What are you reading the week of July 7, 2018?

I only have about fifty pages left in Red Star Tales.

I need someone to step in and start this thread for me next weekend. I have to go out of town on family business, and I'm only going to have limited (if any) internet access. I'll be back the week after next. I just need someone to cover the week of the July 14. Thanks!

I will also be out of town, fredbacon. Though my trip will be for a wedding.

Still from last week: Anna Karenina, Vamos a Leer, Selected Poetry and Prose of Coleridge, A Brief History of Time, The Mists of Avalon, Second Spanish Reader: Bilingual for Speakers of English, Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons), and the audio of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as read by Jim Dale.

I finished Fellow Travelers. It wasn't my favorite book. It was the story of a homosexual relationship, between two quite troubled, not terribly likable men set against the political scene of the McCarthy era. As historical fiction, I often got lost in all the names, plots, and counter--plots.

>1 fredbacon: Have a safe trip! I don't mind starting it up since I'm usually here first thing anyway.

I'm reading The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden as part of a readathon this weekend.

When I finish I'll complete The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King. I think I'm becoming a Dark Tower fan.

Still reading The Quantum Thief, The Henchmen's Book Club, and The Element of Fire.

Yesterday I finished reading The Bird Tribunal by Norwegian writer Agnes Ravatn. Although it was quickly paced and deliciously creepy, I found it quite derivative, and was extremely dissatisfied with the ending.

I'm between books right now, and have not yet decided whether I should read The Drowning by Camilla Lackberg or The Last Lullaby by Carin Gerhardsen (both Swedish).

As I'm reading so much Scandinavian fiction, I've decided to learn to read Swedish so that I can read Henning Mankell, amongst others, in the original language. I've not got far, but I can tell you that jag läser en bok, which means "I'm reading a book". :)

>5 PaperbackPirate: Thanks. I finished up Red Star Tales last night, and I've started Monday Starts on Saturday . It looks like it's going to be a hoot.

How are y'all linking your replies to one another? I've poked around and Googled, but I haven't been able to figure it out. I feel as though I'm overlooking something simple. Thanks!

>9 Zoes_Human: Type in the greater than symbol > and the number of the post you are replying to.

I finished Pachinko which was good, but not great. It was interesting to learn about the Korean experience in Japan, but I always like to be sorry to finish a family saga, not feel relieved.

On a lighter note, I’ve started Palisades Park. It’s very nostalgic and the Park’s tv/radio jingle keeps going through my head but you probably need to have grown up in the 60s in the NY/NJ metro area to know what I’m taking about.

Finished The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. I found the gobbledy speak annoying and I'm still not sure what the point of the story was.

Next up is a children's book because I need simplicity, Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke.

>10 seitherin: Thank you! I tried typing > with the name and colon as I saw, but I never even thought to use the number.

Call the Midwife – Jennifer Worth
Digital audiobook narrated by Nicola Barber.
4****

Originally titled: The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times. This was renamed to coincide with the popular television series. And in case you haven’t seen the TV show, the subtitle is really all the synopsis you need.

Worth was a 22-year-old young woman, with no particular religious affiliation, who found herself assigned to Nonnatus House, a convent, for her training as a midwife. She got an excellent education, more practical experience than she bargained for, and an appreciation for the spiritual beliefs that helped the sisters cope with the realities of their work.

Worth has been criticized for how brutally honest and graphic some of these recollections are. But I was not particularly bothered by this. She was working in an impoverished area of London, in the 1950s. Times were hard, many buildings were still in dilapidated condition following damage sustained in WW2, prostitution was rampant, and tenements were crowded. I felt that the gritty reality of her experiences added to the memoir.

She also makes time to show the tenderness of a loving marriage, parents who are devoted to raising their children despite their limited resources, and friends / colleagues on whom one can rely. I think she did a good job of honestly recollecting her experiences during this time frame.

The printed book includes a Appendix that addresses the difficulties of “writing the Cockney dialect” and a glossary of terms. These are not included in the audio version.

Nicola Barber does a fine job narrating the audiobook. I’m sure that my devotion to the TV series helped, because I clearly pictured the scenes/actresses from the show.

>11 Copperskye: I had exactly the same reaction to Pachinko; I learned a lot but couldn’t wait for it to end.

Now I’m on to another doorstop of a book. So far Lonesome Dove is proving more promising.

>15 NarratorLady: Lonesome Dove is great - you won’t want it to end!

Despite promising myself I would cut down on reading more than one book- I am reading 3 books now that are so good. The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie, Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory: The Complete Story of Willy Wonka, the Golden Ticket, and Roald Dahl's Most Famous Creation by Lucy Mangan and Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin!

>13 Zoes_Human: You're very welcome. I'm glad I could help.

Finished The Henchmen's Book Club by Danny King. Liked the conceit of the book club.

Next up is Raven Black by Ann Cleeves.

>11 Copperskye: & >15 NarratorLady: Wow, I absolutely loved Pachinko; I had never read about that topic before and maybe it had been a while at the time I read it last year since I'd read a really absorbing book. I was sorry to have it end and shortly afterwards chose a previous book by the author (Free Food For Millionaires which paled in comparison and dragged on forever).

Still reading My life with Bob by Pamela Paul. Interesting but not gripping hence the slow read.

Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory: The Complete Story of Willy Wonka, the Golden Ticket, and Roald Dahl's Most Famous Creation
Lucy Mangan
4/5 stars
This is a celebration of the phenomenon of Roald Dahl’s most famous book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. The writing of the book is covered, the author is discussed and you get to see a lot of the cover art of the different book versions by various artists. The two movies are also dissected. And of course there has to be a discussion made of all the candy produced under the Willy Wonka brand. Finally I was gob smacked to learn that was there was an actual opera production of it. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh7GvGoiTtY Very interesting!

I finished Camilla Lackberg's The Drowning today, and as it ended on a cliff-hanger of sorts, I have decided to jump in and read the next book in the series, The Lost Boy.

>20 framboise: I know I’m in the minority-most everyone seems to love it! I really liked learning about the conditions the Koreans faced in Japan. So sad. It’ll stick with me.

>19 seitherin: The first book in one of my favorite series. I hope you’re enjoying Raven Black!

>23 Copperskye: So far I'm enjoying the book though nothing of consequence has happened at nearly half the book read.

Finished The Element of Fire by Martha Wells. Enjoyed it very much.

Next up is Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik.

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
by Lindsay Currie
4/5 stars
Tessa and her family move to Chicago from Florida so her father can play for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has to leave behind her best friend and familiar life. They move into an older house in the city but things do not go well from the start. Mysterious noises and flashing lights occur and her brother’s ventriloquist doll starts crying real tears. Tessa is able to recruit her new school friend to help investigate the weird occurrences and uncover the mystery of her new house. This not just for kids' book is loosely based on real events. Interesting!

Finally finished The Mists of Avalon. Love the concept, the execution dragged for me a bit. Then I learned a thing about the author at the end. Old news to the world, but new to me. I'm a bit disconnected at times. I'm tired, and it was awkward.

And I've started Gaybash, which won't link as a touchstone. Perhaps because I'm the only person who has it listed here. :) It's a Goodreads Giveaway win from an indy author, so I'm hoping I like it. I love indies, but not enough to lie about a book.

Finished The Day She Disappeared - good psychological thriller. About half way done with The James Deans, #3 in Reed Farrel Coleman's Moe Prager series.

Finished Raven Black by Ann Cleeves. Slow starter but I enjoyed it very much once I adapted to the pacing. Next up is the second book in the series, White Nights.

I finished listening to Less by Andrew Sean Greer. Next up for listening is Red Clocks by Leni Zumas.

Finished reading Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War.

Next up is The Same Night Awaits Us All by Bulgarian author, Artemis Joukowski.

Working onThe Myth of Perpetual Summer;Invitation to aBonfire; and Everyone Knows You Go Home

Bitter Grounds - Sandra Benítez
4****

This is a sweeping historical epic covering three generations of two families: the Tabors, who are aristocratic land-owners; and the Prieto clan, the servants/peasants employed by the Tabors. Through these families the reader learns something of the history of El Salvador from about 1932 to 1975, including the role of the Church, the military, and the influence of the United States on the politics of this nation. But the main story line of the novel remained focused on these two families and their interaction over several generations.
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I really enjoyed the way Benítez showed these two classes interacting. As much as they felt they were different and as much as they were kept apart (or at least the upper class tried to separate themselves from the lower class), they were inextricably linked and their lives held many parallels. Mothers and daughters disagreed; husbands betrayed their wives; children refused to listen; secrets were kept; and everyone was addicted to the radio soap opera, Los Dos (and yet never recognized how that story line also paralleled their real-life stories).

This won the American Book Award in 1998.

Please share what you're reading now over here.