July 2017 reading list

Well, the year is half over. How's your TBR list doing? I feel like I haven't made much more than a dent, but I think that's the deception created when one adds things to their TBR faster rate than one can read things from it. At any rate, I have a disproportionate number of long books left to read, and I'm trying to clean a few of those up this month. Also, I'm on a mission to read the books I want to read when I want to read them, so I have a couple of those on my reading list this month, too.

Here's what I plan to read in July...

Nonfiction & Memoirs

I'd had another book chosen for my "big" book this month, but I decided against it. It seemed too heavy--and not in a good way. So, I subbed in Anna and the King of Siam. Ever since seeing Anna and the King of Siam (I still haven't seen The King and I), I have wanted to read the book. So I borrowed a first edition copy from the library where I work (the only way to go, am I right?), and I'm ridiculously excited to begin. I don't know how to categorize this one; maybe fictionalized biography?

I've been in a memoir kick this summer, and I'm excited to read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, about growing up in South Africa, as well as Richard Ford's Between Them, about the author's parents.

 

How to Read Literature Like a Professor has been on my radar since it came out in 2014, but just recently I added it to my list. The very next day, Anne Bogel talked about it on her podcast.

And I have been trying to fit in Anne Lamott's newest, Hallelujah Anyway, more writing about faith. Lamott becomes unbearable in years where the right wing controls the presidency, so I'm stealing myself for this one.

 

 

Fiction

One of my goals for the year was to re-read Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I thought high summer might be just about right for this one.

I've been meaning to get to Everyone Brave is Forgiven since the day it came out, so I'm finally going to tackle it on audio.

I'll also be listening to the third in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Morality for Beautiful Girls.

 

 

Poetry and "Other"

I have owned Poems to Read since it came out in 2002. I'm guess I'm such a rebel that when a book tells me to read it, I resist for 15 years until it's my idea.

I'll also be reading vol. 3 of the Ms. Marvel comics series, Crushed. Unfortunately, I've waited so long that I don't really remember what happened in vol. 2.

 

 

What are you reading this summer?

What I'm reading this week (7/3/17)

Very seldom do I read a book that I just don't know what to do with, don't know my feelings about, and am not sure how to describe or categorize. But Rules of Civility happens to be one of those books. First of all, I read this on audio, and while I enjoyed the audio--the narrator's voice was low and serious and deliberate--I think I would have been better off reading this in paper. I would have had a better bond with the characters and would have been more able to savor the writing, because if this book is one thing, it's well-written. Plus, I would have been able to mark favorite passages, and I really missed not being able to do that. This is one of those books that I love because the plot is secondary to the characters and the writing. In essence, it's about a group of friends, Katey, Evelyn, and Tinker, and their New York society lives during 1938. There's a fair amount of casual romance and a lot of booze. Both of those things turned me off. I didn't love any of the characters, but contrary to my usual reaction, that didn't seem to matter. Amor Towles excels in setting up scenes, creating completely fleshed characters, and presenting his reader with a slice of life in which nothing much happens, other than people live and breathe and fall in love and feel things deeply. You either love that or don't, I imagine. I fell in love with Towles' second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, for these very reasons. And while I didn't enjoy the subject and setting as much here, I think I fell in love with Rules of Civility, too. This is one I'll definitely re-read some day to get to the bottom of my feelings for it. I think it's worth a read, if you're on the fence, if nothing else for the wonderful writing. My rating: 4 or 4.5 stars.

And then there's My Life with Bob. My feelings about this one were not ambiguous or complicated. I didn't care for it. Or, actually, I didn't care for the first three-quarters of it. I tend to love books about books, but there are several books of this genre that I just don't like (I won't name any names). I think what makes or breaks a book-about-books read is how well it straddles the memoir-slash-bibliography line. This one leaned so heavily on memoir that I wasn't sure it should really be called a "book about books." Normally, memoir is one of my favorite genres, but I found this memoir SO self-important and arrogant it turned me off. It just seemed to me like a platform for Paul, the editor of The New York Times Book Review, to tell about her fantastic life abroad. She'd mention what she was reading while she was living in France or London or Thailand, but she hardly ever put the books first. Perhaps it's a problem of expectation, which I pin squarely on the publisher, because I thought this was going to be about reading and books and Paul's BOB (Book of Books) journal. She introduced us to Bob but never told us what exactly she records there (title and author only, is what I came to assume). In my opinion, Bob became a cheap prop for her travel memoir. So there's that. Also, there's this: don't most readers track what they read? Is this special? I've been keeping my own version of Bob since the mid-1990s, and I've been writing reviews since before I started blogging. This doesn't seem extraordinary to me. But most importantly, I found Paul to be so self-absorbed that I almost abandoned the book. But then, the last quarter of the book or so was about being a wife and mother, and she seemed to have mellowed out her conceited tone a bit, and seemed to become more generous. But that wasn't enough to save it for me. At the same time, I did find the book inspiring, because although she doesn't tell us how much she reads, she does drop titles, and it's a good list of classics (old and modern), making her what most folks would call "well read" though I kind of detest that term. I left the book wanting to up my game a bit with my own reading. But this is just one reader's opinion. You might love the book and not hear the tone that made me so cranky. Just go in knowing it's less about books than it is about the author. My rating: 2.5 stars.

Last week I started:

Last week I was working on my 2018 reading goals (yes, I'm THAT girl), and I got so excited about a goal to read modern classics that I decided to start right away. Since most of my 2017 goals have been met or are almost met, I've decided to begin this goal the last half of 2017 and continue it into 2018. My definition of modern classic is basically anything that was famous in its day but may not be read in college lit classes today. But I also have some more recent stuff on the list like The Poisonwood Bible that everyone seems to agree you "have to read."

The first book I chose for this goal is Margaret Landon's Anna and the King of Siam. This is the fictional biography of Anna Leonowens, the English schoolteacher to the King of Siam's (Siam is now Thailand) 70-some children in the mid-1800s. This book is what the movies Anna and the King of Siam, The King and I, and Anna and the King were based on.

Last week I began:

 

I'm enjoying Anne Lamott's Hallelujah Anyway, which is a collection of essays on mercy (and not a single jab at the political right yet).

I'm also loving Richard Ford's Between Them, a memoir of his parents. It's one of those quiet, contemplative books that I just adore.

And I began my new audiobook, Everyone Brave Is Forgiven. While I think it's a great story and is well-written, I'm not sure it's the right fit for me. It's one of those "it's me, not you" things. I can see why most people love this book.

 

 

This week I continue with:

Finding some gems in Robert Pinsky and Maggie Dietz's collection Poems to Read. I especially love the charming introductions to poems by readers.

 

 

June 2017 wrap-up

I'm always surprised when I get to the end of the month and look back at what I read. The first book I finished always feels like months ago. I read a couple books this month that might very well end up on my Top Ten of 2017 list (Beartown definitely will be). I read about Rome, birthing lambs, ice hockey, and Osage Indians. My one-word reviews are linked to full reviews below.

*****

outstanding

***

average

*** 1/2

lovable

***

typical

****

absorbing

***

solid

**

gross

*** 1/2

friendly

**** 1/2

near-perfect

***

good

 

**** 1/2

well-written

 

** 1/2

self-centered

 

 

Be sure to check back for my July reading list next week!

 

 

 

What I'm reading this week (6/26/17)

Last week I finished:

I feel like I cut my reading teeth on memoirs, especially memoirs written by middle-aged women who had been through it all. Folks like Anne Richardson Roiphe and Alix Kates Schulman, and the brilliant Anna Quindlen. I loved reading about the life I was about to embark on--marriage, motherhood (or so I thought), a writing career (or so I thought)--from the other end, a life lived. Amy Dickinson falls into that category, too. I loved her The Mighty Queens of Freeville about moving back to her small hometown to raise her daughter alone. Her latest, Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things, is the continuation of that story. Her daughter is off to college, and she finds herself falling in love with a local man with four daughters of his own. She talks about blending the families, becoming a stepmom, and losing her beloved mother. It's in turns wise and searching. She's an advice columnist ("Dear Amy"), so she knows the conventional wisdom on the situations she finds herself in, not that that always helps one. This is a well-written book. She writes in a straightforward, honest way, and you get to know and like the "characters" in her life. I am especially drawn to small-town life stories, having grown up in the smallest small town you can imagine. If felt very real. I found myself nodding along with the stepmom chapters. How I could have used what she knows now 15 years ago! Also, I must add, the newlyweds "wait" until they're married. How refreshing. My rating: 3.5 stars.  

How I long for another full-length Calpurnia Tate novel. I don't know if another one is on its way, so I have to be happy with the recent chapter book series. While I like these books (I've read two; a third is due out this fall) they don't hold a candle to the fully-fleshed full-length version (The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate). They're fun for the younger set, and the illustrations are wonderful, but they aren't nearly as interesting for the adult crowd. At least, that's my assessment. The first one was about a skunk; Counting Sheep was about sheep (and a wounded butterfly makes an appearance), and the next will be about an owl. Calpurnia is a young scientist (a "girl vet") at the turn of the last century--when it wasn't considered ladylike nor proper for a young girl to be interested in such things. It's a nice series, but I'm still waiting for another novel. Of course, I'm not the intended audience. My rating: 3 stars.

I was late to the party on the Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Cannot See, and while you really can't be too regretful about such things, I do regret not knowing what a wonderful writer Anthony Doerr is. I loved that book, and his memoir, Four Seasons in Rome, seals my affections. This book is about Doerr's year in Rome on a writing fellowship. He and his wife pack up their baby twins to live in Italy for a year, not being fluent in the language, not really knowing what to expect. While there, Pope John Paul II dies, and Rome becomes the site of the "biggest funeral in history." The book is written in a polished-up diary form. There really aren't any chapters or divisions, one entry leads to the next to the next, which makes it compulsively readable. His writing and imagery is beautiful. He's a master observer, and sometimes funny (like when he goes to the local grocery and asks for "grapefruit sauce"), and it's just such a pleasure to be along for the whole journey. If you love travel memoirs or "stranger in a strange place" memoirs, this is one you have to check out. My rating: 4.5 stars.

  

 

Last week I started:

My last book to read this month is My Life with Bob, a reading memoir by a woman who has kept a notebook of what she's read (a Book of Books: "Bob") for nearly 30 years. How I love books about books.

I also got a jump on my poetry read for next month: Poems to Read.

 

This week I'll finish:

It took me a long time to come around, but I think I love Rules of Civility. More on my complex feelings next week.

 

Top Ten Tuesday (series)

This week the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish are asking for the top ten series we want to start, but since I can't think of a series I want to start, I'm listing ten series I'm in the middle of. There's something so satisfying about finding a book you like and knowing there is a whole string of books just like them waiting for you. I'm far from finishing most of these, but they are all series I am actively continuing with, usually at the rate of a book per year.

Link up your post here.

 

I'm on book 4 of the Flavia de Luce murder mysteries series. These are cozy books set in England in the 1950s, and the protagonist is a precocious little sleuth with a penchant for chemistry and poisons named Flavia de Luce. I adore these books. The audio books are delightful, too. A ninth Flavia book is due out in January 2018.

 

I'm on book 5 of the charming Mitford series by Jan Karon. There are 10 books in this series, and the series is complete. These books are about the folks living in the Carolina mountain town of Mitford, especially the Episcopalian priest, Father Tim, and his family.

 

I'm on book 3 of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I'm not normally one for books set in Africa, but I've fallen in love with Mma Ramotswe. She runs the best detective agency in Botswana. The 18th book in this series is due out in November of this year.

You know I love history books, and I really enjoy Bill O'Reilly's Killing... series. Killing England, which I believe is the seventh and final installment in the series, is due out this September. The books are fast-paced and well researched. I always learn something reading these books. This is the one series I'm caught up on!

I've read several Agatha Christie novels in the Hercule Poirot series, and this year I tried my first Miss Marple mystery. I think I'll continue with these books, my next likely being The Body in the Library.

I've just begun a new mystery series, having finished Louise Penny's Still Life last week. This is the first of 13 books in the still-active Chief Inspector Gamache series set in the quaint Quebec town of Three Pines. Book 2 is A Fatal Grace.

 

Last year I challenged myself to read a book about art, and I chose 50 Paintings You Should Know. I followed that up with 50 Artists You Should Know, and I've bought two others in the series: 50 Modern Artists You Should Know and Impressionism. There are many other titles in the series. I find them informative without being too lofty or difficult or boring--perfect if you want to know something about art, but don't want to know everything about art.

I've read both middle grade children's books about Calpurnia Tate, a girl scientist at the turn of the last century. There is also a series of three (more to come?) Girl Vet chapter books in the series. I'm on the second of these, Counting Sheep, and the third, Who Gives a Hoot?, will be out this October.

 

I'm on book 4 of the delightful Clementine books. Clementine is very much like Olivia and Eloise of the beloved picture books. Clementine always means well, but she's a handful. These books are so sweet and so funny, I just can't resist them. I believe there are seven books in this series, and it is finished.

By the same author and illustrator of the Clementine books, comes the new Waylon! series. This is some crossover here (Clementine makes an appearance in the series). The second book (shown above) is out on October.

And there are several series that I'm stalled on, like the Anne of Green Gable series, the Penderwicks series, the Harry Potter books, and the Little House on the Prairie series. I may continue, but I may just cut my losses. 

What are your favorite series?

What I'm reading this week (6/19/17)

Last week I finished:

I probably need to get into another series like, as my mother would say, I need a hole in my head, but I've added another to my plate. (Check back tomorrow for a post about the various series I'm reading.) I'd head a lot about the Louise Penny Chief Inspector Gamache series, now on book 11, I believe, especially from Anne Bogel, who loves the books. I'm always up for a good mystery, so I thought I'd try the first book and decide from there. I'm told, again by Anne, that the series doesn't really take off until book 4, which seems like a lot of investment, but after the first book I think I'm willing to wade through a couple lesser titles to get to the really good stuff. Book one, Still Life, is the story of the death of a well-liked elderly woman in the woods of the quaint Quebec town of Three Pines. Was it a hunting accident or was it murder? And if it was murder, which of her neighbors or friends had the motive? This was a simple, straight-forward mystery. There were no real twists or turns, no bombshells, just a couple red herrings. Where Penny shone was not necessarily in the crime aspect of the novel, but in the characters and setting of the novel. The characters felt real, the dialogue wasn't bad, and the pacing was perfect. The book never lagged, but it never sped too fast and left its reader behind. The crime was not grisly, so those who avoid murder mysteries because of blood or gory detail, needn't worry. I was surprised by the amount of swearing; there wasn't a lot, but I was expecting none, and indeed, the plot wouldn't have suffered had there been none. Also, there are a number of crass homosexual jokes told by a gay couple that made me make my "blech" face. Bottom line, though, I liked this one enough to continue with the series, which is a recommendation in itself. My rating: 3 stars.

I don't know how to review Sharon Olds' Odes. I have been reading Sharon Olds for years; she's always been one of my favorite poets. I was expecting a book of odes like Pablo Neruda's famous Odes to Common Things, where he writes about socks and tomatoes. I really should have known better. I think you'll have to check out the table of contents on Amazon to get an idea of exactly what you'll find in this one. As far as I'll go is to tell you these poems are by and large odes to sexual organs, sexual acts, bodily functions, and other unmentionable things. While Olds' poetry has always contained pockets of this kind of poem, here was a whole book of them, one after another. It kind of made me sick to my stomach. I had a hard time appreciating the poems, the skill, or metaphor, because the subject matter was so coarse. To follow up a collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning poems (Stag's Leap) with this was shocking. And that's the thing: I felt like the collection was going for shock value. I didn't like this, and I can't imagine ever rereading it. My rating: 2 stars.

 

This week I'll continue with:

I'm still loving Four Seasons in Rome. I've had a hard time reading it while listening to the news lately, though, because the news has been so captivating.

I'm liking Counting Sheep, but still hoping for another full-length Calpurnia Tate book soon.

 

 

My audiobook:

My current audiobook is Rules of Civility, and while it won't overtake my love of A Gentleman in Moscow, I can appreciate that Towles is a masterful writer. His plots are thin, but his characters are robust. He doesn't write about big events, but the books pull you helplessly along anyway.  

 

Next up:

I've been debating which of the two June reads that I have left would be next, but I think I've decided on Amy Dickinson's Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things.