Li Ching-chao: Complete Poems

 Li Ching-chao: Complete Poems by Li Ching-chao, translated by Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung, 118 pages.

Described as China's greatest woman poet, Li Ching-chao lived from 1084 until 1151 during the final years of the Sung Dynasty. 

The poems in this book are arranged in setions based thematically on youth, loneliness, exile, "his death," politics, mysticism, and old age. Natural beauty, a sense of loss, and melancholy run through all these peoms (maybe less so in the "Politics" section) One of my favorites: 

Written by Chance

 

Fifteen years ago, beneath moonlight and flowers, 

I walked with you 

We composed flower-viewing poems together. 

Tonight the moonlight and flowers are just the same. 

But how can I ever hold in my arms the same love.

Famed poet Kenneth Rexroth and poet and critic Ling Chung, who in 1972 had translated Orchid Boat: Women Poets of China, worked together to translate these poems

Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters, Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Selected Letters 1839-1865

Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters, Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Selected Letters 1839-1865 by

Ulysses S. Grant, edited by Mary Drake McFeely and William S. McFeely, 1199 pages.

By the second chapter of Grant's memoir, he has already headed off to West Point, so the account covers his early life in brief, and then his military career from his time at the military academy through the war with Mexico and then through the end of the Civil War, Grant has his favorites among his contemporaries, and their are those he is less fond of; his judgement of others seems imbued with a sense of fairness throughout and he makes a strong case for the Union point of view as he argues against the pro-Confederate bias among the historians of his time.

Chernow's recent biography of Grant adds interesting detail that is lacking here, though the letters found at the end of the book are illuminating. The story of how Mark Twain came to publish this work is missing here, but is found in the audio version of the memoirs. Important historically, and a great read.

This Is How You Lose the Time War

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, 198 pages.

An epistolary romance that runs up and down the threads of time. (maybe it's not a "romance,"  I dunno, I throw this term around loosely).

Red works for Commandant and the Agency, and Blue, her adversary, is a part of Garden. Garden and the Agency are in an unending war that travels up and down the timestream. 

Both Red and Blue are lone operatives and among the best at what they do. Their adversarial relation begins to change as they begin an exchange of letters, missives, and messages in a variety of formats. They situations with their respective employers grow strained as they become increasingly interested in each other. An odd and enjoyable read. 

Winner of numerous awards.

Paganism in Depth

 

Paganism in Depth: A Polytheist Approach by John Beckett 288 pp.

This follow up to his book The Path of Paganism takes the spiritual seeker deeper into Pagan practices and gives advice on how to continue the spiritual journey once past the "Paganism 101" stage. For experienced practitioners there is not a lot of new material covered. However, Beckett does cover important facets of the spiritual path and how to continue for deeper understanding. There is also helpful material for when you find yourself in "spiritual Kansas" and nothing seems to be working. Having not read the first book, I was impressed by Beckett's straightforward approach and commonsense attitude toward various problems one might encounter. An engineer by profession, Beckett lays things out in a logical, easy to follow manner. And, having met the author, he seems to be a genuinely nice guy. He has a blog at https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/ .

Marbles

 

Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me by Ellen Forney  256 pp.

This is a well done chronicle of Ellen Forney's life after being diagnosed as Bipolar 1. After her diagnosis shortly before her thirtieth birthday, Forney spent years battling mania and depression with a cocktail of prescription drugs, marijuana, and other drugs. With the help of a caring and conscientious psychiatrist and the support of her pot-smoking mother, she eventually gets her life mostly under control. During this time she also studied the concept of the "crazy artist" and researched Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O'Keefe, William Styron, Sylvia Plath and others. Forney's book is visceral and blatantly honest in showing the highs and lows of her life in a graphic and understandable way.   

William Shakespeare's King Lear

 

William Shakespeare's King Lear: a Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds 128 pp.

This graphic novel format of the play King Lear is somewhat difficult to read, not because it is Shakespeare, but because of the flowery lettering used for the dialogue. I have to admit I was underwhelmed at first by the difficult to read text and the artwork but it eventually grew on me. It helped that I had seen two excellent film versions of the play in 2018: The National Theatre Live production with Sir Ian McKellen as Lear and another 2018 production with Sir Anthony Hopkins in the title role. Without that familiarity with the story I believe this version is hard to follow although the notes in the back helps to clear up confusion. Not a bad version but it leaves out much of the play.

Apocalypse Nerd

 

Apocalypse Nerd by Peter Bagge 120 pp.

When returning home after spending time in the Cascade Mountains, Perry and Gordo learn that the state of Washington has been nuked by the North Koreans. After Perry freaks out (for the first time) and Gordo is less than helpful, the duo head back to the cabin where they vacationed. They forage and hunt for food and fend off intruders. Eventually the two split up and Perry ends up rescued and then imprisoned by a group of women refugees. One of the women runs off with Perry and they end up foraging (and killing) together. There is a lot of killing in this book as desperate people attempt to survive after the bombing. It's grim with moments of humor. Bagge's art makes no one in the story attractive.

Herding Cats: A "Sarah's Scribbles" Collection

Herding Cats: A "Sarah's Scribbles" Collection by Sarah Andersen, 108 pages.
This is the third book by Andersen in this series (I just learned this today, I knew that I had see the author's work before but I don't recognize either of the other books) about herself and her feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment about her everyday life.

A fun read. I will be checking out the other books fairly soon.

The City in the Middle of the Night

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders, 366 pages

Set hundreds of years in the future on a dying planet, this book follows student Sophie and smuggler Mouth as they try to find their own way in life. Sophie took the fall for a friend and was cast into the harsh dark and frozen side of their tidally locked planet, miraculously surviving, though not without both trauma from her ordeal and a fondness for the alien creatures that saved her. Meanwhile, Mouth has spent her life on the road, traveling the thin line between the sunny side and the dark side of the planet, first with a group of nomads, and now as part of a smuggling crew that illegally transports goods between the planet’s two major cities. 

This book is full of haunting histories, a confusing present, an uncertain future, and plenty of thought-provoking cultural clashes. It's the second time I've read it in as many years, and I loved it just as much this time as I did the first. I can't wait to see what the Orcs & Aliens book group thinks of this one next month, as there's plenty of fodder for discussion.

Leonard and Hungry Paul

Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession, 247 pages

Leonard is a thirty-something man who lived with his mother until her death, keeping her company when he wasn't at work cleaning up the text for kids' encyclopedias. His best friend is Hungry Paul, who similarly lives with his parents, keeping them company when he isn't occasionally filling in for absent postal carriers. They're book good, quiet men who are quite happy in their introvert lifestyles. But Hungry Paul's sister is getting married, which causes her to start fretting about who will take care of the family as she starts her own; meanwhile, Leonard seems to have caught the attention of Sheila, an artistic woman who works in the same office building. Will these events upset their calm lives and longtime friendship?

This is an absolutely charming book about everyday mediocre people. It's sweet, ponderous (but in a good way!), and just all around pleasant. Highly recommended for fans of Nina Stibbe and realistic British fiction.

The Painted Veil

 The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (1925) 246 pages

Set in the 1920s, this novel follows Kitty, a beautiful young English woman whose mother has high hopes for her to make a great match. But Kitty's mother thinks that each beau who woos Kitty isn't good enough. When Kitty is 25, in a panic, she marries Walter Fane and moves to Hong Kong, where he's a bacteriologist who works for the government. When Walter discovers she's having an affair, he gives Kitty a choice: if her lover will divorce his wife and marry Kitty, Walter will give Kitty a divorce. Otherwise, Kitty must follow him to an area in China which lost its only doctor to cholera, and where cholera is still raging. Heartbroken when her lover won't leave his wife, Kitty goes into the heartland of China with Walter. The story finally takes off and Kitty begins to show some character.

Coach

 

Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life / Michael Lewis, 93 pages.

An interesting story that is as small as it is large.  Michael Lewis recounts the moment he was highly unqualified but put in as a relief pitcher on his school team and how his coach, a widely respected and serious figure gave him the confidence to bring the game home.  A small event in the life of the coach but a HUGE event in the life of a young player.  Lewis revisits his coach after hearing alumni are raising money to redo a field and name it after their beloved coach.  At the same time, parents of the current class in the school are trying to get the coach fired because he may have been too "hard" on their kids.  The juxtaposition makes this so interesting as the administration looks at these parents as "customers" but the coach maybe the biggest school related influence in hundreds of lives.  As with all of Lewis' work, it is a wonderful way to spend your reading time.

What you are going through

 

What you are going through / Sigrid Nunez, read by Hilary Huber, 210 pgs.

This is a kind of meditation on interactions with the main character, a middle aged + woman who lets people talk.  The center piece is a friend who asks her to "be there" for her assisted suicide.  The friend has inoperable cancer and wants to choose her time. But all the interactions have the commonality of showing us the empathy and compassion our protagonist has for others.  Not that there isn't any little bit of snark or judging...but the judging is "fair" and honest.  I feel like there are so many treasures in this book, it is one I will return to again.

The longing for less

 

The longing for less: living with minimalism / Kyle Chayka, 258 pgs.

This isn't a book about getting rid of your clutter.  Instead it looks at the basis for minimalism.  It includes information about more than just "stuff."  Less sounds, for example, simplicity in art and light, design and architecture.  How do you live a lifestyle instead of just removing clutter.  There are philosophical origins for minimalism and Chayka gets into the nitty gritty.  I enjoyed learning more about this and not having a prescribed plan to declutter. I didn't exactly understand what I was getting into when I started the book but ended up taking time and reflecting on what I read in each chapter.

The Old Guard

The Old Guard: Book One: Opening fire & Book Two: Force multiplied, Greg Rucka, art by Leandro Fernandez, 338 pgs.

These two volumes follow a small band of immortals.  They are experienced warriors who will do some jobs for hire. In the first book, a new "team member" is discovered.  As you can imagine, being unable to die has its pros and cons.

In the second volume we meet up with another immortal who was thought to be dead.  It isn't a loving reunion.  

This has been made into a movie available on Netflix.  I watched the movie not realizing the source.  The books are good but I really enjoyed the movie. Not often I can say that. Either way, the story is cool and recommended.  It gives you the chance to think what you might accomplish in a 6,000 year life. 

The pull of the stars, by Emma Donoghue

Talk about timing…. Donoghue, author of the highly acclaimed “Room” among others, began writing her newest novel at the end of 2018 which marked the 100th anniversary of the influenza pandemic that devasted much of the globe post-World War I. She finished it in March of this year just as Covid-19 hit. The 1918 admonishments, “SEE ONLY THOSE PERSONS ONE NEEDS TO SEE. REFRAIN FROM SHAKING HANDS, LAUGHING, OR CHATTING CLOSELY TOGETHER,” and “THE GOVERNMENT HAS THE SITUTATION WELL IN HAND AND THE EPIDEMIC IS ACTUALLY IN DECLINE” are eerily familiar 100 years later. I couldn’t put it down, but it is not for the faint of heart, as the themes include misogyny, patriarchy, and child abuse by the Catholic Church, as well as very vivid gynecological depictions of what can go wrong in childbirth. Set in Dublin, it covers just three days in the life of Nurse Julia Power, an unmarried woman about to turn thirty, who works at the local hospital. She lives with her younger brother, Tim, who has been rendered mute by his experience in battle and the loss of a close friend. Pregnant patients suffering from the flu have been isolated in a small reconfigured supply area to protect those in the maternity ward unaffected by the disease. As the novel open, a staffing shortage leaves Julia in sole charge of the three cots which will be occupied over these days by several ill and fragile patients. Luckily, she has unexpectedly been sent an assistant, Bridget (Bridie) Sweeney. Bridie, a small, undernourished and uneducated girl, turns out to be a ray of light, unflappable, and very quick study from the first hours. The two women quickly form a bond. In the absence of male doctors struck down by the disease, Dr. Kathleen Lynn (a real historical figure) is serving at the hospital. She has been involved as a Rebel in the Easter Uprising and is still on the run from the police. These characters and the women patients (including a 17-year-old bride, a wife delivering her twelfth (not all living) child, and a unwed mother) are very believably drawn, and one is left wanting to know more about the real Dr. Kathleen Lynn. Not exactly escapist fiction at this time. An excellent book with a somewhat weak ending. 295 pp.

Woman Rebel

 Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story by Peter Bagge  104 pp.

This graphic novel biography of Margaret Sanger and her work to legitimize sex education and birth control during the early part of the 20th century in an effort to save women from having no control over too many children. After watching her own mother's health destroyed by 18 pregnancies, many of them miscarriages, Sanger became a crusader for the rights of women to control their reproductive health and was willing to be jailed multiple times in the process. Her efforts led to the creation of Planned Parenthood which is still battling adversaries who want to deny women's rights. Bagge's artwork is energetic but portrays Sanger as physically unattractive. Extensive footnotes provide historical documentation and includes photographs which show Sanger as a pleasant looking woman. 

The Accidental Demon Slayer

 The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox  292 pp.

Lizzie Brown is a mild mannered, almost stodgy, preschool teacher who begins this book with the worst thirtieth birthday ever. Her long lost Harley riding witch grandmother shows up, her beloved terrier, Pirate, begins talking, there is an ancient demon in her bathroom, and she learns she is actually a demon slayer. Lizzie ends up leaving with Grandma on the Harley to meet up with the rest of the Red Skull Coven, a motorcycle gang of witches. Along the way they connect with Dimitri, a shapeshifting gryphon who has been designated Lizzie's protector. After an attack at a werewolf run Shoney's, Grandma has been captured and is stuck in the 2nd level of Hell. Now Lizzie must learn to slay demons to rescue her. Fans of excessive use of similes will adore this book. I listened to the audio version and, while the narrator, Tavia Gilbert, is great at voices, her performance was too overwrought. Amusing but I'm not interested in continuing the series.  

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

 

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngleo (2018) 169 pages

White Fragility has started me on a journey that I don't think I can do justice describing. First, the definition of racism used by author Robin DiAngelo is different from what I expected. A white person, like herself (and myself), cannot avoid being a racist. Being a racist doesn't necessarily make one a bad person; it's an inevitable result of growing up white in our society. DiAngelo, a diversity trainer and consultant on racial and social justice issues, sees her own shortcomings even after working on this issue for over 25 years. She says it's necessary for whites to learn to move along the continuum to become less racist, a mission always in progress. White fragility is a force that tries to keep the status quo between whites and people of color. White fragility causes whites to become confused, defensive or indignant when our racism is pointed out. DiAngelo gives examples of behavior and words that a white person wouldn't instinctively know are racist, explains why these are racist, and gives us examples of how to combat our racism.

The book is well-footnoted, with good resources for additional reading.

Oona Out of Order

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, 338 pages

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve 1982, two big things happened for Oona Lockhart: she turned 19 years old and she mentally travels to 2015, coming to in her 51-year-old body. As she rapidly discovers, Oona has the complicated tendency to transfer to a different year of her adult life every New Year, though she has no idea when or where she'll turn up. Over the course of the book, Oona kind of learns to deal with her predicament, helped by the only two people who know about her odd situation: her mother and a younger man named Kenzie. Along the way, she finds and loses love, learns to play the guitar, and makes a killing in the stock market.

This is such an odd story to describe, and definitely an odd one to read. It's interesting to see how Oona grows and changes as her mental age steadily moves forward, regardless of the physical body she inhabits each year. There's definitely something of The Time Traveler's Wife in this book (though this one is perhaps more approachable), as well as the Doctor Who story arc of the Doctor and River Song. If you enjoyed those, or are a fan of Lou Reed, this book's worth checking out.

The cabinets of Barnaby Mayne, by Elsa Hart

Hart, a St. Louis author, has an interesting background of living around the world as a child and an adult, as well as a law degree from Washington University. Her husband is a botanist at MOBot. Many of these facets of her life are present in her newest novel, the start of a promising series. Drawing from her experience of living on the Chinese/Tibet border for her husband’s work, her earlier trilogy centered on an eighteenth century Chinese royal librarian who finds himself embroiled in various mysteries. Her new mystery is set in the early 1700s as well, but this time in England. Lady Cecily Kay, whose husband is a consul in Smyrna (present day Izmir, Turkey), has returned to England alone to work on a collection of dried plant specimens she has assembled abroad. Sir Barnaby Mayne is a noted collector of “curiosities,” which embraces a wide variety of items, from pickled snakes and embalmed birds, to gems, antiquities, fossils, and much, much more, including an important herbarium where Cecily hopes to identify her plants. Arriving at his manor, where she is to stay for two weeks, Cecily meets another guest, Meacan Barlow, who she knew well as a child when Meacan’s gardener father was employed at Cecily’s home. Meacan has been employed by Sir Barnaby as an illustrator. Cecily and several other invited guests are to receive a tour led by Mayne the day she arrives. However, halfway through the tour, a letter arrives and Mayne is called away. When he doesn’t return, most of the guests go their own ways through the various rooms. Before dinner, they discover to their horror that their host has been murdered in his office with a jeweled knife he was about to add to his collection. Although his bloody-handed curator confesses immediately to the crime, he escapes out the back door and is not apprehended. But did he really do it? The twists and turns of the plot are clever, and the at first wary, but soon close, relationship of the two women is well developed. Hart’s atmospheric descriptions of the cluttered, dark, and somewhat ominous homes of Mayne and other local collectors, the smoke and grit of 18th century London, and her understanding of what drives competing collectors to seek out curiosities brought back from newly discovered lands give the book depth. I was particularly taken with her explanation of why people collect: “…whatever else a collection may be, it is, inevitably, a record of the collector’s existence. And, unlike those copies we make of ourselves in our children, a collection remains always within the collector’s control, a faithful testament to what he has seen, and to his thoughts, his judgments, his choices, and his fascinations. The anticipation of its destruction can become, for the collector, another aspect of Death. The thought of its preservation, by extension, is a promise of immortality.” We welcomed Elsa at a Friends’ author event shortly after her first book appeared and I certainly hope, post-pandemic, she will come back to the library to discuss this book, and what may be next for Cecily and Meacan – we haven’t seen the last of this pair. 314 pp.

Hench

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, 403 pages

Anna is a low-level henchwoman-for-hire when she becomes an accidental casualty in one of hero Supercollider's rescues. Laid up with a spiral fracture to her leg, Anna starts running the numbers on how much property damage and loss of life these heroes cost the city. Before long, she has started a blog and gained the attention of Leviathan, a supervillain who thinks she has potential. Next thing she knows, Anna is climbing up the villainous corporate ladder, scheming against heroes while manipulating her spreadsheets.

This is a wonderfully creative book that manages to examine both the nature of heroes and cubicle life, with plenty of feminist snark and humor to boot. Fans of Catherynne Valente's The Refrigerator Monologues and Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible will LOVE this book.

Rich People Problems

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan, 544 pages

OK, so Christa and I are apparently on the same reading brainwave, as she just posted about this one too. I'm not going to rehash what she posted here, though I will echo her resounding endorsement of this series. It's so much fun to read!

Here we are, by Graham Swift

 Another moving short novel by the author of one of my favorite books recently, “Mothering Sunday.” In 1959, just as vaudevillian acts and the type of variety shows common in tourist locations are beginning to lose their appeal to television entertainment, Ronnie, a magician; Evie, his lovely assistant; and Jack, the master of ceremonies, are performing at a theater on the pier in Brighton, England. We first meet Ronnie, an only child born into a poor neighborhood who left it for a more privileged home in the country when many young children were sent out of London to escape World War II’s blitz. There he learned magic from Mr. Lawrence and a different way of living from his wife. The couple, sadly childless after a dangerous birth and loss of the baby, are more than happy to be surrogate parents. When he returns to his mother’s home as a teenager, his mostly absent sailor father having gone permanently missing during the War, he no longer fits into his former life. He begins to make his way as the magician Pablo (a play on his middle name, Paul) before he being drafted into the peacetime army. There he meets Jack, who will eventually invite him to Brighton to perform his magic, assuming he can find the proper (read attractive female) assistant. Evie, the first and only person Ronnie interviews, fills the bill completely. Everyone loves Jack, but it is the show that Ronnie and Evie, who quickly become a couple, develop that will bring in crowds as the summer goes on. After their final amazing act, Ronnie disappears. Like “Mothering Sunday,” the book then fast-forwards into the future a half century or so later, focusing on Evie now. A year previously, Evie lost her husband, Jack, who she married after Ronnie’s disappearance. Jack had developed into a famous actor and celebrity over the intervening years. This summary does no justice to the language, imagery, nuance, and staying power of this book. Magical. 195 pp.

Death below stairs, by Jennifer Ashley

A friend recommended this series, set in the 1880s, as being somewhat similar in theme to the Maisie Dobbs mysteries that I will eventually exhaust. The main character in this first book is a servant in a grand house, just as Maisie started out as in the 1910s. Kat Holloway is a gifted cook who has taken a new job at the Rankin mansion. In addition to the lord of the manor, there’s his wife who rarely leaves her room, and his wife’s sister, who is shockingly addicted to wearing the clothes of a gentleman. But all is not as it seems and there’s skullduggery afoot. An innocent maid is brutally murdered in the pantry one night, and this will bring the police to their door, as well as Daniel McAdam, who Kat is acquainted with slightly. He is hired as an odd-job man. But what and who is Daniel really? By the end of the novel, even Queen Victoria gets into the act, so clearly he is not exactly what he seems to be. It was an enjoyable novel, but the author’s other genre writing, romance, was perhaps a bit too prominent. Kat is no Maisie, but fun anyway. 329 pp.

Leaving everything most loved, by Jacqueline Winspear

The next Maisie Dobbs novel is a pivotal moment in the series. Maisie is asked to find the killer of an Indian governess who accompanied the family she worked for in her home country to England but was evidently dismissed sometime after arriving. As Maisie begins her investigation, she is more and more worried about her faithful assistant Billy, who sustained serious injuries in the previous book and seems to be struggling with the aftereffects in addition to his long-standing problems that date back to physical and mental wounds sustained in World War I. Her more recent staff addition, the widowed Sandra, is also somewhat unsettled. And as for Maisie, she is still on the fence as to whether or not marriage to James Compton, with whom she is sharing her life, is the right next step in her life. Partly sparked by her new case involving Indian nationals, and partly inspired by her late mentor’s world travels, she wonders if she should chuck it all and hit the road for India. Stay tuned. 338 pp.

Transcendent Kingdom

 

Transcendent Kingdom / Yaa Gyasi, read by Bhani Turpin, 261 pgs.

Gifti is finishing her Ph.D. She is also dealing with her mom who is suffering from depression. But really she is dealing with a whole lot more.  The daughter of Guyanian immigrants, her family has struggled, her dad abandoned them and returned to Guyana, her brother died an addict who overdoses.  She is struggling with her past but the future is bright, her research is going well. She will graduate soon.

Bhani Turpin is at her best here.  Accents, multiple voices, and drama are all beautifully done.  I loved this immigrant story and could not stop listening.

Earthlings

 

Earthlings / Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori, read by Nancy Wu 256 pgs.

I'm not even sure how to start with this book.  Natsuki lives in a bit of a dream world but she has to because she doesn't fit into the real world. Abused by her mom and a teacher, she is just trying to survive.  Her cousin Yuu is similar in nature, he says he is an alien from Popinpobopia waiting for a spaceship to rescue him.  These two aren't destined for lives that celebrate the social norms.  Sure enough, years later they are adults and still not fitting in.  Natsuki has gained a husband, Yuu is living in their grandma's house in the mountains after losing his job.  Toss in a little incest, murder and canibalism and you really have something.  I listened to the audio which is perfectly done by Nancy Wu but that doesn't make the book any less quirky.  At times I wanted to hate this but I think I ended up loving it.

Rich People Problems

 

Rich People problems / Kevin Kwan, 397 pgs.

Sure, I'm never going to have the same kind of problems that these people have.  I mean, keeping the spa in service that is located on your 747? Come on! But Kwan has another home run here.  The many characters we've met in the previous two books are back and some turn out not to be as rich as we thought.  Very interesting family dynamics as there is a bit of a competition to be near grandma as her health starts to fail.  Maybe you will find yourself in a better place in the will.  Astrid gets her own sex video, Nick is banned from his family home for a time and Eddie finally gets the help he needs.  I do love all the crazy things that have gone on throughout this trilogy.  Wonder if there will be another movie?

The Book of Longings

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (2020) 416 pages

Sue Monk Kidd has written a book which imagines that Jesus had brothers and a sister, and was married at the time of his crucifixion. The book is written in the voice of Ana, the young woman who became his wife. Her own story is compelling, too. Born into a wealthy family, her father allowed her to have a tutor to teach her to read and write, which led her to write stories of women, because women's stories were so often left untold. Ana's father's sister, Yaltha, and Ana's cousin, Judas (yes, that Judas, whose father was killed by the Romans and whose mother was enslaved), were her most beloved family members. When Ana was 14, a marriage was arranged against her will. After Ana's intended husband's death, she was allowed to marry Jesus, going with him to live in Nazareth with his family.

I'm not a biblical scholar, but the weaving of the storyline of Ana into the storyline of Jesus seems to work well. Yaltha's own history is revealed over time, adding to the fullness of the story. However, we're left to imagine the last two years of Jesus's life because of a forced separation of the couple when Ana is threatened with arrest by Herod Antipas and flees to Egypt. By the time Ana can return to Galilee, the events of Jesus's arrest are underway. This book is riveting in its entirety, in spite of knowing in advance how Jesus's life would end.

My Cousin Rachel

 

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier  352 pp.

I first read this book when I was in my twenties and found it disappointing and not even close to the caliber of du Maurier's Rebecca. I decided to revisit it in audiobook form to see if my opinion of it had changed. I can say this time around I found it somewhat better. The author did an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing as to Rachel's motives. However, the behavior of Philip grows tedious. He first believes Rachel to be the cause of his cousin's death, then becomes smitten with her before once again believing she had an evil streak and was trying to kill him. My opinion of this book is better than the first time I read it because I appreciate the author's writing more but I will never reread it again (unlike Rebecca). 

China Rich Girlfriend

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan, 479 pages

My thanks to Christa for recently reading and blogging about this book, which came a perfect lull in my crazy reading schedule this year and reminded me that I still had two books to read in the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. I'll not go over the plot, since it's a bit all over the place with stories following the elegant Astrid Leong, crazy Kitty Pong, and the reserved Rachel Chu, but I will say that while Kwan offers up his undeniably snarky peek at the multi-billionaires of Asia, this one suffers a bit from the traditional second-in-a-trilogy slump. Fingers crossed that there's a clearer story in Rich People Problems, which I'm going to start reading today.

The Constant Rabbit

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde, 307 pages

Any new Jasper Fforde book is cause for celebration, and The Constant Rabbit is no exception. A fantastically absurd take on immigration and bigotry, this novel finds our main character Peter Knox living in a U.K. that is also home to hundreds of thousands of human-sized anthropomorphic rabbits. Tensions between the rabbits and humans are running high since the inexplicable anthropomorphizing event that took place more than half a century earlier, elevating to the construction and potentially forced relocation of the rabbits to a compound called MegaWarren. Unwittingly, Peter gets pulled into the middle of the controversy, with Hominid Supremacists on one side and the Rabbit Underground on the other.

I love all Fforde books, and this one is top notch. I loved the silliness, as well as the pointed social and political commentary. This man does satire like no other, and it's wonderful to experience this fantastic book. My only regret is not buying this book for myself already, but that will soon be rectified. Highly recommended, particularly for fans of carrots.

September totals!

Christa  20/4403

Jan  2/550

Josh  2/415

Kara  13/4313

Karen  5/1550

Linda  3/974

Patrick  5/1643

TOTAL  50/13,848

Don't forget the new wild card categories: titles that end in Y, and titles that include cities!

An Unkindness of Ghosts

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, 349 pages

For more than 300 years, the Matilda has been flying away from Earth, its inhabitants fleeing to find a new planet to colonize. During that time, the ship's residents and their descendants have developed a society that unfortunately mimics the antebellum South, with the darker-skinned lower-decks residents serving as slaves to the wealthy white upper-decks residents. Despite being a native of the lower decks, orphan Aster's intelligence has allowed her to become assistant to the ship's surgeon and create opportunities that don't exist for others of her birth. But how will she use those privileges, small though they are? She can, of course, help the sick and wounded, but others around her would rather use those opportunities to light the flames of rebellion.

I knew going into this book that it focused on a woman in a rough situation on a colony ship, and perhaps for that reason, I avoided reading for a really long time. But I really shouldn't have. There is so much wonderful about this amazing book about power, control, identity, and yes, rebellion. It's incredible and I can't wait to discuss it with the Orcs & Aliens next Monday.

A Deadly Inside Scoop

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette, 375 pages

Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over the family ice cream parlor and is preparing to reopen after a massive renovation when she discovers a dead body by the falls behind the shop. When it turns out that the deceased has a rocky history with her family, Bronwyn's father becomes a suspect, and Bronwyn is on the hunt to clear his name and catch the real killer. But can she do it while getting the ice cream parlor back up and running?

A cozy mystery and an ice cream parlor? This book was calling my name. Collette has created a winning heroine with a family full of strong supporting characters, and a pretty darn believable plot. Bonus points for having a young Black woman at the center of a cozy mystery, which is almost so rare as to be unheard of. An excellent start to what will hopefully be a long and fruitful series.

The Gate Keeper

 

The Gate Keeper (Inspector Ian Rutledge, #20) by Charles Todd  313 pp.

Inspector Rutledge, shell shocked WWI veteran turned Scotland Yard detective, happens upon a killing while on a late night drive. He arrives within minutes of a young man, fatally killed by an unknown gunman. Because he was off duty, having just attended his sister's wedding, and not carrying his credentials the local constabulary view him as a suspect at first. Once that is straightened out there is a contentious turf battle between Rutledge and the police. The victim is a well known and generally liked individual who had been raised by a mother who believes him to be evil. Even so, the killing appears to be random until there is a second victim, a gentleman farmer. Rutledge searches for a connection between the deaths while dealing with his PTSD in the form of a voice in his head of the soldier he had to put to death for endangering their unit during the war. The voice of "Hamish" frequently aids Rutledge in thinking through details of the crime and, while unwanted, is not particularly a bad symptom. I've only read a few of these mysteries and find them interesting and well crafted.

China rich girlfriend

 

China rich girlfriend / Kevin Kwan, 479 pgs.

The second book of the "Crazy Rich Asian" trilogy finds Nick and Rachel finally getting married. It has been three years since Nick's split with his family and he still isn't talking to his mother.  She, however, finds out about the wedding and crashes it.  Turns out she has some news, she has found Rachel's dad.  After the wedding, Rachel and Nick go to China to spend time with her father.  He is tied up with business so they end up spending a lot of time with her brother Carlton and his "friend" Colette. Drama ensues.  Even though it is hard to relate to the way this 1% lives, it is fun to read what Kwan writes.