Readers and Reading discussion

Post your July 2012 reads here. :)

My July reads:


Bossypants~Tina Fey
non-fiction- comedy
Rate 1/5
I read this book for my f2f book club. First, I should say I only know of Tina Fey from her hilarious sketches of Sarah Palin. I don't watch any shows she is on. Maybe that's the problem. I simply did not find the book funny. And in parts a little mean spirited. It's not that I don't like this genre. I found David Sedaris and Kathy Griffin's books laugh out loud funny. I didn't even crack a smile with Bossypants. I only finished it because it was for my f2f book club and it was a very quick read with wide margins, double space and filler pages. My f2f book club was split on this selection.

Suite Française~~Irène Némirovsky
fiction
Rate 4/5
Read this for the Group Read at BNC. I loved the writing and found the story quite engaging. The book is the unfinished work of an author who met her end in a concentration camp. I absolutely plan on reading some of her other books.

The Pritikin Edge: 10 Essential Ingredients for a Long and Delicious Life~Robert A. Vogel
non-fiction
Rate: 4
Health and diet advice from one of the early pioneers in the field. Informative, but I would have liked more specifics on the diet.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin~Erik Larson
non-fiction
Rate 4/5
Buddy Read at BNC. I loved this book. It's a fascinating account of the U.S. Ambassadors time in Germany as Hitler is starting to come into power. Well done.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl~Harriet Jacobs
non-fiction
Rate 4/5
This classic is one of the first personal narratives by a female slave. The book was published in 1861 yet it is quite easy to read unlike some books from that era. I found it to be inspiring and informative.

I normally don't have so many highly rated books in one month. Only one stinker in the bunch. All in all, a very good reading month for me.

What i Read in July 2012

4940. The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne Translated by Jordan Stump (read 2 Jul 2012) This was published in 1874, and what I read is a 2001 translation. It is the 5th Verne book I've read. It is long and there is at times quite a bit of excitement. Five Americans and a dog leave Richmond, VA., in 1865 by balloon and alight on a pacific island, where they set up an idyllic existence, the island being endowed with many resources. Cyrus Smith is their leader and all the colonists are gifted and hard-working. They are attacked by pirates and have other tough times, but are mysteriously helped a person they do not see. They rescue a castaway from a nearby island, and domesticate a baboon. Lots of improbable things happen and they have many successes, though a book-ending catastrophe overtakes their island. Most of this was good reading except for the science-fictiony aspects, which distracted from the story greatly. I figure I've read all the Verne stuff I need to.

4941. The Years of Lyndon Johnson The Passage of Power, by Robert A. Caro (read 10 Jul 2012) This is the fourth volume of Caro's monumental biography of LBJ The three previous volumes were read 8 April 1983, 14 Oct 1990, and 27 May 2002. This volume is very good and covers the tension-filled events of 1960 when LBJ finally decided to seek the presidential nomination openly, when Kennedy practically had the nomination already sewed up--LBJ could not believe that a Senator as inconsequential as Kennedy was in the Senate could be nominated,-- then the super-exciting time when LBJ ended up as JFK's running mate, to Bobby Kennedy's thorough dismay, the 1950 campaign, the frustrations LBJ went through as Vice-President, when he had nothing to do,. The book covers exceptionally well the trip to Texas, the JFK assassination, the swearing-in of LBJ, and shows how masterfully LBJ conducted himself after the assassination. The JFK funeral is covered in poignant and tar-jerking detail, and then the book shows how in 1964 LBJ got the tax cut bill and the civil rights act of 1964 passed. The book says lots of good things about LBJ and also shows darker things about hi--his readiness to lie, and use improper means to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish. It is a masterful book full of, usually, interesting pages. When the fifth and final volume will be published I have no idea but I hope it will be while I can read it.

4942. After the War The Lives and Images of Major Civil War Figures After the Shooting Stopped, by David Hardin (read 14 Jul 2012) This is a non-pretentious book filled with lots of interesting facts. It has 11 chapters, and tells what happened to Jefferson Davis's second wife, U.S. Grant, Mary Chesnut, John Bell Hood, Nathan Forrest, Mary Todd Lincoln, Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, George H. Thomas, and George Custer and his wife after the war. I did not realize how acrimonious the disputes between generals was, as in their memoirs and interviews they justified themselves or blamed others for events in the war. One of the stories I knew little about was about George Thomas, a Union general who the author praises highly and deprecates his detractors--including General Grain. Each of the chapters is interesting in its own way, and one need not be a Civil War specialist to be caught up by the accounts.

4943. Pacific Crucible War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942, by Ian W. Toll (read 21 Jul 2012) This is an account of the war at sea in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Its authors also wrote Six Frigates (which I read 12 Sept 2007 and ended up liking a lot, even though I thought some early parts of the book were too detailed. I have a similar view of this book. Its account of Pearl Harbor is very good, but then he spends a lot of time telling about some inconsequential actions to Navy ships in January 1942 in mind-numbing detail. But he does a great job on the Battle of the Coral Sea and on the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, and the account of Midway is great to read--maybe because we know what a great success it was. Actually, it was a near run thing and could and could well have turned out disastrously. The account of the loss of the Lexington in the Coral Sea and of the Yorktown in the Midway battle are sad to read about. The book tells of the battles from both sides, which is a good part of the book. I have read other books on Midway but not recently so this was a good book to read.

4944; Infinite West Travels in South Dakota, by Fraser Harrison (read 23 Jul 2012) This book is to be published in September 2012. The author is an Englishman who in 2011 traveled in South Dakota. He went to Harrison, Douglas county, SD, a town of 43 people--because it was called Harrison! His account of his time there, with people of Dutch ancestry, was very interesting--indicating how non-religious the writer and his parents are, compared to the believing people of a Harrison. There is an excellent chapter of Lewis & Clark , ditto as to the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, and a scathing chapter on Wounded Knee--where Army men were awarded 20 Medals of Honor! The author is often somewhat cynical about things in South Dakota, but not objectionably so. I found the book fascinating to see South Dakota through his eyes, and his insights and comments on the above and other sits--Crazy Horse monument, Pine Ridge reservation, etc.,are full of interest for anyone at all familiar with the things he talks about.

4945. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon translated by Lucia Graves (read 30 Jul 2012) This novel was published in Spanish in 2001 and in English in 2004. It tells of a boy, Daniel, who picks up a copy of a novel by Julien Carax, is entranced by it, and seeks to find out more about him. This leads to an account of how Carax fell in love, impregnated his high-born girlfriend and incurred the total animosity of her father. There is an evil man seeking to eliminate Carax and his books and there is much melodrama and the Daniel emulates Carax. One does want to know how it turns out, but there is an odor of fantasy about it which doesn't make a lot of sense. There are not really good guys, but one is for the better guys because the evil guys are so fearsome. I was pleased that the ending was what it was.

Thank you, Schmerguls :)

I am going to pass along the title, Infinite West Travels in South Dakota, by Fraser Harrison to my friend and neighbor. She is currently on a travel book kick. She especially enjoys ones that involve walking. Paul Theroux is her current favorite.

Alias, Garden/Beasts has been on my TBR since it came out. I was waiting till it came out in paperback, which it has, but haven't had time to read it yet. Glad to hear the good opinion of it from you.

Shmerguls Pacific Crucible War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942, by Ian W. Toll

This sounds like an excellent book, Schmerguls, even with the unwanted detail factored in. I'm rather weak in my knowledge of the Pacific War, knowing only the bare bones and a few interesting tidbits. So this sounds like it would fit the bill for me. BTW, if the author's middle initial had been A. that would have seemed fortuitous for the subject matter. Tee hee!

The Harrison book on S. Dakota sounds very interesting as well, and I'm going to look for it.

Speaking of WWII, at Book Nook Cafe we are planning a September buddy read of Churchill's The Gathering Storm. All are welcome to join us. I saw the movie with Albert Finny as WC and loved it.

The Gathering Storm~Winston Churchill