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| Some really good covers this month. This one captures the spirit of the book. |
Lots of sisters this month (the first six novels in the list below) in varying degrees of light and serious reading. I enjoyed all six.
Also this month gave me three books from three different mystery series. I enjoyed them but don't especially want to follow any of these characters but I might pick one when I'm in the right mood. Flavia could be very annoying, the California/Scotland Last Ditch crew were fun in a small dose, and Sharon McCone is mildy interesting.
Fiction:
Shanghailanders by Min, Juli
Shanghailanders by Min, Juli
Three sisters, lots of money
Tehrangeles by Khakpour, Porochista
Four sisters, lots of money, covid-19 defiance, Kardashian wannabes.
One Big Happy Family by Day Jamie
Three (possibly more) sisters, an inheritance, murder, and more.
The Other Side of Disappearing by Clayborn, Kate
Two sisters, not much money, two podcast (true crime) journalists, one missing mother, a road trip.
A Good Life by Grimaldi, Virginie; translated from the French by Serle, Hildegarde
Two sisters, not a lot of money, clearing out a beloved grandmother's home, set in Anglet, France
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce, #1) by Bradley, Alan
Two sisters, maybe money, maybe land poor, country house, English village, mystery.
Hop Scot (A Last Ditch mystery Book 6) by McPherson, Catriona
Set in Scotland.
Circle in the Water (Sharon McCone #35) Muller, Marcia
Set in San Francisco and other Northern California locations.
No Two Persons by Bauermeister, Erica
A book comes into the lives of nine different persons in these interlinked stories.
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Mishima, Yukio; translated from the Japanese by Nathan, John
Coming of age in Japan. A short book but not an easy read.
Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Segal, Francesca
A woman travels to a remote island in search of her father. A fun read.
The Heart in Winter by Barry, Kevin
Lame Irish western
The Berlin Letters by Reay, Katherine
I enjoyed this one that spans the time from the night the Wall went up to the time it came down.
Ninetails : nine tales by Mao, Sally Wen
These stories are tied together by the Angel Island Chines immigrant experience and by the spirits of the Asian fox and ghost women legends.
Contents:
The haunting of Angel Island : Arrival. Love doll ; Beasts of the chase
The haunting of Angel Island : parts 2-3. Turtle head epidemic ; The fig queen
The haunting of Angel Island : parts 4-5. A Huxian's guide to seduction revenge immortality ; Thegirl with flies coming out of her eyes
The haunting of Angel Island : parts 6-8. Lotus stench ; The crush
The haunting of Angel Island : departure.
The History of Sound: Stories by Shattuck, Ben
More linked stories, these set in Northern New England.
Contents: The history of sound -- Edwin Chase of Nantucket -- The silver clip -- Tundra swan -- August in the forest -- The journal of Thomas Thurber -- Radiolab: "Singularities" -- The auk -- The children of New Eden -- Introduction to The Dietzens: searching eternity in the North American wilderness -- Origin stories.
Nonfiction:
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Dench, Judi; O'Hare, Brendan; illustrations by Dench, Judi
A memoir told in a pleasant interview style.
Into the Amazon: The Life of Cândido Rondon, Trailblazing Explorer, Scientist, Statesman, and Conservationist by Rohter, Larry
Good biography of a man we should have heard of.
Dragon Hoops by Yang, Gene Luen; color by Pien, Lark
A non-athletic (dare we say nerdy) high school teacher learns to love basketball.
Snacks for Dinner: Small Bites, Full Plates, Can't Lose by Volger, Lukas
Why not? But is it a snack if it takes a lot of planning and prep?
Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Nguon, Chantha
Not snacks. This is refugee fare, comfort food (when available), and hunger.
The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts by de Hamel, Christopher
Nice to read about these obsessive people but a bit more detail than I needed. Still, it was a pleasant slog. Even though the library let me renew it twice I still had to skim a bit to get it returned in time.
Contents: The Monk: Saint Anselm; The Prince: The Duc de Berry; The Bookseller: Vespasiano da Bisticci; The Illuminator: Simon Bening; The Antiquary: Sir Robert Cotton; The Rabbi: David Oppenheim; The Savant: Jean-Joseph Rive; The Librarian: Sir Frederic Madden; The Forger: Constantine Simonides; The Editor: Theodor Mommsen; The Collector: Sir Sydney Cockerell; The Curator: Belle da Costa Greene.
The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi by Upholt, Boyce
This was slightly better than just ok. I would have liked a good bibliography of the "suggested further reading" type.
by Andrew Coletti July 1, 2024
Film by Adrienne Murray & James Brooks; Executive Producer: Camelia Sadeghzadeh
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