Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntoshMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Quite enjoyed this and was leaning towards rating as 5 stars, but not quite there.
Book rating: 4.5 stars
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Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Review: Love Minus Eighty
Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntoshMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Quite enjoyed this and was leaning towards rating as 5 stars, but not quite there.
Book rating: 4.5 stars
View all my reviews
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Friday, April 12, 2024
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Monday, April 1, 2024
Friday, March 22, 2024
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Friday, March 15, 2024
Review: The Great Divide
The Great Divide by Cristina HenríquezMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
While overall I did like this story, I wasn’t blown away. I found there were too many characters and not enough depth. While the backdrop is building the Panama Canal, we actually don’t see very much of it in the story. (Okay, there is the digging, but this really is not the focus.)
Instead the story is about the people in Panama at that time, and their personal story. Many people went there because of the this grand project, while a few people are locals. For those Panamanians their story helps to highlight the changes to their country.
In the novel, a few of the characters have some resolution to their immediate problem, but for others we don’t have that, instead only to infer. One character introduced very late in the book has no resolution and makes me wonder why was that person there anyway? Perhaps that is nitpicking, but that felt like the author was trying to be all encompassing and the book would be stronger less.
Book rating: 3.25 stars
Thanks to Ecco, Harper Audio and NetGalley for an advance audio review copy of this book.
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Review: The Mysterious Life of the heart
The Mysterious Life of the heart by Sy SafranskyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The writing is of a good quality throughout. The introduction says the selections when read front to back follow a journey. There is a sense of that, with more innocent and new love in the early selections, with later in love type love, following a terminal illness or death.
Overall the entries felt more geared towards the sad part of love. The love being focused on here is romantic love just about exclusively. Other types of love do seep into the stories, but it is the pairing up that is the theme.
Perhaps it was my wish for more on the new love, the joy of love and less on the disaster of love, and the pain of love lost. Yet I’m not sad to have read these stories and essays, and the poems interspersed were just right. Of course, with all collections a few were more enjoyable than others.
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Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Review: Between Before and After
Between Before and After by Maureen Doyle McQuerryMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A dual time-line story from the early 1900’s in Brooklyn and the modern time in San Jose, California in 1955. The point of view is of the mother Elaine, with Molly the daughter in the other. This is billed as young adult, which made me a little more forgiving for the book.
Molly is curious about her mother’s past, as she doesn’t speak about it. Some snooping found some things such as old photos, but her dad’s words to his wife when he left sparked her imagination: “Bury your past before it buries you.”
Molly figures one best way to find out about her mom is through her Uncle Stephen, but then he gets distracted by a mystery of a miracle.
It sounds like a mystery, also set up like that, but it was so obvious what was going to happen, or discovered, that I can hardly call it a mystery.
Elaine’s timeline is hard, her mother and baby sister die from the Spanish flu. Her father in mourning turned to drinking heavily and being more absent than at home. So, Elaine had to quit school to keep the house together and get a job, she becomes the missing mother to her brother Stephen. Luck landed her a job reading to a blind elderly man in a fancy house. The job barely covers their rent, at least Pop still provided a little money as well, but most of Elaine’s and Stephen’s meals come from the Gossleys.
I found the book okay, not really a page turner and maybe a little slow. Perhaps a young person wouldn’t see the obvious “mystery”. The author’s note at the end mentions her grandmother died from the 1918-1919 pandemic, leaving three children behind, her father being ten years old. They lived in Brooklyn, and this setting became the spark for the book.
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Friday, March 1, 2024
Review: Fever
Fever by Deon MeyerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
4.25 stars
Good, but a bit too much with the violence aspect.
View all my reviews
Review: American Spirits
American Spirits by Russell BanksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book rating: 3.75
Russell Banks is a good storyteller. These are three stories that are located around the same area, a small town in Northern New York state. They are dark, full of troubled people. Banks certainly knows how to quickly draw a character.
There are three stories: Nowhere man, Homeschooling and Kidnapped. My preference is for the middle story, Homeschooling.
Can't say I fully enjoyed these stories. All were bleak and did not come to happy conclusions. The first the main character is unhappy about how he sold off the land that had been in his family for generations and gets into a feud with the man who had purchased it.
Homeschooling concerns itself with a family that just moved into the town, well more about the neighbors, a lesbian married couple who adopted four siblings who are of a different race. The new neighbors are concerned about how the children are being treated.
The last Kidnapped are descendants of the town's founder, Sam Dent. The elderly couple are kidnapped by some Canadian drug lords and their grandson who they raised is their hope for being released. Their grandson Stevie perhaps is autistic, not sure, but he is different and never had any friends while growing up.
Somehow a MAGA hat made its way into each story as well. Not clear why except to point out the political position for some characters, although politics really didn't play into these stories. There is an undertone of poverty, but really everyone is getting by okay with some doing better than others.
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. And to Penguin Random House Audio for an advance audio copy.
View all my reviews
Review: American Spirits
American Spirits by Russell BanksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book rating: 3.75
Russell Banks is a good storyteller. These are three stories that are located around the same area, a small town in Northern New York state. They are dark, full of troubled people. Banks certainly knows how to quickly draw a character.
There are three stories: Nowhere man, Homeschooling and Kidnapped. My preference is for the middle story, Homeschooling.
Can't say I fully enjoyed these stories. All were bleak and did not come to happy conclusions. The first the main character is unhappy about how he sold off the land that had been in his family for generations and gets into a feud with the man who had purchased it.
Homeschooling concerns itself with a family that just moved into the town, well more about the neighbor's, a lesbian married couple who adopted four siblings who are of a different race. The new neighbor's are concerned about how the children are being treated.
The last Kidnapped are descendants of the town's founder, Sam Dent. The elderly couple are kidnapped by some Canadian drug lords and their grandson who they raised is their hope for being released. Their grandson Stevie perhaps is autistic, not sure, but he is different and never had any friends while growing up.
Somehow a MAGA hat made its way into each story as well. Not clear why except to point out the political position for some characters, although politics really didn't play into these stories. There is an undertone of poverty, but really everyone is getting by okay with some doing better than others.
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. And to Penguin Random House Audio for an advance audio copy.
View all my reviews
Review: American Spirits
American Spirits by Russell BanksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book rating: 3.75
Russell Banks is a good storyteller. These are three stories that are located around the same area, a small town in Northern New York state. They are dark, full of troubled people. Banks certainly knows how to quickly draw a character.
Can't say I fully enjoyed it, and usually with Banks there is a big payoff and here I'm not immediately seeing that. I can tell Banks is making a point about some of these people. Possibly the stories weren't finished, this is published posthumously.
Anyway, just my initial thoughts, perhaps more later.
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. And to Penguin Random House Audio for an advance audio copy.
View all my reviews
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Review: Tartans: Pleasures and Treasures
Tartans: Pleasures and Treasures by Christian HeskethMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
finally finished this short book.
quite informative about tartans and kilts. I hope to add some additional notes.
View all my reviews
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Friday, February 23, 2024
Review: American Spirits
American Spirits by Russell BanksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book rating: 3.75
Russell Banks is a good storyteller. These are three stories that are located around the same area, a small town in Northern New York state. They are dark, full of troubled people.
Can't say I enjoyed it, and usually with Banks there is a big payoff and here I'm not immediately seeing that. I can tell Banks is making a point about some of these people. Possibly the stories weren't finished, this is published posthumously.
Anyway, just my initial thoughts, perhaps more later.
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. And to Penguin Random House Audio for an advance audio copy.
View all my reviews
Review: American Spirits
American Spirits by Russell BanksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book rating: 3.75
Russell Banks is a good storyteller. These are three stories that are located around the same area, a small town in Northern New York state. They are dark, full of troubled people.
Can't say I enjoyed it, and usually with Banks there is a big pay off and here I'm not immediately seeing that. I can tell Banks is making a point about some of these people. Possibly the stories weren't finished, this is published posthumously.
Anyway, just my initial thoughts, perhaps more later.
View all my reviews
Friday, February 16, 2024
Review 465: Falling Angels
Falling Angels by Tracy ChevalierMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
This historical novel takes place in London during the first years of the 1900's, when class and decorum played a strong role in a way that is not quite so important these days. Society dictated women particularly, and this book focuses on the women of two families: Coleman and Waterhouse.
The two girls Maude and Lavinia meet on the day Queen Victoria dies, when they both visit their family gravesite in the cemetery. Their graves are next to each other, the two girls are fast friends. Then the Waterhouse family moves in next door, so they become close. The mothers though do not like each other. Kitty Coleman is bright and doesn’t seem to fit into her societal role very well, while Gertrude Waterhouse seems to thrive in it.
The cemetery ends up playing a big part in the book, and in the latter portion the women’s suffrage movement as Kitty becomes enlivened when she joins that cause.
The story is told in alternating first person point of view with many different characters, although focused mainly on the women. Time moves quickly through the book, and the date marker was very helpful.
I bought the book many years ago and perhaps it was due to the historical aspect of the women’s suffrage movement, but the details of that were somewhat minimal overall. I found the book well written, decent story, but it wasn't anything that wowed me.
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Review 464: Trees in Paradise: A California History
Trees in Paradise: A California History by Jared FarmerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Initial Short Review:
I have eight pages of notes on this book taken while reading, I need to condense that down before providing some notes here. Let's just start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Covered were iconic California trees, one could says they help define California: Redwoods, Eucalyptus, Citrus and Palm.
Full Review:
Covered were iconic California trees, one could says they help define California: Redwoods, Eucalyptus, Citrus and Palm.
Full Review:
Who knew that a history of California could be told with four types of trees? Well, not entirely, but this book does attempt that and does a great job.
The book is in four parts, one for each type of tree, these are iconic trees of California and each can be “read as individual botanical and cultural histories.”
Part I: Redwoods – ideas of time, history, antiquity, and mortality.
Part II: Eucalyptus – immigration, naturalization, nativeness, and alienness.
Part III: Citrus – labor, industry, replication, and growth.
Park IV: Palms – beauty, fashion, image, and style.
Redwoods, for their longevity and largeness, and covered all that went along with cutting down the forests for the wood. At first people didn’t believe that trees could be so enormous, samples were taken, cuttings of the trunk would be shipped around the world. Now convinced they were horrified at the atrocity of killing the magnificent tree. I saw one of these in the Natural History Museum in London last summer, now I know how it got there. In Yosemite area, the land was sold off to three monopoly companies, two lumber companies and one organization of socialists. The socialists took nearly four years to build a road. Just as they started cutting trees the land was turned into a National Park – now they were illegally there, and the government came and kicked them out.
Eucalyptus, while not native it certainly feels like it in California. They have been around over 100 years; doesn’t that make them native? And so, the discussion naturally moves to immigration, naturalization and being foreign.
No where else but in California do you see Eucalyptus tree lines streets. In other countries the tree represents something, such as in India the trees symbolize colonialism. My Dad planted a row of these in our yard, they make a great wind break and natural division line. (We also had a Redwood tree!)
Citrus, the trees that were part of the food industry mainly oranges, but other citrus fruits as well. The grafting of trees created the Valencia orange practically in my backyard (ages ago, of course). This section was also close to home as I grew up around orange groves that (to my horror) were cut down to make way for more cookie-cutter housing developments. This passage explains well, from page 318 “The literal ‘orange curtain’ that once marked the transition from Los Angeles County to Orange County no longer exists. Today the leading local landmark is probably the Orange Crush – the largest and most complicated freeway interchange in the world.”
Palms, the iconic tree of Hollywood, L.A., really of Southern California. They do feel out of place in areas such as Big Sur where different types of trees dominate. The Mexican Palms are in a type of “invasive species” which will grow up out of the asphalt if left alone. The tree doesn’t provide much shade but does give a certain look. They are also high-maintenance trees and can be costly to city governments which causes more controversy for urban tree development. It is dangerous work to keep the fronds trimmed, and when they aren’t the trees look scraggy and not the image desired. Palms can be easily transported and installed elsewhere and for the larger trees big business for instant large palms in flashy places such as Las Vegas.
I could go on, barely touched the surface here of all that is covered by these four tree types, while barely mentioned all the social history. I listened to the audiobook version while had alongside me the print book, which probably is a better way to read this one. The print book included many photos. Also found only in the print book are many, many pages of notes, an index, a lengthy further reading section (there goes my to read list!), and a listing of all the common and scientific names of many plants and trees. The print book was from the library, now I may have to search to get my own copy.
February 11, 2019 – Started Reading
February 12, 2019 –
page 24
4.05% "this one might take a while too....the focus in on four tree types: Redwoods, Eucalyptus, Citrus and Palms."
February 13, 2019 –
page 35
5.91% "putting on pause for a little while until I can get hold of a print copy to follow with the audio, lots of photos missing out with only audio"
February 15, 2019 – on pause --turned out a very long pause
November 15, 2023 – Started Reading
November 15, 2023 –
page 16
2.7% "returning to this book - listening alongside the print book, many photos! restarted from the beginning as it was too long ago when I read the intro prior."
November 28, 2023 – Shelved as: own-read
November 29, 2023 –
page 16
2.7% "another week and still not reading this...maybe I wasn't ready to tackle this book yet. It's long and daunting. But soon...(or remove from currently reading.)"
December 6, 2023 –
page 16
2.7% "again, another week and still not reading this book. Clearly was not ready to jump into the book just yet."
December 9, 2023 –
page 53
8.95% "finally got back to this book (yesterday) - finished Introduction. started Part I: Redwoods: The Value of Longevity, chapter 1: Twilight of the Giants....some disagreement on the scientific name for redwoods back in the day"
December 13, 2023 –
page 78
13.18% "illegal redwood forested land grabs by monopolists in the mid-1800s, was aimed at individuals, yet largely ignored by the government until the California Redwood Company attempted to sell their holdings to a Scottish group in Edinburgh. Monopoly ok, foreign ownership was not."
December 19, 2023 –
page 78
13.18% "reading this extremely slowly...may take several more months, at least at this rate."
December 26, 2023 –
page 78
13.18% "haven't moved forward on this book, decided to resume in january but keeping it as currently reading for now"
January 19, 2024 –
page 226
38.18% "began Part II: Eucalypts: The taxonomy of belonging - deep into p.ch.03: Immigration and naturalization / mid-way through the (section) Boom and bust. ...planned "crop" of the hardwood blue gum/eucalyptus did not go well at all."
January 25, 2024 –
page 292
49.32% "deep into chapter 04: Natives, Aliens, and (Bio)Diversity.....still discussion Eucalyptus trees. now starting (section) Invasion of the Nonnatives"
January 26, 2024 –
page 318
53.72% "starting up Part III: Citruses: The Industry of growth and chapter 05: Orange revolution"
February 2, 2024 –
page 318
53.72% "some listening today...nearly done with ch.05: Orange revolution. next section is last: Managerial Control."
February 5, 2024 –
page 372
62.84% "finishing up ch.05: Orange revolution. next section is last: Managerial Control."
February 8, 2024 –
page 444
75.0% "deep into chapter 6: Cultural costs. Finished section: Subdivide and uproot. Next up is section: Bugs in the System. - last section and chapter for this part on Citrus. (Next up: Palms)"
February 9, 2024 –
page 493
83.28% "now in the last part - Part IV - Palms: The Ecology of Style and deep into chapter 07: Cosmopolitan Fronds. Nearly finished with (section) Street trees and city boosters."
February 14, 2024 –
page 532
89.86% "continuing chapter Aesthetic Infrastructure, finishing (section) Sunbelt design and next up (section) Wilted crowns...this is the last chapter, although Epilogue is quite long."
February 14, 2024 – Finished Reading
Monday, February 12, 2024
Review 463: Still Life with Woodpecker
Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom RobbinsMy rating: 2.75 of 5 stars
Fairly disappointed with book. Perhaps I enjoyed this writing style more when I read them many years ago, or I had too much expectation from this book based on previous reading, way back when. Still has that zany humor and a few nuggets were embedded but so much other junk to wade through. I have another Robbins book that I got way back when, perhaps I'll attempt that at some point, but not any time soon.
Skinny Legs and All made me want to write a comparative literature paper, or maybe a critical analysis paper, when I wasn't even taking an English course. It sparked ideas that were brought up in another book I had read around that time as well, but no longer remember which book and never did get around to writing down those thoughts...but here it is years later and I still remember there was that spark.
Previously Read Tom Robbins books:
- Jitterbug Perfume
- (4 stars) March.1994
- Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
- (3 stars) April.1995
- Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
- (4 stars) January.1996
- Skinny Legs and All
- (5 stars) December.1997
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Review 462: The Moor's Last Sigh
The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman RushdieMy rating: 3.25 of 5 stars
A long generational saga from India that begins during the colonial rule through the painful split into the 1990s. The Zogoiby family are wealthy Christian spice merchants. And there’s a lot of family drama. Everyone is a bit crazy. The narrator is called Moor, born as the last child eight years after his three sisters, who were born in quick succession. His mother Aurora is indeed a bright star, a famous painter who married at age 15 to a man her father’s age, and Abraham happened to be Jewish. Of course that was a problem. He takes over the family business and turns it into an empire.
The book is well written, sometimes humorous, and very witty. I did not like the book. I wanted to quit reading nearly the entire time. But it’s Rushdie and I never have read a book of his, and this one I’ve had sitting on my shelf for way too many years. So I pushed myself to read it through. I guess I’m happy to have finished, to have not wondered how the book ends, but as the rest of it, a bit ridiculous and odd.
There are many who have tagged this book as magical realism and it is a type of book that I typically don’t enjoy, but the “magical” aspect found here is not heavily handed. Some of the characters see things that aren’t there, but then just about everyone is a little bit crazy too, so it does match their character.
I’m not going to rush out and read another Rushdie book anytime soon.
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Review 461: When You Finish Saving the World
When You Finish Saving the World by Jesse EisenbergMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This short audio book is a character study of a small family: father, son, mother. The format is with audio tapes, and in different time periods, so for the father, Nathan, we have the present providing tapes to a therapist. Rachel feels that Nathan isn’t properly bonding with their newborn son. Nathan is trying to get more in touch with his feelings, and it sounded to me like he may be on the autism spectrum. Maybe that was unintentional by the author?
The son, Ziggy, is the second section, and in the future. It’s 2032 and he has counseling sessions for hitting someone who made a derogatory remark about another. His sessions require him to talk, without any prompts to a psychology bot. The future is vastly different (it’s idealized and maybe more like 2050?).
Then the last section is Rachel, which is in the past during her first year of college sending audio tapes to her boyfriend who joined the army just after the September 11 attacks. We already know he dies, so that does add poignancy to this section.
The title refers more to Rachel than the other characters, although she attributes that to her boyfriend; though overall, this “saving the world” is somewhat subtle. During the different tapes we see the different sides to the characters, at least for the first two sections. With Rachel we see her embarking on her changing understanding of the world through her classes, such as the manipulation in advertising.
The psychology aspect to the book is to just let someone talk about anything, just stream of consciousness, and will heal thyself. (works for some) One reason why journaling is good therapy? Anyway, I found the book was okay, not spectacular or anything, and was happy it was on the short side of length.
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Review 460: Soul of Nowhere
Soul of Nowhere by Craig ChildsMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The book is mostly a group of essays, no plot or forward movement. Each chapter is a new location, where Childs walks and climbs around these desolate areas, primarily in the desert, where people used to live. Sometimes one other person is with him, or several, occasionally he goes alone.
They find remnants of past lives, typically broken bits of pottery, and on a rare occasion a pot that is unbroken. There are other signs. It starts with the cliff dwellers, so they explore a few of these homes high up on the cliffs. They do not take these objects, they put back exactly as found when picked up. Only sketches are taken, some are replicated in the book.
Childs writing style is dense with imagery but sparse on story. We don’t know what he does for a living other than wandering around these desert locales. He goes out for not days, but weeks at a time, and occasionally alone. Sometimes he provides the smallest bit of information about who his companions are - his wife, a friend, but not himself; he purposefully wants the focus to be on the land and the past. The land is harsh, difficult terrain and finding a way through, or a path, that appears to be their purpose. They also battle extreme weather, cold or very hot, and often with little food or water.
The last essay Childs comes to the essence of himself, or the land, and he is changed. It’s one of those times he is alone, later his wife meets him with food, which he has been low on for days, and very little water which he’s been rationing so little that he has been having slight hallucinations.
There was something here that was missing, perhaps the autobiographical material, or what exactly was he doing out there? This lack, this elusive substance, made the writing hard to get into, or find a way in. The essays seem to be repeating the same scenario, except for the last one, although that one too has similarities to the others. I had attempted to read this book before, many years ago, but didn’t get past page 27. At least this time I completed it.
Friday, January 19, 2024
Review 459: The Living Mountain
The Living Mountain by Nan ShepherdMy rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Quite enjoyed the language and description of the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland by Nan Shepherd.
This is listed as book four in a series, yet I'm not sure the connection between these four. I did read the first, and it was a fictional account, mostly biographical of Nan Shepherd growing up in a small village and misunderstood for wanting to be educated and literary. My understanding is this book is the only non-fiction book in the group, which puzzles me why it is included.
Nevertheless, this is a wonderful lyrical book about Shepherd's local mountains and what nature is there; how it changes during seasons, the light and water, the fauna, well everything you'd find there, and even of other people (briefly). While reading the book I could picture the place so well, nearly finding myself there in the mountains. The senses are fully described in her writing.
The publishers didn't want to touch the book when it was first written, they weren't sure what to do with it, apparently nature writing wasn't done. But years later in the late 1970s they did publish the book, thankfully. The edition I had was an audiobook with a long afterward written by Jeanette Winterson. The audiobook was narrated by Tilda Swinton which was just perfectly done.
The book is on the short side, but perhaps that will mean I will return and reread this book. It is another one of those books that you can enjoy multiple times and get more out of the rereading. I must try to do just that.
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Review 458: The Vaster Wilds
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren GroffMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gorgeous writing in this book! Takes place in the pre-America time, when the first settlers came and tried to establish a colony. They are dying of starvation and disease. A girl escapes and runs, runs through the woods and the vast wilderness hoping to reach the French. The journey is the tale, nature was unknown to her and now in full force.
The girl is not named, later as she is running there is backstory, discovering the story of her life how she came to be in that dying fort. As a servant that came from an orphanage she had several names, but none she felt were true to herself.
As she runs and gets more injured and yet still carries on, it is amazing at the force of her own nature. She derives her will from nature as well.
There are layers within the book, and the ending provides several interpretations. I could see this being read again and getting more out of the material. I don’t reread often, there are so many other books…
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Review 457: Day
Day by Michael CunninghamMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
There’s something about this book, the characters, that I really couldn’t connect to, and I felt distant. Maybe it had to do with how they were introduced, well you were thrown in like you knew who these people were and only later, after some interactions and such, it is revealed how they are related or who they are. It threw me off a little.
There are a few sections where the dialog lacks the tags of names or he/she said, which maybe flows better, but I lost track of who was saying what and had to go back over it a couple of times. This would be no problem in an audiobook, but I read the print.
Then there’s the six-year-old girl who is learning her alphabet. She writes this letter to her parents about keeping the windows closed and a longer letter to her uncle. Isn’t she learning how to read? There are these little things, and how you are made to keep guessing, not put down exactly what’s going on; it didn’t help for me to connect with the story.
I will say the writing quality is solid, it is a well written book as far as language and sentence structure. The plot is how I expected, as the title suggests, just one day, so we get minutia and dailyness that honestly got a bit tedious in the first section.
For me this was just okay, not great and certainly not bad. I wonder if I had listened to the audio if the book would have gone better for me, perhaps.
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Review 456: Tartans: Pleasures and Treasures
Tartans: Pleasures and Treasures by Christian HeskethMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
finally finished this short book.
quite informative about tartans and kilts. I hope to add some additional notes.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Review 455: Clear
Clear by Carys DaviesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Initial short review:
A fairly short book, but powerful.
More thoughts on this one soon.
Fuller review:
An introspective novel set in the 1840s during the time of the clearances in Scotland. John, a minister who is part of the newly split Scottish Church, establishing the Scottish Free Church. Since this new church is poor John cannot provide for his wife Mary and takes on extra work, such as this job he agreed on, to remove the last tenant from a remote island, as it could pay well.
Shortly after arriving on the island John falls off a cliff. Ivar, the tenant finds him unconscious and brings him back to his home, helping to restore him back to health. Once awake it took some time for the two to understand each other, not only did John need to continue to heal, but they spoke different languages.
It’s a short novel and contains mostly thoughts of one or the other. We also get Mary, John’s wife, although she is not the main focus. I quite enjoyed her character and wished for more of her.
The book, the language is beautiful despite all of the hardship and upheaval. My initial thoughts were this was a powerful book and perhaps due to it being short, but after finishing it, I did want it to go on.
Shortly after arriving on the island John falls off a cliff. Ivar, the tenant finds him unconscious and brings him back to his home, helping to restore him back to health. Once awake it took some time for the two to understand each other, not only did John need to continue to heal, but they spoke different languages.
It’s a short novel and contains mostly thoughts of one or the other. We also get Mary, John’s wife, although she is not the main focus. I quite enjoyed her character and wished for more of her.
The book, the language is beautiful despite all of the hardship and upheaval. My initial thoughts were this was a powerful book and perhaps due to it being short, but after finishing it, I did want it to go on.
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Deep River by Karl Marlantes My rating: 4 of 5 stars Book read: December 9-23, 2019 This was an epic of a book. A long t...
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Turtle Island by Gary Snyder My rating: 4 of 5 stars Not sure why it took me so long to re...
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Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization, and Strategy in the California Farm Worker Movement by Marshall Ganz My rating:...
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Scottish Journey by Edwin Muir My rating: 4 of 5 stars While this is a travel journey around Scotl...
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The 33 1/3 B-Sides: New Essays by 33 1/3 Authors on Beloved and Underrated Albums by Will Stockton My rating: 4 of 5 stars ...
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The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was an enjoyable small book. McPhee is descended fro...
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Rabbits by Terry Miles My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was a wild ride and I enjoyed it....
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The DNA of You and Me by Andrea Rothman My rating: 2 of 5 stars Another book that didn't do well for me. Had a few dud...
