The Known World

Edward P. Jones

This book was a puzzler. It is historical in nature, taking place in the South before the Civil War. And it follows, to some degree, many of the characters and happenings in the region for decades. But it is not a linear storyline and the way he segues into the future or past, from a very here and now story spot can be confusing.

The characters are haunting, however, and reveal themselves slowly.

The book's primary characters are black, some slaves, some free, and some in a kind of limbo in between. And shockingly, the main characters are free but own slaves themselves -- setting up a moral quagmire that is compelling.

What the dead know

Laura Lippman

I can't wait to read more by this author. She tells a stunning story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Her characters are amazing, complex and often not all that likeable. She is a former reporter, with a crime beat I think, and it shows in how she builds her characters, by 'showing, not telling' to draw a picture for the reader. Her use of simile and metaphor is wonderful as well, very accomplished and unobtrusive.
The plot involves two missing girls, their family, and a woman who turns up years later claiming to be one of the disappeared girls but unwilling to tell anyone anything substantial. The author gives nothing away too early, but doesn't muddle the story by holding too much back either.
Great book.

Animal, Vegetable,Mineral

by Barbara Kingsolver

I had heard this book was preachy and strident, so I was afraid I would not like it. But since Kingsolver is my favorite author alive today, I knew it was worth the time. I enjoyed it very much as it turned out. It was more conversational than her novels, which can be so lyrical. This was more like her essays or magazine articles. Still, she can convey a thought or emotion so well, even in a topic like localizing your diet. The anecdotes and recipes were very informative and the background of the science and politics incredibly helpful.  

The Year of Magical Thinking

by Joan Didion

I had heard of Joan Didion, having read several of her essays in college. This book got a lot of press when it was released so I was looking forward to reading it. 

The book documents the year Didion's husband suddenly dies and her daughter falls severely ill (eventually dying as well). It's a horrific plot the reader can't help but wonder how they would survive. 

Didion handles it the way she tackles everything in her life -- with obsessive research and a quest for control. 

I can relate. 

It was heart-wrenching to read about her grief and madness, and the particular way she dealt with both, and very revealing to get inside someone's head during a time of life that will happen to us all. 

I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed the book, but I did learn from it. 

Angels and Demons

by Dan Brown (audio)

Really. Stupid. Book. 

Don't read it. 

The Traveler

by Ron McLarty

audio

I'm pretty impressed by this author. A career actor and theater professional, he writes a good story and even better characters. 

A bit of a 'coming of age' and a bit of a mystery, the story follows a full-time bartender and part-time actor in New York City, flashing back to his childhood in Rhode Island. A friend's death takes him back to his hometown, prompting all kinds of flashbacks into his life as a working class kid in a working class town. 

There's a bit of a mystery tossed in for good measure, that jumps from modern day to his childhood, but really it's incidental to the story, which was compelling without being sensational. 

McLarty has another book out, I think I'll look for it as well.  

The Tenth Circle

by Jodi Picoult

So someone, Leah I think, loaned me these Picoult books and now I've finished my second one. I typically find time to read late in the evenings after B and Mo have gone to bed -- and sometimes on weekends if I can force myself to slow down. Better than another episode of "Lost" on DVD. 

Interesting story line, more people with dark histories, secrets kept from each other and the damage it does. The father had a horrific childhood and grew up to draw popular dark graphic novels. The teen is typical on the surface and typical below the surface -- full of secrets she keeps from her parents. I hated that part, anything that reveals how little parents can know about their kids. 

That's a painful topic. 

The ending was a little trite and I predicted 'who done it' early. I've enjoyed her books and even got caught up in them -- kind of like Stephen King -- but so far don't think they'll be memorable in any long lasting way. 

Good airplane/beach books. 

No, maybe a notch up from that but not by much. 

Vanishing Acts

by Jodi Picoult

I'm slowly discovering things about myself. 

I like novels with enough gray zones to drive a truck through, where no one is truly evil, or good, or smart, or aware. 

It's more like real life. 

This book is about a women who discovers that her life is built on a pyramid of lies, hidden truths that she only uncovers well into her adulthood. She peels away the layers of of the secrets slowly and finds that she actually knew some of them, if only she allowed herself to see. 

It is a book about lies we tell ourselves and others, about things we feel we must know for our lives to be complete, and things we discover we wish we never had. 

For all those reasons it is a good book. It started off a bit clunky, and I thought I might not like it. In a few places it seemed too obvious, too ordinary, but it picked up speed as it went along. Unfortunately the ending had a twist that took away from the overall genuineness of the plot and characters and really muddied the waters. 

Like many of my recent reads, it was worth the time but probably not a re-read. 

Ask Again Later (audio)

by Jill Davis

The heroine of this book is in a fog of self-delusion for most of the novel and that's my favorite thing about her. 

I can relate. 

She does and says things contrary to the reality of what's going on around her and you can see it and she can't. 

Boy, good thing that never happens to me. 

Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but worth the time

The Broken Shore

For some reason I'm entirely sure of, mystery novels seem to be big in audio books. 

For that reason, not so much because I like them (at least not the serial ones) I listen to a lot on audio. 

The Broken Shore didn't seem very different. It was written by an Australian author Peter Temple and was obviously meant for audiences Down Under -- the accents, the slang, the cultural references were all hard to grasp at first. 

Then there was his writing style, shocking in its sparse use of adjectives or even transitional words or phrases. Its all nouns and verbs and constrained use of those as well. I found it jarring at first, then almost poetic. It suits the main character, a reserved cop undergoing emotional and physical pain, and the storyline. I can't help but wonder if it would have captivated me so much if I read a hard copy of the book. The audio version made the most of the writer's style- so terse every  word was a jewel. 

Think I may look him up again. 

Death of a Bore-audio

by M.C. Beaton

I avoid series and formula novels as a rule but mysteries, at least some of them, are the exception. 

This book is set in Scotland (always a plus for me), and about a village police chief who has a murder and has to solve it, blah, blah, blah. 

The characters were interesting, at least the main ones, and the plot decently good. Being set in modern Scotland was a plus for me, since most of what I've read for that part of the world has been more historical. 

Overall worth the time but not enough to recommend to friends or read again. 

Wolves Eat Dogs

by Martin Cruz Smith

published 2004

This is my 8th Smith book. I started with "Gypsy in Amber" and moved into the rest. As suspense-thriller type authors go he is one the best. 

"Wolves Eat Dogs" is his third or fourth Arkady book, featuring a Russian detective. "Polar Star" was my favorite so far but this one is right up there. This book is set in the new capitalistic Russia, suffering from fallout from the change in economy and Chernobyl. 

Characters of Smith's creation aren't my favorite thing about his writing. He sets a create 'sense of place' and plots and twists that are riveting but not so complex you get frustrated. The peek into modern Russia and Ukraine was fascinating (and hopefully accurate). 

lph

the year of the books

I'm pretty sure the book that started my addiction to the written word was the one about the Martians. Up until that time, third or fourth grade, I enjoyed books -- read to me or read by me -- about the same as an average kid. I had some favorites and liked it but only about the same as I liked playing with my Barbies or riding my bike. 

The Martian book changed all that. After the cover closed on that modest chapter book nothing was the same. Reading became my most treasured pastime, a reason to get up every morning and tuck into bed early. 

Oddly, I can't even recall the title or what exactly it was about. I remember it was a 'hot' book that year, and all of the kids in class were clamoring to borrow it next from the school library. This was also the year that I read the "Little House" series. It was the year we were studying the Oregon trail in school and I ordered a book called "Plain Girl" from the Scholastic catalog, thinking I'd get another great book about pioneers. 

Imagine my surprise when it arrived and turned out to be a book about an Amish girl in Pennsylvania. I had never heard of the Amish or even much about New England. I was hooked. I now had a window into worlds I never knew existed -- a magic key that unlocked many doors.