Bookin' It Thru Life

 My Nook is on strike and won't let me connect to the internet to order new books so I'm making my way through some of the things already on my Nook...such as the contents of the "25 Favorite Novels".  Cather's O Pioneers! was on deck.  I don't think I've read her before and certainly have not read this book before. First, the good:  Alexandra is an amazing, strong woman character.  As fictional heroines go, she should be at the top of anyone's list.  She is smart, motivated, she knows her own mind, she seeks the things that she wants.  She may not, as is pointed out in the novel, be overrunning with imagination, and her story was set in a time when women were not expected to "have it all".  She chose financial success and lost out on personal success, though perhaps her care of her little brother Emil stood in for her lack of her own children. Not that single womanhood can not be fulfulling, but she does seem to question her own decisions an

 Oh what a hateful book!  Long, boring, and with main characters I found tedious and annoying.  It has claims to being one of the first feminist novels and I guess I can't disagree with that-Helen certainly has a mind of her own and she, when pushed far enough, takes her life into her own hands which is not something expected from your traditional 19th century heroine.  But she also gets herself into the sort of trouble that you can't really align with her experiences in other parts of the book...but then again, she falls in love with not one but two absolute dolts in the course of the novel so maybe it is consistent?  And our hero, the teller of the tale, is a real piece of work.  He's a selfish, lazy guy who pursues his self-absorbed activities to the detriment of his land, his tenants and his family.  Though he expresses admiration for his sister, love for his mother and a stereotypical rivalry with his little brother, he is a horrid friend at one point literally attacki

  So I have never read this book in its entirety.  I think I have read excerpts but for whatever reason I was certain I did not like Jack London.  Why?  I have no idea.  Probably because I did not like whatever excerpt I read.  Plus, and this is likely the real reason, Jack London is an American writer and I have a thing against American writers.  I hated my American lit class in college.  I hated my American lit chapter in high school.  All that said...I rather enjoyed this book.  Poor Buck.   

Such a weird little book...given my proclivity for novels set in this time I was willing to go along with it but once I was done I was like-What did I just do?  At the end of the day this was really a set of vingettes that take place when a occasional visitor to a small town makes her observations.  After having read W&D, its almost like Gaskell was setting up the town in which she later set Molly Gibson and her father into.  Scholars

Somehow Jane Austin and the Bronte's have a monopoly on Victorian chick lit but with Wives and Daughters, Gaskell demonstrates that she belongs right in the middle of that group, if not at the very top.  Gaskell, where have you been all my life?  I had no idea there was such a treasure hiding in plain sight if only I had known to look.  Molly Gibson is every bit the heroine that Elizabeth Bennet is without any of the hidden snark and she far exceeds anything Emma aspired to.   And don't get me started on the horrible Fanny from Mansfield Park-Austin should have packed that one up before she got started.  Gaskell's story doesn't need unlikely coincidences to propel the story forward (of course Darcy was home just when Elizabeth was touring his estate; naturally Wickham knew Darcy in the good old days...).  Mrs. Kirkpatrick/Mrs. Gibson, Molly's stepmother, is a deeply flawed character who provides a crisp contrast to the Molly's near perfection, though Gaskell too

My nephew Ben recommended this one to me.  I was curious-it was the first book he and I had really ever talked about and he gave it high marks.  Of course I knew what it was about-the movie starring Leonardo DiCapri was in every preview I saw for months at one time.  Not a movie I particularly wanted to see...apparently there was a bear mauling and that sounded gruesome and that was that.  However, I can't pass up a good book recommendation so off I went to acquire The Revenant. First, I had a vague understanding of what "revenant" meant but could not have written a definition out.  Per google its "a person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead".  Hard to believe with all the zombie shows I have watched (ok, really just the Walking Dead and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies but still) and zombie books I have read (yes, well, that's pretty much the Walking Dead and Pet Sematary and Cronin's The Twelve series, if that even counts) I'

The Washington Post review said it begged to be read in one sitting.  The WSJ said it was "arguably the buzziest novel of the season".  Publicists say its coming to Hulu in spring 2020.  What do I say?  Eh.  It was not bad, just wasn't that good.  A pretty run of the mill coming of age love story when all the dust settled. Connell and Marianne, who run in very different social circles, find each other in high school and then again in college.  Their on-again-off-again relationship is similar to half a dozen that I myself witnessed over the course of high school and college.  I can't argue that it was unrealistic, or that Rooney did not have a handle on her subject matter, but it I found it mundane and the lack of quotation marks when the characters were speaking...an irritation I could not shake. Quotable Quotes: On the experience some have of leaving high school, going away for the first time, and trying to figure oneself out: If anything, his personality seemed

The Wild Dead is book two in The Bannerless Saga and I read it right on the heels of book one.  Like, I finished book one, ordered book two on the Nook, and kept right on reading.  I liked both of these books and look forward to the next book in the series.  While I'll read mysteries, its not my favorite genre, but I'm always happy when I stumble on one that piques my interest.  The Bannerless books remind me a bit of Tana French's mystery series (NOT The Witch Elm which I didn't particularly like) and I found myself warming up to Enid (don't worry Cormoran your status as #1 is still safe) slowly as I made my way through her stories.  I was quite sad to part ways at the end of the book.  No word right now on when the next book will be out but I will surely be pre-ordering it.  And I'm going to take a shot at her Kitty Norville series in 2020... Rating:  #3 Enjoyed It Very Much

Enid the Investigator is our hero in this mystery.  Set in a future where communities have to rely on each other to share scarce resources, the right to bear children is granted by the governing bodies only upon proof that the child can be supported.  Of course, in this future murder is still considered wrong, and Enid is assigned the case of a suspicious death in a community far from her own home.  The title refers to a family unit that has not been granted the right to have a child-ie, they have not been given a banner-and the history of one of the key players in the mysterious death she is investigating includes a possible flaunting of the rules.  The tone of the book is a little dark, in fitting with the setting.  The book is well written, the story compelling and I liked Enid a lot.  I immediately ordered the next book in the series and was not disappointed. Rating:  #3 Enjoyed It Very Much

Of course I've read this book before.  And of course I recall enjoying it.  But I haven't read it at least since I've been in Minnesota (15+ years, believe it or not) and I am a fan of the reread.  Plus, over the years I've seen varying renditions of this on the big and small screen and having watched on on tv recently, I was inspired to revisit the book.  Plus, I recently reread Middlemarch and it reminderd me how much I love this genre.  Aside:  My favorite movie is the one with Colin Firth and my second favorite is (don't judge) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (I saw it during my Walking Dead phase-it was delightful in a silly sort of way!).  Of course any old adaptation will do...I can't resist a Darcy-who can? The book stands the test of time and I enjoyed it very much.  What struck me in this reading was how very sharp the writing was, and how pointed the characters were with their judgments.  I mean, the title sort of gives it away, but I did not recall

The book was touted as addressing the aftermath of a racial incident that went viral.  But the "incident" did not go viral until 2/3s of the way through the book, and in my opinion it was the LEAST of the issues that these characters encountered.  I get really irritated when a book jacket (virtual ones included) misrepresents a book.  I mean, people get paid to write these descriptions-shouldn't they have to read the book first?  And shouldn't the actual content of the book be more important that the inclusion of click-bait phrases?  My experience tells me the answer is "no" on both counts. In this case, the book jacket describes Alix as "well meaning"-frankly, she's anything but that-what she is is selfish and self-absorbed and a little bit obsessed.  And Emira was not so much "aimless, broke and wary" as vapid.  Even when we were in her head or watching her with her friends, I was unable to build a real rapport with this character

This was just published in 2019 so I think I bought it off of a new releases list within the Nook thinking it looked interesting.  It is touted as the story of a sibling bond forged in hardship and lasting a lifetime.  Ok, it was that.  It also got 4-5 stars from a lot of readers.  Me?  I thought it was fine.  The story line of the children's "feral" childhood was the most interesting part.  Their grownup lives were less compelling.  Also, and very oddly, the set up of the book in a dystopian future where an author seeming has to dodge potentially lethal bombs to get home from a speaking engagement?  Why?  What did this add to the story?  Not much other than a weird setting.  There were parts of the book that spoke to me.  The youngest sister's sadness when her siblings all left for college/grad school/real life?  I could get there.  But the sisters' obsession with their brother Joe and his status as the hero of the family and the way they put him on a pedestal?

One of my sisters suggested this book to me so of course I picked it right up.  I am a sucker for a good family drama and that's what this was supposed to be.  And it was, sort of.  The story starts out with four siblings who one summer day find their way to a fortune teller who predicts when each of them will die.  Then, we follow the lives of each of them as they move from childhood, through their teen years and into adulthood.  The story begs the question:  Is our course predestined whether we will it or not, or does knowing the supposed destination lead us to make decisions that will land us there?  The author leaves this question open.  In the case of each of the 4 siblings, you could argue it either way.  Rating:  #5 Good Enough

Before I write anything else, recognize that these are books 5-8 in the Outlander series.  If you are not familiar with Outlander I am both jealous and sad for you.  Sad because you have not experienced one of the best and most compelling fictional journeys I have ever been a part of.  Its Claire and Jamie for goodness sake!  And jealous because if you are smart you will take my advice and go get a copy of Outlander (I recommend you buy it because you're going to want to read it twice-at least) and you get to sink into this delightful book for the very first time and get your Jamie on.  So just know that I'm already a big fan, and I've already read these books, and I am not an indifferent reviewer.  Spoiler:  I loved the books.  Solid rating of #3 Enjoyed It Very Much.  Outlander itself (Book 1 in the series) is a #2 Fabulous with the others in the series falling just behind mostly because they aren't Outlander .  I mean, its quite the standard to meet!  But I digress..

I read Morgenstern's The Night Circus a couple of years ago and I liked it.  Though I can't say I was waiting around for her next book, when I saw this was out I grabbed it.  It was...ok.  It doesn't help that I started this book, broke my Nook, and waited close to 6 weeks to pick it up again.  I think it probably says something that I did not go out immediately and either buy the book or buy a replacement Nook - which is something I would not hesitate to do if I were in the middle of a book that I just had to finish.  On the positive side?  Morgenstern's writing is amazing-I have not a complaint in the world about her style.  The short little mini-stories interspersed with the main story were actually in some ways THE main story, with Zackary Ezra's plot meandering through theirs as opposed to the other way around.  I did not ever get tired of wandering through the corridors and corners under the ground-the world building worked for me.  I liked that a door mi

First published in 1999, this is an older book that was recently made into a "major motion picture!"  You can see the line across the front of the paperback can't you?  I saw a trailer for the movie and then I listened to a podcast where Preet Bharara interviewed Edward Norton who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the Hollywood production.  It was a good interview and I was intrigued so I grabbed the book. I actually really liked it.  If you can get past the sometimes disconcerting writing style which often takes us inside our hero's experience of having Tourette's Syndrome you can really enjoy a good read.  As he takes the hard road to solving (and presumably avenging) his mentor's murder we get Lionel's life story starting with his days in a home for lost boys through his recruitment into a low level gangster's gang and his experiences there.  In some ways its a success story-a young man who finds a place where his handicap (if Tourette'

I've read multiple Scarpetta novels, but not all of them, and not in any particular order.  I generally like them just fine-but this one, not so much.  With the major players in 4 different places (Scarpetta and Marino back in Richmond working a case, Lucy dealing with her own issues in Florida and Benton locked in his Aspen condo with a mental patient) the rhythm of the team seemed way, way off.  The underlying plot was a stretch and the tenuous ties that were supposed to hold the story together did not really work for me.  Also, there were too many unresolved issues at the end-did Dr. Touchy-feely ever get his comeuppance?  Did Mrs. Wacky Sex Life ever face reality?  How did Mr. Horrible New Chief really get the job in the face of his incompetence and did his own ghosts ever come home to roost?  I suppose resolution to some (though not all) of the drifting story lines could come in another book, but why do that?  If I were not already a fan, I'm not sure I'd dive right in

So this was an interesting read.  In my never ending quest for new fantasy books I stumbled over this one somewhere in the recesses of the internet. I'd seen Evans's books pop up before but I never took the bait.  This one, for some reason, caught me. Set in a surreal landscape and designed to evoke the atmosphere of the Vietnam jungles during the depths of the War, the world building is convincing.  There are dwarves and flying dragons (which they don't call dragons but still) and magic and daring young soldiers.  There are magicians and developing technology and fierce convention defying friendships.   I enjoyed the writing and found the pages slipping by. "The peaks cast long, pointed shadows across the valley floor, creating the image of walking into a giant maw.  Carny brought his boot down hard on the first shadow tooth he reached, daring the jaw to bite into him.  He felt stupid, but if soldiers could wear amulets of the Sacred Tree and others with seeds and

Boom is hired to work for the International Criminal Court-an organization charged with prosecuting crimes against humanity-where he pursues a possible massacre of Gypsies in the wake of the Bosnian war.  The book scans the globe from business meetings in Holland to on-site explorations in Bosnia to back door meetings in DC.  Its fast-paced and entertaining, technical enough to draw you in, not so Clancy-complicated that you lose focus.  I've read Turow before and my recollection is that I like his stuff.  I was not disappointed.  Winner of a Pulitzer?  Probably not.  But he's not a best selling author for nothing, and this one was better than most that claim that accolade.  Pick it up at the airport for a long flight-you won't be disappointed. Rating:  #3 Enjoyed It Very Much.

Got maybe a quarter of the way through and bailed.   Fantasy set in China, it tries really hard and the writing was actually not bad but I just. couldn't. do it.  Sorry.  If someone has read this and loved it I'd be happy to take a recommendation that its worth pursuing...otherwise, not much to say. Rating:  Didn't even finish it.

I read this on the recommendation of my brother-in-law via my sister (not his wife, one of the other sisters).   This book is one of the reasons I started writing this blog...because I absorb books like oxygen and sometimes I don't take the time to stop and ponder them before I move on.  As with anything I read more than a week ago, I start to forget...and this one I read sometime last spring I think so that's a while ago...and at the time, I remember really liking it.  Now?  Can hardly remember.  Another nice thing about the Nook...I took some notes and noted some quotes as I was reading and that made doing a current writeup on a previously read book a little easier.  I did manage to scribble out a note about how much I liked this book. And going back through refreshed my memory.  Recommend? Yes-go for it.  Its on the longer side (approx. 700 pages) but worth it. Wanna read something that will kick you in the gut?  This guy's mother left his family when he was a small ch

sort of an odd book... a little time travel, a little love story, a little about family.  I read this a while ago and don't remember any details-I suppose that makes it mostly forgettable?  I read a description on google and I pulled up the book on my Nook and still, not ringing many bells.  Best I can recall I thought it was fine.  Beach read?  Sure, knock yourself out.  Rating: I don't really remember this book but I think it was ok...#5 Good Enough