Book Nook Cafe discussion

January 2015: My READING GOAL is currently 20 BOOKS per month!

✔ 1. Independent People-Halldór Laxness 1934, 482 pp. -- 5 stars!
I reread this book for 2015. I believe that this is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a tragic story about a man who is proud enough to sacrifice everything. It's about the complex intersection of pride and poverty. It's about the story of the fiercely strong and intelligent everyman who has little to show for their successes yet holds their successes with high esteem. It's about how one's endless struggle to be self-sufficient can make one bitter, senseless, hypocritical and cold. 5 stars.

✔ 2. Native Son-Richard Wright 1940, 462 pp.
Excellent book, I couldn't put it down. It's a story about a black man named Bigger Thomas (set in Chicago, 1930s) who accidentally killed his employer's young (white) daughter, and Bigger decided to hide the evidence by placing her body into her family's furnace. Bigger never intended to asphyxiate his employer's daughter. It happened quickly, as her blind mother entered her bedroom, asking for her daughter questions. Bigger didn't want her mother to know that (1) her daughter was drunk, and (2) that Bigger was in her daughter's bedroom. When her daughter heard her mother, she tried to speak, but instead Bigger pushed a pillow over her face, and minutes later, her mother left the room. When he took the pillow off her face, he discovered that she was dead, and he was in big trouble. 5 stars.

✔ 3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants-Robin Wall Kimmerer 2013, 391 pp.
I truly enjoyed this book. Botanist and Professor of Plant Ecology Kimmerer (Gathering Moss) encourages readers to consider the ways that our lives and language weave through the natural world. A mesmerizing storyteller, she shares legends from her Potawatomi ancestors to illustrate the culture of gratitude in which we all should live. In such a culture, everyone knows that gifts will follow the circle of reciprocity and flow back to you again. The grass in the ring is trodden down in a path from gratitude to reciprocity. We dance in a circle, not in a line. Kimmerer recalls the ways that pecans became a symbol of abundance for her ancestors: Feeding guests around the big table recalls the trees' welcome to our ancestors when they were lonesome and tired and so far from home. She reminds readers that we are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put into the universe will always come back. As a Native American, it speaks volumes to me. 5 stars.

✔ 4. The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson-Jerome Charyn 2010, 384 pp. --
I did enjoy the variety of odd characters discussions throughout the book. Author Jerome Charyn’s novel is shaped around Dickinson’s obsessive love for several fictional men in her life. Charyn was inspired by Dickinson early in his writing life. He stated that “she was a country girl, and he was a boy from the Bronx. He was hooked and hypnotized from the start.” Well done. 5 stars.

✔ 5. The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher--Hilary Mantel 2014, 242 pp.--
Hilary Mantel’s collection of short stories, many dark, humorous, and of course, well written. The stories consist of subjects such as childhood, of longing for children, marriage, adultery, anorexia (surprised me!) and visiting a literary society. This is my first time reading her work. I look forward to reading Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. 5 stars.

✔ 6. White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson-Brenda Wineapple-2008, 432 pp.--
The book covers a variety of letters Emily Dickinson received during her lifetime. Emily was a recluse and shared her poetry with Thomas Wentworth Higginson, minister, literary figure, active abolitionist. Their friendship began in 1862 as the Civil War was raging. Dickinson was thirty-one; Higginson, thirty-eight. A former pastor at the Free Church of Worcester, Massachusetts, he wrote often for the cultural magazine of the day, The Atlantic Monthly—on gymnastics, women’s rights, and slavery. His article “Letter to a Young Contributor” gave advice to readers who wanted to write for the magazine and offered tips on how to submit one’s work (“use black ink, good pens, white paper”). Higginson felt her writing was unique and uncategorizable, and felt that she was "an original poetic genius.Over all their correspondence, she had mailed to Higginson one hundred poems. The author did an excellent job writing this book. 5 stars.

✔ 7. Geography III--Elizabeth Bishop-1971--50 pp.
This book was recommended to me. Georgraphy III won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry in 1976. I have to say that In the Waiting Room is one of my favorite poems where a six yr. old girl in the waiting room for her aunt's apt, and looking for a magazine, National Geographic, with "those awful hanging breasts." I like her dry humor. 5 stars.

✔ 8. Swamplandia!-Karen Russell --
I was hooked in the beginning, it was different in a good way and very imaginative. I liked the characters (disappointed that mom died from ovarian cancer because she sounded like a great character with her gift of diving, and other talents.) Later Ava and Kiwi leave the family business, and things changed, and I totally lost interest. 3 stars.

✔ 9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle-Fiona Carnarvon -- Sad to say, I found it very dull and lacking a great deal. 2 stars.

Great start to January, Carol !

I'm glad you enjoyed Native Son I look forward to discussing it with you.

Alias Reader wrote: "Great start to January, Carol !

I'm glad you enjoyed Native Son I look forward to discussing it with you."

Me too! Great book- thanks Alias!

Good start, Carol!

A Few more to go . . .

✔ 10. Robinson Crusoe-Daniel Defoe--320 pp. 5 stars!
I was completed surprised after reading this classic book: I especially liked when he was overwhelmed by his Christian faith, and how it totally transformed his life. This is a story about a man who rejects his father's advice regarding his middle-income career, and instead ignores his father and God; and decides to goes out to the sea on an adventure. He makes some money, is captured, made a slave, and befriends Xury. Picked up by Portuguese sailing captain, Crusoe makes it to Brazil and buys a sugar plantation. He does well financially, but becomes involved in a venture to procure slaves from Africa. On the voyage, he gets shipwrecked and is left as the only survivor on a deserted island.

Crusoe's time alone on the island is challenging. But he can build shelters, journeys to the opposite side of the island, and keeps his guns/ammo fort in the woods. He is busy man: planting corn, barley, rice; bread; builds furniture; weaves baskets; makes pots; raises goats; ends to his animal family of cats, dogs, and a parrot. Most importantly, though, Crusoe becomes stronger in his faith, eventually submitting to the authority of God. He devotes himself completely.

At the end of the book, Crusoe sees a footprint on the shore one day and fears that he is not alone on the island. Crusoe struggles with the question of whether or not he should take revenge on his visitors. The he meets with Friday, a native man whom he is able to rescue from the cannibals, and teaches Friday to speak English & converts him to Christianity. The two become "father and son" and rescue a Spaniard; Friday's father from a different group of cannibals. An English longboat of sailors land on the island. Crusoe hears the men regarding mutiny against the captain. Crusoe tries to restore order to the ship, the men and captain pledge allegiance to Crusoe and agree to take him home. Crusoe returns to Europe with Friday, where he comes into a great deal of money from his sugar plantations. Crusoe gets married and eventually revisits the island in his later years.

✔ 11. A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter-William Deresiewicz- 255 pages 5 stars!!
What an great book! It took me two days to read this 255 page book on "A Jane Austen Education. This is a beautiful memoir written by New Yorker/ Connecticut author William Deresiewicz, whose life was completely transformed by Jane Austen's literature: which not only revealed the remarkable life lessons hidden within her six novels- – Emma: “everyday matters;” Pride and Prejudice: “growing up;” Northanger Abbey: “Learning to Learn;” Mansfield Park: ”Being Good;” Persuasion: “True Friends;” Sense and Sensibility: “Falling in Love;” and the ending.

Austen preferred to write about what she was about, and refused all temptations to wander from her course. Austen’s own way was to make sure of the very things that absorbed her attention in her own life. No one was closer to her than her older sister, Cassandra, with whom she shared a room until the end of her life. Jane Austen’s life may have seemed uneventful compared to her family members. But her genius began with the recognition that such lives as hers were very eventful indeed– that every life is eventful, if only you know how to look at it. She did not think that her existence was quiet or trivial or boring; she thought it was delightful and enthralling, and she wanted us to see that too. She understood that what fills our days, should fill our hearts; and what fills our hearts, should fill our novels.

Initially, Deresiewicz was an arrogant graduate student, and was shocked that he would be studying Austen's work. But when he read Emma for a class, something unexpected happened. As he viewed the world through Austen's generous eyes, he was amazed to discover that the people in his life began to develop the depth and richness of literary characters -- and that his own life had suddenly been fascinated with her novel. Austen's devotion to the everyday, and her faith in ordinary lives, changed him in ways that he could never have imagined. Also his relationships with others and his family improved.

✔ 12. The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London-Judith Flanders- 544 pages, 4 stars! DISAPPOINTED . . .
4 stars! I have to admit that this was a strange way to look at historic England. It covers pretty much everything, transportation, life for the rich and the poor, how people survived disease, children works start at 5 am in the morning, the polluted water, basically if you weren't part of the rich, you had pretty much nothing except disease and constant work. But then the author adds some of Dickens's characters, and puts that into every chapter. To add the fictional characters of Dickens to historic England. It seems very odd to me.

✔ 13. Emily Dickinson: A Biography --Milton Meltzer 2006; 124 pp.; 5 stars!
A very detailed biography filled with photography and daguerrotypes; excellent details on the entire family, but especially Emily.

✔ 14. Emily Dickinson's Reading, 1836-1886 - Jack L. Capps -1966, 230 pp. -5 Stars! This book talks about specifically her favorite books (much different from todays books.) She also discusses the people she met over her limited travel.

✔ 15. Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe by Harold Bloom -- 143 pp. reviews by Harold Bloom, Virginia Woolf, Ian Watt, G.A. Starr, J. Paul Hunter, Leopold Damrosch, Jr. Michael Seidel, and A. D. Hope.
Many authors wrote reviews on Robinson Crusoe, I selected Virginia Woolf's approach to a classic volume. Whatever ever we do, the book itself remains. We are all alone and we must climb upon the novelist's shoulders and gaze through his eyes until all understand in what order he arranges the large common objects upon which novelists are fated to gaze; man and men; behind them nature, and above them that power for which convenience and brevity, we may call God. And at once, confusion, misjudgment and difficulties begin. Scott, Austen, and Peacock lived through the same years; they saw the same world, they were covered in the text books by the same length of literary history. It is in their perspective that they are different. If we grasp this firmly, for ourselves, the battle would end in victory and we could turn, secure in our intimacy to enjoy the various delights with which the critics and biographers so generously supply us. We know a story of a man, through his adventures, alone on a desert island; peril and solitude on a desert island, expect far land, limits of the world of man, isolated from his clan, brooding alone, nature of society, a kind of pleasure that we expect it to give us. But what about the earthenware pot? REALITY dominates all that follows; NATURE a giver of drought and water; MAN is reduced to struggle, life persevered; and GOD who is just above the horizon. Nothing exists except for the plain earthenware pot. It stands in the foreground, persuades us to see remote islands and the solitudes of the human soul. The solidity of the pot and it's earthliness, has subdued every other element to his design; he has roped the whole universe into harmony.

✔ 16. Gulliver's Travels--Jonathan Swift-306pp.--I have to say that satire is not my favorite genre; but Jonathan Swift enjoyed it greatly. I thought that Gulliver's Travels was a children's storybook. But I was mistaken. In Part 1, Gulliver's is among the tiny people of Lilliputian and Bleufuscu, where everything in the European world is scaled down on a ratio of one to twelve. Gulliver gives us information about this strange place, it's political life, it's interning use, and some of its customs. Gulliver is captured by the Lilliputians and led into the city, where he is chained down and billeted in a disused temple (resembles England's Westminster Cathedral). And alarmingly, his account then deviates into a disgusting description of his act of defecation. This passage forces all readers to recognize that Swift is not only ridiculing the travel story, but also at the same time imitating and arousing the uncomfortable suspicion that the readers are also under attack. Throughout the book, addresses such as 'candid,' 'curious', 'courteous', or 'gentle reader', is a reminder that Swift is subverting both the apparent form of his story and the kind of reading which it invites. By the end of Part IV, Gulliver can speak out directly against the genre he has imitated. Swift's satire targets are more than one particular act of reading, it also requires the assumptions that make up the mentality of a reader; assumptions about discourse, reason, and human nature. He is telling the repeated introduction of excrement, one of the clearest signals of Swift's subversive activity. Neither the polish of Swift's plain and simple prose style, nor it's venerable age can hide the fact that this work is often as rude and as adversarial as any modern product of political activism. Gulliver's Travels is not a novel or a story; it belongs instead to the more difficult literary genre of satire. It is a parody of travel, following the form and spirit of a long line of satirical works that begun in ancient times.

✔ 17. The Red Tent--Anita Diamant-
The Red Tent is a novel during biblical times, focus on the imagined lives of Rachel and Leah, two wives of Jacob (true biblical figures) and the imagined story of Dinah, the daughter of Leah (also a true biblical figure.) The title "Red Tent" refers to the tent where the women of the tribe remained in while experiencing their "time of the month" or giving birth. Rachel (Dinah's aunt), Leah (Dinah's mother), and later Dinah herself, all become midwives, helping other women who are delivering their babies. The novel is actually two books, each connected by the familial bonds; the first story is of Rachel and Leah, and then the last story is focused on Dinah, just barely a woman, meets an Egyptian, Shalem, a handsome man of wealth and status and falls in love with him. He returns her love, and for a time the two engage in merry lovemaking. As was the custom of the time, Shalem's family attempts to "buy" Dinah from her family, making what appears to be a very fair offer.

Madrano wrote: "Good start, Carol!"

Thanks Madrano.

Crusoe is such a good book. Read when young, it's an adventure story. Later in life it grows in the reader's wonder because it covers so much.

Madrano wrote: "Crusoe is such a good book. Read when young, it's an adventure story. Later in life it grows in the reader's wonder because it covers so much."

So true!

Did I meet my goal of reading 20 books?

Sadly, I have to say that I gave it my best attempt. I was short by three books. I read three books with 430+ pages, including a biography, which requires time. (I love biographies.) And The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London, with 544 pages, also required time.

Well done, Carol ! Even though you fell short of your extraordinary goal, the important thing is that you enjoy the books you are reading and take the time to savor them.

Alias, you are right! The most important thing is to enjoy reading and savoring the books. Once again, you made my day!! Thank you!

February 2015: My goal was 20 but I have yet to reach it.

✔ 1. The Mindful Writer: Noble Truths of the Writing Life-Dinty W. Moore-142pp. (2012). This tiny book consists of four writing ways: The Writer's Mind; The Writer's Desk; The Writer's Vision; and The Writer's Life. The author looks at all the process of writing through his Buddhist practice and philosophy. The Four Noble Truths for Writers: (1) The Writer's Mind: Where do writing and creativity originate? (2) The Writer's Desk: What does mindfulness mean when you are directly at the task of writing? (3) The Writer's Vision: How do writers mindfully engage their own writing, writing habits, and need for growth? (4) The Writer's Life: What does it mean to be a writer in the world, to have dedicated oneself to the craft of writing? Which will be revealed after reading the 123 pages. I especially liked Barbara Kingsolver's advice- "Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; Figure out what you have to say. "It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

✔ 2. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation--Unknown—213 pp. (2001) I have to say I would be like to listen to an audio version of the language written, with the english version by its side, as in the book. Beowulf is the epic poem of the warrior hero who survived a succession of fierce trials only to languish for centuries thereafter in the entombing clutches of university scholars. In this edition, Seamus Heaney has revived this sacred text. I also read that, "Unlike cerebral, anaemic languages such as French, English words had the good fortune sensuously to enact their own meanings, so that the archetypal English poem sounded rather like the rumbling of a sack of potatoes being emptied. Not even the thinnest blade could be slid between signifier and signified.

✔ 3. Grendel--John Gardner—180 pp. (2010). FYI- I am posting this this review that was written by another-- Gardner's Grendhal begins this Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, but it is as far from that as Joyce's Ulysses is from Homer's Odyssey. It fits into no genre, and defies summary. Writing from Grendell's perspective, facing the existence of human existence at the same time as observing humanity from the outside. It is a mixture of fantasy, lyrical description, dialogue, and poetry with topics on personal morality to nature of the state and the power of art, weaving them into a complex multi-layered text. (http://dannyreviews.com/h/Grendel.html)


✔ 4. George Eliot: Her Life and Books-Gerald Bullett-268 pp. (1948). Review: George Eliot, (Marian Evans), was a quiet, voracious reader with a close relationship with her father, in the small Midlands town. She was considered not a pretty girl, but very intellectual. Her father invested in an education not often afforded to women. Eliot went to London, and made a name for herself as an editor nd contributor of The Westminter Review. she lived in a home with with the founder John Chapman, and fell in love with him, evidence of her need to be loved. She left after awhile, as John Chapman already had not only one wife, but also a mistress living under one roof. Next George Lewes came into her life, her twenty years with Lewes, who couldn't not marry her, was for both of them a true marriage, and not a rebellion to her evangelical upbringing. They never wavered in true devotion and respect for each other, and out of this came her novels that made her famous. She stated that she used a male pen name to ensure her works would be taken seriously and escape the stereotype of women only writing light hearted romances. In 1872 Middlemarch was described as the greatest novel in English language.

✔ 5. The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life-Joel Fuhrman i read this book inone setting. This book changed the way I eat --only vegan.

✔ 6. One-Dish Vegan: More than 150 Soul-Satisfying Recipes for Easy and Delicious One-Bowl and One-Plate Dinners-Robin G. Robertson. Easy, delicious recipes.

✔ 7. More Anti-Inflammation Diet Tips and Recipes-Jessica K. Black. Excellent book for those with inflammation, as I am. I'm buying this book for all her recipes.

✔ 8. The Vegan Slow Cooker: Simply Set It and Go with 150 Recipes for Intensely Flavorful, Fuss-Free Fare Everyone (Vegan or Not-Kathy Hester- 218 pp. (2011) I am having such pain everywhere in my body that I decided to buy this book and make the meals, hopefully to reduce pain.

✔ 9. Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food: 150 Down-Home Recipes Packed with Flavor, Not Calories-Alicia C. Simpson. You can choose from a calorie menu-- 1,400, 1,600, 1,800, or 2,000. But there are also 'Ballpark Hot Dogs' on page 162. Not totally vegan, disappointed.

✔ 10. The Drowning River-Christobel Kent -- Well written. A melancholy private investigator tackles two murky murder cases set in Florence. First, an elderly man walks into the river Arno and drowns. Next a young English girl named "Ronnie" disappears without a word to her friends. These crimes go to Sandro Celleni, a disgraced former police officer /now a private investigator answers the plea of the man's widow to solve his apparent suicide. The drowned man led a double life unknown to his wife. Iris March, the roommate of the missing girl, hunts for her and follows her own suspicions. She believes one of the girl's many male friends may be involved. Her suspicions center on a young American art student. Eventually, Iris links up with Sandro and they pool their knowledge together.

✔ 11. Whistler and His Mother: An Unexpected Relationship: Secrets of an American Masterpiece-Sarah Walden. It is great to see a book recognizing Whistler's work, especially this painting of his mother, and his life in London.
More Images -- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...
Also a favorite Nocturne in Black and Gold; "The Falling Rocket" -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturne...
Lady Meux -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait...

Carol, I read The Accidental Buddhist: Mindfulness, Enlightenment, and Sitting Still, American Style by Dinty W. Moore and enjoyed it a lot.

Carol, I have an old hardcover edition of
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling--Henry Fielding
I haven't read it yet. It must have been my mothers. I look forward to your comments on it.

Alias Reader wrote: "Carol, I read [book:The Accidental Buddhist: Mindfulness, Enlightenment, and Sitting Still, ..."

There was a brief period in my life when I left the Catholic Curch and was interested in all faiths, beginning with Judaism to Buddhism.

I really appreciated the Seamus Heaney edition of Beowulf. I hope you like it. One of the pleasures was to see the original on the opposite side of the translation. Good presentation.

I have started reading Beowulf: A New Verse Translation and so far I really like it.

Yes, I also have the Seamus Heaney edition. I wish the original had someone reading the language as it was written, for an audio book.

In February 2015, I only read 11 books due to my health.
My goal is 20, will I ever get there?

January 2015 : 17 books
February 2015 : 11 books

MY TO-BE-READ BOOKS LIST

1. Portable MFA in Creative Writing -The New York Writer's Workshop 278 pp. (2015)

2. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman-Robert K. Massie- 574 pp. (2011)

3. The Passion of Emily Dickinson --Judith Farr—416 pp. (1998)

4. Tom Jones--Henry Fielding--871 pp. (2008). I read BOOK 1 (out of 18 BOOKS). So far so good.

5. The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra

The books you are reading are not light beach reads. Cut yourself some slack !

Interesting reading month ahead, Carol. Keep your health steady & your eyes busy!

Carol, I love seeing your progress! Though I have to admit, I feel a bit of a slacker in comparison. You always have such an interesting assortment of books- can't wait to hear more of your thoughts on your reads.

Thank you Alias, Madrano and Susan for your comments. I really appreciate your comments. Things here are crazy lately . . .

MARCH 2015: My goal is now 10 books.


Yesterday I finished reading . . .

✔ 1. The Nightingale - This story is about when the Nazis invaded France, and how the women were treated terribly: sexually abused, beaten, occupied their homes, ate their food, refusing to give them any of the scraps, so the home owners and children were starved. I really enjoyed this book, it kept my attention. It's also a story about an alcoholic father who sacrificed everything; his younger daughter, Isabelle, determined to help pilots return to their planes, not matter what could happen to her; and the oldest daughter, Vianne, who took orphans are found them a refuge with the nuns. I have to say that this book kept my attention. Only in one place, near the end of the book, reminded me of Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay where innocent French victims were being forced into an area in the city, where they would be removed and taken to a concentration camp.


✔ 2. The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die -- I first read Girl, Stolen and thought it was very good. I got another book The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die which I just finished reading, and I have to say that I'm a FAN of April Henry's writing. Great characters, challenging situations, and excellent writing!


FINISHED The Power of Habit!! What a great book, it totally surprised me.

✔ 3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

I thought The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business was very interesting. I hope you are enjoying it, too.

I'm almost done but YES. It wasn't what I thought it would be. Instead it turned out better than I thought.

I also finished reading . . .
✔ 4. Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman -- I have one and 1/2 weeks to finish the 6 week plan. I have to say that this diet is great for those who suffer with pain (inflammation) in your body. I have made a variety of meals, some successful, some not. I now love mushrooms (since I eat them daily). But the best thing is that when I went to grab my jeans to wear, they were so loose, I couldn't keep them up. (I don't own a belt.) So this morning, I dug into my corduroy pants drawer, and put on a size 6 which fits perfect. Can't beat that!

Carol wrote:So this morning, I dug into my corduroy pants drawer, and put on a size 6 which fits perfect. Can't beat that"

Excellent !

Next read . . .
COMPLETED!!


5. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Set in Amsterdam in 1686, eighteen-old Nella marries wealthy, successful Johannes Brandt, who is older by 20 years. Johannes, barely acknowledges her existence. He’s at work all day and the marriage remains unconsummated. She would like to conceive a child as soon as possible. Later, she meets his sister, Marin, who manages all the business affairs, and is a recluse with repressed secrets. Johannes’s manservant, Otto, is a sign of her husband’s humanity – Johannes rescued him from a Portuguese slaver.

As a “distraction,” Johannes presents Nella with an exquisite miniature version of their marital home, correct down to pictures, utensils and tiny representations of its inhabitants. This wedding gift enchants and disturbs, but when she seeks out its creator, she glimpses only a woman with “hair like pale gold thread” who stares meaningfully before vanishing. The miniaturist manipulates the novel’s events. Marin, also has a secret, she is pregnant. She tries to give birth unsuccessfully, but Nella and Cornelia are there to help her. Sadly Marin's baby boy is born, as she passes away.

Finally, Nella and the rest of the community, discover a secret in her husband's life- he is a sodomist, unfortunately in a repressively pious society. He was brought into court; and his lover confessed their relationship. Johannes is sentence to death by placing a millstone around his neck and to plummet into the waterways. Nella attends, but she cannot watch it happen.

-- For me it wasn't 5 stars but 3 stars.

Carol wrote: "Next read . . .

5. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton"

My neighbor and friend read this one and enjoyed it. I hope you do, too !

Next read . . .

I just finished reading 6. The Captain's Daughter and Other Stories by Alexander Pushkin. I give it 4.5 stars.

The best of the collection is "The Captain's Daughter." It's a historical novel of 140 pages that grew out of Pushkin's research and writing of "History of the Pugachov Rebellion." In "The Captain's Daughter", young Pyotr Grinyov comes to manhood and pursues marriage of the daughter of the commander of the Belogorsky Fortress amidst the turmoil and bloodshed of the Cossack rebellion led by Yemelyan Pugachov in 1773 and 1774, during the reign of Catherine II. The novel is patterned after the Waverley novels of Sir Walter Scott and it may surpass its model. The story is told in a light-hearted manner, often with boisterous high humor. The action, of which there is plenty, proceeds at an almost breakneck pace. Some of the characters are stock in nature, but several are distinctive and memorable -- it's an enjoyable read.

Interesting comments on the Pushkin. I've not read anything by him. Glad you shared, Carol.

And now . . .

7. Da Vinci's Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image by Toby Lester. So far an enjoyable read. I am always so interested in art, that this book gives me a different viewpoint of Da Vinci's life. Fascinating times, struggles and challenges. For a small book, there is a lot there. I recommend it highly.

Carol wrote: "And now . . .

7. [book:Da Vinci's Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created..."
-----------------
I am going to pass this recommendation on to my neighbor and friend who is into art. Thanks !

Thanks for the recommendation, Carol. We've long been a fan of DaVinci's work. Years ago there was a mediocre tv series about his life. We really liked it, though. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068854/ This is about that 1970s series. I know there is a recent one, DaVinci's Demons but we haven't seen it.

8. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee - not worth your time.

The Battle of Hong Kong (The Fall of Hong Kong), set in 1950, where an English piano teacher moves into Hong Kong and begins her career teaching piano lessons, but then we find the same piano teacher also steal from her patrons? Why would she damage her relationships with her clients? It seems very unrealistic; I also thought the characters are very flat. Sadly, I found it very disappointing and a waste of time.

madrano wrote: "Thanks for the recommendation, Carol. We've long been a fan of DaVinci's work. Years ago there was a mediocre tv series about his life. We really liked it, though. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00688..."

He is one of my favorites.

APRIL 2015 READS

✔ 1. Black & White by Dani Shapiro- 5 stars.
Review: A story of a famous artist, Ruth Dunne, a renowned, controversial photographer who used her way of expressing her art by (1) photographing unsettling images, using her young daughter, Clara, in nude portraits, which was the major subject in her artwork. As a young girl, Clara left home (NYC), and luckily married a loving, supportive, devoted husband in Maine. Later in life, Ruth asked for Clara and her older sister, Robin, to come see her on her deathbed. The ending is about how Clara and Robin get along, and to do what is best for their mother. Clara's daughter, Sammy, had the opportunity to spend time with her grandmother she just met. Ruth and her daughters & granddaughter, take a trip to the art museum, so Ruth can share with them her life's work.

✔ 2. Family History by Dani Shapiro- 5 stars.
Review: The story of Rachel and Ned Jenson with their daughter, Kate, move from Greenwich Village to a small town in Massachusetts, where Ned's parents reside with a successful real estate business. Rachel gives birth to a baby boy, Josh; and Kate begins her scary, adolescent years fighting with deep, dark emotions; she also disrespected her parents and even her peers. Instead she turns to destroying herself by cutting; her jealously of her new brother allowed her to drop him on his head which required hospitalization; and Kate also making up terrible stories and telling lies about her sexual relationship with her father (which was not true.) **I have to say that my husband and I have gone through a similiar situation with a daughter who suffered from depression (from age 16 to 28) and she physically abused herself, and was in many outpatient programs over 12 years. It was difficult because she had two younger siblings who thought that she was just trying to get out of going to school or social events. Thank God things are much better, than they used to be. My motto: Never Give Up!

✔ 3. Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro-- 4 stars.
Shapiro's viewpoint on writing from those who don't have a MFA, writing group or a mentor.

✔ 4. Kinder Than Solitude by Yiyun Li- 4 stars.
Review: It took me awhile to get into this book. This is a story of a quiet examination of how the death of a close friend, under suspicious and unconfirmed circumstances, impacts three young people as they grow into adulthood. The book alternates among the three characters and goes back and forth between the present and past, until we see, near the end, the events leading up to the poisoning of the deceased friend. The chapters dealing with the present show how these teens, now adults, are coping through the choices they have made in their lives. All have failed marriages. All are dealing with self-isolation of one sort or another.

✔ 5. Jane Austen and Her Times, 1775 - 1817 by Geraldine Edith Mitton --5 stars.
Review: There is so much in this book that it is overwhelming. Almost two hundred years after her death, Jane Austen is herself a fascinating character. The woman who sardonically captured Victorian womanhood in such novels as Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Pride and Prejudice (1813). Austen's characters are so splendidly drawn, perhaps, because she wrote of what she knew. I liked Austen's early writings, and even her notebooks of early stories that demonstrated that Jane was clearly a unique writer during a time when most men dominated this genre. There is so much in this book, I suggest reading it front to back.

✔ 6. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini -- 5 stars.
This novel begins in 1952 as a father recites a bed time story to his young son and daughter during an overnight trek across the Afghanistan desert on their way to Kabul. The tale, we soon learn, tells the truth of the father's journey for desperate to provide for his new wife and growing family, the father has agreed to sell his daughter to a wealthy couple unable to bear their own in a deal brokered by their valet, his brother. The separation of the brother and sister, Abdullah and Pari, provides the catalyst for Hosseini to share several stories, within a larger arc, that explore the bonds of family and love, and the devastation of separation and loss. Beautiful writing!

✔ 7. My Father, Mark Twain by Clara Clemens--5 stars.
Review: I can't believe I found this book at goodwill, in mint condition, published in 1931 by Harper & Brothers Publishers, written by his daughter talking about her family life with her father, Mark Twain. It is a beautiful book, well written, and published by Clara (Clemens Gabrilowitsch), including beautiful photographs of her family in CT. Clara was the second daughter born to Samuel Langhorne Clemens and Olivia Langdon. Her education included home schooling in her younger years; public high school in Hartford, Connecticut; and, later, a boarding school in Berlin. In 1895 Clara accompanied her famous father on his "around-the-world lecture tour."In 1896,the entire family moved to Vienna, Austria so Clara could study piano. Eventually gave up the piano for opera in Austria, where she met her future husband, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, a Russian pianist in Vienna. The book is focused on their family: a few chapter titles -- The father of three little girls"; "Moods in letters""The Clemens Temper"; 'Christmas'; 'Summer Days at Work';"Those famous White Clothes"; "A Winter Abroad"; "Trails of a Young Artist"; "Family Days in Paris"; "The Sea", "Australia, and New Zealand"; "India"; "South African Wanderings"; "Back to England"; "Music"; "Leschetitzky and Vienna"; "Mark Twain and Fame"; "Family Life in New York"; "My Mother and Jean"; "Villas, Villians, and Florence";"Good Night, Dear Heart, Good Night;" "Working Days in New York"; and "A Degree from Oxford"; "One April Evening."

✔ 8. Book of Phoebe by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith-- 4 stars.
Review: First, I have never read a book by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, who was recently at a writing workshop. I was surprised that the title of the book is The Book of Phoebe(My daughter's name is Phoebe and so I had to read it.) Second, remember that this was published in 1985 when everything was very different from today. The main character, Phoebe Desmond, is a gifted woman, a senior at Yale. She discovered that she is pregnant, and has no desire to keep the baby after its birth. Instead, Phoebe makes arrangements with her childhood friend, Marlys. Phoebe flies to Paris, and moves in with her longtime friend, Marlys (who is very wealthy from dancing.) Phoebe only wants to stay at Marlys until the birth, and then to fly back home with her secret. As she moves in and empties her luggage, she discovers Ben. He is handsome, independently wealthy, an artist, and he falls in love with Phoebe. The baby is born healthy and Phoebe is completely determined to

✔ 9. Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat -- 4 stars.
Review: Set in Haiti, because of Claire's mother died giving birth to her, she now lives alone with her father in a little Haitian shack by the sea. Nozias, her father, knows that he is incapable of raising a daughter alone, and on each of her last two birthdays he has tried to give her away to a better home- and he hopes, to a better life. Finally, on Claire's seventh birthday, a wealthy woman has agreed to take Claire home with her. Claire, despite knowing that such a day was inevitable, does not react well to the news and runs away before she can be handed off to her new mother. The book is divided into two sections. Each part consisting of four stories from people in Claire's neighborhood. Some of them she knows well; some she has never met. There are memories from Claire's father, the woman who has agreed to take her, the headmaster from Claire's school, the headmaster's son, a close friend of the headmaster's son, a radio hostess who delights in exposing those who take advantage of the less fortunate among them, and from Claire herself. The eight pieces work beautifully together to tie all the central characters into the night in which Claire disappears.

✔ 10. Spilling the Beans: Cooking and Baking with Beans and Grains Every Day by Julie Van Rosendaal -- 5 stars.
Review: This book focuses on pairing beans with grains in a variety of recipes like morning muffins; granola; 5 ways to make hummus; roasted chickpeas; hand pies with sun dried tomatoes; lentils,and feta; corn and black beans burrito; and Lentil Walnut burgers; and much more. I am trying to keep my mind on the amounts of salt and sugar (looking for lower amounts) in these recipes. They also provide high fibre in legumes, fiber, protein, and other essential nutrients.

✔ 11. Something Blue by Emily Giffin--5 stars.
Review: First I don't usually read YA books like this one. But I have to say that I couldn't put it down. The main character's attitude was horrendous, and I had to see if this self-centered character was determined to be this way throughout the narrative. This woman, Darcy, believed that she was the most important person in the world. Everyone and everything was under Darcy's command. But when she treated everyone like crap, and alienated her friends, she discovered that she had to flee to London to see her grade-school friend, Ethan. In the ending chapters, Darcy's trip to London changed her viewpoint. She had to start from the bottom to make decisions that would help her, instead of borrowing money from others or using friends. The book turned out better than I thought it would.

✔ 12. The Longest Journey by E.M. Forster- 3 stars.
Review: I've read ALL of Forster's writing, but I found this book was lacking. Where is the exotic in this novel? This book seems very flat and sad. The countryside is blighted by the freight trains that repeatedly claim lives as they tramp in the landscape. And its terribly sad the way the disadvantage were treated terribly.

✔ 13. Three Junes by Julia Glass-- 4 stars.
Review: First, this is NOT an easy read. Second, I felt that the characters were very real. The writing is just beautiful- ". . . rich with implications about the bonds and stresses of kin and friendship, the ache of loneliness and the cautious tendrils of renewal blossoming in unexpected ways." It's not just a story about three important summers; or of three generations; and their stories in New York during the era of AIDS. It is really about the fragility of life.

✔ 14. A Great Unrecorded History: A New Life of E. M. Forster by Wendy Moffat--5 stars.
This is a great biography of E. M. Forster's life, where his gay lifestyle is revealed. One person reviewed this book and stated that his first biography, written a number of years ago, stated that Forster came across as a sort of weak mama's boy. But that was not the truth.

Your April is off to a stellar start, Carol !

Alias Reader wrote: "Your April is off to a stellar start, Carol !"

Thanks Alias -- you're the best!

I was unaware of the Forster book you read, Carol. Glad for the title, despite your comments. I am a fan of the novels i've read by him. The first time i read Howards End almost every page was highlighted for some observation or phrasing. How i like his writing.

I love all of Forster's books. This was the last book by him that I had not read.

Thanks for your comments on the Forster - I too really enjoy his work and writing. I'll put this one last on the list of his books to read!

Glad it was balanced out by some 5-star reads - it's great to be on a roll.

Happy Birthday, Carol !

Thank you Alias!! You are so thoughtful : )

You're very welcome. Have a terrific day !

I just added a book to the list. I didn't go this weekend at The Mark Twain House program, but I did want to read a book (below) by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith who was there at the conference.

I picked up The Book of Phoebe.

Sorry you missed the weekend but you found a new book, which is always a plus.

Carol wrote: "APRIL 2015 READS -- PART TWO


✔ 13. Three Junes by Julia Glass-- 4 stars.
Review: First, this is NOT an easy read. Second, I felt that..."

I picked up a used copy of Three Junes. Though I haven't read it yet. I'm glad to see you liked it.

And you still have another week to go in April! What a roll.