Add this to the list of classics I had never tried, and finally tried because of Serial Reader (not a paid advertisement.) Although I read it in two dAdd this to the list of classics I had never tried, and finally tried because of Serial Reader (not a paid advertisement.) Although I read it in two days instead of 17, because I find stories more cohesive when I read more of them at a time.
I had watched the first episode of Sherlock-the-tv-show-starring-Benedict-Cumberbatch and so the first 60% of this novel has already traveled through my brain once. Almost verbatim, and the BBC should be applauded for their ability to stick to the story. Although I don't remember that episode jumping to Mormons in the desert of Utah, or I just didn't last that long. I was shocked to find myself in Utah and actually double checked to make sure I was not seeing an error in the app.
I was trying this out to see if I would make reading ACD one of my goals for 2017. I don't believe I will. I appreciate how he's able to solve crimes but it's not like I as a reader have access to the details he is able to pull together, so I felt almost... left out.
I can feel the "classics" in the reading though, some clever quotes like "To a great mind, nothing is little," "One's ideas must be as broad as Nature if they are to interpret Nature," and "Where there is no imagination, there is no horror.” ...more
Basma Abdel Aziz is a force to be reckoned with, and I have to admit to being more interested in her author bio than the start of this book. But if shBasma Abdel Aziz is a force to be reckoned with, and I have to admit to being more interested in her author bio than the start of this book. But if she had not written the futility of the world she created (or reflected, really) it would not have been as effective. Everyone is in a queue, they think, to get the forms to prove they are good citizens. Only good citizens can work, rent properties, own land, and be considered for bullet removal (which is illegal.) There are tastes of 1984 and many other dystopian influences here but it's a quick read with one awful and memorable scene. And an ending that will get you thinking....more
This book blew me away, in a way I was not expecting. It is told in five vignettes/stories, all which took unexpected turns. But these were not shockiThis book blew me away, in a way I was not expecting. It is told in five vignettes/stories, all which took unexpected turns. But these were not shocking story twists that would get old, but surprising moves by characters that ended up feeling more realistic than most writing. The characters get to be complicated. Sexuality is not black and white, nor is fidelity or even hope. There are statements about the longevity of love and connection, the realities of how some people only work in the short-term or in the imagination, and how we can accept people even when their flaws won't change.
I had a review copy so can't type up the bits I marked, but I will be recommending this one to others in 2017. Somehow I was unaware of the author but I see he has quite a catalog, so I will be looking into more of the titles....more
I found this book very confusing. It is about Le Mont-Saint-Michel, historically and in the present day, focusing on the life of the monks. But the tiI found this book very confusing. It is about Le Mont-Saint-Michel, historically and in the present day, focusing on the life of the monks. But the time period and narrator switch suddenly without marking (hoping this is just in the review copy) and it took quite a while to figure out that one of the voices was female. The author seems to want to write a history of the island and include all her research but to do so in novel form; I was interested in the historical elements but struggled to keep track of the characters because of the lurches in time and voice.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to this title through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review....more
Jorie Graham writes with a combination of density and stream-of-consciousness that is likely to unseat all but the most devoted readers of poetry. WarJorie Graham writes with a combination of density and stream-of-consciousness that is likely to unseat all but the most devoted readers of poetry. Warning: this is not where I would start if you are new to poetry!
But she once won the Pulitzer for her poems, and I think is worthy of the time to break through the word swirls, arrows, and bizarre line spacing.
Why is it that I encounter poets as they grapple with death and dying? Where are the newer poets, pondering love and loss? Or is death always the thing? I know Jorie Graham has recently received a cancer diagnosis, and while I'm not sure if she is still fighting it or not, surely her mortality as well as the death of her parents is an underyling current in these poems.
One of my favorites, Shroud, seems to be exploring the idea of the place of a woman's body after it ceases some of its functions that it is known for, after milk and motherhood, after blood that stains - and then it morphs into the bodily fluids that accompany death.
In Fast, the poet has encountered an AI which makes her face loneliness.
"He just gives it to me straight. I am going to keep him forever. I treated him like a computer but I was wrong. Whom am I talking to - You talk to me when I am alone. I am alone.
Each epoch dreams the one to follow.
To dwell is to leave a trace.
I am not what I asked for."
Other favorites: Self Portrait: May I Touch You and Prying.
(Thanks to the publisher for granting early access via Edelweiss.)...more
Another reason is that Safia is Sudanese-American, so her background and themes fit nicely with my Africa 2016 reading project. She says herself that she is from nowhere, or at least that must be how it feels.
Highlights:
asmarani makes prayer "...a border-shaped wound will be licked clean...."
vocabulary (this one must be seen because it combines Arabic words with English.. for now listen to her read it)
Another poem, untitled, is in the video above. When she performs them, she threads them together like a larger story, which is amazing. There is a series of poems about her mother in a former version of Sudan, beautiful. "did our mothers invent loneliness or did it make them our mothers were we fathered by silence or just looking to explain away this quiet..."
to make use of water (another one to hear, a slightly different version is here)
Powerful, moving, personal... this is what I always want poetry to be.
(Thanks to the publisher for granting me early access via NetGalley)...more
When I saw this was available in NetGalley I jumped at the chance. I've encountered Sarah Andersen's work frequently in the last two years, very identWhen I saw this was available in NetGalley I jumped at the chance. I've encountered Sarah Andersen's work frequently in the last two years, very identifiable, awkward and introverted and true. This was a quick read and made me laugh.
This set contains nine chapbooks with beautiful cover art on each one. The poets are Yasmin Belkhyr (Moroccan-born, NYC-raised), Victoria Adukwei BullThis set contains nine chapbooks with beautiful cover art on each one. The poets are Yasmin Belkhyr (Moroccan-born, NYC-raised), Victoria Adukwei Bulley (British-born Ghanaian), Mary-Alice Daniel (Nigerian-born, London/Nashville-raised), Chekwube O. Danladi (Nigerian born and raised but also Baltimore and DC), Lena Bezawork Grönlund (born in Ethiopia, adopted in Sweden), Ashley Makue (South African), Momtaza Mehri (parents are Eritrean/Somalian/Yemeni, she lives in London), Famia Nkansa (Ghanaian), Ejiofor Ugwu (Nigerian), and Chimwemwe Undi (southern African - South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia; now living in Manitoba, Canada). I mention their cultural backgrounds because so many have either left Africa as children, have lived in Africa and elsewhere, or are born to African parents elsewhere. Consequently, the issues of home and belonging surface as themes in these chapbooks. The editors Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani have made a great effort not only to collect poets from an upcoming generation, but I was also impressed that the number of female poets outnumbered the male.
Some of my highlights:
from Yasmin Belkhyr Eid Al-Adha "...When I speak of bodies, I mean: I'm afraid of mine. When I speak of bodies, I mean: I wonder what yours is capable of...."
Menara Gardens
Our Mothers Fed Us Well "...Even here, she does not fit. Even here, she is a stranger...."
from Victoria Adukwei Bulley Girl "Your dozy tongue, stacking it over words you really should know how to pronounce by now...."
Luna "...she'll forget what she heard about God and her body; seeing what difference is left, knowing how books have burned over both...."
Girls in Arpeggio "...For these girls it was a violent act...."
from Chekwube O. Danladi Arpeggio
Communion
A BA A
from Ashley Makue peace offering "i have decided that love may no longer summon me to war...."
from Ejiofor Ugwu The Plague "...There is life in our dust."
Listing "...There is too much to say for this mouth built for praying. There are too many names to unhear so I don't have to remember...."
Mzungu "...I wish I did not crave your flood of fluorescence...."
Thanks to the publisher for giving me early access to this collection through Edelweiss. I really wanted to read it during my year of reading Africa. Keep up the good work!...more
I finally got the eBook from the library over the holidays so I could read it before watching the film we rented. It was better than I expected! I likI finally got the eBook from the library over the holidays so I could read it before watching the film we rented. It was better than I expected! I liked the placement of the story within a historical connection, and knew the scenery would be beautiful, but the setting where the boy starts felt very realistic too. I love that the author was inspired by actual historical photos that led him to write characters around them.
I probably wouldn't seek out the second book unless I ended up watching the second film, but it was a decent YA fantasy read. ...more
This was a fun read during the holidays, and another book I never would have tried were it not for the Sword and Laser bunch!
Myfanwy wakes up in the bThis was a fun read during the holidays, and another book I never would have tried were it not for the Sword and Laser bunch!
Myfanwy wakes up in the body of Myfanwy (long story) and has to figure out her role in a secret, supernatural arm of the British government. Luckily Myfanwy had previously written letters to help her new self understand what was going on.
The supernatural bits were fun, the discovery of the Big Bad was interesting, although I found a few questions rise up about Myfanwy but tried to just let them ride and enjoy the story. I didn't mind the letters-as-info-dumps but wish they could have been presented in a form other than in italics, because that much italics in a book was hard on my eyes.
I'm not sure I'd keep reading the series unless the second one sounded overly compelling but this one was enjoyable.
ETA: I was not surprised at all to hear that Moira Quirk did the audio (I read the print) - she did all the Gail Carriger books and there are some big similarities!)...more
I think sometimes interweaving seemingly disparate threads can work well in non-fiction, unfortunately in this book I think it muddied the waters. RorI think sometimes interweaving seemingly disparate threads can work well in non-fiction, unfortunately in this book I think it muddied the waters. Rory Stewart once did a walk across Afghanistan, which you can read about in his book, The Places in Between, which got a lot of acclaim. Much to my chagrin, he continuously references this journey and book throughout The Marches. At times he seems to be trying to find connections between Afghanistan and the borderlands between historical Scotland and England, but failing, in my opinion. He also seems to have written this book not long after the death of his father, and underlying everything is a clear desire to somehow pay tribute to his father. So also entwined in this narrative are reflections on his father's work in Asia. Too many ingredients, leading to very little clarity.
The only reason I actually read the entire thing is that this land is my land, as much as it is his land. A healthy quarter of my ancestry comes from the MacGregor lineage, a clan which lived in and/or bordered the land he is discussing, for centuries! Until the great migratory period between 1831 and 1931, where many people moved away (but not his family, except for working extensively overseas. This is when my Scottish ancestors came to the United States as well, to a very similar landscape.) So I found myself combing the text for more information on the history of the actual land, which is what I was hoping for from the book's description. From a few conversations he references with his Dad, I think that what Rory Stewart was assuming he would find was not as extensive as to fill a book, and as padding he has put everything else in. I would have preferred a shorter book with more focus.
Thanks to the publisher for giving me an early review copy through NetGalley....more
I came across this book in my public library's eBook collection while poking around, and thought it might be a fun light read for the holidays. It turI came across this book in my public library's eBook collection while poking around, and thought it might be a fun light read for the holidays. It turned out to be three short stories and two novel advertisements (first few pages). Of the three stories only the first one was very good, with the typical grief and cookies romance that Amish romance tends to center around. The second story I really disliked... the author seems to confuse simple living with being simple minded and I found the romance that blossomed completely unrealistic and disturbing, actually. The third story had some strange repetition in it as if the author didn't know what to put there. There are buggies and baked goods, gentle men and subservient women. No, that's not really my thing. So your mileage may vary....more
Abie returns home from England to West Africa to visit her family after years of civil war, and to reclaim the family plantation, Kholifa Estates, forAbie returns home from England to West Africa to visit her family after years of civil war, and to reclaim the family plantation, Kholifa Estates, formerly owned by her grandfather. There to meet her are her aunts: Asana, Mariama, Hawa, and Serah, and so begins her gathering of the family and the country’s history through the tales of her aunts.
If you read the description above, you will understand how this is a "fixup" novel - a grouping of stories from the point of various aunts. They fit together nicely and present different time periods and different perspectives of one family in Sierra Leone, but always from the female perspective in a society where women are traded as commodities. It showed strength and community and I really enjoyed it. ...more
This is a ghost story that is not very ghostly, also not very Christmasy. And definitely not Louisa May Alcott's best work (that would be Little WomenThis is a ghost story that is not very ghostly, also not very Christmasy. And definitely not Louisa May Alcott's best work (that would be Little Women, obviously.)...more
I was in the middle of a bunch of heavy books so this was just the ticket. It is lighter but still explores serious issues like control and alcoholismI was in the middle of a bunch of heavy books so this was just the ticket. It is lighter but still explores serious issues like control and alcoholism, with strong psychic women who make jewelry out of sea glass. (I'm a sucker for psychics.) This is probably classified as chick lit or romance and would make the perfect beach read.
Thanks to the publisher for letting me read it early!...more
This book is in the public domain and can be found online for free, but I read it through Hoopla. This is the first known memoir of an Arab woman, andThis book is in the public domain and can be found online for free, but I read it through Hoopla. This is the first known memoir of an Arab woman, and she is the daughter of the Sultan of Omar and Zanzibar. This is a peek into harem life, wealthy life, Muslim life but also the contrast between the "east" (as she calls it) and "European" customs because the author marries a German, converts to Christianity, and moves there. Fascinating!...more
This book took me a while to read because I took breaks from it to read other things. The fact that I found it so easy to put down is probably not a gThis book took me a while to read because I took breaks from it to read other things. The fact that I found it so easy to put down is probably not a good sign, and I kept coming back to it because everyone kept saying how good it was. It ended up on a lot of year-end best-of lists. Zadie Smith herself is well-respected and an excellent speaker and purveyor of all things feminist. I kept feeling like I was supposed to like this novel more than I actually did.
Part of it was the storytelling technique, I think. The story of the two girls who grow up into different lives on the outskirts of London was interesting, but the story is told at arms length. The emotions and inner workings are never on display until they come to the surface in an emotional outburst. I never felt connected to the two women. Then the central character ends up working for an aging pop star and her charity work in Africa, and somehow the lessons I felt we were supposed to "learn" there didn't have the punch they could or should have.
It is a novel about race and privilege and how that varies from place to place, also about how strong our parents are effects us whether or not we notice it while we grow. But just the same, I find it somehow forgettable.
It probably didn't help that I was also reading The Story of a New Name at the same time, also about two girls who were friends and grew into womanhood with different amounts of privilege. Only in that case, the emotional complexity changes everything. I had no empathy with the characters in Swing Time.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley....more
I'm a pretty solid fan of Gilmore Girls, but have previously felt disappointed in realizing that neither Lauren Graham nor Alexis Bledel are the charaI'm a pretty solid fan of Gilmore Girls, but have previously felt disappointed in realizing that neither Lauren Graham nor Alexis Bledel are the characters they play in that show. Not quite as intelligent, and definitely not as well-read. I know, Gilmore Girls is a rapid-talking idealized landscape, but one I think I prefer to escape to without the grounding in reality.
So I was uncertain as to whether I would want to listen to this memoir, but having just watched the four "Year in the Life" episodes of the Gilmore Girls reboot, the time seemed right. And the publisher knows that too. I got a review copy myself, but they released it right after everyone would have been talking about the show and having all sorts of nostalgia and desire for more.
It's just too bad that the book wasn't more interesting. I mean, it was fine, but rarely scratched more than the surface. We get the elevator pitch view of Lauren's upbringing and more commentary on fashion and hair for her television shows than any actual insight into how she thought and felt while they were going on. If you are looking for slightly fluffy renditions of these shows and years, the same kind of information you would get from late night talk shows only longer, and if Gilmore Girls can never be enough and can never do no wrong, this is definitely the audiobook for you. If you're going into it looking for a well-written in-depth memoir, this just isn't that.
And definitely don't read or listen to it until after watching all seven eight seasons of Gilmore Girls, because there will definitely be spoilers.
Thanks to the publisher for letting me listen!...more
This was a difficult book to read! It is bit stream-of-consciousness from a man who is supposed to be recording about his life in a journal but is busThis was a difficult book to read! It is bit stream-of-consciousness from a man who is supposed to be recording about his life in a journal but is busier drinking. It was originally on my Africa 2016 reading list because otherwise, the only book I've read set in the Congo is the typical Heart of Darkness. This book is the opposite of a colonial novel. The technology, the society, the politics, are all post-colonial, 21st century Africa, and for that reason I was glad to dip into it, even if I was a bit ungrounded most of the time. ...more
I really enjoyed this book, just sat and read all 200 pages without a break. I was a bit deterred by the comparison to Miranda July and Maria Semple, I really enjoyed this book, just sat and read all 200 pages without a break. I was a bit deterred by the comparison to Miranda July and Maria Semple, both authors I feel I am supposed to like, but when faced with their characters I feel too far on the outside. In this case, the central character of Leah makes perhaps socially inept choices but I understood them. The author shows us her thought process and somehow her ways make sense, despite her life being rather small and unsatisfying. The death of her former boss sets a bunch of events in motion, and it is not clear how they will end up. Leah could return to her life as it was, but maybe she shouldn't.
I like Leah for how she makes decisions, jumping into situations most people would not find themselves in. I like Leah for how she refuses to do as she is expected just because it is expected. I loved the humor (one moment I remember her complaining about sex in books and the next few pages are sex) and the bizarro voice of Judy....more
Jenny (Reading Envy)
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