November Nope
Posted: 2019/11/13 Filed under: audio books, E-Books, Early Review, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: books list, crime, culture, Dervla Murphy, Early Review, Elif Shafak, Fiction, jewish, Kira Salak, Lee Child, librarything, medieval, memoir, murder, mystery, NonFiction, Papua New guinea, Rich Cohen, series, siberia, Sigrid Undset, Suzanna Henshon, Thomas Mcguane, travel Leave a commentI don’t have writer’s block. I have writer’s apathy. I have nothing to say. Here are the books already underway for November:
Fiction:
- The Sporting Club by Thomas McGuane – in honor of the Mackinac bridge being built in November of 1957.
- The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak – I needed an author with my same initials for the Portland Public Library Reading Challenge.
Nonfiction:
- Four Corners: a Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea by Kira Salak – in honor of November being a decent time to visit PNG…if you are into that sort of thing.
- Israel is Real: an Obsessive Quest to Understand the Jewish Nation and Its History by Rich Cohen – in recognition of Resolution 181.
- Silverland: a Winter Journey Beyond the Urals by Dervla Murphy – in honor of Murphy’s birth month.
Series continuation:
- Master of Hestviken: the Snake Pit by Sigrid Undset – to continue the series started in October. I needed a translated book written by a woman. Voila!
- Echo Burning by Lee Child – to continue the series started in July in honor of New York becoming a state.
Early Review for LibraryThing:
- Teaching Empathy: Strategies for Building Emotional Intelligence in Today’s Children by Suzanna Hershon, PhD.
Turn the Page October
Posted: 2018/10/10 Filed under: audio books, E-Books, Early Review, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: africa, Bosnia, Bryce Courtenay, cats, Doris Lessing, Dorothy Dunnett, Early Review, family, Fiction, Hal Roth, Henry Roth, historical, immigration, Ivo Andric, Jan Morris, John Grisham, librarything, NonFiction, Nora Roberts, Oxford, Robert Wilson, romance, sailing, series, South africa, sports, time travel, travel Leave a commentFiction:
- The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson – in honor of October being Star Man month.
- Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric (EB) – in memory of Mehmed Pasa Sokollu’s passing. He designed the bridge over the Drina river.
- Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (EB) – in honor of the Verdi Fest in Parma that takes place every October.
- Call It Sleep by Henry Roth (AB) – to remember the Tom Kippur War.
Nonfiction:
- Oxford Book of Oxford edited by Jan Morris – in honor of Morris’s birth month.
- African Laughter by Doris Lessing – in honor of Lessing’s birth month.
- Always a Distant Anchorage by Hal Roth – October is Library Friend Month & I had to borrow this from a distant library.
Series continuations:
- Tandia by Bryce Courtenay – to finish the series started in September in honor of Courtenay’s birth month.
- The Race of the Scorpion by Dorothy Dunnett (EB) – to continue the series started in August in honor of Dunnett’s birth month.
- Finding the Dream by Nora Roberts (EB) – to finish the series started in August in honor of Dream Month.
Fun:
- Joey Goes to Sea by Alan Villiers – a gift from my aunt Jennifer.
Early Review for LibraryThing: nada. I have the promise of three different books but they haven’t arrived yet.
December Did Not
Posted: 2017/01/04 Filed under: audio books, biography, books, childrens book, Early Review, Fiction, list, NonFiction | Tags: africa, biography, Candice Millard, childrens book, classic, Dominique Lapierre, Early Review, Elizabeth Enright, Esther Forbes, Fiction, grief, historical, india, italy, John Hemming, Larry Collins, Lauren St John, librarything, Margaret Visser, memoir, NonFiction, ocean, Patricia Grace, Paul Revere, Peru, pytheas, Rome, series, Stephane Gerson, Theodore Roosevelt, war, yoga Leave a commentDecember did not suck entirely. I was able to run 97 miles out of the 97 promised. The in-law holiday party was a lot of fun and I got to most of the books on my list:
Nonfiction:
- Conquest of the Incas by John Hemming (DNF)
- Rainbow’s End by Lauren St. John
- Paul Revere and the World He Lived in by Esther Forbes
- On the Ocean by Pytheas (translated by Christina Horst Roseman)
- Geometry of Love by Margaret Visser
- Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre .
- River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard (AB)
Fiction:
- Tu by Patricia Grace – I read this in four days because it was due back at a library that didn’t allow renewals.
Series:
- Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright. I listened to this on audio on my lunch breaks. It was a good way to escape for a little while each day. Confessional: I didn’t finish the whole thing but since it is a continuation of the series it doesn’t matter.
Early Review:
- Yoga for Athletes by Ryanne Cunningham – this was an October book that took me a little time to review because I was too busy using it to run!
- Disaster Falls: a family story by Stephane Gerson
Know Your November
Posted: 2016/11/01 Filed under: audio books, books, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: Allen Drury, childrens book, Colin Cotterill, David Halberstam, Ecuador, education, Elizabeth Enright, fantasy, Fiction, history, James Hilton, Laos, Manning Coles, medical, meditation, Moritz Thomsen, Neil Gaiman, NonFiction, Perri Klass, politics, series, spy 1 CommentI am trying to move into this month without cracking up or breaking down. I’ve lost the run temporarily and even a small interruption sets me back. You know it is with a mental stability that isn’t quite that solid. I don’t want to say anything more than that.
Here are the books. Nonfiction first:
- Living Poor: a Peace Corps Chronicle by Moritz Thomsen – in honor of the month Ecuador’s civil war for independence ended.
- Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn – (AB) in honor of the holidays and how much they can stress you out. I’m reading this and listening to it on audio.
- The Fifties by David Halberstam – in honor of finishing what I said I would.
- Baby Doctor by Perri Klass – in honor of National Health Month.
Fiction:
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton – in honor of National Education Week. This should take me a lunch break to read.
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman – in honor of Gaiman’s birth month.
- Advise and Consent by Allen Drury – in honor of November being an election month (and is it ever!).
Series Books:
- Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright – (EAB = electronic audio book) to continue the series started in September in honor of Enright’s birth month.
- A Toast To Tomorrow by Manning Coles – to continue the series started in October in honor of Octoberfest.
- Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Colin Cotterill – to END the series started in May in honor of Rocket Day.
Tear of Autumn
Posted: 2016/09/27 Filed under: audio books, Book Reviews, BookLust I, Fiction | Tags: 2016, audio book, book lust i, book review, Charles McCarry, Fiction, mystery, september Leave a commentMcCarry, Charles. The Tears of Autumn. Read by Stefan Rudnicki. Oregon: Blackstone Audio, 2005.
Reason read: Cold War ended in September.
Paul Christopher is back; Christopher, the the cool-as-a-cucumber, jet-setting, incorruptible CIA secret agent. This time he is trying to convince his superiors he knows who killed John F. Kennedy and why. But, is this a story of revenge or not? When Vietnam’s president, Ngo Dinh Diem, is assassinated Christopher can’t help but think there is a connection when JFK is murdered just three weeks later in Texas. Was Oswald just a switch someone far-reaching flicked on? Christopher seeks the truth and along the way puts the people he cares about in danger (especially a love interest, of course). While the plot is predictable and the characters, typecast, I enjoyed Christopher’s next adventure.
Author fact: McCarry also wrote The Last Supper and Shelley’s Heart both of which are on my list.
Book trivia: this is part of a seven-book series but I don’t think you would be missing anything if you didn’t read them one right after the other or out of order.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Cold War Spy Fiction” (p 61).
Septembering
Posted: 2016/09/01 Filed under: audio books, books, Early Review, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: classic, Colin Cotterill, Early Review, Elaine Harger, Fiction, franz kafka, humor, librarians, librarything, memoir, mystery, Nien Cheng, NonFiction, Steven Millhauser, William Faulkner Leave a commentI’m not exactly sure what September will bring. The renovations for the library are finally finished (with a crazy punch list, I might add). The backyard is complete minus the hot tub, fire pit and patio furniture (that’s stage II). I have a half mara in ten days so I’m anticipating a good run month. Here are the planned books:
- Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill – to continue the series started in May in honor of Laos Rocket Day
- Edwin Mullhouse: the life and death of an American Writer – to honor kids in September
- Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng – Mao died of cancer in September.
- Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry – Cold War ended in September
- The Trial by Franz Kafka – September is the best month to visit the Czech Republic.
- Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner – September is Southern Gospel month
- Which Side are You On? by Elaine Harger – an Early Review from LibraryThing.
August Ahead
Posted: 2016/08/01 Filed under: audio books, books, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: Amazon, audio book, aviation, books, Colin Cotterill, Columbia, Dalia Rabinovich, David Grann, Ernest Gann, Fiction, Frederick Busch, Henning Mankell, James Baldwin, Laos, mystery, NonFiction, sweden Leave a commentMy obsession with moving rocks has come to an end now that the big boys are playing in the backyard. This hopefully means I’ll scale back to just two fanatical activities: running and reading. Or reading and running. I wonder who will win out? I am in the last month of training before the half marathon, but here are the books planned for August:
- Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill – to continue the series started in May in honor of Laos Rocket Day. I have been able to read other books in the series in one to two days.
- Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell – in honor of July being one of the best times to visit Sweden (listening as an audio book).
- Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon by David Grann in honor of August being the driest month in the Amazon.
- The High and the Mighty by Ernest Gann in honor of August being Aviation month.
- If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin in honor of Baldwin’s birth month (print & AB).
- Children in the Woods by Frederick Busch in honor of Busch’s birth month (short stories).
- Flora’s Suitcase by Dalia Rabinovich in honor of Columbia’s independence.
PS – on the eve of posting this I ran 7.93 miles. Why the .93? My calf/Achilles started to give me grief so I had to stop. Now I wonder if the running has a chance to catch the books?
Just July
Posted: 2016/07/31 Filed under: audio books, books, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: Amitav Ghosh, Andrew Eames, Arthur Conan Doyle, audio book, books, Colin Cotterill, Cornelius Ryan, Elizabeth Gaskell, Eric Jerome Dickey, Fiction, NonFiction Leave a commentJuly was a nutty month. Lots of music: Phish three times, Warren Haynes at Tanglewood, Dead and Company twice, and Coldplay. (August is only Pearl Jam and Mieka Pauley.) We made it up to Monhegan for a week and down to CT twice. And! And. And, I moved a lot of rocks (don’t ask). For the books it was:
- Milk in my Coffee by Eric Jerome Dickey
- Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill
- Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (AB)
- The Last Battle by Ryan Cornelius
- Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
- 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
I think, once I got used to Dickey’s style, I grew to like Milk but my favorite by far was The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. Is it a movie? Because if it isn’t, it should be. I said that in the review as well.
Full disclosure: I had Lost Upland on my list as well. I simply ran out of time and couldn’t get to it. I’m okay with seven books for the month.
July on Deck
Posted: 2016/07/01 Filed under: audio books, books, Fiction, Good, NonFiction | Tags: audio book, chick lit, Colin Cotterill, Cornelius Ryan, Elizabeth Gaskell, Eric Jerome Dickey, Fiction, jamaica, Jane Gardam, mystery, NonFiction, reading, series, victorian, war, world war ii Leave a commentJuly. Summertime. Lots of music (starting with you guessed it, Phish). Lots of running (hopefully all outdoors). Lots of travel, lots of play. Plenty of reading:
- Milk in My Coffee by Eric Jerome Dickey (in honor of National Cow Appreciation Day on the 14th. I kid you not.)
- Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (#3 – to continue the series started in May in honor of Rocket Day)
- The Last Battle by Cornelius Ryan (#3 – to continue the series started in June for D-Day)
- Cranford (AB) by Elizabeth Gaskell (in honor of Swan Upping. If you don’t know about this day, check it out. It’s fascinating. Or you can wait for my review when I’ll explain the practice.)
- Black Faces, White Faces by Jane Gardam (in honor of Gardam’s birth month)
As an aside, I have read the last two Cotterills in a day each, so I know I need to add at least one or two more books to the list. I’m off to the great unknown for vacation so when I get back I’ll probably have to revisit this list.
Also, I should note that I won another Early Review book from LibraryThing, but since its not here yet I won’t promise to read it. 😉
Arab and Jew
Posted: 2016/05/25 Filed under: audio books, Book Reviews, BookLust I, NonFiction | Tags: 2016, audio book, book lust i, book review, David Shipler, may, middle east, NonFiction, Robert Blumenfeld Leave a commentShipler, David K. Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land. Read by Robert Blumenfeld. New York: Blackstone Audio, 2003.
Reason read: May is the most beautiful time of the year to visit the middle east…or so I have heard.
This is the history of the relationship between Arab and Jew. Shipler painstakingly traces the prejudice back to its origin and examines the cultural, religious, and socioeconomic divide that has existed ever since. Shipler’s reporting is exemplary. He is unbiased but obviously very concerned about the everyday ordinary people just trying to survive in this land of unrest. Shipler’s voice is at once delicate and forthright in his descriptions and details involving terrorism, nationalism, and political conflict. He refers frequently to information he has collected from textbooks of various grade levels to demonstrate the education & “miseducation” of middle eastern children.
Probably the most disturbing section (for me) was about sexual attitudes, especially those surrounding rape.
Quotes that caught my attention, “Battle has its thrills as well as its regrets” and “Too much hope seems doused in blood.” Because I am listening to this on (22!) CDs I have no idea what actual page these quotes are on.
Book trivia: I listened to an unabridged and revised edition of Arab and Jew. This was also made into a movie in 1989.
Author fact: Shipler won a Pulitzer for Arab and Jew in 1987.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the vague chapter called “The Middle East” (p 154).