Beth's Books in 2018 (BLBera) Part 3

My name is Beth. I love books – talking about them, writing about them, reading about them.

I teach English at my local community college, so I am always looking for books I can use in my classes. I like to discover new writers.

I tend not to plan my reading, other than for my book club, which meets once a month. We meet in January to plan our year’s reading.

I tend to read more fiction than nonfiction and more women authors than men.

Welcome to my thread. Lurk or stop and say hello.

"Poetry Makes Nothing Happen"?
by Julia Alvarez

Listening to a poem on the radio,
Mike Holmquist stayed awake on his drive home
from Laramie on Interstate 80,
tapping his hand to the beat of some lines
by Longfellow; while overcome by grief
one lonesome night when the bathroom cabinet
still held her husband's meds, May Quinn reached out
for a book by Yeats instead and fell asleep
cradling "When You Are Old," not the poet's best,
but still...poetry made nothing happen,

which was good, given what May had in mind.
Writing a paper on a Bishop poem,
Jenny Klein missed her ride but arrived home
to the cancer news in a better frame of mind.
While troops dropped down into Afghanistan
in the living room, Naomi Stela clapped
to the nursery rhyme her father had turned on,
All the king's horses and all the king's men...
If only poetry had made nothing happen!
If only the president had listened to Auden!

Faith Cheney, Lulú Pérez, Sunghee Chen --
there's a list as long as an epic poem
of folks who'll swear a poem has never done
a thing for them ... except ...perhaps adjust
the sunset view one cloudy afternoon,
which made them see themselves or see the world
in a different light -- degrees of change so small
only a poem registers them at all.
That's why they can be trusted, why poems might
still save us from what happens in the world.

Currently Reading

Woman's Fiction Longlist 2018
It's here! Longlist:
Read
🌼 The Idiot by Elif Batuman SL
🌼 Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
🌼 The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
🌼 A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert
🌼 Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward SL
🌼 Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie SL
🌼 Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig

To Read
H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker
Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar SL
Sight by Jessie Greengrass SL
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy SL
Elmet by Fiona Mozley
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal

The Walter Scott prize longlist (Historical fiction)
The Clocks In This House All Tell Different Times by Xan Brooks
A dark social-realist fairytale, spotlighting the shadowy underside of 1920s England
🌷Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore
🌷Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
The Last Man In Europe by Dennis Glover
April, 1947. In a run-down farmhouse on a remote Scottish island, George Orwell begins his last and greatest work: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Sugar Money by Jane Harris
A tale of slavery and freedom, innocence and experience, love and despair set in the 18th century Caribbean
Prussian Blue by Philip Kerr
France, 1956. Bernie Gunther is on the run. The twelfth book in the renowned series
The Draughtsman by Robert Lautner
1944, Germany. A novel which shines a light on the complex contradictions of human nature and examines how deeply complicit we can become in the face of fear
Grace by Paul Lynch
An epic coming-of-age novel and a poetic evocation of the Irish famine as it has never been written
The Wardrobe Mistress by Patrick McGrath
A portrait of a woman struggling to make sense of her past and imagine a future in the seedy glamour of London’s theatrical world
Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves by Rachel Malik
1940s rural England sets the scene for a multi-layered tale of an unlikely friendship
The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers
Eighteenth-century Yorkshire. A gang of weavers and land workers embark upon a criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history
The Horseman by Tim Pears
An unexpected friendship between two children, set in Devon in 1911
🌷The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

The Booker International Long List
The 2018 longlist:
• Laurent Binet (France), Sam Taylor, The 7th Function of Language
• Javier Cercas (Spain), Frank Wynne, The Impostor
• Virginie Despentes (France), Frank Wynne, Vernon Subutex 1
🌸 Jenny Erpenbeck (Germany), Susan Bernofsky, Go, Went, Gone
• Han Kang (South Korea), Deborah Smith, The White Book
• Ariana Harwicz (Argentina), Sarah Moses & Carolina Orloff, Die, My Love
• László Krasznahorkai (Hungary), John Batki, Ottilie Mulzet & George Szirtes, The World Goes On
• Antonio Muñoz Molina (Spain), Camilo A. Ramirez, Like a Fading Shadow
• Christoph Ransmayr (Austria), Simon Pare, The Flying Mountain
• Ahmed Saadawi (Iraq), Jonathan Wright, Frankenstein in Baghdad
• Olga Tokarczuk (Poland), Jennifer Croft, Flights
• Wu Ming-Yi (Taiwan), Darryl Sterk, The Stolen Bicycle
• Gabriela Ybarra (Spain), Natasha Wimmer, The Dinner Guest

Thanks to Ellen:
Electric Literature 46 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2018
January:
🌸When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele
This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins
🌸🌸Halsey Street by Naima Coster
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
🌸The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

February:
🌸An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
🌸The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
🌸Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Song of a Captive Bird by Jasmin Darznik
Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad by Krystal Sital
Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith
Heart Berries by Terese Mailhot
The House of Erzulie by Kirsten Imani Kasai

March:
Bury What We Cannot Take by Kirstin Chen
The Parking Lot Attendant by Nafkote Tamirat (I was supposed to get this as an ER)
Everyone Knows You Go Home by Natalia Sylvester
Go Home!, edited by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
My Old Faithful by Yang Huang
The Beekeeper by Dunya Mikhail
🌸🌸Happiness by Aminatta Forna
Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith

April:
Poignant Song:The Life and Music of Lakshmi Shankar
Heads of the Colored People
Disoriental

May:
The Ensemble
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture

Book club books for this year:

✅ The Power
🌼 Home Fire
🌼 Bad Feminist
A Gentleman in Moscow
Homegoing
The Innovators
The Lightkeepers
Fifteen Dogs
If the Oceans Were Ink
Snow Child
Reader, I Married Him
Mothering Sunday

Read 2018
January
1. Edited to Death*
2. Books & Islands in Ojibwe Country*
3. Love That Dog* 🎉
4. The Power* 🎉
5. Cranford*
6. Walk Two Moons*
7. Go, Went, Gone 🎉
8. Out in the Open
9. Under Another Sky
10. Eternal Life
11. The Crypt Thief

* Off my shelf

January Reading Report:

Books read: 11
Women: 9
Men: 2
Nonfiction: 2
Fiction: 9
In translation: 2

February
12. The Origin of Others*
13. Halsey Street 🎉
14. Regency Buck*
15. What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky 🎉
16. The Weight of Ink
17. Parable of the Sower* 🎉
18. Here in Berlin
19. The Wedding Date*
20. A Catalog of Birds 🎉
21. The Fire Next Time*
22. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
23. Citizen: An American Lyric*

* Off my shelf

February Reading Report
Books read: 12
Women: 11
Men: 1
Nonfiction/Essays: 2
Poetry: 1
Fiction: 8
Short story collection: 1

Read 2018
March
24. Call Me Zebra
25. A Hanging Matter*
26. The Queen of the Tearling*
27. So Long a Letter
28. A Wrinkle in Time*
29. An American Marriage
30. Home Fire*🎉
31. The End We Start From
32. The Invasion of the Tearling
33. When They Call You a Terrorist 🎉
34. The Fate of the Tearling
35. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
36. The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore
37. Happiness 🎉

*Off my shelf

March Reading Report
Books read: 14
Women: 14
Men: 0
In translation: 1
Nonfiction: 1
Fiction: 13

April
38. Death on Nantucket*
39. Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life*
40. Prayers for the Stolen*
41. The Reader on the 6.27*
42. Miss Burma
43. The Merchant's House*
44. Brave New World* REREAD
45. The Female Persuasion

*Off my shelf

Good morning, Beth! Happy New Thread! I hope I'm not too early....

I saw your comments about Call Me Zebra and it sounds like a good one for me to avoid. I don't mind adolescent angst but it has to be done really well.

I borrowed your list of the Women's Prize nominees. Now I need to remember how to insert those cute little icons. I'm on a mac but my brain is not working this morning.

Happy new thread, Beth!

Thanks for sharing the Women's Prize long list. I made note of the ones of interest to me, and put them on my wish list. Several of course aren't yet available here, but I keep a list of titles I'm waiting to be published, too :)

Hi Ellen - I'm on a Mac as well - go to the "Edit" menu and Emojis and Symbols is on the bottom. I just click to insert. There may be another way to do it.

You are never too early.

Borrow away. It's an interesting list. My library only has a few. I returned Miss Burma unread, so I'll have to get that one again to add to my HUGE library pile. I was hoping to make inroads this week during my spring break, but Call Me Zebra slowed down my reading.

Coincidentally, I see that today is Josep Pla's birthday. If I were Zebra, that would immediately send me on a pilgrimage to his birthplace to commune with some universal literary message. :)

>10 katiekrug: Hi Katie. It is frustrating that several aren't available here yet. My library has a few of them, and I own Elmet and Home Fire, which is my book club selection for this month, so I will read that fairly soon.

I'm surprised Ali Smith wasn't included.

Home Fire is the only one I've read, and it was very good.

I am really looking forward to it, Katie.

Happy new thread, Beth! You've got a good start on the Women's long list! I'm anxiously awaiting the Booker International list so I won't be doing the Women's Prize but I'd put my money on Sing, Unburied, Sing. I've read Elmet and The Idiot, both are good reads, I liked Elmet more, but can't hold up to Ward.

Happy new one, Beth!

>15 Carmenere: Hi Lynda. Of the ones I've read, Sing, Unburied, Sing is my favorite, but I am notoriously bad at guessing what judges will do. This is my favorite prize; I almost always love the books on it.

>16 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie.

25. A Hanging Matter begins with the surprise arrest of Patrick Gillard for the murder of a corrupt police official. His wife, and ex-MI5 partner, Ingrid Langley, decides to investigate on her own. To do so, she has to look back on a previous job, which was extremely traumatic. More a thriller than a mystery, this is fast-paced and well-plotted. One might have to suspend disbelief a bit, but I am happy to do so. Great series that I am happy to rediscover after twenty years.

>13 katiekrug: - Derp :-P I've also read Sing, Unburied, Sing and thought it was excellent.

Happy new thread, Beth.

>25 SuziQoregon: I'm not necessarily a thriller reader, but this one seems interesting. I may have to give the series a try, especially since its British.

Happy new thread, Beth! I have read four of the books on the longlist. Look at the good influence you literary fiction readers have been on me :-)

Happy new thread, Beth, and thanks for sharing the longlist.
Four of them are available in Dutch translation: The Idiot, Manhattan Beach, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I will look for them at the library.

>20 rretzler: Hi Robin. It's a really good series. Good luck finding them, though. Some of them are out of print. If you'd like my copy of this one, PM me your address and I'll send it to you.

>21 susanj67: Go Susan! I remember your raving about The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock. Which others have you read?

>22 FAMeulstee: I'll watch for your comments, Anita. Some are not yet available in the US, either.

>19 katiekrug: Missed you, Katie. Which is your favorite?

Happy New Thread Beth!!

>18 BLBera: A Hanging Matter sounds good! I'm fine with suspending disbelief occasionally for a good thriller.

Happy New Thread, Beth. xx

Happy new thread, Beth. There a a number of books on the 2018 Women's Fiction Longlist that are on my wishlist and now here I am adding a couple more! The Mermaid And Mrs. Hancock and Miss Burma both have caught my attention.

>25 SuziQoregon: Thanks Juli.

>26 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul.

>27 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy. I'll have to wait for some to become available here.

>4 BLBera: This list and the Walter Scott longlist are my favorites (well, maybe the Booker too...) so I'm going to try to get to all of them. So far I've really loved three of the ones I've read Manhattan Beach, Home Fire and Sing, Unburied, Sing but wasn't a huge fan of Elmet or Eleanor Oliphant. I'm in the library queue for The Idiot. I was surprised about the omission of Ali Smith too.

My book group chose Asymmetry for next month, so I'll have to fit that in somehow too!

Hi Beth, I’ve only read Manhattan Beach and Home Fire both of which I loved. My number may come up this month for Eleanor Oliphant and most of the rest are unknown to me.

>29 vivians: Hi Vivian - The Booker is hit-or-miss with me. I'm not familiar with the Walter Scott - is that historical fiction? I'd probably like that as well. I'm looking forward to Home Fire; I'll start it when I'm done with An American Marriage. My book club meets next week.

I'll watch for your comments on Asymmetry. That one looks interesting.

>30 brenzi: It seems like a good list, Bonnie. Most of them are books I would like to read. I'm a little leary about the Barker; it sounds like it might be a little experimental for me. But it's good to expand one's borders, right?

26. The Queen of the Tearling is a novel I started after reading Judy's comments -- so thanks! I'm usually not a fantasy reader, but this one sucked me right in. There's a post-apocalyptic element here as well. Something has happened to send Europe back to the Middle Ages. The kingdom of Tearling was founded after a Crossing form the New World after some catastrophic event. We get only hints in this first book of the trilogy.

The queen in question is nineteen-year-old Kelsea Raleigh. On her nineteenth birthday, the queen's guard comes to the cottage where she's been hidden all her life. And the adventure begins. Attempts on her life begin from the moment her guard takes her from the cottage. The character is very well drawn; she is only nineteen and thrown into a world she knows little about. It is fun to watch her evolve into a queen.

I'll follow her through the next book, anyway. Luckily my library has all three available as e-books, so they will keep me stepping at the gym.

I just started An American Marriage, and it seems promising.

Happy New Thread, Beth. And Sweet Thursday! I hope you enjoy An American Marriage. Me, the wife and the daughter all loved The Queen of the Tearling and it's follow-up. Glad you gave it a chance.

Glad to see that you enjoyed The Queen of the Tearling, I too, intend to continue on with the trilogy although I have been warned that the second book isn't as good.

Happy New thread! I'm quite excited about the Women's Literature prize. I've just read two and am currently reading a third, as luck would have it. Like you found, quite a few are not yet available here. I've read Home Fire, which I loved, and Eleanor Oliphant, which I really enjoyed but did not expect on the list, and I'm currently reading Three Things About Elsie. I'm very much enjoying Three Things about Elsie but I did not expect it on the list.

>23 BLBera: Beth, I've read Manhattan Beach, Home Fire, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock and See What I Have Done (which is about Lizzie Borden) I have a more positive view of Manhattan Beach than I did just after I'd finished it - I think I was expecting something different and judged it on the basis that it wasn't what I'd been expecting. I need to remember that it's not all about me :-)

I'm also intrigued by the Walter Scott Prize, which is indeed historical fiction. Here's the longlist for this year (despite the reference to 2015 in the URL)
http://www.walterscottprize.co.uk/the-2015-prize/

So many awesome books! It's enough to make a person go crazy with the library catalogue. Fortunately that person has a meeting shortly.

Happy new thread! I was just looking at Queen of the Tearling when I was searching for an audiobook to read

>33 msf59: Hi Mark - An American Marriage is starting off strong. Glad to hear you liked the follow-up to The Queen of the Tearling; have you read the entire trilogy?

>34 DeltaQueen50: Thanks for the recommendation, Judy! It seems to me that the second book of a trilogy is never as good as the first one.

>35 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. I look forward to Home Fire and any of the others that are available. The list is always a good source of recommendations.

>36 susanj67: Hi Susan. Thanks for the Walter Scott Prize link - I added those selections to the top; I've read a few already. What did you think about See What I Have Done? I'm unsure about that one...

Some of us may need to retire so we have more time to read.

>37 ChelleBearss: Thanks Chelle. I really enjoyed The Queen of the Tearling; I think it would be a good audio although I did appreciate the map at the front of the e-book.

>38 BLBera: Beth, I said this about See What I Have Done:

"This is a fictional account of Lizzie Borden's slaying of her father and stepmother, told from multiple viewpoints. I thought it was really well done, although it is pretty gory. I read it all over the weekend, which I think works because there are lots of tiny details that might be lost over a longer period of time."

Then you posted saying that if it was gory, you might give it a miss :-)

>38 BLBera: ”Some of us may need to retire so we have more time to read.”

This made me laugh. I retired about five years ago, and I can never figure out how I ever had the time to work. My reading time hasn’t increased as much as I thought it would.?!? :)

Happy new thread Beth!
I've only read Manhattan Beach so maybe I'll wait till the shortlist comes out and give those other ones a try.

I have The Queen of Tearling in my TBR mountain but I was waiting till the entire series was complete before I dived in. Both Judy and your review makes it look very promising! :)

>39 susanj67: I do remember vaguely, Susan. When I see Lizzie Borden, I think it might be too gory for squeamish me. Thanks for the reminder.

>40 NanaCC: Well, I can always hope, Colleen, right? I think I'm on the five year plan to retirement. We'll see.

>41 jolerie: Hi Valerie - I think the trilogy is complete now. If you are a fantasy fan, I thought this was a good story. I also liked it that there was a young woman protagonist.

Beth, I had to come by and tell you how much I enjoyed listening to Trevor Noah's Born a Crime. Thanks for encouraging me to listen rather than read it. Hearing his stories in his own voice raised this book to five stars for me. I also just read that there could be a movie in the works - I bet there are any number of actress who would want to play his mother!

Hi Beth! I'm frustrated that so many of the books on the Women's Prize longlist are unavailable here. I'm on the library waitlist for The Idiot and Miss Burma and am also on the fence about the Lizzie Borden one.

I read the first book in the Tearling saga a while ago and liked it a lot (I'm also not a big fantasy reader). My only hesitation in continuing is the length of the next one....I think it was 18 hours on audio!

In the meantime I'm reading A Catalog of Birds - which I think I heard about on this thread! So far it's really good.

>43 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy - I'm glad to see another fan of the Noah book; it surpassed my expectations. Hmm - a movie? I hadn't heard that.

>44 vivians: It is surprising that so many of the books are ones that we'll have to wait for, Vivian. I did order a couple from Book Depository that I really want to read. I'll let you know when I get to them and pass them on to you. I think I'll save the Lizzie Borden one for last.

Fingers crossed that you love A Catalog of Birds as much as I did. I'll watch for your comments.

I started the second in the Tearling saga; I get through about 50 pages during a workout, so it will take me a couple of weeks of gym time. Still, it's good to find a book that holds my attention. It keeps me moving, and motivates me to work out.

Well, I think I'm going to reread A Wrinkle in Time this evening, so I will be ready for the film.

27. So Long a Letter is an epistolary novel that tells the story of Ramatoulaye, a Senegalese woman whose husband has just died. She is writing a long letter to a friend. In the course of the letter, she tells the story of how her husband married a much younger second wife. He left Ramatoulaye with her twelve children. Luckily, Ramatoulaye is a teacher and has a profession. Although polygamy is allowed, Ramatoulaye shows the effects it has on women, oppressed in a society that doesn't value them. As she states to a man who wants to take her for a second wife: "You think the problem of polygamy is a simple one. Those who are involved in it know the constraints, the lies, the injustices that weigh down their consciences in return for the ephemeral joys of change."

She is very much cognizant of the position of women in her country, and want her daughters to have better lives. This is a little gem.

Happy New Thread, Beth! I love the poem in >2 BLBera:. And I was fine with the Tearling trilogy until the third book. I'll be interested in how you and the others reading the series now react to the author's resolution.

>23 BLBera: Thanks for the offer, Beth, I really appreciate it. I'll definitely keep that in mind. I like to read them in order if I possibly can, and I found the first one on Amazon (Kindle Unlimited, no less), so I'll start there and see how it goes.

>40 NanaCC: I just retired and I'm reading less this year than I did last. I just think I'm not organized and into a routine yet - it is much easier to be more efficient the more you have to do. I feel a little aimless right now, but I'm sure that will change once I get the hang of retirement (it sounds so foreign to me to say that.)

>32 BLBera: I'm going to have to put The Queen of the Tearling on my list - I keep hearing such good things.

Happy new thread Beth!

>4 BLBera: Thanks for posting the Women's Prize and Walter Scott Prize longlists. I'm not really surprised to see that I haven't read any of these but Home Fire has been on my list for a while and I think I just added several others.

>46 BLBera: So Long a Letter is a classic I've been meaning to read for a while. We have a copy but it's in French (my husband got it when he was in Senegal I think) so I need to find a copy in English!

>46 BLBera: Another fan of this. I want to read it in French. It's good to have ambitions (?!)

Happy new thread and happy weekend, Beth.

>47 ronincats: Hi Roni - I'll let you know how the Tearling books go. I just started the second one.

>48 rretzler: No problem, Robin. I put it in my mini library box. There were some gaps in the series. I think I started with the third book.

>49 souloftherose: Hi Heather - Thanks. A friend lent me So Long a Letter and I'm really grateful. It's nice to find books by African women.

>50 charl08: I think it was on a list of African women writers that you posted a few years ago, Charlotte. I still refer to it when I am looking for books by African women.

>51 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara.

>46 BLBera: So Long a Letter sounds wonderful (I do like epistolary fiction). My library doesn't own it, but lo and behold there was a copy available on Paperback Swap, so I ordered it. How convenient is that! (It wasn't you that posted it there, was it?)

>46 BLBera: A warble straight to my heart, too. It sounds like a wonderful book that is also on the 1001 list and I've not yet read anything from Senegal. How could I resist? I ordered a used copy since my library doesn't have it, either.

I will likely read several of the Walter Scott nominees eventually.

Happy Saturday, Beth. Yes, I read the whole Tearling trilogy. Unfortunately, the 3rd was a bit unsatisfying but I still highly recommend the second one.

I hope you get some R & R in this weekend.

Hi Beth! I read So Long A Letter a few years ago and it was good, definitely thought-provoking.

Hi Beth. I picked up a copy of An American Marriage at the library today. Our library has started a new thing called Peak Picks. They purchase several copies of hot new releases and put them out on a table in the various branches of the library (my branch is the Douglass-Truth library). They can't be put on hold and you can only check them out for two weeks with no renewal. I was so excited! It's an attempt to give people faster access to hot new books without having to get in the hold queue and wait for (sometimes) months to get your copy. So I'll be starting this novel tonight. I wonder how you are liking it.

>58 EBT1002: I love it so far. I suspect that I will be reading instead of getting ready for class tomorrow.

Happy Sunday, Beth! I've added So Long a Letter to my library wishlist, and I *would* have added An American Marriage but it doesn't seem to have made it here yet. It's 10.43, I've been on LT for five minutes and already you've got me with two BBs :-)

Ooh, not only am I adding that to the wishlist, but the 'add books' feature tells me it's been recommended by Oprah's book club. So a win for the popsugar challenge thingy too. Great!
Thanks Beth...

>53 auntmarge64: It wasn't me, Margaret. I read a borrowed copy, which I remember because I put a big pink Post-It on the cover saying,"Return to Jeff." I am terrible at remembering who I borrowed books from and who I lent books to. I hope you enjoy it.

>54 streamsong: I'll watch for your comments, Janet. It's a pretty quick read.

>55 thornton37814: I also have my eye on several, Lori. Which ones are calling to you? The Orwell one looks good to me -- and my library has a copy.

>56 msf59: Good to know, Mark. I have mixed feelings about trilogies. So often it seems that the first book is the best.

>57 banjo123: Hi Rhonda! I thought it was really interesting to hear about polygamy from someone who lived through it, not from someone else's point of view.

>58 EBT1002: Hi Ellen - We have a similar program at our library, except the lending time is one week and the fines are quadrupled to $1 a day. It is nice if one is # 1000 on the waiting list. I'm one of those who often reserve books while they are still on order, but then I get a big pile of books that become available at once, and I always have to return some unread. This is a nice option.

Which reminds me: Scout story alert: She asked me what "option" meant the other day. I don't know where she heard it, but I could see those little wheels turning as I explained.

>60 susanj67: My job is finished, Susan, two BBs in five minutes. I'm also reading When They Call You a Terrorist, which is excellent, a memoir of one of the Black Lives Matter founders. It meshes nicely with An American Marriage.

>61 charl08: I've read the first 100 pages, and am loving it, Charlotte. I hope it continues to be as good.

Article about women writers - also reinforces the need for a Women's Fiction Prize:
https://www.abebooks.com/books/best-female-authors/

>62 BLBera: I haven't really made a list yet, but several sounded interesting--mostly the European ones WWII and earlier--although I may try the Pulley historical fantasy. I don't read much in the fantasy genre, but that's one I might like.

>64 BLBera: I'm posting that over on my thread because it's a great article.

>65 thornton37814: I'll watch for your comments, Lori.

>66 EBT1002: Feel free, Ellen. I might steal your list of 46 books by women of color. By the way, When They Call You a Terrorist is amazing; you could use it as part of your African American autobiography reading. It meshes nicely with An American Marriage.

It's an interesting list Beth - I reckon I've read books by about half of those listed. Although I'd question some inclusions - Susan Sontag and Anna Funder are great writers, but more for their non-fiction, surely? And some who have only written one book... hmmm, maybe a different list of 'ones to watch' and 'established'?

I agree we need to read more women though, and great to see this list posted on abe books. I have been toying with writing a letter to the bookshop I was at on Saturday. I was so disappointed that despite their feminism / history for the centenary of the right to vote displays, they hadn't made any kind of attempt at parity in the genre and translated fiction displays. Really not good.

Oh, I love book lists! I have to agree about mixture new and emerging writers with classics. And I would like to see more inclusion of non-English and non-European writers. But really a fun list... I think that I had also read about half.

I've put When They Call You a Terrorist on hold at the library. I'm number 117 in the queue for one of 24 copies, so it may take a while.... It wasn't one of the ones on the Peak Picks table.

I'm now further into An American Marriage (page 65) and I agree that it's a strong novel so far.

Hi Beth! I thought I was doing fairly well keeping up with you, but lo and behold a new thread with 70 posts already! So happy new-ish thread to you!

You got me with So Long a Letter. Terrific review.

>68 charl08: Good for you, Charlotte. If we don't mention things like that, I think many people don't notice.

>69 banjo123: I agree, Rhonda, that the list is very Eurocentric. Still, it's good to have the conversation. I think I've read about half as well..

>70 EBT1002: Hi Ellen - I love the way she's using the letters in An American Marriage. I wish I had another week of break!

>71 AMQS: Hi Anne - I know, the threads move so quickly. Thanks for stopping by.

Hi Beth! You also got me with So Long a Letter. It looks like I can get it through ILL. I’m a sucker for epistolary novels.

Have a great week!

>70 EBT1002: >71 AMQS: (hangs head sheepishly).....looks like I'm one of the few who didn't love An American Marriage...I'm glad you and Ellen are enjoying it.

Hi, Beth! We missed you yesterday at the Iowa City Meet-up, but I hope you had a good weekend with your family. I hope your return to classes after break is going smoothly and all your students are refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to dive back in.

>46 BLBera: Great review of So Long a Letter. Sounds good.

I agree that the way she's using the letters to advance the story is really well-done, Beth. It's an excellent novel headed for a high star rating.

>73 Copperskye: Enjoy it Joanne. I am not always a fan of epistolary novels, but this one worked for me.

>74 vivians: Vivian, I'm not done yet. I really liked the way she used the letters. We'll see what my final opinion is. Besides, we can't agree on EVERYTHING. :)

>75 rosalita: It was really nice to see my nephew and his wife. We had a great visit. I hope to make it to KC to see them this summer.

>76 SuziQoregon: Thanks Juli.

>77 EBT1002: I'm hoping to get some time to read this afternoon. I should be grading...

Hi, Beth. So Long a Letter sounds really interesting. Thanks for the review.

Your thread is really moving!

So Long a Letter sounds wonderful Beth. Now I have to see if I can track it down. Overdrive is a no.

>80 ffortsa: I can hardly keep up, Judy!

>81 brenzi: A friend lent it to me, Bonnie; not sure whether it is hard to find.

29. An American Marriage - In summary, Roy and Celestial have been married for about a year and a half when Roy is arrested and sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Jones introduces us to the couple, Roy goes to prison, and then we see their relationship unravel through a series of letters, brilliantly done.

Told from the points of view of Roy, Celestial and Andre, each voice is distinct, and I love how Jones complicates the story. All of the characters are flawed; Jones doesn't take the easy route of making Celestial a villain.

There was a flashback in the middle of the novel that I thought unnecessary, but that's a small problem in an otherwise excellent novel.

Next: Home Fire for my book group -- and we meet this week!

Another positive review for An American Marriage. Gotta see if I can snag a copy at the library. :)

There's a long list at our library, Valerie. Good luck.

>29 vivians: Well I guess I'm going to have to get my hands on An American Marriage

I'm definitely rethinking An American Marriage so thanks for prompting that, but I won't get up to your level of enthusiasm. Home Fire, on the other hand, was one I really admired.

I'm in the middle of Miss Burma at the moment. Just can't believe the amount of history I know nothing about despite being a history major in college (albeit many years ago)! It's on the Walter Scott longlist as well as the 2017 National Book Award longlist, but I haven't heard much about it anywhere. So far so good.

Just started Three Things About Elsie, Beth, and so far thumbs up. Definitely a good start to my women's prize reading.

>83 BLBera: Beth, I am one page from done with An American Marriage ~~ I couldn't quite finish it before the train arrived at my work stop this morning.

Anyway, you mentioned an unnecessary flashback in the middle of the novel. Can you use the spoiler thingy and give more detail about that? I'm curious.

Happy Thursday!

>86 SuziQoregon: I hope you like it, Juli.

>87 vivians: Vivian, I can see your perspective on An American Marriage, but I did like it more than you did. Home Fire, though, is in a whole other class. Wow.

I've had Miss Burma from the library and didn't get to it. I'll have to try again.

>88 charl08: Another one to look forward to, Charlotte. I ordered it.

>89 EBT1002: One page?! How could you stop? Oh, the one I'm talking about is when it talks about when they get together in New York. It didn't seem to fit where she put it in the novel, and at that point, I wasn't interested in how they got to know each other. I would have moved it toward the beginning or left it out. Does that make sense? But that is a pretty minor quibble. I'll watch for your comments.

I've been reading When They Call You a Terrorist, a memoir of a founder of Black Lives Matter. It is incredibly moving, heartbreaking, powerful. Everyone should read this book.

30. Home Fire - Wow. What an incredible novel. A lot has been written about this one, but I just want to add that this is why I read fiction. The best kind of novel takes a current event or idea and puts a human face on it. Too often, the news turns people into abstractions. Home Fire shows us the humanity of the abstract.

It is the story of a British Muslim family. Isma, Aneeka and Parvaiz are orphans, and when Isma leaves for a fellowship at an American university, Parvaiz is recruited by a unscrupulous man who claims to know of Parvaiz's father, someone he never met. He goes to Syria to work with ISIS.

Told from the perspectives of the siblings and a prominent Muslim politician, we learn about the lives beyond the headlines.

The only weakness is the portrayal of Karamat Lone, the politician. At times he almost seemed like a caricature.

I can't wait to discuss this at my book club tomorrow. I think this might be my favorite for the Women's Fiction Prize.

Oh, and my ER book arrived, Dear Friend, from My life I Write to You in Your Life - terrible title - but I look forward to starting it in the next few days.

31. The End We Start From - Just as the flood waters approach London, baby Z is born. Written in short snippets, like snapshots, this reads very like a mythological origin story.

I started reading Zadie Smith's collection of essays. The first one confirms that Smith is a Kindred Spirit. In "Northwest London Blues," she decries the closure of so many libraries and bookstores: "...Willesden Bookshop, an independent shop that rents space from the council and provides -- not matter what Brent Council may claim -- an essential local service." Yes!

>90 BLBera: Makes total sense. I had, in fact, forgotten that section because it didn't really contribute to or become (for me) a substantive part of the story. So I agree. :-)

>92 BLBera: Hope you have a great book discussion. It's a great book for that! Thanks for keeping my thread warm while I recouped. : )

>96 EBT1002: Great minds, Ellen. Happy Friday.

>97 Berly: Hey Twin - I hope you're feeling better.

>91 BLBera: Hi, Beth. I agree with you on When They Call You a Terrorist. I read it in January, and would definitely recommend it to all and sundry.

Hi Beth, I am badly wounded after taking so many hits here on your thread. I am always on the lookout for good 1001 books and you caught my attention with So Long A Letter and I've picked it up for my Kindle. Home Fire and The End We Start From also have caught my attention. After checking, it seems I already have Home Fire on my list, so a little less BB damage than I originally thought!

>95 BLBera: I want to read this! Love her writing about books.

>99 majleavy: Hi Michael. I think it's an important book. I hope to see more reading it.

>100 DeltaQueen50: Hah, Judy, it's only fair. Home Fire is amazing. We had our book club discussion today, and some of the members said it was their favorite book club selection of all time. I'll post more on the discussion later. The End We Start From is short; I read it last evening in one sitting.

>101 charl08: It's a big book, Charlotte, and there are many holds on it, so I'm reading as many essays as I can before I have to return it. I'll reserve it again and pick up where I left off. I suspect that I'll find several that I've read in the journal in which they were first published.

Happy Friday, everyone.

It was a Scout day, and we had a great time. One conversation:
Scout: Dad says I'm too little.
Me: Too little for what?
Scout: He means too young. Too young to go to my friend's house by myself.
Me: Yes, he's right. You should probably be older, maybe 10.
Scout: Or maybe 115, like a grown up.
OK

Today we read a lot: Wolves in the Walls, which I can't believe she doesn't find scary, and a new picture book that I found Wordy Birdy.

Lol. Scout rocks.

Didn’t I tell you Home Fire was amazing Beth. I mean really amazing but I agree with you about the politician although I wonder if she didn’t purposely draw him that way.

Scout sounds like a real charmer. How old is she? You may have mentioned it but I didn’t absorb the information. Mia is three and a half and her biggest love right now is dinosaurs and we’ve taken out all the books the library has on the subject and read and reread them. Today we built a fort using blankets, chairs and boxes and the first ones in were the dinosaurs in her collection. Then she dragged out last year’s Halloween costume. Dinosaur. I’m not sure how long this phase will last but it’s been fun.

>103 charl08: Yes, she does.

>104 brenzi: She is four and a half, Bonnie. We regularly do forts as well. These are such fun years. Do you get to spend much time with Mia? I have Scout every Friday.

Regarding Home Fire, if she were trying to be faithful to Antigone, then perhaps. It just seemed like the only somewhat false note. Still, I think I gave it five stars.

The members of my reading group all loved it; there was no disagreement about that. Many also commented that it makes them rethink our prejudices about people like Parvaiz who follow terrorists. Timely novel that will stick with me for a long time.

32. The Invasion of the Tearling is the second book of the trilogy, and it is as hard to put down as the first one was. In this volume we learn more about the history of Tear and see Kelsea, the queen begin to grow and change. I'll definitely be checking out the third and final volume to see how the story ends.

I'm late to the party, but I finally made it. Hi, Beth!
I can't wait for a copy of Home Fire. At least I'm first in line for the pb copy at PBS.
Hope you have a great weekend that involves little paper grading, much Scouting, and much reading!

You’re killing me here, Beth. Too many BBs. Everything sounds good!

Have a great weekend!

Aw, Scout is too cute!

Morning, Beth. Happy Saturday. Good review of An American Marriage. I really enjoyed this book too. I see that she wrote a book called Leaving Atlanta that looks promising too.

Glad you had a good time with The Invasion of the Tearling. I agree it is a great follow-up to the first one.

>107 LizzieD: Thanks Peggy. I do have some grading, but that's normal. Thanks for stopping by. You will love Home Fire.

>108 Copperskye: I'm happy to add to your reading list, Joanne. What else are you going to do during retirement? :)

>109 ChelleBearss: She is a keeper, Chelle.

>110 msf59: Thanks Mark. Have a great weekend. Spring is coming!

>102 BLBera: Beth, I think that's my favourite Scout-ism to date :-) I often *feel* like I'm 115, so in a way she's right.

I hope the grading is quickly done and you can get back to the books.

>112 susanj67: Hi Susan - It's always interesting to me where she gets the numbers. She mentioned 115 several times yesterday. Once, I said I would count to 115, and she said that was really hard. I suspect it's related to something they did in school.

33. When They Call You a Terrorist is an important book, and it should be required reading for every criminal justice degree. Khan-Cullors is one of the founders of Black Lives Matter, but she has been an organizer since her teens. More than a story of the movement, this is the story of her life. She talks about growing up in the Van Nuys neighborhood, with its constant police presence. Her beloved brother Monte was arrested and disappeared in the LA jail system. Monte is mentally ill and also suffers from PTSD. Her description of his torture is not something we should accept in our country.

She raises many important questions and issues about racial justice in our country, about treatment for the mentally ill, about treatment of the LGBTQ community, about the invisibility of Black women.

But I find the most moving parts of the memoir are her personal experiences, and not the details of organizing the movement. When she talks about the lack of justice for Treyvan Martin and Michael Brown, she asks: "But when someone in my neighborhood committed a crime, let alone murder, all of us were held accountable, my God. Metal detectors, searchlights and constant police presence, full-scale sweeps of kids just walking home from school -- all justified by politicians and others who said they represented our needs. Where were these representatives when white guys shot us down?"

We can do better.

Great review of Home Fire--glad you liked it. It was one of my favorites of last year.

I've read a few books by Yiyun Li, and really liked The Vagrants by her. However, I tried, and could not get into Dear Friend, From My Life I Write You in Your Life, maybe because it was nonfiction/essays. Anyway, if you don't like it, I recommend you try another by her, particularly The Vagrants.

>92 BLBera: I've heard so much praise for Home Fire - really glad you enjoyed it too and it's definitely on the list.

>102 BLBera: Love the Scout conversation.

I wasn't such a fan of Dear Friend... either. I haven't read her fiction, but perhaps I should try this to see if it works any better.
I've just picked up Frankenstein in Baghdad - very good. I have lots of household things to do and really would much rather be reading. Boo!

>115 arubabookwoman: Hi Deborah - I have The Vagrants on my shelf and have liked the short fiction of hers that I've read. Thanks for the recommendation. I hope Dear Friend, From My Life... works for me. It's an ER book, and I already had a book I struggled to finish this month.

>116 souloftherose: Hi Heather - Home Fire is wonderful. Scout is wonderful.

>117 charl08: Sigh - another unrecommendation for the Li book. I don't know when I'll get to Frankenstein in Baghdad, maybe in a couple of weeks. I hear you; I have class prep and would much rather follow Lillian Boxfish around Manhattan.

Beth, I also got Dear Friend as an ER book. I rarely request them these days, but I am a fan of Yiyun Li so I couldn't resist. Home Fire really had an impact on me, too. It was on my Favorites list from last year.

>102 BLBera: Ha, sometimes I feel like 115 like a grown up. Love the Scoutisms. I hope you are having a grea weekend, Beth.

Happy Sunday, Beth. I have been hearing a lot of warbling about When They Call You a Terrorist. I will have to request that one, pronto. Good review.

If you are interested I can send The Night in Question your way. Let me know.

>119 Donna828: Hi Donna. Well, I hope we like the Li book. Fingers crossed.

>120 Familyhistorian: I hear you Meg.

>121 msf59: Thanks Mark, but I do have a copy. When They Call You a Terrorist is an important book. You'll like it, I think.

>122 BLBera: I just snagged an audio copy of When They Call You a Terrorist. It is in the Wings!

I'll watch for your comments, Mark.

When They Call You a Terrorist is now on my list. I liked The Vagrants too Beth.

Ordering a copy of When They Call You a Terrorist. Thanks for the excellent review.

>102 BLBera: Hi Beth. Looks like you've accomplished your goal of getting more people to read When They Call You.... Good work!

Scout is too cute. Same age as my middle one and the conversations you have with them at this age is absolutely priceless!

>114 BLBera: BB- sounds like a great companion read for Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, which I loved.

I really loved Home Fire too, Beth. It was one of my favourites from last year. I have read only three of the Women's Lit Prize books so far, Home Fire, Eleanor Oliphant, and Three Things About Elsie. I hope to get to several more, but I hope I can find the time. When They Call You a Terrorist sounds fascinating, I'll keep any out for that too.

>125 brenzi: I have The Vagrants on my shelf, Bonnie. I have been wanting to get to it.

>126 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen - you will love When They Call You a Terrorist.

>127 majleavy: Hi Michael - Yes!

>128 jolerie: Valerie - I have been enjoying Scout so much. I wish I could have more grandchildren, but it seems like she will be the one and only.

>129 LovingLit: Megan - It did remind me of Ghettoside in some ways - I also loved that one.

>130 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah - How's the new grand baby? Enjoy! I haven't read either Eleanor Elephant or Three Things About Elsie, but they are on my list. In fact, the only one I probably won't read is the Lizzie Borden one; I'm squeamish.

Just saying hi.

>132 EBT1002: Hi back. Great minds. I was just posting on your thread.

Hi, Beth. I also picked up On Tyranny from the library. Lots of very timely books making the rounds.

Did you read Arthur & George? I am really enjoying it, at the moment.

Hi, Beth. Just stopping by to catch up - it looks as though you've been doing some pretty great reading lately. Maybe Scout's right about being 115 to be a grown-up - I'm in my mid-50s and still wondering when I'm going to grow up!

See - I knew I wasn't grown up yet. Scout is one smart cookie!

>134 msf59: Hi Mark. I haven't read Arthur & George. Glad you're enjoying it. Yes, there is a lot of good NF out there now. Have a great weekend.

>135 rretzler: Hi Robin. Yes, I think Scout does have a point. Have a great weekend. My reading has stalled -- schoolwork. Oh well.

>136 SuziQoregon: Hah, Juli. Speaking of cookies, I have some cleaning to do today. We made cookies yesterday, and my feet are sticking to the kitchen floor.

Morning, Beth. Happy Saturday. Yes, I think you would enjoy both Arthur & George, along with On Tyranny.

Have a good weekend.

>138 msf59: Thanks Mark. I hope to finish Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and get caught up with grading.

Some of these are on other lists, but I always like to try debut novels.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/76017-writ...

Indeed, Beth, I have the book about Lizzie Borden out from the library, but I think I will leave it for now. I read a few reviews on it, and it rather turned me off.

>140 BLBera: Good for you, regarding trying debut novels. With the CanLit I run across, I try a lot of debut/ unknown authors too.

Hi Twin! Hope you are enjoying the weekend. And the leftover cookies. : )

>141 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah - It is fun to discover new writers. How is the grand baby? You will have so much fun!

>142 Berly: Hey Twin - I am trying to stay away from the cookies. Tomorrow they go to school to get them out of the house although Scout gave me the order to save some for her.

34. The Fate of the Tearling wraps up the trilogy in a very satisfactory way. In the final volume, the story is completed, and Johansen ends it in an unexpected way. I know that some reviewers were unhappy with the ending, but I thought it fit. Good trilogy. I was glad I started it when all the volumes were already published, so I could read them all at once.

x
35. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk takes place on New Year's Eve in 1984. Lillian Boxfish is 84, at least that's what she tells people, and this is the story of her life. As she walks through Manhattan, she reminisces about her career (she was the highest paid woman working in advertising at one time), marriage and life in New York City.

Her descriptions of changes that have occurred in NYC during her life there are interesting, but I found the story even more fascinating because it is based on a real person.

I also love walking, so this resonated with me: "This, I am reminded, is why I love walking in the city, taking to the streets in pursuit of some spontaneous and near-arbitrary objective. If one knocks oneself out of one's routine -- and in so doing knocks others gently out of theirs -- then one can now and again create these momentary opportunities to be better than one is."

Next: Happiness

>145 BLBera: Thanks for the BB - I just put a hold on Lillian at the library. I love the setting!

>146 vivians: Thanks Vivian. I think New Yorkers would appreciate this even more than I did. You'll be able to picture the places that she describes.

>145 BLBera: I walked past a couple of books this afternoon about walking in the city, all rather tempting!
Did love this one.

Hi Beth, I’ll look forward to your take on Happiness. I loved, loved loved her Memory of Love and still need to read The Hired Man.

If I didn’t already have Home Fire on my wishlist, your review would have put it there.

Hi Twin!

Hi Beth, so many wonderful books on your thread. I'm putting Home Fires at the top of my list.

I really enjoy your reviews.

Morning, Beth! Just as soon as I finish my current book Benediction I will begin Frankenstein in Baghdad for Booker International long list. Sounds like a very interesting, though horrid premise.

>148 charl08: So it was you, Charlotte. I knew I had heard about Lillian Boxfish from someone on LT.

>149 brenzi: I am only about 50 pages in, Bonnie, and loving it. It is beautifully written. It is my first Forna, but I will definitely look for her others.

>150 NanaCC: Thanks Colleen. It is a great book. I'll watch for your comments.

>151 Berly: Hi back, Twin. I haven't been called Kim lately. You? We may have to sync our toppers again. :) I hope you're feeling better.

>152 Oregonreader: Thanks Jan. I have been lucky with my reading lately.

>153 Carmenere: Hi Lynda. It will probably be a couple of weeks before I get to Frankenstein in Baghdad, but I do have a copy from the library, and someone else has reserved it, so I will have to get to it soonish.

I am loving Happiness. Forna's writing is gorgeous.

Hi Beth- Great review of When They Call You a Terrorist. It sounds like another for the wishlist. I've always thought of myself as apolitical, but this year my reading has definitely taken a current events/political turn.

Thanks Janet - I'm with you. We need to stay on top of events.

Hi, Beth. I am glad The Fate of the Tearling worked for you and wrapped up a successful trilogy. And hooray for Lillian Boxfish! I really enjoyed that one too. Kathleen Rooney lives in the western suburbs, near me and writes book reviews for the Chicago Tribune. I have read her husband too.

Cool Mark. Who is her husband?

I know you said you didn't like the end of the Tearling trilogy. What didn't you like?

Your review of the Tearling book reminds me that I saw some lovely editions of the trilogy at Prairie Lights during our meet-up, and it made me think of you and (again) wish you were there.

I had the first one in hardcover, and it was a very nice edition, Julia. The others I read as e-books. I was glad to have a hard copy of the map. I will make it to Iowa City this summer.

>145 BLBera: I really enjoyed Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk as well. Very evocative of its time and place.

Hi Rhian. In many ways, Lillian reminded me of my grandmother. They were about the same ages, and my grandmother got a BA in music at a time when few women got college degrees. She was a feminist, ahead of her time.

Beth you are the second person on LT today who has recommended Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk, I don't want to argue with fate so it's being added to my wishlist! ;)

>162 BLBera: How cool. Love hearing these stories about women's achievements. Hoping the 2018 commemoration here might bring out / inspire a few more fictional ones here.

>163 DeltaQueen50: I think you'll like it, Judy.

>164 charl08: I wish I would have known to appreciate her more when she was alive.

>145 BLBera: I kind of dismissed that one when it first came out. I was thinking of other books I’d read about older people taking long pilgrimages and was a bit done with them. Maybe I should rethink. It sounds interesting!

Nice reviews of Home Fire, which was also one of my favorite books of 2017, and When They Call You a Terrorist, a book I plan to read later this year.

>166 Copperskye: I hear you, Joanne. This was a little different. It was one night, and the character was based on a real person. I think it would be most interesting for New Yorkers.

>Hi Darryl - Shamsie is becoming one of my favorites. When They Call You a Terrorist is wonderful, and should be required reading. It is heartbreaking in places, but also hopeful, I think.

I just started listening to When They Call You a Terrorist, narrated by the author. I'll be driving a lot next week visiting colleges with my daughter so I hope to get a lot of listening in!

>169 vivians: Vivian - I would like to hear the author read it -- I can't imagine listening to it, though. Some parts are pretty heartbreaking. I'll watch for your comments.

College visits! How exciting. Where will you visit? Does your daughter have any favorites?

36. The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore tells the story of a camping trip that went horribly wrong. The girls, Nita, Siobhan, Isabel, Dina, and Andre were ten and eleven years old, and we learn little by little what happened as the novel progresses. The novel moves from one girl to the next, and we learn what happens to them years after they attend camp.

I got the feeling that Fu was going for a Lord of the Flies vibe, but she didn't quite get there. I felt the story was a bit too short, and the character development was uneven.

But, it might be suffering in comparison to Happiness, which is outstanding. This is a quick, light read; I just expected a little more.

>171 BLBera: I saw a description of that book in something and wondered how well it would work.

>170 BLBera: We're sticking to northeast schools, as we did for my other 3. There are so many terrific schools within a 4 mile radius that it doesn't seem to make sense to add travel costs to the already massive burden of tuition. It would b different if she had some passion that could only be fulfilled at one particular institution, but right now she's just generally interested in math, science and history.

>172 thornton37814: Lori - I've seen some really positive comments on the book, so don't just take my word for it. I think I was expecting more, and it definitely suffered in comparison with Happiness, which is close to a five-star read.

>173 vivians: That makes sense, Vivian. In fact, both of mine were undecided when they started, and I kind of wish I had encouraged them to do their generals at a community college; it would have been a lot cheaper. Oh well.

37. Happiness is a wonderful, wonderful novel about people, animals, and how they connect to each other. I loved this novel. The writing is beautiful and the plot is seamless. My only complaint is the italics used for flashbacks. They are so hard on the eyes.

First, the writing. The details and description are meticulous:"A falling feather swung slowly through the air; drifting past the floors of the office block and his hotel window. A bright green feather. Attila watch it, lost sight of it and found it again, followed it as it became caught up in the traffic below, buoyed upwards on the rush of air of a passing taxi to recommence its rocking descent until it was tossed again. Up, up, down, down." The description made me stop and pay attention, over and over.

Attila, a psychiatrist from Ghana who is a specialist in trauma and Jean, an American biologist who studies foxes in urban areas seem to have nothing in common. Yet they meet in London. Soon they find themselves allied in a hunt to find a missing boy. The search reveals a connection among people who come from different places, but also a resilience and innate desire to help. Forna shows us the ugly, in hateful Tweeters, but she also shows how good people can be.

And, it has a beautiful cover. Five stars. Highly recommended.

Next: my ER book with the awkward title Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life

>175 BLBera: Ok, Happiness is on my list now.

You will love it, Rhonda! Have you read anything by Forna? This is my first book by her. I will definitely be reading more of her work.

I haven't read anything by her, though I have been meaning to.

>158 BLBera: Rooney is married to Martin Seay. He wrote The Mirror Thief, which I really enjoyed. I met Seay at Booktopia in Vermont. Rooney has been to Booktopia too but I didn't go that year. Talented couple.

Happy Saturday, Beth. Great review of Happiness. You caught me with a big BB there.

Five stars! Great review Beth. I still remember how vivid the writing was in The Memory of Love. I can’t wait to get to this one Beth. I don’t mind italics but I hate no quotation marks which is what Jenny Erpenbeck does again. It was the same in Visitation.

>178 banjo123: I have a couple of hers on my shelves. I need to get to them.

>179 msf59: Thanks Mark. I haven't read anything by Seay. I'll have to check him out. Happiness is wonderful.

>180 brenzi: No quotation marks don't bother me, Bonnie, but extended italics are so darn hard to read. My eyes are getting old, I guess. My students also complain when writers don't use quotation marks -- Louise Erdrich doesn't in The Round House.

Adding Happiness to the list!

Wishing you a lovely Easter weekend, Beth.

>182 katiekrug: It is wonderful, Katie. Now I have to pull all the Forna from my shelves so that I read them sooner.

>183 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. It feels like winter here. I am ready for some spring weather.

Hi Beth - any interest in my copy of Three Things About Elsie? I ordered it from Book depository and will be done in another day or two. It seems to be the large print editions so it's thick, but a very fast read.

Thanks so much, Vivian, but I just got a copy, too! Great minds. I'll have to check to see if mine is large print; it does seem like a thick book. I'm reading my ER book right now, then I have a couple of library books to get to before I get to Elsie. How is it?

Not bad - seems a little familiar so far. I seem to remember enjoying a Maggie O'Farrell book about a similar theme much better. So far it seems a little light to have been considered for the long list.

Hmm - which O'Farrell? I love her. The next one from the longlist that I'll read is probably Miss Burma; it's a library book and due soon.

I've read The Memory of Love and really enjoyed it. Your review of Happiness is very tempting. Chiming in on Three Things About Elsie. I have to say I really enjoyed the read and went * wild* and gave it a full 5 or 4. 5 stars. It's a quick read, and I think not literary enough to advance to the short list. That said, I think our elderly population is not often written about with such sympathy and insight, and I am pleased that it made the Women's Literature Long list. I just finished Miss Burma from the Women's Long-list and that I think should advance to the short list. Miss Burma is a fascinating look into the history of Burma/ Myanmar.

Hi Deborah - Well, you hit me with three books I want to read. I have some by Forna on my shelves, and I don't know why I haven't picked them up previously. Miss Burma is probably my next read; it's a library book.

>175 BLBera: That one looks great, Beth :-) I checked the elibrary but no luck, so I'll have to get a hard copy while it's still new and clean.

I loved it, Susan. It's a pretty new book, so perhaps you can snag a copy while it's still pristine. :)

Snow day!

:-) ETA (Feel sure you will find something to read whilst you are snowed in...)

Yes, I imagine I'll find something to do, Charlotte.

Enjoy your snow day, Beth! Even though snow in April is an abomination as far as I'm concerned. I realize you Minnesotans probably see things a bit differently and take it all in stride. :-)

No, I totally agree that snow in April is an abomination, Julia. But having a snow day makes it somewhat palatable. :)

>175 BLBera: Sigh, Happiness has been added to the increasingly expanding list...

I've never read anything by Forna before but I know a lot of people loved The Memory of Love several years ago.

Hi Heather - Well, it's only fair. I have several by Forna on my shelves. I need to stop taking books from the library, so I can read some of them.

Hi, Beth. I requested "Happiness" from the library. Glad they had a copy, because I know it just came out.

I hope we miss the snow.

I'll watch for your comments, Mark. Yes, I am really sick of winter. The rest of the week is going to be cold here, so it won't melt right away. I think next week we should get some better weather, after more snow this weekend. Sigh. I hope it misses you. Fingers crossed.

Hi, Beth. I can't catch up, but I can at least speak!
I loved Forna *Memory*, so I'm off to investigate Happiness at once.
We have been at almost 90° for the past couple of days. The cool-down is going to be hard.
>180 brenzi: I hate no quotation marks too. Why make extra work for somebody who is generous enough to read your book?

Oh this is a dangerous place. Just hit with many book bullets!

>175 BLBera: Happiness sounds delightful. I've never read anything by Forna before. I've just put a hold on it (still on order).

Sharing a bit of my spring, Beth, to hold you until yours gets there.



My Julia Child rosebush.

Nice new thread you have here, Beth. It won't be long before folks hear about it and drop by.

All these new books. I'm splashing about in Grimm's Fairy Tales and Nazis. Operation Paperclip got be going on the Nazis. Eudora Welty poked me into Jacob and Wilhelm's tales with her revisionist take on The Robber Bridegroom.

>202 LizzieD: I have The Memory of Love on my shelves, Peggy. Maybe that will be my next Forna. So many books! 90 degrees! I would be happy with 40s at this point. We just got 7.5 inches of snow and are expecting another six inches this weekend. At least we got a snow day out of it.

>203 mdoris: Thanks Mary. It's only fair, right. I get them from you as well.

>204 auntmarge64: I loved Happiness, Margaret. I'll watch for your comments. I hope the wait isn't a long one.

>205 ronincats: Thanks Roni. Much appreciated. It seems like this winter will never end.

>206 weird_O: Thanks Bill. :) You've been doing some great reading as well.

I've been slogging through my ER book but otherwise am stalled on the reading front.

Good morning, Beth! I had somehow skipped past your review of Happiness up there, but I'm back to say your review was so good I've requested that my library purchase it. It sounds wonderful!

We are supposed to get some snow on Sunday as well. Sigh.

>175 BLBera: you’ve hit me with Happiness, Beth. It sounds like a good one. I’ve never read anything by Forna.

The weather has been crazy. I don’t think spring will ever come. We have the “s” word in our forecast too, although it sounds more like a dusting. The kids in my area have had so many snow days, that they’ve either cancelled spring break or lengthened the school year. No one is happy about it.

"I've been slogging through my ER book" - that doesn't sound too promising Beth. Hope some other good reading turns up soon. I started H(A)PPY last night, and I think it might be dystopian... But haven't got so very far yet.

>208 rosalita: Good morning to you, Julia. I loved Happiness. In fact I think that's part of the reason I'm having a hard time settling on another book. Plus, I have a lot of school work right now, so reading for fun might have to take the back burner.

More snow. I know. The weather guy said we might get another six inches on Sunday. I WANT SPRING!

>209 NanaCC: This was my first Forna as well, Colleen. Her writing is just beautiful. I found myself rereading passages because they were so lovely.

I agree about the weather. We're getting a dusting tomorrow, I think, with a possible six inches Sunday/Monday. I am sick of this.

>210 charl08: Hi Charlotte. It's my first full-length work by Li, and I am close to abandoning it, something I rarely do. I'm over halfway through, though, so I'll probably make it through. It's a journal from a time she was severely depressed, and it is so disjointed and incoherent in places, I wonder why she would want to publish it.

Oooh, more dystopia. I just ordered the books for my class on dystopian lit, and will be reading through more this spring and summer. I'll watch for your comments on H(A)PPY.

>211 BLBera: As it happens, the library doesn't have Happiness, so I recommended that they purchase it. We'll see what happens. One of the local TV stations had an article on their website comparing this year to 1982. That year, as this year, there was record-breaking "heat wave" in February and then the beginning of April was miserable winter weather. Here's the link if you want to read it: http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/WWC-Could-1981-82-be-repeating-478691993.html

Thanks for the Lillian Boxfish rec - I listened to 90% of it during 4 interminable car trips (NY to Vermont then NY to D.C) and found it to be a very accurate (if depressing) picture of NY in the early 1980s. A couple of things bugged me but overall I really enjoyed it. A little less enthusiasm for Three Things About Elsie, which was a quick read but a little too predictable.

Next week it will be a Boston trip! I'm very thankful that my daughter is enthused and is rarely in a 16 year old pout, so the trips have actually been quite a lot of fun.

Happiness is now on my list, thanks! I loved The Memory of Love and The Hired Man.
Enjoy the weekend!

Good luck with the purchase of Happiness, Julia. The weather stuff is too depressing. It's like 20 degrees today - with a wind chill.

>213 vivians: Glad you liked Lillian Boxfish, Vivian. I will definitely try to get to the other Forna soon. Right now I'm struggling with an ER book, which I hope to finish tonight.

I'm glad the visits are going well. You'll have to let me know which are the top contenders. Sixteen seems young to start college visits -- is that the usual time now?

Hi Beth, I am trying not to see all the great books you've been reviewing here as my wishlist is far too long, but I did see that you read The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore recently and although I think I may have liked it a little more than you, I thought your comments were spot on.

I couldn't remember who'd read it, Judy. I think I was expecting more, and it certainly suffered in comparison with Happiness. Timing is everything.

Happy Friday, Beth. My copy of "Happiness" is waiting for me at the library. I am starting In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose tomorrow, so there may be a bit of a wait. Have you read this one? i have been meaning to get back to Walker for decades.

>214 BLBera: The time to start visiting colleges is more dependent on your grade level than your age. My twin granddaughters are 16 and juniors (11th grade). A couple of weeks ago, they went to NYC with their parents and scoped out three colleges. Both want to attend a big-city institution. Both are undecided about a course of study. Lots of time.

My two eldest are chalk and cheese. Yasmyne is a very diligent, studious girl who by sheer force of effort always got great grades whilst at the same time was nicknamed "Blondie" by her mother on account of some rather unlearned ideas she would venture such as "Hair surely grows from the bottom not the roots?". Kyran on the other hand is an extremely intelligent and (ok I am biased) talented young man who can draw and play musical instruments without the bore of being tutored. He always held his grades down by sheer force of idleness.

Surprisingly therefore Yasmyne had no idea what she wanted to do at University - amazing me by eventually deciding to read Town Planning and Property Development at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Kyran meanwhile has known for several years that he wants to study clinical psychology and is going to college in Portsmouth to do so.

Have a lovely weekend, Beth.

>211 BLBera: I've got no idea how to review H(a)ppy but I did think it was very good, and some beautiful illustrations. I'm not sure what it all means, either, but in a good way.
Hope the marking is going / has gone well.

Hi Mark - Happy Saturday. I have read the Walker; one of my favorites of hers. It's been a while, though.

Hi Bill - Since my kids are in their 30s, it's been a while since I've had to think about college visits. I'm pretty sure though neither one was organized enough to start in their junior year; I think they were seniors.

Hi Paul - It's funny how kids are so different. Mine also were chalk and cheese. But neither started college with a plan.

Thanks Charlotte - I'll have to look for it. No idea when it will be available here.

I'm going to spend some time at school today to prep for Monday. Then, afternoon and evening I'll have time for some reading.

39. Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life
Being a writer doesn't mean that everything you write should be published. Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life is a perfect example of this. Li wrote this collection of essays over a two-year period when she was severely depressed and suicidal. She states in one essay, "Coherence and consistency are not what I have been striving for." Mission accomplished. Some of the essays are incoherent to the point of being unintelligible. If Li wrote as therapy, I'm happy that writing this seemed to help; it doesn't follow that all of these essays are worth publishing.

The essays toward the end redeemed the collection somewhat for me. I enjoyed the essay in which she discusses her decision to write in English and what that means to her. The chapter on William Trevor was lovely. So, while there are a few good essays, she could have left others in her journal.

I don't mean to be unsympathetic to Li as obviously she has been very ill, but a great part of the book was almost unreadable for me. Thank God I am done; this was an ER book, and I finished it and wrote my review.

>222 BLBera: I’m sorry that one didn’t work out for you, Beth. Did you finish it because it was an ER, or do you always finish no matter? I can’t finish a book that I’m not enjoying. Sometimes I’ll go back to see if my dislike was just timing, but for the most part I’m done. Too many books that I want to read.

>222 BLBera: - I tried to read that last year, before I went to hear Li speak. I got about 25 pages in and called it a day :)

>223 NanaCC: Colleen: Usually if I quit a book, it's within the first 50 pages. I kept expecting this one to get better, and by the time I realized it wouldn't, I was halfway through, so I stuck it out. I was glad I did because the best two essays were at the very end.

>224 katiekrug: What was she like as a speaker, Katie? If it hadn't been an ER book, I might have stopped about there as well.

She was interesting, but she was being "interviewed" by Mary Gaitskill, and Gaitskill was incredibly annoying and not very good at drawing Li out. So it was a kind of disjointed and awkward conversation.

Maybe she's normally disjointed and awkward - that's the way this collection read. Sorry, I'm being snarky. It was so much work to get through it when I could have been reading cool stuff.

Sick burn, Beth! Bwahahahaha!

Yeah, didn't like it either Beth. Comiserations!

Sorry about the Yiyun Li but on the other hand, one less to add to the TBR for me! I just started Emma, Otto, Russell and James after hearing Nancy Pearl rave about it on a podcast. So far it's ok but not great.

My week of college visits was fun but way too much driving. We'll do a few more and that will be it for the spring. My daughter's already very enthused about Univ of Vermont and American, and has ruled out a number of others we visited (Skidmore, Union, Univ of Delaware). She definitely doesn't want to look at any of the schools my 3 boys attended (Cornell, Univ of New Hampshire and RIT), and she knows she wants a fairly small school but near or in a city. (Somehow Burlington qualifies as a city to her!) I'm very relaxed about it this time around and, thank goodness, so is she!

>228 katiekrug: Appreciation from the Master. Cool. :)

>229 charl08: I'm thinking I should stop requesting ER books - I don't seem to have good luck with them.

>239 BLBera: Glad to help with your TBR pile, Vivian. I enjoyed Emma, Otto, Russell and James; we read it for my book club. I agree with your assessment, "good but not great."

Wow, that's a lot of driving. It's good that she has found some she likes.

I've added Happiness to my wish list, Beth. (Isn't that a great sentence?)

>222 BLBera: Ooph, thanks for taking one for the team.

How are you?

That is a great sentence, Ellen. I think you will love it.

>222 BLBera: You are welcome.

I am well. You? I'll have to zip over to your thread and see if there is any NEWS.

40. Prayers for the Stolen
Clement says, in an essay about this novel: Prayers for the Stolen is a novel about Laydi Garcia Martíne. She is a part of a community, like so many in rural Mexico, that has been decimated by drug traffickers, government agricultural policies, and illegal immigration. Her home is a village near the once glamorous port of Acapulco. Her story, although inspired by truth, is fiction."

The novel begins with Laydi, very matter-of-factly telling how all of the girls in her village are made to be ugly because the pretty ones are stolen by big black SUVs that come roaring into the village. The houses with daughters all had holes dug for the girls to hide in when the SUVs came.

Laydi, with her first-person narration is an excellent choice; the fact that she is telling a horrific story in such a matter-of-fact manner, only emphasizes the horror of the situation. As Clements says, the novel is based on real events. The drug cartel' influence is killing women -- and certainly it can't do a country any good when half the population is terrorized or enslaved. As one of the women notes: "There is nothing else one needs to know about anything...No one visits the women. Everyone visits the men. What more do we need to know about the world?"

Powerful little novel.

>234 BLBera: - This one has been on my shelves for a couple of years. Time to move it up....!

41. The Reader on the 6.27 is a delightful little novel that shows the power of reading.

Guylain Vignolles works at a book-pulping factory. Understandably, he hates his job. His only consolation is that every day, he saves a few pages from destruction. He takes the pages home and dries them out, and every morning on his train ride to work, he reads aloud from these pages. They are random pages, with no coherent plot or resolution, but people seem to enjoy listening. Reading has unexpected results, and Guylain's life begins to change.

Quick, entertaining read. If anyone would like this book, PM me your address and I will send it.

>235 katiekrug: It is intense, but very good, Katie.

Prayers for the Stolen sounds very compelling Beth. And I’ve never heard of it so it’s going on the list.

>236 BLBera: The book is spoken for.

>238 brenzi: It is a good one, Bonnie, a quick read that packs a punch.

Hi, Beth. I always like seeing your book choices. Always something interesting. I am absolutely loving The Right Stuff and the Walker essay collection has also been very good.

Hooray, for the approaching warm weather!

>222 BLBera: Well, that’s discouraging about the Yiyun Li book. That’s the problem with Early Review books. I still have to read the darn thing. I will park myself outside on the first warm sunny day and read it. Maybe I will be so happy to be reading on my glider that it will dispel some of the gloom. I’m glad it’s short.

Hi, Beth! ER books! I can't resist them, and somehow so far the wonderful finds have outweighed the dreadful slogs. That said, I have two lately that have never put in an appearance.
You manage to find books that are not on my radar. Ain't LT GREAT!!!???!!!

>234 BLBera: Not come across this one either, so will add that to the list. Great review.

>236 BLBera: I liked this one - the image of book pulping was rather horrific though...

>240 msf59: Thanks Mark. We're expecting more snow over the weekend.

>241 Donna828: Well, Donna, I hope that you like it more than I did. The second half was better than the first, I thought.

>242 LizzieD: I can't complain, either, Peggy. My previous one did not arrive, but that's only happened a handful of times in six or seven years. Yes, LT is great. :)

>243 charl08: Thanks Charlotte. I think you'll like it.

I think I heard about The Reader on the 6.27 from you. So, thanks.

>222 BLBera: I loved, loved, loved Yiyun Li's The Vagrants (and I think you would too), but I thought Dear Friend In My Life was awful (what I read of it), and I bailed on it quite early. I hope you'll give The Vagrants a try.

Deborah - Good to know. I have The Vagrants on my shelf, but after Dear Friend In My Life, I was hesitant about picking it up. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was awful. I passed my copy on to a friend who is a big admirer of Li; I did warn him, but I'm anxious to see what he thinks of it.

Hi Beth, I'm adding Happiness and Lillian Boxfish to my want list. They both sound great!

I hope you like them, Jan, when you get to them.

Beth, which Theroux book should I read next?

Hi Mary - I think the one I liked the best was The Old Patagonian Express, but I remember liking all of his train trip books. It's been a while.

Scout story: She told me: "I love you more than chocolate."

Beth thanks for the hot tip, onto the list it goes. Love the Scout story. That is very intense love if it's more than chocolate love!

You're very welcome, Mary. Always happy to add to others' lists. :)

Yes, Scout is a keeper.

>251 BLBera: You couldn't get a bigger compliment than that, Beth! Have a good weekend.

I know, Julia. And she does love her chocolate, too. Are you expecting snow this weekend? Six inches here...

Ugh. Right now they are saying 1-3 inches, which isn't bad — if it were February! But it is April and it is supposed to be spring, dagnabit.

I'm with you. I am so sick of winter.

"I am so sick of winter." That could be our mantra, Beth. It was so nice yesterday. I walked the route in shirtsleeves and today I was bundled back up. It doesn't look much better for the weekend. Ugh!

Happy Friday! I am also enjoying Frankenstein in Baghdad and will finish it tomorrow.

>251 BLBera: Wow, you really are a favourite, much loved gran :-)

>246 BLBera: Interesting to hear what a big fan makes of that one. For me it was the first I'd read of her, and not a great experience. I have a novel (that I picked up cheap) sitting on the shelf which I should get to (Kinder than Solitude) to see if it works any better.

Oh dear, I was enjoying a peaceful morning but someone has started the DIY bangs already...

>251 BLBera: Beth, that's a whole lot of love right there :-)

All caught up with you, Beth! And just in time to find that Scout loves you more than chocolate! So full of fabulous. You got me with Happiness - adding it to The List.

>258 msf59: You have more to complain about than I do; you have to be out in the stuff. I keep thinking I can put my boots away... Maybe next week? Have a great weekend. I do want to read Frankenstein in Baghdad soon.

>259 charl08: Being loved more than chocolate is a privilege. You know Charlotte, I feel like I read Kinder than Solitude, but it's not in my catalog, so I wonder if I started it but didn't finish? I'm going to try The Vagrants and if that doesn't work, I'll know that Li isn't for me. I have liked the short fiction of hers that I've read.

Sorry for the Saturday morning banging.

>260 susanj67: Yes, it is, Susan, and I'll take it.

>261 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie - I'll watch for your comments on Happiness. Being a grandma rocks.

Trying to finish Miss Burma because it is due today.

Eager to hear your thoughts on Miss Burma, Beth. And I agree with Deborah in >245 arubabookwoman:. The Vagrants was a big Yes for me and the reason I requested the ER memoir by Yiyun Li.

> 251 Ohhhh! Too sweet!

I also loved Patagonian Express The soccer game alone is worth the price of the book.

Donna - See below. I am composing them right now. I will read The Vagrants eventually, and I am certainly interested in your comments on the essays.

Yes, Rhonda, she is pretty great. Have you read Theroux's other train books? I loved them all -- could never get into his novels, though.

42. Miss Burma is based on the lives of the author's mother and grandparents. It's the story of how people survive catastrophic events that most of us only read about in history books.

Told from the points of view of Khin and Benny and Louisa, their daughter, this story takes us to Burma during the first half of the Twentieth Century. The Karen, an ethnic minority in Burma, is fighting for its rights in a country where the Burmans have historically enslaved and murdered them. All of this is complicated by the colonization of the British and WWII.

I learned a lot about the history of Burma, which is the most interesting part of the novel. I thought the somewhat tumultuous relationship of Benny and Khin sometimes slowed the flow of the novel.

And it's no surprise that both the British and the Americans do not come off well in the story.

It was interesting to read this with the Rohingya, another ethnic minority in Burma, currently in the news. It seems like the situation of these ethnic groups has not changed much in the last fifty years -- and in fact, I also discovered that Minnesota has the largest population of Karen refugees.

Really good historical fiction.

Not sure what I'll read next; this weekend I have to do some reading for class, Brave New World and some grading. We're coming to the last month of the semester, so things are picking up.

Hah - I had to go back to check again where you live. No wonder you still have boots and winter coat out! We're about to get some of the rain, but that'll be it, I think. The weather is certainly getting weirder and wilder. I read this week that the Gulf Stream is slowing down, which will surely change things more. Even more interesting, that change in speed has raised sea level on the East Coast of the U.S. (and Canada, I imagine) because the force of the current normally shoves water hard across the Atlantic towards Europe, but the slower pace is allowing it level out some. Five inches of sea level increase in a couple of decades. It made me think of a huge bathtub, which it is, really. We're just too tiny to see it.

The Reader on the 6.27 sounds good. I've recommended it to our library.

>219 PaulCranswick: Paul, I read the news of your children's college pursuits and thought how far away from you they'll be. Will you be able to see them occasionally? Are you thinking of retiring to the UK at some point?

Our spring consists of a lot of rain and water, so far. The temps aren't bad, but I am weary of the rain. Nice review of Miss Burma. I think I enjoyed it more thank you did, but of course we all vary in what we like. I finished Sing , Unburied, Sing just lately and I'm trying to find a lighter read .

>251 BLBera: That Scout is a heart-stealer!
I'm now off to research Li to see whether I can read her. Honestly, she sounds grim. I'll try a novel rather than essays or short stories.

>267 auntmarge64: Yes, Margaret, we have a new layer of snow. It's not that unusual to get some snow in April, but it has been unseasonably cold. Yes, I just read an article on NPR about the slowing of the Atlantic current. I found The Reader on the 6.27 enjoyable. I hope you can get your hands on it.

>268 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah - We can always complain about our weather, right? I wouldn't mind rain at this point. I did enjoy Miss Burma, but I did find it slow in places. I loved Sing, Unburied, Sing. So far, the long-listed books I've read have been good ones. Have a great Sunday. How is the new grand baby?

>269 LizzieD: Yes, she is, Peggy. It sounds like if you read Li, you should start with the fiction.

43. The Merchant's House is a promising start to a series. DS Wesley Peterson is newly stationed in the port of Tradmouth. He arrives just as a murdered woman is found. The mystery has plenty of twists and turns; I figured it out the same time Wesley did. While he is investigating, we are introduced to the area and his coworkers.

In Tradmouth, he also meets an old friend, Neil, who is an archeologist. We find out that Wesley studied archeology at the university. When Neil find the human bones of a murder victim in his dig, Wesley becomes interested.

Good start to a series. I like the addition of archeology and the mixing of old and new crimes.

I have a paper copy of the book that I will send to anyone who wants it. PM me your address and it's yours.

Catching up and adding many books to my list.

>145 BLBera: I think I'd like Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

>175 BLBera: You got me with Happiness too.

> and The Reader on the 6.27

You got me with a BB for The Merchant's House. My library looks to have the other books in that series but not that one. They seem to often skip the first book in a series and then start on the second one once the series has become popular. It's kind of annoying if you want to start with the first book in the series.

I hope your weather has improved and you are starting to see signs of spring, Beth.

>266 BLBera: I've reserved this from the library. As you may have seen in my thread, my niece is married to a Karen (Thai in his case), but I don't know much about their history.

Hi Beth, I've just started When I Hit You - I think this might be my stand out book of the longlist I've read so far.

Happy Wednesday, Beth. Good review of Miss Burma. That one is firmly on the list. I have "Happiness" home from the library. I hope I can bookhorn it in.

>272 SuziQoregon: Hi Juli - Happiness is wonderful, and I think you would like the others as well.

>273 Familyhistorian: Meg - I would send it to you, but it would actually be cheaper for me to buy you a copy through Amazon and have them send it to you. Postage to Canada doesn't have book rates...

Right now snow is falling about an inch an hour. But the weatherman said this is the last snow. We'll see.

>274 SandDune: Hi Rhian. I'll watch for your comments. The Karen culture and history sounds fascinating, at least the little I got from this novel.

>275 charl08: Ooh, Charlotte, that sounds intriguing. I have some library books I have to read before I get to any more from the list.

>276 msf59: Thanks Mark. I hope you get to Happiness - it is wonderful.

I am about 100 pages into The Female Persuasion and enjoying it. It reminds me of The Interestings in some ways.

Bim/Beth/Twin---Snow is falling an inch an hour?!?! I see winter is not done with you yet. Sorry....

>277 BLBera: But the weatherman said this is the last snow

Yeah, we've heard that before, she said grumpily. We ended up not getting much accumulation yesterday and supposedly it's going to get warmer the rest of the week. We'll see, indeed.

>277 BLBera: I really liked it Beth - this is the one that I want to win now, I think. She writes so well!

Sorry about the snow. We've FINALLY got some sunshine.

>278 Berly: Hey, Kith, Kim, Twin - Yes, we set a record with yesterday's snowfall - the snowiest April ever, since they've been keeping records. Woo hoo. But I think it will be melting; we have some 50-degree days coming up.

>279 rosalita: Well, I guess we can't blame the weatherman; he isn't making the weather... Here's hoping for some warmer days. I just don't want it to go from winter to summer with 90-degree days.

>280 charl08: I can't wait, Charlotte. I hope I can get to it soon. I do have a copy, but I am at the end of the semester - only three weeks left - so I don't know when I'll get to it. It is very sunny here today, and I suspect by this time next week, the snow will be gone. And probably tomorrow, on my Scout day, we'll have some puddles to jump in.

We had book club today to talk about Bad Feminist, and only one person liked it. I think it's hard to sit and read essays straight through because how could anyone not like them? Oh well. Our discussions this year have been disappointing, with people not reading them or not having much to say about the books. Sigh.

Bummer. I would think BF would be a great book for discussion. I fared better with my group and I Feel Bad About My Neck -- finally! We had 7/10 show up and after a great discussion I kicked the last person out at about 11:00pm--some people have to go to work you know! LOL

Sorry to hear your book club didn't come though with good discussion for Bad Feminist, Beth. I really need to read that one sometime soon.

Sunshine and 50s today. Fingers crossed we've seen the end of winter for good this time!

>283 Berly: It happens. Some of the more thoughtful members weren't there, so that makes a difference. Have a great weekend, Twin. Remember to take it easy.

>284 rosalita: I love the Gay essays, Julia. I reread some of them in preparation for the meeting, and I loved them as much the second time. I would love to have a drink, or two, with her. Fingers and toes crossed. I actually wore a jacket and not a winter coat yesterday.

Scout wisdom: "Stars aren't really pointed, you know. They're really round. They just use their imagination." And, "The dinosaurs are dead. An asteroid hit the earth. But I don't think the pterodactyl is dead because it can fly."

This sounds interesting: https://www.npr.org/2018/04/21/600902444/how-to-suppress-womens-writing-three-de...

Scout might be right about the pterodactyl...have you ever watched a pelican fly?

My five year old grandson’s joke.. why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom? Because the p is silent.

Morning, Beth. Happy Sunday! Still enjoying the Wolitzer? I have a very short novel to get to and then I will jump right into Happiness: A Novel. Should end the month on a strong note.

>288 NanaCC: Great joke, Colleen. I'm not sure she knows about silent letters yet, so I might have to wait on that one. She does love pee and fart jokes, though, so I imagine it will be popular.

Hi Mark - Yes, I have about 150 pages left in The Female Persuasion and like it -- not as much as Happiness, though. You are in for a treat. Have a great Sunday. I hope spring is coming to your part of the country.

>286 BLBera: I love the Scout wisdom, Beth :-) I am going to try and use my imagination more, and who knows what I might achieve?

>288 NanaCC: I hadn't heard this one - love it :-)

Love the Scout wisdom, and have saved the link. I just picked up a copy of Ada Twist: Scientist from the World Museum in Liverpool. Such a charming picture book!

>291 susanj67: True, Susan - imagination is important.

>292 charl08: Scout loves Ada Twist as well, Charlotte. I'd like to read How to Suppress Women's Writing. It's too bad we still have to talk about it.

I love the Scout-isms, especially the one about the stars. I think I'll take that as my new personal motto.

>287 BLBera: Sounds vey relevant. I'd love to read it. It's not in my library system (yet), but I will keep on the lookout for it.

I have Bad Feminist on the TBR pile. I purchased it after being smitten with the Olive Editions on Ellen's thread.

I do have trouble reading essays one after another. I'm even taking breaks with the 'lessons' in On Tyranny which is about as short a book of essays as is possible.

Hi Janet - Are you having spring yet? It's been pretty nice the last couple of days. Maybe the snow will be gone in another week.

Yes, Scout is a keeper. I reread a few of the essays for my book discussion, and liked them as well on the second read. But, one essay per day is good.

Hi Beth, I am catching up and absolutely loved Scouts' declaration of love! I read Prayers For the Stolen a couple of years ago and remember being very impressed by it. I was also interested to read your throughts on Miss Burma as I am planning of reading that one at some point in the future.

Hi Beth! We have had a lovely weekend here, all sunshine and flowers. Bad for the allergies, but otherwise wonderful. I am reading Miss Burma now. So far I like it.

The shortlist is up Beth! I'm sad Miss Burma didn't make it, and a bit confused by The Idiot making it so far, but otherwise seems like a good mix.

https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/reading-room/news/revealing-2018-womens-...

I just started The Idiot this morning so I was glad to see I'm making progress on the shortlist. But I'm also frustrated that Sight and When I Hit You are not available in the US. I'm about halfway through The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock and am enjoying it.

Hope you have a good week! Spring is here finally - I spent a few hours in Central Park on Saturday and the flowers are really glorious.

>296 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy - Thanks. Scout is lots of fun.

>297 banjo123: I guess spring is arriving here as well, Rhonda. I am sneezing. Time to get out the Claritin (budding trees do it for me). I'll watch for your comments on Miss Burma.

>298 charl08: Thanks Charlotte - I've read half, and my two favorites are on it, so not bad. I will try to read the three others soon.

>299 vivians: Hi Vivian - I got a package today. Thanks! I'll return the favor one of these days. I hope we have flowers here soon. The snow is nearly gone.

https://www.npr.org/2018/04/23/604910290/art-of-the-wasted-day-makes-a-case-for-...
This one goes on my WL.

>299 vivians: I want a copy of *Mermaid & Mrs. H* and Happiness and *Female Persuasion*. This is a truly dangerous place.
Hi, Beth!

Glad to help you, Peggy. :)

45. The Female Persuasion

I love Meg Wolitzer, so I had high hopes for this novel. She didn't disappoint me.

In many ways, this is the coming-of-age story of Greer Kadesky. She starts college a quiet, studious girl, with colored binders and highlighted notes. Then, she meets Faith Frank, and her life becomes more focused; she becomes a feminist. Later, "...she thought that maybe there had been a series of moments, and that this was the way it was for most people: the small realizations leading you first toward an important understanding and then toward doing something about it." As she grows and changes, she also realizes that life doesn't always go as planned.

Wolitzer also gives us Greer's back story, as well as those of her best friend Zee, her boyfriend Cory and Faith Frank. Not all of these stories are equally compelling, but overall this is a wonderful novel that shows, through Greer and Zee, the various faces of feminism -- and it does offer hope for the future.

Next: The new Richard Jury, The Knowledge - I love this quirky series by Martha Grimes, and it's been a while since she's written one.

Hey Beth! OMG so much to catch up on over here. First and foremost, I see you and Mark both read and enjoyed Happiness A Novel so on to the wishlist it goes.
The Reader on the 6.27 also looks good and short to boot!

Wow, I had no idea that Grimes was still writing that series, Beth. I dropped out quite some time ago — I think The Horse You Came In On was the last one I read. I enjoyed them, especially the earlier ones.

>302 LizzieD: Hi LizzieD - if you'd like my Mermaid copy I'm happy to send it when I'm done!

>305 Carmenere: I'm always happy to add to your WL, Lynda.

>306 rosalita: You have a few to enjoy then, Julia. She doesn't churn out one every year, so I have been able to keep up.

>307 vivians: Vivian, it seems as though you are doing a good job of releasing books after you've read them. You are an inspiration. I must do better.

Glad to see The Female Persuasion worked for you. I've been seeing good reviews about that one.

Hi Chelle. I hope you and yours are all well. It was a good one. If you are a Wolitzer fan, you'll like this one.

Oh, I like Meg Wolitzer, so I am happy to hear that this one is up to snuff as well.

Ya think it is time for a new thread, Twin. Just saying....

(I am being the thread police today. I left a hint on Paul's thread and Richard's. Now yours. LOL)

Your wish is my command, Twin. I was going to wait until June when I get back from Ireland.