Book Nook Cafe discussion

Share with us what you read in December 2015 !
What books did you read to close out the year?

Please provide:

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

We went to Florida to visit my brother & my cousins, great weather.

At home, our boys flew in for 4 days in CT (friends).

Christmas dinner was great! Just to see everyone getting together and having a great time was wonderful!

I hope "yaw"all had a great holiday! ( :>)

The holidays were very nice. Glad you had a great Christmas.

We missed ya here !

I'm glad to be back!!

Sounds as though you had an active, family holiday season, Carol. Are you grateful to be home & somewhat slowed down? Or not?

Being down south, kept me very busy, which is really too much for me. I'm very happy to be home. I walked the first day back, and then the snow came.

In February, my parents are going to stay with my brother in FL for a month or two. My mother insists on bringing her car (convertible). So she and my brother, will go on the train. My dad is blind and is attached to his tiny dog, so we will all be flying together to FL. Once I get there, I have the choice of staying or flying back.

Happy Holidays everyone!
We've had a fairly relaxing time of it this year.

I've read some good reads this month; a couple of them were started in November or earlier (The Goldfinch took a couple of months) but all were finished in December:

Medicine Walk (4-star) - a wonderful book of healing and love.

The Goldfinch (4-star) - I listened to this while jogging (which is why it took me so long to finish). It's a very detailed story. The pace was perfect for jogging and I really enjoyed it a lot. It's a story about losing one's focus and/or purpose in life and the need to find another. Very well told.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding (4-star) - This is a lovely story. The story slowly unfolds through the memories of 80-year old Amaterasu Takahashi, her daughter's journals and letters. It's wonderfully interwoven. Each chapter starts with a Japanese word and explains its cultural meaning, which adds to this poignant look back at Amaterasu's history.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas (3-star) - a fun murder mystery to read at Christmas. The usual Agatha Christie fare: murder in a closed room; everyone has motive and opportunity.

Ready Player One (5-star) - a surprise of a book. I expected to enjoy it but I ended up really loving it. It's quirky, has tons of 80s references and is a good story about non-acceptance in society.

Hark! A Vagrant (3-star) - a fun graphic novel of short comic strips around historical events and people. I especially enjoyed the Canadian referenced and the literary based strips. A fun afternoon read with a cup of tea.

Crochet Castle (4-star) - another surprisingly entertaining read. It's listed as "gothic" but I didn't find that to be true. It's entertaining and humorous. Basically a story of greed and come-uppance.

One Corpse Too Many and Monk's Hood (both 5-star; Books 2 & 3 in the Father Cadfael series) - this is a character-driven series where we get to know the characters more in each book. I love Father Cadfael. His character is really wonderful and I look forward to reading more of this series. This is a good historical murder mystery series.

Lottery (3-star) - a very enjoyable read. Until the end section, this was a solid 4-star but I think the author manipulated characters to make the story end how she wanted and it seemed unnatural (and unnecessary) to me. I still highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Flowers for Algernon or Marcelo in the Real World.

Petra, good list. I read Ernest Cline's Ready Player One when it first came out & was awed. It was a good story. I got the title from a Texas reviewer who praised it highly. But since Cline is from Texas, i expected little. Surprise, surprise! It was a pleasure to read. Did you know they are making a film of it?

My December book is short but sweet because it includes three books i had been working on awhile.

First, the group read, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It was a good book full of great material. As usual, she covers the era as well as a number of people, giving us much biographical material along the way.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy. I just got waylaid on this one, after a strong beginning in September. Mainly i read it because my nephew's class was reading it. We agreed it was alright. Because i'd seen the movie, i knew a big part of the mystery, who the Pimpernel was. Still, by the end i couldn't put the book down.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu, translated by Lionel Giles in 1910. I began with the Giles translation, which included examples through history to sometimes illustrate the point/reason Sun Tzu wrote the rule. However, it was not a good copy (e-version), so i became confused. Ultimately i decided to read another copy straight through, then return to the Giles for elucidation. It worked. The strategies and ideas were fascinating, even though i'm not one for reading about battles. I feel i better understand some of the Civil War battle sites we visited, at least.

I read two of the books i bought in Oklahoma, mentioned elsewhere on this board. There is still no link for one i requested, but the other is a small, small recap-history, so i didn't request it. Small as it was The Cherokee Strip: It's History by Geo. Rainey offered information about the land run itself that was new to me.

Ballads of the Plains by Daisy Lemon Coldiron was a mixed bag of poetry. She left much to be desired as far as poetry goes. However, i really liked that she took history, medium and small, and created poetic works which will long be preserved. For instance, she wrote a poem about a wire-haired terrier named Major which saved a family because it smelled a gas leak & warned them. He died in the fire. However, can it be a good poem with a line like this--
"A pulmotor squad revives them,
The Unwelcome Guest has fled:
But low in the basement kennel
A brave little dog lies dead."

Can't say as i've ever seen the word "pulmotor" in prose or poetry. However, the sweet story is saved. Additionally, i liked that Ms. Lemon Coldiron, made efforts to include both the Native American, as well as the soldier's point of view when she wrote about battles, midunderstandings and individuals.

That's my month. After no November books read, i'm pleased with this month. :-)

I have a short list this December.

The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas
Fiction
Rate 3/5
The author is Alexandre Dumas fils. The son of famed author Alexandre Dumas. It was published in 1848. Verdi put the story to music in the classic La Traviata. The play has been performed countless times on stage and screen and is better known as Camille.

I read this in anticipation of seeing the Bolshoi Ballet perform it live in the cinema. Unfortunately, it was sold out when I arrived. I enjoy this tragic love story of the beautiful courtesan Marguerite Gautier and her one true love Armand.

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger
Non fiction
rate 5/5
I follow Dr. Greger on facebook and from nutritionfacts.org
"All proceeds from his speaking engagements and the sale of his books and DVDs are donated to his 501(c)3 nonprofit NutritionFacts.org, the first science-based, non-commercial website to provide free daily videos and articles on the latest discoveries in nutrition."

The website has hundreds of short videos on health that I find really informative.

I liked how the book was organized. It contains tons of interesting info presented in an easy to understand format. I especially liked his Daily Dozen list of foods and exercise info.

Alias, thanks for the info on Greger's proceeds. That is an incentive, isn't it? The man is putting his money where his beliefs are, it seems.

Did you ever see the Greta Garbo movie based on the Dumas book? Dramatic. I really liked it, nonetheless. I remember one line, which i sought when i read the book, to no avail. She tells one of her loves, who had just chastised her with, "You love him more than me." Her reply, "There is no more or less in love." I liked it for some reason (i was 22, i think, so maybe that's why?).

madrano wrote: "Did you ever see the Greta Garbo movie based on the Dumas book? ."

No, I haven't see the movie. I guess I will at some point. To be honest I was so upset at arriving in Manhattan and finding the ballet sold out that I don't want to see it right now. Sour grapes and all that. :(

There was a Whole Foods next to the movie theater so I drowned my sorrows there. :) You know how they say never go grocery shopping when you are hungry? Well, you can add angry to the list to ! That's how I ended up buying the Whole Foods brand of oreos. They were organic so that made it seem okay in my depressed state. LOL

Since I am now going to try and go low added sugar for the new year, I'll have to remember this.

Looking back on it, the unifying theme of my December reads seems to be Bad Writing.

Mulligan Stew by Gilbert Sorrentino. Brain Pain reading. I don't know if anyone else in the group-read even finished this, but I tore through it, laughing heartily all the way. Sorrentino was an editor at Grove Press for something like 20 years before he wrote this experimental novel. The novel chronicles the writing of a novel (yes, I know, how dreadfully meta), and surprisingly it doesn't suck! Mostly because the fictional author is a hack, and the fictional novel he's writing is absolute garbage. Sorrentino takes aim at a number of authorial sins, as well as popular authors, experimental authors, poets, academics, critics, publishers -- basically everybody involved in the field of writing but the readers themselves. Very, very funny, but be prepared to wade through some of the most intentionally bad writing (like Dhalgren-bad) you've ever encountered. Four stars. Did I mention that the front of the book, instead of testimonials, has (slightly fictionalized) rejection letters the book received from other publishers?

The Space Merchants by Frederick Pohl. This is supposedly the ur-text for all consumer-driven dystopian sci-fi. The main character is an advertising executive, people are divided into two classes, overpopulation has killed off all of the good food and drink, there's a Conservative movement trying to impede progress. It's very much a pulp novel, meaning that you get the impression the author is just making it up as he goes along. That detracts from its supposed brilliance, but it's still enjoyable enough to read. Most of the modern rip-offs (e.g. Ferman's Devils) did it much better. Three stars.

The End of the World News by Anthony Burgess. Ah, Burgess. What were you going for in this one? The mind reels. Quick summary: a runaway planet is going to hit the earth, a cancer-stricken Freud is leaving Austria and reflecting on his life and accomplishments, and a musical about Tortsky in New York is being performed. All at the same time. There's a connection at the very end, of course, but it isn't all that clear why these three subjects were chosen. Still, it's Burgess, so it's rather funny and very well-written. Four puzzled stars.

The Five Dollar Smile and Other Stories by Shashi Tharoor. I read the introduction, in which Tharoor referred to these as juvenile or adolescent stories, and shuddered. It turns out that they weren't all that bad, but if this had been the first book of his that I read (instead of Riot ) then I wouldn't have looked into any others.Two stars.

The Making of Theodore Roosevelt by Robert deMayo. This is a children's book. It took me quite awhile to get into, because it has an adoring feel for Mr Roosevelt that borders on fanfic. I found it painfully difficult to read at first, only managing a page or two at a time, but then I gave in and started to ignore the writing and just focus on the wilderness adventure. Only for the young, or Teddy Roosevelt completists. Three stars.

The Big Book of Bizarro by various nobodies. Bizarro fiction is one of the most curious sub-genres to arise out of self-publishing. Even defining it is difficult: the writing should be bad, the story should contain fantastical elements that surpass dreamlike and border on the absurd, and there should be piercings, kink, tattoos, or other formerly-outsider badges of individuality. The stories are usually a mix of horror and sci-fi; this collection has the sections Horror, Sci-Fi, and Erotica. It's not entirely clear what causes a story to be in one or the other, but hey, that's Bizarro for you. There is a lot of bad writing in here and not too much good, but still it is fun to read just for the sheer craziness. Four stars.

Things are much better in the non-fiction front. Currently working through The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood and Memory, both quite good. Hopefully be done with those in January.

My December reading was compromised by the fact that it seemed I was either preparing for our vacation, on our vacation, or recovering from our vacation. As much of my reading is usually done on the train during my commute to work, being off for two weeks of the month really cut into that time! Although two transatlantic flights (Boston-Paris and then back again -- 7 hours each way) helped me get through a few additional pages.

My reads for December:

Nonfiction:
The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui's Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory by Julie Checkaway: The true story of how a group of impoverished plantation kids from Hawaii, with no special equipment or skills, became Olympic swimmers in the 1930s. I'd never heard of this story before, and it was intriguing. I picked it up, however, because it was billed as "for fans of The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" -- a book I absolutely loved. This one was good, but I still liked "Boys in the Boat" better. 3 stars

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs: Jacobs, a writer for Esquire magazine, is known for his special brand of "immersion journalism." In this outing, he decides to tackle the job of getting healthy -- by trying out as many different diets, exercise workouts, gadgets and health tips as possible to see which ones actually work. Humorous and fun. 3 stars.

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis: I loved the movie. Never realized it was based on a book. So when I found this in a used bookstore I had to pick it up. There's a lot in there that was in the movie, yes, but there is also a lot more. Mostly about football itself and how the game has evolved over time. 4 stars, even though I am not a football fan.


Fiction:
We Are Water by Wally Lamb: Wally Lamb's books are difficult (for me, at least) to review -- they are sprawling and intricate and layered. This one is about marriage and family, told through the alternating voices of the Oh family: Annie, an artist; Orion, her psychologist ex-husband; and their children, Ariane, Andrew and Marissa. But it's also about gay rights, and social issues, and class disparities, and societal changes. It's tough because I have a high bar with Lamb's books: I Know This Much Is True is one of my all-time favorites. For this book, I liked it, but I didn't love it. 3 stars

The Good Goodbye by Calra Buckley: A novel that opens with Natalie, the mother of Arden and aunt of Rory, getting a phone call telling her that the girls, who are away at college, have been in an accident. From there, the novel alternates between the present and the past with chapters telling what led up to the event from the viewpoints of Natalie, Rory and Arden. I thought the author did a good job with giving each of the characters a distinct voice. However, I did figure out the major twist quite early in the book, which took away much of the suspense of the "how is it going to end?" And one of the "shocking reveals" about one of the characters at the end wasn't, in fact, all that shocking, given how that character had been portrayed throughout the book. In the end, I gave this 3.5 stars. And if you don't guess the ending too soon, you might like it even more.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy: I tried to read this when I was younger and just could not get into it. As an adult, I think I have a better appreciation for what Hardy was trying to express with this book. I did, however, have to keep reminding myself not to impose my modern-day sensibilities on the characters when I found myself getting angry at the actions of Tess, her parents, Angel Clare and Alec D'Uberville. 4 stars

Hello All. :) I didn't read as much this last year as usual, but I hope to pick up the pace this year. So, for December:

The Lover by Marguerite Duras 5/5
This was a reread for me, but it'd been about 7 years since my first time. In the bold opening of The Lover. Duras' prose is spare, but at the same time lush and sensual, with an odd abruptness that brings us from the opening as an old woman straight back to the 15 year old girl travelling the Mekong River to reach the state boarding school.
For me the first sentence of the book is as powerful as any Faulkner. Here 'tis. ""One day, I was already old, in the entrance of a public place a man came up to me. He introduced himself and said, "I've known you for years. Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you're more beautiful now than then. Rather than your face as a young woman, I prefer your face as it is now. Ravaged.""

Can you tell I loved this book? :)

From Africanus: The Roman Empire, The Nika Riots, and the Approaching Darkness byMatthew Jordan Storm 2/5
I did finish this, but only by the hardest.
If the history is accurate, and I believe it is...fairly, the author has made it into something too romantically mushy for my taste.

The Door by Magda Szabo 5/5
Partially the book simply outlines the relationships of a neighborhood, and in particular two of the inhabitants. Two very different women. Their hopes, fears and their total denial of reality. But what reality? Whose?

Apparently, I hardly read anything at all this month. I was very busy traveling-not to Europe but to Bangor and Baltimore to see my kids and grandchildren. I did a bunch of great new movies (including The Force Awakens twice). And binge-watched several superb made for TV shows on Netflix and HBO. I am obsessed by my ancestry research and have picked up my knitting and needlepoint again after a hiatus which I took in order to catch up on some reading. There is not time enough to do everything, as you know.

These are the books I read in December:

One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway: You can't beat a book that describes Norwegian society and customs. Norwegians congratulate themselves liberally for their enlightened way of life, but there is a dark underbelly and a dangerous absurdity in thinking your way of life solves all problems. The profile of the murderer and his parents is fairly complete. Anders was identified as a troubled child quite early, but his mother outwitted Norwegian social services and they let the family escape their supervision, as if they were almost hurt that his mother was evading them. Reading about the sadness of the families of the very wholesome and accomplished young victims was almost overwhelming. There is throughout the book a thorough discussion of the pros and cons of accepting immigrants who cannot or do not assimilate, juxtaposed with stories of immigrants who try very hard to assimilate and can't find a place safe from Norwegian racists. On top of everything else, it's the story of the incredible blundering Norwegian government and police authorities. Their mistakes cost many lives.

The Tsar of Love and Techno I think this is a masterpiece. An intricate group of stories, most of which are related in fascinating ways. The book opens with a man who is in charge of altering works of art to eliminate embarrassing reminders of disgraced leaders or artists that don't meet the standards of the new Russia. Another story revolves around Kolya, his father's space museum in Siberia, and the way he survives with his widowed mother by working for a drug cartel. Kolya falls in love, becomes a soldier in the Second Chechen War and it all comes together in a spectacular way. Loved this one excessively.

The other book I read was The Meursault Investigation, which I could not stand. I read for days and waited for it to go somewhere, but of course it didn't go anywhere at all. It is The Stranger told from the point of view of the murdered Arab's family. That sounds like an interesting idea, but it isn't. No stars at all.

Thank you all for the amusing and uplifting suggestions this month. I have made a list of three books I MUST HAVE NOW. Even though I swore I wouldn't buy till I've reduced my TBR stack. Thanks a lot, you guys.

Michele, thank you for your comments about The Tsar of Love and Techno. I have been debating getting this one. I absolutely loved A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, so I was tempted by this one even though I don't normally enjoy short stories. I think I will pick it up on the strength of your recommendation.

(I too am very much into my ancestry research. Luckily, my husband has also picked up the bug -- so now there are two of us to tackle the research! It's addictive, isn't it?)

Mkfs wrote: "Looking back on it, the unifying theme of my December reads seems to be Bad Writing.

Mulligan Stew by Gilbert Sorrentino. Brain Pain reading. I don't know if anyone else in the group..."

------------------
Sorry to see you end the year on a down note. Here's to a stellar 2016 !

Amy wrote: "Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs: Jacobs, a writer for Esquire magazine, is known for his special brand of "immersion journalism." In this outing, he decides to tackle the job of getting healthy -- by trying out as many different diets, exercise workouts, gadgets and health tips as possible to see which ones actually work. Humorous and fun. 3 stars."

I love A.J. Jacobs. I enjoy his humor a lot. I love to read about exercise, so this one really hit my wheelhouse.

Michele wrote: "Apparently, I hardly read anything at all this month. I was very busy traveling-not to Europe but to Bangor and Baltimore to see my kids and grandchildren. I did a bunch of great new movies (includ..."

I had the same reaction to The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud: A Study Guide, Michelle. I didn't get very far with it.

I only managed to finish one in December:

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right - 3 stars

Interesting professional read about the importance of checklists for improving repeatable manual tasks. The author is from a surgical background and discusses examples from hospitals and aerospace. As an avid user of lists (short and long-term todo, books TBR, etc) this was not a revolutionary topic for me.

Emma wrote: "I only managed to finish one in December:

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right - 3 stars

Interesting professional read about the importance of checklists for improving ..."

Does this relate directly to the high-reliability organization (HRO) paradigm? I work at a hospital and this sounds just like part of the training behaviors for HRO.

Emma wrote: "I only managed to finish one in December:

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right - 3 stars

Interesting professional read about the importance of checklists for improving ..."

I recall when that book came out. I, too, am a big list maker. I find I really do accomplish more when I make a list. It also helps a lot when you have a garbage memory like I do !

Here are all the book I finished up in December:
Winter
No Flowers Required
Love for Dessert
Breaking Up with Barrett
There's Something About Her, A Manhattan Love Story
The Wager: A Billionaire Romance
Carter Reed
Jake Undone
Worth the Fight
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

Well done, Pinkie ! I hope you enjoyed them all.

Alias Reader wrote: "Well done, Pinkie ! I hope you enjoyed them all."

Some were better than others. Winter was the best out of all of them. The others were more quick reads so that I could make my 2015 GR reading goal.

Amy -

It wasn't referenced as such specifically that I recall, but it does detail the process that was used to create and refine standard sets of checklists for use in various hospital scenarios (pre/during/post surgery, ER, etc) that have generally been adopted globally.

Emma wrote: "Amy -

It wasn't referenced as such specifically that I recall, but it does detail the process that was used to create and refine standard sets of checklists for use in various hospital scenarios ..."

I might pick that one up. Thanks!

Alias Reader wrote: " That's how I ended up buying the Whole Foods brand of oreos. They were organic so that made it seem okay in my depressed state. LOL..."

Sorry to hear that, Alias. I might have guessed anger would lead a person to refuse to buy ANYTHING! LOL

Mkfs wrote: "Looking back on it, the unifying theme of my December reads seems to be Bad Writing....

Sorry to hear that, Mkfs. Here's hoping '16 is better for you.

I'll be interested in reading your thoughts on The Information. I ended up disappointed, even though I learned much. I expected a better conclusion.

Michele wrote: "Even though I swore I wouldn't buy till I've reduced my TBR stack. Thanks a lot, you guys. ."

I know that feeling, Michele! Your list of three books had me wanting two of them. In all it's such a pleasure to see what others have read the previous month but, oh! my TBR list increases.


Cateline, that opening sentence for The Lover hooked me. What a good one. Seeing your comment on The Door reminds me of my time spent reading it. At first i was lost in trying to figure out the behaviors. Then I just let go and enjoy. I did!

Oh def agree re the first line of The Lover!

If you liked The Door, let me recommend The Wall by Marlen Haushofer. Different, but.....here is my review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

That sounds good, Cateline. Nice review.

Thanks Madrano. :)

Queen's Gift
Blood and Beauty: The Borgias
The Tale Of Halcyon Crane

Thanks for sharing, Tammy !

I like the title of the last one, Tammy. Was it good?

Madrano wrote: "I like the title of the last one, Tammy. Was it good?"

I thought so.

Thanks for the reply, Tammy.