Thursday, March 31, 2022

March 2022

 
See below under nonfiction
 
Wow! I read a bunch in March! Almost all from the library (except the Dutch stories and First Cosmic Velocity). And, I liked most of them. Even the three (last 3 on the fiction list) I liked least weren't total duds. I also had some fun on Gutenberg with shadow puppets and trying to read some German. (Loved the pictures!)
 
Fiction: 
The Anomaly by Le Tellier, Hervé; translated from the French by Hunter, Adriana
  Yes!
The Recent East by Grattan, Thomas 
  Exile from East Germany returns home after Reunification. Very good story.
The Singing Forest by McCormack, Judith 
  Investigation of atrocities in Belarus. One of my best reads of the month
The Pages by Hamilton, Hugo
  Another great read - with a book as the narrator.
The Vietri Project by DeRobertis-Theye, Nicola 
  Sort of a coming of age as an Italian/American woman goes to Rome to find her roots.
Light from Uncommon Stars by Aoki, Ryka
  This was fun! Aliens set up a donut shop as cover and  all sorts of things happen! A violinst finds her perfect student, a Trans person seek identity and validation....
Black Cake by Wilkerson, Charmaine 
  Siblings discover family secrets.
The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories edited by Zwagerman, Joost  
The Jealousy Man and Other Stories by Nesbø, Jo 
 Divided into two sections "Jealousy" (7 stories) and "Power" (5 stories). I liked the first section better than the second.
Very Cold People by Manguso, Sarah
 Yes, they are. A bit overdrawn but a good read.
Together We Will Go by Straczynski, J. Michael 
  A suicide bus? 
French Braid by Tyler, Anne
  A family story. Is this another example of very cold people or are they just a little distant?
The Sisters Sweet by Weiss, Elizabeth 
  A sister act breaks up.
First Cosmic Velocity by Powers Zach
 Another of those old (2019) ARC's on my "owned-but-unread" shelf. I was feeling regretful that I didn't read it back then but it hasn't lost it's relevance. In fact, it sheds some light on the history of Russian/Ukrainian relations. 
Shit Cassandra Saw: Stories by Kirby, Gwen E.
  I didn't finish a couple of these but found others much to my liking.
The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Freitas, Donna
  Rose doesn't want to be a mother- or not?
The Fell by Moss, Sarah
  A "pandemic story" but rather shallow.
One Italian Summer by Serle, Rebecca
  A bit of time travel. Not too deep . A nice diversion from some of the more serious stuff on this list.
The Magnolia Palace by Davis, Fiona
  Set in the Frick Museum, this features two timelines. and a rather simple mystery. I kept thinking of Nancy Drew (almost) grown up.

Nonfiction:
African Europeans: An Untold History by Otélé, Olivette
 Worth reading.
A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Weidensaul, Scott 
  Ditto
Hand Shadows to Be Thrown Upon the Wall: A Series of Novel and Amusing Figures Formed by the Hand by Bursill, Henry. Originally published in 1859.
  Maybe I'll try some of these--might be good exercise for my arthritic fingers!
 
Picture Books
Weißt Du wieviel Sternlein stehen?   verse by Klett, Getrud J.; illustrations by Lewinski, Anneliese von
  This is a picture book published in 1911. It has also been published in an English translation: When star children play; New York, Toronto, Longmans, Green and Co., 1930.
  
Here's the Wikipedia article on the German children's hymn with the same title: Weißt du, wie viel Sternlein stehen  (has lyrics in German and English).
Here is  a YouTube recording of it:
 
Windchen by Offers, Sibylle (in German)
Prinzeßchen im Walde by Offers, Sibylle (in German)
The Little Princess in the Wood  text by Fish, Helen Dean; illustrations by Offers, Sibylle. (in English) Not a direct translation (for one thing it's not in verse), but it catches the spirit.