Book Nook Cafe discussion

Share with us what you read in July 2017 !


Please provide:

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

July Reads

Knit to Be Tied by Maggie Sefton
This is part of a cozy series I read. My rating was 2.5/5. It was just okay but a quick read.


The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon
This was the next to latest mystery series that I read that takes place in Venice Italy. My rating was 4/5Bone Box

Bone Box by Faye Kellerman This was the latest in the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series. I am enjoying the move of the characters from LA to upstate NY. My rating was 4/5.

The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood. This was written as parallel stories of two women whose stories cross paths. I saw the twist early on It was pretty predictable Rating 2.5/5

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood---Trevor Noah
non fiction
Rate 4/5
This was our group read. I enjoyed it quite a bit. He had an amazing rise from very humble beginnings.

The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease--Joel Fuhrman
non fiction
rate 4/5
This was a re-read for me. I like to re-read these types of books. They help to keep me motivated to eat well.

I am still working on and enjoying a lot
The Plot Against America
Being Nixon: A Man Divided

Great reading last month!

Alayna, I like writing short reviews, too, of the books I read. I only do that here, though, so if they ever got lost they would be gone forever.

In July I read:
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (3-star) - I enjoyed this book and am glad that I read it. It's been on my bookshelf for some time now (I won a copy from the publisher). I found this story insightful and eye-opening in many ways. I did not know how apartheid shaped a society and its people by keeping them apart and, therefore, distrustful of each other.

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio; 2-star) - perhaps it was the audio narration but this book made Temperance Brennan seem really cranky and ill-tempered. As well, she's not very bright (although she is determined). I prefer the TV series Bones over the written series and don't know if I'd attempt reading another.

Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust (4-star) - I started this one back in June. It takes awhile to read Proust, although his writing is very good. The narrator is really a creepy stalker type of guy.
This volume focusses on gay & lesbian relationships. It's sometimes on the side of "love is love" and sometimes on the side of "it's not to be tolerated". This could be nothing more than Proust making peace with his own thoughts, guilt, shame, lusts, desires, etc. It is a terrible thing to have to deny oneself in one's own society & people.

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King (audio; 3-star) - Gwendy is an overweight 12-year old trying to lose the weight. She is given a button box that holds a large amount of responsibility & accountability on her part.....a weight for her to carry over the years as she matures and reasons her way to adulthood.
Interesting; not spooky or chilling.
Also included was a short story called The Music Room. That is a chilling story. How quickly our lives can change with one ordinary & seemingly friendly invitation to dinner.

The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father by Kao Kalia Yang (audio; 3-star) - I enjoyed this memoir of a family telling of the immigrant experience and how it affected both the parents and the kids. The audio narration was a bit monotone at first but emotional in the second half. I thought the story really emphasized the isolation immigrants experience due to losing language & communication, customs, home, etc.

Very nice eclectic month, Petra. I enjoy reading your reviews, too.

As usual, my list is different because i cannot link the way we used to so. Apologies.

Numerous mysteries here but they are easy to read on the road. Thanks to BNC friends for writing about some. They were good--the dog i found on my own.

Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
I can't recall if it was PattyMac or someone else who mentioned this book, which is set in Australia. The lingo was a challenge for me, even with the fine glossary included. I will read more in this series, as i liked the main character, who has returned to her family/village of origin after being away for many years.

Born A Crime by Trevor Noah.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Read with this group. I liked it and found much information about South Africa that i didn't know. Glad to have read it with the group, as the discussion had me rethinking certain parts deeper.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Another book recommended here. It has two mysteries in one, which was a pleasure. The first mystery was patterned after Agatha Christie mysteries. I can never decide if i like it or not when i can figure out the whodunit but I felt the non-Christie mystery was much easier.

Take Out by Margaret Maron.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Ninth and one presumes final in the police procedural series featuring Sigrid Harald. Maron has a highly successful mystery series set in North Carolina but wanted to wrap up Harald's story. Nice job. I like both series but if she will only write one, the NC ones are better.

10 Dead Comedians by Fred Van Lente.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
This is the dog i found on my own. It, too, uses Christie as a pattern, specifically her Ten Little Indians. Sadly, the humor was minimal, which was a letdown. However, i did like the way he shared bits of the acts of each comedian...except that they were stale.

Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Read while in France. It was good but not particularly helpful for my needs. Mah, a novelist who is married to a diplomat, divided France into regions and featured one dish per chapter/region. It was informative, although i was a bit surprised that fondue was the dish for one region. To me that is a Swiss dish.

The Late Show by Michael Connelly
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
This was fast reading. I'm not a fan of police procedurals as a regular reading diet but like dipping in on occasion. This was a good one. The MC is a surfer as well as a detective on the late shift with the LAPD. This was another mentioned by someone in this group. Thank you for that.

Very nice month, deb. Reading and traveling. Now that's living. :)

Madrano wrote: "As usual, my list is different because i cannot link the way we used to so. Apologies.

Numerous mysteries here but they are easy to read on the road. Thanks to BNC friends for writing about some...."

I don't think I mentioned Adrian Hyland here, but I loved his mysteries. I wish he'd write more of them.

Shomeret, you may have responded to someone who mentioned the 2nd book in the series, now that i think about it. I am guessing that because you manage to find such interesting mysteries with unusual settings and careers. However, you didn't originate the post because it was a full-blown book review that i first read. Honestly, i wasn't sure i would be able to find it but struck gold my first attempt.

Alias, it does seem to be ideal, traveling and reading, doesn't it? We are relishing it. Today we saw our first stones carved by Picts. These were from around 700-900 C. E. I'm reading a slender book on them, which we bought at the site. Scotland has an abundance of them. The images appear to include history, mythical beings and Christian images, as that religion spread.

What do two older male mystery writers do when their protagonists in their long running series get older and older? Well two of my favorites start new series with young women protagonists. This is what James W. Hall, who writes the Florida based mystery series about a man who goes by the name of Thorn, and Michael Connelly, who writes the series about LA based detective, Harry Bosch. Over the past week, I’ve zipped through the initial books in new series by each. The first is When They Come for You, about a woman photographer, who has to deal with her husband and infant son murdered in the opening pages of the book. We move through the horrors of that, as she recruits her grandfather, a retired mafioso in Florida as well as some other help, to track down the killers who are connected with the chocolate industry. There is some good writing in this book, but Hall turns his hero into a virtual superhero and one who really seems to escape the grieving that I think that anyone would go through having lost their spouse and baby. I wanted to like this book more than I did. Three stars. I’ll stick with Hall’s Thorn series.

Hall could take one lesson from Michael Connelly. If you have a female protagonist who you want to be an avenging angel, give her normal and not supernormal powers. In Connelly’s new book, The Late Show, the protagonist is one Renee Ballard, a L.A. detective who has been assigned to night duty after she charged her lieutenant with sexual harassment and lost. She is, in effect, banished to a lesser position and a permanent night shift. She gets involved in two main cases. The first is one is which a transgender prostitute has been brutalized terribly and is left barely alive. The other is a major case in which five people are shot in a nightclub. The investigation into the second case is headed up by the man who had sexually harassed her. Ballard is frustratingly wonderful. She is like a young Harry Bosch in terms of deciding that victims need someone to speak for them, but she is totally herself. Being herself includes being a surfer also. Great characters all around, both the good guys, the not so good guys, and the low lifes. I can hardly wait for the next book in this series … and I hope that Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch get to meet each other. Oh yeah, Ballard is a believable avenging angel with no superpowers but with wonderful spirit and determination who won’t quit mentally or physically. Five stars for this one.

Larry wrote: "What do two older male mystery writers do when their protagonists in their long running series get older and older? Well two of my favorites start new series with young women protagonists. This is ..."

Sounds good to me :)

Looks like a lot of re-read sci-fi this month, as I get back into the habit of reading. And eh, it's summer.

Bill, the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison. I thought I had read this in the late 80s, and it was horrible, so why does it have such good reviews? Turns out I read the sequel, written twenty or so years after the original, and the sequel suuuuuucks. This is an excellent satire of the military-industrial complex: the unethical recruitment tactics, the arbitrariness of promotion, the lack of a clear justification for perpetual way, and of course propaganda and boot camp. The armed forces depicted here are less of a unified team working to achieve a single goal, and more of a collection of selfish individuals each working to maximize their own advantage, often to the detriment of their fellows. Four stars on a stolen, still-smoking epaulette.

Burning Chrome by William Gibson. Saw this on the shelf and decided to give it a re-read; it's been a few decades, after all, and the only story I could remember was "Dogfight". In the introduction, Bruce Sterling says "William Gibson has demonstrated beyond all doubt that he is an Eighties author", and boy is that ever true. The future has landlines and cassettes! The writing is still raw and real, despite legions of imitators. I found that with age, the stories I used to like have become duller, while other stories interest me more: "Winter's Market", "Belonging Kind", and "Hinterlands" were far more satisfying than "Dogfight" or "New Rose Hotel". Five tarnished chromium (is that still a thing?) stars.

Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry. OK, it's a classic novel of the twentieth century, so we have to expect it to be a little tedious - but come on Lowry, get on with it! Ultimately, this is the portrait of a character (an alcoholic former British consul in Mexico), with no story and no character development but lots and lots of in-the-know descriptions of drinking. It would have been a searing hundred-pager; at 400 pages, it just drags on and on. Two shaking stars hastily downing a third to ward off the DTs.

The Green Man by Kingsley Amis. Saw this on the bookshelf (see Burning Chrome) while reading Under The Volcano and thought, now *that* was a book about alcoholism. And what a tale it is - a ghost story with some Lovecraftian horror, about a lifelong alcoholic hitting his 50s and finding one can't just down a bottle of whiskey in the morning any more, with some comedy-of-the-sexes thrown in. Amis is in top form here, even if he re-uses a few of his jokes. Five sodden stars who don't give a damn what the guests think, they've seen me worse.

Wit by Margaret Edson. Excellent play about a professor of literature who has late-stage ovarian cancer. John Donne's romantic hand-wringing over death and the afterlife contrasts nicely with the indignity of dying in a cander ward. Death be not proud, &etc. Four stars, one for every wall the play tears down.

Eye In The Sky by Phillip K Dick. The last of three books I grabbed off a shelf of old paperbacks, mostly because I couldn't remember which PKD this was, and thought I might never have got around to it. About ten pages in I realized, oh right, this is the one where the characters have to go through a series of realities all based on each other's paranoid delusions before they can collectively regain consciousness after a bad fall. Really not his best; it just gets more and more ludicrous as it drifts further and further from the initial inspiration (which obviously provided the title). Two vaguely unsettled but ultimately resigned stars.

Mkfs wrote: "Looks like a lot of re-read sci-fi this month, as I get back into the habit of reading. And eh, it's summer.

Bill, the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison. I thought I had read this in th..."

You write very good reviews, Mkfs. Thanks for sharing.

Mkfs, clever star ratings. It's pleasurable to read oldies and see if they still call to us. Summer seems perfect for it, too. Glad you shared.

I haven't read any of the Bosch series but liked this new one, The Late Show. As noted, she seems human and open to realizations about herself.

Mkfs, I also thought Wit was terrific. My mother had cancer and this play hit home more than once.

Love your star ratings. LOL.

Petra wrote: "Mkfs, I also thought Wit was terrific.."

It's making me take another look at John Donne. Flipping through the ol' Norton Anthologies left over from college.

My reads for July:

NONFICTION:

Cascadia's Fault: The Coming Earthquake and Tsunami That Could Devastate North America –An explanation of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a crack in the earth’s crust that runs roughly 31 miles offshore, approximately 683 miles from northern California up through Vancouver Island off the coast of British Columbia. This fault zone has generated massive earthquakes over and over again throughout geologic time (at least 36 major events in the last 10,000 years). It generates a monster earthquake about every 500 years –and the monster is due to return at any time. It could happen 200 years from now, or it could be tonight. 4 stars

Unremarried Widow – A memoir by a young Army widow whose husband was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq, just months into their marriage. In official military lingo, this makes her an “unremarried widow” – at the age of 26. She writes about the arduous process of rebuilding her life after heartbreaking loss. 4 stars

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon – An in-depth and riveting biography of Jeff Bezos and how he founded Amazon with a vision of growing it into “the everything store” where consumers could buy, well, everything. Not entirely complimentary – I wouldn’t want to work for Bezos. Before reading this, I was not a fan of Amazon – and after reading it, I’m still not a fan. But I can grudgingly respect Bezos’ work ethic in making his vision into reality. 3.5 stars

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI – Narrative nonfiction look at the series of crimes committed against members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma, who became wealthy beyond their wildest dreams after oil was discovered beneath their land in the 1920s. One by one, they began to be killed off. When the death toll surpassed more than 24 Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. 3 stars

Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution—An exploration of the relationship between Washington and Arnold as the American colonies fought for independence from Great Britain –while simultaneously dealing with the internal squabbling within. 3 stars

An American Childhood – The author’s memoir of her childhood growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s. 2.5 stars

FICTION:

Exit West – Two young people who live in a “city swollen by refugees” – the location is deliberately ambiguous; it might be Pakistan, or Syria, or Libya or one of any number of countries – meet and begin a relationship. As their relationship develops, their city crumbles around them as a result of civil unrest and war. They decide to flee through a “portal” that takes them to different parts of the world. And then we see how the refugee experience plays out in each location. This book is an interesting mix of magical realism and pointed commentary. I thought it was well written. 4 stars

The Drawing of the Three—Book #2 of Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series. I read it when it first came out back in the late 1980s and reread it now in preparation for the release of “The Dark Tower” movie this past weekend. 4 stars

The Waste Lands -- Book #3 of Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series. See above. 4 stars.

Emily, Alone - Emily Maxwell, a widow whose grown children have long since moved away, dreams of visits from her grandchildren while mourning the turnover of her quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood. When her sister-in-law and sole companion, Arlene, faints at their favorite breakfast buffet, Emily's life changes in unexpected ways that force her to assume more independence. A quick and quiet read. 3 stars

The Orphans of Race Point – Set on Cape Cod, this is a story that traces the relationship between two people who meet as children in the wake of a terrible crime that leaves one of them an orphan. Their friendship evolves into an enduring and passionate love that is both a blessing and a curse. Honestly, I was bored by the end. 2 stars

The German Girl -- Set in 1939, the story of a 12-year-old girl’s experience fleeing Nazi-occupied Germany with her family and best friend on the Saint Louis, a transatlantic liner that promised Jews safe passage to Cuba. However, upon its arrival, the governments of Cuba, the United States, and Canada denied the passengers admittance to their countries, forcing them to return to Europe as it descended into World War II. Based on the real-life events. This is a debut novel that unfortunately reads like one. 2 stars

Amy wrote: "My reads for July:

NONFICTION:

Cascadia's Fault: The Coming Earthquake and Tsunami That Could Devastate North America –An explanation of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a crack in t..."

Wow ! Simply Wow ! You read some heavy duty excellent books this month, Amy. I don't know how you fit in so many books.

I've never heard of the Cascadia fault. One usually hears about the San Andreas fault.

On our other coast here in NY we have the Ramapo Fault line. Which is a major concern as it runs right near the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. It's not a very active fault line, but the potential for a disaster right near a densely populated area has many wanting to shut Indian Point down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_...

I recall the movie The China Syndrome and 12 days after it's release we had the Three Mile Island nuclear accident that occurred in Pennsylvania. I remember being in the movie theater when this happened and the audiences audible shocked response.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chi...

Scary stuff.

As always, I enjoyed reading your reviews. Well done, on a great reading month. Thanks for sharing with us.

Amy wrote: "My reads for July:

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon – An in-depth and riveting biography of Jeff Bezos and how he founded Amazon with a vision of growing it into “the everything store” where consumers could buy, well, everything. Not entirely complimentary – I wouldn’t want to work for Bezos. Before reading this, I was not a fan of Amazon – and after reading it, I’m still not a fan. But I can grudgingly respect Bezos’ work ethic in making his vision into reality. 3.5 stars

I am sad to read this. As a person who does not drive, Amazon has been a huge help to me. Amazon is my go to site when I make purchases to compare prices and also different brands. The reviews also help me to decide which product to buy or stay away from. There is hardly a day I don't use their site even if it's just for info.

I think I just read in the news last week or so that Bezos was the richest person.

I just checked. Here is one story.

Move Over, Bill Gates. Jeff Bezos Gets a Turn as World’s Richest Person.

SEATTLE — Jeff Bezos on Thursday took something away from a billionaire neighbor in the Seattle area, Bill Gates — the mantle of world’s richest person.

A 1 percent pop early in the day in the shares of Amazon.com — the internet company Mr. Bezos founded, which accounts for the vast majority of his wealth — was enough to bump him over the wealth of Mr. Gates, the philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, according to a real-time list of billionaires by Forbes.com, which has tallied the fortunes of the uber-rich for decades.

Forbes estimated the wealth of Mr. Bezos, currently Amazon’s chief executive, at $90.6 billion, compared with $90 billion for Mr. Gates. Later in the day, Amazon’s shares cooled slightly, allowing Mr. Gates to regain the top position. The back and forth could continue depending on the fluctuations in Amazon shares.

Mr. Bezos has added tens of billions of dollars in wealth — at least on paper — over the last year as Amazon shares surged more than 40 percent during that time period. They traded at about $1,063 on Thursday, ahead of the release of the company’s latest earnings report.

According to a filing with securities regulators in April, Mr. Bezos holds nearly 81 million shares of Amazon — almost 17 percent of the company. Forbes also estimates the value of his other investments — including his ownership of The Washington Post and the rocket company Blue Origin — and cash from the sale of securities as part of its wealth calculations. Mr. Bezos has said he sells about $1 billion a year worth of Amazon stock to finance Blue Origin.

Mr. Gates has been at the top of the Forbes list of billionaires for 18 of the last 23 years.

Most of Mr. Gates’s wealth originates from Microsoft. The company’s stock has risen to new highs lately. A Microsoft filing from October said he held nearly 191 million shares of Microsoft — about 2.46 percent of its stock — which are currently worth about $14.1 billion.

But Mr. Gates has spent years diversifying his investments.

Kerry Dolan, an assistant managing editor for Forbes, said the publication also considers extensive assets Mr. Gates holds through his Cascade Investments, which has stakes in private equity, real estate and public companies. Forbes does not include his more than $31 billion in contributions to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in its wealth calculations.

Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Amazon, declined to comment on Mr. Bezos’s move to the top of the Forbes list. Naomi Zeitlin, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gates, declined to comment.

Alias Reader wrote: "Wow ! Simply Wow ! You read some heavy duty excellent books this month, Amy. I don't know how you fit in so many books. ..."

I commute to work an hour each way on the train every day. That's 10 hours of dedicated reading time per week! That helps a lot. :)

Alias Reader wrote: "Amy wrote: "My reads for July:

NONFICTION:

Cascadia's Fault: The Coming Earthquake and Tsunami That Could Devastate North America –An explanation of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, ..."

If you want to learn more about the Cascadia Subducation Zone and the potential consequences when (not if) it erupts, I would also recommend Full-Rip 9.0: The Next Big Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest. The author is a newspaper journalist, and is very good at making the scientific concepts accessible and understandable.

Amy wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "Wow ! Simply Wow ! You read some heavy duty excellent books this month, Amy. I don't know how you fit in so many books. ..."

I commute to work an hour each way on the train ev..."

The changing of the bus routes which has made it necessary for me to take two buses to work in each direction has lengthened my commute, but shortened my reading time because I have to stop reading twice and I also have to wait for my transfer bus. Since I can never be certain of when any bus will arrive, I never read while I'm waiting for the bus. I am managing to up my read totals over the weekend though.

Good reading month, Amy. I find it hard to read nonfiction when commuting under an hour or so. We noticed in France, Germany & Holland that commuters read quite a bit while going home from work. We could read few titles and recognized even fewer author names but we're still impressed. My favorite reader was a woman who would read a bit, then stop and smile or close here eyes a minute or so. Her title? Guide to Opera.

Madrano wrote: "Good reading month, Amy. I find it hard to read nonfiction when commuting under an hour or so. We noticed in France, Germany & Holland that commuters read quite a bit while going home from work. We..."

Madrano, that lady could be a great main character for a book! ;) I also love to check out what other persons are reading...

Amy wrote:I commute to work an hour each way on the train every day. That's 10 hours of dedicated reading time per week! That helps a lot. :) ..."

It's great that you put this commuting time to good use.

If I could only cut back my wasted time online and dedicate that hour to reading I know I would be much better off.

That is what was recommended in the book
Read for Your Life: 11 Ways to Better Yourself Through Books

Shomeret wrote: The changing of the bus routes which has made it necessary for me to take two buses to work in each direction has lengthened my commute, but shortened my reading time because I have to stop reading twice and I also have to wait for my transfer bus"

Sorry to hear about the commute.

I can't read on a bus or in a car as it upsets my stomach. Though I can read on trains.

Madrano wrote: "Good reading month, Amy. I find it hard to read nonfiction when commuting under an hour or so. We noticed in France, Germany & Holland that commuters read quite a bit while going home from work. We..."

The NYC subways have changed. I used to see many people reading books or newspapers. Now everyone seems to be staring at their phones. And most it seems are playing Candy Crush or listening to music, not reading or listening to books on their phones.

Amy wrote: "My reads for July: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI"

That looks pretty good. There's an archive of the FBI investigation. Might check out the book after reading that.

Petra wrote: "Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust "

Speaking of Proust, I cracked open the second volume (Budding Grove?) yesterday evening while sitting on the deck. He's a great one to dip into now and again: good, immersive writing, but nothing actually happens so you don't have to worry about losing your place.

Madrano wrote: "My favorite reader was a woman who would read a bit, then stop and smile or close here eyes a minute or so. Her title? Guide to Opera. ..."

That's a lovely story, Madrano. Very warm and heartening. She was getting the most out of the reading experience.

Mkfs wrote: "Amy wrote: "Speaking of Proust, I cracked open the second volume (Budding Grove?) yesterday evening while sitting on the deck. He's a great one to dip into now and again: good, immersive writing, but nothing actually happens so you don't have to worry about losing your place. ..."

LOL! The story is slow moving. But tucked in between the action are humorous bits and deep, insightful commentary on people and societies.
I'm about to start Vol. 5 (The Captive).
I hope you share your thoughts as you read through Vol. 2.

Andrea, i didn't think about her as a character in a book but i can see how nice that would be.

Alias, when i spent those months in NYC in '10, people were reading but not as many as in earlier years. Those phones and games have taken over! I keep trying to remember that if anyone was looking at who is reading books, they might not realize i am reading one on my iPad. I'm hoping some of those with their machines are reading, too.

Mkfs, thanks for that link. It didn't occur to me to look. I was surprised to learn in the Killer Moon book that there is a huge National Archives unit in Ft. Worth, Tx. I want to check that out someday.

This wasn't a productive month of readings, first because I had to work and organize everything before coming on holidays, then because I was travelling around Ireland, and it was hard to read more than 20 pages per day... So...

In July I read:

- O Bosque dos Pigmeus, by Isabel Allende - This is the final book of the triology “Memories of the Eagle and the Jaguar”. I read the first two when I was at the college, and, maybe because of my age now, I didn't like this one so much. Anyway, it is a nice adventure for young adult. Very well written (obviously), easy to read and amusing. What I liked the most was the ecological message of respect for nature and its resources, and also the need to respect other cultures. (3 stars)

- Grandes Esperanças, by Charles Dickens – 'Great expectations' tells the story of a poor boy who is kind, first, to a stranger, saving him from starving, second, to an old (and lonely) rich woman, to whom he is a great “distraction”. Years later, he has the fortune of being protected by an unknow person, he receives education and becomes a “gentleman”. He lives waiting to receive the promised “great expectations”, but in the way, he has some troubles and finally he discovers that it would have been better if he just lived in the country, like a poor boy, learning and and living from an honest job. (4 stars)

Maigret e a condessa, by Georges Simenon – This is an entertaining book about two murderers. It was a nice read for the holidays. However I felt that the conclusion of the mistery – the discover of the murderer – wasn't well sustained, it seemed that the proofs weren't conclusive... (3 stars)

Andreia wrote: "This wasn't a productive month of readings, first because I had to work and organize everything before coming on holidays, then because I was travelling around Ireland, and it was hard to read more..."

No, apologies needed, imo. I think you had a very nice reading month. And might I add any month with Dickens is an excellent month. I love his books. My favorite is A Tale of Two Cities

Alias Reader wrote: "Andreia wrote: "This wasn't a productive month of readings, first because I had to work and organize everything before coming on holidays, then because I was travelling around Ireland, and it was h..."

Thanks, Alias. In fact, it was the first book I read by Dickens, but I have "A Tale of Two Cities" waiting in my shelf... ;)

Andreia, I read it with online notes and found that very helpful.

Alias Reader wrote: "Andreia, I read it with online notes and found that very helpful."

Thanks for the advice, I'll search for it.

Nice list, Andreia. I'm a fan of Dickens and have yet to meet one i didn't like, although I've barely made a dent in his long list of accomplished works. The mystery sounds interesting.

I hope you enjoyed Ireland as much as we did in May. It's my favorite country at this point for lingering.

Hello! Here's my list for July. I just got back from vacation, so I'm a bit late.

Daleki horizonti by Dario Kožul - a book written by one of my dear friends when h was only 13 years old. It's a space saga that was pretty well written, but definitely needs some work. 3 stars

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner - A very interesting and enjoyable story of Catherine de Medici. I loved connecting the dots with the facts that influenced the history of Croatia. 4 stars

Memoirs of a Bitch by Francesca Petrizzo - again, an interesting take on the age-old story of Helen of Troy. Very poetic and, for a change, puts Helen first, and not the men in the story. 3 stars

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk - I'm not really sure what to think of this book (and I've never watched the movie). I liked the resolution of the story, but getting there was a bit boring. 3 stars

1000 Days of Spring by Tomislav Perko - a travelogue written by a young Croatian, who, after the financial crisis of 2008, decided to leave his broker job and travel the world by hitchhiking. I had the honour of attending one of his lectures and it was truly inspiring. 5 stars

Nice eclectic reads, Samanta.

Welcome back from vacation !

Thank you! :)

Madrano wrote: "Nice list, Andreia. I'm a fan of Dickens and have yet to meet one i didn't like, although I've barely made a dent in his long list of accomplished works. The mystery sounds interesting.

I hope you..."

Madrano, I just loved Ireland, we made a road trip from Dublin to the south (Cork) and west (until Galway), and visited other places between. I loved the landscape (so many lakes, the Cliffs of Moher...) and the monuments, especially the medieval and neolitic ones.

It is a really nice place for lingering, as you said. I just told my husband we need to return and go to the north, and Northern Ireland, as welll :)

Andreia, those Neolithic sites expanded my world! How incredible to walk those sites and see the views. I'm with you--a return trip is in order.

I liked Fight Club because it was the first time i saw some of those thoughts about the material world and our priorities today. I've read a few others and most, until i stopped reading them due to one book which was too graphic for me.

Madrano wrote: "Andreia, those Neolithic sites expanded my world! How incredible to walk those sites and see the views. I'm with you--a return trip is in order.

I liked Fight Club because it was the first time i ..."

I didn't read the book (it's in my TBR), but saw the movie and what I remember is precisely that idea: we don't own the objets, they own us... It is a powerful idea!

Andreia wrote: "we don't own the objets, they own us... It is a powerful idea! "

But, it's the truth. We are bombarded with so many new things that we just HAVE to have, if we want to be somebody in the world. When that happens, you are no longer in control.

Samanta wrote: "Andreia wrote: "we don't own the objets, they own us... It is a powerful idea! "

But, it's the truth. We are bombarded with so many new things that we just HAVE to have, if we want to be somebody ..."

I think we can choose... We can simplify our life, and don't give much importance to superficial goods. Of course, what is or what is not superficial is subjetive...

The thing is not to live in function of what we "must" have... I think that this is also an ecological choice...

We can choose "To be" not "to have" things...

Very philosofical...

Samanta wrote: "Andreia wrote: "we don't own the objets, they own us... It is a powerful idea! "

But, it's the truth. We are bombarded with so many new things that we just HAVE to have, if we want to be somebody ..."

And we are what we are, despite the things that we have...

This is just the sort of discussion i began having with myself after reading FC! It made me rethink issues i thought i had settled in my mind.

In the month of July 2017, the best book I read was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children! I haven't seen the movie, though I am finishing up my Master's degree in English Education (with a focus on Middle School). This seems to be a popular book series amongst that age group, so I tried it for myself. I could not put this book down! I loved the use of thought-provoking pictures throughout the story. The plot itself was suspenseful and moving. The author had a lovely way of making you feel a part of and painting a picture of the fairytale detailed within the story. I highly recommend this book! There are two subsequents books in this series, as well as a movie created after the first book.

Thanks for sharing, Morgan !

Congrats on getting your Masters soon.

Morgan, i met a middle school principal in the '80s who said (yes, i actually wrote this down), "Teaching middle school is like teaching popcorn." It was a good visual, as anyone with kids that age understands. Good lick with your career. Having a teacher was pursues books they read will call to some students, i'm sure.

I keep intending to read this book but don't. Your comments put it higher on my "gonna" read list. Thanks for sharing with us.