Phyllis

The audio book version of this book is excellent; the narrator adopts Teddy Roosevelt's voice when reading excerpts from letters, interviews, etc. and really brings the President to life. Of course, Edmund Mortis is to be credited for such a thorough and interesting account of TR's early life and delves into this larger-than-life man filled with contradictions.

“Woven in Monnlight” is a rich debut sparkling with Bolivian and Latin American culture. This is one of the few books I read cover to cover during the pandemic, perhaps because I was taken away to another world viewed through the eyes of a plucky heroine. I liked the idea of the story being told from a decoy, not the royal person. I look forward to future books and stories by this author.

A few weeks ago, NPR did an interview with the author and illustrator of this book. I had to check it out even though I'm not necessarily the target demographic.

The book was just as ridiculous and silly, but also enjoyable, as the authors made it out to be. I would actually like to look for more interviews with them, because they really were delightful.

Anyway, this is a great book for kids and adults who have any knowledge of Fairy Tales.

After hearing that the audiobook version of this novel was performed by a multi-actor cast, I decided to get this book from the library's Libby app. The book was on hold for months, so my hopes were up.

After finishing the book this week, I can't explain the glowing reviews. As an audiobook, the transcript/documentary style is kind of neat. The book starts out with the formation of the band, path to success, then disintegration.

Where are the author loses her way is in characterization. There's a little characterization at the beginning and some kind of cool explorations of how certain songs or lyrics were inspired by each of the groups members. But, the story quickly devolves into a very boring expose of this fictional band. I mean, if you can't come up with a good cocaine story for a band active in the 60s and 70s, then just leave the entire story alone. Yeah, we know drugs are bad, but there should've been a few kind of fun stories before we have to listen to endless discussions about Daisy's horrible drug problem.

Also, the “love” story between Daisy and Graham is really, really, really, dull. Basically, they're both super hot, have addiction problems, and are in the same band together. There's really nothing more than that. Plus, the author seems to want you to feel bad for Daisy, but she's just a very pretty, boring person.

If you want something along these lines, but based on a real band that I think the author used as inspiration, check into various Fleetwood Mac documentaries or books.

“Evvie Drake Starts Over” has been compared to “Emily Oliphant is Totally Fine.” Here's how those two books are similar: they are books, the main character's name starts with an E, they are fiction, and the authors are woman.

Where “Emily” is full of humor, well-drawn characters, and a love story that makes sense, “Evvie” is full of dullsville characters and dialogue, especially the main characters, and an insta-love story. I have made it a practice to stop reading or listening to books if they aren't doing it for me, and it is time to stop biting myself with “Evvie.”

This is a really cute YA comic about making a new friend, how important supportive/caring family and friends are, and being honest with yourself. About knowing you have the strength to walk away from what's not right for you or walking towards what is right for you.

Alice Osman does a great job of building up the friendship between Charlie and Nick, as well as creating a truly believable basis for romance. The fear kids face about not fitting in is really accurately depicted in this comic. Thinking about the 10 and 12 year old in my house, I'd feel comfortable with them reading this book even though there is one swear and a few pages that will make them very uncomfortable.

The only real negative is that the pages with longer text messages are hard to read because of the color choice. This is probably me being old! Ha!

Very cute. Truthfully, the plot is a little sillier than I expected given the 3 prior installments; people hiding beneath fake identities abound! This could have been a very charming slapstick movie in the 1930's.

One of the elements I miss in this novel is Egypt, despite the entire book being set in said country. It is barely there at all, which is something I liked about prior books in this series.

Of course, I really enjoy our plucky heroine, Amelia Peabody Emerson, and her family, although Ramses can be a bit annoying, which I imagine is the point. Elizabeth Peters' writing continues to crackle and amuse, so I shall definitely graduate to the subsequent book.

This lovely middle grade graphic novel is excellent! Every page is a work of art (watercolor for sure, but maybe colored pencils, as well) and is a pleasure to flip through.

There's so many wonderful things to say about this book, from Jordan and her determination and kindness, to beautiful little Marshmallow, to all of other friends and family in the book. And especially showing that there's a place for everyone to shine.

And the book made me cry in public at the library!

I tried. I really tried. The first vignette about the Hoels was well-done and I thought I was in for a truly lovely book. And each successive story got worse and worse. I just found myself not caring. Once the character's stories started interweaving, it got worse and I could not finish.

Here are discussion question from the PBS News Hour Book Club.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/arts/discussion-questions-for-the-overstory

This book has some really wonderful pictures and ideas to inspire gardeners. I picked up this book because the author provides a lot of information for those in the Midwest (particulary plant hardiness zones 5-6). I truthfully skimmed the book and spent more time looking at pictures and designs, but I do think this is a useful book and might be a good book to have at home for reference.

Erik Larson is best known for his amazing bestseller, “The Devil in the White City,” which is compelling and reads like fiction. Four years after “TDITWC” was published, Erik Larson followed up with “Thunderstruck.” This book was one of the first 10 books I marked as “to read” on Goodreads after signing up in 2009. As part of my attempt to reduce the size of my to-read list, I've been checking out titles that have lain fallow lo these 16 years.

For some time, I've been interested in learning more about Marconi because most of my knowledge comes from references on shows like Nova or fleetingly in other books and movies. Here, I thought, is the perfect way to do just that while reading some related true crime from an author whose previous released I absolutely loved. Further, it looks like Erik Larson spent a great deal of time researching the book.

Should have been a home run, right?

So, it is with what feels like tremendous guilt that I neither enjoyed nor can finish “Thunderstruck.” Authors today, and probably for most of history since the printing press was invented, are constantly under pressure to produce again and again, especially when they achieve a runaway success like “TDITWC.” I am not sure if that is the case with “Thunderstruck” or if I am just not in the focused mindset to give the book the attention it may need.

From page 1, I expect every sentence or two to be lurking with trademarks and special Ornish phrases. The book is written in an incredibly annoying style, much like advertising copy.

Sure, it's great to tell people to eat carefully (vegan, in this case), exercise moderately, reduce stress, and not be lonely. While it can be helpful to reread these messages from time to time, no one can simply turn to themselves and say “Self, UnDo It!” PF course, if one enrolls in the Ornish program, there will be great success!

There are also decades of research showing that high protein diets are good for humans and that high carb, especially high sugar/highly processed foods are the enemy to good health. Low-fat diets have not proven to be better for health; women, in particular, need more fat in their diets than men. The vegan diet doesn't provide important nutrients like B12 and doesn't work for diabetics. The Ornishes seem not to understand that there are many human illnesses that are inherited that can't be reversed by doing a few neck stretches.

I suggest reading other titles than this one for inspiration.

This slim volume of essays or excerpts from longer analyses was somewhat helpful in supplementing my great books book club November 2020 selection of “Beowulf.” Some of the selections were a bit too difficult or dense for me; this set of essays may be more helpful if you are reading Beowulf and have more time than a couple-hour meeting to discuss the material.

This is the second book of Phaedra Patrick's I've read and it was another mess. In both books, the main character is a middle-aged sad sack who ho-hum-what-do-i-dos about every single second of the day.

This novel is supposed to be set in current times, but seems like it's from the ‘50s. L. The

Set in 1985 (22 years from the publication in 1963), the main action of “The Man Who Fell To Earth” is 40 years in the past from my current day 2025. I'd love to talk to someone who read this book closer to publication before actually living through 1985 and subsequent times. How ground-breaking did they find Tevis' vision of the future, where we still have elevator operators and gain a six-hour workday and a Cuban space program.

Changing the point of works well in a sci-fi novel because it adds to the suspense and gives the author a lot of room to maneuver. Tevis changes viewpoints every few chapters and sometimes the author forgets to stay in character. For example, in Chapter 8, Betty Jo, Newton's companion and housekeeper, starts off with a wonderfully accurate Southern twang and then switches to non-idiomatic English for most of her chapter; the reader loses most of her personality and charm.

The book seems to be more of a commentary or allegory on how isolated people are in modern America. And how bureaucracy is blind to the humans (and aliens) under its umbrella. While there are a few references to life on Anthea and physical differences between Antheans and Earthlings, the novel mostly avoids world-building Anthea. Perhaps that's why the main characters are constant fixing or having a drink, as a way to deaden the pain of how alone they feel. Or perhaps the excessive references stem from the author's then alcohol addiction (Tevis didn't publish another book for 17 years after TMWFTE). There were sections of the second Part that I found hazy and nearly incomprehensible (not sure if that was on purpose or not).

I'm not sure I would have read the book if I hadn't recently enjoyed the very well-done 2022 TV series. The show riffs on the ideas in “The Man Who Fell To Earth” and moves the action to the 2020s with Thomas J Newton still alive. The book (and, likely, the 1976 movie version starring David Bowie) act as a prequel for those who are introduced to the story via the recent series.

As an avid patron of the library from toddler storytimes to getting my own library card on the bookmobile in elementary school to working in educational publishing for years to serving as a trustee today, I was geeked out to read Susan Orlean's “The Library Book.”

At first, the book walloped my expectations from the author's description of meditative trips to the library with her mother to the early, rather wild history of the LA public library to the fire that wreaked havoc on the main branch in 1986.

Somewhere between 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through, however, the book seemed to loose its momentum. Perhaps it's because the denouement of who lit the fire fizzled in real life it perhaps it's because the author was t sure how to wrap up the book.

So, check this book out from your local library because it's definitely well-written and interesting, even if you're not a library but like me.

Stephen King was once one of my favorite up until “Tommyknockers,” at which point he became one of my least favorite authors.

“Elevation” falls low on the totem pole, in my opinion. The idea of a middle-aged man suddenly dropping pounds, but appearing to be the same size is good. Yet, the characters are so ham-fisted and lack in depth.

Scott Carey, the main character, let's go of bitterness about this divorce, squabbles with neighbors, and, eventually, this mortal coil as he becomes lighter and eventually floats away. This entire physical/emotional analogy was super forced. And, while I'm no fan of Trump and am a liberal in a relatively conservative town, the comparisons to today's political climate were bland.

So, unless you're trying to hit your Goodreads goal for the year, this is one to skip.

Interesting book that I shouldn't have picked up during tax season as I couldn't finish it before it was due at the library.

While Kate Atkinson's “A God in Ruins” was the first of her books I didn't enjoy, I thought it was a fluke as I loved several of her other books, including the entire Jackson Brodie Series. I simply found the main character dull and never made it to her World War II activity (the whole pint of the book). Ah, well, maybe I'll try again as this novel has received a good bit of acclaim.

Ms. Gowar truly has a lovely writing style and captures different character voices and narrative passages clearly depict scenes. Yet, even the story of a real mermaid was so boring that I stopped listening about 1/3 of the way through. This is such a dull book that it didn't matter that I was listening while at the gym.

However, I give Juliet Stevenson's narration 4 stars; she's a talented film actress who does a wonderful job of capturing each voice and bringing the book to life.

The language Hurston uses in this book is incredible. The “double-voiced discourse” between the narrator and the vivacious Janie is jarring at first, but, because it is so masterfully wrought, becomes the novel's heart beat.

At the beginning, Janie is simply “the woman,” a clearly separate entity from the narrator. Later, the two voices almost seem to meld. These undulations and trills created an interesting discussion about the narrator's identity in my book club. Some thought 3rd person omniscient, some Janie's inner self, some Phoeby, and others the author or an anthropologist. I finished on the side of an anthropologist; Hurston was a well-educated anthropologist, who collected folklore throughout the South, including stories about survivors of the Lake Okechobee hurricane in the 1920s.

There are certainly biographical elements to the novel, but they are embedded in the story and characters more so than the narrator's voice in my opinion. For example, Hurston wrote the novel in Haiti (while there to collect folklore) after ending a passionate relationship with a much younger man. She also knew what it was to be shunned by your community for being different; note the reaction of Harlem Renaissance authors to her work, especially Richard Wright's searing criticism that this book was simply a minstrel show for the white folks and had no plot, theme, or substance. Listening to the first few pages of the novel read by Ruby Dee brings out the poetic lyricism of Hurston's writing (to hear a 7-minute excerpt, go to the author's official website at http://zoranealehurston.com/books/#their-eyes-were-watching-god). Would my Chicago accent sound like a joke if transcribed faithfully and would you think it came from an educated woman? Probably yes to the first and no to the second.

Some critics classify this story as a Bildungsroman. There are elements of the coming-of-age tale here, but there are many mythical or almost biblical elements, as well. Truly, there is a strong, independent woman depicted in this novel; while the economics and cultural mores of the 30s placed much greater constraints on Janie than they would today, she nonetheless understands that she has great value and she must find people who accept her as she is. It's “their eyes” watching God, not Janie's. Janie is a woman who searches for and is finally able to ensnare the promise of the horizon. And that's a story worth reading.

A rather strange, and yet, enjoyable read. It is still spinning around in my mind, although I finished it earlier this afternoon.

Somehow, I had missed Ms. McCullers' works, although I've enjoyed other Southern gothic authors like William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Eudora Welty, and the great Flannery O'Connor. Ms. McCullers comes relatively early in the 20th Century Southern gothic arch and seems to have been influenced by the realists like Hemingway, although I didn't find any support for that idea. Her prose is clean and deftly twists and turns the slang and syntax of different inhabitants of the novel's small mill town so you can practically hear the rich drawls.

She preferred to compare her work to the earlier Russians like Chekhov and Tolstoy, as opposed to being lumped into the Southern gothic melange. While there are some similarities to the Russians, like writing about poor people struggling against themselves, I do feel that her novel has the languid, Spanish moss sense of time and many of the characters are oddballs and outcasts that set it firmly into Southern gothic camp.

The five main characters of the novel are all lonely outcasts hunting for meaning, acceptance, and love, but are constrained by their own inability to decompartmentalize different parts of their lives and to properly communicate. In fact, all five characters worshipfully communicate with their chosen “deity” (for John Singer, Antonapoulas and for Mick Kelly, Dr. Copeland, Biff Brannon, and Jake Blount; John Singer), but never achieve or really seem to want a two-way street. In fact, all of the worshipers are delusional about their god and think that there's magic to just talking to that person.

And that ends up being each character's tragedy. John Singer and Antonapoulas may have had a homosexual relationship, although it is not clearly stated; it would provide an additional explanation for Antonapoulas' cousin committing him to a mental institution beyond increasingly erratic behaviors. Once Antonapoulas dies, Singer can no longer maintain his placid existence and bi-annual vacations to visit Antonapoulas, and ends up committing suicide. Jake Blount finds himself unable to control his violent impulses and flees town after killing a young black man when a fight breaks out at the carnival; he's not quite able to reconcile his wish for the proletariat to rise up and the demons of alcohol addiction. Biff Brannon is able to re-emerge a little after his wife's death and interestingly plays with expected gender roles, which would certainly have been a big deal in the South of the 1940s. Dr. Copeland is unable to achieve dreams that wouldn't be realized until the Civil Rights movement a quarter of a century later; at the same time, he carries a dark , violent side that occasionally leaks out, which turned both is wife and children against him. Only Mick Kelly really seems to have possibilities at the end of the novel, perhaps because she is a biographical nod to the author, who did go on to study piano. I love the chapters told from Mick's tomboy point of view as she travels over various potholes towards young adulthood. Although she's consigned to flames of department store clerkdom woe at the end of the novel, the reader is given the impression that she might find a way to access her “inner room” and reconnect with her love of music.

After each character loses their deity, they end up somewhat, if not a great deal, worse off than they were at the beginning of the story. I'm not sure whether she intended that a search for God in other humans is ultimately fruitless because each person is estranged, or whether she was disillusioned with the God.

Terrible. How this book ended up on so many best-of-2015 lists I cannot fathom. Typically, a book set in England from just before WWII through the recent past would be right up my alley (an English Gran and Grampas who fought in WWII help). I've also enjoyed Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series, but should have known not to bother with “A God in Ruins” given that “Life After Life” just fell flat for me.

It is one thing to skip about in a character's or set of characters' chronologies. It is entirely another to do so because you don't have much of a story to tell and because you aren't able to fully flesh out your characters, even when you take over 400 pages not to do so. It is even another to mash together dialogue so that you don't know who is speaking (because it's all so boring that it doesn't matter). Yet, people just ate this book up. Bah! I'm glad I got it from the library.

I listened to Tim Ferris' “4 Hour Work Week” via Hoopla audiobook, so thank you to the library!

I'm just going to say it: Tim Ferriss is a blowhard and reminds me of so many C-suite individuals who claim that they deserve massive compensation packages for being them, but without providing any demonstrable value to the organization.

Below are my thoughts about the book as I listened to.

Avoid direct communication as much as possible. We are supposed to avoid talking to people at work (as an employee or consultant), answer emails once per week, and tell people who call to email.

Set a huge hourly rate. To be one of the “new rich,” just say that your billing rate is $5,000 per hour. It doesn't matter if you're doing anything for that rate! Ha!

Create short deadlines. We are told to ignore minutae and create impossibly short deadlines for activities. Like “The Magic of Tidying Up,” Tim clearly has no understanding of accounting, which is all about minutae. I suppose this book is for management consultants, who I have generally found to do nothing.

Improve cash turnaround with automation. Nice tip for non-accountants: lockboxes are great, low-cost ways for businesses to speed up cash turnaround and standardize documentation.

Stop multi-tasking and to set a firm time that you leave. After working in Corporate America for almost 20 years, management thought that I was constantly available because I wasn't married and didn't have children. Once I started setting a time I had to leave for salsa lessons or book clubs or yoga, management stopped overloading me (and gave me more staff!). This tip seems simple on its face, but it really a good way to manage one's day to keep a decent work-life balance. Who cares if you're leaving to go soak in a warm bath or to go train for an iron man?

Low information diet. The most useful tip in the book! “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” However, simply not responding to voice mails and only checking emails once per week is insane. When you are your business, you must be an information bottleneck, as Tim describes it, or you won't understand what is going on in your business. It is true that it is a good idea to delegate when you have proper staff, but if you are a one-person operation, there is nowhere to outsource. The author even outsourced the decision about who to choose for President of the United States; it's a great idea to acquire other's opinions including those who have a similar and a different mindset. However, in this age of high volume questionable information, it is worthwhile to check sources yourself as opposed to just believing what everyone else says. If I believed the vast majority of my relatives, I would have voted differently and would believe all kinds of insane things (and be quite racist, to boot).

One week media fast. He is totally right that reading an hour of fiction (or non-fiction) before bed is a great way to relax and close down the day. Research indicates that using computers or smart phones or televisions when trying to wind down actually stimulates brain waves and makes sleep less restful.

Only check email twice per day. HAHAHA. Hilarious. This tacti does not train others to be more effective. It tells people that you aren't interested in providing information when needed. Perhaps checking email fewer times per day is a good idea, as opposed to checking email every minute. However, not checking it in the morning or at other times during the day is irresponsible given that there is phone call screening directing those who wish to communicate with you to email you.

No meetings. HAHAHA again. Sometimes, I find meetings to be very helpful. Not everyone communicates well over email and there are follow-up questions that are important to discuss. Asking to sit out once in awhile works, but not every single time.

Miss deadlines. Missing a deadline DOES NOT work in accounting. Oh, sorry, I decided not to do your financials! Oh, sorry, I decided not to do your tax return on time. Fees, schmees! Who care if you lose your non-profit status in your state. It saved me time and I batched wheeee! Sorry, but that is nonsense. Batching is a good idea, which requires that you organize like tasks and complete them together, as opposed to starting from scratch each time you do a task.

Declutter. Hilariously, he recommends decluttering and reducing the number of possessions to free up physical weights to support more traveling and being more efficient. This is right in line with the Marie Kondo method and has some truth. Who doesn't feel better by getting rid of items you don't need and someone else can? It is true that you don't get as distracted by a bunch of stuff and can more quickly choose clothing or navigate through the house when there isn't stuff everywhere. However, the point is so that you can travel with almost no posessions. I like having different shoe options for going to the pool, touristing, and a fancy dinner.

To sum up, spend as little time with people that you work for, work with, and who work for you, as well as friends, relatives (even your immediate family – definitely use a virtual assistant to correspond with your spouse about interpersonal issues).

Impenetrable! Despite multiple efforts, I was only able to read 30 pages of this book because the author's writing style was extremely difficult for me to read. I had really looked forward to this book as our December selection because I wanted to learn more about the Talmud. I did learn quite a bit during the discussion, but frankly could not learn anything from the book.