What are you reading the week of October 14, 2017?

Yet another week with little time for reading. *sigh* October is just not going to be a good month for my reading list.

I finished An Artist of the Floating World. An excellent story dealing with a political situation in a totally personal manner. In this case, the is story told in the thoughts of an older Japanese artist after WWII dealing with the changes in Japan at that time and with the meaning of his own legacy. Excellently done.

I'm rereading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Illustrated Edition by J. K. Rowling although this is my first time with the illustrated edition.

I have just finished reading the book THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD by author RON HANSEN.

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Still reading Fortress in the Eye of Time, The Bookseller's Tale, and The wind in His Heart.

Just began Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny.

I'm reading and enjoying a Georgette Heyer, Regency Buck.

I just finished reading James Patterson "First Love". I couldn't put it down so it only took me a few days to read. The copy I bought has a bonus book "Hot Winter Nights" by Codi Gary. I'm halfway done with this one as well. Its been a good week for reading!

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram Kendi, interesting so far.

I've started Whistling Vivaldi, on the effect of stereotypes, and I'm about to dig into The Punch Escrow, a sci-fi story.

I finished Stay With Me, Ayobami Adebayo's debut novel. Such a beautiful book written by a gifted storyteller. Through this portrait of a Nigerian marriage, the author deftly reveals so much about the political and cultural changes that have affected her native land in the last forty years. I look forward to her next book.

I'm now reading Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.

>3 PaperbackPirate: I am also re-reading Harry Potter! I've read the first three books in the past week, just finishing The Prisoner of Azkaban a few minutes ago.

Last night work was very slow, and I had the opportunity to complete The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood, which was a good book, but too gruesome for my taste. When I'd finished that, and still had time to kill, I picked up a copy of The Pimlico Plot by Mary McMullen in the small and battered staff library. It is very dated, written in an annoyingly coy fashion, and the pages are yellow and fragile, but I'm interested enough that I will finish it.

#11- hi mollygrace. I read Stay With Me and loved it. I'm also reading Salvage The Bones and enjoying that too. Have you read Hum if you do t know the words by Bianca Marais? It's absolutely fantastic

>13 cdyankeefan: hi cdyankeefan I'm from the Houston area, so I guess we shouldn't be speaking right now, but I think we can declare a truce where books are concerned, don't you? Hum If You don't know the Words is on my Christmas wish list, but I may not be able to wait that long!

I finished Love: A Philadelphia Affair which is a series of 38 three page memoir vignettes about various places in Philadelphia and environs, most originally written for a newspaper column. They are quite good but best read with gaps between pieces since their style and themes (history, nature, fleeting pleasures, and the diversity of life) are much the same in each. Also don't know how much someone without some knowledge of Philadelphia would get out of it.

The Three Weissmanns of Westport - Cathleen Schine
Book on CD narrated by Hillary Huber
3.5***

Betty Weissmann is seventy-five when her seventy-eight-year-old husband, Joseph, announces he wants a divorce. Of course, he’ll be generous; he has loved Betty and her two girls from a previous marriage for over forty years, and he wants to do right by them. But his mistress, Felicity, has other plans for the elegant West-side apartment, and Betty is evicted from her only home with little notice. Her cousin Lou comes to the rescue, offering her his beach-side cottage in Westport. So, Betty and her two middle-aged daughters, Annie and Miranda, move in together and try to make sense of this new life.

This is a charming re-telling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (my personal favorite Austen novel). I had great fun trying to match Schine’s characters with Austen’s, and trying to figure out how certain plot elements might play out. Despite my familiarity with the original, Schine surprised me more than once.

I was immediately caught up in Betty’s story, and these characters seemed very real and recognizable to me. Their situation was both funny and poignant. There were times when I laughed out loud, or groaned in sympathy. I loved Betty; she went from confused and frustrated, to steely-spined and self-sufficient. Annie was the typical oldest child, taking charge and trying her best to “fix” was what wrong, while ignoring her own emotional needs. She presents a strong, clam façade, but does her crying in private. Miranda … well … she’s the “Marianne” character here, and I wanted to throttle her several times. Still, she is a sympathetic character despite (or perhaps because of) her flaws.

Hillary Huber shines in her performance of the audio book. She has the timing and tone to perfectly deliver this comedy of manners, and, as a skilled voice artist, she is able to differentiate the large cast of characters.

Double Indemnity - James M Cain
Digital audiobook performed by James Naughton
5*****

Walter Huff is an insurance agent who heads out to a Spanish mansion in the hills above Los Angeles to renew – and hopefully upgrade – an automobile policy for Mr Nirdlinger. The client is not at home, and Mrs Nirdlinger asks Huff to return the next night, but before he leaves she also asks about accident insurance. Huff knows the woman is trouble – with a capital T – but he lets himself get reeled in and before you know it …

Cain is a master of the roman noir. His writing is every bit as seductive as the temptress at the heart of his story. You just know this is going to end badly but you cannot tear yourself away, you just HAVE to continue. His short declarative sentences and first-person narrative give an immediacy to his writing, and make the novel difficult to put down. And just when you think you’ve already gone over the cliff …. You find that Cain has one or two more surprises in store for you. The ending of this one is nothing short of chilling.

James Naughton does a superb job voicing the audiobook. His clipped delivery is perfect for Cain’s writing style.

The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins
Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson & Relin (despite Mortenson's deceit, I am reading for its blueprint as potentially useful for a book I am planning)

Finished The Bookseller's Tale by Ann Swinfen. Really enjoyed the book. Next up is The Snowman by Jo Nesbø.

>14 mollygrace: hi mollygrace-of course!! All things being equal where books are concerned. To be honest I'm thrilled at how the Yankees are doing and if they lose its still good. They weren't expected to go this far so I'm just enjoying the ride. Don't wait for Christmas for HUM- put it on your Halloween wish list!!! The author is a doll and really engages with her readers

All the Birds in the Sky
by Charlie Jane Anders
2.5/5 stars
In this fantasy/science fiction novel, Patricia who is a witch and Laurence, a engineer disagree about what is happening to the world as disaster after disaster is occurring on the planet. As the world falls apart, the two friends/lovers who met as unhappy children, try to save the world in different ways until they discover that will never work.
I had a hard time with this novel. It did not quite live up to my expectations though I did not hate her writing (and I loved certain sections) but the plot was quite convoluted and at times I had a hard time following it and all the characters. Oddly enough-I would love to see this as a film because I think the visuals would be breath taking.

Busy times, almost finished with The Life of John Stuart Mill by Michael St. John Pace. Can't wait till things settle down a bit so I can get to my pile pf new books.

Finished the slog that was Brighton Rock - confirms I'm not a big fan of Graham Greene or relentlessly seedy melodrama.

Starting The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Still listening to (the very wordy) Tom Jones by Henry Fielding.

I am almost done with The Best American Short Stories 2017 and I have loved it. My favorite volume in some time.

I just finished a reread of Last Night at the Lobster. I love most everything I've read by O'Nan, except for this one and it bothered me that everyone else seemed to love it. I liked it more this time but I still think it was just ok.

>25 Copperskye: Last Night at the Lobster is a favorite of mine, though it hasn't been popular with two close friends who usually share my taste in books. I think I love it because it seems almost the perfect example of something I admire in O'Nan's books: his exploration of the very real -- if sometimes mundane and baffling and boring and exasperating -- ways people live their lives. And his attempts to show us the enormous distances between people. I was especially touched by the relationship between Manny and his former teacher. The next time the old guy comes to the Lobster, he'll find it closed and his former student gone. No warning. Life is like that. O'Nan is such an observer -- he catches so many little details of our lives. Someday you should read his non-fiction account of a tragedy Circus Fire. It's a tough book to read, but it helped me understand so much of the way O'Nan works, what matters to him, something about his honesty in dealing with his subjects or characters. Even the story of how he came to write the book (which he explains) is revealing.

This Ron Charles interview was especially meaningful to me in appreciating Lobster . . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/15/AR2007111501980....

I'm really not trying to change your mind -- I just have a special fondness for O'Nan's work and find so much of it "of a piece" in a way.

>26 mollygrace: I love when readers are passionate about their favorite authors, mollygrace, and I appreciate your sharing your thoughts on O'Nan and Lobster. O'Nan is one of my favorite authors, too, and that's why it's bothered me for so long that I didn't care for this one when so many love it.

I loved the relationship between Manny and Coach - it seemed so real. And I liked the interplay between Manny and the other customers as well.

Have you read The Good Wife? It's another where he shows such wonderful empathy and compassion for an ordinary character struggling to get by.

I have read The Circus Fire and thought it was a wonderful, harrowing read.

I'll check out the Ron Charles interview - thank you for the link!

A young woman at work loaned me the young adult novel Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, which I read in an evening. It was a nice story, a familiar one, but very well told. Now I'll be heading back to my re-read of Harry Potter; I'm onto The Goblet of Fire. I keep a book at work, and am dipping into A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn on coffee breaks and lunch hour.

>28 ahef1963: I don't read a lot of YA, but I read Eleanor and Park and loved it.

I think I'm finally going to read Every Man Dies Alone. I've had it on the shelf for a while now.

I am listening to The Humans by Matt Haig, and I am reading Moonglow by Michael Chabon.

Sounds interesting. I will have to add it to my reading list. Nigeria is a country I have not read much about. I'm eager to learn.

Buying Cain's collected works is on my list. I've heard good things about him. He's on level with Chandler and Hammett, so I've been told.

>13 cdyankeefan: Hum if you don't know the Words is on my to-be-read shelf, and I'm looking forward to it very much.

I finished Eleanor and Park in one evening; I enjoyed it a lot. I do read a lot of YA fiction, always have had an interest in it. I find books written for younger readers excellent therapy for when I'm feeling tense. Right now I'm finding life a bit difficult, so I'm re-reading all the Harry Potter books for the umpteenth time. I'm halfway through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and am planning to finish the series this month.

<hi ahef- you won't be disappointed with HUM -it's extraordinary. I read a lot of YA too and I think I have Eleanor and Park somewhere

Room by Emma Donoghue

It took a minute to get over the vernacular of Jack, but so far the book has been interesting enough.

The Day The World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
by Jim Defede
4/5 stars
This is the true story of the passengers of the 38 jetliners that were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11 when the US air space was closed and all planes were diverted away from the US. Defede tells an inspiring story of a community that opened their arms to all the passengers (including the animals on the planes) that could not return home.
Though I distinctly remember 9/11 and that horrible day, I had never heard of the community of Gander, who truly countered the horribleness of that disaster. This is definitely a wonderful read and is an inspiration to others.

I've just finished the audio of Room; quite unusual listening to the thoughts of the 5 year old Jack. It is a very different take on the captive type stories. Couldn't wait to get to the end to find out how it all turned out.

I am struggling with Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry I shall try to stick with it, his wonderful novel A Fine Balance has kept me going as it was wonderful reading. Both set in present day Bombay, I hope it improves.

I am reading The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2017 and really enjoying it!

I gave up on The Humans. Not my cup of tea.

I am now listening to The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden.

Starting The Widow of Windsor by Jean Plaidy
#4 and final novel in the "Queen Victoria" series
The novels were originally published 1972-74 and were out of print for years. In 2008, the series was reissued in the UK but not released in the US.

There's also Victoria Victorious, part of the "Queens of England" series.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, and a Sir John Fielding mystery, Murder in Grub Street.

The Illusion of Separateness – Simon Van Booy
3.5*** (rounded up)

From the book jacket This gripping novel – inspired by true events – tells the interwoven stories of a German infantryman; a British film director; a young, blind museum curator; two Jewish American newlyweds separated by war; and a caretaker at a retirement home for actors in Santa Monica. They move through the same world but fail to perceive their connections until, through seemingly random acts of selflessness, a veil is lifted to reveal the vital parts they have played in one another’s lives, and the illusion of their separateness.

My reactions
Van Booy tells this interwoven story from different perspectives and in different time periods. We meet Martin, the caretaker at the retirement home in 2010 Los Angeles first; next we watch Mr Hugo in Manchester England teaching a little boy, Danny, to read in 1981; in 1968 a young boy plays in and around the remains of a downed plane he finds in the forest in France; John snaps a picture of his girlfriend at Coney Island in 1942; Amelia learns to live with her blindness in New York in 2005. And the chapters continue is a seemingly random fashion, introducing new characters, returning to revisit them, skipping back and forth in time, and occasionally giving the reader a glimpse of a connection between their stories. The final paragraph ties it all together for us in one stunningly simple phrase.

The writing is poetic and fluid. I felt immersed in the story, and was never disoriented by the changing perspectives or time lines. Some scenes are horrific, especially during the war. But the author does not leave the reader in these horrible circumstances for long; there are also scenes of great tenderness and kindness. Throughout we see how a small act of kindness – or cruelty – can reverberate through time and across continents.

That being said, I was left somewhat dissatisfied. I cannot quite put my finger on why I felt this way, but there were times when I felt that Van Booy was trying too hard, that the coincidences / connections were too clever.

Having finished it, I was so looking forward to my F2F book club meeting, but the discussion leader failed to show up and the conversation fizzled out too quickly for me. I want to read it again, and I would definitely read another book by this author.

Owl Moon – Jane Yolen / Illustrated by John Schoenherr
5*****

On a winter evening with a full moon, a father takes his young daughter out to the woods near their farm in search of the elusive Great Horned Owl.

This is just a lovely story of a father-daughter relationship, and of the joys of observing and appreciating nature. It’s a poetic story and reminds us that much can be said in silence. How I wish I had young children in my life to read this to them. I would be happy to read it over and over. Maybe even in a whisper to exaggerate the idea of a quiet moonlit night in the woods, when just being with your parent is enough to communicate the love between you.

John Schoenherr’s beautiful watercolor illustrations won the Caldecott Medal. I particularly love how he “hides” a wild animal in most of the depictions ... a tiny mouse near a fallen log, a doe hunkered down in a snowbank, a racoon curled in the hollow of a tree. I loved examining the paintings for these little details.

The Children Act – Ian McEwan
Book on CD narrated by Lindsay Duncan
3***

Fiona Maye is a High Court judge who presides over cases in family court. She is highly regarded for her intelligence, sensitivity, and knowledge of the law. She is called upon to try an urgent case. A child and his parents are refusing life-saving treatment due to religious beliefs, and the hospital wants the Court to mandate that the treatment be given. His condition has deteriorated, and time is of the essence. But while Fiona is dealing with this heart-breaking legal case, her personal life also demands attention. The decisions she makes will have consequences for all.

I like the way that McEwan explores hidden emotions and the effects of those feelings on the characters’ decisions and actions. Fiona is trained to consider both sides, and to make decisions based on the evidence and the constraints of law. But she is human, after all, and humans frequently let emotion cloud their decisions. Try as she might to restrain her feelings, Fiona cannot entirely escape them. In the course of the novel Fiona faces several moral and ethical dilemmas; the decisions she faces in court are influenced by her personal life, and vice versa.

I was interested in the situation from the outset, partly because I recently retired from working at a major medical center in a pediatric hospital. Healthcare professionals are faced with these kinds of decisions more often than you might think. But McEwan lost me as the novel progressed, and when it ended I felt like I was missing something. This is the fourth novel by McEwan that I’ve read, but the first that isn’t also a selection for my F2F book group. I really enjoyed the discussions on those other novels; they helped cement the works in my memory. As I write this, it’s been a few days since I finished the book, and I have already lost details of it.

Lindsay Duncan does a fine job narrating the audio book. She has good pacing and great skill as a voice artist. I believed her when she was voicing Fiona, and I believe her when she was voicing Adam. 5***** for her audio performance.

The new thread is up over here.