Constant Reader discussion

Halfway through the year ... I'm almost through my slow traipse through the Dave Robicheaux series as I read James Lee Burke's Creole Belle. Typically great writing about the dark side of humanity as Robicheaux and his sidekick Cleve deal with several crimes, while they try to stay alive. I'm also reading Proof: The Science of Booze by Adam Rogers. It's all about alcohol, in its many forms (beer, wine, and liquor) but it's also about yeast ... or actually yeasts. Great writing for the scientifically minded and also for those who want to understand what Dave used to drink and what Cleve keeps on drinking.

Posted this to the end of June but in case no one ever goes back there...

Nicole wrote: "In writing this I seem to have discovered that I like to learn happy things about foreign countries, but am apparently the kind of reader who would rather not hear about genocide. ..."

That puts it in the worst possible way! And though I'm not sure where you live, I'm guessing there is no genocide "close to home", so there really is a difference in scale.

I'm wondering if part of how I feel reading about depressing events has to do with the author's attitude. Some writers when they write about evil seem to suggest there's nothing we can do about it and despair is the appropriate reaction. Others seem to call us to action. Some assert that there is good in the world and life is worth hanging onto in spite of the horrific reality they have just portrayed. For me, I think author attitude is crucial in whether I can stomach a depressing book. Though there are probably books out there I couldn't get through just on a too-much-empathy basis.

What's happening in my own life at the time also makes a difference. At the moment my siblings and I are going through decision making and changes with regard to my mom and her long-time companion, and there's a lot of grief and pain in play. I'm curious about other people, at such times do you go right on reading what you've been reading? Quit reading altogether? Or turn to light reading? I've tried to do the last but just quit the comic baseball novel I was reading after a ballplayer microwaved a cat. Ha ha ha. Now I'm reading a sort of time travel/fairy tale romance written for teens. It's not quite right either. The search for the right light reading goes on...

Whoops, forgot the new month! Posted over on the old thread, but will repost here...

Kat, when I'm going through a traumatic/depressing time, I have found it best to go back to books that are what I call "old friends". Only you know what/who they are. But it does help.
Sorry about your mom and partner. That's more than rough.

I'm a few stories into Saunders's Tenth of December. I hadn't planned to read this book because I decided a couple books back not to read any more Saunders--he had started imitating himself. But people kept telling me to read it. But he is still (through the first three stories at least) imitating himself. It's a good book--if you haven't read the earlier ones where he was doing it for the first time and doing it better.

A while back someone here linked to an excerpt from The Circle - or it may have been a short story based on the book. Anyway, it was fun, and having read and enjoyed 3 of his previous books, I was pretty eager to get to it.

The striking thing about the 3 I read before is that they are so completely different; Eggers is not someone you should read and then think "Oo, I want more of that! I will read another of his!" Probably won't work. The Circle is no exception in that regard. But in spite of the differences in them, I was a pretty big fan of the others. This one is a marmite (?) book, with a twist. On the one hand I see what he is doing here, and I liked it. Laughed out loud multiple times - and that is never a bad thing. On the other hand, WOW, this was so disappointing. It just seemed so thoughtlessly tossed off. One dimensional characters, all straight-line story-telling. Altho I don't consider my time completely wasted, I cannot recommend.

Kat wrote: "Posted this to the end of June but in case no one ever goes back there...

Nicole wrote: "In writing this I seem to have discovered that I like to learn happy things about foreign countries, but am..."

When I was going through a rough patch a while ago I found that really engrossing myself in Possession was helpful. This book is neither 'happy' or 'sad', but a wonderful, romantic (in the literary sense) tale that seemed to be just what I needed when I couldn't sleep at night.

Thanks, Cateline and Tango. I'm getting some ideas from your suggestions.

When I feel depressed I tend to gravitate towards books that make me feel like the world is an orderly and just place. This is often an old favorite from childhood, but it might also be something like Jane Austen, who does go the extra mile to distribute fairness among her characters.

I think in some ways the ideal read is something that can make you outraged at the start and then happy and satisfied at the end: sort of a catharsis. At the beginning you identify with the pain or the unfairness that the characters are going through, and then at the end you feel soothed but how things turn out.

I don't know if that helps or not. But I'd definitely steer clear of genocide.

Nicole wrote: "I'd definitely steer clear of genocide.
"

I can be counted on to follow that advice! At least for now.

Nicole's post made me think. One of the things I've appreciated about books is that when I've gone through something painful or challenging in life, I have really appreciated some of those times books about it or where the main character also is going through something similar. It's a little more than "misery loves company," though that's part of it, more that it's too much to expect friends to explore your experience in a lot of depth if it is depressing, but a book about a similar thing can help you look at it, release some of what you are going through, and often find new ways to look at it or get through it.

I don't do nonfiction as often, but remember that a few months after my Dad died, I bought my mother a book called "After the First Year," or something like that, and it really helped her deal with it, as she was having a terribly rough time adjusting.

Nicole's post also made me try and figure out why I loved Shantaram and yet for other books including India and slums may have thought they were extremely good and worthwhile to read, but cannot say that I loved them. Maybe because this was a story about a guy who fell in love with that part of the world and had very thorough interaction with people there that he wrote about.

Interesting, Lyn. This thread has been helpful for me. I've just been to the public library, I'll let you know which of the books I got there pan out. Though as I said to my husband, now that I've equipped myself properly I'll probably find myself ready to go back to my usual fare...

I've begun re-reading Harry Mathews's Cigarettes -- I've been mostly re-reading this year -- and it begins

"What's he mean 'I suppose you want an explanation'? He doesn't explain anything."
The gabled house loomed over us like a buzzard stuffed in mid flight. People were still arriving. Through the lilac hedge came the rustle of gravel smoothly compressed, and swinging streaks of light that flashed beyond us along a pale bank of Japanese dogwood, where a man in a white dinner jacket stood inspecting Allan's letter with a penlight.

Could you put a book down which begins that way?

On the question of books as therapy or to aid passage through a bad time, I tend not to rely on books for that. I can't sink into them properly. At times I've read detective stories, but as I have a semi-professional interest in these I tend to inspect them too closely. I seem to be getting sucked into Penguin's program to (re-)translate all 75 of the Maigret books, the very first ones of especial interest to me --Pietr the Latvian. I wall also stir up the piles of book review articles which I cut out of magazines and supplements for the purpose. I usually read fiction and non-fiction (mostly history, now) at the same time -- currently in addition to the Mathews it's Peter Hall's Cities in Civilization. Since I retired from the university it's hard for me to get the more academic books, philosophy, and critical theory I used to also read. Most usefully to me, however, is to write -- I always have a couple of projects going -- or something with my hands, to do with making books or fixing something.

My Own Country - Abraham Verghese
4****
This is Verghese's memoir of the time he spent working as an infectious disease specialist in a small East Tennessee town nestled in the Smoky Mountains. In 1985 the local hospital treated its first AIDS patient, and before long a crisis that had once seemed an “urban problem” had arrived in town to stay. Verghese is eloquent in describing his surroundings, patients and others in the town and surrounding area. It is informative, inspiring, tender, frightening, compassionate and memorable.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
3***
The two dozen monks of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups live a cloistered life in the woods of Quebec. But when their renowned choir director is murdered, the locked doors of the monastery must be opened to admit Inspector Gamache. For a book of this genre, this was a rather slow, deliberate and thoughtful work. While the plot may not be fast-paced it is intricate and complex. What most interested me were the characters, and Penny does a masterful job presenting them with all their strengths and weaknesses. I’ll definitely go back to book # 1 and read the series from the beginning.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Book Concierge wrote: "
My Own Country
- Abraham Verghese
4****
This is Verghese's memoir of the time he spent working as an infectious disease specialist in a sm..."

I liked this a lot. It's the reason I started on Cutting for Stone. Did nt last long on that, tho.

I loved Cutting for Stone, so I would probably love this.

I continue to be frustrated with Tenth of December.

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (Audio performed by William Dufris) – 4****
This is the novel that introduced readers to Nick and Nora Charles (and their Schnauzer Asta). It is a delightful mystery and a sophisticated comedy of manners all in one. Nick and Nora are wonderful characters – calm and cool, rich and glamorous, full of wisecracks and martinis. Hammett has the reader chasing just about every character as a suspect. The final reveal was a complete surprise to me. William Dufris is marvelous performing the audio version. He has a gift for voices and really brings this large cast to life.
This is a Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam this afternoon. I struggled to stay connected to this one. It seemed tritely predictable and stale. That said, I really enjoyed the earlier two books in this trilogy.

I regret that I missed updating all of my read books for the month of June. But here I am.. I finished reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. It is a heartbreaking look into one little girl's world.Morrison brings to life the inner voice of a girl desperately seeking love & acceptance in a society that is all too conditioned to withhold it.An emotional book that will leave you a changed person.

Here is my review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished American Gods. It's a fantasy thriller about old and new gods fighting for power. Not my usual type of book and I won't be inspired to read another.

Just finished The Friendly Young Ladies, by Mary Renault. Rather awkwardly put together and vulnerable to various criticisms, but it was the engrossing read I needed it to be, and she gets certain things just right, I think.

Just finished Crime and Punishment, and restarted Underworld by Don DeLillo. I think this is my third attempt over the past 15 years or so. The prologue (1951 Giants vs. Dodgers shot heard 'round the world) is as great as ever. Let's see if I can maintain the momentum this time.

Grafakos wrote: "Just finished Crime and Punishment, ..."

One of my favorite books.

I am reading Vile Bodies(hilarious) and Children of the Jacaranda Tree( not funny, in fact deeply disturbing) . It is about children born in Evin prison after the 1980 Irani coup.

Then I went to library and picked up Bad Monkey and The Lowland.

I think VILE BODIES may be the funniest of Waugh's novels.

Well, that's a great recommendation, Kat. I thought I would probably read it but now I'm sure.

Barb, be aware of the character's names.

Just finished The Invention of Wings. A really well done blending of fact with some enriching fiction (but fiction with general historical accuracy). This book served well to humanize some of the beginnings of the abolitionist movement.

I finished The Daylight Gate yesterday (just okay, I was hoping for more) and am just barely into something completely different. The Murder of My Aunt looks extremely promising, just what the doctor might order if you need some good laughs.

Has anyone else read it? Was it ever a group read?

We've never read this, but it sure does look interesting.

Well, Maisie Dobbs is a book that I'm not reading ... yet. But the NPR review of it--a look back at it after 10 years--was so wonderful that it makes me want to start it. (Oh, and also my wife has read them all and enjoyed them .. the earlier ones more than the later ones, however) ... Here's the NPR link:

http://www.npr.org/2014/07/10/3295686...

Sherry, From the very first it reminded me of The Debt to Pleasure, which I think you liked, but it has been so long since I read that it is hard to be certain that is the one. Now I see many reviewers compare it to A Confederacy of Dunces which makes sense in a way even tho I don't think I would ever have made that connection on my own. Whatever, you should give it a go whenever you are free for new books again! Further in now, and it still has me chuckling.

Finished The Patrick Melrose Novels. There is an as yet unnamed circle in hell where St. Aubyn’s unpleasant characters are condemned to invent increasingly caustic witticisms Not that these conversations are not enjoyable to the reader for their stylistic acerbity. The first book “Never Mind” sets the stage, introducing the set of upper class Brits who will continue to appear in the succeeding books. Patrick, at five, is sexually abused by his sadistic father which helps to distort his already troubled self. The second volume “Bad News” bored me with its interminable descriptions of Patrick shooting up, snorting, imbibing or otherwise ingesting a variety of drugs from heroin to Quaaludes. Descriptions of his hallucinations, spells of vomiting and self disgust were equally tiresome. In “Some Hope”, St.Aubyn is back on his game portraying party-goers with an acid glee. His vignette of Princess Margaret is especially delicious. “Mother’s Milk” follows Patrick into fatherhood and an attempt to be a decent person despite his mother’s betrayal, gifting the family home and wealth to a shamanistic enterprise. Patrick’s efforts to be a good father to his sons and the portrait of his wife Mary’s loving relationship with their boys especially the charming toddler Thomas shows another side of St. Aubyn. What strikes me is the overall intelligence of the writing, both on the emotional and objective level. St. Aubyn is a very special talent.

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb – 5*****
Audio performed by Archie Panjabi. The subtitle says it all: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. What an inspiring and enlightening story. Malala gives the historical background of Pakistan and the Pashtun culture, as well as that of her own family. In a society that values sons, her parents encouraged and praised their daughter’s ambitions. My mother’s favorite saying was: Educate a man and you educate an individual / Educate a woman and you will have educated a family. Malala Yousafzai has taken that saying one step further; she is educating the world.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Joan wrote: "Finished The Patrick Melrose Novels. There is an as yet unnamed circle in hell where St. Aubyn’s unpleasant characters are condemned to invent increasingly caustic witticisms Not th..."

Very funny! Your assessment of the different volumes of the series agrees with mine.

Kat, have you read "At Last"--the final one published separately? I haven't.

No, I haven't read that one or his recent sendup of the Booker. When I was done with the series I kind of felt I'd have enough for awhile. Though there's no doubt about the talent or the wit, after awhile I tired of the incessant negativity, even toward self. I may yet go back to him, though.

Kat wrote: "No, I haven't read that one or his recent sendup of the Booker. When I was done with the series I kind of felt I'd have enough for awhile. Though there's no doubt about the talent or the wit, after..."

Yes, that's also my feeling. A bit drained. I have the Booker sendup but will delay it awhile.

Larry wrote: "Well, Maisie Dobbs is a book that I'm not reading ... yet. But the NPR review of it--a look back at it after 10 years--was so wonderful that it makes me want to start it. (Oh, and als..."

The first book sets up the series, so not a lot of "plot" as such. I liked the early ones, but eventually gave up.

I recently finished The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel, a good read, although I had issues with it as needing suspension-of-disbelief at times.

I finished reading I Was in Love with a Short Man Once: And Other Tales from a Crazy Southern Irish Gal, it is memoir and an interesting one. Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Book Concierge wrote: " I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb – 5*****
Audio performed by Archie Panjabi. The subtitle says it all: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education a..."

I have friends who have read this book and praised it a lot..I also have a copy of it which is lying in my cupboard for long..your review has encouraged me to read it soon. Have you read Zoya?

For those interested in Malala, here's a link to an anthology of poetry devoted to her--proceeds from the book are donated to the Malala Fund.

http://www.prlog.org/12347736-for-mal...

I'm reading THE SILKWORM by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling). Very good, as was her Cuckoo's Calling. I like the main character, private detective Cormoran Strike who was named after a mythical Celtic giant (Strike is 6 ft 3 in tall) I enjoy her writing so much, I may just have to read one of her Harry Potter books.

Marge

Marjorie wrote: "I'm reading THE SILKWORM by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling). Very good, as was her Cuckoo's Calling. I like the main character, private detective Cormoran Strike who was named after a mythical..."

I enjoyed The Cuckoo's Calling as well and have the latter on the TBR stack closest to me. :)

I've been mucking and dipping into various books, but finally have settled on a couple.
So, right now I'm reading The Unquiet Grave by Steven Dunne. An interesting police procedural that spans 60-odd years about a serial killer. I'm only about a quarter in now, but it's so well constructed and told.

Another I'm reading is QB VII by Leon Uris. I know I read it decades ago, but don't remember much beyond the very basic premise. It can be difficult reading.

It has been many years since I read"QB VII",but I read the blurb and in my distant memory I do recall some of it. I have read several of Uris' s books, and enjoyed them all.

I finished The Lowland, not going to give anything away. So many have liked Alias Grace, so I started it early this morning.

Gathering Evidence by Thomas Bernhard--brilliant, like all of his stuff. This one's an autobiography and would be a good 'starter' book for someone who hasn't read Bernhard before. The prose is much more well behaved than in his novels, but still beautiful and spare and powerful.

Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong – 4****
The debut mystery which introduced Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau. The murder of a national model worker taxes all their resources as Chen and his deputy, Detective Yu, try to find out who killed the girl. Chen is a contrast: a man educated in literature, a published poet, and translator of mysteries, who is also a methodical investigator concerned only with bringing the perpetrator to justice. It is not the kind of mystery that relies on suspense, violent altercations and dangerous situations. Rather, the joy of this novel is watching Chen build his case. I’ll definitely read more of this series.
This is a Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, and loved it so much I dove right back in for a re-read. I never do that. All the reviews talked about it being a "rollicking" good read, and while I found the dialog very funny at times, I didn't find much humor overall. On the second reading, I am more relax and can immerse myself in the story, and indeed there is humor in an otherwise dark time of society. I learned so much about John Brown and the beginnings of the Civil War, to boot. It was a lovely read, well deserving of a National Book Award.

Thanks, Anne. I hope to read it while on vacation.

Right now, I am reading Frog Music by Emma Donaghue.