Review 192: A Crooked Tree

A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having a string of 4 star reads lately. 

A summer to remember. This book takes us into the lives of Libby Gallagher and her four other siblings, struggling after the death of their father and mentally absent mother. It’s the last day of school with all of them stuffed into the car heading home. The mother, Faye, and one of the younger sisters Ellen are arguing and about art camp. Having enough Faye leaves Ellen by the side of the road, miles from home with darkness coming on.

As a middle child you can see why Libby took the role of family worrier. She is the focal point of the book, the viewpoint, and we see her world that starts here, at the beginning of summer. While their dad and mom were divorced before he died, they are morning him a year or so later. The mother has a not-so-secret affair going on with Bill, which none of them have met except the youngest as that’s his daughter. The oldest kid, Marie is the mother figure but she’s about to turn 18 and head out on her own. The only boy, slightly older than Libby has been secluding himself in his room like their mother. It’s a fractured family and Libby feels like its on her to take care of them.

When Ellen returns to the mountain where they live, battered up from jumping out of a car, the girls take on the role of trying to fix this. Libby doesn’t want adults involved, she keeps things from people, fearful of the reactions and results. She trusts her best friend, but when it looks like she broke their confidence Libby shuns her and their friendship becomes tenuous.

The story has momentum, and you feel the worry thick on the pages. This summer changes the family. The book is set in the early 1980s and you do get that setting, with the bands mentioned, and other cultural backdrops, as well as no cell phones to be in constant contact with each other. It was a different time.

The book isn’t an intense thriller or much of a mystery, instead it is about teens grappling with the family they have, and specifically one teen, adjusting to the world that she inhabits.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 191: At the Edge of the Haight

At the Edge of the Haight by Katherine Seligman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Having visited San Francisco countless number of times over the years (I call it my favorite city in California) I’ve seen the homeless youth that congregate in the Haight-Ashbury area, near massive Golden Gate park. I’ve always wondered what brought them here, what were their stories? And here is one book attempting to answer that question as fictional characters of Maddy Donaldo and her friends, and her dog Root. Root is definitely a character!

While this book is fiction it had truth. The descriptions of the area are accurate, and while reading you feel the cold that Maddy and her friends do. You feel the sleep deprivation and hope that this night, this one time, she can get a full night’s rest. Yet how can you sleep when the cops will rouse you before 4am and cite you or arrest for sleeping in the park? And shelters aren’t much better with everyone crammed into open rooms, the noise and smells. Yet some of these people chose this life, and many, most, do not.

I quickly read this book, ripped through the pages. While the murder aspect gave the book a bit of a plot, it isn’t like a formula mystery or thriller, it’s more of the backdrop.

I liked how Maddy was portrayed, she didn’t seem to know things herself, but was open enough to start to question things, and acted as she needed to. Maddy lived life on her terms, not her friends, not her “boyfriend”, or as anyone else would tell her.

Certainly there are many more stories about the lives people are living outside on the streets. I’m happy to see this book, applaud the author for this topic and hope she writes another book, with other characters or continue the journey of Maddy and her friends.

Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 190: The Center of Everything

The Center of Everything by Jamie Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a complicated book, and the writing style doesn’t help matters. I found it very confusing in the first portion, trying to figure out who were all these characters. People are introduced as if you know who they are right away.

The world is of Polly. She had a concussion months ago, but is still recovering from her injury, sometimes she drifts off, sees things, Polly is consumed by memories of her past. Many of these memories her mother Jane claim are not something Polly would remember but made up from photographs and stories the family told.

This brings us from present 2002 to the past in 1968 when Polly was 8 and it was a significant time in her life. Both settings are in the same family home in Montana. As the past comes forward, and there is another death of significance, a family friend, a young girl who went missing after a day on the river with a group of friends.

The book is very rich with details and imagery. The world is fully developed, and one can see all that is contained, once you get further into the story and settled into the setting. There are loose threads throughout the book that slowly tie together in the end. This is one book where the ending makes up for the difficulties in the beginning.

Thanks to Counterpoint Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 189: Lock In

Lock In by John Scalzi
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

A faced paced police procedural type book set in the future. A pandemic swept the world years ago, and many who contracted the Haden’s virus became locked inside their bodies. Technology was quickly developed for these people; tech implanted in their brain allows the Hadens to interact in a virtual world or inhabit a mechanical body (robot) they called a threep. There is a very small percent of the Hadens people who developed a unique brain structure that allows them to host another person, so a Haden could experience a physical body as well.

The main story is of one Haden, Chris Shane, who starts a new job at the FBI. The first week is insane! It does help to suspend a little bit of belief for the story to work completely. It’s a captivating story although there doesn’t seem to be too much of a mystery as who did it. The question becomes more, how did it happen and why.

One of the main features of the book is the main character is not gendered. It didn’t seem awkward one bit with the writing. If you listen to the audio book, you chose which gender you want to narrate. I read the print book.

This is a first in a series, so far of only two books, plus a short prequel. Not sure I want to dive in that deep with the prequel, but I’m up for another book in the world.

Review 188: The Colour

The Colour by Rose Tremain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This historical novel is set in the mid-1800’s, a newly married couple with his mother emigrate from England to New Zealand. They are a slightly older couple but determined to start a new life. Harriet wanted to leave being a governess, while Joseph Blackstone had to leave. We discover early on his mother was also joining them due to the untimely, and embarrassing, death of her husband that left her with nothing but debts. In this new land they homestead and try to become a family.

We soon find out Joseph keeps too many secrets, even when he finds gold dust in their river. Soon the gold fever is sweeping New Zealand and Joseph must go to the latest site on the other side of the mountains. Harriet by this time is happy to have her time alone, still longing for her adventure.

The book drew me in but slowly became less soothing than it started out. And there is part where it was just odd, magical realism you could call it, with the neighbor boy and a native person, Pare. They became connected and the boy knew things he shouldn’t.

I enjoyed Harriet’s character and the neighbor’s, the Orchards (Toby, Dorothy and the boy Edwin). It took nearly a day to reach their house, so calling them neighbor’s may be stretching it, yet the land was nearly empty. It felt like accurate descriptions of a mining camp. One thought I kept having was, how much money did Joseph have? It seemed like he kept spending money when he had none.

Review 187: Ninth House

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here’s a book I wouldn’t normally pick up and read, and when I first started reading it took a while to get into the story. I was very tempted to put the book down, but somewhere along the way I was fully into the story and wanted to know what happened.

The main character, Galaxy Stern, known as Alex, can see dead people. They are called greys here. Magic is real and many other oddities can happen in this world, and some very gory and gruesome acts as well.

Alex has been given a second chance, her life has completely changed when she takes the offer, a unique opportunity to enter Yale as a freshman and a Dante in the Lethe the Ninth house. Lethe is the guardians of the other eight houses to make sure the magic they perform and yield is kept in line.

Alex’s freshman year doesn’t go anything like a normal year for a first year student, or even a Dante. A murder takes place and Alex ends up deeply involved in trying to solve the case.

The book became the feel of a mystery, who did it, and what was the motive. This is where I felt the story really took off for my enjoyment. The rest of the world building was explained enough already and the characters more solidified.

There are some themes that were teased at in the book, most were not addressed instead brushed aside, yet one or two were more front and center. Perhaps some of those themes would be addressed in a more satisfying way in the next book.

Note: I received a free copy of this book at a library conference. I was not required to write a review, but felt like it and, of course, the above opinions are my own.

2020 Year in Review: Summation and Statistics - facts and details

2020 Year in Review post will be about the numbers.

Books read: 105

including 6 partial read books.

This is slightly down from last year.  This year brought such great changes. I always thought more time at home would mean more reading time, well the pandemic and working from home proved that thought as incorrect. I lost my commuting time, which was spent reading books, print or eBooks if I was on the train, and audiobooks if I was driving. My commute is roughly 3 hours per day (1.5 hrs each way) and this is a large amount of time that was mostly spent with books. While working at home there was more television time, and at times I just couldn't ignore the noise and succumbed.  I also changed jobs, slightly, and this new job meant more learning time, more time reading for work, and less time with audio books while working. All in all I'm surprised I ended up with 99 books completed.  

My goodreads account shows a lower number completed as 97. The difference is with the two books I did not want to add to my public account. Gotta keep some things as mystery. Why, what is it? Well, such as one was a reference book about growing plants. See it's boring.

I listened to 48 audio books. Some of these are not included in the number above since a few were more like podcasts, or short stories, things free from Audible. This year they added a huge catalog of books that could be listened to for free without purchasing, but I have yet to take advantage of listening to any of these. 

All in all a good amount of reading and listening did get done, despite the less time spent doing it. One thing I did do more consistently with audio books was turn up the speed. I'm usually now listening at 1.25 times the regular rate. Even with the upped speed I believe I read faster than the time it takes for an audio books.

I had 3 goals for 2020, and all I did achieve.  

1 - net gain of books to zero

2 - listen to all audio books bought in 2019

3 - read at least 48 books from my owned TBR (to be read)

With no in person library conference my gain of new print books was very low. I did acquire a few pre-pub books through the mail, but not like the haul I get at library conferences. I did buy some books, as usual, most being audio books, but also some print and eBooks.  For what I took off my owned and to read list to newly acquired books I had a net LOSS of 2 books.  I believe this is the first time ever, at least as long as I've been tracking things, which is ten years or more, depending on how you want to count it.  I've been actively on Goodreads since 2011, so this will be my tenth year. I joined in 2009, but hardly had any activity for the first two years.  I also used to keep a spreadsheet of my books, which was never completely done, and prior to that I had my own card file, which also was never done. Still using these methods I didn't fully track what read to what I bought. I more closely tracked what I read starting around 1996. But back then I wasn't tracking what I bought...anyway.....

2021 goals: 

1 - net gain of books to zero

2 - read all the NetGalley books acquired in 2020 (35 books)

3 - read at least 48 books from my owned TBR (to be read)

4 - read at least 5 books checked out from library

Some of the books on the to read pile I'd like to read:

• 1492: The Year the World Began
• 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
• Yale Needs Women
• People of the Longhouse
• Uncommon Carriers
• Fire & Blood 

2020 Year in Review

 Some thoughts on the books I read during 2020

Some of my favorites over the year. The list got a bit long, but that's okay. A few of the books I didn't write a review when I finished the book, which now I regret. I'm always trying to balance writing something and just moving onto the next book. Also, what do I say? I used to only write a few things about my own thoughts for future me, then other people read the notes, so I try to have a more typical review. Anyway, I do struggle with it, and being a completionist with everything I read.

Surprises and favorites:

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus - unfortunately didn't write a review for the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It changed my thinking about how many people lived in the Americas before westerners came. There was a lot of detail known about people who lived in the area of Peru. Plus the Amazon area, how it was transformed and made to help support huge numbers of people living there. Great book. 

The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication - by John Steinbeck. Loved the humor.

Greenwood - love the latest few books about trees. (2019 favorite 

The High Divide - Enjoyed this more than I expected

The Lions of Fifth Avenue - actually enjoyed this more than I expected. I know the setting seems like it would be a favorite, but the author's writing I found in earlier books as okay, not great. This one swept me away.

The Book that Matters Most - again, it would seem like I'd enjoy this, but I expected it to be a bit cheesy and sweet. It wasn't that and I found it quite pleasing. Perfect book for the beginning of the pandemic. Another book I should've written a review about. But it was a crazy few weeks!

The Autobiography of Malcolm X - finally read this book. I probably had it for 30 years. Wow it took me a long time to get to it. Glad I finally did. Watched the movie again afterwards. 

Becoming - How could this not be on my list of favorites. I listened to Michelle Obama narrate the book, and perfect. A well told story.

I could go on...

Disappointments:

Hayduke Lives! (Monkey Wrench Gang, #2) - Awful!  His last book and he knew he was dying and it is full of racial slurs and all the characters are driven by sexual desires. I was sorely disappointed. 

My Struggle: Book 4  -  I like this book in the series the least. I still rated the book fairly high, but overall wasn't at the same level as the first three. Still have two books to go. No plans to read the next one right away. Will consider when returning to work building and the pandemic is over. For now, no new library print books for me.

 The Fortress of Solitude - Another book I've had for years and years. I picked it up as the stay at home orders began with the pandemic, seemed like a fitting title. Well, of course, the book had nothing to do with current situation and it ended up being a reference to the Superman comics. Overall the book was a slog, long and somewhat boring really. Maybe would've been best to have not read it. I think I had other ideas of what it was about when I first bought it too. Oh well, it's read and off the bookshelves.

I started the year with a bit of a theme on women, such as the classic Feminine Mystique and the more modern A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s. The plan was to continue with this theme but then the pandemic hit. I was in mid-read with Rebecca Solnit's latest work, Recollections of My Nonexistence. It was too tragic for the time we were entering. I do plan on going back and finishing, perhaps in 2021 even though the pandemic is still raging it has become something we now live with as part of our everyday. We also have hope in sight as the vaccines are being rolled out. 

Another slight theme began with Native Peoples. I will continue with that into this year.