Constant Reader discussion

I've been reading two books at a fairly slow pace, Mary Doria Russell's Epitaph and Paul Greenberg's Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food. The novel by Russell is her sequel to Doc. The Earps, Wyatt and his three brothers, are now in Tombstone and things are building to the OK Corrall, but it is the way that Russell constructs this world and shows you the choices facing the men and women who lived in the world of the Western United States that I enjoy so much. Greenberg writes of salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna and how these four fish are threatened in different ways. He also personalizes the story he tells in a way that I find just great.

I'm reading Epitaph, too, Larry. I follow Russell on Facebook and she's very approachable. I feel like I'm reading a friend's book. We've seen the mythology of this story countless times, but she really brings a freshness and what feels like truth to the myth.

Sherry, I've probably read fewer than ten Westerns, but in addition to Epitaph, I did read Robert B. Parker's Gunman's Rhapsody, which was another book that dealt with Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corrall. It's a fun read and lacks most of the depth and the eloquence of Russell's telling of the this mythic story. Probably the several films about that shootout have done as much as anything to make it truly part of the Western mythos. I was surprised several years ago to learn that John Huston the film director used to play poker regularly with Wyatt Earp, after Earp had hung up his guns and moved to Los Angeles. Consequently the version of events that we have seen is a version mainly filtered through the mind and mouth of one survivor, namely Wyatt Earp, and then processed especially by Huston and other film and television writers and directors. I have a feeling that Russell discovers as much truth as is possible to discover about what really happened. I also follow Russell on Facebook.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – 4 ****
Well, I don’t know why I waited so long to read this Newbery Award winner. It was really delightful. It’s a coming-of-age story, a ghost story, a thriller, and a murder mystery. It has all the best of traditional story-telling techniques – friendship, adventure, obstacles the hero must overcome, villains, an innocent child, and more than one surprise. The audio book is masterfully performed by a talented cast of voice artists, including the author.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished listening to a Great Courses audio download I've been working on for several months, Language A to Z, a series of 15-minute lectures on linguistic bits of information organized in alphabetical order. The lecturer is John McWhorter. Interesting trivia suitable for listening to from time to time. Felt very disjointed to me so I guess I'm not a fan of this format. I've listened to McWhorter lecture before and I think he presents his linguistic knowledge in a comprehensible way that's easy to listen to. Perhaps it would have been more cohesive if I hadn't taken so long to work my way through it.

I'm in the middle of Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish. His descriptions of down and out life in scummy areas of NYC are very interesting. However, not interesting enough to keep me reading. Seriously considering abandoning ship at the halfway point. This book just seems as if it's spinning its wheels with no forward momentum.

BC, thanks for posting your thoughts on Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. I've added it to my TBR.

I'm reading The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jared Diamond. This is the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Fascinating non-fiction.

Just read Leaving Before the Rains Come, enjoyable.

Ann, I really got a lot from Guns, Germs.... and look forward to hearing your thoughts when you finish The World Until Yesterday - the book on its own merits & how it compares to its predecessor.

As reported in the Book Challenge thread, I've been skimming through some of my physical & Kindle shelves... Serious fiction: In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. Perhaps not a book to be read when one is under the weather/a bit lightheaded. I prefer novels that are a bit more chronological and less episodic. The ending confounded me. What was the ending?
For comfort food: Tony Hillerman's Hunting Badger. A reread. I always love Hillerman.
An I-can't-believe-I-never-read-this classic: The Picture of Dorian Gray. It wore out its welcome before it reached the end. A bit before. All the Wilde wit seemed a bit misplaced in what is essentially a moralist fable.
I am now reading Vertigo 42 by Martha Grimes. I'm far enough in that I will finish it, but Grimes continues to demonstrate that she should have said ta-ta to her (fabulous moneymaking) Richard Jury series at least 5 books ago. This one was really phoned in.

I finished the book We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. This is the story of an unusual family with two sisters who are unlike any sisters before. The book is sad as it deals with loss, grief and family secrets. I was pulled into the story slowly and kept reading because I got hooked. I will save the rest of my thoughts for the discussion.

I also finished Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. What a tragic story. Looking forward to this discussion also.

The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal – 4****
When his great uncle Iggie died in 1994, Edmund de Waal inherited a collection of 264 netsuke. The bequest led him to research his family and the history of this collection. Told with eyes wide open, but with a great deal of love and respect, de Waal takes the reader back through time and breathes life into the history of art, culture, politics, and war. The audio book is capably narrated by Michael Maloney.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Epitaph. Wow. Now why I see why she compared it to The Iliad. There were some very intense parts here. I loved it and it left me reeling a bit. Now I need to finish The Iliad! It's time for that one to be over.

I’ve just finished The Good Son by Paul McVeigh. It gives a wonderful perspective on the troubles in North Ireland from the point of view of a boy on the brink of becoming a teenager. Mickey Donnelly, a lovely, confused and a somewhat gay boy, who cares and thinks too much and draws you in. Against all the odds you want him to succeed and be valued even if he doesn’t fit in. A great character sketch and a thoughtfully nuanced account of growing up in Belfast in the thick of a civil war.

Ann wrote: "I'm reading The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jared Diamond. This is the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of ..."

Anne, I bought the more recent Jared Diamond book today along with a number of other books. I had a medical appointment in Columbia, Maryland and we stopped first at the Daedalus Books Warehouse Outlet. We have bought books from Daedalus catalogs for the last 20 years but had never visited the warehouse. It's an unbelievably good bookstore. I've never seen a site that essentially sells remainders like this one. Maybe 30 different titles on Thomas Cromwell alone ... every other book in the store was a book I wanted. I finally sat in an easy chair and just looked at some of the books that I had put in our shopping cart while my wife continued to shop. Incredibly knowledgeable staff also. When we checked out, the person there said this about one of the children's books, The Numberlys "We actually have an autographed of that book .. the autographed copy is a bit more expensive." Great to have people who know their stock and who love books working in a book store.

Larry,
What a wonderful place to visit!

I actually got The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? at the Half-Price bookstore with a gift certificate a friend gave me.

I buy most of my fiction for the Kindle Paperwhite, but I do like the non-fiction in paper format. The pictures and index are so much easier to use.

Back too readng after a short break because of work. I am reading novels by Ibrahim al-Koni who has been shortlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize . Just finished Gold Dust which in many ways reminded me of the first Naguib Mahfouz book I read The Thief and the Dogs. Gold Dust is a story of brotherhood between man and animal: on the one hand a story of desert endurance, on the other hand a parable of survival human society with all its own pitfalls.

Just finished The Husband's Secret, finishing it only because I was reading to avoid tasks on my to do list.

I was astonished to see that this book was rated highly. I guess there was nothing really terrible about it, unless you count the cliched, gossipy junior high school level of writing and the fact that every major event is telegraphed so plainly that it is guessed long before it is written. (I do prefer my escape from life's chores to be more easily looked on as in some way redeeming rather than just wasting time!)

Sigh, time to do some actual work around the house!

Love your review, Lyn.

Larry wrote: "Sherry, I've probably read fewer than ten Westerns, but in addition to Epitaph, I did read Robert B. Parker's Gunman's Rhapsody, which was another book that dealt with Wyatt Earp and ..."

How incredibly fascinating.

Just finished Speedboat, by Adler; dumbfounded, enraptured (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Found a Murakami on the new books shelves that I didn't know existed, Strange Library.

To Begin Again by Jen Knox – 3***
This is a short-story collection wherein the scenarios, characters and locations differ, but they all share a theme of life-altering decisions. Most of the stories are rather dark – not too many happy endings here. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed reading the collection.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished The Adventurers by Harold Robbins. First reread in many decades. It was more than I remembered. My review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished Black Water Rising, which was a great reading/listening experience. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Locke is an accomplished writer of enormous intelligence.

Just started listening to The Daylight Marriage--it's holding my attention, and it's less than a six hour audiobook, but we'll see. Not entirely impressed as yet.

Sara wrote: "Just finished Black Water Rising, which was a great reading/listening experience. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Locke is an accomplished writer of enormous in..."

I really enjoyed that one, too, Sara. Her The Cutting Season was also very good.

Sara wrote: "Just finished Black Water Rising, which was a great reading/listening experience. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Locke is an accomplished writer of enormous in..."
Sara, I loved Black Water Rising, found it moody and gripping, and keep expecting a film version. I have been meaning to get round to her second book The Cutting Season: A Novel but have yet to do so.

Fever by Mary Beth Keane – 4****
Keane does a fine job with this work of historical fiction of a complex character facing an unimaginable scenario. Her “Typhoid Mary” is at once sympathetic and infuriating. I could not help but think of the recent Ebola scares in the U.S. – we imposed quarantines on those exposed, and some of them, just like Mary, refused to follow those restrictions.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Well, speaking of plagues and the like, I just finished the post-apocalyptic Station Eleven . I thought it was well done and engaging, and thought provoking in that it gave me more awareness of all the modern conveniences that we consider routine now.

Sherry wrote: "Sara wrote: "Just finished Black Water Rising, which was a great reading/listening experience. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Locke is an accomplished writer o..."

I read The Cutting Season quite a while ago--the new Jay Porter book, Pleasantville just came out--set 15 years after the events in Black Water Rising.

Sara wrote: "Sherry wrote: "Sara wrote: "Just finished Black Water Rising, which was a great reading/listening experience. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Locke is an accomp..."

I need to put that on my Audible Wish List.

The Round House by Louise Erdrich. I've read all her books. This one does not disappoint. Deals with the thought provoking topic of justice - what does it mean? How is it achieved? Is a wrong act ever justifiable? The context is the rape of a Native American woman by a Caucasian man and the complex issues of jurisdiction on reservation lands. This tale will linger with me for a while.

Sara wrote: "Sherry wrote: "Sara wrote: "Just finished Black Water Rising, which was a great reading/listening experience. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Locke is an accomp..."
I'll need to add that one to my list too

Mary wrote: "The Round House by Louise Erdrich. I've read all her books. This one does not disappoint. Deals with the thought provoking topic of justice - what does it mean? How is it achieved? Is a wrong act e..."

Mary, The Round House was our Reading List book in March of 2013. Here is a link to our discussion, if you'd like to take a look: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I am finally getting around to reading Underworld, which has been on my list of things to read (as opposed to my to-read list, which is huge and unwieldy) for about two years now.

I must say, I am enjoying it very much, particularly the parts about garbage. Strange but true.

Sherry, thank you so much for the link. I've just read through every post there and found the discussion very interesting. Made me wish I'd discovered this group long ago.

Nicole wrote: "I am finally getting around to reading Underworld, which has been on my list of things to read (as opposed to my to-read list, which is huge and unwieldy) for about two years now.

I ..."

Nicole, I loved Underworld. The garbage part was very good--I just wish I remembered more about it.

Finished The Daylight Marriage. Five hours and 20 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

*sigh*

In search of something a bit more nutritious and satisfying.

I'm reading The Bartender's Tale- a very leisurely read with solid writing and a nostalgic feel.

Just finished two books on kindle.
The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins and The Quiet Earth by Craig Harrison.

Polar opposites, but both excellent in their own way.

My reviews, here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

New Frontiers: Modern Perspectives on our Solar System. Finally finished working my way through these lectures - took months and months. The science detail was really too much for me. I listened to some of the lectures more than once hoping for a clearer understanding but all in all I struggled. Eventually I tried to just listen for tree top information and just ignored the detail. It's the first time I've been disappointed by a Great Courses offering.

Rereading The Golden Notebook. So happy to come back to this book when I'm more at an age to really appreciate it! And also fascinating to read it in what I've heard called "The Post-Feminism Period." One has a different perspective... Personally and culturally. I'm not sure what I mean. I hope you do.

Mary wrote: "New Frontiers: Modern Perspectives on our Solar System. Finally finished working my way through these lectures - took months and months. The science detail was really too much for me. I listened to..."

I admire you for hanging in there! I fear I lack your determination.

Ellen wrote: "Rereading The Golden Notebook. So happy to come back to this book when I'm more at an age to really appreciate it! And also fascinating to read it in what I've heard called "The Post-Feminism Per..."

I haven't reread THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK, but I did reread the first four Martha Quest novels, which I loved when I was young. Far from being in a post-feminist world, I think we're embarking on a "third wave" of feminism--different from the 2nd wave but very, very interesting.

Kat wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Rereading The Golden Notebook. So happy to come back to this book when I'm more at an age to really appreciate it! And also fascinating to read it in what I've heard called "The Pos..."

Kat, what an excellent way to express it. Thanks.

Ellen wrote: "Rereading The Golden Notebook. So happy to come back to this book when I'm more at an age to really appreciate it! And also fascinating to read it in what I've heard called "The Post-Feminism Per..."

We read The Golden Notebook in Classics in 2008. Here's a link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I love the Golden Notebook. I re-read it a couple years ago, and it held up a lot better than I was expecting.

Kat, it's interesting that you loved Martha when you were young; I did not like her when I was young (too much like her, I think), but when I read the novels again later, I found I really love them as well.

Started a book last night that I'm really excited about: J.C. Hallman's B & Me. Hard to describe, but it's about his own half-literary fascination with Nicholson Baker and the decision about whether or not to read Baker's work. There's some really funny stuff in there about how we become aware of writers and how we decide to read or not read (and consider canonical) certain writers.

Geoff wrote: "Started a book last night that I'm really excited about: J.C. Hallman's B & Me. Hard to describe, but it's about his own half-literary fascination with Nicholson Baker and the decision about wheth..."

Interesting title! I've flagged "U and I" by Nicholson Baker, about his obsession with Updike's creative process. I'm a devoted Updikian myself, have been all my life, his fiction and his commentary in so many fields. I don't know Nicholson Baker at all, but I'm running as fast as I can!

Yes, the Hallman book is obviously (as its title suggests) a reaction to or inverse imitation of Baker's U and I. In fact, an image of the cover of Baker's book is reproduced within the text of Hallman's book....

Last night I started The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North.
It isn't exactly what I expected, but I am only 20% in, so am hoping for.....more.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan – 3.5***
A novel told in three parts – before, during and after WW2. Australian surgeon Dorrigo Evans experiences the horrors of a Japanese POW camp during the war, but Flanagan seems to be saying that the drama of everyday life sometimes rivals that of war. I can believe this, but I wish he had done more to SHOW this. The audio version is capably performed by David Atlas. His pacing is good, but he does not do much to differentiate the various characters (other than the handful of women).
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...