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.
Read/Post Comments (1)
Books Update - part the second
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
Lee's one and only novel is widely regarded as one of the best achievements by an American writer of any generation. It's a continuing mystery why she only published one novel, although she did contribute essays and (I think) some short fiction to various magazines over the years.
A group of friends on Facebook proposed forming our own afinity group, and separated by distance and time, read the book at our own individual paces and comment on Facebook as we had intelligent things to say. Or even ordinary things to say. So I've had the book as a whole on my mind for a couple of months now, as the other Facebook group members make their way through it.
I've read the book over and over, but I think the last time was when my daughter was assigned it for high school, some 25 years ago. (Goodness, it can't be that long, can it?)
An iconic small southern town in the depression years; two lively children being raised by a widowed father; a third child, more than a little eccentric (supposedly based on Truman Capote); a reclusive neighbor; and a climactic trial of a black man for the rape of a white woman. The Facebook discussion raised all kinds of issues I had never contemplated.
The kind of book which makes me proud to be an American. I think the last author I made a similar comment about was Ray Bradbury. He and Harper Lee make an interesting pair, don't they?
CREOLE BELLE by James Lee Burke
It pains me to say it about a book by one of my favorite authors, but I didn't finish this one. I found it more than a little repetitive of themes Burke has explored over and over again. His go around this time added little to the discussion.
CHIMES by Charles Dickens
One of my book discussion groups chooses a holiday themed book for our December meeting. This one follows the same general idea as A CHRISTMAS CAROL, in that the main character perceives in a dream what life would be like if he made different decisions.
ASSASSINS OF THE TURQUOISE PALACE by Roya Hakakian
In the 1980's, streams of immigrants fleeing the political upheavals of the Middle East began to flow into Europe. Large cities like Berlin began to develop enclaves of shops and restaurants surrounded by apartment houses where almost all residents had similar backgrounds. One of those small restaurants was the site of a invasion and execution leaving four leaders of the exiled Iranian community dead.
Political leaders in much of western Europe were trying to establish beneficial commercial links with Iran, and the attempts of the German prosecutors to find the perpetrators and bring them to trial did not go smoothly.
It's a small book and very well written. Like the best non fiction, it taught me about an issue I knew little about.
ROOM by Emma Donoghue
A young woman is kidnapped, raped, impregnated, and held captive in a converted storage shed. Her abductor has modified the 11 x 11 space of the shed to include everything he thinks she will need, and added an electronic keypad so only he can enter and leave. She eventually gives birth to a son, and raises him in that small space on her own.
The action of the novel begins some seven years after her capture when her son is five years old. She devises a means of escape, which is successful.
The narrator of the action is the five year old boy, who has had only his mother's influence to learn about language, culture, indeed everything the rest of us never even stop to think about.
The author's achievment of voice and tone is remarkable. The book is dark, very dark, and whether there is a hopeful ending for the mother and her son is debatable. But it's one of the most remarkable books I have ever read.
COMEDY IN A MINOR KEY by Hans Keilson
Almost a novella, this slim little book doesn't take long to read. It's set in 1940's Holland, where a young married couple has agreed to hide a Jewish man in a spare room on one of their upper floors. They form a tentative friendship, but did not anticipate all the possible outcomes of their actions. I'm not giving anything away to tell you that their hidden guest sickens and dies, and they must find a way to dispose of the body.
V IS FOR VENGEANCE by Sue Grafton
Grafton is nearing the end of the alphabet, and I'm not alone in thinking that she is getting better as she nears the end of a long, popular writing career.
The action involves a widespread shoplifting ring which has been proceeding smoothly for several years. The success is interrupted when Grafton's protagonist observes a theft in progress and reports the incident to the store.
The chief operator of the ring is a sort of honorable thief, and the stability of his operation is threatened by his brother, whose solution to anything going wrong is to murder someone. Grafton has a nice engimatic ending, leaving the door open for some of these characters to return.
That's it for this bunch. I'm going to update my "best of" observations in another entry or perhaps two.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Lee's one and only novel is widely regarded as one of the best achievements by an American writer of any generation. It's a continuing mystery why she only published one novel, although she did contribute essays and (I think) some short fiction to various magazines over the years.
A group of friends on Facebook proposed forming our own afinity group, and separated by distance and time, read the book at our own individual paces and comment on Facebook as we had intelligent things to say. Or even ordinary things to say. So I've had the book as a whole on my mind for a couple of months now, as the other Facebook group members make their way through it.
I've read the book over and over, but I think the last time was when my daughter was assigned it for high school, some 25 years ago. (Goodness, it can't be that long, can it?)
An iconic small southern town in the depression years; two lively children being raised by a widowed father; a third child, more than a little eccentric (supposedly based on Truman Capote); a reclusive neighbor; and a climactic trial of a black man for the rape of a white woman. The Facebook discussion raised all kinds of issues I had never contemplated.
The kind of book which makes me proud to be an American. I think the last author I made a similar comment about was Ray Bradbury. He and Harper Lee make an interesting pair, don't they?
CREOLE BELLE by James Lee Burke
It pains me to say it about a book by one of my favorite authors, but I didn't finish this one. I found it more than a little repetitive of themes Burke has explored over and over again. His go around this time added little to the discussion.
CHIMES by Charles Dickens
One of my book discussion groups chooses a holiday themed book for our December meeting. This one follows the same general idea as A CHRISTMAS CAROL, in that the main character perceives in a dream what life would be like if he made different decisions.
ASSASSINS OF THE TURQUOISE PALACE by Roya Hakakian
In the 1980's, streams of immigrants fleeing the political upheavals of the Middle East began to flow into Europe. Large cities like Berlin began to develop enclaves of shops and restaurants surrounded by apartment houses where almost all residents had similar backgrounds. One of those small restaurants was the site of a invasion and execution leaving four leaders of the exiled Iranian community dead.
Political leaders in much of western Europe were trying to establish beneficial commercial links with Iran, and the attempts of the German prosecutors to find the perpetrators and bring them to trial did not go smoothly.
It's a small book and very well written. Like the best non fiction, it taught me about an issue I knew little about.
ROOM by Emma Donoghue
A young woman is kidnapped, raped, impregnated, and held captive in a converted storage shed. Her abductor has modified the 11 x 11 space of the shed to include everything he thinks she will need, and added an electronic keypad so only he can enter and leave. She eventually gives birth to a son, and raises him in that small space on her own.
The action of the novel begins some seven years after her capture when her son is five years old. She devises a means of escape, which is successful.
The narrator of the action is the five year old boy, who has had only his mother's influence to learn about language, culture, indeed everything the rest of us never even stop to think about.
The author's achievment of voice and tone is remarkable. The book is dark, very dark, and whether there is a hopeful ending for the mother and her son is debatable. But it's one of the most remarkable books I have ever read.
COMEDY IN A MINOR KEY by Hans Keilson
Almost a novella, this slim little book doesn't take long to read. It's set in 1940's Holland, where a young married couple has agreed to hide a Jewish man in a spare room on one of their upper floors. They form a tentative friendship, but did not anticipate all the possible outcomes of their actions. I'm not giving anything away to tell you that their hidden guest sickens and dies, and they must find a way to dispose of the body.
V IS FOR VENGEANCE by Sue Grafton
Grafton is nearing the end of the alphabet, and I'm not alone in thinking that she is getting better as she nears the end of a long, popular writing career.
The action involves a widespread shoplifting ring which has been proceeding smoothly for several years. The success is interrupted when Grafton's protagonist observes a theft in progress and reports the incident to the store.
The chief operator of the ring is a sort of honorable thief, and the stability of his operation is threatened by his brother, whose solution to anything going wrong is to murder someone. Grafton has a nice engimatic ending, leaving the door open for some of these characters to return.
That's it for this bunch. I'm going to update my "best of" observations in another entry or perhaps two.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Read/Post Comments (1)
Previous Entry :: Next Entry
Back to Top
