Book a Week 2015: BW43 - jack o'lantern & tale of stingy jack

[Stacia]

Do any of you speak Spanish? If so, do you have any suggestions for novels I could read that are written in Spanish?

 

Once upon a time, I used to be fluent (no longer translating in my head when reading, speaking, or hearing Spanish), but I've lost a lot of fluency over the years.

 

Next year, I'd like to read a novel or two in Spanish to dip my toes back into the language. I don't want something in archaic language or anything like that & I know I'll be spending a good bit of time looking up words, but I want to read something.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Thanks!

[idnib]

The Folly (thank you, ibnib!): From what I'd read about the book, I expected to experience it very differently than I did.  I expected to find Nieuwenhuisen charismatic and inspiring, to see the building as aspirational, representative perhaps of  utopian dreams and to see Mr as moving from humdrum, ploddingness to investment in a (utopian?) dream... instead I saw a manipulative charlatan and a self-deluded man seeing only his own wants and needs while trampling over those of his wife.  ...and in her I saw powerlessness and sadness... I found it powerful and compelling, and more important a story than the one I expected to experience... how easily we can lose ourselves in self-serving delusions while the world (in this case literally) is burning around us... 

 

I had similar thoughts while reading the story but they made me uncomfortable so I kept sweeping them under the rug by telling myself that we really had no idea how much was delusional or not. It was a bit like a splinter under my skin and I'm glad you put words to it.

 

Though I once sent an e-mail to a publisher complaining about the lousy editing of their edition of The Bostonians, which was so typo-ridden as to be in places unreadable; only to receive a grumpy response saying they were not responsible for errors in the books they published and that I must contact the author with any complaints. I replied saying that Henry James was not responding to my e-mails, but heard nothing back from them.

 

Maybe he's out of the office?

 

Yes. (Ahem.) Permanently.

 

Amy - That was awkward. She really ripped into that one reviewer. I think professionalism divides true authors from wannabes. 

 

Why am I having trouble finding the author's responses? Anyone have tips or links?

 

I've had 2 audio books on hold at the library and wouldn't you know, both came in the same day - Brave New World and the non-fiction Sapiens. I listened to a bit of each, and so far Sapiens is winning. 

 

I'd like to hear your impression of Sapiens. It's been on my shelf since Rose recommended it earlier this year but I've yet to get to it.

[aggieamy]

I would definitely label attacks on honest reviews as cyber bullying. I think one problem is that, ultimately, GR is run by amazon (whose goal is to sell books, putting them more squarely on the side of the authors). Not sure much, if anything, is done to prevent authors from doing that kind of stuff on there.

 

If you do want to post your review, you may want to block the author. Go to the author's page on GR & scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. There is a tiny link for "block this member". Doing so will...

 

Thank you!  I didn't know that was possible.  I'm going to try it.

 

Goodness, that was awkward.  I do think one of the things an author needs to develop is a thick skin, don't you? Not everyone will like everything you write.

 

ETA: I also thought it was strange that people felt the need to justify low star ratings.  Meh, if I don't like a book, I give it one or two stars, depending on whether it was just bad, or really bad. More often I abandon a book that would come in at under 3 stars, unless I'm reading it for a book group or something.  But no matter what, why on earth should a person have to justify their ratings? To anyone, much less an author?

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds it icky.

 

A quick life update: my grandbaby might be coming home **today**.  We are all blown away... and so excited. More about that later too...

 

What happy times!  Yay!

 

Why am I having trouble finding the author's responses? Anyone have tips or links?

 

Follow this link:

 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1262044867?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

[Butter]

This afternoon I finished The Kill Order which is the prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy.  Definitely my least favorite of the four books.  Half of it is non-stop gory violence that got seriously boring.  The end is just kind of dumb.  I'm glad I'm done with that series.  My daughter is glad I read them.

 

Heather, how are you doing? :grouphug:

 

Thanks for asking :)  Not very good today.  The prolapse is getting worse.  Last week I was able to spend a lot of time laying down since my husband and older two were in Orlando.  The little guys are super easy.  The big kids needs to be taken a lot of places (generally for taekwondo).  My husband and I went grocery shopping after they got home yesterday.  Then this morning the middle two had taekwondo.  I ended up sitting on the floor the whole time because it was more comfortable than the chairs.  Then my daughter had a dental check-up this afternoon (no cavities).  They have a lovely plush couch in the waiting room that I will forever be grateful to them for.  Plus we did a full day of school.  I have been laying down since about 3:30 because I am in a lot of pain.  Every day it seems to get a little worse and if I do too much it's really bad (like today).  My big kids already told me if I am hurting tomorrow they do not have to attend instructor training since that's a 20 minute drive each way to drop them off and then pick them up two hours later.  Right now the rest of my family is at church for dinner and Trunk or Treat.  I just couldn't handle the thought of sitting on a folding chair for two hours.  I see the doctor on Thursday for pre-op and will hopefully schedule the surgery.  I'm still coughing a bit so I'm not sure if that's going to delay when I can have it.  I just know I cannot live like this for much longer or I will go insane.

 

I went to Goodreads to add my review and read a few of the other two and three star reviews and then I read their comments.  Eek.  The author has replied to some of the comments aggressively and defensively.  I have never seen that done before.  It feels like bullying because I don't want to get into a detailed discussion with the author on how my review is wrong and it's a great system. 

 

It's really weird and strikes me as very immature when authors fight back against honest low ratings.  I've had a few authors respond to my reviews, but it's always been a positive interaction.

 

Stacia - We all really liked The Martian. I do put this in the rare "movie is better than the book" category. As for My Brilliant Friend, I'm really enjoying it but so far am puzzled at all the accolades. It's good but not outstanding IMO. Maybe I'll have a different view once I finish it.

 

I still want to see The Martian, but I'm not sure that'll happen while it's in the movie theaters.  I'm not sure I can sit in a theater seat that long.  I wonder if any of our theaters (we have a ton in this city) have recliners.  I could totally do a movie in a recliner.  My son wanted to go for his birthday (10/3), but I gave him the flu for his birthday (he got better after just 3 or 4 days).  I realized I've been sick a month and a half now.  I got sick with the first illness around the 10th of September.  I wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't bad on the 12th when we (all 6 of us) competed in the intraschool taekwondo tournament.  I had a little bit of a cough from it, but nothing too bad and I was getting better when I got the flu the 29th of September.  I had a tooth filled that afternoon and by evening I had a fever and chills and everything.  I went to the doctor on the 5th of October.  By then I had severe bronchitis and possible walking pneumonia.  I had my well woman exam on the 24th and there was a woman coughing like crazy in the waiting room.  My doctor figures I took home a souvenir of her germs after my appointment.  My uterus prolapsed on the 7th (3 weeks ago tomorrow).  It's been a rough few weeks!

[Stacia]

Heather, I hope the doctors are able to get to you quickly & help alleviate your pain sooner rather than later.

 

You've had a rough time.

 

Hugs, my friend.

[idnib]

Follow this link:

 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1262044867?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

 

Oh dear. The Streisand Effect in full force.

 

I got sick with the first illness around the 10th of September.  I wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't bad on the 12th when we (all 6 of us) competed in the intraschool taekwondo tournament.  I had a little bit of a cough from it, but nothing too bad and I was getting better when I got the flu the 29th of September.  I had a tooth filled that afternoon and by evening I had a fever and chills and everything.  I went to the doctor on the 5th of October.  By then I had severe bronchitis and possible walking pneumonia.  I had my well woman exam on the 24th and there was a woman coughing like crazy in the waiting room.  My doctor figures I took home a souvenir of her germs after my appointment.  My uterus prolapsed on the 7th (3 weeks ago tomorrow).  It's been a rough few weeks!

 

:grouphug:

 

Wow, I hadn't realized the full extent of the health issues you have right now. I sincerely hope you start to feel better soon.

[Ali in OR]

Barely time to skim the thread this week. I'm plugging away at How Not to be Wrong--The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg. He explains the math behind common misperceptions and misunderstandings people make, like looking at the obesity rate in 1980, 1990, 2000, and concluding that everyone will by obese by 2048. It's interesting and I know enough math to follow along okay but I'm still finding it a bit of a slog. Not enough brain cells left. It's due this Friday and I probably won't finish.

 

RE: Stoner. We read it in my book club almost 2 years ago. It was recommended by a visiting Israeli who said it was very popular there and I think in Europe. The Americans in the group weren't quite as enthralled. I remember liking a quote that I thought applied to homeschooling, but I remember also finding the whole thing a bit heavy. I wanted his life to be happier. That's probably an American thing.

[JennW in SoCal]

Here's hoping you get that surgery scheduled ASAP, Heather. 

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Violet Crown]

(((Heather))) Keep us apprised.

 

Eliana, very good news!

[Angel]

This afternoon I finished The Kill Order which is the prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy.  Definitely my least favorite of the four books.  Half of it is non-stop gory violence that got seriously boring.  The end is just kind of dumb.  I'm glad I'm done with that series.  My daughter is glad I read them.

 

 

Thanks for asking :)  Not very good today.  The prolapse is getting worse.  Last week I was able to spend a lot of time laying down since my husband and older two were in Orlando.  The little guys are super easy.  The big kids needs to be taken a lot of places (generally for taekwondo).  My husband and I went grocery shopping after they got home yesterday.  Then this morning the middle two had taekwondo.  I ended up sitting on the floor the whole time because it was more comfortable than the chairs.  Then my daughter had a dental check-up this afternoon (no cavities).  They have a lovely plush couch in the waiting room that I will forever be grateful to them for.  Plus we did a full day of school.  I have been laying down since about 3:30 because I am in a lot of pain.  Every day it seems to get a little worse and if I do too much it's really bad (like today).  My big kids already told me if I am hurting tomorrow they do not have to attend instructor training since that's a 20 minute drive each way to drop them off and then pick them up two hours later.  Right now the rest of my family is at church for dinner and Trunk or Treat.  I just couldn't handle the thought of sitting on a folding chair for two hours.  I see the doctor on Thursday for pre-op and will hopefully schedule the surgery.  I'm still coughing a bit so I'm not sure if that's going to delay when I can have it.  I just know I cannot live like this for much longer or I will go insane.

 

 

It's really weird and strikes me as very immature when authors fight back against honest low ratings.  I've had a few authors respond to my reviews, but it's always been a positive interaction.

 

 

I still want to see The Martian, but I'm not sure that'll happen while it's in the movie theaters.  I'm not sure I can sit in a theater seat that long.  I wonder if any of our theaters (we have a ton in this city) have recliners.  I could totally do a movie in a recliner.  My son wanted to go for his birthday (10/3), but I gave him the flu for his birthday (he got better after just 3 or 4 days).  I realized I've been sick a month and a half now.  I got sick with the first illness around the 10th of September.  I wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't bad on the 12th when we (all 6 of us) competed in the intraschool taekwondo tournament.  I had a little bit of a cough from it, but nothing too bad and I was getting better when I got the flu the 29th of September.  I had a tooth filled that afternoon and by evening I had a fever and chills and everything.  I went to the doctor on the 5th of October.  By then I had severe bronchitis and possible walking pneumonia.  I had my well woman exam on the 24th and there was a woman coughing like crazy in the waiting room.  My doctor figures I took home a souvenir of her germs after my appointment.  My uterus prolapsed on the 7th (3 weeks ago tomorrow).  It's been a rough few weeks!

:grouphug:  Heather!  And you've one upped me.  I didn't read the prequel.  I was pretty much done  ;)

[Nan in Mass]

Heather, how dreadful! One thing after another! I do hope it all comes to an end soon and your life returns to normal. It is so frustrating to be ill so long.

Nan

 

Eliana - That,s wonderful about your granddaughter! I bet her sister is excited. I hope all goes well.

 

Thanks, Pam.

 

What great sounding animal stories people are coming up with!

 

I finished listening to Pride and Prejudice, my going-to-sleep audiobook, and have started Sense and Sensability. Umpteenth time through both. I am reading Friends and Lovers, an old favourite, as my day book. My mother gave me this to read towards the end of college. Many "conversations" we had consisted of her giving me a book to read that said what she wanted to say and me reading it and saying I liked it. This was one of those books. I don,t know if she was hoping the books she gave me would persuade me to talk about something or whether she thought the books would be a way of telling me rhings she needed to say in a way that would allow me not to talk. It worked great. I absorbed warnings and comfort and advice with no embarrassment, in an enjoyable way. Did anyone else,s parents do this?

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Sorry about the typos. The board and my ipad are not getting along. I can,t edit or navigate.

[aggieamy]

Heather -  I am so sorry you are going through all that.  

 

((HUGS))

[Butter]

In good (book) news, one of the categories I had left for the special book challenge I'm doing this year was a book that came out the year you were born.  I found a list of 200 book that came out the year I was born (1978) and started going through looking for one that sounded both non-taxing and interesting (for example, Chesapeake by Michener came out in 1978 and I do want to read it especially since I was born and raised in Maryland and my mom enjoyed it, but it's incredibly long and bit more taxing than I can handle at the moment).  I ran across The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson.  It was published on March 28, 1978 which happens to be just 8 days before I was born.  The extra bonus was when I checked Overdrive and it was available from my library with no holds ahead of me (I'm still waiting for Everything Everything someone on here suggested - I put it on hold a month ago tomorrow and I'm still #3 on the holds list - the library has 2 copies).  So I checked it out and it's on my Kindle ready to be read :)  That leaves me with just 7 more categories on my challenge (one of them will require me to read Red Badge of Courage... not looking forward to that...).

 

:grouphug:  Heather!  And you've one upped me.  I didn't read the prequel.  I was pretty much done  ;)

 

Trust me, you didn't miss anything!  I seriously expected to find out why Thomas and Teresa helped WICKED.  Maybe some of the planning of the Maze and why those trials with variables were necessary in the first place.  Nope.  It was about what happened to a random group of people when the sun flares happened and then a year later when the Flare was purposefully released to control the population.  This group of people found a child named Deedee, hit by a disease dart but did not get sick, who is obviously the child renamed Teresa.  They got her to a flat trans to get her to people she can help (who of course ended up being WICKED).  It was mostly one long fight scene.

[Pam in CT]

:grouphug: Heather... 

[Stacia]

I haven't posted my list in awhile, I think, & Burton's King Vikram book made #60 for me for the year, so I'll post it now....

 

Africa:

• Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi, trans. from the French by Jacqueline Kaye, pub. by Readers International. Morocco. (Poetic paean to political prisoners worldwide by one who was himself in prison for “crimes of opinionâ€. Explores not only incarceration but also readjusting to a ‘normal’ world after torture & release.)
• Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotum, pub. by Unnamed Press. South Africa & Nigeria. (Scientists lured back home in a ‘brain gain’ plan to start up Nigerian space program. But, things go awry. Is it legit, a scam, or something more sinister?)
• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, pub. by Viking (Penguin Group). Nigeria. (YA fantasy lit in the vein of HP but with a West African base of myth & legend.)
• Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto, trans. from the Portuguese by David Bookshaw, pub. by Serpent’s Tail. Mozambique. (Murder mystery that ultimately examines the things that kill a people, a country, a place; told through a magical realism lens of the living & the dead, traditions vs. modern mores, colonization against freedom, & war facing off against peace.)
• Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow, illus. by Leo & Diane Dillon, pub. by Dutton. West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso. (Children’s poetic book [part of the epic of Dausi], telling of Gassire who gives up his noble lineage & warrior life to become a bard/griot.)
• Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou, pub. by Soft Skull Press, an imprint of Counterpoint. Congo Republic. (Wry & chatty porcupine recounts his long, surreal, violent life as an animal double to his wicked human counterpart. Simple, short tale with many observations on the follies & foibles of humankind.)
• The Folly by Ivan Vladislavić, pub. by Archipelago Books. South Africa. (A vacant patch of South African veld next to the comfortable, complacent Malgas household has been taken over by a mysterious, eccentric figure with "a plan." An allegory?)

 

Antarctica:

 

Asia:

• The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami, a Borzoi book pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. Japan. BaW January author challenge. (Creepy campfire style story; thought-provoking ending made me rethink the entire story.)
• The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford, pub. by Crown Publishers. Mongolia. (Non-fiction. Even with gaps, fascinating pieces of lost &/or censored history.)
• The Travels of Marco Polo, The Venetian by Marco Polo, trans. by W. Marsden, revised by T. Wright, edited by Peter Harris, pub. by Everyman’s Library. Various countries. (Marco Polo’s 13^th century account of his travels throughout Asia & during his service to Kublai Khan.)
• In the Footsteps of Marco Polo by Denis Belliveau & Francis O’Donnell, pub. by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Various countries. (Book from the Nat’l Geo documentary following Polo’s route. Beautiful pictures & commentary to complement Polo’s work.)  
• King Vikram and the Vampire by Captain Sir Richard F. Burton, pub. by Park Street Press (a replica copy of the 1893 limited edition published by Tylston and Edwards of London). India. (Burton’s translation from Sanskrit of eleven ancient Indian morality tales narrated by a vampire/baital in order to confuse, confound, & trick King Vikram.)

 

Caribbean:

• The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler, pub. by Akashic Books. Jamaica. (A duppy [ghost] relates ribald & amusing anecdotes of Jamaican heaven.)
• The Distant Marvels by Chantel Acevedo, pub. by Europa Editions. Cuba. (Maria Sirena, once a lectora in a Cuban cigar factory, tells her life stories from turn-of-the-century Cuba to women evacuated during Hurricane Flora in 1963. Beautiful & heart-rending.)

 

Europe:

• The Affinity Bridge by George Mann, a Tor book pub. by Tom Doherty Associates. England. (Entertaining steampunk with likeable characters.)
• Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin, pub. by Coffee House Press. Hungary. (Triptych of stories in Budapest touching on the Holocaust, racism, corruption, the power of music,…)
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, pub. by Scribner Classics. France & Spain. (Lost generation of post-WW1 expats living, loving, & arguing in France & Spain.)
• Kismet by Jakob Arjouni, trans. from the German by Anthea Bell, pub. by Melville House (Melville International Crime). Germany. (Tough Turkish-German PI in the middle of a turf war as a Croatian organized crime group tries to take over territory of Albanian & German mobs in Frankfurt. Darkly funny & nicely paced.)
• The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, pub. by Penguin Books. France. (Interlinked stories of friends in post-WWI France as they move through life & each finds his or her own version of success.)
• Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss, pub. by Melville House. England. (Creepy, frivolous fun horror/mystery mash-up… and a cat who wants Daniel Craig to voice him if there’s a movie version.)
• Orlando by Virginia Woolf, pub. by Harcourt Brace & Company. England. BaW March author challenge. (Woolf’s love letter to Vita Sackville-West; story of man/woman Orlando spanning over 300 years of English history. Wordy but redeemed by flashes of profound beauty & brilliance.)
• Missing Person by Patrick Modiano, trans. from the French by Daniel Weissbort, pub. by David R. Godine (a Verba Mundi Book). France. (After WWII, an amnesiac tries to piece together the people & events of his past. A lyrical, yet spare, examination of identity & history.)
• The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky, pub. by Melville House. Russia. (Fun sci-fi/murder mystery mash-up in a snowed-in Russian ski chalet; a zany cast of misfits.)
• The Infatuations by Javier Marías, pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. Spain. (A psychoanalytical exploration of identity, reality, truth, love, & death after a man is brutally murdered in a senseless crime in Madrid.)
• Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, pub. by Gallery Books. England. (Fun sci-fi with ghosts, time-travel, Cambridge, & a shady detective who might just happen to save the world.)
• The Travels of Daniel Ascher by Déborah Lévy-Bertherat, pub. by Other Press. France. (Bittersweet, charming book that is part Indiana Jones & part The Book Thief.)
• Pure by Andrew Miller, pub. by Europa Editions. France. (Historical fiction about the emptying of Les Innocents Cemetery in Paris – creating the catacombs – in pre-revolutionary France.)
• In Red by Magdalena Tulli, pub. by Archipelago Books. Poland. (Unusual, modern, dark fairy tale – perhaps a morality play? – of an imaginary Poland based on various wars, inertia, & business there in the 20^th century. Could be a modern ballet, I think.)
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare, pub. by Spark Publishing. Unknown island. (Deposed Prospero conjures a tempest to shipwreck his usurping brother & conspirators in order to confront them, regain his Dukedom, & give his daughter her inheritance.)
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, pub. by Harper Perennial. England. (Dystopian classic from the 1930s about keeping a populace under control through happiness by sex & drugs.)
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, pub. by Dell Publishing. USA & Germany. (Famous time-travel & aliens anti-war classic about surviving the bombing of Dresden in WWII.)
• Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, pub. by Harcourt Brace & Company. Europe & Asia: Italy & China. (Imagined cities reflected from Marco Polo’s account. Or is it the reflection of only one city – Venice?)
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, pub. by Sterling Children’s Books. England. (Perfectly-crafted Victorian horror novella exploring the good/evil sides of man.)
• Hyde by Daniel Levine, pub. by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. England. (A dark & terrifying look at the story of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde as seen from Hyde’s point of view. Ominous & chilling.)  
• Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson, pub. by Harcourt. Scotland. (Orphan Silver is taken in by lighthouse keeper Mr. Pew. Examines the power of storytelling & love with references to Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Pew has entered my list of favorite characters.)
• Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo, adapted by Richard Nelson, pub. by Samuel French, Inc. Italy. (Over-the-top, almost slapstick play that is a farce skewering police & political corruption; Fo won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997.)

 

Latin America:

• Heliopolis by James Scudamore, pub. by Europa Editions. Brazil. (Present day & childhood flashback stories intertwined of a boy who was ‘saved’ from life in a favela to live with a mega-rich family; at a crossroad in his life in his late 20s….)

 

Middle East:

• The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone, pub. by Europa editions. Israel. (Noir detective tale re: jealousy. Ambiguous, unsatisfactory ending.)
• Goat Days by Benyamin, trans. from Malayalam by Joseph Koyipally, pub. by Penguin Books. Saudi Arabia. (Simple tale of enslaved Indian forced to herd goats in the Saudi Arabian desert.)

 

North America:

• The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, pub. by Riverhead Books (Penguin Group). USA. (Sharp satire, historical fiction & folly, standing on top of heart, soul... & freedom.)
• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, pub. by Vintage International. USA. (Spare & brutal tale of stolen drug money in Texas. Classic themes which are hard & beautifully-crafted.)
• Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, pub. by Little, Brown and Company. USA. (Shocking diary by a never-charged Guantanamo detainee. Shines a harsh light on rendition, interrogation, torture, & US thought & policy shifts after 9/11.)
• Duplex by Kathryn Davis, pub. by Graywolf Press. USA. (Weird & compelling, chilling & disorienting.)
• No Cause for Indictment: An Autopsy of Newark by Ronald Porambo, pub. by Melville House. USA. (Scathing look at racism, the Newark riots, the Mafia, crooked & militant police, corrupt politicians, feeble justice institutions, failing medical & educational systems, a meek Fourth Estate, & more….)
• Petroglyphs of Hawaii by L. R. McBride, pub. by Petroglyph Press. North America & Oceania: Hawaii. (Brief overview of petroglyphs of Hawaii; light on info concerning the history & meaning of the petroglyphs.)
• Yesterday in Hawai’i by Scott C. S. Stone, pub. by Island Heritage Publishing. North America & Oceania: Hawaii. (Magazine-like chapters present brief overviews of highlights of Hawaiian history; nice photos.)
• Glimmerglass by Marly Youmans, pub. by Mercer University Press. USA. (An adult’s mix of fairytale, magical realism, & mystery with a middle-aged protagonist as she follows her dreams, intuitions, stories, muses, & fantastic events.)
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, pub. by Spiegel & Grau. USA. (An open letter from the author to his teen son on growing up black in the US of today. Timely & critical reading with a profound impact.)
• True North by Marie Force, pub. by Smashwords. USA. (Entertaining contemporary romance where two successful adults agree to a two-week, no strings fling.)
• Maid for Love by Marie Force, pub. by Smashwords. USA. (Trite rich boy/poor girl contemporary romance; lots of typos or perhaps just bad/jumpy writing.)
• The Consultant by Jane Blue, pub. by Kindle. USA (Steamy contemporary romance between two 40+ aged adults at a small tv station. Fun pool reading.)
• The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, pub. by Coffee House Press. Mexico. (Garrulous auctioneer Highway tells his story in a charming, offbeat tale. Book is more than just a story; it’s an intersection of art/literature/value/society. Excellent.)
• Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, pub. by Quirk Books. USA. (Ikea parody catalog with a horror story taking place in a big box store; takes jabs at retail/corporate life. A+ for catalog detail. Good ending for the story.)

 

Oceania:

• Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood, pub. by Poisoned Pen Press. Australia. (1920s lady detective Phyrne Fisher storms the Melbourne social scene with moxie while on the trail of a suspected poisoning, a back-alley abortionist, & the head of the cocaine trade.)
• (note: Petroglyphs of Hawaii & Yesterday in Hawai’i [from the North America category] also can fit here)
• Departure Lounge by Chad Taylor, pub. by Europa Editions. New Zealand. (Noir-ish mix of crime & coming-of-age with a bittersweet edge.)

 

Other:

• Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, pub. by Scribner. Malacandra. (Professor Ransom is kidnapped & taken to Malacandra, where he escapes his captors & interacts with local life on the planet.)
• Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, pub. by Corgi Books. Ankh-Morpork. (Moist von Lipwig’s punishment for being a con artist is being put in charge of the Postal Service & getting it back into profitable shape. Witty & fun.)
• Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard, pub. by Anchor Books, a Division of Random House, Inc. Fantasy England, most likely. (Necromancer who sold his soul to the Devil wants it back & makes a second deal with the Devil. Acidly witty but gets much darker as the story progresses.)
• The Martian by Andrew Weir, pub. by Broadway Books (Crown/Random House). Mars (Astronaut Mark Watney is assumed dead & left behind on Mars. He has to re-establish contact with Earth & figure out how to survive until help can be sent. Action-packed fun.)
• The Museum at Purgatory by Nick Bantock, pub. by HarperCollins. Purgatory. (Curator’s guide through the lives & odd/unique collections of some artists/their art in the Museum at Purgatory.)

[Guest]

Another catch-up installment:

 

Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald: behind the scenes at the BBC (radio) during WWII.  Like the other Fitzgerald's I've read, this was spare, poignant, and evocative.  Not as perfectly crafted as The Beginnings of Spring, but charming and threaded with a wry humor.  I definitely want to read more Fitzgerald.

 

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie: Third book in a series.  The first book (Ancillary Justice) was one of my top books of the year the year I read it.  The second was an enjoyable space opera with a few strands that stood out to me as special/original.  This one splits the difference very nicely and gives as much closure as could reasonably be expected from the set-up... and a little bit more, perhaps, but that little bit hits my own personal sweet spot, so was easily forgiven.  I like that these books build on each other - not just in the plots or even the character development, but in the kinds of themes being explored.  If you like intelligent, heart-felt science fiction that explored interesting, fresh ground without ever losing touch with the personal level, this might be a good fit...

 

Speak by Louisa Hall: The best part of this book is the structure - the different voices/viewpoints woven together.  I don't think it lives up to its hype, but it is a sweet, often interesting science fictional exploration of communication, identity, and the question of what makes us human.

 

Archivist Wasp: YA SFF..  I'm not sure how this ended up on my stacks.  It was a fast, fairly entertaining read, but the worldbuilding felt very shallow, and the attempt to connect things highlighted that rather than ameliorating it.  It has an interesting premise, and I gave it a pass on the 2D villain b/c it is a YA book, but neither the characters nor the writing were strong enough to transcend the flaws of the plot and the worldbuilding... but it did keep reminding me of Diana Wynne Jones's Hexwood, which had some overlapping components, but nailed the worldbuilding and the characters while also offering more complexity to the evil done (and without any greater level of graphicness, in fact it was more chilling with less squick).  Now I want to reread Hexwood... 

 

 

 

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton: a doorstopper of a historical fiction novel.  The first 300-400 pages were really set-up, intriguing set-up, but the rest didn't live up to that potential (and the weird insertion of a supernatural element into an otherwise straight HF narrative didn't work for me at all). ,,,and the last large chunk of the book was completely unnecessary.  I don't understand why an author would go to the (very challenging) work of implying backstory and then, after the real story is over, rewind and make all the implied explicit without adding anything of interest or value to the story.  Yes, I ended up feeling rather grumpy about the whole thing - I can't blame post-babyness, because I read this before the baby was born, but I do realize I could be being very unfair)

 

Read alouds:

 

The Wheel on the School: I haven't revisited this in ages... I still find it a delightful blend of charming and very real.

 

Mountain Born: More heavily sweetened than the Dejong, but I haven't lost my fondness for it.

 

The Animal Family: This one I found more problematic, but also more intriguing.  

 

It is always fascinating to re-encounter books I experienced as a child... 

 

 

[Guest]

Plays read:

 

Perestroika (part II of Angels in America): Still processing this.  An important, but very uncomfortable work.

 

 

Awake and Sing by Odets:This time I couldn't get past the fact that for the woman to find herself and live her dreams she had to run off with a jerk and abandon her baby and her devoted husband, and for her brother he had to set aside romance while he worked for change and social justice... 

 

End of Summer by Behrman: A different angle of view on the Depression and social injustice.  It is, in many ways, a silly play (intentionally), and it isn't a particularly well crafted one, but it has some delightful moments and was quite worth reading.

 

Time of Your Life by Saroyan: I know this makes a lot of best play lists, but I found it shallow and disappointing.  (And reading this close to The Luminaries triggered a flood of reactions to the use and depiction of prostitutes in some types of stories...)

 

Ring Around the Moon: this is an adaptation of an Anouilh work by Christopher Fry, which I thought would be amazing since I am very fond of both playwrights.  It is another silly play (again very intentionally so) and it has a wry humor that can be delightful.  ...but the romances at the core of it fell flat for me.  

 

Salt Water Moon by David French: A mix of delightful and irritating.  Am I just not in a romantic mood lately?  Am I getting too old to believe in some of these story lines?  

 

Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz: Maybe a strong production could pull this script together for me... the idea is a strong one - the impact of hearing Anna Karenina on a group of cigar factory folk - but the implementation felt deeply flawed.

 

The Tragedy of Mariam by Elizabeth Cary: This matched both my Shakespeare's contemporaries challenge and my 'read more literature by women' attempt for this year.  It isn't Shakespeare (a criticism one could level at many works), but has some flashes of vividness and poignancy. 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

 

She is home!!

 

(and without the tubing and IV and all the rest)

 

She is still tiny (4lbs 7oz) and more labor intensive than your average newborn for my daughter and son-in-law... but she is clearly a formidable, determined little girl who is going to follow her own timetable in life.  (I am still amazed - she was 8 weeks early, but only 2.5 weeks in the NICU)

 

Nan, I am so sorry for you loss.   :grouphug:   Wishing comfort to you and all who mourn.  ...and that we should all have only joyous things in our lives to share with each other!

 

Heather, Oh my goodness!  Love, I hope you can stay horizontal as much as possible... and into surgery and out of pain asap.   :grouphug:   

 

Idnib, I am relieved you are starting to feel better and hope you have a speedy and complete recovery. (and thank you again for The Folly - I can tell it is a book that I am going to be processing and thinking about for a while, and that I will need to come back to and reread in a few years to build on the thoughts it has triggered.)

[Guest]

 

 

 

I finished The Spoils of Poynton thanks to VC's recommendation. Very witty and fun, although there were a few things I had to read twice to figure out. Not at all the ending I was expecting, so that was refreshing. 

 

 

I don't think I've ever read that James... but I do have it on hand.  Adding it to my read-very-soon pile.  Thank you (and VC!)

 

 

I'm working on King Vikram and the Vampire: Classic Hindu Tales of Adventure, Magic, and Romance by Captain Sir Richard F. Burton. I found it originally by searching 'vampire' on the library's website. It's not really spooky/Halloween reading, even though there is the vampire. Even so, it is kind of fun to be reading some folk tales from India in the 1800s.

 

 

 

That looks fascinating (and I might even have a copy around here somewhere)

 

 

I selfishly vote for Truman Capote because I have In Cold Blood as a "someday" I never seem to get around to.

 

I've never felt quite brave enough, but I do keep meaning to try.

 

 

I wanted to mention an idea for those who avoid edge-of-the-seat horror (like me) but want to enjoy something seasonal for All Hallows' Eve.  The other night we saw a community theater production of Noel Coward's delightfully biting play Blithe Spirit.  Here is a description from Samuel French, the licensing agent:

 

 

 

 

That is such a fun play!  I am enormously fond of Coward, but this is one of my favorites.

 

 

 

For non-fiction November, I'm going to suggest a couple of books to complement reading Ta-Nehisi Coates' book Between the World and Me. I know at least a few of us BaWers read the Coates book earlier this year.

 

 

 

I haven't read Coates yet (though I read Fire Next Time earlier in the year - there was a powerful excerpt in The New Jim Crow and I had to read the full work.  (I would recommend considering The New Jim Crow as part of that group of books)

 

 

 

 

I read Stoner - 5 Stars - This book blew me away. I was skeptical and really didn’t think that I would care for it much at all. I thought that it would be one of those books that I would likely abandon. This is not an uplifting book, but it does make you want to appreciate and love life more than ever, and to value the things that should matter the most. It first left me sobbing and later, thinking for the longest while. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for mentioning this, Negin.  It has been on my TBR list for years (I think thanks to a mention by MMV), but the list is so long that I often forget why an individual book is on there and my motivation to choose it over one of the others leaches away over time...)  (And thank you, MMV, both for the original sharing and for the quotes and comments now!)

[idnib]

I've never felt quite brave enough, but I do keep meaning to try.

 

Feel free to grab a copy and try with us. We can all hold hands in the dark!

[Stacia]

For October spooky reading, I've read:

 

The Museum at Purgatory

Horrorstor

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Hyde

 

(I also read Lighthousekeeping, which ties in w/ J&H, but is not spooky; & King Vikram & the Vampire, which is not spooky other than a baital/vampire is narrating.)

 

I read a short story last night that fits into October spooky reading: Robert Louis Stevenson's Olalla, which is sometimes seen as an early vampire story that pre-dates Bram Stoker's Dracula. (John Polidori wrote The Vampyre in 1819 during the same summer trip when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein; RL Stevenson wrote Olalla in 1885; Stoker wrote Dracula in 1897.)

 

I enjoyed Stevenson's story but I'm not sure I would have thought of it as a vampire story unless I had been told that previously. I read it & was thinking that I must be dense & that the 'vampire' connection was pretty shaky. :tongue_smilie: So I'm glad to see the wikipedia entry mentions something similar.  :lol: It's not really a vampire story (imo) but rather a gothic story that fits the spirit of my October reading. It is set in Spain & some of Stevenson's descriptions reminded me of descriptions of Spain in Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra (written in 1828).

 

If you want to read it, it is available through Project Gutenberg as part of a larger collection of Stevenson's stories.

 

I had a kindle copy of the story & it included a few pages of biographical information on RL Stevenson. It was fun to read about his family's work in civil engineering & lighthouse design (which ties in quite a bit to Lighthousekeeping).

[Jane in NC]

Ah, what a sweet photo, Eliana.  Thank you for posting. 

 

Heather, dear, sending you good thoughts today.  Dr. BaW may prescribe bed rest with a stack of fluffy books!

 

Or does that prescription come from one of my favorite ;) literary characters, Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the housekeeper to Uncle Wiggily in the books by Howard Garis? 

 

Just a side note here:  Garis created characters with names that just delighted me as a child.  Who thought that the big bad Pipsisewah could be that bad with a name like "Pipsisewah"? Or the Bazumpus or the Scuttlemagoon?  Then there were the Uncle's friends like Lulu Wibblewobble. What great names!

 

Uncle Wiggily is over 100 years old.  I am not sure if anyone still reads these books but I dearly loved them and shared them with my son. 

 

[Violet Crown]

My girls all loved Uncle Wiggily. Did you know Robert Frost was Garis' neighbor? In his biography of his father, Garis' son writes about a little boy coming by while Frost was visiting, and asking hopefully if he was Uncle Wiggily. He said, "No, I'm Robert Frost, the poet." The little boy was disappointed to the point of tears; really he just wanted to meet Uncle Wiggily.

[Jane in NC]

My girls all loved Uncle Wiggily. Did you know Robert Frost was Garis' neighbor? In his biography of his father, Garis' son writes about a little boy coming by while Frost was visiting, and asking hopefully if he was Uncle Wiggily. He said, "No, I'm Robert Frost, the poet." The little boy was disappointed to the point of tears; really he just wanted to meet Uncle Wiggily.

 

Oh that is a wonderful story!  I had not heard that--nor did I know that Garis' son wrote a biography. Off to Google...

 

[Pam in CT]

One of my fondest memories is of my eldest daughter lying in my youngest's bed night after night, reading Uncle Wiggily aloud, and hearing them giggle together.  (They're 8 years apart).   :001_wub:  :001_wub:

[Jane in NC]

I always knew that I liked my BaW friends, but to find a shared love of Uncle Wiggily is touching to me.  :001_wub:

 

Did you and your children play the Uncle Wiggily board game too? 

[Stacia]

Eliana, what a lovely, feisty granddaughter you have!

 

So glad to hear that she's home already.

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

I haven't posted my list in awhile, I think, & Burton's King Vikram book made #60 for me for the year, so I'll post it now....

 

 

Antarctica:

 

 

 

 

No Antarctica books?  Slacker.  :toetap05:  ;)  :D

[Chrysalis Academy]

Heather,  :grouphug:  and I hope you can get resolution, peace, and relief as soon as possible.

 

Eliana,  :party: What a beautiful girl and what an inspiring story! So glad she is home with you all.

 

I'm also delighted by your review of Ancillary Mercy. I'm waiting for my copy to come in at the library, but really enjoyed the first two books of the series and I'm glad that it held up for you. I'm also intrigued by your review of Speak and have added that to my TBR list. 

[Kareni]

Heather, hoping that you'll soon be pain free.

 

Eliana, so happy to hear that your granddaughter is home!

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Pam in CT]

OK ladies, I'm posting this here for the book list, not the political content (OK, there's maybe also a teeny tiny chance I just wanted the opportunity to use  the index SMOG - "simple measure of gobbledegook"   :lol: )

 

New York Times on Matching Candidates to the Books They Sound Like

[Pam in CT]

Stacia, you're the best, keeping it in this form and re-summarizing upon occasion.  Maybe next year I'll follow your lead.

 

Some questions/reactions  in blue....

 

 

I haven't posted my list in awhile, I think, & Burton's King Vikram book made #60 for me for the year, so I'll post it now....

 

Africa:

• Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi, trans. from the French by Jacqueline Kaye, pub. by Readers International. Morocco. (Poetic paean to political prisoners worldwide by one who was himself in prison for “crimes of opinionâ€. Explores not only incarceration but also readjusting to a ‘normal’ world after torture & release.)  So, can I ask how... excruciating is this?  It looks terrific, and I just put it in my Better World Books box... but I'm feeling stretched rather thin by my Central American reading these days and not sure it's quite the right time to pile on more excruciating... 

​

• Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow, illus. by Leo & Diane Dillon, pub. by Dutton. West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso. (Children’s poetic book [part of the epic of Dausi], telling of Gassire who gives up his noble lineage & warrior life to become a bard/griot.)  What did you end up thinking of this?

 

• Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou, pub. by Soft Skull Press, an imprint of Counterpoint. Congo Republic. (Wry & chatty porcupine recounts his long, surreal, violent life as an animal double to his wicked human counterpart. Simple, short tale with many observations on the follies & foibles of humankind.)  Hmmm.... interesting...

 

Antarctica:  I remember about this time last year, the read-around-the-world crowd was scrambling for a good Antarctica book... and now I am... do you have any plans, here?

 

 

 

 

 

Caribbean:

• The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler, pub. by Akashic Books. Jamaica. (A duppy [ghost] relates ribald & amusing anecdotes of Jamaican heaven.)  OK, I'm still looking for a J and this might be the one...

​

• The Distant Marvels by Chantel Acevedo, pub. by Europa Editions. Cuba. (Maria Sirena, once a lectora in a Cuban cigar factory, tells her life stories from turn-of-the-century Cuba to women evacuated during Hurricane Flora in 1963. Beautiful & heart-rending.)  The lectora tradition is pretty much the best.ever... wish I'd seen this earlier instead of that dreadful Havana Dreams (RUN AWAY....)

 

 

Latin America:

• Heliopolis by James Scudamore, pub. by Europa Editions. Brazil. (Present day & childhood flashback stories intertwined of a boy who was ‘saved’ from life in a favela to live with a mega-rich family; at a crossroad in his life in his late 20s….)  Oh, this looks interesting.  Adding TBR

 

Middle East:

​

• Goat Days by Benyamin, trans. from Malayalam by Joseph Koyipally, pub. by Penguin Books. Saudi Arabia. (Simple tale of enslaved Indian forced to herd goats in the Saudi Arabian desert.)  Also intriguing.  I recently finished Constructing Qatar: Migrant Narratives from the Margins of the Global System, a sociological take on migrant narratives in similar-sounding circumstances; this sounds like good followup

 

North America:

 

• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, pub. by Vintage International. USA. (Spare & brutal tale of stolen drug money in Texas. Classic themes which are hard & beautifully-crafted.)  OK ladies, I'm convinced!   :laugh: 

​

• Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, pub. by Little, Brown and Company. USA. (Shocking diary by a never-charged Guantanamo detainee. Shines a harsh light on rendition, interrogation, torture, & US thought & policy shifts after 9/11.)  Stacia.  I've had this on my sitting room stack since you first finished it.  It is... still in the shrink wrap.  Tell me something to give me courage.

 

 

• No Cause for Indictment: An Autopsy of Newark by Ronald Porambo, pub. by Melville House. USA. (Scathing look at racism, the Newark riots, the Mafia, crooked & militant police, corrupt politicians, feeble justice institutions, failing medical & educational systems, a meek Fourth Estate, & more….)​   Jane, you read the Detroit one, right?  Are you up for taking this on?

​

• Glimmerglass by Marly Youmans, pub. by Mercer University Press. USA. (An adult’s mix of fairytale, magical realism, & mystery with a middle-aged protagonist as she follows her dreams, intuitions, stories, muses, & fantastic events.)​  You know, I missed earlier that this is the same author who did the YA Thaliad, which was among my top 5 books last year... Adding to TBR.

 

• The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, pub. by Coffee House Press. Mexico. (Garrulous auctioneer Highway tells his story in a charming, offbeat tale. Book is more than just a story; it’s an intersection of art/literature/value/society. Excellent.)  But, but... where's the emoji with teeth???!  Will look for it...

 

 

 

 

[Kareni]

Here's a currently free Kindle book for what looks to be a fun Halloween read ~

 

The Vampire's Mail Order Bride (Nocturne Falls Book 1) by Kristen Painter

 

"Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town where Halloween is celebrated 365 days a year. The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better. Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all. After seeing her maybe-mobster boss murder a guy, Delaney James assumes a new identity and pretends to be a mail order bride. She finds her groom-to-be living in a town that celebrates Halloween every day. Weird. But not as weird as what she doesn’t know. Her groom-to-be is a 400-year-old vampire. Hugh Ellingham has only agreed to the arranged set up to make his overbearing grandmother happy. In thirty days, whatever bridezilla shows up at his door will be escorted right back out. His past means love is no longer an option. Not if the woman’s going to have a future. Except he never counted on Delaney and falling in love for real. Too bad both of them are keeping some mighty big secrets..."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Re: Pam's questions...

• Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi, trans. from the French by Jacqueline Kaye, pub. by Readers International. Morocco. (Poetic paean to political prisoners worldwide by one who was himself in prison for “crimes of opinionâ€. Explores not only incarceration but also readjusting to a ‘normal’ world after torture & release.)  So, can I ask how... excruciating is this?  It looks terrific, and I just put it in my Better World Books box... but I'm feeling stretched rather thin by my Central American reading these days and not sure it's quite the right time to pile on more excruciating...

I don't remember this being excruciating. It was actually more optimistic than I thought it would be. Yes, it's hard to read a few parts but it's told in such a matter of fact tone (& you know he gets out & starts readjusting to life because he's telling his story) that I found it bearable. I do think it's one you would like. Rose also read this one. Rose, your thoughts?

• Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow, illus. by Leo & Diane Dillon, pub. by Dutton. West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso. (Children’s poetic book [part of the epic of Dausi], telling of Gassire who gives up his noble lineage & warrior life to become a bard/griot.)  What did you end up thinking of this?

This is a children's book (a short picture book, really) that I ended up enjoying because of my other African reading I've done the past year or two. I mentioned it because it (simplistically) tied into the tradition of griots in various African cultures. A neat book if you enjoy folklore & myths from around the world.

• Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou, pub. by Soft Skull Press, an imprint of Counterpoint. Congo Republic. (Wry & chatty porcupine recounts his long, surreal, violent life as an animal double to his wicked human counterpart. Simple, short tale with many observations on the follies & foibles of humankind.)  Hmmm.... interesting...

It is creepy & violent & unsettling. Otoh, it's quite different from most things I've read in that it's taking a tradition I didn't know much about (humans being considered to have an animal double) & presenting it w/in a cultural context.

 

Antarctica:  I remember about this time last year, the read-around-the-world crowd was scrambling for a good Antarctica book... and now I am... do you have any plans, here?

 

No plans really at this point, though I would like to find something. I don't think I can top my Poe reading year, though, ( :lol: ) so I find myself less interested in pursuing stuff here. If you come across something promising, let me know.

 

Caribbean:

• The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler, pub. by Akashic Books. Jamaica. (A duppy [ghost] relates ribald & amusing anecdotes of Jamaican heaven.)  OK, I'm still looking for a J and this might be the one...

I found this one light/fun. I actually like Winkler's The Lunatic better (but it's raunchier, so ymmv). 

• The Distant Marvels by Chantel Acevedo, pub. by Europa Editions. Cuba. (Maria Sirena, once a lectora in a Cuban cigar factory, tells her life stories from turn-of-the-century Cuba to women evacuated during Hurricane Flora in 1963. Beautiful & heart-rending.)  The lectora tradition is pretty much the best.ever... wish I'd seen this earlier instead of that dreadful Havana Dreams (RUN AWAY....)

This is where I learned about the lectora tradition (fascinating!). This really is a very good book & one I think quite a few of the BaW gals would enjoy.

 

Latin America:

• Heliopolis by James Scudamore, pub. by Europa Editions. Brazil. (Present day & childhood flashback stories intertwined of a boy who was ‘saved’ from life in a favela to live with a mega-rich family; at a crossroad in his life in his late 20s….)  Oh, this looks interesting.  Adding TBR

I liked this one too. Pretty much most books I've tried that have been published by Europa have been worth my time to read.

 

Middle East:

​

• Goat Days by Benyamin, trans. from Malayalam by Joseph Koyipally, pub. by Penguin Books. Saudi Arabia. (Simple tale of enslaved Indian forced to herd goats in the Saudi Arabian desert.)  Also intriguing.  I recently finished Constructing Qatar: Migrant Narratives from the Margins of the Global System, a sociological take on migrant narratives in similar-sounding circumstances; this sounds like good followup

I read this one as a 'banned book' choice because it had been banned in Saudi Arabia. It's very simplistic. And bleak. Ugh. I can't say I enjoyed reading it, really, but it was worth reading, just to get a viewpoint into life where you've pretty much been duped into being a slave.

 

North America:

 

• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, pub. by Vintage International. USA. (Spare & brutal tale of stolen drug money in Texas. Classic themes which are hard & beautifully-crafted.)  OK ladies, I'm convinced!   :laugh: 

All this talk about it is making me want to re-read it again soon! It's the only McCarthy book I've read & I was just blown away by it. It's on my list of favorites for this year.

​

• Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, pub. by Little, Brown and Company. USA. (Shocking diary by a never-charged Guantanamo detainee. Shines a harsh light on rendition, interrogation, torture, & US thought & policy shifts after 9/11.)  Stacia.  I've had this on my sitting room stack since you first finished it.  It is... still in the shrink wrap.  Tell me something to give me courage.

Read it. It will not require as much courage as you think it will (esp. considering some of the heavy/weighty reading you've been doing lately). Like Coates' book, I think this one is required reading in relation to our US society today, as it really is. Surprisingly, this book is not entirely negative because the author has a strong faith in God & can also see the good in some of the people who have detained & interrogated him. It is also surprisingly easy to read so even though it's a thick book, you will get through it quickly. It's not only important for what Slahi has to say, but also for the foreword explaining how the book came about, as well as the censorship itself throughout the book. I know a few others have read this one too. Anyone else want to pipe up here to get Pam reading this one?

• No Cause for Indictment: An Autopsy of Newark by Ronald Porambo, pub. by Melville House. USA. (Scathing look at racism, the Newark riots, the Mafia, crooked & militant police, corrupt politicians, feeble justice institutions, failing medical & educational systems, a meek Fourth Estate, & more….)​   Jane, you read the Detroit one, right?  Are you up for taking this on?

This one is good, but long & rambling in places & relies too heavily on knowing the local movers & shakers (which I don't). There is some great information here, but it is buried within the larger rambling text. Part of the beauty, though, is his dedication, his outrage, his all-encompassing sense of purpose in trying to track down who & what were responsible for all this. Imo, it takes dedication to get through the whole book, but was worth it for me to read it.

• Glimmerglass by Marly Youmans, pub. by Mercer University Press. USA. (An adult’s mix of fairytale, magical realism, & mystery with a middle-aged protagonist as she follows her dreams, intuitions, stories, muses, & fantastic events.)​  You know, I missed earlier that this is the same author who did the YA Thaliad, which was among my top 5 books last year... Adding to TBR.

I know Thaliad has been recommended & that's on my TBR list. Lol. This one is a nice little tale, I think. Kind of a semi-realistic fairy tale for adults, I guess?

• The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, pub. by Coffee House Press. Mexico. (Garrulous auctioneer Highway tells his story in a charming, offbeat tale. Book is more than just a story; it’s an intersection of art/literature/value/society. Excellent.)  But, but... where's the emoji with teeth???!  Will look for it...

  The real question is, are those Marilyn Monroe's teeth in there? :lol:

[Chrysalis Academy]

Rue du Retour isn't excruciating. I was worried about that too - I had just read the Eli Weisel trilogy and wasn't feeling up to it immediately following that, I did take a break. But it wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. There was one description of torture, and it was hard, but the whole book didn't live in that place. It was actually kind of a luminous book, I know that sounds strange but it's true.

 

I still have the copy Stacia sent me, so if you want me to send it on to you, just PM me.  I can send Porcupine too, if you are intrigued enough . . . 

[Butter]

I finished reading The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson this morning.  It's a really sweet book.  Gilly is thoroughly unlikable and hates being a foster kid, but she learns to love because others who don't have to love her.  The ending isn't pretty.  It's not nice.  But it's probably very real.

[Pam in CT]

Rue du Retour isn't excruciating. I was worried about that too - I had just read the Eli Weisel trilogy and wasn't feeling up to it immediately following that, I did take a break. But it wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. There was one description of torture, and it was hard, but the whole book didn't live in that place. It was actually kind of a luminous book, I know that sounds strange but it's true.

 

I still have the copy Stacia sent me, so if you want me to send it on to you, just PM me.  I can send Porcupine too, if you are intrigued enough . . . 

Thank you, dear.  My library has it, so I think I'll take a peek and decide.  Maybe someone else wants it!

[Stacia]

Also, re: Pam's questions in re: to Gassire's Lute. This story is apparently just a small part of the larger epic of Dausi. I now would like to read the epic but can't find a version to read. Anyone have ideas of where/how to locate a version?

[Stacia]

Pam, I looked back through some of my lists & I do actually have a couple of Antarctic reading ideas, including:

 

The Worst Journey in the World

 

Everland (a new book out from Europa Editions)

[Pam in CT]

re: Antarctica

Pam, I looked back through some of my lists & I do actually have a couple of Antarctic reading ideas, including:

The Worst Journey in the World

Everland (a new book out from Europa Editions)

 

Sigh.  I do want to check off my continent list, but I'm not sure my goal orientation is sufficient to get me over the lengthy chronicle of an "ill fated expedition."  I mean, how much is there really to say?  We came, we saw... nothing but penguins, we got caught out, we lost fingers, those of us who managed to survive are not eager to go back... More of an article-length feature, I'd venture.

 

 

Here's the Antarctic book I want to read (I just don't think it's been written yet):  When we were in New Zealand a few years ago, we visited the International Antarctic Centre, an oddly satisfying mashup between serious science and carnival-type hands-on experiences.  My younger kids spent a good hour in the igloo room, for which they lend you industrial grade outerwear and you can romp in the snow, build and rebuild the igloos, and slide down ice slides.  Every twenty minutes or so they make a big hullabaloo, turn down the lights, and crank up the wind machine so you can experience a gentle summer squall Antarctic style.

 

While they were going through that over.and.over.and.over, I was riveted by the International Territorial Claims, which starts with a fascinating historical summary of how we got to here:

 

 

I'm not sure that picture will come out legible -- here is a nice BBC article that has a black-and-white less detailed version of it, as well as info about the international treaty, signed in 1961 by a handful of nations vaguely close to Antarctica plus a handful others (Norway, UK) that had sent out early ill-fated expeditions.  Both the USSR and the US (who hosted the treaty summit) declined to sign the treaty but (and?) held out the right to make a subsequent claim.  As the BBC drily notes, the US has subsequently established a science base right on the pole, which straddles all the other nations' claims.

 

Anyway, I'd love to read a book about what all the claimants who have all these "research stations" actually do there.  I learned from the igloo museum (!) that NZ and US cooperate on trying to research and build out wind power.  Evidently it really is quite windy, lol.  They generate enough for themselves and were then looking to sell some out to the UK and Australia.  Evidently everyone else is hauling in oil, at considerable peril, to power up and man their respective stations.  But ????  So very curious.

 

Doesn't seem to have been written yet, however.  Perhaps the niche is small.

[Jane in NC]

Reopening the discussion on Brave New World since I finished the audio version this morning.

 

Michael York (d'Artagnan of the Three Musketeer films) is a wonderful reader.  If you are an Audible subscriber and choose to listen to this book, you will have the pleasure of hearing Michael York. I found it on CD at my library though.

 

I searched online for some reviews in part to find context.  I am truly puzzled by this book's status as a commonly challenged volume.  Is it because of the sexually open society?  Many women in this new world are sterile; those who are fertile are required to wear stylish belts which sport their contraception.  To be honest, I laughed aloud when these "Mathusian belts" were first mentioned.  I am of an era where Malthus was mentioned often in my cultural geography courses where population growth and sustainability were under discussion.  Of course, the 18th century philosopher, the Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus, has probably rolled over in his grave repeatedly since his name has been attached to this image of a belt filled with birth control devices.  Neo-Malthusians did not accept the original concept of reducing the world's population via abstinence.  But I digress...

 

Margaret Atwood wrote an essay on BNW that was published in The Guardian in 2007.  She wrote:

 

 

I first read Brave New World in the early 1950s, when I was 14. It made a deep impression on me, though I didn't fully understand some of what I was reading. It's a tribute to Huxley's writing skills that although I didn't know what knickers were, or camisoles - nor did I know that zippers, when they first appeared, had been denounced from pulpits as lures of the devil because they made clothes so easy to take off - I none the less had a vivid picture of "zippicamiknicks", that female undergarment with a single zipper down the front that could be shucked so easily: "Zip! The rounded pinkness fell apart like a neatly divided apple. A wriggle of the arms, a lifting first of the right foot, then the left: the zippicamiknicks were lying lifeless and as though deflated on the floor."

I myself was living in the era of "elasticised panty girdles" that could not be got out of or indeed into without an epic struggle, so this was heady stuff indeed.

 

Atwood has much to say on how the novel is a reaction of 19th century Victorian attitudes. Within that context though, there is something that disturbed me within the ending that I have not seen mentioned.

 

Spoiler alert! 

 

 

The cruelty that John Savage displays toward Lenina boggles my mind.  Granted, there are people out there who still blame women for inciting sexual thoughts in men simply because women walk down the street or whatever.  This attitude that Lenina, a product of her culture, is a strumpet requiring punishment as the Savage attempts to purify himself through self flagellation strikes me (if you pardon the pun) as medieval!  What would a modern teen think reading this?  How does a parent assure her daughter that hopefully we have come a long way since 1932? 

 

Lenina may not be a deep character but her treatment by the Savage is unconscionable--particularly as she sheds tears for him.  I am truly troubled by this.

I've put it in white for those who are still reading BNW.

 

 

[Stacia]

Pam, another one on my radar (but I was too lazy to type earlier because I was on my touch pad; now I'm back on my regular keyboard so I can be more garrulous) is Of Cocktails & Penguins. I agree w/ you that (these days) I'm not up for a harrowing tale. (In fact, today two irl friends have had their children in the hospital -- one, a toddler, is recovering & leaving the hospital today [acute cerebellar ataxia] while the other friend just had her teen son admitted today [pneumonia, but her ds is immuno-compromised so it is esp. serious for him]. Anyway, I'm worried for them & the prospect of tackling hard emotional reading is not attractive right now.)

 

I think this Of Cocktails & Penguins might be more my speed as 2015 is nearing its close...

 

Of Cocktails and Penguins is based on my experiences accumulated during eight trips working on a cruise ship in Antarctica. While most people put a lot of time and effort into planning a trip to the icy continent I ended up serving cocktails on the high seas quite by coincidence.

Working seven days a week, twenty hours a day was not all I did down there. From behind the bar and during landings I kept observing those whom I was serving. These insights into the curious behaviour of both man and animal, combined with some facts and information about the continent, its inhabitants and its exploration are bundled into a hilarious book that will take the reader on a very special journey.

This book offers glimpses into the reality of working on a cruise ship where privacy is non-existent, the days are long and the pay low. It also shows how much fun working on a ship can be as long as one takes it with a smile. The reader will take part in the adventures I had during these cold months: You will go camping on the ice, have close encounters with whales and penguins, visit research stations, drink a toast to Shackleton and enjoy a shopping trip on the Falkland Islands. This all adds up to a funny, informative and inspiring real-life reading experience that brings you closer to this beautiful and fascinating place.

 

I think that one is do-able.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I completely agree, Jane. I found the whole ending puzzling, and didn't understand what we were to make of the whole sequence, including the aspect you highlighted.  It was troubling.  And my own lack of a grasp on how to interpret/explain it is the biggest reason for not having my dd read it at this point - rather than the "liberated" sexuality that seems to trouble the banners.

[Stacia]

Interesting thoughts, Jane. Malthus was not on my radar, so I think those references had less of an impact on me when I was reading it. Thanks for pointing them out. Discussions here always, always expand my knowledge-base.

 

I agree about the disturbing thoughts you posted in white. And, actually, for a supposedly liberated society, females are still second-class citizens in BNW and in the so-called 'savage' lands.

[Pam in CT]

Pam, another one on my radar (but I was too lazy to type earlier because I was on my touch pad; now I'm back on my regular keyboard so I can be more garrulous) is Of Cocktails & Penguins. I agree w/ you that (these days) I'm not up for a harrowing tale. (In fact, today two irl friends have had their children in the hospital -- one, a toddler, is recovering & leaving the hospital today [acute cerebellar ataxia] while the other friend just had her teen son admitted today [pneumonia, but her ds is immuno-compromised so it is esp. serious for him]. Anyway, I'm worried for them & the prospect of tackling hard emotional reading is not attractive right now.)

 

I think this Of Cocktails & Penguins might be more my speed as 2015 is nearing its close...

 

 

I think that one is do-able.

Indeed, this looks perfect, and cheap, cheap! on Kindle.  Just the ticket.  Thank you.

 

(BTW, for those getting a jump on their holiday shopping, I plonked the title into the Amazon search feature without specifying "books," and it delivered me up some fine Nambe penguin-motif cocktail shakers.  Just an idea, for that hard-to-find person on your list...   :lol:  )

 

 

Hugs to your friends and their toddlers...

[Jane in NC]

A week or so ago, I linked an essay by Vladislavic, the author of The Folly, who mentions both Carson McCullers and Sherwood Anderson as forgotten authors deserving more of our attention.  Once again, Jane confesses that it has been decades since she has read either.  But what a delight to find the audio version of McCuller's beautiful 1940 novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, on my library shelf.  I suspect that I read this book when I was 23 or 24.  Let's see what the (supposedly) grown up Jane has to say about it now.

[Jane in NC]

Note to VC:  Huxley includes Cardinal Newman among the banned "pornographic" writers in the BNW. 

[Violet Crown]

Note to VC: Huxley includes Cardinal Newman among the banned "pornographic" writers in the BNW.

Really? How could I have missed that? And I read it not too many years ago.

[Stacia]

Note to VC:  Huxley includes Cardinal Newman among the banned "pornographic" writers in the BNW. 

 

Really? How could I have missed that? And I read it not too many years ago.

 

For those of us (<ahem>... me) not familiar with Cardinal Newman, could you provide some explanation as to why he might have been grouped in the "pornographic" writers in BNW?

 

Now I'm thinking I just need to go back & re-read BNW. I think I missed *a lot* of references & knowledge in there!

 

:blushing: