October 2018 wrap-up

I spent a lot of time in October putting books aside. I can't even give a count of the number of books I started and didn't finish. I finally had to power through a couple books just to get something finished. And yet, looking at my star ratings, they are quite high. One of my favorite books of the year was the first book I finished this month, Betty Ford, and I read several others that will rank quite high at the end of the year. One-word reviews below are linked to full reviews.

superb

5 stars

amusing

4 stars

 

incomplete

4 stars

 

average

3 stars

simple

4 stars

good

4 stars

enjoyable

4 stars

well-written

4 stars

dark

3.5 stars

uplifting

4 stars

 

charming

4.5 stars

wonderful

4.5 stars

good

3 stars

 

stellar

4.5 stars

cheerless

3 stars

 

excellent

4.5 stars

 

What I'm reading this week (10/29/18)

With my wonderful three-day readcation behind me, I have a lot of book review catch-up to do, so I'm gong to try to make these short and sweet.

Last week I finished:

I absolutely love the Kopp Sisters series, of which Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit is the fourth installment. In this one, Deputy Kopp is working covertly to help a sane woman who was committed to an insane asylum by her husband, but that help just might be a big hindrance to Sherriff Heath who is running for Congress. There's a very unexpected turn of events in this one that sets up a veer in the next books, as America is perched on the edge of World War II. It's every bit as good as the first three, and I hope Amy Stewart keeps with this series for a long, long time. My rating: 4.5 stars.

I've read a half dozen or so of Agatha Christie's mysteries, but I've just found my new favorite. In Dumb Witness, Miss Emily Arundell sends a cryptic letter to Detective Poirot, but it arrives weeks after her murder. There are several suspects, since Miss Emily, a spinster, was of sound resources, and her house was full of guests just prior to her taking ill. Who murdered Miss Arundell--her scheming niece? her immoral nephew? her elder niece who would do anything her husband told her to? her housekeeper who was set to inherit the entire fortune after a fall down the stairs which was made to look like an accident convinces Miss Arundell to change the beneficiaries in her will? her doctor? her cook? My suspicions were correct--at least partly, but I had a blast guessing. Also, the book features a dog who "speaks" to Poirot's friend, Hastings, who is along for the ride, and it's rather hilarious. My rating: 4.5 stars.

I haven't been watching the PBS Great American Read series, but when I bought the accompanying book, The Book of Books, for our library, I decided to read it throughout the month--not realizing the results would be reported this month. I finished just in time! The book features all 100 of the finalists for "America's 100 best-loved novels" with a page of pictures and a full-page narrative including a synopsis of the book and author information. I had a lot of fun with this book, and I plan to buy a copy of my own. I learned a lot about books I haven't read, and loved seeing how books I have read, and especially books I love, are presented. The synopses are well-written, if a bit slanted at times, and always gave enough information without giving too much. Every few books, there was an essay exploring the books in another way, which I found rather contrived and uninspired. My two complaints with the book are that they don't tell you how the 100 books were chosen (if you didn't see the PBS program, you're out of luck), and they don't tell you who the writer of the synopses is, what her credentials are, if she actually read all of the books, etc. There are quite a few books and authors in the list that I've never heard of, and I consider myself quite well and widely read. How did they get there but Middlemarch was absent? Some choices seemed terribly political. Still, overall, it was a very enjoyable ride. Any lover of books will enjoy it. My rating: 4 stars. P.S. If you like spoilers, here are the results.

 

I've been trying this year to read (or listen to) lots of books that are high profile or have won high profile awards. Enter Olive Kitteridge, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Although I'd read that the book was a series of interrelated short stories, I'd kind of forgotten it, and that was a big surprise. This is a hard book to listen to on audio because of that. I often wanted to "look back" and figure out who a certain character was, because I knew I'd met her before, but couldn't remember where. I finally decided I had no choice but to let it go and try to enjoy the book in spite of being in the dark, but that kind of defeated the purpose of having interrelated stories forming a novel. At any rate, I can see why many folks loved this novel. It wasn't poorly written, and the characters were unique. But this one just wasn't for me. There were only a few characters that I enjoyed, and one of them was decidedly not Olive Kitteridge. There was also an awful lot of swearing, which was only more pronounced on audio. So, I guess I'd say the book is worth your time if you want to read an award winner, but it really wasn't my cup of tea. My rating: 3 stars.

I just love Garrison Keillor's Good Poems anthologies, the third of which is Good Poems, American Places. While I'd thought this was my least favorite of the three, I'm not so sure they wouldn't score as a three-way tie, in retrospect. If anyone asked me for poetry book recommendations (no one ever does...), I'd hand them one of these wonderful anthologies and not give it another thought. There is nothing flashy or pretentious about the poetry Keillor chooses for his collections. The poems are solid and smart and sometimes funny, but never difficult for the sake of it--which is the thing most people, myself included, hold against poetry. This book collects around 400 poems about America, her various regions (Midwest, West, etc.), snow, the ocean, and the people you encounter along her highways. It's a wonderful collection, as good as his others. My rating: 4.5 stars.

I saw this sweet-looking book, Meet Yasmin, on Amazon while ordering children's book for our library's collection. I'm always interested in how authors are writing new female characters for children, so this piqued my interest. This is the starter book in a whole slew of Yasmin books that all came out on the same day this August. Yasmin is a Pakistani-American (though you don't know her nationality until the back of the book, as I remember) little girl who likes to explore, likes to be creative but has performance anxiety in art class, and loves to dress up in her mother's fancy clothes. Truth be told, this was a little younger than the children's books I tend to enjoy. I love a good picture book, and I love a good middle-grade reader, but chapter books just aren't my thing--there's not enough there to keep an adult interested, but then, that's not really the point. That was my only issue with the book. If you have a little girl who needs a new series, you might try the Yasmin books. My rating: 3 stars. 

Next up:

 

We'll see if I stick with this one. I'm not sure James Patterson is really my kind of writer, and 500+ pages is a lot if I find that I don't love the writing.

Last week I began:

I've basically read the introduction for both Every Man a King (about American populists) and Ten Poems to Set You Free. I'll get further into these next week.

My new audiobook:

This is a wild card. I've heard Tana French's work is intense, and if it's too much so, I might jump ship.

What I'm reading this week (10/22/18)

I'm home on Readcation the first few days of the week. Never have I needed a vacation from work more, I think. Hopefully the stress I've been feeling lately will slip away. I've got my cozy clothes and blankets picked out, pico de gallo, iced tea, and cheese pizza stocked up. And I am ready to read.

Last week I finished:

You can't go into a used bookstore or thrift shop in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, without seeing at least one copy of Nickolas Butler's Shotgun Lovesongs. Butler (no relation) grew up on Eau Claire, though I never met him, and his books have been met with national acclaim. I'm pretty late to the Butler bandwagon. This was his debut novel, and there have been two books since, with another due out in March. This is the story of five grown friends in tiny Little Wing*, Wisconsin: Henry, a farmer, who married Beth; Kip, who made it big in finance and returned to Little Wing to make the mill into a shopping center/gathering spot; Ronnie, a retired rodeo rider, who suffered brain damage in a drunken accident, so he no longer drinks, but neither is he as dim as folks believe; and Leland, who made it big time with his music. The book is mostly an interplay between the personalities, and the chapters are narrated by the five characters in turn. In the book, most of them get married, and it works out for a couple of them and not at all for others. I was delighted by the mention of many classic Eau Claire landmarks that no longer exist. Overall, the book is rather quiet and somber. I tend not to be a fan of books with mostly male characters, but I'm glad I put my prejudice aside for this one. The writing was very good, though occasionally a little too "writerly" (too many "verdents" for a farming crowd), and the characters were well-fleshed. I really did enjoy the book, and the audio, which has different people doing each character's narration, is very good. I recommend this one, and I'll definitely be checking out Butler's other work. My rating: 4 stars.

*As far as I know, there is no Little Wing, Wisconsin. I can't find it on any Wisconsin map, although I can't find my tiny hometown on any Wisconsin map, either.

The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-time has been on my TBR for quite some time, and I had access to it in several formats. I started it on Kindle, then decided to read it in paper, due to the many pictures and diagrams. I can't really imagine listening to this one and losing out on the visuals. Since I'm the last one to the party on this title, I'll give just a short synopsis: Christopher is an unusual boy; he exhibits what most would call autistic behavior, though it's never labeled as such in the book. When the neighbor's dog turns up dead and he is implicated, Christopher sets out to clear his name and solve the mystery. Although this is touted as a mystery novel (and I think Christopher himself describes it that way), it isn't, at least no more than any other novel. So the very thing that drew me to the book turned out to be false. The book is the story of a disassociated young man from a very troubled family. It's so full of drama and disturbing family situations that I'm rather surprised it was such a big hit. I think the main character is well-written--the author worked with children like Christopher at one time--but the whole novel was disturbing enough that I don't think I'd ever return to it. I thought it was fine, but it wasn't great, and I could never decide which thing the plot wanted to focus on: Christopher's abnormality or Christopher's dark home life. I think the book would have done better with only one of these. My rating: 3.5 stars.

I can't tell you how many books about books I've read in the last 20 years. It all started with Anna Quindlen's How Reading Changed My Life and Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris in the late 1990s, and it's grown from there. These books are like candy to readers--sweet, and gone in a flash. Enter Anne Bogel's new I'd Rather Be Reading. It fits in well with the reading memoirs that came before it. It's personal and fun and pleasant. Bogel, who blogs at Modern Mrs. Darcy and has a wonderful podcast, What Should I Read Next, where she helps readers find their next reads, is just plain fun to read with. My only complaint is that the book wasn't longer! Recommended for fellow bookworms. My rating: 4 stars.

One of my favorite movies is The King's Speech about Lionel Logue who helped England's King George VI, father of the current queen, get over his stammer so he could confidently address his subjects. Sometime after the movie came out, however, Logue's grandson, Mark, set out to write a companion book to give more information about his grandfather, and the book by the same name was published in 2010. Although the book has been on my TBR for ages, I was always a bit hesitant to read it because I love the movie so much and it's just kind of weird to read a book based on a movie. I was afraid it would be boring. I needn't have feared. The book was a delight. It didn't get bogged down with unnecessary details, and it gave a clear view of the friendship--based on correspondence--between the king and his speech therapist. I believe the movie presents the relationship beginning as the king is taking the throne after his brother's abdication in order to marry "that woman" Wallis Simpson, the book tells us they started working years before when the king was Duke of York. I liked this book very much, and the audio version was good. It began with a recording of the king giving an address, so you could hear his voice and lack of stammer--though he did speak exceptionally slowly. If you're a fan of books about the English monarchy, don't miss this one. My rating: 4 stars.

I love a good decorating book, as you know, and I really enjoyed The Decorated Home by Meg Braff. It didn't have a lot of insipid decorator speak, and I actually picked up a couple of hints, which I unfortunately don't remember right now. There is a profusion of blue in this book, and it's scant on kitchens and bathrooms, but the full-page photos are wonderful. If you're looking for some inspiration without the verbiage, give it a try. My rating: 4 stars. 

Last week I abandoned:

This one was just not a good fit for me on audio. I quit very early on.

I'm currently reading:

This is wonderful, my favorite Christie mystery yet!

And I continue with:

Now that I only have two evening reads going, I feel like I'm making progress. Still enjoying both very much.

My audiobook:

Had I not already abandoned oodles of books this month, I'm sure I would have abandoned this one. I don't really care for it, but I'll stick with it just to finish something.

What I'm reading this week (10/15/18)

Last week I finished:

I looked into Rush after seeing it on Modern Mrs. Darcy's website, and after hemming and hawing, I finally bought a copy. I tend to enjoy stories set in the South, and that's what sold me on it. The story focuses on a fictitious sorority at Ole Miss and the struggles of various characters to belong, in one way or another. There are past decisions and hurts to be overcome, racism to address, and a community of 400-some girls to keep together. When Miss Pearl, the housekeeper of the sorority house for the last 25 years wants to move up to the job of House Manager, the snooty, moneyed, House Corp President tells her she isn't qualified (which is literally true). The girls band together to make some changes. I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It's long (about 400 pages), but it's a fast read. Its tone is rather light though it addresses some big issues. The writing is good, nothing superfluous. While the characters are good, they are a little 2-D. The good are too all-around good, and the bad are too evil. This grew more and more annoying, but it never really stopped me from enjoying the reading experience. The setting of Ole Miss almost served as another character, which I loved. Knowing what I know about campus politics, and being attuned to the national discourse on race, I did feel that many of the plot points are much too simplistic and rather idealistic. But all in all, this was a nice, fun read, with a strong sense of community and a message about our next generation moving us forward. If you're sick to death of social justice-themed books, you'll probably still like this one as it isn't too preachy, and pretty much everyone agrees on everything. My rating: 4 stars. 

Speaking of social justice, I happened into buying and immediately reading a Kindle copy of The Other Wes Moore. I'd been interested in the book since it came out in 2010, but it took me these eight years to get around to reading it. This is the nonfiction account of two black boys named Wes Moore who grew up in the same rough neighborhood but ended up living two wildly different lives. One ended up in prison for armed robbery, the other became a military veteran, Rhodes scholar, and White House fellow. Neither really had advantages over the other and both were raised without fathers, but one escaped and one was consumed by violence, drugs, and street life. The book gives the biographies of both boys (the author is one of the Weses), alternating between the two. It often got hard for me to follow or remember which was which, until they got older and their paths diverged. The book was told with warmth and impartiality. Where it failed was in bringing everything together. The question every reader will ask is "what was it that made the difference for one Wes Moore and what was it that doomed the other?" Our author doesn't really want to touch that question, and while that can spur good discussions, having no one to discuss it with, I was left with a "ho hum" feeling. We can all identify the problems, but until we are able to identify the solutions, we're bound to live in a repeating cycle of violence, drugs, gangs, and incarceration. Who better than a veteran of that environment to give us some clues? I know that some inner-city kids prosper and some perish--and that it's not due to luck that some get out--but I wanted to know why from someone who lived it. I do wish the author would write a more in-depth analysis of the issue. I'd welcome that. Perhaps his more recent book, The Work, is what I'm looking for. My rating: 4 stars.

I'm always looking for good books to listen to on audio. I can't remember where I first heard about Dear Mrs. Bird, but I quickly added it to my audio TBR. Emmy wants to be a journalist war correspondent covering World War II, and when she lands a job at a newspaper, she thinks she's on her way. What she's really landed, however, is a job reading letters to old-fashioned Mrs. Bird for a women's advice column. She is told to discard any letter that touches on anything unpleasant--and she's given a long list of what constitutes unpleasant. But Emmy wants to help those women, girls her age who are in difficult situations hoping for some advice, so she takes to secretly answering some of the letters, and even covertly publishing some of her replies under Mrs. Bird's name. This book failed me in a couple of ways. First, although the book is billed as being about the letters and the replies, that's less than half of the plot. The literary world does not need another book about the World War II air raids over London and the mortal consequences of it. I thought I was getting a WWII story of another stripe, but I got the same rehash. It wasn't a bad rehash, but it certainly wasn't anything new, either. Secondly, Emmy's replies to the letters are never shown in the book. Why would I care that she replied unless I knew how she replied? (It is totally possible that a reply was included in the book and it was so bland and unmemorable that I listened right through it.) Lastly, I absolutely detest it when books try to drum up feminist outrage. Real girls and women are being raped, beaten, tortured, sold, and denied human rights all over the world, that's what we need to be getting outraged about. I refuse to get outraged that during World War II women didn't want to respond to other women's letter about getting knocked up by a soldier she barely knew, or whatever. I'll save my outrage for something a little bigger. Frankly, it wasn't a bad book, but following so many stellar WWII books, it wasn't good enough to stand out--and I think it was mis-marketed. My rating: 3 stars.

Last week I abandoned:

I was looking SO forward to reading The Bride Price, but after getting about 50 pages in, I just decided it wasn't for me. Something about the tone, I think. I wanted to learn more, but it felt too negative, not quite personable enough, and poorly paced. It's like the book didn't quite know what it wanted to be.

And I finally settled on:

I'm enjoying this one, which has been on my TBR for months and months.

My nighttime reads:

 

 

I'm still enjoying all of these, though it is one too many. The decorating book is getting short shrift.

My audiobook:

You can't walk into a bookstore or thrift shop in Eau Claire, Wisconsin without finding multiple copies of this book. I finally picked up a copy, then decided to listen to it instead. It's wonderful. I'll post a review next week.

What I'm reading this week (10/8/18)

Last week I finished:

Biographies are very hit or miss with me. I either end up loving it or hating it, with very little gray area. But I trust Lisa McCubbin from her wonderful collaborations with Clint Hill in books like Mrs. Kennedy and Me and Five Presidents, which are two of my absolute favorite books. And my trust was not misplaced. I loved every word of her latest book, Betty Ford. Biographies can so easily be stale and boring, or almost worse, impartial, but this book was so fresh and lively and balanced. I frankly wasn't terribly interested in Betty Ford before this book, other than my baseline curiosity for learning more about any first lady. And this read reinforced the importance of trying things, because you can never be wonderfully delighted by a book if you never pick it up. Here, McCubbin tells the story of Betty Ford's life, including her dancing career, her marriage to Gerald Ford, raising four kids while her politician husband was seldom present, becoming Second Lady and then First Lady after the disgrace of Nixon's last years in office, campaigning for her husband, her support of the ERA, her battle with breast cancer, her addiction and recovery from prescription drugs and alcohol, the establishment of the Betty Ford Center, and the death of her beloved Jerry. It was quite a journey, and she was quite a remarkable woman. What struck me most about Betty Ford was her strength, her good humor, her ability to change, her willingness to attempt hard things, and how healthy the Ford marriage was. This felt like a whole picture of Betty Ford, with nothing suppressed or downplayed, and likewise, nothing touted too highly or blown out of proportion. It was honest and respectful without being a fawning love letter. McCubbin had the support of the Ford children when writing the book, and was not asked to remove anything before publication. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in American history, first ladies, or just strong women with flaws and tremendous grace. I loved this one, and I cried when it was over. My rating: 5 stars.

James Herriot, English country veterinarian in the 1930s (and beyond), captured his tales of animals and the humans who love them in a series of books published in the 1970s. All Things Bright and Beautiful is the second in the All Creatures Great and Small series. I liked this installment just as much as the first. I listened this this on audio, and it really is a performance that way. The country accents are fun, and you really get a sense for the place where Herriot and his characters hail. The stories are a mix of humor and poignancy that is just irresistible. They're well-told and likely a bit embellished (no one knows that many odd folks or has that many remarkable interactions). If you enjoy stories about animals or stories about people, and especially if you need fresh breath of a read, pick up one of Herriot's books. I don't think you can go wrong. If you're sensitive to scenes of live animal births, be forewarned that there are some. He's frank, but never gruesome. My rating: 4 stars.

 

This week I'll finish:

 

I'm so glad I bought a copy of this book. I was wonderfully surprised.

 

 

My Kindle read:

Another good surprise. I'll finish this one this week and put up a review next week.

Last week I began:

This is a re-read for me. It's very good.

My nightly reads:

 

I'm enjoying all of these, but I currently have seven books going, and that may be one too many ways to be splitting my attention.

My current audiobook:

I just started this, and it's a good, relatively light story. More on this one next week.