Eliz_M (Liz) - more plans and further deviations

I am very much enjoying my first year in Club Read. While my thread in the 1001-Books-to-read-before-you-die Group has the bulk of my reviews, I wanted a place to document non-1001 books.

I mostly read books from the 1001-list (less obsessively than in previous years), and also the random books chosen by my book club, NYRB titles that catch my fancy, other non-1001 list classics, and the occasional irresistible book reviewed in one of your threads. I have started listening to audiobooks, but seem to need "lighter" books in that medium.

I grew up in Minnesota, but have been in NYC (Brooklyn) for more than 13 years. I work in the performing arts in a management/logistical capacity. I love reading, but am not that fond of writing. I still hope to keep up with review-writing this year.

Currently Reading:
Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (audio)

LT adds to the TBR:
Trafalgar by Angélica Gorodischer, recommended by AnnieMod - read 4/1/15
The Lady and the Monk by Pico Iyer, recommended by rv88
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill, recommended by nancyewhite & RidgewayGirl - read 4/25/15
Kamila Shamsie
Ten Novels and their Authors by W. Somerset Maugham, recommended by rv88
Zofloya: or The Moor by Charlotte Dacre, recommended by StevenTX
Tyrant Banderas by Ramón del Valle-Inclán, recommended by Rebeccanyc
When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning, recommended by mabith
The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig, recommended by DieFledermaus
The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, recommended by Basswoods

2015 projects:

LT 1001 Books Group Challenge: Life is a Caravanserai (n/a), The New World(n/a), The Taebek Mountains (n/a), Land (n/a)

GR International Reading: Under the Yoke, Promise at Dawn, Professor Martens' Departure, Broken April, Garden, Ashes, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, The Return of Philip Latinowicz, The Bridge of Beyond, An African in Greenland, Men of Maize, Beka Lamb, The River Between, The Grass Is Singing, Dirty Havana Trilogy, Independent People, Black Box, The Time of the Hero, Ancestral Voices, Money to Burn

KJV - chronological reading plan, Slate blog

Third Quarter Reading Ideas:

LT Reading Globally (Translated Nobel Prize authors): Growth of the Soil*, Thais, The Magic Mountain*, Doctor Faustus*, The Glass Bead Game*, Fruits of the Earth, Bosnian Chronicles, Nausea*, Men of Maize, The First Circle+, The Return of Philip Latinowicz, The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis*, Baltasar and Blimunda*, Dog Years*

July:
Real-life book club: The Sixth Extinction
LT 1001 Book: Silence by Shusaku Endo
GR Non-Fic Book: King Leopold's Ghost
GR Classic: Beowulf and The Saga of the Volsungs
GR mini-challenge: Invisible, The Master, The Slynx, Money to Burn, The Twins, The Buddha of Suburbia, All Souls, World's End, The Busconductor Hines, Pitch Dark, Broken April

August-November:
GR Challenge: The Crab-Flower Club, The Street of Crocodiles, Oblomov, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Heart of Redness, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Les Chants de Maldoror, The Warning Voice, Black Box, The Debt of Tears, Under the Volcano, The Siege of Krishnapur, The Successor, Unfortunate Traveller, The Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus, Eugénie Grandet, Seize the Day

August:
Real-life book club: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
LT 1001 Book: Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
GR International Read: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
GR Short Stories: The Portable Dorothy Parker

September:
Real-life book club: Nothing to Envy
LT 1001 Book: Troubles by J.G. Farrell,
GR Doorstop: Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
GR New Book: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Fourth Quarter Reading Ideas:

LT Reading Globally (Translated Women Writers): The Blind Side of the Heart*, Memoirs of Hadrian*, The Back Room, The First Garden*, Pavel's Letters, Astradeni, The House with the Blind Glass Windows, Patterns of Childhood, The Quest for Christa T., The Ravishing of Lol Stein, The Birds, Andrea, Alberta and Jacob, Gösta Berling's Saga

October:
Real-life book club: The Leopard* by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa
LT 1001 Book: them by Joyce Carol Oates
GR Doorstop: Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
GR Themed Read: The Expendable Man* by Dorothy B. Hughes? The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead?
GR Side Read: The Magic Mountain* by Thomas Mann

November:
Real-life book club: Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu
LT 1001 Book: The Collector by John Fowles
GR Non-Fic Book: The Black Count by Tom Reiss
GR Classic: Epitaph of a Small Winner* by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

December:
Real-life book club: n/a
LT 1001 Book: The Bridge on the Drina
GR International: Embers
Short Stories: Life's Little Ironies.

December-February:
Dominoes: The Blindness of the Heart, The Quest for Christa T., The Back Room, The Sea, the Sea, The First Garden, Excellent Women, The Life and Death of Harriett Frean, Love's Work, Nights at the Circus, Democracy

Key:
strike through book linked - A book I read this year
strike through - A book I have read before and don't plan to reread
book linked - A book I am thinking of reading for the relevant group/challenge/theme
book title - A book that I haven't read and currently don't plan to read
* - A book I own (paper copy)

Half-point Stats:

Books read/listened: 51 (119 in 2014)
paper/ebook: 43
total pages read: 13,800 (28,076 in 2014, , so mostly on-track)
ave. # pages: 321 (275 in 2014, fewer novellas so far this year)
audio: 8

1001-list-books: 25 (49%) -- ouch! Last year it was 74% and I wanted to read MORE. Ooops.
Female Authors: 23 (45% -- much improved! In 2014 only 23%
In Translation: 20 (39%) -- holding steady here
Non-fiction: 4 (8%)

Pre-1800: 2 (4%)
1800s: 8 (16%)
1900-1949: 7 (14%)
1950-1999: 18 (35%)
2000s: 16 (31%)

Libe books: 18 (35%)
Owned-pre-2015: 28 (55%) -- A big improvement, but...
Bought & read: 5 (10%)

Total purchased: 73 (Ooops. I am buying almost three times what I am reading from my shelves.)

Best Book of 2015:
The Brothers Karamazov

Numerous other excellent books:
Five Days at Memorial
The Time of the Hero
Too Much Happiness
The Bridge of Beyond
Garden, Ashes
Trafalgar
A Room of One's Own
The Beak of the Finch
The Dragon Man
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Invisible
Lila
Independent People

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Money to Burn by Ricardo Piglia, pub. 1997
(finished 7/4/15)

I think it would make an good movie, in the vein of Dog Day Afternoon, but while the writing technique is interesting, the novel is less so.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Living by Henry Green , pub. 1929
(finished 7/6/15)

The "linguistic adventurousness" wasn't experimental enough -- it felt more like a mistake than a choice. Once I was used to the style though, the evocation of the time and the depiction of characters were well done.

I think I might have cheated by reading ahead on your other thread. : ) Fascinated by The Twins and intrigued by The Buddha of Suburbia.

>9 dchaikin: Thanks for the reminder that I haven't posted the links to those reviews in this thread! ;)

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Twins by Tessa de Loo, pub. 1993
(finished 7/7/15)

An interesting presentation of two different post-WWII points of view, depicted through the use of estranged orphaned twins, one of whom grew up in the Netherlands and other in Germany.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi, pub. 1990
(finished 7/9/15)

An entertaining look at the London of the 1970s, seen through the eyes of Karim, son of an Indian father and white mother, as he adapts to the changes in his family structure, changes in the lives of his childhood friends, and life in London.

Oooh, The Twins has been on my wish list for a while. Sounds like a great book.

>13 AlisonY: If/when you get to it, I hope you enjoy it!

Well, how rude of me.

I swear I had a posted reply to the several messages in my previous thread, but I must have hit the "continue link" before hitting post.....

177 NanaCC: The vacation was lovely! :)

178 rebeccanyc: Thank you! Do you have a favorite Serge book? I read The Case of Comrade Tulayev on a red-eye flight to Europe, it was not the best reading experience.

179 AlisonY: Thanks! The house tour was a lot of fun -- my friend was interested in the interior design and I was interested in the Wharton gossip, so it worked out beautifully. :)

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner and read by Christina Traister, pub. 2013
Finished 7/11/2015



Set in the 1970s, this novel covers a lot of ground. Reno, a recent graduate of a Nevada art school and, inspired by Robert Smithson, has moved to NYC. She falls in with the Soho/East Village Art scene and begins dating Sandro Valera, an older, more established artist and the youngest son of an Italian family that owns a tire & motorcycle company. Reno, like many of her crowd, is interested in art as performance -- the confluence of an act (land speed races in the salt flats of Utah) and photographing the mark left by the act. Her openness for adventure and experimenting with lifestyles takes her from the salt flats to the wealth of Lake Como, to labor riots in Rome, all while weaving in the back-story of the Valera family and subtly satirizing the art scene.

I understand why this novel won so much acclaim. There are scenes that are luminous, superb storytelling. And there are many eccentric, entertaining art world characters that have their own unique turns of phrase. But those scenes contrast with the ones that are not interesting and what would be very good writing in a separate novel, seems flat in comparison.

The audiobook was very well-read (even if the narrator did pronounce a few NYC place names incorrectly), but I wish I had read a print version. The story structure is less appealing in audio -- jumping around in time abruptly. Also, very early on Kushner employs a soap-opera trick of leaving the narrator in a precarious position while she switches to the back-story. In paper, it is about 50 pages. In audio it was FOREVER, probably more than two hours while I waited to find out what happened. I am sure it was all tongue-in-cheek playing with conventions, but in audio it was quite irritating. The other difficulty I have with the audio format is that I have no sense of where I am in the book (my device is hard to switch to the playlist without accidentally loosing my place), so I was surprised when it ended. It wasn't abrupt, but it just...sort of...petered...out.

>15 ELiz_M: I'm a big fan of Victor Serge in general, but I thought his memoir, Memoirs of a Revolutionary, was amazing, not only because he knew so many revolutionaries himself but also because he had such a clear vision of their failings when others resorted to wishful thinking. If you read this, get the NYRB edition, because it is the only complete translation. In thinking about the other books by him I've read, each is different, and I feel you can't go wrong with any.

Nice reviews of Independent People, The Master, and The Buddha of Suburbia, Liz. I also enjoyed your vacation photos, except for that spider!

About Audio books, I'm dependent on bookmarks. Since i listen mostly in the car, I can't find my place once I lose it. So, I make a lot of book marks and then just return to the latest one. Not sure if mentioning this is at all helpful.

>17 rebeccanyc: Thanks for the recommendation! I just might be tempted to pick it up the next time I make the mistake of visiting The Strand.

>18 kidzdoc: Thanks! I am looking forward to reading (more) of your European vacation posts and book purchases.

>19 dchaikin: Hmmm, I don't believe my ipod nano has a bookmark feature, but according to the internet I might get the same effect by checking "Remember song position" under options for the appropriate tracks. The disadvantage of using a nano is fat-fingers on a touch screen when attempting to find my place. The BIG advantage is that once loaded onto the nano, the library can't take it back before I am finished. :)

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett and read by the author, pub. 2007
Finished 7/14/2015



I know Alan Bennett's name due to a production of Talking Heads that I saw in London decades ago (most memorably Maggie Smith in "A Bed Among the Lentils"), so when I saw this novella making the round in Club Read & that the audiobook was available at the library, I couldn't resist.

The premise, the Queen Elizabeth discovers a mobile library at the Buckingham Palace and thus begins her transformation into a voracious reader, is cute. Her progress from casual reader, to discerning reader, to intelligent reader, with the attendant name-checking of various books and authors is sure to delight us "common" readers. The effects of the Queen's voracious reading on long-established protocols is done with a light, witty touch and the end is quite clever. It was a lovely afternoon's entertainment, but didn't really engage me.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



World's End by T. C. Boyle, pub. 1987
(finished 7/14/15)

A confusing and brilliantly written historical fiction work, with a touch of magical realism, about the intertwined lives of four families over the course of 300 years in upstate NY.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Busconductor Hines by James Kelman, pub. 1984
(finished 7/21/15)

An excellent debut novel, using a unique voice to depict the grinding life of near-poverty in Glasgow. Written in episodic form, it is at times amusing, horrifying, and occasionally touching.

not sure I'm willing to try a novel by Boyle but enjoyed your review. Too bad these last three didn't fully work out for you.

>24 dchaikin: Thanks! The last three books were enjoyable, I liked them all well enough. I suspect my reviews sound more negative than I feel -- it is so much easier to pick apart what annoyed me than to explain why something was good!

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, pub. 2014
Finished 7/21/2015



My book club read this at my suggestion. It was the final book in a series of Darwin-related books I was supposed to read in Dec./Jan. Kolbert is a staff writer for The New Yorker and as such has a knack for writing engaging articles, told from a personal perspective, explaining complex topics without "dumbing" them down too much. This book is almost a series of articles about various topics related to extinction -- each chapter covers a particular topic and could almost be read as a stand-alone, but Kolbert relates each to each other and to the bigger picture.

The book covers a tremendous amount of material. The earlier chapters discussed the history of the concept of extinction and for me, it was fascinating to hear how recent many of these theories were developed. In the 1800s, even after Darwin's theories on evolution and natural selection were gaining broad acceptance and fossils of huge animals were being discovered all over the world, it was assumed that the various fossils were the ancestors of existing animals. The concept that a once common animal no longer existed was in itself revolutionary in the scientific fields. Kolbert also discusses what is known about the previous five mass extinctions. I hadn't realized that the dinosaur-killing asteroid wasn't deduced until sometime in the 1980s.

The book touches on many topics that are in and out of the news -- the destruction of the rainforest, coral bleaching, rising global temperatures, the changing pH of the oceans, invasive species, the shrinking of natural habitats, as well as telling stories about the extinction of the Auk, the decimation of amphibians in Central America (and world wide), and the population collapse of several species of North American bats. In all of these stories, Kolbert analyses the several factors contributing to the rapid decline of various species and then tie the specific factors into the bigger picture -- the world's ecosystems are changing at an extremely rapid pace, much much much faster than plants and animals can adapt to the new conditions.

I don't have the book to check, but I believe a conservative estimate given is that 25% of species will go extinct within the next 100 years. A sobering thought. I was impressed by Kolbert's presentation of the many complex aspects leading to the current extinction -- she is personable without being histrionic or strident or pointing fingers. It is all presented as so matter-of-fact that I actually came away from the book uncertain if it was necessarily a bad thing. After all, there have been five previous extinctions and look at the wondrous biodiversity of the planet now!

Pitch Dark by Renata Adler, pub. 1983
Finished 7/25/2015



This book just didn't work for me. At first I thought I was going to love it -- fragmentary writing that is beautiful, lyrical. Then the main character goes to Ireland, leaving me behind and bewildered. I understand the technique -- using small snippets of out-of-sequence thoughts, memories, experiences to create a picture of a consciousness. But if your technique is so ephemeral, it works better if the context is also conveyed. I don't think you can collage a sensibility and also be ambiguous about whether or not the individual concerned is in her right mind.

Skimming through online newspaper/magazine reviews, Adler's novels have been praised for capturing "the widespread disillusionment of the mid-to-late 1970s". The New Yorker states that "reading these novels is inseparable from thinking about Adler as a cultural figure, with all of her intensities and fascinating contradictions." Well I was a small child in the 70s and I don't know a thing about Adler. I find it unfortunate that Adler's wonderful writing seems to be trapped in a specific cultural frame of reference.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Carry Me Down by M. J. Hyland and narrated by Gerard Doyle, pub. 2006
(finished 7/26/15)

A good novel depicting the grinding life of near-poverty in Ireland. This time the narrator in an unreliable 11-year-old boy. I found the audio version to be grating and I also would have liked it more had I not "read" this at the same time as The Busconductor Hines.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Broken April by Ismail Kadare, pub. 1980
(finished 7/29/15)

A fascinating portrait of Albanian's laws regarding blood feuds, told through two perspectives -- a mountaineer whose life is forfeit and a city intellectual traveling with his bride, studying the laws.

July:
Books read/listened: 12
paper/ebook: 9
audio: 3

1001-list-books: 8
Female Authors: 5
In Translation: 3
Non-fiction: 1

Owned Books read: 9
Libe Books read: 3
Books Bought: 1 (rescued! I couldn't leave it on a stoop, it might have been rained on)

Planned: 8
Deviations: 4

Enjoyed your review of The Sixth extinction

>31 baswood: Thanks!

Catching up. I now know which FOL booksales to aim for! Great haul.

And I'm adding DIA: Beacon to my list of art museums to visit someday.

And good review of Flamethrowers. I go back and forth on whether I want to read it.

>27 ELiz_M: - Disappointing to read about the Adler - I'd been planning to read her books. From some of the other reviews it sounds like Speedboat is also very, very East Coast-1970's.

>29 ELiz_M: - Enjoyed your review of Broken April. I've found all the stuff I've read by Kadare to be pretty engaging.

>33 RidgewayGirl: Thanks! Flamethrowers is tricky to recommend -- it is both excellent and mediocre.

I hope you (and everyone else!) has a chance to visit DIA: Beacon.

>34 DieFledermaus: Again, Pitch Dark is a book that is difficult to recommend. I was surprised that my feeling towards the book changed so much as I read it -- it may have been the wrong time for me, your mileage may vary.

The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene and narrated by Joseph Porter, pub. 1948
Finished 8/01/2015



This considered to be one of Greens four major "Catholic" novels (along with Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, and The End of the Affair). Set in an unnamed country during the waning of WWII, it depicts the downfall of Henry Scobie.

Scobie is an impossibly good police office in a port town of a British colony. Over his many years of service, he has earned the grudging respect of black, Syrian, and British citizens alike in a culturally mixed port town rife with corruption. After being passed over for promotion to commissioner, his socially inept wife becomes desperate to leave the colony and resettle in South Africa. Scobie, although no longer in love with his wife, feels honor-bound to ensure her happiness and after exhausting the possibilities of legitimately procuring money for her passage, accepts a loan from a Syrian merchant. The loan is legit, but because the Syrian is known to be completely corrupt, it has the appearance of impropriety. Scobie's dilemma is compounded by an actual sinful act -- an affair with a young widow. And soon enough, the cunning Syrian is able to use the appearance of impropriety to manipulate Scobie into even more wrong actions culminating in a tragic end.

Each character comes alive, however briefly mentioned, and has his or her own personal dilemma that influences their interaction with other characters. My only quibble with the novel is my inability to connect with Scobie -- he is too good at the beginning of the novel and I felt no affinity with his personal dilemma (his refusal to put his soul and personal salvation ahead of the happiness of others) or downfall. Greene is an excellent writer and is able to layer many conflicts into this short, enjoyable novel. Overall, it is a brilliant depiction of the adage "the road to hell is paved with good intentions".

>36 ELiz_M: enjoyed your review. I hope to read The End of the Affair at some point this year (my first Greene), although you're making this one sound very tempting too.

>36 ELiz_M: Enjoyed your review too. This is a Greene I don't have on the TBR, so I'll probably work through those before I read this one.

I really liked The Heart of the Matter as well. I though Scobie's Catholic angsting was well-written, so I enjoyed reading about him, even if he did seem improbably good at first.

Enjoyed your review of The Heart of the Matter

>37 AlisonY: I enjoyed The Heart of the Matter more than The End of the Affair. On the other hand, if you listen to audiobooks, I've heard rave reviews of Colin Firth's narration for the latter.

>38 rebeccanyc:, >40 baswood: Thanks!

>39 DieFledermaus: It is excellent writing.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing , pub. 1950
(finished 8/01/15)

It is a fascinating, and unsettling, portrait the deterioration of the main characters and of the complexities of the colonial efforts in southern Africa.

The Dorothy Parker Audio Collection by Dorothy Parker, narrated by Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Alfre Woodard and Shirley Booth
Finished 8/09/2015



Dorothy Parker was a fantastically caustic writer. I think it may come across even more so in audio format, depending on the interpretation of the reader. For example, "But the One on the Right" is set at a dinner party and at first her comments about her neighbor's lack of conversational skills is hilarious -- she is making fun of herself as well. And then it turns mean, cringe-worthy cruel.

I found the different types of narrative voice interesting -- some stories have the expected structure, such as "Horsie" and "The Bolt Behind the Blue", while others are a type of monologue, displaying only one side of a conversation, such as "Just a Little One" or "The Waltz". The latter type of story is weirdly wonderful in audio. It's a clever trick to show how ridiculous an individual is by only presenting his/her part of the conversation, forcing it out of context so it is even more obnoxious.

There is one story that I thought was brilliant -- "The Game". It begins with a mild mocking of a typical society dinner party and then slowly reveals the ugliness through hints and omissions. And as "The Game" progresses the ugliness takes an even nastier turn than I would have thought, but weirdly it didn't seem as mean as other stories. I suspect the particular back-stabbing on display in this story is more in-line with modern sensibilities.

Enjoyed catching up. It seems like you've been reading a lot of terrific books.

I might have to listen to the Dorothy Parker.

I have a book by Dorothy Parker somewhere . . .. But it sounds great to listen to.

Excellent review of the Grass is Singing. It is certainly a very good first novel.

>44 dchaikin: Thanks for stopping by! I have done fairly well with book selection the past few weeks :)

>45 RidgewayGirl:, >46 rebeccanyc: I am still undecided about whether the audio was the better medium. It worked very well for some stories, and other (the more traditional narrative style) probably would have been better in print. The good thing about this particular collection is that it was just about 5 hours -- an excellent introduction to her work.

>47 baswood: Thanks! I believe it was your reviews of Lessing's work that prompted me to get to this one sooner rather than later.

Seize the Day by Saul Bellow, narrated by Grover Gardner, pub. 1956
Finished 8/09/2015



Tommy Wilhelm, born Wilhelm Adler, has made some mistakes in life. Maybe he shouldn't have left school to go to Hollywood in a failed bid for stardom. Maybe he shouldn't have quit his job when he was asked to share his sales territory with the boss's son-in-law. Maybe he shouldn't have conceded to all his wife's demands when he separated from him. But today, today is going to be different. Today he is going to have an honest talk with his father and finally win some of the love and protection his father owes him. Today he is going to convince his estranged to wife to agree to a divorce so he can rebuild a relationship with his mistress. Today he is going to invest the last of his money in the stock market and earn enough to get out of his financial difficulties and start his life over. Again.

This is a solidly written novel, perfectly depicting the mundane failure of an ordinary middle-aged man. I suspect Bellow is a subtle writer and I would have enjoyed it more in print form.

Last weekend I was running errands and having an unusually bad transportation day -- the express was running local and the local I needed was running express. So I gave up and got out of the subway at Union Square intending to walk to a different train entirely. As my path took me right by The Strand Bookstore, I had to go in a browse for a few minutes.....

. . .

Love's Work by Gillian Rose (nyrb book AND a 1001-list-book that I've been trying to find for a while)
The Door by Magda Szabó (nyrb book that got rave reviews in my goodreads group)
Tyrant Banderas by Ramón del Valle-Inclán (it's been on my wishlist since reading rebeccanyc's excellent review)
Germinal by Émile Zola (one of my best-loved books from last year, I've been looking for a used copy for months!)

And this one I found abandoned on a stoop:


Love Burns by Edna Mazya (a nice Europa edition)

>50 ELiz_M: That is probably the worst excuse I've ever heard for visiting the Strand! Well done, Liz. ;-)

I don't normally listen to audio books, but I can well imagine that the Dorothy Parker book was just brilliant in audio format. That biting wit just has to be heard spoken out loud I think.

I am always looking for good audiobook recommendations - a good reader makes such a difference. I'll see if the Dorothy Parker is available here.

Love the accidental visit to The Strand...

>51 kidzdoc:, >53 wandering_star: I am really trying to avoid buying more books this year as I have run out of space in the current apartment and I know that I have to move in the very near future, likely to some place smaller. But sometimes, when you've had a rough day in a long exasperating week, one gives in to temptation.

>52 AlisonY: Yes, many of the stories are excellent in audio. Although, some of the performances were either not very good, or some of the writing was too acerbic to be enjoyable when spoken out loud.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov, pub. 1859
(finished 8/23/15)

A frustrating and yet thoughtful and lovely book contrasting Oblomov's passive, idyllic nature with other modes of life in 19th century Russia.

Living Dead Girl Tod Goldberg, pub. 2002
Finished 8/26/2015



Paul is driving, with his 19-year-old girlfriend, to Washington State. It is gradually revealed that the purpose of the trip is to respond to a phone call about his missing, estranged wife and that this disappearance is following another, earlier tragic event in Paul's life. An event that he doesn't fully remember and in part is hoping this trip will allow him to come to terms with his past.

While this is a well-written debut novel and held my attention for several hours, the storyline was less well developed than I had hoped. One of the reasons I enjoy mysteries the vicarious catharsis of a problem that has a resolution (even if not every thread is all tidied up). So, I find it irritating when a realistic murder mystery has a resolution that is too unrealistic like Tana French's works, this novel relies too heavily on MULTIPLE CHARACTERS suffering from mental illnesses. The mystery-novel equivalent of "it was all a dream".

>55 ELiz_M: I've had Oblomov on the TBR for years; your review makes me want to get to it . . .

>56 ELiz_M: Interesting to see a review of a Tod Goldberg book, I enjoy listening to his podcast 'Literary Disco'.

I love Oblomov and you summed it up brilliantly by saying:

A frustrating and yet thoughtful and lovely book

Hoping you win that hypothetical lottery Eliz. If you win $20 million, feel free to share. Enjoyed your review.

>57 rebeccanyc: I hope you do read Oblomov soon. I believe you've read more widely in Russian literature than I have and may find it even more rewarding than I did.

>58 wandering_star: Well, now I am intrigued by Literary Disco and might have to add it to my podcasts!

>59 baswood: Thanks!

>60 dchaikin: But of course! ;)

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz, pub. 1934
(finished 8/30/15)

Schultz is one of the most imaginative and awe-inspiring writers I have ever read. In these stories he perfectly and beautifully captures the reality of a childhood hot summer day and then in utter sincerity, sometimes in the same story, segues into an unreality that is more vivid and captivating than the most intensely remembered dream.

August:
Books read/listened: 8
paper/ebook: 5
audio: 3

1001-list-books: 5.2*
Female Authors: 2
In Translation: 3
Non-fiction: 0

Owned Books read: 5
Libe Books read: 3
Books Bought: 4

Planned: 6
Deviations: 2

*One of the books I read was The Crab-Flower Club, which is the second volume of the five volume 1001-list entry for Dream of Red Mansions.

>61 ELiz_M: I've read a lot of Russian literature, and have a lot more on the TBR pile, including Oblomov, which for some reason I find a little daunting.

>61 ELiz_M: Your review reminds me that I also have The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories on the TBR pile; I mostly enjoyed his Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass.

Shultz sounds fascinating.

I agree with Dan, Shultz sounds fascinating. I think this is not the first time his name is mentioned here. I couldn't find any e-books in French but my library has his complete works on paper, so I'll have a look one of these days.

>64 rebeccanyc: I found Oblomov to be an easier read than Dead Souls and the three Dostoyevsky novels I have read.

You're half done with The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories, as it contains the stories from Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass!

>65 dchaikin:, >66 FlorenceArt: The author also has a fascinating history. I didn't want to includeit in my review, as it may retrospectively color perceptions about his work. But he was also a talented artist and the Penguin edition I read included many of his drawings:

. .

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda, pub. 2000
(finished 9/3/15)

An intriguing book that alternates between depicting the Xhosa cattle-killing movement and famine (1854-1858) and a village in post-Apartheid South Africa. The complex narrative structure my be too cleverly structured -- the individuals representing different beliefs are too carefully mirrored, foiled, and distorted to elicit empathy.

And once again, I made the mistake of walking too close to the Strand:

. . . .

Fear: A Novel of World War I by Gabriel Chevallier
The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley
The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Celestial Harmonies by Péter Esterházy

>67 ELiz_M: I loved Dead Souls, tried to reread Dostoevsky in my 50s and couldn't (although i enjoyed him, or thought I did, in my teens).

Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, narrated by Johanna Ward, pub. 1846
Finished 9/07/2015



Oh my goodness, the title character is a piece of work! Perhaps I have warped sensibilities, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a woman's vengeance on her extended family. There is something about the portrayal of evil beings that I find fascinating (the other that springs to mind is Shakespeare's Richard III).

The novel begins with an indecent proposition -- Monsieur Crevel, a tradesmen that has accumulated great wealth, in essence offering the saintly Adeline Hulot several thousands francs to become his mistress. While this is taking place, her daughter Hortense is walking in the garden with Adeline's cousin and teasing poor Lisbeth about her admirer. From this opening, Balzac depicts many background stories that have brought Lisbeth (Bette) to vow revenge on her beautiful, virtuous cousin Adeline. In these "introductory" pages, Balzac combines more jealousies and thwarted love stories than several novels added together!

The remaining 2/3 of the novel unfolds mostly in the present tense. It is, as may be guessed from the title, mostly Bette's story. Racked with jealousy over Adeline's beauty and preferential treatment, her own inferior status in the family, and finally by the loss of her love-interest to a member of the Hulot family, Bette joins forces with Baron Hulot's mistress to ruin the family financially. It is an extraordinary portrayal of cunning and manipulation and Balzac masterfully interweaves several story lines. And if the various plots were not interesting enough, there are the detailed descriptions of the life and social norms of mid-19th century Paris. Although quite long and with a middle section where the narration of Valérie Marneffe (Baron Hulot's mistress) grated on my nerves, I was never bored.

You're always reading great stuff. I've never heard of The Heart of Redness. That was a fun review of Cousin Bette, which I happen to own, in paperback form, but never knew anything about.

>77 rebeccanyc: Thanks!

I hope, if you read Cousin Bette, that you enjoy it. I believe it made some Club Read folk despair of humanity, but given your McCarthy project, I assume that wont dissuade you from trying it. ;)

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, pub. 1874
(finished 9/09/15)

A captivating book about a love pentagon with plenty of pastoral descriptions, some fascinating characters (and some caricatures), a fair amount of fainting, and a plot that never quite goes where expected.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig, pub. 1976
(finished 9/12/15)

Primarily set in an Argentine prison, the novel tells the relationship between two cellmates. This is a novel that, while I can admire its uniqueness and post-modern structure, ultimately I wasn't engaged by it.

The movie version of The Kiss of the Spiderwoman blew me away when I first saw it. I think I need to watch that again.

>71 ELiz_M: >73 ELiz_M: I had almost decided not to read Cousin Bette based on earlier reviews in Club Read, but now you've made me want to read it again.

Just turning up here and reading your reviews on your 1001 thread. Great reviews, at this stage too many to comment on, but many are of some of my favourites.

That walk by the Strand is dangerous indeed! I read Fear: A Novel of World War I last year and it was one of the best books of that year.

Looking forward to more of your reviews.

>76 RidgewayGirl: I may need to track down a copy, too!

>77 rebeccanyc: Yay!

>78 SassyLassy: ~blush~ Wow, that is high praise, thank you!

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Black Box by Amos Oz, pub. 1987
(finished 9/16/15)

A skillfully written epistolary novel dissecting the dissolution of an Israeli marriage, but the form limits the characterization and motivation.

Enjoyed your Hardy review - look forward to getting to that one someday.

Antic Hay by Aldous Huxley, narrated by Simon Vance, pub. 1846
Finished 9/07/2015



I took a dislike to Huxley after Crome Yellow. I just don't get his humor. But this audio book was short and had a good narrator, so I gave it a try.

Set in 1920s London, it is narrated by Theodore Gumbril. Gumbril had been a lecturer at a boys school in some provincial town, when with an idea for trousers with a pneumatic seat cushion he returns to London to try to sell the idea and quickly falls in with his bohemian friends. The novel is full of amusing charctures -- Lypiatt, a 40-year old painter/musician/poet that is a failure at all three; Myra Viveash a social butterfly that is unable to care for anyone; Shearwater, a scientist so obsessed with the kidneys that he doesn't even notice his pretty wife; Gumbril Senior, a retired architect that is building a model of Christopher Wren's plans for rebuilding London after the Great Fire.

It is an odd, amusing novel with some quite good set pieces. I loved "the complete man" and the last ride with it's many, many drives through Piccadilly. It would have been more enjoyable if I had been more familiar with the particular time/people depicted.

>81 AlisonY: Thanks! I am sure you will enjoy Far from the Madding Crowd.

>82 ELiz_M: Crome Yellow was early, his first actual novel, if I recall. Definitely don't judge him on that! It was decently written and I got the idea, but found it uninteresting regardless. Maybe he proved his point a bit too well, lol. Definitely give more a try, especially Brave New World!

>82 ELiz_M: I haven't read Aldous Huxley in decades, although i relatively recently (in the past several years) bought Point Counter Point in a Dalkey Archive sale.

>73 ELiz_M: I believe it made some Club Read folk despair of humanity, but given your McCarthy project, I assume that wont dissuade you from trying it. ;)

This comment made me smile.

Enjoyed all your last four reviews. I have read Black Box and was surprised to see it on the 1001 list. I liked it more than you did. I think i just got to like how Ilana and Alex talked around everything.

A love pentagon...hmmm (re the Hardy review)

>84 .Monkey.: Hello! Thanks for stopping by my thread! I hadn't looked at the chronology and didn't realize Crome Yellow was Huxley's first novel. I have read Brave New World, once in school and then re-read it a while back. It's definitely one of the better dystopia novels. But, I am much less fond of his more straight-forward satire, I guess.

>85 rebeccanyc: Interesting....Dalkey Archive seems to publish nice-feeling editions of more esoteric, intelligent work (I think I own their version of The Recognitions and something by Persec). I'm sure you'll enjoy it, if/when you get to it.

>86 dchaikin: Thanks! I did enjoy the actual writing in Black box, but just got so frustrated with the incongruities between characters' stated motivations and actions (if you really want Ilana to leave you alone, stop reading her letters and for goodness sake, DON"T RESPOND!)

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell, pub. 1973
Finished 9/30/15

An ingenuous account of the the Indian Mutiny of 1857, I read this engrossing novel too quickly to fully appreciate the subtle (and not-so-subtle) commentary on the ridiculousness of British rule.

September:
Books read/listened: 8
paper/ebook: 6
audio: 2

1001-list-books: 7.2*
Female Authors: 0 (:O Oh dear, I may have to remedy this)
In Translation: 4
Non-fiction: 0

Owned Books read: 5
Libe Books read: 3
Books Bought: 4

Planned: 6
Deviations: 2

*One of the books I read was The Warning Voice which is 1/5th of a single 1001-list entry: The Story of the Stone

>87 ELiz_M: Yeah, they of course aren't saying what they mean. I looked up my review of Black Box and was surprised by how long it was. Here is a link: http://www.librarything.com/review/90781738

>90 dchaikin: Thanks for the link to your review.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry and narrated by John Lee, pub. 1947
Finished 10/10/15

A multi-perspective, stream-of-conscious depiction of one fateful day for Geoffrey Firmin, the alcoholic ex-British consul. And by alcoholic, I mean he is in the its extreme Leaving-Las-Vegas end stage of alcoholism. In audio form the prose can be stunning, but the hard-to-decipher story is even harder to understand.

Interesting about Under the Volcano.

I would have thought that listening to a dense novel like Under the Volcano would only give you a fleeting impression of the book. This one cries out to be read and read slowly.

>94 baswood: You are probably right. I suspect it is a book that needs to be read twice, in which case audio is a good choice for one of the reads -- the language begs to be read aloud.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa, pub. 1958
Finished 10/11/15

The decline of the Italian aristocracy during the unification of Italy is told with such beautiful, florid prose and stunning descriptions that I wanted to see the movie instead.

>92 ELiz_M: I've been meaning to read Under the Volcano for years.

>96 ELiz_M: The movie of The Leopard is great!

"...might as well mourn fall turning into winter." : )

>97 rebeccanyc: I've definitely heard good things about the movie & will have to track it down in the future (after I've forgotten enough details of the book that the movie-differences won't bother me).

>98 dchaikin: Thanks!

The Awakening by Kate Chopin, narrated by ???, pub. 1899
Finished 10/11/2015



I had read this book a very long time ago and apparently remembered nothing. It is a charming novel (can one say that about a story that ends tragically?). Some of the descriptions were beautiful, but on audio, the boring "then she did x then she did y" recitation is too prominent. I was surprised by how tolerant the husband was of her loosening of society's constraints, but knowing that it ends badly, I was expecting a quite different ending, based on his discussion with the family doctor. 1001 Books to Read Before You Die equates it with Madame Bovary. Which I also, apparently, remember nothing about.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Successor by Ismail Kadare, pub. 2003
Finished 10/21/15

A retelling of the mysterious events surrounding the death of "The Successor" (Mehmet Shehu), in a sparse matter-of-fact prose that nonetheless can evoke a perfect, stunning image.

Enjoyed your review of The Successor.

Enjoyed your review too. Being a lover of political paranoia, I loved this book when I read it in 2012.

>102 dchaikin: Thanks!

>103 SassyLassy: Again, thanks! I seem to recall you are a fan of Kadare & recently posted an excellent review of one of his other novels. I enjoy his writing, but never seem to emotionally connect with his work.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



London Fields by Martin Amis narrated by Steven Pacey, pub. 1989
Finished 10/25/15

An excellent, and disturbed, narration of an unconventional murder mystery with layers of unreliable narrators.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click HERE to read the full review):



The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin, pub. 1760
Finished 10/26/15

A very long, compulsively readable and delightful novel about the downfall of an aristocratic family in 18th-Century Beijing.

Books rescued:

. . . . .

Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti
The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
The City & the City by China Miéville
A Long Way from Verona by Jane Gardam
You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik
Wichita by Thad Ziolkowsky

October:
Books read/listened: 8
paper/ebook: 5
audio: 3

1001-list-books: 5.4* (and 1 re-read)
Female Authors: 1
In Translation: 5
Non-fiction: 0

Owned Books read: 6
Libe Books read: 2
Books Bought Rescued**: 6

Planned: 6
Deviations: 2

*Two of the books I read were volumes 4 & 5 of a single 1001-list entry: The Story of the Stone

**Knowing that I have to move to a smaller apartment in the very near future, I have been avoiding temptation (bookstores), but when books are left on stoops, I can't just leave them there! Also, I gave away 20ish books, so it's okay to add a few more....

>106 ELiz_M: I've been meaning to read The Story of the Stone for ages (although I know it as The Dream of the Red Chamber); glad to know it's "compulsively readable!"

Well done on finishing The Story of the Stone! I read it the summer before I went to university when I had a lot of spare time - not sure I'd be able to manage the same now! I do remember enjoying it so much I didn't want it to end.

>109 rebeccanyc: I hope you enjoy it when you get around to it!

>110 wandering_star: It does take some time, but I thought it fit rather well into a busy adult life -- each volume is broken into so many short chapters with the beginning of the chapter reminding you where the previous chapter left off that it was easy to read in small doses/on subway rides.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):




Professor Martens' Departure by Jaan Kross, pub. 1984
Finished 11/02/15

A quiet, introspective book, based on a real person and events, with the title character reminiscing on his life, the role he played on an international stage, and the strange parallels between himself and a German Professor martens born nearly a century earlier.

The Collector by John Fowles, pub. 1963
Finished 11/05/2015



A wonderfully creepy autumn read! Frederick Clegg is one of the masses of working-class British men from a troubled family background. Poorly educated and emotionally crippled he lives a colorless life and the only thing that brings him joy, collecting butterflies, brings him ridicule. And then there is Miranda. A young beautiful well-educated art-student from a wealthy (but also troubled) family. Her beauty and grace captivate Clegg, who watches her from afar, knowing that he will never speak to her, never be noticed by her. Then fortune finally favors him and he wins an enormous sum of money. A sum that radically changes his life, and Miranda's when he snatches her off the streets one rainy day, determined to keep her until she grows to love him....

This is Fowles debut novel and possibly also one of the first psychological thrillers. Written more than forty years ago, it presents a different, more literary focus than today's modern action-packed thrillers. Fowles is more concerned with the disparities in class and education of the two main characters and how envy and different world-views create conflict both within and between Frederick and Miranda and tells the story from both perspectives. It also has an not-too-subtle overlay of The Tempest, with Frederick calling himself Ferdinand and Miranda privately referring to him as Caliban. A very good read, and I am much looking forward to The Magus, which I am told is similar in plot, but more complex in theme/literary sophistication.

The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes , pub. 1963
Finished 11/06/2015



Written and set in the 1960s, this noir mystery is brilliantly written with a unique take on the genre. The narrator, Dr. Densmore is flying through the southwest. On a brief leave from his residency at UCLA, he has only a few days to attend his sister's wedding in Phoenix. On a lonely stretch of dessert highway he reluctantly picks up a hitch-hiker, a young women he can't in good conscience leave on the side of the road. The young lady, likely a runaway, tells an improbable story and Densmore, knowing she is trouble, is relieved to to put her on a bus at the next town. But she is not so easily disposed of and reappears the next day at a highway check-point, forcing her presence on him again. And then again after he dutifully drops her off in Phoenix. It is not until after her body is found in canal, the story is in the papers and the police show up at Densmore's hotel room that the author reveals he is an African-american and suddenly, what had seemed a rather mundane setting of the scene takes on a completely different color. The novel becomes faster paced as Densmore must not only prove his innocence, but more importantly prevent his association with the young woman and the crime from becoming public knowledge -- once his reputation is smeared it will be lost forever and publicity will ruin him as surely as a jail sentence.

Hughes smartly uses the mystery novel to explore, and to some extend upend, the changing social norms of 1960s America.

I LOVED The Expendable Man and it set me off trying to find other works by Hughes. I think I read The Collector decades ago, but have no memory of it.

I loved The Expendable Man too. For some reason reading your review made me connect and compare Dr. Densmore's circumstances with the events in a book I read last month--The Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America.

> 114 Sounds like a great book and that cover really suits the title.

>114 ELiz_M: hmmm - not usually my genre but you have me intrigued. Sounds like a good read.

Interesting last three. I think i'm most intrigued by the Hughes.

So many visitors!

>115 rebeccanyc: Oh, I'll have to stalk your shelves and see what else you've enjoyed by her.

>116 arubabookwoman: It was not only a good mystery, but an excellent exposure to a worldview that i should be more aware of.

>117 SassyLassy: It is a fun cover! And I love the yellow spine which brightens up the mostly darker, more somber nyrb colors.

>118 AlisonY: If you ever want to venture into mystery noir, I do recommend this one

>119 dchaikin: The Hughes was the most fun. The Collector, an early example of a more psychology-focused thriller, may seem dated now.

A Dark Devotion by by Clare Francis, pub. 1997
Finished 11/12/2015



A London lawyer with a troubled marriage receives a desperate call from a childhood friend whose wife has gone missing and the police do not seem to be bothered much with it. As Alex starts asking questions, it becomes obvious that the perfect wife was a piece of work. I thought the mystery started out strong and enjoyed the set up of Alex's failing marriage to Paul, with whom she also runs a law firm. The setting of the mystery in the salt marshes and small village was also well done. But in the end I wasn't crazy about the mystery and especially not about its conclusion -- I was disappointed in the author's decision to have the narrator act contrarily to the character established in the beginning. I suppose it will make her "more interesting".

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Epitaph for a Small Winner (also known as The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas) by Machado de Assis, pub. 1881
Finished 11/16/2015

I found the premise and structure of the novel intriguing, but the difficulty lies in the (intentional?) tension between a unique structure and a rather boring story.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe, pub. 1993
Finished 11/22/2015

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. For once the satire struck my funny-bone just right, even without the intimate knowledge of the Thatcherite England satirized.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



Uncle Tom's Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and narrated by Mirron Willis, pub. 1852
Finished 11/22/2015

An odd mixture of compelling story-telling, verbose philosophizing, and lecturing.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):

(I just read the second novella)

Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford, pub. 1949
Finished 11/26/2015

I remember being delighted by the novel, but now I cannot recall the plot or any specific scenes.

Reviewed in my 1001-books thread (click the picture to read the full review):



The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene, pub. 1973
Finished 11/28/2015

Superb writing, as always, and in a new twist, the catholic agonizing was not done by the narrator.

In November, I finished 9 books:
paper/ebook: 8
audio: 1

1001-list-books: 7
Female Authors: 4
In Translation: 2
Non-fiction: 0

Owned Books read: 7
Libe Books read: 2
Books Bought: 0

Planned: 7
Deviations: 2

The Blindness of the Heart by Julia Franck, pub. 2007
Finished 12/05/2015



This book was included in the newer editions of the 1001-Books-to-Read-Before-You-Die. It is the story of Helene, a young child during WWI and a young woman during WWII. The book spans her difficult childhood, the brief period of happiness in Berlin between the wars, her marriage of convenience to an Aryan industrialist, and the increasing difficulties of life during the war as her even her skills as a nurse are not enough to support her and her son as the country and family disintegrates during the war.

It is a strong book, cleverly told, covering many tragic circumstances and events from a point of view not familiar to me. But, after a tragic event the main character develops a coldness, an inability to feel, and it is conveyed rather too well -- I also didn't care about the outcome.

Station Eleven written by Emily St. John Mandel and narrated by Kirsten Potter, pub. 2014
Finished 12/06/2015



Mostly set in a post-pandemic world, this cleverly crafted novel weaves together the stories of three main individuals and a few minor ones, both their current circumstances and the flashbacks of the pre-pandemic world. The "current day" story is mostly told by Kirsten, a woman who was 8 when the world ended and is now living a nomadic life as part of a troupe of musicians and actors. Her flashbacks mostly take us to a performance of King Lear, in which she had a bit part as a young girl, that culminated in a real-life tragedy. Other narrators current day narrators include a paramedic that was at the traumatic Lear performance and the best friend of Arthur, the actor that played Lear. Through complicated flashbacks the author tells Arthur's story in the pre-pandemic world.

While very cleverly constructed, all these interconnections from the pre-pandemic world slowly being revealed in the post-pandemic world, I found Arthur's story rather dull and pointless, except that it was needed to set up the big conflict in the post-pandemic world. It was interesting concept, but I wish it has more Shakespeare and less boring celebrity gossip.

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov, pub. 1996
Finished 12/07/2015



Published as part of Melville's International Crime series, this is not quite a mystery. It is a delightfully odd story of centered around a lonely, struggling writer that is hired to write obituaries for the newspaper. The writer and his pet penguin (adopted from the Zoo that couldn't afford to keep the animals) unknowingly are drawn into complicated behind-the-scenes machinations as they "plish plosh" through their days. At times surreal and with some existential musings, I am sure I missed much of the satire, but was utterly charmed nonetheless.

So, once again I have gotten very behind with reviewing. This time I have a legitimate excuse -- I spent the first three weeks of November looking for a new apartment in NYC (the owner sold the unit I live in to the neighbors), signed a lease for a very small studio Thanksgiving weekend, and have been packing like mad ever since. And reading apparently, with audio books and need to escape the increasing clutter, reading a lot. I move next week, have four days to unpack, and then travel for Christmas. I am hoping that scrolling past the blank placeholder posts will guilt me into filling in a few before the end of the year.

>120 ELiz_M: I've read in In a Lonely Place, which I liked, and The Blackbirder, which I was ambivalent about, but only The Expendable Man was a standout.

>122 ELiz_M: That's been on my TBR (as The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas) for some years.

131 - That's really stressful and real estate in the city is impossible. I hope you found a nice place!

>132 rebeccanyc: Shucks. I hate it when I accidentally start with an author's best novel. I'll still probably pick up In a Lonely Place at some point though.

>133 janemarieprice: Thanks! It's small, but the kitchen was gut-renovated and I'm excited that the new place is a block from Prospect park (even if it's the "wrong", ie not park slope side, of the park).

Moving is always stressful, and it's more so when you have to move. My mother says, "Three moves are as good as a fire" and my experience is that it does provide motivation to get rid of things. I'll be moving in July, and I'm already trying to see what we can find new homes for.

Don't stress on the reviews! I'd like to find out what you thought about a few of those books, but it's only a few weeks until you can just leave it all behind and start a fresh new thread!

>135 RidgewayGirl: Thanks for the words of encouragement. I just had to move myself across town, with a month overlap between old and new. I can't imagine how much more difficult it is to move a family internationally!

ETA: I've added a couple of reviews above.

Stolen Lives by Jassy Mackenzie, pub. 2010
Finished 12/11/2015



The second mystery in the series find Jade de Jong in another fast-paced, action-packed adventure in South Africa. Jade reluctantly accepts a job as a body guard for a woman referred by a friend. Before Jade even has a chance to find out the details of the woman's trouble the daughter goes missing and there is an attack on the woman. Guarding Pamala, the wife of a strip-joint owner, quickly draws Jade into the ugly world of trafficked girls and the cases of officers in London, as well as the kidnapping of a friend's young son. It is a messy, complicated book and I am not sure I understood the mystery, but I did enjoy the ride and learning a little more about Jade, even if the story also includes some eye-rolling coincidences. It was actually too good of a distraction from packing and I had to stay up late to finish it so I could get on with other things.

>129 ELiz_M: One of the members of my RL bookclub group wanted to read Station Eleven, but I told her it sounded a bit depressing and possibly boring. I'd heard a lot of good things about it, and I actually love pandemic fiction - but it just didn't seem like it was going to appeal to me.

>130 ELiz_M: Now that book looks interesting!