Review: The Risen

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



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Review: The Risen

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

Read this book while traveling across the country yesterday. Short enough to read entirely with the day's travel. Kept me entertained while I watched the land and clouds roll by through the plane window. I listened to the audiobook, narration was done well. Perhaps more notes on this when I've returned from my travels.

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Review: The Risen

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

Read this book while traveling across the country yesterday. Short enough to read entirely with the day's travel. Kept me entertained while I watched the land and clouds roll by through the plane window. I listened to the audiobook, narration was done well. Perhaps more notes on this when I've returned from my travels.

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Review: Fire

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



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Review: The Wedding

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



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Review: Notes to Myself

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

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: Buffalo Justice: A Contemporary Western Mystery

Buffalo Justice: A Contemporary Western Mystery by W. Michael Gear
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Strange Case of Jane O.

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era

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



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Review: River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

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



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Review: Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival

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



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Review: 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.



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Review: Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation

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.


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Review: Go

Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: Lost at Sea: Poverty and Paradise Collide at the Edge of America

Lost at Sea: Poverty and Paradise Collide at the Edge of America by Joe Kloc
My rating: 4 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.


Book rating: 3.75 stars


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.

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Review: 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



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Review: The Ancients

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



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Review: Old King

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



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Review: A California Bestiary

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



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Review: When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World

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



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Review: The Time Machine

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Scotland: An Intimate Portrait

Scotland: An Intimate Portrait by Geddes MacGregor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: The Red Umbrella

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is another freebie book from Sync some years back (2017). I did not finish the book. I listened to just under 14%, which equals to around 40 pages, not too far into the book, but I wasn’t enjoying it.

The writing is very simplistic, which this is billed as young adult sometimes it can be overlooked. I read a few reviews, both those who liked it and those who did not, and decided my reading time would be better spent with a different book and leaving this one. (I’m not good at letting a book go.)

The book starts in early May 1961. The book point of view is from a young teenager, Lucia Alvarez, her quinceanera is coming up in November. She comes from an upper-middle class family, her father is a banker. Lucia and her family are Cuban and this is during the time that Fidel Castro takes over the government.

The title of the book comes from the (embarrassingly) red umbrella Lucia’s mother carries with her all the time.


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Review: Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices

Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices by Walter Dean Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister

The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River

A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River by Aldo Leopold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Read the first half - A Sand County Almanac portion, the other two shorter portions I haven't yet read: Sketches Here and There, and The Upshot. Keep meaning to get back to it.

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Review: Challenger Deep

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a slightly tough book to get through, as it entails reading about a teenage boy succumbing to schizophrenia. Caden’s reality becomes mixed up with hallucinations or something that makes sense to him for what is going on.

When he becomes hospitalized it is that environment that becomes like a ship. They are cruising the waters and talk about going down into a deep trench at times.

There are many chapters, over 150, which are usually quite short. They switch between what is going on in Caden’s life and other times what is going on in his head. The book starts with him going to high school, hanging out with his friends, but the chapters about the boat are there early on as well. The timeline isn’t quite straightforward.

Neal Shusterman’s own son has been diagnosed with mental illness and this book was written to help understand what it is like to be the one dealing with the illness. His son also contributed drawings that are sprinkled throughout the book.


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Review: The Fisherman's Gift

The Fisherman's Gift by Julia R. Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was decent, but just not what I wanted at the moment. I pushed through and finished the book anyway and found the ending somewhat satisfying. Since I wasn't in the mood I found the book a bit long, but honestly it probably wasn't.

The story takes place in a small village along the coast of Scotland. A place where everyone knows everything. The main character, Dorothy arrives as the new school teacher. As an outsider she difficulty fitting in, the women shun her. She's used it from growing up, but the man she's interested in decidedly pushes away since some of the women claim he is already spoken for.

But the larger issue in the book is about a young child that washed up on the shore after a big storm. Dorothy takes him in, cares for him until his family can be found. This boy is about the same age as hers who was lost in a big storm many years ago. Taking care of the boy helps her to heal, come to terms with all that's happened in the past.

The book is told in two timelines, then and now, where then isn’t exactly told when but around 15 years ago, maybe more. It’s a fairly sad book. There are so many misunderstandings, secrets kept, and the absolute tragedy of losing a child.


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

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Review: Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks

Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks by William C. Tweed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A slightly academic book by someone who worked for the US National Park System for decades. After Tweed’s retirement he takes a month long hike through the Sierra Nevada mountains. This hike is used as the frame for the book in discussing how the national park’s underlying principles needs to change.

The key phrase used as the guiding principle since the agency was established in 1916 is that the parks will be preserved "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Tweed writes extensively about how there are several problems with this phrasing. The inability to change, the word even, unimpaired, is going to be nearly impossible with the effects of climate change. Already there are visible stressors to the forests from the warming climate and other pollution levels. The last chapter offers some solutions, even possible new wordings.

However, the bulk of the book is about Tweed’s hiking trip through the sierras. A friend joins him for several weeks. They encounter other park rangers and have discussions about how they are looking for a missing hiker or someone who was abusing the rules. It makes these vast parks seems smaller than they actually are. The hike also has a way of introducing some of the history of the park service. When he hikes up a peak the name naturally introduces the reason why that name adorns that mountain.

There are extensive sections about who uses the park. Stock users, those who use pack animals to get into the high country, have a long tradition but it can be damaging to the trails and the meadows. Contrasting with the backpackers whose motto is leave no trace behind. Tweed also comments on the change in backpackers, fewer of the younger generations find their entertainment in the Sierras. Some who do look at it as solely a challenge, who can hike the trail the fastest, or bag the most peaks. Then there’s those people that have traditionally not looked at the forest as a recreational avenue for them.

Perhaps the book’s purpose could be summed up by these words: “The parks will have to undergo a metamorphosis that provides them with both new management goals in tune with our contemporary scientific knowledge and a redefined societal role that attracts new generations of users. Nothing less will succeed.”

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Review: Boat Baby: A Memoir

Boat Baby: A Memoir by Vicky Nguyen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review 569: The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon

The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the 4th book in the series: Middle Falls Time Travel, and was slightly different than the previous three. The author’s note at the end helps to explain it as this story was something he had thought about for a very long while, since before he started writing novels.

The premise of each book in this series has an essential part, which is being called time travel: a character dies, then is reborn again as the same person, but at an earlier part of their life and they remember everything. I find this an interesting premise. What would someone do differently if they could change the trajectory of their life? The person always returns to a pivotal moment in their life.

In this book there the main character, Nathaniel Moon is born as a new person and changed. The first glimpse of this is when he talks to his mother while still in the womb. At age four he discovers he can heal people.

This book brought in more philosophy or spirituality than the previous three books. This was a fairly short book and the ending seemed to come abruptly, but after finishing I can see that it was a good stopping point.

So far I'm still intrigued about this time travel concept and will continue the series.

Review 568: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This collection of 8 short stories took me longer to read than a typical book of similar length. It isn’t a long book either, under 250 pages. I think it is the format. It feels like the older I get the less I like short stories. Maybe I would have liked these better when I first got the book, over twenty years ago.

These stories had a little length to each, so they didn't feel like they ended entirely too early. One good thing about short stories is that if you don't like the characters, well it's over soon enough.

My favorite in the group was the last one: Doris is Coming. Here a high school student, Doris is trying to come to terms with the differences of black and while people. She is black and this is the 60s with Martin Luther King giving speeches, sit-ins at lunch counters and other protests. Doris doesn’t understand why her skin color should dictate a different drinking fountain.

All of the stories are told from the point of view of an African American, usually a young woman or girl. They are complete enough, more than many other short stories are. Some feel like they could be the beginning of a longer story, a few feel like what was given was enough.

Review 567: Uncertain Path

Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks by William C. Tweed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A slightly academic book by someone who worked for the US National Park System for decades. After Tweed’s retirement he takes a month long hike through the Sierra Nevada mountains. This hike is used as the frame for the book in discussing how the national park’s underlying principles needs to change.

The key phrase used as the guiding principle since the agency was established in 1916 is that the parks will be preserved "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Tweed writes extensively about how there are several problems with this phrasing. The inability to change, the word even, unimpaired, is going to be nearly impossible with the effects of climate change. Already there are visible stressors to the forests from the warming climate and other pollution levels. The last chapter offers some solutions, even possible new wordings.

However, the bulk of the book is about Tweed’s hiking trip through the sierras. A friend joins him for several weeks. They encounter other park rangers and have discussions about how they are looking for a missing hiker or someone who was abusing the rules. It makes these vast parks seems smaller than they actually are. The hike also has a way of introducing some of the history of the park service. When he hikes up a peak the name naturally introduces the reason why that name adorns that mountain.

There are extensive sections about who uses the park. Stock users, those who use pack animals to get into the high country, have a long tradition but it can be damaging to the trails and the meadows. Contrast with the backpackers whose motto is leave no trace behind. Tweed also comments on the change in backpackers, fewer of the younger generations find their entertainment in the Sierras. Some who do look at it as solely a challenge, who can hike the trail the fastest, or bag the most peaks. Then there’s those people that have traditionally not looked at the forest as a recreational avenue for them.

Perhaps the book’s purpose could be summed up by these words: “The parks will have to undergo a metamorphosis that provides them with both new management goals in tune with our contemporary scientific knowledge and a redefined societal role that attracts new generations of users. Nothing less will succeed.”

Review 566: The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue

The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street by Mike Tidwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was a mix of personal story and climate change. Tidwell focuses on what was happening on his street and neighborhood, particularly the trees. The oaks dominated the streets, which had been thriving there for over a hundred years, and now were dying. Why? Tidwell finds out.
The answer to why happens to be yes from climate change, but not in a direct way such as it was hotter and the trees didn’t like the heat. No, instead it is a bit more complicated, and he shows the connections. It felt almost like a mystery the way it was laid out.

While the focus was on Tidwell’s neighborhood he isn’t entirely contained there, as he explores some of the science of solutions. The book is also fairly autobiographical, which makes it quite personable along with the other people who appear in his book, such as some of the neighbors.

Overall the book was quite readable and didn’t get bogged down with too many facts and figures or scientific jargon. One aspect that had me give this book a better rating was the book went beyond the effects of climate change and included solutions. Tidwell explored what is being done now to help get us out of this mess from all the carbon-dioxide that is already in our atmosphere, and how to prevent it from getting worse. There was a heavy focus on one of his scientific neighbors who won an X-prize for his idea of tree sequestration. This was a new concept to me, so I didn’t mind the extra pages devoted to this one solution.

I read this book from a published audiobook version that I got from my local library. The narrator did an excellent job and this could be a good way to read this book. However, I also had an eBook copy, which meant I got to see the images that are included at the beginning of each chapter. Some of the photos include his neighbors too.


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

Review 565: The Wandering Season

The Wandering Season by Aimie K. Runyan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Interesting premise, but the writing lacked polish. There is a bit of magical realism in the book, but despite that there unexplained moments, such as understanding people speaking a different language. If it’s already magical there could have been just a short line explaining this.

The problems, unfortunately, did not end there. Too often, from the character’s POV, the reader is told something that the character would not know. Such as at a bakery in a city unknown to her she finds pastries that were made from recipes handed down through the generations. She does not know this, can only guess, but the wording in the book makes it seem she absolutely knew.

There were many instances where this type of thing occurred, and every time it pulled me out of the story. Also, many of the descriptions were not detailed, instead explained and used general words, such as modern and tasteful, well what exactly is that? It felt clunky and awkward whenever this occurred. Also, there was reliance on too many clichés, and way too many convenient coincidences.

Since this was an advance review copy I was reading, my hope is many of these things were fixed before publication.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks to HarperCollins Focus/Harper Muse and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 564: Tilt

Tilt by Emma Pattee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A natural disaster strikes in Portland, Oregon and a woman is trying to make her way to her husband. She is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at Ikea when the world is turned upside down.

Annie talks to her unborn child, calling him Bean, explaining what is going on, what her life is like. More often says, your father instead of my husband or his name, Dom. Annie has unfilled dreams of being a playwright, only had one play produced while Dom is still exploring and trying to get famous working as an actor. This adds tension to their relationship, as he is still trying and she has effectively given up her dream.

The book is told in alternating timelines, the now then the past leading up to now, such as 17 years ago, 9 years ago, up to yesterday and earlier this morning.

The overall book is okay, not as engaging as I thought it might be, the subject matter wasn’t compelling to me as I hoped. The format of alternating time lines does work okay. The ending is somewhat open ended as the book really only takes place over one day.

Review 563: The Ride

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya Kennedy
My 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.

Review 562: There Are Rivers in the Sky

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

There are three different story lines in the book. My favorite character is Arthur, named King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums. His name reflects where he was born and grew up, in extreme poverty. Arthur was an unusual boy as he had perfect memory, could even remember his birth, near the River Thames. Arthur’s time line is in the mid-1800s. His chapters are marked as O for oxygen, as the book has water as one of the themes.

The other two main characters are H for hydrogen. There is Zaleekhah, also in London and the most modern timeline in 2018. She is undergoing a change, a recent split with her husband and is a water scientist who just moved onto a houseboat. Then there is Narin, a young girl in Turkey and Iraq in 2014. Narin's story is the most unsettling, as her story is filled with persecution and horrendous treatment by others in her area, particularly ISIS.

All of the characters stories revolve around Mesopotamia, and the epic poem of Gilgamesh. There is only a slight intertwining of the three stories. This was good storytelling and well written. Quite enjoyed this book.

Much of the novel is based in historical fact, which makes it all the more poignant, particularly with the tragedies.

Review 561: The Sound and the Fury

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a challenging book, one which I would have appreciated more in a lit class. I had to look up notes to understand what was going on. It is a stream of consciousness book, which is a format I tend to not like. This book is a good literary example of the usage and has been influential in the literary world. Perhaps this was an experimental book at the time, and I can appreciate author’s stretching the bounds of the novel, but typically they are a challenge to read. While I may appreciate it, my enjoyment is another matter.

Add to this mix, I listened to a newly released recording of the book. It made the challenges in the book even more so. The editing and narration of this version perhaps may have helped. There are multiple narrators. The first part which is of Benjamin, or Benjy’s voice, is the most confusing. It truly is all over the place, in time, place and had many different characters, all of this to represent his diminished mental capacities. In the narration there were many voices in the book, so it did help to separate out some of this confusion.

In the written text Faulkner used clues, such as colored text or italics to help the reader understand the shifts that were going on. This is not possible in audio, so the route I took was the more difficult one, or perhaps I should admit to making a mistake.

I also found out there was an appendix Faulkner wrote many years later that he wished would be included with all subsequent editions. Some call this the fifth part, and it may help to understand the family and the dynamics that are portrayed in this book. This was missing from the audio.

This is a book that needs multiple readings to fully understand and appreciate. Had I known what I was attempting by reading the first time in audio, I would have not done so, would have opted for a text version. That said, I do think this newer version with the multiple professional narrators did an excellent job. If this book is one to be revisited or already a favorite, audio may be the way to go. Or just plan on relistening to passages multiple times.

Review 560: Ice

Ice by Anna Kavan
My rating: 2.75 of 5 stars

This is a surreal book with many dream sequences, or hallucinations tossed in that make it hard to know what is real or not. Certainly this was purposeful, but make for uncomfortable reading experience. None of the characters or places are named. The story is about an impending world catastrophe that ices over the planet, meanwhile war is breaking out everywhere.

The narrator is a man who is involved in the war somehow, maybe in intelligence, it isn’t clearly explained. He is haunted by this woman who he almost asked to marry. She is portrayed as childlike, very thin, an albino with silvery white hair, and was raised in such a way that is very docile. He was careful with her, trying to gain her trust, when suddenly this other man married her. Thus the three main characters. This other man is very dominant.

The narrator has these awful dreams about the woman, sometimes they seem to be waking visions of what happened, but he couldn’t actually know this. The narrator often makes statements like “Reality had always been something of an unknown quality to me”, or “it dawned on me that this was reality and the other a dream”. Yet these statements don’t always come with the altered sequence of events.

The narrator can’t stop pursuing her, at times he feels like he is saving her from the other man, or from the imminent emergency. It is cold, snowing artic weather. He travels by boat, plane, or car, whatever means he can get. He ends up in an unnamed town, unnamed country, time and again. He always seems to get arrangements yet it usually isn’t explained how he contacts these people, how he knows to get on this boat at this specific time.

The woman seems to have no say in her life. She is roughly handled by her husband, or this other man, who seems to be her husband, but in different countries. It’s never very clear. He is kept up in a room, not able to leave. Our narrator tries over and over to get to her, to see her, and when he does she wants him to leave her alone. She is often called a girl. It’s uncomfortable to read.

Yet some of this is Kavan blending in her own life into fiction. She had two failed marriages, the men pursued her and she felt she had no say in her life. She travels around during WWII trying to escape the fighting, and this matches the book, although the female is not in control, was Kavan during this time? I don’t know enough about her biography.

The foreword placed this book into the genre of slipstream, not quite science fiction, but blending into other genres. Other authors in this category include J.G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, and Haruki Murakami to name a few. I think this (new to me) category works well. The book is sometime in an unnamed future, with an ecological world collapse, covering everything with artic snow and ice.

Review 559: The King's Messenger

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a somewhat predictable book, taking place in England and Scotland in 1613. The bulk of the story is an adventure taken on behalf of King James. The King's Messenger, Andrew Logan, is tasked to bringing Sir David Murray from Edinburgh, Scotland to the King to answer on charges of the death of Prince Henry. This is quite a long journey in those days. And Logan is not to go alone, but to bring a scribe with him to record all of what Sir David says along the way.

The King assigns the elder Laurence Westaway as the scribe, and his daughter Phoebe insists on going along to take care of her father. Phoebe has known Logan most of her life and very much dislikes him, and has a paramour waiting her return, a nobleman Valentine Fox. In Edinburgh a young stable lad hoping to become a King’s messenger someday as well is added to the party.

The story took the POV of four characters: Andrew, David, Phoebe and Queen Anna. Overall this was written well, an enjoyable read.

The author’s note, or “About the Characters” section at the end the book was quite long and detailed. Likely one of the longest I’ve encountered, but it is well worth reading.

I listened to the book via audio, which had two narrators Angus King and Beth Eyre, who did an excellent job.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, RB Media/Recorded Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book.

Review 558: A Lesser Light

A Lesser Light by Peter Geye
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

A fictional account of a mis-matched couple in the early 20th century. Theodulf Sauer is from a prominent family in Duluth and the now in charge of the Gininwabiko Lighthouse and the other watchers, on the shore of Lake Superior. She is much younger, Willa Brandt Sauer, ripped out of Radcliffe College where she studied astronomy, due to the death of her father.

Now Willa and her mother are stranded without funds or ability to get by, so a quick marriage of convenience to Theodulf was arranged. They don’t get along from day one, it is a marriage of convenience and they hardly seem to even try to be friendly with each other. They had met because of her piano playing. Theodulf was taken by her rendition of Moonlight Sonata. It reminds him of the one time he was truly happy, in Paris when he met and had a brief affair with Paul. Being of a strict religious family this type of behavior is not tolerated, thus the need for a wife.

This is a long book and things move slowly. There aren’t many characters, but the solitary neighbor girl, Silje is quite a character herself, and my favorite in the book. I was intrigued by the premise of lighthouse and the watchers, and it was satisfied as the lighthouse has a prominent place in the book.

 

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

Review 557: Octavia E. Butler: H is for Horse

Octavia E. Butler: H is for Horse by Chi-ming Yang
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

This is a slightly academic biography, not only the author, but also of her early writings as well. Yang dove deep into Butler's archives held at the Huntington Library and have presented here an insight into how Butler's writing grew into the published books. Yang provides summaries on many of Butler’s juvenile writings, as she was writing stories since grade school.

The book is short and presented in 26 chapters, one for each letter of the alphabet, such as the subtitle. It’s a different way of organizing a biography, as it goes forward or backward in time as it fits into the chapter letter.

Any fan of Butler can find something here to appreciate and help to understand the author, and the origin stories of her books.

I listened to the audiobook which was well narrated. My only complaint is that there were references to images I could not see. I may have to seek out a copy just to peek at the images I missed while listening.

Thanks to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for an advance review audiobook.

Review 556: Isola

Isola by Allegra Goodman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable historical fiction book taking place in the 16th century, which begins in France. Marguerite is a noblewoman, but an orphan and all alone. She has servants, a large estate, lands and much riches, but no family other than a cousin who is serving as her guardian until she marries, then she will inherit her vast holdings and estate.

Marguerite is being raised by her nursemaid, her mother’s before she died in childbirth. After some time her guardian grants a teacher so Marguerite can learn to read and write, and the teacher brought her young daughter. The two become fast friends, more like sisters.

But Marguerite’s life is ruled by her unscrupulous guardian and before long she is sent to live in a small portion of her house and the rest of the estate has been leased to another family. Her guardian has squandered her riches.

The book is thick with the how Marguerite has no control over her own life. The lives of her teacher and nursemaid, the women, have little options.

It says in the overview that Marguerite is stranded on an island in the New World, but what leads up to that and other aspects is best to be discovered by the reader.

Without giving away any more of the entire plot, I will say this was based on a true story that took place in the 1500s. Maguerite de la Rocque de Roberval’s story was written down by Queen Marguerite of Navarre and a priest. Their stories differ and not much is entirely known, so this is a fictional retelling of what happened and how the circumstances came to be.

Quite an enjoyable writing style. Haven’t read any of Goodman’s other works, but certainly will now.

Review 555: The World Until Yesterday

The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jared Diamond
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars

Somehow I have admired Jared Diamond’s writings without ever having read one of his books. Or maybe I just thought I admired it. I did see a documentary that was based on his book Guns, Germs, and Steel and I have a copy of the book a friend gave me, but have yet to read it. I bought this book, in audio form, over ten years ago. So it is nice to have finally read some of his work.

I did enjoy the book for the most part. It is on the longer side which is why I have avoided it for so many years, but I should not have feared its length as it went quickly. His writing style is very readable. And with this book the concepts are simple, maybe too simple?

Much of the book looks at traditional societies and how they conduct their lives and compare to our modern, western lives. These traditional societies are living mostly as they have been for thousands of years, how our human bodies have evolved. Today in the modern world suddenly we have a different way of life, as far as evolution goes, very sudden.

Diamond is clear that the traditional ways are not always the best ways, and there is much in the modern world that is better. However, we may have left behind a few ways of living that would serve us better if we took that practice back up. One example is by speaking more languages and raising children in multilingual households. It is common for immigrant families to have the children speak only the dominant language and not to learn the family language, but there are many reasons why being exposed to more than one language since birth is good.

The last part of the book goes into a lot of detail about food, eating and the diseases that come from the sedentary modern lifestyles. It feels like this over use of salt and sugar is very common knowledge, yet Diamond uses very compelling examples of how the modern diet effects human bodies. When a traditional society, such as Papua New Guinea, suddenly becomes integrated into a more modern society the rise of diseases previously unknown in their society start to show at alarming rates. There is a shift from communicable diseases in the traditional world, to non-communicable, such as diabetes and heart diseases. I found it interesting what he says about rates of cancer are virtually unknown in traditional societies. Yet, the average life span is also at least 20 years less, and cancer is more prevalent the older you become.

There are some very incredible stories in here too. The chapter on dangers was quite fascinating, which Diamond relating several stories about how he was unaware of the danger he was in until much later. Also, a harrowing story of an overturned boat and his hope to make it out alive.

Review 554: Gut

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This was an informative book, with a somewhat entertaining writing style. Although the focus was the gut, it covered much more, starting with the mouth and worked downwards. Although the book was comprehensive still felt like there was parts left out. I'm tempted to read another book about the same topic, but not sure I'm fully interested enough.

I read this in small bites, so as to not be overwhelmed by too much information all at once with an unfamiliar topic. Also, followed along with the eBook occasionally while listening to the audio. The book has line drawings by the author’s sister, sprinkled throughout, they are cute images.

It was a bit odd as the audio and the eBook were different in some areas, definitely some heavy editing between the two. The audio was European, (the author is German) while the eBook was for an American audience. But there were more changes than just changing a phrasing or measurement for the American audience. Nothing that really changed the content, just found it interesting.

Review 553: Possessed by Shadows

Possessed by Shadows: A Novel by Donigan Merritt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not entirely sure how I came across this book. Goodreads has only one other review and that’s from the author, so technical no reviews, although there are some ratings. In any case, I did read this slightly short book.

This novel is told in two narratives, two halves of a married couple – Tom and Molly. Molly was just diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She is still young, mid-thirties and doesn’t want to spend her last days with treatments and hospital visits when it won’t extend her life much anyway. She wants to spend her final days doing what she’s always done, which is climbing. Her narrative is what she wrote about her life, starting not really from the beginning, but sometime as a teenager.

The other side, Tom’s narrative begins with the diagnosis in 1989 and continues forward, so we do have a split with the timeline. They decide to return to Czechoslovakia, to the Tatra Mountains. There they meet up with Tom’s good friend Štefan Borák. Molly’s good friend Saŝa was from a village near Prague, although died a while back in a climbing accident.

Climbing was in the center of the book. In fact there was a glossary in the back to define the various climbing terms, although it seemed to me that the terms were self-explanatory. In Molly’s portion went into explaining how different rocks or routes were named.

This book cannot be called a light read with so much death in the book, with a youngish person facing their own eventual death, plus her good friend, along with her father she was very close to growing up. Yet, it was marginally interesting. Maybe if I was into climbing the book would have worked for me better.

Review 552: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very much enjoyed this one. It’s a biography of Joseph Smallwood and Newfoundland, following his career and his dealings with Sheilagh Feilding. They meet in grade school, involved in a pivotal moment for both of them, which also leads to them both not graduating. They meet again a few years later both being reporters for rival newspapers covering the courts. Their relationship, is followed throughout the book, which is of attachment, but not physical.

From what I read on Wikipedia the biography part of Smallwood is accurate. Certainly there is much fiction here, but the aspects of what he did in life is true. Smallwood was ambitious since childhood and kept preserving in a political aspect, or with newspapers. Somehow despite all the energy he would pour into his endeavors they never did succeed immensely, until he landed a role on the radio bringing boosterism of Newfoundland, The Barrelman. In the end, he did achieve what he desired.

This was a long book, there was much here, and it’s the first book of a trilogy. The other two focus on Fielding, which is quite the character. Yet despite my enjoyment of this book just not sure I want to continue on.

Review 551: The Best American Essays 2024

The Best American Essays 2024 by Wesley Morris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As with most collections not all will feel like the best, even though this series purports to be as such. I found only a small few that I did not care for as much as the others. Overall, I am happy to have read the entirety, even the ones I didn’t care for.

In general, I would say this year collection of essays are autobiographical in nature. Not all, but mostly, or close to, such as mostly about a family member. There are exceptions, of course.

A few, maybe three, essays played with the format, which I did not particularly enjoy, such as the essay: Because: An Etiology (by Richard Prins). Every sentence started with the word because, which was repetitive. Yet, the story itself was moving. The essay did work due to the format, yet not my favorite.

The Ones We Sent Away (by Jennifer Senior), Woodstove (by Brock Clarke), and The Anatomy of Panic (by Michael W. Clune) are among my favorite essays. Not for the subject manner per se, but the way they were written. They drew me in. It felt like the author was in the room talking to me, sometimes anyway. And yet, there are others I could also say were my favorite.

There are many annual “best of” series, but this is the first I read via audiobook. That may have been one reason why I finished this entirely. There were several narrators used, which helped keep the essays differentiated.

I have partially read several other “Best American” annual collections, but only completed in full several of the “Best Technology Writing.” These are from a different publisher, and short lived, although a very similar format. (do wish they would be published again.)

From what I’ve seen, these series books are quite long, with the page numbers being deceptive for the length. The print typically being small with little room between sentences so the text is jammed packed, with one page being more like two or three of a typical book. Yet there is something of these series that appeals to me. If I had infinite time I would read more of the backlog of these annual collections, particularly the Essays, Science & Nature Writing, oh and Travel writing.

Book rating: 4.25

(rounded up because I like the series)

Review 550: You & a Bike & a Road

You & a Bike & a Road by Eleanor Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Taken from her journal, Eleanor Davis gives us a memoir of her biking trip from her parent’s home in Tucson, Arizona to her husband and home in Athens, Georgia. Her dad built the bike for her and she thought to bike home would be easier than shipping it. Also, her mood lately is only good while being on her bike.

This is a sparsely drawn book, without too many words either, but conveys ample meaning. Can’t help but root for her, and not just to finish this biking cross-country trip on her own terms.

She encounters aggressive border patrol and amazing wonderful strangers that looks out for her and help her, even when she never asked.

I don’t read many graphic art books, but after reading this one, I do want to include more of these types of books. And of course, more of Eleanor Davis, maybe her artist husband too.