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel ROOT, SF, NF
*11. A Serpent's Tooth by Craig Johnson

JANUARY

10. The Bottom of the Jar by Abdellatif Laabi TR, ROOT, CULL
9. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum ROOT, AAC
*8. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
7. Wreckage by Sascha Feinstein NF
6. Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai ER, CULL
5. Nineteen Reservoirs by Lucy Sante NF
4. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
*3. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi TR, ROOT
2. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo ROOT, AAC
1. 97 Orchard by Jane Ziegelman ROOT, NF

5laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jul 4, 2023, 4:01 pm



I'll keep a list of all new acquistions here.

1. Nineteen Reservoirs by Lucy Sante
2. The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cline Cohen
3. Novels, Stories, Poems by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (LOA)
4, I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
5. The Glassmaker's Wife by Lee Martin
6. Still Upright & Headed Downstream by John Lane
7. House of Names by Colm Toibin
8. The January 6th Report
9. Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Wilson
10. The Weather Detective by Peter Wohlleben
11. Down the River by H. E. Bates
12. Down From the Mountain by Bryce Andrews
13. Firestorm by Nevada Barr
14. Endangered Species by Nevada Barr
15. Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher
16. Wait for Signs by Craig Johnson
17. Borges and Me by Jay Parini
18. The Damascus Road by Jay Parini
19. Scranton Lace by Margot Douaihy
20. Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver
21. Collected Works of Charles Portis
22. Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
23. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
24. Trudi & Pia by Ursula Hegi
25. The Homewood Books by John Edgar Wideman
26. Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden
27. Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins
28. Zabar's by Lori Zabar
29. Identical by Scott Turow
30. Scarlet and Black by Stendhal
31. The Tree of hands by Ruth Rendell
32. Crafty Cat Crimes
33. Avalon by Anya Seton
34. Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire
35. The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg
36. Fen, Bog & Swamp by Annie Proulx

6laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jul 4, 2023, 4:07 pm



There IS such a thing as not enough shelf space...so here's where I'll keep track of the ones I give up for adoption (the cat is NOT available):

1. Haweswater by Sarah Hall
2. An Irish Country Yuletide by Patrick Taylor
3. The Complete New Yorker Cartoons duplicate copy
4. An Irish Country Yuletide by Patric Taylor
5. Reading Poetry Millett, Hoffman and Clark
6. The Basic Book of the Cat by Wm Carr (never cataloged)
7. Cat by B Kliban (never cataloged)
8. The Bayou Trilogy ARC By Daniel Woodrell
9. The Reserve by Russell Banks
10. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes
11. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
12. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
13. A Decade of Masterpiece Theater Masterpieces by Alistair Cooke
14. The Bottom of the Jar by Abdellatif Laâbi
15. The Overstory by Richard Powers
16. The Right Mistake by Walter Mosley
17. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
18. Shore Road to Ogunquit by Harold Plotkin
19. True Grit by Charles Portis (duplicate copy)
20. Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
21. Lot by Bryan Washington
22. Firestorm by Nevada Barr
23. Fall of Fortresses by Elmer Bendiner
24.-25. Needful Things by Stephen King (2 copies)
26. The Vintage Mencken
27. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
28. As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson
29. The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham
30. A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell
31. A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean
32. Peace by Garry Disher
33. Absalom's Daughters by Suzanne Feldman
34. Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan
35. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
36. Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh
37. God's Mercy by Kerstin Eckman
38. Far-flung & Footloose by E. J. Kahn, Jr.
39. The Inextinguishable Symphony by Martin Goldsmith
40. My Reading Life by Pat Controy
41. Exit West by Moshin Hamid
42. House of Mist by Maria Bombal
43. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling et al.
44. Thurber Carnival duplicated by LOA volume

7laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jul 4, 2023, 4:09 pm

I'm hosting an American Authors Challenge again this year.

Here's a link to the General Discussion Thread for that challenge. Links to individual monthly threads will be posted there (and maybe here, if I remember) as the year progresses. I'll also keep track of my own AAC reads in this post.

This is what we'll be reading in 2023:

JANUARY: Children’s classics
The thread is here.

Finished The Tale of Despereaux and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

FEBRUARY: Richard Powers
Here is February thread for Powers.
DNF The Overstory

MARCH: Poetry
The March Poetry thread is here.
Finished The Carrying by Ada Limon
Finished Shore Road to Ogunquit by Harold Plotkin
Currently reading Old Poets by Donald Hall, and sampling the work of the American poets he writes about (so far, Frost and Eliot)
Finished Scranton Lace by Margot Douaihy
Finished Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver
Finished Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey
Read selections from James J. McAuley's New and Selected Poems as well as some Billy Collins

APRIL: Ursula Hegi
Here is the APRIL thread, for Ursula Hegi
Finished Trudi & Pia
DNF Sacred Time

MAY: John Edgar Wideman
finished Writing to Save a Life and Damballah

JUNE: Mary Gordon
The Mary Gordon Thread
DNF Pearl

JULY: US Presidents as authors
Discussion thread for July

AUGUST: Percival Everett
SEPT: American Ladies of Crime
OCT,: Dorothy Canfield Fisher
NOV.: Canadian authors
DEC.: Benjamin Alire Saenz
WILD CARD: AAC 2014 REDUX (A list of what we read in 2014 can also be found at the above link) Here's a thread for discussing these Wild Card choices.

8laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 1, 2023, 1:04 pm



9jessibud2
Abr 1, 2023, 1:39 pm

Happy new one. And yay for the cat not being available. ;-)

10PaulCranswick
Abr 1, 2023, 1:47 pm

Happy new thread, Linda. xx

11drneutron
Abr 1, 2023, 3:19 pm

Happy new one, Linda!

12laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 1, 2023, 3:31 pm

>9 jessibud2: I thought I'd better point out that I'm not offering my kitty for adoption!

>10 PaulCranswick:, >11 drneutron: Thanks, Paul and Jim!

13laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 1, 2023, 3:59 pm

27. Trudi & Pia by Ursula Hegi This illustrated children's book is adapted from Hegi's novel, Stones from the River, and features its protagonist, Trudi, a dwarf trying to come to terms with her otherness. In the novel this takes place in German society, during the rise of Nazi rule and the trauma of WWII. The much abbreviated children's version eliminates all mention of Trudi's country, family and neighbors, war and politics, and focuses on her personal struggle to be herself in a world seemingly created for bigger people. When she finally meets another "little person", a circus performer named Pia, she learns to accept her "strangeness" as normal, and imagines they both have come from a magical island where everyone is small and beauty is all around. Presumably the point of this book is to let children see differences as gifts, rather than as obstacles. I don't think it works very well. The illustrations look as though they were done by a child with some artistic ability who hasn't learned about perspective yet. Since the story is all about perspective, this seems like a flaw, and the art lacks the primitive charm that could have saved it. It is listed as being for readers from 5 to 9 years of age. I think dwarfism may be too specific a difference to have wide appeal for that age range, and the lesson is too much the point of the story. I'm not going to share this one with my 5-to-9ers. I just don't think they'd care much for it. The presentation doesn't do justice to my memory of the novel, either, although it has been close to 20 years since I read it.

14richardderus
Abr 1, 2023, 4:04 pm

New-thread orisons, Linda3rd!

15quondame
Abr 1, 2023, 4:21 pm

Happy new thread Linda!

16figsfromthistle
Abr 1, 2023, 4:36 pm

Happy new one!

17FAMeulstee
Abr 1, 2023, 5:18 pm

Happy new thread, Linda!

18vancouverdeb
Abr 1, 2023, 5:33 pm

Happy New thread, Linda! I enjoyed Demon Copperhead in January and I am trying to make my was through several of the Women's Prize for fiction Longlist , 2023.

19BLBera
Abr 1, 2023, 7:39 pm

Happy new thread, Linda.

20foggidawn
Abr 2, 2023, 1:56 pm

Happy new thread!

21SandyAMcPherson
Abr 3, 2023, 1:33 am

Hi Linda.
I love your intro ~ I occasionally forget to read these once I'm in the habit of starring a member's thread.
It was very enticing this time properly taking in what you had to say.
I felt like I could so easily just set a spell on the back veranda, drinking coffee, and visit. You've a real talent for writing like that. Even if you don't mention coffee or back verandas.

Anyway, wishing you the proverbial happy new thread with interesting book chatter.

22laytonwoman3rd
Abr 3, 2023, 10:36 am

>21 SandyAMcPherson: Thank you, Sandy! How nice of you to say all that. I often wonder if anyone reads my intro. I definitely enjoy reading everyone else's, because I'm nosy like that. I am drinking coffee this minute, and for "back veranda" I will substitute a small side patio (if it ever warms up here) where you're welcome to drop in any time.

23laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 7, 2023, 11:20 am

28. This is Happiness by Niall Williams During a mid-century spring marked by unprecedented sunshine, things are changing in the wee village of Faha, County Clare. The electricity is coming in, and the Crowes are on the telephone now. Young Noel Crowe has abandoned Dublin as well as his seminary studies and is struggling to find himself in his grandparents' rural outpost. "Faha was no more nor less than any other place. If you could find it, you'd be on your way somewhere else."

Often accompanied on a rickety bicycle by his grandmother's boarder Christy, an agent of the electric company, Noel spends many evenings seeking the music of a wandering fiddle player widely touted as the finest that ever bowed a string. "Once he heard a tune it never left him...In time Junior Crehan carried so much music in him he became a one-man repository...in whose playing was the playing of all those before him on into the mists of the long ago."

Love is in the air, but having trouble finding where to settle. Noel falls, in rapid sequence, for each of the three daughters of the local doctor, simultaneously attempting to mend a decades-old rift between his new friend Christy and the woman he left at the altar.

The novel proceeds at the unhasty pace of a one-horse buggy, and you seriously need to slow down and let it do so. In the hands of an Irish master, the English language sheds all its Anglo-Saxon clunkery, and becomes the music you didn't know you were seeking yourself.

"You live long enough you understand prayers can be answered on a different frequency than the one you were listening for. We all have to find a story to live by and live inside, or we couldn't endure the certainty of suffering. That's how it seems to me."

Give yourself a gift; read this one without giving a thought to when you will finish or what you will read next.

24kac522
Abr 7, 2023, 11:53 am

>23 laytonwoman3rd: I've got this on a shelf somewhere around here....time to pull it out.

25laytonwoman3rd
Abr 7, 2023, 11:56 am

>24 kac522: DO it. It only took me 2 years to get around to it.

26katiekrug
Abr 7, 2023, 12:02 pm

>23 laytonwoman3rd: - Pretty sure I have this on my Kindle. Sounds great!

27lauralkeet
Abr 7, 2023, 12:04 pm

Having just "met" Niall Williams through History of the Rain, I completely agree with your comments about pace and language. I can't wait to read This is Happiness.

28jessibud2
Editado: Abr 7, 2023, 7:00 pm

Hi Linda. I have heard good things about This is Happiness. I must check it out, at some point.

Linda, I remember you mentioning that you have a Samsung Galaxy phone. Are you happy with the quality of the camera? I ask because I am slowly getting used to my new Samsung but I am quite disappointed in the camera part of it. The colours are not sharp and even the slightest attempt to zoom renders photos fuzzy. Much as I disliked my previous Motorola, I never had issues with its camera at all (other than downloading the pics to my laptop). I could start carrying around my actual camera again but I really would rather not.

29laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 8, 2023, 9:52 am

>28 jessibud2: I've been pretty satisfied with the camera in my Galaxy, but I treat it like a point-and-shoot, not a high performance camera. I take photos of graves for my volunteer work with Find-A-Grave, I take snapshots of my kitty, I keep photos on it of things I might want to refer to when I'm out and about...nothing too refined. It's super easy to transfer photos to my PC from the phone, and I don't do any editing (other than resizing sometimes if I'm e-mailing a pic) on the phone itself. My husband has a slightly newer Samsung phone than mine, and he doesn't think much of the camera. He uses our "real" camera (a digital SLR) for anything requiring sharpness, zoom, etc.

>26 katiekrug:, >27 lauralkeet: You two would both appreciate it, I'm sure.

30Caroline_McElwee
Abr 8, 2023, 12:10 pm

>23 laytonwoman3rd: I have this near the top of the tbr mountain Linda. Nudging it next to the reading chair.

31jessibud2
Abr 8, 2023, 12:44 pm

>29 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda.

32richardderus
Abr 8, 2023, 1:11 pm

Hi, Linda3rd, I'm dancing through as I avoid being book-bulleted.

33laytonwoman3rd
Abr 10, 2023, 11:23 am

>30 Caroline_McElwee: I seem to have put this on several "soon now" lists!
>31 jessibud2: You are most welcome. Not that I think I was much help!
>32 richardderus: Hmmmm....I see I must up my game...

34laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 23, 2023, 9:50 pm

29. Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths Not at all up to the standard I've come to expect from this author. I enjoy the character of Harbinder Kaur, and I hope Griffiths is not through with her. But she sure has more potential than was apparent in this one. At a high school reunion, a man who is now an MP turns up dead. This causes the usual shock, grief and suspicion among his old classmates, but it also stirs up memories of another death among them that happened in their last school year--a death precipitated by events that they all seem to remember differently. There are too many versions of that long-ago tragedy; too many pages devoted to multiple perspectives on it, none of which seem to be leading the reader anywhere; and too little "detecting" going on. It was never clear to me why the police should have taken any interest at all in a 15-year-old death that wasn't even considered suspicious when it happened. Any tension built up along the way was released in a fizzle, and the final reveal came out of the blue in an extreme example of the "it's the one person nobody even considered suspecting" technique, making 200+ pages of uncertain memories, inter-character action and police work (such as it was) totally irrelevant. Having finished the book, I recognize one clue that could have pointed to the actual killer, but the author and the police mostly dismissed it; maybe I should have picked up on it for that very reason, but it would have felt like a wild conjecture. Misdirection can be fun to spot and see through, but here it was just manipulation, so I feel cheated. I gave this title 2 stars, for the character development bits. Plot-wise, it was a full FAIL for me.

35RBeffa
Abr 10, 2023, 12:34 pm

>34 laytonwoman3rd: oh my. what a bummer. I have not read beyond the first Harbinder Kaur. I liked the gothic tone of that first one. I've noticed in Griffith's books a touch too much of the out of the blue technique where everyone but the guilty party comes under suspicion, but have still enjoyed almost all of them a lot. I'm midway through a purposely slow read of the final Ruth Galloway book and I'm liking the way she has pulled elements in from the previous books in the series to sort of give the reader a sense of the journey but I'm a little underwhelmed with the murder mystery part of it. One of the characters is heavily painted suspicious and there is an obvious red herring because I am never going to believe that Cathbad took part in the murder, so I am fearing an out of the blue end with my book. It won't really spoil what is an enjoyable wrap for the series. I always like the archeology stuff she brings into the stories.

I will give Bleeding Heart Yard a pass!

36laytonwoman3rd
Abr 10, 2023, 1:33 pm

>35 RBeffa: I have several Ruth Galloway titles to get to, and I'm still looking forward to those.

37Familyhistorian
Abr 10, 2023, 6:55 pm

Happy new thread, Linda. I've only read the first in the Harbinder Kaur series so far but will probably read on. I'll know not to expect too much from Bleeding Heart Yard.

38quondame
Abr 11, 2023, 1:09 am

>34 laytonwoman3rd: I rather like Bleeding Heart Yard as a read, though the ending wasn't satisfying.

39lauralkeet
Abr 11, 2023, 6:52 am

>34 laytonwoman3rd: I enjoyed that one more than you did, Linda. I'm sorry it didn't work for you! Oddly enough, the ending redeemed the book for me. I thought we were heading for a predictable conclusion and thought, "oh no you're not going there are you?" So I was actually pleased with the twist/reveal.

40RBeffa
Abr 11, 2023, 10:26 am

On Facebook this morning Elly Griffiths is opening a box with her cat Pip and in the box is Bleeding Heart Yard. 20 seconds. I have no idea if this link will work for you https://www.facebook.com/EllyGriffithsAuthor/videos/141783332186751

41laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 11, 2023, 11:02 am

>40 RBeffa: Thanks, Ron. It did work, and it was fun.

>39 lauralkeet: I knew you had reviewed it well, Laura, and went back to re-read what you said after I finished it. I often second guess myself when my response is so different from yours, but this time it's just a case of dif'rent strokes, I suppose.

>38 quondame: I've had that experience too...a good engaging read, and then a disappointing ending. But this one had me a bit frustrated right along.

>37 Familyhistorian: Maybe when you get to it you'll have forgotten I slammed it, and it will work better for you!

42Berly
Abr 16, 2023, 3:39 pm

>29 laytonwoman3rd: I've enjoyed four of Elly's books so far, but maybe not this one...we'll see. Hope the next read works better for you.

>40 RBeffa: Fun!

43laytonwoman3rd
Abr 19, 2023, 3:02 pm

>42 Berly: Thanks for your good wishes, Kim. They worked!

30. The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich Five stars. Immersive, family saga sort of stuff, purely wonderful story-telling with a few loose threads I wish the author would pick up one day. Erdrich's immigrant families are just as compelling as her Native American ones, and I hated to leave them behind when I finished. The book deserves a decent review, as there are not many on the site that rise above plot summaries. I'll think on it a while, and see if I can do it more justice.

44lauralkeet
Abr 19, 2023, 6:15 pm

>43 laytonwoman3rd: I'm not quite finished yet but this is classic Erdrich story-telling, which makes for a fun read.

45laytonwoman3rd
Abr 19, 2023, 8:17 pm

46richardderus
Abr 19, 2023, 9:44 pm

Thursday smoochings, Linda3rd.

47laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 22, 2023, 5:05 pm

>46 richardderus: Thanks, Richard.

I had a little trouble finding something to follow the Erdrich, which was a 5 star read for me. I gave Ursula Hegi's Sacred Time forty pages, but it just wasn't working for me at all. Looked at Hamnet briefly, but didn't think I was in the mood for that sort of thing. Read a few short things---selections from the latest issue of Slightly Foxed, a couple pieces from John Updike's Due Considerations (always on the go), a few sections of the long-term read of the history of a Jewish village in Lithuania, and poems from the Daedalus Press collection of James J. McAuley's works, New and Selected Poems (why do publishers keep using that so unhelpful title?). Finally settled into Willnot, by James Sallis, an author unfamiliar to me. Where has he been? I'm liking it. Thanks to avaland, who has introduced me to so many new authors. You know me well, Lois.

I'll plug James J. McAuley a bit, if you'll indulge me. He's Irish, through and through, and rebellious with it. He taught English at the small liberal arts college so near and dear to my family for granting degrees to so many of us, during the time flamingrabbit and I were in attendance. Neither of us took courses from him, but he was a Presence on campus. His poetry soars. And stabs. As poetry should.

48lauralkeet
Abr 22, 2023, 2:30 pm

>43 laytonwoman3rd: The book deserves a decent review
I just gave it my best shot ...

49laytonwoman3rd
Abr 22, 2023, 2:57 pm

>48 lauralkeet: Oh, good, Laura. 'Cause I don't think my thoughts are going to coalesce.

50SandyAMcPherson
Abr 23, 2023, 7:15 pm

>34 laytonwoman3rd: Excellent review, Linda. I gave the story 3 stars but those were very grudging 3-stars. You've pinpointed the flaws I didn't mentally articulate but from which felt the story was suffering.

Some of Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels were poor, too, but I soldiered away reading them because I liked the character and the forensic anthropology. I'll allow one more Harbinder Kaur novel an if they fall down like this one, I've other TBRs to satisfy my mystery addiction.

51laytonwoman3rd
Abr 24, 2023, 10:16 am

>50 SandyAMcPherson: I agree about the Ruth Galloway novels. I think part of my issue with the Kaur series is that there isn't enough of her in them, and the plots don't carry the books well enough. With a lot of mystery series, it's the characters and their lives that keep me reading, and I rarely remember much about the mystery itself.

52laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 27, 2023, 12:14 pm

31. Willnot by James Sallis This is the first book I've read by this author, who was previously unknown to me. I read it, really enjoyed it, but have no idea what to make of it, let alone what to say about it. The first few pages make you think you're delving into a mystery---bodies discovered in a gravel pit near a small town, local doctor called to the scene to see what he can see. Well, that's a mystery all right. But it's soon clear that solving it, or even investigating it, will not be what this book is about. What we get is a picture of the professional and domestic lives of Dr. Lamar Hale and his partner, Richard, who is a school teacher/administrator. The town of Willnot is full of "characters", just like every town I've ever lived in. Some peculiar things happen and remain unexplained, but accepted. That mass grave is just one of them. Life is peculiar. Dr. Hale grew up with a father who wrote fiction across all genres. Nearly everything could be a jumping-off place for a new story. He has a dream life that borders on psychosis, but except for needing the occasional "news blackout", he seems to function extremely well. He and Richard seem well matched; their relationship is as close to "normal" as any couple could wish for. I think he'll be OK. I'd trust him with my life.

53RBeffa
Abr 26, 2023, 12:52 am

>52 laytonwoman3rd: I have read a bit of Sallis before because he has written science fiction shorts for at least 50 years. I hope he is a better crime fiction writer.

54laytonwoman3rd
Abr 26, 2023, 9:07 pm

>53 RBeffa: I'd say the jury is out, as far as I'm concerned, on Sallis's crime fiction, because this wasn't that! I do intend to read more of him, though.

55laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Abr 26, 2023, 9:40 pm

32. Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey A memoir, written primarily to come to terms, long after the fact, with Trethewey's mother's murder. In June of 1985, after escaping an abusive marriage, and surviving at least one subsequent attempt on her life, Gwendolyn Turnbough Trethewey Grimmette was shot to death by her ex-husband, who had been jailed briefly after that prior assault. In the days immediately preceding the shooting, he had made repeated blatant threats to kill Gwen, his step-daughter Natasha, and even his own 11-year-old son, if she did not "give him another chance".

At first I found it difficult to engage with Trethewey's story, because she seemed so distant from it herself in the writing. But as more details slowly unfolded, it became a heart-wrenching exploration of buried memories, unexpected discoveries, and survivor's guilt. I picked it up this afternoon some twenty pages short of the half-way point, and could not stop. The book leaves a lot of questions unanswered for the reader, but was well worth reading.

56SandyAMcPherson
Abr 28, 2023, 10:38 am

>51 laytonwoman3rd: ...my issue with the Kaur series is that there isn't enough of her in them, and the plots don't carry the books well enough.
Well put! I agree and think what originally drew me in was the Harbinder Kaur character.
I also liked some of the other supporting characters that were in the second novel and I wondered what prompted such a change of venue for Kaur.
Maybe Griffiths was having trouble with writing the mysteries in the original setting? (Yeah, I know, a rhetorical question...)

57lauralkeet
Abr 28, 2023, 12:31 pm

>51 laytonwoman3rd:, >56 SandyAMcPherson: on the topic of Harbinder Kaur ...

Julia (rosalita) recently had the opportunity to ask Elly Griffiths about what she (Julia) calls her "series-not-a-series situation." She shared a screenshot of that dialogue here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/347163#8126589

Helpful!

58Caroline_McElwee
Abr 28, 2023, 1:03 pm

>43 laytonwoman3rd: Added to the list. I have her most recent near the top of one of the piles Linda.

>52 laytonwoman3rd: I have one of his books somewhere.

59quondame
Abr 28, 2023, 4:07 pm

>57 lauralkeet: Thanks for providing the link and thanks to rosalita for posing and passing on the Q&A.

60laytonwoman3rd
Abr 29, 2023, 9:59 am

>57 lauralkeet: Thank you!! Somehow I've missed Julia's 2023 thread. Starred it now.

>58 Caroline_McElwee: I feel like I've read a lot of Erdrich, but it pleases me to see that there are still many of her books unread on my shelves. I'd hate to run out.

61laytonwoman3rd
Abr 29, 2023, 10:01 am

People!! It's Independent Bookstore Day!! Visit your favorite indie seller in person or on-line. Bookshop.org is offering free shipping all weekend. You can't go wrong.

62lauralkeet
Abr 29, 2023, 10:16 am

>60 laytonwoman3rd: Julia visits a lot of threads here, but keeps her own thread in the ROOTS group which might explain why you missed it. I'm glad you found her.

63laytonwoman3rd
Abr 29, 2023, 10:36 am

>62 lauralkeet: That's it...I followed a few threads in that group last year, but didn't think to go find them again in 2023.

64laytonwoman3rd
Abr 30, 2023, 9:35 pm

33. Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Colin Coterill No. 7 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series, and the best so far. There's a fair bit of humor in this series, and in this one it's absolutely necessary to counteract the darkness. It's 1978. Lao citizens Dr. Siri and his friend Civilai are invited to attend an embassy affair in neighboring Cambodia/Kampuchea, now under the control of the Khmer Rouge guerillas, who are not the least bit funny. A stark picture of life under Big Brother's thumb emerges as Siri finds himself at odds with a regime that has no respect for human life, rejects the relevance of human feeling, and does not take his lack of cooperation lightly. A much better "read", in my opinion, than the celebrated works of the early 20th century that make the same point.

65RBeffa
Maio 1, 2023, 12:04 pm

>64 laytonwoman3rd: dang it has been ten years since I read that. I stopped with #10 which I noted was my least favorite of the series. I did not realize there were now 15 novels!

66laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 1, 2023, 3:33 pm

>65 RBeffa: For a while I was sure this had to be the final one in the series, but Cotterill was just messin' with us.

May's thread is up in the American Authors Challenge, ready for discussion of John Edgar Wideman

67richardderus
Maio 1, 2023, 3:45 pm

>64 laytonwoman3rd: I so love Dr. Siri. His adventure among the dead of Laos is endlessly entertaining to me. Mme Daeng is the perfect match for him. What a tragedy for my series lovin'self that he got bored with this series... I miss the Scooby group Dr. Siri built.

Happy new week's reads.

68laytonwoman3rd
Maio 3, 2023, 3:23 pm

>67 richardderus: Happily, I won't run out of Dr. Siri stories for a while as long as I don't binge.

69laytonwoman3rd
Maio 3, 2023, 3:29 pm

34. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman A hoot, a romp, a dizzy ride through the world of VAT fraud, money-laundering and cryptocurrency with the Thursday Murder Club (which seems to be expanding). And it isn't really necessary to understand much about how those things work to enjoy the trip. (But I feel Joyce would warn you against getting involved, even with the most expert help available.) Delightful, even when it's sad.

70lauralkeet
Maio 3, 2023, 8:37 pm

>69 laytonwoman3rd: Delightful indeed. Such a fun series!

71laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Set 29, 2023, 10:01 am

35. Firestorm by Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon has been sent to the Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, to serve as security officer and medic for a team fighting a wildfire they believe may have been accidentally or intentionally started by a man camping in the forest. The camper turns up burned to death, and is identified as the brother of Jennifer Short, one of Pigeon's colleagues. But why would Josh Short, an environmental activist and experienced outdoorsman, set his beloved landscape aflame; neither mishap nor arson seem to explain that to Anna. Just as the team is getting the fire under control and planning to demob off the mountain, an unexpected change in the weather creates a firestorm, putting everyone at risk, destroying their camp with all supplies and equipment, and preventing rescue for days. Most of the team manages to take shelter and avoid incineration, but there are casualties...including one man who is found with a knife in his heart. Stranded on a charred-over mountainside with no food or water, limited communication with the outside world, and an exhausted, traumatized group of mixed personalities, one of whom must be a murderer... hmmm.... Anna is highly trained, experienced and resourceful, but this is a mighty challenge, and I might have done a couple things differently. But then, I'm not a badass park ranger. A fast adventure with a somewhat unexpected ending.

72laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 10, 2023, 11:16 am

I've seen several posts in the group regarding the joint Pulitzer awarded to Demon Copperhead and Trust. I have only read the Kingsolver, and probably won't read Trust, because the descriptions of it just have not caused any tempting vibrations in my web. And that is despite having read this excellent blog post from a person I know and, well....trust. I share in case those of you who have read the book, whatever your reactions to it, may be interested in Holly's take on it. And because I love Holly and take every opportunity presented to me to promote their work. If you haven't read Trust, but intend to, take note of Holly's own caveat, "please be aware that my essay discusses the book’s structure in depth, which also gives away some of the novel’s best turns".

73lauralkeet
Maio 11, 2023, 8:06 am

>72 laytonwoman3rd: That's a fine piece of work from Holly, thank you for sharing it. I read Trust and appreciated it but didn't enjoy it. I gave it 4 stars for the structure and way things were revealed in each of the parts. I did not even attempt to describe that in my review, but Holly has the academic and writing chops to do so very well.

74laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 15, 2023, 5:32 pm

>73 lauralkeet: Despite my undiminished love for Faulkner, the more I read (which is to say, the older I get), the more I appreciate an uncomplicated narrative style. But I am currently reading John Edgar Wideman's Writing to Save a Life, which is most definitely not simple, and it's powerful in a way that a simple recitation of facts might not be. Also, and godhelpme, I've been reading a Paris Review interview with poopy old Harold Bloom, who despite his many faults, can be worth some time. He does offer good argument for continuing to challenge the intellect, and not just to relax into what he calls "easier pleasures". Of course he was a dozen years younger than I am now when this interview took place...

75lycomayflower
Maio 11, 2023, 10:34 am

76laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 11, 2023, 10:43 am

>75 lycomayflower: I know, but he amuses me. And occasionally, he IS right about a thing. Frye is still my guy, though.

77lauralkeet
Maio 11, 2023, 11:47 am

A certain someone, with whom I share a house, recently came across some Bloom videos on YouTube. Not knowing the full story, as it were, he was quite impressed. I tried to ignore it but I admit he occasionally amused me and he was occasionally right about a thing.

>76 laytonwoman3rd: Who is this Frye you mentioned? Perhaps I should introduce them to my better other half.

78m.belljackson
Maio 11, 2023, 1:54 pm

>74 laytonwoman3rd: Thomas Foster in TWENTY-FIVE BOOKS THAT SHAPED AMERICA
has some intriguing interpretations of Faulkner and his books.

So far, I've agreed with about half of his choices.

79laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 11, 2023, 6:24 pm

>77 lauralkeet: Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism. He and H. B. have different philosophies, but Bloom did write an introduction to an updated edition of Anatomy. I would be curious to know what he said in it, as my own edition goes back to my college days, and in this interview I've been reading (which took place the year Frye died, I see) Bloom felt he needed to "correct" Frye's approach, but also called him "my precursor". So. Have at it, you and your housemate, and do share all reactions. (You can leave out the "Oh he's one of those f----ers!", as my daughter has already registered that opinion, with regard to Bloom.)

80laytonwoman3rd
Maio 11, 2023, 5:44 pm

>78 m.belljackson: Have you read Why Read Moby Dick?, or Jay Parini's Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America? Both excellent on the same subject.

81lycomayflower
Maio 11, 2023, 5:57 pm

>79 laytonwoman3rd: To great maternal amusement, I'll add!

82laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 11, 2023, 6:34 pm

>80 laytonwoman3rd: Indeed. Just read you HB vs. HP rant. Well done. (Fairly sure I've read it before. And do consider sharing it here.) "He is fully invested in marking out an “inside” (stuff in here is good and worth our notice) and an “outside” (stuff out there is beneath our contempt)." This, of course, is precisely where Bloom parts company with Frye, who talks about "what we have here" with far fewer value judgments piled on.

83msf59
Maio 11, 2023, 6:43 pm

Sweet Thursday, Linda. I hope you are sitting down for this...I am joining this month's AAC. Shocking, right? I will start All Stories Are True tomorrow. Honestly, I had not heard of Wideman before.

For what it is worth- I LOVED Trust and highly recommend reading it. Carefully, climbs down off soapbox.

84m.belljackson
Editado: Maio 11, 2023, 8:44 pm

>80 laytonwoman3rd: My NYC Moby-Dick friend and I enjoyed Why Read Moby-Dick? and will look now for the Parini book.

(Yikes - I had unhappily reviewed the Parini where he included that racist book while leaving out To Kill a Mockingbird.)

The Last Station by Jay Parini is still on my shelve of Tolstoy keep books!

85laytonwoman3rd
Maio 11, 2023, 10:30 pm

>84 m.belljackson: Well, I don't know which book you're referring to, but I think it's important to note that Parini wasn't putting forth a list of the "greatest" American books of all time. He was talking about cultural significance---"These thirteen books must be seen as representative, not definitive, works." And as I recall, he dealt with the virtues and the flaws of his choices.

86quondame
Maio 11, 2023, 11:49 pm

>84 m.belljackson: >85 laytonwoman3rd: Whatever I'd feel about Uncle Tom's Cabin reading it in the 20th or 21st century, I'd still have to admit it's importance in the history of the U.S.A. Or it was it another of his 13? For literary merit, I'd choose To Kill a Mockingbird, but don't know whether it was of it's time or a creator of the future.

The List of Thirteen.
1) Of Plymouth Plantation
2) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
3) Federalist Papers
4) The Journals of Lewis and Clark
5) Walden
6) Uncle Tom's Cabin
7) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
8) The Souls of Black Folk
9) The Promised Land
10) How to Win Friends and Influence People
11) The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
12) On the Road
13) The Feminine Mystique

87lauralkeet
Maio 12, 2023, 7:02 am

>79 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks for the information on Northrop Frye, Linda. I considered buying the book, until I saw the current price on Amazon was more than $100. And sadly, my library doesn't have it. It looks like we can find some YouTube videos (old interviews and such), which is was the starting point with HB, so there is hope.

FWIW, we staged a mother-daughter gang-up along the lines of Oh he's one of those f----ers, which prompted further research and a more balanced discussion.

88alcottacre
Maio 12, 2023, 8:51 am

Just dropping by to say "Hello," Linda. Have a fantistic Friday!

89laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 12, 2023, 9:40 am

>87 lauralkeet: You can have a paperback 2020 edition of Anatomy of Criticism for way less, Laura. You must have been looking at the original 1957 version or maybe the one I used in college. I discovered I also own the edition with Bloom's Foreword, (that one sells now for 42.00, for some reason) so I read that last night. It wasn't really worth the trouble, because I didn't get most of his references to older critics, theories, etc.

>86 quondame: Thanks for putting up that list, Susan. I thought about doing it, but I was ready for bed when I posted >85 laytonwoman3rd: and couldn't rustle up the energy.

>88 alcottacre: Always happy to have you drop in, Stasia!

>83 msf59: Wonderful, Mark! I hope you enjoy the Wideman stories. I've read a couple from the Damballah collection, and so far found them very good.

90m.belljackson
Maio 12, 2023, 11:29 am

>86 quondame: On re-reading my Review, I have no idea which book was meant...will check further!

It sure wasn't Uncle Tom's Cabin!

Ah, when I checked, it was a "latter" reference to his expanded list that included the offensive book, not the original 13.

91lauralkeet
Editado: Maio 12, 2023, 11:58 am

>89 laytonwoman3rd: Oh, thanks Linda! IIRC, my search results also yielded various other books of criticism by Frye (essay collections or similar), so I think I scanned the page for the cover image based on your initial link.

ETA: looking more closely at the link in >89 laytonwoman3rd:, this work is also described as a collection of 4 essays. But it's the same work from your college days?

92richardderus
Maio 12, 2023, 1:53 pm

Hi Linda3rd. Happy Friday *smooch*

93laytonwoman3rd
Maio 12, 2023, 2:22 pm

>91 lauralkeet: Yes. It is divided into 4 sections, referred to as essays. I'm going to PM you.

94Caroline_McElwee
Maio 15, 2023, 3:54 pm

>79 laytonwoman3rd: Tui led me to Northrop Frye some years ago, and I have read that, and have a couple of others in the tbr mountain.

95laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 15, 2023, 5:31 pm

>94 Caroline_McElwee: Yes, I know Tui is fond of her fellow Canadian. I also have The Great Code on hand, but have not read it so far.

>93 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, RD. Almost missed you there.

96laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 16, 2023, 10:29 am

36. Writing to Save a Life by John Edgar Wideman Wideman is the May author for the AAC. He was completely unknown to me, and I see that was a dreadful oversight on my part.

Writing to Save a Life is an imaginative fusion of research, memoir and invention rooted in the tragic deaths of Emmett Till, murdered in Mississippi in 1955, and the father he never knew, Louis, who was executed by the U. S. Army in Italy in 1944.

Wideman was about 15 years old when he saw a photograph in his grandmother's Jet magazine showing the mutilated body of Emmett Till, a young man just his own age. It horrified him, but he did not fully realize until much later how significant Emmett's death was to him as he grew up and experienced so much of life that had been denied to the boy in the photo. Wideman became aware that the confidential designation of the U. S. Army's file on Louis Till's trial and execution had been prematurely cancelled, and details of his alleged crime leaked to the public prior to a Grand Jury's deliberation on whether to indict Emmett's accused killers on kidnapping charges after they had been acquitted of murder. He attributes the Grand Jury's refusal to indict to the public revelation that Emmett's father had been found guilty of raping a pregnant woman in Italy while stationed there with the U.S. Army. Wideman obtained a copy of the file, which raised at least as many question for him as it answered. He became somewhat obsessed with this file, in which it was fairly clear that justice had taken a back seat to expediency. He read and re-read, trying to fill in gaps and resolve discrepancies with his novelist's imagination. He visited the obscure European burial ground where 93 soldiers serving the US during WWII are interred, all having been executed for various offenses by their own government. Of those 93, 87 were colored troops.

This book was written when Wideman was in his mid-seventies, and contains a fair amount of reflection on his own life and experiences in comparison and contrast to Emmett's short span on earth. It's a bit repetitive in parts, because of an experimental technique Wideman used in trying to make sense of the elder Till's trial and conviction. I think it may be one of those books that was more important for the author to write than for anyone else to read. It was probably not the best choice to begin reading Wideman, but it certainly showed me that there is much talent and intellect to be explored in his work.

97figsfromthistle
Maio 16, 2023, 6:01 am

Dropping in to say hi and catch up :)

98laytonwoman3rd
Maio 16, 2023, 10:30 am

>97 figsfromthistle: Hi, Figs! Always happy when you can visit.

99Caroline_McElwee
Maio 21, 2023, 2:01 pm

>96 laytonwoman3rd: I saw the movie they made about Emmett Till last year which was disturbing and moving Linda.

100laytonwoman3rd
Maio 21, 2023, 4:29 pm

>99 Caroline_McElwee: I don't think I have the fortitude to watch that, Caroline. The horrors of racial violence in this country, and the evils of the Holocaust in Europe are things I can only read about these days.

101SandyAMcPherson
Maio 23, 2023, 12:18 am

>86 quondame: I got a little lost along the way and now wondering what Susan's list of books was about.

One thing I have pondered is whether The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an acceptable book these days, given it's era and likely inappropriate stereotyping. It was a book (paired with Tom Sawyer) that I read avidly as a kid (back in the 1950's).

I hesitate to ruin a happy memory.Not that this iswhat the thread here was talking about...

102quondame
Maio 23, 2023, 12:47 am

>101 SandyAMcPherson: Way back there was a TIOLI challenge to read two books with the same title. Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America was one that had a number of interesting choices. The list in >86 quondame: was of the titles of the 13 books, but others were included as "honorable mentions"

I feel that the message of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn outweighs its limitations.

103SandyAMcPherson
Maio 23, 2023, 11:10 am

>102 quondame: I feel that the message of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn outweighs its limitations..

Thanks for that ~ very happy-making.

104laytonwoman3rd
Maio 23, 2023, 11:15 am

>101 SandyAMcPherson: There is definitely some racial stereotyping in Huck Finn, but I think it is "redeemed" by Twain's approach to the relationship between Huck and Jim. It's impossible to miss the fact that before the end, Huck comes to see Jim's manhood and humanity as equal to that of "any white man"...he's puzzled by it, doesn't know what to do with that knowledge, but he acknowledges it just the same. I think the book remains not only "acceptable", but important. What may ruin your happy memory of childhood reading this particular classic is that it has some narrative flaws that have nothing to do with the issues that get it banned.

105m.belljackson
Maio 23, 2023, 1:16 pm

Aside from the hard-to-read stereotyping, the big problem with Huck is
allowing Tom to dominate him and humiliate Jim.

No redemption or explanation...

106laytonwoman3rd
Maio 23, 2023, 4:49 pm

>105 m.belljackson: Yeah, Tom is just a jerk, and Huck thinks he's such a good friend. But there's social commentary in that as well. Huck has accepted that his place in society is below Tom's because of his motherless, uneducated state and his father's dereliction. Yet it's Huck who struggles with moral dilemmas, not Tom, the essential trickster who gets other boys to do his chores.

107SandyAMcPherson
Editado: Maio 24, 2023, 10:20 am

>104 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks for this overview, Linda.
I was actually wondering if the 'adventures' would hook my grandson. He loves being read to but not much for reading to himself. At age 8, I understand this is not so unusual in boys. BWDIK? I only had daughters.

Edited to acknowledge >105 m.belljackson: point, which is equally valid.

108laytonwoman3rd
Maio 24, 2023, 11:19 am

>107 SandyAMcPherson: I think reading Huck out loud to your grandson would be a terrific idea. What better way to initiate some important conversations than in the context of a good story?

109SandyAMcPherson
Maio 24, 2023, 11:22 am

>108 laytonwoman3rd: I hope I can manage that. I'm a bit clumsy in this regard!

110m.belljackson
Maio 24, 2023, 11:51 am

>109 SandyAMcPherson: Concern might be an 8 year old hearing the n-word so often that it feels logical to test it out...

111laytonwoman3rd
Maio 24, 2023, 2:47 pm

>110 m.belljackson: Sadly I don't think limiting access to Mark Twain is going to keep that word out of most children's vocabulary. Having a trusted adult explain why it's not acceptable is so much better than hoping it never reaches their ears.

112weird_O
Maio 24, 2023, 3:15 pm

>111 laytonwoman3rd: Amen, Linda. The bowdlerization fest is ridiculous. And book banning is way worse.

113m.belljackson
Maio 24, 2023, 4:26 pm

>112 weird_O: >111 laytonwoman3rd: there's a quote somewhere that says 'Books are now being banned before they are written.'

114laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 24, 2023, 4:59 pm

>112 weird_O: I remember discovering in college that a Faulkner short story I recognized had been bowdlerized in our high school literature book. And a classmate who did his student teaching in a Williamsport area high school was required to use a similarly butchered version of something (I can't remember exactly what it was, but a poem, I think) for his class. So it ain't new...and it doesn't get better with age!

>113 m.belljackson: Jon Clinch noted on his Facebook page that he might try to get his upcoming novel "pre-banned" to help sales!

115jessibud2
Editado: Maio 24, 2023, 7:00 pm

On the other hand, there is something to the thought that banning books is the best way to make people want to read them.

>112 weird_O:, >114 laytonwoman3rd: - That reminds me of a funny story. My grandmother lost her eyesight to macular degeneration about 20 years before she died. At first she resisted but I finally got her hooked on audiobooks as she had always been a great reader. Once, I borrowed a book from the library and said I'd like to read to her. As I was reading, my eyes were scanning ahead. I saw that there were some swear words coming up. I tried to edit as I read until my grandmother said, "Just read it as it is. You think I don't know those words?" Cracked me right up.

116laytonwoman3rd
Maio 28, 2023, 10:40 am

>115 jessibud2: I love your Grandma story! I heard my own sweet lady-like grandmother say "damn" ONCE in my entire life, and it shocked me so bad...and scared me, too. I mean, she raised six kids alone through the deprivations on the home front during WWII, and if something was awful enough to wrench that word from her, it was probably worse than THAT.

117laytonwoman3rd
Maio 28, 2023, 10:56 am

37. Damballah by John Edgar Wideman For the AAC. This collection of short stories introduced me to the fiction of an author I expect to be spending a lot more time with in the future. I was impressed with Writing to Save a Life, which I read earlier in the month, but I thought it was a therapeutic writing project for Wideman, and it didn't translate to much in the way of enlightenment or entertainment for me. These stories, on the other hand, were full of engaging characters and rich experience, both tragic and uplifting. As with the two novels often published with them as the Homewood Trilogy, the setting is Wideman's hometown of Pittsburgh, in a neighborhood founded by an ancestor of many of the people we meet. I get a very similar vibe to reading Faulkner, or Louise Erdrich, where recurring characters play parts in interconnected narratives that become clearer with each installment, and beg to be revisited for years. I love this kind of thing.

118lauralkeet
Maio 28, 2023, 12:35 pm

>117 laytonwoman3rd: what a fabulous discovery, Linda. My library doesn't have much of his work available so I will follow your reading with interest. I may have to break down and buy something, now wouldn't that be awful LOL.

119SandyAMcPherson
Maio 28, 2023, 12:50 pm

>115 jessibud2:, >116 laytonwoman3rd: What Shelley said!
I think these "Grandma stories" are so wonderful in bringing humanity to the bygone times and memories of past generations.
My own mother could never bring herself to swear. We knew it was an expletive when she said (usually in exasperation),"Well! Dirty old cream of wheat!".
This may seem completely strange to others but the back story makes it clear: my Mom was convent-boarding-school educated in the early 1920's and the school was very impoverished. Dinner (supper) was too frequently... yup, 'cream of wheat'.

120laytonwoman3rd
Maio 28, 2023, 4:14 pm

>118 lauralkeet: Yup, I'm glad to have found Wideman to my liking, Laura. I know some of his work is quite different, stream of consciousness and so on. I'll work my way up to that!

>119 SandyAMcPherson: I can understand cream of wheat being an expletive under those circumstances! My grandmother's usual exclamations were more along the lines of "Oh, glory!" or "Heavenly days!" When I drop something in the kitchen, I fire off one or more of the common four-letter words. She's just say "Go it!"

121laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Maio 29, 2023, 4:36 pm

38. Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire The subtitle says it all-- "The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller". With no other compelling prospects, the author took a job as an apprentice with Sotheran's Rare Books in Sackville Street, London, knowing absolutely nothing about the trade. He was given a tour of the Dickensian premises, not too much instruction, and fairly free rein to do or not do whatever crossed his tiny desk. As an interim posting, it was fine. As permanent employment, it turned out, even better. Over time, Oliver came to know a bit more about buying, selling and squirreling away rare books (and other oddments, such as gourds carved with Queen Victoria's image). Occasional temporal and cultural shocks ensued, as one might expect when a 21st century gay man attempts to fit in to a rather peculiar business with origins in the 18th century. Fun, sometimes hilarious, occasionally informative. Recommended if you like such stuff.

122SandyAMcPherson
Maio 29, 2023, 5:23 pm

>121 laytonwoman3rd: I added this to my PL wish list. Though I was a bit put off by the publisher's glib overview (I liked your review better, Linda).
Did you notice the publisher writing that (Oliver) ... was "Allured by the smell of old books..."?
Allured?... say what!

123laytonwoman3rd
Maio 29, 2023, 5:58 pm

>122 SandyAMcPherson: Well, to be fair, Darkshire is a bit glib himself... And he did go on a bit about that "old book smell" we all know about. (Apparently the way it makes you feel has a name: "vellichor". You see what I mean about the informative part.) But that wasn't why he took the job. And I'm happy to have added a title to your list, 'cause surely your list was at least one book too short before.

124RBeffa
Maio 29, 2023, 6:22 pm

old book smell can be good until it isn't - when you open a box of books and get hit with that musty mildew old book smell ...

125SandyAMcPherson
Editado: Maio 29, 2023, 7:03 pm

>123 laytonwoman3rd: Mr. SM, whose father owned an antiquarian and out-of-print books and collectibles family business, says vellichor is an 'invented' word. Yes, I had to ask him and as is often so interesting, this led to discovering there's a book with this word defined.

Apparently the word derives from John Koenig's book: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. 'Vellichor' is reported to be "The wistfulness of a second-hand bookshop".
And here I thought 'wistfullness' was a feeling, but I can see how that relates to the pleasant smell aspect of old books (not the musty, mouldy ones).

126laytonwoman3rd
Maio 29, 2023, 10:12 pm

>125 SandyAMcPherson: Yes, I found that reference to Koenig's book, too...Blackshire didn't cite it, and I thought his use of the word implied it was the actual smell, rather than the feeling it arouses in people. But I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about that musty, mildewy funk Ron mentioned. When I take books to our library to donate, they always inspect them to be sure they aren't damaged, aren't Reader's Digest Condensations or textbooks, and that they pass the smell test!

127scaifea
Maio 30, 2023, 8:37 am

>121 laytonwoman3rd: Welp, adding that one to the list. Thanks for the excellent - as always - review!

>125 SandyAMcPherson: re: 'invented' words: I love this phrase, because, well, aren't they all?

128SandyAMcPherson
Maio 30, 2023, 9:05 am

>127 scaifea: I thought so, too, Amber (how do words start their lives, after all?), but decided no to quibble.

129laytonwoman3rd
Maio 30, 2023, 9:19 am

>127 scaifea: Oh, boy! Thanks. >127 scaifea:, >128 SandyAMcPherson: And I totally agree about "invented" words.

131laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jun 2, 2023, 4:50 pm

39. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie My introduction to the Kincaid/James detective series. Just what I needed to break a slight reading slump. Something doesn't feel quite right to Duncan Kincaid when his terminally ill neighbor is found dead in her bed. Did she, despite telling a friend she had changed her mind, go through with a plan to end her own suffering with a lethal dose of morphine? Or did cancer simply take her a bit sooner than expected, so gently, in her sleep? Neither explanation works for Duncan, and the post mortem he orders confirms that it wasn't a natural death. But if Jasmine Dent killed herself, why didn't she leave some message behind for those who knew and cared for her? And where were the empty morphine vials? A satisfying page-turner. I'll definitely be reading more of these.

132katiekrug
Jun 2, 2023, 3:28 pm

*big grin*

133laytonwoman3rd
Jun 2, 2023, 4:51 pm

>132 katiekrug: Go ahead, pat yourself on the back. You earned it. And I thank you! No issues about skipping the first one, as far as I could tell.

134lauralkeet
Jun 2, 2023, 5:11 pm

>131 laytonwoman3rd: I will succumb soon! I think I'll follow your lead and start with book #2.

135katiekrug
Jun 2, 2023, 5:13 pm

>133 laytonwoman3rd: - I think I pulled a muscle with all my self-back-patting ;-)

136SandyAMcPherson
Jun 2, 2023, 8:39 pm

>131 laytonwoman3rd: I think I should try this book, though it is #2. Your review is greatly intriguing me to try this author again. I would be pleased to discover that my first time reading Crombie (Book #14, No Mark Upon Her) was an outlier in the poor writing/plotting department.

Pre-LT, when I read book #14, I was stranded by an airport kerfuffle having discovered my assigned seat taken, due to an overbooked flight*. It was sometime in 2012, and someone had abandoned their Crombie mystery book. I really wonder if I might like it better, now. I mean, airport waiting is never a fine reading environment.

*for inquiring minds: Perhaps because I had a particularly cheap ticket, I got no consideration (vis à vis my reservation), though, TBF, I did receive an upgrade with the next flight.

137laytonwoman3rd
Jun 2, 2023, 10:39 pm

>136 SandyAMcPherson: I'd encourage you to give Crombie another try. Sounds like she didn't get a fair shake, because YOU weren't getting one either! On the other hand, it wouldn't be unheard of for an author to be getting a bit careless or bored by No. 14 in a series...

138SandyAMcPherson
Jun 2, 2023, 11:20 pm

>137 laytonwoman3rd: it wouldn't be unheard of for an author to be getting a bit careless or bored by No. 14 in a series

That's very true... I added books 1 and 2 to my library WL.

139laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jun 6, 2023, 3:42 pm

>138 SandyAMcPherson: I have 1 and 3 home from the library. May just skim the first one, and then tuck in to Leave the Grave Green.

140laytonwoman3rd
Jun 6, 2023, 4:00 pm

40. A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean This is subtitled "The Observations of Miss Dido Kent", who, to paraphrase Library Thing author Rosie Claverton, is sort of what might result if Jane Austen had created Miss Marple. It's been likened to Regency mysteries, although the first page sets us clearly down in the autumn of 1805, so not quite of the actual period. Miss Kent is a maiden aunt, called into service when her niece Catherine's engagement to the heir to Belsfield Hall is suddenly cut off by the young man himself. Aunt Dido simply must find out why he would have done it, and then disappeared from the estate, when Catherine knows he still loves her. Before she can get very far with her discreet inquiries, however, a body turns up in the shrubbery. Dido has unpleasant suspicions...a good many of them, as the days pass...but she can't substantiate much until she gains the loyalty of a young footman, and the friendship of Sir Edgar's "man of business". Pleasantly cosy, not quite predictable, but eminently plausible and satisfactorily concluded.

141quondame
Jun 6, 2023, 8:30 pm

>140 laytonwoman3rd: That one doesn't seem to exist as an ebook, but my library has 1-4 of Anna Dean's The Observations of Miss Dido Kent. Oh, I see the alternate title is Bellfield Hall.

142laytonwoman3rd
Jun 6, 2023, 9:10 pm

>141 quondame: That's confusing, because in my British copy the name of the estate is spelled BelSfield.

143laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jun 8, 2023, 5:54 pm

DNF Pearl by Mary Gordon I'm Pearl-ruling Pearl. I don't care for the style, or the patronising, self-important authorial tone in the guise of an omniscient narrator who makes a point of deciding when to tell us what. Any desire I may have had to understand why a young American woman would chain herself to an embassy fence in Ireland, determined to die like Bobby Sands, to "bear witness" to something, has preceded her in death. (If she's actually going to die, which I doubt.) I think there's an excellent story in there somewhere, but Gish Jen, Maxine Hong Kingston and Margaret Drabble to the contrary notwithstanding, I have yet to see a glimpse of the compassion, suspense or lyrical intensity they're on about; Gordon's habit of speaking directly to the reader, as if we're likely to miss the point but she's going to make it clear, makes me twitch; and I just don't have the patience to stick with it. Perhaps it's because I was not brought up to believe that voluntary suffering is its own reward?

144kac522
Editado: Jun 8, 2023, 10:12 pm

I have to admit that I'm skipping Gordon this month. Way back when, I read Final Payments when it first came out, and it was OK enough for me to try another. My guess is now it would sound very 1970s, in a bad way. The Shadow Man, which I read in 1996, was terrible, although I finished it.

I think you said it all with "self-important authorial tone."

145laytonwoman3rd
Jun 11, 2023, 8:00 pm

41. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie So, I went to the library to fetch No. 3 in the series (See >131 laytonwoman3rd: above) and there was the first Kincaid/James entry right there on the shelf, so I said "why not", and took it home. It was a perfectly fine first installment of a series, and I enjoyed it. Duncan Kincaid takes off for a rare holiday when a relative offers him a time-share week in the Yorkshire dales. Naturally, rest and relaxation are NOT on the schedule and Kincaid gets himself tangled up with a house full of middlin' strange people, some of whom will end up dead, and one of whom must be a killer. Rest easy, there's no Poirot round-up at the end, but plenty of red herrings and a spark or two of potential romance.

146richardderus
Jun 12, 2023, 2:32 pm

>143 laytonwoman3rd: There's just such a sectarian-catholic judgmentalness in Gordon's work. The LOVE of my Youth was the last time I voluntaily picked up one of her books. "Quit bitching, Jews!" comes out of her playbook again with the unbearbly girly-girl teenaged piano prodigy's teacher the Holocaust survivor saying the church did too little to save Jews.Funny that they didn't scruple to help Nazi war criminals...so belt up, Gordon.

147laytonwoman3rd
Jun 14, 2023, 8:50 pm

>146 richardderus: "judgmental" pretty much sums it up.

148laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jun 14, 2023, 9:39 pm

42. Alfred and Emily by Doris Lessing Tough to categorize this one. It begins as a novel, which Lessing says she wrote to give her parents an alternate life to the damaged one they lived. She sets us up with a Foreword, in which she explains that WWI and its aftereffects hung over her own life well into adulthood, as a result of what it did, physically and emotionally, to her father and mother. What follows is a fine short novel, in which Alfred and Emily do not marry, and the Great War never happens. By inference, of course, Lessing does not exist in this version of their lives. Somewhat abruptly, this story comes to a close, and for the second half of the book Lessing reflects on what did happen after Alfred lost a leg to shrapnel (thereby escaping certain death with his unit days later at Passchendaelle), married Emily, and eventually took her and their children off to Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) to establish a farm which he hoped would make his fortune. Lessing examines her difficult relationship with her mother, ponders the advances in medicine and mental health care that could have improved life for both Alfred and Emily, and embraces her childhood in Africa despite its hardships. She also comments on the effects of colonialism, racism, the second World War and global politics. This seems to have been her last published work, and the memoir section has an end-of-life feel about it, as if the author had finally come to terms with some heavy matters that had troubled her most of her life. A worthwhile, if sometimes confusing read.

149laytonwoman3rd
Jun 17, 2023, 10:52 pm

43. Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie No. 3 in the Kincaid/James detective series. Everybody "loved" Connor Swann; so why did his wife leave him and their lovely flat to return to her parents' home, and why did he end up wedged against a sluice gate in Hambleton Lock, quite unnaturally dead? Connor's father-in-law, a conductor of some considerable reputation, has asked that Scotland Yard send assistance to the locals to determine what happened to the man, so naturally it falls to Duncan Kincaid and his Sgt. Gemma James, to sort it all out. Personalities complicate it all, and there's plenty of unprofessional behavior going on from several quarters. A good advancement of the series, with an irresistible loose string dangling at the end of it all.

150laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jun 23, 2023, 10:46 am

44. Memoirs of a Book Snake by David Meyer One of those books about books that are always sneaking onto my shelves. A quick and entertaining read about the author's adventures seeking for and acquiring old books. He highlights the changes in the used/antiquarian book world during his 40 years (at the time) of engaging in the hunt. If he were to update the volume now, 20+ years later, there would be even more changes to note. But some things, like the appeal of those book shelves in thrift shops, or the thrill of finding a book you never heard of and may never read but just MUST have...those are still the same.

151laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jun 29, 2023, 11:26 am

DNF Gray Mountain by John Grisham I've never baled on Grisham before--usually he's a reliable choice for "summer reading"--so I was pleased to find this unread title while browsing the shelves of one of our library branches. Somehow, though, I couldn't get into this one. I think it was just too too topical, and its moment may have passed. Apparently I'm not alone in finding this below Grisham's best level, so if you'd like to know more, you can check any of the reviews posted on site.

152tymfos
Jun 23, 2023, 9:46 pm

I lost your thread for months. Not that I'm here visiting on the threads much, anyway.

>145 laytonwoman3rd: >149 laytonwoman3rd: I love that Deborah Crombie series. I need to get caught up on it again -- I haven't read the last few.

153laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jun 23, 2023, 10:13 pm

>152 tymfos: Well, we're even, Terri! I lost you in 2023 as well...it seemed to happen with several people, and I just blame lack of concentration on my part. I tracked you down, and will catch up on your thread ASAP. Glad you found me!

I came late to Deborah Crombie, but I am really enjoying the series so far.

154laytonwoman3rd
Jun 28, 2023, 10:01 pm

45. Stonewall by Martin Duberman An in-depth treatment of the gay liberation movement from its early beginnings, when it was internally referred to as the homophile movement by many of the mostly conservative gay men behind it, to the transformative moment in 1969 when violence erupted at a mob-run gay bar in the West Village of NYC known as The Stonewall Inn, bringing on a "generational, organizational and ideological shift". The author profiles six individuals through the 1960s and 1970s, whose "stories were different enough to suggest the diversity of gay and lesbian lives, yet interconnected enough to...suggest some of the ...values, perceptions and concerns that centrally characterized the Stonewall generation." This is an important work, obviously painstakingly researched, but I confess I found it slightly weedy reading in parts because of the scrupulous detail included about the multitude of gay rights organizations and publications that came and went, the lack of leadership and the counterproductive in-fighting that made a cohesive national movement so difficult to create for so long. Even after the Stonewall riots seemingly gave moderates and radicals a common goal, consensus as to "message" was as difficult to attain for the LGBTQ "community" as it has proven to be for many other marginalized groups throughout history. The personal stories of the troubled teenager, the African-American jazz club junkie, the buttoned-down wealthy celibate, the Barnard graduate feminist, the transvestite hustler, and the Yippie Vietnam war protestor kept me reading (although I did skim from time to time). Originally published in 1992, my 2019 edition contained a new introduction by the author as well as an epilogue with updates on the lives of his subjects, 4 of whom have died since the book first appeared.

155laytonwoman3rd
Jun 29, 2023, 6:02 pm

The July thread in the AAC is ready for action. We're reading U. S. Presidents (or their ghostwriters) this month.

156richardderus
Jun 29, 2023, 9:01 pm

>154 laytonwoman3rd: The book that, more than any other, explained why there's progress only in fits and starts for my kind.

Happy weekend ahead's reads, Linda3rd.

157laytonwoman3rd
Jun 29, 2023, 9:16 pm

>156 richardderus: It was an enlightening read, Richard. Really, amazing that ANY progress was made when there was so little agreement within the movement regarding just what prize to keep in view.

158thornton37814
Jul 4, 2023, 9:47 am

Dropping by to say "hello" as I make rounds to catch up.

159laytonwoman3rd
Jul 4, 2023, 10:07 am

>158 thornton37814: Hi, Lori. Glad to see you here.

160laytonwoman3rd
Editado: Jul 4, 2023, 10:11 am

46. The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg Just pure comfort reading...a warm and cozy follow-up to Fried Green Tomatoes, filling in the life of Ruth's son Buddy and what-all happened to Evelyn Couch after Ninny Threadgoode left this earth. You might be surprised.

161laytonwoman3rd
Jul 4, 2023, 4:18 pm

Like the banner says there, A New Thread is UP!