Bonnie (brenzi) Gives It Another Go

Hi Everybody! It’s been two years since I’ve had a thread but I think I’m ready to make another attempt by keeping expectations low for myself. I’ve had a really rocky reading life until about two months ago when I think I finally got some of my mojo back. My numbers for the past two years have been about half of what I was formerly reading so I hope to improve on that. That means I’m nowhere near 75 books. But I did read a number of really good books this year. At any rate I hope to be able to contribute some to the discussions in this group (I admit, I never stopped lurking) and add to my TBR pile immensely, just as I did in the past.

Last time I had a thread I only had one little munchkin in my life. Now I have two that I love more than life itself. Mia age three and Cole six months (sigh).

Best of 2017

How Green Was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn
The Timothy Wilde Trilogy: Gods of Gotham, Seven for a Secret, The Fatal Flame - Lyndsay Faye
The Beggar Maid - Alice Munro
Commonwealth - Ann Patchett
Late Nights on Air - Elizabeth Hay
Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
The North Water - Ian McGuire

Non-fiction

Red Notice: - A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice - Bill Browder
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 - R. A. Scotti

I have no intention of challenging myself in any way (except to read two books OTS for every book I read on my Kindle, but I try that every year, mostly unsuccessfully) but if I did this little challenge which was posted by Katie in a thread listing different challenges, might be one I’d try. Mostly because it hits all of the touchstones that I read anyway.

2018 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge

1. A Classic You’ve Been Meaning to Read
2. A Book Recommended by Someone with Great Taste
3. A Book in Translation
4. A Book Nominated for an Award in 2018
5. A Book of Poetry, a Play, or an Essay Collection
6. A Book You Can Read in a Day
7. A Book That’s More Than 500 Pages
8. A Book by a Favorite Author
9. A Book Recommended by a Librarian or Indie Bookseller
10. A Banned Book
11. A Memoir, Biography, or Book of Creative Nonfiction
12. A Book by an Author of a Different Race, Ethnicity, or Religion Other Than Your Own

So here we go. This morning I finished my first book for 2018 (yes, of course I started reading it in 2017 but I’d already marked it down on my 2018 list so there it will stand). Always fabulous to start the year off with a five star read.


This is a book of such importance and one which I know many of you have read and loved too so I don’t have much to say except this: how in the world was this book bypassed for the Booker Prize in favor of Lincoln in the Bardo which I read earlier this year. I mean seriously. I don’t mean to offend all those who loved this book and I know many did but I have to think that maybe it was the oddness of the George Saunders book and considering how many times I’ve disagreed with the Booker selection I can understand this. But Kamila Shamsie’s book was just so beautifully written and so timely in this age of Isis and the fear we all live in (especially since we have a lunatic sitting in the White House) that I have to wonder about the thinking. Anyway, I need to go back and read Antigone upon which this book was based because I don’t believe I’ve ever read it. If you’re looking for a book that you won’t be able to put down, that will make you think about our world and the need to try to understand things that are foreign to us, this might be the book for you.

Books Read in 2018

January

Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie – eBook - 5 stars
Fateless - Imre Kertesz - OTS - 4.2 stars
Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann - eBook - 4.3 stars
Fire and Fury - Michael Wolff - eBook - 3.8 stars
Go Tell It on the Mountain - James Baldwin - OTS - 4.6 stars
The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson - OTS - 5 stars
The Good People - Hannah Kent - eBook - 4 stars
Bluebird, Bluebird - Attica Locke - eBook - 3.5 stars

February

The Last Crossing - Guy Vanderhaeghe - OTS - 4.5 stars
The Black Count - Tom Reiss - eBook - 3.7 stars
Pachinko - Min Jin Lee - eBook - 3.2 stars
In This House of Brede - Rumer Godden - OTS - 5 stars
Road Ends - Mary Lawson - eBook - 4.5 stars

March
Travels with Charley - John Steinbeck - OTS - 4.2 stars
White Houses - Amy Bloom - eBook - 4 stars
The Jewel in the Crown - Paul Scott - 4.8 stars
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - eBook - 4 stars

Currently reading:


In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Am I the first to welcome you back home? Thanks for making my day, Bonnie. I have chosen to stay in this marvelous chatty group but I keep a pretty low profile these days. Like you, I spend more time with grandkids. Yours are just adorable. You started off the year with one of my Top Ten books for last year.

Hi Donna. So Good to "see" you. Maybe some day I actually will. If you knew how long it took me to set up this thread you would laugh. HTML is not like riding a bike. Not for me anyway. And yes, I'll be keeping a low profile too.

Hi Bonnie! I'm happy to see you've come home as well...I arrived late last year and it's so good to be back.

Home Fire was much more Booker-worthy than the Saunders in my own never-humble opinion as well. I never reviewed it because I don't review the huge majority of books that I buy unless I adore them. I save reviews for books that publishers send me for my blog.

Hi Richard good to see you here as well. I won’t be doing much reviewing just chatting and reading more I hope. Good to be back among friends.

Yaay. Welcome back, Bonnie. Happy new year! I'm so glad to see you around now. I've missed you. Starred you.

Welcome back, Bonnie.
I also skipped this group a year, when I had trouble reading.

Happy reading in 2018!

>10 cameling:. Hi Caro. It’s good to be back.

>11 FAMeulstee:. Hi Anita. Happy reading to you too.

Welcome back Bonnie and congratulations on another grandbaby - they both look adorable! I'm hoping to get to Magpie Murders and Home Fire in 2018 - I've heard such good things about them.

Hi there Heather. I can’t tell you how much I loved Magpie Murders. Just wonderful

^Great to see you back, Bonnie! You were always one of my favorite LT pals. Hope to see you around. Mia & Cole are darlings!

Hooray for the Magpie Murders!

Welcome back, Bonnie! It looks like you enjoyed Home Fire as much as I did. That's no surprise; I remember our tastes overlap considerably so I'm REALLY looking forward to book chat with you this year!

Your grandchildren are absolutely adorable. I can't believe how much Mia has grown.

>15 msf59:. Hi there Mark. Good to see you old pal. Yes Magpie Murders was a highlight of my reading this year. I understand the author has something to do with Midsummer Mysteries which I’ve been enjoying.

>16 lauralkeet:. Hi Laura. I’m not surprised that we both loved Home Fire and a lot of other books. Yes, Mia is growing like a veritable weed even though I keep telling her to stop it. Right now. Lol

It's great to see you here, Bonnie! Mia and Cole are adorable - thanks for sharing the pic.

Happy reading!

Hi Katie. Thanks for the welcome. It’s good to be back.

Welcome back! I’m already dodging BBs - and your first sounds like a good one.

Yay! You have a thread again. : )

Your grandkids are adorable!! I wish you a much improved reading year now that you have your mojo back.



Happy 2018!!

Happy New Year, Bonnie! Your grands are precious! It’s great to see you back here. Not surprising that I have Commonwealth and Sudden Sea on my best of 2017 list, too.

Bonnie's Back! BONNIE'S BACK!!! WELCOME BACK, BONNIE!!!!!!
I'm thrilled to see you here and to see Mia growing up and to meet Cole. They are lovely!
I'll add my hooray for Timothy Wilde and my agreement that Lincoln in the Bardo was interesting but likely not a classic. I do look forward to your reviews or remarks about your reading this year. Hope it's a great one for you!

Happy 2018 reading!

Happy New Year
Happy New Group here
This place is full of friends
I hope it never ends
It brew of erudition and good cheer.

I am so pleased to see you back Bonnie. My Queen of the Review. xx

Bonnie! I'm so glad you're back! And congratulations on Grandchild Number 2. They are both beautiful. (And my younger daughter is named Mia too, so I think that is a beautiful name.)

The other Bonnie in Seattle (bonniebooks) is no longer on LT, but we periodically see each other in RL.

Home Fire was one of my top reads in 2017 too.

Hi Bonnie - it’s so good to see you back!! I had a hopeless LT year in 2017 but am enjoying being back in here again.

Mia and Cole are gorgeous.

And you’ve got me already with a book. I keep seeing Home Fires in lists of top books and now you go and give it a rave review. You were always bad for my TBR pile!!

Welcome back Bonnie - so nice to "see" you here again! Love the photo - what adorable kids. I agree with your thoughts on Home Fires!

Happy New Year! I wish you to read many good books in 2018.

Welcome back, Bonnie. I've missed your comments here. You've started the year off well. I hope to get to Home Fires soon.

Your grandchildren are beautiful, and you are lucky to have two. I just have one, Scout, who is four, and she is the apple of my eye.

Happy 2018.

Bonnie, it is so great to see you back here! And those grandchildren - so beautiful! Dropping a star and looking forward to following your reading adventures.

Bonnie, how wonderful to see you back! Mia and Cole are adorable!

Just as you're regaining your reading mojo, I am losing mine. But I love seeing Late Nights on Air on your Best of 2017 list, and you inspire with a 5* read right out of the gate: have already got Home Fire on my list.

Happy 2018 literary adventures, my friend.

Bonnie you're back!! :) I think of you and wonder how you're doing every time I'm in, or think of, western New York. Congratulations on two grandkids -- aren't they wonderful? I've dropped my star and look forward to sharing reading with you this year.

Wow so many wonderful visitors. And so good to see everyone. I need to venture out to some more threads. I have some time for that tonight:-)

>21 drneutron: Hi Jim. Dodging BBs is the name of the game isn't it?

>22 Berly: Happy New Year Kim! The mojo does appear to be back. Hopefully I can keep finding really great books to keep it going:-)

>23 Copperskye: Happy New Year Joanne! Great minds think alike. Sudden Sea was great NNF wasn't it?

>24 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! It's wonderful to be back among all these like minded folks. Timothy Wilde was just wonderful reading. The pages flew through my fingers and I was so disappointed that she chose to end it at three volumes.

>25 thornton37814: Thank you Lori!

>26 PaulCranswick: Happy New Year Paul! Not sure how many reviews you'll see out of me It's all about no pressure lol.

>27 arubabookwoman: Hi Deborah. So good to see you. I thought Home Fire was an amazing novel. Tell Bonnie I said hello.

>28 cushlareads: Hi Cushla. Moi?? Bad for your TBR pile? Lol

>29 vivians: Thank you Vivian. Great to "see" you too:-)

>30 The_Hibernator: Happy New Year to you too Rachel!

>31 BLBera: Happy New Year to you too Beth. Grandchildren are the best aren't they? I count my lucky stars every day. They add so much to my enjoyment of life everyday:-)

>32 Crazymamie: Hi there Mamie. So good to see you.

>33 lit_chick: Hi Nancy. I'm sorry to hear you're losing your mojo. Hopefully you can cure it with a really outstanding book or two. I really loved Late Nights on Air (you know how I love those Canadian authors) and Home Fire. The first one I think I just read at the right time. I don't think its a very well known book.

>34 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! Grandkids are the best invention ever. And if on the rare occasion they get to be overwhelming, they can go home with their parents. Best of both worlds lol.

Just starred your thread and know I will enjoy it. Wonderful photo of your beautiful kids!

So nice to see you posting around again, Bonnie. Seems like old times...

>36 mdoris:. Hi MARY. Those are actually my grandkids.

>37 msf59:. Hi Mark, it does seem like old times doesn’t it?

>38 brenzi: ooops, grandkids are gorgeous!

Hi Bonnie. It is nice to see you posting again. You have been missed. Your grandchildren are beautiful. I know that I have to duck the bullets when I visit your thread. I’ve added Home Fire to my wishlist.

Bonnie, it is great to see you back here with a thread again!

Don't pressure yourself to keep up with everyone, or worry about numbers. I'm working full time and doing school online, so I don't get around much to the threads these days, but it's all good here however much or little any of us can post.

And Mia and Cole are really adorable!

>39 mdoris: :-)

>40 NanaCC: Hi Colleen. I have missed all my LT friends too so its good to be back.

>41 tymfos: Hi Terri, its great to be back. Working full time AND doing school online??? Wow you are certainly keeping yourself busy. I see many people with the kind of attitude you describe and I'm very glad to see it.

4.2 stars

”I also glimpsed, directly in front and to the left, some building, a godforsaken railway halt or possibly the signal box for some larger terminal. It was miniscule, gray, and, as yet, completely deserted, its small windows closed and with one of those ridiculously steep-pitched roofs that I had already see in this region yesterday…..They asked if I could see a place-name on it. In the strengthening light, on the narrower gable end of the building, facing the direction in which we were traveling, on the surface below the roof, I could in fact make out two words: ‘Auschwitz-Birkenau’ was what I read, written in spiky, curlicued Gothic lettering, joined by one of those wavy double hyphens of theirs.” (Page 76).

Gyuri, a fourteen year old Hungarian Jew, was plucked from a bus transporting him to his assigned work camp and forced into a cattle car with others who were also on the bus. They had no idea where they were going. Even when they got to the dreaded destination, they were unaware of the meaning of the later feared concentration camp.

This book is semi-autobiographical and its author later went on to win the Nobel prize in Literature. Gyuri narrates the story almost as if he is an unconcerned bystander, making dry observations of the everyday activities in the camp. He is scorned by most of the others as an outsider because he is Hungarian and can’t speak Yiddish and he soon learns how valuable fluency in another language would have been to him. Nothing he sees is presented as wicked or shocking. It’s just the way it is and he just seems to accept very stoically, that this is the life he is living. He can’t do anything about it so he quickly develops an attitude of blind acceptance.

When he finally returns home after the liberation of the camps he has a hard time explaining to others that he actually was happy at times while being held in the concentration camp. Very few people can understand this.

The book is beautifully written and very moving. It presented a side to being held captive that I never would’ve considered possible. Highly recommended.

Wow. What a colossal reorientation such an attitude would represent for me, child of privilege and power that I am. Wonderful review, thanks Bonnie.

Hi, Bonnie! I did just finish my first 5 star book of the year, Fact of a Body. Wow! There is sexual child abuse, but if you can stomach that, this is a Must Read.

Are you a Dickens fan? I just started Nicholas Nickelby and it looks to be another winner.

>44 richardderus:. Thank you Richard. As I was reading I kept thinking, what in the world is going on? How is this kid operating?

>45 msf59:. Hi Mark, is Fact of a Body true crime? And yes, I am a Dickens fan but don’t say it too loudly. You see who’s lurking up above.

Thought I’d give this meme that’s making the rounds a try:

Describe yourself: Hero of the Empire

Describe how you feel: Too Much Happiness

Describe where you currently live: The House in Paris

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Golden Hill

Your best friend is: A Gentleman in Moscow

You and your friends are: Unbelievable

What's the weather like: Nineteen Eighty Four

You fear: Sudden Sea

What's the best advice you have to give?: Anything is Possible

Thought for the day: Play It As It Lays

How I would like to die: The Fatal Flame

My soul's present condition: Faithful Place

>46 brenzi: ...hmmm? whassat?...oh, him *contemptuous snort* he doesn't count Signed, the Shade of Chuckles

>47 brenzi: What's the weather like: Nineteen Eighty Four
*bwaaahaaahaaa*

>46 brenzi: Yes, Fact of a Body is true crime/memoir.

Happy New Year, Bonnie! Glad I found you and now you are starred!
Your grandchildren are adorable.

Great comments on Fateless, Bonnie. I'll have to push it up on my pile.

>49 msf59:. Thanks Mark.

>50 Carmenere:. Hi Lynda. Great to see you. Must go look for your thread.

>51 BLBera:. I don’t know how I came to own the book Beth but I’m sure someone here on LT recommended it.

LT is good that way, Bonnie.

Morning Bonnie! It makes me smile to find you back in the group when I open LT :)

>53 BLBera:. 🤗

>54 RebaRelishesReading: well thank you Reba. It’s good to be back

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Gran 4.3 stars

I knew absolutely nothing about the Osage tribe but David Grann is such an excellent researcher of history (see The Lost City of Z) as well as being a wonderful storyteller that it didn't take long for me to be carried away into this history/murder mystery. At the core of the Osage story is the greed and violence of some of the white residents of the Oklahoma town where the Osage have been awarded a share of the mineral rights that lie under their reservation. Many of the tribe are very, very wealthy. And of course that is what leads to murder. It's the mid-1920s and the FBI is a fledgling institution under its director, J. Edgar Hoover . When he sends his agents to investigate what is happening in Oklahoma it is the start of a long history of the storied institution. Grann combines the two histories into a real page turner.

Narrative non-fiction at its best.

So here's a dilemma. I have in my possession a certain book. it's a book that hit the headlines with a mega shock last Wednesday I think. I decided I'd request it from my library's e book collection and never expected that my number would come up so soon but yesterday i got notice that it did. You all know what book I'm talking about:



It's not a book I would've ever spent actual money on but hey, it's not costing me anything. Im just not sure I actually will be able to stomach all that's in it. We'll see. I'll read a bit of it tonight and decide if I want to read it.

I was tempted to read it but decided not to because (a) it doesn't sound very well sourced and I figure there is enough terrible stuff going on that I can see with my own eyes every day and (b) all the best parts are already in the news :)

>58 katiekrug:. Oh I hear you Katie. That’s why I’m not sure I want to read it. I’ll try a bit of it and see if I wouldn’t rather be reading something else😊

Great comments on the Grann, Bonnie. I loved that book. It's so sad though that the events from the 20s are still affecting people. I'll definitely read more NF by him.

I will definitely pass on F&F. Too much news, tweets, etc.

Nice review of the Grann book. It was a top read for me last year - though I've liked Grann's writing since Lost City of Z!

Great to see you back, Bonnie! Hmm, as for Fire and Fury , I"m interested in what it has to say, but I'm not sure I could read that book. The news is enough sometimes!

I've been trying to read some books lately to better understand (I may never actually understand) why this happened but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try Fire and Fury plus from what I've read the author is doubtful himself about some things he reports which leaves me a little unenthusiastic.

>56 brenzi: "Narrative non-fiction at its best." Hooray for Killers of the Flower Moon. I am still thinking about this one, weeks after I have read it. Grann Rocks!

Good luck with the dilemma on Fire and Fury. I just snagged it on audio, but I am not sure when I'll be able to bookhorn it into the rotation.

Hope you had a great weekend, my friend.

>47 brenzi: Love your meme answers.

>56 brenzi: I'll probably eventually read that one. It's getting good reviews.

Wonderful to have you back, Bonnie. Great photo of Mia and Cole up there.

I need to read Home Fire. I've seen nothing but superlatives about it.

I so intensely want Drumpf to be on some planet far, far away, with no ability to communicate with us, that I couldn't read a book about him even if it rips him. But, since he's against the book, I hope its sales go through the roof.

>60 BLBera:. Hi there Beth. Yes it is unfortunate that after all the investigating there couldn’t have been a better result for the future generations.

>61 drneutron:. Hi Jim, I loved The Lost City of Z too but never understood how his wife put up with being alone all those years bringing up the children by herself. I just watched the movie recently and thought it was pretty good.

>62 vancouverdeb:. Hi Deborah. Great to see you. I’ve been on and off sick to my stomach since Trump was elected. It still boggles my mind that anyone, especially people I know, could actually cast a vote for him. But I have too much curiosity to let a book that just fell into my hands go.

>63 RebaRelishesReading:. Hi Reba. If you figure it out please let me know because I’m totally mystified. Lol

>64 msf59:. Hi Mark. Finally a break n the weather. I’m sure I’ll read anything Grann writes. He’s just so good.

>65 thornton37814:. Hi Lori, do read it. You won’t be disappointed😙

>66 jnwelch:. Hi Joe. I read where the publisher can’t keep up with demand....from all the normal and horrified people in this country lol.

I'm reading That Book. It's disheartening but has much to offer in the way of fuel for a Blue Tsunami in 2018.

I loved Killers of the Flower Moon, BTW, and also The Lost City of Z...though less so regarding the movie of the latter. Felt bloated to me.

Haven’t seen the Z movie yet - waiting for it to hit Netflix! My theory about these explorer types is that they don’t actually like people, and there’s a fair chance people don’t like them. So long periods away ain’t no big deal. 😁

>69 drneutron: That'll be a looooooooooooonnnggg wait, Jim, it's an Amazon Studios original...

Amazon. Lost City of Z. Of course. 😁

We're also Prime people, so that works too.

>68 richardderus:. Yes I can see bloated Richard. I don’t watch a ton of movies but this one was pretty good in my estimation.

>69 drneutron:, 70, 71. Yes I did watch it on Amazon.

I’m curious about Fire and Fury, Bonnie, and whether you decide to read it. Sometimes I just need to read a book because I need to read it. That’s all, LOL.

>67 brenzi: The best I've read is Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild. I thought it was quite interesting and well worth the read. Doesn't explain it all but helps.

>73 lit_chick:. Hi there Nancy. I’m reading it so I guess I just needed to read it. It is engaging At 50% in I have to say lol.

>74 RebaRelishesReading:. I will have to look for that one Reba.

>74 RebaRelishesReading: Second that rec. Hochschild provides a kind, discerning eye and a very thoughtful picture of a part of the U.S. very foreign to my way of thinking.

Fire and Fury - Michael Wolff - 3.8 stars

I look forward to the day when I can wake up without wondering what the latest Trump outrage will be that day. Has there even been one day since he was (choke) elected without at least one horror, sometimes more than one? It’s disgusting and downright depressing but Wolff’s book explains how Trump surrounded himself with just the type of small minded people who made the likelihood of such events possible. Backstabbers all, as well as chaos initiators who had no idea how to promote policies or how to rein in a man with the temperament and intelligence of a small child. I think that was the big take away for me as I didn’t find anything in the book that totally surprised me. I seem to have gleaned most of the information from the Washington Post and NY Times which I will admit I read regularly. The book only goes as far as last October or it would’ve been a thousand page tome in all likelihood. I really fear for my country and Wolfe’s book did not make me feel any better.

>74 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Judy. I'll have to add it to the list.

>77 brenzi: Yes, that old Orange Gasbag is really crazy! Surely he will be impeached in time? Crosses fingers. At least I think he has cancelled his visit to the Britain, due to his unpopularity. I don't think he has visited Canada either. We'll let him in, but I think he fears the protests. I guess Africa is now on his no - go list too. Stupid fool of a man.

Bonnie! Just drifting around the 75-ers relocating old friends, and HERE YOU ARE! *star*

I have to admit, I really want to read F&F, even though I'm not in the US. Perhaps BECAUSE I'm not in the US - I might not have heard all this stuff in as much excruciating detail yet. Man, am I glad he's not coming here to England anytime soon.

Like >66 jnwelch: said, if the Cheeto's so against it, I'm so buying myself a copy.

>77 brenzi: Thanks for taking one for the team, Bonnie. The fact that there isn't anything new makes me pass on this one. There's only so much Trump I can take in a day.

Excellent comments on Fire and Fury, Bonnie. I think many of us, certainly in Canada, but I expect in developed nations around the world, feel as you do in fearing for the US – and for the damage Trump is doing globally.

>79 vancouverdeb:. He’s the first president of the modern era Deborah to not visit Canada and Mexico, our two closest neighbors and allies, in his first year. But wth why do we need friends or allies? We won’t have any by the time he’s done. He tried to blame his cancellation of a trip to GB on Obama moving the embassy. There is no end to his stupidity. The embassy was moved by Bush, and for good reason. I wonder if there was a real invitation out there for him.

>80 elliepotten:. Hi Ellie. Long time no “see”. Haha. God to see you around again. If you don’t follow the Trump news (and why in God would you) you would probably find this book useful to fill in the gaps of how we got into this predicament here in the good ol’ USA.

>81 BLBera:. Yes Beth, it does get tiring doesn’t it?

>82 lit_chick:. Yes Nancy, we’re losing friends globally as fast as possible. But hey, the other day Trump said he had a good relationship with Kim Jong Un. He’s such a complete moron.

I’m now reading Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin, more or less as a palate cleanser from Fire and Fury and Trumps latest outrage but it may be an introduction to Isabelle Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns which has been sitting on my shelf for eons it seems. I love when one book leads to another.

Hi Bonnie! I love the opening photo of your two grandchildren. What a delight!
Interestingly, I added James Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain to my tbr list a few days ago. He certainly was a very intelligent, interesting man.

Happy New Year! It is wonderful to see you round here again.

>85 Whisper1:. Happy New Year Linda! It’s good to see you too. I have just a few pages left in the Baldwin book and oh my, what a writer. I’m sure I’ll want to read more of his books. Luckily, he’s quite prolific.

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

4.6 stars

So many good books, amazing books, recommended by people here on LT whose judgment I trust, sit neglected for years on my shelves. This is one such book. James Baldwin, a prolific writer whose 20th century prose brought him well-deserved fame and glory, published this, his first novel, which is semi-autobiographical, in 1952. It is the story of John Grimes, a fourteen year old black boy who is struggling because of the abusive treatment by his father and the religious awakening actually brought on by his father’s insistence on the Bible as a way of life for the family with many hours a week spent in church.

Baldwin explores the history of John’s father’s (Gabriel) life as well as his mother’s (Elizabeth) and Gabriel’s sister Florence. All three have come north to Harlem as part of the Great Migration and Baldwin’s poetic yet brutal prose brings to life the lives of John and his family. As Elizabeth’s story is being revealed she admits that the escape from the South may not have been all she had hoped:

”There was not, after all, a great difference between the world of the North and that of the South which she had fled; there was only this difference: the North promised more. And this similarity: what it promised it did not give and what it gave, at length and grudgingly with one hand, it took back with the other.” (Page 164)

Baldwin hones his themes of identity, religion, race and coming of age beautifully and gracefully and I found myself turning pages late into the night. Very highly recommended.

"I really fear for my country and Wolfe’s book did not make me feel any better." I think I am going to take a pass on this one. This current administration, angers and upsets me nearly every single da, sometimes multiple times.

Good review of Go Tell It on the Mountain. I loved it as well, but I am due a reread.

And please pull down The Warmth of Other Suns. It is an amazing achievement.

Thanks Mark. You probably know pretty much all that Wolfe covered so let it go.

I started The Warmth of Other Suns this morning. Why in the world did I wait so long?

I am so glad you started The Warmth. What she was able to construct here, piecing these lives together, is truly impressive.

Great comments, Bonnie. I read Go Tell It on the Mountain in high school, so it's definitely time for a reread. I loved The Warmth of Other Suns as well. Lucky you to have it ahead. Enjoy.

>83 brenzi: Well, maybe we don't get QUITE as much of the insider stuff as you do, haha. But interestingly, your politics are so volatile at this point that our news tends to cover Trump at least as much, if not more, than our own government. I have no idea what Theresa 'definitely not a robot' May's up to this week (Brexit, probably), but I know Trump's definitely the least racist person. :P

>90 msf59:. I’d say narrative non fiction at its best wouldn’t you Mark?

>91 BLBera:. Yes I’m really enjoying it Beth.

>92 elliepotten:. Yes Ellie, he’s a global disaster, that’s for sure.

Great review of Go Tell It on a Mountain. I was out at a second hand book shop yesterday and found a copy of Charming Billy, as you recommended. Thanks for the rec!

Wonderful review of Go Tell it on the Mountain, Bonnie, and thumb up! How lovely to be able to say that again : ).

And here I sit.

>94 vancouverdeb:. Oh good. I hope you like it Deborah.

>95 lit_chick:. Thanks so much Nancy. I assume you don’t have a thread or at least I haven’t been able to find one for you. So I’m pleased that you decided to stop here. You’ll get you reading mojo back. I’m sure of it.

>96 richardderus:. Uh ok well good to see you Richard.

>97 brenzi: Appreciate your vote of confidence on the reading mojo, Bonnie. I'll take that one to the bank. No, I've not yet set up a thread for this year.

>98 lit_chick: Nancy, it may take awhile but it will return🙂

Hi Bonnie. I have yet to read The Warmth of Other Suns--sounds like I should.

>100 Berly:. Hi Kim. I’ll finish The Warmth of Other Suns tonight probably. It is an astounding work. I have not been able to put it down.

Happy Sunday, Bonnie. Hooray for The Warmth. So glad, you are loving it.

Just about done with Black Swan Green. Is this guy an amazing writer or what?

Omg Mark! What a book! I don’t think I’ll ever forget these three people.

I really liked Black Swan Green

The Warmth of Other Suns: the Epic Story of America’s Great migration Isabel Wilkerson

5 stars

"In the end, it could be said that the common denominator for leaving was the desire to be free, like the Declaration of Independence said, free to try out for most any job they pleased, play checkers with whomever they chose, sit where they wished on the streetcar, watch their children walk across a stage for the degree most of them didn’t have the chance to get. They left to pursue some version of happiness, whether they achieved it or not.”

You could call this book an epic or a masterpiece or maybe even a magnus opus. For me it was an astounding achievement following years of incredible research combined with a brilliant narrative voice and an intimate portrait of three individuals. Wilkerson’s writing flows beautifully, poetically as she tells the three stories of how these individuals made the decision to leave everything behind and journey from the South to try to establish a new home in the North. They came from Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana and settled in Harlem, Chicago and Los Angeles. . These three people stand readily for the six million or so who made the journey. That’s a hard task to pull off but the author does it with grace and aplomb.

In between the stories of these three people Wilkerson related the general conditions that led to the Great Migration that took place from 1915-1970 and eventually spelled out that it didn’t always work out as well as they had hoped or imagined. Unfortunately, racism exists all over our country and although the conditions in the South were especially brutal, the rest of the country has its share of racists as well. This book is particularly important today as the man in the White House has made very clear.

I can’t give this book a higher recommendation. Narrative non-fiction at its very best. I will never forget these three individuals.

Great review of The Warmth, Bonnie. Big Thumb. Hopefully you'll catch the attention of a few other folks, who have still not read this monumental achievement.

This makes a great companion piece to the March trilogy.

>104 brenzi: ooh, that sounds really good. And for me, a strong review from Bonnie is almost like a command to READ THIS BOOK NOW, because I know I'll love it as much as you did.

I also loved The Warmth of Other Suns when I read it last year. Completely absorbing...

>107 katiekrug: I bet your thread is where I first heard of the book, Katie. And with your recommendation as well as Bonnie's, well, I really have no choice, do I?

>105 msf59:. Thanks Mark. I must add the March trilogy to my list although you know I’m not much of a fan of graphic novels.

>106 lauralkeet: That’s pretty much always been true hasn’t it Laura. I think you’ll really enjoy this one.

>107 katiekrug: I wish I could remember who first recommended this to me Katie but it’s been on my shelf since 2011. It was probably Mark.

>104 brenzi: Great comments, Bonnie. I knew you would love it.

>110 BLBera:. Thanks Beth. I can’t imagine who wouldn’t love it. Such an incredible book.

>104 brenzi: Excellent review of The Warmth of Other Suns, Bonnie. I read it a couple of years ago when it was on the Chautauqua list and thought it was great. I so agree "Narrative non-fiction at its very best" and I too remember the three stories quite well.

>104 brenzi: Adding my praise to the chorus, Bonnie. I was mightily impressed with your clear-eyed take on a difficult-to-conceptualize historical crisis. And goodness knows the crisis it was affects our daily lives to this day.

Bonnie, I found your thread again! Such cute pictures of the kiddies up there. I too decided it would be fun to try to thread again after having a baby. Talk about ambitious..haha! I hope you have a fantastic reading year whenever you find a moment to yourself.

>112 RebaRelishesReading:. Thanks Reba. I didn’t realize it was it was a Chautauqua selection.

>113 richardderus: Thank you Richard. That is high praise coming from a review master such as yourself. You have to admit that it’s quite disheartening that here we are in 2018 after electing the first black president (twice) and yet those very migrants would probably find our country not terribly different from the one they knew last century. Sigh....

>114 jolerie: Valerie! How are you? Those kiddies 🔝 are my grandkids so I’m not quite as ambitious as you lol. I will have to look for your thread.

Great review of The Warmth of Other Suns Bonnie. It's on my shelf--I purchased it almost a year ago at an LT meetup at Powells and have yet to get to it. I've really got to remedy that. (There are a few other books still on the shelf from that trip as well.)

Grandkids require a lot playing and cuddles so you definitely are putting in the time there..haha!
I don't know about ambitious..maybe more insane than anything, but reading is what keeps this mama functional. ;)

>116 arubabookwoman: Thank you Deborah. I think you would really enjoy the book.

>117 jolerie: Oh my yes Valerie. That's the beauty of grandkids...lots of playing and cuddles.

7. The Good People by Hannah Kent

4 stars

I shouldn’t have liked this book much. After all, I’m not much of a believer in superstition or fantasy. If I would’ve read the author’s note at the end of the book I would’ve discovered that the book is based on an actual case in 19th century Ireland making it excellent historical fiction. In the first few pages of the book a woman named Nora suffers the unexpected loss of her husband only a few months after the death of her daughter. She has sole custody of her four year old grandson who somehow seems changed from when she first was introduced to him a few years previous. He’s just not the same and can’t walk or talk, although he had the ability in the past. With the help of the small community’s local healer and known herbal dispenser, Nance Roche, and a hired girl, Mary Clifford, an attempt is made to bring about an exchange between the boy they have, that they consider to be a changeling, or fairy boy, and the real grandson that they believe is being held captive by the fairies. What could go wrong? (This is where I remind you that this is based on an actual historical event.)

Kent has done a great deal of historical research about 19th century Ireland, the abject poverty of the people, their superstitions and beliefs and lays out the story in lovely prose. I have great confidence that the herbs she mentions were used in just the ways she describes. Her characters are delineated in an exact fashion and she makes them very believable. She is developing a reputation as an excellent purveyor of historical fiction based on actual cases. Her last book, Burial Rites was based on a case out of Iceland. I love what she’s doing. Highly recommended.

I've liked the Hannah Kent books that I've read so far so this one has been on my list since I found out about it. So glad to see you giving it 4 stars. It is a must read for me at some point! Thanks for the great review Bonnie.

>119 brenzi: That one's on my reading list for this year.

I am a fan of good historical fiction, and this one sounds excellent, Bonnie. Great comments.

What's next?

>119 brenzi: Nice review, Bonnie. May have to put that one on the wish list.

>119 brenzi: Oh, this one is going onto the wishlist. (I forgot to duck.)

>120 jolerie:. Thanks Valerie. If you liked Burial Rites you’ll probably like this one too.

>121 thornton37814:. Hi Lori, hope you enjoy it:-)

>122 BLBera:. Thanks Beth. I’m now reading Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke. I haven’t read a crime book since I read Magpie Murders last summer. I’m really liking this one too.

>123 RebaRelishesReading:. Thanks Reba. I hope you enjoy it.

>124 NanaCC:. You know better than that Colleen haha. Duck next time.

I'm going to have to pick up The Good People sooner than later, Bonnie. Excellent review and thumbed. I enjoyed Burial Rites, but found it a little dark. I may have to wait until spring arrives to read The Good People .

8. Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke

3.5 stars

I haven’t read a good crime novel since the middle of last summer so I was happy to have my number come up on my library request list for this one. This book was not flawless. There were times when I wanted to throw my Kindle against the wall (of course I would never do that because I love my Paperwhite) because the main character took some ridiculous actions that had me shaking my head and the ending was less than satisfying but all in all it was a good read and kept me turning pages. It kept to the theme I seem to have been following which is racism. Six of the eight books I’ve read this year have dealt with racism in one way or another. So a timely read for sure.

It follows a Texas Ranger who seems to have a knack for investigating crimes that he isn’t authorized to probe. This leads to obvious problems especially with the chain of command. He seems to be good hearted but is a free-wheeling sort who doesn’t mind sticking his neck out when he believes he’s right. That works out about as well as you might think. But most of the drama occurs as a result of his actions and that’s what keeps the narrative moving. So maybe there was method to the madness. Stay tuned (when I finally get to Black Water Rising).

Good review of The Good People. I loved Burial Rites, so this one is one my To-Read list. I have also been curious about Attica Locke, but still on the fence.

Happy Sunday, Bonnie. I hope you are enjoying the weekend.

>127 brenzi: I very much liked Attica Locke's Black Water Rising and Pleasantville, both set in Houston and featuring the same protagonist, but about 20 years apart. I was very disappointed in Bluebird, Bluebird, mainly for the reason you state, the main character does so many stupid things that he just didn't seem like a real person to me. Had that been the first book by Attica Locke I read, I probably wouldn't have wanted to read any more. It sounds like you are going to read Black Water Rising sometime, so I look forward to seeing what you think of it.

>128 msf59:. Thanks Mark. I liked Burial Rites too so I think you’ll love The Good People. It’s been a beautiful day here but it’s supposed to get much colder tonight.

>129 arubabookwoman:. Hi Deborah. I bought Black Water Rising for my Kindle ages ago. That’s why I’ll be reading it at some point and why I’m glad to see you liked it better. This Ranger just drove me crazy to the point I was saying Stop! Don’t do that! You’re an idiot!

Like Deborah, I read the two Jay Porter books and enjoyed them. Is Bluebird Bluebird a new book, or one of her earlier works? I'm not sure it's calling to me ...

I also enjoyed The Good People. I'm eagerly awaiting this year's longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction, which will be out next month. It's been a great source of really good novels.

I haven't read any Ruth Galloway but I think that might be my next series! (Once I can complete some of the others, that is!)

I read Pleasantville a while ago, not knowing it was one in a series, but I'm not sure if I'll read the others.

You got me with The Good People, Bonnie. And I'm adding my thumb to your excellent review.

Hoping that the week is kind to you.

>127 brenzi: - Good review, Bonnie. While I was reading Black Water Rising, I often got somewhat frustrated with the protagonist and things he did that I thought were less than smart... I'll still read Bluebird, Bluebird but it's call is less urgent now.

>131 lauralkeet:. Hi Laura, Bluebird Bluebird was published in 2017 so I think that’s her newest book. It was on a couple of Best of 2017 lists.🤔

>132 vivians:. Hi Vivian, I think Hannah Kent gets better with each novel. If you haven’t read Burial Rites I would highly suggest you do.. I love that she bases her stories on actual cases.

>133 Crazymamie:. Thanks Mamie. I think you’ll enjoy The Good People. I hope it’s a good week but I am having two root canals tomorrow so it could be better.

>134 katiekrug:. Thanks Katie. I’m going to give it some time before I read another of Locke’s books too.

Great review of The Warmth of Other Suns, Bonnie. That one grabbed me, too. And you sure make Hannah Kent sound good. Which one would you start with?

Great comments on Bluebird Bluebird, Bonnie. I wanted to read it, but now I think I'll read Black Water Rising instead. Stupid protagonists make me want to tear my hair out.

>136 jnwelch:. Thanks Joe. The Warmth of Other Suns will stay with me for a long time. Just an incredible work. I think I’d start with Burial Rites but either way you’re going to be 😆

>137 BLBera:. It’s funny Beth but I started out really liking the book but as it unfolded I kept think what’s wrong with this guy. And the ending just fell flat. For me anyway.

>104 brenzi: What an incredible review! I have this book. I'll try to find it, and when I do, I will read it. I've read so many books regarding Civil Rights. Young Emmett Till's mother moved him to the North. Sadly, because Emmett lived in Chicago where his mother had a good job, and racism was certainly not as nasty as in the Delta south. This is tragically lead to Emmett 's death. When he visited family in small town Money, Mississippi, he had a free thinking presence about himself and the bigot's and red necks just had to kill that, and kill it badly.

It is so good to see you here Bonnie. I hope all is well with you.

>77 brenzi: Interesting that you liked Fire & Fury. I've heard both good and bad things about it.

Hi Bonnie! I've not read your current read, Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe, but I read a volume of his short stories, Daddy Lenin and other Stories in 2015. It won a Can Lit prize and thus I read it. Quite enjoyed it. Perhaps I will eventually get to Last Crossing.

A couple of days ago my DIL sent me a picture from their 3D ultrasound of Baby Grandaughter arriving in March 2018. Certainly an interesting image of her face, but it makes me more curious as to what she will actually look like. I can see her closed eyes , nose and open mouth , but it's very difficult to really discern to much from that. My DIL is from Hong Kong and I tease her a bit that baby might end up with my curly mop. That makes her laugh with the unlikeliness of it, but you never know! :-) I'm hoping she gets that lovely straight black hair from my DIL. She told me if the baby has curly hair, she'll know it's not really their baby. I can't wait to learn the name of the baby. Not til it's born.

>141 vancouverdeb: Keeping the name as a surprise seems to be the "done thing" lately. Our daughter did the same with the little one born last week -- nearly drove my husband crazy -- and I know several others who are not sharing the name until after baby is born.

...and the root canals were...?

>139 Whisper1:. Thanks so much Linda. I think you would probably like this book. It’s just an incredible story with such detailed research that I don’t think you can go wrong.

>140 The_Hibernator:. “liked” Might be a little too strong. It did serve to confirm most of my assumptions about this administration. I know some people have said that there are factual errors beyond editing but I’m not sure what’s being referred to.

>141 vancouverdeb:. I’m almost finished with The Last Crossing and it is excellent. He’s an amazing storyteller.

So exciting to see the sonogram isn’t it Deborah? Won’t be long now before you have that baby in your arms. Not only wouldn’t our daughter tell us the chosen name but they opted not to know the baby’s sex....both times.

>143 richardderus:. Well about what you’d expect Richard. Thankful that it’s over with.

>144 brenzi: As long as there were no unexpected events or post-work complications, *whew* is in order. I had eight of them over the years, and am now phobic about dentistry.

I’m getting my oil changed and taking advantage of their free WiFi because when I got home last night I discovered I had no internet and no tv. Fios. I tried everything. They ran all kinds of updates. Nothing worked. Finally they said looks like well ave to send someone out. First appointment I could get was Saturday. What? Three and a half days without tv or internet? Fortunately I’m a reader, as you’ve probably guessed but still......awfully quiet. Really quiet last night.

......and Verizon just made a liar out of me. I got home and everything’s fixed. What? So obviously it was something on their end. Anyway, thank goodness that is over with.

>147 brenzi: If they're going to be wrong, that's the direction one wants them to be wrong in!

No TV I could live without pretty easily. No internet tho? That is a whole different story. :)

>145 richardderus:. The only “complication” is the cost. And two crowns on top of it. Ugh.

>148 richardderus:. Absolutely right Richard.

>149 jolerie:. Yes Valerie, I could live without tv because if you have internet you actually do have tv. I actually was thinking last night when I had no tv oh, I’ll just watch shows on my iPad. Wait a minute. I have no internet!

>150 brenzi: I've done that with the iPad too!

Hi Bonnie--Phew for the Internet and TV back online. Luckily, yes, you are a reader. Nice reviews -- The Good People sounded particularly interesting to me...

>151 drneutron: Isn't it incredible how tied to our devices we are Jim?
>152 Berly: I think you would like The Good People Kim:-)

9.The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe

4.5 stars

Thank you so much Nancy (litchick) for recommending this book a few years ago. It's been sitting on my shelf since.

”I think it’s safe to say that a fondness for all things past is a sure sign of creeping rot.”

In 1870, Charles and Addington Gaunt are charged by their father with the task of leaving England and traveling across the U.S. to find their brother Simon, who has not been heard from in some time. His companion’s body was found by a prospector but there was no sign of Simon. So the hunt is on across the American and Canadian West, through unfriendly Indian country. Along the way the brothers take up with an unlikely cast of characters and it’s the interactions of these people, each with their own thorny reasons for joining the group, combined with the beauty and danger of the far West that make this narrative sing.

No question about it, Vanderhaeghe is a masterful storyteller. His descriptions of the region and people, and the intimate vignettes---the discovery of an Indian village devastated by smallpox, the meeting of a Metis caravan, a sharpshooter’s shocking obliteration of his victim---had me furiously turning pages. The book is worth the read just to sink into the few pages devoted to the bear hunt. Incredible characters, each with their own demons, and each depicted in insightful detail by an author who has the ability to cast a spell like few other authors I’ve encountered. If I was going to compare him to anyone it might be Dickens and the book certainly brought back memories of Lonesome Dove.

Vanderhaeghe is a new author for me and only affirms my belief that the best writers often come from Canada. I’ll be moving on to another of his before too long.

That sounds wonderful, Bonnie! And 4 and a half stars speaks volumes from you. Quite selective in your awards.

>154 brenzi: - And that one goes on the list!

Great review, Bonnie.

affirms my belief that the best writers often come from Canada...

Proud Canadian over here..hehe :D

Ouch to two crowns, Bonnie. My mouth is full of them, so I feel your pain.

>154 brenzi: You're doing it again. The Last Crossing goes onto the list. It sounds wonderful.

Oh, Bonnie, I am so tickled that you got to The Last Crossing and loved it! Fabulous review, as always, and thumb up, my friend. Couldn't agree more on Vanderhaeghe: an author who has the ability to cast a spell like few other authors I’ve encountered.

Also appreciate your review of Bluebird Bluebird. This one has been on my radar, though it certainly sounds like it has its flaws. Glad you didn't pitch your Paperwhite!

eta: went to thumb your review and found this by the next reviewer: This book is Canada's answer to Lonesome Dove. You're not alone!

>155 richardderus: Thank you Richard. I don’t know about being selective but I know what I like and try to read books that I’m pretty sure I’ll like. Of course that probably makes me not a very adventuresome reader but I guess that’s fine with me😊

>156 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!

>157 jolerie: Oh Valerie, I’ve been a fan of Canadian authors for years and years. Let’s see Alice Munro, Wayne Johnston, Michael Crummey, Robertson Davies, Helen Humphreys, Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Hay, Louise Penney, Timothy Findley, Ami McKay, Mary Lawson, Lori Lansens, Lawrence Hill, Joseph Boyden, Steven Galloway, well, I could go on and on.

>158 BLBera: Yes I also have a mouthful of crowns Beth so why not two more lol. The Last Crossing IS wonderful.

>159 lit_chick: So glad to see you Nancy. You’ve never steered me wrong and I have the books on my shelf to prove it haha. I’ll be reading A Good Man before the year is out. So thank you in advance for that.

You know I put mysteries on a different plane than most of the fiction I read and my expectations are usually a lot lower so I overlook stuff that I probably wouldn’t tolerate in another genre. So Bluebird Bluebird was fine for what it was. It was no Magpie Murders.

Great review of The Last Crossing. Onto the wish list. And thumbed your review. I agree, we have some wonderful writers here in Canada!

Thanks Deborah. Yay for Canadian writers!

Happy Sunday, Bonnie! Great review of The Last Crossing. Thumb! Sounds great and completely new to me.

Hope you are having a good lazy day with the books. We are staying in and watching the SB here.

Hi Mark. I think The Last Crossing would be right up your alley.

10. The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss
3.7 stars

This book was terrific in teaching me things I didn’t know about the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte and the complicated history of the French approach to slavery and the abuse of blacks. The fact that the protagonist was the father of Alexandre Dumas, the author of The Count of Monte Cristo added to the interest.

Alex Dumas, is the son of an elite Frenchman and a native of what is now Haiti. A mulatto, his father actually sells him and then has a change of heart and brings him to France where young Alexandre is brought up as an elite Frenchman. He goes on to be a swashbuckling French general under Napoleon at one point until he irks the leader and becomes gratis non persona. He ends up being left in Egypt and having to make his way back to France on a leaky ship that strands him in Italy where he is imprisoned for two years.

Alexandre bases both The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo on the stories of his father.
I guess what I found most fascinating in this book was the utter brutality and small-mindedness of Napoleon. He was just a b------ and took things out on Dumas and others because of his jealousy. France actually passed laws prohibiting slavery in around 1800 but Napoleon later cancelled them and the result was the abuse and mistreatment of blacks.

The first part of the book was, how do I say this, boring. By the mid-way point the action picked up and I ended up liking it quite a bit. Recommended.

Currently reading



Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Hi, Bonnie! Sweet Thursday! I have had Pachinko on my To-Read list, since it came out. I will watch for your thoughts.

I am currently reading Salt Houses. This might be just your cuppa.

Cross posting Mark. I’m only a few pages into Pachinko but I have high hopes. I love reading about other cultures.

I will be watching to see how you like Salt Houses

>154 brenzi: The Last Crossing sounds like a great book. Your review is stellar! It is now on the tbr pile. I'm glad that Verizon fixed your problem. I am a Netflix junkie. And, also watch BBC productions. Will and watched To Walk Invisible -- The Bronte Sisters. It was superb. Jane Eyre continues to be one of my top three books of all time.

Nice review of The Black Count. I don't know as much about French history as I should and what I know about Napoleon is mostly from a non-French perspective. Should probably do something about that.

I JUST added Pachinko to my list a few days ago. Looking forward to what you think of it. Like you, I love reading about different cultures.

Hi Bonnie! I loved Pachinko and The Black Count as well! Hope you have a good weekend.

>169 Whisper1: Thanks Linda. Hmmm I seem to be a Netflix junkie too. I’ve even adjusted to subtitles and watched a bunch of foreign series.

>170 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. Like most non-fiction I learned a lot from The Black Count. The thing was my knowledge about the French Revolution and especially Napoleon.

>171 jolerie: I think I’m going to love it Valerie🤗

>172 vivians: Hi Vivian. Actually I have pretty big plans for the weekend. ⬇️

So I’m off to Florida tomorrow ☀️That is if my flight actually isn’t cancelled. It’s been snowing🌨 all day and it’s supposed to continue into tomorrow. So wish me luck...with any luck at all I won’t have any time for LT for the next week. 😎. I’ll be staying with my sister in Tampa and then going to visit a good friend in Jacksonville before I head home next weekend. Can’t leave my two little munchkins for too long lol.

Have a fun and safe trip, Bonnie. Great comments on The Black Count - not sure about it...

Pachinko is on my list as well. I look forward to your comments.

I loved Salt Houses

Oh, I hope the weather gives you a chance to get away!

^ Have a great time in Florida, Bonnie. Your timing is perfect. We will see you when you get back. Hope you have some great vacation books along.

Have a great trip Bonnie!!

>175 BLBera: >176 drneutron: >177 msf59: >178 RebaRelishesReading: HI there Beth, Jim, Mark and Reba. It was a great get away for me. 80s and sunny all week so the beach was great fun. So good to be able to get a break. But I'm back now feeling a bit more energized.

11. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

3.2 stars

I'm sure I'm going to be in the minority in this but this book was an incredible s-l-o-g!!I forged ahead though and did actually finish it but it was not a very satisfying read. Now maybe it was because I read it while traveling and trying to have a good time but it was just too much unnecessary detail. It's a family saga covering the lives of a Korean family over the course of most of the twentieth century and I've read and enjoyed plenty of long family sagas but these characters had very little depth and were not engaging at all. They led tough lives for the most part and I should've found them to be at least somewhat interesting but no. NO dice. I kept waiting for that moment to kick in where everything clicks and I would be completely enthralled but it never came. But most of the reviews here on LT are good so I don't want to discourage you from reading it

I started a book while I was traveling yesterday, something I had just thrown in my suitcase at the last minute It's a book that's been sitting on my shelf for ages and a hundred or so pages in I'm absolutely loving it:



In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

Sorry to hear about Pachinko, Bonnie. I might give it a try; I did like her first novel.

Love the cover of the Godden. I love it when a book grabs me.

>173 brenzi: If you haven't found it yet, I highly recommend Broadchurch. It is stellar!

>182 BLBera: I would say you should take a chance on Pachinko Beth. I may have just had a bad reaction because of the fact that I was reading in fits and starts while on vacation.

>183 Whisper1:. I’m a huge Broadchurch fan Linda. I just wish they would continue with another season or three lol.

Welcome back, Bonnie! And Happy Sunday. Glad you had a nice Florida getaway. I have been on the fence about Pachinko and it looks like this is where I will remain. I hope this next read of yours is a winner.

>184 brenzi: I agree. I hated to see the series end with three episodes. The character development is so rich and full. One of my favorite long-term friends is a therapist. She always alerts me to Netlix series that has wonderful insights regarding how crisis impacts families.

Do you have any recommendations?

Thanks for the good review of The Black Count, Bonnie. I've thought about that one, but needed the nudge (I love his son's books!) Coincidentally, it's a Kindle deal at $1.99 (!), so I snapped it up. https://smile.amazon.com/Black-Count-Revolution-Betrayal-Biography-ebook/dp/B007...

Great to see you back, Bonnie.

Hope Florida is as lovely as it was when I was there last year.

I appreciated your review of Pachinko, Bonnie. I've eyed that one in bookshops but haven't acted on it. I'll leave it on the shelves for someone else to enjoy.

>186 Whisper1: Lets see. Netflix series that show insights into how crisis impacts families. Oh I do have one. Happy Valley. It’s a British series about a policewoman coming to terms with the suicide of her daughter. If you liked Broadchurch you’d like this one too. Two seasons on Netflix and a third in the works.

>187 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I think I bought The Black Count when it was a Kindle deal too, years ago.

>188 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. Florida was great😎

>189 lauralkeet: As I mentioned Laura, there are a lot of good or great reviews here on LT and I really don’t know why this book didn’t click for me.

Hurray for a good time in Florida! Glad you got to go. : )

Fair review of Pachinko Bonnie. Sometimes it has to be the right time and place to enjoy the book. I think I'll still give this one a try at some point but no rush. :)

>191 Berly: it was a great trip Kim.

>192 jolerie: Agreed Valerie. I should’ve loved this book. It had everything in it that I usually love. I did learn a lot about the abusive treatment o the Korean population by the Japanese in the years before and after WWII

I have also been on the fence about Pachinko . I've taken it out of the library twice, but each time another book grabbed me first. It does seem overly long and I'm glad you took one for the team. Maybe eventually I'll get to it.

Maybe you’ll like it Deborah but it’s over 600 pages.

12. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

5 stars

”The motto was ‘Pax,’ but the word was set in a circle of thorns. Pax: peace, but what a strange peace, made of unremitting toil and effort, seldom with a seen result; subject to constant interruptions, unexpected demands, short sleep at nights, little comfort, sometimes scant food, beset with disappointments and usually misunderstood; yet peace all the same, undeviating, filled with joy and gratitude and love. ‘It is my own peace I give unto you.’ Not, notice, the world’s peace.”

Does that sound like something you would sign up for? And yet, over the centuries men and women did just that in order to gain the previously mentioned ‘peace’, accompanied by joy, gratitude and love. Phillippa Talbot was one of those women. Widowed during WWII, she was a very successful professional woman who had traveled throughout the world and managed hundreds of employees but felt something was missing. She made the unusual decision to leave her life among the London elites and join a cloistered Benedectine abbey, the ancient seaside Brede abbey. The narrative describes in gripping terms, all the crises that face Phillippa and the other members of the community and the sensitive ways they all choose to deal with them. The author’s rich characterizations made me admire these women, even though they weren’t all likable. Godden converted to Catholicism in 1968, the year before she wrote this book and spent three years living at the gate of a Benedectine abbey in England.

I’m not sure I can put my finger on the reason I loved this book as much as I did but I think I’m in good company. Its average LT rating is 4.36. I seldom reread but Im keeping this book with plans to read it again at some point. Simply sublime.

Currently reading:

Road Ends by Mary Lawson (a favorite Canadian author)

Happy Friday, Bonnie. Good review of In This House of Brede. I have never read Godden. Was this your first by this author?

I have been meaning to read more Mary Lawson. I had not heard of this one.

>196 brenzi: okay, okay. Uncle. I've read a couple of other books by Rumer Godden and thought they were just okay. For some reason I couldn't get on the Godden bandwagon. But this does sound excellent. I'll keep a lookout for it.

Great comments on In This House of Brede; I will definitely look for this one.

I'll watch for your comments on the Lawson. I loved Crow Lake.

Have a great weekend, Bonnie, hopefully with some grandkid time?

>198 msf59: Thanks Mark. This was my first book by Godden although I believe she was a prolific author. This one is the one she’s most noted for I believe. MARY Lawson is such a great writer. I think Road Ends is her latest I think.

>199 lauralkeet: I may have been over compensating for the disappointing previous read Laura but this book just struck a chord with me. Anyway, if you decide to give it a try I hope you like it.

>200 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I loved Crow Lake and The Other Side of the Bridge even more. She’s a great writer.

13. Road Ends by Mary Lawson

4.5 stars

”We seem to be programmed to seek answers. Something happens and we need to know why. We chase around inside our heads, trying on this theory and that theory, searching for one that fits. But often there are no answers, or too many.”

Mary Lawson is a master of the family novel. As a psychologist, she seems to be able to identify the foibles of the human spirit better than most novelists and bring forth what may not be complete solutions for the problems encountered but rather, the best possible solution given the circumstances. She’s done so again in this, her third novel.

As in the past the story is set in Lawson’s childhood home in northern Ontario, Canada and centers on the Cartwright family. It is narrated by the father, Robert, son Tom and daughter Megan, in alternating chapters, and covers the three years between 1966 and 1969. They each have their own complex problems but each of their problems take in the whole family. (It’s a large family: one daughter and seven sons.)

As in her other novels, Lawson’s ability to create a sense of place is spot on. Winter in the North can be very bleak and that feeling of bleakness dominates the novel. As Tom drives the snowplow through the town, the loneliness of the North seems almost overwhelming.

I just can’t say enough about this author. She’s produced another winner here to accompany Crow Lake and The Other Side of the Bridge. I will wait with bated breath for her next novel.

Up next:



Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

>203 brenzi: - I'll be reading Travels with Charley in March, Bonnie. I just bought that lovely Penguin Deluxe edition, and I also have it on audio, read by Gary Sinise. I listened to him read Of Mice and Men, and he was excellent.

>202 brenzi: ooh, I loved Crow Lake. Road Ends looks good, too. Bonnie, you're killing me!

>204 katiekrug: Well you sure are lucky Katie. I’m reading a musty old copy that’s been sitting on my shelves for eons. There’s nothing deluxe about it lol.

>205 lauralkeet: well if you liked Crow Lake Laura I’m sure you would like either of the other two books. Lawson is pretty much a sure thing for me.

The Lawson sounds great, Bonnie. Great to have you back with your wonderful recommendations and reviews.

I loved Travels with Charley; I'm sure I have a musty old copy somewhere.

>206 brenzi: - Oops, I thought that was the edition you had and used up in >203 brenzi:. The Penguin Deluxe edition uses the same illustration and type face...

Good review of Road Ends, Bonnie. It is on now on the list. Hooray for Travels with Charley. It is such a good book. Enjoy! I just finished a Steinbeck myself- Sea of Cortez. Another winner by the Master.

I need to dust Crow Lake off my TBR mountain and get to it since I really liked The Other Side of the Bridge. Sounds like Road Ends is another not to be missed. Thanks for great review Bonnie!

Welcome Home, Bonnie. Must be a shock to return to winter in Buffalo!

Well, I own both Pachinko and This House of Brede. Perhaps I should read the former first so I can get it out of the way? Dang, I paid full price at The Tattered Cover for Pachinko because I was so sure it was my kind of book. Travels With Charley is a real treat. It earned its place in my permanent collection.

>207 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I have a lot of musty copies but this particular musty copy was published when I was in Jr. High and sat in my school office for ages before I retired and took it home with me, knowing no one else would appreciate it the way I would lol.

>208 katiekrug: Good that they stuck with the original Katie haha.

>209 msf59: I’m halfway done with it now Mark and really enjoying it. I have a few Steinbeck books on my shelves that I’d like to try to get to this year. I think they may have been left over from when you did the Steinbeck thing a few years ago.

>210 jolerie: Thanks Valerie. Ohhhh do read Crow Lake. You can’t go wrong:-)

>211 Donna828: Actually, it’s been in the fifties this week Donna but we’re supposed to get snow Friday I guess. You may love Pachinko. I fully expected to love it myself. I think it was just a matter of wrong book wrong time or something.

14. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

4.2 stars

There are scads of reviews on this book which was written in 1961 by one of America’s best known authors so I’m going to think about the ways in which Steinbeck was prescient. Did he see anything as he and his dog Charley (really the star of the book) traveled across the country in one of the first truck campers that bore well or ill for the future? I’ll be quoting from the book.

Bam! Right away on page 25 he is upset with the trash he sees alongside the road as well as the old rusting vehicles and compares this country to European cities:

”Driving along I thought how in France and Italy every item of these thrown-out things would have been saved and used for something. This is not said in criticism of one system or the other but I do wonder whether there will come a time when we can no longer afford our wastefulness---chemical wastes in the rivers, metal wastes everywhere and atomic wastes buried deep in the earth or sunk in the sea.”

At the time Steinbeck was driving across this country, I was growing up a few blocks away from what would come to be called, in 1978, Love Canal in Niagara Falls. Of course the problem there was the chemical wastes were buried by a corporation and then the land was sold and houses were built on top of the chemical landfill. Not quite the solution Steinbeck was hoping for I’m sure but he certainly saw what the problem was going to be for all of us. We still have a long way to go.

”Americans are much more American than they are Northerners, Southerners, Westerners, or Easterners. And descendants of English, Irish, Italian, Jewish, German, Polish are essentially American. This is not patriotic whoop-de-do; it is carefully observed fact. California Chinese, Boston Irish, Wisconsin German, yes, and Alabama Negroes, have more in common than they have apart. And this is the more remarkable because it has happened so quickly. It is a fact that Americans from all sections and of all racial extractions are more alike than the Welsh are like the English, the Lancashireman like the Cockney, or for that matter the Lowland Scot like the Highlander. It is astonishing that this happened in less than two hundred years and most of it in the last fifty. The American identity is an exact and provable thing.”

This statement could’ve been written today if you added Mexicans, East Indians, Burmese, El Salvadorians, Vietnamese, etc., etc. We are all Americans even as we are being driven apart by political discord.

Steinbeck purposely went to New Orleans where attempts were being made to desegregate the schools. He was sickened by what he saw as a tiny black child was lead into the school, jeered by the crowd behind the barricades and especially by the now infamous ‘cheerladies.’ But it was the audacious white man who dared to lead his child into the school that really roused the crowd:

”The crowd quieted and the next cheer lady had her turn. Her voice was the bellow of a bull, a deep and powerful shout with flat edges like a circus barker’s voice. There is no need to set down her words. The pattern was the same; only the rhythm and tonal quality were different. Anyone who has been near the theater would know that those speeches were not spontaneous. They were tried and memorized and carefully rehearsed. This was theater. I watched the intent faces of the listening crowd and they were the faces of an audience. When there was applause, it was for a performer.”

We are no longer trying to desegregate schools although I’m not foolish enough to think that there are no schools that are segregated. We just aren’t putting ourselves through it anymore. Race is still the number one question in this country. Steinbeck would be disappointed. Devastated.

Next up:



White Houses by Amy Bloom

Hi Bonnie, waaaaaay back up there you rated In This House of Brede a richly merited 5 stars. I don't know if you've ever seen the TV movie starring Diana Rigg before, but I was a big fan Back In The Day.

Sending hugs!

>213 brenzi: Great review of Travels With Charley, Bonnie. Those are perfect quotes too. I will have to schedule that for a reread. I forget how deep he went.

I am just about done with Catherine the Great. What an excellent bio and I think I found a new favorite NF author to follow around. This would make a helluva mini-series!

Hi, Bonnie. Awesome books lately. Not to mention the reviews. : )

Happy weekend!

>213 brenzi: Thanks for those words about Travels With Charley. Made me a bit sad, actually, but you did a great job. Last summer I decided it was time to read some more Steinbeck. Up to then I had only read Grapes of Wrath but I inherited a set of six from my Dad and felt like I should finally read them. I was really disappointed with Tortilla Flats and really impacted by Of Mice and Men so I stopped there. You're making me think I should pick up Travels With Charley sometime soon.

>213 brenzi: Very good review, Bonnie, I read the Dutch translation last year.
I was unaware of the New Orleans events before I read the book, that part did struck me...

>215 richardderus: Oh thanks Richard. I’ll have to look for that.

>216 msf59: Thanks Mark. I’ve been meaning to read more Massie since I read that book. I’ll have to do something about it.

>217 Berly: Thanks Kim😀

>218 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. It was pretty eye opening at times. I’ve never read Tortilla Flat but I did like Of Mice and Men. I’m thinking of rereading The Grapes of Wrath which I Last read in high school.

>219 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. I never expected the book to be so effecting.

Bonnie, you have so many encouraging information about becoming a grandma, thanks so much! I'll be delighted with any thing my grand daughter comes up with, but I'm hoping for Grandma. As much as I am delighted about becoming a grandma, I admit the word " grandma" makes me feel a wee bit old ! How did that happen?

Hi Bonnie! Thanks for the quotes from Travels With Charley. I read it decades ago but listened to the audio just a couple years ago. It was great and read by Gary Sinise. I thought some of it was a little dated (hard not to be, really), but the quotes you pulled are timeless.

I’m waiting for my library to get White Houses in.

>218 RebaRelishesReading:, >220 brenzi: I loved Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath.

>220 brenzi: I don't think I was very clear about Of Mice and Men, I liked it a lot too. It just was a strong book that really affected me. My granddaughter was reading it for freshman high school English at the same time which rather surprised me but she seemed to do fine with it.

>221 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah, you've got a good point there. How did that happen? haha When mia was born I was thinking about my sister-in-law whose first grandchild couldn't say grandma and it came out Minna so that's what she was called by all her grandchildren. That was over 24 years ago and they all still call her that. So I wouldn't have cared what Mia called me.

>222 Copperskye: You're right Joanne. Some of it was dated but it was all pretty interesting. I've never been able to master audiobooks but I'm sure Gary Sinise wold be a compelling reader.

>223 RebaRelishesReading: Oh I understood that Reba. It must've been great to be reading it at the same time as your granddaughter.

15. White Houses by Amy Bloom

4 stars

”Lorena Alice Hickock, you are the surprise of my life. I love you. I love your nerve. I love your laugh. I love your way with a sentence. I love your beautiful eyes and your beautiful skin and I will love you till the day I die.”

Although this book is fiction, it is based on the lives and relationship of Lorena Hickock, an Associated Press journalist, and Eleanor Roosevelt. It was fairly common knowledge that Franklin Roosevelt was a womanizer who was regularly unfaithful to his wife. It was the secret that everyone knew, at the time, including his wife Eleanor. What most people didn’t realize was that Eleanor carried on a Lesbian affair for many years with Hickock. This book, told in the first person by Hickock, imagines what that affair was like.

The first part of the book (and it is a short book; 241 pages) dealt with Lorena’s miserable childhood and how she was forced to support herself first at age fourteen as a circus employee. From there, because of a few lucky breaks, she gets the education she needs and eventually ends up as an AP reporter covering the governor of NY who then goes on to be president. She follows the Roosevelts to the White House. She and the First lady fall hard for each other. As you can imagine, the pitfalls this presents in 1940 America are overwhelming and Bloom describes the lengths they both have to go to in order to remain lovers.

Although I enjoyed the book and actually could barely put it down, I found the vagueness as to time elements a staggeringly inefficient way to propel a narrative. I was constantly wondering when did this happen? Is this still 1942 or was this earlier? Or later? That’s my biggest quibble with the book but the writing was superb, as it always is with Amy Bloom so I can certainly recommend it.

I think I will probably seek out Eleanor and Hick: The Love affair That Shaped a First Lady by Susan Quinn a non-fiction book on the relationship between these two women that came out last year.

Up Next:



The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott
Volume 1 of the Raj Quartet

Finally getting to this four volume classic. I hope to read one volume per month over the next few months.

I really liked Travels with Charley. Good review and excerpts, Bonnie. I imagine that he'd be surprised that after another fifty years, racism remains a big problem.

The Raj Quartet is one of my desert island books. I think I've read it 3 times. However, I know people who find it dense, and don't like it. I hope you do like it, but if not....If you do like it you should consider reading the sequel of sorts Staying On, which is rather light and bittersweet, and can stand on its own. And, if you haven't seen the BBC miniseries, it was excellent.

You may not remember, but my younger daughter is also named Mia--a beautiful name.

>226 brenzi: ooh, I love The Jewel in the Crown. I read the books several years after seeing the outstanding television adaptation, which had a positive impact on my reading experience and may have helped overcome the "density" mentioned in >228 arubabookwoman:. So, ya know, if you don't get on with the books it's worth seeking out the TV version.

And an update on >206 brenzi: ... we had an LT meetup in Philly today (see my thread for photos!), which included a visit to a used bookshop. Can you believe they had a copy of The Other Side of the Bridge? They also had Crow Lake which I recommended highly to Ellen (@EBT1002) so she bought it. Yay for Mary Larson!

>227 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I think Steinbeck would be so disappointed by the current state of race relations in this country. I didn’t even bother quoting the part where he talks about his black childhood friends.

>228 arubabookwoman: Hi Deborah, Although I had to reread the first couple of paragraphs a couple of times I chalk that up to the fact that my previous book was fairly light weight. I just finished the first part, Miss Crane, and I’m pretty much loving it. And yes, I do remember you telling me your daughter’s name is Mia and you made a wonderful choice:)

>229 lauralkeet: You know, Laura, I’m not all that far from Philadelphia. I flew there a couple of times and I want to say it’s maybe an hour and a half from here. Just sayin’. I don’t think I’m going to have a problem with the density. I just finished part one, Miss Crane, and I’m loving it.

Yay for finding good books. I hope you both love your Larson books. She should have a new one coming soon. I hope.

White Houses sounds awesome. I want it. : )

>230 brenzi: Bonnie, I flew PHL-BUF regularly back in the early mid-90s for a work project. You're right, it's an easy trip. Now all I need is a reason to visit ... (kidding!)

>231 Berly: Well go for it Kim. Have you read any of Amy Bloom’s books?

>232 lauralkeet: Uh I was referring to the LT meet up but you’re welcome to stop here anytime Laura. Not too many other LTers in the vicinity but maybe this could be a mid point for a meet up.

>233 brenzi: ohhh ... well of course you could jet down here for as many meetups as you like! As for a midpoint meetup, Buffalo might draw LTers in and around Toronto, among other places ... hmm ...

The only Steinbeck I've managed to read I think is East of Eden and for some reason I've started and stopped that one so many times I don't remember if I've actually finished the book? I should go check.

Great comments on White House, Bonnie. Onto the list it goes.

The Raj Quartet! I loved it - >228 arubabookwoman: what Deborah said! It is probably time for a reread for me.

Another vote here for the Raj Quartet, and especially for the Masterpiece Theater adaptation. The actor who played Hari Kumar is still very vivid in my mind!

I just listened to a podcast interview with Amy Bloom about all the research she did for White Houses. After reading our review I'll be adding it to my list!

I was disappointed in An American Marriage and hope you have more success with it. I'll be interested to hear what you say!

>237 vivians: Oh yes, me too Vivian. Same for Ronald Merrick (RIP Tim Piggott-Smith), what a baddie he was.

>234 lauralkeet: Toronto huh? My home away from home lol. I didn’t realize we had any members from the area. Interesting.....

>235 jolerie: Ohhh I loved East of Eden ages ago when I read it Valerie. And I do m an ages ago. I don’t remember a thing about it so I can’t advise you I’m afraid.

>236 BLBera: I think you’ll probably like White Houses Beth. And it’s a short read so not a big time commitment.

>237 vivians: Hi Vivian. I’ve put An American Marriage on the back burner for now (after your disparaging comments lol) but we’ll see. You could tell Bloom did a lot of research. It’s a bittersweet love story. I’m definitely going to have to look for the Masterpiece version of The Raj Quartet when I’m done.

Hi, Bonnie. Are you expecting more snow or is that closer to the coast? I hope you avoid it.

I liked An American Marriage. A solid 4, for the Warbler. Looking forward to starting the Wolff collection.

>240 msf59: Which one are you reading Mark? I have The Night in Question here that I’m planning to read. Funny thing several months ago I was reading a book I can’t remember right now but in it Bullet to the Brain was mentioned, which is a story from the collection so I immediately read it. The author had referred to it as “the best short story ever written.” I’d have to quibble with that. I love Alice Munro too much lol.

Oh good, you liked An American Marriage. I have it on my Overdrive list.

Yes, I will be reading The Night in Question. I should start it by Thursday. Ooh, Alice Munro. I NEED to fit one of hers in soon. If you want to do a companion read, let me know.

>242 msf59: I won’t get to The Night in Question until later this month Mark so go ahead without me. Alice Munro helped me get through my reading funk and I read four or five of her books last year. Just love her books.

Bonnie, my son and daughter in law are 28 years old, so no, not so young. They also both went to university ( not that is needed at all ) but my daughter in law works as elementary teacher and my son as a software engineer, so I would think they have an understanding of scientific information with regards to germs etc . I think it's more anxiety driven, in particular perhaps by my DIL. Her sister seemed to go through the same thing a couple of years ago, but at that time my DIL was critical of her sister. So I"m trying hard to think of it as a problem that way. I admit it is not easy for me. I'm just trying to go along to get along.

I see you are reading The Idiot from the Women's Literature list. You'll have to let me know how that you enjoy that. It looks like touchstones are not working.

Well maybe it’s some kind of famil thing then Deborah. Or just plain anxiety. If she’s a teacher I hope she doesn’t think about all the germs she’ll bring home because that might really blow her mind lol. Anxiety for sure.

What makes you think I’m reading The Idiot? Nope not yet anyway. I might though.

16. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott

Volume 1 of The Raj Quartet

4.8 stars

”This is the story of a rape, of the events that led up to it and followed it and of the place in which it happened. There are the action, the people and the place; all of which are interrelated but in their totality incommunicable in isolation from the moral continuum of human affairs.”

In 1942, after the Japanese defeated the English in Burma, Mhatma Ghandi was encouraging sedition and the British living in the confines of “the jewel in the crown,” India, were starting to feel the pressure of the Indian people on their continued rule over them. It was the beginning of the end of the Raj, but most of the British living in India didn’t realize it yet. Paul Scott’s novel tells the story in breathtaking prose by delineating the story of an Indian man and an English woman who fall in love. This is of course, taboo, at a time when the question of race was more significant than just about anything else.

The narrative is compelling and is related by several different characters who readily spell out the conditions in India at this time. It should come as no surprise that race is at the center of everything. I mean, isn’t it always?

Yes, as the author says, this is the story of a rape. But for me it was actually a story of RACE. And I will be looking forward to the second volume which I planned to read next month. If I can wait that long. Simply divine.

Next up:



Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

>246 brenzi: - I'm so happy you loved it, Bonnie. Also, I think I may have to reread these soonish.

Eleanor Oliphant is at my library, so it's one of the Women's Prize longlist books that is available. I'll watch for your comments.

>246 brenzi: yesss! *fist pump* I'm so glad to see you loved The Jewel in the Crown, Bonnie. I think I mentioned upthread that I watched the television adaptation long before reading the books. Both the program and the books left a lasting impression.

>248 BLBera: Yes I did love it Beth to put it mildly. I’m really looking forward to the next three books. I meant for Eleanor Oliphant to be a light read following a very heavy read but 15% in and I don’t think that’s exactly what I’ve got here. I had no idea what the book was about.

>249 lauralkeet: I’m going to have to look for that Masterpiece production Laura, when I’m finished with the quartet. Several people seemed to like it a lot.

Hmm, I'm not sure why I thought you were reading The Idiot. I see no evidence of that on your thread. I have read Eleanor Oliphant and I really enjoyed it. I read it last summer/ fall and gave it 4.5 stars. I recall it being quirky , but a very good read and not too dark. I know Joe enjoyed it too and warbled about it. I can't remember if Mark has read it yet.

The Masterpiece Theater production was great, Bonnie. I remember when it was on, my mom and I had a date to watch it every Sunday night. If we had guests, they had to be gone, and too bad if football was on. So, I have fond memories. I do want to read the books again.

>252 BLBera: Likewise! I watched it every Sunday with my mother, and then was hustled to bed as it was a school night. Same with The Forsythe Saga (the original, not the remake which I thought was inferior) which is another treasure.

>247 brenzi: Hi Bonnie! I hope you are enjoying Eleanor Oliphant! I just finished it and was surprised at the content and how much I enjoyed it. It was not as fluffy as I had expected it to be based on the title and cover.

>251 vancouverdeb: it’s very quirky Deborah and I’m really enjoying it. It’s very different from my last read which is exactly what I wanted.

>252 BLBera: Another reason for me to look for it Vivian.

>253 vivians:. Hey there Chelle. Good to see you. I also expected a bit of fluff in Eleanor Oliphant but not at all. I’m enjoying the quirkiness.

Hi, Bonnie! I was also caught off guard with Eleanor Oliphant, expecting something much lighter. Yes, it is much darker but I ended up being sucked right into that story. I hope it works for you too.

>256 msf59: It certainly did Mark.

17. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
4 stars

These days, loneliness is the new cancer---a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted, or that it might tempt fate into visiting a similar horror upon them.

If there was ever a book that I had completely underestimated, or got completely wrong before the actual reading, it would be this book. I read the title and thought, “Hmmm, light and probably fluffy.” Wrong. I would have to change that estimation. Oh it was very funny in places. And the tone and language that the protagonist uses is anything but light and fluffy. Her language is precise and correct throughout, so much so that it provides a few chuckles in and of itself. (Obscenity is the distinguishing hallmark of a sadly limited vocabulary) I can’t really reproduce this tone but it was prevalent throughout the book and for me was a highlight of what otherwise could’ve been a maudlin narrative. Because Eleanor is lonely more than anything else and you understand that right away.

The cause of her loneliness and therefore her unhappiness is hinted at throughout but not revealed until the end. And that kept me turning the pages quite feverishly. This author knew just what she was doing. And I was putty in her hands. Highly recommended.

Up next:



In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Good review of Eleanor Oliphant, Bonnie, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. What a character.

I had a blast reading In a Sunburned Country right before our trip a few years ago to Australia. Bryson is a funny and entertaining writer, isn't he.

Nice, tempting review of Eleanor Oliphant! I've already read it or I'd be scurrying off to get one now.

>258 brenzi: Great review! I think the title makes a lot of people underestimate it, I know I did!
I kind of thought of her, at first, as a slightly unhinged Sheldon Cooper.

I'm on the list for Eleanor Oliphant, Bonnie. Great comments.

>260 jnwelch: I’ve only read Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, Joe, but I really enjoyed his sense of humor so I’m eager to finally read this one off my shelf.

>261 richardderus: Darn, I was hoping I could tempt you Richard lol. I know I’m late getting to this one and I’m not sure I would’ve read it if it wasn’t on the Women’s Literature Prize longlist. I’m glad I did.

>262 ChelleBearss: Ohhhhh slightly unhinged Sheldon Cooper! That’s exactly right Chelle haha.

>263 BLBera: I think you’re going to like this book Beth🤗

Sweet Thursday, Bonnie. Good review of Eleanor Oliphant. Big Thumb! I WANT to read more Bryson. I am overdue.

Another great review for Eleanor Oliphant. That one seems to be a bit hit with our 75 group. :)

Oh, now you've got me with Eleanor Oliphant. I thought it would be light and fluffy, too. Now I'll have to check it out!

I'm 14 on the waiting list, Bonnie, so I'll have to be patient.

>233 brenzi: I have not read any Amy Bloom. Guess I should fix that? And get Eleanor Oliphant? Man, this thread is dangerous!

Hi Bonnie! Finally had the chance to catch up on your thread. You've been reading some good material! I will definately check out Hannah Kent, I've been hearing good things about her.
I have Pachinko on Kindle. Simply in no hurry to get to it as it will take a good chunk of reading time and if it's not all that, well, you know.
Raj Quartet, I've wanted to read those for quite a while. Eleanor Oliphant, same. Oh! I'll have to wishlist White Houses too.
*sigh* Ok, those bb's should keep me for a long while. H
Have a wonderful weekend!

I've been back and forth about whether or not to read Eleanor Oliphant but you've finally decided it for me with your great review. Onto the list for Powell's it goes.

Hope you enjoy In a Sunburned Country. Hubby and I read that out loud to each other a bunch of years ago and had some wonderful laughs. It's one of his better ones as I recall.

>265 msf59: Thanks Mark. I haven’t had much time to get into the Bryson but I’m hoping to this weekend.

>266 jolerie: Thanks Valerie. Yes it seems like a lot of people liked Eleanor Oliphant.

>267 lauralkeet: Turn about is fair play Laura lol.

>268 BLBera: well I’m sure you’ll find something else to read in the meantime Beth😉

>269 Berly: Happy to oblige Kim😉

>270 Carmenere:. Those BBs are frequently seen through this group Lynda lol. Very hard to avoid.

>271 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. I’m just getting into the Bryson now but already his trademark humor comes through.

Hi, Bonnie! You've done a lot of really great reading.

In this house of Brede has been on my TBR list for ages. I should get to it. I have Eleanor Oliphant on my radar, too.

>273 tymfos:. Hi Terri. I have done a lot of great reading. You might like In This House of Brede.