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

maeve in america by maeve higgins

8/25/2018

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Maeve in America by Maeve Higgins
240 pages


What’s it about?
This is a collection of essays written by Irish comedienne and memoirist Maeve Higgins.  Ms. Higgins came to America in her early thirties.  She writes about her experiences as a woman and an Irish immigrant living in New York City.

What did it make me think about?
These essays are often funny, always insightful, and occasionally preachy.  They did make me look at the immigrant experience in a different way.

Should I read it?
This is an engaging and humorous book.  My only complaint- the essays were uneven.   Some much more interesting and entertaining than others.  On occasion I felt like Ms. Higgins was lecturing and those essays were not my favorite.  I particularly enjoyed Maeve swimming with the dolphins, renting a ball gown, and her essay on summer and body image.  Definitely worth reading- but inconsistent.

Quote-
“I felt totally fine about renting a dress, although I promised myself I wouldn’t tell anyone I had done so.  I resolved to just say thank you if anybody complimented me, as opposed to explain in in too much detail just why they were wrong to do so.  In the past I’ve ruined many a generous utterance by breaking it down and explaining where the lie is.”

If you like this try-
...not sure?

7 stars


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the female persuasion by meg wolitzer

8/23/2018

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The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
464 pages

What’s it about?
Greer Kadetsky is a college freshman when she experiences the full weight of being a woman in a man’s world.  Not long after that she meets Faith Frank, a famous leader of the women’s movement. Greer becomes inspired.  This is the story of Greer and her progression as both a feminist and a person.
 
What did it make me think about?
This book questions what feminism means.

Should I read it?
This was a good book.  However, I have never been enthusiastic about Meg Wolitzer’s books.  This story hasn’t changed my mind.  I am not sure why?  The writing is good, the plot moves along, and the characters are interesting.  Still- just didn’t love it.... 

Quote-
“So!  Faith Frank hired me, originally based on nothing.  She took me in and taught me things, and more than that she gave me permission.  I think that’s what the people who change our lives do.  They give us permission to be the person we secretly really long to be but maybe don’t feel we’re allowed to.”

If you like this try-

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeymii
​The Nix by Nathan Hill
The Nest by Cynthia D''Aprix Sweeney

7  stars
​
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the removes by Tatjana Soli

8/9/2018

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The Removes by Tatjana Soli
365 pages

What’s it about?
This is a work of historical fiction.  The novel opens in 1864 in Kansas Territory.  Fifteen year-old Anne Cummins watches her family murdered in an Indian raid and then she is forced into captivity by the Comanche.  Her story alternates with the stories of General George Armstrong Custer and his young, privileged wife Libby.  We see the American West through their very different eyes.

What did it make me think about?
It is hard to believe these stories were set a mere 150 years ago.  How the world has changed.  Soli does not romanticize the American West, the settlers that came to claim it, or the American Indian.  This is a story of violence and hardship.  It is hard to believe how the West was won….

Should I read it?
I found this novel disturbing, interesting, and ultimately sad.  It focuses most of it's attention  General Custer and his wife Libby.  What a hard life it must have been out on the frontier. This novel was obviously very well researched and if you have any interest in the American West, General Custer, or just like a good work of historical fiction, then pick this one up.  

Quote-
“The nomadic lifestyle suited him, and he thought he understood what no politician in Washington could ever figure- even mansions of gold had no leverage to a people who craved space and movement, who considered all and in common and found a barrier of any sort to be a kind of  death.  What they wanted was a floating world.”

If you like this try-
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers
Varina by Charles Frazier

8 1/2 stars
​
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bearskin by james a. mclaughlin

8/6/2018

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Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin
340 pages

What’s it about?
Rice Moore takes a job as caretaker for a remote forest preserve in Virginia.  He is trying to leave his troubles with a Mexican cartel behind him.  He hopes to disappear into a quiet life where no one can find him.  When he discovers a mutilated bear on the premises his new world is upended.  

What did it make me think about?
This was a good suspense thriller with an environmental spin.  I did think about how the forests are disappearing- but I mainly thought about what was going to happen in the story next….

Should I read it?
I was totally in the mood for a good page-turner so maybe I liked this one more than it warrants- but I did really enjoy it.  The setting McLaughlin creates for the novel is a character in itself.  His descriptions of the forests really do paint a picture- and that canvas lends itself to this plot.  
​

Quote-
“Within a few minutes, Boger’s mafia theory didn’t seem as far fetched as he’d thought.  As most market legit and otherwise had globalized over the past few decades, illegal traffic in wildlife and their body parts had become the fourth-largest black market in the world, behind narcotics, counterfeiting, and human trafficking, generating billions of dollars every year and attracting the participation of terror groups and ‘traditionally drug-oriented criminal enterprises’.”
 
If you like this try-
​The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinit
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
​
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich

​8 stars


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less by andrew sean greer

8/1/2018

2 Comments

 
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Less by Andrew Sean Greer
261 pages

What’s it about?
Arthur Less is a novelist who is quickly approaching his fiftieth birthday.  He is gay and has two decade-long relationships in his past.  He receives an invitation to the wedding of his last great love and just can not face the ridicule he feels will be heaped upon him if he should attend.  He conveniently takes every invitation, to every mediocre event he has been invited to attend in the last few months, and replies yes to them all.  He will avoid the event and his fiftieth birthday by taking a trip around the world.    

What did it make me think about?
The character of Arthur Less is a bumbling, innocent, kind gay man.  Because of this, I have heard this book described as a “gay” novel.  I could not disagree more- I just think it is a novel where the main character happens to be gay.  This story is about being a human being.  How we are more- and we are less- depending on the day.  Arthur Less is often overlooked and forgotten, but he has also been loved- and that is everything.   

Should I read it?
So I kept hearing about this novel being SO funny- I would say this novel looks at life with a wry sense of humor.  It’s the writing and the sense of humor that set this novel apart- but do not expect to be guffawing through this book.  You will smile a lot though.  Andrew Sean Greer is a beautiful writer.  I loved “The Story of a Marriage” and “The Adventures of Max Tivoli”.  I was so pleased when I finally picked this book up to realize it was by the same author.  I highly recommend this book!!!  I can’t imagine who would not be rooting for Arthur Less by the last page.  I can’t wait to re-read this one!

If you like this try-
​Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf ​
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Levels of Life by Julian Barnes

9 stars
2 Comments

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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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