Review 537: The Barbarians are Coming

The Barbarians are Coming by David Wong Louie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't care for this book very much. I put it down and stopped reading for a nearly a week and easily forgot about it, but decided to go ahead and finish. The main character does have a transformation in the end, but amid much sadness. Nearly all of the characters in this book are not likeable.

Sterling Lung, the main character, is Chinese but dislikes his culture, only dating white women and become a chef in the French way, refusing to cook Chinese food.

Things come to a head when his parents have brought over the Chinese girl he is to marry. Sterling has always told them he is not interested, but when he meets her, he becomes conflicted, something about her arouses him. Then his girlfriend, Bliss, who he has been putting off as they now live in different states has become pregnant and refuses to do anything but have the baby. Sterling must decide if he wants to be a father or not.

The book has some well crafted sentences and good writing. The book is about culture identity and connection, family connection. Sterling has always felt disconnected with his father. In later chapters we get the father’s point of view and see his life when he first came to the United States before bringing over his wife and first born daughter. I like his character better than most the others.

I’m happy I stuck with it and finished the book as there was character growth, but overall I found the book meh. This book has been sitting on my bookshelves for over twenty years, so there's that.

Review 536: The Forger's Requiem

The Forger's Requiem by Bradford Morrow
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This was a decent book, but not as good I had hoped. Earlier this year I read a previous book by Morrow and thoroughly enjoyed it and anticipated this one would be at the same caliber but it fell a little short.

Perhaps one reason for me was this is the last book in a trilogy. Yet I did not know this until I finished reading the book. If I started from book one my experience may have been somewhat different.

I did find a few hiccups in the beginning, as there are not clear chapter breaks in the copy I was reading. There were sudden changes in locations and who was speaking in the alternating first person POV. It was jarring until realizing this was the format after a few times of encountering this. Not only are there changes in location, but also the timeline switches around a little. It didn’t make for easy reading. After a while I got it figured out and that settled and the book made more sense while reading.

The book felt like it attempted to be a mystery, but it is not. There was a murder (maybe a major plot point in a previous book?) but the culprit really is known. The main content of the book is also about forgeries. Will and Nicole Diehl are father and daughter and have done forgeries in the past. Will has sworn that off as a way to make a living and has found a legal way to earn a living. Nicole is more of a painter anyway, and only dabbled in forgery as an imitation of her father. Yet their nemesis Henry Slader is blackmailing and forcing more forgeries. Slader is a prominent POV.

I did find it interesting that in the beginning of reading this book I found both sides sympathetic Slader and the Diehl’s, although as the book continues it is clear who is the true villain.

If I didn’t have an already way too long list of books to read I might be tempted to go and read the first too books in this trilogy.

Thanks to the Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy prior to publication.

Review 535: The Stolen Crown

The Stolen Crown: The Secret Marriage that Forever Changed the Fate of England by Susan Higginbotham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This historical fiction takes place in the mid to late 15th century in England, during the time known as the War of the Roses, with the Houses of York and Lancaster trying to gain the throne.

The main character viewpoints are from Katherine (Kate) Woodville and her husband Harry Stafford. Kate and Harry married while being children, Kate being quite young and Harry being three years older, still young himself. These two are also the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham.

The beginning of the book stars with young Kate waking up in the middle of the night to discover a secret marriage taking place in the family church. Her eldest sister Elizabeth, known as Bessie, marrying King Edward IV. After a brief time, the king announced the marriage and brought the entire Woodville family to court. Then marriages were arranged, and this was how young Kate became the Duchess and in a very important position.

The Woodville family and King Edward IV were the House of York, while Harry, Duke of Buckingham came from a family on his mother’s side that sided with the House of Lancaster. This occasionally made him conflicted.

Much of what was described in the book was about who was trying to usurp the throne. There were relations killed as they were seen as a threat, or possibly were plotting against the sitting king. And the kings did change, briefly as Edward IV was sent into exile, then gained back the throne as King Henry VI was briefly back on the throne.

After the death of King Edward IV, his eldest boy would become King Edward V at 12 years of age. His uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, being the named the Lord Protector until the king would reach the age of maturity. Richard ended up having a different idea and became King Richard III.

This part of the stolen crown came late in the book. It seemed odd to me that main event the book was titled after took so long to get to. The subtitle refers to the marriage that came in the beginning. I don’t feel like any of this is a spoiler since it is based on the facts of history.

Since I don’t know British history very well, particularly of hundreds of years ago, this book helped to expand some of my knowledge. There are many areas of fiction in this book: conversations, of course, motives, and describing something that happened, when in history it is unknown.

I enjoyed the book, although the beginning was a little rough for me with all the characters and names, nicknames, titles and such, trying to keep this all straight. I’ve had the eBook for many years (ten), which I referred to particularly the list of the characters which helped. However, I listened to an audiobook which had two narrators, one for each point of view of Harry and Kate and was well done.

Review 534: The Glorious American Essay

The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present by Phillip Lopate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This collection of essays exceeded my expectations. They were in fact glorious. There were only a small few that I did not enjoy, and some were just amazing, absolutely amazing.

One of my favorite essays is a long one by Wallace Stegner (1980): The Twilight on Self-Reliance: Frontier Values and Contemporary America. In this essay he covers with the early start of the Americas, with conquest and plundering of resources; then came the colonists, values and the “new” cheap land. The history of the United States is here comprehensively in this one essay that explains nearly everything. I was absolutely astonished by this essay.

Only one essay per writer, the essays are of varying lengths, a few very short just a couple of pages and several that are over twenty. Included are many, many familiar names, and many that are not. Even with the familiar the essays chosen are not the typical ones found in anthologies.

The book is dense, tiny print hardly any spaces and shrank the book to 900 pages, what a normal printing book might reach 1,500. When I started I quickly realized it would take some months. It did, just over three months for me with fairly consistent reading, but I had expected it to take longer. This book takes some considerable time to get through, but it was worth it.

Review 533: The Street

The Street by Ann Petry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a powerful book! According to the summary this was Ann Petry’s first book, which was published in 1946 and “hailed by critics as a masterwork”. Wikipedia says she was the first African-American woman author to sell over one-million books. So why does it seem like this author is forgotten?

This book takes place in Harlem in the 1940s. A young woman, now a single parent, is trying to make a better life for herself and her child. She's been working too hard, lost her husband to another woman for working too much. Her dad tried to help her but without working and selling home-made whisky wasn't a good environment to raise a boy.

The descriptions are quite detailed. The book opens up with Lutie Johnson walking down The Street looking for an apartment. The wind is bitterly cold and howling. She finds an apartment building, which has dark hallways and dark rooms, but the descriptions are so well written you can see it clearly. She takes it, as this is as good as any she will find, but resolves to move as soon as she can.

Without giving away everything that happens (I've hardly mentioned anything), Lutie is a smart woman, still young and attracts unwanted attention of men. She is focused on improving her situation, but is thwarted at every turn. She blames The Street, she blames the system, she blames whites. And the way the book is written you can’t blame her, nor what she ends up doing. The climax of the book a surprise, but not entirely.

I will definitely look for another book by this author.

Review 532: The Mosaic

The Mosaic by Nina Berkhout
My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars

I plucked this book off my bookshelf not reading what it may be about and quickly realized this is a young adult book. I read YA books sometimes, but I do like to know up front, so that was a bit of a surprise.

The writing style is a bit easier, simpler than an adult book, but some of the content was perhaps not so much. Twyla is a senior in high school, ready to leave her small Montana town. It’s a dwindling town supported by the military base nearby, which when it announces will close means certain death for their town.

Twyla’s plan is to go with her boyfriend to California. He, Billy, has plans to be a chef and Twyla will be there to support him and take photos of the food. Before they graduate the seniors have to put in volunteer service. Twyla ends up with a new program, Save A Vet.

Twyla is paired with a vet not much older than her but, war torn and working on a mosaic art piece in an abandoned missile silo on his family farm's property. Gabriel’s parents have moved, leaving him alone and rely on Twyla for checking in and making sure he’s okay. Seems like a lot for teenager doing 20 hours of volunteer work.

One weird thing about the book, for me anyway, was how many different nicknames Twyla had. Everyone called her something different and often multiple different names. There is some shocking gruesomeness near the end of the book that seemed unnecessary in a way, or could have been minimized a little. But there is violence and racism and other things in the book. I can’t imagine this would be an easy read for a teenager.

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.

Review 531: Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has made me realize I'm not a big fan of stream of consciousness style of writing. And particularly when it moves between various characters.

Review 530: Defending Giants

Defending Giants: The Redwood Wars and the Transformation of American Environmental Politics by Darren Frederick Speece
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

This is an in-depth look at the fight to save old growth redwoods on the California northern coast that are now known as the Redwood Wars. The redwood tree is known by several names, scientifically as Sequoia sempervirens, colloquially as coastal redwoods, California redwoods, or just plain redwoods. Their preferred habitat today is along the coast of Northern California reaching into Oregon. The old-growth trees that were at the heart of the redwood wars are forests and these giant trees which can live for two-thousand years.

With the narrow range of where these trees can grow, which like coastal fog, the 1.3 million acres of area from pre-Columbus days are now down to just 5% of the land. And to save that five percent was a hard fought battle that this book describes.

The main company involved is Pacific Lumber. It was founded in 1863 and was a family company that grew to be one of the largest in the area. The company policy in cutting trees was in a fairly sustainable manner with looking towards long term and generally did not clear-cut groves of tree stands. They were more selective.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way. In 1985 the company was taken over by Maxxam Corporation run by Charles Hurwitz, who was known as a corporate raider and used the Michael Milken junk bonds. (see savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.) This is when the old-growth redwoods became extremely endangered. The plan by Maxxam was to reduce the inventory, i.e. trees standing, in order to increase profits as quickly as possible and clear-cutting began.

In order to make this shorter, let’s just say that didn’t happen, not entirely anyway. The book is detailed in explaining all the various steps and stages that took place during these years. There were many, many lawsuits, activists protests and actions all to raise awareness and save the last standing redwoods from being cut down. Environmental groups, forest plans and government agencies, along with the main environmental leaders are heavily features in the book. Several women took major roles as leaders, which needs to be acknowledged since the corporations, forest service and government were all men.

There aren't any close biographies of people involved, only cursory. Although the car bombing in 1990 of two prominent activists, Judi Bari and Darryl Cherny, does come up several times. It was a major point in the Redwood Wars.

The book is somewhat academic. Darren Speece wrote his PhD thesis on this topic being nearly the same length of this book. Certainly that was transformed into this book. The book comes with extensive section of notes (46 pages), Selected Bibliography (8 pages) and a very long index that is 31 pages.

Review 529: Water, Water

Water, Water: Poems by Billy Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Typically there is a large dose of humor found in the poetry by Billy Collins. This collection does have some of that here, but not to the degree that is usually found. Overall, they are still accessible poems.

There are sixty poems broken into four unequal parts. Many of these poems were previously published in magazines or journals through the years, and are collected here together. I found it hard to find a connecting theme for all of them other than observations about everyday life and surprise, which is fairly typical of his poems.

Another highly enjoyable collection by a past U.S. Poet Laureate.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book.

Review 528: The Forester

The Forester by James Kraus
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I read this book to about the half-way point. I almost stopped earlier, due to major plot holes, but decided to give it more room. Then another farcical moment arrived and after another unbelievable situation that I had to quit this book. The writing style wasn’t very good, but I was willing to overlook that a little, but with all the other problems with the book, no there are much better books out there to spend my time on.

Normally I don’t rate books I don’t finish because I think it’s more me than the book, my reading mood at the time or something. This time it is the book.

I was disappointed this didn’t work out better. The book cover is nice, the title sounds like something I’d be interested in, and the overall content is dealing with the environment. Oh, I didn’t even mention how there was this message, repeating how environmentalists are naïve and misguided in not wanting clear cutting a forest, or wanting wild animals to live.

I’m just glad I got the book for free instead of paying for this. I got it free from amazon back when I had prime and there are free monthly offerings, if I remember correctly.

Review 527: I Hope This Finds You Well

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

I’ve read a few work fiction books; they tend towards satire and have extreme situations that seem quite implausible. This book has a bit of that, particularly of the later, but it also turned out to be more than I expected.

The main character Jolene has extreme anxiety from a situation in high school that dealt with her best friend. It apparently ruined her family as well, and now they live in a different major metropolitan area of Canada. The result is Jolene has trouble with personal relationships, and she has become an outcast at work. Landing in trouble she has to undergo a training program with HR in order to save her job.

What develops is a little predictable at times, but the story was told well enough that it wasn’t enough to turn me off entirely. It has quite a bit of humor but in the end, not as sarcastic as one might expect. I listened to the audio book which was narrated quite well.

Review 526: Dracula

Dracula by Bram Stoker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finished reading this on Halloween, in time to close out October with a spooky read. Generally, I do not like horror books and Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays. But if one was to read a frightful book that is a good season if a reason was needed.

I’ve been exposed to many tales of vampires, mostly on television or movies. I don’t find them horrifying, at least what I’ve seen so far. Since this book is the original I couldn’t be certain this would be frightening, but honestly it wasn’t. It had all the familiar aspects already known to me. I do suspect this might have been somewhat horrifying to the people of the late 1800s, as they didn’t have so much horror media back in those days. One does tend to get desensitized to some extent.

The story itself I found well done, better than I expected for the age of the book. It was told mainly by diary entries from the main characters, along with some letters. There were hints of things that a modern reader one knows the meaning ahead of time. Had the feeling a bit of knowing an inside joke.

I felt the tension was adeptly written and overall, a book well worth the time to read.

Review 525: Rise & Shine

Rise & Shine by Patrick Allington
My rating: 2.75 of 5 stars

A dystopian world thirty years after the catastrophe. A few people found a new way to live and started a new community, two cities one named Rise and the other Shine. They are perpetually at war and this footage feeds their people. Growing plants is now a crime. It's an odd book for sure. Not sure I really liked it, but it was short.

Review 524: Young Men and Fire

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the story of what happened at the Mann Gulch Fire on August 5, 1949. Smokejumpers were a relatively new way to fight forest fires, and were the elite of the firefighters. On that day, the fire turned into a blow-up and killed nearly all of the smokejumpers.

Norman Maclean, a firefighter in his youth and grew up in the area was a bit haunted by that day and all those deaths. He wrote and investigated this tragedy for decades, but the book wasn’t finished, he had a hard time finding his way into the story. Instead it was published after his death.

It story repeats, the actions and what happened are gone over multiple times. There are different versions of what happened, what was in court cases, and what the two remaining survivors told Maclean. The language used was at times poetic, a literary language.

I’d wanted to read this book for a long while. Earlier this year I attended a webinar for the 75th anniversary of Mann Gulch Fire, my desire to read this book, and reminded me I still haven’t read Maclean’s book. Then I saw the unabridged version of the audiobook available but only for another week in the Audible Plus catalog that I was finally propelled to get to this one. I may even have rushed through the ending in order to finish before I lost access to the book.

Review 523: The Prague Sonata

The Prague Sonata by Bradford Morrow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My favorite of the year! At least for fiction.

Should have some thoughts on this...love the way that Prague was written, could actually see that city. I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded, but this is hardly a mystery story.

Review 522: BOOM

BOOM: Oil, Money, Cowboys, Strippers, and the Energy Rush That Could Change America Forever by Tony Horwitz
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a short book. Horwitz traces where the XL Pipeline was proposed to carry the oil from the tar sands in Canada. Starting out in Canada he talks to people who are working on mines in the oil tar sands. Two tons of these sands will produce one barrel of oil, and daily they produce about 3 million barrels a day. That is an enormous amount of sand processed. The size is unfathomable, but Hortwitz does try to describe what the giant mine looks like.

After talking to mainly workers and others, he starts to follow the pipeline location, although it hadn’t been started yet. Most of the people he tries to talk to are land owner who’s land it will be sitting on, and we get their opinion. For the most part people seem to be for this venture, for the jobs and the money it will bring in.

There are some that are completely against it, and Horwitz talks to some of those people too, but there is not a balance. It felt to me that the majority included in this book are for the pipeline for what it will bring. Maybe I didn’t keep close enough track.

This is a journalist travel narrative, with the expected notes on things such as the border crossing and his rental car, along with some other local flavor and experiences.

Review 521: Forty Years a Forester

Forty Years a Forester by Elers Koch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an autobiographical account of Elers Koch who started working as a forester when the U.S. Forest Service begun near the beginning of the 20th century. Gifford Pinchot established the forest service, being the very first chief and perhaps the very first United States Forester. He hired the first group of young men, with Koch being among them, and the only one that grew up in the West.

While the book starts with his early days of growing up and college, there isn’t very much of his personal life, instead it is focused on being a forest ranger. The earliest days were taken up mostly as surveying the forests, drawing up maps then claiming them for protection. Then as inspector. The forest service also handled the logging, determining which trees should be cut and which should stay, so they were involved in managing the forest. And of course, there are forest fires. Several chapters discuss this and are among the most exciting passages of the book when escaping near death from the flames.

Koch occasionally compares how things were done in those early days to now, such as using airplanes and smoke jumpers helping out in fighting the forest fires. Of course his “today” is now many decades ago and things have changed even more. Koch advocated for sometimes not fighting a natural fire and letting it burn as the best way to manage the forest. That was not the policy at the time. Another thing Koch did not approve was in this all-out effort to save the forest from burning, roads were made and developed throughout the woodlands, thus ruining the pristine wide open lands and wilderness.

When the book was originally written in 1949 Koch could not find a publisher. He died before it was published, it took nearly 50 years before the book found a publisher. This is a very readable book and an fascinating account of what it was being a forester over a hundred years ago. Glad this book finally found a publisher.

I listened to the audiobook version but also had access to an eBook which I used to glance through and see the photographs and maps that were included. Those are always a nice addition to a non-fiction book, particularly an autobiography.

Review 520: Big Box USA

Big Box USA: The Environmental Impact of America’s Biggest Retail Stores by Bart Elmore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fascinating look at the big box store model and the environment. It began with Walmart and the rest followed the model. One section of the book is devoted to the big box stores that are outdoor retailers, such as REI, Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops. I wrote a longer review which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Electronic Green Journal.

Review 519: Hum

Hum by Helen Phillips
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



While this book takes place in a not so distant future, it speaks to today and where we might be headed. At the center of the story is May Webb, who we first encounter getting paid for a micro-plastic surgery that will alter her face in such a small way that will evade facial recognition. She and her family desperately need this money.

This future is populated by robots called Hum. They are helpful, do many things, such as the robot conducting the facial surgery. May splurges with the money to take her family on a vacation to stay in the botanical garden for a few nights. Something she feels she desperately needs, nature, a forest. We also sense May wants to find a deeper connection to her two kids, and hopes to get that with this vacation and to ensure that she takes their “bunnies” away from them. (This becomes a major plot point later.) These bunnies are devices attached to children wrists that seem like they are like phones. In this future people are very attached to their phones, much like today.

The writing was good, and found that the kids are very well portrayed. Maybe one of the better portrayals of children I’ve read in a while.

This book tries to address several topics some more subtly than others, such as rich being able to afford to turn off the constant bombardment of advertising; or how mothers are being taken to account for their children’s welfare more than fathers. There were other topics raised but not fully addressed, which leaves these open hanging issues…such as that facial surgery. This glossing over key elements of the book detracted from the overall quality of the book.

I listened to the audiobook, which was well done. For myself I felt this was a better way to read the book, but may not be for everyone. If you do like audiobooks, this may be the way to go for you.

Review 518: Ambrose Bierce and the Ace of Shoots

Ambrose Bierce and the Ace of Shoots by Oakley Hall
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



Having read quite a bit of Ambrose Bierce’s The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary this title seemed interesting to me. Some years ago, I picked it up at deeply discounted used book sale at my local bookstore, that it was practically free. As my usual method, didn’t know what to expect with this book.

First off, it’s a series of titles and this one is not the first, it’s the fifth. So the main characters are perhaps more developed in earlier books of the series. I expected Ambrose Bierce to be the main character, but he wasn’t. Not sure if it’s that way in the series, or just this book. Instead the narrator is Tom Redmond, a journalist for the newspaper Examiner in San Francisco. Bierce also writes for the newspaper a column called "Prattle". They are friends, Bierce does come up in the story, but he’s more of a side-kick in this book. Of course, this is a fictional Bierce modeled from the real person.

Both are sometimes detectives and for this book they are summoned to a case of a murder. During a parade for the Colonel Studely Wild West Show the colonel himself is shot dead. High on the list of suspects is Oswald “Oz” Bird, train robber and recently out of jail for the shootings in Hungry Valley. His ex-wife Dora Pratt is the Ace of Shoots in the Wild West Show and Studley had taken her under his wing. Bird doesn’t consider the divorce to be valid and so has a vendetta against Studley.

The writing was good. The book has a historical feel as this takes place in 1892. Really liked how each chapter began with an entry out of the Devil’s Dictionary.

While the book was enjoyable enough, it wasn’t something I was floored by and want to search other the other books in the series.

Review 517: Shred Sisters

Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

This is a family novel about trying to live with a family member with mental health issues. It’s also about the younger sister trying to cope with having an older sister Olivia, or Ollie, take the parents attention. Amy Shred is four years younger, and gets bullied at school. She doesn’t have friends, but instead she is the perfect student. Amy does better after she convinced her parents to send her to a private school for high school. By now, Ollie is spending her first stint in a mental hospital, avoiding jail for stealing a fur coat and silver spoon worth $60,000.

The story is told through Amy, first in their youth, then young adult days going into her thirties. Days before she leaves for college her parent announce their divorce. By this time Ollie was running around somewhere in the country. The all make a pact to call one or another if she turns up. The dad has money and makes more excuses for Ollie’s behavior, so that is who she turns to the most. He doesn't tell the others, usually.

The book plainly shows how difficult it is for the family members to cope with someone with a mental illness, particularly if there isn’t a medication that helps. Or maybe there is a medication, but they don’t like taking it. And each person is affected in a different way.

Review 516: Old Filth

Old Filth by Jane Gardam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I made a mistake with this book. Typically I do look into the summary before purchasing a book but try to avoid too much of that when about to read a book I own, as I don’t want any spoilers. Often this means the book ends up being something completely different than what I expected. That’s what happened with this book.

I listened to the audiobook and started it, briefly some time ago and based on not knowing with the book was about and the opening, I though this was a MI5 – spy type book. And it put me off the book for a while. Like I said, I was very wrong about that.

What we have instead is a man well into retirement from the law. Sir Edward Feathers and his wife lived in Hong Kong where he became a judge and had an astounding career, made really good money, and impressed many people. They retired back in England in the Donheads, in Dorset. He is fairly secluded to where being his age, most people believe he already died. Unfortunately, his wife had recently suddenly died.

The book is told in current time and with most of it in reminiscences of his past, of his whole life. And this is how we come to understand this character.

It’s a well written book, much better than what I expected. However it is the first book of a trilogy. His wife is the main point of view for the second book, and since her life and very little is really in this one, I’m curious. I may read that. Maybe. I have so many other books already waiting.

Review 515: Rejection

Rejection: Fiction by Tony Tulathimutte
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not a book for me. Can I say I reject this?

Really don't like the style of post-modern/meta books, which this book falls into that category. If I'd known wouldn't have tried.

Review 514: Field Notes from a Hidden City

Field Notes from a Hidden City: An Urban Nature Diary by Esther Woolfson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Quite enjoyed this book about urban nature. The book is more or less in a diary form, with dated entries and contains longer essays as well. Starting off with Snow, to Midwinter, and ending with Into Autumn. The weather is mentioned quite frequently, a main topic. The author lives in Aberdeen, Scotland and weather there can be quite severe and stark.

One striking passage was the description of taking a walk during some strong gale force winds. Not sure why she was out while winds were that strong, maybe it happened suddenly while already out walking.

However, the main discussions in the book are about the small animals around her garden and what is seen when out in the city. These are mostly birds, but a few other small creatures are discussed, such as the squirrels, red and grey. Long essays were devoted to these along slugs and spiders. The compassion for these living beings and their purpose provide a different way of looking at what is typically something grossed out by or frightened about.

Woolfson has had pets in her home, or maybe calling them pets is not quite the right term, but she houses animals that most would not, such as crows and rats, although pet rats are perhaps more common than a crow. Her children had some pets, and as they left the house the pets typically stayed behind.

Her garden is set up to help and encourage the local wildlife, mostly birds, but also encourages other small animals. She feeds the wild birds and helps with providing nesting materials, also houses some a few doves. I did appreciate how the animals she mentioned were always provided with their scientific names. It helped as then one can look it up easily and find what they look like if one wanted a picture. The book contained a few line drawings between sections, which were a nice addition.

Review 513: The Space Race

The Space Race: The Story of Human's Greatest Adventure by Colin Brake, Patrick Chapman and Richard Kurti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 This was a full-production audiobook, blending history and fiction to tell the story of humans and their progress going to space. It is firmly focused on the United States with Russia as the adversary, while in the end being a joint contributor to the International Space Station.

I enjoyed the historical aspect, not so much the fictional portion. It felt displaced and bit hokey to include that. I understand what the authors were trying to do, show where we may go in the far future, but still felt oddly placed with the rest of the book.

Kate Mulgrew was the main narrator and her role was much like a documentary tv show. There were numerous interviews with a multitude of people and voice actors for roles of people who could not be interviewed, such as past presidents or astronauts or scientists who have since died.

Each chapter focused on a specific part of the space history, generally starting with the race to get to the moon. The final chapters dealt with the International Space Station and plans for the future, such as going to Mars. However, this book is already a bit dated as private space ventures were not mentioned other than foreseeing what could happen in the future. Also, nothing was mentioned about Artemis, the plan of the United States returning to the moon, nor any of the other countries who have since gone to the moon. So the book isn’t fully encompassing of human-space ventures.

This was not a quick read for me, as I listened to it off and only mostly when going on road trips. It ended up taking about a year doing it this way. I finally decided to just finish the last bit, not on a road trip. It’s the type of book that it doesn’t matter too much of there are long delays between chapters. 

Review 512: The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner

The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Third book in the series Middle Falls time travel, where the main character starts their life over after a premature death and wakes up sometime as a child. The main character here, Dominick Davidner, wakes up as a nine-year old. Unfortunately, this character was not as interesting as the previous two books main characters.

There’s an occurrence of repetition of scenes from the previous book, which made the book somewhat boring. After that section the book improved slightly. The main character is obsessed with the woman who was his wife in his first life, and thinks he cannot start living begins until they are married.

The lack of character development and growth in this book made it the weakest of the first three books. Which in turn, has me reconsider going any further in the series. There was a tease, near the end of the book about the overall world and this other dimension, that was slightly intriguing. So maybe. Going to wait awhile see if my curiosity develops further.

Review 511: Turning to Stone

Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks by Marcia Bjornerud
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A book that is part autobiography and partly science in the geology field. The book is organized rock types, each rock type being the focus of a chapter and the author fits this into this portion of her life too. Such as, beginning with being a child running to the bus with sand in her shoe leads to sandstone rocks. I liked the format. I found myself connecting more with her life than the science as I'm not that adept with geology. Some of it was too scientific, while other parts were not. A bit of a mix.

There are discussions of some of the controversies over the years, such as the asteroid hit that killed the dinosaurs. The field of geology, such as understanding of earthquakes and volcanoes, is relatively new. It comes with disagreements when knew knowledge doesn’t support the current theory.

There were a few points where I glossed over the areas that got too deep in geologic terms, but a more determined reader would likely glean more if pausing and turning towards other resources to understand the terminology better. Possibly the book would work best for those with some understanding of geology, or a strong interest.


Thanks to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book.

Review 510: Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations

Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations by Sarah Cleave
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very short anthology with seven short stories each from a different author from a different country. These countries all appeared on the "Muslim ban" in January 2017 for the newly sitting United States President at that time. The author countries are: Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Iraq and Yemen.

This book shows that people from around the world are more alike than dissimilar. We may have different customs and beliefs, but we all have same emotions. And same desires, such as wanting freedom to be yourself and not be hungry, be safe.

This was a very quick read, easily read in a few hours. Most of the stories are translations. There is only one story from each country. The book feels way to short.

Review 509: Too Poor to Move but Always Rich

Too Poor to Move but Always Rich: A Century on Montana Land by Jim Sargent
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


One may say this is an obscure book, and appears to be self-published. I ended up getting a copy of this book for free, back when the library I was working for closed it’s bookstore. I got several other books, many of which I ended up donating elsewhere, but this one stayed in my collection. Thought it looked interesting. But it wasn’t very much.

The book has a feel of writing for the author’s family, and maybe friends as well. There is an attempt to place his family’s homestead and living in the larger context of the world, but for the most part is it a focus on his parents and family. They were both from immigrant families, Dad from England and Mom from Norway. They met out on the farming plains and became homesteaders in Montana in the early twentieth century.

There are details for most aspects of life, written in a straightforward way. Perhaps if one wants to know what it’s like living on a ranch before electricity and most modern conveniences this book will give you the details. Along with other family details. One of the later chapters is written by his sister, the only female sibling, all the rest of them were males. Another chapter is written by the author’s niece mostly discussing the final days of the author’s mother.

It wasn’t a bad book, but it would be way more interesting if I knew these people to begin with. Don’t think this book is geared for the wider world outside of that sphere.

Review 508: Traffic

Traffic by Paul Josephson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book in the Object Lessons series took on a serious tone to the subject. The book is of a small size and usually these series books are usually quickly read books.

In looking at traffic, the focus was on safety and traffic calming measure, specifically with the speed bump. It has many different names, one of my favorites is in Russian it is referred to a the sleeping policeman. These roadway bumps can take on several different forms, but they are there in order to calm traffic and speeds. With slower speeds pedestrians and bicyclists can share safer roads. One of the best things about speed bumps are they are very low cost and easy to add to the roadway.

Other safety features in the automobile was discussed, such as seatbelts, interior design changes and airbags, all to make the car safer in the event of an accident. The book did have a leaning towards looking at the regulations of the United States, but other countries were often mentioned. There was a chapter on Brazil and longish one on Russia. The county with the strictish measures of safety does have the lowest number of fatalities per 100,000 persons, this is the Netherlands at 3.9, worldwide the average is 18.

Overall the book does come together as a cohesive unit, but many of the chapters felt like individual essays, somewhat disjointed from one to another. The speed bump was the one consistency throughout.

Review 507: Dust

Dust by Hugh Howey
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

This isn’t really a review of the book, it’s my reading experience…there’s all sorts of reviews already written so didn’t feel like a summary of what happened was necessary.

The first book in this series I had low expectations and was blown away by the book. I read it quickly and enjoyed it quite a bit. The second book took me years to get to, this is why I don’t like series, there can be a long time lag between reading the books and yep, I forgot the details of the book, but not the overall arch. Book two was a prequel type anyway, taking place many, many years before book one.

In any case I didn’t enjoy book two so much. Maybe it was the high expectations after book one. So going into book three I wasn’t sure how I would take it. Turns out somewhere in the middle. I definitely liked it more than the second book, but not nearly as enjoyable as the first. I think there was something unique with the first one and after that none of the other books could live up to it.

In any case, I’m glad I didn’t wait many years, between book two and three. It was nearly a year between these two, but not so long ago that many of the details were forgotten.

I liked the conclusion to this book, it was quite satisfying.

Review 506: Bad Animals

Bad Animals by Sarah Braunstein
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



A woman working at a library is let go. She loved, absolutely loved working at the library. And with her precious daughter off at college and barely contacting her, the library fulfills her purpose. When suddenly jobless and her husband out of town for an extended period Maeve Cosgrove clings to the library. Going over and over what happened, with that troubled teen. 

Then the famous writer that she had sent many letters to in the hope he would come speak to the library, well he agreed and even wants to write his next book based on one of the patrons. Maeve becomes a liaison between him and the writer. 

The book was okay, read mostly during a vacation.

Review 505: Time Squared

Time Squared by Lesley Krueger
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars


A unique concept for a time travel book. At first it was a little confusing; decades would go by but the characters acted as if it was only months. It only became obvious that the world was changing when technology started to change dramatically. Later characters and situations changed significantly as well. It starts, and takes place for most of the book in the 19th century, but doesn't stay there and briefly visits the 16th and 17th century and of course the 20th and 21st.

Our main character is Eleanor Crosby who lives with her Aunt Clara since her father died, who was a minister. It is time she gets a husband. She has a dear friend Catherine. The Denholm brothers are visiting their area, Middleford, Yorkshire and the eldest is the most attractive catch, as the heir to the family castle, while the younger in uniform about to head out to war.

There’s a quite a cast of characters, the above being the most important, and they all seem to reappear in each time line. The book is held as being a romance through the different eras where Eleanor is trying to be with Robin. It is that in a way, but much more.

It’s an uncommon book and the ending does try to provide some reasoning for what all came before, but I was not much of a fan of that. Despite that part I did enjoy the way the book worked and the style of writing. It was an intriguing book.

Review 504: That Quail, Robert

That Quail, Robert by Margaret A. Stanger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A short book written in the mid-60's about a quail that became a pet. An abandoned quail egg hatched and the family attempted to send the quail back into the wild, but it was having none of it. They named the quail Robert and this book is about how its habits and human loving nature impressed many people.

At the time the news of Robert was spread about, made its way into newspapers and even a stint on a network channel. Robert had many visitors, people who loved animals, those of disbelief until they saw the quail, and all other sorts.

The author was not the family parents, instead a friend and nearby neighbor. An occasion came up where the family was going to Europe for several months to attend their son’s wedding, taking a steamer across the pond. They couldn’t take Robert, not leave the bird alone, so the author became the next home of Robert’s. Even during these three months the visitors kept coming.

The book relates Robert’s daily habits and preferences and those times of illness or troubles, rare as they were.

It is an adoring book. I used to live where there were coveys of quail around my yard all the time. I miss seeing them and this book helped fill that small hole, albeit temporarily.

Review 503: Email

Email by Randy Malamud
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This is a short book in the ongoing Object Lessons series. Each book is focused on one topic and the books vary on how the author approaches the subject.

For this book on email the author stayed very close to the subject and made it quite entertaining as well. There was so much humor in this book, it was a delight to read this.

One of the best chapters was called Junk. Yes, it is about that unwanted spam, but written well. That chapter alone was worth the read, and quite short. It’s one of the shorter ones, not quite two pages long.

The author shows bias towards this necessary form of communication, but not entirely likely it. There are many examples of why there is a dislike, such as how easily overwhelming it can be by the immediacy of contacting anyone at any time. He also contrasts to what is no longer done, the writing of physical letters and what was lost in that.

And yet, it seems the goal of the book was to make the reader look at email in a new light. And it did that for me, so I’d say this was a success.

Review 502: The Blue Hour

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a book, quite atmospheric. Set partially on a remote island that is accessible only during certain times of the tides. There are multiple mysteries but are introduced slowly. This is not a quick paced thriller, instead it is nuanced.

The book centers on the late artist Vanessa Chapman. She surprisingly willed all her creative works to the foundation run by Douglas Lennox. He was a sort of patron, and lover, of Vanessa before things turned very disagreeable.

Add in the director of the foundation, James Becker, who came from a working class background and still amazed at his fortune being among the upper class. And Grace Haswell, friend, doctor, and executor of Vanessa’s will, who lives in the house and island left to her. Grace hasn’t been the forthcoming with handing over the art work, her letters or journals, creating more disputes.

The book was well written. I found it hard to put down and just wanted to keep reading until the end.

Thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book.

Review 501: The Redemption of Michael Hollister

The Redemption of Michael Hollister by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not one to typically read series books, but I do have several exceptions. I typically don’t read one right after the other, but this week I did just that. After finishing book one in the series I dived up book 2.

The premise is that the main character is reliving his (or her) life over again, but retaining the information learned from the first time. They don’t start as babies, but when there was an “important moment” when things started to change for them, that's the explanation given for when they are "reborn".

In this book the main character is someone carried over from the first book, who was a significant character, Michael Hollister. He was not portrayed as a nice person, quite the opposite. So it was with trepidation that I headed into this book, with the title that contained the word redemption, well figured things would go differently for Michael this time around. And it did.

The book is on the short side, but still I got through it quite fast. I have the third book ready to go but that will have to wait. Not sure how many of these books in the series I will read, but I will at least do the next one. If the next proves to be as the first two have been, then this series may be another exception for me.

Oh, I actually ended up enjoying this book slightly more than the first one, and I was worried. Go figure.

Review 500: Sugar and Rum

Sugar and Rum by Barry Unsworth
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars


This novel takes place in Liverpool in the late 1980s, written back then as well. Benson, the main character, is a writer and stuck on his latest book. He walks aimlessly about town and strikes up conversations with just about anyone on subjects that are quite odd to discuss with a stranger. Benson sees metaphors and meanings in things that likely are not there and how this relates to him he talks about with anybody.

Benson also has a consulting business helping out other writers, the fictioneers he calls them. There are passages of these fictional writings that he helps to improve and get them unstuck.
After a while the book settles into almost a plot, after Benson runs into an old army buddy. His service during WWII comes into play with reminiscences and reliving some of the anguish.

The book is very solidly about Liverpool, the past as part of Benson’s book he’s trying to write, and also the present, with the results of years of Thatcherism, the city’s decay, the unemployed and disaffected youths with no prospects.

This book is said to be fairly autobiographical. Perhaps Unsworth had writer’s block for the story he wanted to write (about Liverpool and the slave trade) and instead he ended up writing this one, about his war experiences and helping other’s with their fiction work. I haven’t read any of his work before, but he seems like a writer that know his craft.

Review 499: The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver

The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What if you had a chance to relive your life with keeping the knowledge you already have? This is the premise of this book, and series. This first book introduces the world-building, which is not much different than real life.

Thomas Weaver made a mistake one night, the first time he went to a party with his older brother. His older brother got too drunk to drive and Tommy was not quite old enough yet, but he tried to drive them safely home. Instead an accident and his brother was dead. (This happens very early in the story, so not really giving anything away.) This ruins Tommy’s life until he has the chance to do it again.

It's an interesting concept and the writing was okay. The story line was interesting enough to keep me listening and engaged. Not spectacular, but good enough that I’ve already started the next book, because why not?

I’m not usually one that goes for series, but there are some exceptions. I have the omnibus which is the first three books in one edition. That should give me enough experience with the writing style to see if this is one of those series exceptions for me.

Review 498: Kokoro

Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a classic Japanese work of literature, published in 1914. The first part is about the narrator meeting and befriending a man who he calls Sensei. The narrator is a student at a university in Tokyo. Sensei becomes someone he is fascinated by, who was reluctant to open up to friendship. Slowly they do become friends and when prodded Sensei will not discuss his past. Sensei doesn’t work, has a wife and maid, and visits the gravesite of a friend every month. He is an intellectual and the two often discuss philosophical idea.

The second part is concerned with the narrator’s family. His father is ill and he has gone back home in the country several times to visit with his father. The summer months he also goes home to stay and visit. After graduation he returns to his home and this part is very concerned with his father’s health, particularly after the Emperor falls ill and dies. During these days the narrator gets a letter from Sensei.

This letter takes up the last portion of the book. It is a recounting of Sensei’s past. It has to be one of the longest letters in a book ever.

This is not a book of action, rather one of contemplation and character study. One can take moral reasoning from this book as well, but that is not fully understood until the last.

While listening to this book as an audiobook I thought it was all one narrative. Upon finishing I read more about the book and found that it is described as three short stories. Perhaps, but it is about the same characters and the time line progresses through these three stories. It is more like three parts within a larger work, although conserving each as a short story does help to explain the seemingly abrupt endings.

Review 497: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
My rating: 2.75 of 5 stars

This was not an easy, nor enjoyable read for me. About a third the way through I about gave it up, but read some reviews and found a website of annotations and translations.

There is quite a bit of misogyny, constant racial slurs and other unappealing aspects of this book, and yet it's a Pulitzer Prize winner. I stuck with it, the annotated website helped, I tried to look up more of the untranslated words and phrases. Most of these are understandable within the context of the sentence, without knowing exactly what is being said. Sometimes though, it just feels like confusion. Even with the website and google translate there were times where there was no translation offered. Perhaps this was the slang, or the Spanglish that was referred to in other reviews. One view said that perhaps there is so much of this in the book so the reader can feel being the outcast, the other, much like the characters do in the American society. Perhaps.

The book is about Oscar Wao, American born living in New Jersey but his homeland, his mother’s country is the Dominican Republic. But it’s not just about Oscar, the bulk of the book is about his mother and his grandfather living through the brutal regime of Trujillo. Through their stories we understand why his mother left on her own to live in the north.

Part of the difficulty in my reading is the book is obsessed with how large Oscar’s body is, and how he is completely unable to get a girlfriend. Oscar is a geek, loving all those fantasy books, role playing and hero marvel worships. He is smart, reads a ton and just cannot relate to women, with a few exceptions, and these girls of course already have boyfriends. The narrator is a friend of Oscar’s, also the boyfriend of his sister. He throws in so many of these geeky references that alone may need some translation for some people.

I’m not sure I’m happy that I finished reading the book. The ending I found unsatisfactory, with Oscar’s actions. And maybe I shouldn’t say the book is about Oscar at all, as his portion of the book is the minority of the book. I think I need to learn how to let a book go, even the prize winners, particularly when the text has so much hate towards its characters.

Review 496: Woman at 1,000 Degrees

Woman at 1,000 Degrees by Hallgrímur Helgason
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


This novel is loosely based around the grand-daughter of the first President of Iceland and the family. There are accurate facts in the book, but it is largely fictional. Apparently the Björnsson family did not like how they are portrayed in this book. After reading it, I can understand why. No one is dealt with in a good light.

The frame of the book is told by a dying elderly woman, Herra Björnsson, telling her life story. She is welcoming this death, calling a crematorium to schedule her own appointment to be cremated. This is where the title comes from, as she is told the ovens are set at 1,000 degrees.

The narrative is not linear, it jumps around time, from the present to the past at many moments, with very short chapters, just a page or two, sometimes a few more. I found it hard to get into the book, contemplated not finishing it for some time, but I’m a sucker for completing books I start (usually) and went forth.

This is satire, dry wit and humor, and sometimes I got the joke, but this is all to cover up the horrors of war and the atrocities that get committed.

Herra’s father and mother had a rocky beginning, being from different social classes and when mom got pregnant with Herra, her young dad assumed they would not welcome her into the family. So the first seven years of Herra’s life she knew nothing about her father. Once they were reunited the Björnsson’s welcomed the wife and child with open arms. Soon they left Iceland for Denmark where Herra was brutalized with bullying and took to not going to school and learning instead from a couple of women, a prostitute and another who also taught Herra about love and men.

World War II was brewing and Herra’s dad decided to join the German army. (This is fact, the son of the first President of Iceland joined the Nazi party and fought alongside Germany.) Herra’s life goes downhill from here, separated first from her father, later from her mother. For a time she was on an island being kept safe from the war. Unfortunately, she doesn’t stay there and her Dad leave’s her in a train station with only a hand grenade to keep her safe, told to wait for her mother to arrive. She doesn’t. Herra now a young teenager is left to wander through Germany and Poland and experiences war in a way that no teenager should. The hand grenade becomes almost a character throughout the story.

After the Herra and her Dad live in Argentina, again separated from her mom.

In the current time of 2009 as Herra awaits her death, her sons barely visit, she stalks them, along with their wives and children as she has a laptop to connect to the world. We aren’t given too much about these sons, and family, but we do know she still mourns her first born, a girl who died.
There are some funny passages, and the horrors of war are kept at a distance by the short chapters and switching between timelines. I do tend to avoid books about wars, but this one snuck in.

Review 495: Unmade

Unmade by A.R. Capetta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 stars for the genre - Science Fiction, Young Adult

It takes a minute to get used to the writing style. But the story line is good. A young girl sets out with her friends to save the humans from being eliminated from the universe. Sad thing is, the ones killing everyone are human too, called the unmakers.

This is a second book of a series. Was a number of years since I read the first book. The series does not continue past this second book. 

Review 494: The Twenty Something American Dream

The Twenty Something American Dream: A Cross Country Quest for a Generation by Michael Lee Cohen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



What do you think of when you hear the phrase “The American Dream”? This book is finding out what young Americans thought about that.

This book came out in the mid-1990’s, and the young adults interviewed were in their twenties. The author himself as well. This book is about the Generation X coming of age and finding out what they think the about American Dream, and if they can achieve it.

The author traveled around the country just a few months after the Los Angeles riots in April 1992. This was an important moment in time and the author did want to see what his peers thought about this as well, but not that many included in the book mentioned it.

Each entry started with the name of the person. A brief history of the person with their parents and upbringing was included and often what the parents did for work. Other important biography of the interviewed person was included then it would continue sometimes in the person’s own words, other times summarized by the author, and occasionally with the author’s questions to prompt more information. Each entry was several pages long.

The organization of the book was broken into two main parts, those who believed the American Dream still existed and was possibly attainable, and those no longer believed in the American Dream. Further chapters were organized loosely on some beliefs, such as what the dream contains: The House, the Car, the Kids. Or other chapters were Same City, Different Worlds so taking several people who lived geographically close together but had entirely different upbringing and view of the world.

Overall it should have been an interesting book, but I found it just mediocre. Not sure if it was the editing of the interviews not being well done, what. I kept thinking of Studs Terkel and his work how fascinating those interviews were and this was well short of that quality. Or perhaps the problem was just in timing. Perhaps if read in the mid-90s when the book came out it might have felt more propitious.

Review 493: The Book That Wouldn’t Burn

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Somehow I got sucked into a kindle reading challenge and needed a book for the Series Pioneer. This book looked the most interesting from the list that fit that category. Turned out I enjoyed the book.

The world-building was awkward and confusing. As you get into the book you realize that is because the world is confusing to the main characters as well. The library is something that no one fully understands, this becomes the center of the book, and attempt to understand it.

The book follows two main characters in different time lines, one is Livira who lives out in the “Dust” and longs to live in the city one day. That day came sooner than she expected as a group of sabbers (enemy) attacked their town and took her and a group of children as captives. They end up getting away due to the city’s guard, who then takes them to the city. As they are assigned jobs, Livira becomes a librarian trainee as she is full of questions and smart.

The other main character is Evar, and alongside his adopted siblings is trapped living in the library, long after their ancestors died and their bones turned to dust. There are only five of them, four boys and one girl. Evar is always searching for a way out of their vast library prison.

I truly loved the character of Livira, a young girl that constantly asks questions and remembers everything. There is so much to this character to appreciate. Evar, on the other hand, seemed like a tentative quiet person.

It was an entertaining read, but there were a few instances where better editing would have improved the book. Not sure I’ll read the next book in the series, as happily this did not end in a cliffhanger, but it was left open for an obvious continuation of the story.

Review 492: The Kept Woman

The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is not typical reading genre for me. A police procedural, and book 8 in a series, I have not read the previous. It didn't seem to matter this is the middle of a series as the book covered background material on the main characters. That made me wonder if it was annoying to people who have read the previous as that may be repeated info.

The book was okay, but it isn't something I'm going to read further in the series. I tend to not want to spend my reading time in the darker side of things, with murder, rape, child abandonment and so forth. (although a book here or there from time to time does come up.)

I was got a copy of this book at a library conference, and I could have just given it away or something, but decided to see what Slaughter's writing was like. I think she has a lot of fans. I also heard her speak and she's quite funny. This humor didn't really come out in this book. I may read another of her books, or more likely not, but at least now I know her writing.

Review 491: I'd Rather Not

I'd Rather Not by Robert Skinner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a delightfully short book of autobiographical essays filled with humor. The author is Australian so most locations mentioned were lost on me. Exaggeration is used most often to make the humor, but in the end not sure what the purpose of the collection. Perhaps since he was part of a group that ran a short story magazine for a while, the only one in Australia.

It could be a good breather book in between long serious ones. I really was in the mood for something short, didn't know how quick that would go. The author said the first thing he was happy about the book was the length and I would agree with that. Probably a book better read via audio instead of print like I did.

Initial quick review:

A short book of autobiographical essays from Australia. Places names (usually) I had no idea where they were. They were filled with humor but in the end not sure what the purpose of the collection. The author himself said the first thing he is happy about the book is the length and I'll agree with that.

Review 490: Sixty: A Diary of My Sixty-First Year

Sixty: A Diary of My Sixty-First Year: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? by Ian Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While I’m not there yet, this age will be in my future (baring something catastrophic), so why not read about one man’s experience with living the age of sixty. This diary is more contemplative than what happened each day, although there is that in the book as well.

Ian Brown lives in Toronto working at the Globe and Mail. He keeps active, sometimes biking to work when he’s at home. Near the end of the book I started to wonder how many days does he actually stay at home? He travels quite frequently, and mostly for pleasure, although there is some work related travel, such as a month-long stint at Banff as he leads the literary journalism program for the fifth year.

Of course aging is a recurring topic, as is health issues, and studies that show what declines and what point – generally everything sooner than you think, just the results don’t start showing until later. Other topics he keeps returning to is sex, his family (a given) and money, worrying about enough to retire. But the primary topic seems to be his own death is on the horizon.

It's quite the readable book, and well done, especially for a diary, but it’s not just a diary. It was written and edited with an eye to publication from the start.

Review 489: Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes

Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes: Odes to Being Alive by James Parker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is a collection of short essays each on a subject as an “Ode”. They are a positive reflection, a way of acknowledging something in a positive light in a light-hearted and quirky way. Most of these first appeared in the Atlantic magazine are collected here for publication as a book.

I had not read anything by James Parker before but the idea and the cover hit my funny-bone for a moment so I picked up the book. I read a few “Odes” a day which is a good way to get through this book.

As with other collections, some are better than others, some will appeal to one or other. I didn’t like the ones that delved deep into soccer and sports, but some fans will likely appreciate that more than myself.

These daily things one would not expect to appreciate held a wide range an example of some - an Ode to: Middle Age, Rushing, Sitting There, Not Meditating, and so on.

Thanks to W.W. Norton and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 488: Rednecks

Rednecks by Taylor Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An accurate portrayal of the most violent labor strike in the US that has been ignored. There was an all out war in the mountains of West Virginia against King Coal, the mine operators, the hired detective agencies and all else who fought against the miners and union men who wanted to be their fair due for working the mines.

The book is quite violent and told like a war story, and that is because this union strike turned into a war.

The book was well written, had some great phrases and descriptions, however my one gripe is the other side was shown as completely in the wrong with no redeeming quality. Not every person is fully evil or bad, and having a bit of humanity in portraying the other side does lend for a better read.

That said, this book returns a history that has been forgotten and needs to be remembered.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

However, I did listen to the audiobook version from my local library. An excellent way to read this book.

Initial quick review:

read the audiobook
Quite more violent than I expected, but reading some of the history this book stays true to what happened. Shocking!