First Half of December Reading

Last year around this time, I had presented three books to my book group to chose from for the December selection.  Gilead by Marilyn Robinson was one of the three books presented, but not chosen.  This year it was my turn again and I presented Gilead again and to my great pleasure, it was chosen.  This was the third time that I have read Gilead (because I just really like it!).  It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005.

Gilead is the name of a town in Iowa where the Rev. John Ames was raised and still lives in the story.  He is writing a journal to his young son (seven years old) because Rev. Ames doesn't seem to have long to live.  He is about eighty years old and is having some heart issues.  He wants to write a journal for his son to read, hoping to tell his son all that he would have told him if he were alive.  It is a story of three generations: Rev. Ames' father and grandfather, along with his own views and opinions.  The history told in the story is fascinating.  It goes from the Civil War to the twentieth century.  The journal also spends a lot of time discussing Jack Boughton, the son of Rev. Ames' best friend (who is also a reverend in Gilead).  It is a novel that explores the relationships between sons and fathers in a very intimate, revealing way. 

Two side notes:  1) I was very disappointed to have to miss the book group the evening that they discussed Gilead.  I am hopeful that perhaps we can discuss it briefly at the next gathering. 2) Ms. Robinson's next novel, entitled Home is a continuation of Gilead and, in my opinion, even better than Gilead.  However, I would strongly recommend that the novels be read in order.

I was anxious to read Tana French's latest novel Faithful Place.  Ms. French also wrote In The Woods and The Likeness, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Faithful Place did not disappoint.  Like her first two novels, it takes place in Ireland and is a mystery story.

Frank Mackey is a detective who had grown up poor in Faithful Place, part of Dublin's inner city.  As a very young man Frank fell in love with Rosie Daly and they made plans to run off to London to marry and live together.  The night that they were to meet and head off, Rosie never showed up.  It was always assumed that she had gone off without Frank and no one ever heard from her again.  Frank waited all night for her and when morning came and Rosie had not shown up, Frank left and never returned home.  Twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase was found behind a fireplace in an old abandoned house where Frank and Rosie would sometimes go.  Frank's sister contacted him and Frank returned home to try to find out what had become of Rosie.

This was a good mystery story and I am already looking forward to Ms. French's next novel!

Lastly, I read Crow Lake by Mary Lawson.  I had recently read The Other Side of The Bridge by Ms. Lawson and enjoyed her style of writing.  Crow Lake is also a story that takes place in Canada and is a good family study.

The Morrison family consists of the parents and four children.  Education has always been highly valued by the family and when the story begins, the oldest of the four children, Luke, is getting ready to head off to college.  Before Luke can get off, his parents are killed in an accident and Luke decides to give up his opportunity in order to stay there and keep the family together.  It is a great sacrifice and he is totally unequipped to handle the two youngest children, seven year old Kate and Bo, who is still a young baby.  The second oldest child, Matt is in high school.  Luke's expectation is that Matt will go on to college.  However, things don't go as planned and Kate ends up being the one in the family who gets her college education.  Throughout the story, Kate struggles to make sense of the events that occurred when tragedy of another family intersected with their own tragedy.

Another good book!

I have to share my good fortune here...I recently had a birthday and received gift cards to my favorite bookstore!  How lucky am I???

Real Food and The Devil's Punchbowl

I searched several different bookstores and finally found a copy of Nina Planck's book, Real Food.  I can't remember where I saw/read it being recommended, but I found it to be an interesting read.  Of course, as you can imagine, the book is the author's defense of eating "real food".  Which I totally agree, is a good way to eat, no question about it!  However, I imagine that it would be rather difficult to locate raw milk to drink and, if I am not mistaken, it seems to me that grass-fed meat is fairly expensive.  Yes, I know that the cost is probably worth it...I just don't know if I am willing to pay the cost yet.  I may try some...it's possible that the taste would make the cost worth it.

The book is 275 pages long, with  another 55 pages of references, etc.  The main gist of the book is on page 273, where there is a paragraph of the author's recommendations for eating.  As you would guess, she recommends generous amounts of fruits and veggies, wild fish and seafood, grass-fed meat, full fat dairy (ideally raw), only traditional fats, whole grains and legumes, cultured and fermented foods, and unrefined sweeteners. 

The book makes a compelling case for eating this way and there is a lot of interesting information about each topic.  I'm glad that I read it, and I will give consideration to her suggestions.

And once again, my wonderful library had another great Greg Iles book for me to read...The Devil's Punchbowl. It is another mystery set in Natchez, Mississippi with Penn Cage as the lawyer/author hero, dealing with several issues, including dog-fighting, kidnappings, etc.  It was a great read and I am anxiously awaiting the sequel that Mr. Iles has promised.  It is supposed to be out in 2011!  I won't go on more about the book, since I have read and reviewed so many other of his books.  Suffice to say, I really enjoyed this one!

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

I just finished three novels that I blindly chose from the library...that is, I had never heard of either the titles or the authors.  Turned out that I really enjoyed two of them, and the third wasn't too bad.  I will begin with my "not too bad" read:

The Blindness of the Heart by Julia Franck had a very interesting premise.  The novel begins in 1945 and takes place in Germany.  A young mother, Helene, leaves her seven year old son in a railway station.  This is after they have survived the "horror and deprivation of the war years."   Helene never returns for her son.  Then the story goes back into Helene's childhood beginning before WWI.  It actually was a fairly interesting story, but I wanted it to tie up with the beginning of the book in a more definitive way.  The book did win the German Book Prize and was a finalist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.

Next I read The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson.  I enjoyed this book very much, and will try to find her first book, Crow Lake to read.  This novel begins in the 1930's with two brothers, sons of a local farmer.  One brother, Arthur, is the responsible, hard-working son.  The other brother, Jake, is charming, undependable and good-looking.  A defining moment occurs that changes everyone and everything for the brothers and their parents. (which I don't want to give away).  Later, a beautiful girl arrives in town and both brothers are quite taken with her.  Then the story moves ahead twenty years later, and a young boy in town goes to work for Arthur on his farm, and the past begins to unravel.  A very good read!

Lastly, I read The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken.  This was also a very capturing read.  It is the story of Philip Shumway, a thirteen year old boy whose sixteen year old brother, Ethan, who just disappears one day without a trace.  It is a story about how a family survives having a missing child and/or sibling.  Philip and his three sisters try to make sense of Ethan's life and his disappearance, while his parents struggle each in their own way to survive the loss.  I found this book to be very meaningful and not sad and depressing, as the topic would lend itself to be.  I liked it very much.

 

My favorite of the three?  I would chose The Other Side of the Bridge!  It is really enjoyable to find new-to-you books (that is, ones that you have never heard of before) and find that you really liked them!

Way Behind!

I am way behind in blogging about my reading, so this blog will be a synopsis of the four books that I have read lately.  I batted 50% on these...two good, two not so good.

1. I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells-This was read for one of my book groups.  I didn't realize that it was a Young Adult book, but while reading it, I complained to my husband that it read like one.  Turns out that it was!  Anyway, I pretty much enjoyed it until about the middle of the book, when it is revealed who/what the serial killer is.  Suffice to say, I'm just not into monsters and demons.

2. The Emigrants by W. G. Sebald-I had read a very positive review of this book and was really looking forward to reading it.  Sadly, I read about 3/4 of it and just couldn't gather up enough interest to finish it.  It is four separate stories about four Jewish emigrants in the twentieth century.

3. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield-Now this was a good book!  I loved the story...it combined genealogy, mystery and family relationships!  Right up my alley, so to speak!  An elderly, highly popular author, Vida Winter, hires a young biographer/bookstore worker to write Vida's biography.  Vida is ready to tell the truth about her mysterious past before she dies. I highly recommend it for a fun read!

4. The Last Child by John Hart-This was a long book, but I have to admit that I never guessed the ending as I read it...it kept my interested and curious.  It is the story of a thirteen year old boy whose twin sister went missing a year ago.  Johnny Merriman is determined to find his sister and finds himself in some hard places as he works to find what has become of her.  Again, I highly recommend it!

I don't like that I only enjoyed two of the last four books that I have read.  I need to chose better!  Wish I knew the secret of choosing just the right book every time!

Greg Iles' novels

I know that I keep writing about mystery novels by Greg Iles.  Because I keep reading them.  I just finished two more: Mortal Fear and Dead Sleep.  Somehow, someway, his novels have captured me.  Thankfully, there are still more for me to read!  One of the things that I love about his novels are that they are set in the South, usually Mississippi, and for whatever reason, I am always attracted to Southern novels (prior life?).  Anyway, if anyone is interested, here is a link to his website: http://www.gregiles.com/books.htm

Four More Books

Yes, it is now the middle of September...I went to Orlando over Labor Day weekend specifically to visit the new Harry Potter park.  It did not disappoint!  It was great fun and I had a wonderful trip with my daughter, daughter-in-law and grandson.

While in Orlando, I began reading My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira.  I had seen quite a few reviews on it and when I saw it available at my library, I snatched it up and took it with me on my trip.  Luckily, I had brought another book, too, because Mary Sutter was a disappointment.  Admittedly, I didn't finish the book.  I read over half of it (a good try, I feel) and I just never cared about Mary or anyone else in the book.  Mary Sutter learned midwifery from her mother, but she wanted to learn more and become a doctor.  She was unable to get accepted into medical school or to apprentice with a doctor, primarily because she was a woman. When the Civil War broke out, she made her way to Washington DC to nurse wounded soldiers, still intent on becoming a doctor.  Since I didn't complete the book, I don't know if she ever realized her dream.  Nor did I care! Not a good sign for a book!

So then I began reading The Appeal by John Grisham.  This book was given to me as a retirement gift over a year ago, and I still hadn't gotten to it.  It was a small paperback, so thankfully, it fit well in my luggage and made the trip to Orlando with me.  I have read some of Grisham's other books, and none have ever grabbed me as much as A Time To Kill.  This one didn't either, but I did find this book to be very interesting.  The story centers around a case against a chemical company and is about the law, money and politics.  While I realize that the novel is fiction, my guess is that it is a pretty accurate portrayal of just how politics, law and money prevail in this country.  I was fascinated with how Grisham told the story of how a court seat could be obtained.  I suspect that the fiction is right on the truth!  Very interesting.  I was, however, quite let down by the ending, which only suggests my desire to have everything turn out right and fair!  Good book.

Back to the library for my next two books.  After The Appeal, I returned to Greg Iles and chose Turning Angel.  Another great read by Iles.  He is turning into one of my favorite mystery authors (not that I really had one).  In Turning Angel, Iles returns to Natchez, MS and to his earlier character, Penn  Cage (from The Quiet Game).  This time Penn's old friend Drew Elliot is accused of murdering his son's babysitter who Drew is having an affair with, and he asks Penn to represent him as his lawyer. This is a long book, but worth the time!

It is another of Greg Iles' books that I could not put down!  Great mystery, and I love the portrayal of Natchez.  I have never been there, but am planning a trip to New Orleans in the next year or so, and plan to go to Natchez just from reading his books!

And the last book that I have read is The Violin of Auschwitz by Maria Angels Anglada.  It is a very small book and was a quick read.  It is typical of many Holocaust books that I have read.  That being said, it was a good story.  It is about a violin-maker in a concentration camp and his struggle to survive.  He is assigned to build a violin for his survival.  Would I recommend it?  Probably not, but only because there is nothing new or exciting about it.

I am getting ready to start The Art of Racing in the Rain which is the book chosen for my book group that meets next week.  Again, it is one of those books that has been out for awhile and I just never got to reading, so I am happy that it was chosen.  When we meet next week, it is my turn to present three books to be voted and chosen for our November meeting.  Can you guess what will be the three I will choose to present?

The Quiet Game

After having read Blood Memory last week, I went on to my local library to see if they had any more books by Greg Iles.  Imagine my surprise when I saw almost a whole shelf of books by him!  I was thrilled!  I chose The Quiet Game to read and I chose a winner!  Great mystery story set in Natchez, Mississippi.

Penn Cage has returned to Natchez with his four year old daughter, Annie, to stay with his parents for awhile.  His wife, Sarah, died seven months earlier and he is a bit overwhelmed with dealing with both his feelings and Annie's emotions.  He wants Annie to have some time with his mother, and for both he and Annie to begin some healing.  However, upon his return, Penn learns that his father, a well-loved local doctor, is being blackmailed.  As Penn, a former prosecutor-turned-author, begins to investigate what is happening with his father, he comes face-to-face with an unsolved thirty year old murder, involving a black man, the FBI, local judges, etc.  The black man was killed in 1968 between the time of the killings of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.  Is there a connection?

Meanwhile, there are some romantic things going on also.  A lost love from twenty years ago, and a brand new love interest.

This book has many twists and turns and kept me up reading late every night until I finished it.  I really like his writing.  As soon as I finish my next book, it will be back to the library for another of Greg Iles' books!