Book Nook Cafe discussion

Share with us what you read in June 2016!


Please provide:

~ A GoodReads link
~ A few sentences telling us how you felt about the book.
~ How would you rate the book

In June I read -

Piece of Mind by Michelle Adelman
Fiction
Rate 2/5
The main character Lucy, who is loosely based on the author's sister, suffered a traumatic brain injury at the age of three. She is now in her 20's and trying to cope with life. I thought the book started off very well but then it just went nowhere .

Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle by Kristen Green
non-fiction
rate 4/5
The book is part memoir and part history. I thought it was very good and I recommend it. It's about a town in Virginia that decided to close the public schools for 5 years rather than integrate and how the author's family played a big part in that decision.

Finding the Still Point: A Beginner's Guide to Zen Meditation byJohn Daido Loori
non fiction
rate 2
This is a small book on meditation. I thought the first part was good but the second half was a bit too esoteric for me.

The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman
non fiction
rate 4/5
I am a big fan of Dr. Fuhrman. His other book, Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss is very good. I don't follow his program to the letter as it's vegan and I'm not. Still I do try to incorporate many of his ideas into my diet.

Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman
Fiction
rate 3/5
I read this mystery for my library book club. We all agreed the writing was good but the books plot and characters were underdeveloped.

What did you all read in June ?

Alias, Something Must Be Done..... sounds really interesting. I'm going to check it out.
I will have to check out Dr. Fuhlman's books one day. I'm not vegan either but if he has good tips to incorporate into any diet, I'd like to see what he says. It's always good to get healthy living tips that one can work into one's life.

I had a so-so reading month. Not much that's stellar.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (1-star) - just awful. I kept waiting for something realistic to happen but everything was just too coincidental and unbelievable.

Swing Low: A Life (3-star) and Irma Voth (4-star) by Miriam Toews - Miriam can tell a good, good story. I really like her stories. Swing Low was a wonderful tribute to her father.

Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas by Fany Gerson (5-star) - a very interesting book on cool summer treats that use fruits and vegetables (there's a gazpacho type recipe that uses tequila and sounds amazingly refreshing). I'm considering getting this book for my cookbook shelf.

A River Town by Thomas Keneally (3-star) - a very Australian book. An easy-going story about life in Australia just before Australia became a Commonwealth on its own.

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian (3-star) - an interesting story of the Armenian genocide in 1915. Somehow, though, the author manages to give this a light, fluffy air that took away from the seriousness of the story, I thought.

A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal (4-star) - Thomas came through this experience as a wise and gentle person. He truly was a lucky child.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (3-star) - I enjoyed Harold's travels. Having previously read The Love Songs of Queenie Hennessey, I knew some of the events that were going to happen. What I really enjoyed about this book was Harold's perspective and thoughts. I like Harold.

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe (4-star) - this was fun. It's full of humor and interesting drawings. The questions are absurd (the sort of thing a kid might ask: what would happen if you drained the oceans?) and scientific answers. Really fun.

I also finished reading Ulysses by James Joyce (5-star). I've been reading this with another group since January, so it isn't really a June read. Great story but one that takes a lot of time to read.

Petra wrote: "Alias, Something Must Be Done..... sounds really interesting. I'm going to check it out.
..."

Petra, the author is on C-SPAN 2 Book TV this weekend. You can also watch it online.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?409627-2...

Petra wrote: "I had a so-so reading month. Not much that's stellar."

Any month that includes a long and difficult read like Ulysses and a bunch of other reads, too, I would
absolutely call a winner.

Finished the last of the Passage trilogy, (yays!)

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
I believe a reader has to read all three of the trilogy to actually understand the scope of what Cronin is putting out there. In this, latest installment, Cronin explains in depth exactly the origins of the virus, and exactly how it came to be a world wide scourge. He makes us understand the motivations of the principle characters and sympathize with heretofore unsympathetic characters. Cronin has a marvelous way of making the reader feel the geography and weather of his locations and their impact on the characters.

I read somewhere that the story is actually about love. In a large sense that is true, however it's a lot more than expounding on the value and hold "love" has on us. It's about the absolute inexplicability of survival, loyalty, and the ramifications of said loyalty. It's about how we relate to each other as humans and an analysis of what and why we long for the things we do.

The only factor that kept me from a full 5/5 star rating was length. I truly believe that some corners could have been cut, and that some storylines were drawn out too far. Sometimes a little goes a long way. Several times I felt like skipping a few pages, but was afraid to, in case I'd miss something. :)

Highly recommended.

The Defence by Steve Cavanagh 4/5

High octane thriller. All the action within a 24 hour period concentrating on a lawyer being blackmailed by a gangster. In order to save his young daughter's life, he must free a Russian Mafia leader.

New PompeiiNew Pompeii by Daniel Godfrey 3/5

This should have been amazing, it has the bones for amazing but falls down in delivery. It has time travel, a murder mystery and all the paraphernalia of a great story, including a new (to me) idea of possibility. Just didn't deliver.

The Life I Left Behind by Colette McBeth 3/5

Well done murder mystery with a twist. One of the three narrators is the murder victim. I just felt the outcome was a little predictable. I would have preferred another twist there.

I have to laugh, I abandoned more books this month than I read! But the month wasn't a total loss in any case. :)

Alias Reader wrote: "Petra wrote: "I had a so-so reading month. Not much that's stellar."

Any month that includes a long and difficult read like Ulysses and a bunch of other reads, too, I would
absolutel..."

Hear, hear!! One of these decades I'll get to it.........

Alias, I just can't get over that Prince Edward County book! Talk about biting ones nose off to spite their face. Short sighted and mean and just plain stupid people. Hateful.

I've read a few of Lippmann's books and pretty much enjoyed them, but it's been years since I've been moved to read more of them.

Cateline wrote: "Finished the last of the Passage trilogy, (yays!)

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
I believe a reader has to read all three of the trilogy to actually understand..."

I enjoyed reading your reviews. Thanks for sharing. :)

Thanks, AR. I used to write more reviews, but have slacked off lately.
I like ambiguity in a review, revealing the ambiance of the story if you will. How the book/story makes the reader feel. Not many factoids, or what I would consider spoilers. If I want facts, I'll read the book.

Here's the batch o' books for June:

Framing Faust: Twentieth-Century Cultural Struggles by Inez Hedges. A lingering part of the Faust reading project (along with Mann's Doctor Faustus, which is dull as a stone and taking me forever). A fairly comprehensive list of every Faust-themed film made since the invention of film, and then some. Did you know there was a silent film of Faust that was one of the earliest examples of special effects? I didn't. Films about selling one's soul to the devil, but which aren't strictly adaptations of Faust, are included (stuff like The Devil and Daniel Webster, Crossroads, Devil's Advocate), but one of my favorites (the Spanish film Fausto 5.0) is not: the cutoff date seems to be around 2000. This book is by a modern academic (unlike the Epson book, which is by a pre-war academic and apparently a human being to boot), and so is more than a little elitist. Be prepared to encounter cultural studies jargon like dialectics frequently: even hermeneutics made an appearance, a word I have not encountered in possibly twenty years. There's chapters on "Gendering Faust" and the cultural politics of the Faust legend and all that. It is rather impressive that somebody who devoted their life to studying culture can so singularly fail to communicate as a member of a culture. Anyways, an impressively comprehensive work that would have been better written by somebody who left school before getting their Master's degree. Three stars.

Old Men in Love by Alisdair Gray. Alisdair Gray is one of those authors whose works I will read unconditionally. This interest was not started by a friend giving me a copy of Lanark, but certainly cemented by it. This is his last book, and as usual it's completely different from what you would expect. The unpublished fragments of a deceased Scottish writer (well, retired teacher at any rate) are combined along with excerpts from his diary. The fragments are from three historical novels, and the diary excerpts cover his writing of them. The "dirty old man" title of the book isn't all that justified, though there is a cringe-worthy moment or two towards the beginning. Four stars, which might bump to five on a second read.

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith aka J.K Rowling. My first experience with Rowling's writing. An impatience with children's literature and a disinterest in magic-and-orcs fantasy has kept me from reading the widely-recommended tomes she has written on young Mr Potter. This was recommended to me because of the Jacobean revenge tragedy angle, and all of the chapter-heading epigrams; there's apparently another one based on Blue Oyster Cult lyrics which is awaiting my attention. The book itself was entertaining, but fairly standard genre fair. I'm not much of a mystery reader: I tend to think the story is much more interesting if the murderer gets away with it ("looks like suicide, eh? OK, you convinced me. Now, what are the next 300 pages for?"). This has the usual genre flaws: characters reveal hidden talents as the plot demands them, more events occur than could possibly fit into a morning, the physical description of the main character changes to suit whether he is intended to be imposing, pathetic, charming, etc in any particular scene. I didn't even realize I kept track of this sort of thing until I read this book. Anyways, three stars: Rowling may be no Stephen King when it comes to writing, but her stories are interesting.

The Exploits of Engelbrecht by Maurice Richardson. Tales of the dwarf Surrealist boxer Engelbrecht during his membership in the Surrealist Sportsman's Club. This book is a lot of fun: the characters wager time in various gentleman's sporting bouts (think boxing, fox hunts, golf, chess, cricket). Personages from all eras of history are recruited to compete with or against mythological figures, aliens, animated clocks, intelligent shades of the color blue, and so forth. After the first two or three, the stories get to be somewhat formulaic, but oddly enough that makes them no less enjoyable. Four stars.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. A fledgling actress flees the set of Cleopatra in the 60s and holes up in the empty hotel of a tiny, isolated Italian fishing village. The effects of this visit are tracked through the years, leading up to the present day. This is a love letter to Italy, an indictment of Hollywood and fame, and surprisingly funny. A near-perfect novel, until the wrap-up chapter which reads like a bad "where are they now?" credits roll. Four stars.

Mkfs wrote:
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. A fledgling actress flees the set of Cleopatra in the 60s and holes up in the empty hotel of a tiny, isolated Italian fishing village. The effects of this visit are tracked through the years, leading up to the present day. This is a love letter to Italy, an indictment of Hollywood and fame, and surprisingly funny. A near-perfect novel, until the wrap-up chapter which reads like a bad "where are they now?" credits roll. Four stars.

Mkfs, great reading month !

So glad to see you enjoyed Beautiful Ruins
I purchased it for my Kindle when it was on sale. However, I haven't read it yet.

My reads for June:

NONFICTION:

The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear by Seth Mnookin: An exploration of how the myth that vaccines somehow cause developmental disorders was formulated – and more importantly, how it spread (despite the lack of corroborating evidence) and the effect it has had on public health. How do we decide what the truth is? And why do we continue to believe myths even in the face of scientific facts? A good read. 4 stars

Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters by Peter Vronsky: A fascinating look at the psychological, investigative, and cultural aspects of serial murder, beginning with its first recorded instance in Ancient Rome and up to contemporary killers such as Ted Bundy. A bit textbook-ish in places, but still an interesting read. Plus the author includes a chapter on “how to survive an encounter with a serial killer.” Which kind of gave me nightmares, if truth be told. 3.5 stars

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson: Loved Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir, which was Lawson’s story of growing up with her wacky family. In this outing, she applies her trademark writing style to a collection of essays that delve into her lifelong battle with mental illness, depression and anxiety. It doesn’t sound like something you’d chuckle at, but she manages to tell her story in a wry, humorous, frank way. 3 stars

FICTION:

The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver: A book told in alternating, parallel-universe chapters that detail the main character’s life (lives) after a decision point: Should she give in to the urge to kiss a male friend at his birthday party – or not? From that decision, each chapter is split into two parts: what happens in her life if she gives in to temptation and kisses him, and what happens if she doesn’t. I really liked this book—the writing is clever, intelligent, and witty. 4 stars

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda: The hook to this book is that it’s a mystery told in reverse. The book starts with the end (or nearly the end) and then each chapter details the events of the day before and works backwards to the start (ie, chapter 1 is Day 15 after a girl goes missing, chapter 2 is Day 14, etc.) I was both skeptical and intrigued. That shouldn't work. How does it work? Somehow, it worked. The author was able to keep the momentum and tension going throughout to the reveal. My mind kept trying to analyze each detail to figure out if that was the one piece of the clue that would make the previous chapters make sense. However, I thought the final resolution was a bit weak in its execution. And it rather strained credibility. Also, the book is almost exclusively plot-driven. I would have liked to see some character development. Also, if you are the type of reader who needs to like a least one character in a book, this is not for you. But if you like complicated relationships and complicated (read: human) characters, this is a good one. 3.5 stars

Torch by Cheryl Strayed: A novel by the author of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. This book tells the story about how family members go on after the loss of their mother and wife. It’s fictional, but appears to draw heavily on Strayed’s own experiences. A quick, decent read. 3 stars

Darjeeling: A Novel by Bharti Kirchner: Lured into reading this because of my fondness for books set in India. Was disappointed in the romance-y tone to it. 2 stars.

Excellent month, Amy!

The serial killer book sounds fascinating. However, I am a bit a baby and I am sure it would scare the heck out of me.

I won't even watch famous movies like Silence of the Lambs.

Thanks for sharing your reads with us.

Amy wrote: "My reads for June:

NONFICTION:

The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear by Seth Mnookin: An exploration of how the myth that vaccines somehow ca..."

Added Lionel Shriver's book to my reading list. Sounds like something I would like.

Julie wrote: "Added Lionel Shriver's book to my reading list. Sounds like something I would like. ..."

Have you read Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin? That was the one that led me to pick up another book by her.

Amy wrote: "Julie wrote: "Added Lionel Shriver's book to my reading list. Sounds like something I would like. ..."

Have you read Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin? That was the one that led m..."

I have not read that book but did see the film which was really good. Did you see the film and if you did how did it compare to the book?

Julie wrote: "I have not read that book but did see the film which was really good. Did you see the film and if you did how did it compare to the book? ..."

I did not see the film, no. I've wanted to. Glad to hear that it's good.

Amy wrote: "Julie wrote: "Added Lionel Shriver's book to my reading list. Sounds like something I would like. ..."

Have you read Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin? That was the one that led m..."

I've had this on my TBR for ages!

Read in June:

Wit - A short play about a woman with terminal cancer. Absolutely incredible. 5 stars

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex - The real-life incident that inspired the book Moby-Dick. Meticulously researched and better than its film adaptation. Philbrick has moved up to my auto-buy list with this one. 5 stars

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth - A biography (of sorts) of the historical figure Jesus. Fascinating in its depth as far as worldly historical context and readability, but there's not really any new material and the author comes off as hypocritical and repetitive. 3 stars

Traitor Angels - Historical fiction that centers around a supposed secret hidden in the text of the epic Paradise Lost poem. At times it felt very Da Vinci Code-esque but by the end there were too many unanswered questions. 3 stars

Sarah's Key - Dual storylines wrap around the Vel' d'Hiv roundup during WWII. An intoxicating read. 5 stars

Letters from Rifka - MG historical fiction about a Russian Jewish girl separated from her family as they emigrate to America in 1919. 4 stars

The Shadow of the Wind - I will forever dub this book a modern classic of the Gothic variety. Brilliant characters whose lives are continuously entwined throughout, yet also a book about books. Everyone should read this. 5 stars

Darla's Story - A novella that accompanies the post-apocalyptic Ashfall trilogy, with a glimpse into the female protagonist's life pre-volcanic eruption. 5 stars

Ashley, I loved Wit. It truly was incredible. I gave it 5-stars as well. It was so wonderfully done. I hope to see it on stage one day.

I also liked Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (4-stars). I enjoy that sort of historical look at the Bible and Biblical figures.
You may also enjoy The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family and the Birth of Christianity (also 4-stars). In some ways, I thought this a better book; certainly just as interesting as Zealot.

Great list of books! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Petra! A friend of mine actually played the lead role in WIT several years back at our community theatre -- unfortunately before I was active there, so I didn't get to see it, but I could hear her voice and see her as I read it and it just blew me away.

Thanks for the rec, I'll definitely look into it! Anything that puts the Bible into a historical context is fascinating to me.

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Thanks for the rec, I'll definitely look into it! Anything that puts the Bible into a historical context is fascinating to me. ..."

Me, too. I also enjoy Biblical novels.
Have you read David Maine's novels, Fallen, The Preservationist? I haven't read his other one, The Book of Samson.
They are interesting in perspective.

PS: if you're interested, check out my "Theological Musings" shelf. Perhaps something will be interesting to you.

Oh cool. Have you read The Templar Legacy? That was another one that brought up historical Bible info... felt like the Da Vinci Code at times, but a better version. I've also got The Red Tent on my TBR.

I didn't like The Red Tent. It was pre-GR, so I don't remember much about it or why I didn't like it. When you read it, you'll have to jog my memory. :D

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Thanks Petra! A friend of mine actually played the lead role in WIT several years back at our community theatre -- unfortunately before I was active there, so I didn't get to see it, but I could he..."

The movie version with Emma Thompson is also wonderful.

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Amy wrote: "Julie wrote: "Added Lionel Shriver's book to my reading list. Sounds like something I would like. ..."

Have you read Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin? That was the on..."

After reading the book I'm afraid to see the movie. I've read some terribly heartbreaking stories (e.g. Sarah's Key) and still loved them, but something about We Need to Talk About Kevin still gives me chest pains and a headache. I think maybe this was just a poor choice of pregnancy reading back in 2012, but I'm forever tainted now!

Petra wrote: "I didn't like The Red Tent. It was pre-GR, so I don't remember much about it or why I didn't like it. When you read it, you'll have to jog my memory. :D"

I rated The Red Tent 3 stars, but left no comments. I think it was a quick read but can't remember much about it. I suppose it didn't inspire me to dip further into the historical biblical genre. :)

Emma, don't use The Red Tent as a guide to the biblical genre.
Have you had a look at Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. You'll know from the first page or two whether the humor resonates with you, so you can "try it out" in a bookstore.

Finally, I finished a book in June. Going for two in July. ;)

Parenting With Love and Logic (5 stars) - Reading this reminded me of my dad's parenting style growing up. I'm sure he's not perfect (and nor am I), but I like to think I'm pretty responsible overall. This basically stresses that parenting is about providing your kids with age-appropriate choices that allow them to practice making decisions and seeing the consequences (good or bad) at an age early enough that when they get to serious decisions (drinking/drugs, money management, etc) they make better choices. Obviously there are scenarios where you don't give a choice (e.g. no, you will not run into the street in front of that car), but you start letting kids take responsibility early (e.g. if they refuse to wear a coat when it's cold out, letting them - they'll be cold and probably choose to wear their coat next time) The second half of the book contains 40-something "pearls" of wisdom with specific examples of scenarios and ways of handling them. Definitely not the only resource out there and will probably not use everything, but overall an easy and useful read for parents and caregivers who want to raise responsible, accountable people.

Petra wrote: "Emma, don't use The Red Tent as a guide to the biblical genre.
Have you had a look at Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. You'll know from the first page or tw..."

Thanks, I'll check that one out sometime. The title sounds fun.

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Read in June:

Wit - A short play about a woman with terminal cancer. Absolutely incredible. 5 stars
."

Very nice reading month, Ashley ! Thanks for sharing.

Emma wrote: "Finally, I finished a book in June. Going for two in July. ;)

Parenting With Love and Logic (5 stars) - Reading this reminded me of my dad's parenting style growing up. I'm sure he's ..."

Sounds useful. I think I'll pass on the title to my niece. She has two young boys.

I didn't read a single book in June, although i, naturally, started my daughter's book. I'm hoping July will be better but it's almost half finished & still nothing.

Meanwhile, i'm delighted to read the monthly lists of others here. It's like looking over the shoulders of readers at an airport!

I finished 3 books in June...2 in audio-form and one in the standard.

To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West. Mostly the biography of Pat Garrett, however the first 1/2 is mostly about Billy the Kid. Very educational for a time when rumor and "reputation" lead the way over actual reality. I gave the book 3 stars outta 5...decent but not outstanding.

The Revisionists a Sci-Fi Time travel novel that loosely falls along the lines of the 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Timecop. Although the book starts out strong, it gets itself confused about 1/2 way thru and the reader really isn't sure which side of the box is up and which is a mentally imbalanced mental patient. Not the best time travel story ever written, but worth the average score of 3 stars.

The Plague, the classic fictional novel from 1947 about a North African French Town that gets overwhelmed with the Black Plague. This book runs great for about the first 40 pages and then it falls into a bucket of molasses and freezes solid with zero momentum for the rest of the novel. I gave it 2 stars and had to really fight to finish the book.

PSXtreme wrote:
.........then it falls into a bucket of molasses and freezes solid with zero momentum for the rest of the novel.

Love the imagery!

Cateline wrote: "Love the imagery!"

Thank You.

Yes, good imagery.

I read it in college and again a few years ago. I thought it was one of his better books.

Great expression re. molasses. I liked The Plague by Albert Camus, although i recall feeling a bit of sluggishness in one part. To be fair, i was really into plagues then, too.

PSXtremem, thanks for the reminder of the Timecop book genesis, The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. I liked the film but never followed up by reading the book.

madrano wrote: "thanks for the reminder of the Timecop book genesis, The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. I liked the film but never followed up by reading the book.."

The book in itself wasn't in the same universe as Timecop...but was following along similar lines of thought. A group in the future monitoring the past for breaking points where time terrorists look to alter the timeline. etc.

I am very behind in my reading/writing. It has been a long time, to many things going on, trying to deal with one at a time -- many deaths in the family, trying to sell houses with a realtor, and huge amount of things to keep and, others, to purge. Also we have weddings this weekend.

Carol, we miss you & think of you often but i can only imagine the enormous burdens you have at this time. I hope the weddings help relax you & yours.

PSX, thank you for the clarification on the Timecop/Revisionist books. As i like time travel novels & such, i have added this to my list...my Very Long List.

Carol wrote: "I am very behind in my reading/writing. It has been a long time, to many things going on, trying to deal with one at a time -- many deaths in the family, trying to sell houses with a realtor, and h..."

So sorry about your family situations, good luck with selling the homes. Cleaning a home and getting rid of the items is a arduous and emotional task.

Carol wrote: "I am very behind in my reading/writing. It has been a long time, to many things going on, trying to deal with one at a time -- many deaths in the family, trying to sell houses with a realtor, and h..."

Sorry to hear about all your stresses, Carol. Please don't forget to take time for yourself each day to recharge.

We miss you !!