Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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Books Update - Non suspense titles
THE PRINCE OF FROGTOWN Rick Bragg
This completes the trilogy of memoirs Bragg began about ten years ago, when he published ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING. After I finished the first book, I told Mr Woodstock “I’ll never laugh at a redneck joke again.” At the time the first book was published, Bragg was on the reporting staff of the New York Times, and he included a delightful telling of his mother’s first trip away from her small rural mountain Georgia community, to attend the luncheon and see him receive the Pulitzer Prize. Since then, Bragg has been involved in an unfortunate plagiarism incident and left the Times, but he still writes, thank goodness.
After the first book came AVA’S MAN, a tribute to his mother’s father. And finally, he completes the project with this biography of his father, which includes a very thoughtful and more than a little rueful summary of his feelings toward his father and his father’s many failings. Whatever his lapses might have been as a journalist, as a memoirist, Bragg has few equals.
MUDBOUND Hilary Jordan
In the late years of WWII, an idealistic man moves his family out to the delta country of Mississippi. His wife is a small town teacher, born and bred, and has more than a little trouble adapting to her new lifestyle. When her brother in law returns from military service at about the same time a young black man who grew up in the area also returns, tensions in the community escalate. The two former service men on one side of the issues confront the history and prejudice of area residents on the other side, and the young wife is caught in the middle. Jordan tells her story with a changing roster of narrators and points of view. I’ve currently got this one on my “best of 2008” list.
FAHRENHEIT 451 Ray Bradbury
See my blog entry of July 4 for my reaction to this one. I waited much too long to pick it up!
A CASE OF EXPLODING MANGOES Mohammed Hanif
A very tongue in cheek, yet very thoughtful “what if” scenario about the death of Pakistani President General Zia. Like all semi comic fiction, it’s kind of hard to describe, but very very enjoyable.
THE LAZARUS PROJECT Aleksander Hemon
Hemon is an immigrant from Bosnia, living in Chicago. He became intrigued with the history of immigrants living in the Chicago area in the early days of the 20th century. His protagonist is a free lance journalist, and wangles a grant to publish a story investigating the life of young man shot and killed by police after an abortive attempt on the life of a prominent Chicagoan. Accompanied by a photographer friend, also from Bosnia, he travels to Europe. His past life in the land of his birth reestablishes its hold on him. I enjoyed the read very much, and am thinking the book is worthy of a second go around.
DEFEAT Jonathan Steele
Steele is a British journalist who has been reporting from Baghdad for much of the past five years. He has some very pointed observations about the failures of US and UK policy during that time – not so much with the original invasion, but what came after.
QUIVER Peter Leonard
The author is the son of Elmore Leonard, and good writing skills must be part of the family DNA chain. A hunting accident has claimed the life of a Michigan husband and father, and his family’s recovery from their grief is complicated when persons on the wrong side of the law become involved in their lives. I’ll probably read at least one more to see if I keep this Leonard on my “don’t miss” list. This is a good read, but I think the author has a way to go in developing his career.
MASTER OF THE DELTA Thomas H Cook
Cook is among the best in building psychological suspense. A teacher in a small southern town assigns a writing project to one of his sociology classes. Students are to select an “evil” person from history or from fiction and present an essay. When one of the students selects his own father, who was arrested for the rape and murder of a young woman, the town’s memories of events of years ago erupt with startling results.
SO NICE TO COME HOME TO Rebecca Flowers
Don’t read a lot of chick lit, but if it was all like this one, I probably would reconsider. A young woman, dedicated to her planning lists, finds her life unraveling when she loses her job and her boyfriend decamps. Almost in spite of herself, she adopts a cat, repairs her relationship with her sister, finds a new man to love, and a new career drops into her lap.
One of the most pleasing things about Flowers’ main character is a strong moral sense, which enriches her choices while adding to the suspense. Will things work out quickly, or will they take awhile?
THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE David Wroblewski
This one is just remarkable. I’m not spilling anything to tell you that it’s based on the Hamlet legend as portrayed by Shakespeare. Set on a dog breeding facility in northern Wisconsin, featuring a family which has been dedicated to improving their particular gene mix of dogs for at least three generations. When a brother and uncle returns from wandering the globe, tensions between the two men boil over. The Edgar of the title is the son and nephew of the men. Edgar can hear, but not speak and he communicates in a type of sign he has created for himself, loosely based on ASL. The story line pretty much follows Shakespeare’s play, so there are few surprises, but what enriches the telling is the inclusion of several of the dogs as characters. EDGAR SAWTELLE has earned a place on my “best of 08” list, and will probably settle on my list of the best books since I began my log about ten years ago.
CITY OF THIEVES David Benioff
Two young men, captured and jailed in WWII Leningrad, are released with a special commission – to find enough eggs to bake a wedding cake for the daughter of a powerful Army family. They embark on a harrowing odyssey through the countryside, encountering German troops and Russians working in the resistance. I can recommend this one, as well.
THE MAN WHO LOVED CHINA Simon Winchester
I just love the way Winchester narrates the audio versions of his books. I find his voice intelligent, sexy, and soothing all at the same time, and when he’s got a new book out, I wait for the library to obtain the audio version.
Winchester traces the life of Britain’s Joseph Needham, who became interested in China through a paramour, and eventually wangled a diplomatic assignment to unoccupied China in the 1940’s. His travels and research there evolved into a seventeen volume study of the history of Chinese science and culture, which is still in print and highly regarded by students of China and the Chinese. Winchester’s writing style is perfect for the general reader. Highly detailed and well researched, his books are not heavy or boring, but filled with entertaining details which enhance the readability.
That’s it for the reading log since mid June. I’ll try to be more current with the next batch.
This completes the trilogy of memoirs Bragg began about ten years ago, when he published ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING. After I finished the first book, I told Mr Woodstock “I’ll never laugh at a redneck joke again.” At the time the first book was published, Bragg was on the reporting staff of the New York Times, and he included a delightful telling of his mother’s first trip away from her small rural mountain Georgia community, to attend the luncheon and see him receive the Pulitzer Prize. Since then, Bragg has been involved in an unfortunate plagiarism incident and left the Times, but he still writes, thank goodness.
After the first book came AVA’S MAN, a tribute to his mother’s father. And finally, he completes the project with this biography of his father, which includes a very thoughtful and more than a little rueful summary of his feelings toward his father and his father’s many failings. Whatever his lapses might have been as a journalist, as a memoirist, Bragg has few equals.
MUDBOUND Hilary Jordan
In the late years of WWII, an idealistic man moves his family out to the delta country of Mississippi. His wife is a small town teacher, born and bred, and has more than a little trouble adapting to her new lifestyle. When her brother in law returns from military service at about the same time a young black man who grew up in the area also returns, tensions in the community escalate. The two former service men on one side of the issues confront the history and prejudice of area residents on the other side, and the young wife is caught in the middle. Jordan tells her story with a changing roster of narrators and points of view. I’ve currently got this one on my “best of 2008” list.
FAHRENHEIT 451 Ray Bradbury
See my blog entry of July 4 for my reaction to this one. I waited much too long to pick it up!
A CASE OF EXPLODING MANGOES Mohammed Hanif
A very tongue in cheek, yet very thoughtful “what if” scenario about the death of Pakistani President General Zia. Like all semi comic fiction, it’s kind of hard to describe, but very very enjoyable.
THE LAZARUS PROJECT Aleksander Hemon
Hemon is an immigrant from Bosnia, living in Chicago. He became intrigued with the history of immigrants living in the Chicago area in the early days of the 20th century. His protagonist is a free lance journalist, and wangles a grant to publish a story investigating the life of young man shot and killed by police after an abortive attempt on the life of a prominent Chicagoan. Accompanied by a photographer friend, also from Bosnia, he travels to Europe. His past life in the land of his birth reestablishes its hold on him. I enjoyed the read very much, and am thinking the book is worthy of a second go around.
DEFEAT Jonathan Steele
Steele is a British journalist who has been reporting from Baghdad for much of the past five years. He has some very pointed observations about the failures of US and UK policy during that time – not so much with the original invasion, but what came after.
QUIVER Peter Leonard
The author is the son of Elmore Leonard, and good writing skills must be part of the family DNA chain. A hunting accident has claimed the life of a Michigan husband and father, and his family’s recovery from their grief is complicated when persons on the wrong side of the law become involved in their lives. I’ll probably read at least one more to see if I keep this Leonard on my “don’t miss” list. This is a good read, but I think the author has a way to go in developing his career.
MASTER OF THE DELTA Thomas H Cook
Cook is among the best in building psychological suspense. A teacher in a small southern town assigns a writing project to one of his sociology classes. Students are to select an “evil” person from history or from fiction and present an essay. When one of the students selects his own father, who was arrested for the rape and murder of a young woman, the town’s memories of events of years ago erupt with startling results.
SO NICE TO COME HOME TO Rebecca Flowers
Don’t read a lot of chick lit, but if it was all like this one, I probably would reconsider. A young woman, dedicated to her planning lists, finds her life unraveling when she loses her job and her boyfriend decamps. Almost in spite of herself, she adopts a cat, repairs her relationship with her sister, finds a new man to love, and a new career drops into her lap.
One of the most pleasing things about Flowers’ main character is a strong moral sense, which enriches her choices while adding to the suspense. Will things work out quickly, or will they take awhile?
THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE David Wroblewski
This one is just remarkable. I’m not spilling anything to tell you that it’s based on the Hamlet legend as portrayed by Shakespeare. Set on a dog breeding facility in northern Wisconsin, featuring a family which has been dedicated to improving their particular gene mix of dogs for at least three generations. When a brother and uncle returns from wandering the globe, tensions between the two men boil over. The Edgar of the title is the son and nephew of the men. Edgar can hear, but not speak and he communicates in a type of sign he has created for himself, loosely based on ASL. The story line pretty much follows Shakespeare’s play, so there are few surprises, but what enriches the telling is the inclusion of several of the dogs as characters. EDGAR SAWTELLE has earned a place on my “best of 08” list, and will probably settle on my list of the best books since I began my log about ten years ago.
CITY OF THIEVES David Benioff
Two young men, captured and jailed in WWII Leningrad, are released with a special commission – to find enough eggs to bake a wedding cake for the daughter of a powerful Army family. They embark on a harrowing odyssey through the countryside, encountering German troops and Russians working in the resistance. I can recommend this one, as well.
THE MAN WHO LOVED CHINA Simon Winchester
I just love the way Winchester narrates the audio versions of his books. I find his voice intelligent, sexy, and soothing all at the same time, and when he’s got a new book out, I wait for the library to obtain the audio version.
Winchester traces the life of Britain’s Joseph Needham, who became interested in China through a paramour, and eventually wangled a diplomatic assignment to unoccupied China in the 1940’s. His travels and research there evolved into a seventeen volume study of the history of Chinese science and culture, which is still in print and highly regarded by students of China and the Chinese. Winchester’s writing style is perfect for the general reader. Highly detailed and well researched, his books are not heavy or boring, but filled with entertaining details which enhance the readability.
That’s it for the reading log since mid June. I’ll try to be more current with the next batch.
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