Constant Reader discussion

Hello, Constant Readers!
It's time to turn the calendar.

I am reading Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg, which I would recommend to anyone who has experienced loss.

I recently finished Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout, which I gave 5*****. I didn't like Lucy Barton as much, but now I want to go back and read it again, because Anything is Possible fills in a few gaps.

Mary Anne wrote: "Hello, Constant Readers!
It's time to turn the calendar.

I am reading Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg, which I would recommend to..."

I loved both of the Strout novels and enjoyed discovering a bit more about what made the Lucy Barton characters tick in the follow-up short stories.

Karma – Cathy Ostlere – 3***
This young adult novel is told entirely in verse, making for a very fast read. While there is a “love story” in the plot, the book includes some pretty serious matter: religious strife between Sikhs and Hindus, civil and political unrest in India, and the treatment of women. Maya is a strong female lead, despite the trauma she’s faced and her withdrawal into herself.
LINK to my review

Just finished Harlan Coben's latest, Don't Let Go. It is, as always, reliably a page turner. I can see that he practically has a formula for his books, but I'm sucked in anyway!

The Coben was a bit of a relief from just having read Hillary Clinton's What Happened, which was a bit hard to read mainly because it reminded me constantly about how we could have had an intelligent, practical, and competent President.

Rounding it out, I finished the McDougal The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good!. I'm great with no meat, eggs and dairy, but then he adds "no veggie oils or fats, or breads, at all," and appends his book with recipes that look pretty time consuming and also contain things he says not to eat for weight loss, like avocados, flour, pasta, and soy foods. Back to trying to take baby steps toward being healthier with my diet and maybe once in awhile just having plain sweet potato and broccoli for dinner.

Mary Anne wrote: "Hello, Constant Readers!
It's time to turn the calendar.

I am reading Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg, which I would recommend to..."

I liked Lucy Barton a lot but Anything is Possible touched my soul. I may need to read it again.

I'm currently reading a very short novel that I'm loving, called Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih. It's set in Sudan and has wonderful rhythms and great forward movement, making it kind of slow and fast at the same time. I'm finding it fascinating.

Kat wrote: "I'm currently reading a very short novel that I'm loving, called Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih. It's set in Sudan and has wonderful rhythms and great forward moveme..."

Kat, I just went back to read my own review for this book and see that I felt a second reading would be important for ferreting out more meaning. I did like it and enjoyed reading the book.

Beartown is worth reading. In the beginning you'll think it's about hockey, but read on, and you'll find it's about so much more.

Scout wrote: "Beartown is worth reading. In the beginning you'll think it's about hockey, but read on, and you'll find it's about so much more."

I completely agree, Scout. There's a lot going on in this book.

Just finished This is How It Always Is Here's my review in its entirety.

A subject that needs to have a good book written about it. This isn't it. This family is so incredibly cutesy-poo unconventional that I wanted to kick them in the shins.

Drums of Autumn – Diana Gabaldon – 3.5*** (rounded up)
Book number four in the bestselling Outlander series, has Jamie and Claire making their home in the mountains of North Carolina. I just love this series. Gabaldon writes compelling stories with characters I care about. Even the ones I hate (Brianna) keep me interested and engaged, and the action is non-stop.
LINK to my review

Louise Erdrich’s LaRose. This story grabbed me by the throat and never let go. It is dark, unsettling, sad, hopeful. It is magical and oh so human. The characters intrigue, delight, confuse, and provoke. Praise from the Washington Post that resonated with me: ““The recurring miracle of Erdrich’s fiction is that nothing feels miraculous in her novels. She gently insists that there are abiding spirits in this land and alternative ways of living and forgiving that have somehow survived the West’s best efforts to snuff them out.” If you are an Erdrich fan, don’t miss this one.

Mary wrote: "Louise Erdrich’s LaRose. This story grabbed me by the throat and never let go. It is dark, unsettling, sad, hopeful. It is magical and oh so human. The characters intrigue, delight, confuse, and pr..."
Mary, did you take this work in aurally? The reason I ask is that I note that from time to time you review audiobooks.
As an Erdrich fan, I was motivated to consume the novel. I attempted the audiobook version, yet found that I could not get into it. It could be that I was distracted and simply couldn't engage with the audiobook, though I don't really know what the problem was. Curious.

Ann, a combination of both. Listen while exercising. Read more at night from an e-book.

Educating Rita – Willy Russell – 3.5***
A marvelous play about one young woman’s desire for an education, and the professor who teaches her, and learns from her. I much prefer to watch plays performed, but this was an enjoyable read. Rita is a marvelous character, and I loved watching her grow.
LINK to my review

As I recall, Michael Caine starred in a movie called Educating Rita many many years ago. I remember liking it a lot and watching it several times.

Mary wrote: "As I recall, Michael Caine starred in a movie called Educating Rita many many years ago. I remember liking it a lot and watching it several times."

I only saw it once, but I still remember specific moments from it--rare for me. It was memorable.

The Hidden Child – Camilla Läckberg – 4*****
This is the fifth book in the series featuring crime writer Erica Falck and Detective Patrik Hedström, in the village of Fjällbacka, Sweden. However, it’s the first one I’ve read. Läckberg uses a dual time line to tell this story. There are the events of 1945, when one young couple’s plans are shattered by prejudice and violence. And there is the current-day mystery of an artifact that threatens to reveal long-held secrets. I look forward to reading more of this series.
LINK to my review

Other readers may enjoy this more than I did.

3★ for A Lesson in Violence aka She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Richard D. Mahoney’s THE KENNEDY BROTHERS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK AND BOBBY. I learned enough to make it interesting. I appreciated the exploration of the relationship between the brothers. I was particularly interested in the author’s view of Bobby’s evolution from anti-communist staff Attorney to McCarthy to crusading champion of minorities, the poor and the down-trodden. On the other hand, for me, there was a little too much emphasis on coincidence, conspiracy, and the heroic mythology of the Kennedy’s.

Mary wrote: "Richard D. Mahoney’s THE KENNEDY BROTHERS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK AND BOBBY. I learned enough to make it interesting. I appreciated the exploration of the relationship between the brothers. I wa..."

I'm reading Theodore H. White's The Making of the President 1960 for a book-club discussion. Fascinating ...

An inexcusably shameful time in colonial Australia. Murder at Myall Creek by Mark Tedeschi AM QC pulls no punches, nor have I.
5★ Link to my review

Jonathan Kellerman’s GUILT, another in the Alex Delaware saga. An acceptable audio exercise companion and diversion from more serious reading. It needed a better editor - it went on way too long and would have been better if more tightly crafted.

Aussie author Irene Sauman's prequel novella, Saddled with Death is still available free on Amazon, and it includes the beginning of the first book in the Emma Berry Murray River Mystery series, A Gem of a Problem.
3★ Link to my review

My favourite book of recent times is the stunning debut Freshwater by Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi,

Fascinating, poetic, raw - demons and spirits. Publication in February 2018, but it's still available on NetGalley for any reviewers here.

5★ Link to my review

English author C.J. Sansom, who wrote Dissolution, is a new favourite. This is mysterious historical fiction at its best. Love it!
5★ Link to my review

I'm reading Anthony Trollope's Is He Popenjoy? Trollope is my comfort food.

Kat wrote: "I'm reading Anthony Trollope's Is He Popenjoy? Trollope is my comfort food."

I'm going to add this one. I do enjoy reading Trollope.

Sue wrote: "Kat wrote: "I'm reading Anthony Trollope's Is He Popenjoy? Trollope is my comfort food."

I'm going to add this one. I do enjoy reading Trollope."

It's not one of his finest--I've already read all of those--but it's giving me as much pleasure as though it were. :)

I just finished Americanah. I was so disappointed not to think as highly of it as so many do. It was certainly interesting, but I found much of it static and predictable and I was rarely emotionally moved by the situations of the characters.

Kat wrote: "I just finished Americanah. I was so disappointed not to think as highly of it as so many do. It was certainly interesting, but I found much of it static and predictable and I was r..."

That's a pity, Kat - I really enjoyed her take on the how the African Americans didn't understand why a young woman from Nigeria had such a different attitude from theirs. I keep meaning to reread it and write a better review, but I did do a brief one. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Beautiful Yellowstone back country is full of dangers in this pack trip mystery, Back Of Beyond by C.J. Box.
3.5 to 4★ Link to my review

Lilli de Jong

Kirkus Reviews gives a thumbs up. "In the modern battle for rights for working mothers and equal pay for equal work, Benton holds a mirror up to the past and in doing so, illustrates how far we have come as well as how far we have yet to go."
I was less enthusiastic because of the political overtones since fiction is my escape from the day's happenings. That said there is much to be appreciated in this novel. 3.0 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Piece of the World – Christina Baker Kline – 3.5***
As she did in Orphan Train , Kline uses multiple time lines to tell the story. I thought Christina Olson was a marvelous character, and appreciated the way Kline took what little is known of this real woman and expanded it to weave this narrative. I liked that she focused more attention on Olson’s relationships with her family and friends than on her connection to Wyeth.
LINK to my review

I just finished The Rules of Magic. My review in its entirety is: "Delightful nonsense!"

Just finished listening to a lovely narration of the classic To Kill a Mockingbird read by the actress Sissy Spacek Funny how some things jump out that I missed or forgot before like "pink cotton penitentiary"

I listened to an audiobook version of that a few years ago, Sheila, and was amazed at how well it's stood up to the passage of time. If I can find the production with Sissy Spacek, I might listen to it again.

Finished another excellent David Malouf story set in Queensland, Harland's Half Acre. He's one of our best Aussie authors.
4.5★ Link to my review

Barbara wrote: "I listened to an audiobook version of that a few years ago, Sheila, and was amazed at how well it's stood up to the passage of time. If I can find the production with Sissy Spacek, I might listen t..."

Although I'd read it several times before, the Sissy Spacek reading was one of the first audiobooks I ever listened to. It is fantastic!

Marlon James THE BOOK OF NIGHT WOMEN. An audiobook narrated by Robin Miles. Very difficult to read (listen to) because of the violence and inhumanity of what slaves endured. The descriptions are disturbing but there is an eloquence and a rhythm to the writing that I loved. The story was compelling. The reality of slavery is one we all need to face in all of its pain, indignity, immorality, cruelty and harshness. Certainly the discomfort and squeamishness I felt is nothing compared to that reality. This is another of those books I no longer recall when or how it made it to my TBR list but I am grateful it did.

Mary wrote: "Marlon James THE BOOK OF NIGHT WOMEN. An audiobook narrated by Robin Miles. Very difficult to read (listen to) because of the violence and inhumanity of what slaves endured. The descriptions are di..."

This is on my "short list" of books to read. Hoping to get to it before March ...

All Creatures Great and Small – James Herriot – 4****
I am definitely *not* an animal person but Herriot’s reminiscences of his early efforts to build a veterinary practice in Yorkshire in the mid to late 1930s were delightful, if a bit repetitious. This is a re-read for me, and my rating reflects my first impressions when I first read it in the early to mid-1970s.
LINK to my review

I have a soft spot for good short stories, but not soft enough to include this collection, Skating on the Vertical by Jan English, Leary.
3★ Link to my review

Book Concierge wrote: "

All Creatures Great and Small
– James Herriot – 4****
I am definitely *not* an animal person but Herriot’s reminiscences of his early efforts ..."

Also highly fictionalized.

My first read in November ~Fragments of Isabella: A Memoir of Auschwitz

That Isabella survived is miraculous, that the story doesn't end in the camp and includes an afterword by Isabella's husband is a good reason to check out this short memoir.

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

I'm reading Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer, and feeling pin-balled between depression and outrage. What a world we live in!

Mary Anne wrote: "I'm reading Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer, and feeling pin-balled between depression and outrage. What a worl..."

I read that a couple of months ago. I had the same reaction.

I just finished Never Let Me Go by the author of Remains of the Day.

The story had an interesting premise, but I think it would have made a better science fiction short story than a novel. Although I appreciated it intellectually, I never connected with any of the characters or dialogue very much.

The Making of the President 1960 – Theodore H White – 3***
Subtitle: A Narrative History of American Politics in Action. About a year before the November 1960 election, Theodore H White began studying the likely candidates for President. He followed them through primaries, state caucuses, the national convention and the campaign for the Presidency. It’s somewhat dated – the process is different more than half a century later. And yet, there is something timeless about this story.
LINK to my review

Regarding Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, I was similarly both fascinated and appalled.

The practice of giving tax exempt status to obviously political advocacy groups (both right and left) makes me furious. We need to make some big changes in our political system, but Congress seems totally unable to act. How bad do things have to get before we get a long overdue reformist period?Or are we beyond that?