I kept going back and forth on the star ratings for the seven novels.... They all seem to fall in the three, three and a half, to four star range. I enjoyed them while I read them, but they didn't stay with me. Listed loosely in the order of what I liked best to what I liked least.
Fiction:
The Man Who Couldn't Die: The Tale of an Authentic Human Being by Slavnikova, Olga; translated from the Russian by Schwartz, Marian; Introduction by Leiderman, Mark
Little Gods by Jin, Meng
Honey, I Killed The Cats by Masłowska, Dorota
The Playground by Shemilt, Jane
Broken Man on a Halifax Pier by Choyce, Lesley
All the Winters After by Halverson, Seré Prince
The Stationery Shop by Kamali, Marjan
Poetry:
Decals: Complete Early Poems by Girondo, Oliverio; translated from the Spanish by Galvin, Rachael and Feinsod, Harris.
This is the only January read that I gave five stars.
Nonfiction:
Not a bad bunch, but all were flawed in one way or another...
How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built by Brand, Stewart
best of the nonfiction bunch
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Larson, Erik
too much stuff about President Wilson's private life
Underland by Macfarlane, Robert
too many expeditions, too much "I"
Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society by Christie, Judy
to much about the authors, really not a book length story here.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
December 2019 Reading
A mixed bag for December. Sometimes it takes me a while to come down from a really great book like Dicks Newburyport (which I read in November). So perhaps some of these ratings are a little too harsh (especially the Ali Smith Seasonals). Unless otherwise noted, these were all from the public library.
Fiction:
The Innocents by Crummey, Michael 5 of 5 stars
Iza's Ballad by Szabó, Magda; translated from the Hungarian by Szirtes, George 5 stars
My copy, a nice gift from my daughter
Invented Lives by Goldsmith, Andrea 4 stars
Advance review copy from LibraryThing giveaway
The Revisioners by Sexton, Margaret Wilkerson 4 stars
The Z Murders by Farjeon, J. Jefferson 2+ stars
Advance review copy from Poisened Pen Press Not as good as others I've read in the British Library Crime Classic series.
The German House by Hess, Annette; translated from the German by Lauffer, Elisabeth 3 stars
Autumn (Seasonal, #1) by Smith, Ali 4 stars
Winter (Seasonal, #2) by Smith, Ali 3+ stars
Spring (Seasonal #3), by Smith Ali 3+ stars
Short Story Collections:
Joytime Killbox by Wood, Brian W. 5 stars
my personal copy purchasd from publisher
Flowers of Mold by Seong-nan, Ha; translated from the Korean by Hong, Janet 5 stars
my copy, purchased from publisher
Public Library and Other Stories by Smith, Ali 2 stars
Sudden Traveler: Stories by Hall, Sarah 1 star
advance review copy from LibraryThing.
Nonfiction:
The Kindness of Strangers by Viertel, Salka 4+ stars
Informative without being too gossipy -- amazing considering she knew everybody.
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Levitin, Daniel J. 3+ stars
Lots of neuroscience here and a very educational read. Interesting to read about the various approaches in research. As for the music: this neither increased nor decreased my appreciation of music. Nor did it fundamentally change the way I listen to and think about music. For me this was a brain appreciation exercise.
Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook by Malek, Tyler 4 stars
If I ever decide to make ice cream again, this is the book for me.
Wild about Weeds: Garden Design with Rebel Plants by Wallington, Jack 3 + stars
Nice reading, pretty pictures. However, it seems to me that when you purposely design weeds into a garden plan you're going to work as hard maintaining them as you would work trying to get rid of them. But I'm not a gardener--I just have a "lawn" of mown weeds and "flower beds" of whatever comes up--if I like it, it stays; if not, zap!
For children:
The Land of Lost Toys by Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing; Little, Brown, and Company, 1900. on Project Gutenberg
Partially read (on Project Gutenberg): Our National Parks by John Muir
I read only one chapter, but I enjoyed it so I may read more.
CHAPTER VI
Among the Animals of the Yosemite
Fiction:
The Innocents by Crummey, Michael 5 of 5 stars
Iza's Ballad by Szabó, Magda; translated from the Hungarian by Szirtes, George 5 stars
My copy, a nice gift from my daughter
Invented Lives by Goldsmith, Andrea 4 stars
Advance review copy from LibraryThing giveaway
The Revisioners by Sexton, Margaret Wilkerson 4 stars
The Z Murders by Farjeon, J. Jefferson 2+ stars
Advance review copy from Poisened Pen Press Not as good as others I've read in the British Library Crime Classic series.
The German House by Hess, Annette; translated from the German by Lauffer, Elisabeth 3 stars
Autumn (Seasonal, #1) by Smith, Ali 4 stars
Winter (Seasonal, #2) by Smith, Ali 3+ stars
Spring (Seasonal #3), by Smith Ali 3+ stars
Short Story Collections:
Joytime Killbox by Wood, Brian W. 5 stars
my personal copy purchasd from publisher
Flowers of Mold by Seong-nan, Ha; translated from the Korean by Hong, Janet 5 stars
my copy, purchased from publisher
Public Library and Other Stories by Smith, Ali 2 stars
Sudden Traveler: Stories by Hall, Sarah 1 star
advance review copy from LibraryThing.
Nonfiction:
The Kindness of Strangers by Viertel, Salka 4+ stars
Informative without being too gossipy -- amazing considering she knew everybody.
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Levitin, Daniel J. 3+ stars
Lots of neuroscience here and a very educational read. Interesting to read about the various approaches in research. As for the music: this neither increased nor decreased my appreciation of music. Nor did it fundamentally change the way I listen to and think about music. For me this was a brain appreciation exercise.
Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook by Malek, Tyler 4 stars
If I ever decide to make ice cream again, this is the book for me.
Wild about Weeds: Garden Design with Rebel Plants by Wallington, Jack 3 + stars
Nice reading, pretty pictures. However, it seems to me that when you purposely design weeds into a garden plan you're going to work as hard maintaining them as you would work trying to get rid of them. But I'm not a gardener--I just have a "lawn" of mown weeds and "flower beds" of whatever comes up--if I like it, it stays; if not, zap!
For children:
The Land of Lost Toys by Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing; Little, Brown, and Company, 1900. on Project Gutenberg
Partially read (on Project Gutenberg): Our National Parks by John Muir
I read only one chapter, but I enjoyed it so I may read more.
CHAPTER VI
Among the Animals of the Yosemite
 |
| A Cinnamon Bear. |
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