Book Lovers Club
Comments
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I am reading an interesting mystery novel called Don't Wake the Devil. The author is a new one for me and I would have to open my Kindle for his name. The main character is a retired NYC police detective who is recovering from a violent attack that nearly killed him. He is in a mental funk when he's asked to be a police consultant to a young woman who is working on a project involving the family members of victims of the The Good Shepherd serial killer who was active ten years ago. This killer was active for a brief time and was never caught.
The retired policeman becomes deeply interested in this old case. Meanwhile threatening things begin happening in his own life and the life of the young woman doing the interview project.
I'm hooked! I'll divulge the author's name in my next post.
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JKL - don't pass on the book because of me. It just brought up some very difficult memories of 'never to be resolved' personal family issues. It's a valid story & amazing that the author escaped and seems to have overcome permanent damage. And figured out how to deal with her sorrow.
In the mean time, I've been hibernating & reading stuff just to clear my mind. A friend loaned me Diane Chamberlain The Silent Sister (2014). I liked her & will look for more. In her author tributes she cites Margaret Maron. Maron is one of my favorites and I seem to usually like authors that support each other or hang with the same "writing groups".
Read The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware (2018). Good read. I have been looking forward to her new one The Turn of the Key ( based on Turn of the Screw??). Washington Post said "..perfectly executed suspense tale very much in the mode of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca."
Hmmm - I had recently purchased du Maurier's Jamaica Inn (1971) so I picked that up. Worth reading, especially if you care about Cornwall & the moors. Although the inn is a real place, she chose to set it 120 years in the past.
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Reading Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. A bit hard to get into because of all of the names, and then they are are changed by the "adoption home". Really scary rendering of what is happening in that "home". Every other chapter juxtaposed between the facility & the current day protagonist trying to find out what it is that her Grandmother (who has alzheimers) never shared. Likely I'll be up reading very late.
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Oh wow - the book is based on the actual Tennessee Children's Home Society, that ran from 1920 - 1950. Lots of factual articles available like "babies for sale", "Baby Thief", etc.
' While the organization did rescue many children who were unwanted, there is little doubt that children were taken from countless parents w/no recourse.' Birth mothers were tricked while under post-partum medications into signing papers that legally gave up their children. Children were also whisked off front porches, roadsides and while walking to school. Blonds were particularly popular. Tann charged exorbitant fees to wealthy & well-known families - political figures and Hollywood stars. "Estimates as to the number of children who have simply vanished range as high as 500. Thousands more disappeared into adoptions for profit in which names, birth dates and birth records were altered to prevent biological families from finding their children." And that doesn't even take into account the children that died due to the conditions in the homes.
It was such an elaborate scheme that at one point Georgia Tann was heralded at the "Mother of Modern Adoption" and even consulted by Eleanor Roosevelt on matters of child welfare.
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Spending quality time with the grandpuppies while we dig into
The Splendid and the Vile!
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Ruth!
How sweet!
speaking of The Splendid and the Vile....I did not want the book to end. My younger son and two STRANGERS that I know...now I know two STRANGERS is impossible for me to KNOW...but they are...Are now reading the book... Now you ask...who are these two STRANGERS....well....my cousin, herself an award winning children’s author, blasted an email to her nearest and dearest, suggesting activities while we are all hunkered down. So, VR replied, “Read Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile.” Two of her friends replied. One already had the book and was going to begin reading it...the other bought it and could hardly wait to read it based on my recommendation....VR had added....
“If you think what we are going through now is tough, imagine for a moment what it was like in the United Kingdom during World War II’s Nazi Blitz.“
As I read the book, it brought to me a most certain calmness. Imagining bombs dropping around me and my beloved family, friends and neighbors, made me realize that if they could somehow manage to survive and somehow manage to WIN, I thought, so could we!We will. And, our world will learn from the mistakes made and be stronger and better. The one thing that I have learned from reading and living and reading some more is there is a resiliency to humanity. When stories end, whether fiction or non fiction, they really aren’t the end. They are the beginning of a more understandable life.....
“
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I am about halfway through The Splendid and the Vile. Fantastic read! I would like to find some of the diarists accounts to read outside of this book. Also good was Isabel Allende’s, A Long Petal of the Sea. it is a historical fiction taking place during and after the Spanish civil war and rise of Franco. The main characters emigrate to Chile after the war. Very character driven, but a good mix of historical fact as well. The family is followed for close to 60 years. I am not sure what people that do not like reading are doing now. TV is ok, but not the same as reading.
Stay safe and healthy
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j....I saw that Larson mentions Andrew Roberts who wrote a biography of one of the players. Recently, he also wrote a 1000 page bio of Churchill. I had it on my coffee table with the intention of cracking it, but once the Larson book arrived, I had to prioritize and read Larson’s book first...
i would love to read more about Beaverbrook....
it took me so long, by my standard, to read Splendid because I was constantly looking up the various players...
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Only reading at night. Thank God that I have plenty of books to read!
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200318143724.htm this is a link to an article about the discovery of a fossilized bird skull dubbed "wonderchicken", the oldest bird fossil to be found EVER.
here is a quote from the article, "[the fossil] dates from less than one million years before the asteroid impact which eliminated all large dinosaurs.
Writing in the journal Nature, the team, led by the University of Cambridge, believe the new fossil helps clarify why birds survived the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period, while the giant dinosaurs did not.
Detailed analysis of the skull shows that it combines many features common to modern chicken- and duck-like birds, suggesting that the 'Wonderchicken' is close to the last common ancestor of modern chickens and ducks. The fossil was found in a limestone quarry near the Belgian-Dutch border, making it the first modern bird from the age of dinosaurs found in the northern hemisphere."
so why am I sharing this here?? because several years ago on this thread I encouraged you guys to read Andrew Lawler's book "Why did the Chicken Cross the World?" I actually wrote to him this morning to make sure he was aware of this discovery because the origins of the chicken were not previously known. In the process of tracking him down I discovered that he has written extensively about Roanoke and other topics in books and magazines.
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Finished Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. What a wonderful book! It takes place during WW2 and follows 4 characters as they are seeking freedom on the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German refugee ship that promises safety to all. It is told from the perspectives of each of the 4 characters. At first I disliked the short chapters and the jumping around, but then the book just grabbed me and I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it.
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Finally caught up with all my magazines and I'm reading Harlan Coben's Play Dead. It turns out this was the first book he ever published (1990). He's written a forward in this paperback published in 2010 asking us to enjoy but to forgive his youthful flaws.
I do know what those people who don't read are doing. They were already bored out of their skulls after only 2 days of restaurant/school & gym closings in Houston.
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I finished The Splendid and The Vile. This is my new go-to recommendation for almost everyone. I enjoyed the way Larson took a small segment of time and fully developed the action and characters. Even the Epilogue was good! Also finished Hill Women by Cassie Chambers. This nonfiction title discusses her grandmother, mother and Aunt that all grew up in a “holler” in eastern Kentucky. These women endured a great deal, but were strong independent thinkers. The title is verysimilar to Hillbilly Elegy in how it ties current social situations to the biographies of her family. Now to start Dear Edward. Besides being asked to stay home, it is pouring down rain here. I did housework yesterday so today is a day of reading. what are others doing/reading?
Take care!
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I just finished reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Wow, it is amazing how resilient children can be no matter what type of family background in which they are raised. The parenting that the Author and her three siblings received resulted in an extremely dysfunctional family situation for these kids. And I thought that my family was dysfunctional! I know that there are many families raising children in similar or worse conditions. Some kids have the determination to move on and succeed in life in spite of this while others never recover. I did like reading Ms. Walls memoir, couldn't put it down and do recommend it as a good read.
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I finished The Thirteenth Juror by John Lescroart (sp?) and did not especially enjoy it. There seemed not to be enough plot to support enough pages for a novel and I got to the point where I didn't care if the accused woman was found guilty. The ending was Perry Mason.
Now I'm reading another Jo Nesbo, Nemesis. I'm not reading the books in sequence and some of the characters die in later novels.
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It's a good time to be reading on an electronic reader. A friend who relies on the public libraries has run into problems and went to B & N and spent $80 on books, probably mostly paper backs.
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Carole - I have an acquaintance who called me to borrow books since she only uses the library & reads new best sellers. I reminded her our public library lets you download books for free to your e-reader - which she doesn't have. I haven't chosen to do that since I prefer a book in my hand, but friends say it's wonderful to have the entire public library available.
After loaning her 10 books, I told her to try used book stores - although this is likely not a good time to try new places & she's too cheap to actually buy a book - even a discounted book. I'm always able to pick up a pile of (paperback) books for $0.75 at one store and under $2.00 at another when they have duplicates or over stocks. Luckily I made a book run in late January so I'm in good shape.
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I am reading The Splendid and the Vile like one would nurse the last glass of a very fine wine. Just a couple chapters a day, then I go to the back of the book and read all the sources and acknowledgments for those chapters, and then I go to Google to find more information about the people in the chapters, and hopefully some pictures of them.
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ruth...THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I DID. That’s why it took me so long to get through the book! As I was reading, I would stop in mid sentence and had to learn more...it was like....here I go again...like diving into a limitless pool...it was THAT captivating.
What continues to fascinate me is how Larson researches his books...at the end of the book, he briefly explains how he does it and also explains the help he gets from other people. It truly is a labor of love. Furthermore,on Youtube there are videos of him explaining how he does research for his books. Also quite fascinating.
lastly...the pace of his books....like being on a bullet train....not sure how he does it...but I would say that THAT is his signature. Take an interesting topic and run with it...
wonder what he is working on next....0 -
Whatever it is, I can't wait!!!! After I'm done, I'm going to look at In The Garden of Beasts (Nazi Germany 1933) again, and maybe Jack 1939 ( a fictional, but somewhat plausible, thriller featuring a young John Kennedy doing undercover work for FDR in Europe right before WWII).
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finally got around to reading a sliver of a book, amen...J. Irwin Miller:The Shaping of an American Town. It is about the life of the man who put Columbus, Indiana on the map. It is known...or for that matter, not known by the masses, as a mecca for mid century modern architecture. Several years ago, I saw the indie film, Columbus about this magnificent sleepy town in the mid west that I knew NOTHING about. This man understood the need for beautiful structures and was able to convince his community that beautiful buildings did not need to be a dream. He was a quiet force in the community and has left a towering legacy. My bucket list has grown....
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I just finished The Dutch House. I was drawn to it because it takes place where my husband grew up in Elkins Park, PA. But it was very well written, easy to read and really drew me in. I highly recommend.
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I re-found Dana Stabenow and read "A Fine And Bitter Snow". Her books are mysteries or crimes set in Alaska, with all the attendant country and peoples, and how they interact with the lower 48. In this one, the current administration in DC wants the long time chief park ranger to "retire" since he's deemed "too green". Of course he's trying to protect the environment from more Valdez incidents - as much as protecting the native inhabitants. "rich with details about life in this snowbound culture".
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Celand, I loved The Glass Castle. She also wrote a prequel to it which is very good Half Broke Horses. I've also read The Silver Star, but felt it lacking, I think she does better with non-fiction.
I am almost exclusively an e-reader, and so happy to be able to read with this stay at home order. I just finished Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan, it was an Amazon first read and I really enjoyed it. A psychological thriller, very good plot and character development, and the type of book that you just don't want to put down. She was a new author for me, and I would like to read more by her, but sadly my library does not carry any of her books.
Finally got a copy of Educated (been on the list since October), so just started that, and it is great so far!
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Mainly, I want to thank everyone for your recommendations, especially Isaac's Storm. My husband is from Galveston so he enjoyed it too. I’ve put a lot of books from this thread in my library ebook queue. I recent read Meet Me In Monaco—it was a very light, easy read—a good diversion right now. I also read Say Nothing— I can’t remember if I got the recommendation from this site.
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https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/02/in-isolation-we-rediscover-our-dusty-bookshevles/
wonderful column by another book lover...
my question to my dear book lover friends....So from whom or from where did you get your love of books....and when did you realize you were a bookworm?
got mine from my mother...she made reading feel “right.” Loved looking at her laying in her bed...surrounded by her books and newspapers. Loved hearing her chuckle and then sharing with me and my siblings what she enjoyed reading. I didn’t realize I was a bookworm until my children and friends told me I was one! Really? Yes. Like other people would yen for a piece of chocolate or want to watch a good film, I wanted to lay on my bed covered in newspapers, magazines and books. Like mother, like daughter....And, like C.S. Lewis once said...us book lovers find the time to read, not read when there is nothing else to do. We are so lucky right now that time is not our enemy because we book lovers know how to fill in the time....
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My mom was an English major in college and a true Book Lover. When she was a girl, she would read under the covers with a flashlight for hoursafter she was supposed to be asleep, and as a mom she would sit on the steps between my sister & my room and my brother's and read to us every night. She was very tricky because she'd read to the end of a chapter, say it was time for bed, and then we would BEG her to read just one more chapter.....which she always did. She would really get into each story, reading with much expression. I still remember us all (including her) crying when Beth died in Little Women, which she had probably read a dozen times before. She made books come alive!
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I am really not sure how/why I became a reader. My parents did not read to us as children. They did subscribe to magazines and Reader’s Digest condensed books. LOL! My Dad took me to the local public library only one time as a child.I wasn’t particularly athletic or artistic as were my siblings. Maybe I ‘fell’ into it so I would stand out in my family. My Mother did suggest having a career in libraries after she noticed my reading habits. I spent 30 years as a public librarian. I do love the way reading allows me to learn, have adventures and live outside of my immediate world. Not sure what I would do if I could not read.
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I can’t remember how many times I have read Angela’s Ashes. I love that book! Love In The Driest Season is a very good memoir also. It’s not a romance novel like the title might suggest.
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I just finished reading Summer of '69 by Erin Hilderbrand. It was a novel that grew on me after the first couple of chapters. The story revolves around a family staying on the island of Nantucket during the summer of '69 and how each family member, at different stages of life, from 12 years old - elderly grandmother, spends the summer and relationships with other people evolve as friends, spouses, bosses and lovers. It also mentions real events that took place during that time such as the first man walking on the moon, the Chappaquiddick incident with one of the Kennedy's driving a car off a bridge with a young woman passenger drowning and the Vietnam War. Although it did take reading the first couple of chapters before I really got into it, I did enjoy reading this novel. I did find the chapters to be kind of long but the more I read the less that mattered. I do consider this to be a good read.
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