SqueakyChu LEAVES the past behind...and moves ahead in 2022! 4th Quarter
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2022
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1SqueakyChu
This this thread is continued from here.
The year is quickly coming to an end. I've enjoyed reading much more this year than is the past two years because of anxiety related to the pandemic. I missed reading for pleasure so this year has been a relief so far.
Total books read in 2022: 49
Total pages - Ended the year at: = 11,151
Reading rate: Ended the year at 31 pages/day
Books on Mount TBR: Ended the year at 410
Ever onward...
The year is quickly coming to an end. I've enjoyed reading much more this year than is the past two years because of anxiety related to the pandemic. I missed reading for pleasure so this year has been a relief so far.
Total books read in 2022: 49
Total pages - Ended the year at: = 11,151
Reading rate: Ended the year at 31 pages/day
Books on Mount TBR: Ended the year at 410
Ever onward...
2SqueakyChu
OCTOBER
Photo by Mark Dixon - Flickr - CCA
BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing meetup in Virginia - I'll have to miss the meetup this month.
COMPLETED:
38. Cockpit - Jerzy Kosinski - TIOLI #1: Read a book whose title words only start with the letters A, B, C, X, Y and/or Z (C = 1) - 248 pages
39. One Generation After - Elie Wiesel - TIOLI #4: Read a book tagged "historical" or "historical fiction" (historical) - 253 pages
40. Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer - TIOLI #2: Read a scary book - 195 pages
41. The Agnostic - Curt Finch - TIOLI #13: Read a book with an uneven number of pages (237) - 237 pages
Photo by Mark Dixon - Flickr - CCA
BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing meetup in Virginia - I'll have to miss the meetup this month.
COMPLETED:
38. Cockpit - Jerzy Kosinski - TIOLI #1: Read a book whose title words only start with the letters A, B, C, X, Y and/or Z (C = 1) - 248 pages
39. One Generation After - Elie Wiesel - TIOLI #4: Read a book tagged "historical" or "historical fiction" (historical) - 253 pages
40. Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer - TIOLI #2: Read a scary book - 195 pages
41. The Agnostic - Curt Finch - TIOLI #13: Read a book with an uneven number of pages (237) - 237 pages
3SqueakyChu
NOVEMBER
Photo by William Warby - Flickr - CCA
BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing meetup at Birdie's Cafe on 11/5/22 at 1pm in Westminster, Maryland. Meetup was great fun, but MaryZee's OBCZ (Official BookCrossing Zone) no longer exists in Birdie's. :(
COMPLETED:
42. Hunger - Knut Hamsun - TIOLI #8: Read a book by an author whose name has different spelling variations (Hamsun/Hamsen) - Better Than the Movie Book Club - 263 pages
43. Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents - Pete Souza - TIOLI #14: Read a book with the numbers 1 and 3, or 2 and 5 in the ISBN (1, 3) - 235 pages
44. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers - TIOLI #7: Rolling Challenge - E L T O N & B E R N I E - Read a Book with a word beginning with any of the letters in this challenge or the authors name must begin with any of these letters. For "&" read a book with Musician, Poet, Piano - 359 pages
45. The Death of Santini - Pat Conroy - TIOLI #1: Read a book by one of your favorite authors - 338 pages
Photo by William Warby - Flickr - CCA
BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing meetup at Birdie's Cafe on 11/5/22 at 1pm in Westminster, Maryland. Meetup was great fun, but MaryZee's OBCZ (Official BookCrossing Zone) no longer exists in Birdie's. :(
COMPLETED:
42. Hunger - Knut Hamsun - TIOLI #8: Read a book by an author whose name has different spelling variations (Hamsun/Hamsen) - Better Than the Movie Book Club - 263 pages
43. Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents - Pete Souza - TIOLI #14: Read a book with the numbers 1 and 3, or 2 and 5 in the ISBN (1, 3) - 235 pages
44. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers - TIOLI #7: Rolling Challenge - E L T O N & B E R N I E - Read a Book with a word beginning with any of the letters in this challenge or the authors name must begin with any of these letters. For "&" read a book with Musician, Poet, Piano - 359 pages
45. The Death of Santini - Pat Conroy - TIOLI #1: Read a book by one of your favorite authors - 338 pages
4SqueakyChu
DECEMBER
Photo by lunatik2811 - Flickr - CCA
BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing annual party - At the home of BookCrosser Mom-Oyster on December 18, 2022. Much fun!
COMPLETED:
46. How to Raise an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi - TIOLI #4: Read a book with an 4 plus letter word embedded in the title (racist) - 259 pages
47. Dotson - Grayson Lee White - TIOLI #9: Read a book in honor of the Twelve Days of Christmas (All the letters of the word GEESE are in the title) - 133 pages
48. Solito - Javier Zamora - TIOLI #16: Read a book about overcoming a tragedy - 384 pages
49. The Immortal Bartfuss - Aharon Appelfeld - TIOLI #1: Read a book by an author whose names (first, middle, and last) all begin with a vowel (E, I) - 137 pages
Photo by lunatik2811 - Flickr - CCA
BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing annual party - At the home of BookCrosser Mom-Oyster on December 18, 2022. Much fun!
COMPLETED:
46. How to Raise an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi - TIOLI #4: Read a book with an 4 plus letter word embedded in the title (racist) - 259 pages
47. Dotson - Grayson Lee White - TIOLI #9: Read a book in honor of the Twelve Days of Christmas (All the letters of the word GEESE are in the title) - 133 pages
48. Solito - Javier Zamora - TIOLI #16: Read a book about overcoming a tragedy - 384 pages
49. The Immortal Bartfuss - Aharon Appelfeld - TIOLI #1: Read a book by an author whose names (first, middle, and last) all begin with a vowel (E, I) - 137 pages
5FAMeulstee
Happy new thread, Madeline!
6SqueakyChu
>5 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita.
7PaulCranswick
Happy new thread, Madeline. xx
8SqueakyChu
>7 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!
10SqueakyChu
Thanks, Jim!
11figsfromthistle
Happy new thread!
13SqueakyChu
>11 figsfromthistle: >12 _Zoe_: Thank you both!
14SqueakyChu
38. Cockpit - Jerzy Kosinski
-----------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book whose title words only start with the letters A, B, C, X, Y and/or Z (C = 1)
-------------------------------------
What a weird book! I had no idea in what direction the story was heading at its the beginning. That, in itself, I thought was intriguing. It actually turned into a book that now is hard to describe!
After reading a while, I found the book to be more like a collection of linked, imaginative, finely-crafted vignettes with the main character Tarden, a secret agent of sorts, taking on various identities and living in different places, telling them in a continuing narrative with only a bold capital letter to separate them. Each episode had its own sexual theme or a different dark, raw topic which were disturbing in various ways, but all I found fascinating to read.
I liked this book very much. I thought it was well written and compelling. I also was happy that each episode was short enough to read in one sitting. However, I found it creepy to learn while reading this book that ultimately this author ended his own life through suicide—something to which he alluded in the book’s own narrative.
Rating - 4.5 stars
As a result of the circumstances under which I left the Service, I cannot join any professional, social or political group. Yet, to live alone, depending on no one, and to keep up lasting associations, is like living in a cell; and I have never lost my desire to be as free as I was as a child, almost flying, drawn on by my wheel.
-----------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book whose title words only start with the letters A, B, C, X, Y and/or Z (C = 1)
-------------------------------------
What a weird book! I had no idea in what direction the story was heading at its the beginning. That, in itself, I thought was intriguing. It actually turned into a book that now is hard to describe!
After reading a while, I found the book to be more like a collection of linked, imaginative, finely-crafted vignettes with the main character Tarden, a secret agent of sorts, taking on various identities and living in different places, telling them in a continuing narrative with only a bold capital letter to separate them. Each episode had its own sexual theme or a different dark, raw topic which were disturbing in various ways, but all I found fascinating to read.
I liked this book very much. I thought it was well written and compelling. I also was happy that each episode was short enough to read in one sitting. However, I found it creepy to learn while reading this book that ultimately this author ended his own life through suicide—something to which he alluded in the book’s own narrative.
Rating - 4.5 stars
As a result of the circumstances under which I left the Service, I cannot join any professional, social or political group. Yet, to live alone, depending on no one, and to keep up lasting associations, is like living in a cell; and I have never lost my desire to be as free as I was as a child, almost flying, drawn on by my wheel.
15SqueakyChu
39. One Generation After - Elie Wiesel
-----------------------------------
TIOLI #4: Read a book tagged "historical" or "historical fiction" (historical)
----------------------------------
Every now and then, I feel a need to read a book about the Holocaust to remember my family and others who died needlessly in that terrible era. I quickly read this book by Elie Wiesel who is one of my personal heroes for retelling stories which cannot be explained, but need to be told. I found this book especially interesting because he used snippets of incidents, stories, and dialogues over a period of years which spanned both the war years and years afterward. Anything about the Holocaust is chilling because there is no reason why such evil happened or could not happen again. The one story that finally brought me to tears was a small retelling about Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, among religious Jews years after the war. I plan to read more of Wiesel’s works from time to time.
Rating 4.5 stars
Lack of morality and a perverted taste for bloodshed are unrelated to the individual’s social and cultural background. It is possible to be born into the upper or middle class, receive a first-rate education, respect parents and neighbors, visit a and attend literary gatherings, play a role in public life, and begin one day to massacre men, women, and children, without hesitation and without guilt.
-----------------------------------
TIOLI #4: Read a book tagged "historical" or "historical fiction" (historical)
----------------------------------
Every now and then, I feel a need to read a book about the Holocaust to remember my family and others who died needlessly in that terrible era. I quickly read this book by Elie Wiesel who is one of my personal heroes for retelling stories which cannot be explained, but need to be told. I found this book especially interesting because he used snippets of incidents, stories, and dialogues over a period of years which spanned both the war years and years afterward. Anything about the Holocaust is chilling because there is no reason why such evil happened or could not happen again. The one story that finally brought me to tears was a small retelling about Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, among religious Jews years after the war. I plan to read more of Wiesel’s works from time to time.
Rating 4.5 stars
Lack of morality and a perverted taste for bloodshed are unrelated to the individual’s social and cultural background. It is possible to be born into the upper or middle class, receive a first-rate education, respect parents and neighbors, visit a and attend literary gatherings, play a role in public life, and begin one day to massacre men, women, and children, without hesitation and without guilt.
16SqueakyChu
40. Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer
---------------------------------------
TIOLI #2: Read a scary book
-------------------------------------
Ooooh! What an interesting book. Four women—a psychologist, a surveyor, an anthropologist and a surveyor—enter “Area X” on a mission to document what they find there. Previous missions had been made to do this, some with dismaying results. Entering this strange land, the four are made aware of a buried tower containing living plants which write phrases in English and all hear a recurrent moaning every evening. This is certainly a book which aroused my curiosity from its start.
The story is not only about the exploration of an environment, but it is also about the fascinating interactions of each character to one another.
An interesting phenomenon in this book was that none of the characters had names. They really were not necessary, though.
All I could say after finishing this book was, “Whoa!” This was a mesmerizing and strangle-hold kind of read!
Rating - 5 stars
Desolation tries to colonize you.
---------------------------------------
TIOLI #2: Read a scary book
-------------------------------------
Ooooh! What an interesting book. Four women—a psychologist, a surveyor, an anthropologist and a surveyor—enter “Area X” on a mission to document what they find there. Previous missions had been made to do this, some with dismaying results. Entering this strange land, the four are made aware of a buried tower containing living plants which write phrases in English and all hear a recurrent moaning every evening. This is certainly a book which aroused my curiosity from its start.
The story is not only about the exploration of an environment, but it is also about the fascinating interactions of each character to one another.
An interesting phenomenon in this book was that none of the characters had names. They really were not necessary, though.
All I could say after finishing this book was, “Whoa!” This was a mesmerizing and strangle-hold kind of read!
Rating - 5 stars
Desolation tries to colonize you.
17PaulCranswick
You are on quite the reading roll - an average of 4.67 for your last three reads.
I hadn't heard of Cockpit before but will certainly go and look for it. Elie Wiesel is a sure fire winner every time.
Have a lovely weekend, Madeline.
I hadn't heard of Cockpit before but will certainly go and look for it. Elie Wiesel is a sure fire winner every time.
Have a lovely weekend, Madeline.
18SqueakyChu
>17 PaulCranswick: I have not only been reading some great books, Paul, but so many terrific books are just falling into my hands, one after the other. I was at the beach this past week, so reading on the deck looking toward the ocean was not so bad either! :D
19PaulCranswick
>18 SqueakyChu: I am a little spoiled for choice looking at my shelves too. I am my own worst enemy in that respect, though, I guess.
20m.belljackson
>15 SqueakyChu: From 1975, HOLOCAUST by Charles Reznikoff is intensely powerful.
21SqueakyChu
>20 m.belljackson: Noted. Thanks for the recommendation.
22jessibud2
Madeline, somehow, your thread got unstarred. No wonder I thought you'd been awfully quiet! Properly starred again now.
23SqueakyChu
>22 jessibud2: Glad you found me again, Shelley!
24SqueakyChu
41. The Agnostic - Curt Finch
------------------------------------------
TIOLI #13: Read a book with an uneven number of pages (237)
------------------------------------------
I found many things about the main character, retired Baptist pastor Thomas Renfro, that appealed to me right from the start of this book. He questions what really controls our lives. He loves his family. He takes a liberal position in discussions with friends his age. He even quotes author and surgeon Atul Guwande. I love that Papa Thomas, which is what his granddaughter calls him, quotes authors repeatedly as I, too, love to record quotes as I read.
In this novel which moves between past and present, Thomas Renfro relives scenes with his now deceased wife, served as pastor of his church as he is beginning to doubt the precepts of his faith, and prepares to have a benign brain tumor removed as his daughters come to support him.
I love Curt Finch’s writing because most of what he says is near and dear to my heart and pertinent to my own life despite my not being Christian. The writing by this author is so beautiful, not simply in turn of phrases, but in the humanity and deep emotions his characters display. They seem real rather than fictitious. And when the author describes places on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina where he lives and I vacation, I feel as if I’ll soon meet those characters one day in person.
This is a fairly simple book, but its messages are profound (which is not surprising since this novel was written by a retired pastor). Live for today, be grateful for what you have, never lose hope, and accept that doubt is part of the human experience.
Rating 4.5 stars
We can read all the theology we want, but it has to have meaning for us as individuals for it to make a difference in our lives.
------------------------------------------
TIOLI #13: Read a book with an uneven number of pages (237)
------------------------------------------
I found many things about the main character, retired Baptist pastor Thomas Renfro, that appealed to me right from the start of this book. He questions what really controls our lives. He loves his family. He takes a liberal position in discussions with friends his age. He even quotes author and surgeon Atul Guwande. I love that Papa Thomas, which is what his granddaughter calls him, quotes authors repeatedly as I, too, love to record quotes as I read.
In this novel which moves between past and present, Thomas Renfro relives scenes with his now deceased wife, served as pastor of his church as he is beginning to doubt the precepts of his faith, and prepares to have a benign brain tumor removed as his daughters come to support him.
I love Curt Finch’s writing because most of what he says is near and dear to my heart and pertinent to my own life despite my not being Christian. The writing by this author is so beautiful, not simply in turn of phrases, but in the humanity and deep emotions his characters display. They seem real rather than fictitious. And when the author describes places on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina where he lives and I vacation, I feel as if I’ll soon meet those characters one day in person.
This is a fairly simple book, but its messages are profound (which is not surprising since this novel was written by a retired pastor). Live for today, be grateful for what you have, never lose hope, and accept that doubt is part of the human experience.
Rating 4.5 stars
We can read all the theology we want, but it has to have meaning for us as individuals for it to make a difference in our lives.
25PaulCranswick
>24 SqueakyChu: I will look out for that one, Madeline. Hadn't heard of it before to be quite honest.
26SqueakyChu
>25 PaulCranswick: This is a book that no one can find. It's self-published by the owner of the bookstore Emerald Isle Books and Toys in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. I doubt if the author has sold more than a few hundred copies of this book, and probably all to the local folk who live on the Crystal Coast in North Carolina. It's one one my favorite book stores just because we've spent many years as a family vacationing there, and this is the one bookstore in Emerald Isle.
The author is a retired Baptist pastor. I always used to love going into his store to ask him to recommend books. After he retired from the church, he moved his bookstore to Raleigh. I was devastated. His bookstore did not do well there so he returned later to Emerald Isle. I was overjoyed. I have read two other self-published books he wrote and enjoyed both of them very much.
My husband and I spent the previous week at the beach at the invitation of my older son who still likes to come to Emerald Isle to relax from his stressful computer work. We were joined by my younger son and his two kids.
The author is a retired Baptist pastor. I always used to love going into his store to ask him to recommend books. After he retired from the church, he moved his bookstore to Raleigh. I was devastated. His bookstore did not do well there so he returned later to Emerald Isle. I was overjoyed. I have read two other self-published books he wrote and enjoyed both of them very much.
My husband and I spent the previous week at the beach at the invitation of my older son who still likes to come to Emerald Isle to relax from his stressful computer work. We were joined by my younger son and his two kids.
27PaulCranswick
>26 SqueakyChu: Looks like I'm going to have to come and pay visit then, Madeline!
29SqueakyChu
I just deleted a picture from this page. For some reason, my photos are coming out HUGE when I try to post them, and I don't like that at all.
30jessibud2
>24 SqueakyChu: - This also sounds like something I'd like to read. And, as you suggested, it's not in my library. Oh well...
31SqueakyChu
>30 jessibud2: I can save it for you…or maybe give it to Zoe to pass off to you when she goes to Toronto. I would like Jose to read it first and then maybe another BookCrosser (6of8). I’ll make it into a BookCrossing book ring! :D
I will ship it within the US, just not to another country because mailing costs for doing that are prohibitive. Media mail in the US is fairly inexpensive so any LTer in the US who would like to read it can get into this book ray. Anyone interested, please private message me. I would love for this book to have more readers. Do remember, however, that this is a self-published book so you will find editorial mistakes.
I will ship it within the US, just not to another country because mailing costs for doing that are prohibitive. Media mail in the US is fairly inexpensive so any LTer in the US who would like to read it can get into this book ray. Anyone interested, please private message me. I would love for this book to have more readers. Do remember, however, that this is a self-published book so you will find editorial mistakes.
32jessibud2
>31 SqueakyChu: - I'm in for a bookring or ray. And if Zoe can bring it next time she is here, all the better! Or if anyone else in the ray will mail to Canada, that would also be great. Thanks, Madeline. I certainly understand as Canada Post rate have always been off the charts.
33SqueakyChu
>32 jessibud2: When we did the Annual Holiday Party on Zoom for Bookcrossing last year, Bookgirrl won one of my books. I ended up buying a her a new book and having it delivered to Canada because that was cheaper than mailing her my used copy!
https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/16701919
I'll put you last on the book ray! Who knows when you'll get it? It won't take any longer than it took you to read Shelanu. LOL! That is, if you ever read it!
https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/2345975/
I just calculated the cost for shipping my book to you. The cheapest way would be with a flat rate envelope for $29.60 USD. The book only cost me $12.99 USD plus tax! Plus, now that it is a used book, its value drops to about $4 USD. :D
https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/16701919
I'll put you last on the book ray! Who knows when you'll get it? It won't take any longer than it took you to read Shelanu. LOL! That is, if you ever read it!
https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/2345975/
I just calculated the cost for shipping my book to you. The cheapest way would be with a flat rate envelope for $29.60 USD. The book only cost me $12.99 USD plus tax! Plus, now that it is a used book, its value drops to about $4 USD. :D
34SqueakyChu
>32 jessibud2: I just wrote to the bookstore to see if they would ship a new copy to you at a reasonable price. If so, I'll buy it from them, have them ship it to you, and you can register it and Bookcross it in Canada! I'm boycotting Amazon so that is not an option.
I don't mind supporting that indie bookstore. I just love it. Plus, in the book I just read, i can see the political leanings of the author (with which I agree)...and this is in rural North Carolina. The author emphasized at the beginning of his book that the book was fiction, but all authors have to draw something from real life. Right?! :D
I don't mind supporting that indie bookstore. I just love it. Plus, in the book I just read, i can see the political leanings of the author (with which I agree)...and this is in rural North Carolina. The author emphasized at the beginning of his book that the book was fiction, but all authors have to draw something from real life. Right?! :D
35SqueakyChu
Happy Halloween, everyone!
I just had an interesting experience—my first interlibrary loan. I ordered Hunger by Knut Hamsun because I needed it for a book club read. My local library had only ebook copies. The copy I got was from the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore (actually, the library of my youth). What is more interesting is that this book is a hardcover that was copyright 1920 and printed in 1924 so my copy is 98 years old! It’s very fragile. I hope no pages come out of it while I read it! I’m surprised the library trusts patrons to handle such old books, but I really don’t like reading books on electronic screens.
>33 SqueakyChu: I messaged the bookstore to see if they’d ship you this book. I never heard back from them. The employee probably fainted when she learned the cost of shipping it! LOL!
I just had an interesting experience—my first interlibrary loan. I ordered Hunger by Knut Hamsun because I needed it for a book club read. My local library had only ebook copies. The copy I got was from the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore (actually, the library of my youth). What is more interesting is that this book is a hardcover that was copyright 1920 and printed in 1924 so my copy is 98 years old! It’s very fragile. I hope no pages come out of it while I read it! I’m surprised the library trusts patrons to handle such old books, but I really don’t like reading books on electronic screens.
>33 SqueakyChu: I messaged the bookstore to see if they’d ship you this book. I never heard back from them. The employee probably fainted when she learned the cost of shipping it! LOL!
36SqueakyChu
42. Hunger - Knut Hamsun
------------------------------
TIOLI #8: Read a book by an author whose name has different spelling variations (Hamsun/Hamsen),
Better Than the Movie Book Club
---------------------------------
This is a story of a man who lives in the Norwegian town of Christiana. He can barely make a living, although he tries to do so by writing and selling his pieces one at a time to an editor of a paper. He barely has enough to eat...and often has nothing to eat. He barely has a place to stay because he cannot afford lodging...and often he has no place to stay.
The story is written like a soliloquy in which the main character tells from moment to moment how he feels and what is happening to him. His moods go up and down, often suddenly in either direction.
I found reading this novel fascinating and have not read anything else quite like it. The writing was so excellent that this story could have gone on for much longer and still have kept me transfixed.
Now here is where the conundrum comes in. In the midst of reading this book, I read about the author. I learned that he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. I also read that not only was he later a Nazi sympathizer, but that he had written the obituaries for both of the Nazis Goebbels and Hitler. What do I do with this knowledge now? My maternal grandparents died in the death chambers of Auschwitz. How do I reconcile reading this amazing piece of literature by a man I would have despised had I ever known him alive?
The other strange thing is that I never would have read this book had it not been for a great niece of my husband who chose this book at random for members of her book club to read. I had great difficulty obtaining a hard copy of this book. The copy I got was copyright 1920 and published in June, 1924. It was an interlibrary loan from the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. I no longer live in that city. I grew up in that city, and usually every weekend my mother used to take me as a child to by bus to that Library in downtown Baltimore. It was her parents who had been put to death by the Nazis.
I don't know what to think. I will just say the story was mesmerizing, but the facts I later learned about its author were horrifying.
Rating - 5 stars
The only thing that troubled me a little, in spite of the nausea that the thought of food inspired in me, was hunger. I commenced to be sensible of a shameless appetite again; a ravenous lust of food, which grew steadily worse and worse. It gnawed unmercifully in my breast; carrying on a silent, mysterious work in there. It was as if a score of diminutive gnome-like insects set their heads in one side and gnawed for a little, then laid their heads on the other side and gnawed a little more, then lay quite still for a moment’s space, and then began afresh, boring noiselessly in, and without any haste, and left empty spaces everywhere after them as they went on...
------------------------------
TIOLI #8: Read a book by an author whose name has different spelling variations (Hamsun/Hamsen),
Better Than the Movie Book Club
---------------------------------
This is a story of a man who lives in the Norwegian town of Christiana. He can barely make a living, although he tries to do so by writing and selling his pieces one at a time to an editor of a paper. He barely has enough to eat...and often has nothing to eat. He barely has a place to stay because he cannot afford lodging...and often he has no place to stay.
The story is written like a soliloquy in which the main character tells from moment to moment how he feels and what is happening to him. His moods go up and down, often suddenly in either direction.
I found reading this novel fascinating and have not read anything else quite like it. The writing was so excellent that this story could have gone on for much longer and still have kept me transfixed.
Now here is where the conundrum comes in. In the midst of reading this book, I read about the author. I learned that he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. I also read that not only was he later a Nazi sympathizer, but that he had written the obituaries for both of the Nazis Goebbels and Hitler. What do I do with this knowledge now? My maternal grandparents died in the death chambers of Auschwitz. How do I reconcile reading this amazing piece of literature by a man I would have despised had I ever known him alive?
The other strange thing is that I never would have read this book had it not been for a great niece of my husband who chose this book at random for members of her book club to read. I had great difficulty obtaining a hard copy of this book. The copy I got was copyright 1920 and published in June, 1924. It was an interlibrary loan from the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. I no longer live in that city. I grew up in that city, and usually every weekend my mother used to take me as a child to by bus to that Library in downtown Baltimore. It was her parents who had been put to death by the Nazis.
I don't know what to think. I will just say the story was mesmerizing, but the facts I later learned about its author were horrifying.
Rating - 5 stars
The only thing that troubled me a little, in spite of the nausea that the thought of food inspired in me, was hunger. I commenced to be sensible of a shameless appetite again; a ravenous lust of food, which grew steadily worse and worse. It gnawed unmercifully in my breast; carrying on a silent, mysterious work in there. It was as if a score of diminutive gnome-like insects set their heads in one side and gnawed for a little, then laid their heads on the other side and gnawed a little more, then lay quite still for a moment’s space, and then began afresh, boring noiselessly in, and without any haste, and left empty spaces everywhere after them as they went on...
37FAMeulstee
>36 SqueakyChu: I have read Hunger last month, Madeline, and had at first similair thoughts.
But then it dawned upon me that exactly this was what made the Nazi party (and those alike in Western Europe) grow so fast, as their ideas would appeal to the hungry and very poor, like Hamsun. And why, both the book and Hamsun's life story, are still important today.
But then it dawned upon me that exactly this was what made the Nazi party (and those alike in Western Europe) grow so fast, as their ideas would appeal to the hungry and very poor, like Hamsun. And why, both the book and Hamsun's life story, are still important today.
38SqueakyChu
>37 FAMeulstee: Since finishing Hunger, I’ve read several reviews of that book—all of which have had similar responses to my own.
The question for me is why someone with a background of poverty and hunger would not disdain the inflicting torture on other people. Sadly, I guess there is no answer to that question. Or is it that such people always blame “others” for their miserable situations? I guess that was your point, and you might be right.
I did like the end of Hunger as I could foresee no way out of the protagonist’s ongoing miserable situation.
The question for me is why someone with a background of poverty and hunger would not disdain the inflicting torture on other people. Sadly, I guess there is no answer to that question. Or is it that such people always blame “others” for their miserable situations? I guess that was your point, and you might be right.
I did like the end of Hunger as I could foresee no way out of the protagonist’s ongoing miserable situation.
39FAMeulstee
>38 SqueakyChu: I think at first the thought they would be better off with them in power, no matter how. And blaming others for your misery seems to be appealing to many, as it it still is :-(
40SqueakyChu
>39 FAMeulstee: And blaming others for your misery seems to be appealing to many, as it it still is :-(
Yeah. Many times this is sad but true nowadays. I am pretty much fearful of the outcome of the USA elections next week so I am trying to stay away from news media until the results come in. It's all so anxiety-provoking. I'm still in despair over the most recent elections in Israel.
One thing I was wondering about was whether or not the difficulty I had with getting hold of this book was simply because the author became a Nazi sympathizer. For a Nobel prize-winning author, I thought that this book was unusually hard to obtain. It seemed almost like book banning in reverse.
Yeah. Many times this is sad but true nowadays. I am pretty much fearful of the outcome of the USA elections next week so I am trying to stay away from news media until the results come in. It's all so anxiety-provoking. I'm still in despair over the most recent elections in Israel.
One thing I was wondering about was whether or not the difficulty I had with getting hold of this book was simply because the author became a Nazi sympathizer. For a Nobel prize-winning author, I thought that this book was unusually hard to obtain. It seemed almost like book banning in reverse.
41SqueakyChu
43. Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents - Pete Souza
---------------------------------------
TIOLI #14: Read a book with the numbers 1 and 3, or 2 and 5 in the ISBN (1, 3)
--------------------------------------
This is a most amazing book that brought me to tears. I probably could not have read it when it was first published—in 2018. This book features tweets by former US president Trump on the left hand pages, followed on the right hand pages with striking photos of former president Obama by the author, White House photographer Pete Souza. It provides a stark contrast between the two men, not without snark (or call it shade) from Souza. Just beautiful in so many ways.
Rating - 5 stars
What Comes Next?
Throwing shade is one thing, but it's time
for us to take the next step.
It's not enough to voice disbelief at what's taking place.
Let's use our energy to do something about it.
Vote, for one.
Help others get to the polls.
March in the streets for issues that are important to you.
Write or call your Congressperson about how you feel.
It all matters.
It may take a while.
But let's bring respect back to our country.
As Abraham Lincoln said at Gettysburg, our task is that
"government of the people,
by the people,
for the people,
shall not perish from the earth."
---------------------------------------
TIOLI #14: Read a book with the numbers 1 and 3, or 2 and 5 in the ISBN (1, 3)
--------------------------------------
This is a most amazing book that brought me to tears. I probably could not have read it when it was first published—in 2018. This book features tweets by former US president Trump on the left hand pages, followed on the right hand pages with striking photos of former president Obama by the author, White House photographer Pete Souza. It provides a stark contrast between the two men, not without snark (or call it shade) from Souza. Just beautiful in so many ways.
Rating - 5 stars
What Comes Next?
Throwing shade is one thing, but it's time
for us to take the next step.
It's not enough to voice disbelief at what's taking place.
Let's use our energy to do something about it.
Vote, for one.
Help others get to the polls.
March in the streets for issues that are important to you.
Write or call your Congressperson about how you feel.
It all matters.
It may take a while.
But let's bring respect back to our country.
As Abraham Lincoln said at Gettysburg, our task is that
"government of the people,
by the people,
for the people,
shall not perish from the earth."
42jessibud2
There is a new book by Ken Burns, Madeline. Go see the link to an interview with him about it on my thread, posted by Kathy. Would make a great companion piece to this one by Souza, which I have read and loved.
43SqueakyChu
>42 jessibud2: I'll check it out. Thanks, Shelley.
44Berly
>43 SqueakyChu: Oh, I bet that was disturbing and amazing at the same time!
45SqueakyChu
>44 Berly: If you mean the book Hunger, it really was. If you mean the book Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents , that was also the case!
48SqueakyChu
>46 Berly: LOL! Yep. They really *both* were amazing and disurbing.
49SqueakyChu
44. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
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TIOLI #7: Read a book for the Rolling Challenge - E L T O N & B E R N I E - a book with a word beginning with any of the letters in this challenge or the author's name must begin with any of these letters. For "&" read a book with Musician, Poet, Piano
-------------------------------------------------------
It's a bit hard to write about this book. The story takes place in a small town in the U.S. South in which a motley group of people interacted and affected each other's lives. The characters had difficult lives. Two were mutes, one was a heavy drunk, one was a storekeeper who kept his cafe open all night long, one was a teenager who was one of many children, and so forth. The characters were both white and black, but they mostly interacted with each other in supportive ways. The action in the book was as slow as molasses, but it was very moving. This was the debut novel and thoughts of the 23-year-old white female author who in 1940 made some rather prescient statements through characters' thoughts and dialogue.
The story had some deeply sad parts. It made me want to be able to reach into the pages of this book and do what Biff Brannon, the cafe owner in this story, did which was to support individuals with needs more difficult than his own no matter who they were.
I've heard of this book for a long time, but only recently decided that it was a story I wanted to tackle. It was one which took me a long time to finish, but it was never a story I wanted to abandon. I made the right choice to keep on reading right through the novel's end. I hope others choose to read this book as well.
Rating - 4.5 stars
Today we are not put up on the platforms and sold at the courthouse square. But we are forced to sell our strength, our time, our souls during almost every hour that we live. We have been freed from one kind of slavery only to be delivered into another. Is this freedom? Are we yet free men?
-------------------------------------------------------
TIOLI #7: Read a book for the Rolling Challenge - E L T O N & B E R N I E - a book with a word beginning with any of the letters in this challenge or the author's name must begin with any of these letters. For "&" read a book with Musician, Poet, Piano
-------------------------------------------------------
It's a bit hard to write about this book. The story takes place in a small town in the U.S. South in which a motley group of people interacted and affected each other's lives. The characters had difficult lives. Two were mutes, one was a heavy drunk, one was a storekeeper who kept his cafe open all night long, one was a teenager who was one of many children, and so forth. The characters were both white and black, but they mostly interacted with each other in supportive ways. The action in the book was as slow as molasses, but it was very moving. This was the debut novel and thoughts of the 23-year-old white female author who in 1940 made some rather prescient statements through characters' thoughts and dialogue.
The story had some deeply sad parts. It made me want to be able to reach into the pages of this book and do what Biff Brannon, the cafe owner in this story, did which was to support individuals with needs more difficult than his own no matter who they were.
I've heard of this book for a long time, but only recently decided that it was a story I wanted to tackle. It was one which took me a long time to finish, but it was never a story I wanted to abandon. I made the right choice to keep on reading right through the novel's end. I hope others choose to read this book as well.
Rating - 4.5 stars
Today we are not put up on the platforms and sold at the courthouse square. But we are forced to sell our strength, our time, our souls during almost every hour that we live. We have been freed from one kind of slavery only to be delivered into another. Is this freedom? Are we yet free men?
50jessibud2
>49 SqueakyChu: - I own the book, Madeline, but not sure I ever read it. I did see the movie of it when it first came out, eons ago, and the sadness of it haunted me for a long time. If I am not mistaken, Alan Arkin played the deaf mute man.
51SqueakyChu
>50 jessibud2: Shelley, it is really a phenomenal book in all aspects, but it is troubling and sad. It is definitely worth a read, but do it at a time when you are under less stress.
52ursula
>49 SqueakyChu: I read this one last year I think? I think you summed it up really well.
54SqueakyChu
>52 ursula: >53 PaulCranswick: I found it very hard to put into words exactly how I felt about reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, but I’m glad you both understood what I was trying to say about it. Some books lend themselves to reviews more easily than this one did!
55PaulCranswick
Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, Madeline.
And thank you also for your continued dedication to the TIOLI that entertains so many of us year long. xx
56SqueakyChu
>55 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul.
58SqueakyChu
>57 jessibud2: Thank you so much, Shelley.
59SqueakyChu
45. The Death of Santini - Pat Conroy
-----------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book by one of your favorite authors
----------------------------------
Although this story is purportedly about Don Conroy, the father of Pat Conroy who became the abusive military father as the main character in the former’s novel The Great Santini, it was really about the author’s whole family from his own perspective. Brutally honest in its tone, it would be more than I would want revealed in a novel about me if I were one of its characters, but this author can wring such beauty and life out of words he writes, that I might overlook this were it me. My only tiny criticism is that I found some facts in the story repetitive, but as a whole it was heartening to read about what could have been a total failed relationship with Pat’s dad to have ended up as a recovered one. Sadly, the same could not be said about Pat’s relationship with one of his his sisters, Carol Anne.
I’ve always loved Pat Conroy’s writing and enjoyed reading this book although some of the topics he discussed were deeply sad or made me uncomfortable. I have developed a greater understanding of the man who has always been one of my favorite writers. I came to learn why he developed certain characteristics such as sensitivity for others as well as realize to what great extent his novels were based on his own life and inner pain. I am only sorry that he is no longer alive and can no longer fill pages with his colorful thoughts and emotionally-provoking stories.
Rating - 4.5 stars
My mother hated the inglorious, indefensible racism of the South she was born into, and so did Stanny. It makes no sense except for that nameless black sharecropper and his wife, who heard about four whites kids abandoned by their mother in the middle of the worst Depression in history and saved these children with the fruit of their labors and the unforgettable kindness of their hearts. Because my mother and Stanny both loathed the apartheid South, I consider myself the luckiest white boy who ever grew up beneath the burning sun of Dixie.
-----------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book by one of your favorite authors
----------------------------------
Although this story is purportedly about Don Conroy, the father of Pat Conroy who became the abusive military father as the main character in the former’s novel The Great Santini, it was really about the author’s whole family from his own perspective. Brutally honest in its tone, it would be more than I would want revealed in a novel about me if I were one of its characters, but this author can wring such beauty and life out of words he writes, that I might overlook this were it me. My only tiny criticism is that I found some facts in the story repetitive, but as a whole it was heartening to read about what could have been a total failed relationship with Pat’s dad to have ended up as a recovered one. Sadly, the same could not be said about Pat’s relationship with one of his his sisters, Carol Anne.
I’ve always loved Pat Conroy’s writing and enjoyed reading this book although some of the topics he discussed were deeply sad or made me uncomfortable. I have developed a greater understanding of the man who has always been one of my favorite writers. I came to learn why he developed certain characteristics such as sensitivity for others as well as realize to what great extent his novels were based on his own life and inner pain. I am only sorry that he is no longer alive and can no longer fill pages with his colorful thoughts and emotionally-provoking stories.
Rating - 4.5 stars
My mother hated the inglorious, indefensible racism of the South she was born into, and so did Stanny. It makes no sense except for that nameless black sharecropper and his wife, who heard about four whites kids abandoned by their mother in the middle of the worst Depression in history and saved these children with the fruit of their labors and the unforgettable kindness of their hearts. Because my mother and Stanny both loathed the apartheid South, I consider myself the luckiest white boy who ever grew up beneath the burning sun of Dixie.
60SqueakyChu
46. How to Raise an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi
--------------------------------------------
TIOLI #4: Read a book with an 4 plus letter word embedded in the title (racist)
-------------------------------------------
This is an important book for everyone to read whether or not they have children of their own. It addresses the origins of racism in children and the way that these ideas can either be stopped or changed into making children antiracist by modeling such behavior to them in whatever role an adult has to a child.
This is such a good book because the author is an excellent writer and teacher. His prose is organized, crystal clear, and sprinkled with pertinent examples for points he makes. It’s really a delight to read.
I especially liked the section of this book which deals with teaching critical thinking skills. Much of this could be directed at other adults as well, such as the use of questions to understand reasons for things happening and human behavior.
This book offers many good ideas for countering racism. I hope this book is widely read and its suggestions put into practice.
Rating - 4.5 stars
To do nothing in a society of injustice is to uphold racism. To do nothing in the face of racism is to be racist.
--------------------------------------------
TIOLI #4: Read a book with an 4 plus letter word embedded in the title (racist)
-------------------------------------------
This is an important book for everyone to read whether or not they have children of their own. It addresses the origins of racism in children and the way that these ideas can either be stopped or changed into making children antiracist by modeling such behavior to them in whatever role an adult has to a child.
This is such a good book because the author is an excellent writer and teacher. His prose is organized, crystal clear, and sprinkled with pertinent examples for points he makes. It’s really a delight to read.
I especially liked the section of this book which deals with teaching critical thinking skills. Much of this could be directed at other adults as well, such as the use of questions to understand reasons for things happening and human behavior.
This book offers many good ideas for countering racism. I hope this book is widely read and its suggestions put into practice.
Rating - 4.5 stars
To do nothing in a society of injustice is to uphold racism. To do nothing in the face of racism is to be racist.
61SqueakyChu
47. Dotson: My Journey Growing Up Transgender - Grayson Lee White
---------------------------------
TIOLI #9: Read a book in honor of the Twelve Days of Christmas (All the letters of the word GEESE are in the title)
---------------------------------------
This is a really good book for children and teens about growing up transgender. I found it a good book for adults as well...especially those who are not that familiar with transgender individuals or how they should be treated.
I was really interested in reading this book because I was wondering how this subject could be presented to a young readership. I found that this book did an excellent job. One young man, now going by the name Grayson Lee White, born a female, told his own story in a book that answered just about every question a young person might have about a transgender child. It is written in an easy-to-read style and with font and page color I especially liked. The illustrations by Stephanie Roth Sisson were terrific.
In an age when books such as these are being banned, I think the way it was written was with a great sensitivity. It should be made available without hesitiation to anyone who wants to read it.
Rating - 5 stars
I don’t think our neighbor is a bad person, but I never really liked him after that. I don’t think he understood how strongly I felt that I wasn’t a girl, and neither did his kids. I guess if you don’t feel the way I did (and still do), it’s hard to understand.
But I sure appreciate the people who at least try.
---------------------------------
TIOLI #9: Read a book in honor of the Twelve Days of Christmas (All the letters of the word GEESE are in the title)
---------------------------------------
This is a really good book for children and teens about growing up transgender. I found it a good book for adults as well...especially those who are not that familiar with transgender individuals or how they should be treated.
I was really interested in reading this book because I was wondering how this subject could be presented to a young readership. I found that this book did an excellent job. One young man, now going by the name Grayson Lee White, born a female, told his own story in a book that answered just about every question a young person might have about a transgender child. It is written in an easy-to-read style and with font and page color I especially liked. The illustrations by Stephanie Roth Sisson were terrific.
In an age when books such as these are being banned, I think the way it was written was with a great sensitivity. It should be made available without hesitiation to anyone who wants to read it.
Rating - 5 stars
I don’t think our neighbor is a bad person, but I never really liked him after that. I don’t think he understood how strongly I felt that I wasn’t a girl, and neither did his kids. I guess if you don’t feel the way I did (and still do), it’s hard to understand.
But I sure appreciate the people who at least try.
62SqueakyChu
48. Solito - Javier Zamora
--------------------------------------
TIOLI #16: Read a book about overcoming a tragedy
-------------------------------------------
I just now finished reading Solito and can't stop crying.
It was such a powerful story, but it called to mind that each undocumented Salvadoran immigrant's story is much like this one with all of its suffering and pain in an effort to reach a better life with or for loved ones. This memoir was particularly brutal because it was told in excruciating detail by the author who was recalling his being smuggled into the United States "solito" (without anyone he knew) by coyotes when he was only nine years old.
To me, this is an important work because I don't think enough Americans are aware of how hard Salvadorans struggle for themselves and their families when they ultimately decide to make the ardous journey as an undocumented immigrant into the United States at any age.
I loved that the book was written with sprinklings of Salvadoran Spanish and culture throughout. As my husband's niece expressed to me today..."My heart soared every time there was a little nugget of Salvadoran culture or language. It was like our own little inside joke." I absolutely agree with her.
Rating - 5 stars
My hands are drenched. I check my watch constantly. I stare at the short pollero’s thin gold chains around his neck. His shirt and pants aren’t as tight as the other pollero’s, who walked outside minutes ago. Then the ring against the door, tap, tap tap.
--------------------------------------
TIOLI #16: Read a book about overcoming a tragedy
-------------------------------------------
I just now finished reading Solito and can't stop crying.
It was such a powerful story, but it called to mind that each undocumented Salvadoran immigrant's story is much like this one with all of its suffering and pain in an effort to reach a better life with or for loved ones. This memoir was particularly brutal because it was told in excruciating detail by the author who was recalling his being smuggled into the United States "solito" (without anyone he knew) by coyotes when he was only nine years old.
To me, this is an important work because I don't think enough Americans are aware of how hard Salvadorans struggle for themselves and their families when they ultimately decide to make the ardous journey as an undocumented immigrant into the United States at any age.
I loved that the book was written with sprinklings of Salvadoran Spanish and culture throughout. As my husband's niece expressed to me today..."My heart soared every time there was a little nugget of Salvadoran culture or language. It was like our own little inside joke." I absolutely agree with her.
Rating - 5 stars
My hands are drenched. I check my watch constantly. I stare at the short pollero’s thin gold chains around his neck. His shirt and pants aren’t as tight as the other pollero’s, who walked outside minutes ago. Then the ring against the door, tap, tap tap.
63SqueakyChu
49. The Immortal Bartfuss - Aharon Appelfeld
-------------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book by an author whose names (first, middle, and last) all begin with a vowel (E, I)
-------------------------------------
This was an interesting story, albeit not the kind I like that much. It takes place in Jaffa, Israel, after the Holocaust, in which a survivor from Italy lives in an estranged relationship with his wife and two daughters, both grown--one married and the other single and mentally challenged. This man spends his days alone, watching other people, watching the sea, drinking coffee in cafes, and smoking cigarettes. His interactions with others are rare, uncomfortable, and suffused with angst. How much of this is a result of his wartime experiences and how much his own personality is not exactly clear.
I'm glad the story was short as I found it difficult to read because there reallly was not much personal interaction throughout--only a sense of loneliness and alienation.
Rating - 3 stars
In the next room Rosa and Bridget were still sleeping. The windows of the apartment were closed, and the heavy throbbing of their sleep could be felt even in the kitchen. Their forgotten existence awoke inside him for a moment and then passed away.
-------------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book by an author whose names (first, middle, and last) all begin with a vowel (E, I)
-------------------------------------
This was an interesting story, albeit not the kind I like that much. It takes place in Jaffa, Israel, after the Holocaust, in which a survivor from Italy lives in an estranged relationship with his wife and two daughters, both grown--one married and the other single and mentally challenged. This man spends his days alone, watching other people, watching the sea, drinking coffee in cafes, and smoking cigarettes. His interactions with others are rare, uncomfortable, and suffused with angst. How much of this is a result of his wartime experiences and how much his own personality is not exactly clear.
I'm glad the story was short as I found it difficult to read because there reallly was not much personal interaction throughout--only a sense of loneliness and alienation.
Rating - 3 stars
In the next room Rosa and Bridget were still sleeping. The windows of the apartment were closed, and the heavy throbbing of their sleep could be felt even in the kitchen. Their forgotten existence awoke inside him for a moment and then passed away.
64Berly
Book bullets hitting me from everywhere!! I think it's not just the books, but your reviews. I especially like the short quotes at the end of each one. Nicely done.
65SqueakyChu
>64 Berly: Thanks, Kim. I like to add the quotes because it gives a little taste of each author’s writing style.
66PaulCranswick
Malaysia's branch of the 75er's wishes you and yours a happy holiday season, Madeline.
67SqueakyChu
>66 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. Wishing you and your loved ones happy holidays!
