Other Women's Stories: What I'm reading this week (8/27/18)

I have way too many reviews to post this week, so I'm going to try to keep them short.

Last week I finished:

As you know by now, I'm a huge fan of the Flavia de Luce mystery series by Alan Bradley. I just finished book six in the series (there are nine, with the tenth coming out in January), The Dead and Their Vaulted Arches, and this one was a little different from the ones before it. Because the plot focuses on a more personal issue (Flavia's long-lost mother returns to Buckshaw), the book's murder doesn't really get dealt with until at least two-thirds of the way into the book. I feel uncomfortable telling you much more than that in case you've not reached this point in the series and plan to. It's much better to let it unfold, I think. (How's that for a non review?) This one was just as enjoyable as all the others, in my opinion, but then, I think Flavia can do no wrong. May she never grow up! My rating: 4 stars.

I also finished the second in Homer Hickam's memoir trilogy, The Coalwood Way. (Read my review of the first book, Rocket Boys, here.) These books are simply wonderful, if a bit sad. Hickam has a storytelling ability that is almost unparalleled. I can think of only a handful of other memoirs I enjoy as much as his--and I've read boatloads of memoirs. In this second installment, Hickam (called Sonny) writes about his late high school years when he and his friends are still building their rockets but are also looking toward the not-too-distant day they graduate and leave Coalwood, West Virginia. But there's more going on than this. The mine, where Hickam's father is superintendent, is involved in a risky venture that will either make or break the town. Sonny's mother is increasingly dissatisfied with her life in Coalwood. Sonny can't quite determine what it is that strikes him with bouts of melancholy, so he sets out to analyze it scientifically. Sonny's strained relationship with his father gets worse. A girl who only ever wanted to belong gets her wish in the worst way possible. And Sonny comes through to make his last Christmas in Coalwood a memorable one. Also, Chipper the squirrel runs away. It's set in the late fall and winter, so it's cozy and atmospheric. Hickam, I believe, isn't above embellishing and rearranging the facts of the past to make a good story (read my review of Carrying Albert Home for proof). Some of his stories seem a bit "tall," but for some reason that doesn't really bother me because everything comes together so beautifully. Some might call these books poignant, and some might say they're hopelessly sappy and sentimental, but I can't wait to get my hands on the third book. My rating: 4.5 stars.

It's been a long time since I've read a very traditional memoir, the kind I used to read by the truckload when I first discovered the genre. Lynne Cheney's Blue Skies, No Fences, was one of those straightforward memoirs I cut my reading teeth on. Here, Cheney, the wife of former Vice President under George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, tells about growing up in Casper, Wyoming, in the 1950s. She sets forth the details of her grade school and high school, including the various teachers who influenced her life, Homecoming, prom, clubs, the football team; talks about her family, parents, and the atmosphere of her home; talks about the fun trappings of the 1950s like the music, television shows, and the like; and she discusses her baton twirling competition days. It's a very personal memoir, and while most wouldn't find it terribly interesting because of its mundane nature, I found it entertaining and readable. There's nothing flashy here, just a good representation of post-war life in the west. My rating: 3 stars.

I listened to the sixth in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies last week. This one was a bit different in that it didn't involve many of Mma Ramotswe's agency's detective cases. There wasn't a lot of mystery here like the books before. This one was perhaps more plot-furthering than the others. Mma Ramotswe finds an intruder in her house, and the next day, curiously, a pumpkin on her porch. Mma Makutsi, her assistant, takes up dancing classes and meets a man. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni takes on a new apprentice when one of his flakes out on him. Also, Mma Ramotswe is confronted with a secret from her past. I enjoy this series so much. The books are often concerned with moral dilemmas and the tension between traditional values and modern practices, as well as the future of Botswana. I liked this one as much as the rest. I always listen to this series because the narrator is so wonderful. I highly recommend these on audio. My rating: 4 stars.

And, last but not least, one of the books that's been on my TBR list for the longest, though it's one of the shortest, Ruth Reichl's For You, Mom. Finally. This is a short book that serves as a daughter's biography of her mother. If you've read Reichl's foodie memoirs like Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples, you'll be familiar with her mother. I read these books so long ago I have only vague memories of her larger-than-life tough-cookie mother who served moldy food to guests. This book is meant to be a balm for the sometimes harsh way Reichl dealt with her mother in her earlier books, but it certainly doesn't handle anything with kid gloves. There's something about the frank tone of the book that just turned me off. I found it disrespectful and depressing. Her mother was not a happy woman. She felt like she never got to do what she wanted to do, always pulled between the traditional female role of wife and mother and the need to be her own person. She was a complicated person who dealt with mental issues, so it's hard to know when the mother is talking and when her disease is. She comes off as very kooky, and I found myself wishing Reichl would have just left well enough alone. This never got around to being a tribute to her mother. In short, I didn't like this one. I'll be donating my copy because I have no desire to return to it. Some may argue this book has historical significance because it clearly shows what women before second wave feminism felt and suffered, and they may have a valid point, but it was too much for me. My rating: 2 stars.

What I'll be reading this week: