Book Nook Cafe discussion

Here is a Thread for you to list the books you read in April 2013.

Please provide:
~ A GoodRead link
~ A few sentences telling us how you felt about the book.
~ How would you rate the book

This Book Is Full of Spiders The continuing saga of David Wong and his friend John and their otherworldly experiences. I love this guy's sense of humor. 4 stars

In Sunlight and in Shadow This is a dressed-up action/adventure/potboiler that contains some beautiful writing, but is so repetitive that many in my book club couldn't finish. 2 stars

Her: A Memoir Twins doomed by heredity, environment and poor judgement and, as if that wasn't enough, by a brutal rape. A very sad book 3 stars

From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant The story of a Filipino fashion designer who is so preoccupied with establishing his own business in NYC that he becomes ensnared with a terroristic plot and ends up at Guantanamo. Very different. 4 stars

Mary Coin The imagined life of Mary Coin, the woman who, with her children, became the iconic symbol of the Depression. Also, the story of the photographer who made her famous. 3 stars

Falling to Earth About the real tornado that spared only one family in town, and what happened as a result. 4 stars

Z: A Novel of Zelda FitzgeraldThis one sent me to the horse's mouth for the real story, so it must have been a success on some level, but it made Zelda unreal, I thought. After this, I read Tender Is the Night and Save Me the Waltz, by Scott and Zelda respectively, which was quite interesting and proved that Zelda was the more honest writer, IMO.

The Aviator's Wife This one didn't even make me want to read more about the Lindberghs. So whiny as to be almost unreadable. 3 stars, probably really 2.5

FeverThe story of Typhoid Mary in NYC at the turn of the last century. Good atmosphere, good characterizations. 4 stars

A Case of Exploding Mangoes Wonderfully clever plot and unusual topic. About a young Pakistani Junior officer whose father apparently committed suicide, though the son feels he was murdered and sets out to get revenge in a most unusual way, it's also a buddy story. 4 stars

My April reads


Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage~Edith B. Gelles
non fiction
rate 4/5
I found this book by watching the terrific C-SPAN First Ladies Series which is still ongoing. It's on Mondays at 9 ET. http://firstladies.c-span.org/
I enjoyed this book a lot. It gave me the history sans the battles. It focused on the people.

Along Came a Spider~James Patterson
Fiction
Rate: 3/5
This is the first book in the Alex Cross series. The author, Patterson, is a staple on bestseller lists, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was. The main character Alex Cross is a detective/psychologist. In the series apparently he is always on the hunt for a serial killer. I normally don't care for serial killer books as they I'm a big baby and they frighten me. I found this one to be a page turner, though not very probably. Good brain candy, nothing more.

Power Foods for the Brain: The Revolutionary Plan to Protect Your Memory and Improve Your HealthNeal D. Barnard
non fiction
rate 3/5
Good book for the latest tips on ways to try and prevent Alzheimer's and keep your brain in top form. Tips on cookware, food, exercise, brain exercises and more.

APRIL 2013 READS

NON-FICTION --

1. A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Brontë by Emily Brontë -- 5/5
Excellent book! I can't believe that all that information could fit in 272 pages. I'm a big fan of Emily so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Katherine Frank presents her new insight into Emily-- a victim of anorexia nervosa and social isolation which, Frank believed, helped her write stories with a wild imagination. I don't know if I totally agree with that. I think that losing her brother was devastating to Emily, which would cause her to lose interest in her diet. I also believe that her Christian faith would often have periods of “fasting,” a common thing, in the church. According to what I read in this book, it did seem that when things didn’t go her way, she made a choice to "fast" which resulted in physical weakness, and was able to go home.

2. Constance Fenimore Woolson by Rayburn Moore -- 4/5
I really knew nothing of Woolson (except that Mrs.Constance Fenimore Woolson was the daughter of Ann Cooper Pomeroy, one of James Fenimore Cooper's older sisters.) After reading this book I feel that I would really like to know her much more. I am truly frustrated that the majority of her work was published in periodicals, and is difficult to find in libraries in my state. I did find a few ebooks on amazon. My review of this book is eight paragraphs long, so if you are interested, check my review.

3. Willa Cather Living: A Personal Record by Edith Lewis --2/5
This "197 page biography" was written in 1952 by Edith Lewis who met Willa Cather in 1903 and became close friends, as well as traveling companions. I think that Lewis was either a terrible writer or she wrote for grade school students (although the spine indicates adult section biography). Each chapter is very brief and barely touches the topics brought up, when the reader is propelled onto the next chapter. I think the second half of the book is just slightly better. It seems that there is a better biography on Willa Cather entitled-- "Willa Cather: A Literary Life" by James Woodress.

4. Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles -- 4/5
I just love Abigail and John Adams (an their son John Quincy Adams). This is my first book by Edith B. Gelles which I saw on CSPAN for First Ladies. Excellent writing, wonderful biography!

5. Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey -- 3/5
I've read two biographies on Queen Victoria and one biography on Prince Albert. I believe that Strachey did a good job on this biography of Queen Victoria, her reign and family life. Personally, I feel that Queen Victoria wouldn't have been the Queen she was, without Prince Albert. She really required all the attention from everyone which was probably due to her nightmare of her childhood. Something that Prince Albert knew well.

6. Portraits Of American Women by Gamaliel Bradford -- 4/5
The book is about the lives of these amazing women -- Abigail Adams (1744-1818) I would call her the first feminist; Sarah Alden Ripley (1783-1847) Unitarian church, educator; Mary Lyon (1797-1849), educator, founder of Wheaton Female Seminary and President of Mount Holoke College; Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and abolitionist; Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1810-1850) American journalist, critic, and women’s rights advocate; Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) American Novelist; Frances Elizabeth WIllard (1839-1898) American educator, temperance reformer, women’s suffragist; and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) American poet. The book was published in 1919, and it was an excellent work of writing.

7. Biography And The Human Heart by Gamaliel Bradford -- 4/5
A very touching book (published in 1966) on the biographies of Horace Walpole (1717-1797); American poet, educator and writer of “Paul Revere’s RIde,” “The Song of Hiawatha,” and “Evangeline” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882); American poet, essayist and journalist, Walt Whitman (1819-1892); American stage actress, Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876); American painter, WIlliam Morris Hunt (1824-1879), and American poet, essayist, clergyman and mystic, Jones Very(1813-1880). Gamaliel Bradford (1863-1932) was an American biographer, critic, poet, and dramatist. Born in Boston, MA, the sixth of seven men called Gamaliel Bradford in unbroken succession, of whom the first, Gamaliel Bradford, was a great-grandson of Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. Bradford attended Harvard University briefly with the class of 1886, then continued his education with a private tutor. As an adult, Bradford lived in Wellesley, MA. The building and student newspaper for the Wellesley High School were named after Gamaliel Bradford. The town changed the name of the building to Wellesley High School, but the newspaper maintains Bradford's name.

8. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard -- 5/5
Dillard, an exceptional nature writer and visionary, shows us her daily life and writing challenges. Everything can be a subject to write about. She secludes herself from the world and lives a lonely life -- sometimes very challenging. Great stories. Great book -- a must have.

9. Biography: Writing Lives by Catherine Parke --5/5
Excellent book. Parke surveys life writing from classical times to the present, reviewing the history, theory, and practice of this genre worldwide. She focuses her analysis on biography in Western culture, providing detailed readings of work by biographers, including James Boswell, Richard Ellman, and Gertrude Stein, who together represent the variety and range of modern literary biography. Parke also devotes individual chapters to Samuel Johnson and Virginia Woolf, reading these writers' significance to modern biography in terms of their dual roles as innovative practitioners and theorists of biography and as subjects of major scholarly and popular lives. Parke also examines the relationship of history and fiction to the genre of biography and inquires into the political, social, and ideological factors that have - consciously or unconsciously - affected biographical practice. Excellent read!

10. Write Your Heart Out by Rebecca McClanahan --5/5
Great book!! This book is a combination of writing exercises and prompts, direct instruction, examples from published and unpublished texts, and personal reflections on the writing process. It is appropriate for both beginning and experienced writers. The early sections of the book are concerned with discovering authentic subjects, writing with honesty and authority, and developing the habits of a writer. As the book moves on, McClanahan discusses writing as a method for navigating challenging life passages, recording memories, expressing emotion, building community, and transforming personal experiences through the imagination.

11. Writing of Women: Essays in a Renaissance by Phyllis Rose--5/5
Phyllis Rose claims this collection is "united by two enthusiasms," an enthusiasm for the feminist "revolution in literary history" and an "enthusiasm for biography" in what she describes as a "golden age." The essays are divided into two sections: "Lives" and "Works." The reviews in "Lives" focus our attention on several literary and artistic women far outside the canon; those in "Works" refocus our critical perspectives on a number of better-known writers. I also liked the review of Hayden Herrera's Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo emphasizes Kahlo's part in Mexican cultural and political life at the beginning of the 20th century in concert and in conflict with her husband Diego Rivera. Rose is an American literary critic, essayist, biographer, and educator at Wesleyan University in CT. I would like to read more of her work: Woman of Letters: A Life of Virginia Woolf (1978); Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time (1989).

12. Truth To Life: The Art Of Biography In The Nineteenth Century by A.O.J. Cockshut -- 4/5
History? Literature? Classifiers have never quite decided where to locate biography. Cockshut, respected 19th century scholar, quotes Disraeli to the effect that recounting a life is history without the shackles of theory, an art form; but he then goes on to illustrate how poor practitioners of that art in the last century fell prey to theorizing anyway, roughing over the fine lines of truth. Cockshut's arguments are intelligent and readable, as well as scholarly.

FICTION --

13. The Open Door by Elizabeth Maguire -- 3/5
This fictional story is of Constance Fenimore Woolson's life from the time after her mother died until her death. Constance traveled to Europe, wrote and made many friends with women and men (some lovers) and her dear friend Henry James (who I thought WHY is she so attached to this self centered man.) We find out later that his interests was with young men, not women. Alice James plays a role. She was quite disagreeable and totally self absorbed in my opinion. Alice dies from breast cancer, and sends a letter to Constance informing her that she "gave her permission for Constance" to marry Henry. Not even Alice knew of Henry's male lovers. The ending of this book doesn't discuss her falling out a window and dying hours later as her life story has been told. Instead Constance talks about this horrible pain near and inside her ear. Her doctor, after using an insert into her ear canal, realized that the source of her pain is a tumor. The only thing he can do to help her is to alleviate her pain by giving her laudanum.

Patrice, you know me -- just a little OCD!

Thanks Michelle, I want to check out Mary Coin and Fever.

Carol wrote: "APRIL 2013 READS

NON-FICTION --

1. A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Brontë by Emily Brontë -- 5/5
Excellent book! I can't believe tha..."
-----------------

As usual, I love to read your monthly write- ups. Thank you.

Chainless soul...what an interesting title.

Alias Reader wrote: "Carol wrote: "APRIL 2013 READS

NON-FICTION --

1. A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Brontë by Emily Brontë -- 5/5
Excellent book! I can..."

It's based on her poem --

Riches I hold in light esteem (March 1, 1841)

Riches I hold in light esteem
And Love I laugh to scorn
And lust of Fame was but a dream
That vanished with the morn–

And if I pray, the only prayer
That moves my lips for me
Is–"Leave the heart that now I bear
And give me liberty."

Yes, as my swift days near their goal
'Tis all that I implore
Through life and death, a chainless soul
With courage to endure!

I love her poetry!

Nice. Thanks for sharing that.

My reads for April:
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry: This devastating novel chronicles the intersecting of four characters during Indira Ghandi's Emergency measures in 1975, which included mass sterilization, work camps and slum demolitions, to name a few. It is a stunning commentary on the gross injustices against the poor and helpless during this time period. It is shocking and very depressing. Yet, as depressing as it is, it's uplifting how these characters not only endure their hardships, but endure with generosity and compassion for each other. The book's title comes from a conversation between two characters, where one of them offers the opinion that the secret to survival is to "maintain a fine balance between hope and despair." I'm not quite sure that balance was maintained for me as I was reading it, however, because there seemed to be a lot more despair than hope. I gave it 4/5 stars, even though I'm still depressed by it weeks later.

No Biking in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Fay Greene: Memoir of a journalist and her husband who decide to adopt 5 children from overseas to add to their biological brood of 4. Well-written account of the difficulties and joys of international adoption. 3.5/5 stars.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain: This book was a finalist for the National Book Award and received a bunch of praise, so I was excited to read it. It's about a squad of soldiers who are engaged in a ferocious firefight with Iraqi insurgents that is caught on tape by an embedded Fox News crew. The resulting footage turns them into media celebrities. The book takes place over one day at the end of a two-week "victory tour" through the U.S. that the Bush administration has sent them on to reinvigorate public support for the war. It was an interesting commentary about war, religion, human nature, and the media's obsession with celebrities--and about how we define the word "hero." I enjoyed it, but I did have to force myself through some parts. 3/5 stars.

A Place For Us by Liza Gyllenhaal: Got this on the clearance rack at the local bookstore. A quick read and a pleasant-enough "chick" book, but nothing particularly memorable about it. 2.5/5 stars.

The Orphan Sister by Gwendolen Gross: Tells the story of a set of triplet sisters. Two sisters, Odette and Olivia, are identical. The third sister, Clementine, is a singleton, so she has felt like the third wheel throughout her life. The story follows as the sisters struggle through family problems and uncover a family secret. Again, a fairly pleasant, quick read, but I probably won't remember it a year from now. 3/5 stars.

A Good American by Alex George: The story of a family that immigrates from Germany to a small town in Missouri at the turn of the 20th century. As the years go by, each new generation discovers afresh what it means to be an American. I really liked it at first, and then an overly long (and unnecessarily so) detour about one of the main character's...er, masturbatory habits...made me cringe and give it 3/5 stars instead of 4.

In One Person by John Irving: This is a novel about sexual identity, sexual differences, gender equity, and tolerance for those who are labeled by society as "sexual suspects." I am a huge fan of John Irving and count several of his works among my favorite books of all time. This will not make that list, unfortunately. It was good (even a weak John Irving book will entertain), but I was disappointed by the writing. It almost read as though it was written by someone who was trying to write like John Irving--if that makes any sense. The ending was weaker than his usual stuff, as well. 3/5 stars (which kills me, because several of his books have received 5-star ratings from me.)

I had a very good April but still just my usual 3 books for the month. I am in awe of those listed above who are able to read such a quantity.

QB VII This is a re-read for me but since I read it so very long ago -- I'm thinking the 1970s -- the book felt new to me. The story is dated but that's when it was written so no surprises there. But overall, a solid 4 star read. Uris had a way about him.

The Crossing Places A brand new author and series for me. I enjoyed this immensely. A gripping thriller/mystery set in contemporary coastal England -- Norwich area, I think. I was worried that I wouldn't like the woman in jeopardy theme. The main character is an anthropologist who gets caught up in a child kidnapping and becomes the woman in jeopardy. Very nice tension building and satisfying conclusion. More books ahead to look for. Another solid 4 stars.

The Weird Sisters Another new author for me. This is a contemporary story about 3 sisters and their traumas and how they deal with ailing parents. Engaging story but was slow in the middle. I almost gave it up but was really happy I stuck it out. 3 1/2 stars almost to the 4 stars. Satisfying conslusion to the story.

Amy wrote: "My reads for April:
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry: because there seemed to be a lot more despair than hope
---------------

You had a very nice reading month, Amy. Thanks for sharing.

I totally agree with you regarding A Fine Balance. The despair side of the scale was definitely heavier. For me, so much so, that it began to lose any shock value. I became numb to it all. Still the writing was top notch.

Lori wrote: The Weird Sisters Another new author for me. This is a contemporary story about 3 sisters and their traumas and how they deal with ailing parents. Engaging story but was slow in the middle. I almost gave it up but was really happy I stuck it out. 3 1/2 stars almost to the 4 stars. Satisfying conslusion to the story.

-----------------
Good reading month, Lori. I appreciate you sharing with the group.

I have The Weird Sisters on my TBR list. Thanks for the review.

These are my books for April:
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume
Chéri I didn't finish this, I found it very boring.
The Keeper of the Stones A review copy - I am currently writing a review for this.
The Plateau: Voices of the Earth Another review copy - I have joined a book tour as one of the reviewers and the review will be on my blog http://onthegypsystrail.wordpress.com/ on May 16.
Mockingjay I have just started this, I am also starting the Song of Ice and Fire series in May.

Hi, Gail. Thanks for sharing your April reads with us.

Already some great reviews & notes. Thanks for sharing. Patrice, i've long debated about reading Water for Chocolate, as we thought the movie good. But reviews elsewhere seem mixed. I appreciate the input.

Gail, i finished the Colette book but decided i'm just not her type of reader. Or maybe it's the era? Different times? I didn't hate it but i also struggled to finish it. And i'm a fan of classics, it's just Colette whose work is more miss than hit. I've liked a couple of her shorter stories, though.

Slow month for me...

Ordained Irreverence A freebie on my Kindle. I enjoyed it. Was about a new pastor interning at a huge church and what he encountered. Lots of humor. Mushy ending. 4/5

Michal Read for a Goodreads group discussion. About Kind David's first wife. It had so much potential for being good historical/biblical fiction, but ended up seeming like a cleaned up Christian romance novel without the bodice ripping. Shallow character development. 2/5

Thanks for sharing, Nancy !

It's great when you get a free Kindle book and it's a winner. You can't beat that. :)

Last month in April I read those books:
I read already this 2 books previously.
1. Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery.
2. Evening Class by Maeve Binchy

1. Truly, Madlyby Heather Webber. This story is about Lucy Valentine who's is smart and single, but she's not qualified to run a matchmaking service. When her both parents temporarily leave from the family business, Valentine, Inc., Here problem is: Lucy doesn’t have the knack for matchmaking. According to family legend, every Valentine has been blessed the ability to read auras and make up perfect couples, but not Lucy. Her skills were gone away years ago, and now all she can do it is find lost objects. When Lucy locates a missing wedding ring on a dead body, she asks the private eye detective who lives upstairs in the same building to help her solve the perfect crime and may be she find love.

Thanks for sharing your April reads with us, Maria.

Truly, Madly sounds like a nice cozy mystery.

I recall enjoying Evening Class very much. I haven't read much by Maeve Binchy but I enjoyed her writing and keep meaning to pick up another of her books!

I have read almost all of Maeve Bincheys books, including her last one. We lost a great author when she passed away. I will miss her story telling. I still think my favorite of hers was Tara Road.

Last month i read three mysteries by Louise Penney because my Sister-in-Law relishes them. Set in a small Quebec province town, they are charming, i suppose, but not my cuppa. The community is almost an artists colony, although it's never called that. The main character is a police inspector, however, how lives in Montreal. It didn't help that from the first chapter i knew who the murderer was, something i rarely figure out in mysteries. I was wrong in the 3rd but just can't continue, unless SIL tells me they improve!

The Penney mysteries (called Three Pines Mysteries)--
Still Life
A Fatal Grace
The Cruelest Month

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, recommended by Alias Reader and others. I liked this YA about the slowing of the earth's spinning.

Martin Van Buren, one of the "American Presidents" series from Times Books, by Ted Widmer. This was an unsatisfactory biography but all i have been able to find that was written later than 1930. Here is an interesting note, at the NY Constitutional Convention in 1821 Van Buren advocated that African-Americans should vote if they possessed a certain amount of property. Other such small issues, despite all his efforts which ended in maintaining slavery, led opponents to fear he was really anti-slavery. "Even Abraham Lincoln would play on these fears in an early debate against Stephen Douglas around 1840, arguing that Van Buren had gone too far to empower black Americans!"

Bless Me, Ultima written by a man who is widely acclaimed as the founder of modern Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya. It is considered a bildungsroman, although the main character, Antonio, is only 6 when the story begins & 7 when it ends. His family brings an aged curandera, one who cures with herbs and "magic", to live with them now that she is too old to live alone. Antonio struggles to understand the Catholic faith of his parents (first communion approaches), magic, family tribal identification (luna are farmers, working in conjunction with the moon & the Marez, his father's people, who are vaqueros) and just the usual growing up. Interesting. It is the first part of a trilogy but i am going to savor before reading another.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. 5/5
My first attempt at Faulkner (The Sound and the Fury) failed and I almost gave up on the famous author. A friend suggested I start with As I Lay Dying. It was the kind of dark, bleak story I love to dive into.

The Sportswriter by Richard Ford. 1/5
I couldn't get into the book. Put it aside for a later date.

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner. 5/5
A collection of short stories.

The Great Santini by Pat Conroy. 5/5
I've read this story 3 or 4 times and it still thrills me. Based somewhat on the author's volitile relationship with his abusive Marine father.

The Round House by Louise Erdrich. 4/5
A mother is brutally raped on North Dakota reservation and she slips into a fearful depression. Her young son sets out to find the rapist. A wonderfully dark story about justice/injustice on a reservation.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. 5/5
One of my favorite movies of all time. The book follows young Francie from childhood to adult in turn of the century Brooklyn. Extremely moving.

Madrano wrote: Martin Van Buren, one of the "American Presidents" series from Times Books, by Ted Widmer. This was an unsatisfactory biography but all i have been able to find that was written later than 1930. Here is an interesting note, at the NY Constitutional Convention in 1821 Van Buren advocated that African-Americans should vote if they possessed a certain amount of property. Other such small issues, despite all his efforts which ended in maintaining slavery, led opponents to fear he was really anti-slavery. "Even Abraham Lincoln would play on these fears in an early debate against Stephen Douglas around 1840, arguing that Van Buren had gone too far to empower black Americans!"
----------------

Congratulations on your challenge to read a book on each president. Sorry to hear the Van Buren book wasn't very good. I think because of the C-SPAN show on the First Ladies, I may add some of those books for lesser known presidents.

As always, I appreciate you sharing your reads with us. And I appreciate your insightful posts in all the other folders. You really help keep BNC afloat.

Maicie wrote: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. 5/5
One of my favorite movies of all time. The book follows young Francie from childhood to adult in turn of the century Brooklyn. Extremely moving.
------------------

Thanks for sharing, Marcie !

I love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I also love the movie.

Deb and I read a few Faulkner books awhile back. I can't say I am a fan, but I am glad I read them. There is still one that I do want to read as I enjoyed the movie.
The movie is called The Long Hot Summer and I believe it is based on The Hamlet

I love "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," too. What a wonderful book--I think I read it three or four times during my teen years. I loved Francie. Never saw the movie, though.

Thank you for the compliment, Alias.

I wasn't aware the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward movie was supposed to be based on a Faulkner work. I cannot remember if i've seen it, either. Hmmm.

Much as i liked the film from the Betty Smith book, the words in the book just sang. Thanks for the reminder, Amy & Maicie.

Madrano wrote: I wasn't aware the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward movie was supposed to be based on a Faulkner work. I cannot remember if i've seen it, either. Hmmm.

--------------
Believe it or not, I like the Don Johnson version.

The Long Hot Summer (TV 1985)

Don Johnson

Jason Robards

Judith Ivey

Cybill Shepherd

Ava Gardner

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089500/?...

I missed that. And am smiling at the idea of Johnson doing it better. Good info.

Maicie wrote: "As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. 5/5
My first attempt at Faulkner (The Sound and the Fury) failed and I almost gave up on the famous author. A friend suggested I start with As I Lay Dying. It wa..."

I loved As I Lay Dying too.

I managed to read 10 books in April.

Serpent Dust Early Sydney settlement and aborigine's suffering of smallpox brought in by the colonists. Interesting, and a perspective I haven't thought of before. 4 stars.

Vernon God Little audio. A young man is sentenced to death after being found guilty of committing a school massacre. Very disturbing and sort of unnecessary in my opinion. 1 star.

Mornings in Jenin A Palestinian family's turmoil and loss from the 1940s to 2000, spanning many generations. Could have been edited down. 3 stars.

Portnoy’s Complaint A boy's rambling thoughts, mainly his guilt-ridden sexual obsessions. 3 stars.

Bitter Greens 17th century France, a young woman hears the original story of Rapunzel whist locked up in an abbey. Too fanciful and too long for me, but still enjoyable I guess. 2 stars.

Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason The disintergration of a marriage through the format of a discovered journal. Intriguing, and I loved the format and the beautiful vintage artwork. 4 stars.

A Fortunate Life non-fiction. Facey's life from childhood in Western Australia to fighting at Gallipoli and back home during The Depression. 3 stars.

No Picnic on Mount Kenya: A Daring Escape, A Perilous Climb non-fiction. An Italian adventurer tells of his experience on Mt Kenya whilst still a POW in Kenya. Interesting account. 3 stars.

Limoncello and Linen Water non-fiction. A lovely book brimming with Italian recipes, photos, anecdotes etc. A wonderful mix, but then I love this style of book. 5 stars.

The French Lieutenant's Woman audio. Set in 1860s England, a sad story of two people constricted in their love by the social restrictions of the times. 3 stars.

Nice reading month, Lesley! I love the diversity of your reading materials, too. Great mix.

I'm with Amy, what variety in reading, Lesley. Thank you for sharing, too. I'll have to check out the Italian cooking-ish book.

deb

Lesley wrote: "I managed to read 10 books in April.
============

Excellent ! I really appreciate you sharing with the group.

I read the Booker Prize winner
Vernon God Little~D.B.C. Pierre when it first came out. It's an offbeat book, however I do recall enjoying it.