Phyllis

I tried listening to this book back in 2020 amd, despite multiple restarts of the audiobook, was very bored. I'm going through a purge of my two read list the next few months because there are so many good books to read and why bother were the ones that are mediocre other friends, whose taste I appreciate it, also found this book to be. How does one take, Harry Potter, which is fun and exciting for both young adults and adults to read about, send it to the adult world, and make it deadly? I will not be reading to find out!

“The Lemon Man” was just okay. I think a hit man with over ten years of experience would be just a smidge more circumspect and spend more time analyzing his hits than biking around and casually pulling multiple jobs in less than a week. The dialogue doesn't sing like Tana French's books and left me feeling like I could have been in many other English-speaking big cities. A lot of the characters were flat and the e tire Olivia storyline should have been edited out. Should I read the newest book? Meh.

After years of general hype, “The Accidental Tourist” ended up being a rather boring book; I was surprised to learn the book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Anne Tyler has said that she figured out her characters and then just lets them go, without worrying too much about plot. It shows. And that doesn't mean the characters are fantastic, either. It just means that you can see she mushed some characters together into a setting. Macon seems to grow a bit by letting things go, but is shrugging at the complete ruin of the home you've walked away from mentally healthy? We know that he's lost the son and, later, wife with whom he shared said home, but the lack of reaction to the flooded home is a bit odd.

Every character seems much older, perhaps by 20-30 years, than their advertised ages. I realize that the book was written over 30 years before I read it, but I don't remember people around age 40 acting like they were in their dotage. The behavior of the characters is certainly not a function of antiquated names. The characters' names seemed like odd choices, particularly for the four Learys produced by a free-spirited mother. Does Anne Tyler have issues painting younger characters? I cannot say as this is my first foray into her cannon.

Despite bags of OCD in my own family, I found that the sections describing Macon's systems to organize/improve everyday tasks ho hum. OCD can be very interesting when painted with the right brush.

Back to setting for a moment. Tyler selected Baltimore, which I found not to make much sense. Although my personal knowledge of Baltimore is limited to a few, short visits, it has always seemed a bit quirky and a mix of north and south, without really being either. In other words, a unique city. The author is also said to be friendly with John Waters; while personal friendships may have no bearing on Anne Tyler's art, why chose such a singular city for these characters to roam about? Do any of them seem particularly Baltimorian? Honestly, they seem like flinty, but insular, New Englanders (a region that they did not seem to live). We learn that the Learys lived nomadicly with their mother before she abandoned her four children to their grandparents. While their seeming continued adolescence and ability to maintain adult, romantic relationships may be a reaction to their unsettled upbringing, is there anything Baltimorian about them? Or, perhaps all of the references to Baltimore are intended to be meaningless since the Learys are generally strangers to all but their tribe.

Some have described this book as fitting into modern realism or even Eudora Welty's brand of Southern gothic. I cannot agree with comparing Anne Tyler's rather dull writing style to Eudora Welty's brilliant prose. And her characterizations, settings, etc. do not seem particularly southern or somewhat off-kilter to fall into that genre. Although this book came out before the advent of chick-lit (or, at least, a separate genre), I'd classify it there.

Why 2 stars instead of 1? I liked the card game the Learys invented and thought its Byzantine rules exactly right for the family. I also guffawed when Rose was shelving groceries and asked her brother for items around “m” or “n,” he complied with noodles. For which, she scolded him because elbow macaroni noodles belong in “e!”

Our Great Books Book Club includes a sprinkling of books outside the cannon in order to lighten up the list and include more works by female or foreign authors. Here's the list of questions from today's meeting:

1. How would you categorize the genre of this novel? Did the style remind you of any other authors?


2. Tyler's Quaker parents moved the family to a commune in North Carolina. Her mother was a social worker, and her husband was an Iranian psychiatrist. Do you see any of these influences in the novel?


3. Does the emphasis on the Baltimore locale add or detract from the story? Tyler is friendly with John Waters, another Baltimore fixture. Do they seem to have anything in common?


4. Macon thinks he has never really “taken steps and acted”. Does this insight seem accurate or is it colored by the helplessness he feels about his son's death?


5. What symbols does the author use to reinforce Macon's sense of isolation and passivity?


6. Larry McMurty noted that Tyler's characters tend to be “semi-attentive males and semi-obsessed females....Her men slump around like tired tourists” needing prompting. Do the characters seem fully developed? Which characters seemed to grow and which stayed in their “grooves”?


7. Does Macon's compulsive search for order make him an annoying character? Was his style of mourning understandable? Do you empathize with Sarah when she decides to leave him?


8. How is humor used in the novel? Did any passages make you laugh?


9. Were there any weaknesses in the novel? Was Edward's breakdown more interesting than Macon's?


10. Would you recommend this book? Did it seem too romantic or sentimental?

I really look forward to reading this book. I can't remember where I first heard about it, but I was certainly aware it was a kids book and was glad to have a break from books with of lots of text.

Oh, goodness. What is wrong with me that I didn't love this book?!?! I feel that I ought to go sit in a dark room with no books or music or wine or nice snacks. Just wretched rice cakes with no water.

There were lovely, meditative moments. Uncovering the painting. Taking an afternoon off and traipsing about the countryside. The flower on his secret love's hat. What more perfect way to recuperate from the horrors of World War I than to spend a summer in a small village full of friendly characters, another soldier searching for a grave, and a really hot reverend's wife?

I have been fascinated with the world between the World Wars and the mettle of the few returnees. Perhaps, the theme that most touched me in “A Month in the Country” was the ability of nature and time to heal, whether the damage is from the horrific battlefield or an unrelentingly unfaithful wife.

It's interesting that Moon chooses to live in something akin to a foxhole, this casting himself out of society, much like his target, Piers Hebron, who we eventually learn was an outcast because of his religion, perhaps picked up during his time conducting Crusades. Is it really a coincidence that his name is Moon and he finds a crescent moon on the uncovered skeleton? Meanwhile, Birkin chooses to perch above the entire town, also casting himself out, but in a more godlike way.

Also, some characters, like Kathy Ellerbeck (modeled after Carr's sister) really lived and breathed. In fact, that whole family was a treat. From the excellent introduction in the New York Review of Books edition by Michael Holyrod, you learn quite a bit about the polymath author. Knowing more about J. L. Carr certainly gave me more depth to the book.

At the end, it seems that Tom Birkin shies away from happiness (not succumbing to Alice Keach's beseeching talk of apple varietals!!) and what Oxgodby offered him that summer, choosing to return to Vinny's nonsense, which was quite sad. Perhaps, he was so damaged that the familiar was better than the real. He simply did not have enough time to heal before taking off the enfolding bandages of the country and spends the rest of his life chasing what he cannot have. And why can't he have happiness? Because he is cold, disconnected. We never hear from Vinny, but one wonders. Tom doesn't even say goodbye to Kathy, one of his medicines, providing both physical and mental sustenance. He doesn't even hug Alice.

Couldn't get into this one.

The Jackson Brodie series is fantastic, but every book I've read of Kate Atkinson's since is boring. This book, in particular, is chock-full of way too many characters with stories that don't go anywhere. The book kept putting me to sleep no matter how much sleep I had.

This short, surreal fairy tale has some interesting imagery, plot progression, and characterization. But, then it's annoying and overly arty in those same areas now and again.

I almost wished for some illustrations like you'd find in old Grimm's fairy tale collections. This book, minus a few gruesome elements and language, could be an interesting children's book.

At times, I quite enjoyed how the author screws with font size, sentence structure, and other visual elements, which brought out the semi-poetic aspects of Shane Jones' writing.

But, the constant mentions of the girl who smells of honey and smoke and the use of parchment get soooo old. And interesting characters or plot lines get totally left behind, which would have made the book stronger.

All in all, interesting, but annoying from time to time. For the record, March is way worse than February for Chicagoans, so the prospect of an interminable February didn't seem quite as awful as the author may have liked.

I heard an interview with the author over the summer and found him so charming and interesting that I wanted to listen to the audiobook version (he is the narrator). Unfortunately, the audiobook isn't available through library platforms. Anyway, the author's great personality didn't translate into the audiobook; he reads the book quite quickly and without much differentiation in tone.

Some of the story is quite hilarious and heart wrenching at the same time. At some point, I probably ought to revisit the book and print and see if I enjoy it more.

Mr. King, I have a bone to pick with you. If you are going to set a book partially in suburban Chicago, be good enough to research that we do not have turnpikes (we have expressways and tollways). Also, please add some of the local vernacular (example: “over by the Jewels”) as you do so well with books set in Maine.

“Fairy Tale” has received a lot of hype (of the positive flavor) since it was released. I took a long break from Mr. King's books after the exponentially awful 1993 “Tommyknockers,” which was so bad King went from one of my favorite authors to one I avoided almost entirely until the impeccable “11/22/63.“. Read that book instead!

This book seems to be two different stories jammed together. The first part of the book focuses on family trauma after the mother is suddenly killed. The main character, Charlie Reade, then goes down a do-gooder path to “pay“ for his dad being saved from alcoholism. The most interesting character in all of this is the old codger, Mr. Bowditch, and his elderly dog, Radar.

Another bone I have to pick with Mr. King is choosing to run “Fairy Tale” through a supposed teenager. Charlie doesn't act or think like a teenage boy other than maybe two references to being slightly hot for some girl at school. The story would have been far more interesting if told from Mr. Bowditch's perspective vs Charlie's (such as using Charlie's caretaking as a vehicle for flashbacks).

A single father would typically be proud of his son for wanting to help a nearby neighbor after a serious and unfortunate accident. However, I found it hard to believe that the elder Mr. Reade would allow his teenage son to be at said old codger's house every night, including sleeping over something like a month. Where was Charlie's industriousness and caring at home? Is this even supposed to be the same kid? He knew his Dad struggled and needed help, but didn't seem to help at home (I refer to the period after his father was on the path of recovery-totally understandable that Charlie would withdraw after the complete loss of his mother and partial loss of his father). Not to mention Charlie's awful (by awful, I mean rude AF) note to his Dad when he planned to go into Empis.

Unfortunately, most of the Empis section was disappointing. A few characters had potential, but weren't drawn well enough to be more than so much cardboard. I appreciate callbacks to one of my favorite fantasy classics, “The Wizard of Oz,” but they really fell flat.

After absolutely loving the author's earlier “Less,” I was really looking forward to this sequel. Yet, this book seemed too interested in its own belly button and didn't spark. I only made it about 25% of the way through before I could no longer renew it at the library, so back it went.

I went into this book expecting a relatively cozy, witchcenttic romantasy and I got none of those. Truly one of the most boring books I've read in awhile despite a really cute cover and oodles of rave reviews.

From the beginning, every character, from a 10 year old to folks in their 50s and 60s all speak with the same flat language. Norwich, where most of the book is set, has particular slang and speech patterns that don't show up at all. Shouldn't at least Lucie, a woman in her 50s, throw in a few colloquialisms (especially considering that the author lives in that area of England and surely talks to people on her area)? A precocious child is fine in a book, but children who sounds exactly like adults and asks questions that sheltered kids who've never left their compound certainly would not ask didn't ring true. And the psychopathic Terracotta? Was she supposed to be cute?

Stormy grey eyes are not a character trait. Scowling can only be read so many times before a reader starts ignoring the word. The “romance” did not hit at all and I think the book would have been better without it. Once in awhile, can we not disprove Harry (of “When Harry Met Sally”), that men and women can be friends?

This is yet another book where the found family trope is too forced. If the characters had been more fleshed out or differentiated, perhaps it could have worked. Lots of folks compare this book to TJ Klune's “The House on the Cerulean Sea.” And I can see why. The difference is that the characters in THOTCS were well-developed, the fantastical/magic elements were relatively unique, and the relationships between the characters evolved.

At the 40% mark, I realized the book wasn't going to improve, so I skimmed the rest and confirmed my opinion over and over. There was so much potential, but it was not to be.

The author has a free YouTube channel and I believe some paid courses. She's very personable and brings a welcoming vibe both online and in this book.

Sometimes, a blank piece of paper, whether loose or in a sketchbook, can be daunting. Your brain can lock up or just draw the same old tree/house/thingy you already know. This book is intended to help inspire you to try different exercises or information to unlock your personal creativity.

This summer, while the kids were out of school, we tried to do art together at least once a week, sometimes at the forest preserve. We didn't always do the same thing or use the same mediums, but we did share books like this one to generate ideas.

Because I had so many library books out at once, I only chose a few of the 100 sketchbook ideas to try. I'd like to check this book out again in the future to spend more time with it.

The third installment of the Thursday Murder Club series is a real hoot. As an author gets deeper into a series, you never know if they're going to effectively copy and paste or find ways to keep you coming back for more.

Richard Osmond's sense of humor shines throughout this book and kept me chuckling even while sone grid one murders happen. I don't want to say too much because it's better to just read this book then get spoilers from me.

While the mystery was rather silly and dear Georgie rather more clueless than she ought to be, I still enjoyed this 3rd installment of the Her Royal Spyness series.

I heard an interview with the author and was really looking forward to the book. Then, I really enjoyed the author's introduction and thought I was in for an interesting read. But, I guess I missed the crucial “autobiography” element to this book. I appreciate the author, trying to take a different approach to explain the Milky Way galaxy, but the snarky tone did not let up and was very offputting. I'm afraid this is another DNF.

What I really liked about “Working” was hearing the voices of a cross-section of Americans and their thoughts on working. Because this was a Studs Terkel production, there was a larger sample from the Chicago area than others. However, since that's where I live, I found that rather compelling.

While there was more discussion about unions than I initially expected, it made sense upon further reflection. Unions played a larger role in many professions at that time; today, many of us enjoy paid sick time, a 40-hour work week, etc. because of earlier union activity, which has decreased the “need” for unions in some quarters. Also, it seemed to me that a larger percentage of the interviewees expressed some concern about the environment than I think we'd see today.

Some of the jobs in the book may no longer exist at all or in the same form, but there is still value to this snapshot in time. In our book club discussion, one lady mentioned that this book influenced her to go into social work when originally read it. And how often do we really get this intimate of a view into real people's lives despite the prevalence of social media and reality programming? Some jobs aren't all that different; I can attest to the fact that the auditor's description of early days at a large Accounting firm were still the same!

Although I enjoyed every vignette, a few stuck with me. The prostitute's story was absolutely raw and very interesting. The hockey player could have been a philosopher and provides great insight into the mind of a professional sportsman. I also particularly enjoyed the Fathers and Sons section where you get a sense of how each generation views the working life of the other generation right next to their own thoughts.

Two stars for referencing Python and for the love interests flirting while debugging code. -1 or +1 star (I can't decide which) for comparisons of various bodily parts to topographic features of the planet Mars.

I heard an interview with John Vercher on NPR's Fresh Air and immediately checked out “After the Lights Go Out.” I was trying to finish a few book club books, so it took longer than I wanted to finish this book.

Am I usually interested in a book about fighters? No, it's not what I usually gravitate towards. After listening to John Vercher read some passages from the book and talk about his inspiration for the characters, I was eager to read the book. Everything rang true with what an ex-boyfriend talked about in relation to MMA he used to do.

The author has an amazing ear for how people actually talk. And not just one voice, but many including the voices we use for different situations (speaking to our educated Mom or our morally questionable cousin or our inner voice). So much so that you know the people in this book.

Beyond great characterization, the relatively short novel has layers upon layers. At no point do these layers feel forced, either. Wanting a pet and finding you're a poor caretaker to facing the loss of a parent (even if they're still alive, but no longer “them”) to finding you didn't lose the other parent the way you thought to running into the wall of your dreams crashing down to dealing with racism each and every day. And what it's like to suffer massive holes in your memory because of all the hits to your head. The holes that can't be filled.

There were so many points in the book that made me cry, but I never wanted to stop reading.

Sean Crisden narrated the audiobook version of this book and he is absolutely outstanding at bringing John Vercher's words to life. I think this book is great either way as I did pick up the physical book at the library to see if my reaction was the same.

A solid 3.49!

Grady Hendrix is a real South Carolinian who is expert at weaving Southern Gothic and weirdsies into each of his books. Every time I read one of his books, I am reminded of the 10 years I lived in Upstate SC.

The author also does a great job of creating individual characters that are reminiscent of real people. I wish we'd had even more of the aunts and cousins.

At first, I was annoyed by the endless sibling bickering; as we get further into the story and learn Mark's backstory, a lot changes. I can say I never really like Louise. But, maybe I'm not supposed to.

I had a hard time putting this book down! So, why not 4 stars? Having read a couple of other books by the author, I expected some gory sections. However, some of the gory sections didn't make much sense (getting hit by a hammer multiple times all over one's body or shelving falling on a person are not going to cause damage similar to shelves falling on a person.

I heard an interview on NPR with the author and was really excited to read her book. But, I couldn't get past the beginning where the focus was an unsuccessful whale siting trip with a toddler, which reminded me of a series of boring social media posts.

I can't think of anyone I'd recommend this book to. Honestly.

The first few pages were a flashback about the love story origin. Then we switch to the current day, in which a series of absolutely idiotic (not fun, as the authors intended), unromantic, never funny, swooningly dull events happen.

Are we really to believe that two experienced tour/adventure guides wouldn't immediately report the death of one of the guests' when a satellite phone is on hand? Or once the main characters figure out that said villain had a satellite phone on hand, that they would wait days to turn on said phone to check messages or contacts? Or that said characters who have very limited time to find a treasure are going to stop to boink and then sleep in? These are just three of the eye-rolling problems with this book. Not to mention the lack of chemistry between the lovebirds or terrible characterization.

Review to come

Marcie Rendon uses language sparingly, perhaps because her main character, Cash, only has more than a few syllables for the few humans she trusts most. And who can blame a young woman dragged through the 1960's foster system in rural Minnesota where indigenous children were treated worse than many of the farm animals the children cared for? How much can a person communicate when most of the people you run into hit you with racial slurs, sexism, and come-ons?

The repetition of Cash's day-to-day existence (wake up, smoke, work, drink beer, play pool, rinse, repeat) might seem dull unless you consider that Cash is young, hard-working, and doesn't have much. When I was first on my own, the days were sometimes like Cash's because I didn't have much money to do the things I could afford by my later twenties.and if you're a young woman who believes her future will be no different than today, then the long barrel of same, same, same makes sense.

The resolution to the murder at the center of the story seemed a little too easy to figure out, but the story of the Day Dodge family was really heartbreaking and sticks with me after the book ended.

I heard an interview with the author on Fresh Air and was really interested to delve further into the story. I ended up not being as enthralled with the book as the fantastic interview, which I recommend folks check out to hear about these historical anecdotes and seemingly fictional characters.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1105189330/river-of-the-gods-captures-the-epic-quest-to-find-the-source-of-the-nile