Viet Thanh Nguyen |   Fiction

I struggled to finish this book, and perused the last 150 pages.  Though the author has some wonderful wry humor, I did not care for his story-telling and his character development.  Every time I opened this  book, I literally saw the main character, an unnamed half-French half-Vietnamese protagonist, as a piece of tissue paper.  He was so thin and flimsy, you could see right though him and he had no there, there.  I found him shallow, especially given the nature of the story he was trying to tell, and not a bit likeable.  My eye surgeon, Dr. Alul, saw me reading this book in her office on Monday and she said “Do you like it?  It is pretty depressing.  I had a really hard time getting through it.”  I found that interesting.  I had not thought of it as depressing, but I guess it really is.  And I am not enjoying “depressing” right now.  After that conversation, I hit the last 100 pages and, though there is some redemption, the further you read, the more profoundly depressing the tale.

This is a fictionalized story of the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam war, and the refugees who make it to America. We follow our main character, who is a Captain in the military and a spy, as he attempts to acclimate to America, or, perhaps more precisely, to not acclimate to America.  We read of the struggles of the refugees, the culture clashes, the challenges, and a bit of their successes.

I found it very hard to believe that a Vietnamese refugee would arrive in America and want to (page 231) “Reconcile, return, rebuild.”   I am perhaps quite naïve about the refugee experience, so I did a bit of research.  Yes, I am still VERY naïve about the refugee experience, but here are some facts I gathered:

Two million Vietnamese left their country after the fall of Saigon.  120,000 of them came to the United States.  Of the 120,000 who came here, 1500, (1.25%) chose to “reconcile, return, rebuild” and returned to Vietnam.  Of those, most were held in “reeducation camps” where they experienced prison conditions, forced ideological change, brutality, violence, humiliation and, for many, death.

I cannot recommend this despondent book, however, if you read it, I will be very pleased to read some other views!

Chloe Benjamin |  Fiction

Wow. The Immortalists escorted me from South America, through Central America, into North America, on my return from Ecuador, with nary a pause.  As the book book begins in 1969, four New York siblings, Simon (7), Klara (9), Daniel (11), and Varya (13) visit a fortune teller and learn the dates of their deaths.  The Immortalists tells the stories of each of their lives, and, yes, their deaths.

I could not put this book down.  I loved it!  Riveting.  Who recommended this book to me?  Whoever you are, I will trust your judgment forever.

Enjoy!

(Yes, I traveled for days to get to and from The Galapagos.  Hence, four blog posts at once!)

Meik Wiking |  Nonfiction

This is a fun little book.  Written by a Happiness Researcher, The Little Book of Hygge attempts to explain why Denmark continues to score at or near the top of happiness surveys.  And the answer is a uniquely Danish concept called Hygge.

Hygge is rather difficult to explain, but it is an attitude, a sense of peace, comfort, security, of being with the people we love.

What is easier to explain is what contributes to Hygge; how it comes about; what creates the wonderful feeling of Hygge.  There are a range of things.  The Hygge manifesto consists of turning down the lights and lighting candles, presence, pleasure, gratitude, harmony, equality, comfort, truce, togetherness, and shelter.

And there are many ways to bring about Hygge, such as lighting candles, cooking simple foods together, sweets, a fireplace, wool socks, making a nook in your home for tea and quiet.

You’ll likely gain some new ideas for creating Hygge in YOUR life. Personally, I am intrigued by the idea of a monthly board game night.  And, of course, warm, sweet rolls fresh from the oven.

Enjoy!

Phillip K. Dick |  Science Fiction

A friend of mine, Ralph, brought this book to water aerobics, because he knew I was a fan of time travel books.  And Dr. Futurity is a time travel book, about a physician who inadvertently finds himself hundreds of years in the future, in a society where death is zealously embraced, and saving lives is illegal.

While there is time travel at the core of this book, it really is science fiction, a genre of fiction in which the stories often tell about science and technology of the future.  Fantastical technological situations, objects, and advances occur.  I am reminded that I am not a fan of science fiction.  I am much more intrigued by the shifts and complexities of people’s relationships in time travel novels.

So, I cannot recommend this book, however I am fascinated to hear if you are a science fiction fan and a consumer of Phillip K. Dick novels and what you enjoy about them.  I would love to hear what else you might recommend by him.  With 44 books, it is hard to choose, should I decide to.  Please let us know!

Bill Morris | Fiction

This book delighted me to the tips of my toes.  It is fast-paced, well-constructed, sufficiently well written (it is a mystery, not a literary tome, and it puts on no airs to pretend it is what it isn’t.)  The story line is unusual; it's not a formulaic who-done-it.  No, it flows in a more complex and interesting way.

You will follow the life of Willie Bledsoe, who moves to Detroit from Alabama, after his time in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Snick.  You’ll experience the Detroit race riots of 1967, along with the killing of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, all decorated like a Christmas tree with stories and scenes of the blossoming Detroit Tigers in 1967 and 1968.

Motor City Burning is a solid four hearts for me, but I am giving it three because I believe not all of my blog readers will resonate with every page in the way I did.  First of all, you have to be old enough to be alive and aware of the race riots in the 60’s, and have a sense of the profound turmoil the country was in.  Second, I was enamored by all the Detroit landmarks that set the stage for Motor City Burning.  If you aren’t from Detroit, or have no interest in the Midwest during this time of racial unrest, you may not have the same experience as I.  Those objections being met, read this novel for the picture it vividly draws and the story it tells.

Thank you Mark M for this recommendation.

Susan Orlean|  Nonfiction

The Library Book tells the story of the unprecedented fire in the Los Angeles Public Library on April 29, 1986, in which more than a million books were lost or damaged. This is the story of the fire, and, to a lesser degree, the suspected arsonist.  Susan Orlean is an excellent writer; she does considerable in-depth research, and places herself right into the scenes and the characters.  I really like the way she weaves small informative details that make her story interesting with big important facts, translating the information to a human scale, like this from her long paragraph of what books were lost, on pages 33 and 34.  “…A first edition of Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cook Book from 1896.  Twelve thousand cookbooks, including six books of popcorn recipes.”

While Orlean’s book is structurally about the LA Public Library, she also continually draws parallels with other libraries in the country and the world.  You get a sense of how libraries developed and thrived over the last 140 years or so. You will cheer the librarians on for their visions, as they transform libraries from book-loaning spaces to integral and central parts of the communities they serve.

At the beginning of each chapter, she lists four books and their call numbers which relate to the content in the chapter.  This is a fun resource ... it not only gives you a preview of the chapter, but it also may entice you to go pick another book off the shelf.  Like this, from Chapter 7, The Art of Condolence:  What to Write, What to Say, What to Do at a Time of Loss (1991) by Leonard M. Zunin, 177.9 Z95.  This for a chapter in which she quotes some of the condolence letters sent to the LA Library from other libraries after the huge fire….

So, why three hearts instead of four?  This was another sandwich book for me.  I love the beginning and the end; the relevance and the knowledge I gained.  However, in the middle, she spends longs pages – too long for me – on the history of the Los Angeles Public Library and its challenges, leadership, funding issues.  I became a bit bored with the LA-focus.  In sum, yes, I recommend this interesting book, with my only hesitation being the lengthy history section. 

Finally, I want to share this tidbit, from page 93.  “In Senegal. The polite expression for saying someone died is to say his or her library has burned.”  Provocative, yes?

Patricia Lockwood  |  Nonfiction/Biography

Nancy Pearl, librarian, critic, commentator, and author, is credited with inventing the Rule of 50, plus it's addendum.  The rule states that if there are no firecrackers by page 50, put the book down.  The addendum is that for every year you are over 50, subtract one page.  So for me, as of a few weeks ago, I can now stop at 35 pages.

I made it to 42.  I found every single sentence in Priestdaddy to be overwritten.  Like this (page 38):  “Great mermaids flowed through the streets: southerners.”  And this, page 25, “He had the small, neat, unjudgmental ears of a teddy bear.”  Huh?  Unjudgmental ears? 

Then I read the reviews on the back that declare this book to be hilarious and I knew my fatal flaw had kicked in.  I had not even smiled once, much less laughed.

So, my apologies to my friend who recommended this book, and who shall remain nameless so as not to sully her fine reputation (I love you still, friend C).  And I am moving on.

Robin Sloan |  Fiction

I was charmed by this book.  Yes, as some reviewers point out, it is a techie's dream book, at the intersection of books, extreme technology, and knowledge.  And more  than that, it is simply a delightful story.

Clay Jannon takes a job working graveyard shift at Mr.Penumbra’s 24-hour bookstore, where only a few books are ever sold.  What really happens occurs in the tall vertical stacks in the back, where assorted characters drop off obscure books and pick up others, that Clay wraps in brown paper.  These books are not sold; they are simply exchanged.  For a while, Clay obeys the rules and never looks inside these books.   Clay’s job, besides climbing the ladder to find the requested book, is to record in the log who took the book, what they were wearing that night, their emotional state, how they smelled, and their words.

Of course, one day Clay looks inside and discovers symbols ... not text at all.  And with the help of a Googler, Kat, and various designers, techies, and artists, he begins to discover and unravel the secrets of the Unbroken Spine, a centuries old movement(?), sect (?), cult(?).

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is a fable and a fantasy, imbued with amazing real technology, a delightful read, and just plain fun.  

Jonathon Evison |  Fiction

This is just a bit of a reluctant four hearts, but still closer to 4 than 3!  Benjamin Benjamin has just trained as a caregiver, and begins working with Trevor, a young man with Muscular Dystrophy.  No surprise, their relationship is challenging, but a strong bond does grow.  There are two interwoven story lines.  This first is the tale of Ben and Trev.  Eventually they embark on a road trip, which is where the fun and adventure really begins!  Interspersed with this plot is Ben’s back story, and how he lost his wife and two children.  At first, I was frustrated at not knowing the back story before I knew the present-day story but then I realized that was the intent of the author, to weave the two tales simultaneously.

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving is interesting, more of a light read than a heavy read, though there are relationship challenges that will leave you sad.  I am not quite sure why I am giving this a “reluctant” four hearts.  There is something about Evison’s style that didn’t land with me, and I don’t know what it is.  But overall, yes, I recommend The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, and will be pleased to hear what you all think of it.  This is a book club read, so I will enjoy hearing what the Casting Crew has to say!

Steven King |  Fiction

Jake Epping, a reluctant time traveler, travels to September 9, 1958, multiple times to prevent the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.  Of course, the butterfly effect causes changes in the present-day world (2011) and the past is “obdurate” and not wanting to change.  As a result, Jake must come back home a few times and then return to the “Land of Ago.”

I loved this book!  It is King at his best non-horror writing. I learned quite a bit about the Kennedy assassination and the days and months leading up to it.  He must have done significant research to create this tale.  It is a book for which occasionally you will grab your phone and Google a historical figure or place, to learn more about context.

Be warned, 11/22/63 is LONG.  My copy was 1031 pages. The paperbark is 849.  As with all long books, there were a few pages in the middle where I began to tire, but I knew that was more about me than the writing.  I definitely recommend 11/22/63.