Readers and Reading discussion

Please post your last month's reads here, along with a comment if you want.

What I Read in March 2012

4907. Gorbachev's Revolution, by Anthony D'Agostino (read 6 Mar 2012) This is a learned study and full of sometimes abstruse language, especially when discussing Communist theory, but tells with thoroughness of Gorbachev's career. It is clear that when Gorbachev came to power in 1985 no one, including he, knew where he would take the USSR In fact it seems that he himself had no intention of doing anything but strengthen Communist Russia. Certainly when he was put in power he would never have been made the USSR's leader if he had not been looked on as a committed Communist. One thing led to another and in 1991 the USSR ceased to exist! A magnificent saga, and this book is an excellent account. It is written entirely from the viewpoint of what was going on in the USSR and it appears clearly that events in Russia drove Gorbachev to do what he did--not external forces. An excellent, if "heavy," study, showing the author's (a professor at the University of San Francisco) thorough mastery of the subject.

4908. Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight An African Childhood, by Alexandra Fuller (read 11 Mar 2012) This tells of the author's childhood in Africa. She was born to English parents in England in 1969, but her parents moved to Rhodesia in 1972, and she grew up in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia. All are awful places to live and the book so shows but the author, now living in Wyoming, professes to love Africa and the things she came to know in her youth there. Her mother is a weird person, who often drank too much, but that doesn't seem to bother anybody. The book is filled with incidents during her childhood and youth, sometimes reminding me of Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa. Many of the incidents are poignant or funny, and one cannot help but admire her parents for putting up with so many bad things in the apparently very corrupt countries where they lived, and the often dangerous conditions. It was a somewhat better book than I expected, but not really a top-notch memoir.

4909. The Wrong Man The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case, by James Neff (read 22 Mar 2012) This is a 2001 book by an investigative writer about the Sam Sheppard murder case. On July 4, 1953, Marilyn Sheppard was brutally murdered in her home in a Cleveland suburb. Her husband was convicted of second degree murder,. His conviction in the 1960's was set aside by the U.S. Supreme Court and in his second trial he was represented by a young F. Lee Bailey and found not guilty. He led a bizarre life after he got out of prison, and died in 1970. His estate sued the County in 2000. This book tells all about the case, I had read on 6 Jan 1963 The Sheppard Murder Case, by Paul Holmes. Some of this book by Neff was OK, but the writing is not scintillating and I am not sure how accurate it is--he says FDR appointed Harold Burton the U.S. Supreme Court, which a minimum of research would have told him was false. The account of the trial against the County was quite boring, and the outcome does not comport with the book's subtitle. The account of the crime and of the two criminal trials is not bad, but I was glad to be done with the book, which I read under very non-ideal circumstances.
4910. Defending Jacob a novel by William Landay (read 25 Mar 2012) This book, which jerks one around emotionally, tells a story (it is fiction) of a kid in a Boston suburb, Jacob, age 14, who is accused of murdering a classmate. The "I" of the book is Jacob's father, an assistant District Attorney, who does all he can to defend his son, sometimes unethically. The investigation and the whole procedure and up to the trial is told intelligently and, the author being a prosecutor, the law involved is pretty accurate, though simplified a bit--e.g., "objection" in itself is treated as a good objection, without, sometimes, stating the reason for the objection. The story is full of what rich kids in school do--all the modern technology. It is heavy on psychiatric stuff--Jacob's grandfather is a total scumbag. There is a dramatic denouement, and then it proceeds to a new dramatic end. I thought the book excellently told till the sudden event in the trial. It is pretty clear that Jacob is a "bad seed", I guess. But the book did not satisfy me--the events at he end were too pat and smug.

4911. Destiny of the Republic A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard (read 29 Mar 2012) I found this to be an exceptionally fascinating book. It tells the story of the shooting on July 2, 1881, of President Garfield. The story is told in vivid detail and shows really good research. The account of the shooter is in great detail--he was obviously insane but the jury would not so find him but wanted him hung--as he was. Garfield did not die till Sept 19,1881, and the account of the medical "care" inflicted upon him has to be read to be believed. On page 158 in discussing the sad state of medical knowledge in the U.S. it is stated: "Doctors preferred, moreover, to rely on their own methods of treatment, which not infrequently involved applying a hot poultice of cow manure to an open wound." On page 217 it is told that Garfield's doctors resorted to rectal feeding, injecting warmed milk, egg yoke, and a little opium into him rectally every four hours--the only "feeding" he had for eight days during the latter part of his ordeal. The book is filled with such unbelievable information This is an outstanding book which I found endlessly fascinating.

Schmerguls wrote: "4911. Destiny of the Republic A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard (read 29 Mar 2012)
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I saw the author on C-SPAN Book TV giving a talk about her book. I found her to be very interesting and put her book on my To Read list.

Thanks for sharing your review.

Hi everyone,

Here are my March reads:

Top Reads

Defending Jacob: A Novel
William Landay
Part legal thriller and part family drama this was a complete page turner for me while I was reading it. After finishing, I did have a few quibbles with some plot points that, on reflection, did not really add up but overall I thought this was a very good read.

Taken
Robert Crais
As expected, another highly entertaining read from Robert Crais. I thought the book's structure really helped propel the action and kept the plot moving at an extremely fast pace. It was also nice to see Elvis living up to his nickname again.

The Tears of Autumn
Charles McCarry
This was not a fast paced thriller but an excellently written spy novel that was filled with tension throughout and had one of the better fictional explanations for the JFK assassination. Listened to the audio version read by Stefan Rudnicki

Good Reads

Legend
Marie Lu
I found this to be an enjoyable audio. The plot moved along at a brisk pace and the narration by Steven Kaplan and Mariel Stern really brought the two main characters to life.

Jhereg
Steven Brust
This is the first book in a long running fantasy series and found it very enjoyable. The author did a nice job of balancing the plot and characters while giving just enough descriptions of the very different world than our own to keep me interested.

The Archer's Tale
Bernard Cornwell
First in a trilogy set during the Hundred Years War, that I found very entertaining and educational regarding the role archers played during the famous battle of Crécy. As usual, the author juggled the action with a bit of romance and I look forward to reading the next book. Listened to the audio version read by Colin McPhillamy.

Old Man's War
John Scalzi
First in a science fiction series that had an interesting set-up, likable characters, and lots of space opera type action.

OK Read

The Anglo Irish Murders
Ruth Dudley Edwards
This was not quite as good as the previous books in the series. The premise of Baroness Troutbeck, one of the least politically correct characters in fiction, chairing a conference on cultural sensitivities should have been hilarious but the tedium of the attendees permeated the story and in the end I did not really care about any of the murders and the jokes just seemed a bit tired. I listened to the audio version read by Bill Wallis who handled all the different accents with great aplomb.

Sister: A Novel - Rosamund Lipton. A psychological thriller set in London and a very good read. A young woman living in New York returns home to England when she learns that her sister is missing. Lots of real emotion in this book - I even teared up once while reading it - and enough "red herrings" to keep you guessing. A-

This Beautiful Life- Helen Schulman. I really disliked this book, the story, the characters, the writing style - all of it. The story is about a family whose "beautiful life" falls apart when the teenage son receives a sexual video from a young girl and he forwards the video on to his friends. The teen characters were so young I felt like I was reading kiddie porn. The adult characters were shallow and unlikeable. As for the writing style, she had a tendency to form sentences like this, Helen Schulman. It drove me crazy. I will admit that I skimmed over the last 20 or so pages. D+

The Age of Miracles- Karen Thompson Walker. There are many changes in the world when the earth begins to slow its rotation and the hours of daylight and nighttime extend to days and even weeks. Julia is 11 years old when "the slowing" begins and while what she really wants is a boyfriend and a bra, she has to deal with many more serious matters. I read an advance copy of this book and totally enjoyed it. Although there are apocalyptic overtones, this is more the story of a young girl growing up in a world she's not prepared for, and one where the adults aren't prepared either. A-

Autobiography of Malcolm X - as told to Alex Haley. Definitely one of the best books I'll read this year. It seemed very appropriate to be reading this book at a time when race relations in the US are so prominent in the news, it and reminded me of how little has changed since Malcolm X lived and died. An absolutely fascinating look at the life of a fascinating man and some of the insights I gained from this book will stay with me. When Malcolm realizes that Elijah Muhammed, the man who he feels saved his life, is really a flawed human being who makes many of the same mistakes we all do, he comments that we shouldn't have more faith in a person than the person has in himself. I've been guilty of that in the past, so that insight really hit me where I live. Great book. A

Connie, I would have abandoned the Schulman book!

JoAnn....the only reason I didn't quit on it was because it was for one of my book groups. Then, as it turned out, I wasn't able to attend the discussion.

Connie wrote: "JoAnn....the only reason I didn't quit on it was because it was for one of my book groups. Then, as it turned out, I wasn't able to attend the discussion."

GRRRRR