Book Nook Cafe discussion

Share with us what you read in July 2015 !

Please provide:

~ A GoodReads link
~ A few sentences telling us how you felt about the book.
~ How would you rate the book

JULY 2015 READS . . . 19 books!




✔ 1. Among Others by Jo Walton-3 stars.
Review: Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in 2 worlds. Growing up in Wales, played among the spirits in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the Sci-FI novels that were her closest companions. Her mother and Mori forced to confront her in a magical battle, left her crippled--and twin sister dead. Mori was sent to boarding school in England-devoid of magic. There, outcast & alone, tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. Her magic also drew the attention of her mother.

✔ 2. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann-4 stars. Review: It is August 1974, and a mysterious tightrope walker is running, dancing, leaping between the towers, suspended a quarter mile above the ground. In the streets below, a slew of ordinary lives become extraordinary in Colum McCann's intricate portrait of a city and its people.

✔ 3. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter--5 stars.
Review: In 1962, a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, an American starlet, and she is dying. The tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist.

✔ 4. Summer Secrets by Jane Green(2015)-5 stars. Review: One woman, Cat, struggling to right the wrongs of her past, with even more complications in the present. She has issues with alcohol and discovering the father she never knew. Not your typical summer read. I'm happy to have read this book with an excellent ending.

✔ 5. The Sacrifice by Joyce Carol Oates-(2015)-5 stars. Review: Ednetta Frye, the black mother of a missing teenage girl, wanders the streets of a New Jersey “like a procession of voices” begging for help and information. Ednetta’s lament – "Seen my girl? My baby? My girl S’b’lla – anybody seen her?” Sadly this horrendous abuse also emphasises the powerlessness of women. The women in this tale are surrounded by men & police, bigger and more powerful than they are.

✔ 6. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson-(2015)-4 stars. Review: Atkinson’s extraordinary 2013 novel, Life After Life, introduced readers to the Todd family in their Forsteresque home of Fox Corner, and managed to achieve publishing’s holy grail of both literary acclaim and popular appeal. That novel’s heroine, Ursula Todd, is given the chance to live her life again and again in many variations over the first half of the 20th century. A God in Ruins is the story of Teddy’s war and its legacy, “a ‘companion’ piece rather than a sequel”, according to the author. At first glance it appears to be a more straightforward novel than Life After Life, though it shares the same composition, flitting back and forth in time so that a chapter from Teddy’s childhood in 1925 sits alongside a fragment of his grandchildren’s childhood in the 1980s, before jumping back to 1947, when Teddy and his wife Nancy, newly married, are trying to come to terms with the aftermath of the devastation.

✔ 7. The Knockoff: A Novel by Lucy Sykes-(2015)-5 stars. Review: The glamorous world of fashion is met with a tech invasion in this satirical novel by fashion editor Sykes and editor/journalist Piazza. I didn't think I would like it, but it surprised me.

✔ 8. Mount Vernon Love Story: A Novel of George and Martha Washington by Mary Higgins Clark-4.5 stars. Review: This book written on Washington's domestic life, more than his political one. Washington married Martha, a widow known only to those closest to her as 'Patsy', told from an emotional view; he fathers her two children, and cares for them as his own. A wonderful story of a devoted, loving marriage between George and Martha Washington. The book begins with Washington sitting at John Adams's inauguration, the novel moves in a flashback to Washington's earlier life. For such a confident military leader, Washington was highly vulnerable as a man. (His 'mean-spirited mother' undermined his confidence.) Washington's unrequited love for Sally Wilcox, and how he came to marry the "pretty widow" Martha (widely known as Patsy) Custis, who become his strength, his true love, and the constant in his life. Well done!

✔ 9. Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather-5 stars. REVIEW: Henry's wife, Sapphira, believes that her housekeeper's daughter, Nancy, is having a relationship with Henry. The mistress then invites her nephew, Martin, for a long visit, creating the circumstances in which he might rape the slave. Martin fails, but his mere presence prompts Henry, and his widowed daughter, Rachel—both of whom have long harbored antislavery notion to assist in Nancy's escape.

✔ 10. Lucy Gayheart Lucy Gayheart by Willa Cather- 5 stars.
REVIEW: Lucy Gayheart is a novel that is about memory as well as one that develops in memory. As such, it is the culmination of Cather's critical musings that gradually moved memory to center stage, as if she were fulfilling her midlife statement, "Life began for me when I ceased to admire and began to remember." Suddenly, the life she left behind appears impossibly dull compared with the magic she has found in Chicago. The meaning she finds in her life has shifted; she wants nothing more than to spend time with Clement, and to be part of the hustle and bustle of city life. She thrives away from Nebraska; she has seen the fullness of life and nothing else she could ever go back to, no one else she could ever fall in love with, could compare to what she has now experienced. Her dreams and hopes for the future are bound up in her love for Clement, and the joy she takes in playing the piano for him. A tragedy strikes, Lucy returns home to Nebraska to find a way of life that holds nothing but emptiness, despair and quiet desperation, that only gets worse every day.

✔ 11 .Lisette's List Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland-5 stars.
REVIEW: Once again, Susan Vreeland has done a wonderful job, with her writing and use of historical fiction during a World War II period. Vreeland gives Lisette's personal story to make it a real feel for what challenges are before her and those she loves. Excellent!!

✔ 12. The Little Paris Bookshop The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George-5 stars.
REVIEW: This story's journey starts a broken heart to begin a new full life again. Jean Perdu is dedicated these years to healing other people, through prescribing them books to read from his ‘literary apothecary’, which is on a bookstore barge on the Seine River in Paris. These people come to him for a book that will help their emotional needs. Yet Jean Perdu is the not the only one who needs help, after losing the love of his life. For Jean it is Manon, and for her husband and newborn daughter. The letter sends him on a journey across France to Bonnieux in Provence. The journey that follows is both internal and external, as Perdu and Jordan fight their insecurities and demons both separately and together. It is a story of an unlikely friendship that develops between the bibliophile and the confused young father/husband.

✔ 13. We Were Liars We Were Liars by E. Lockhart-5 stars.
REVIEW: Wealthy Cadence Sinclair, 17 yrs. old, has had an accident (traumatic brain injury) and she cannot remember anything. Her wealthy family has an amazing homeCadence must take it easy as she is on medicated drugs, reading her books, and enjoying her golden retrievers. Little by little her mother is purging many of things her daughter no longer needs, including her new boyfriend, Gat. Other family members gather on the family's private island, in an amazing home called Windemere. Cadence and Gat begin a love affair, just before Granny Tipper died. Cadence loves fairytales, in which there are always three sisters and a king. They're fables based on the troubled relationship her mother and aunts have with her grandfather. Cadence also starts giving away all her possessions, her memory is still unclear. Their grandfather tries to scare his children by donating his money to his alma-mata; all the aunts are drunk and fighting over his inheritance. It was Cadence who doused the home with gasoline, in order to torch everything. Sadly, she realized that both her "Liars" and the Golden Retrievers were trapped inside and died a terrible death. GREAT ENDING!!

✔ 14. Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss-5 stars. REVIEW: Beautiful. Its luminescent colors & oversize dimensions generated a feeling. Writer/artist Lauren Redniss created a unique work, difficult to categorize, a blend of original art, photographs, graphics & text. Marie Curie was one of the most iconic of women scientists, as a pioneer in researching radioactivity; not only the FIRST woman to win a Nobel Prize, also the first person to win 2 Nobel Prizes, chemistry & physics.

✔ 15. The Busiest Man in England: A Life of Joseph Paxton, Gardener, Architect & Victorian Visionary The Busiest Man in England: A Life of Joseph Paxton, Gardener, Architect & Victorian Visionary by Kate Colquhoun. BRIEF REVIEW: Paxton (1803-1865) busy in horticulture, urban planning, architecture, and he designed the 1851 exhibit, Crystal Palace.

✔ 16. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles-(1969)-5 stars. It has been considered a dark, mysterious, but not romantic.

✔ 17. Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway-(2015) 4 stars, Oliver kidnapped 10 yrs. ago, now he's back with Emmy.

✔ 18. Almost Famous Women: Stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman-4 stars. (2015) Amazing women in 13 stories, a variety of characters.

✔ 19. A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders-3 stars. (2015) A mystery in London's publishing industry, with something strange going on. I thought it was well written, but I thought that there were too many characters which made it difficult for me to keep my attention.

Carol, I can't imagine ever being able to read so many books over a month. Congratulations! I have Let the Great World Spin and Beautiful Ruins on my to read one day list so great to to see your four and five star ratings.

The Anubis Gates

Neverwhere

And starting Breathers: A Zombie's Lament today.

Lesley wrote: " I have Let the Great World Spin on my to read one day list."

Great novel. I was a bit apprehensive at first -- I'd seen Man on a Wire and couldn't stand the tightrope walker -- but found it an enjoyable read. A month or so later, I was relating people/events (in NYC, natch) to portions of the book. Always the sign of a great work.

Carol, do you have anything more to say about The French Lieutenant's Woman? I've read most of Fowles' stuff, but that is one I have been putting off for a long time (along with Daniel Martin).

I too enjoyed Let the Great World Spin - I rated it 4 or 4.5/5 - too lazy to look it up! The interwoven stories were terrific and a reminder that we are all dealing with myriad issues at any given time.

Of course, I always like to see Willa Cather on people's lists. She always manages to touch me.

So many 4s and 5s, Carol - it's great to have such a successful month!

Congratulations on a awesome reading month, Carol ! It looks like all the books were winners.

I'm glad to see you enjoyed Beautiful Ruins. I'll get to it one of these days.

I forgot, one more book --

✔ 20. Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan--5 stars--2015--629 pp.

This is a very challenging read. I really feel for Svetlana and for everything she went through. Svetlana was very shy and quiet when everything was going ok. But the truth was that Svetlana did not know what love was. Some deep part of her believed that she couldn't be loved. (Could it be because her mother took her life while she was a little girl. Or was it because Stalin is killing people by the thousands, including family and friends.) She felt that she needed a man (usually older) to invent her or to complete her.

Svetlana Alliluyeva (mothers name) Stalin (aka Lana Peters), requested asylum in the United States by Lyndon Baines Johnson who blocked it due to a threat. She needed a safe house so Svetlana fled to Rome, which contacted Italy, and then to Australia, and New Zealand. South Africa offered but was rejected by Svetlana to refuse, due to apartheid. Svetlana later said the "her defection had been an impulse, taken in rage and frustration." She stayed in India, and fooled the government by taking her passport with her. It was a slap in the face for the Soviet government. Sadly, Svetlana left her son, Joseph, and daughter, Katya behind. Both her children, made an open plea for their mother to come back, but In 1966, Svetlana was given responsibility as she began her new life in the United States.

On April 13, 1967 she landed at JFK airport. Svetlana began writing over a year period. Svetlana married Wesley Peters, Head Architect of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Foundation on April 4, 1970. After her defection and an American marriage, she became and remained Lana Peters. She died on Nov. 22 in Richland County, Wisconsin. Her surviving daughter, Olga Peters, who now goes by the name Chrese Evans, were rebuffed, as were efforts to speak to her in person in Portland, Ore., where she lives and works.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/wor...

Mkfs wrote: "Lesley wrote: "Carol, do you have anything more to say about The French Lieutenant's Woman? I've read most of Fowles' stuff, but that is one I have been putting off for a long time (along with Daniela Martin). ..."

-The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

REVIEW: The French Lieutenant's Woman, is considered a dark, mysterious, and somewhat "romantic" novel. Set in 19th century, people in their society are focused on an individual's awareness, and how it's awareness dominates or distorts their entire life. All the characters are created into what they believe to be true, about themselves, and others. Yet the issues are of two socially and economically oppressed groups in 19th century England: (1) the poverty of the working and servant classes, and (2) the economic and social entrapment of women.

The book traces what seems to be a love story, but the characters questions what type of love existed in a society where many marriages were based as much as economic as on love. In my opinion, this story isn't a romance at all. The main characters, Charles and Sarah, are not progressing in their life (railways, factories, trade unions, housing, living standards, etc.) to be able to take charge, and begin their new lives.

This book is like being caught in a fictional labyrinth. We think we know where we stand in the story, and who the characters are and what possibilities are open to them, and then the author begins an astonishing series of surprises. He turns his story inside out, suggesting first one ending, then another, always in a way that forces us to rethink everything that has gone before.

The French Lieutenant’s Womanone of the most intriguing characters in recent fiction. She is not only apparently the victim of Victorian sexism, but also (as Charles discovers) its manipulator and master. She cleverly uses the conventions that would limit her, as a means of obtaining personal freedom and power over men.

** Also The French Lieutenant’s Woman lives in Lyme, near the beach and there are discussions regarding the fossils on the beach -- which is in Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

Carol, I'm in awe of your fabulous reading month. So many 4 and 5 star reads too!

I wasn't as much a fan of Let the Great World Spin - I kept having the feeling that as soon as I was wrapped up in one character, the story would shift to someone else. But then, I think it's the whole "loosely connected short story" genre that doesn't do it for me.

I've added Beautiful Ruins to my TBR as well.

Most of the time, I'm inside our home. I have some health issues, which prevent me from being in the sun. So I have a lot of time to read (my city librarians know me well) plus I have taken one of my son's bedroom, and turned it into a decent size library. Plus getting books at goodwill in mint condition with very little $.

I only watch the PBS NewsHour at night, just so I know what's going on in the world. If you're interested --https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L5eS...

I am currently overwhelmed by picking up this morning, eight books published in 2015, to be returned within 14 days. Never dull!!

Sorry to hear you are not feeling 100% Carol. If anyone can roll 8 books in 14 days it is you!

Here is what I read in July.

The Water Diviner A father travels from rural Victoria to find his three sons missing at Gallipoli. Touching, though full of stereotypes. 4 stars. I have the DVD of the movie so will watch that next week.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Tsukuru is dumped by his mates when they are teenagers. Years later he tracks them down to try to make sense of his life so far. Weird but fascinating. Listened to this on audio. 4 stars.

The Waves The imaginings of a group of school friends as they age. I found the style irritating. 2 stars.

East of Eden I read from my lovely copy printed in '53. Salinas valley, California in late 18th into 19th centuries, generations of families intersect and cope with all the new century throws at it, with some strong characters in the mix. 4 stars. Currently watching the DVD; Jane Seymour plays Cathy.

Steppenwolf Rambling thoughts of depressed middle aged man who can't cope with contemporary life while believing he is a wolf of the steppe. Too hard and ridiculous for me. Audio. 1 star.

The Turn of the Screw A ghost story set on a rural estate. Not my cup of tea. 2 stars.

Lesley wrote: Here is what I read in July.

The Water Diviner A father travels from rural Victoria to find his three sons missing at Gallipoli. Touching, though full of stereotypes. 4 stars. I have the DVD of the movie so will watch that next week.

East of Eden I read it in 2011, I thought it was well written. 5 stars.

Carol wrote: "Most of the time, I'm inside our home. I have some health issues, which prevent me from being in the sun. So I have a lot of time to read (my city librarians know me well) plus I have taken one of ..."

Sorry to hear that, Carol. That must be tough, especially in summer.

I agree with Lesley - if anyone can do 8 books in 14 days, my money is on you. :)

Carol, did you finish the audio book
'' Mr. President '' : George Washington and the Making of the Nation's Highest Office ?

Lesley wrote: East of Eden I read from my lovely copy printed in '53. .."

Nice !

I agree with you about The Turn of the Screw==Henry James

You were kinder than me. I gave it one star. If I recall correctly, my main complaint was the writing style. There were sentences that seemed to have a hundred commas and went on forever!

My reads for July:

Blueprints for Building Better Girls: Fiction - 2/5
Loosely connected short stories relaying the struggles faced by young women today. I liked this generally, but this genre isn't for me.

The Girl on the Train - 4/5
Fast paced and compelling read, though it falls a little flat after the twist is revealed with 80 pages or so to go.

Starting Your Career as a Professional Blogger - 3/5
I saw this featured on a career shelf at the library and was curious to check it out. Most of the info here I'd heard before. It would be much harder to start a career in blogging today than it would have been in the early 2000s.

Us - 2.5/5
2.5 stars. I enjoyed the second half of this book much more than the first. This was well written and the characters well drawn, but terribly sad on multiple levels - the father who is both insecure and yet stubborn, the couple who have faced tragedy together and lost their individual identities in parenthood, a son who feels he can never live up to his father's expectations. I might have rated this a bit higher, but I found several parts of the book difficult to read because of the narration by Douglas, who is self-aware but insecure and repetitive and, as a result, not particularly likeable or sympathetic to me.

Thanks for sharing, Emma !

I read David Nicholls other book One Day. I wasn't a fan. I read it for a book club. I gave it one star. It was because the group kept selecting books like this that I finally quit the group.

Alias Reader wrote: "Carol, did you finish the audio book
'' Mr. President '' : George Washington and the Making of the Nation's Highest Office ?"

I just picked it up today. I also have 7 books that are '14 day' loans.

I'll also check out David Nicholls two books.

Rome of the Caesars : 4 stars. A look at Rome through capsule-biographies of citizens of the empire who were influential (but who weren't, in most cases, emperors): Galen, Paul, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, and others. I picked this up at the Strand, and found it quite good. The author would probably be lynched by the evangelicals or the Anti-Defamation League if this were published now, as he gives his mind free reign. Always in a fair manner, of course - nobody is accused unjustly.

Statistics Done Wrong: The Woefully Complete Guide : 5 stars. A statistics book without much math, which demonstrates how statistics is often done wrong. I've been recommending it to anyone who will listen, which isn't as large a crowd as it used to be.

Henry VIII or, All is True by The Bard : 3 stars. Deservedly overlooked? Perhaps. This play about the birth and christening of Queen Elizabeth (because really, it don't say a whole lot about Henry) is more complex than it seems at first glance. I'm still digesting this one: on the surface, it is a puff-piece written to curry favor with the court of King James. It also seems to obliquely paint a quite damning portrait of Henry VIII, a monstrous godlike figure both beloved and far removed, whose mere whim can shake the earth.

Breathers: A Zombie's Lament : 1 star. I gave up a third of the way through. There's a specific young-male-writer first-person narrative voice that has infected the novel ever since Patient Zero (identified by a few reviewers of Breathers as Chuck Palahniuk), used here to ill effect. Please please please please please stop writing like this.

The Complete Butcher's Tales: 5 stars. A collection of surrealist short stories. Think magical realism, only with cynicism, humor, and a fair number of unhappy endings (which makes it more realistic than magical realism, amusingly). The stories get stronger towards the end of the book. I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but it does leave a good impression of the book. Midway through, I might have given it only 4 stars.

Fistful of Feet : 3 stars. A great Bizarro novel, up there with Shatnerquake. The trouble with Bizarro, of course, is that even when it's great, it only deserves a couple of stars. This one is a Western, and plays out well according to the genre. Guy comes to town, guy gets in an altercation with the local bullies, guy gets ambushed by local bullies, guy gets revenge. Plus there's a vampire starfish, a plague of sexually-transmitted red tattoos, a sentient purple beard, and snortable scorpions. How can you go wrong?

Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus : 3 stars. Alexander Pope and company penned this biography of a Learned Man to poke fun at the self-educated elite. Similar in many ways to The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and Augustus Carp, Esq. By Himself Being The Autobiography Of A Really Good Man, but not as funny. Still, books like this are the reason why I never found Confederacy of Dunces all that entertaining: it's been done before, and better, and without being reduced to Farrelly-brothers toilet humor.

MFA vs. NYC: The Two Cultures of American Fiction : 3 stars. A book-length treatment of the article from issue 10 of n+1, which apparently cause quite a stir. I remember enjoying the original article when it came out, and was surprised to find a year or so later that it was passed around and widely read (I admit, I'm always a little surprised when I find that other people read n+1). This book made me want to slap some sense into pretty much every single contributor (excepting Keith Gessen). If you want confirmed your deepest dark suspicions about MFA programs or the NYC publishing industry or the people who inhabit either, then read this.

Mkfs wrote: "Rome of the Caesars : 4 stars. A look at Rome through capsule-biographies of citizens of the empire who were influential (but who weren't, in most cases, emperors): Galen, Paul, Jos..."

Statistics Done Wrong: The Woefully Complete Guide sounds fascinating. My library system belongs to an ILL network. A couple of library systems in the network have it on order. So it will eventually be available through ILL.

Very nice eclectic reading month, mkfs !

My July reads


The Wall--Jean-Paul Sartre
fiction
short story
rating 4/5
The Wall is considered one of Sartre’s greatest existentialist works. The Wall is a brief snapshot of three political prisoners on the night prior to their execution and how each copes with their impending death. This was my first Sartre. I thought it was quite powerful and interesting. I'll be reading more by him.

Language Arts--Stephanie Kallos
Fiction
rate 4/5
I really enjoyed this poignant quiet read. It's the story of a teacher of language arts whose wife has left him, his son has severe autism, and his daughter is off to college. The story unfolds as he looks back on his life. I thought the book was very well written. I'll be reading more by this author.

10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--Dan Harris
non fiction
Rate 5/5
Dan Harris is a TV news anchor for Nightline and GMA. He has an on the air anxiety attack during a broadcast. This causes him to seek a way to cope so he doesn't lose his livelihood. The path that helps him is meditation. He finds it helps him in all areas of his life. The book is fun to read as Harris doesn't take himself too seriously. He can be quite funny and he has a razor sharp wit. Harris is honest about his doubts about some famous people in the meditation field and he doesn't pull any punches when confronting them. The book is well written and chock full of useful info for people who are considering taking up meditation. The book is a bit memoir and part meditation guide. Well done!

July was a pretty good month for me - I got out of my June slump.

The Pickwick Papers - 4/5 stars
In his first novel, Dickens started his trademark emphasis on poverty and social injustice, his penchant for crazy names and his wordiness (800 pages). This book was fun - a group of four "scholars" pursue odd research topics and travel from London through many small towns in England. They end up in the strangest situations! At one point, Mr. Pickwick ends up charged with breach of promise, as his landlady said that he promised to marry her, and landed in jail. While being true to Pickwick, he also described the squalid conditions and corruption of the law/justice/penal system. The loyalty among the friends and Pickwick's servant, Sam Weller, brought a smile to my face.

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold - 4/5 stars
A Cold War classic! Le Carre is light on background characterization and setting the scene, but for me that adds to the atmosphere. The story focuses on a spy based in West Berlin who over the years has lost several agents. He agrees to do one more mission before coming in from the field (aka, the cold), but as the plot unfolds it is apparent that his bosses were running their own plan and hoping he would figure it out. George Smiley makes an appearance in this book, which is always welcome from my perspective!

Cat's Cradle - 4.5/5 stars
I really enjoy Vonnegut - he seems to combine humor, unique thinking and interesting characters into stories that make me consider the world and the future in different ways. In this response to the threat of nuclear war in the 1960s, this book poses a cooler endgame - literally ice-nine - a new and scary version of water. This book brings the "Dr. Strangelove" effect through an innovative scientist and his somewhat odd children.

Ethan Frome - 4.5/5 stars
Such a beautifully descriptive book that describes a man and two women trapped in an unhappy life. In an small town in Massachusetts, a man comes to terms with a life-changing decision he made; he lives with the consequences, which further diminish his happiness and the family's resources. The two women, his wife and her poor relative, change and there is a profound sadness about their stories.

The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris & Goodbye to Berlin - 4/5 stars (4/5 stars for book 1; 4.5/5 for book 2)
These two books both take place in Berlin in the early 1930s. Together, they paint a picture of a city and characters who are free at first and then increasingly restrained by the rise of the Nazis, the callousness of people in the city and the increase in poverty and lack of resources. Both books feature a young man who moves to Berlin and tutors children in English - they are both a little lost and looking to experience something new. The narratives of these books are less linear and more like vignettes that weave together a story.

Persuasion - 4/5 stars
This is the first Jane Austen book so far that I really liked. Emma was pretty humorous (3.5/5 stars) and Pride and Prejudice was well-written and a good story (3/5 stars), but both focused a bit too much on "Society", social rules and importance of proper behavior for me. But, Persuasion was a bit more focused on a smart, attractive, shy, pushed-aside middle daughter in a family that has social standing but lost their money through poor management. She gave up the young man she loved but 8-years later they end up thrown into the same circles. The book is short and the story tight.

Susan from MD wrote: "July was a pretty good month for me - I got out of my June slump. "

Well done getting out of your June slump. :)

Once again, thanks for bringing The Berlin stories to my my attention.

This group has been reading this summer! So many new-to-me titles but it's the classics that draw me in. I like old classics & new ones such as those you mentioned, Susan. Sign i'm living in the past? Hmmm. Regardless, i am glad to see so many people sharing their opinions on books they read in August.

Mkfs wrote: "Breathers: A Zombie's Lament : 1 star. I gave up a third of the way through. There's a specific young-male-write first-person narrative voice that has infected the novel ever since Patient Zero (identified by a few reviewers of Breathers as Chuck Palahniuk), used here to ill effect. Please please please please please stop writing like this...."

Funny comments. I just read the GR link about this book, as someone else on this thread mentioned it's their next book. It sounded good to me. Now you have me wondering. :-)

Only four books completed in July and three of them fiction and, in a real surprise, they are all recently written. I don't usually read that much contemporary fiction. Two were well praised on this board, so i checked them out.

Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews. I've read up to this point in her series about a blacksmith, mother of twins and community activist. These are humorous cozies, which i prefer. It hasn't gotten "old" yet but this may be because i'm not reading them as regularly as i once did. This one is about a county fair & she mentions many heirloom chicken, cow and even pig names. I had fun researching these, when my iPad definition wasn't adequate.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes was highly regarded on this board. I liked it, too. In it a upper 20s woman begins a job as companion to a quadriplegic man in his 30s. This book is set in the UK.

Millard Fillmore by Paul Finkelman is another in the American Presidents Series. The first chapter was the bio, the rest discussed MF's presidential term. As usual, they are good in covering aspects of the main issues of a president's term but too short on biographic material for my satisfaction.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is the second book well reviewed on this thread. Again, i liked it very much. In this case it's a very well functioning autistic man who has decided to find his lifetime mate, so creates a questionnaire. This was funny, mostly set in Australia.

There is a trend now (perhaps it's always been there & i'm only just now noticing how often it occurs) of writing follow up novels. Both Rosie & Me Without You have sequel novels. I can understand the temptation for both authors and readers to want to continue the story. Rarely do i read the follow ups, as i rather like deciding for myself where the characters go from where we left them. Bottom Line: Much as i enjoyed these books, i won't be reading further.

I may well be one of the few who feels this way. Or maybe it's my age? I know in my younger days i wished authors wrote more about some characters from their books. However, in many cases if i found out they did, in fact, do so, i still didn't read them. Deb Problem? Then again, i read those cozies, so maybe it's something else...

madrano wrote: "This group has been reading this summer! So many new-to-me titles but it's the classics that draw me in. I like old classics & new ones such as those you mentioned, Susan. Sign i'm living in the pa..."

I don't automatically read sequels. It matters to me whether the author has something new to say. It matters to me whether the content of the sequel interests me. I am rarely so attached to the characters that I must read anything written about those characters. I skip around in a series. I might return to the books I skipped later or I may never read them.

madrano wrote: "I may well be one of the few who feels this way. Or maybe it's my age?"

I feel the same way. It always seems like a cop-out, or some desperate attempt by the publisher to wring more golden eggs out of that goose (*cough* Harper Lee). A good story is standalone; leave the sequels for genre fiction.

Of course, it's not always so simple. Philip Roth uses the same character (Zuckerman?) as his alter-ego in every novel: an observer or witness of other people's stories. And I can't recall any examples off-hand (just films that do the same thing), but main characters in one book by an author can appear as background characters or extras in another.

I suppose that an author feels invested in a character (or group of characters, and their history) after doing the work to write a full novel. They may feel that there is more to tell about the character, or that the character is a suitable vehicle for a different story.

My advice to authors thinking along these lines would be: don't do it. If there is more to tell about the character, then you didn't do your job with the first book. In all other cases, stop being lazy and craft a new environment.

Alias Reader wrote: "My July reads...Language Arts--Stephanie Kallos
Fiction
rate 4/5
I really enjoyed this poignant quiet read. It's the story of a teacher of language arts whose wife has left him, his son has severe autism, and his daughter is off to college. The story unfolds as he looks back on his life. I thought the book was very well written. I'll be reading more by this author. ..."

I read another book by this author-- Sing Them Home. I gave it 3.5 stars -- I remember enjoying the writing style as well. Thanks for the heads up on this new one, Alias. I'll be putting it on my TBR list.

madrano wrote: "There is a trend now (perhaps it's always been there & i'm only just now noticing how often it occurs) of writing follow up novels. Both Rosie & Me Without You have sequel novels. I can understand the temptation for both authors and readers to want to continue the story. Rarely do i read the follow ups, as i rather like deciding for myself where the characters go from where we left them. Bottom Line: Much as i enjoyed these books, i won't be reading further.
I may well be one of the few who feels this way. Or maybe it's my age? . ."

I rarely read sequels either. Deb. Unless, as you mentioned, it's a mystery series such as the ones penned by Louise Penny, Susan Wittig Albert, Henning Mankell and a few others. I do enjoy coming back to those familiar characters again and again -- although I can't read them back-to-back because then I do get tired of them.

I agree with Mfks as well that it depends on the author and the story being told. I'm thinking also of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, which I did read. In that case the story wasn't completed at the end of the first book--if I recall correctly, Stieg Larsson intended his work to be one giant novel, but his editors insisted on revising it down to three (still-rather-large!) books.

But usually, I feel the same way. If I enjoyed reading a book and I felt that the story wrapped up nicely at the end, I have no real desire to delve into further exploration of the characters in a sequel. Because too often I find that the sequels are not as good as the first ones-- which sort of retroactively casts a shadow back onto my memories of the initial reading experience. It's the same reason why I prefer not to vacation in the same place more than once. If I had a great time visiting a location, and then I go back again and I don't have as grand a time, the memories of the good and the bad start to merge into one "meh" recollection. I'd rather move on and keep the good experience preserved in my head. Because with reading -- and traveling -- there is always another book and location just ahead on the horizon! (And of course, if I go someplace the first time and have a horrible vacation, I'm not going to spend money to try it again just to see if it's better the second time around! LOL)

Thank you for the comments shared about reading sequels. Shomeret, i don't think i've intentionally skipped around in an author's ongoing series but this is mostly because i don't like "spoilers" when reading novels. Indeed, i've read reviews of the 4th in a series & made myself read the earlier 3 so i'll know the characters. Not sure that was a great idea, in retrospect.

Mkfs, good point about the same character in a group of books by one author. Vonnegut did that, too, which i liked. And i'm tickled when i realize an author has briefly revisited an earlier character in another book. It's like a wink to a fan.

Amy, i think you've rather explained my feelings about this. If i feel the story was wrapped up at the end, particularly if there was a growth on the part of the character, i don't want a sequel. It's as though the author wants to next tell us what the character did with the new growth. Still, as i noted, in the past i have wanted to know more.

You've each given me more to think about in this series issue. Thanks again.

Alias Reader wrote: "Thanks for sharing, Emma !

I read David Nicholls other book One Day. I wasn't a fan. I read it for a book club. I gave it one star. It was because the group kept ..."

Funny, I actually really liked One Day. I remember having fun with some of the parallels between When Harry Met Sally, which is one of my favorite movies. I think it's a love it or hate it type book, though, based on the ratings.

Interesting comments on the sequels. I've read several of the recent popular trilogies (Hunger Games, Divergent, Dragon Tattoo, Twilight (technically 4)), which you kind of need to follow through to get the full story.

Other series (Oryx and Crake, Interview with the Vampire, The Bat) with the same characters but complete individual stories have less of a pull to read the whole series. I suffered through the first 2.5 in the Interview with the Vampire series because a boyfriend at the time loved them, but finally couldn't spend any more time on them. I may read another in the Jo Nesbo series at some point, though these don't seem to have too much chronological dependency (I read The Snowman and it stood well enough on its own).

Amy wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "My July reads...Language Arts--Stephanie Kallos
Fiction
rate 4/5
I really enjoyed this poignant quiet read. It's the story of a teacher of language arts whose wife has left him..."

I look forward to your thoughts on it.

I just happen to be browsing the New Books shelf at the library and it caught my eye.

Emma,i've had a mixed bag of experiences with the YAish series. For instance, while i liked The Hunger Games, i didn't read the sequels, though am looking forward to the completion the films. I read the entire series (not sure they are finished) Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It series, which focused on two different young people in the first couple of books. And i wolfed down the early 20th century series (6 books), The Automobile Girls at Newport; or, Watching the Summer Parade by Laura Dent Crane. My logic escapes me...it may be a matter of the state of my mind. The last series was when we were on the road & i was more intrigued by the presentation & the ideals of those early years than the story.

madrano wrote: "Emma,i've had a mixed bag of experiences with the YAish series. For instance, while i liked The Hunger Games, i didn't read the sequels, though am looking forward to the completion t..."

I rarely see the movies corresponding with the books. I can't even really blame that on my toddler - I can sit and read a book for 4 hours straight but I'll fall asleep watching most movies longer than 2 hours. I've seen a couple of the Harry Potters and the first Hunger Games, but I have no interest in watching Divergent or, even less, in Twilight or 50 Shades (everyone else was reading them... at least it wasn't jumping off the empire state building). I fell asleep 30 minutes into the first (American) Dragon Tattoo, twice.

I haven't heard of the latter two series but they look interesting. Funny how sometimes it's all about reading the right thing at the right time.

True. Back when i had young children at home i couldn't read or watch tv without falling asleep. I'm over that now that we are on our own again. I don't think i've watched a Twilight film all the way through but in several sessions i've managed to see most of the first 2.

Sorry I'm late with this! We were traveling in Virginia -- my oldest son graduated from the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico on Friday, so we drove down there for the ceremony. Which was wonderful, by the way!

Anyway--my reads for July:

Nonfiction:

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides: On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco in search of a water route to the North Pole. The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but was trapped in pack ice – for TWO YEARS. Then the ship’s hull was breached, forcing the crew to abandon the ship. Less than an hour later, the Jeannette sank to the bottom of the ocean, and the men found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies. Thus began their long march across the ice in a race against time — and the elements. This book read like a thriller — and it’s all true. 4 stars

The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth by Matthew Algeo: True tale about an almost unknown chapter in American history: President Grover Cleveland’s secret cancer surgery and the political cover-up afterwards. On July 1, 1893, Cleveland boarded a friend’s yacht, sailed into the waters of Long Island Sound, and disappeared without a word for five days. On board he underwent surgery to remove a large tumor in his jaw and mouth—keeping it secret so as not to alarm the public. When an enterprising reporter named E. J. Edwards exposed the secret operation, Cleveland—who ran for office on the platform “Always tell the truth” -- denied it. The public believed the “Honest President,” and Edwards was dismissed as “a disgrace to journalism.” Interesting and readable—I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars

Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo: Nonfiction account of the summer of 1916, when a rogue Great White shark attacked swimmers along the New Jersey shore, triggering mass hysteria and launching the most extensive shark hunt in history. I especially enjoyed the vivid descriptions of life at the turn of the century. 3.5 stars

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber: Read this because a coworker thrust it into my hands. Since we work at a hospital, she thought I would find it sobering and frightening. Which I did – it’s about Charlie Cullen (the so-called "The Angel of Death"), who was implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, making him perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. I felt the writing was a bit weak, though. 3 stars


Fiction:

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny: Outing #6 in the series about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. This one nicely wrapped up the loose ends that were unsatisfyingly left at the end of #5. 4 stars

Snow by Orhan Pamuk: The expatriate poet Ka returns to his native Turkey ostensibly to investigate a growing number of suicides among "head scarf girls" for an article in a German newspaper, but actually to reconnect with the beautiful divorcee (Ipek) whom he knew in college. While there, he is caught up in religious and political intrigue. This book took me a long time to read because at many spots reading it is like a chore. However, there are also a number of brilliant parts. In the end, I gave it 3 stars.

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher: This entire book is written as a series of hilarious letters of recommendation that Jason Fitger, a professor of creative writing and literature at a small and not very distinguished liberal arts college in the Midwest, is endlessly called upon by his students and colleagues to produce. Each letter is droll, amusing, and fairly passive-aggressive, as evidenced by this example written to support a former student’s application for employment: “…This letter recommends Mr. Allen Trent for a position at your paintball emporium. Mr. Trent received a C– in my expository writing class last spring, which—given my newly streamlined and increasingly generous grading criteria—is quite the accomplishment. His final project consisted of a ten-page autobiographical essay on the topic of his own rageful impulses and his (often futile) attempts to control them. He cited his dentist and his roommate as primary sources. Consider this missive a testament to Mr. Trent’s preparedness for the work your place of business undoubtedly has in store. Hoping to maintain a distance of at least one hundred yards, Jason T. Fitger Professor of Creative Writing and English Payne University.” I laughed out loud in a number of spots. 3.5 stars

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls: Because I so loved her memoir The Glass Castle, I was looking forward to this fictional work by Walls. I thought it started off strong and then quickly petered out to a faint whimper by the end. 2 stars

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn: An earlier thriller by the author of “Gone Girl” (which I really enjoyed). This one – not so much. I found the resolution to be both ridiculous and predictable. 2 stars

Congratulations to your son, Amy. Any idea where he'll go next? I like Virginia very much & would live there if my allergies allowed.

The story of the USS Jeannette sounds riveting. Adding that to my list. Thanks for sharing.

I am also a fan of epistolary novels, so welcome the review of the Schumacher book. Sounds up my alley. Again, thanks.

madrano wrote: "Congratulations to your son, Amy. Any idea where he'll go next? I like Virginia very much & would live there if my allergies allowed...."

He is actually back to college for his final year of school. He graduates next year on May 14. On May 15 he will be commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant. Then he goes back to Quantico for Basic School for 6 months. After that, he will be sent to Pensacola, Floria, for 2 years of flight training since he is slotted for the aviation track enroute to becoming a pilot (either helicopters or jets, depending on the need).


madrano wrote: "I am also a fan of epistolary novels, so welcome the review of the Schumacher book. Sounds up my alley. Again, thanks. "

The reviews for this book said "it puts the pissed in epistolary." I couldn't resist picking it up just on that basis alone. ;)

Amy wrote: "Sorry I'm late with this! We were traveling in Virginia -- my oldest son graduated from the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico on Friday, so we drove down there for the ceremony. Whi..."

Congratulations to you and your son, Amy !

I read Snow with a f2f book group and enjoyed it quite a bit. I don't see my rating on GR. Maybe it was before I joined GR. I'll have to check my journal.

The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth
I own and hope to read at some point for my presidential challenge.

Amy, thanks for answering my question. What an active young man he will continue to be for the next few years. And how exciting for him and his future.

I like that quote about the epistolary you read. I'd probably read it based on that, too.

Alias, i think that 's a good one for Cleveland, too. I'm on Franklin Pierce presently.

I've been a big fan of Orhan Pamuk since reading The Black Book. Been meaning to read Snow, but haven't gotten to it yet. Guess that's yet another to add to the tottering tower of to-read.

Mkfs wrote:tottering tower of to-read.

:) Nice alliteration.

I think we all need to learn that clever line, Mk. Thanks for sharing it.