Tilt by Emma PatteeMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
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Monday, April 7, 2025
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Review: The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America
The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya KennedyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a short biography and history about a famous transformative night, the ride that changed everything. Paul Revere was not alone on April 18, 1775 riding out to warn that an attack was imminent by the British soldiers, but his story is the one that best known. Revere’s ride was also the most effective, where William Dawes was a bit slower, or maybe not as personable as Revere.
The book provides a small amount of biography of Paul Revere. He was named after his father who was also Paul Revere, after he changed from his French name Apollos Rivoire. Revere was a bell ringer in 1750, a teenager then and pledged himself along with several other boys to always ring the bells at Old North Church at least one evening a week for a year.
Revere was given to joining societies and at twenty-five joined the Masons, the St. Andrew’s Lodge which was formed in dissent to the elite St. John’s Lodge whose members were mostly loyal to the Crown. This group of men grew close friendships through the years and tended toward rebellion and independence through the 1760s. It was through this group that Paul Revere became the man who rode the horse on that fateful night.
It felt momentous to read this as we approach the 250 year anniversary. While I knew about Paul Revere and his ride, as we are taught as children, this book filled in many details of the man and the night. The book is somewhat narrow, but not exclusively focused on the ride. I enjoyed learning a tidbit about his many generations later descendants who have been named Paul Revere and are carrying it through the years, with the youngest now being the 4th, although the Patriot Paul Revere is his six-times great-grandfather.
I listened to this book on audio, but did not particularly enjoy the narrator. The way he had of speaking is not a style that I liked, almost like shouting but not loudly. Perhaps it is a just a quirk of mine and others will have no problem with the narrator.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillian Audio and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
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Review 548: Rental House
Rental House by Weike WangMy rating: 3.25 of 5 stars
A relatively short book about a marriage, about navigating life and in-laws. We meet them when they meet each other, their last year in college. Keru comes from an immigrant family from China, an only child. While Nate is from a poor white family he calls himself white trash. He amazed his family by getting a full scholarship into this ivy league school, it was unexpected.
Both sets of parents, particularly the mother’s have the same sort of discussions of most families: when will you have kids, when will you visit, why can’t you live closer to me? The issue of will they have kids comes up between Nate and Keru several times. Instead of child they have a dog which is a character in the book as well, Mantou.
A few thorny issues are here in the book, such as race, but this and political type issues are raised it felt very natural. It was pushed into the story, but part of what life is about.
The book is split into two parts, with a very short three-page interlude between. There are some paragraph breaks, but no chapters.
I did have a copy of the print book, but I listened to the audiobook. I liked the way the narrator stressed some of the words and sentences. Not sure I would have print read it in the same way, so it added another dimension to the story.
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Review 547: Beyond the White House
Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope by Jimmy CarterMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
With the recent passing of former President Jimmy Carter I figured it was a good time to read one of the books I’ve had sitting on my shelf for awhile unread. This book was a good introduction to the work Carter and his wife Rosaylnn has been doing through the past several decades, and it is remarkable work.
The first chapter is a bit of an eye opener at the state of the Carter’s affairs after leaving the President’s office. They had to remove themselves from his farming business during his term and what had been a lucrative business free of debt was now over $1million dollars in debt. So he was broke. Plus needed to raise funds for a Presidential library, and left the office as an unpopular person. He decided to not use his experience for an monetary gain, but instead to be benevolent or work in some non-profit way. This became the impetus for starting The Carter Center.
The Carter Center has several aims and goals, which basically come down to improving people’s lives, particularly in impoverished areas. The book covers some of the work they have been involved in since the founding of the center. It’s quite impressive.
The list is long: such as being mediators in war zone areas, preventing or stopping wars, overseeing and helping democracy in areas previously run by dictators, trying to eradicate the overlooked diseases in poor nations, not to mention human rights, women’s equality and much more. Due to the amount of work and the many different countries Carter has worked in, the book feels more like a summary instead of a detailed account.
Or course, this work was not done by Jimmy Carter alone. There were many people that helped, interns at the Center, doctors that lead the charge in helping with the diseases, and partnering with Emory University. But his name and position has helped tremendously in some areas and places, allowing him access where others would be denied, or it would take much longer to get to a point of talking with other leaders.
An informative book about a remarkable man. Too bad more ex-Presidents would take his lead as an example of what that clout can do. Thankfully Carter had a long life and was able to make a lasting change in many people’s lives.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Review 546: A Gesture Life
A Gesture Life by Chang-rae LeeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Franklin Hota known as Doc Hota around the quaint town of Bedley Run is our main character. This novel is mainly a character study. A Korean-Japanese immigrant to the United States, now living in a small town in New York. He sets up a shop of selling medical supplies, which is how he became known as Doc. He always tells people he’s not a doctor, but they insist on the moniker.
He adopted a daughter, Sunny, and named his business after her, but the relationship had never been a good one. As the book continues Franklin reveals more of his life during the war, where he served as a medic in the Japanese forces. His unit didn’t see much action, but they did have comfort women.
The book is not fast paced. There are a few people he becomes friends in town, particularly a neighbor he had a relationship with for a few years, but overall he seems to be a lonely person. Some of this stems from his childhood, where his parents sent him to live with an adopted family to become Japanese.
I never got a clear view of his relationship to his daughter while she was growing up. There were few snippets of that time, and she seemed to be removed emotionally from him. But without more to go on, it was hard to get a good sense.
There is movement of the daily life and things that happen, but overall no real plot. The story is propelled by the revelations of his time during the war and what actually happened.
The language and writing style was well done. I had this book sitting on my bookshelves for well over twenty years, not sure why I waited so long.
I started reading my print book. Around 40% through the book I wanted to read it faster, and sometimes I have more time to read via audio. I found the audiobook at my local library and finished the last 60% in a two days, where the first part took about a week.
Review 545: The Note
The Note by Alafair BurkeMy rating: 3.75 of 5 stars
Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. A mystery, thriller type book. Three long-time friends get together in person, in the Hamptons for the first time in person after the pandemic. They are the cancelled crew, each found themselves in the midst of a scandal that went viral in the past few years.
The main character is May Hanover, we get her point of view for over a third of the book, when it suddenly shifts and shows other character points of view. That was jarring.
The three now are trying to keep a low profile after going viral. For May it was a video where she became known as the Asian Karen, yelling mistakenly at a black man. Lauren is older than the other two friends, but seem to have been the glue to reuniting them all. Her scandal involved a married man who had influence to get her the job as the music director of the Houston Symphony and race plays into this as well. Then there’s Kelsey who’s husband she was divorcing was murdered. The suspect has not yet been found, and of course she was one of the main suspects, but has a solid alibi.
On this Hampton trip they find themselves involved in a mystery of a missing man.
There's more to this book than on first glance.
Monday, January 27, 2025
Review 544: The Rest of Life: Three Novellas
The Rest of Life: Three Novellas by Mary GordonMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Lately, I’ve been making an effort to read some of those books that have lingered way too long on my bookshelves. This was one of them. At one point I thought maybe I had read one of the novellas, but nothing seemed familiar.
The first novella, Immaculate Man, was enjoyable in the beginning. But it quickly became a bit tedious. There was repetition of the same material, nothing much happened in the story, it was all very introspective, thoughts of present and past, and the story went on for a very long time. Unfortunately, this became a pattern for each novella.
The brief story line for this one was told from a divorced woman with two kids who is a social worker for abused women. She meets a priest as part of the job and they end up having a relationship together. He is an innocent in sexual relations and relationships. Most of the story is her describing his life, and some of his mentor, an older priest who she became very good friends with but is dying.
The second novella, Living at Home, was awful in that it was so boring. The repetition became too much. I wanted to quit reading so many times, but I persevered and kept going.
It's also from a woman’s point of view, divorced with two boys but they are grown now. The story is mostly about her Italian boyfriend. She is living in London, her parents from Germany, but she grew up mostly in America. So she feels like she doesn’t fit in with the British, nor America, nor anywhere really and her boyfriend travels so much that they have that similarity. Again, most of the story is told about him, or their relationship, and not much happens.
The last novella, The Rest of Life, was the better of the three, but I still did not enjoy it very much. Another story from the point of view of a woman, but this time she is older and she is a widow. Her son and his finance are taking her back to Italy, to her home town after being sent away as a teenager. Her thoughts about what happened, why she was sent away, and how she could never tell this story to her son is repeated several times.
Every novella was introspective, without much action and very little plot, with the exception of the last novella, that one had something of a plot. All of them seemed to go on way too long. This book is probably something I would have enjoyed more back when I bought the book, too bad I waited so long.
The first novella, Immaculate Man, was enjoyable in the beginning. But it quickly became a bit tedious. There was repetition of the same material, nothing much happened in the story, it was all very introspective, thoughts of present and past, and the story went on for a very long time. Unfortunately, this became a pattern for each novella.
The brief story line for this one was told from a divorced woman with two kids who is a social worker for abused women. She meets a priest as part of the job and they end up having a relationship together. He is an innocent in sexual relations and relationships. Most of the story is her describing his life, and some of his mentor, an older priest who she became very good friends with but is dying.
The second novella, Living at Home, was awful in that it was so boring. The repetition became too much. I wanted to quit reading so many times, but I persevered and kept going.
It's also from a woman’s point of view, divorced with two boys but they are grown now. The story is mostly about her Italian boyfriend. She is living in London, her parents from Germany, but she grew up mostly in America. So she feels like she doesn’t fit in with the British, nor America, nor anywhere really and her boyfriend travels so much that they have that similarity. Again, most of the story is told about him, or their relationship, and not much happens.
The last novella, The Rest of Life, was the better of the three, but I still did not enjoy it very much. Another story from the point of view of a woman, but this time she is older and she is a widow. Her son and his finance are taking her back to Italy, to her home town after being sent away as a teenager. Her thoughts about what happened, why she was sent away, and how she could never tell this story to her son is repeated several times.
Every novella was introspective, without much action and very little plot, with the exception of the last novella, that one had something of a plot. All of them seemed to go on way too long. This book is probably something I would have enjoyed more back when I bought the book, too bad I waited so long.
Friday, January 24, 2025
Review 543: Babylonia
Babylonia by Costanza CasatiMy rating: 4.25 of 5 stars
This book takes place in the ancient world of Assyria and nearby (Mesopotamia) from 823 to 813 BCE. It begins with the orphan Semiramis who lives in a village, beaten by her adopted father, yet yearning to know everything. She was a unique child, especially for being a girl. The boys did not like how she was faster than them when climbing the cliffs or running. Now she is told she must marry. Instead, Semiramis changes her destiny by going with the new governor back to the city capital as his wife.
This ancient world comes to life in this historical fiction book. There is such empowerment in this book, from the strength of this orphan, of this woman, doing what other say only men could do. Learning how to defeat her fear, how to treat others that would otherwise be ignored, she taught many.
As with historical fiction, the author’s note is always something I look for and here it included an ancient Babylonian calendar. She did thorough research and for what is known that happened that long ago is accurate in the book.
This term fantasy has been applied to this book, but I find that incorrect. This is historical, maybe mythological, a retelling of what was found in an ancient scroll. The people back then believed in many gods, they interpreted the world differently than we do now. But there was no magic, no one had special powers, people were just people with different ways of living.
Book rating: 4.25 stars
Thanks to the Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy prior to publication.
However, I read 80% of the book via audio from my local library.
This ancient world comes to life in this historical fiction book. There is such empowerment in this book, from the strength of this orphan, of this woman, doing what other say only men could do. Learning how to defeat her fear, how to treat others that would otherwise be ignored, she taught many.
As with historical fiction, the author’s note is always something I look for and here it included an ancient Babylonian calendar. She did thorough research and for what is known that happened that long ago is accurate in the book.
This term fantasy has been applied to this book, but I find that incorrect. This is historical, maybe mythological, a retelling of what was found in an ancient scroll. The people back then believed in many gods, they interpreted the world differently than we do now. But there was no magic, no one had special powers, people were just people with different ways of living.
Book rating: 4.25 stars
Thanks to the Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy prior to publication.
However, I read 80% of the book via audio from my local library.
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Review 542: Eleanore of Avignon
Eleanore of Avignon by Elizabeth DeLozierMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Didn’t know what to expect with this historical fiction, and was pleasantly surprised by it
The location is in the title, Avignon, taking place during 1347-1348. The main character is Elanore, so the title describes the basics. What it doesn’t describe is she is a twin, and although they are identical they are vastly different people.
Eleanore takes after their mother, who was a healer, herbalist and midwife. The twins are still morning her passing. It wasn’t entirely clear how long ago that was, but probably not too long ago.
Eleanore meets the most famous doctor in Avignon, who is interested in learning more about her herbal remedies. When the plague hits Avignon their world is turned upside down. An absorbing book with good pacing. Excellent debut novel.
I listened to the audiobook which was well narrated. Perhaps that’s why I found the book so absorbing, enjoyed listening to it.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Review 541: On A Mission
On A Mission: Selected Poems and a History of the Last Poets by Abiodun OyewoleMy rating: 4.25 of 5 stars
This is mostly a book of poetry, but it is also a book of history of two of the seven men who called themselves The Last Poets. These two are the authors Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole.
They formed their group in New York City on May 19, 1968, at Mount Morris Park during a birthday celebration for Malcom X. The group had a purpose, a call to African Americans to revolutionize, to see the truth of themselves, to love themselves, and to have power.
The beginning of the book has several essays, including an introduction written by Kim Green. Each of the authors wrote a long essay about themselves and how they came to form the group. The rest of the book contains their poems, with an introduction to each poem about why they wrote it, or what situation or feelings formed it. I’ve never encountered this format in a book of poetry before.
Poetry itself is always hard to rate, does it speak to you? These poems are more non-fiction than most poetry. I read these poems printed on the page, but suspect hearing these out loud would be more powerful.
Friday, January 10, 2025
Review 540: At Hawthorn Time
At Hawthorn Time by Melissa HarrisonMy rating: 3.25 of 5 stars
A somewhat slow meandering book focused on several people in a small village in Great Britain. The book starts with something yet to come, a bad car accident.
We follow several people for a main point of view, starting with a homeless man who is walking the old roads. He’s very connected to nature and disconnecting to people. He shouldn’t leave London after being released from jail, but he can’t be in a big city and the jail nearly broke him entirely. Now, he is heading to the farming village of Lodeshill to help with the harvest cutting asparagus.
Next is Kitty and Howard. They moved about a year ago to Lodeshill and living in the country was Kitty’s dream, not Howard’s who would rather have stayed in London. The kids are out on their own now and it’s just the two of them and their marriage is in a bit of a shamble.
Then there’s Jamie. He’s a young man working two jobs now and is working on his car dreaming of how that will be when it’s done and he can show it off. Jamie is an interesting character, often thinking about his past with his next door neighbor friend he no longer knows since the suddenly left some years ago.
Nature and the outdoors are prominent, as is how things are changing, nothing is the same. It is village life here with these people and a few others. It all comes to culmination to what came at the start of the book. It was an okay book. I liked the writing style.
Thursday, January 9, 2025
Review 539: The Lost Family
The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Relatives, and Upending Who We Are by Libby CopelandMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is primarily about genealogy research, but it goes way beyond that, and is completely focused on the DNA aspect.
The author notes near the end that the technology is rapidly changing and she was worried that just while researching and writing that it would be outdated by the time of publication. Maybe. And here it is now several years later. I would point out that even so, the story contained within was fascinating enough even if some of the tech becomes outdated.
The frame of the book follows a woman, Alice Collins, that discovered a strange family mystery when she took her first DNA test. It revolved around her father who turns out not to be Irish but Jewish. It takes Alice several years to resolve some of the family mysteries. Along the way she gives DNA kits to people that possibly are relatives, finds people who are thought to be cousins, turn out not to be genetically, yet still feel like family. There are several other stories like this, discovering mysteries, such as your father is not your biological father, or your family comes from a different part of the world that family lore has said.
DNA has also helped adopted children find their birth parents, or half-siblings. Sperm donor children find out who their father is. These types of stories are expanding and changing who is family.
DNA also has a way of tracking down people that other police methods had been unable, with one of the bigger cold case being solved, finding the serial killer nicknamed The Golden State Killer. Yet these police investigations also raise questions about of privacy and consent.
There is much more in this book than these notes here. I quite enjoyed the book, which I listened to an audio copy from my library. I’m considering purchasing a print copy for future rereading or referencing for my own genealogy research.
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Review 538: Flower Diary
Flower Diary: In Which Mary Hiester Reid Paints, Travels, Marries & Opens a Door by Molly PeacockMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
When I first heard about this book, a cursory description from the publisher, I thought it sounded interesting. Later, after receiving a print copy of the book I wasn’t so sure. What do I know about art and painting? Nothing.
I started reading just the beginning to see if I actually wanted to read the book, and I just kept going. The author started her writing career as a poet and it shows in this book’s writing style. Without knowing who these people are, nor anything about art, the writer drew me in and had me keep reading.
This book describes the life of an American-Canadian woman painter, Mary Hiester Reid (1854-1921). The author does a thorough job of researching her life and finding what little there is her through letters or from the biography of her perhaps more well known husband George Reid (1860-1947). (Knowing nothing about the art world, maybe both are equally well known?) She was a force for her time, breaking through the art world when it was male dominated.
The book includes images of Mary’s paintings, and a few from George. The print copy I have they are all in black and white, unfortunately. I did look a few up on the internet, but the author actually describes the paintings somewhat well, such as discussing the color and brush strokes. The paintings are analyzed, meaning is found and placed upon Mary (or George) and emotion, quite a lot of emotion. And it is using these paintings that give significant meaning to Mary’s life and this biography.
Between each chapter is an “Interlude”. The paper here is not white, but a light gray. Many times the interlude is about the author’s life, Molly Peacock, but sometimes it is tangential to the lives of the Reids. With this interlude we get a bit of autobiography, without this I would say the book tended towards the academic, even though it is fairly readable.
This turned out to be quite an enjoyable and interesting book, and just maybe I learned a tiny bit about art.
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