December 2023: What are you reading?

[scholarly]

I didn't realize I hadn't posted in so long. This holiday season really got away from me, so here's November and December!

Empire of the Summer Moon- SC Gwynne. This chronicled the downfall of the Comanche. I read it on the recommendation of my brother, and I'm glad I read it, but I won't be reading it again.

Walking the Nile- Levison Wood. This had a surprisingly serious event take place during the trek. I like Wood's work, but after that particular event, it made me really question the point in all his expeditions. (to be fair, it made him question the same)

The Sisterhood: the Secret History of Women in the CIA- Liza Mundy. I loved this book, while being disgruntled about how the CIA treated female employees. There's a fair amount about the CIA around 9/11 and that was interesting to me. I was in college in 2001 and had no idea about what was really going on.

Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village- Maureen Johnson. meh

The Psychology of Money- Morgan Housel. It had a few good points, but overall, meh.

The Night Circus- Erin Morgenstern. I didn't read this when it came out because I was sure I wasn't going to like it. I finally read it and I loved it! It's one of my favorite books of the year and it reminded me of what I love about reading.

F is for Fugitive- Sue Grafton. Another Kinsey Millhone mystery, but better than the last one.

 

[Kareni]

My distant book group meets next week, and I've just finished the book we'll be discussing, Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. I found this to be a quick read and finished it in two sittings. The narrator tells of her interactions with her ex-husband, the father of her grown children. I'll be curious to learn what the others in the group thought of it.

"I would like to say a few things about my first husband, William.

Lucy Barton is a writer, but her ex-husband, William, remains a hard man to read. William, she confesses, has always been a mystery to me. Another mystery is why the two have remained connected after all these years. They just are.

So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret—one of those secrets that rearrange everything we think we know about the people closest to us. What happens next is nothing less than another example of what Hilary Mantel has called Elizabeth Strout's "perfect attunement to the human condition." There are fears and insecurities, simple joys and acts of tenderness, and revelations about affairs and other spouses, parents and their children. On every page of this exquisite novel we learn more about the quiet forces that hold us together—even after we've grown apart.

At the heart of this story is the indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who offers a profound, lasting reflection on the very nature of existence. "This is the way of life," Lucy says: "the many things we do not know until it is too late.""

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

On 12/20/2023 at 11:44 AM, Grace Hopper said:

Akin to Art & Joy, I imagine, let me recommend The Dot by Peter Reynolds. It’s a small picture book which I found delightful as an adult. 

Due to your recommendation, @Grace Hopper, I read The Dot. I quite enjoyed it, so thank you!

"With a simple, witty story and free-spirited illustrations, Peter H. Reynolds entices even the stubbornly uncreative among us to make a mark — and follow where it takes us.

Her teacher smiled. "Just make a mark and see where it takes you."

Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself. But Vashti can’t draw - she’s no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. "There!" she says.

That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti’s journey of surprise and self-discovery. That special moment is the core of Peter H. Reynolds’s delicate fable about the creative spirit in all of us."

(FIC 113, RR 59, NF 15, NS 32, GN 2, PIC 4//)

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I reread the first three books of a favorite series over the course of the week and enjoyed them all again.

Stray, Lab Rat One, and Caszandra (Touchstone series 1-3) all by Andrea K Höst.

Stray is FREE for Kindle readers. Here is its description:

"On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive.

The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people? What is the intoxicating mist which drifts off the buildings in the moonlight? And why does she feel like she's being watched?

Increasingly unnerved, Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people's skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a 'stray', a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow.

Can Cass ever find her way home? And after the people of her new world discover her unexpected value, will they be willing to let her leave?"

(FIC 113, RR 62, NF 15, NS 32, GN 2, PIC 4///)

Regards,

Kareni

[marbel]

My plan of reading Christmas mysteries all December didn't work out as planned. Let's just say I have several books ready for next year. It was a hectic and not altogether great month and I couldn't get into it! I did read two but they weren't great either! Ah well. There's always next year. 

I read two Daniel Silva thrillers (The Kill Artist and The English Assassin) and am closing out the year with a reread/relisten to A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles). I was hoping to finish today to start fresh tomorrow, but won't make it.  This is one of my favorite books. 

My big book for next year will be a reread of Les Miserables, but with a new-to-me translation (Christine Donougher). This will be my third time through, I think? 

[Vintage81]

1 hour ago, marbel said:

My big book for next year will be a reread of Les Miserables, but with a new-to-me translation (Christine Donougher). This will be my third time through, I think? 

I looked this one up because I was curious….its over 1400 pages!! 😧 Classic books kind of intimidate me, but gigantic ones really do! That’s great that you can tackle that, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t make it. I hope you enjoy the new translation. ☺️ 

[marbel]

4 minutes ago, Vintage81 said:

I looked this one up because I was curious….its over 1400 pages!! 😧 Classic books kind of intimidate me, but gigantic ones really do! That’s great that you can tackle that, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t make it. I hope you enjoy the new translation. ☺️ 

This is the one huge book I have never found to be a burden to finish. I love it so much. Obviously that is a very subjective thing, and I know some people prefer an abridged version because of the so-called digressions the author takes during the story, but I have never found those digressions to be worthless. Moby Dick, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Count of Monte Cristo have all been set aside and finished after lots of breaks. Not this one.

 

[Grace Hopper]

6 minutes ago, marbel said:

This is the one huge book I have never found to be a burden to finish. I love it so much. Obviously that is a very subjective thing, and I know some people prefer an abridged version because of the so-called digressions the author takes during the story, but I have never found those digressions to be worthless. Moby Dick, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Count of Monte Cristo have all been set aside and finished after lots of breaks. Not this one.

 

I am tempted to reread Moby Dick, skipping the biology chapters. I do love the biology chapters, but I am curious to see how the story flow would be if I skipped them. An experiment I’m considering. 
 

I have Les Mis and Count both sitting on my shelf next to Moby, I may have to dust them off and call 2024 a year for chunky tomes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on LM translation, if I find my old copy slow going I’ll look for Donougher version. And for mentioning counting by number of pages vs titles, maybe I’ll make note of both. 

[marbel]

3 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

I am tempted to reread Moby Dick, skipping the biology chapters. I do love the biology chapters, but I am curious to see how the story flow would be if I skipped them. An experiment I’m considering. 
 

I have Les Mis and Count both sitting on my shelf next to Moby, I may have to dust them off and call 2024 a year for chunky tomes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on LM translation, if I find my old copy slow going I’ll look for Donougher version. And for mentioning counting by number of pages vs titles, maybe I’ll make note of both. 

I have read and really enjoyed the Julie Rose translation. She has gotten some criticism for being too "slangy" (for lack of a better word) but she was trying to write the way the people would have actually talked, so...  But I'm also excited to try something new.