Constant Reader discussion

I just finished John Grisham's new novel, Rogue Lawyer. In it, Grisham depicts a lawyer who will defend anyone, including the worst of the worst. His style is notably different in this book. Very sparse prose. The book is divided up in several episodes but things get linked together. I didn't enjoy it as much as some other recent Grisham novels, but it still impressed me.

As easy as the Grisham book is too read, the other book that I continue to read is perhaps the most difficult book to read that I have read in several years. This is Nick Lane's The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life. The book is an attempt to explain how life came into being on Earth about 4 billion years ago and remained unicellular for the first 2 billion years. SPOILER ALERT: :-) Things changed about 2 billion years ago, when one unicellular archaea was "invaded" by one bacteria, which eventually became our mitochondria. Lane argues, as do most evolutionary biologists, that all multicellular beings, human beings, redwood trees, sponges are descended from this one unlikely "event."

If you were a biology major, the book would be easier to read. If you had a masters in evolutionary biology, it might even be easy. I struggle with it and keep on reading. It is important. You will learn amazing things about life on Earth in this book. And you may even understand some of these amazing things.

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne – 3***
This is a classic adventure tale – imaginative, humorous, suspenseful and even though high implausible still great fun. Simon Prebble does a fine job narrating the audio version. He has good pacing and he brings the characters to life. I especially liked his voice for the irascible Professor Lidenbrock.
Full Review HERE

Science? What's wrong with you people? Science in America is history. Just ask the gaggle of gorgons running for the Republican nomination (two of whom are physicians)-- vaccines, climate change, evolution. Science will soon be purged from curricula in Southern public schools. The Governor of Louisiana (biology major at Brown and Rhodes Scholar) is a committed creationist.

Sorry, what am I reading in November? I'm on page one of Max Allan Collins' True Detective. Looking forward to it.

Political opportunism trumps (pun intended) scientific knowledge? Carson is also a creationist.

Anybody else reading Franzen's Purity? It is a huge book and after the first 130 pages or so I am finally getting into it. I like his satire and storytelling, but boy, his characters are sure messed up.

Ann wrote: "Political opportunism trumps (pun intended) scientific knowledge? Carson is also a creationist.

Anybody else reading Franzen's Purity? It is a huge book and after the first 130 pag..."

It's on my TBR. Perhaps GR will choose it for 2016.

Portia wrote: "Ann wrote: "Political opportunism trumps (pun intended) scientific knowledge? Carson is also a creationist.

Anybody else reading Franzen's Purity? It is a huge book and after the f..."

It might be chosen, which is why everyone needs to vote.

The Poet Slave of Cuba by Margarita Engle – 4****
Subtitle: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano. Engle studied Manzano’s poetry and life and decided that to do justice to the power of his words, the biography should also be written in verse. Her poems are powerful, evoking a visceral response to the cruelty, sadness, dashed hopes and lost opportunities the young Juan experienced. But there is also the triumph of his indomitable spirit and a voice that would not be silenced. I’m so glad I came across this little gem.
Full Review HERE

Sorry, I forgot that PURITY was on the nomination list.

I met David Mitchell last night. No, really! I mention it here, because Ethan posted on the October thread about Mitchell's latest book, Slade House. Mitchell's talk here in Pittsburgh last night was about the art of the ghost story, which he described as the opposite of the detective story: the detective novel is full of clues leading to a solution, but the ghost story gives you scant clues and more questions than answers. Oh, yes, I'm currently reading Slade House.

Yes, I asked him about the meaning of the common markings on the characters of the stories. He told me that they shared the same soul.

I'm jealous, Mary Anne. I think he's one of the most interesting writers around.

OK, my turn. Got my copy of The Witches: Salem, 1692 sighed by Stacy Schiff this evening. What a pro she is! Her hour-long lecture on the events was riveting. The book was released in time for Halloween but, as Schiff herself said, the book is actually about teenagers -- the girls, the not quite united States -- not witchcraft. (She does have a beautiful black cat, though.)

Jane Smiley on Friday.

Good week to be here.

Book Concierge wrote: " Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne – 3***
This is a classic adventure tale – imaginative, humorous, suspenseful and even thoug..."

BC, I saw the 1959 film with James Mason when it was first released ... and that got me to read the Jules Verne novel. It took me several weeks to get through the
book with my 5th grade reading skills ... but it was one of the books that turned me on to science fiction.

Quanjun wrote: "I've just completed A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. It is deceptively thin but packed with many modern theories in physics, you will need to take a break and regroup after each chapter as it fundamentally alters your perception of the world. Highly, highly recommended to anyone who has a basic grasp of physics and would like to understand modern physics. Unfortunately, I think if you do not already know some basics such as energy, velocity, distance, time, mass, gravity, atoms, protons, neutrons, it may be very difficult to understand. ..."

Quanjun, what a good description of what is needed to read this book! It has been described as the most widely bought book that is least read. I don't know how you would really measure that, but the point is well taken. It is not the easiest book to read without having had a college course in Introductory Physics, but it does repay a reader's efforts. I enjoyed it.

I'm reading a lot of magazines on my iPad and iPhone these days using both Zinio and Texture to do so. Zinio is great because our local library system uses it and I can download the magazines it subscribes to (e.g., THE ECONOMIST) for free. Texture is great in a different way because all issues are available for one flat fee (actually two ... one for periodicals that are just monthly and one that includes weekly periodicals also.) So, I'm reading magazines like THE NEW YORKER on it. (I like the fact that all back issues are also available.)

So which is better, Zinio or Texture? ... I don't know. I think it depends on which magazines you like most. A few are available on both. On both if you have an iPad or iPhone, that is.

Tough choices? ... maybe but choosing between Zinio or Texture is still a lot easier than choosing among the 30 or so music streaming choices (Spotify, Rdio, Beats, Apple Music, Rhapsody, etc. ... there truly are more than 30 different choices!!!)

What is interesting and not surprising is that Amazon makes it extremely hard to get Zinio up and running on the Kindle Fire (I gave up) and Texture is not offered in the Kindle app store? Why? I guess that Amazon wants you to subscribe to magazines through their own store. Big surprise!

I just finished The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I finished it because it was a classic, but I didn't enjoy it or totally understand it. Seems like most readers gave it a 5 or a 1 - not much in between. I kept asking myself, "What's the point of this novel?" I could never answer that question. But I can say, "Yes, I read it." I have to admit I liked the gilded whisker, vodka-drinking cat, but after about ten antics; I wanted something else to happen.

Gina wrote: "I just finished The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I finished it because it was a classic, but I didn't enjoy it or totally understand it. Seems like most reade..."

I threw in the towel on that one.

Gina wrote: "I just finished The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I finished it because it was a classic, but I didn't enjoy it or totally understand it. Seems like most reade..."

Gina, we read M&M way back in 2003 for the Classics list. I remember being confused with it as well. Here is our discussion:
http://constantreader.com/discussions...

Pardon the weird formatting. Some of the old discussions are like that. You might be able to copy and paste in another format to be able to read it more easily.

Sherry posted the old Classics Corner discussion of THE MASTER AND MARGARITA.

I highlighted the whole discussion text, copied it (CNTL C) and pasted it (CNTL V) into a Word document. That got rid of the the very long lines and made it very readable.

Since we have been discussing mini reads in another thread, this is me hoping out loud that someone will lead a mini read of Jane Smiley's latest book, and the final installment of her Last Hundred Years Trilogy, Golden Age: A Novel. The reads of the first two books seemed to happen organically when the second book was published. Anyone feeling organic this Autumn?

I haven't started reading it yet but wish there were more hours in the day so I could begin now. We're going to her reading tonight. Some of the action in the book took place in and around Washington, DC, so we are fortunate to be a stop on this tour.

I will happily participate. Promise ;-)

I saw Jane Smiley in Nebraska recently - loved her. I bought the book, but right now I am wading through PURITY. I think I could be ready in a month or so.

The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O’Connor – 4****
This is a story of a portrait of a beautiful Viennese Jewish salon hostess, the now-vanished turn-of-the-century Vienna cultural scene of which it became an emblem, the atrocities of the Nazi regime, and the efforts of Adele’s heirs to recover this and other paintings from an Austrian government that wished to hide the realities of war-time complicity. I was interested from beginning to end, though wish a little more time had been spent on Klimt and Adele.
Full Review HERE

BC,

Have you seen WOMAN IN GOLD, the film adaption of The Lady in Gold? My wife and I loved it. It was greatly suspenseful for me, even though I knew how things turned out. Helen Mirren was just great as Maria Altmann, but the rest of the cast is not quite up her performance.

Larry wrote: "BC,

Have you seen WOMAN IN GOLD, the film adaption of The Lady in Gold? My wife and I loved it. It was greatly suspenseful for me, even though I knew how things turned out. Helen Mirren was just g..."

I haven't seen it, but want to. As for Helen Mirren - I'd pay to watch her read a phone book.

Agnes Martin: Her Life and Her Art by Nancy Princenthal. Interesting read. Learned a lot. I have recently cone to appreciate Martin's work and what I learned about her in this book will enrich my future viewing experiences.

Sherry wrote: "Gina wrote: "I just finished The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I finished it because it was a classic, but I didn't enjoy it or totally understand it. Seems li..."

Sherry, thanks for the discussion notes. They really helped my understanding of the characters and Bulgakov's incentive and motive. It's amazing that a bit of understanding can change the way you feel about a book - now I would probably rate it two stars.

Portia, I had thought that I would have started the third book in Jane Smiley's trilogy before now but another book slowed me down. Will definitely start it later this week and will post a discussion note when I'm done. If anyone else has finished it or finishes it before me, feel free to open a discussion thread and I'll be there soon

Mary wrote: "Agnes Martin: Her Life and Her Art by Nancy Princenthal. Interesting read. Learned a lot. I have recently cone to appreciate Martin's work and what I learned about her in this book will enrich my f..."

I'll take a look at this one. When I was in grad school in painting, Agnes Martin was a big influence.

Just read Our Endless Numbered Days. Not bad, and very well constructed for some surprises near the end.

Ruth, I hope you enjoy the Agnes Martin bio. I'll be interested in your opinion since her work had an influence on you

Reading Slade House, wonderfully spooky, scaring the bejeezus out of me. Won't be reading this at home alone late at night. Very different from his other books, just a good ghost story so far.

Carol wrote: "Reading Slade House, wonderfully spooky, scaring the bejeezus out of me. Won't be reading this at home alone late at night. Very different from his other books, just a good ghost st..."

I have that one on reserve at the library, Carol. I am looking forward to reading it.

Yesterday, I finished two books. The first is a science fiction novel by Peter Clines, The Fold. Scientists open a gate that would allow people to step from one physical location to another ... except things don't go the way they planned (They never do, do they.) I loved this book for about 200 pages. Really good writing. But it went downhill over the last 150 pages. It was very obvious that Clines decided the book was worth more as the first in a series, and so it just became formulaic. And I will not be reading the series.

I finished the non-fiction book by Alex Kershaw, Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris. This is about an American Doctor and his French wife (and their young son) in Paris, who both help in the French underground in the fight against the Nazis. He works at the American Hospital, which is just a few doors down from Gestapo headquarters. It's a wonderful story, as suspenseful as it could possibly be and all true (I guess). I don't want to reveal what happens, but it is terribly moving. There were a few glaring problems with the text that an editor should have helped with, but nothing that got in the way of this amazing story.

A few years ago, I read Kershaw's book,The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain, about the American pilots who joined the RAF to fly against the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. It's another good read.

Quanjun wrote: "A few years ago, I read Kershaw's book,The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain, about the American pilots who joined the RAF to fly agains..."

Quanjun, you may want to look these two books first. The Kershaw book is good but, in dealing with Americans flying for the RAF, it is dealing with one small part of the Battle of Britain.But these two books are great for giving you an overview. (I read them both and enjoyed them greatly.) The first is Michael Korda's With Wings Like Eagles: A History of the Battle of Britain. The second is Richard Overy's The Battle Of Britain: Myth and Reality. This latter book is quite revealing in describing the actual air superiority that the RAF enjoyed in some ways against the Luftwaffe. This should take nothing away from the RAF flyers. But the actual numbers of aircraft, along with some other factors like radar, meant that England had some advantages that aren't commonly appreciated. We have some older friends who are English and retired here in the States (their daughter was born here when Bob was an Air Attache with the British Embassy.) Bob was a fighter pilot for the RAF, but flew in India and Malaya during WW2. Audrey was one of the women who pushed the little planes around on the large maps that Churchill and others viewed during the days of the Battle. I borrowed several books from her when I first was getting interested in this subject. Most of them were gifts from one Air Vice Marshall or another to Audrey. :-)

The Korda book is inspirational in telling the story of Keith Park, the New Zealander who had started in artillery in WW1 and then ended up as commander of No. 11 Group RAF, which was responsible for the fighter defense of London and southeast England in April, 1940.
Park flew himself in his Hawker Hurricane fighter from one airfield to another to check on operations. Very much like Wellington on the battlefield at Waterloo, riding sometimes by himself from one British regiment to another, as the action raged around him.

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives. This description comes from the website for Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction 2016: "To the dismay of her ambitious mother, Bolanle marries into a polygamous family, where she is the fourth wife of a rich, rotund patriarch, Baba Segi. She is a graduate and therefore a great prize, but even graduates must produce children and her husband’s persistent bellyache is a sign that things are not as they should be. Bolanle is too educated for the ‘white garment conmen’ Baba Segi would usually go to for fertility advice, so he takes her to hospital to discover the cause of her barrenness. Weaving the voices of Baba Segi and his four competing wives into a portrait of a clamorous household of twelve, Lola Shoneyin evokes an extraordinary Nigerian family in splashes of vibrant colour." I'm not sure I really liked this book. I have to think about it more I guess. The writing was certainly evocative of place. I kept wrestling with whether it was an accurate reflection of reality, and in the end I have to say I really don't know because I know next to nothing about the culture of Nigeria. I appreciated the way she told the story and revealed more details about her characters because it held my attention throughout all 280 pages. The ending left me feeling unsatisfied but I'm not sure why exactly. I do not regret having taken the time to read it.

Mary,
I read The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives on the recommendation of Constant Reader Sheila. Sheila has lived and worked in Nigeria. I liked it very much. I think that it is difficult for us to understand the whole practice of plural marriage, but it still exists in Africa and the Middle East. The book was very interesting and written with a sense of humor.

Recently finished a novel that I feel might appeal to Constant Readers: The Door. I was a bit concerned that being a Hungarian story it might be a bit ... gloomy, but was able to get into it easily.

John, 'The Door' is up for discussion soon. Hope you will join in, you have some good thoughts about it.

Sorry, I hadn't realized that, but hope my mention may have helped folks to get to it. Looking forward to a discussion!

Bushwhacked: Life in George W Bush’s America by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose – 4****
The subtitle really says it all. It’s a somewhat dated book, today, and yet frighteningly appropriate in this “primary” season. Oh, how I miss Molly Ivins!
Full Review HERE

Book Concierge wrote: "Oh, how I miss Molly Ivins!"

Me too! Are you in Texas, Book?

The Moor's Account. Ms. Lalami begins with the fact that there was a black man among the company of Spaniards who came to claim Florida. She fills in his story from being a free child in Morocco to a starving young man who sells himself to the Spaniards to save his family, then carries him along with the Conquistadors to Florida. Estebanico, as he is christened, spends eight years in the New World, many of them living with the Native Americans. Hope and promises are the themes of this book.

Ann, the idea of plural marriage in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is not what led me to wonder about its realism and then understand that I don't know enough about Nigeria to form an opinion. It had more to do with acceptance of what I saw as his crude bodily behaviors. Also, the description of the layering of bodies in the cemetery and the description of the hospital. Although I certainly understand that Nigeria's culture and economic status is much different from ours, I kept wondering if there was some level of hyperbole throughout. About 2 years ago I had a chance to talk with an artist from Nigeria and study some of his works. Through that lens, I had a much different impression of Nigeria.

Tonya wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "Oh, how I miss Molly Ivins!"

Me too! Are you in Texas, Book?"

No, I live in Wisconsin, but I was born and raised in Texas. My parents lived there all their lives and my youngest brother and his family live in San Antonio.

Portia wrote: "The Moor's Account. Ms. Lalami begins with the fact that there was a black man among the company of Spaniards who came to claim Florida. She fills in his story from being a free chi..."

Interesting!

Kat wrote: "Portia wrote: "The Moor's Account. Ms. Lalami begins with the fact that there was a black man among the company of Spaniards who came to claim Florida. She fills in his story from b..."

I just finished this one, too. It's an imagining of the failed expedition as viewed by one of the marginalized participants. Very well done I thought and nominated for several prizes including the Pulitzer.

I am reading Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint Exupery, as a tribute to France, a country I love, and as a reminder of things that are simple and good.

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl – 4****
The subtitle – The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise – is a pretty good synopsis of Reichl’s memoir of her tenure as a restaurant critic for the New York Times. I loved her stories of the various restaurants, but what I really appreciated was a glimpse at her growth as a person. A delicious memoir, and I devoured every word.
Full Review HERE

Anita Diamant's The Boston Girl. She had me hooked by the end of the second page. Addie Baum's youngest granddaughter asks if she can interview her. She wants to learn how her grandmother became the woman she is today. And so the story unfolds. And what a delightful way to learn about this character and the others in her life. And along the way learn about the lives of women in the first half of the 20th century.

I'm doing an all-Italian author trio: Elena Ferrante's The Story of the Lost Child, Cesare Pavese's The Moon and the Bonfire, and a detective novel by Andrea Camilleri called The Shape of Water.