Four short book reviews

Egads. I am so, so far behind on book reviews. The longer I delay, the less I feel like reviewing the books so I must begin today.

The Dark Deep by Molly Knox Ostertag (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2024)

Two things were the encouragement I needed to read this LONG (470 page) graphic novel. One, it is considered a horror novel and I need something from the horror category to complete a reading challenge. Secondly, The Dark Deep won a Printz honor this year, an award given out to outstanding YA lit. I rarely read YA these days since I retired as a teen librarian but I remain committed to reading the Printz books each year.

The story about two transgender teens starts out as what one might think of as a typical coming-of-age story but soon morphs into something more ... a monster which lives underground and feeds off of one of the teens. In the end acceptance is required to conquer the monster, which can easily be viewed as self-acceptance.

Though the novel is long, the illustrations tend to carry the story forward so it reads really fast. It's page count  does qualify it for the Big Book Summer Challenge, a third bonus for selecting it.

My rating: 4 stars.

Road Home by Rex Ogle (Norton Young Readers, 2024)

Road Home is the conclusion of the Free Lunch Trilogy, a memoir series. In the first two books, Free Lunch and Punching Bag, and a related book, Abuela, Don't Forget Me, the author introduces himself and tells his story of parental abuse and neglect as he was growing up. In this book, the conclusion of the series, Rex tells how he was kicked out of his Father's home after he graduated from high school because the father was angry his son was gay. After leaving home he heads in the only direction he can think of, toward another gay man. It ends up this man is also abusive to Rex. Eventually Rex chooses homelessness over that abuse. 

Rex's story is both horrifying and tragic. It was really, really hard to listen to the audiobook. It was like my heart couldn't take it thinking of so much trauma happening to one person. And to think that a parent would purposely eject a son from his home for being gay!? Terrible!

The afterward made the book bearable because we learn that Rex does indeed land on his feet and how he has to work at coping with the PTSD from his childhood. This is an important book to have in a library which services teens, though I imagine it is also a book which will be targeted by book-banners, sadly.

Road Home also won a Printz Honor in 2025. My rating: 4 stars.

Now In November by Josephine Winslow Johnson (Simon and Schuster, 1934)

In the afterword to the edition I read, Nancy Hoffman said that Now in November deserved to share the shelf with another book written about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Hoffman thought perhaps this didn't happen because of the gender of the writers. Both books won the Pulitzer Prize. Now in November in 1935 and The Grapes of Wrath in 1940. Both stories cover the abject poverty and the hard work of the people who are just trying to scrape by in light of the deepening drought and new farming practices which led to the dust bowl. But I disagree with Hoffman, I don't think the two stories are equal.

Now in November was published in 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression. While the poverty and drought dominated the storyline, the dust didn't. Black Sunday, the most notorious of dust storms hadn't happened yet, but there would have been increasing dust events which drove many farmers from their homes by 1934. The story is told from Marget Haldmarne's point of view. She is the middle daughter of family who move to the farm when she is ten. The story, Now in November, follows the family for one year and chronicles the tragedies they experience in that one year, which involves death and the almost complete breakdown of the family. There is nothing cheery or winsome about the book. Marget ends her narration in November with nothing to look forward to in her future.

Readers of Now in November in 1934 commented on Johnson's lyrical prose and compared her writing to that of Willa Cather. I agree it was beautifully written as evidenced by how many phrases and sentences I underlined as I read the e-book but the story lacked the heft of its companion, The Grapes of Wrath.

My rating: 4 stars.

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (University of Chicago Press, originally published in 1976 in a collection of stories by the author)

This summer our family took a trip to Western Montana, to visit Glacier National Park specifically. We had heard how beautiful the vistas in park, but it is nearly impossible to miss all the beautiful scenery in that vast state as you drive through it. My husband and I had separated from the rest of the family for our return trip. During our driving around we were finishing up the audiobook of Catch-22, laughing and groaning in equal measure. As we were left our last stop in Seeley Lake, before pointing our vehicle west and home, we finished that classic. A River Runs Through It, which happens to be set in Montana, was the next audiobook in our queue. Our timing couldn't have been better. As Norman is talking about fishing the Blackfoot River with his brother and his dad, we were driving past that very river. What gorgeous scenery and what lovely, memorable writing.

A River Runs Through It is considered to be autofiction, based on the author's memories of his childhood and the family fascination with fly-fishing in the mid-1930s. One would think a book about fishing would bore a non-fisherman like myself. But no. It was so well drafted I could picture every single act and all the scenery nearby. The book starts with a very memorable first line, "In our family, there is no clear line between religion and fly-fishing." Norman's father is a Presbyterian pastor who instills the love of the sport into his boys, but it is Paul, the younger brother, who is especially good at it. In a lot of ways, the story is about Paul and his troubled relationship with the world. But when Paul is fishing, oh boy, those troubles melt away. 

A River Runs Through It is a paean to a brother, Paul, lost to those troubles back not long after their last fishing trip together and to the family ties made stronger due to their love of fly-fishing.

As we neared home from our weeks long trip to Montana we ran out of story. We never went back and finished the rest of the short stories in the book. I'll be curious to do so some day and hope I enjoy them as much as I did this one.

My rating: 5 stars. 

-Anne

Encouragement for my daughter: TEACHING WITH FIRE

This week I reread the 2003 poetry collection, Teaching with Fire: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Teach. It is actually the second time I've reread it. The first time I read it was in 2007. I was a new high school librarian. I'd been a teacher for 25 years but now I was in a new role within the school -- librarian. I read Teaching with Fire looking for inspiring poems I could share with teachers to encourage them for those hard days. I found a lot in it to not only encourage others, but also myself.

The second time I read through the collection was in 2016. At that time I was wondering if I should retire or not. My role as librarian had changed quite a lot in ten years and I was questioning if my time had come to call it quits. I don't actually remember if any poems spoke to me about retirement or not, but once again I found professional encouragement in many of the poems and in the short essays teachers wrote about why this or that poem spoke to them as teachers.

Now in 2025, a retired teacher librarian, I reread Teaching with With Fire, again. (Clearly I like it a lot.) This time I selected it to fulfill a StoryGraph challenge to read books from all 58 of the subject genres. This book fulfilled the "education" genre so I picked it because I didn't want to read a book about teaching methodology. From the very first page in the 'Authors' Notes' by the editors: Sam Intrator and Megan Scribner, I kept thinking about my daughter, Rita, and how many of the poems said things I wanted to say to her about her teaching career. All this was made more urgent when a week ago she called us to ask our opinion on a placement move. Last school year she had moved from a position in the middle school, where she taught math for eight or nine years, to the elementary level teaching 4th grade. She was all excited about another school year with 4th graders when the school district HR director contacted her last week asking if she would consider a move back to the middle school. With her seniority, it was Rita's call, but if she didn't do it, the next person down the line would be forced to make the move. Rita was very conflicted but ultimately decided to switch back to the middle school. 

She had already spent some time getting her elementary classroom set up and now she has to start over in another building and classroom this late in the summer. When I reread Marge Piercy's "To be of use" I felt so proud of my daughter's willingness to work hard for the greater cause:

"The people I love the best

jump into work head first

without daillying in the shallows...

"I love people who harness themselves, like an ox to a heavy cart,

who pull like a water buffalo, with massive patience,

who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,

who do what has to be done, again and again" (5).

In the excellent poem/prayer by Marian Wright Edelman, "I Care and I'm Willing to Serve,"  a similar theme is struck: to be of use for the greater good.

"Use me as Thou wilt to save Thy Children today and tomorrow, and to build a nation and a world to where no child is left behind, and every child is loved and every child is safe" (21).

Quite a few of the poems and/or the teacher's essays talk about recognizing children's talents and their imagination and not squashing them to make children all fit into the same mold. Jeff Moss's "On the Other Side of the Door" could be a message for both students and for their teachers. Perhaps a perfect place to hang this poem would be on the classroom door: 

"On the other side of the door

I can be a different me,

As smart and as brave and as funny or strong

As a person could want to be" (37).

Billy Collins reminds us that kids grow up awfully fast and we should let them be children for as long as possible in this fun, yet poignant poem, "On Turning Ten."

"It seems only yesterday I used to believe that there was nothing under my skin but light" (55).

Teaching is hard, hard work. It is often made harder work by a society which expects teachers to be perfect and never have off-days and to teach lessons which never flop. The expectations put on teachers are so daunting many give up under the pressure. When I read this phrase by Mary Oliver in "Wild Geese," I want to instill this message into my daughter's heart -- she is good enough and there is no such thing as perfect. She just needs to keep her head up and keep her eyes on the prize, to be patient and gentle with herself.

"You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting" (75). 

In education today teachers are asked to do so much. Sometimes it feels like there isn't even time to breathe. In her essay, middle school science teacher Maggie Anderson talks about how the poem "Fire" speaks to her about the need for space in the day. When building a fire it is important to have space between the logs, breathing space. If logs are packed too tight, the flames may go out. Reflecting on teacher burnout Maggie said, "After much soul-searching, I realized I was piling on too many logs too tightly and the flame inside me was beginning to wane -- even smolder at times. I was desperate for some space. Children need space as well ..." (88) We all do. We need space and time to help us process and learn.

Rita, dear. I hope you help your students to Dream. Imagine. Play. Explore. This poem, "Warning to Children" by Robert Graves, reminds me why:

"Children, if you dare to think

Of the greatness, rareness, muchness

Fewness of this precious only

Endless world in which you say

You live, you think of things like this..." (149)

Plus that poem is just so much fun to read! Another super fun poem, not to be missed is "A Contribution of Statistics" by Wislawa Szymborska on page 141. As a math teacher you will appreciate it, I'm sure.

Finally I will leave you with this thought: When all is said and done what remains is the love. In "Making Contact" poet Virginia Satir reminds us that kids can only learn from teachers if they know a teacher cares about them.

"The greatest gift

I can give

is

to see, hear, understand,

and to touch another person" (133).

Here's to a new school year! You got this, Rita!

-Anne (Mom)

My rating of the book: 5 stars.

Review: WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE (+Friday56 LinkUp)

Title: When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

Book Beginnings quote: 

Wapakoneta, Ohio / The Armstrong Air and Space Museum 

Virgil Augustine's cell phone rang just as he was searching for his coat to go home.

Friday56 quote: 

New York City, New York / Columbia University  

Dayton Bailey was learning that timing was everything.

Summary: The moon has turned to cheese ... and now humanity has to deal with it.

Review: I decided to read When the Moon Hits Your Eye because I was looking for something lighthearted. What could be lighter than a moon suddenly turning to actual cheese? And in fact, the librarian who recommended this book quoted from Library Journal: "This book can be read as hopeful. It's occasionally insightful, and it's frequently absolutely hilarious." 

Just imagine for a moment that our moon did in fact change and suddenly, inexplicably there is a whole new reality to deal with, one where no one had any answers. Then imagine that there is a volcano explosion of cheese sending debris into the atmosphere heading toward earth, like the asteroid which killed the dinosaurs but seven times larger, with an expected contact with earth just two years away. What would do? Exactly. You don't know what you'd do, but likely it wouldn't be business as usual.

Each chapter of When the Moon Hits Your Eye starts with a location heading. In the beginning many of those locations have to do with NASA as scientists try to figure out what is going on, then expand out to the White House, where the President is talking to advisors about what to do. But soon the chapters move out to other places where we encounter people trying to go about their lives, not knowing how to proceed. There are feuding brothers, both cheesemakers, who make-up after years of not speaking to each other; a young couple falling in love; students gathering to flip off the moon and its asteroid; old friends making a pact to stay together to the end; bankers trying to figure out how to save their investments and ways to entice people to not close bank accounts; a book editor who realizes her job is done since it takes books at least two years to go through the publishing process so there is no point of getting a book project going now; a billionaire who tricks legitimate astronauts out of their chance for a mission to the moon; and so many more. The parts I liked best were those where the characters embraced their humanness and there were plenty of them, some even worthy of the tears I shed. Scalzi did a really great job balancing the satire of the plot with many heartfelt messages of hope and love.

The ending was just as surprising as the beginning but I won't give it away.

As I neared the ending of the book I asked my husband what he would do if he knew the earth only had two more years. He said he'd try to mark off his bucket list of items, places to see. I'd want to focus on family and friends, making sure I had all loose ends tied up. How about you? As the book points out a bucketful of problems would likely occur much earlier than the two year deadline. So get going!

My rating: 4 stars

I love the title, don't you? In case the song is running through your head, feel free to sing along with Dean Martin: 

🎵🎵 When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore..🎵🎵

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader (If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it! 

*Visit other blogs and leave comments about their snippets. Expand the community. Please leave a comment for me, too!  

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

TTT: Help getting out of a reading slump

Top Ten Tuesday: Help getting out of a reading slump.

This is what works for me

I made a similar list in 2018. Check it out for more suggestions.

Switch up the book format. Try audiobooks. Let a good narrator do the heavy-lifting for you. Here are a few excellent books in this format:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

This book is genius in the audio format. Rocky, the alien, has a unique way of communicating with musical notes. It is so cool!!!!

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

This is an excellent story made even better because the narrator is Tom Hanks. I liked it so much I listened to it twice.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Everyone I know who read this book didn't like it. Everyone who listened to it, including me, LOVED it. Why? The story is read by 166 unique narrators. It is fantastically fun to try and identify those voices we know.

Switch up and read something outside your typical genre choice. This almost always shakes me out of reading doldrums. Try a graphic novel, narrative nonfiction, a gothic novel, or something written for children or teens.

What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World's Most Familiar Bird by Sy Montgomery.  Narrative nonfiction and short. So good.

North American Maps for Curious Minds: A New Way to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan. Reference. Illustrated. I devoured this book in one gulp. It is both fun and sometimes funny.

Encyclopedia by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Humor. I adored this book and made me laugh again and again.

Join a few reading challenges and put in a bit of effort to meet the goals. My favorite reading challenges are those which have a limited time period, like a month or a season. Year-long reading challenges are too easy to push aside. Here are a few I've enjoyed over the years:

Big Book Summer -- Read a few books over 400 pages during the summer.

Novellas in November -- Read a few books under 200 pages in November.

StoryGraph: Genres Challenge -- attempt to read books from all of SG 58 genres.

Austen in 2025 -- Read one or all six of Austen's books this year, her 250th anniversary.

Read from your own TBR -- self-explanatory (couldn't find link). Make it up!

Classics Club Spins -- Make a list of 20 classics, read the one on the winning number.

Nonfiction November -- Not only read nonfiction but answer prompts about nonfiction

Goodreads Seasonal Challenges-- Click on your Goodreads photo. Pull down, click on Reading Challenges. Fall/Spring season is coming soon, there will be a new set of challenges.

Go to a library and ask a librarian for help selecting a book. They live to make recommendations (I know. I'm a retired librarian.) Or locate the "Librarian suggests" section on the shelves. Your library may also have a feature where you can request librarians find books for you to try. I did this once. I requested "short poetry books for adults." I was given some really fun books to explore, books I never would have picked myself. Another time I did the same thing with children's books.

Make a few selections from others' best books lists. I am a big fan of doing this and have found some books I ended up really liking on them. Here are a few lists to peruse:

New York Times Best books of the 21st Century

Readers Pick the Greatest books of the 21st Century

NPR: Books We Love: 2024

Time Magazine's List of Best Books of all TIME

Best books of 2024, compiled by Head Full of Books (me!)

Can't find anything that interests you? Try a shorter commitment, selecting a short novel or a few short stories. Here are a few I like:

-Orbital by Samantha Harvey

-The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

-Murder Bots: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

-Foster by Claire Keegan

More ideas needed: Short books you can read in a day.

Still stuck? Try a reread of an old favorite.

I have three authors I turn to when I'm good and stuck: Jane Austen; John Green, and Alexander McCall Smith. Any of their books will do!

How about you? What works best to get you out of reading slump?

Right now I'm following my own advice:

• Selecting a novella for an upcoming car trip with the family, a book title we can all agree on.
• I just finished a book from the NYT Best books list: Say Nothing. It is 19th on the list. So good.
• Making selections for books to help me complete the genre challenge at StoryGraph. I only have ten genres to go out of 58.
• And, right now, I am reading a book recommended by the librarians on their "We Recommend" shelf: When the Moon Hits Your Eye.

-Anne

Sunday Salon -- Busy Summer 2025

Sunset in Central Oregon. 

Weather: Hot and muggy. Earlier this past week it was quite comfortable in the 70s and we even experienced a smidge of rain.

Home: Don and I returned home last Sunday evening after our third long trip of summer 2025. This trip involved a birthday party for my sister Kathy, who turned 70; a family reunion to Central Oregon, where 20 of us would scrunch into one condo unit each evening for dinner together; a short vacation, just the two of us, at an AirBnB on the McKenzie River east of Eugene; and finally my 50th Class Reunion in Corvallis, with a weekend full of activities and fun seeing old friends. Our dog, Bingley, spent the week with his cousin dog, Caspian. All three of us were ready to be home after our ten days away. No matter how much fun I have when traveling I always am happy to return home.  

Kathy is 21, I mean, 70!

Marimba fun!

The birthday party: My sister and her daughter planned and implemented a fun party where lots of our family and many of Kathy's friends came. The special event was a marimba band. Her daughter's husband was in a marimba band when they lived in Eugene, so he still had connections. Such a fun and unexpected way to celebrate. My grandson, Ian, told his aunt that the day was his best day ever. When asked why, he replied, "the music!." 

Cousins with photo-bombers

The family reunion: for over a decade Mom has been arranging reunions for as many family members as can attend the week together at a resort in Central Oregon. Mom, now 96, clearly doesn't have too many more of these reunions left, but we all try to make the most of our time together. Each family or groupings of various family members would spend the day -- golfing, swimming, hiking, shopping, playing games, flying kites -- then we would regroup each evening for a meal hosted by one family unit, usually followed by some silly game or activity. In the photo above the cousins/their partners were posing for a photo when our grandsons photo bombed the shot.

Death to butterflies: We happened upon a huge "bloom" of butterflies, known as an irruption, as we were moving from Central Oregon to the cabin on the McKenzie River. There were so many butterflies, as you can see from the short video I took, that it was impossible to not hit (and kill) them as we drove. With a little research we found out they are California Tortoiseshell butterflies and this type of swarm of butterflies happens only irregularly but is not uncommon. All of us who traveled the route had to go through the carwash afterwards.

McKenzie Bridge, Oregon: If you were driving by you'd think it was just a dot on the map, but quite a few people enjoy living or vacationing in the area. The photo above is the view of the river from the cabin where we stayed. So peaceful and lovely. The second evening we attended a musical event at the McKenzie General store: a rock cover band. They were really good, and so was the food -- salmon tacos and huckleberry cider!

My 50th Class Reunion: So many 68-year-olds together in one place. Funny thing, once we were all 18 years-old together. Where did the time go? 75 of us gathered the first night at Woodstock's Pizza. Time just melted away and we were "us" again, the CHS Class of 1975. The next day we toured the school, which is actually a completely new building since we were in school, and attended a special event to honor our drama teacher, Joe Malango. That evening 95 of us gathered for dinner and more conversations, making new connections, and reminiscing about our past times together. At the end of the program, a slide show memorial tribute was played of all the classmates we've lost since graduation...over 40 souls. The group photo hasn't been posted yet, so I will post a note from Peggy, the coordinator of the event below. She and the team did a fabulous job making a very memorable weekend. Thank you.

50 of my favorite books read since high school. When I returned home from the weekend gathering with my old classmates I kept thinking of all the things which have happened in my life since high school -- college, dating, marriage, children, moving, friends, and books! So many books. Here is a list I made this week of some of my favorites. 50 favorites.

Books! Books! Books! So many books: With so much time on the road and then down time sitting poolside or alongside a river, I got a lot of reading done, but very little blogging.

• Recently completed books:
• Briar Club by Kate Quinn. I finished this book club selection one day before the meeting, which was one day before we left on our latest trip. Quinn is such a good writer and this one featured a mystery set during the McCarthy era in Washington, D.C. Print and Audio. 4 stars.
• Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. What a depressing classic. It was almost torture to read, it made me so angry/sad. Print. 3.5 stars.
• Say Nothing: Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. Another book club choice. This narrative nonfiction book is about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the after effects. Don and I listened to the audiobook together and both rated it with 5 stars.
• Poems for Tortured Souls edited by Liz Ison. Categories of poems, many by very famous people I don't think of as poets, like Charles Dickens and Louisa May Alcott. 4 stars.
• Now in November by Josephine Winslow Johnson. The Pulitzer Prize winner in 1934 about the Great Depression and the beginning of the Dust Bowl. A classic. 4 stars.
• The Road Home by Rex Ogle. A 2025 Printz Honor book. Rex is a gay man who became homeless when he came out to his father. His story is so heartbreaking but ends up being redemptive. This is the third book I've read about Rex's unhappy childhood. I hope he is done with the unhappy parts of his story. 4 stars, audiobook.
• Currently reading:
• The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. A book club selection. I have both the audiobook and the print edition so I should begin to make faster progress. 27% complete.
• Grimms' Fairy Tales. My current 12-pages-day classic book. 31% complete. 
• When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi. I got a late start on this book so I'm worried I won't be able to finish it before the library calls it home. So far quite funny. 26% complete.
• Project reading. I read these books to help me fulfill a StoryGraph Challenge to read at least one book per their 58 subjects/genres. I'm making progress, hitting 48 down this week after these additions:
• North American Maps for Curious Minds by Matthew Bucklin. Reference. Technology.
• Bring the Magic Home: An Exploration of Designs Inspired by Disney by Sunny Chanel. Design.
• Teaching with Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach by Sam Intrator. Education.
• Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe. True Crime.
• The Changeling. Vol 1. by Tina Lugo. Manga
• The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded by Jim Ottaviani. Math. Computers.
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson. Religion.
• Today I placed holds at the library for a few books which should help me check off the middle grade and video games categories with one book. I also checked out a Shirley Jackson classic novella so I can check off the horror category.

Queen Anne's Lace. For some reason, hmm, I've always liked this weedy flower.

Blogging: I tried to stay current with the blog events I usually participate in, the Paris in July Challenge, and I did squeeze in several reviews between trips. Here are those posts you may have missed. Click the links to read more:

• TTT: Books with Honorifics in the Title
• Paris in July: Food, music, reviews, and more
• Review: How to Read a Book
• Paris in July, Part Two
• Classic Review: Catch-22 -- Where I Examine Why This Book is Considered so Influential
• TTT: The Last Ten Books I've Read Set During a War
• Review: The Briar Club
• TTT: A Twist on Beach Reads
• Review: The Hearing Test
• TTT: Historical fiction
• Nonfiction Review: Say Nothing: Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland.
• Classic Review: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
• Whew! That's a lot. I haven't posted a Sunday Salon since July 12th, almost a month.

Some woodpecker has been very busy on this tree beside the McKenzie River!

-Anne

Classic Review: TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy is the biggest downer of all novels. How did this book ever make it as a classic anyone wanted to read?

Why, you ask? Well, here is a snoposis which is also a big spoiler, which will help explain why: 

[Tess of the D'urbervilles is] about a girl who gets raped and impregnated by her fake cousin, buries her illegitimate baby semi-illegally, gets spurned by her new husband because she tells him she was raped (nice dude, eh?), stabs the guy who raped her... and gets arrested at Stonehenge. Oh yeah, and then gets hanged (Shmoop)

I'm not kidding, and neither was Shmoop. Every page you turn finds Tess in some depressing circumstance or another with no way out. Why? Because in Victorian England it is worse to get raped that it is to rape! 

Thomas Hardy wrote Tess of the D'Urbervilles in 1890. As you can imagine he had a hard time finding a publisher since people in society were as biased against raped women in scoiety as they were in the book. When the book was finally published in 1891 he added a subtitle to it  -- "A Pure Woman: Faithfully Presented." He did so because he was defending the honor of Tess even though she was raped.

I'm guessing Tess of the D'Urbervilles has made it onto the must-read classics list because of the message Hardy was broadcasting to the world: It is not okay to condemn women who are sexually exploited without condemning the men who were the perpetrators. And, since he was writing this at the height of the Victorian social conventions, he was not very popular for his views, as you can imagine.

Looking back on the Victorian mores of that time, I seethed with indignation as I read the book, not thinking about what Hardy was doing for me and for all women. Instead of standing on a soapbox and screaming at whoever would listen, Hardy used a mirror to show people what they were doing. I imagine Victorians reading this book would have squirmed knowing that they were in fact condemning all pure but wronged women to the same fate as Tess by their pious, judgmental attitudes. We move forward when we recognize ourselves in the story and don't like what we see.

Bravo, Thomas Hardy! even though I found the book to be tremendously depressing, I do recognize its brilliance.

Rating: 3.5 stars (Brilliant but I still didn't like it.)

-Anne

Nonfiction review: SAY NOTHING (+Discussion questions)

Title: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

Book beginnings quote: 

Jean McConville was thirty-eight when she disappeared, and she had spent nearly half her life either pregnant or recovering from childbirth. She brought fourteen children to term and lost four of them, leaving her with ten kids who ranged from Anne, who was twenty, to Billy and Jim, the sweet-eyed twins, who were six.

Friday56 quote:

Stories about the Price sisters began to circulate among British troops stationed in Belfast and to find their way into the accounts of visiting war correspondents. They developed an outsize reputation as deadly femmes fates who would venture into the mean streets of Belfast with an assault rifle hidden "down a bell-bottomed trouser leg."

Summary:

Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders.

Review: Last year the New York Time published a list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century and Say Nothing was in spot #19. I'd never heard of the book before and was intrigued by a book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland so when I saw it on a list of book club kits at my library I checked it out. I confess I knew very little about the Troubles. In fact, I knew so little I didn't even know that the conflict between the Catholics (Republicans) and Protestants (Unionists) was called "the Troubles." I did know a conflict was taking place in Northern Ireland, however, since I went to school in London for a term in 1979 and precautions were in place against attacks and the sheer length of thing, thirty years from 1968-1998. 

My husband and I opted to listen to the audiobook together on a recent long car trip. At first I thought, "oh no, a dense book about this bombing and that bombing" but soon we settled in and found ourselves quite caught up in the details. Keefe uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale about the violent guerilla war and then continues with the case as the peace treaty is signed and the search for the disappeared people began. In the beginning one gets the feeling Keefe is on the side of the IRA and the republicans' cause. All of the people we meet-- Gerry Adams, Brendan Hughes, and the Price sisters -- are in the IRA. Then, as the story of the conflict goes on, it feels like there is a turn, and one is left wondering what all this guerilla warfare is accomplishing. Finally, as the conflict ends and politic begins, we are left with the understanding of how cruel and heartless the actions within the IRA were. Both Don and I thought the book was brilliant and rated it with 5 stars.

But does a brilliant book necessarily make for a good book club discussion choice? We'll see in a few weeks. I'm worried, though. The book is long, 540 pages, which includes over 100 pages in notes and an extensive index. I've never seen such a well-documented book. One gal I spoke to yesterday said she isn't enjoying the book because it is so repetitive. (Bomb here, explosion there!) I wonder how many gals will read on long enough to get to the part of the book dealing with the murder and everyone's memories? Even though I am not charged with leading the discussion this month I thought I'd try my hand at writing out a few discussion questions.

Say Nothing Book Club Discussion questions/starters:

1. What did you know about the Troubles before reading Say Nothing?

2. Why do you think the author started the book with McConville obduction? How did her disappearance impact her children? Why do you think the neighbors didn't help the children?

3. In a lot of ways Say Nothing was the stories of two women: Jean McConville and Deloris Price. Do you think this was a good way to tell the story of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Use examples.

4. Roddy Doyle, writing for the NYT said Say Nothing reads like a detective novel. Do you agree or disagree and why?

5. After the peace agreement Gerry Adams disavowed his involvement in the IRA. Do you believe him? How does this compare to politics today?

6. How important are oral histories in understanding conflicts? What did you think about the Belfast Project with Boston College?

7. After wars/conflicts should any of the combatants be held accountable? What made feel the most outrage in Say Nothing?

8. Though the opposing sides were Catholics and Protestants did you feel like the Troubles were really about religion? Why or why not?

9. Northern Ireland voted to remain in EU when the rest of UK voted to exit in the Brexit vote of 2016. What did Keefe muse about this fact as he looked at the current uneasy peace in Northern Ireland right now?

10. Say Nothing won a bunch of book awards (National Book Award Nominee for Nonfiction (2019), Orwell Prize for Political Writing (2019), Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nominee for Nonfiction (2020), Arthur Ross Book Award for Gold Medal (2020), National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction (2019), Kirkus Prize Nominee for Nonfiction (2019), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for History & Biography (2019)) Do you think it was award-worthy writing and research? Why? Why not? What did you think about it's over 100 pages of author's notes and the index? Would you recommend this book to anyone?

11. Compare the opening line (provided above) with the last paragraph of the narrative. Do you think the author did a good job bringing the book around full circle?

Challenges: 

• 20 Books of Summer: this is the 24th book I've read this summer so far.
• Big Book Summer Challenge: 540 pages, 412 pages of text.

-Anne

50 favorite novels of the past 50 years

This past weekend was my 50-year high school reunion. To honor that momentous event I decided to create a list of some of my 50 favorite novels (fiction) I've read since high school. In 2005 I became a high school librarian, which made reading part of my job. Therefore, more books on the list are from the last 20 years than the first 30. I hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane with me. Hyperlinks take you to reviews, if I wrote one.

This list is not ranked. I just listed the titles as they came to mind. I love them all.

1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I listened to the audiobook and loved all 30+ hours of it!

2. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. This is in my top ten favorite books. I've read it three times!

3. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. I like all the Leif Enger books I've read but this one particularly speaks to me on a very personal level about faith and love.

4. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. I often credit this book with getting me back into reading after a several decades hiatus.

5. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Oh my. This book has it all -- likable/memorable characters, recognizable setting, and a fantastic STORY. I read this during COVID lockdowns, so I had plenty of time to consume this 800+ page delight.

6. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. A truly American story. While the world was bracing for war, we were obsessed with comic books.

7. Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres. A touching love story so well-written I could picture ever scene in my mind.

8. Alas Babylon by Pat Frank. An odd choice, but I think about this book often and the implications of nuclear war.

9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Possibly my favorite book. I've read it so many times, starting with an abridged version in 6th grade, and each time I love it more.

10. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. This book is hilarious and so quirky. Listen to the audiobook!

11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Another top ten book. I somehow escaped high school without reading this one.

12. Persuasion by Jane Austen. Jane Austen is my favorite author. I seek out her books when I need comfort from our crazy world.

13. The Road by Cormac McCarthy. How'd this one end up on the list? So well-written but heartbreaking.

14. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. There is a lot of backstory as to how this ended up on the list. Let's just say, it helped me understand my husband better after he returned home from a tour in Iraq with the military. 

15. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I think about this book, and it's message every single day.

16. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. Not for the casual reader, this book takes the theme of "time" and builds a complex story.

17. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I used to tell people this was my favorite book, then I reread it. Okay, not my favorite but definitely a good one!

18. Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. I am attracted to books full of quirky characters and this one is full of them.

19. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. A book for book lovers!

20. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Possibly the best audiobook I've ever listened to, and I've listened to a lot.

21. Antidote by Karen Russell. A recent addition. I just read this book last month and was so impressed with the theme of memory.

22. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. A favorite author and this is her best book set in Africa with a missionary family. I lived in Africa with a missionary family. Need I say more?

23. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. Eek. I am afraid this book is coming true right now before our very eyes...fascism in America.

24. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. After a reread this book brought me tremendous comfort after a tragic death in the family. (Read my review for more details.)

25. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. The STORY! I loved every moment of it.

26. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Though much of the story has faded in my memory I do recall being obsessed with this book, reading several spin-offs after finishing this.

27. James by Percival Everett. Last year's favorite book of the year, a retelling of the Huck Finn story from Jim's point of view.

28. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Ha-ha-ha. Funniest book ever written.

29. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Hamnet was Shakespeare's son. This is a story of what might have happened to him. I love this book so much yet I don't think I can describe it without going on way too long. Read my review?

30. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. A coming-of-age story which hits all the right notes.

31. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. A little off-putting at first since the narrator is death, but it works especially considering how many people died during the Holocaust.

32. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I loved the writing so much in this book but a lot of the story has faded over time. I probably should have selected Roy's next fiction book, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness instead, which I loved also.

33. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. The history of AIDS from a caretakers point-of-view. Boy, did this book speak to me!

34. Going Bovine by Libba Bray. A fun and whimsical YA novel which included an Odyssey type of journey.

35. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I think I've read everything John Green has written. I've read many of his books more than once, including this one. Two of my nonfiction favorites are his, too: The Anthropocene Reviewed and Everything is Tuberculosis.

36. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. I read this book after the death of a dear friend, an Art teacher. I knew she would love it so much. I kept notes to share with her daughter. A hard, but rewarding read.

37. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Wow, just wow.

38. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. Another favorite author. This is one of her best books, in my opinion.

39. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Another book full of quirky characters and one I think best consumed in audiobook.

40. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rawling. What can I say? My girls grew up reading Harry Potter and in the early days I got to read the books to them. Such happy family memories.

41. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Two divergent stories told from each side of WWII. The descriptive writing swept me up.

42. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. The story has faded from my memory but not the impression this book left on me -- powerful and spell-binding.

43. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Another book I  love dearly but never reviewed. Perhaps I should have chosen Verghese's next novel instead because I loved AND reviewed the book, The Covenant of Water.

44. The Justice Trilogy by Louise Erdrich. I read this trilogy out of order and I still enjoyed all the parts about Indigenous justice in America.

45. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. It is hard to make a list of favorite books read over 50 years (you try it!) I remember little about the plot but a whole lot about the love.

46. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. For some reason this book became a personal, almost cult-favorite for me. I think I've read it five times. The last time, however, I touched it after finishing it, and thanked it for its service. I don't think I need to reread it again.

47. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. This is the best audiobook ever with 166 unique narrators. Don't read this one, listen to it!

48. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Sometimes I read a classic book and wonder why it is a classic. Other times I read a classic and just know why it is one. This is one of those books.

49. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Another complexly plotted book, with something like five divergent stories happening at the same time. When they all come together it blew my mind.

50. The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. A shout-out to YA fantasy writers and readers. This is one of my favorites in that genre.

Egads! I don't want to stop. I have so many other favorites I wish I could list, but I will stop here. (And this list doesn't even include my favorite nonfiction books from the past half century. Time for a second list?)

After reviewing my list I realized how few were from my first few years after high school. Obviously memory is playing a role but I thought I would mention just a few books I do remember reading and liking from those earlier years -- Roots by Alex Haley; Watership Down by Richard Adams; ...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer; Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg; The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay; A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving; and one which should have been on the top list, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

-Anne