Review 627: The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book takes place for roughly six weeks while Helene Hanff finally gets over to London. Her previous book just published and the publishers want to do some publicity with her. Shortly before she left, a slight delay, as she had an emergency operation. This does add complications but she handles it well.

This book is her journal of the trip, starting with the airplane ride.

Since this is the 1970s things are different than today, such as booked two hotel rooms in case one didn't hold the reservation. Or at least that's not how I've been doing things. And as I understand it, I would be liable to pay for both if I cancel one at the last minute, or just don't show up. Anyway, Hanff is very trusting with people. She accepts all sort of invitations, many by friends of friends, but also accepts invitations by fans to go to lunch or something. She is economizing and the more she takes these lunches and dinners the longer she can stay in London.

It's a short book, entertaining but I do prefer her previous book better.

Review 626: 84, Charing Cross Road

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read this short book recently, enjoyed it the second time around as well.

Liked Helene's humor. Felt like the letters included were curated, like some were missing. Made me wish to have a grand correspondence with an overseas bookseller, and get some of those nice books for such a great price. Haha!

Review 625: The Book On the Bookshelf

The Book On the Bookshelf by Henry Petroski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Earlier this year I read an Object Lessons series book Bookshelf, but it was a bit short for me, left me unsatisfied and curious to know more. Well it happens on my bookshelf for many, many years was sitting this book by Petroski, a book often quoted in the Object Lessons book. I’m glad I finally read it.

Petroski’s book is primarily about the history of the bookshelf, the furniture that holds books. Some history of the book itself is discussed, but that wasn’t the focus and likely there are more detailed books out there.

The furniture for books was varied in centuries past. Early forms were a type of box like a hat boxes when books were scrolls. When the book became closer to today's format there were stored in what we may call a truck but are properly called armaria. They could lock, which was important when books were few.

As books changed, the furniture did too to better hold them. As books became easier to copy, from hands to machines, then more people started to collect books. Libraries started to collect many more, and so the bookshelf came about. Still they were stored differently than today.

While books were still valuable there were chained libraries. The types of furniture and how these books were chained was a chapter or two. Some of the early shelving after the chained libraries had books facing up and at an angle. Often books were stored with the foredge showing, as this was before spines held any information on the book. It took centuries before the standard format of the bookshelf and spine out that we see today.

For most of the history of the book, and shelving, placement of shelving had to account for light. When libraries grew they had to be mindful of how the windows and shelves line up to prove the best lighting for reading. This was particularly important when the books were chained.

I had started to read this via audiobook but quickly realized that was not the best way to read this book. Since I had a print copy, I turned to reading it. Besides with audio I would have missed all of the illustrations that are throughout the book, and they definitely enhance the reading.

This is a quite detailed book, which I did appreciate. Although it is a couple of decades old, the eBook was being developed and is mentioned a few times. What dates the book is more the descriptions of the internet. But these portions are minimal.

The appendix is to be noted as here were listed 25 different ways to shelve a book. Petroski took some fun here, as it was more light hearted, and certainly not exhaustive. I noticed the bibliography at the end contained a long list of books that I could really go down the rabbit hole with this topic, but maybe I will leave it here. This one did satisfy a lot of my curiosity about the history of bookshelves. But it did make me kinda want some ancient book furniture.

Review 624: The Tree Collectors

The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession by Amy Stewart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Listened to the audio, which was not the best way to read this book. I have a print copy on hold and will reassess this book once I get a chance to view that copy.

Review 623: Little Alleluias

Little Alleluias: Collected Poetry and Prose by Mary Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would say I’m a fan of Mary Oliver’s poetry, although I have not read much of her work. She is very nature orientated, which I can usually connect with. Poetry is hard to rate, hard to judge, usually I just go by if I connected with the poem or not.

With this collection of poetry and essays, prose poems, I found myself not connecting. I’m not sure why either. Nature was there, throughout the book, with the exception of the essays on the Concord writers Hawthorne and Emerson (perhaps my favorite part of this collection).

Not sure what it was about these works, I just kept reading and hoped for one or two that really spoke to me, but honestly none did. Yet, even here I can see she is a good writer.

Thanks Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 622: A Land So Wide

A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Sometimes I read books a bit outside of my normal range of reading, even though that range is quite wide. This one is described as something I wouldn’t normally tend towards. It was billed as the author’s first adult book, the writing felt like it still falls under the young adult purview.

Without rehashing the plot of the book, I will say there are many things that just doesn’t fit right. The main character, Greer Mackenzie is supposed to be 27, but her character acts like someone much younger. Her best friend growing up is said to be 4 or 5 years younger, which seems a bit of a stretch. Other than the opening scene we really don’t see her again. Also, she comes from the “wrong” family, which seemed to be okay for her father, but her friend’s brother is not someone she should marry? Is the family to be avoided or not?

Also, when did this take place? There were years mentioned, during parts when some history of the town was provided, but left wondering, when is now? It didn’t come together until near the end of the book. There was this forced some type of physical romance into the book that didn’t need to be there. The pacing was a bit off, particularly the last portion of the book. I really disliked how the denouement occurred, and the ending left things open for a possibility of a sequel.

I did get through the book fairly quickly, but mainly because I was listening to it and wanted to get it done, rather than feeling compelled to know what came next. I was worried about this being a “horror” book, but found it was more fairly tale than scary and evil.

Thanks Pantheon and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 621: There Are No Children Here

There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America by Alex Kotlowitz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was devastating to read how these young children grew up in the Chicago projects. The book is a very close look at the lives of two brothers Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, 9 and 12 at the start of the book. Journalist Kotlowitz was embedded into the Rivers family life for two years, Summer of 1987 to September 1989.

The family lived in the projects in Chicago. LaJoe Rivers had eight children with Paul Rivers and still remained married to her husband, which was somewhat unusual circumstance for their background. The kids father sometimes was around, but didn’t really live with them. The three older kids were nearly adults, Lafeyette and Pharoah were the middle kids, then a set of triplets were their younger siblings. LaJoe was on welfare, had food stamps, and had the constant hope of being able to move out of the projects.

Gun violence, drugs, and gangs dominated their lives, along with poor living conditions. The bathroom tub faucet constantly ran, doors wouldn’t shut properly, the stove oven barely worked, among other problems. And the apartment was overly crowded. Each of the older children had succumbed to either drugs or crime. LaJoe hoped at least one of her children would make it by getting a high school diploma.

Pharoah developed a stutter due to all the trauma he experienced. The summers were the worst, as gang activity picked up, shootings became an almost every day occurrence. The Rivers boys lost several friends due to all the violence, one an accidental police shooting. Their older brother Terrance was picked up an charged with a shooting he had nothing to do with, the charged ended up being dropped after the eye witness admitted he didn’t do it. Later Terrance was again charged with a crime he didn’t commit, but was now 18 so he was in adult court this time. Lafeyette also ended up in juvenile court over a crime he didn’t commit either. Just being black and nearby seemed to make you guilty.

The book was written very well, read like a fiction book. The author’s note explains how he conduced his research, verifying everything with multiple accounts, if he wasn’t there. Since this took place several decades ago, one can hope the environment has improved, although I fear not enough.

I was amazed to find an audiobook at my public library, and that got me to finally read this book. I bought this book back around when it came out, so it’s been lingering very long on my bookshelves unread.

Review 620: The Biographer's Tale

The Biographer's Tale by A.S. Byatt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s been decades since I read an A.S. Byatt book. I was enamored by her writing in the late 90s, and somehow stopped reading her work. This book reminded me why I do like her writing, and why I don’t as well.

The narrator, Phineas G. Nanues, is a young literary fellow who decided to give up literary criticism as he sees no point in it. Instead he wants to interact with things.

A professor, who then becomes his new advisor, gives him a three-volume biography of Sir Edmund Bole written by Scholes Destry-Scholes. Phineas is enthralled and decides that he will do a biography of Destry-Scholes. He also needs to get a job, and finds himself working for a unique travel agency.

This book is his record of this transition and his searching, and of his life. Destry-Scholes is not an easy man to find, although Phineas is a very good researcher he is unable to come up with information. Slowly, a few pieces come to him and he finds that perhaps Destry-Scholes was working on a biography of some sort of three different men. These papers and findings are included verbatim in the book. This is where sometimes it gets a bit tedious and reminds me why I don’t like Byatt. Too much in the weeds!

As Phineas is writing he says he hates autobiographies, he is not going to write one, yet his record does indeed become that. There are layers in Byatt’s writing. Sometimes I feel not adept enough to catch everything. The layers in just the title and the biography here is a bit obvious, that helps.

I have several more of her books still waiting to be read, and will get to them sometime, hopefully before decades pass.

Review 619: Hotshot: A Life on Fire

Hotshot: A Life on Fire by River Selby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the third book I’ve read this year about a hotshot firefighter, the second one about a woman (see: When it All Burns and Wildfire Days). There was also a fourth book about firefighting in general, just called Fire, which is fictional. It is hard for me to not compare this book with these other memoirs.

Here, Selby goes deeper into her own personal life than the other two, while weaving in the specifics of the history of an area of a current active fire. These three memoirs also discuss how damaging the total fire suppression activity is for the environment and health of the forest. Selby’s account seems to take on a more fervent tone of the damage this is doing, despite it being her job.

Not surprisingly, women are not common as hotshots. There are some, but it is a male dominated job. It is also one that tends undermine the women that do show up. Selby dives into this a bit more than Kelly Ramsey, likely due to her experience with men behaving badly. Ramsey had some of that too, but maybe minimized it. The guys on these crews are usually quite young, and are guided by their superiors, it appears this abusive behavior is systemic. Reporting it generally means losing ones job, as it becomes worse for the woman.

Selby spends quite a bit of time discussing her mom, and that relationship. Like Ramsey who also lost a parent while being a firefighter, they had a tough relationship. Selby didn’t have another parent to lean on though, and the result was a messy adolescence. Firefighting was a way out of some of that self-abuse and giving her a tough job that helped her. In some ways this book is much more about Selby than being a hotshot, unlike the other two.


I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author. She did a decent job of it, but honestly, I thought it was too slow and had to speed it more than I usually do to find a decent listening pace. Otherwise, it went well.



Thanks to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 618: Where the Axe Is Buried

Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I zipped through this book, hard a hard time putting it down. It’s a science-fiction, political, dystopian, techno book, taking place in the future (far?). A bit confusing through the first part of the book, different POVs and different technologies. At first I just wanted to get beyond the confusing part. Then I was sucked in.

This is a future where everything and everyone is watched constantly. In the free west it is for advertising purposes, in the totalitarian states it is to ensure the people are controlled. Many countries are run by A.I. Prime Ministers, and The Federation is run by a president whose consciousness gets transferred to new bodies one the old ones deteriorate. Then there are the dissidents. The book is mostly about the dissidents.

The book is a commentary on totalitarianism and artificial intelligence. Starts out with a very gloomy outlook but ends with hope and possibility.

Review 617: Red Rising

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I didn't like this one too much. First book in the Red Rising Saga, and I won't be continuing on. Too much of the book was about the war games between the kids at the training school. Felt like hunger games in some major ways, but not as appealing, the main character wasn't as likeable. Maybe it was how masculine this book felt? Not sure this is really a young adult book either.

Review 616: A Gorgeous Excitement

A Gorgeous Excitement by Cynthia Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maybe a beach read?

Summer 1986, in New York City. Nina Jacobs, is working various temp jobs before starting college, and hopes to lose her virginity before leaving.

This place of New York City almost becomes a character. Nina meets a new friend in Central Park and they hit it off right away, and she introduces her to cocaine, for a gorgeous excitement. Nina is also dealing with her mentally ill mother, unwanted sexual attention, such as the smarmy hugs the doorman always gives, and yet hoping to snag Gardner as her first. Plus, what's going on with her childhood friends, not feeling so friendly towards her lately.

There is a lot going on in the novel, which kept it interesting.

Short notes here, perhaps more later....

Review 615: I Who Have Never Known Men

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maybe 3.75 is a better rating than 4.

A dystopian book, without a lot of answers. The narrator doesn't have a name, only called The Child, as she was young when her and 39 other women were put into the bunker. The men guard them closely. She knows nothing other than this bunker, can only learn what the women tell her. As she becomes a teenager she wants to know more.

Interesting and simple book, and yet it isn't.

Review 614: Speak, Memory

Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited by Vladimir Nabokov
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Superb writing! The book is composed of essays written over many years, and previously published, yet the come together in one book quite nicely. They were all titled as published essays, but that was not retained in the book, which is a detriment.

The majority of the book covers Nabokov’s years growing up. An amazing amount of detail and description from when he was very young is contained in the first several chapters. He was born in 1899, and a brother soon followed less than a year later. Nabokov had five siblings, after the brother were two sisters and the last another brother. They were a family of the upper class, having a country estate and a house in town. They went abroad quite often.

The book is chronological, with an occasional hint at what is to come, particularly exile. Nabokov doesn’t go into a lot of detail the Russian Revolution, it was a tumultuous time, and his father was in the thick of it. But he does provide some information that I understand slightly better what was happening during the overthrow on the Tsar to the next regime.

Nabokov and his brother were taught by various tutors and learned to read English before he learned Russian. They were of the kind of Russian family that he says is now extinct.

Nabokov loved butterflies, well butterfly collecting, or Lepidoptera as its scientifically known. He started at a young age, and was determined to find a new species while he was still a young school boy. It wasn’t until much later, as an adult, he finally got a named butterfly: Plebejus (Lysandra) cormion Nabokov.

One of the later chapters Nabokov talks briefly about both of his brothers. It was quite moving, as by that point when we was writing both of them had died, and somewhat young. His sisters weren’t discussed. The last chapter ends in 1940 as Nabokov, along with his wife and young son, were granted passage to emigrate to the United States.

I really enjoyed his writing style. I may need to read one of his novels later this year.

Review 613: The Best American Travel Writing 2021

The Best American Travel Writing 2021 by Padma Lakshmi
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

While I haven’t fully read a book yet in the “Best American Travel Writing” series, I was curious to read the final book in the series. The essays are all published during the year prior, so these are from 2020 when the world was not traveling so much. Was it a coincidence? Beginning in 2024 it was merged with another series, so going forward as “Best American Food and Travel Writing”. Both topics go well together and this last contained several essays that seemed more about food than travel.

Happily not all of the essays were lamenting about cancelled travel and pandemic related issues. The editor of the series and editor of this year both were heavily into that topic, as the foreword and introduction. I was ready to move on by that point. Yet the book opened with several more pandemic stories. The first one about being trapped in a cruise ship during the beginning, following several different groups of people. (Inside the Nightmare Voyage of the Diamond Princess by Doug Bock Clark) The story was well written, so I continued reading it.

Several more essays in we finally veer away from pandemic stories. Good Bread by Bill Buford was well done. He is living in Lyon, France looking for work as a cook and not having any luck. But the story is about the baker Bob, he makes the best bread in Lyon according to Buford. Buford spends some time working for him, learning Bob’s secrets and what makes good bread.

Several essays hardly seemed to be about travel at all. As mentioned food was prevalent in some essays, but there were other outliers. One about climate change being seen by a changing landscape of the coast off Louisiana (The Losing Coast by Elizabeth Miller), and another about fires in marijuana growing country in California (California's Weed Country is Lit by Jackie Bryant), among others. Maybe they were considered as travel since the writers of these essays weren’t from that area?

The book seemed short in comparison to other books in the annual “The Best American” series, such as the Science and Nature or the Essays. I’m not that much into food that I'd love reading about it, doubt I will read any of the new series. Instead I will read the prior years, especially the ones I own and have not yet read.

Review 612: Improvement

Improvement by Joan Silber
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

There’s a lot more going on here with this short book than it initially seems. The book revolves around Reyna, a single mom in New York City, visiting her boyfriend currently in jail at Rikers Island. She seems to get along with her aunt Kiki more than her parents, perhaps because they have more in common than either knows.

After Boyd gets out of Rikers his fellow coworkers plan a scheme to make money smuggling cigarettes from Virginia to NYC. They can make a fortune by avoiding the taxes. Rayna’s decisions on how involved she wants to be in this creates a snowball effect (others are calling it a butterfly effect).

Each chapter takes on another point of view, some following the forward moment of the story. Then we step back in time and follow the aunt who lived in Turkey for a long time, who married a failed rug dealer, and got involved with some smugglers of antiquities.

The final chapter comes back around to Reyna, dealing with the aftermath of her decisions.

It was a good enough book, but there are flaws, one of them being that the book is very short. I think it would have been a richer story with more depth. I liked how the Turkish rugs were woven through the book.

I wanted to read this book, as I had heard the author tends to write about how we are all connected, intertwined. This book does indeed follow that pattern.

Review 611: A People’s History of the United States: 1492–Present

A People’s History of the United States: 1492–Present by Howard Zinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A history that needed to be told. A history that about the people who get abused, ignored, discriminated against, and worse. And why we got to where we are today – a dysfunctional political system, dispirited citizens, and blame put in the wrong place.

There is so much that can be said about this book, but I don’t want to write a long essay. Much of the material was not new to me, and maybe won’t be to many others. However, I suspect there is many historical facts that many people do not know. Some of the book was a little confusing, as it generally was linear, but not entirely. For example, while discussing the early 1900s, Zinn would backtrack to a specific incident that took place in the late 1800s. I wish the book was organized better.

Just want to note one specific item mentioned in the book about how few eligible voters actually vote a president. Since the 1900s, generally around 33% of the eligible voters actually vote in the president. While the most recent past two presidential elections turn out has been slightly higher, it hasn’t effectively changed the fact that around a third of the population gets the president they voted for. Which means two-thirds of the country voted for the other candidate or not at all. Dismal.

The version of the book I read ends around 2001, so today it is already over two decades past. There was an earlier version. It appears this book gets updated every couple of years, but usually only with a new introduction or foreword, the overall material isn’t changed.

I listened to the very long audiobook and do not recommended to read the book this way. The author’s son narrated it and he is definitely not a professional narrator. The narration is uneven and awkward in many places. I only got through this by going slowly, and it took me months to get through.

Review 610: Dissolution

Dissolution by Nicholas Binge
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Science fiction book that at the heart is a relationship between two people Maggie and Stanley.

We begin with an elderly Maggie being interviewed by a Hassan. They seem to be an empty pool. She doesn't remember anything at first. Hassan gives her a drug to help her specific memory recall and he wants to know everything, every detail. He claims that this will help Stanley get his memory back. Hassan seems almost not human...

Why, how? She wants to know but he won’t say, except that the memory care facility he has been in, is the cause of it. Hassan urges her to stay focused on what he wants to know. He is in control.

During the interview Maggie recalls how she takes these dives into the past, into Stanley’s memory even. Maggie learns more about her husband than she did while they were married for all those years.

In between these interviews are chapters on Stanley, his youth then later. He was an awkward boy, from a working class family and a brutal father. But Stanley was wicked smart and got himself into a good school with a scholarship. He stands out and a professor takes him under his wing, only the select are welcome, and here Stanley shines. And here his life begins.

Somehow the disconnect of these chapters do come together okay. The book does have some repetition due to the nature of Maggie going into Stanley’s past and her revealing this to Hassan. At times the book felt elongated unnecessarily. There were some really good interesting parts. Yet, it felt compiled from a handful of other stories and books, such as The Time Traveler’s Wife, some of Resident Evil, and a bit of Philip K Dick, etc... Overall, and enjoyable audio book.

Review 609: What Trees Remember

What Trees Remember by Marie Hrušková
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Too bad there isn't a book cover image, as it really is a nice drawing. The cover is pulled from one of the drawings in the book. This seems to be a bit of an obscure book.

This is a short book (easily read in a day, about an hour or so) about 30 important trees across the Czech Republic. Each entry has an illustration drawn by Jaroslav Turek. The associated essay about the particular tree tells the history of why this particular tree is important for the Czech country. Some are fables, but many more are associated with an important person. The trees are mainly oak, linden or pine.

One amazing fact was there were several times when a story mentions how the tree was planted upside down, crown first, and if it continue to grow then it proved something, such as a person’s innocence or where to build a church.

All of the trees discussed are old, ancient trees. Many of them have been helped by the local villagers across the years to continue the tree’s survival, such as banding the trunk, shoring up the branches, and in several cases placing a roof type structure over exposed hollows from broken off branches. And only one mentioned was no longer living by the time of publication, after a very long life.

The last portion of the book has a very short biography of each of the person’s mentioned and of the area where each tree is located. Makes this book feel a bit more of a history book than just a tree survey.

The book came from my continuing a deep dive into my shelves, as I bought in Prague on my second visit there over twenty years ago now. I bought this book as a type of a souvenir for the area. The paper is also very nice and the book is lovely. Not sure why it took me so long to finally read this. Maybe it just mostly got overlooked.

Review 608: Sleep A Bedtime Reader

Sleep A Bedtime Reader by Robert Peacock
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book did not do well to evoke the feeling of sleep or dreams. A few of the stories or poems did, particularly near the end. Generally the entries seemed random.

The imagery was weird. The book is printed in high-gloss full color pages. The images were more dream-like than the text.

Most of the authors I did not recognize but there were a few bigger names, also near the end of the book: Alice Walker, Lou Reed, Jack Kerouac, and the very last, one of my favorite was by Fran Lebowitz: Why I Love to Sleep. It was very funny. Alice Walker’s poem was good too.

The book is so short, I have no idea why it remained unread until now. Perhaps I did pick the book up a time a two (and forgotten) and wasn’t impressed. The book came to me through a mail order book-club I used to belong to, bought over twenty-five years ago. Without seeing it in person explains why I purchased it. Oh, and good cover image. Overall disappointing.

Review 607: French Lessons

French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Peter Mayle and his wife are British ex-pats in Southern France and use this Englishman non-French way of poking fun at both the English and French for their differences. In this book Mayle tours a few of the unusual festivals or fairs, sometimes with a companion.

There is the frog in Vittel, the snail in Martigny-les-Bains, blue footed chicken in Bresse, and the most pungent cheese in Livarot, just to name a few. Lots of food and flowing wine, and a lot of light-hearted interactions.

The shortest essay is the one where he got the wrong place and ended up in a muddy field while it’s raining, asking the farmer where to find Monthureux. Which one? The farmer asks. So, he missed the event. Mayle mostly pokes fun at himself.

My favorite essays are the first and last. The first being when he has fine French food for the first time as a young assistant. It opened up another world for him. The last essay being on the history of the Michelin Guide book. Mayle was hoping to do a ride along with one of the tasters. No, that was not going to happen. Secrecy is the most important.

This year I’ve been digging deep into my bookshelves, to those forgotten ones, this is another. The book is overall enjoyable, but I’m not much of a foodie.

Review 606: Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution

Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution by Patrick McGrath
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Found myself disappointed by this book, as it turned out to be something different than I expected. So maybe I should be disappointed in myself for misunderstanding what I was about to read.

Well, it seemed that despite the subtitle stating “A Novel of the Revolution”, that was not the main focus of the book. Instead it focused heavily on Harry Peake, Martha’s father. Oh, yes, Martha was there in the book but not as much as Harry.

Throughout the book, the story telling is overly dramatic. Then, a good way in the book, out of nowhere, this ghost type scenario appears. Strange sounds coming around in this old manor house and being told no one else was there.

After finishing the book I found out the author is known for his gothic tales. Someone more familiar with the author’s writing then would not be surprised. I bought this book a couple of decades ago, but I certainly wouldn't have done so if I knew about that aspect. My interest was in a woman becoming a hero of the revolution, which does come up in the book, but not until the near end.

I kept going with this to the end, mostly to see how it would all turn out. There is a bit of a twist, or surprise at the end. Not sure it was worth it sticking with the book. Certainly this book would work better for people who like gothic horror, or know what the book is about beforehand.

Review 605: Mine Work

Mine Work by Jim Davidson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite enjoyed this one. The main character, Markus Cottin is in search of his father's story, and his grandfather's. He knows nothing about their lives. The book becomes the story of Markus talking to people and finding out the Cottin’s story.

His father, Andrew Cottin left the family when Markus and Lucas were young. They almost never saw him. Lucas, not at all, but Markus found him. Andrew is living like a hermit, in the desert hills at a remote hard to get to location, where he works a small mining claim. Lucas had recently committed suicide which prompts Markus to seek out his father for the questions, who is he.

The father is mean and wants to be left alone. He hardly provides any details, but just enough for Markus to get started. The story involves a mining company, Cable Minerals, in a town called Madero. Andrew was convicted of blowing up two different mines owned by Cable Minerals.

Markus goes to the town of Madero to seek some of the answers. He ends up meeting his grandfather, Tom Cottin, which was a surprise as he grew up being told he died. Tom is hardly any help. He is an angry man as well, wants to be left alone, and can barely speaks in logical sentences. His mind seems to have gone. But the clues Markus gets helps. Another surprise is the death of Tom, suddenly and Markus had just seen him a day or two before, taken his picture even. Now he has to clear out the cabin, which provides a few more clues.

Markus returns to his dad. Andrew is not happy to see him. And when Markus tells of what he learns, he gets more grief. Told to leave it all alone.

This happens several times. Markus finds someone who tells more of the story and when he returns to his dad to reveal what he learns he is told to just give it up. But in not so nice of terms. The story is really about Tom Cottin, but Andrew is there, as a young boy growing up in Madero.

It’s an interesting way to tell the story. Although partway through the POV would switch from the person telling the story to the past, as if it was happening at the current moment. It was a bit jarring at first, as how would the characters know these actions. And that is part of a weakness here, that included in these sections are moments that the person telling this would not know some of it.

Review 604: Bookshelf

Bookshelf by Lydia Pyne
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

This is a short book, knew that going in, but it felt way too short. The book is one of the series in Object Lessons. It stays very close to the subject matter, providing history and various ways in types of bookshelf, such as moveable or fixed, and very short on what can be found on a bookshelf. I did enjoy reading about the history of chained bookshelves, and particularly the library in Hereford.

Some authors in this series take a wide view of the subject and include personal details from their life, but not here. Usually I do like that approach, yet here I wanted a peek at her own bookshelves.

This book felt like it barely scratched the surface of this topic. It had a long bibliography, pages of notes and index that all told are around 20% of the book. One book Pyne quoted from often I do hope to read later this year, The Book on the Bookshelf. I’ve had that book for a long while, perhaps it will provide more of the details that I felt missing from this book.

Unfortunately, another book discussed a little too much, provided spoilers for a book on my to read list, Umberto Eco’s, The Name of the Rose. Ugh. I will have to wait a while longer before reading so as to forget what I now know.

This was good, but ended with wanting more.

Note: First Object Lessons book bought, although read quite a few already.

Review 603: The High Desert

The High Desert by James Spooner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I saw this book at my library I had to read it. I was not a punk, but did listen to some of the music and saw some punk bands play a few times. Also in the 90’s, the era of the book, I spent some time in Apple Valley where this book takes place. I did not go to the high school there, nor knew anyone who actually lived in Apple Valley. But I did have a friend who had a house that he rented out, when empty a group of us would go up for a weekend sometimes. So this book has some familiarity.

Through the whole time reading the book I felt for James Spooner. He had it tough and as a teenager there’s already a lot going on. Moving as often as he did wasn’t helpful for finding long-term friends. On top of it the horrendous racism he encountered, he was a mixed-race kid. Spooner found himself identifying with the punk music and fashion, the way it presented itself, and in this crucial year he was learning.

Over the Christmas break he spent it at his dad’s in New York City. There he ran into a few punks that helped educate him which was pivotal in his life. The more Spooner learned about punk, the more it resonated with him. Back in Apple Valley still feeling lonely, never getting the girl. The attempt at being in a band didn’t work out, his friends were also going through some rough times. It didn’t help that they hung out with racist skinheads.

I was happy to see that SHARP (Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice) was mentioned, and the history of how skinhead culture got coopted by racists.

This was a personal memoir but it also speaks to being other.

Review 602: Strata: Stories from Deep Time

Strata: Stories from Deep Time by Laura Poppick
My rating: not-rated

The book is a bit more information dense than I was hoping for. It is readable, but you probably need a strong desire in reading about geology, deep time and stratigraphy.

The book is organized into four parts, Air, Ice, Mud and Heat.

I got through much of the section on Air, that contains a discussion on the GOE short for Great Oxygenation Event, or Great Oxidation Event. Scientists are having difficulty in determining when exactly this took place, and how. The rocks have to tell the story since this was such a very long time ago. The evidence is still there, but fragmentary, difficult to decipher. Opinions differ on what the rock is revealing. The details of this are interesting to some extent.

I image the rest of the book will be at the same detailed level and my interest just isn’t sustaining that deep dive at the moment. Perhaps I will attempt the book at another time, but for now I am leaving it here, partially read.

Review 601: The Way People Run

The Way People Run: Stories by Christopher Tilghman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A book of six short stories that are well written. They surprised me, as I enjoyed this collection more than I typically do with short story collections. This book is an exception. I am probably being generous with my rating, but in the genre of short story collections for me this one stands out as better than most.

While a few I really wished they were a start of something more, several others were fine leaving off where it ended, they felt complete. The six short story titles are:

• Something Important

• Room for Mistakes

• The Late Night News

• A Suitable Good-bye

• The Way People Run

• Things Left Undone

These all have a male protagonist. Family was a strong theme in these stories, often with the man seeming to be unsettled and not knowing where he fits in his life. He seems to be floundering, struggling in some way.

The subject matter wasn't the cinch with these stories, no, it was the writing style. How well the characters were quickly developed and felt fully formed and relatable in some way, even though I'm not that gender nor in those situations. Seems like I should search out some of Tilghman's longer works.

Review 600: None of This Is True

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book takes place in London, two women meet when they both are celebrating their birthday at the same pub. Turns out they are both exactly the same age, born not only on the same day, but in the same hospital. Alix Summers hosts a podcast about successful women who changed their lives. Josie Fair convinces her to do a podcast about her life on the cusp of change, although not successful she does have an intriguing story to tell. They call it “Hi, I’m Your Birthday Twin”.

Josie’s life is weird, while Alex’s life is fairly typical, married with two young children. Their only problem being that Nathan sometimes goes on drinking binges and ends up not coming home. Josie’s life is one no one would want. Her relationship is highly questionable as it began when her husband was a middle age man and she a teenager. Yet they marry? And all these years later still are married. It’s unfathomable.

They have two girls, both grown. One had left the house at 16 and the other keeps herself locked in her room playing video games and only eats soft foods. Something is definitely off in this family.

Josie is a manipulator and convinces Alix to do a podcast about her life. Given the title of the book you know not to trust everything she is saying.

I listened to the audiobook was had many narrators, sound effects and a great production. It added another dimension to the book. This is a creepy thriller that has tension throughout the book.

I read this for multiple challenges. I seem to be succumbing to these challenges, and well, it did give me a diversion from some of the serious books I’ve been reading.

Review 599: The Wreckage of Eden

The Wreckage of Eden by Norman Lock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the language and writing style of the books in this series: American Novels. This is the 5th book, I have not read all of them, and do not intend to, they are all standalone books. They all evolve around American writers, so far in the 19th Century. This one has Emily Dickinson as a character.

The book is written like it is speaking to Emily, perhaps as a letter to her. Robert Winter, a US Army Chaplain of the Lutheran faith, who is in love with Emily, although he does not say it so plainly. Winter asked Emily to marry him but she refuses, staying put in her Homestead with her Father. Yet they remain good friends, she writing to Winter, and him visiting her whenever he is in Amherst.

While I do like the language, it is not direct at times. It does obscure meaning occasionally, and yet I feel like this matches the time period a little more closely than our language of today.

Despite all that I do like, a large part of the book is taken up with Robert Winter serving as a chaplain in several wars or skirmishes. First it is with the Mexican War, then The Mormon Rebellion, and finally with Harper’s Ferry. The descriptions of some of these war scenes and what is taken by these periods of violence were not pleasant for me. Otherwise this was wonderful.

So what should have been a quick read, as this was not a long book, for me was not. I set it aside often. Although I also was away on a work trip then a vacation but I could have found time for the book if I found it more engaging. Perhaps the book deserves a bit more than my rating of 3.5 stars, so I’m rounding up.

Review 598: Wildfire Days

Wildfire Days: A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West by Kelly Ramsey
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

This memoir details working as a hotshot and being a woman. Oh, and also being about a decade or so older than most hotshots. Kelly Ramsey found solace in pushing her body beyond the limits in physically. She combined her love of working outdoors with fighting fire and the elite hotshots were perfect for her for going the extra.

The book covered not only fighting fires, but also her relationship at the time and her father who was an alcoholic. book we have Ramsey’s personal life, such as her relationship Josh who was also a firefighter, but not a hotshot. We also get extensive details about her father and growing up. These personal details does make her a more fuller person on the page. Certainly being away from home for weeks at a time doing exhausting work takes a toll on relationships. It’s an unusual job from the regular 9-5 where you come home every day.

The subtitle implies some focus on the “burning American West” but that was only incidental as they were the fires Ramsey and her crew were battling. There was one fire she didn’t fight and that was one that threatened her home at the time. But there was little information about fire in general, just sparse moments.

This seems to be my year of reading these types of books, the second for a memoir of being a hotshot, and a fictional tale of a fire that blows-up written in the 1940s. I have another book or two on my docket of fire related books, next one is another woman hotshot. I’m interested in how their stories compare.

Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 597: Water Moon

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars




This one was outside of my usual reading genre, but I enjoyed it. The book takes place in another world that mostly only interacts with our world through a pawn shop. The current owner retires and his daughter takes over, however on her first day her dad goes missing. Thus begins the quest, to find her father. Along for the ride is an outsider, one who is from our world.
Very interesting world building here, inventive.

Although this book is a quest theme and fantasy it is also about choice one makes in life. There is this thread running through the entire book about choice and how it changes you, making one decision or another. And sometimes these choices are subtle but lead to a big difference in your life as it goes along. This aspect I enjoyed.

I thought this book was for adults but maybe not, it could be young adult. The writing style makes me think it was more for a younger audience.

Review 596: The Risen

The Risen by Ron Rash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Two timelines and two brothers. A fateful summer of love. Short enough book to listen entirely during a day of travel across the country. Kept me entertained while I watched the land and clouds roll by through the plane window.

Read this book while traveling across the country yesterday.  I listened to the audiobook, narration was done well. Perhaps more notes on this when I've returned from my travels.

Review 595: Fire

Fire by George R. Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is all about a fiction fire that blows up in California. The location is fictionalized using real place names, but they aren’t near each other as stated in the book. The location is generally in the Sierra Nevada Mountains somewhere between Reno and Sacramento.

The characters are not fully fleshed out characters in the book, they are mere placeholders really for the jobs they do. A few characters do get some motivations and an extremely small amount of their life outside of the fire, but generally even then not more than a couple of sentences. Instead the main character that is fully explained and detailed is the fire. The Spitcat.

The book is broken up in “days” as the first day is the lightning strike that will create the fire. This first two chapters/days are more involved with the people, such as the Supervisor of the forest district and the fire lookout, which is a young woman. This is the only woman taking a “man’s” job during the firefighting operation. The only other women are not even named, but are secretary timekeepers or cooks.

The book was written in the 1940s, and the date does show. Not only with the sexism but also with the techniques of fighting fires and the approach to it.

I liked how the book described all the ways they pulled men in to help fight the fire. There were first the young boys, high school age doing summer work in the mountains. Then they had the smoke jumpers come in. By the time the fire blew-up they needed an army of men, they came in from other districts. They went and recruited from the streets of skid-rows in Stockton, Reno and Sacramento. They called these men pogies. They also brought in soldiers and convicts.

The book has two viewpoints, one that the forest is there to be used by man and the other to be remain pristine as a natural park for beauty. While the animals are of concern, there isn’t any concern about ecology or natural systems in how everything is connected.

In any case, this is a through telling of a fire burning through a forest.

Previously Read George R. Stewart books:

• Storm
• (3.75 stars) December.2023
• Earth Abides
• (5 stars) October.2017

Review 594: The Wedding

The Wedding by Dorothy West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Oval is a rich enclave of African American residents. Many own summer homes here, they all know one another. This season is the upcoming wedding of Shelby Coles, marrying a white man, a musician no less with no regular income. Shelby was expected to marry someone that has a profession, well to-do as she was brought up. And someone of her own race.

There are many character in this story. Shelby’s parents, her sister, Gram, and several other generations of ancestors. Also, a neighbor man who has his sights on Shelby. The story is not linear, and often goes in the past. It is somewhat confusing. I had a hard time getting hold of who was who and related and what was going on. The family tree in the beginning of the book helped.

I nearly gave up on the book half-way through out of sheer confusion of these mass of varied stories. But I found and watched half of the tv-mini series made near around when the book came out. Things clicked in from there, but there are major differences from the film version and the book (isn’t that always?).

The major theme for this book is race and racism. It shows many sides of this and not just from the whites but within black families as well. The question is also was Shelby’s decision to marry a white man because of race?

When the book takes a closer look at marriages and why people married who they did, there is something else. Shelby may be trying to change that dynamic and he just happens to be white. But Shelby has been beginning to question her choice even up to the day before the wedding. The ending seemed a bit abrupt to me, hastily finished.

Review 593: Notes to Myself

Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hugh Prather decided to be a writer, while his wife supported them on her teaching salary. Back in the late 60’s this may have been an usual set-up. After a few years he wasn’t getting very far, so he gleaned statements from his journal and the result was this book

They are mostly notes of helping him become a better person. They can be philosophical, or help you think about ways to approach life. It's not quite self-help. I feel like my description here is faulty.

The book has a lot of white space. The notes can be a sentence or two, often longer to a paragraph or more. In-between there is a small graphic of two leaves, at least in my copy of the book.
This book did well for him and these notes became very popular in the 1970s. It started him on a series of a similar theme.

I bought a used copy of the book when I was in my early-twenties and read about half of the book. I liked it at the time, thought it was profound. Not sure why I didn’t finish, but I always wanted to return to it.

Now many years later, I’m trying to get to some of these older books. Started over and read through in a couple of days, and, well it was okay. Didn’t find it amazing or anything. Perhaps the book was more profound while young or the intervening years I’ve lived more. Not sure.

I expect this may be one of those books that when it finds you at the right time it very good, but if not it’s just okay.

Review 592: Buffalo Justice

Buffalo Justice: A Contemporary Western Mystery by W. Michael Gear
My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars

The Gear’s (husband and wife writing team) have a long list of books under their names, most written together, some separately. This is a new genre for the Gears, from their long series of Native Peoples called: North America's Forgotten Past. Instead of focusing on the historical past we have “A Contemporary Western Mystery” based in Montana and Wyoming, buffalo country.

The book starts with the murder of a very rich man and conservation lawyer Ryman Banks. Ryman runs an organization based on saving the purity of the buffalo. Along the way he’s made several enemies, including his soon to be ex-wife, who gains his estate with his death which she was not getting in the divorce.

This becomes a high-profile case for the state of Montana and the DOJ assigns a new agent Jillian Masterson. What follows is trying to piece out who and why Ryman was killed.

It’s a fast-paced book, as many of the Gear’s books can be. I read this based on my enjoyment of their historic series, but this type of book is not really my usual fare. While it was well written, and I learned about genetics and buffalo, I'm not a fan of police procedurals. For those who do enjoy this genre they will find much to enjoy here.

Thanks to Wolfpack Publishing /BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 591: The Strange Case of Jane O.

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a psychological case of Jane O. The book uses the view point of the psychiatrist, Dr. Henry Bryd, and Jane, as letters to her baby son. Jane has perfect memory, except in a couple of cases and lost time.

Jane goes to Dr. Bryd because she had a day of lost memory, she didn’t know where she was or what happened and this was very unusual for her. The book tries to piece together what's going on as she has more of these "fugue states".

This does become an interesting case.

I had a strong interest in psychology when I was younger, which was why this book appealed to me for reading. It’s interesting how reading tastes or interests change through the years. In any case, this book is set up like a psychological case, which added to the appeal.

Thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 590: Nellie Taft

Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era by Carl Sferrazza Anthony
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very much enjoyed this biography of Nellie Taft, named Helen Louise Heron, but always went by Nellie. I liked the writing style and how the information was presented, linear, and perfect for this type of biography.

While young she decided she wanted to marry a man who would be president and in William Taft she found her man, even though his ambition was to be on the Supreme Court. Well, he managed both.

Nellie was quite the woman, her own mind and did a lot of "firsts" as a president's wife. If alive today she likely would have run for president instead of her husband.

I would like to say more, but this is all I can manage at this moment. Oh, except to add she is responsible for all the Japanese Cherry Trees in Washington, D.C.

Review 589: River of the Gods

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is somewhat a biography of Richard Burton, with John Hanning Speke being a companion on several expeditions into Africa being backed by the Royal Geographic Society.

Richard Burton is quite the character. The book begins with Burton attempting to complete the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca completely disguised as a Muslim. Being found out he faced certain death. However, he pulled it off and later wrote about it.

Burton was a polyglot and was easily able to understand new languages. While in the 18th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry he learned 12 languages in 7 years, often placing first in the exams over other officers who studied for years. He was aiming to rise in the ranks quickly by being an interpreter.

Burton was able to get commissions from the Royal Geographic Society to lead an expedition into the interior of Africa to find the source of the Nile, or White Nile as they often called it. Ended up being several. One ended before it really began being attacked by 350 Somalis. Burton took a javelin through his face, which left a permanent scar across his checks.

Speke was there as well and barely escaped with his life, but readily joined Burton when he set out on the next expedition. This time the men battled many illness. Speke was blinded for a while from one illness, then a beetle ended up inside his ear. This left him partially deaf but somehow helped heal his vision issues.

Amazingly, these men were still willing and excited to go back to Africa again, even after all the illnesses they suffered and being attacked.

Without making this too much longer, I did enjoy this book. However, it felt like the expeditions were not as detailed and drawn out as one would think. Perhaps many details were left out in order to keep the book a shorter length? The book is not long, just over 300 pages, but easily could have added 100 more.

A good portion of the book was about other biographical aspects of Burton, which often included Speke. He betrayed Burton in reporting to the Royal Geographic Society. People tended to side with Speke over Burton, who’s reputation was not all that good. The book was quite compelling.

Review 588: Two Old Women

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This oral story of the Gwich'in band, one of eleven groups in the Alsakan Athabaskan People. The story has been told for generation. Wallis felt the need to write it down and share with a larger audience. It was one story her mother told her of the many stories she shared. Wallis grew up as a Native person in the same area where this legend takes place.

The tale tells of a village of The People facing a particularly hard time of starvation and winter upon them. The chief makes the difficult decision to leave behind two old women while they move camp, leaving the women behind to die of starvation and cold. What the women do next perhaps surprises even themselves.

I've this print book for so long, over 20 years, that I’m not sure why I hadn’t read it until now. When I discovered my local library had an audio copy I decided to listen to it. Since it was originally an oral story I think this may have been the better way to read it. Except my print book did come with line drawings and a couple of maps that enhanced the text.

It is a short book, not much over two hours in audio and under 150 print pages. Again, I’m not sure why I overlooked this book on my shelves. Easily able to read this in one day, which I did. One thing the audio did not have was Editor’s note at the end. It shared briefly a little about the author but also explained how they had difficulty getting the book published in the late 1980s. One problem was the author was a women, the other that the native peoples thought the story made them look bad. Finally they were able to find funding to get the book published through a subscription model in 1993.

Review 587: The Changing Lives of Joe Hart

The Changing Lives of Joe Hart by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the sixth book in the Middle Falls Time Travel series. Each book addresses something slightly different. This time the main character, Joe Hart, tries to change history. First by trying to prevent his two friends deaths while young, more globally to prevent John Lennon's death in New York.

Another twist with this story is that when Joe Hart dies it is accidental and he is still “rebooted” like in a video game, In previous books this resetting of one’s life happens when the death was self-inflicted. The moment the character returns to is when they were on the cusp of making an important life choice.

This book fell a little into a pattern somewhat like the other books, despite the difference, which actually are quite small. One of the reasons I typically don’t read long series books is they do become somewhat formulaic. However, I did decide to continue on with these as they do tend to make one think about grander philosophic questions which makes them interesting.

Previously Read Middle Falls Time Travel Series books:

• Book 1: The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver
• (4 stars) July.2024
• Book 2: The Redemption of Michael Hollister
• (4 stars) July.2024
• Book 3: The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner 
• (3 stars)  September.2024
• Book 4: The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon
• (4 stars)  April.2025
• Book 5: The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister 
• (3 stars)  April.2025

Review 586: Wild Girls

Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of the first two books in a new series called Norton Shorts, by publisher W.W. Norton. They are calling it “Brilliance with Brevity”. Further description “Written by leading-edge scholars, these eye-opening books deliver bold thinking and fresh perspectives in under two hundred pages.”

For this book, and one of the inaugural books for the series, I think it missed the mark. It was short, and I think that was part of the problem with the book. It was even under 150 pages, it needed more length.

The author Miles focused only on a few women and it needed more depth to hold up to that subtitle. I don't think the author proved her thesis. Also, even with these few women it was occasionally a stretch in placing the outdoors with the women, although not for all of them.

The main subjects were: Harriot Tubman, Louisa May Alcott, and Genevieve Healy, Jane Johnson Schoolcraft and Mamie Gavin Fields get a few pages, along with mentions of Sakakawea. Miles also writes extensively about a girls basketball team of Native Americans. It was highly unusual for the time. I do appreciate the author finding some women who may have made a mark during their time, that are not well known. However, I was still wanting more.

The book contained some photos, all in black and white, and the back had an extensive section of notes on sources and quotations. Which then brings the text to 120 pages, yes, very short.

Review 585: Go

Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This was not an enjoyable book for me. I disliked the main character, Sugihara through much of the book. But I kept reading as I haven’t read many Japanese books, and none where the main character is considered Korean. It’s a different life to explore.

Why I didn’t like Sugihara is mainly due to all the fighting. I’m much more for peace than fistfights. And fighting scenes are not what I want to read. When the book shifted to the girl Sugihara dates it became more pleasant for me, less fighting. But the ending, I did not like.

The book highlights prejudice and assumptions. Sugihara was born and raised in Japan. His father, however, was born in Korea. He left and settled in Japan. Both of Sugihara’s parents retain North Korean passports. There was a choice but his father was somewhat idealistic and chose the north, so his son was raised in the North Korean schools.

When Sugihara was about to enter high school his father wanted to visit Hawaii, which was impossible to do with a North Korean passport so he just switched to South Korean and was able to visit. This was a revelation for Sugihara, as he realized you can just switch your nationality and it means nothing. You are who you are regardless of which passport you hold.

What Sugihara has difficulty in accepting is the harassments for Korean people in Japan. How is he different than a Japanese as he was born and raised there? Why does Japan treat him like a foreigner? Interesting questions.

Since this book became a success in Japan when it came out over 20 years ago, one may hope there has been some changes. Although racism is hard to overcome in any country. Glad I read this despite my somewhat lack of enjoyment, still got something out of the book.

Review 584: Lost at Sea

Lost at Sea: Poverty and Paradise Collide at the Edge of America by Joe Kloc
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

Just north of San Francisco in Marin County is Richardson Bay and the city of Sausalito. This location is where the book takes place, with stories and life experiences by a community of people called anchor-outs.

They live in the bay on boats not sanctioned by any government agency so the city and harbor master take to removing the boats. When someone isn’t living in one every day, the boat is impounded then destroyed. Although some called the people unhoused before they lost their boat, now they really are homeless.

This is a collection of stories but lacks solutions or other commentary than just stating what this community has experienced over the past ten years or so.

People have been living in boats for a long time, over a hundred years, since the time of the great earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. Some of the current community members have been living on their boats for decades. This is not a new community. Except the number of boats expanded by nearly doubled when the financial crisis hit.

Marin County is a wealthy community and some residents complained about their view. There were complaints about the anchor-outs polluting the waters, although no ecological testing proved this was an issue.

The author spent nearly ten years visiting these people, hearing their stories and at times living with them. When nearly all of the boats had been impounded and torn up a tent city erupted. Kloc slept in the tents for a few days as well, this being around the time of the pandemic.

Kloc and some of the anchor-outs attend city council meetings. It becomes very eye-opening when you realize a city, or other government agency is willing to spend thousands of dollars, in this case close to half a million dollars, on legal fees to evict and otherwise harass these unhoused individuals. None of this money is spent on providing any relief for these people.

Something missing from this book is more information on the house boats that are legally in the bay. They are mentioned very briefly but not deeply enough to provide context. How is it that there is a community of people living on boats in the bay accepted and others are not. It may just boil down to money, as usual, but this part of the story is lacking.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a conclusion to the book either. No solutions or options were provided, it really is just a collection of stories about some of the people’s lives who lived in the bay in unusual living conditions.




Thanks to Dey Street Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Review 583: Henry Thoreau as Remembered by a Young Friend

Henry Thoreau as Remembered by a Young Friend by Edward Waldo Emerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a somewhat small book recounting the character and person of Henry David Thoreau. The author, Edward Emerson was a child growing up in Concord and knew Thoreau quite well being the son of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Emerson does not rely solely on his own experiences and memories, he includes other people's remarks about Thoreau. There are also passages of Thoreau’s that were from his diary or other published works. He also has a few poems, or lines of poetry that is sprinkled throughout.

The book was published about 70 years after Thoreau's passing and is a response to those who criticized his character. Some of the townsfolk of Concord at that time thought he was lazy or didn’t do right by his family by spending time wandering around the woods. Emerson here points out how Thoreau was wisely spending his time. He also shows how Thoreau was ahead of his time. If that was noticeable in 1917 he is every more so now another 100 plus years later.

Review 582: The Ancients

The Ancients by John Larison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is quite an epic, but it didn't really wow me. It felt like one long fable almost. I see that many people are calling this science fiction and future looking, but it is the opposite, takes place in the very far past. The title says it all – the ancients.

These people are dealing with climate change, but don't understand it as such.

The story follows several characters, and some from peoples...they are enemies, likely only because they are other, different. We have a family, three siblings lost their parents. They do not know they were kidnapped, her mother survives. These three go in search of their auntie who a while before left to walk up and across the mountains.

There is also a noble, who has his own struggles, one being a lover of men in a world where it is unknown. He is a scholar, but only in his spare time. His father recently died and now he is in charge of the production of wool.

The noble lives in a grand city, while the family lives in a village, a small place. There are many adventures, of a sort that take place.

Throughout there is hope that conveyed. Your ancestors survived and so shall you. The author is telling us there has been climate change before, humans survived and we will again.

Wish I did enjoy it more. Maybe it’s a book to be reread and glean more out of it with a second reading.

Review 581: Old King

Old King by Maxim Loskutoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book starts in 1976 from Salt Lake City and quickly moving to Lincoln, Nebraska where most of the book takes place. We follow mainly three men, Duane who had to leave SLC as he was broken from his wife giving him divorce papers. Then there is the hermit Ted Kaczynski, yeah that guy who builds bombs and mails them to people. And there is Nep, a Postal Service inspector trying to catch this bomber.

For most of the book it is told from Duane’s point of view. We get much shorter passages from the other two men. We also get the POV of other characters. Jackie is the lone female voice in this book. She’s divorced and a long time native of this place, while some of the others are more recent transplants, even if they arrived a decade ago. Lincoln is almost like another character, a very small town in the middle of the woods, some of which is being clear cut.

Menace is laced through the book with Ted’s nefarious actions. The book opens with a bomb that goes off when a security guard at a computer lab in a university campus goes off. It doesn’t kill him. Ted is intent in killing someone. It’s eerie. Never does he become a sympathetic character.

The timeline and how things move forward in the book is a bit confusing. It may say years later, then Duane had been here a year…something like that. I just decided to go with the flow and not pay much attention to it closely.

Overall this was a decent read.

Review 580: A California Bestiary

A California Bestiary by Rebecca Solnit
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A very small book showcasing 12 animals in California. A couple are now extinct, or nearly, while others have been close to extinction, yet rebounded successfully, such as the elephant seal. Then there are a few that are abundant.

Each animal is accompanied by a color image drawn by Mona Caron. The essays are short and informative. My only problem with the book is that it was entirely too short.

Review 579: When It All Burns

When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World by Jordan Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While working on a graduate degree Jordan Thomas takes a break from research to understand fire better and joins the hotshots and battles wildfires for a season. He didn't put it this way, others and himself questioned why he wanted to join this elite firefighting team. One of his explanations was simply he needed money. But there are a ton of ways to earn money. Thomas was also interested in fire and wanted to understand it more thoroughly, and why not experience it by fighting it.

The book is not only about working as a US Forest Service Hotshot, it also delves into the history of fire and environmental changes being seen due to the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

The book was a blend of personal story, history and more, but it also felt somewhat uneven. The history aspect turned into outrage against corporations, while it may be understood, it changed the tenor of the overall book.

It was fascinating to get an inside look at this dangerous job, that is being even more necessary as more of these firestorms and super-heated wildfires will increase in the coming years.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, which was narrated by the author. Oftentimes author narrators don’t do this very well, but this was an exception and was well done.

Thanks to Penguin Group Riverhead and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book, and PRH Audio for advance access to the audiobook.