MinuteMarginalia's 2018 Random Reads

Inspired by the many 2018 reading threads, I thought I'd start mine as a space for keeping a record of books and reactions to same...

So far, with the exception of picture books flagged on Caldecott lists (which I've written about over in the Picture Books group), most of my 2018 reading has been for book groups.

Just finished discussing The Book That Matters Most with one group. (Shared consensus: a disappointment.) My thoughts: probably sounded great when pitched -- book clubs! libraries! favorite books! December start so Christmas book! -- and a promising concept, which, in other hands, might have been a masterpiece. The ideas about connecting with books, with different types of associations with books (as with the classification in the bookstore), and of the impact of books that mirror parts of our lives all had potential but never played out.

I'll skip comments on Tragedy at Law until that group meets (waves to Jill) other than to say that it seemed as if the blurb writer read a different book.

Third title was Big Little Lies. One friend has praised Liane Moriarty highly, saying she reads everything Moriarty writes. This was my second encounter with Moriarty's fiction (Last Anniversary, read a few months ago, was the first) and I'm not certain I'll try her again. With Last Anniversary, I was captivated until the ending which resolved everything in a way that ruined the book for me. (My flaw, not Moriarty's -- I just really wanted a different outcome.) Big Little Lies was the opposite: even recognizing the clever narrative approach, with multiple points of view and the Greek chorus of school mothers, by midpoint I just wasn't that interested in the characters and would have put it aside if it weren't a book group read. Then, when the key evening, Trivia Night, arrived -- wow! (The ending really does make a difference in overall perception of a book, at least for me.)

Current read, not for book group, is O Pioneers, part of a re/discovering American classics push, in part thanks to another friend whose recommendation of So Big led to reading (or devouring) that last year.

High on the TBR pile is Nothing Stays Buried, the newest P. J. Tracy. (Are there other Monkeewrench fans around?) Also Kindred, one of those sf classics I've heard praised so often but never read.

Hi and welcome! I have read one Moriarty book - The Husband's Secret and it was ho hum. I haven't been tempted by anything else she's written.

>1 MinuteMarginalia: Hi, I look forward to seeing your posts throughout the year! Kindred is on my TBR list also. I’m not sure if I’ll get to it this year. Possibly in the second half.

I read the author’s Xenogenesis series (also know as Lilith’s Brood), the one that starts with Dawn, and loved it. I was less impressed with Wild Seed.

It's nice to see a new reading thread! It looks like you got off to a good start for the year. Happy reading!

>5 Sakerfalcon: Happy New Year! It's good to have another thread to follow! I hope you enjoy O pioneers!; I think Cather's work is excellent.

Welcome! I also look forward to reading your thoughts on the books you read this year. :)

I read the first few monkeywrench but I've not stayed current with the series. A quick check shows I read as far as #5, but felt they weren't keeping the inventiveness of the original.

>7 reading_fox: Agreed that the later Monkeewrench titles haven't been as strong, but I've been interested enough in the characters to stay with them. Nothing Stays Buried is, I think, the first one that's been written after the death of one of the co-authors, and I'm wondering how it will affect the tone and direction of the series.

>8 MinuteMarginalia: Hey there!

I read all of the Monkeewrench books in 2017 and rated volume #2, Live Bait, the highest at 4 stars with the rest coming in at 3 to 3.5. Volumes 6, 7 & 8 all got three stars from me. I liked the books well enough but probably not enough to ever re-read them. If Traci writes more entries, I might be curious enough to borrow from the library to see what she does with it going forward.

By contrast, Kindred was a 5-star read for me. A brilliant book that packs quite an emotional wallop. I also rated Butler's Lilith's Brood trilogy at 4.5 stars, (I read the Xenogenesis omnibus all in one go).

Hoping to get to O Pioneers one of these days so will be interested to hear your thoughts on that one.

Happy reading!

>8 MinuteMarginalia: I agree about the Monkeewrench characters being worth continuing. I read Snow Blind late last year. Nothing all that special, but fun to see the gang and their idiosyncracies again. One of my book clubs read O Pioneers in 2016 and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I'm halfway through O Pioneers. In several ways it reminds me of So Big: both have courageous, independent, open-minded female protagonists with weaker, shallower male relatives. Both address the promise (and hardship) of open land and both women not only love the land but find financial prosperity from it. Despite that, both women seem to hope that younger male relatives in their care will do something other than farm -- an odd element (at once admiring of pioneers and living close to the land but suggesting there's no real future in it).

Some of Cather's writing is just delightful, as in the passages describing the house when the protagonist Alexandra's married brothers and their relatives are about to come over for dinner (quoted below):

"The table was set for company in the dining-room, where highly varnished wood and colored glass and useless pieces of china were conspicuous enough to satisfy the standards of the new prosperity. Alexandra had put herself into the hands of the Hanover furniture dealer, and he had conscientiously done his best to make her dining-room look like his display window. . . . Since she liked plain things herself, it was all the more necessary to have jars and punchbowls and candlesticks in the company rooms for people who did appreciate them. Her guests liked to see about them these reassuring emblems of prosperity. "

The passage also highlights the contrast between Alexandra's materialistic siblings and her own simpler (purer?) values, a concept echoed in So Big.

Part of the pleasure of reading this book is that I'm not certain where the story will go. Right now, Alexandra's beloved younger brother Emil is in love with Marie, a neighbor in an unhappy marriage, and Alexandra's dear friend Carl has just left to try to make his fortune in the gold fields. I suspect at least one of these subplots will not resolve well.

Finished O Pioneers last night. I was right... In retrospect, it occurs to me that the book's title can be viewed as both a recognition of the settlers and a lament, perhaps fitting in terms of the challenges of the type of lives depicted.

Started Kindred. Its opening scenes are guaranteed to hook a reader. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Finished Kindred and I understand why it's a classic -- powerful story and ideas. (Incredible, too, that it was published in 1979.)

So many of the scenes in antebellum Maryland developed historical information about the effect of slavery not just on slaves but also on slaveowners that part of the book's impact was how it made history more vivid. An additional strength was thus how historical/cultural knowledge formed an integral part of the plot and characterization. There's probably much going on with the significance of the resolution (losing a part of oneself to the past, literally) that I missed.

Butler's technique of starting the novel after Dana's final return was a very effective way of focusing my attention on what was happening in the past and on the characters from that timeline rather than on wondering about Dana and Kevin's eventual fates in that era.

Just before coming to write about the book, I read jillmwo's reading thread (don't know how to link to it) and her thoughts on the Bluebeard story and Red Riding Hood story ("Company of Wolves") from Bloody Chamber. That put an new spin on Kindred, tying it to centuries of tales about victims and about the effect of a controlling malevolent force on the powerless or innocent.

>12 MinuteMarginalia:, >13 MinuteMarginalia: Glad you enjoyed O pioneers!. My favourite book by Cather is probably Death comes for the archbishop which has a very different plot but the same strong sense of place and landscape.

I've really enjoyed all the Butler I've read, and want to read more by her. I'll have to try and find a copy of Kindred which sounds excellent. I read a YA book last year with a very similar premise, The freedom maze by Delia Sherman but I imagine Kindred has a more powerful impact.

>13 MinuteMarginalia: I've read one series by Octavia Butler so far (Xenogenesis) and really enjoyed it. I'll certainly be reading more so it's good to see another positive review of her work.

>14 Sakerfalcon: Thank you for the recommendations. One of my book groups has been considering doing a Cather, and I'm going to suggest Death Comes for the Archbishop. If they veto it, I'll read it on my own. The title intrigues me -- can't imagine how it connects with a plot about new settlements or settling land.

The only Delia Shermans I've read are her poems based on fairy tales -- didn't know she also wrote YA novels. More to investigate...

>15 AHS-Wolfy: I'd never heard of Xenogenesis. Thank you for mentioning it! Turns out Dawn was available at a nearby library. Now it's at the top of the TBR pile on my kitchen table (though I think I need to read something lighter first).

I've been remiss in not welcoming @minutemarginalia here in the Pub before this evening! But you've clearly been taken in by the others. I told you they were a welcoming group. Don't be surprised if your TBR list or pile becomes incredibly rich with new suggestions and horrifyingly long! (So many books, so little time...)

>16 MinuteMarginalia: As mentioned above by >3 YouKneeK:, Xenogenesis is also known as Lilith's Brood. The former is an omnibus volume while the latter describes the trilogy comprised of Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago.

Whichever form you read it in, I think you're in for a treat.

Long post, mostly so that I can ramble a bit snarkily about two DNF books. In fairness, both were from a subgenre that's not my cup of tea, what I call the perky, upturned nose mystery (because those are the types of phrases the female protagonist often uses to describe herself or her friends). Both are cat-themed mysteries and so similar in structure and concept that the writers were either adhering rigidly to a formula or the same author (working under a pseudonym) wrote both.

In each, a young woman who's recently broken up with her boyfriend returns to her small-town home to start a new job, bolstered by emotional (and often more practical) support from girlfriends and family. In Cat Got Your Cash (a great title, if not a great book), the narrator runs a store specializing in gourmet treats and fashionable outfits for cats; in Purr M for Murder, she's doing publicity for her sister's cat rescue.

The first part of each book contains several pages of backstory, physical descriptions of the protagonist and her friends' appearance (hair color & style, attire), and mention of the specific gourmet food on which they snack. Both women are (or will soon become) involved with handsome policemen, encountered after they stumble on a murder scene and leave their fingerprints everywhere. Although both women are unsettled by finding a body, they seem quickly to forget that shock when the potential love interest arrives on scene. It's perhaps that element that makes them seem emotionally shallow; one expects professionals who regularly deal with death to be dispassionate, but doesn't expect those who unexpectedly find a dead body -- and of someone they knew -- to dismiss it in a matter of moments, as if it were it were little more than a brief interruption to a conversation.

When I'm caught up in a book, I'll forgive a lot -- occasional implausibilities or plot glitches and more. When I'm not, I start focusing on the problems or contradictions rather than the story, so my criticisms here are harsher than they'd be otherwise.

The same disconnect between situation and response occurs in other spots in the books. One such area is finances. Both protagonists make surface references to money problems, but their behavior belies the statements. In Cat Got Your Cash, the narrator comments about skimping on breakfast because of her tight finances, then, several pages later, tells her coworker that there's a bag of fresh strawberries for them under the counter. Soon after, she's preparing to go off to shop for two soft-sided cat carriers for kittens that's she's only keeping for a few days, so they won't pinch their toes on the regular cat cage provided. (It was at that point I stopped reading, possibly swayed by my own memories of the cost of those soft-sided carriers.)

Purr M for Murder's cat rescue seems to operate with a similar approach to money: the organization is in the red, but the owner hires her sister as a publicity director, and the sister seems to be buying ads (full page, in one case) in local papers to promote a one-day event, a special cat cafe (for which they've also conveniently received several hundred dollars' worth of donations of cat toys from a local pet store). The shelter itself occupies prime real estate in the downtown shopping district, near cafes and antique furniture shops. Although it's not a money matter, the owner is also completely unfazed by the fact that one of the cats keeps getting outside, seeming to think that a cat able to slip out of a cage and wander at will isn't an issue, either in terms of adoptability or safety. (I, instead, was mentally screaming, "Outside downtown! With traffic nearby!") (Had I read further, I suspect the cat's wandering would have been a plot point: it probably witnessed the murder -- but I couldn't make it that far.)

On a brighter note, I've just started World's Strongest Librarian and approach each reading with anticipation. Funny in some spots, thought-provoking and informative in others, and just generally appealing in its depiction of someone deeply in love with books.

>17 jillmwo: Thank you for the welcome -- and thank you, even more, for telling me about this wonderful place! I'm loving the discussions, even if the kitchen table is in danger of disappearing beneath the ever-growing pile of books.

>18 ScoLgo: And thank you for the clarification about Butler titles. I saw a reference to critical commentary on Lilith's Brood while looking at the library's holdings but didn't realize the book was a three-in-one. That'll make it much easier to find the sequels to Dawn!

>19 MinuteMarginalia: That post right there embodies the reasons why I stopped trying to read "cozy" mysteries, even if they do have clever titles. That and the fact that usually the amateur, who stumbles upon a body for the first time, always knows better than the police and rubs it in their faces.

World's Strongest Librarian certainly looks interesting.

Finished World's Strongest Librarian last night. The author is a Utah librarian, an avid reader, a Mormon, and a bodybuilder/weightlifter, who also has Tourette Syndrome.
>22 Jim53: It definitely was an interesting memoir. The first third, about the author's childhood, is fairly upbeat: Hanagarne has the kind of affection and admiration for his parents that's more typical of an Eleanor Estes book than a modern memoir, and I enjoyed that positive mindset (and his early delight in books). The middle, dealing with his adolescence and early adulthood, addresses more of the challenges (physical and psychological) of his life with Tourette's. The last part describes his increasing involvement in bodybuilding and strength exercises as a way of coping, along with some of his philosophy. (That section seemed a bit slower.) Most chapters begin with scenes from his current job in the library -- a fascinating glimpse (for non-librarians like me) of some of the quirky situations and characters encountered in public libraries.

Next up -- a book group selection, Queen Victoria's Mysterious Daughter: A Biography of Princess Louise (which refuses to come up as a touchstone under that title). If the rest of the book is as good as the introduction, it'll be a fast, memorable read. The author begins by explaining that there are no good biographies of Louise because of a lack of access to primary sources, and summarizes the obstacles she encountered. One institution told her she was welcome to come and research there -- then added that all material related to Louise was sealed. Another responded by explaining that the material was being rehoused and would be unavailable for a year; a year later, she received the same reply, after which the institution simply ignored her requests. When she visited, she learned nothing had been rehoused, but it was still inaccessible. Other collections discovered that their primary sources had been transferred to Windsor -- again, no access. The introduction suggests the book may be partly about the bits she's been able to piece together and partly about the mystery of why so much has been kept hidden.

>21 MrsLee: I hadn't read cozies for years until I picked up a Donna Andrews book and loved it. When I tried a couple different authors with the clever titles, I discovered the same thing. There are some really good ones out there but sorting the wheat from the chaff is an almost impossible task.

>23 MinuteMarginalia: I read that Princess Louise bio last year. It wasn't terribly well written but the research (and the conclusions the author drew from them) mostly seemed reasonable. Though she certainly seemed to have an axe to grind when it came to Beatrice (and to a lesser degree, Helena.)

>23 MinuteMarginalia: I was thinking the book about Princess Louise sounded really interesting as you described it - you may consider it a graze at the very least! Curious as to whether it's in the local library... Off to go take a peek online at their catalogue

>26 Peace2: Glad to contribute to someone else's TBR pile!

>25 Marissa_Doyle: I'm about 50 pages in and agree on the quality of the writing. There's a certain amount of unnecessary repetition (for example, she lists the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood members and links them to 1848 around page 19 and then reintroduces several of their names and the year 1848 about 20 pages later).

So far, I'm enjoying the gossipy nature of the narrative, but am glad I encountered Victoria first through the PBS series, to balance her portrait here. I also occasionally wonder about the accuracy of family information coming from Princess Beatrice's version of Queen Victoria's diaries and letters. Since Beatrice destroyed the originals after recopying and "editing" them, there's no evidence that she didn't add material as well as delete it. Even so, it's proving very informative not only about the royal family but also British (and sometimes European) history and culture from that era.

Oh dear--don't get me started on the portrayal of Victoria in the PBS series. Not. a. fan.

>28 Marissa_Doyle: Is that because of historical inaccuracies? (This may be one of those times where knowing little about a subject turns out to be an advantage: all I knew about Victoria before the series was that she married Albert and had a long reign.)

>29 MinuteMarginalia: Yes, historical inaccuracies out the wazoo...plus they just depicted her wrong. I could only manage to watch the very first episode (grumbling and fulminating the entire time) but they painted her as so angst-ridden when she first came tot he throne--and she wasn't. She was as pleased as punch to be queen, and had a whale of a time for the first year and a half or so (until things got messy with politics. And even then, she wasn't angsting everywhere. I'm not sure she was ever self-aware enough to angst.)

>1 MinuteMarginalia: Oooh, a new thread to stalk! :o) So happy you decided to start a journal here.

>31 clamairy: Thank you for the welcome! (I've been stalking your thread, too...)

Halfway through Queen Victoria's Mysterious Daughter and still absorbed by it. Part of it is the family drama, sometimes related in a gossipy style, mixed with history and accounts of a (literally) royal lifestyle. The author draws on multiple sources, especially letters, and often identifies the source in her account of an event.

The style works well to maintain interest, but I'm having occasional problems with the author's approach to some parts of Louise's life. In spots, the biography involves speculation -- rumors, with no solid evidence -- especially involving the possibility that Louise had an illegitimate child when she was young. The author acknowledges that there's no hard evidence, cites her reasons for believing the rumors (including a family who claim one of their ancestors was the child, again without actual proof), then spends the rest of the book referring to Louise's child as if the information were fact, not speculation. While I know she's done a great deal of research, it still seems problematic to present one's theories as truth in a biography (and it occurs for other situations as well). (I also couldn't figure out why the family who claim the connection needed to have the ancestor exhumed for a DNA test -- a request that was denied -- instead of testing the current descendants. Wouldn't the DNA be present in later generations, or is that not the case for the maternal side?)

I actually know very little about Victoria's children. The focus in my reading always seemed to be on how her need for control squelched the ultimate strength of her son and heir. Which is why I am baffled about how a daughter could manage to elude such a mother, have sex and then give birth to an out-of-wedlock child. Certainly what shallow knowledge I have of her youngest daughter, Beatrice, suggested that Victoria really sat on top of her (to a greater extent even than the control exerted over Edward). How far out in left field am I?

>33 jillmwo: You're right about Victoria being controlling, at least as she's presented in this biography. (She can't win, however: when she's mourning Albert and doesn't spend a lot of time with her children, she's faulted for it, but when she writes her daugher Vicky daily after Vicky's marriage, she's "plaguing" her with letters, and when, while traveling, she asks for daily reports on Louise, she's "spying" on her...)

Victoria does exert considerable authority over her children. I was surprised to learn she could actually forbid Louise to return to England from Scotland when Louise wanted to see her ailing brother.

The theory about Louise's illegitimate child is that Leopold's tutor was the father. He was dismissed somewhat abruptly from the palace and then given a good salary and, later, an annuity, which she sees as hush money. The baby was adopted by one of the sons of the queen's accoucher; it's supposedly known that the son adopted a child, but no documents naming the baby's biological parents are available to researchers. There's enough support that it seems reasonable to include the theory in the biography, but not enough to keep treating it as fact rather than supposition.

Approaching the end of Queen Victoria's Mysterious Daughter. Despite my complaints about some elements, it's been an enthralling read -- so much so that I picked up two used books on the family yesterday, The King's Speech and Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor. I'm hoping to read the chapters on Victoria and her children in the latter before our book group discusses Mysterious Daughter for another perspective on the family.

Also read Thick as Thieves, a new addition to what seems to be called the Queen's Thief series. (Not certain this is really a spoiler, but playing it safe...) A hallmark of Turner's books is the twist at the end, so I read this waiting for something unexpected to be revealed. There was a surprise, as anticipated -- though it wasn't at all what I expected (another strength and mark of Turner's skill). Even so, perhaps because the book was clearly drawing on Turner's formula from earlier works, most notably from The Thief -- and those plot twists were extraordinary (literally, in one case), -- this didn't quite measure up to the earlier volumes. All of Turner's standard elements were there -- political intrigue, the challenges faced by a small country surrounded by more powerful ones, ideas about freedom on multiple levels, the importance of myths and legends -- along with some personable characters. It was definitely a good read; it just suffers in comparison with the earlier volumes.

Tonight I'm hoping to start Lauren Wolk's Beyond the Bright Sea, which some blogs see as a probable contender for the Newbery list.

About 1/3 through Beyond the Bright Sea. Crow, a young girl, lives on a small island with Osh, a laconic artist. All Crow really knows of her past is that Osh found her, a newborn, alone in a boat; the townspeople avoid her, suspecting she came from a nearby island that once housed lepers. Her only other friend is their neighbor, Miss Maggie. Crow wants to visit the island and find answers about her past, though Osh feels it may not be wise.

In some ways, the tone and concept remind me of MacLachlan's Baby and Jarrell's Animal Family -- unlikely families, mysterious backgrounds, and island communities -- possibly with a touch of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.

At this point there are some hints about Crow's origin, plus a few puzzling references to her uncovering more than her history on the other island (now, supposedly, a bird sanctuary, patrolled by a man who may or may not really be the groundskeeper).

I know only what I've read about Beyond the Bright Sea here but is this a painful story to read? It sounds as if it might be sad and/or horrifying.

Oh, and by the way, I actually watched last night's episode of Victoria (as opposed to having it on as background noise) and I'm beginning to see why some might be unhappy with it. Maybe it was just this episode but they seem to be really softening some aspects. Socially transmitted diseases are never directly named, and the family of the palace maid (both Irish AND a papist) escape the worst of the famine.

>37 jillmwo: It's a bit more somber than I expected (finished it last night) but overall with a positive view of the world. The main characters are good, gentle people, and although the ending wasn't completely satisfying, it worked to address some of the key ideas. I wouldn't give it the Newbery, but the committee may have a different opinion. (This is the middle-grade book, not Beyond the Burning Sea, which looks to be much grimmer.)

It also helped that the other book I'm reading is Good Omens. How can you not love a book with a character named Anathema?

*thumbs up* on the Good Omens. And as to the middle-grade books, why is it we can't seem to have realistic fiction for adolescents without it becoming so dark? I find the the philosophical framework of A Wizard of Earthsea to be realistic, but not disheartening. But in our drive to ensure that younger readers are cognizant of the miseries that others may experience, we run the risk of suggesting to them that there can be no happy world out there without it causing someone else misery (shades of Those Who Walk Away from Omelas) or perhaps even a likelihood of relative equilibrium. I'm not sure what the appropriate counter measure might be, but it seems rather disheartening to me.

>39 jillmwo: I know what you mean about the content and worldview of middle grade and YA fiction. Intellectually, I recognize that angst has a powerful appeal to adolescents (remember how popular Go Ask Alice was?), so some of the problem is mine for not wanting to tackle the more painful books. Ideally, there's a compromise -- redemption or reassurance at the end. (One of 2016's most moving books was the Newbery honor work The War That Saved My Life, which starts with heartwenching misery -- a girl whose mother treats her with contempt, sent off to the countryside during WWII to avoid the bombings -- and achieves, as the title suggests, a thoroughly satisfying resolution.)

This year's award books have just been announced, and it looks as if the Newbery winner, Hello Universe, may be more lighthearted than in the recent past, a tale of friends together. Some of the other Newberys, and the Printz titles, are definitely showing the harsher side of the world. I think we talked about The Hate U Give last month; it picked up Printz and Coretta Scott King honors. Another title made the lists in three categories (Newbery, Printz. Coretta Scott King) -- Long Way Down, described as "a fiercely stunning novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother." (I haven't read it yet, and haven't talked with anyone who has.)

Last comment on the ALA Youth Media awards -- looks as if this is a year for modern realistic fiction; not a fantasy or sf title that I can recognize in the areas above picture book level.

I've somehow managed not to read any Butler - Lilith's brood seems like a godd starting point.

Enjoy Good omens! It's silly but great at the same time. There's a TV adaption being worked on for release "soon"

I like to intersperse (and contrast) my darker SF and F and crime reading with the occasional cosy, just because they're all so light and fluffy. Of which the wisteria tearoom and cotswolds mysteries seem to be my most liked.

>41 reading_fox: I know what you mean about varying types of reading, especially after some of the darker works.

My current read is The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor, though I'll probably stop at midpoint when George VI takes the throne. It's an interesting look at the lives and roles of the monarchs; not sure if saying more will shade into politics.

The other read -- stopped at midpoint when I realized it was a good book but that I just didn't want to stay with it -- was The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, a YA novel dealing with multiple topics (friendship, loss, parenting styles, adolescent mood changes, prejudices/judging by appearance). Not certain what I'll pick up as the next fiction read; another thread mentioned Artemis and the opening pages look promising, but the library wait list is so long it'll be 2019 before it clears...

Finished Nothing Stays Buried, the most recent in the Monkeewrench. The dedication, to Tracy's late mother and former writing partner, makes me tear up each time I read it. The plot -- a serial killer leaving a playing card with each body, coupled with Monkeewrench's investigation of a missing girl -- was as good as those in previous books, as was the repartee between characters. The two investigations linking is such a standard trope in Monkeewrench novels that it was to be expected here, and though the resolution to the missing girl storyline was a bit implausible, it was nice to end on a happy note. One minor flaw was that earlier, when asked about Angel, Marla's father didn't recognize the name, yet Marla later said that Angel was kind to her because she and her father treated him well when he was a child. Thoroughly satisfying.

Next up, Wrong Beach Island by a local author -- book group selection.

>43 MinuteMarginalia: You've reminded me that I want to get back to this series. As many have said, so many books, so little time.

>43 MinuteMarginalia: >44 Jim53: I read all of the Monkeewrench books last year. As page turners go, they all went down pretty easy... ;)

>44 Jim53: >45 ScoLgo: Agreed on the Monkeewrench books -- pageturners that end on a satisfying note. I'm hoping she'll have another one out by next year.

Lots of reading for different book groups. Wrong Beach Island sounded promising -- set on NJ's Long Beach Island, supposedly with a wise-cracking narrator and her PI boyfriend. Just as they're about to head off for a romantic vacation, he's summoned to LBI to investigate the murder of an ex-girlfriend's husband, and then becomes a suspect. Unfortunately, neither the narrator nor her boyfriend has much of a personality (and there's an almost total lack of chemistry between them -- she has better dialogue with the police detective investigating the case). While there were promising plot twists, overall it wasn't an engaging read. As sometimes happens, it did trigger a lively discussion, largely about what didn't work in the book.

The second book group read Death Comes for the Archbishop, a much richer work. It's loosely based on two real priests sent to the Southwest in the late 19th century, and the story is thought-provoking on many levels. (For example, how does one treat the land -- building lasting monuments, as Europeans do, or trying to lessen one's impact as much as possible?) Cather doesn't give answers, but chooses scenes that show both perspectives. I'm still pondering parts of it and eager to read more of her writing. (Probably My Antonia at some point.)

Finally, the third book -- which would have been discussed last night if the storm hadn't hit -- was Orphan Train. Thank goodness for book groups: that novel sat on the shelf for a year, and I'm not certain I'd ever have read it if they hadn't picked it. Once I started reading, I didn't want to stop.

The story is told by alternating two narrators, in two different periods. 17-year-old Molly, in foster care, is helping Vivian, an older woman clean out her attic as community service. Molly's story, set in Maine in 2011, is of a bright, occasionally rebellious, young girl in an unsupportive home. The second tale, set in 1920s Minnesota, is that of 10-year-old Niamh, an Irish immigrant orphaned in a fire and sent west on an orphan train to find a new life. The Minnesota story is chilling in spots, with minimal oversight of orphans taken into homes that should give them a chance at a better life -- but only if the adults hold up their end of the bargain. Ultimately, it's a tale of two enterprising young women, both of whom find support and solace in unlikely places.

Just an item I thought you might want to see! (Article on the need for female villains: https://theconversation.com/wicked-witches-and-evil-queens-why-childrens-books-n...

And another passing thought in the context of your comments on Death Comes for the Archbishop and My Antonia, of all of Willa Cather's works, I found Song of the Lark to be the most moving.

>47 jillmwo: Thank you for the link. Odd study, though -- they selected *19th* century books and then seem surprised that boys were more prominent than girls.

Song of the Lark is on my TBR pile. I'm currently re-reading Fifth Season (which we read for book group); started Obelisk Gate and found I was fighting to follow the plot without a refresher from the first book. Have to admit I'm enjoying Fifth Season even more on a reread, since it's less of a struggle to follow the multiple timelines this time through.

This Thursday, I also attended a mystery & detective fiction authors' panel at a conference. One of the three speakers was Andrew Shaffer, who seems to write parodic mysteries (most recently Hope Never Dies: An Obama/Biden Mystery which has the pair as detectives (!)). The second was Tony Perona, who, with his daughter Liz, writes the Bucket List Mysteries as Elizabeth Perona. The concept appears to be that a group of older women are trying to fulfill some of their quirkier bucket list wishes (like skinny-dipping) but keep running into bodies. The books sounded interesting enough that when Amazon listed Murder Under the Covered Bridge for under $4 in a Kindle edition, I bought it.

Last was Travis McDade, who writes non-fiction about book thefts, and, appropriately enough, teaches law and legal writing at U of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. His comments on a failed library robbery and all the culprits' mistakes were witty and informative enough that I bought his Disappearing Ink at the conference and read half of it before arriving home. (Admittedly, library theft shouldn't be funny, but his take on the problems in planning was entertaining.)

Disappearing Ink is an account of a library employee's extended thefts from Kenyon College Library (home of the Kenyon Review, whose files provided even more material, such as letters from Flannery O'Connor). It's a fascinating but sometimes depressing tale. The limitations of the law were perhaps the most frustrating: at one point, officials from the college visit the thief's home with the police, but they're only able to take a few books because they can't stay past the end of the police officers' shift. Even with evidence that there are stolen books in the home, the librarians and police are unable to remove most of the material, which stays in the thieves' home for months, leaving them free to destroy or sell dozens of items while awaiting trial.

>48 MinuteMarginalia: I’ve just read The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate in the past week or so myself, for the first time, and I'm currently reading the last book. I can imagine the second book would have been more difficult to follow without the first book fresh in your mind. I’m glad you’re enjoying the re-read, and I hope you enjoy the second book once you get back to it. I’m really enjoying the series myself.

>49 YouKneeK: Thank you for mentioning that the third book is out! I'll be interested in hearing your response to it -- and, unless reports are negative or indicate there's little connection with the first two, will have to get a copy soon I can read it while the first two are still fresh. It's always exciting to discover an author whose writing is so captivating that I can't wait to read her next book.

>50 MinuteMarginalia: That sounds like a good plan on reading them all fairly close together. I’ve only read the first 25% of book 3, but I’m enjoying it so far and it does follow on from where book 2 left off. I’d say this trilogy is more like one long story, rather than three linked stories.

I really liked the author's Dreamblood duology also. I haven't read her older trilogy yet, but I'll probably try it eventually even though reviews on that one seem more mixed.