Constant Reader discussion

Time to start a new thread.

I'm currently reading Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi. This book was nominated, but did not win in our last round of voting. So far, I'm feeling so-so about the book.

Larry,
What a great reading list!

I just finished News of the World and I thought it was wonderful. The main characters are a 71 year old man and a 10 year old girl, whom he is returning to her family after 4 years of captivity with the Kiowa Indians. The setting is Texas after the Civil War.

I really enjoyed reading about a protagonist with such a fundamental sense of decency and understanding. No anti-hero here. The description of the developing relationship between the old man and the tough little girl is beautiful.

Ann, I've heard so many great things about News of the World. I definitely need to read it soon!

Right now I'm working my way through Dan Chaon's latest novel Ill Will. The subject matter is quite grim, but I can't stop reading it!

I also really liked News of the World, so much so that I tried another Jiles book, Lighthouse Island. This one was a dystopian novel which I did enjoy, but it was not as good as News of the World.

Just finished Our Souls at Night. I loved the initial concept, that an older woman and man get together to stave off loneliness by sleeping together at night for the talk and company. But why oh why would so many townspeople, and her grown son Gene, be so harshly disapproving? They are hurting no one. This didn't make sense to me, and I utterly hated the ending.

Ann wrote: "Larry,
What a great reading list!

I just finished News of the World and I thought it was wonderful. The main characters are a 71 year old man and a 10 year old girl, whom he is ret..."

Ann, I couldn't agree more with what you said about News of the World. Here's what I just posted elsewhere.

I made a brief foray away from my extensive list of current non fiction reading into a wonderful novel of 1870s Texas. I picked up Paulette Jiles's News of the World and could not put it down. A 71 year man agrees to deliver a 10 year old girl who was a captive of the Kiowa Indians for four years and has been rescued. It's a journey across 400 miles of wild Texas, a journey into the man's past, and journey into my own heart.

Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sounds like that might be a good book for out next list. Please, somebody, nominate News of the World.

I'm going to read it again anyway, Sherry. But I would love to read it here jointly with others.

I just finished The Sympathizer, and it will take awhile for my brain to spit out a cohesive, comprehensive reaction.

Set just after the Vietnam War in Vietnam and America, the main character is a Vietnamese communist double agent. The book may be fiction, but its scenes of brutality, corruption, and the aftermath of war feel all too real. It's not an easy book to read. It is, though, like nothing I've ever read before both stylistically (this author definitely writes with style) and in content (giving some Vietnamese perspective to what happened in their country and effects of American involvement).

I read All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood. I felt cheated at the end of this book - like I'd been taken for a joy ride and dropped off in a shady part of town. Very controversial. Abused by her parents, Wavy is emotionally disturbed. Yet she is "saved" by a very dark someone who becomes sexually involved with her at 13. Oh wait, it doesn't really happen till she's 14. I feel better already.

I'm reading A Man Called Ove for my face-to-face book group and wish I weren't. I'll confine myself to saying that although a cat is a major character in this book, the author has never lived with a cat. Possibly has never even met one.

I've also just started the first volume of Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy, The Great Fortune, which I'm loving.

Thanks, Kat. You motivated me to buy the Kindle version of Olivia Manning's The Balkan Trilogy: "Great Fortune", "Spoilt City" and "Friends and Heroes"

I'm very interested in this part of Europe and the time period. It sounds right up my alley.

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon – Alexander McCall Smith – 3.5***
I rarely get past book four or five in a mystery series, because they become formulaic for me and I lose interest. But this series is a wonderful exception. As in most of the books, there are two cases the Ladies work on in this 14th installment, but the real focus of the series is on the relationships between the characters. Fans of the series will find most of the characters they have come to love present.
LINK to my review

South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula was the location for this "domestic suspense" novel by Aussie author Dianne Maguire, Things We Cannot See. 3★

Important subject about teens and sexual predators written by a former social worker.

My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just read The Vegetarian. So many accolades had been lavished on this book that I was eager to read it.

Though I'm sympathetic to all the possible themes of the book, I can't rave about it.

On some level, this book works as a statement about our culture's base of violence and patriarchy. For me as a vegetarian, pacifist, and woman sympathetic to all the novel's potential themes, it goes too far in turning the wish to be vegetarian into something unhealthy, whereas those things are in actuality more related to health and vibrant humanity. The pacifist reaction is taken to a satirical extreme when the wish to actually BE a tree manifests, as if it is not possible to be fully human plus against cruelty to animals and the subservience of women,...I object to this and disagree with it.

For my full review, which gives a brief summary and more commentary, go here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm well into our next discussion book, Everybody's Fool. Saving up my comments.

Ruth wrote: "I'm well into our next discussion book, Everybody's Fool. Saving up my comments."

I'm reading that now, too.

I'm jealous of everyone reading Everybody's Fool; go slow and savor it!

I'm starting two books - Everybody's Fool by Russo for our discussion, and Judas by the renowned Israeli writer Amos Oz, a book that a couple of my friends and colleagues have been reading and keep urging me to do as well.

Just read To The Bright Edge of the World. I liked it better than The Snow Child by the same author, as an account of a 1885 journey over a semi-wild part of Alaska is depicted, and it is an interesting landscape and journey (and there is a map. I like maps). So I enjoyed the part of the novel that was about the expedition very much.

I could have done without the part chronicling the experience of the expedition leader's wife as she waited in Vancouver, which I didn't find very interesting.

As with The Snow Child, there was magical realism interwoven in the story, a trademark of this author. I can see how some may like it, but I couldn't suspend disbelief enough myself to enjoy that part of it, just tolerated it. I preferred the descriptions of fording up an icy river, over mountains, finding ways to survive along the way, and the expedition's encounters with the natives.

Lyn wrote: "Just read To The Bright Edge of the World. I liked it better than The Snow Child by the same author, as an account of a 1885 journey over a semi-wild part of Alaska ..."

I loved To The Bright Edge of the World and enjoyed the life she had at home, but I know what you mean.

I haven't yet read the first one, but I will one day. Did you review either one? I did do a review of this one. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Pretty little picture book with cute animals and fairies - perfect for libraries. Just in time for northern hemisphere Spring 2017.

Do Fairies Bring the Spring?. 4★

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Have just started Out of the Dark, by Patrick Modiano, a French winner of the Nobel Prize. A mesmerizing style which reminds me a bit of Camus.

Kat wrote: "Have just started Out of the Dark, by Patrick Modiano, a French winner of the Nobel Prize. A mesmerizing style which reminds me a bit of Camus."

I read one right after he won the prize. My sense is that he's sort of a slow burner. The one I read certainly crept up on me.

Kat wrote: "I'm reading A Man Called Ove for my face-to-face book group and wish I weren't. I'll confine myself to saying that although a cat is a major character in this book, the author has n..."

Sometime next week I will be starting A Man Called Ove for my local book group too. Sorry to hear you aren't enjoying it, Kat.

By the way, I am new to Constant Reader, so am just jumping into the discussions.

Gorgeous little picture book - get it before the summer road trips!

The Big Adventures of Tiny House - Tiny is transformed and takes us all across the USA. I shared a few illustrations - too cute to resist. :)

5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lisa A. ✿ wrote: "Kat wrote: "I'm reading A Man Called Ove for my face-to-face book group and wish I weren't. I'll confine myself to saying that although a cat is a major character in this book, the ..."

I'm glad you're joining the discussions, Lisa. Welcome.

Thank you, Sherry.

Lisa A. ✿ wrote: "Sometime next week I will be starting A Man Called Ove for my local book group too. Sorry to hear you aren't enjoying it, Kat."

Here's a funny thing: I kind of did enjoy it. It's humorous and entertaining. But I thought it dealt with some serious stuff in a dishonestly light way. Other people in the group disagreed. It will be interesting to hear your take. And welcome!

Kat wrote: " Lisa A. ✿ wrote: "Sometime next week I will be starting A Man Called Ove for my local book group too. Sorry to hear you aren't enjoying it, Kat."

Here's a funny thing: I kind of did enjoy it. It'..."

Thanks for the explanation and warm welcome, Kat. Two of my book group friends already finished Ove and loved it. I may end up being the odd one out though. Who knows???

I enjoyed AMan Called Ove for its clever language. Other than that, it's corny and predictable. And I agree with Kat about the cat. He acted like a dog.

I read The Vegetarian. A woman's life is ruined by a decision not to eat meat . . . after having violent dreams. Her family's interference in her life and also their lack of acceptance threaten her existence, so she enters a mental institution. How far should a person go in trying to "help" another person.

I read The Sellout by Paul Beatty, which I really liked. It won the Man Booker prize in 2016.

Not everyone is going to like this book. Here's my review to find out why:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mary Anne wrote: "I read The Sellout by Paul Beatty, which I really liked. It won the Man Booker prize in 2016.

Not everyone is going to like this book. Here's my review to find out why:

https://w..."

I'm reading that in my face-to-face book group for May. Looking forward to it.

Station Eleven – Emily St John Mandel – 4****
The snow falling on Toronto gives the city a peaceful look, but the hysteria caused by a spreading plague that kills within days cannot be stopped. Dystopian or postapocalyptic novels are really not my thing, but I found this novel quite interesting. Mandel moves back and forth in time, and from character to character, keeping the reader off balance.
LINK to my review

Hi, I finished Kafka on the Shore by Murakami and it was amazing! what a trip that read was.
Currently I'm reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Killing Floor by Lee Child.

Piyumi wrote: "Hi, I finished Kafka on the Shore by Murakami and it was amazing! what a trip that read was.
Currently I'm reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Killing Floor by Lee Child."

I think To the Lighthouse is extraordinarily beautiful.

Kat wrote: "Piyumi wrote: "Hi, I finished Kafka on the Shore by Murakami and it was amazing! what a trip that read was.
Currently I'm reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Killing Floor by Lee Child...."

Yes Kat, it truly is...I'm half way through it and finding it a quiet a remarkable piece of work

Loved 11/22/63 because Stephen King is such a good writer, and he can be quite the romantic!

5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Loved 11/22/63 because Stephen King is such a good writer, and he can be quite the romantic!

5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

I enjoyed this even though I'm not a die-hard Stephen King or science fiction fan.

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Loved 11/22/63 because Stephen King is such a good writer, and he can be quite the romantic!

5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Patty, I really enjoyed this book also ... much more than the adaptation on Hulu. Have you read his novellas in Different Seasons? I really think that these are King at his very best. Generally speaking, the longer the King book, the less I like it. The one exception to that rule is The Stand. And I really don't like horror very much either, but I thought his 'Salem's Lot was exceptional.

I finished Margot Lee Shetterly's wonderful book, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race last night. The story begins when several black women go to work as human computers first for NACA (the precursor of NASA) during World War 2. Eventually NACA becomes NASA as the Space Race between the United States and the USSR takes off. Throughout the book, there are a tales of dealing with discrimination and segregation in their communities and professional lives while solving complicated technical issues at work. Put simply, it is inspiring. The book is thoroughly researched, with that research well cited. The writing that combines personal stories with technical issues is excellent throughout.

My own review is here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The Signature of All Things, which I was surprised to enjoy (having found Eat, Pray, Love by the same author pretentious). It wasn't perfect, but I was absorbed most of the time.

I've heard really mixed things about that one, Lyn. I may pick it up myself one day.

Larry wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Loved 11/22/63 because Stephen King is such a good writer, and he can be quite the romantic!

5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"

Thanks for the suggestions, Larry. There are some good comments on my review suggesting some other quality reads of his - if I can use that term. You know what I mean! :)

Lyn wrote: "I just finished The Signature of All Things, which I was surprised to enjoy (having found Eat, Pray, Love by the same author pretentious). It wasn't perfect, but I was absorbed most..."

Lyn, I'm one who had mixed feelings, and as for Eat, Pray, Love . . . don't get me started! But I really like the author - I've seen her interviewed a few times and really enjoyed it. I was SO hoping to enjoy this book, but didn't, in the end.

I disliked Eat, Pray, Love immensely. I am still inclined never to read Elizabeth Gilbert again.

I just finished A Dog's Purpose and allowed myself to be manipulated fully and shamelessly by this book. In spite of myself, I loved it. What can I say?

I'm reading Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson. It's a beautiful slip of a book, small and poetic. I love the first line: "For a long time, my mother wasn't dead yet."

Finished Out of the Dark on the plane to London. I pretty much agree with the book jacket: noir, existential, and amazing that there's so much suspense. The thing is a simple series of declarative sentences and the protagonist--as well as the few other characters--are lightly sketched. And yet I found it compelling. I expected to be left hanging at the end and wasn't disappointed. :)

Sherry wrote: "I'm reading Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson. It's a beautiful slip of a book, small and poetic. I love the first line: "For a long time, my mother wasn't dead yet.""

I adored Another Brooklyn, Sherry! Hope you like it as much. I did write a review (that doesn't have spoilers).
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...