Book Nook Cafe discussion

I am putting the thread up a bit early since with the holidays I don't know who will be around.

Please share with us what you read December 2018 !

Please provide:

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

I read Darbyshire: Welcome to the Jungle by Maverick Alexander. The book is comprised of 10 short stories, all of which are intensely funny (from my perspective, at least)!

I’d be curious to hear what others thought of it, but I think it’s a brave stand against political correctness. The illustrations were incredible, too.

I bought the hardcover and it’s my new favorite conversational coffee-tabler.

Darbyshire: Welcome to the Jungle---Maverick Alexander

Here are the Good Reads links for the book, Mitch. Thanks for sharing.

I would note the blurb says it's the first in a series.

I read Curly Girl.

I got some good tips from this book but have found YouTube has been better for someone who likes visual explanations of how to guides :) I gave the book 3/5 stars because it would have been nice if they would have listed different products, that are affordable and cruelty free, to use. My hair is probably more wavy than curly depending on the day haha..but I can’t wait to try the turby twist or micro fiber towel. I’ve tried plopping with a T-shirt but that still leaves my hair a bit frizzy.

Stephanie wrote: "I read Curly Girl.

I got some good tips from this book but have found YouTube has been better for someone who likes visual explanations of how to guides :) I gave the book 3/5 stars..."


Agree. YouTube is better.

I put a tiny bit of whatever conditioner I am using on my hair after I wash it and don't wash it out. They I put it in the turby twist for about 5 minutes. Then I either use a defusser or let it air dry.

My hair is more wavy, too.

Great tips, Alias! Thank you!!

You're welcome.

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone had a marvelous & relaxing time.

Here are my reads for December:
Remembering the Bones (3-star) - I liked this story but thought it lacked depth. It's difficult to live in a person's head through the entire book without knowing the person beforehand. It's all a bit of a jumble.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Martian (5-star; audio) - just a lot of fun. I really enjoyed this story and Watney's character in it.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Three Sisters in Black (3-star) - a bizarre true-life mystery. What a crazy family! In the end, though, although this is a bizarre story I don't know why it became a book.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Hana's Suitcase Anniversary Album (5-star) - although about Hanna and her story, this is as much about a young Japanese woman, Fumiko, and her quest to the Holocaust to a group of children so that this sort of thing cannot happen again. The project went global and has caused many good consequences. Hanna lives and brings peace & caring to the world because of Fumiko and her group of children.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Rowing the Northwest Passage: Adventure, Fear, and Awe in a Rising Sea (3-star; audio) - a bit of a disappointment. The stars are for the history of the Arctic, the terrain, the people living there; not for the rowing trip. The narrator sounded like a jaded & bored aristocrat talking down to the listener.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now in November (3-star) - this was a Pulitzer prize winner in the 30s that seems to have dropped out of popularity. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys Willa Cather's books. It's beautifully written. Bleak, hard story of new farmsteaders in the dustbowl years of drought.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I plan on finishing 2 more books (one audio; one print) by the end of the year and will add them if/when I accomplish that.

Thanks for sharing, Petra. You seem to be ending the year on a nice high note reading wise.

The Death of Democracy
The Death of Democracy: Hitler's Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic
Nonfiction
Rate 2/5
Though the book was only 235 pages it took me forever to finish it. The book was not what I was expecting.
I thought the focus would be mainly on Hitler.
The focus of the book was on the political parties and people leading up to Hitler becoming dictator. I found it a bit confusing to follow all the parties and the people.
It is rated highly on GR & Amazon, so others clearly enjoyed it more than I did.


The President is missing
The President Is Missing
Fiction
Rate 3 plus
I've only read one Patterson book and didn't care for it. I decided to read this one because President Bill Clinton is
the co-author. I couldn't decide if this book was a 3 or 4. I split it and went with a 3 plus. Which means a solid read for its genre.
The book starts off a bit slow but then it becomes a page turning thriller. I could have done without the political preaching at the start and end of the book. The thriller conclusion was a bit confusing but I still enjoyed the novel. If you love the thriller genre and Patterson you won't be disappointed.

I am in the middle of another book. However, I don't think I will finish before the end of the year. If I do, I'll add Dancing Through It: My Journey in the Ballet

It's been a terrific experience sharing books with all the BNC posters. I hope more of you decide to come out of lurkdom and share your reads with us or just to chat. It does take a villiage..... :)

Alisa, it has been wonderful hearing everyone's reading experiences. I've added many books to my TBR list and enjoyed our group reads as well.

I also hope that any lurkers out there will speak up in the New Year and join us. That would be interesting and add to everyone's enjoyment.

Adding another book to my December total:

I finished the audio of The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin and really enjoyed it. It tells the friendship of Frances Marion and Mary Pickford, while also showing the difficulties women faced in the early Hollywood years, including the "casting couch" and the difficult decision of having children (would it ruin their careers, for example).
I listened to this during my jogs and found it well paced and well narrated (by Kimberly Farr).
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

:) Good job, Petra. I need to get off this computer and read !!!!

Happy New Year, everyone!!! I hope you had a blast waiting for it. I do not know if it came everywhere in the world yet, but here we've been 11 hours in 2019 already.

My December reads:

Cuentos de Augusto Monterroso by Augusto Monterroso
Genre: Short Story
Rating: B
Review: It was, actually, only one story, Mr Taylor, but it's not listed here individually. It was a very good story, an allegorical account of North American influence on South American countries.

Metak u srcu Svetog Augustina by Boris Beck
Genre: Short Story
Rating: C
Review: Again, I've only read one story from the collection, Perhaps the Dog was Dreaming Us. The story has fantastic elements, so much so that it reminds me of the movie Inception.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Genre: Fiction; Non-Fiction; Historical Fiction; Something?!
Rating: B
Review: I must say that I really enjoyed this story, once I started connecting all the dots and managed to catch the flow of it.

I've read mixed opinions about it and at first the writing style confused me so much I was actually thinking of letting it go, but the story would not let me.

Even though the title of the story has Lincoln in it and the story itself revolves around the death of Abraham and Mary Lincoln's son Willie, the protagonists are actually two very interesting and funny men.

Not to dwell too much into the details of the story, young Lincoln, as is a historical fact, dies and ends up in a world between, unable and unwilling to move one. His father is also reluctant to let him go and Willie because of that refuses to go. Our two protagonists take pity on him and put him under their protection, discovering things about themselves they forgot on the way.

There are many more characters in this story and they all get their spotlight, which is why a reader can easily get confused. When each person is talking you have his/her name written below the part that they say but it took me good 30-40 pages to understand what the hell was going on. Still, as the story progressed I really wanted to find out what was going to happen and if all the characters would get their happy ending.

The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter
Genre: Short Story
Rating: A
Review: A lovely Christmas story by Beatrix Potter about a poor tailor who needs to make a wedding coat for the Mayor by Christmas, but is unable to because of a fever.

On Christmas Day in the Morning by Grace S. Richmond
Genre: Short Story
Rating: C
Review: A lovely short story about two lonely elderly parents who's 6 children all have their own lives and rarely come to visit for Christmas. Guy, the youngest son (though not child in general), decides to surprise their parents by making all of the children (just the 6 of them without the wives and children) come to the house during the night so that their parents can find them in their old rooms in the morning and finally spend a Christmas with their children again.

On Christmas Day in the Evening by Grace S. Richmond
Genre: Short Story
Rating: A
Review: I like this story better than the first one. It occurs two years after the previous one, and it has become a custom for all of the children, including their families, to spend Christmas with the parents. Mother and Father lament the closing of the town's church and lack of a service of any kind due to a mass fight between the residents. The two youngest children, Nan and Guy are up to another adventure. Nan decides they should tidy the unused church and organise a Christmas Eve service and, with a bit of luck, and providence, make peace between the townsfolk.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate Universe
Rating: A
Review: The Golden Compass is the first book in Philip Pullman's series His Dark Materials about a world where people's soul are not inside them but exist next to them in form of deamons, who are always in animal form and always of the opposite sex from the person they belong to. That way people are never actually alone in this world. It is also a world much like out Middle Ages, where the Church controls the world and decides what people should and should not believe and know. There is also an Inquisition.
I absolutely adore this book, but I'm also afraid to continue the series because I remember from previous reading that it doesn't really end good. I can't remember the details at all, but that's the sensation I have.

Dancing Dan's Christmas by Damon Runyon
Genre: Short Story
Rating: C
Review: A funny Christmas- themed short story with a nice twist in the end.

Cine Prado by Elena Poniatowska
Genre: Short Story
Rating: A
Review: This is one of the oddest ones I've read so far and it made me laugh as soon as I figured out where it was going. The story is written as a letter of goodbye from an admirer to a movie star in which he finds all the ways possible to insult her politely and blame her for his disappointment in her and his broken heart. The guy also happens to be married and his wife had to endure a crush he has on a movie star. Poor mamma's boy!

Bodas de sangre by Federico García Lorca
Genre: Play; Tragedy; Based on Real-Life Events
Rating: B
Review: Blood Wedding is one of the most famous, if not the most famous, works of Frederico Garcia Lorca. Lorca was a poet and a playwright from Granada, Andalucia (South of Spain). He loves his homeland, feels a deep connection to it and uses it profoundly in his work. His work is always full of typical symbols of Andalucia: sun, heat, oranges, land, moon, blood as a liquid and as family, horse, etc. He was also a great lover of Greek tragedy and was responsible for bringing back the real tragedy to Spanish theatre.
Blood Wedding is a tale based on real-life events. In the late 20s, a huge scandal happened in Nijar in Almeria (the desert part of Andalucia) when a young woman eloped with her cousin (the man she really loved) just days before she was supposed to marry another man. Of course, given the tradition in Andalucia (very archaic, even a bit to this day), the whole story ends tragically, with the girl's lover dead at the hands of the groom's brother, and her almost murdered by the groom's sister. The story was featured in newspapers all over Spain, and Lorca found it an inspiration for what will turn out to be one of his greatest works.

Christmas at Red Butte by L.M. Montgomery
Genre: Short Story
Rating: A
Review: What a wonderful story!! It just might be my favourite Christmas short story so far.

The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale by Philip Van Doren Stern
Genre: Short Story
Rating: A
Review: The shorts story upon which the iconic "It's a Wonderful Life" is based. I've never watched the movie so I'm glad that the story came my way before.

Poema del Cante Jondo / Romancero Gitano by Federico García Lorca
Genre: Poetry
Rating: B
Review: I really enjoyed this collection, especially the Romancero gitano part. The only problem (for a general reader) is that, in my humble opinion, you need to know and understand Andalusia and its culture and history to be able to understand the poems. The poems are full of symbols, so the huge introduction and commentaries below the lines help a bit.

It looks like you had a nice reading month for December. A few C's but on the whole good.

I decided to skip
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
even though it seemed to be positively reviewed in a lot of places. I like a linear story with just a few characters. I don't like to work hard to read a work of fiction. However, I am glad you enjoyed it. Many times sticking with a book pays off.

Alias Reader wrote: "It looks like you had a nice reading month for December. A few C's but on the whole good.

I decided to skip
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
even though it seemed to be positively reviewe..."

In the beginning I wanted to give up, too, because I was so confused. When the story started to pick up, it was great

Samanta, you had another good reading month.

I also loved Lincoln in the Bardo. I thought the format worked really well for that story. I listened to the audio and found it really entertaining.

I remember really liking The Golden Compass but I haven't continued with the series yet.

I'm continuing this year through a buddy read in another group.

I read The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal as I study English Language (amongst other subjects) and this is one of our recommended reads. I found it very interesting and insightful into how the English language has developed and just how different early forms of the language were from what we have now. It also looks at the myriad influences we have had on English from Latin, French etc.
If you are into etymology then you'd probably love this book.

Again, i apologize for my tardy post. I only read one book in December, Sourdough a novel by Robin Sloan, author of the pleasurable, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore which i liked. In this one computer tech Lois moves from Michigan to San Francisco, having been wooed for her skills. Tired of drinking her usual dinner, she calls the number on a flyer found at her door and orders the soup & bread, which is mostly what they offer. She loves it, and the story blossoms in a rather bizarre way with the introduction of an Underground Market.

Meanwhile, i found a number of titles i'd like to try on the lists posted. Thanks to everyone who offered their thoughts. I was tickled to see so many books i love, particularly Now In November by Josephine Johnson. It is a stark novel and conjuring Cather was a good choice, Petra.

Samanta, i'm creating a list now of Christmas reading & the titles you shared are at the top of it. Neat idea to read such ditties, as well as others.

Seasonschangemymind, that book sounds good, so i've added it, too. The English language fascinates me, as do its roots. Thanks.

seasonschangemymind wrote: "I read The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal as I study English Language (amongst other subjects) and this is one of our recommended reads. I found it ve..."

That sounds interesting. I do have The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way----Bill Bryson

I haven't read it yet, but it may be one you want to check out.

Thanks for the title, Alias. I feel like such a crank when i add my comments but Bryson is an author who rubs me the wrong way. It all began when i read A Walk in the Woods. I resented the fact that he didn't actually walk the entire Appalachian Trail. Yes, i am that petty. Still, i've liked articles i've read by him, so am adding that book to my list, as it truly is a beloved topic.

madrano wrote: "Again, i apologize for my tardy post. I only read one book in December, Sourdough a novel by Robin Sloan, author of the pleasurable, [book:Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bo..."

Glad to help, madrano. :)

I read Mr. Penumbra and it was ok, but didn't wow me in the end. I'd like to see if the other one will be better.

madrano wrote: "Thanks for the title, Alias. I feel like such a crank when i add my comments but Bryson is an author who rubs me the wrong way. It all began when i read A Walk in the Woods. I resented ..."

That didn't rub me the wrong way because I felt the book was more for comedic effect. Same with his travel books.

I do own, but have not yet read (how many times do I write that sentence ! ) his science book A Short History of Nearly Everything I did lend it to a friend and she enjoyed it quite a bit. She is a Bryson Fan.

madrano wrote: "Again, i apologize for my tardy post. I only read one book in December, Sourdough a novel by Robin Sloan, author of the pleasurable, [book:Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bo..."

Robin Sloan's book looks interesting-added it to my never ending reading list.

Alias Reader wrote: "I do own, but have not yet read (how many times do I write that sentence ! ) ..."

LOL! I hear ya! I suppose i write that about books on my TBR much more often. I imagine we all empathize with those feelings. Your comments about Bryson's book leads me to see that i probably missed the humor about not actually walking the entire trail. Duh.

Samanta & Julie, i want to add that i liked the Mr. Penumbra book appreciably more than Sourdough. I was really caught up in the beginning (perhaps because i used to be quite the baker, sourdough being one of my favorites) and hoped for more. There were parts about the Underground Market that just didn't appeal to me. I should note that even though GR doesn't mention it, the full title is Sourdough Or Lois and Her Adventures in the Underground Market . And it was the "co-star", the market, which couldn't sustain the momentum i felt by the first part.

I thought I would continue on back another year for all of you. :)
My December reads of 2018 are as follows:

The Haunting of Willow House by Anthony M. Strong - four stars.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara - four stars.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Collected Christmas Horror Shorts bu Kevin J. Kennedy - four stars.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Christmas horror stories! What a notion.

As for the other book—if i’ve learned one thing from horror books, it’s stay away from Ouija boards!