What are you reading the week of March 13, 2021?

Nearly finished with The Landmark Thucydides. I'm reaching the climax of the disastrous Syracuse campaign, where Athens overreached it's abilities and launched a massive invasion of Sicily that ended in catastrophe for the Athenians. It easy to see why this book has survived down the ages as Thucydides does a masterful job of recounting the political and military complexities of the events in a gripping fashion.

I have my eye on a Japanese murder mystery The Decagon House Murders after I finish Thucydides.

Finished listening to the excellent Infinite Country.
Next up for listening is Stalking The Angel by Robert Crais.

I finished the book, How Fast Can You Run which was a compelling tale of the trials, trauma, and triumph of one of South Sudan's Lost Boys. While being presented as fiction, it is very closely based upon the life of the main character.

I'm close to finishing The Long Walk by Richard Bachman. I don't want to know how it ends, yet I continue...

On deck are Emperor: A New Life of Charles V (which I expect to be reading the rest of the month) and By Force Alone. Miles M.52 is another book I'm likely to pick up.

enjoying this OverDrive audio ~

Viscount Who Loved Me, The (Bridgertons Book 2)
by Julia Quinn
(read by my favorite Regency narrator/I don't have Netflix)

My Fire tablet was on the fritz so I did virtually no reading last week so I'm still working on A Deadly Influence, The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds, and Shadow of Night.

Currently reading: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

Read this past week: Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid. Definitely worth reading.

>9 ahef1963: Loved A Confederacy of Dunces !

Finished Blind Turn and my review is up. This is a solidly-written novel about the aftermath of a fatal car accident involving a teen driver.

I think I'll relax with The Knitting Goddess before tackling my next LTER book, and then I have to decide whether or not I want to read Agaat, which is my F2F group's current selection. This is a 600+ page doorstop, and I'll be unable to attend the meeting. I may start it after the LTER and decide whether it's something I'd want to read even if it wasn't a group selection.

The Dutch House – Ann Patchett
Digital audiobook performed by Tom Hanks.
4****

Patchett uses the youngest member of the Conroy family, Danny, to tell this decades-long story of the family’s fortunes. Dad, Cyril, builds a real-estate empire in the years following WW 2, and presents his wife with a surprise – a palatial mansion the family knows as the Dutch House. But his wife is not pleased and eventually she leaves the family. Danny and his older sister Maeve cling to one another, especially after their father remarries.

I love Patchett’s writing. I love the way she reveals her characters in what they say and do. We see Danny grow from a young child to a middle-aged man with children of his own. And we watch Maeve take on the mantle of responsibility for her younger brother, encouraging and pushing him to succeed, to prove that they can thrive without the legacy they expected. We watch as their relationship stalls and eventually grows. And we watch as the next generation of Conroys begin to repeat some of those same patterns.

Tom Hanks does a marvelous job of performing the audiobook. He was completely believable as Danny – whether as an eight-year-old or a middle-aged father. Bravo!

Also loved A Confederacy of Dunces although sometimes takes some patience to deal with lengthy ruminations. Worth every touch of patience required.

Finished The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T E Kinsey. Meh.

Added Sinners and Saints by Jennifer Roberson to my rotation.

I finished the LTER Hot Springs and Moonshine Liquor. An ancestral family history, a memoir, a researched history of moonshine, throw in a bit of national history and recipes.
It's all there giving one a loosely put together rambling discourse which is nonetheless entertaining.

Montgomery Clift by Patricia Bosworth because I just finished an advance copy of Elizabeth and Monty which I loved.

Summer Of the Monkeys – Wilson Rawls
4****

At the end of the 19th century, Jay Berry Lee lives with his parents and twin sister on a farm in Oklahoma. Money is tight but life is good. Yes, he has farm chores but much of his time is his own, and Jay Berry roams the area with his faithful hound, Rowdy. A railway accident involving a circus train results in a group of monkeys (plus one chimpanzee) escaping into the river bottom near the Lee farm. These are trained circus performers, and the reward motivates Jay Berry to capture the animals so he can finally get the pony and gun he’s longed for.

This was just a delightful boy-and-his dog adventure tale. I loved the relationship between Jay Berry and his grandpa, as well as the way he interacted with his parents and sister. But the real joy in the book is the way he goes about trying to capture the monkeys. Every fail-safe idea he has results in some disaster or another, some with rather hilarious consequences. But he’s determined, and his heart is in the right place.

I could not help but think of my father and my brothers while reading this. When growing up we spent many hours in the woods, exploring, “hunting,” fishing and just observing nature. I loved those long days outdoors (and some nights as well).

The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling
Digital audiobook performed by Ralph Cosham
3.5***

Of course I was familiar with Mowgli, Shere Khan, and Baloo, but I had never read the stories that make up this classic of children’s literature.

This edition had Mowgli’s tale, but also included three bonus stories: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (the mongoose who battles the cobras), Toomai (who watches the elephants dance), and Kotick (the white seal who leads his herd to a safe haven). They are marvelous adventure stories with a few life lessons included. The exotic nature of the setting appeals to the imagination as well.

I remember a children’s book I had as a child that had a one of the Jungle Book stories in it. I loved when my Daddy would read it because he of the voices he used for the different animals. Well, sorry, Daddy, but Ralph Cosham does an even better job when performing the audio. His underlying sibilant hiss for the cobras was just chilling. And his deeply sinister voice for Shere Khan would make anyone afraid. It was an absolute delight to listen to him read this classic.

Just finished The Knitting Goddess, which I should have dumped early on, as it was a real disappointment.

Too much touchy-feely crystal-gazing crap for a knitting book; too much knitting for a New Age affirmation book. Patterns are written really oddly, yarn selection is useless, as most of the yarns are no longer available, projects are shown in drawings, and references to websites for more information lead only to "site not found" messages.

Next up is an LTER read, Path of the Guiding Light.

I’m still listening to Grant, just now coming to the end of the Civil War. I’m enjoying Chernow’s depiction of the personalities, strategies, and battle scenes of the War, all made much more effective by the narration. I finished Middlemarch and am even more resolved to read all of Eliot’s novels. Don’t know if that will be a one year project or two. I’ve also been reading an action packed page turner by Kate Mosse, The Burning Chambers. She is one of my go-to authors for fast paced historical fiction often with a touch of the supernatural.

Finished listening to Stalking The Angel, which was excellent.

Next up for listening is The Need by Helen Phillips.

I finished Voice of the Whirlwind, the second novel in Walter Jon Williams' Hardwired series from the 1980s. (There is also a novella slipped between the first two books.) Voice of the Whirlwind was not quite as good (in my opinion) as the series' first book, Hardwired, but it was still fun, basically a loner-against-world political thriller but with some inventive world building. I was disappointed that the second novel book takes place 100 years on after the first, but I got over that. You can find somewhat longer review on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

I now about halfway though The Comedians, Graham Greene's novel about Haiti during the horrifying and brutal Duvalier regime.

I finished Maya Angetou's Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now. I'm a bit of a curmudgeon in that I did not particularly like this book. It is a series of very short rules to live by. The few that are more observations are enlightening but most are so often routed that they're almost cliches. Doesn't mean they're not true but merely too obvious to be inspiring.

Finished A Deadly Influence by Mike Omer. Not a fan when I began the book but it grew on me.

Next into the rotation is Thief River Falls by Brian Freeman.

Not far and enjoying it. Last Rituals by Yrsa Siguurdardottir

Not far and enjoying it. Last Rituals by Yrsa Siguurdardottir

Sizzling Sixteen – Janet Evanovich
Digital audiobook performed by Lorelei King
3***

The Stephanie Plum series continues with Steph still seemingly undecided between Ranger and Morelli, still working for her cousin Vinnie’s Bail Bondsman business, still (in)capably assisted by Lula and Connie, and still having car troubles.

This time out Vinnie has gotten into trouble with gambling debts and the girls are determined to rescue him from his bad behavior; Vinnie may be a scum bag but he’s their scum bag, and they need their jobs.

The books are fast reads, full of action and improbable scenarios that just plain tickle my funny bone. Grandma Mazur is a hoot, and she gets a few scenes in this outing. There are also a variety of eccentric characters that make regular appearances, as well as the fool criminals Stephanie is after. And, of course, we have many opportunities for a run to the donut shop or Cluck a Bucket fried chicken.

Lorelei King does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobooks. She sets a good pace and I love her voice for Lula!

Finished listening to a science fiction thriller, The Need.

Next up for listening is an autobiography, Walking With Ghosts by Gabriel Byrne.

enjoying this Audible/Kindle combo ~

Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane Book 5)
by Melinda Leigh

Finished from the library: Elizabeth of Bohemia: A Novel about Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen by David Elias
The novel is told from Elizabeth's perspective. It's in 3 parts: England, Germany & Prague, and exile. Elizabeth is fortunate to live her final years back (home) in London. The novel started out all right but having dates at the beginning of chapters would've helped.

I recommend the collective biography about Elizabeth and her daughters by Nancy Goldstone for historical background.

I'm currently halfway through What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance. I also just started Arendt's On Violence and Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words.

Just finished reading the novel THE DANISH GIRL by author DAVID EBERSHOFF

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>32 Erick_Tubil: Hi Erick . Is this book the one that adapted into the movie ,which have a starring cast?

I complete my reading of this week ,a new book by Kazuo Ishiguro, which deals with topics as love, AI and morality. I love this masterpiece. I'm reading by Julian Barnes.

I finished a reread of The Comedians, Graham Greene's novel of Haiti during the dark days of the Papa Doc regime. I found the book to be excellent. You'll find my review on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

Today I started my next book in my friend Kim's reading list about African American history and racism in America, In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s by Clayborne Carson.

Finished listening to the magnificent memoir, Walking With Ghosts by Gabriel Byrne. Listen to this one!

Next up for listening is The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.

Finished the LTER for Path of the Guiding Light, and in all honesty, I can't recommend it. I do wish the synopses on the Request It list would indicate that a book is part of an ongoing series. It's always a disappointment when the reading copy arrives and is subtitled "Book Whatever of the XYZ Series".

That was the biggest flaw in this one. Too many characters (each with their own backstory), too many narrators, too much leaping back and forth between time periods. (Did I mention this is a time travel fantasy?)

I plan to spend one more day on Agaat and unless it really turns around for me, it will be abandoned. Turns out I won't be able to participate in the F2F meeting to discuss it and I don't see any reason to drag myself through 600 pages of foreshadowing and vague references to relationships that haven't been developed yet. I will say that the translation is lyrically written, but that doesn't mean it's going to be enjoyable.

On my way to the library to pick up my ILL of Carrying the Fire, so that will probably be next up.

Finished listening to The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.

Next up for listening is Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah.

The new thread is up over here.

I just joined today. Am finishing Roots of Woods and Stone by debut author Amanda Wen. Definitely a 4⭐️ read.

>40 ladyharris: Welcome to Library Thing. If you click on the word 'here' in the message above yours, you'll get to this present week's posts.