For me, books and trips just go together. They are a mutual aid combo: the books enhance the trips, the trips enhance the books. The books fall into several classes:
1. Books acquired specifically for the trip
Guide books
Books to read in transit
Rest time reading
2. Books acquired during the trip
Local color fiction or non-fiction
3. Books acquired after the trip
To fill in the blanks
4. Sometimes there's the book that made me want to take this trip in the first place.
5. And the books read long before the trip that come back to mind during the trip.
What is selected depends on the purpose of the trip: tourism, relocation, family stuff.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
September 2015 Reading
Bunches of library books this month. A mixed bag, several really good, some so-so, and some I just couldn't get into. Other than the one at the top and the four at the bottom, they are listed in no particular order.
Prodigies: a novel; Gorodischer, Angélica; Sue Burke (Translation)
A short book with long, complicated, beautiful sentences. All about a boarding house and its residents. I loved it!
Library book.
The Gods of Tango; Robertis, Carolina De
I keep changing my mind on this one: three or four Goodreads Stars? I liked it, but did I really like it? I enjoyed the story, Italian immigrants in early 20th Century Buenos Aires, with music and some LGBT elements. Maybe there was a little too much background information on some of the minor characters. It seemed to be filler and made those characters seem like they would be more important to the the story than they turned out to be. So it's three stars on Goodreads, maybe 3 1/2 on LibraryThing.
(one week later-the more I think about this, the better I like it. upping to 4*)
Library book.
The Incarnations; Barker, Susan
Another one I'd put between three and four stars.
(one week later-the more I think about this, the less I like it. 3*)
Library book.
A Sudden Light; Stein, Garth
Gothic, ghosts, coming of age, some surprises but mostly predictable. An "OK" to "good" read.
Library book.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs; Dicks, Matthew
Like the book above (A Sudden Light) this is an inter-generational story with a teenager being oh so much cleverer than his/her parent. Uh, sure. And the grandparent? marginalized.
Library book.
Alys, Always; Lane, Harriet
I read this, Lane's first novel, because I really liked Her. I wasn't disappointed. This one also features a scheming woman, though Frances is not quite as venomous as Nina, the protagonist of Her.
Library book.
Did You Ever Have a Family; Clegg, Bill
four or five stars?
Library book.
Black-Eyed Susans; Heaberlin, Julia
Another serial killer, another book I couldn't put down. Told in alternate then/now chapters by a victim that survived.
Library book.
Rubbernecker; Bauer, Belinda
An offbeat crime novel with an unusual "investigator" --Patrick Fort, a medical student with Asperger's Syndrome. Happy to see that I can get Bauer's other books from the library.
Library book.
The Debt of Tamar; Dweck, Nicole
Not sure why I'm lukewarm on this historical/present day novel. From the Spanish Inquisition, to the Ottoman Empire, to occupied Paris, to Israel, to modern day Istanbul, to a New York cancer ward. Too many notes, played unevenly?
Library book.
The Little Paris Bookshop; George, Nina; Simon Pare (Translator)
A bit predictable and sentimental but a pleasant, gentle read.
Library book.
Terrific collection!
Library book.
Swim Back to Me; Packer, Ann
Good collection of stories set in Northern California. Some are connected.
Library book.
A Paris Affair; Rosnay, Tatiana de; Taylor, Sam (Translation)
Eleven stories about infidelity, most told from the wronged wife point of view. Some wit, some irony, a lot of "getting even." Toward the end of the book it became as tedious as a stale affair. Gave it two stars.
Library book.
Fortune Smiles; Johnson, Adam
I skipped and skimmed and didn't like a single one of these stories. I was about to give up on it when it was long-listed for the National Book Award. I decided to give it another try, still didn't find anything to like.
Library book.
The beautiful bureaucrat : a novel; Phillips, Helen
Don't remember how far I read, maybe three chapters. Not interesting.
In the language of miracle; Hassib, Rajia
Got about a third of the way through--didn't care for the writing style. Frustrating.
Book of numbers : a novel / Joshua Cohen.
I do want to read this, but just couldn't give it the time it deserved. Will get it again.
A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories; Berlin, Lucia; Stephen Emerson (Editor), Lydia Davis (Foreword)
The ones I finished
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights; Rushdie, Salman
Like all the books listed below, it is from a local (Connecticut) public library.
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights; Rushdie, Salman
Yes! this is the book I wanted to read!
And I'll read it again.
I much prefer the US cover (left) to the UK cover (right).
Like all the books listed below, it is from a local (Connecticut) public library.
Prodigies: a novel; Gorodischer, Angélica; Sue Burke (Translation)
A short book with long, complicated, beautiful sentences. All about a boarding house and its residents. I loved it!
Library book.
The Gods of Tango; Robertis, Carolina De
I keep changing my mind on this one: three or four Goodreads Stars? I liked it, but did I really like it? I enjoyed the story, Italian immigrants in early 20th Century Buenos Aires, with music and some LGBT elements. Maybe there was a little too much background information on some of the minor characters. It seemed to be filler and made those characters seem like they would be more important to the the story than they turned out to be. So it's three stars on Goodreads, maybe 3 1/2 on LibraryThing.
(one week later-the more I think about this, the better I like it. upping to 4*)
Library book.
The Incarnations; Barker, Susan
Another one I'd put between three and four stars.
(one week later-the more I think about this, the less I like it. 3*)
Library book.
A Sudden Light; Stein, Garth
Gothic, ghosts, coming of age, some surprises but mostly predictable. An "OK" to "good" read.
Library book.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs; Dicks, Matthew
Like the book above (A Sudden Light) this is an inter-generational story with a teenager being oh so much cleverer than his/her parent. Uh, sure. And the grandparent? marginalized.
Library book.
Alys, Always; Lane, Harriet
I read this, Lane's first novel, because I really liked Her. I wasn't disappointed. This one also features a scheming woman, though Frances is not quite as venomous as Nina, the protagonist of Her.
Library book.
Did You Ever Have a Family; Clegg, Bill
four or five stars?
Library book.
Smaller and Smaller Circles; Batacan, F.H
Billed as the first Philippine crime novel, this is a procedural featuring two Jesuit priests. One is a forensic anthropologist, the other is a psychologist. I really liked this although the subject matter was disturbing--serial killer of young boys.
Library book.Black-Eyed Susans; Heaberlin, Julia
Another serial killer, another book I couldn't put down. Told in alternate then/now chapters by a victim that survived.
Library book.
Rubbernecker; Bauer, Belinda
An offbeat crime novel with an unusual "investigator" --Patrick Fort, a medical student with Asperger's Syndrome. Happy to see that I can get Bauer's other books from the library.
Library book.
The Debt of Tamar; Dweck, Nicole
Not sure why I'm lukewarm on this historical/present day novel. From the Spanish Inquisition, to the Ottoman Empire, to occupied Paris, to Israel, to modern day Istanbul, to a New York cancer ward. Too many notes, played unevenly?
Library book.
The Little Paris Bookshop; George, Nina; Simon Pare (Translator)
A bit predictable and sentimental but a pleasant, gentle read.
Library book.
Wind/Pinball: Two Novels; Murakami, Haruki;
Ted Goossen
The Daughters; Celt, Adrienne
Because I'm careful in selecting my reads and am not shy about not finishing a book I don't find interesting, it is rare that I give only one or two stars to a book I've finished. This one got two stars. It was pleasant reading but when I was done I shrugged my shoulders and said "So what?" By tomorrow I won't remember what it was about and by this time next week I'll have forgotten that I read it.
Library book.
The watchmaker of Filigree Street; Pulley, Natasha
The watchmaker of Filigree Street; Pulley, Natasha
Debut novel. Not quite steampunk, but close. Slow going and a bit confusing at times, but interesting characters and situations.
Library book.
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories; Jansson, Tove;
Thomas Teal , Silvester Mazzarella Library book.
Short Stories
Terrific collection!
Library book.
Swim Back to Me; Packer, Ann
Good collection of stories set in Northern California. Some are connected.
Library book.
A Paris Affair; Rosnay, Tatiana de; Taylor, Sam (Translation)
Eleven stories about infidelity, most told from the wronged wife point of view. Some wit, some irony, a lot of "getting even." Toward the end of the book it became as tedious as a stale affair. Gave it two stars.
Library book.
Fortune Smiles; Johnson, Adam
I skipped and skimmed and didn't like a single one of these stories. I was about to give up on it when it was long-listed for the National Book Award. I decided to give it another try, still didn't find anything to like.
Library book.
The ones I returned to the library unfinished
(three I will pass on and two I will get again)
(three I will pass on and two I will get again)
The beautiful bureaucrat : a novel; Phillips, Helen
Don't remember how far I read, maybe three chapters. Not interesting.
Girl Waits with Gun; Stewart, Amy
I just kept thinking "Speed it up, speed it up!" and finally I gave it up. Maybe some other time...but probably not.
In the language of miracle; Hassib, Rajia
Got about a third of the way through--didn't care for the writing style. Frustrating.
Book of numbers : a novel / Joshua Cohen.
I do want to read this, but just couldn't give it the time it deserved. Will get it again.
A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories; Berlin, Lucia; Stephen Emerson (Editor), Lydia Davis (Foreword)
I'm
really enjoying these stories. It's a large collection that I want to
read in small doses so it's going back to the library (other people are
waiting for it) and onto my Kindle wish list.
Library book.
Library book.
Thursday, September 03, 2015
August 2015 Reading
Some really good fiction this month
It's hard to say which is best, they are all so different. Do they have anything in common? Yes: Family relationships.
Killing Auntie; Bursa, Andrzej; Wiesiek Powaga (Translation)
Restless Polish student relates (unreliably) the the dark tale of killing his aunt and the difficulties of disposing of the body.
Personal copy.
Confession of the Lioness; Couto, Mia; David Brookshaw
The Indian; Gnarr, Jón; Lytton Smith (Translation)
Childhood memoir of Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician (mayor of Reykjavik).
Personal copy.
If I Fall, If I Die; Christie, Michael
A
young boy tries to break free of restraints imposed on him by his
agoraphobic, over protective mother. Set in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Free advance review copy from the publisher.
The Marriage of Opposites; Hoffman, Alice
Love
and family intrigue among the 19th Century Jewish population on the
island of St. Thomas. The story of the family of French impressionist
painter Camille Pissarro.
Library book.
No. 4 Imperial Lane: A Novel; Weisman, Jonathan
An
American student in England takes a job helping with the care of an
elderly paraplegic. The patient's sister tells the story of her life as a
Portuguese doctor's wife in colonial Africa.
Library book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good, but not as good as the ones above
The House of Hawthorne; Robuck, Erika
A novel, told in the first person, about Sophia Peabody Hawthorne and her marriage to Nathaniel Hawthorne. It crosses the fine line between romantic and sentimental and at times the pair seems a bit sappy. Sophie suffered from migraine, so do I and I sometimes have a difficult time reading about it. It is presented realistically here and made me empathetic toward Sophie.
Library book.
Under the Persimmon Tree; Staples, Suzanne Fisher
Personal copy.
Circling the Sun; McLain, Paula
This is a novelized biography or, rather, autobiography of the early life of aviatrix Beryl Markham. A rather sanitized version as can be expected in first person narratives. The voice is non-judgmental, she just tells it and doesn't often question her own morals. Probably pretty true to the way she saw herself.
Library book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some short stories
In Another Country: Selected Stories; Constantine, David
Incredibly beautiful writing. Wish I owned this. It may be one of those rare occasions when I buy a book I've already read.
Library book.
Moments of an Explosion: Stories; Miéville, China
A mixed bag--I really liked some of these, bit some were a bit too weird for my taste.
Library book.
The State We're In: Maine Stories; Beattie, Ann
I was a little disappointed at first, bit then the characters started reappearing and I really got into it. These must be read in order.
Library book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some non-fiction
King John and The Road to Magna Carta; Morris, Marc
Not much here that I didn't already know, but well told. Sort of a refresher course for me.
Library book.
Saturday, August 01, 2015
July 2015 Reading
Two from British Library Crime Classic series (published in the USA by Poisoned Pen Press):
The Notting Hill Mystery; Adams, Charles Warren
Antidote to Venom; Crofts, Freeman Wills
I read Crofts' The Hog's Back Mystery (also from this series) last month and enjoyed it. This one had a unique presentation, a little slower read, but an interesting read. The Adams book was more traditional. Am liking this series, hope to read more.
<---- a sample of the cool cover designs.
Free advance review copies from the publisher.
Some family stories:
Bonita Avenue; Buwalda, Peter; translated from the Dutch by Jonathan Reeder
Another dysfunctional Dutch family (think Tirza by Arnon Grunberg and Herman Koch's The Dinner and Summer House with Swimming Pool).
Library book.
A Spool of Blue Thread; Tyler, Anne
Anne Tyler delivers again. Her families are also dysfunctional, but much less violent.
Library book.
Love May Fail; Quick, Matthew
Liked this, but it didn't stay with me as much as his The Good Luck of Right Now stayed with me.
Library book.
Dystopian (sort of):
The Gracekeepers; Logan, KirstyThe future where there is very little land and a lot of water. This one is magical fantasy, with a floating circus. I was reminded (in a good way) of some of the stories in Ben Marcus' Leaving the Sea.
Free advance review copy from the publisher.
Find Me; Berg, Laura van den
Sometime in the future, a mysterious illness has decimated the USA. First half of this book, set in a questionable research hospital, was superb, The second half, telling about the adventures of one of the patients who walks away, was a bit of a mish-mash that didn't make much sense to me. Still, I'd like to read some of Berg's short stories.
Library book,
Speaking of short stories:
Toronto Noir; Armin, Janine (editor)From the Akashic Noir series. I'm getting quite a collection of these nifty anthologies. My daughter selected this one for me with the comment that she chose it because she "never thought of Toronto as a noir kind of place." Akashic is ably demonstrating that noir knows no boundaries.
My personal copy (Kindle edition which has been to numerous waiting rooms in the six months it took me to read it,)
Tales from a Mountain Cave: Stories from Japan's Northeast; Inoue, Hisashi; translated from the Japanese by Angus Turvill
Linked short stories based on folklore. Interesting.
My personal copy
The Book of Istanbul: A City in Short Fiction; Gürsel, Nedim (editor); various authors and translators.
A very good anthology set in an intriguing city.
My personal copy
Two So-so Historical Fictions
The Price of Blood (The Emma of Normandy Trilogy, #2) Bracewell, PatriciaA real slog to get through this. I didn't read the first book (nor will I read the third), but this one can stand alone.
Free advance review copy from the publisher through Goodreads First Reads Program.
The Tiger Queens: The Women of Genghis Khan; Thornton, Stephanie
Less of a slog but not my favorite read. I liked it better than The Price of Blood. Could be that it held my interest because I'm less familiar with the time period of Gengis and company than I am with the era of Queen Emma. Also, Thornton is the better writer.
Free copy from the author through a blog win.
And one very good one:
(Maybe I should skip this genre for a while? but the next one can be considered historical fiction and I really liked it.):Villa America; Klaussmann, Liza
The lost generation in the south of France--all (Hemingway, the Fitzgerald, Picasso, Dos Passos, Monty Woolley: that old crowd) behaving badly and gossiping about the ones (like the Porters) who are absent.
Free advance review copy from the publisher.
Did not finish, or, life is too short:
Mañana; Hjortsberg, William
Drugs, murder, guy on the run searching for his missing wife....should be exciting, but I got bogged down by a lot of boring, unnecessary detail.
Free advance review copy from the publisher through Goodreads First Reads Program
Free advance review copy from the publisher through Goodreads First Reads Program
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
June 2015 Reading
No comments for any of these. All good for different reasons. These past couple of months it's been all about the reading, not the writing and reviewing.
The Alphabet House; Adler-Olsen, Jussi; Steve Schein (Translation)
The Alphabet House; Adler-Olsen, Jussi; Steve Schein (Translation)
Free Advance review copy from publisher
The Sage of Waterloo: A Tale; Francombe, Leona
Free Advance review copy via Goodreads First Reads program
Shame and the Captives; Keneally, ThomasLibrary book
Blackbird; Wright, Tom
Library book
Alexandrian Summer; Goren, Yitzhak Gormezano; Yardenne Greenspan
Personal copy.
The Sunken Cathedral: A Novel; Walbert, Kate
Free Advance review copy via Goodreads First Reads program
The Hog's Back Mystery: A British Library Crime Classic; Crofts, Freeman Wills
Personal copy.
All That Followed; Urza, Gabriel
Free Advance review copy via LibraryThing Early Reviewers program
The Palace of Illusions: Stories; Addonizio, Kim
Library book
Ticket to Childhood: A Novel; Ánh, Nguyễn Nhật; Will Naythons
Library book
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)