What are you reading the week of August 14, 2021?

I've been run ragged at work this week. I've been rebuilding servers all week after a botched software update. I haven't had much time to read, but I've been dipping my toe into a couple of different books. 1919 by John Dos Passos, which is great, and Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record, which is terrible. The textbook is the worst introductory text that I've ever seen. The authors don't bother to define a lot of the terms they use, and their figures are too complex to illustrate their point.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker. It is very well written and very detailed, and many, or most, of those details are ghastly.

Let's see, I knocked off French Armoured Cruisers, I'm about 90% done with The Dawn of Detroit, I'm about 50% done with The Ministry for the Future, and I'm just starting Serbia and the Balkan Front.

Currently reading The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. It's fine.

I'm feeling very light-weight compared to the previous posts!

I'm reading The Regulators by Richard Bachman. It was hard keeping track of the characters at first, but the story is moving along quickly.

Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express
Christopher Corbett
3.5/5 stars
This was quite an interesting tale of the first Pony Express (which ran from Missouri to California) and the riders who worked the line, unfortunately a lot of the material can’t be backed up and the author discusses that problem. I found it interesting that the first Pony Express did not last long - from April 1860 till October 1861 when the trains took over the route, though other Pony Express routes lasted longer.

Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Goose – Stephanie Laurens
Digital audiobook performed by Helen Lloyd.
3***

Set in 1810 England, just on the cusp of the Regency period, this delightful Christmas mystery focuses on the recently widowed Lady Therese Osbaldestone, her three young grandchildren, a flock of missing geese, a “spinster” forgoing her own happiness to look after her younger brother, and a wounded war veteran.

Lady Osbaldestone is a marvelous character; bright, opinionated, kind, inquisitive (some might say nosy), and confident in her right – nay, duty – to oversee everyone’s business. As she enlists the help of the children in finding clues as to the whereabouts of the missing geese, she stumbles upon two people in desperate need of matchmaking. Lord Christian Longfellow is living the life of a recluse, certain that his scars make him a pariah to his neighbors. But it is the wounds to his psyche that affect him far more than those to his visage. Meanwhile Miss Eugenia Fitzgibbon has her hands full trying to manage the estate of her younger brother, who would rather party with his equally immature and irresponsible friends than attend to business. Of course, Lady O will begin with a plea to Eugenia’s organization skills and need to be helpful; poor Lord Longfellow hasn’t yet decorated his home for Christmas, and Miss Eugenia is JUST the person to fix that!

This is a delight on so many levels, from the marvelous characters to the charming scenes of Regency village holiday life – ice skating parties, a live nativity pageant, holly and mistletoe, and, of course, the geese!

Helen Lloyd perfectly performed the audio version. She gives us a Lady Osbaldestone who is every bit the dowager and up to whatever task may come her way. She’s equally deft at giving voice to the very young grandchildren, Lord Longfellow and a host of villagers. A splendid narration.

Nora Webster by Colm Tolbin, enjoying.

Am reading The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill.

Still reading The Mists of Avalon, Ancestral Night, Victories Greater Than Death.

Started these two books ~

The Photographer: A Novel
by Mary Dixie Carter (author/narrator)
*lost interest early on*

and

At the End of the Matinee
by Keiichiro Hirano
(Kindle eBook Alexa can read to me /translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter)

Finished What Happened to You? by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey.

Halfway through Shrill by Lindy West who wrote for the alt weekly The Stranger in Seattle where my favorite writer works. Reading as I watch the Hulu series.

Enjoying a lot of cultural history of Korea and France being fed to me in a fascinating historical novel set in the late 19th C., The Court Dancer by Kyung-sook Shin.

Just finished reading the marvelous Japanese novel, The Makioka Sisters.

Next up for reading is The Levant Trilogy by Olivia Manning.

Currently Reading:

1. Jane Eyre
2. The body keeps the score

Just Finished:

-Anna Karenina 10/10
-The Help 8/10
-The Sun Also Rises 7/10

>12 framboise: Did you like "What happened to you?", I've seen it all over the place. Was it a good read??

Wow -- after several months of so-so reading, I've logged ***two*** five-star books in as many weeks.

I think I've already raved here about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and followed it almost immediately with Kim Barnes' A Country Called Home, which just blew me away.

Thanks for the well-wishes. I was stricken by a case of Extreme Stupidity which resulted in my getting so badly dehydrated that my kidneys were trying to shut down (and multiple other systems were going kittybonkers). Spent a few days in the hospital getting pumped full of fluids and balancing other systems, followed by a lovely relaxing weekend with friends. I think I'm going to survive! (Good books help!)

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is so far very enjoyable. I don't read a lot of fiction, so to be about 50 pages in makes this a winner so far. I also like this is not by a US author to help diversify what I read.

>12 framboise: Thanks for mentioning the Bruce Perry book. He's like the grandfather of early learning brain development. I'll look it up.

Finished listening to The Maidens, an excellent mystery.

Next up for listening is Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin.

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee– Dee Brown
Book on CD narrated by Grover Gardner
5*****

Subtitle: An Indian History of the American West

Brown’s interest in the history of the American West took him to many resources that were previously ignored in crafting the official textbooks from which millions were taught American history. This work is one attempt to correct the information so many thought they knew. Instead of reading accounts of glory and conquest, we are given the perspective of the Native Americans, who mostly wanted to live in peace and harmony with the white men. But the “civilized” society of white men would not be denied, and the government waged a continued war against the Indians with the intent of wiping them out.

Brown relates the systemic plunder of Native lands region by region, tribe by tribe, battle by battle, broken treaty by broken treaty. The reader comes to know the chiefs and their efforts to lead their people to a peaceful solution. The many photographs included help to put faces to some of the names we’ve come to know – Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Cochise. It is a very personal account. And it is heartbreaking.

Grover Gardner does a very good job of narrating the audiobook. But I think this is best read in text so the reader has time to absorb the information. I did have a copy of the text and I read about a third of it, listening to the rest.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
Michelle McNamara
4/5 stars
This is the amazing story of the search for the Golden State Killer (also known as the East Area Rapist) in California. Author and TV consultant Michelle McNamara put her heart and soul into writing this book before dying of an undiagnosed heart condition. Unfortunately, she never lived to see her book come out or the capture of the killer since she died two years before he was caught. This is definitely, a page turner. FYI - https://www.biography.com/news/michelle-mcnamara-golden-state-killer

I finished The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker. This is one of the most disturbing, depressing books I've read in a long time. This book is exactly what the title suggests, a history of the process of bringing slaves to the Americas from Africa. Rediker has created a comprehensive and very well written narrative. The book is a detailed horror show from beginning to end. If you can put yourself through it, though, it is important reading, a crucial, fundamental part of the American and European story. You can see my more detailed review on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

For something lighter, I'm next going to read a 1930s murder mystery, Death Blew Out the Match by Kathleen Moore Knight.

But I'm also adding Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything in Between by Laila M. El-Haddad to my "between books" stack to be read through more gradually. According to Wikipedia, this book, which was published in 2010, is "a compilation of El-Haddad's blogs and other writing about her daily life as she covers the story of Gaza while living it and trying to explain it to her children." I thought that reading 400+ pages of blog posts, no matter how interesting and urgent the topic, might not be the best way to digest the information, so, as mentioned, I'll be reading this little by little between other books.

Ever finish a really good read and then have trouble getting into something else?

After raving about A Country Called Home, I have picked up and discarded two others and put a third back into the TBR stack.

The Ghost on the Throne arrived by ILL yesterday. I was surprised (not happily) to find it's nonfiction. Churned through about four chapters before giving up.

Picked up Victoria and Abdul from the top of the TBR stack and couldn't even get through the first chapter. Outta here.

Next was a fiction thriller, Germ, which has been in the stack for several years, but decided I did not need to read right now about a tailored virus being used as a terrorist weapon, so it goes back to the bottom of the TBR stack.

May have hit paydirt with Welcome to Higby, written by the author of Ella Minnow Pea, which I very much enjoyed. It remains to be seen whether Dunn's rather twee style will hold up for the entire book or will just become an annoyance.

I should probably jump over to Amazon and load up my Kindle, since there's a road trip coming up again this weekend and I'm halfway through the last unread book from there Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, which is interesting but won't last me four days!

Well I've been busy and having lots of fun since I last checked in.

I've been reading plays consistently since January. The past couple of weeks have been packed with them.

Shakespeare is always on the list...
Finished up Twelfth Night
Digging into Henry IV Part 2 as time permits. I'm not a fan of the history plays, but Parts 1 & 2 are dramatic, exciting and fun. Some of the others are just plodding and endless.
And As You Like It specifically because I was cast in a professional production of it. For COVID reasons, it was filmed, not live. I had a great time as Corin, the simple but wise old shepherd. Vermont woods doubled as the forest of Arden.

And the very uncomfortable, edgy The nether : a play - Jennifer Haley. Very complicated, but the three male characters all happen to be pedefiles. I auditioned for the lead. Did a good job with one of the monologues but wasn't cast. My husband was not disappointed.

No mysteries this time around, but I am back to Louis L'Amour with Silver Canyon.

Started from the library: The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman (YA)
#2 in the "Lady Helen" trilogy set in 1812 UK. Lady Helen is in Brighton for the summer, following events in The Dark Days Club. Mention is made of the outbreak of the War of 1812. After this one, the finale The Dark Days Deceit.

I enjoyed A Pretty Deceit by Anna Lee Huber and look forward reading to Murder Most Fair, the new and #5 entry in the "Verity Kent Mystery" series when it comes out.

Enjoying this audiobook via hoopla ~

The Nantucket Inn (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove, #1)
by Pamela M. Kelley

Women Of the Silk – Gail Tsukiyama
3***

This work of historical fiction takes us to early 20th century China and the unique position of the women who worked in the silk factories in lieu of marriage, in order to help their families survive hard times.

Pei is but a child, about 9 years old, when her father, a struggling farmer, takes her to Auntie Yee’s house in the “large” village that has several silk factories. Unaware that this is more than just a visit, an adventure with her father, Pei goes with the kind Auntie Yee to “see the house” only to realize too late that her father has left her there. While she is heartbroken at first, she does eventually accept the kindness and friendship of other girls in the house and begins to learn the work of the silk factory. More importantly, she forms a close bond with the girls and women she comes to view as her new family.

I loved the unexpected strength and determination of these young women as they made their own way in a culture that restricted opportunities for women. The independence they gained, though initially forced on them, became their most prized attribute. They forged strong bonds and were successful in going against the male owners of the plant to demand better working conditions and shorter work hours.

The novel ends just as the Japanese invasion in 1938 ends their way of life, and Pei, along with a younger “sister” heads out for the next phase of their life’s journey.

This is one of Tsukiyama’s earlier works. It was interesting and engaging, and I’m glad I read it, but it isn’t up to the excellence so evident in her later novels.

I finished The House of Spirits, a saga of an eccentric, troubled family played out over the backdrop of political turmoil, addressing issues such as love, anger, hatred, and loyalty

Finished the very good Inspector Rebus novel, Tooth and Nail.

Next up for listening is Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam.

The new thread is up over here.

Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain
Digital audiobook read by the author.
3.5***

Subtitle: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

This is a wonderful memoir, as well as a bit of a tutorial, a travelogue, and a warning of what NOT to do. Bourdain is honest, profane, funny, enlightening and engaging. Some of his stories make me think I’ll never dine in a restaurant again. But most make me crave the experience of eating fresh ingredients prepared simply and deliciously by someone who really cares about the taste of the food being served. And, yes, Tony, I DO have shallots in my kitchen and I DO cook with butter! But, no, I do not make my own stock.

Bourdain narrates the audio version himself, and I cannot imagine anyone else doing a better job. 5* for his performance.

The new thread is up over here.