Book Nook Cafe discussion

It's that time of year folks!

Here is the thread to post about your favorite reads and the ones you detested in 2013.

The book does not have to be published in 2013, only read by you in 2013.


If you could provide a link and a few words on each book that would be great.

My favorite reads of 2013 were:

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
Isabel Wilkerson
non fiction
Informative and well written. Well deserved Pulitzer

Heart 411: The Only Guide to Heart Health You'll Ever Need
Marc Gillinov
nonfiction
Very informative.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Charles Duhigg
Nonfiction
Fascinating.

Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt
Aida D. Donald
nonfiction
excellent bio of TR
Elsewhere
Richard Russo
nonfiction
I really enjoyed this memoir. The author has an excellent voice which added to my enjoyment of the audiobook.

My Worst reads of 2013 were:

Help Thanks Wow: Three Essential Prayers
Anne Lamott
nonfiction
I felt the author just phone it in and cashed in on her name. I usually enjoy her books a lot. However, this was a big disappointment.

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
David Sedaris
nonfiction
I usally enjoy this other and find him lol funny. Not so with this odd collection. Some of the stories were downright creepy.

Most of the books I read were 3-5 stars. My favorites this year included
The Fault in Our Stars A YA book about cancer kids.
The Dog Stars Dystopian novel with a brain-damaged main character. Thought-provoking ending
Tenth of December absolute genius
A Case of Exploding Mangoes very amusing and fantastical mystery that does end with a case of exploding mangoes.
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena searing, touching, great novel of war in Chechnya.
Homestead an unlikely winner! It's about a tiny mountain village in Austria and the women who live there. Written by a linguistic genius, and extremely good.
Woke Up Lonely unusual, hard to describe book about some very eccentric characters. Convoluted plot.
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital About the hospital in NO after Katrina in which a group of several doctors and three nurses injected patients with deadly drug cocktail as rescue helicopters landed to evacuate them.
Half the Kingdom: A Novel funny satire about hospitals and writers, funny.
Bleeding Edge the 1990's in Manhattan, when the tech revolution moved from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Very smart.
The Luminaries super long, wonderful setting and plot, very complicated and Victorian in tone.
and the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. Good YA yarn about a future world (Chicago) with interesting structure, same old human corruption.

My least favorites were
In Sunlight and in Shadow
What Is Left the Daughter
Born Under an Assumed Name: The Memoir of a Cold War Spy's
Daughter
The End of Your Life Book Club
A Guide for the Perplexed: A Novel
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
The less said about these books the better.

My best reads for 2013:

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Son by Philipp Meyer
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell
Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin

My worst reads for 2013:

Ben, In the World: The Sequel to the Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
A Hidden Affair by Pam Jenoff
The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon
The Possibility of You by Pamela Redmond Satran
The Devil's Rooming House: The True Story of America's Deadliest Female Serial Killer by M. William Phelps

My best reads of 2013:

And the Mountains Echoed byKhaled Hosseini
Nobody's FoolbyRichard
Russo
Elsewhereby Richard Russo
The End of Your Life Book [author:Will Schwalbe

I really did not read read any book this year that I was sorry I had spent time reading

Michele wrote: ."

You have some very interesting books on your best list, Michele. I appreciate you sharing with us. I am going to add Tenth of Dec. and Homestead to my TBR list. Thanks for the new to me titles.

Sorry you didn't like The End of Your Life Book Club. That was a winner for me. Maybe the fact that I listened to it on audio made the difference.

Thanks for posting your Best/ Worst Amy. Also thank you for reminding me to put the Lahiri book on my TBR list.

I was toying with the Three Wesissmanns but I think I'll push that one way down my list now. It seems like a book that had good reviews in the NY Times and other places but very few people that have commented about it in the GR groups like it. Maybe it's one of those books the critics like but not the general public.

Non Fiction: My Best Reads --

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne - Byrne takes a totally different way to write a biography. She approaches each chapter from an object that was connected to Jane, instead of writing the dull linear chronology. Each new object, in each new chapter, brings in new personal relationships and intellectual and imaginative associations.

American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell by Deborah Solomon -- Excellent job. I loved reading about his art as well as his personal life story, very detailed, felt as though I knew him.

The Brontë Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne by Catherine Reef I read things that I never heard of before.

Dared And Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning by Julia Markus Excellent detailed research, wonderful, personal relationship, I just couldn’t put the book down.

Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee --I love Hermione Lee’s research and writing.

Kathleen Kennedy, Her Life and Times by Lynne McTaggart Surprised, it was well written, and there was so much I didn’t know.

Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival by Dean King Amazing journey, couldn’t put it down. Thanks deb/Madrano!

Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Emily Brontë, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Edith Wharton, and Virginia Woolf by Maureen Adams - Light reading, totally enjoyed!


Non Fiction: My Worst Reads --

The Ballad Of Dorothy Wordsworth by Frances Wilson Why would the author compare real life people (William Wordsworth, Coleridge and Dorothy Wordworth) with book characters? For example: ". . . The relationship between Dorothy and William is simply too demanding, or to embarrassing, to deal with. These biographers are positioned in relation to their story like Nelly Dean, the tone less narrator of the events that compose Wuthering Heights."

Rosa Bonheur: A Life and a Legend by Dore Ashton Lacked so much.

Fiction: My Best Reads --
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Fish Can Sing by Halldór Laxness
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman


Fiction: My Worst Reads --
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
The Open Door by Elizabeth Maguire

Thanks for joining in and posting your Best/worst, Carol.

I am so happy to see Owen Meany on your best list.
Also seeing The Good Earth reminds me I need to put Pearl Buck in China: Journey to The Good Earth on my TBR list.

I also agree with you on Please Look after Mom. Sorry, deb ! Though the f2f book group that I used to attend enjoyed it.

I love how we can all agree to disagree on certain books. It sure makes the board more interesting to read.

I also am enjoying seeing titles that are new to me or that I forgot I want to read.

Michele wrote: "Homestead an unlikely winner! It's about a tiny mountain village in Austria and the women who live there. Written by a linguistic genius, and extremely good...."

Well, it looks like I have another country and book to add to my International reading next year!

Best books:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope - My Review
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity - My Review
The Emperor of All Maladies - My Review
The Woman in White
Alias Grace
The Great Gatsby
1Q84
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Housekeeper and the Professor - My Review
Ice - My Review

One star books:
Tied for the "My grocery list is more exciting than this" award:
In Our Time
Train Dreams

Gave up on:
Winner of the "I hate beautiful writing" award:
Lolita
Winner of the "Is this English?" award:
As I Lay Dying

Julie, if you are looking for a Italy book I enjoyed some of Tim Parks books.

Italian Neighbors

Italian Education

We also have a thread for books from a particular country that may give you some ideas.

Folder: New Book Releases and book lists
Thread: Books set in a particular country

I only read 27 books last year so I didn't have much to pick from (not counting audiobooks....I didn't even look at that list and use a totally different standard for determining what is "good")

Julie wrote: "One star books:
Tied for the "My grocery list is more exciting than this" award:"

LOL Great line !

I am with you all the way on As I lay Dying. I just don't get Faulkner.

I also tried Lolita a few times and could not get into it.

Thanks for sharing with us Julie !

Julie wrote: "Michele wrote: "Homestead an unlikely winner! It's about a tiny mountain village in Austria and the women who live there. Written by a linguistic genius, and extremely good...."

Well, it looks lik..."

I think you will love it. Please read the first two or three stories before you decide whether to keep reading. It's a bit of a slow starter.

Julie wrote: "Best books:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope - My Review
[book:Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity|11..."

I really enjoyed 1Q84, too. I don't think I've ever met anybody else who read it. If you liked that one, you might enjoy Gods Before Men, also from Japan.

Alias Reader wrote: "I am with you all the way on As I lay Dying. I just don't get Faulkner...."

Have you ever tried Light in August Alias? I am reading that one now and it is much easier to read than As I Lay Dying. I am not quite a third of the way in and really starting to like it.

Michele wrote: "I really enjoyed 1Q84, too. I don't think I've ever met anybody else who read it. If you liked that one, you might enjoy Gods Before Men, also from Japan. ..."

Who is the author? It's not coming up on goodreads.

Julie wrote: "Well, it looks like I have another country and book to add to my International reading next year!..."

If you don't have one from China yet, you might want to check out The Distant Land of My Father. It's set in pre- World War II Shanghai. I really enjoyed it. I also have a strange obsession with books set in India for some reason, so I could give you a list of good ones for that country, too! :) And of course, any of the books written by Khaled Hosseini would cover Afghanistan for you.

Haha I have TOO MANY for china and Afghanistan. :-)

My 'best of' are rather varied.

All the Pretty Horses
Little Bee
Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?
No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf non-fiction
Things Bogans Like: Tribal Tatts to Reality TV: How to Recognise the 21st Century Bogan non-fiction

And these are the two worst reads for me (I think they are both Man Booker winners too!)

Vernon God Little
The God of Small Things

Julie wrote: "Michele wrote: "I really enjoyed 1Q84, too. I don't think I've ever met anybody else who read it. If you liked that one, you might enjoy Gods Before Men, also from Japan. ..."

Who is the author? I..."

That's because its really called Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru Sorry for the misdirection.

Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "I am with you all the way on As I lay Dying. I just don't get Faulkner...."

Have you ever tried Light in August Alias? I am reading that one now and it is much e..."

Yes, deb and I read a few Faulkner a few years back. I think it was around the time Oprah did a few of his books. It wasn't so much that they were hard reads but more that I didn't enjoy them very much. I see I gave them 2 stars.

However, I do like the movie Long Hot Summer and I have the book the movie was based on The Hamlet so I may give it a go one day.

I know we read
The Sound and the Fury: The Corrected Text
As I Lay Dying
Light in August

Lesley wrote: "My 'best of' are rather varied.

All the Pretty Horses
Little Bee
Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?
No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf non-..."

I loved Little Bee. I read it with a f2f group. There was so much to discuss.

I read Vernon God Little a long time ago. I think I read it because it was on the NY Times best of list. I think it's the type of book you either enjoy or don't. I liked it. Though all these years later I can't recall a thing about it !

Thanks for sharing, Lesley !

So fun to read everyone's comments.

My favorites (the 5-star ratings):
The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King - actually, even though I rated the second of the trilogy a 4/5, the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy is really a 5/5 for me
The Grapes of Wrath
1984
Alice in Wonderland
A Tale of Two Cities
My Family and Other Animals

My least favorite this year was:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which I didn't rate and didn't finish "reading" (I skimmed the last 2/3 of the book).

Thanks for sharing your Best/Worst with us, Susan. I am enjoying reading everyone's list, too.

You have two books on your best of 2013 list that I would put on my All Time Best Reads list.

The Grapes of Wrath
A Tale of Two Cities

I am glad to see you put our group read of My Family and other Animals on your fav list. That really was an enjoyable read and a book I never heard about before. It was a terrific selection for us.

Alias Reader wrote: "Yes, deb and I read a few Faulkner a few years back. I think it was around the time Oprah did a few of his books. It wasn't so much that they were hard reads but more that I didn't enjoy them very much. I see I gave them 2 stars. ..."

I see. The trouble I had with As I lay Dying was that it was scattered and there were too many sentences that were long and made no sense. Light in August still has some weird southernisms but it is much easier. I may try As I Lay Dying again someday but it wasn't working for me at the time.

Five Star Non-Fiction

The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum
Mission to Teach: The Life and Legacy of a Revolutionary Educator
The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family
Welcoming the Undesirables: Brazil and the Jewish Question
Searching for Home Abroad: Japanese Brazilians and Transnationalism
Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Memoir
Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography

Five Star Fiction

The Forestwife
The Company of Shadows
Stormwitch
In Darkness
Rav Hisda's Daughter, Book I: Apprentice: A Novel of Love, the Talmud, and Sorcery
The Julius Romeros Extravaganza, Part 1, the Bearded Girl
The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo: A Novel
Hard Row
Shadow of the Alchemist
December's Thorn: A Fever Devilin Novel
Angel on the Ropes
Bows Against the Barons
Rose Under Fire
The Trouble with Tuck: The Inspiring Story of a Dog Who Triumphs Against All Odds

And one more for fiction: City of Lost Dreams by Magnus Flyte, my last read of the year, was also five stars.

Worst of 2013

Sea of Death by Jorge Amado
The Goddess Chronicle
Collection of Poetry and Prose: From Young Mystic

Terrific list, Shomeret ! Thanks for sharing with us.

I absolutely plan on reading
The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family this year. I am so glad to see it made your best list.

My niece's husband teaches HS science, I think I'll email him about Mission to Teach. Thanks for the title.

That book about the autistic brain looks interesting too, Shomeret. The author has autism herself, right?

I had a really good reading year in 2013. My favorite fiction titles were:


The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer
The Son - Philipp Meyer
Benediction - Kent Haruf
Harvest - Jim Crace
Where'd You Go Bernadette - Maria Semple

Nonfiction titles:

The Family: Three Journeys Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century - David Laskin
Twelve Years a Slave - Solomon Northrup
The Death of Santini - Pat Conroy
The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking - Brendan Koerner
After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story - Michael Hainey

I thought these 10 books were outstanding, but there were many others I enjoyed.

My least favorite books this year weren't necessarily awful, they were just disappointing.

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced - Nujood Ali
Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked - James Lasdun
Six Years - Harlan Coben
The Returned - Jason Mott

Two of the books that appear on Best of lists, both here and elsewhere, are books that I could not even bring myself to finish. I couldn't wait to read "Five Days at Memorial" and when I did, it left me so cold I never finished it. Same thing for "Constellation of Vital Phenomena." I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, read about 250 pages and felt so underwhelmed that I let it go.

Here's hoping for lots of great reads in 2014!

Connie wrote: "I had a really good reading year in 2013. ... The Family: Three Journeys Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century - David Laskin.."

I just put that one on my TBR list yesterday after I read a review praising it. Glad to hear you liked it too, Connie. I thought Laskin's The Children's Blizzard was really well done as well, so I have high hopes for the newest one.

Amy wrote: "That book about the autistic brain looks interesting too, Shomeret. The author has austism herself, right?"

Yes, Temple Grandin is the spokesperson for people on the autism spectrum. She is high functioning and an authority on animal behavior as well as a very practical advisor for coping strategies in dealing with autistic traits.

Shomeret wrote: "Amy wrote: "That book about the autistic brain looks interesting too, Shomeret. The author has austism herself, right?"

Yes, Temple Grandin is the spokesperson for people on the autism spectrum. ..."

-------------
I've read a few of Grandin's books and they are excellent.

As always, I enjoyed reading your best/worst list, Connie.

Benediction I have to put on my TBR list. I've enjoyed his books a lot in the past. Thanks for the reminder.

Reading everyone's list is a pure joy! It's fascinating to see who dislikes one's own favorites, as well as learn about new titles and authors. Thanks to all who have participated thus far. It's cumbersome to get out my list, so when i finally did so, i forgot to also look for those i disliked. I'll do that later.

This year i read 35 books, 21 of which were fiction. I was surprised i'd read so many at all, forgetting the earlier part of the year. I limited myself to 5 per category or i'd be typing all day. I suppose that is the flip side of reading so few--i tend to stop reading if i'm not engaged in the book.

Fiction:
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (This book isn't coming up on GR for me today but i think i found it in the past.)

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is called a coming of age but as the character is 7, i'm not sure that is accurate. Regardless, it is set in New Mexico in the late '40s, i believe. The title character is believed by many to be a healer/sacred woman but others view her as a sort of witch. It introduced me to several themes and had a great sense of the area.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf. It took me for a ride, as the character changes centuries and sex but it was evocative and wonderfully descriptive. I was intrigued, which i appreciate.

Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin. This is one Carol had on her least favorite list. It called to me, as the family members searched for their mother, accidentally abandoned at the train station in South Korea. I liked seeing the views three children and the husband had of the woman, contrasted to what we learned about the reality of their impressions.

One Day the Wind Changed: Stories, a compilation of short stories set mostly in Texas & NM, written by Tracy Daugherty. I felt when he was on target, he evoked place and character. They weren't all great but my overall thoughts were very positive. (I sacrificed Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow here, although both bring landscape into the prose as characters, imo.)

NONFiction--
Hatchepsut: The Female Pharoah by Joyce A. Tyldesley. While she made some guesses i didn't appreciate i learned much from this book, so list it in the top 5. For a person subsequent pharoahs wanted to erase from history, quite a bit is known about her. The writing was straightforward and the illustrations well selected, imo.

Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival found it's way to Carol's favorite list, which i'm glad to see. Author Dean King told the story in a remarkable way, keeping me hooked from the first sentence to the last. I felt the ocean spray during the voyage and was parched when they were stranded in the desert. Better yet, while the author traveled to retrace the steps of the men, he didn't insert himself into the prose, which i greatly appreciate.

When I Was a Slave: Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection, a compilation of narratives collected by the WPA Writer's Project, edited by Norman R. Yetman. While i liked Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup and admire the work, this book gave me a sense of the variety of slave stories to be told. Some felt their lives were better under slavery, most didn't. Also shared were folk medicine knowledge, clothing, holidays and work slaves performed. I could have read more.

My Beloved World, a memoir by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. This covered her youth, up to the year she became a judge. Her youth in NYC, attending Catholic school and her Puerto Rican heritage played only part of her story. Well presented, i think.

Ghost Dances: Proving Up on the Great Plains written by Josh Garrett-Davis. As a disclaimer i must confess that i read the book because i knew him in South Dakota, when he was a kid & still communicate occasionally with his mother. Still, i am a fan of the prairie, which he writes about in descriptive tones, as well as sharing scientific material about same. Additionally, he discusses his personal life, shared between living with his dad and his mom, who is a lesbian, living in Oregon. Any book which fondly calls to text poetry and Willa Cather gets my vote!

I enjoyed reading your list, Deb. Thanks for posting it.

I enjoyed the audio of My Beloved World, too. Another interesting reading challenge might be to read one book of each supreme court justice. I only have two under my belt. This one and the other one by Sandra Day O'Connor that we read as a group here.

Thanks for the title of When I was a Slave. Not only does the topic appeal to me but also the fact that it was a WPA writers project interests me. You know me and FDR ! :)

Thanks again. I look forward to you thumbs down list.

My pleasure, Alias. I want to add that the unedited interviews with slaves by WPA workers is available online. After reading the book, i checked it out. I found the editing options Yetman made were sometimes odd but overall he was faithful. There is, naturally, much more material online, as well. I am grateful FDR made this choice, despite the universal reason he was compelled to do so.

I mentioned that i would look at my least favorite books later & share titles. Good news, there was only one honkin' bad one,

Seminole Showdown, part of a series called "The Trailsman", written by Jon Sharpe. This is western porn at its worse. The writing is adequate and the story alright but it fell flat. There were far too many inconsistencies and erotic love scenes for my comfort. I finished, despite usually stopping when i'm this disappointed, because i wanted to see if it improved. It didn't.

The following were not awful, just disappointing, so i've added them here, as they are my least favorite.

The Cruelest Month is part of a mystery series written by Louise Penny. It's tough to slam this series because the characters are good, the village ideal and the quality of intellect in the characters much higher than usual. However, in more than half of the books i've read, i knew who the killer was from the introduction of said character. If this is her point & she feels the prose is enhanced by this, it has escaped me. Worse, the village is too ideal, straight from Thomas Kincaide (sp?) painting. Gag me. If you are wondering why i kept reading, it's because the sole In Person book reader i know relishes the series, so i keep giving it a try.

Timeshift by Phillip Ellis Jackson had a neat premise, that as a result of a catastrophe there is a way people can enter & record the past, and that the government has done so to create real movies for the population, as well as to try to figure out where things went wrong in the past. The problem is that Jackson isn't a very good writer. In the beginning, i was confused because he just didn't share the story well. I persevered because i liked the idea.

NONFICTION--
Martin Van Buren, a biography which is part of the Time "American Presidents" series, this one written by Ted Widmer disappointed as bio. I suspect the life of the human was not the purpose for the series but it was all i had available & wanted to give it a try. The point seemed to be sharing how he became president and how his presidency effected the position itself. I won't be reading any more of these. Still, it wasn't bad, poorly written, or too opinionated. One of the points seemed to be to illustrate how issues may have changed but not by much and the ways to tackle problems are as bad now as then.

The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story by Lily Koppel could have been a good book, as many of the life stories were interesting. However, Koppell failed in depicting the women different enough that they stayed in the reader's mind. I was confused with just the first 7, let alone the later 14, then 9 others. Even making one of her points about the fact the women never really matched the image NASA wanted them to be was a failure, imo.

Again, none of the above, other than the first, are awful, just disappointing in light of what they could have been.

deb

Madrano wrote: "My pleasure, Alias. I want to add that the unedited interviews with slaves by WPA workers is available online...."
-----------

I am so happy you posted that. After I read your post I checked my library system and they don't have the book.

"Madrano wrote:
Seminole Showdown, part of a series called "The Trailsman", written by Jon Sharpe. This is western porn at its worse."

Well, that is a new genre I never heard of. LOL

Madrano wrote:NONFICTION--
Martin Van Buren, a biography which is part of the Time "American Presidents" series, this one written by Ted Widmer disappointed as bio. I suspect the life of the human was not the purpose for the series but it was all i had available & wanted to give it a try. The point seemed to be sharing how he became president and how his presidency effected the position itself. I won't be reading any more of these. Still, it wasn't bad, poorly written, or too opinionated. One of the points seemed to be to illustrate how issues may have changed but not by much and the ways to tackle problems are as bad now as then.
."
--------------------------------

I had a bad experience with the Time American Presidents series.

I read their book on TR and it was awful. It was as dry as could be. I even purchased the book in hardcover thinking it would be a great series to collect. It's a shame as I would love to find a good series that has a book on each president that is under 300 pages.

Theodore Roosevelt--Louis Auchincloss

I think I may have tried one or two more in the series, but I can't easily check my journal.

Alias, the brevity of the Van Buren book drew me to it but i was so disappointed i realized i need to stop doing that. Now that i'm enjoying the Jefferson Davis, American bio by William J. Cooper Jr., i think i am correct. Although i could use less on him.

I may have created the term western porn but it's what it felt like--a checklist of what to expect in a western, plus some sex scenes Zane Grey would never introduce! ;-)

Madrano wrote: "My pleasure, Alias. I want to add that the unedited interviews with slaves by WPA workers is available online. After reading the book, i checked it out. I found the editing options Yetman made were..."

Re Louise Penny--I find that village such a bore, Deb. There are two books in the series so far that don't take place there. I find them more interesting. Yet another thing I don't care for in this series is the focus on addiction. I find it a predictable element. The author is a recovering alcoholic. She's quite open about it.

Madrano wrote: "Fiction:
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (This book isn't coming up on GR for me today but i think i found it in the past.)..."

The Unit

Madrano wrote: "Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin. This is one Carol had on her least favorite list. It called to me, as the family members searched for their mother, ..."

Of the few people I know who have read this, it seems to have mixed opinions. It is on my list to read for South Korea (mainly because it is the best sounding one I found).

Madrano wrote: "The Cruelest Month is part of a mystery series written by Louise Penny. It's tough to slam this series because the characters are good, the village ideal and the quality of intellect in the characters much higher than usual...."

Uh oh. I got the first in the series on audio but I haven't started it yet. Most people I know like this series though.