 | The Library Book by Sean Orlean 313 pages What’s it about? Susan Orlean explores a fire that occurred at the Los Angeles Public Library in the spring of 1986. When the fire quit burning it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged another 700,000. Orleans uses the Los Angeles fire as a jumping off point to explore arson, but she explores at greater length how libraries have evolved over the years. What did it make me think about? Some of my earliest memories are of going to the library as a child- not always willingly- but we went a lot. "Decades had passed and I was threee thousand miles away, but I was whisked back in time and place, back to the scenario of walking into the library with my mother. Nothing had changed- there was the same soft tsk-tsk-tsk of pencil and paper, and the muffled murmuring from patrons at the tables in the center of the room, and the creak and groan of book carts, and the occasional papery clunk of a book dropped on the desk. ..... It wasn't that time stopped in the library. It was as if it were captured here, collected here, and in all libraries- and not only my time, my life, but all human time as well. In the library, time is dammed up- not just stopped but saved. The library is gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them. It is where we can glimpse immortality; in the library, we can live forever." This book took me back and it also emphasized that libraries are an ever changing place. Should I read it? This was a really good book about a subject that could be considered dry. If you are looking for a crime book- then be aware that this does explore the library fire but it is about so much more. If you are looking for a book that explores where libraries have been and where they are going- then this book is a great choice. Quote- "The publicness of the public library is an increasingly rare commodity. It becomes harder all the time to think of places that welcome everyone and don't charge any money for that warm embrace. The commitment to inclusion is so powerful that many decisions about the library hinge on whether or not a particular choice would cause a subset of the public to feel uninvited." "Libraries have become a defect community center for the homeless across the globe. There is not a library in the world that hasn't grappled with the issue of how- and how much- to provide for the homeless. Many librarians have told me that they consider this the defining question facing libraries right now." If you like this try- Ghettoside A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy My Brother Moochie by Issac J. Bailey Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance 8 1/2 stars |
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Virgil Wander by Leif Enger 300 pages What’s it about? Greenstone is a small mid-western town that has seen better days. Virgil Wander owns the local movie theater. It seems like Virgil’s life has been on autopilot for a long time, until one day his Pontiac careens off the road and lands in the icy waters of Lake Superior. Virgil survives but his language and memory are just not the same. This is the story of a small town… What did it make me think about? I have read so many good books lately with a small community at the heart of the story. This story just made me think of the goodness in most people. Should I read it? I loved “Peace Like a River” years ago and I loved this book as well. Who wouldn’t love Virgil, Rune, Nadine, and Bjorn- as well as countless other characters living in Greenstone. I will miss them all! Quote- “A person never knows what’s next-I don’t anyway. The surface of everything is thinner than we know. A person can fall right through, without any warning at all.” If you liked this try- Less by Andrew Sean Greer The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson Beartown by Frederik Backman Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger 9 stars
 The Last Girl by Nadia Murad
306 pages What’s it about? Nadia Murad was born in raised in Kocha, a small village in Northern Iraq. She is a member of the Yazidi community and has always lived a quiet life in her close community. Nadia is just twenty-one years old when ISIS militants take over her village. They quickly execute all the men that refuse to convert to Islam, and all the women too old to become sex slaves. Nadia ,along with thousands of other Yazidi women, is taken to Mosul and forced into the slave trade. This is her story. What did it make me think about? Reading this I kept thinking about all the Holocaust books I have read. I always thought,, "We need to remember so it does not ever happen again". But it does happen- Rwanda, Iraq, and Syria are just recent examples. It just boggles the mind that such evil exists- and so little is done to stop it. Should I read it? Nadia Murad just won the Noble Peace prize. She is remarkable young woman who has turned her personal tragedy into her life's work. As she said, "I know now that I was born in the heart of the crimes committed against me." I found this book to be a page-turner that was disturbing and unsettling. How do these events keep happening? How does religion so often play a key role? We see the refugee crisis on the evening news, but this book makes the crisis personal. Quote- "I still think that being forced to leave your home out of fear is one of the worst injustices a human being can face. Everything you love is stolen, and you risk your life to live in a place that means nothing to you and where, because you come from a country now known for war and terrorism, you are not really wanted. So you spend the rest of years longing for what you left behind while praying not to be deported." If you like this try- Madame President by Helene Cooper Forty Autumns by Nina Willner My Brother Moochie by Issac J. Bailey Everything Happens for a Reason and other Lies I have Loved by Kate Bower 9 stars  Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
292 pages What’s it about? This novel centers around Willa Drake. We see her in 1967 as a schoolgirl, in 1977 as a college co-ed trying to decide about marriage, in 1997 as a grieving widow, and then at 2017 at another crossroads in her life. What did it make me think about? This book looks at the seasons of your life. We clearly see Willa as a child, a young adult, a woman in midlife, and woman who longs for grandchildren. This story also emphasizes how our personalities may be set from a young age but if we open, we are never too old to change. Should I read it? This was really four short stories that all centered around Willa. We see how Willa is shaped by her childhood and thus becomes a certain type of mother. I really liked Willa so I would recommend this book. Anne Tyler is always so insightful and remains one of my favorite writers. Quote- “She wondered if her sons would keep in touch with her after they were gone. Would they remember their childhoods fondly, or were they storing up grudges against her? She had tried her best to be a good mother- which to her meant a predictable mother. She had promised herself that her children would never have to worry what sort of mood she was in; they would never peek into her bedroom in the morning to see how their day was going to go. She was the only woman she knew whose prime objective was to be taken for granted.” If you like this try- Less by Andrew Sean Greer Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout Grief Cottage by Gail Goodwin Lila by Marilynne Robinson 8 stars
 Our Little Racket by Angelica Baker
495 pages What’s it about? This book takes place in Greenwich, Connecticut at the height of the financial collapse of 2008. Bob D'Amico runs a powerful investment bank until things begin to crumble all around him. Has he just taken too many risks or is he a criminal? Either way he has ruined the lives of a lot of people. Seen through the eyes of his daughter Madison and four other women that are close to the household- this novel gives us a slice of how families were affected by the financial crisis. What did it make me think about? I just so hope that this is not what the wealthy women of Greenwich are really like.... The women in this book come across as manipulative, cunning, shallow, and insecure. “Many of these other women were like Mina, had grown up in places that were nothing like this, but they’d forgotten it so fast. They’d blinked and then suddenly were women who deserved this, who could talk to Isabel D’Amico and pretend they understood her. The only thing that remained of their old selves was the survival instinct, the willingness to claw another women out of the way." Should I read it? I had two issues with the book. First- Angelica Baker is a fine writer but she needed some self restraint and a better editor! No one wants to read almost 500 pages about these people. They warrant 300-350 pages at most. Second- the motivations of the characters were oblique and hard to decipher. The women were almost cartoonish in the way they were portrayed. I am sure their is some truth in here but it seems buried under a lot of cliches. It is an ok beach read...but who are these people? Quote- "A few Italian words sprinkled here and there and the annual Christmas-Day car ride to Nanna Connie's because Isabel would never say anything in front of her mother-in-law. It wasn't the potential weight gain that bothered her mother, Madison knew, or that wasn't what bothered her the most. It was the wanton disregard for discipline, Madison's willingness to let everyone around her see how bottomless her appetites were, how raw her hunger. If you wanted something, her mother believed, you took steps to acquire it in the privacy of your own home, so that by the time you are out in the world again, you had everything you needed. You did not let other people see you as grasping, desperate." If you like this try- The Swans of New York by Melanie Benjamin Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe The Unfortunates by Sophie McManus 5 stars
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A sad, poignant, mystical read. I won't give too much away. Quick and well worth it!
9 1/2 stars!
A coming of age story set in Mexico. It certainly gives you a whole new view of all the people coming over the border.
9 stars
Quirky characters and the story told through letters to Richard Gere. Who could ask for more? 9 stars
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“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
― Charles William Eliot
― Charles William Eliot
ratings
1 to 2- I did not enjoy this book.
3 to 4- I found some aspect of this book redeeming but would not recommend it.
5 to 6- I really enjoyed something about this book (characters, plot, meaning etc.) but it was uneven. Some aspects were stronger than others.
7 to 8- It was a good book. I liked lots of aspects of this book. I would recommend it.
9 to 10- I was sorry to turn the last page. I highly recommend this book!
3 to 4- I found some aspect of this book redeeming but would not recommend it.
5 to 6- I really enjoyed something about this book (characters, plot, meaning etc.) but it was uneven. Some aspects were stronger than others.
7 to 8- It was a good book. I liked lots of aspects of this book. I would recommend it.
9 to 10- I was sorry to turn the last page. I highly recommend this book!
