It's been a banner year for book reading at my house, so many reviews, so little of the year left to post them... This is also the time of year I start considering new book challenges for the coming year.
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (Vol. 2 of the Oxford Time Travel Series) (4 stars)
Although this may be classed as volume 2, you in no way need to read volume one in order to enjoy this book. Even though I have read vol. 1 (The Doomsday Book), the novels are very different in tone. Vol. 1 is about time travel to the time of the Black Death, a much more somber subject, and Vol 2 is time travel to the Victorian Era and a tongue-in-cheek parody of an earlier Victorian work entitled Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. The characters are familiar in both volumes and the apparatus of time travel is the same in the two books, but they are both very different novels and enjoyable individually. Not quite what I was expecting after the Doomsday Book, but an enjoyable read in between heavier subjects.
This one is much lighter in tone, uses a lot of humor and makes fun of social stereotypes of the era. The scientists are traveling back in time to change an aspect of history and save a cat from drowning because cats have become extinct in their future world. It’s not hard-hitting science fiction going into the details of time travel, but more of a lighter historical romance piece but still enjoyable in its own way. It shows the author can be versatile in her styles of writing.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (4.5 stars)
This is an unusual book with a dreamy quality about it. But, having read 5 of Gaiman’s works so far, all of them could probably be classified as ‘unusual’, and they all seem to contain fantastical aspects. It has a very intriguing beginning that pulls the reader right into the story and takes you along for the ride with the main character. It is rather a short book so when you are all of a sudden done reading it you just sit there wondering about what you have just read.
Gaiman uses a lot of folklore in his writings and this one is no exception. It is also a coming-of- age story where the main character, a man, (who remains nameless throughout), returns to the town where he grew up, after becoming an adult. He traveled back to attend a funeral. He visits the location of his old childhood home and while there, he ponders his boyhood and distinctive aspects of his life as the story unfolds as a flashback.
The man had a childhood neighbor, Lettie, who lived at the end of the street, and she had grand dreams about a small pond in her yard, which she called an ocean. As a child he gets wrapped up in happenings with Lettie and her family. Did what he remember really happen, or was it all a fanciful creation of his childhood imagination? I fell in love with the Lettie character, and would love to read more tales about her and her very unusual family.
The Plot Thickens Ed. By Mary Higgins Clark (Each story must include: a thick steak, a thick fog, and a thick book.) (4 stars)
I found this one on a recent browsing expedition at the local public library. It has been closed for several months because of Covid and after a partial reopening had various restrictions on the public being able to make use of this resource, so I was very happy to be able to go there again and peruse the shelves with most of the restrictions lifted. I was looking for a particular volume in the mystery section and this book caught my attention. It was a work done as a fund raiser for Literacy Partners in 1997, which seeks to combat illiteracy through local and national reading assistance programs. Popular authors of mystery and suspense stories submitted short stories for the book. It is still available from online used book sellers and might even be sitting in your local library’s mystery section like it was in mine.
As I have stated before, with every story collection you get some very good ones, some moderately good ones and a few duds. Even though they can be somewhat hit or miss, there are usually enough good ones to make a story collection book worth reading as a whole. I am able to sample work from new authors that I may not have known about before and if I like their style, I can read more works by them.
Previously, I read through everything when I had these collections (and sometimes suffered through it), but now I am getting more selective with what I read and if there’s a dud, I won’t waste my time anymore. I just move on the next story. I found one dud in this collection. After suffering through trying to read it for a few days and being unsuccessful, I just skipped it and happily read through the rest of the book quite quickly. (The dud was Thick-Headed by Walter Mosley, I found it hard to follow, it dragged along, and the speaking dialect used by the characters just made it annoying.)
What I loved about this collection was the stipulation that the authors had to use three things in their stories- a thick steak, a thick book, and a thick fog. It was great to discover how these particular items were used in all the stories in this volume. It was reading and having a treasure hunt put together.
If you have designs on trying to do a bit of authoring yourself, pick this one up and study how the different authors worked those particular things into their stories in all kinds of ways, and then try making a story yourself using those three things as well. There is always something new to discover when reading!
Brother Cadfael Mysteries by Ellis Peters (4 stars)
A Morbid Taste for Bones (#1) / The Virgin in the Ice (#6)
These books are part of a 21-book series about a 12th century Monk named Brother Cadfael, who has a talent for solving murder mysteries. There is also a PBS series about Brother Cadfael starring Derrik Jacobi as the monk. I have seen a few of these shows so I decided to give the books a try as I was sampling different types of mystery stories. Cadfael is an interesting character, having been a crusading soldier in his younger days he is, you might say, a bit unconventional as a monk. He has a long colorful history behind him and there is a lot of pretty accurate historical fact thrown in with the novels as well keeping them entertaining and figuring out the ‘who done it’ portion with Brother Cadfael.
Morbid Taste for Bones: The monastery where Cadfael lives is looking to gain more notoriety by beefing up their collection of relics from Saints, so one of the brothers has a miraculous vision showing him where to find some relics to take back to his monastery, it just so happens the relics are in Wales and the people of the town are not so convinced they need to give them up to these English Monks….
The Virgin in the Ice: The story begins with the historical sacking of Worcester in 1139, historical information is revealed, including a good inside look at English society in the middle ages and Cadfael sets out to look for a pair of royal youths who have been missing since the battle and solving murders along the way.
Daniel Silva Spy Thrillers- Gabriel Allon Series: The English Girl, The Heist.
All action-packed books, all spy thrillers, all starring the thorny but quite interesting, Gabriel Allon, art restorer extraordinaire and Israel’s ‘spy’ savior and the group he works with at the “Office”. All somewhat similar as novels, good quick reads for some excitement and or entertainment. You can’t help but care about what happens to Allon in these books. (4 stars)
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Young adult- This one was read as part of my involvement in a reading group for students at the local elementary school. I was hesitant about this subject matter at first and wondered what the approach to the Black Panther movement and civil unrest of the late 60’s that this book would take would be like. I still think it is a subject matter that is way too complicated to be tackled through reading a thin volume about a black woman with a lot of issues, who abandons her family and runs away to Oakland CA to become a ‘poet’ and won’t even hug or provide a meal to her three daughters who come for a visit. The children are the losers here through the irresponsible actions of the parent. I wonder if 11-year-old students can really grasp what is trying to be taught within its pages during the 40 minutes allotted once a week to discuss the book. But I guess it is a horizon expander even with those limitations. It gives a window into different experiences of childhood and circumstance. It seems to be filled with a lot of stereotypes as well, but I guess to become a stereotype there’s some kernel of truth in there waiting to be ferreted out, which makes it appropriate for discussion.
Sew Deadly by Elizabeth Lynn Casey. (Southern Sewing Circle #1 of 12 volumes)
Another flop (in my opinion) of a cozy mystery series. Why do I keep trying to sample these? You tell me. There are hundreds of these in every bookstore and library, all with clever ‘play on words’ titles and usually the requisite cat (of special abilities). I am still trying to figure out why these are so popular and not finding a whole lot of evidence to back up the claim, except maybe that there are a whole lot of bored women out there trying to dodge reality or seek adventure through these mild romance/ mild murder mystery stories.
The main character starts out by being thoroughly annoying, you see, her name is Victoria, and when new people she meets actually call her by her name she has to tell them 20 times a minute to call her Tori. She repeats this over and over again and it grates on you right from the start. She’s also possessed of an idealistic and foolish dreamer point of view from which she interprets everything making you have to suspend belief to try to relate to her (which is difficult at best). If I read one more description of how that ‘lonely, widower, hometown schoolteacher guy has a nicely chiseled jaw and wide shoulders’, I think I’m going to barf! Enough! Contrary to the persons in this mediocre story, whenever I’ve been in the south the people have been really polite and very welcoming, unlike the rude folks that populate this supposed southern town. (3 stars)
Taliesin by Stephen R. Lawhead.(King Arthur Series)
This is the second time I have read this book and the first time was a charm (several years ago) but the second time a few weeks ago was a flop. I used to think this was a good book, but it was not really. It was a weird mash up of Atlantis lore, King Arthur Merlin/Celtic lore, and a strange result of all that was the conversion of the Taliesin figure (who was a supposed Druid) to the Christian faith which brought about its to spread to the English isles. It did not add up or make sense. The romance was juvenile and sappy and there were lots of unexplained holes in the folklore that was just not covered in this story. I used to think Lawhead was a good author, but this is the second dud I have read from him this year and I am beginning to question that assumption. I’m left with more questions than answers after this one, but I definitely will not be reading any more of the 6 books of the Pendragon cycle again. (3 stars)
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
A wonderful romp through Venice! Funke is the talented author of several YA tales, including the popular Inkheart series. She catches your interest again with The Thief Lord and with the backdrop of Venice it is mysterious and magical at the same time.
Two orphaned brothers run away to Venice, a place their mother loved and would always tell them stories about, because they do not want to be separated from one another. Their uptight and unfriendly Aunt and Uncle only want to adopt the younger brother and send the older one off to boarding school, so the brothers run away together. They wind up living with a gang of street kids in an abandoned building in Venice.
This one is full of mystery, adventure, daring deeds, a magical merry-go-round, a youth that titles himself as the Thief Lord, and has lots of funny moments thrown in for good measure. Highly recommended. (5 stars)
All’s Fair by Julie Coulter Belton.
This one is an adventure tale and also romantic suspense, has an interesting setting and follows two storylines. That of the mover and shaker Kristen Shepherd, high powered director of political campaigns, and that of her brother Brandon, Army doctor serving in Iraq. It a pretty good tale, it also it fits into a unique category of LDS literature which is popular in Utah, as it has references to people being members of the LDS faith. Clean, romantic tension, and action circumstances. (If you enjoy the LDS novel subgenre, probably a good choice, but it is not one of my personal favorites.) (3.5 stars)
I’ll Find You by Clair M. Poulson.
This one also fits into that unique category of LDS fiction that is popular in Utah and contains references that may be only familiar to those living in Utah or of the LDS faith, but it is still a compelling story none-the-less. The main character witnesses her best friend being kidnapped when they are both about 5 years old. Ever since then, she has vowed that someday she would find him, and that vow has driven her life to some extent ever since. She graduates college and moves to California to start an accounting job and while she is doing her job at a local minimum-security prison, she meets an inmate there that she thinks might be her old childhood friend. She will never forget his eyes and sets about trying to find more about him to see if he could possibly be her old friend that was kidnapped. This author has written several books in this genre, and they seem to be pretty popular, so I went about sampling some of these that I found at the local thrift store. The local libraries carry an abundance of these books also. Clean, an engaging plot as Jeri contemplates the different circumstances that have made up the two childhood friends lives, but the one boyfriend, Warren is really an annoying character. I could not wait for Jeri to dump him, he was annoying and clueless. (If you enjoy the LDS novel subgenre, probably a good choice, but it is not one of my favorites.) (3.5 stars)
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.
Wow. I was a bit blown away when I finished reading this book. Right at first, I had a bit of trouble getting into this book because it was like the author had a case of attention deficit disorder, she would start telling you things then veer off telling you something else without finishing the first story. This kept up for about halfway through and I was about to put the book down, then the writing changed and became more compelling, and I wanted to find out what happened. Weird split personality type of writing, I can’t explain it. The main character, Marina, is a scientist working in a lab, she’s a bit of an odd duck, middle aged, single, and is involved romantically with the boss, she really does not know what to do with her life, herself, she lacks vision and focus. A colleague of hers was sent to the Amazon jungle to check up on research the pharmaceutical company is doing with regards to a new miracle drug, and he disappears and is presumed dead. They never send his body back, so Marina is sent down there to find out what happened to him and bring the body home so his family can have closure. The story gets pretty wild from there with the natives, the jungle bugs and snakes, the unusual research being done, and it turns into a page turner. Marina finally has purpose in her life and realizes she has something to contribute after all. I did not know what to expect from this book, I had just heard about it and one day found it at the thrift store, so I snagged it. I ultimately ended up liking it, Yes it was kind of patronizing to the natives, and totally unbelievable that one could settle into the primitive living arrangements presented in the jungle and just go along with the snakes, the bugs, only having one change of clothes and not be sick as a dog and die yourself from all of it but it was still a compelling story with the jungle setting serving as an interesting character itself. A good one if you are seeking armchair adventure. I don’t know if I ever want to be anywhere near the bug infested jungles after reading this one and other books I have read about venturing in the jungle such as The Lost City of Z, and The Lost City of the Monkey God. They can have it, maybe the creep out factor is a draw for me here. (4 stars)
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg.
No, I have not seen the movie and I don’t know if I ever will. I loved the book. I laughed out loud, and I cried out loud, I got caught up in the emotions of the characters in this book and sat contemplating it when I was finished reading. At times it was uncomfortable to read, as the book makes no bones about using the ‘n’ word and is honest about the prejudices/racism that at onetime existed in the south. History might not be comfortable to study, but it should be studied to learn from it and to help guide us into making better choices in the future. So, I make no apologies for this book using the language it does because it is historically accurate, it might put you off, but the facts is the facts, Jack, that’s all.
I think the way the story unfolds adds to the charm of it. It is told in snippets from a woman named Dottie in a local newspaper column in Whistle Stop, Alabama, from stories between an old woman named Ninny in the nursing home, who is visited each week by the lonely Evelyn. Evelyn is having a middle-aged crisis and is in bad need of a friend. It is told in flashbacks of history to the actual events as they happened. Some people may find this presentation a bit confusing, but I think it added to the overall charm of the book.
As I was reading, at first, I was a bit confused by the relationship between Ruth and Idgie, but at that time in the story telling the reader did not have enough background information to really have a full understanding. More of the story unfolds as the book continues on. Many people seem to think that they are a lesbian couple but even as they lived in the same house and ran the café together, there is never any hint in the story that they are romantically or physically involved. Yes, the two women love each other and are emotionally dependent on one another, but it never alludes to anything else. Ruth, after enduring an abusive relationship with her former husband, is widowed, in need, and pregnant with a child, she comes back to live in Whistle Stop with a family she had previously known and stayed with. That does not seem so odd to me. Ruth is a well-loved person in the community, a Sunday School teacher and it is the 1930’s so I don’t think ‘coming out’ would have been a popular thing in the small town south at the time. I loved the connections made by the people in this book. I loved Ninny’s stories and I cheered when Evelyn made changes in her life to feel better. I cried when Ninny died and missed her like she was an old Auntie of mine or something. A worthwhile read. (5 stars)
Fool’s Moon by Diane Stuckart.
Tarot Cats Mysteries #1. This was another exploration of the cozy mystery genre, and yes, one volume of it was enough for me. Make a list of everything you think female readers would want in a cozy mystery story, rescue animals, a sassy protagonist, an ever so super sweet pit bull named Sugar, (but in Spanish of course to make it cute and fit the southern Florida setting)-that sweet pittie is ready to tear the limbs off anyone-if needed-to protect her human though. (Eye roll) Add in an attitude throwing, but amazingly sexy male neighbor, and on and on… Throw it all in this one book, and voila! You have a recipe for instant love and success by the reading audience, right??? Not quite it was overkill written to a formula to drive what they thought would sell. It seemed patronizing and I could barely stand the telling of it from the know-it-all cat’s point of view. The whole story is told this way complete with cutesy words the cats make up to describe human things they don’t quite understand like the pick-em-up truck (for a pick-up truck). I may have lost intelligence reading this book! If there is ever another covid lock down maybe I would get bored enough to read another one of these, but it will be a cold day in hell before I do. Along with all this patronizing there was a mildly interesting murder mystery to going on in the background. (2 stars)
Battleground by Jim Butcher
This book should have been honestly named as Part II of…or the rest of Peace Talks. After reading that one I, and many other readers, felt ripped off for getting only part of the story and being left with a cliff hanger that was obviously a marketing ploy to get two books worth of profits out of one actual story. (Shame on the publisher and the author, again, for abusing loyal reading fans this way.) Battleground is a sweeping novel; it conveniently starts right where Peace Talks ended. There is non-stop action in the book, and it approaches overkill because each villain was bigger and badder than the last one mentioned. Let’s face it, Harry always gets beat up in these books, so that was nothing new. After Peace Talks, I was almost expecting to be disappointed with the ending of the Dresden Files, of which I have read them all, more than once, and all the corresponding stories as well. Battleground was, nevertheless, a satisfying conclusion to the series. There are lots of gritty battle scenes and it is sometimes repetitive, but it filled the big hole I felt after being dropped like a hot rock after reading and being disappointed by Peace Talks. (No spoilers included.) (5 stars for them both being one book without the extra fluff.)
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
The title story is the best one in this story collection, most of the others are really odd and forgettable and have no conclusion. They were imaginative stories, unusual settings that had potential, but the author did not appear to know what to do with them once she got started. Maddingly, they just end without any kind of ending. Whether this is done on purpose to be edgy, or whether the author truly needs to practice the art of actually finishing a tale once it is started, is something I don’t know but it does not inspire me to want to read anymore of the author’s work. I am noticing a trend in new literature that it seems more important to be edgy or to address whatever is a popular talking point at the moment than to actually have a good story and it is disheartening. (2.5 stars)
Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History by John Julius Norwich (non-fiction)
This is an interesting history, and an ambitious and monumental task for the time period covered in the book (prehistory to just after WWII). The history of this unique Mediterranean island is mostly just a tale of woe. The inhabitants have been used and abused by outside rulers for most of the known history of the world. The Romans deforested the island to build their naval fleet and create farmland for the burgeoning population of the empire. The Greeks who came to settle there carried with them the bitter rivalries of Athens and Sparta and continued to fight it out in Sicily, in fact, there are more ruins of Greek temples in Sicily than in Greece and the ancient “Greek” city of Syracuse, is actually located in Sicily (southeastern corner). The Arabs came by conquering (800’s), bringing with them citrus crops and leaving behind a one-of-a-kind blend of cuisine, culture and language, which is still seen and affects the island today, especially in the Western portion. Later the Normans fought the Arabs for control of the island and the French, Spanish, and German aristocracy all threw down their gauntlets for control of the island (and the southern part of the Italian peninsula) as well. They all basically raped and pillaged the land and native peoples there, and then went back home. The latest in a long history of oppressors (since about 1860) are the Northern Italians. By virtue of its location, Sicily has never had a chance to grow and blossom on its own without foreign interference. It is currently an autonomous region of the country of Italy and if you ask the residents today, they will tell you they are Sicilian first, then Italian.
The coverage of the Arab period is somewhat lacking in this
book as it deals mostly with Greeks and the European conquerors, and with the
European even more than the Greeks. Since the Arab influence was a seminal one
for the later history of the island, and one of the more ‘peaceful’ and
positive periods of cultural growth of the various foreign occupations, more
attention should have been paid to this period in a history of the island. It
would also have been nice to have some maps to refer to in the text while
reading through this history. (4 stars)
Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and The Deep Origins of Consciousness (Non-Fiction)by Peter Godfrey-Smith.
That title is a mouthful and a steep order for the
expectations of this book, and what it seeks to accomplish. Sadly, when the
reading is all ‘said and done’ it falls short of those lofty expectations. The
parts of the narrative where the author observes the various cephalopods and
describes their behavior are the most interesting parts of the reading. Many
people find the octopus and its relatives intriguing, and they are, by virtue of
their unique make up and obvious intelligence. But those interesting
observations are mixed in with a lot of supposition and evolutionary opinion
musing, that left the reader wanting if they were really seriously looking for
the origins of consciousness within this book. A natural history treatise about
the octopus would have probably held more interest than all the ruminating the
author was trying to do within the pages of this book.(3 stars)
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