What are you reading the week of February 19, 2022?

I'm about halfway through Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer. This the fourth and final volume of the Terra Ignota series. Ada Palmer is a history professor specializing in the history of the western intellectual tradition, the history of Greek and Roman philosophy and the Enlightenment. The Terra Ignota series is a dense and challenging science fiction story that illuminates and embodies the history of western philosophical thought on the nature of good and evil, religion and science, government and personal freedom. It is at times maddeningly obscure and dazzlingly brilliant. Later this year, I'm going to have to return to the beginning and read the complete series again. There was nearly a five year wait between the third and fourth books. I've forgotten too much of the previous novels to remember the interconnections between all of the characters. A second reading is going to be necessary.

Blergh. Ever keep plowing through a book, even though your dislike of it continued to grow? I just finished Exit the Rainmaker and am still trying to figure out why I wasted a week on this bloated nonfiction study of a guy who walked away from what seemed a perfect life, apparently because he didn't have the balls to stand up to his domineering wife and say "I want a divorce". I had zero sympathy for him to start with, and the author never managed to change my mind or even make any sense of why he did what he did, other than some mystical mumbo-jumbo about having a psychological need to disappoint people.

I initially planned to tackle the Tesla biography next, but think I need to go stash-diving to find something that I can be more enthusiastic about.

Enjoying Pride and Prejudice via an AudioFile/Audiobook Break podcast. Two segments are released each week. I have enjoyed listening to Chapters 1-2-3 and 4-5 so far.

and
Continuing to enjoy the Inn at Eagle Point audio via hoopla.

I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr in the wee hours of this morning. It was so good that I had to read the last 128 pages until I finished! Wow!

Next up is The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. My sister got it for me for my birthday and we're going to read it together.

>2 LyndaInOregon: Depends...one can always read the book like a grad student. Read the intro, the first chapter, and the conclusion; then skim the middle!

Will finish Warship 2020 this evening. Have already started The Bookshop of the World. Expect to start Cyber Mage sometime before this coming Saturday.

I zipped through the pulp crime novel, Flats Fixed - Among Other Things from the obscure but enjoyable Giff Speer series from the 1960s/70s by Don Tracy. I'll have a short review up on my 50-Book Challenge thread shortly.

Next up, I'm finally going to read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

Still reading No Way Back and Vicious Circle.

Started The Sackett Brand by Louis L'Amour I bought at a thrift store. My mother used to read his books as well as the Zane Grey books.

I am enjoying Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fanny Flagg some very interesting characters with a great thread of humor running thru.

>10 Aussi11: Can't Wait to Get to Heaven has possibly the best opening line I've ever read. (Can't remember it precisely -- would you quote it so the group cam enjoy it here?)

Loved the whole book, but that first line just hooked me.

>10 Aussi11: Her books are great, and this one is no exception!

>11 LyndaInOregon:
The first line from Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, as requested.

After Elner Shimfissle accidently poked the wasp's nest up in her fig tree, the last thing she remembered was thinking "Uh-oh".

Way back up there in Post #2, I said "I need to go stash-diving to find something that I can be more enthusiastic about."

Well, I found it -- a nearly forgotten gem of a short story by David Gerrold called The Kennedy Enterprise. In this wickedly funny alternate history, Joseph P. Kennedy decides to go into the movie business rather than politics, and JFK ends up starring in a little TV series called "Star Track".

I laughed until the tears rolled down my cheeks, and then Gerrold brilliantly pulls the rug out from under the reader with a blackly ironic conclusion.

Okay, now that my batteries are recharged, I'll tackle The Endless Search, an LTER.

>4 PaperbackPirate: I’ve been hesitant to read Cloud Cuckoo Land (maybe because of the heft) so I’m glad to see it was a hit with you!

My current reads are Thrity Umrigar’s latest, Honor and a bit of fun fluff, A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen.

A member of my first and continuing book club (30+ years) has a young friend who is a writer in Maine. My friend has invited her to speak, via Zoom, at our next meeting, about two of her books. I am going to take a break from my other reading to read them over the next few days, prior to the meeting. They are Through The Pages and Blood Mother, both written by Annie Louise Twitchell.

I have just finished reading the novel PASSING by author NELLA LARSEN

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Enjoying this audiobook via hoopla ~

It's in His Kiss (Bridgertons Book 7)
by Julia Quinn

Started anax, the order series by Karen Ouliel I won I believe from LT>

Started AnaX, the Order Series by Keren Ouliel I won I believe from LT.

Leonard and Hungry Paul – Rónán Hession
4****

Two thirty-something single men are friends. They each live at home, they play board games, take satisfaction in their work, like to read, and are, in general, nice. Can quiet, gentle people change the world?

Oh, I loved this book! I liked how Hession showed us these two men slowly and gently, revealing their strengths and flaws, as we got to know them. They are grounded in their home life, in the people they love and care for, and in those who care for them. They don’t make waves, they’re not out to change the world, or even their corner of it.

When we meet Leonard, he is living alone in his childhood home, his mother having died recently. He has a steady job working for a children’s encyclopaedia; he writes (or rewrites) the text the educated researcher submits to make it more accessible for kids. Hungry Paul is Leonard’s best (and only) friend. He still lives at home with his parents, and his older sister’s wedding is a central focus of the plot. Hungry Paul takes judo lessons (he’s not very good) and works one day a week as a substitute letter carrier.

Neither man has ever really learned how to handle social interaction. They’re awkward and often overthink what they should say, resulting in their saying nothing (or, worse, saying the wrong thing). But they slowly come to realize that they do have something to offer to others … if only their quiet and steady presence.

I’m struck by how often we fail to see all the quiet, gentle people around us. It’s the loud, demanding ones that grab our attention, but it’s the many people like Leonard and Hungry Paul who steadfastly keep things moving. Who remind us that silence can be healing, and that a steady friend supports just by being a friend.

The ending is perfect. Happy and hopeful but not tied up in a nice, neat bow. I’m left with many questions (including how Hungry Paul got this moniker), but I think that’s part of Hession’s point.

Revenge Wears Prada – Lauren Weisberger
Digital audiobook narrated by Megan Hilty
2**

Subtitle: The Devil Returns
This is a follow-up to the immensely popular The Devil Wears Prada.

Several years after the ending of the first book’s plot, Andy and her former nemesis, Emily, join forces and create a high-end bridal magazine that garners them much attention … including from Miranda Priestly, their former boss at Runway. Meanwhile, both have gotten married and are navigating the ups and downs of the newly married.

This book deals with the drama of the early working life of most singles, and/or newly married couples. They have to juggle demands of their careers against the pull of the relationships. They’re not always sure whom to trust and sometimes overreact, while at other times giving in to inertia and the status quo.

I have to say that Andy really irritated me. Her go-to position seemed to be to wait in silence, while feeling sick and tired of it all. Emily was equally clueless about friendship, dismissing Andy’s hesitancy in favor of her own ambition.

I’d already read book three in the series (which focuses on Emily), so that may have colored my reactions.

Megan Hilty does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and has clear diction, so I could easily understand even when listening at double speed.

In the past week I have read The Last Bookshop in London, which wasn't great, but was the sort of quick read I needed. Last night I finished listening to the audiobook of Dracula, which was very good. Dr. Seward was read by Alan Cumming, and Van Helsing was read by Tim Curry, so the quality of the audiobook was excellent. The melodrama got to me after a while but overall it was a good reading experience.

I'm now reading The Last Policeman and when I have some time later on will begin listening to Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office
Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman
4/5 stars
I loved The Office and when I found this book at the library, I put everything else down to read this wonderful book told by everyone who acted, produced, wrote and worked on the series. If you haven’t seen the series -don’t read this book but definitely see the series then read this book. Highly recommended for fans of the series!

Finished Vicious Circle by Mike Carey. Liked it.

Added Loki by Mike Vasich to my rotation.

I finished the two books for my book group, Blood Mother, a collection of single topic poetry, and a debut novel, Through The Pages.

Now back to reading The Books Of Jacob and listening to This Side Of Brightness.

>15 Copperskye: It has a lot of shifting time frames and characters, but each time there's a switch there's a page dedicated to the change. It makes it a lot easier to keep track of everything, but also adds a lot to the 623 pages of bulk.

Read if you loved All the Light We Cannot See, or books that honor books and librarians.

It's going to be on my favorites list this year!

Finished the LTER selection, The Endless Search, and my review is up. In one word: ~meh~

Next, I am **finally** going to start Tesla: Inventor of the Modern.

Hopefully we will get Mom moved into the Memory Care facility this week and the general level of uproar around here will settle down to its usual point.

The Whale Rider – Witi Ihimaera
5***** and a ❤

In the poignant author’s note at the beginning of this edition, the author writes about his inspiration for telling this story. While he was working in New York City, he witnessed an extraordinary event – a whale swam up the Hudson. Coincidentally, at the same time, his young daughter, following a day at the movies, asked “Daddy, why are the boys always heroes while the girls yell out, ‘Save me, save me, I’m so helpless?” And so inspired by these two events, Ihimaera turned his attention to the Maori folklore of his homeland, New Zealand and penned this book.

What a wonderful story. Magical, mystical, and yet completely relatable. Eight-year-old Kahu wants nothing so much as to please her grandfather and be loved by him. But he dismisses her as a “useless girl.” Still, her grandmother, father and uncle champion her cause, as she comes of age and proves that she has what it takes to become chief and lead her people.

The novel is full of Maori legend and language, but a glossary at the back helps. As with many stories based on legend and folklore, I am reminded of the many summer nights spent sitting in the dark on the porch at my grandmother’s house, listening to my grandparents, aunts and uncles tell stories that enthralled, scared, educated, and inspired us.

I would love to read more by this author.

Finished listening to This Side Of Brightness. Okay, but not my favorite by McCann.

Next up for listening is The Department Of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk.

My latest from one of my favorite authors
The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman.

DNF for Loki by Mike Vasich. Bleh.

Added Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey to my rotation.

I finished Bunch of Amateurs. The book investigates a variety of amateurs involved with pursuits from astronomy, to biology and more, acknowledging their unschooled unpaid nature allowed them to pursue things that the professional could not justify and often with greater creativity. Through a number of unique characters the author revealed some interesting efforts going on

Finished Super Host , a novel by Kate Russo. I liked it and was pleasantly surprised it was set in London.

Lisey's Story
Stephen King
3/5 stars
Lisey Debusher's husband, Scott, a famous writer died a couple of years ago after a long marriage. Lisey continues struggling from his death and goes to a place to where he fought his demons. With the help of one of her sisters, she comes to terms with her life with Scott and his death.
Not my favorite book of King's, I found it awfully long and somewhat repetitive.

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