What are you reading the week of February 4, 2023?

I didn't have a lot of time to read this week. I did have time to read Maigret's Travels. It wasn't a particularly great mystery, but it was an interesting snapshot of France and Europe in the late 1950s.

I have about 50 pages (or 10%) left to go in Putin's People. It's been a very depressing book to read.

A loose reading goal for 2023 is to finish or make progress on series and sequels so I am currently reading Olive, Again the sequel to Olive Kitteridge. I don’t think I like Elizabeth Strout’s writing style.

Jut finished German Jet Engine and Gas Turbine Development (as much as you finish what's basically a reference book), Still working on volume 2 of History of the Panzerwaffe (my version of a bed-side book (it's too big to lug around)). I do intend to read When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain this weekend. Nophek Gloss is the book I'm actually carrying around, and I started that yesterday. Might start Invisible China towards the end of the week.

>2 Tara1Reads: : is the sequel also short story format? Guess I’m asking what you don’t care for. Haven’t read the sequel (didn’t realize there was one) - and reviews seem good. A differing opinion always helps.

Reading Nutshell and The Quiet Warrior, listening to Tom Clancy’s Shadow of the Dragon. This last is not helping my mood towards our eastern adversaries.

I'm still reading Whisper Network by Chandler Baker and getting to know the characters.

This week I listened to the audiobook of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits, and loved it. What a great story, with such vivid characters. 5/5 for me.

Haven't started it yet, but my next audiobook will be Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters. I've always enjoyed Gaskell's works.

I'm currently reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, and am intrigued.

Finished Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg and Master of Life and Death by Robert Silverberg.

Finished My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

I am about a fifth of the way through Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. This is the February selection for my monthly reading group. I am very much enjoying Berry's beautiful use of language and gentle, affectionate storytelling style. After all the histories and biographies I've been reading about racism, cruelty, poverty and war, this Berry's novel is just what the doctor ordered for me and I've been happily sinking into it, kind of like lowering myself into a warm bath after a day of satisfying but physically demanding labor.

I'm going to start The Unbroken Web by Richard Adams, and probably a chapter or two from The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser.

I usually also have a bit of sci-fi/fantasy going but not sure what it will be yet.

I finally finished Earthly Powers; a saga of many themes: pre-destiny and free will, the source of evil, the roll of art and religion all presented in an engrossing story and incorporating many of the major events of the 20th century.

Crocodile on the Sandbank
Elizabeth Peters
3.5/5 stars
Amelia Peabody, orphaned and who has inherited a fortune takes off on a trip to Cairo and is soon ensconced in a mystery after she meets Evelyn, a young woman who was dumped by her lover. Is there a plot against Evelyn? What is the mystery of a mummy running amok? Does Amelia have the grit to uncover these mysteries? Interesting story! 1975

Paradise Valley
C.J. Box
4/5 stars
Cassie Dewell was working for the sheriff’s department in North Dakota while trying to apprehend the Lizard King, known for his kidnapping and murdering women but things fell apart and she is now on her own. In the meantime, a young man Kyle and his friend take off and are kidnapped by Ron Pergram. His grandma wants Cassie to look for them and so she tries to trail them and return them home. I am enjoying this series!

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket – John Boyne
3***

Eleanor and Alistair Brocket are perfectly normal. The live on a normal street, in a normal neighborhood, and have normal jobs and a normal house. Their two children, Henry and Melanie, are also perfectly normal. And then Barnaby is born, and he is immediately and obviously different.

This is a fable and a children’s adventure story full of improbable and exciting adventures but teaching a lesson about acceptance and compassion and courage. The entire story is a lesson on tolerance.

I felt for Barnaby and cheered him on when he made his brave decision to be himself. I read this entire story as an allegory of gay children coming out to their families and learning to live in a society that is not always welcoming, or even tolerant of their “difference.”.

Started this audio via hoopla ~

The Diva Steals a Chocolate Kiss (A Domestic Diva Mystery)
by Krista Davis

From the library:
Murder at the Majestic Hotel by Clara McKenna
New and #4 installment in the "Stella & Lyndy Mystery" series. The newlyweds are taking their honeymoon when an elderly guest is found dead in one of the suites.

Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail Wilson
Phoebe Radcliffe, an artist, must find a hidden treasure while working on a major project at an English manor. I think should be a named series since there are references to events and characters from the author's previous novels.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed – Helene Tursten
3***

Book two in a very short series featuring nearly-90-year-old Maud and the people who irritate and annoy her and deserve what they get.

This picks up where the first book left off, and the plot alternates between her current trip to South Africa and memories of past encounters, going all the way back to Maud’s childhood, where she got even with those who crossed her. Some of her memories involve “helping” a neighbor, others involve her work colleagues or her family members. And then there are the various people on her safari trip, some of whom are quite obnoxious and at least one who deserves to be eaten by a lion!

Maud’s an astute observer and prides herself on being a quick thinker. And, of course, who pays any attention to a little old lady?

The ending of this one is a surprise, and I’m not sure it’s entirely in keeping with Maud’s personality. But it was still a fast, enjoyable read.

I finished the collection of poems Following the Path of Water by my good friend Kay Peters. The poems address aging, loss, nature, and nursing, simply expressed with an insightful twist.

In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Standup Comedy
Shawn Levy
4/5 stars
Levy relates the fascinating tales of how these female comedians made it into show business. He includes Moms Mabley of the Black vaudeville circuit, Jean Carrol, Minnie Pearl, Sophie Tucker, Phyllis Diller, Elaine May, Totie Fields and Joan Rivers. He goes fairly in depth about their lives and careers.

>10 rocketjk: Wendell Berry has a new book, How It Went: Thirteen More Stories. Reading the first story was a mindfulness experience. Just one Berry paragraph and your breathing stills.

>21 jconnell: "Just one Berry paragraph and your breathing stills."

Absolutely. I know just what you mean. I've marked several in Jayber Crow to reread and also to bring up to my reading group when we meet to discuss the book.

Finished Thorns by Robert Silverberg. Did not care for it. Added The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves to my rotation.

Captured by A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

I finished At Fault. On one level, it is an engaging love story against a Louisianan backdrop, and on another e look at the conflict between love and honor, and the problem of interfering in the lives of others.

The new thread is up over here.