What are you reading the week of July 27, 2019?

I finished up A Crime in Holland and now I'm reading The Grand Banks Café.

Enjoying the unique historical novel Cherokee America by Margaret Verble, set in the Cherokee Nation, post Civil War era.

Enjoying this library audiobook ~

Lost and Found: a novel by Danielle Steel

(Maddie is 58 and a photographer/a home accident leads to re-evaluating past choices/road-trip adventure/romance)

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the fascinating The Longest Debate: a Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by Charles W. Whalen and Barbara Whalen, originally published in 1985. Charles Whalen was a Congressman who took office in the late 1960s. Barbara Whalen, Charles' wife, was a journalist. This book is a riveting, though detail laden, look at how the House and Senate worked their way through the many political obstacles thrown in the path of this historic piece of lawmaking.

Finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Enjoyed it. It's the boys' equivalent of Cinderella.

And in other news, I'm still reading Nine Perfect Strangers and Happy Doomsday.

hee, never thought of it that way before (that movie came out when I was in elem school and still listen to the sountrack now and again. I have never actually read the book!!! Think I need to do that sometime)

My local library was having a book sale and happened upon two books I meant to read a while back but had forgotten about: The Soloist and The Cello Suites: JS Bach, Pablo Casals and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece Now reading the latter, a fascinating read of the history behind the music, that begs to be read to the Suites themselves. Just finished the first section while listening to the first suite several times; now on to the second.

I am not a musician myself but love Baroque music and the Cello Suites are among my favorite pieces. So I am in heaven...

Finished listening to the nicely done novel, A Long Way From Home.
Next up for listening is #18 in the Stephanie Plum series, Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich.

I finished reading Leaving Tangier, a brilliant novel. Next up for reading is Special Topics In Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl.

This week I've read The Lost Man by Jane Harper (excellent); American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (good), and Pretty Girls by Karen Slaughter, which was enjoyable. I'm going to turn my attention now to The Far Country by Nevil Shute.

I've now finished The Longest Debate: a Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by Charles W. Whalen and Barbara Whalen. This is a fascinating, in-depth, day-by-day account of the creation, debate and passage of one of the most important pieces of legislation to ever come out of the United States Congress. Charles Whalen served in the U.S. Congress from 1967 to 1979, so although he wasn't part of the proceedings described in his book, he knew a lot of the participants and was intimately familiar with the workings of the two chambers. Barbara Whalen, Charles' wife, was, among other things, a newspaper columnist in their native Ohio.

The book takes the bill from its inception during the John F. Kennedy administration, urged upon the president by his brother, Robert, the attorney general, as a moral imperative, through Kennedy's assassination and to the legislation's passage with even stronger support than Kennedy's by his successor in the White House, Lyndon Johnson. Committee meetings, caucuses, amendments, pressure and support from civil rights leaders, individual arm-twisting and cajoling, all are delved into here in a riveting, detailed presentation.

I'm reading The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir. The first short story took me awhile to get through because it's pretty sad. I'm enjoying the second story a lot more, written stream-of-conscious style and with a lot of anger.

Wow it's been a very long time since I checked in!

So I got a sudden interest in reading gay mystery fiction from the 70's, 80' and 90's. I'm 52 and queer so these are all titles depicting progressing history and attitudes from my lifetime. Interesting to watch how things change from pre-AIDS culture to "silence equals death" pre-antiretroviral AIDS culture, into post-drug cocktail culture. Haven't read into undetectable or current PrEP culture.

So:
1970 - Fadeout, the first Dave Brandstetter mystery by Joseph Hansen
1988 - Golden Boy, the second Henry Rios mystery by Michael Nava
2008 - First You Fall, the first Kevin Connor mystery by Scott Sherman
2011 - Second You Sin, the second Kevin Connor mystery by Scott Sherman

Dave Brandstetter - insurance investigator
Henry Rios - lawyer
Kevin Connor - rent boy

Branstetters are the best as far as mysteries, almost hard-boiled
Henry Rios is fine, read more for the AIDS culture and how it plays into romance
Connors are silly but fun popcorn

I've got more on my list so I'll be hitting all those decades again, and so far I've left out the 90's.

Finished Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. I don't know which bothered me more: the ethically / morally reprehensible acts of the protagonists or the author's attempt to make the ending a touchy feely smoochy ending thanks to the reprehensible acts.

I'm not reading Nevil Shute as I'd planned. I remembered that I'd purchased a hot-off-the-presses English translation of Jo Nesbo's latest, Knife, and I dived into that instead.

I started The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J Ryan Stradal as well as continuing with Costalegre, Three Things about Elsi and The Hearts Invisible Furies

I finished going through a stack of my "between books" over the weekend:

* “My Lost Dollar” from Laugh with Leacock by Stephen Leacock
* Faith/Fe” from It's All In the Frijoles: 100 Famous Latinos Share Real-Life Stories, Time-Tested Dichos, Favorite Folktales, and Inspiring Words of Wisdom by Yolanda Nava
* "Too Slutty: Nicki Minaj" from Too Fat Too Slutty Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman by Anne Helen Petersen
* "The Meeting of the Ways" - Part Three, Chapter 22 from the novel The Apostle by Sholem Asch - Finished!
* “The Little Mysteries of Pomp and Circumstance,” by John O’Hara from Esquire Magazine - 40th Anniversary Celebration edited by Don Erickson

I'll post my comments on The Apostle later today. I've now begun the fourth of John Buchan's five "Richard Hannay" thrillers, The Three Hostages, first published in 1925.

Finished yet another satisfying Stephanie Plum installment, Explosive Eighteen.

Next up for listening is The Mistake by K.L. Slater.

Friday and Saturday I read G.K. Chesterton's St. Francis of Assisi and found it a muddling, exasperating waste of time. As far as I can see, Chesterton never uses one word when twenty-five will do. Also he spends an inordinate amount of time telling you what he isn't going to tell you and why as well as what he's going to tell you later and why. He ended up not telling me much of anything about St. Francis, the world he lived in or the movement he founded. The Man Who Was Thursday made me dizzy and St. Francis of Assisi gave me a major headache. So far, except for the Fr. Brown stories, I am not impressed with Chesterton!

Saturday and Sunday I read this week's Economist and then went back to the May/June issue of Contemporary Soundtrack, but got distracted by something in "Notes from the Music Section". This section includes listings of newly added materials. One of these caught my attention, Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion, a lecture series from The Teaching Company presented by Bill Messenger. Spent yesterday afternoon listening to that and will probably finish it this afternoon. Very enjoyable. Last evening I returned to Contemporary Soundtrack and will probably finish that tonight..

I do not normally read mysteries but I found The Chinese Nail Murders fascinating. The three mysteries are based upon legends of the Chinese magistrate, Judge Dee, made twice as interesting by their setting in Imperial China.

As mentioned above, I finished The Apostle by Sholem Asch. Asch was a Yiddish writer, a Polish Jew who wrote about shtetl life in Europe and became very well known, with his work being translated into many languages. He moved to America in his 30s and began writing about the Jewish immigrant experience here. Late in his career, however, he wrote three books in what became known as his "Founders of Christianity" series: The Nazarene, The Apostle, and Mary. This did not go over well in the Jewish community of the time (The Apostle was published in 1942), and he lost readership and his job. This despite that fact that Asch maintained that the novels were meant to bridge the gap between Jews and Christians by demonstrating in fiction that Christianity was in fact a deeply Jewish phenomenon at its core. As my old man would have said, however, "Lotsa luck." And so I was curious about The Apostle. It is the fictional story of early Christianity as seen through the eyes of Saul, who become the Apostle Paul.

Once he is converted and begins preaching about the Messiah, Paul schlepps back and forth across the Middle East, founding congregations and converting Jew and Gentile alike to the new faith. Being Jewish myself, I never knew the details of Paul's life nor much about the turning point where Paul stopped preaching only to Jews that their Messiah had arrived and instead insisted on preaching to everyone, thus taking the new religion out of the realm of Judaism. (And that is, of course, to whatever extent this book is faithful to what is know of those events.) So that was interesting. Unfortunately about 95% of the storytelling is done in flat, expository prose. There's almost nothing to draw us into the narrative for its own sake. At 775 pages, the book is long and tedious, so I can't really recommend it.

I am re-reading the Longmire books by Craig Johnson, currently on As the Crow Flies.

Finished the May/June Contemporary Soundtrack and started July/August.

BTW I finished Part 1 of Darwin and the Mysterious Mr. X, the section including Eiseley's essays, and have started Part 2, "Documentary Evidence". I'm not a scientist, merely an interested layman, and papers from Victorian scientific journals are somewhat beyond me. So, I may have to give up at this point.

>20 rocketjk: What a pity the book is long and tedious. It's a potentially fascinating concept.

Dorothy Must Die – Danielle Paige
Digital audio read by Devon Sorvari
3***

Amy Gumm hates living in the trailer park in Kansas with her alcoholic mother. Suspended from school, she’s caught off guard by a tornado warning. The twister makes a direct hit on their trailer and she’s aware of a sensation of flying – then she wakes on the ceiling of the overturned structure. Rescued by a passerby, she’s puzzled by the changed terrain – until she notices the yellow brick road.

This is an imaginative retelling … or perhaps sequel … to Frank L Baum’s The Wizard of Oz books. The characters are all here, but they aren’t as they were portrayed in Baum’s classic books, or the much beloved movie. Dorothy has become power hungry, convinced she needs ALL the magic in Oz to maintain her hold on the populace. Amy is drafted into the rebellion and tasked with killing Dorothy so Oz can return to the “good” place it once was.

I did think that Amy was a decent heroine – self-reliant, principled, tenacious, willing to sacrifice for the greater good. She’s helped by a cast of supporting characters, from a formerly flying monkey to a couple of good witches. And I liked the nod to Judy Garland by giving Amy the last name Gumm (Judy Garland’s birth name). However, the “mean girl” theme was a little heavy-handed for my tastes (and my stage of life). So my final verdict is “average” – fast-moving plot, interesting twist on a well-known tale, but nothing extraordinary. Also, I have a pet peeve about cliff-hanger endings, which this one has. Well, it won’t work in my case. I have no intention of reading more of this series.

Devon Sorvari does a fine job of voicing the audiobook. She sets a good pace and has the skill needed to differentiate the many characters.

>20 rocketjk: I never knew the details of Paul's life nor much about the turning point where Paul stopped preaching only to Jews that their Messiah had arrived and instead insisted on preaching to everyone, thus taking the new religion out of the realm of Judaism. (And that is, of course, to whatever extent this book is faithful to what is know of those events.) So that was interesting. Unfortunately about 95% of the storytelling is done in flat, expository prose. There's almost nothing to draw us into the narrative for its own sake. At 775 pages, the book is long and tedious, so I can't really recommend it.

I have heard of Achs but never read any of his works, looks like I still wont :)If you want a good read that I think comes close to what may have happened, Read Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth He is a good writer for one, and I think gets a lot right about the time and place (tho his questions about Jesus being illiterate could not possibly be correct) Its important to remember that his take on the subject are theories, and have been questioned by many. But he makes many good points. Part of the Jewish/Genilt split may have happened after the destruction of the second temple, an dispora that resultied from it. Anyway I found it a worthwhile read.

>25 cindydavid4: Thanks for the info about Zealot. I've heard good things about that. As for Asch, I wouldn't let my review of The Apostle put you off him. As I mentioned, most of his works are very highly regarded, and I'm looking forward to looking into one of his other novels one of these days.

Oh, ok. I'll have to check reviews and see which one to start with, thanks

Mr. Dickens and His Carol
Samantha Silva
4.5/5 stars
This is the fictional story of Dickens whose last book was a flop and his need to get a best seller before he goes bankrupt. I thought this was quite charming and a very fast read.

I finished Daisy Johnson's amazing Everything Under and Scott Spencer's smart, touching Men in Black.
Now I'm reading The Redeemed by Tim Pears.

Just finished Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen. Right before that it was The Obsession by Nora Roberts. About to give The October List by Jeffery Deaver a go :)...

I am currently reading The Great Hunt and enjoying it so far. Planning to start with Shell seekers soon.

Finished the July/August Contemporary Soundtrack and read Popular Science for Summer 2019. It was the magazine of the month and, never having read it before, I thought I'd give it a try. The features were good quality, though the overall editorial style is a bit folksy for my taste. Still, the issue was packed with interesting and useful info. I'll keep it and go through it again.

There's Elements of Jazz to finish. After that, it's essentially a dart throw - I have soooooooooooo many books and magazines on my BARD bookshelf and wish list and in my Audible library. I'll have to wait and see what strikes my fancy.

Finished Happy Doomsday by Davis Sosnowski. Mostly meh.

Added The Frame-Up by Meghan Scott Molin to my reading rotation.

Finishing up this library audiobook ~

Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier (4 stars)
(Ohio, mid 1800s/Honor Bright is a Quaker who left England after a major trauma/Underground Railroad/quilting/historical fiction)

and

Starting this OverDrive audiobook ~

Evvie Drake Starts Over: A Novel by Linda Holmes (4 stars)
(Maine/Evvie is young widow/Dean is an ex-pro baseball player and Evvie's tenant/romance with serious topics sprinkled throughout)

Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang isn't off to a great start with me.

As expected, finished the highly enjoyable Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion last night. Sticking with the topic, I next picked up Jazz by Gary Giddins and Scott Knowles DeVeaux, which looks pretty thorough.

>36 Catreona: FYI, you've got the wrong touchstone for Giddens' Jazz. I have read Gidden's Visions of Jazz, which is excellent. I also highly recommend The History of Jazz by Ted Gioia.

I finished listening to The Mistake, a good suspense novel.

Next up for listening is the Swedish novel, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald.

>38 hemlokgang: I'm not sure you touchstone is going to the right book for "The Mistake"...

Superheavy by Kit Chapman. The best popular science book I've read in a while - an absolute page turner that manages to weave together the most fascinating stories from the history of heavy element discovery with the momentum of an airport thriller. Very easy to dip in and out of too. It's the International Year of the Periodic table and this is the one you want to be reading.

I also finished Consider Phlebas for the second time. Classic Banks in every way.

The Two Faces Of January – Patricia Highsmith
3***

From the book jacket. Athens, 1962. Rydal Keener is an American expat working as a tour guide and running cons on the side. He is mostly killing time, searching for adventure. But in Cheter MacFarland, a charismatic American businessman, and his flirtatious and beautiful young wife, Colette, Rydal finds more than he bargained for. After an incident at a hotel puts the wealthy couple in danger, Rydal ties his fate to theirs.

My reactions
The only book by Patrician Highsmith that I’ve read previously was The Talented Mr Ripley. Once again, Highsmith manages to give us unlikeable characters that behave in ways that just keep this reader enthralled and interested, turning pages to find out what twists, turns and surprises the plot has in store.

As with Ripley, Keener is subject to “thinking” not with his head, but with his …. Well, he reacts based on lust and desire. Why he gets involved with these two to begin with is a mystery to me. And he gets entangled in their mess to a greater extent than he ever dreamed possible. But “in for a penny, in for a pound.”

Rydal and Chester try to outmaneuver one another, always thinking two or three steps ahead (or not). They are both facile liars, but hardly a match for Colette. Frankly you can’t trust a word any of them says. But that only adds to the suspense. The ending was a complete surprise to me, and I can’t say it was completely satisfying.

Still, this was a fast and entertaining read, though I did have to remind myself of the time and place and recall how much easier it was to change one’s identity in that era. Apparently, there was a movie made around 2014, but I never saw it nor even remember hearing much about it.

What does one read after finishing The Rosie Project? The Rosie Effect, of course. The perfect antidote to living through these times. The laughs provoked are because the writing is honestly funny.

>37 rocketjk: Thanks. Hopefully it's fixed now. I'm pretty sure the Ted Gioia book is on my BARD wish list.

Abandoned The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. I just didn't grab me. Moving on to Dangerous Minds by Janet Evanovich.

I finished the third book, The Redeemed of a trilogy by Tim Pears. The trilogy was a very satisfying read for me. Set in part in England's West Country -- Somerset, Devon, Cornwall -- it takes place in the first thirty years of the 20th Century.

Now I'm reading The Lemon Table, stories by Julian Barnes.

Finished Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence and The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Enjoyed both of them.

Next into the rotation are David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley.

I finished Let Nothing You Dismay. I can't say I enjoyed it. The main character, rather immature and pathetic, spends a day traveling from one social group's party to another. That provides the author with the opportunity to make pithy commentary about the various groups (lower class family, artsy fringe, celebrities, filthy rich, etc). All in all, his witticisms seemed forced and over done, only occasionally funny.

I finished rereading a few stories from Julian Barnes' The Lemon Table. I read the entire book several years ago, but marked several stories to revisit later. Excellent stories.
Now I'm reading Away by Amy Bloom.

Molly have you read his England,England? Its my fav of his, tho I was bothered by some parts near the end, it is pure satire about England and actually any othre country,because people are very much alike no matter where they live

julian barnes

>49 cindydavid4: Yes, I love that one, too. I'm discarding a lot of books right now -- not that I want to, but a move to a smaller space makes it necessary -- and I find his books almost impossible to give away. I know I'll want to read them again. They're old, dear friends. But then that's how I feel about so many of the books I'm packing up for the library sale.

Just couldn't engage with the Knight & Moon series installment of Dangerous Minds.

Moving on to Washington Black by Esi Edugyan.

The new thread is up over here.

>35 richardderus: Did you read his previous collection, Stories of Your Life and Others? I enjoyed the first collection. The stories were a little uneven in quality, but that's typical in a collection. I was appalled at how his story, The Story of Your Life, was adapted into the film Arrival. They cut out all of the parts that explained the plot. If you hadn't read the original story, then the film was almost incomprehensible. The missing elements robbed the story of its poignancy.

oh I dread the day when we will have to make that decision. I try to thin out the shelves every few years, but the number of books that I must keep keeps getting larger! At least taking them to a library sale, someone is going to appreciate them!