Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion
What Are You Reading Now (anything goes) 2020
Mod
3 stars
I went into this book thinking it was a memoir. Published in 2002, I kept thinking this book could never be published in these political incorrect times. When I delved a little deeper I discovered it is 'loosely' based on the author's experience as a substitute teacher. He doesnt have the credentials to be a full time teacher and is trying to break into the business of writing for television shows and wants a job where he doesnt have to work too hard. He finds he doesn't like working with little kids and much prefers to work with high school students. The part that is politically incorrect in this day and age is that he frequently lusts after his students and sometimes even has sexual relationships with them. If that doesnt bother you the book is funny sometimes, just take it with a grain of salt.
Beartown
Fredrik Backman
3.5/5 stars
Set in a rural area where hockey is king, the author explores the dynamics of small town life and the importance of hockey to everyone in town. The junior hockey team is going to compete in the national semi-finals. However, a young girl is assaulted by a hockey player and this pits the hockey community against the people who believe her. Well written and hard to put down.
Your Movie Sucks
Roger Ebert
3.5/5 stars
Ebert reviews some of his most hated films with humor and disdain. I laughed through a majority of the remarks and it made me miss him and his reviews. Not for everyone but if you are a film buff you might enjoy it!
Julie wrote: "Your Movie Sucks
Roger Ebert
3.5/5 stars
Ebert reviews some of his most hated films with humor and disdain. I laughed through a majori..."
This was a pretty bold book for him to write, considering that he wrote the script to Beyind the Valley Of The Dolls LOL
I just finished The Carol Thompson Murder Case, which I gave 3 stars only because there were 3 trials in here on the same case and that was 2 too many. There was a 4th trial too at the end and it was important information, but geez. The story of the murder itself, and the investigation, were absolutely gripping -- I only wish every crime were handled thus carefully and thoroughly.
Some non biographiesAccess Road By Maurice Gee 3 stars
He writes about my hometown, although it's changed since he lived there, crime is never far away. Is it the place or the people? Or maybe we just don't have great police. Every adult Maurice Gee book goes back to someone ending up dead in the creek. This one is no different....
The Phantom Tollbooth By Norton Juster 4 starsA children's fantasy in same vein as Mary Poppins or Alice's Adventures on Wonderland, or perhaps the Wizard of Oz. If you like puns and a sense of the absurd, you might enjoy it. Its become a classic. Milo is a 10 year old boy who goes on a series of adventures much like Faithful in Pilgrims Progress, except this is to a land without Rhyme or Reason.
Selina wrote: "The Phantom Tollbooth By Norton Juster 4 starsA children's fantasy in same vein as Mary Poppins or Alice's Adventures on Wonderland, or perhaps the Wizard of Oz. If you like puns and a ..."
There is a film which starred Butch Patrick from The Munsters.
The Body: A Guide for Occupants - animated by the droll wit of its author - Bill BrysonMy review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3396472137
Positively Pippa
Sarah Hegger
3/5 stars
Pippa had a makeover show on TV but when her ex and another member on the show sabotaged her job, she goes home to stay with her grandmother and runs into Matt. Matt is the gorgeous hunk who works on her grandmother’s house and Pippa has trouble keeping her distance from him while she tries to re-establish her career. I enjoyed this funny, romantic novel.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian SelznickProbably the fattest children's novel you might ever read, if only by virtue of the thick paper than anything else, all black edged and mostly drawings done in film noir style with smatterings of text in between. this book appeals to those who like mystery and steampunkish elements. It's set in France and of course, the children in it are orphaned, so that gives them free reign to have series of adventures leading to a tidy resolution at the end. Cinephiles might like it, I was more flipping through pages wondering if it could be more of a flip-o-rama than slow motion. Everything is slow motion in this novel.
Now reading The Testaments By Margaret Atwood. It's 15 years later in dystopian Gilead, setting of the Handmaid's Tale. It's grim so far.
The Girls
Emma Cline
4/5 stars
Set in the late 60’s in California, we find Evie, whose parents are divorcing, lonely and without friends. Seeing a group of girls in the park, she meets Suzanne who invites her back to the ranch to hang out with the others that live there. She soon meets Russell, the enigmatic leader of the group and she finds herself being drawn in. Loosely based on Charles Manson’s cult, this story really draws you in right away. Well done!
The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan OrleanWhere Susan Orlean goes on about orchids ad nauseum, interviewing and trailing obssessed orchid collectors and quietly envying them for their obsession. Maybe...its the people who don't collect anything that are abnormal..? Or they just don't have the passion. Follow Orleans as she gets lost in a swamp, looking for orchids.
Selina wrote: "The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan OrleanWhere Susan Orlean goes on about orchids ad nauseum, interviewing and trailing obssessed orchid collectors and ..."
I have not read this but I have read 2 or 3 of her other books which I really enjoyed!
Allegedly
Tiffany D. Jackson
3.5/5 stars
Mary B. Addison has been sentenced to a group home for allegedly killing a 3 month old baby when she was 9 years old. Her “mother” Dawn Marie Cooper took in Mary as a young child and visits often but her relationship with Dawn is not good. Mary is smart and is ready to move on. She is allowed to work and is assigned to a nursing home where she meets Ted. Unfortunately, she gets pregnant and her dream to work and go to college is hampered by the pregnancy. In the meantime, she has gotten a lawyer to help her in overturning her conviction. Will Mary ever move on with her life and get away from those awful “allegations”? This story is very compelling with a lot of twists and turns.
I finished
Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul by Charles King. It provided an impressionist portrait of the new republic of Turkey. My review: www.Goodreads.com/review/show/3414616732
A Wrinkle in Time By Madeline L'engleOh myyy Godddd thisss bookkk is teeeediuous.
Not something I would ordinarily pick up, as I'm not a fan of sci-fi, but maybe it works for those scientifically inclined. Or ex-Mormons. Children, this won a medal, and was made into a Disney movie, so you are warned.
I read The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt which I rounded up to 4 starsWomen's History written during the #MeToo times. I am a woman, of course I have had my me too moments--so many I really don't remember most of them, just some of the more egregious ones, but the feeling that one gets during them, that isn't something one forgets.
That said, this isn't about sexual innuendos that way, just about the enormous amount of horribleness it was just to be a woman in this field. Men were openly nasty about it, you were paid less, it was virtually impossible to advance, and so on. That said, we get quite a bit about the brilliance of some of the early women, including one whose art was a favourite of Walt to the point that her husband harboured jealously about it even after she died, even though the Disneys and the Blairs were close friends. They have done some amazing things. The tide has turned, and it is thanks to women that we finally got characters like Mulan, the one in Brave, and Frozen (it was women who turned it into the story of sisters, etc, etc). One of the things I liked is that it followed the lives and careers of a few of the women after they quit or were fired (many, many people were fired at a couple of points, men and women).
Not all of the women pioneers were white, but of course there was also racism. Gyo Fujikawa was one of the earlier women to work there before she left. As the doors opened to more people of colour, a great deal of Mulan's story was shaped by Rita Hsai, a Chinese American woman born in Florida.
So as hard as it still can be for women, we have made some headway. Let's hope it continues.
Selina wrote: "A Wrinkle in Time By Madeline L'engleOh myyy Godddd thisss bookkk is teeeediuous.
Not something I would ordinarily pick up, as I'm not a fan of sci-fi, but maybe it works for tho..."
Oh, she wasn't Mormon, but was some sort of a spiritualist or something like that--very 1970s stuff. I liked this when I was about 10, but can't stand it as an adult.
Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "A Wrinkle in Time By Madeline L'engleOh myyy Godddd thisss bookkk is teeeediuous.
Not something I would ordinarily pick up, as I'm not a fan of sci-fi, but maybe i..."
Not sure why it's considered a classic. I've read much better children's sci fi, like Under the Mountain
I found it weird how she would just drop in random scriptures completely out of context.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Madeleine L'Engle
3/5 stars
“When fifteen-year -old Charles Wallace Murry shouts out in desperation an ancient rune meant to ward off the dark, a radiant creature appears. It is Gaudior, Unicorn and time traveler. Charles Wallace and Gaudior must travel into the past on the winds of time to try and find a Might-Have-Been--a moment in the past when the entire course of events leading to the present can be changed, and the future of Earth-this small, swiftly tilting planet - saved.” Synopsis from the back of the book.
This is the third book in the series. This is not my favorite of the three so far. There was quite a lot of characters in it and a plot that was at times hard to keep track of but I will finish reading the last two books in the series. I would like to know what happens to the family and Charles Wallace.
"This Won't End Well" by Camille Pagan
currently reading The Master and Margarita by Bulbakov - translated from the russian obviously - recommmended to me as an amazing book but i like it but wouldnt rave about it- rather dated existentialism / surrealism/ religious philoophy overlap in it though it has kept me reading and i am near teh end now and curious how it will end up - so i guess it has intrigued me but not compelled me
Selina wrote: "Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "A Wrinkle in Time By Madeline L'engleOh myyy Godddd thisss bookkk is teeeediuous.
Not something I would ordinarily pick up, as I'm not a fan of sci-f..."
Her background was Christian, I think. But after reading the last book I wrote about her, I'd say she leaned more to being a spiritualist.
Mod
4 stars
This was a heartbreaking story of love and loss. From a young age Kya learns that everyone she loves leaves and that story line doesnt change throughout the book. I found the storyline of a 7-year-old girl being deserted and left to fend for herself in a swamp was a little far out. I think I would have liked it better if she had been a little older. I dont think any 7-year-old would have been savvy enough to figure out a way to support herself and the townspeople not doing anything about it, even in the 60's. Also, as a fan of nonfiction crime, I thought the storyline of being charged with murder was not well-done. Even in the backwoods and in the 60's, I dont think someone would be charged with murder with so little evidence to go on. Aside from that, I found the story compelling and wanted her to have a good life. I liked that all loose ends were tied up in the end.
The Whale Rider By Witi Ihimaera
This was made into a movie but I hadn't read the book so I gave it a go. Although Kahu is born and is 8 years old by the time of the action, it's not really a children's novel, as it's told through the eyes of her uncle and some of the language is a bit esoteric. Yes some of its in Maori and there is a glossary at the back but I felt it didn't read as well as I thought it might.
The main story is Kahu is born into a tribe as the heir of a chief but her grandfather is miffed that she's a girl. She then sets out to prove her worth as she has the gift of talking to whales, so when a bunch of whales gets stranded on the beach she's the one who saves them, and consequently the tribe. The story is intertwined with Maori myth and legend about an ancestor who is said to have rode on the back of a whale and found Aotearoa (NZ).
Many Waters
Madeleine L'Engle
4/5 stars
In this fourth book of the series, the focus is on Dennys and Sandy, the twin brothers of the Murry family. While no one is home they go into their mom’s lab when something happens to them and they are transported back in time. They end up still on Earth but in the time period when Noah and his family are given the instructions to build an ark and only certain people will be saved. Will Dennys and Sandy survive? This was a really interesting book but there are some very adult situations in this book so I find it interesting that it is considered a J (juvenile) book! I would consider it more of a YA book.
Koren wrote: "Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 4 stars
This was a heartbreaking story of love and loss. From a young age Kya learns that every..."
I read this earlier in 2020 and it was a 4 star book for me as well :)
Mod
4 stars
This was a heartbreaking story of love and loss. From a young age Kya lea..."
It would have been a 5 star book for me if the trial had been more realistic.
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan FarrowIt's nonfiction, but it has all the elements from the mystery/ thriller genre - a villain with a shadowy cabal, power, money, sex crimes, and espionage. Recommended.
My review: www.Goodreads.com/review/show/3115634695
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Stuart Turton
4/5 stars
This is the most interesting, suspenseful and intricate supernatural murder mystery, I have ever read. Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered at a party in the country. No one knows who has done it but there are certain guests at the party who need to find the murderer and they only have so much time to find him/her or else they will suffer the consequences. There are so many twists and turns that you may need to take notes especially if you want to keep track of the characters and the plot.
Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacyby Eric Hansen
I think I liked this better than Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession. The author went all over the world and investigated and talked to more orchid-obssessed people, whereas Orlean just concentrated mostly on one nutter. lol
It also had some line drawings of orchids, and a chapter on fragrance, which was interesting, as well as the impact of CITES legislation on the orchid trade - it seems like botanical institutions want the monopoly but they can't say orchids are endangered species when you could find some seed and propagate 2000 clones of them in a nursery, and grow them wherever if you want to look after them unlike wild animals.
Pleading Guilty by Scott TurowNever read any of his work, but thought I'd try an alternative to Grisham for a change.
An Acceptable Time
Madeleine L'Engle
4/5 stars
In the fifth book of the series, the focus is on Polly O’Keefe, granddaughter of Alex and Kate Murray. Polly is spending the summer with her grandparents. Her friend, Zachary, who is ill comes to visit. When an unusual occurrence happens, Polly and Zach are transported from their time to another time in the same location. The grandparents are upset and don’t want them to take off to see if it happens again. However Zach has heard of the mystical healing of the people who live in that time period and wants to return and they end up there not knowing if they can get back. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and this was probably the best of the five I read. She has written more but I think I’m ready for a break from this series for the time being.
LIFE Gone With The WindIt's got a short reminiscince by Olivia de Havilland in it, and various articles on the 75th anniversary of the movie.
I'm kinda wondering what's happening to Dixie two centuries later, after they lost the war, what would have happened to Scarlett's descendants (and Tara) if they were still living today?
I know there's been various 'sequels' written by Windie authors, even Mammy got her own story (she's known as Ruth) Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind but what has happened to the South since then and are they still going on about that war that Margaret Mitchell grew up hearing so much about?
Selina wrote: "LIFE Gone With The WindIt's got a short reminiscince by Olivia de Havilland in it, and various articles on the 75th anniversary of the movie.
I'm kinda wondering what's happening ..."
Definitely, Selina. Every year ppl dress up in Civil War uniforms and re-enact every single battle. I daresay you have heard about some minor controversy over the flying and wearing of Confederate flags and incorporating it in the flags of states that ought to know better by now. A lot of the BLM protests have involved pulling down Confederate statues, many of which went up 100 years after the Confederates lost, in response to the Civil Rights movement.
I don't know what it will take to finally get us past this.
The Summer is Ended and We Are Not Yet Saved, Joey Comeau5 stars!
I was leery of this one because everyone said great things about it, which is almost a sure sign I won't like it. It's great to be wrong sometimes. I read this with a disbelieving, delighted grin as the story got loopier and more wonderfully violent. Every page, nay, every word was pure delight.
Fishface wrote: "Selina wrote: "LIFE Gone With The WindIt's got a short reminiscince by Olivia de Havilland in it, and various articles on the 75th anniversary of the movie.
I'm kinda wondering wh..."
That's weird, why do they do that, do they just want to keep reliving it so that they feel victorious or something. Here, nobody does live reenactments of the land wars, in fact, hardly anybody talks about it.
Occassionally there is talk of changing the nz flag, or flying of a maori flag. Maori do have the right to claim greivances through the Waitangi tribunal, as many of them did lose their land. But maybe it's just the side that lost has to hold on to those bitter memories or fade away.
People do gather every ANZAC day and remember people lost at Gallipoli, but that was because we had so much losses, it affected every family. After the second world war, there was heaps of reparations and welfare state allowances for the Baby Boomers, so maybe that placated a lot of people, yet, I think the ones that lost their entire culture, land and livelihoods thanks to the war have a harder time than most recovering.
And when they miss out on everything (the lost generation) sometimes it just makes them even more angry and gives them angry fuel for another war.
When people say 'they fought so WE could have freedom today' I think people are being disingenuous. There's probably a whole bunch of other reasons why people go to fight in wars.
Mod
More Than This
Patrick Ness
5/5 stars
This book centers on Seth. He grew up in England but after his brother died, the family moved to the Pacific Northwest. Between his brother’s death and a personal issue that scandalized him and his family, Seth decides to kill himself. However, after he does try to drown himself, he wakes up and there is no body at home and there is no one in the town he lives in except for Regina and Tomasz who he befriends and the mysterious Driver who keeps trying to chase them down. I read this in a few days because it was so compelling and hard to put down!
Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional LifeMarie Kondo teams up with an organisational pyschologist to spread the KonMari tidying up method to American workplaces. One interesting thing I found out was that Americans keep stashes of booze in their work desks. They don't do that in Japan!
I have still a fair while to go in organising MY work desk. There's drawers full of stuff from the previous librarian I haven't gone through yet. Now having read this book I am itching to go back to work, since my own room and study is now completely tidy.
Here Finn Briscoe, Fellow author who has recently released his debut novel God is a Mortician, a punk scifi satire of religion, politics, sex. A fast-moving, comedic drama told as a history lesson to the narrator’s son, there’s Jesus, a strong white president who happens to be an albino gorilla, and three aliens from the planet Mortice who extract energy from the semi-intelligent Earthlings through religious worship.
Happy to connect with authors and readers, you can find me on Instagram as Finnbriscoewrites. https://www.instagram.com/finnbriscoe...
Blog https://www.finnbriscoe.com/
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/God-Mortician-... (less) "
Man in the Empty Suit
Sean Ferrell
2.5/5 stars
The man in the empty suit is a time traveler and has returned home to celebrate his birthday in New York City with versions of himself from years past. But when one of his versions is killed, the main character hides out with Lily, a young, poor woman taking care of a man with physical and mental disabilities while he figures out what to do. I had a hard time suspending disbelief while reading this one. I didn't understand why there were so many versions of him and why were they trying to kill him. I did like his relationship with Lily, the young woman he befriends but overall I can’t recommend it. There is a book called The Man in the Empty Suit but haven't read that one.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Bambi: A Life in the Woods
Felix Salten
4/5 stars
This is the original tale of Bambi written by Felix Salten and the source material for Disney's film. Bambi grows up in the wild with his mother and other animal friends while trying to avoid the danger from other animals and hunters. I thought this was wonderfully written and enjoyed the illustrations and I felt it was a pretty realistic depiction of life in forest for the animals.
I had decided to read this book after reading The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt who talked about the book being an allegory of the treatment of Jews in Europe. According to Wikipedia - " ... it was subsequently banned in Nazi Germany in 1936 as "political allegory on the treatment of Jews in Europe."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambi,_...."
Rushed back to the library after finishing all my books in lockdown. Had three waiting on request. I started Tangi & Whanau but having read Māori Boy: A Memoir of Childhood I feel like I already know the story.
There's The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You but probably doesn't have the novel to cure coronavirus.
Yet another Torey Hayden Just Another Kid before I find Lost Child: The True Story of a Girl who Couldn't Ask for Help.
I think I'm in a bit of a reading rut. I finished my entire set of Readers Digest Travels and Adventures. I'm grateful I'm no Mad White Giant exploring the Amazon, because near the end of that book the author was so desperate and starved, and being bitten by bugs, that he ate his dog.
Tangi by Witi IhimaeraFirst novel published by a Maori author (back in the 70's) but must say it's not really fun reading as it's about the narrator's dad death, and his funeral. And that's it.
There's about 30 chapters of him going over and over that his dad is dead. I get it. Apparently he just dropped dead on the farm, no reason is given why - (heart attack? run over by a tractor? choked on a bone? accidentally ingested roundup?) and then it's three days of funeral. I can tell it was a short story that just got extended a hundred more pages.
Ihimaera's Dad didn't really die young like that otherwise all other details of his family are pretty much the same, just the names have been changed. His dad must have been pretty chuffed to be the post-mortem star of the book.
Bizarre Romance
Audrey Niffenegger
3.5/5 stars
This is a compilation of odd, dark short stories by Audrey Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveler's Wife) and with illustrations by her husband Eddie Campbell. I enjoyed it. A fast read!
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fire She Set (other topics)Most Likely to Succeed (other topics)
Massacres of the South (other topics)
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (other topics)
The Nest (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (other topics)Stephen King (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Bill Richardson (other topics)
Faye Kellerman (other topics)
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The Rosie Result
Graeme Simsion
4/5 stars
Simsion returns with another novel revolving around Don Tillman who despite being autistic continues to learn and grow as a father and husband. This book focuses on the story of his son Hudson and his difficulties at school and making friends especially after the family moves to live in Australia when Rosie is offered a job there. Is Hudson autistic or just having difficulties with the move? How will the family deal with this new issue? I enjoy this series and was delighted to see what was in store for them!