All About Books discussion

My goal for 2024 is to read 52 books, and I am on my 10th book now. I try to get ahead of the schedule so I can relax for a month or two in the summer with minimal reading while road tripping with friends.
I will be posting my progress here with review.

Book 1 of 52 Mars One
My rating: 4 stars
This YA book is about a teenage boy preparing to relocate to Mars as part of Mars One mission to colonize Mars, then when launched into space he takes on investigation of crimes on board of Mars One spaceship.

I almost gave up on this book in the middle of the story as it concentrated on this teenager's relationship with his girlfriend that he was leaving behind, on reality shows and interviews as a part of the Mars One sponsorship shows, on filming his final days on earth, etc. But half way into the book it evolved into a space thriller which was able to suck me in. Author did a great job showing this teen's mature and take on a load of responsibilities to save his team.
I LOVED the end of the book; the message of unity and humanity.

Book 2 of 52 The Memory of an Elephant by Alex Lasker.
My rating: solid 5 stars

I enjoyed this book so much. It's a captivating, heartwarming, heartbreaking, educational, and laid-back read all at a same time.
This story followed a life of an elephant named Ishi, a family that raised him, a poacher, and few other elephants that Ishi spent periods of his life with.

The author was able to give so much insight into the wisdom and ways of elephants, the politics of ivory business, and how beautiful or ugly humans can be towards animals.
I appreciated how this book described the fate of each primary characters of the story, and included justice for Ishi and family. Not revenge, but justice... act of love for the family, not of hate for the enemy.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants an emotional read with beauty and ugliness of the planet we live on. I see it as fitting for book clubs. Lots to discuss.

Thank you, Tatyana. Great recommendation!

Tatyana wrote: "Book 2 of 52 The Memory of an Elephant by Alex Lasker.
My rating: solid 5 stars

I enjoyed this book so much. It's a captivating, heartwarming, heartbreaking, educational, and laid..."

Sounds intriguing!

Book 3 of 52 Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 3 stars

When a little girl was found by residents of a small town in OR, she couldn't speak and had instincts and habits of a wild animal. A psychiatrist (Dr. Julia) who was asked to work with the girl had named her Alice.
Alice's story was intriguing, while Julia's love story was a bit awkward, lacking mystery or challenge.
Alice's past had enough details to understand, but worded delicately enough not to feel disturbing. Author focused on showing importance of family, love, and sacrifice for the good of a child. I loved how much this book showed that adoptive mother's love can be as strong as biological.

Book 4 of 52 Тигролови Tiger trappers, written in 1944 in Ukrainian language by Ivan Bahrianyi
My rating: a solid 5

1. I listened to this book in Ukrainian language, and it is sooooo beautifully written. The language used here is almost poetic, simple yes extravagant. It's full of beautiful quotes and thoughts I want to remember.
2. What a powerful story. It starts out with a young Ukrainian man Grygory being transported (along with hundreds of others) in a train to a work camp in Siberia. He jumps off the train and is considered dead. But he survives and while making a track along a vast land, he comes across a village with Ukrainian settlers that established successful homesteads.
Grygoriy and Natalka are a symbols of Ukrainian spirit, its strength and pride. Even far from home, in foreign country, this Ukrainian family (even third generation born outside of Ukraine) kept Ukrainian traditions, hospitality, solidarity, courage, and pride.
Plot was great, easy to follow, gripping. So glad this book exists, it gave me deeper understanding of how strong Ukrainian roots are no matter where Ukrainians live, and for how long.
In wake of everything happening, this story did my Ukrainian heart good.

Book 5 of 52 Mr. Nobody by Catherine Steadman
My rating: 2 stars

I had high hopes for this book, but could barely stand to finish it. It started out with a great mystery, a man found on sea shore, without memory of why he's there and who he is. I liked the plot development in the first half of the book; Dr. Lewis was chosen for the job, authorities were involved, Dr's childhood trauma, family, childhood home, changed identity were often mentioned, so I thought it will all come together when the mystery is unraveled... Then it started getting lost in the medical science, and crumpled in the boring ending. I expected a more interesting turn of events that would include characters that seemed significant through out the book, but they were all left hanging and excluded from the finale.

Book 6 of 52 Rants from the Hill: On Packrats, Bobcats, Wildfires, Curmudgeons, a Drunken Mary Kay Lady, and Other Encounters with the Wild in the High Desert by Michael P. Branch
My rating: 4 stars

I expected a book to be about the nature and logistics about the life in the high desert. Was pleasantly surprised to read such fun, full-of-humor story about the family itself. I liked all the stories about the girls, pets, hikes, celebrations, etc. I loved the way Mr. Branch described his daughters' personalities, it was a joy to observe their role in in his life.
Learned so much about so many tings: environment, history, geo-specifics like weather, seasons, fauna and flora, etc.
What made me rate it 4 stars is the overwhelming barrage of speech on climate change, and lack of any description of the wife/mom of the family. The queen of the house remained in background and wasn't made to seem like an important role in their story.
I LOVED the humor throughout the book.

Book 7 of 52 This Land of Snow: A Journey Across the North in Winter by Anders Morley
My rating: 2 stars

Expected a story of challenges, struggles, logistical nightmares, freezing, encountering wildlife, and all that is expected on a cross country solo skiing, but got a boring tale of hitching rides and meeting people.
I like books that show the realities of such journeys, that paint a whole picture of what a cross-country skiing entitles, especially in a cold climate, so naturally I expected an account of exhilarating adventure, but this author was struggling to balance his actual experience with what he thought readers wanted to hear.
His marriage story was a bit awkward, and his relationship with Zoe was so cringe.