The Next Good Book
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 so i like to read- 

friends often ask for book suggestions so i created this site in 2014 to help me think about what i read and pass it on.  

I hope you find many good books here!


e-mail-thenextgoodbook5@gmail.com

to keep the sun alive by rabeah ghaffari

2/17/2019

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To Keep the Sun Alive by Rabeah Ghaffari
272 pages


What’s it about?
 This book takes place in Iran in 1979 on the brink of the Iranian Revolution.  Thirty years later an expatriate Iranian in Paris thinks back to an earlier time- when life was different in Iran. The story centers around one extended family and how the revolution affects them all.  

What did it make me think about?
 The long and interesting history of Iran.

Should I read it?
 This book is so beautifully written.  I felt like the first half of the book was stronger than the last half, but I still enjoyed it.  It was interesting to read how an average family might have been affected by the changes in Iran.  I think this book is worth reading.

Quote-
"​Faith, to the judge, was a surrender of control, not an exercise of it.  What he saw in his brother was not faith but certitude, the same certitude he had witnessed at the bench, year after year- mean and women, rich and poor driven to acts of cruelty by their convictions."

8 1/2 stars
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the paragon hotel by lyndsay faye

2/7/2019

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The Paragon Hotel by Lindsay Faye
414 pages

What’s it about?
This book takes place in 1921 and goes back and forth between New York City and Portland, Oregon.  In New York City Alice James is a burgeoning mafioso. When things go bad she flees to Portland to recover from a bullet wound and hide.  She lands at The Paragon Hotel.  The Paragon is an all black establishment- in a city that bans blacks from living.

What did it make me think about?
This book of historical fiction shines a spotlight on Oregon’s racist beginnings.  Having been born in Portland I found this slice of history fascinating. It explains Oregon’s two different faces- progressive on one hand and very conservative on the other.  Who knew that Oregon had a law  banning black people from living in the state?  Who knew that the KKK has been active there?  

Should I read it?
This book tells two different stories simultaneously and I much preferred the Oregon story to the Little Italy story.  Others might feel differently.  On the positive side- it was nice to see female characters not portrayed as helpless. On the negative- sometimes the dialogue was a little too glib for me.  As a whole it is a book has some flaws, but it was interesting and the plot moves along.  This book will appeal to fans of historical fiction.
​
Quote-
“ I know what the KKK means in the south, and it makes me sick. But around here, there are hardly any blacks to begin with, you understand. The clan is a political rally and tool and a charitable club. It’s all America first with them – promoting jobs for hard-working protestants over Orientals and Catholic immigrants, protesting Jew banking, defending motherhood and maidenhood. Fundraisers, not lunch mobs.”

If you liked this try-
​Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
​Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
Varina by Charles Frazier
The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

​
7 1/2 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
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     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!
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