What are you reading the week of December 4, 2021?

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What are you reading the week of December 4, 2021?

1fredbacon
Dic 4, 2021, 12:33 am

I somehow settled on reading Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell. The book is interesting from a history of science perspective. Written almost a quarter of century before Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Lyell spends several chapters debunking Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's theory of evolution via acquired characteristics. It would be easy to misconstrue Lyell's arguments as being against any version of evolution, but he focused very specifically on what he considered to be the erroneous mechanism espoused by Lamarck. A few chapters later he argues that new species must be generated at a slow rate to replace the loss of species so evident in the fossil record. It's an interesting view of ideas of evolution which existed prior to Darwin's seminal work.

2hemlokgang
Editado: Dic 4, 2021, 8:37 am

I am listening to Happiness and reading Remembrance Of Things Past, Vol 2.

3curiousstr.eam7
Dic 4, 2021, 8:47 am

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4perennialreader
Dic 4, 2021, 8:51 am

5PaperbackPirate
Dic 4, 2021, 10:42 am

I need to read a book with Life in the title to wrap up one of my reading challenges for 2021.
I started reading The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness, but I've had a love/hate relationship with this series, and although I need to see how it ends, I don't think now is the time.
So I think I'm going to switch to My Life Among the Underdogs by Tia Torres. I love the show Pit Bulls and Parolees, and since it's been delayed due to Covid, this book could be a nice substitute.

6JulieLill
Dic 4, 2021, 1:37 pm

The Dutch House
Ann Patchett
4/5 stars
This is the story of two siblings, Danny and his sister Maeve who early in the book lived with their father in the Dutch House while he is estranged from his wife. With the influx of a new wife and 2 step sisters, they leave the house and go their own ways eventually realizing that sometimes things work out in a certain way and you have no control over it. Very well written! I had previously read Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which I liked and I would read more of her work.

7seitherin
Dic 4, 2021, 5:16 pm

Finished Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. For a YA read, it was enjoyable. Added the second book to my rotation - Aurora Burning. Otherwise, still reading Prince Across the Water and Brothers of the Wind.

8enaid
Dic 4, 2021, 8:09 pm

I finished Matrix by Lauren Groff and I highly recommend it. I rarely give out 5 stars but I would have given it 6 stars if I could. :)

I'm thinking about starting Bess of Hardwick by Mary Lovell. Her other book, The Sisters about the Mitford sisters was very fine, I thought.

9rocketjk
Dic 4, 2021, 10:28 pm

I’m closing in on the ending of The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Iranian author Shokoofeh Azar. I’m enjoying it very much.

10Shrike58
Dic 4, 2021, 10:32 pm

12hemlokgang
Editado: Dic 5, 2021, 12:07 am

Finished listening to the so-so Happiness.

Next up for listening is Scrublands by Chris Hammer.

13snash
Dic 5, 2021, 10:11 am

Finished The Hundred Secret Senses which was okay but a little too fanciful for my taste.

14Molly3028
Dic 5, 2021, 1:30 pm

starting this OverDrive audio ~

The Midnight Lock (Lincoln Rhyme Book 15) by Jeffery Deaver
(I delve into this series on occasion)

15seitherin
Dic 6, 2021, 10:17 am

Finished Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Still enjoying the books. Started the final book - Aurora's End

16BookConcierge
Dic 6, 2021, 12:18 pm


The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
Audiobook read by Carey Mulligan
2.5**

From the book jacket: Between life and death there is a library. Up until now, Nora Seed’s life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. When she finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. Each one contains a different life, a possible world in which she made different choices that played out in an infinite number of ways, affecting everyone she knew as well as many people she never met.

My reactions:
I was intrigued at the beginning, especially by the basic premise of getting to experience a different life, even if just for a few moments. I was also interested in the concept of parallel universes and found myself thinking about how my life might be different if I had … kept up with piano, become a doctor, studied law, married X, etc, etc, etc. However, the novel just didn’t work for me.

I grew tired of the one-sentence “Hallmark card” philosophy spouted by the librarian (or sometimes by Nora). I couldn’t help but notice the inaccuracies of travel (it’s supposed to be the same time always … but when she finds herself in Brazil it’s the middle of the night, so it wouldn’t be midnight in Britain). And I could see the ending coming a mile off.

Carey Mulligan does a great job of performing the audio version, however. Kudos to her for her interpretation of these characters. My rating went up an extra half-star because of Mulligan’s skill.

17LyndaInOregon
Dic 6, 2021, 4:27 pm

Just finished Land of the Haunted Dolls, an LTER that seems to have exploded beyond the author's capacity to manage, and is cut off abruptly with the good-vs-evil battle the reader has been expecting moved off the page and summarized in a few words in an Epilogue. Nice try, but no cigar.

Next up is When We Were Vikings, for my F2F book club meeting next week.

18Copperskye
Dic 6, 2021, 5:37 pm

I finished Amor Towles' The Lincoln Highway, which I loved!

Now I've started a British Library Crime Classic, The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

19AnaraGuard
Dic 7, 2021, 9:09 am

I just finished The Hitchhiking Years by singer-songwriter Don White. Great read for his fans, for Bostonians, and for anyone who hitchhiked through the 60s or 70s.

Struggling through John LeCarre's Pigeon Tunnel which doesn't have nearly as much in it about his con man father as I had thought or hoped.

About to start Fortune Favors the Dead and looking forward to it!

20aussieh
Dic 7, 2021, 3:31 pm

Enjoying Undue Influence by Anita Brookner she is a wonderful writer.

21seitherin
Dic 8, 2021, 8:45 am

Finished Aurora's End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Overall, I really enjoyed the trilogy. Fit my mood perfectly. Next into the rotation is Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey.

22JulieLill
Editado: Dic 8, 2021, 1:14 pm

The Birds and Other Stories
Daphne Du Maurier
4/5 stars
This was a collection of stories by the writer Daphne du Maurier. The first short story is The Birds which was the inspiration for Hitchcock’s film of the same title. I have never read any of her stories before and never realized that she wrote very dark stories but I enjoyed them. I would like to read more of her.

23LyndaInOregon
Dic 8, 2021, 7:17 pm

Just finished When We Were Vikings, which is my F2F group's December read. Looking forward to the discussion. Most of our members are ... ahem ... "senior citizens" or rapidly approaching that status, so it will be interesting to see what they make of this sexually frank and profanity-laced coming-of-age story about a young woman with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

I liked the book and felt the topics were handled sensitively, but there's no denying that parts of it made me uncomfortable.

24JulieLill
Editado: Dic 9, 2021, 12:25 pm

Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events
Brent Spiner
3.5/5 stars
This is a semi- non-fictional story about the time Brent Spiner who played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation had a stalker. I enjoyed it and am a fan of Star Trek. I am not sure of those not familiar with the series would it enjoy it.

25Tara1Reads
Dic 9, 2021, 5:08 pm

Finished reading Emma by Jane Austen a couple of nights ago. I’m not sure how I feel about it or about the character Emma herself. Parts of the book I really liked but then at times the book felt like a slog to get through.

Now I’m reading No Exit by Taylor Adams.

26BookConcierge
Dic 9, 2021, 9:13 pm


Even In Paradise – Elizabeth Nunez
4****

This is a retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear set in the Caribbean. Peter Duckworth is a Trinidadian and proud of it, but after his wife dies he decides to move to Barbados where he builds a magnificent house, high on a hill, surrounded by considerable property and with stunning views of the sea. His youngest daughter, Corrine, continues to live with him, while his older daughters are at university and about to be married.

What a wonderful character study! Nunez had me on the edge of my seat a few times, even though I knew the basic story line already. I liked how she wove in current issues of race and class and history of colonialism (and slavery) in the Caribbean.

Her narrator is Emile, the son of a prominent black doctor who once saved Peter Duckworth’s life. He first meets Duckworth and Corrine at the racetrack stables in Trinidad, when Corrine is just a child, 9 or 10 years old. He later reconnects with the family when they’ve moved to Barbados and he is a university student. His best friend, Albert Glazal, has fallen in love with Glynnis and he’s invited Emile to come along when he’s to meet Mr Duckworth for the first time.

The tragic event is shrouded in further mystery, and I’m glad that Nunez leaves so much to the imagination. What IS clear is the motivation of Glynnis. Poor Albert. But I’m reminded of the parable of the little girl who picks up a half-dead rattlesnake …. He knew what he was getting into.

27hemlokgang
Editado: Dic 10, 2021, 2:55 pm

Finished listening to Scrublands.

Next up for listening is Canada by Richard Ford.

28fredbacon
Dic 11, 2021, 9:26 am

The new thread is up over here.