What Are We Reading, Page 19

I finished up The Vaster Wilds, but I'm afraid that I ruined the narrative tension by putting it aside halfway through when the rest of the Terra Ignota series came from the library. I still admire Lauren Goff's writing style; her powers of description are amazing.

When I finished that, I read The Many Lives of Mama Love as a palate cleanser. It was interesting, but recovery memoirs by well educated white women always remind me that what is difficult for them is virtually impossible for others without those advantages. The author repeatedly acknowledges this fact.

Now, at long last, I have started Menewood.

I'm following Alice, I Think with its sequel, Miss Smithers by Susan Juby

>1 vwinsloe:. I need to read a memoir about a mother this month, so Mama Love will fit just fine. I was thinking about success memoirs this month after reading a novel by a man, The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. The protagonist is a Vietnamese immigrant and tells the stories of people of various ethnicities working in a fast food restaurant. It made me think again about all the memoirs I've read of very intelligent, talented, driven women who pull themselves from desperate situations into great accomplishment, with a little luck at the right time. Most of us aren't very intelligent, talented, or driven, but many of us feel desperate. I think what we lack, and that's especially true of people in the minority, is the conviction that we can make it. Many of us have the assumption that "that's not for us" whatever "that" is.

>3 Citizenjoyce: I agree that women seem to lack the confidence of many mediocre white men. But as you will see with Mama Love, the love of, and responsibility for, children can be a powerful motivator, but also sometimes a burden that men more easily toss aside. I hope that you enjoy it.

I'm reading Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

I finally finished Menewood, and think that perhaps it was too much of a good thing? It seemed very repetitive to me.

Now I need to find something completely different on my TBR.

>6 vwinsloe: Speaking of too much of a good thing, I think we agree the Murderbot series outlasted its welcome; however, the series is on Apple tv now, and it brings back the joy of the first few books. My only complaint is that Alexander Skarsgård plays the Murderbot. He does a great job, and is delicious eye candy, but he's not the sexless creature I had envisioned. I thought of it as more female.
I also watched the limited series of Long Bright River on Peacock. I think you'd like the series much more if you haven't read the book. There's a distracting romance but the worst part is they substitute the cold-hearted, misanthropic grandmother with a one-of-the-guys poker-playing grandfather. That changes the girls' entire childhood. Why would you do such a thing.
I just read a lovely fantasy, How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo. It's a retelling of Cinderella and is the first of a new series. I almost stopped reading it right away because all the characters were so mean-spirited, but I'm glad I continued. Once the fairies show up, it gets interesting.
I started the month with a chunk of a book, The Sweet Blue Distance by Sara Donati about a mid-19th-century midwife who moves from New York to New Mexico to take on a new job. Almost half of the book is about the journey from boat to train to covered wagon to horseback just to get to her new home. I love both the medical and pioneering parts. So far, Donati hasn't disappointed me with any of her historical novels.

I'm reading The Slave Yards by Najwa Bin Shatwan

I finished The Briar Club by Kate Quinn, set during the McCarthy era. The read is especially interesting now with the sweeping conservative movement in the US, especially with regards to women's, LGBTQ and visible minority rights. The Red Scare has shifted to the Immigrant Scare but the rest is on point.
The structure is what I enjoyed the most: slow and even a bit soppy at first, it builds to a dramatic and powerful ending. I loved Grace's character even if, generally, characters tended to be a bit stereotyped.

>9 Cecilturtle: That looks good. The fact that we wrenched our democracy away from McCarthyism is one of the few things giving me hope for our current disaster.

>10 Citizenjoyce: It was a good read. Nothing spectacular but entertaining with the fictional elements well embedded. Quinn wrote out her inspiration for each character too which helps really set them in their historical context.

I've just started reading Bright young women. It certainly lures you in quickly.

>7 Citizenjoyce: I haven't watched the Murderbot TV series, but I saw the trailer, and it looked like it was going to be somewhat faithful to the original. I believe that Martha Wells herself is involved. I also pictured the SecUnit in the novels as being more androgynous.

>12 Sakerfalcon: I enjoyed Bright Young Women although not everything worked for me.

Right now at long last I'm reading Little Eyes which @Citizenjoyce recommended or mentioned here a couple of times. It is certainly thought provoking, and illustrates enormous insight into human psychology.

>14 vwinsloe: I found that really creepy! I kept asking myself "why the heck would ANYONE sign up for this?"

>15 Sakerfalcon: And here I am wondering whether I am more of a voyeur or an exhibitionist! Lol.

>14 vwinsloe:, >15 Sakerfalcon: It is creepy. As to why would anyone sign up for this - humans. We're just weird. Right now I'm reading Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell. Why the heck would anyone sign up to fall in love with a serial killer? In Anderson Cooper's biography of his mother, he says that in her 90s, she still longed to fall in love with someone. Some of us don't have that gene, I guess.
And speaking of falling in love, I just finished what was to me a 5 star read - Silent Hearts by Gwen Florio about an American woman, Liv, who goes to Afghanistan to support her philandering husband's work with an NGO and her interaction with their Pakistani interpreter, Farida, who has followed her Afghani husband to Kabul for his own reasons. Their marriage was arranged and not at all desired by her. The description of their wedding night is perfect; she sobbed throughout, and he continued on with the business regardless. Evidently, women sobbing through wedding nights was quite normal and was taken with a grain of salt. Wives can either get with the program and enjoy their married lives or be miserable. It makes no difference to the family that just expects them to fulfill their obligations. Liv is falling out of love with her narcissistic husband, and Farida falls in love with her gentle, caring husband. In the end, love has nothing to do with anything. Responsibility is all. I found out that Florio has been a journalist covering stories worldwide. Her realistic approach is what makes this book so believable.

>17 Citizenjoyce: In the end, I thought that perhaps Little Eyes was an exaggeration of online chatroom behavior. In that light, it was quite a realistic illustration of human beings' behavior when they think that they are anonymous or, in some cases, feel compelled to breach that anonymity.
Silent Hearts sounds really good; putting it on my list.

After Little Eyes I needed some lighter fantasy, so I started Weyward.

>18 vwinsloe: I like the chatroom analogy. It fits well, many of us do like sharing our lives with strangers.

I finished Bright young women, which was a fast read. I found myself sometimes getting confused as to whose story I was reading, and which timeline I was on, but overall it was a good read. The 1970s attitudes to the victims and survivors were infuriating to read - especially as we haven't improved a whole lot in many areas. The book reminded me slightly of I have some questions for you, in that it is a woman in the present day revisiting a crime from the past, but I think Makkai's book was better on the whole despite having some flaws. BYM is also flawed, in different ways, but also a good read.

I've just started All our yesterdays for a change of time (pre WWII) and place (Italy).

>20 Sakerfalcon: I went back to my review of Bright Young Women and I had the same criticisms. I really liked the historical perspective though, and the integration of ideas about grief and same sex relationships. You are right that I have some Questions for You was a much more polished work.

I'm reading Farida by Monia Mazigh. Only touchstone is to the French edition, but I am reading it in English.

I'm enjoying Fast Into the Night which is a better read than it would seem from the ratings on LT.

>23 vwinsloe: I love reading about the Iditarod. I'll have to check it out.

I'm reading Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson

La Végétarienne by Han Kang

This is a dense and impactful novel about a young woman who, following a series of nightmares, refuses to eat meat. The story is told through three people who each see her through their eyes: her husband who represents normality and convention; her sister who represents family and history; her brother-in-law who represents emotion and love. This, of course, is my interpretation and as soon as I set this book down, I thought: wow, that's the kind of book I need to talk about with others to better understand it! I'm sure there are a lot more perspectives.
Certainly it's the kind of story that can disturb, baffle, engross or enchant.

Also, I read The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult. Don't bother with it :( It's syrupy teenage drivel.

>26 Cecilturtle: I read The Vegetarian some time ago, but, I remember that my interpretation was that the protagonist began to resent her objectification as a woman (as a piece of meat, as it were), first became a vegetarian, and then didn't eat at all because she felt that she had no "self." It was powerful, particularly in the context of eating disorders where women try to exert control over the only thing that they can.

That was my take anyway.

>28 vwinsloe: oh interesting - there are definitely elements. I saw it more as a rejection of the abuse she suffered as a child. I, also, interpreted her actions as a way to spurn the body to become wholly and literally a plant, far from conventions and expectations. There may also be cultural elements that I'm missing though.

>29 Cecilturtle: I think that various interpretations can all be valid, which is why the book was so widely translated and read.

I'm reading And Sometimes They Kill You: Confronting the Epidemic of Intimate Partner Violence by Pamela Cross, a Canadian lawyer.

>20 Sakerfalcon: All our yesterdays was a very good read, following two families through the late 1930s/1940s in Italy, with the rise of fascism and the hardships of WWII.

Now I'm reading and very much enjoying Anita de Monte laughs last, a novel that is partly based on the life and death of artist Ana Mendieta, and partly on the continuing marginalisation of women of colour in the art world.

>32 Sakerfalcon: All Our Yesterdays sounds like an interesting read. I loved A Thread of Grace which was also about civilians in Italy during WWII.

I still haven't gotten to Olga Dies Dreaming by the same author as Anita de Monte laughs Last, which has been languishing on my TBR for some time now.

I finished The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin and liked it very much until about 2/3 of the way through, then it started to seem, as many memoirs do, quite self-serving. She does have Oprah's imprimatur, but so do Dr. Oz and Dr Phil, so... Love says she loves self-help books. I did too at her age, but by now, I think they try too hard to push their theories and ignore the realities that don't fit. Her devotion to Eckhart Tolle, another buddy of Oprah's, gave me a bit of the ick. Her description of life in jail was great.. She shows that the prison system can't exist without free labor from the prisoners. Her most meaningful pronouncement is that any prison sentence is a life sentence, and she shows how true that is. But by the end, the book reads like one of those 3 page Christmas letters that brag about the wonders of their perfect family.
As promised, I read another self-serving memoir, Gypsy Rose Blanchard's My Time to Stand. Oh dear, she deserves a good life after her horrible childhood, but alas, I think it left her a very self-centered and transactional person. The fiction was much better.

I'm reading Private Revolutions: Four Women Face China's New Social Order by Yuan Yang

>35 LynnB: That looks good, I'll check it out. I finished a fun book, Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle about a man who, after his father died when he was a young boy, found he could taste whatever food was most important to people who consulted him. He was a chef and had such a good palate that he could figure out the specifics of any dish. I love books about food and magic, so this was a winner. Well, the first half or so was a winner, but once people have to face the consequences of their magic - as in every fairy tale or the TV series Breaking Bad, the fun goes away, and it's not as enjoyable. I know, I know, actions have consequences, but it's so delightful when they don't.

>34 Citizenjoyce: I'm glad that you liked part of The Many Lives of Mama Love anyway. I think that a lot of people who write memoirs and self-help books are blowhards, and I don't usually read them.

Now I'm being drawn into The God of the Woods which i think that you and @LynnB both enjoyed.

Anita de Monte laughs last was a very good read. That's two for two from this author so far.

>38 Sakerfalcon: Thanks!

>38 Sakerfalcon: Those Xochitl Gonzalez books look interesting. Are they connected at all or can they be read stand-alone?

>40 ScoLgo: They are completely unconnected to each other, so read whichever you like, whenever you like!

>41 Sakerfalcon: Thank you! My library has both on file but there is a wait list for Olga Dies Dreaming. Good to know I can just grab the more recent title.

I'm reading The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

>43 LynnB: I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

I just finished The Serviceberry which is a lovely long essay published in book form. Highly recommended.

>44 vwinsloe: , >32 Sakerfalcon: Thanks for recommending The Serviceberry. I'm so filled with anger right now, maybe it will help realign me a little. Speaking of anger, I'm an old WAS (that's WASP without the P) so I don't do external expressions of it. The children in my family keep it inside our hearts since our parents were so good at pushing it out into the world. Therefore, listening to Anita de Monte Laughs Last and hearing all that screaming was very off-putting. I did, however, like it very much when no one was screaming. Oh, and the idea that hip hop is equal in artistic value to Renaissance paintings - please. Refer to the above WAS status.

>45 Citizenjoyce: Lol. I hope that you like The Serviceberry.

>45 Citizenjoyce: Glad you enjoyed Anita de Monte. I read it on paper so the lost tempers and shouting matches were easier to take than being literally screamed at! But probably less powerful. I loved Raquel's friends and family and how they valued their culture and refused to see it as less than the WASP canon.

A few years ago, I read a nonfiction book, When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill. I learned that, of all the books sent to US soldiers, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith was the most requested. This piqued my interest, and I've finally gotten around to reading it.

I went to a book sale at my local library last weekend, and I was pleased to see that there were a large number of sff books. There was an old mass market paperback with a title that rang a bell so I bought it. When I got home, I looked it up on my Amazon wish list (I don't buy books there!) and it was the very first book on my very long wishlist, added in 2001.

So I'm reading Jaran which is by an author who I have never read before, although I believe that @sakerfalcon recommended Unconquerable Sun a while ago, and I also have that one and it's sequel sitting on my shelf.

@LynnB the route that leads us to reading a particular book can be interesting.

>49 vwinsloe: I really enjoyed Jaran when I read it some years ago. I've never felt the need to read any of the sequels though. Yes, it probably was me who recommended Unconquerable Sun; I'm eagerly awaiting the final volume in the trilogy.

I've just reread Saint Death's daughter, a non-cosy but also not too dark fantasy featuring necromancy, in preparation for reading the sequel, Saint Death's herald. I really like the protagonist, Lainie, and her family, both biological and found. The world is well drawn and fascinating, with distinctive religious and magic systems.

>50 Sakerfalcon: Well, thank you. I'm enjoying Jaran, particularly the differences in gender roles in the tribal culture.

I've already got Saint Death's Daughter on my wishlist, and it's good to have a confirmation that it's a good read.

>47 Sakerfalcon: I like what you said about valuing the Latin culture. It didn't seem to me that Jack or Nick and his family thought of the Latin culture of less worth than their own. I think they didn't see it as culture at all. I just read some of the reviews and found the book was based on the real-life Cuban artist Ana Mendieta. That makes it even more powerful.

I'm reading Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki

I've just finished A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman

I finished Jaran which was essentially a romance but with an interesting twist on gender roles. The author obviously intended the series to go on because it left a significant plot line unresolved. I won't continue on with the series, but I will, at some point, read Unconquerable Sun, a more recent offering by the same author.

Now I think I'll read Olga Dies Dreaming since I moved it to the top of the TBR when Xochitl Gonzalez was mentioned here.

I read Private Revolutions: Four Women Face China's New Social Order
by Yuan Yang and loved it at first. Three of these girls lived in poverty, one was kind of middle class, but older China middle class. All had extreme restrictions. All managed, through education and very hard work to pull themselves up to become successful business women. All are very entrepreneurial - so much for communist China. But you know the story about the successful deli owners who slept on the floor of their establishment in order to save rent money to plow back into their business, then once successful kept depriving themselves to become even more successful? That describes these women. By the end, I wondered what the point was. They were very successful, but their only enjoyment in life seemed to come from working, working, working. I guess they could come here and run for office. Now is the time for them.
More enjoyable was Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature by Pamela Bedore. I always love the Great Courses, and this one had me going back and rereading or reading for the first time works she mentioned. Unfortunately, most of my reads were by male authors because I had previously skipped them, but I got a big kick out of Transcendental Wild Oats by Louisa May Alcott. I hate Little Women, but this one shows her true feelings about women putting up with the foibles of egotistical men.
Now I'm almost finished with Homeseeking by Karissa Chen. It's a good intergenerational story about Shanghai and Hong Kong, but at 512 pages, I feel it needs editing.
Oh, and I finally got around to watching the Foundation series. It is so much better than Asimov's patriarchal, misogynist books. At last, Hollywood improves literature - but I guess it's not really from Hollywood.

>54 LynnB:. I also read Private Revolutions: Four Women Face China's New Social Order recently. It was an interesting book, and I learned quite a bit about life in China today. I struggled to keep each story straight as the book alternated among the four women. Three of them had similar backgrounds and career paths; those who had children had daughters. So, I had to refer back a few times. I think the challenges in keeping each story straight partly stemmed from any lack of passion in the telling.

That said, I gained some insight into the fiercely competitive nature of China's education system where children need not only excel academically, but come from the right district to access the best schools. I was heartened to see many examples of women helping each other to get ahead, or to get by. I was amazed by the entrepreneurial spirit and "hustle" these women displayed. I realized how difficult life is for rural citizens, especially women.

As so often happens with nonfiction, I don't think the jacket blurb lived up to its promise; it didn't really explain the politics and rising economic tide as advertised. It didn't go deep enough. I gained some insights, as I said, but I still don't have a solid understanding of China's new economy.

When I finished the book, I noted that the four women portrayed had succeeded in their lives. I wonder how representative their stories are.

>57 LynnB: How difficult it was for one of the mothers not to be able to instill the same attitude of self-sacrifice and constant work into her daughter. That seems to be universal. Yes, the difficulty of achieving an education was emphasized, including the increased difficulty if your child was "extra" or conceived when the mother was unmarried. I was surprised at the difference a few years made, so that one woman chose to have a child without a husband and didn't face the discrimination of the first mother.

For a book club, I am reading Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom. It's okay so far, but I am barely a quarter into it.

>59 sweetiegherkin: That looks good, and Libby has it.

I'm reading Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh

>61 LynnB: That looks bizarre. Let us know what you think.

>62 Citizenjoyce: It was bizarre! More to follow. I need to savour it a bit -- no pun intended!

>61 LynnB: I've read a couple of books by Sophie Mackintosh and didn't think that either one lived up to their promise.

555 by Hélène Gestern

While restoring a music case, Grégoire finds a mysterious musical score. Could it be a long-lost Scarlatti sonata? This is a beginning of a wild pursuit, told from the perspective of 6 different characters, including a mysterious one. It's fun, fast, original and very well structured. I had a hard time putting the book down despite its almost 500 pages. The epilogue, however, was wholly unnecessary: there were enough clues that I had figured the mysterious character and their motivation - I ended up skimming this last part.
Nonetheless, a great read which is also a wonderful homage to music.

>60 Citizenjoyce: I just finished it last night and overall I liked it. I appreciate a thought-provoking story, especially when it has a basis in fact.

I finished Geraldine Brooks short memoir about her husband's death entitled Memorial Days. I found it a bit choppy, and it may have been better served if I had read it all at once.

I read The Echo Wife which was a work of speculative fiction involving implausible adult clones. It was a suspenseful thriller with really good character development, but I couldn't figure out that there was a deeper meaning underlying the story until I read the author's powerful Acknowledgements at the end of the book. Then it dawned on me that the book was about grooming victims for abuse, and about the victim avoiding the repetition of abuse in the next generation. That gave me lots of food for thought. This was my first book by Sarah Gailey, and I'm not sure that it was her most popular, but I will look for others.

Now I'm back to the middle ages though, with Joan.

>67 vwinsloe: I too recently finished Memorial Days and found it refreshing to read of a long marriage in which the couple still loves and likes each other. Well, I guess it is easier to have pleasant thoughts about a spouse who just died. Brooks was sure Horwitz would get his drinking under control once his book tour was over. Perhaps that was the naivety of someone just confronting substance abuse in a loved one, or who knows, maybe he would have. The book did spur me on to reading something by him, Confederates in the Attic. He threw himself into his work, but it left me with the recurring feeling that this country is doomed. I was surprised to read elsewhere of the struggles Brooks had with their adopted son Bizu. trump would glory in the way Australia defines citizenship. In the US Bizu, as the adopted child (from Ethiopia) of an American citizen would be, or could easily become, a citizen, but Australia is much more stringent. She had thought of moving to Australia, but it looks like Bizu could never become a citizen there. He could become a resident, but would never hold an Australian passport, and he would have no right to leave the country and return as a resident. If he stayed there, his children could be citizens. They're a world-traveling family, so that avenue is closed to them. This was another book this month that led me to directions I'd not thought of following.
One reason I was so impressed with the longevity of Brooks' marriage was that last month I read Show Don't Tell: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld. I loved the stories at first, but by the end was disappointed that all the marriages ended the same way: boredom, waning love, and affairs.

>69 Citizenjoyce: Ha! I immediately put Confederates in the Attic and Spying on the South on my wish list while reading Memorial Days. I'll read them if they ever turn up. I did not know about the citizenship issues with Geraldine Brooks's son Bizu. Thanks for the info. I do know a white couple of Irish descent here in Massachusetts who adopted a brother and sister from Ethiopia in similar circumstances. Although US citizens, they have had their own personal and familial struggles.

Hello! I am new to this group, and I've just finished I who have never known men this morning. It was one of those books that will live with me for a while, and I was struck by the idea of womanhood in isolation.

>71 et.carole: Welcome! I have seen I Who Have Never Known Men in passing and wondered about it. Now I am adding it to my wishlist. Thanks!

>71 et.carole: I Who Have Never Known Men sounds like a title from the Joanna Russ, Sherri Tepper age of feminist speculative fiction writing. I was pleased to find that it was written in 2019, and Libby has it, so I checked it out.

I recently finished Four Treasures of the Sky. What a good read. It kept me turning pages, and when I had to set it down for real world obligations, I wanted to be reading it. As I look back on the book, it was sad. The pull of the book distracted me from that fact.

>74 ElizabethPotter: That one looks good. Thanks.

Joan was really exceptional. I liked the way the author's Joan of Arc was a largely secular character who was remarkable for things other than religiosity, namely her size and strength, her endurance and her talent for weaponry and military strategy. This character was a full fleshed human being that you cared about.

>74 ElizabethPotter:, >76 vwinsloe: both of those look good, I've requested them from Libby.
>59 sweetiegherkin: I finished Crow Mary, an excellent book I recommended to my book club, but, argh, it made me so angry. It shows the best and worst humanity has to offer. Thanks for the recommendation. I interviewed a Mexican immigrant family a couple of months ago. They've been here 10 years, the children are citizens, the parents are not, but they're legal residents. They own a business, and they're doing pretty well. As an aside, I asked what they thought of the way things are going under trump. The man said that he thought trump was doing a good job. I asked if he was at all afraid of what could happen to his family. He said he wasn't because he knew if they worked hard and lived a good life, nothing bad could happen to them. That's the kind of attitude that destroyed Farwell. He believed they could trust the government for both justice and to point their children into the right future. Goes Ahead was like Cassandra prophetizing the truth and constantly being dismissed.

>77 Citizenjoyce: I read it for a book club too; I think there's lot to discuss there. I agree with your assessment about best and worst on display. So much potential and so much destruction. It was interesting to try to look into the real story; there weren't many facts out there online but a few that I could find, including obituaries for Abe Farwell and Goes First -- you have to search "Mary Horse Guard" to find her info.

I'm just starting Monster by Jowita Bydlowska

It seems that each time I finished the last few books by Alexandra Fuller I have vowed never to read another. I just finished Fi: A Memoir of My Son, and maybe I read it in too close proximity to Memorial Days, but it was a hot mess. Fuller's books are like a trainwreck you don't want to see, but you can't tear your eyes away.

So now I am reading Starling House. If I had not been in such a hurry, I would have read what it was about and saved it for a Halloween read. It's fun so far.

>80 vwinsloe: I loved Starling House! It would be a perfect Halloween read.

>80 vwinsloe: Good to know. Wish I had waited. It has drawn me too far in to stop now!

>80 vwinsloe: I really enjoyed Starling House; I thought it was refreshing that the author avoided some of the obvious tropes. I haven't read anything else from Alix Harrow but would like to if anyone has recommendations...

>62 Citizenjoyce: Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh sure sparked lots of discussion at our book club. It is the story of Elodie, who lives a monotonous life in a small town, largely ignored by her husband. And the story of Violet, the wife of an ambassador who arrives in town. Violet is a master of manipulation -- approaching and withdrawing from Elodie; being somehow both helpless and powerful. No wonder Elodie becomes obsessed with her.

As Elodie tells us what happened in their small town where many people went mad or died one summer, her reality begins to blur and her imagination comes increasingly into her account. So what actually happened? I certainly don't know. But it was a good read. It felt like neither the characters nor the reader could get away from impending disaster. There is a sinister tone to the writing. The book explores desire and obsession from a female perspective, and that was very interesting and left lots to think about.

The ending is ambiguous, as is the "ending" of the true story the book is somewhat based on.

>83 Darth-Heather: If you have Amazon Prime, check out The Autobiography of a Traitor and Half-Savage, The Six Deaths of the Saint, and The Knight and the Butcherbird. All are short novellas and can be borrowed free via Prime Reading.

>83 Darth-Heather: Thanks. I absolutely loved Ten Thousand Doors of January. I had no expectations, so maybe marked it a little higher because of that, but I thought it was brilliant.

>85 ScoLgo: >86 vwinsloe: excellent - these are going on the wishlist!

>86 vwinsloe: I haven't read Ten Thousand Doors yet - but a hardback is in the mail now and should arrive here by end of the month!

I wonder... do GD members use The Internet Speculative Fiction Database? You can search by ISBN, Title, Author Name, etc... For instance, here is a direct link to Harrow's page. Among other uses, this site is really helpful when trying to track down which anthology or collection a short story appears in, as well as finding other works by authors one likes.

>85 ScoLgo:, >88 ScoLgo: Thanks for the resources. I also loved Starling House, that A Spindle Splintered, and A Mirror Mended were my favorite of hers. I didn't feel Ten Thousand Doors of January as as successful.
I finished 2 5-star reads, one on the recommendation of >71 et.carole:, I Who Have Never Known Men ponders what it means to be human. What do you do if you're left alone in an environment you're not even sure is on earth? To me, it felt like the antithesis of Lord of the Rings. I would think that's because it's a novel about women written by a woman, but the tv series Yellowjackets seems to be in the same vein, portraying humans as Original Sinners. I would recommend it to my book club, but I don't think they'd appreciate the ending. >84 LynnB: some endings turn people off a whole book.
My other 5-star read was The Listeners by Maggie Stefvater, historical fiction about a luxurious hotel, the Avalon, turned into a diplomatic holding facility at the beginning of WWII. The general manager, June Hudson, is an Appalachian woman with an Appalachian twang who has pulled herself up from poverty to become a world-famous facilitator of this hotel that anticipates and fulfills every desire of the very wealthy guests. I lived in Glenwood Springs, Colorado for a number of years. The Hotel Colorado there was built around a natural mineral hot springs (as was the Avalon). The water in Colorado was not magical, as is the Avalon's water, but it was regarded as very healthy and therapeutic. Presidents stayed at the Avalon, President Teddy Roosevelt stayed at the Hotel Colorado, which, during the war became a hospital for the wounded. So, I was predisposed to like the book right from the beginning, but the writing, the characters, the moral decisions and compromises made it unforgettable. I think >1 vwinsloe: you could put up with the taste of magical realism to immerse yourself in the rest.

>88 ScoLgo: I was unaware of that database, but I'm bookmarking it now. Thanks!

>89 Citizenjoyce: I read Maggie Stiefvater's YA book The Scorpio Races a while ago, and was very impressed with her writing. I didn't want to chase down more of her YA books (because they seem to be parts of series), but I put The Listeners on my wishlist as soon as I saw it.

>91 vwinsloe: I read 3 of her YA books: The Raven Boys, Shiver, and Scorpio Races and thought they were ok. If I'd realized she was the same author, I probably wouldn't have tried The Listeners. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

>92 Citizenjoyce: The Scorpio Races was recommended to me by some equestrian friends. I liked it a lot, but did not feel the need to read anything else of hers. I'm frequently disappointed by YA, but I'm not exactly the intended reader. (P.S. I think you've got the wrong book in the touchstone in your post above.)

>93 vwinsloe: Thanks

I've just read The jealous one, a psychological thriller by Celia Fremlin who has been called "Britain's Patricia Highsmith". That's a good comparison. Fremlin builds tension through seemingly ordinary suburban families, with characters who are just a little bit off (and frequently unreliable). Rosamund and Geoffrey are happily married, enjoying their in-jokes and sarcastic observations of their neighbours. Then Lindy moves in next door, and soon drives a wedge between the couple, inserting herself into their life and charming Geoffrey with her free-spiritedness. Rosamund is determined not to be the jealous wife, and puts up with being sidelined with a smile. Until one day, she wakes with a splitting headache, having dreamed of murdering Lindy. Thank goodness it's only a dream ... until Geoffrey comes home and reports that Lindy is missing ... The tension built unbearably throughout the book, as Rosamund grits her teeth and smiles at Lindy, then puzzles over the blank spot in her memories, starts to question herself, and finally puts the puzzle pieces together. The denouement is quite marvellously done - subtle and oh so gratifying. This is the second of Fremlin's books that I've read, and I have a few others in the TBR pile. Highly recommended if you like mid-century thrillers from a female POV.

>89 Citizenjoyce: The listeners is on my TBR pile. I had mixed reactions to the YA books by her that I read (Shiver and sequels were waaaay too angsty for me; The raven boys series was better but went on too long), but I'm looking forward to this one.

>95 Sakerfalcon: That looks good.

I finished Starling House, and the more I think about it, the more I liked it.

It's too damn hot here, so I've started The Husbands which should take my mind off it for a bit. It's insightful and funny so far.

>90 vwinsloe: Glad you like the ISFDB! Have you seen The Literature Map?

>97 vwinsloe: I had my air conditioner checked, and the guy suggested I get someone to check the ducts in the attic. I've never been up there; I wonder if someone is up there messing things up.

>98 ScoLgo: Yes, I have that one. Thanks.

>99 Citizenjoyce: Lol. If so, I hope when he comes down that he is a keeper!

I finished The Night Ends with Fire (The Dragon Spirit Duology)by K. X. Songa, a retelling of the Mulan legend which is 1000 years old and has been told in many ways besides Disney's. It's only 432 pages but seems to go on forever, I think because Meilin fails time after time. I didn't realize it is part of a duology (though that's right in the LT title) and was left feeling pretty down at the ending which did, however, seem realistic. I don't know if I'll read the next one, THE DRAGON WAKES WITH THUNDER, there's only so much failure I can take, though if it really is the end (and she doesn't decide to make it a trilogy) maybe something good will happen to the poor girl who's just trying not to be a slave to her sex.

I finished Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner which I would recommend but it does have an odd, elusive quality which left me a bit hanging.

>102 Cecilturtle: I have Creation Lake sitting on my TBR and was thinking about reading it soon. I picked it up because I read The Flamethrowers and had a very mixed reaction to it, but liked what she tried to do. I will definitely get to it now. Thanks.

I just finished A Winter's Promise and found it to be a quick and enjoyable read. Translated work can be so interesting, because it's sometimes hard to tell whether the prose is just a bit of a rocky translation, or whether the translator tried to leave some sense of the original language and writing in it. I also have not been reading a lot of YA lately, and forgot how it's more common for YA series to just end on a relative cliffhanger. It worked; I will in fact be reading the next one when my library hold comes in.
Maybe The Listeners is a worthwhile add to my list! I tried her YA work years ago, and found it fun but ultimately not quite satisfying.

>102 Cecilturtle: I also have Creation Lake here waiting to be read. Thanx for posting about it.

I've recently finished a memoir, The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Sophia Al-Maria. Have also finished a Canadian novel, Mere by Esta Spalding and Linda Spalding. I'm currently reading The Measure by Nikki Erlick which, at about 1/4 through, is already raising lots of moral issues.

>106 LynnB: The Measure looks interesting. I'll put it on my wishlist.

Right now I'm reading Annie Bot which I believe was mentioned here by @citizenjoyce. Good so far!

>103 vwinsloe: >105 LynnB: I'll be interested to get your reactions. My book club mates didn't like it as much as I did, mostly because they didn't find the characters likeable and there is a bit of confusion in the plot. I gave it high marks for creativity, research and atmosphere - it has a great "noir" vibe.

>104 et.carole: I really enjoyed the first 3 books in that series.

>107 vwinsloe: I thought Annie Bot was a good and, sadly, topical read.

I just finished The Dutch house and thought it was excellent. For a character-driven book I found it very compelling. It's the story of two siblings and the house that shapes their lives. It's unusual for me to enjoy something non-genre this much.

I've also read Will do magic for small change, which melds 1890s West Africa with Pittsburgh in the 1980s. Cinnamon is only 12 but her life is full of adult problems. When her brother dies of an overdose he leaves a mysterious book with her, one which tells the story of an alien visitor to Dahomey in the late C19th. Although Cinnamon is so young, this is not a children's or YA book. It has dark moments, especially around colonial and inter-tribal exploitation, and takes a complex look at themes of identity, sexuality, race, gender, and history. It's long and took me a while to read, but I was really impressed with how the author managed to pull everything together. I've moved right on to start a follow-up with Cinnamon as an older women - Archangels of funk.

I'm rereading, after more than 35 years, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. I'm posting that here as it is a classic about the morality of women.

>110 LynnB: So what did you think? I just read a review that said it took 100 pages before she got hooked on it. Is it the usual judgment of immoral women or was it worth the read?

>109 Sakerfalcon: I found the first half of Annie Bot to be disturbing. The author did a really good job with the protagonist's inner dialog.

I agree that The Dutch House is a really compelling read. I'm not sure why.

I'm putting Will do Magic for Small Change on my wishlist. Thanks.

>102 Cecilturtle: I, too, read Creation Lake finally. I was worried that it wouldn't live up to all the hoopla, which it didn't for me, but it was a very interesting look through the mind of a sociopath. I compare it to So Far Gone by Jess Walter in which one of the characters also chooses acts regardless of their effects on individuals. Shane is drawn deeper and deeper into a Christian nationalist sect partly because, unlike Sadie in Creation Lake, he's not too bright. However, what he does have going for him is that he's young, white, male, and has the backing of right-wing goons, so he gets to exert authority over his family. To me So Far Gone is the better book because it gives so much complexity.
A surprise great read this month is The Monsters We Defyby Leslye Penelope, historical fantasy - heavy on the historical. The first fascinating fact about it is that the main character, Clara Johnson, is a real life alternate version of Breonna Taylor who shot and killed the white officer who invaded her bedroom and lived to become a hero. Penelope posits that the only way she could have lived was by magic, thus begins the fantasy quest for a supernatural ring. Populating the story are real life historical Black people, buildings and societies, colorism and classism. Here's an interview with the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bz1XM4WiBI

>102 Cecilturtle:, >113 Citizenjoyce: I started reading Creation Lake last night. From what I recall of The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner seems again to be setting up a really atmospheric read with an interesting protagonist. The protagonist in The Flamethrowers was naive, despite being tough and cool. The atmosphere was sort of an immersion in Italian machismo of the 1970s. I guess I'll see if she can pull off the same trick with Creation Lake.

>113 Citizenjoyce:, I'm adding The Monsters We Defy to my wishlist. Thanks.

>112 vwinsloe: It's very disturbing, I agree.

Moving Creation Lake up my TBR pile. I enjoyed The flamethrowers a lot and all your comments have me looking forward to CL.

>107 vwinsloe: The Measure was very intriguing. It lead to a fascinating discussion at my book club. All in all, the premise carried this book for me and I enjoyed reading it a great deal.

However, there were some things that I didn't like. There are eight main characters, and that may have been too many as there was not as much character development as I like. We only ever saw the characters in terms of dealing with the length of their own or a loved one's short string. And no "long-stringers" are developed, making it seem as if they are not affected by knowing when they will die.

I was surprised at the almost total lack of religion in the story. The strings accurately predict life span; nothing can be done to change it. That deterministic message would surely be seized upon by religious leaders as proof of God's existence, or as the work of the devil. And there is no discussion of where the strings came from. I can't believe humans would not question who sent the strings, why, and how they know everyone's life spans.

What I liked was the way younger generations seemed to normalize the strings, often ignoring them, like people have normalized so many technologies that once seemed life altering and scary. I liked the way the author described a new form of discrimination against short-stringers: a new distinction to drive a wedge between people, with the usual consequences.

As I was reading, the questions that immediately came to mind were would I open my box? If I did, would I tell people? Reading this book was like a thought experiment. But the more important question raised, on reflection, is an examination of what it means to have a good life.

>108 Cecilturtle: There are so many books on my TBR shelves, and lots of required reading for my three book clubs, I doubt I'll get to Creation Lake soon, but I'll try to remember to let you know what I think.

>116 LynnB: That's an interesting assessment. I agree, religion in all forms would come up concerning the strings. I guess she didn't want to deal with that.

My friend Jeanne Flemming has just published her first novel, Death at High Tide, so I'm reading it!

>119 LynnB: How exciting.

>116 LynnB: Perhaps part of the thought experiment of The Measure was identifying things that weren't included, but undoubtedly would be if the premise were real. What a great book for a book club discussion! Thanks.

>119 LynnB: It looks like you created a touchstone for Death at High Tide, and I hope that you or another reader gets around to filling in more details.

>102 Cecilturtle: I liked Creation Lake a lot. It was definitely one of the more interesting and thought provoking novels that I have read in quite some time despite the fact that it took me more than half the book to get hooked. Although it wove together philosophy, eco-terrorism, and a spy plot, I thought that it was more tightly woven than The Flamethrowers, and had a well defined character arc at the same time. The protagonist is amoral and antisocial, but clearly suffers from anxiety and insomnia that she fights in a fairly controlled way with drugs and alcohol. I loved her cynically wry asides. The philosophical part of the novel sets out the emails of a depressed character living in a cave who is sort of an enlightenment thinker like Rousseau in the beginning but who finally seems to ascribe to a more modern French existentialism that searches for personal meaning outside of, and in spite of, society. There are many more things to notice such as the examination of modernity and progress, as well as the observation of entrenched and changing French culture and how it differs (or not) from Italian culture.

>123 vwinsloe: I'm glad it was a hit for you! I was really engaged with the whole book: I have visited the area and am very familiar with the culture so it really resonated. There are a lot of themes to pick from and it definitely calls for a deep dive.

I've read Akata Witch which I thought was very good for a very young YA novel.

Now I've started Sandwich after it landed in my Little Free Library a few months ago. It seemed like a good book to read in summer, so I held on to it. I had no expectations other than that, but it is pretty funny so far.

Sandwich was quite a good little book. And I mean little; at about 225 pages, slightly more than a novella. But it was really cleverly packed with descriptions of the reproductive life of a woman in the sandwich generation, having both college age kids and elderly parents to worry about. The story is ostensibly of a single week spent by a family in the Town of Sandwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. There was plenty of Cape Cod sand and sea atmosphere and nostalgia as I expected, but through the use of flashbacks, there is so much more depth to the narrator's story. A few of the characters were not well developed, but considering that, it was an interesting look from a particular perspective. And funny. In some places, laugh out loud funny.

>126 vwinsloe: That book, and 45 of its closest friends are on my TBR shelves. I'll try to get to it soon.

>111 Citizenjoyce: Madame Bovary marked the beginning of a style of realism, which added to its scandalous nature. And I think there are moments captured in the book that are striking, with profound insights. Unfortunately, these moments are few. Many LT reviewers have spoken about Flaubert's amazing writing style. I have no complaints about the writing, but it didn't wow me. To me, the saddest part of the story was the fate of Berthe.

So, some highlights: the seduction at the farm festival where Rodolphe's and Emma's words are interspersed with speeches about duty and discussion of manure. My favourite scene is the one where Emma and Leon are "making out" in the coach, where Flaubert gives us a list of stops rather than a description of the action. Brilliant! I loved the portrayal of Emma as a hopeless romantic trapped in such a realistic world. And, amazingly for the time, I was impressed by Flaubert's lack of moralizing.

And the lowlights: Not much drama or tension, and what is there is broken up by meanderings into topics like operating on a club foot. I didn't like that the novel ended with M. Homais, who was not a central character worthy of the last word. The characters weren't well developed -- not one of them was three dimensional.

So, a mixed bag.

>122 vwinsloe:. Jeanne Flemming's Death at High Tide was pretty good. I'm not a big mystery reader, but I found it engaging. And, as a Canadian, liked the setting in small-town New Brunswick. I liked the main character, who is well developed and feels like a real person. I liked the plot which kept me surprised until the author revealed the criminal. The writing is solid, and never overly descriptive even though the author manages to set the scene in NB really well. One event I found a bit implausible, but that didn't take away from the story...and hey, stranger things have happened.

>127 LynnB:, It's interesting what we pick off the pile isn't it? I don't keep my TBR in chronological order of any kind (neither by publication date nor when I acquired it). I picked off Sandwich simply because it was summer. I just started The Light Pirate because hurricanes are in season.

>129 LynnB: That's great. I'm not really a mystery reader either, but I hope that she does well with her first book. I'm glad that you filled in more of the details on the work page so that others might be interested. I figured out how to link the Amazon cover, so I learned something new.

Inspired by vwinsloe, I'm reading Sandwich by Catherine Newman

>131 LynnB: I hope that you like it!

>132 vwinsloe: I read almost half of it yesterday...it's delightful and a great portrayal of Rocky's struggles with menopause.

>133 LynnB: Yes, it is a very quick read. I suppose that someone might find fault with everything that she crams into this little book, but somehow, it works!

>128 LynnB: No moralizing? Maybe I'll give it a try.

I enjoyed The Light Pirate so much that I've added Lily Brooks-Dalton's other books to my wishlist. The Light Pirate is a slow burn. It follows the lives of a handful of characters for decades, illustrating the changes in their environment over that time. It has been categorized as literary sci-fi, or even magical realism, but that is not at all front and center. It is apocalyptic, as all books about climate change are, but accepting rather than horrifying. Highly recommended.

I'm reading Gendered Islamophobia: My Journey with a Scar(f) by Monia Mazigh

I'm reading Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald

>137 LynnB: What did you think of Gendered Islamophobia? From the description, ir sounds like it might be interesting.

I wanted to follow up The Light Pirate with something that I thought would be as strong, so I'm reading the 2024 Hugo Award winner Some Desperate Glory.

>139 vwinsloe: Gendered Islamophobia provided some insight. It was repetitive and contained anecdotes which made it less compelling. Overall it wasn't great.

>141 LynnB: Thank you, I think I'll skip it.

>140 vwinsloe: Some Desperate Glory is a great book. I just got The Light Pirate from Libby. Now I just have to find time to fit it in.
I just finished Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President by E. Jean Carroll, and it left me with a little hope that we're not all going to drown in Maga. Carroll is a narcissist but she's an optimistic, head cheerleader kind of narcissist, and I guess she's just what we needed to smack down our sadistic narcissist in chief. She's fashion-obsessed and very much a Manhattanite (though she lives in a cabin), so just the opposite of me, but she's very forthcoming about what it takes to fight against trump with his battery of attorneys. Turns out, by now, he's scraping the bottom of the lawyer barrel while she had the dream team. She describes trump's lead lawyer, Joe Tacopina, as kind of a pit bull in $6000 suits who enjoyed berating grandmothers and Alina Habba as beautiful, exquisitely dressed, full of confidence, and ignorant of the law. This ended up being my feel-good book of the month.

>143 Citizenjoyce: Thanks for the report on E. Jean Carroll's book. I was wondering whether it was any good, but I am putting it on my wishlist now.

I think that you will like The Light Pirate, if you can squeeze it in.

I loved Some Desperate Glory. It used old science fiction tropes in new ways and had many nice surprises.

Now I'm reading The Fox Wife. I really enjoyed Yangsze Choo's previous novel, The Night Tiger, particularly for it's atmosphere and sense of place. I hope that I will enjoy this one as much.

I'm starting to read Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

>146 LynnB: Let us know what you think.

I have finished Amélie Nothomb's latest, Tant mieux who dedicates this romanticized biography to her mother.
If you don't know her, Nothomb is a bit of a media darling of the francophone world; she releases a short novel every year, which has added up to some 34 books. She has some award-winning fiction but, to my mind, her romanticized biographies, either hers or her family, are the best. I think Fear and Trembling had some success in the English-speaking world.
Nothomb is the daughter of a Belgian diplomat (who negotiated the largest XXth c. hostage takeover in the Congo) and grew up in a variety of countries, including Japan with which she fell in love. She has an incredible writing style and a beautiful but forceful way of describing emotions.
Tant mieux is no exception. She recounts her maternal grandmother's traumas passed down to her own daughter. This helps explain Nothomb's mother's personality, idiosyncrasies and beliefs. It's an interesting tale of how silences and repressed fear can manifest in quirks and, in this case, various forms of abuse.

>148 Cecilturtle: I have never heard of that author. I will keep my eye out for her books, particularly Fear and Trembling. Thanks.

>149 vwinsloe: I hope you enjoy it. There was a critically acclaimed movie made from it too. It must be available with subtitles. I never saw it, but I've heard good things: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Trembling_(film)

>147 vwinsloe: I'm afraid I'm one of those for whom this book didn't work. Sadie is calculating, largely unemotional, and willing to work for the highest bidder. She should be a fascinating character. She isn't. I thought her fascination with Bruno was interesting, as were his emails which seemed partly brilliant and partly insane. Unfortunately, the links between Bruno's ideas and Sadie's commitment to her work or her development as a person aren't shown or developed enough to make this part of the book compelling. The examination of the ideas and practice of environmental activism are thought provoking, but again aren't linked strongly enough to the events. Finally, there was little -- very little -- tension or suspense in the book. This kind of story needs more than what there was. So. some good ideas but they never really came together for me.

>151 LynnB: I think that's Rachel Kushner's style. More of a mood or a vibe than anything else. I had similar feelings about The Flamethrowers, but now I see that Kushner is better read as though her novels were a film that you were just watching. I was ready for that this time.

By the way, what did you think of Birnam Wood? I remember that you were going to read it a while back. It's still sitting on my TBR shelf because I thought that The Luminaries was not worth the slog. Should I read it?

>152 vwinsloe: I gave Birnam Wood 3.5 stars, mostly because of the ending. I liked this book and unlike many of the other reviewers on LT, I did not have a problem with the pacing at the beginning. I was drawn into the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters. I think that's why I didn't like the ending. It seemed out of place in a book which, up until then, had been exploring relationships and motivations. Then bang! We've gone from a character-driven drama to an action thriller in no time flat.

I loved the writing. It is perhaps the best illustration of stream of thought writing I've seen. It flows well despite very, very long sentences and sentence fragments. There are so many thoughtful insights, including "the real choices you make in your life, the really difficult, defining choices, are never between what's right and what's easy. They're between what's wrong and what's hard." And "while people were quick to form opinions, they were just as show to change them, and -- to rephrase the aphorism slightly -- there are none so blind as those who had already decided what it was they saw."

I liked the way the author poked at everyone: Young liberals who, in the midst of climate disasters, spend time arguing whether "intersectionality is bullshit". And at billionaires who have no social conscience at all. And at boomers who sell out by being knighted for conservation while running a pest control company.

So, overall, I'd recommend it.

>153 LynnB: Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I also hate when a book that I am enjoying suddenly devolves into the thriller genre. But based on what you've said, I won't put it out in my Little Free Library unread.

I've just finished The time of cherries, a Catalan novel written in the 1970s but set between the Civil War and that period. Natalia has returned to Barcelona 12 years after she left, and is drawn back into the lives of her friends and family. We see the past from the povs of family members and how their stories have shaped the present generations. Women's lives and roles in family and society are to the forefront of the book. An English translation was published in the UK last year and I recommend it.

I finished A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings. I think it definitely sounds some strong alarms to what is going on in US with repercussions in Canada.

>156 Cecilturtle: Years ago, when the other Joyce was in the group, we had some discussion about the Quiverfull movement with their happy wives and mothers. I remember one thing I read about a woman's place was that she needed to support her husband, not just when he was right, but even more when he was wrong. At the time, that was such a strange idea to me; I couldn't believe that was a true requirement, but I grew to realize that it is one of the strongest requirements. Who would a woman have to be to think that she was able to determine that her lord and master was wrong? Last month, I read a book that would complement it, Uncultured: A Memoir by Daniella Mestyanek Young who left the international cult the Children of God, which has differences from Quiverfull in that it was based on pedophilia and on the rule that all women were to be sexually available to all men at all times. Other than that, it has the same severe misogyny. Daniella Mestyanek finally left the cult then, strangely, joined the army, rising to the rank of captain. It was fascinating to see her face the same misogyny and assumed sexual availability in the armed services of a powerful nation as she did in a family cult.

>155 Sakerfalcon: Looks good. On my list.

>156 Cecilturtle: & >157 Citizenjoyce: I'm not sure that I could read either of those books right now.

>158 vwinsloe: They're tough. If they were just historical, it would be much easier, but the fact that they reflect not only current practices but encouraged current practices makes them even more disturbing.

>159 Citizenjoyce: >158 vwinsloe: I feel 100% the same

>159 Citizenjoyce: & >160 Cecilturtle: I'm reading The Woman They Could Not Silence, and I'm having trouble getting through that. My rage level is up to 95%, and it keeps leaking out. I feel like I will have to pick up something cozy for the next few books.

I'm reading How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Fascism by Ece Temelkuran

>161 vwinsloe: That's a great book. I agree that you can't read it without rage. Once upon a time, we could shake our heads at how misogynistic the good ol' days were, so we didn't feel quite as much rage knowing how safe women are now. Those days are gone.

>163 Citizenjoyce: Indeed.

>162 LynnB: That book looks to have been very well received by the small number of folks who have catalogued it on LT. I'll keep my eye out for it.

I finished what to me is the best piece of writing I've encountered in some time: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx. A couple of years ago, I vowed to read no more works by Proulx. She is doggedly, unremittingly depressing. But due to a challenge, I decided to try this short story, knowing I wouldn't have to put up with her for long. We all know the story - two rugged cowboys faced with isolation turn to each other for companionship and sex - 64 pages, I thought I could zip through it. What I discovered was faultless integration of psychology with the environment. The story is told by Ennis, one of the cowboys, who expresses his gloom, resignation, and eventual capitulation to sensations and emotions he hadn't known existed. Proulx gets into the mind of this taciturn cowboy, so the reader does not doubt that he is the one telling the story. Yes, of course, it's ultimately depressing, but the writing is perfection. I found an opera based on the story with a libretto by Proulx. The setting is fitting, the cowboys look like cowboys, the dialogue is right, but the whole thing is just sung conversation. I love opera for the music, particularly the arias. The setting helps, as do the costumes, but hours' worth of droning conversation are not my idea of emotional expression. Too bad.

>165 Citizenjoyce: I love pretty much everything that Annie Proulx has written. Why did you swear off her?

>166 vwinsloe: I was full up with her depression. I need a little hope from my reading.

>167 Citizenjoyce: Oh, I get it. I'm usually the opposite, which is why someone recommended the book Bittersweet to me. It wasn't a very good read, but it identified this type of reader really well- just not the "why" of it.

I was looking for something a little less rage-y and anxiety producing after a couple of my recent reads, and so I started What you are looking for is in the Library, and it is hitting the spot..

I'm reading The Ladies' Lending Library by Janice Kulyk Keefer

@LynnB, I've started reading Birnam Wood, and I remember now why I picked it up. Thanks for the nudge to read it.

Currently reading The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk. It's set among a group of male patients at a sanatorium in the mountains of what is now Poland (it's 1913). Most of the men presume to be intellectuals and expound their misogynistic, pretentious theories to each other, but we the reader can see that really they are sad little men, big fish in small ponds. And there is something dark lurking in the woods... Not as captivating a read as Drive your plow but for the most part I'm enjoying it.

I'm reading Isola by Allegra Goodman

>171 Sakerfalcon: In a strange coincidence, I just saw an insta post of someone walking out the door of a library holding The Empusium, and I couldn't remember where I saw it before. The premise sounds interesting, and I hope the ending is as satisfying as Drive Your Plow's was.

>172 LynnB: Isola is definitely on my wishlist.

>173 vwinsloe: I found the ending VERY satisfying, especially after all the time spent with boring sexist men! It is extremely fitting. In an endnote, Tokarczuk lists the many sources, from Bernard de Cluny to Jack Kerouac, from whose sayings/writings the misogynistic theories aired in the book were taken. The novel is her take on The magic mountain, a book she apparently rereads regularly. I recommend it. (The Empusium, that is; I haven't read The magic mountain.)

>174 Sakerfalcon: Thanks. I had suspected that she would build to a satisfactory conclusion. I read The Magic Mountain albeit many years ago, and it is interesting that she should choose to write her own take on it. I'm putting The Empusium on my wishlist.

I'm reading Out of the Shadows; A Memoir by Timea E. Nagy and Shannon Moroney. This is about a woman who survived human trafficking in Canada. The co-author, Shannon Moroney, wrote a book about her own experience when her then-husband was arrested on their honeymoon for a series of violent crimes.

>176 LynnB: That one looks interesting.

I'm reading Harrow the Ninth and wondering whether I made a mistake. It appears that I only gave the first in the series, Gideon the Ninth, three stars- although I seem to remember it more fondly than that. I guess I'll stick with it for a while.

I DNF'd Harrow the Ninth after reading about 20% of it (100 pages). That is something that I only very rarely ever do, but after reading some reviews, it didn't seem like it was going to be worth my time in the end.

So I've started The Book Eaters, another gothic fantasy, but this time I immediately was drawn in by the protagonist and the world building.

It's been very quiet in here the last few days, but I'm going to turn the page since I'm getting the message to do so. Hope to see you all on Page 20!