What are you reading the week of November 13, 2021?

I finished up Doomsday Book, but I wasn't ready to stop reading Connie Willis yet. So I read a short story collection of hers, Fire Watch. It was a very different experience. The book contains what is probably the most disturbing story I've ever read. There were some good stories in the book as well, but it's not something that I would ever recommend to anyone.

Listening For Lions – Gloria Whelan
4****

Rachel Sheridan’s missionary parents succumb to the Spanish influenza pandemic in early 20th century East Africa. She’s taken in by neighbors with less-than-charitable motives and finds herself far from the only home she’s ever known in chilly, damp England. But Rachel’s honesty, courage and pluck will see her far, and she vows that she will return to Africa and rebuild the mission hospital her parents founded.

This is a lovely YA / middle-school-grade novel with some important lessons about doing what is right, and honoring your parents and elders. Rachel is a worthy heroine; she’s intelligent, principled, compassionate and a hard worker. I love the way that she interacts with others and considers the possible effects of her words and actions before moving forward. She shows courage when it’s most important, and a fierce determination to honor her promises.

I'm done with Hawk, next up are An Incipient Mutiny and The Longest Line on the Map (which I had set aside last week).

I started The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe yesterday. It's off to a promising start. I like reading this fictional tale based around the monarch's annual migration during the actual season of their migration.

I am reading All the Truth is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid by Matt Bai.

Reading Susan Orlean's On Animals which is a collection of real life stories about animals. I am really enjoying it.

Still reading Touch, Thin Air, and At First Light.

Look Alive Twenty-Five
Janet Evanovich
4/5 stars
Stephanie and her crew are back investigating the disappearances of 3 managers of the Red River Deli and the only clues are the missing shoes of the managers in the parking lot. Always a fun light mystery!

Just finished The Liar's Dictionary and loved it. This one will definitely make my "Best of" list for 2021. (Full review is over here: https://www.librarything.com/work/24496156/reviews/208481137 )

This had been on my PBS wishlist and popped up last week, so I pounced on it. And oddly enough, the next book up in my TBR stack was The Grammarians, but I thought that might be too much of a good thing, too quickly, so skipped over it and this morning began I, Ripper, which is about Jack the Ripper. (Talk about whiplash....)

Cutting For Stone – Abraham Verghese
Audiobook performed by Sunil Malhotra
5***** and a ❤

This is an epic story of twin boys, born of an Indian nun and a British surgeon working side-by-side in an Ethiopian hospital, but raised by two other Indian physicians and the staff of Missing Hospital. The tale is told by Marion, one of the twins, and describes not just their insular lives in the hospital compound, but the issues of poverty and political unrest in Ethiopia which so affect their ability to fulfill their mission.

Verghesse is a masterful storyteller, who wields his pen with surgical precision. The landscape and characters come to life on the page, letting the reader experience the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures of Ethiopia and the hospitals both there and in New York where Marion finishes his training.

There are several themes throughout – betrayal, forgiveness, and compassion. At its core is the central question … can you forgive a betrayal from those closest to you? Whether it is a father who abandons his sons, a lover who betrays you with another, or a brother who never seems to recognize the consequences of his actions – how do you find it in yourself to forgive? Who is hurt when you cannot / will not forgive? Who benefits most when you DO?

But we also deal with the issue of compassion and responsibility to those around us. Am I my brother’s keeper? Verghesse, I think, would answer “yes.” Whether it is a family member, an orphaned child, a neighbor in distress, even a stranger – each person deserves care and compassion.

The crisis that leads to the final resolution had me in tears. I wanted to read faster to find out what happens. I wanted to read more slowly to avoid what was coming. I had to finish; I was afraid to finish.

Some reviewers have said that the book was slow … not for me. I was engaged and enthralled from beginning to end. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time.

* * * * * * * * * *

UPDATE - Nov 6, 2011
I read this in April for my F2F book club # 1. Now two other book clubs are discussing it in November and December, so I decided to refresh my memory by listening to the audio.

Malhotra is pitch perfect in performing this book. He shows the right emotion or restraint depending on which character he is voicing. Shiva is maddeningly flat – this came across in the text but is even more evident in the audio – which adds to Marion’s frustration and anger. The only character’s voice that truly surprised me was that of Thomas Stone; I was expecting a more “cultured” and obviously British accent.

===========================

Update: 2021
Nearly ten years later, I re-listened to the audio, and once again was transported and fully engaged in this marvelous novel. It made no difference that I knew what was coming. Verghese is an incredibly talented writer.

On Animals
Susan Orlean
4/5 stars
Susan Orlean is one of my favorite authors and this book containing interesting short non-fiction accounts about animals doesn't disappoint. One of the most interesting stories was about the orca whale Willy, who lived in a park in a very small tank while people rallied to have him freed but she also expounds on the real life stories involving coyotes, cats, pet tigers and other animals. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Finished Touch by Claire North. Really enjoyed it. Added A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel to my rotation.

Just started into A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

Devil’s Food Cake Murder – Joanne Fluke
2.5**

Book # 14 in the Hannah Swenson cozy mystery series and she STILL hasn’t made up her mind on which suitor – dentist Norman or lawman Mike – to accept. Looks like the boys may be making the decision for her.

Oh, and there is a murder that Hannah simply MUST investigate, because … well, it wouldn’t be a cozy mystery without an amateur detective. And, of course, as part of her snooping, Hannah has to make batch after batch of cookies and even invent a couple of new recipes (all to entice the various suspects into giving her information, of course).

I read this mostly because I needed a pink cover for a couple of challenges and the books in this series are great for those cover-color challenges. It’s a fast read and I do like some of the recurring supporting characters, though Hannah drives me crazy. Also, the recipes are always tempting.

I feel like I may be reading Swann’s Way for the rest of my life, I’ve been at it so long. Well, actually I’m about 3/4 through it, so I suppose there’s hope for me.

>11 JulieLill: I read On Animals a couple of weeks ago and loved it. Orlean is such an entertaining writer!

I just finished Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle this afternoon. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a book to get lost in! I’ll miss those characters.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna – Juliet Grames
Digital audiobook performed by Lisa Flanagan
3.5***

In her debut novel, Grames explores the lives of two sisters and the rift between them. Spanning a century, we follow Stella Fortuna from her birth in a small Italian village at the beginning of the 20th century, through her family’s immigration to America, to the birth of successive generations, until she is an old woman mostly confined to bed and still “at war” with her younger sister, Tina, who lives just across the street.

I love family sagas and this one is epic. Stella doesn’t really realize the freedom she enjoys in her small village. Yes, the family is poor, and everyone must work to eke out a living. But they enjoy a certain independence and autonomy because Stella’s father is gone to America. They manage to immigrate just before WW2 breaks out and that freedom from Mussolini is in contrast to the restrictions Stella now faces in Connecticut; arriving at Christmas, the weather is brutally cold, her father rules with an iron hand, they don’t have the language skills, don’t even have room to grow their own tomatoes.

But Stella is a survivor. She works hard and works smart, saving and dreaming of independence. If things don’t work out exactly as she would have liked … well she keeps on.

I really enjoyed this book and this story of one family’s immigrant experience, as well as the background story of what was happening in America during this time. If I have any complaint it’s the device of “seven or eight deaths” that just seems so contrived. Even the title irritates me, as it makes it seem somehow paranormal. But maybe that’s just me.

I listened to the audiobook, performed by Lisa Flanagan, who does a marvelous job. She has a huge cast of characters to deal with and she was up to the task .

Just finished I, Ripper, which was a fictional take on the identity of England's most famous serial killer. It had some interesting elements, but wimped out at the end.

Next up is an LTER for review, Running Together, which I hope to finish up before house guests arrive for most of Thanksgiving week.

I have just finished reading the book THE HOUSE OF GUCCI by author SARA GAY FORDEN

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The Devil's Mercedes: The Bizarre and Disturbing Adventures of Hitler’s Limousine in America
Robert Klara
4/5 stars
This non-fiction book revolves around two of the cars that Mercedes-Benz built for Hitler and his staff and the mystery of what happened to the car that Hitler used. The story starts when an American soldier captures one of Hitler’s cars at the end of the war and finagles his way on to a ship back to the USA with the car. After that, things get murky, the soldier believes it was Hitler’s personal car and others thought it was Himmler’s and it took years before the mystery was solved. This was quite interesting!

From the library:
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (YA)
Artemisia is a young novice training to be a Gray Sister when her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers.

A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry
#3 and finale in the "Raven & Fisher Mystery" series
Will and Sarah are back for a new case in 1850 Edinburgh. The novel opens in Leith just outside of the capitol. It's best to read the previous two installments!

I finished the beautifully written book, Braiding Sweetgrass. It uses the metaphors of the stories of indigenous peoples, and the workings of nature to illustrate the error of viewing the earth as a resource rather than a gift to which we need to reciprocate. It tries to be hopeful and positive. It will be one of my top reads of the year.

Okay, well I started Running Together for LTER review but bailed out after about 20 pages (roughly 10% of the book) of straight-up porn, misused words, and uncontrolled skidding between past and present tense, often within the same sentence (but without any relationship to whether the change of tense was intended to match a changed timeline). Apparently, this was not even proofread, let alone edited.

Sorry, no.

So now I have an un-reviewed review copy on my record.

Ah, well. Life goes on.

Picked up The Grammarians and am enjoying it immensely. Don't know what's coming next, as I am about to be (lovingly) invaded by nine (count 'em, nine) family members flying in from the East Coast for a Thanksgiving reunion. (We will be 17 at dinner.) So reading time is apt to be severely constrained over the next week and a half!

>23 LyndaInOregon: Cut and paste what you posted here. Sounds like an review/opinion to me!

Finished listening tothe moving immigration novel, Things We Lost To The Water.

Next up for listening is Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

>24 Copperskye: Based on a note from Abigail, I have posted a review. It's over here if you're serious: https://www.librarything.com/topic/336854#n7658564

Hi, I am new here and I read an eclectic array of books. Some would say odd. Right now I am reading Mutiny on the Bounty. It is a terrific adventure tale. Considering when it was written, there are some aspects a little difficult to stomach. But a great story……and that it is based on a true part of history makes it more interesting. One wonders what parts really did happen…..

The new thread is up over here.

>27 Tuckamore: Welcome to LibraryThing!