Nonfiction Review: ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS

Title: One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

Books Beginnings quote:

Friday56 quote (from page 22, the last preview page):

Summary:

On Oct 25th, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” This tweet was viewed over 10 million times. 

One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This chronicles the deep fracture which has occurred for Black, brown, indigenous Americans, as well as the upcoming generation, many of whom had clung to a thread of faith in western ideals, in the idea that their countries, or the countries of their adoption, actually attempted to live up to the values they espouse. (Publisher) 

Review: This National Book Award recipient has much to digest within its pages. Clearly the author is frustrated beyond words at the world's seeming disregard for the plight of the people in Gaza. But he places the lion's share of blame on progressives and left-leaning people who give lip service to being horrified by the atrocities in Gaza at the hands of Israel, yet take no action to go along with their words and objectively support Israel's right to exist and self-defense. Conservatives don't bear the brunt of El Akkad's disdain because they are who they say they are -- hard-liners, racists who generally hate anyone who is brown-skinned, reflexively supporting Israel no matter what. I guess he is saying the right has no answers and he doesn't expect their help. Since I'm a progressive, I felt chastised as I read. But it was a wakeup call, too. I'm glad the book received the award so it will receive some attention and hopefully wake up a bunch of us "slacker left-leaning progressives" (and hopefully others) with this call to action.

As Don and I discussed after finishing the audiobook, he was more critical ranking it with 3 stars. His biggest complaint was how the book -- he called it a long opinion piece -- called us out for our apathy without many constructive suggestions of ways to help. Call our congresswoman? She's a Democrat and her party isn't in power? Then what? 

As we listened we found ourselves going back in time since the book was clearly written during President Biden's term. The book was already in the publishing stages when the 2024 election went to Donald Trump. We couldn't help wonder whether the author has any different feelings toward the Biden administration's approach to Israel's war on Gaza since things have certainly gotten no better under Trump. There was no postscript to the audiobook to answer this question. One thing so many people don't seem to understand about politics: when you are frustrated by the party in power (especially one you largely agree with) and kick them out, the other side is going to be worse. At least Democrats have been advocating for a two-state solution and self-determination for Palestinians for decades. Trump and his acolytes only want tough talk in support of Israel, and want to raze Gaza to redevelop the coastline with luxury resorts for the rich and powerful. 

Clearly there are no easy answers and this conflict has been going on for thousands of years. Sigh.

The audiobook was narrated by the author, El Akkad, which I really appreciated. A bit about the author is probably warranted: Omar El Akkad was born in Egypt. He and his family were forced to leave their home due to the politics in the country. His father relocated the family first to Qatar for a few years. When he was 16 his family moved to Montreal, Quebec, where Omar finished high school. Eventually he got an entry-level job at the Globe and Mail newspaper and worked his way up to an investigative reporter. Often he received assignments because he was a Muslim or because he was an Arab, as if he would be the only one to understand the issue. Now he and his family live in Portland, Oregon.

Our ratings: Don -- 3 stars; Anne -- 4 stars.

Challenges: Nonfiction November and Novellas in November (for short nonfiction, 208 pages.)

-Anne

Nonfiction November, Week Five: New to My TBR and It's a Wrap!

Nonfiction November Week 5 and November Wrap Up. New to my TBR hosted by Deb Nance at Readerbuzz

New to my TBR: 

• Is a River Alive? /Robert Macfarlane (Unsolicited Feedback)
• I Contain Multitudes / Ed Yong (Read All the Things)
• Fenwomen:Women in an English Village / Mary Chamberlain (What? Me Read?)
• Wild Thing: The Life of Paul Gauguin /Sue Prideaux (Volatile Rune)
• Killing Stella /Marlen Haushofer (Intrepid Angeleno) (Whoops, not nonfiction, but it is a novella I want to read, translated from German.)
• Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy / Mary Roach (Who recommended this? Sorry I missed you.)
• Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust In the Time of Serial Killers / Caroline Fraser (My husband's cousin) 
• Things in Nature Merely Grow / Yiyun Li (NYT 100 Notable Books of 2025 list)

Nonfiction books read during this challenge:

• The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession / Michael Finkel
• Stay True: a Memoir / Hua Hsu
• All My Knotted Up Life: a Memoir / Beth Moore
• One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This / Omar El Akkad 
• Jane Austen in 41 Objects / Kathryn Sutherland
• The Friendly Jane Austen by Natalie Tyler
• How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee / Carole Boston Weatherford (Review pending)
• Currently reading:
• Poet Warrior: a Memoir / Joy Harjo

Nonfiction titles reviewed this month in addition to above books:

• Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
• Time Code of a Face by Ruth Ozeki

-Anne

Nonfiction November: Jane Austen

All my reading challenges seem to be coalescing right now: Nonfiction November, Novellas in November, and #ReadAusten2025. In fact, sometimes I am a little overwhelmed by it all. Here are my reviews of two books I've read this month which fit, or partially fit, into all three challenges:

JANE AUSTEN

Jane Austen in 41 Objects by Kathryn Sutherland

Bodleian Library Publishing, 2025. 209 pages, including index and notes.

Back in October I read a wonderful review of this book by Brona at This Reading Life. She began her review confessing she had dilly-dallied (my words, not hers) writing about the book because she wanted to write something about "e v e r y-s i n g l e-o b j e c t". After reading the book I see why she felt that way. I, too, would love to gush about these 41 objects, some directly and others tangentially, related to Jane Austen. Never fear. I don't have it in me and why should I anyway? After reading this I hope you want to read the book, so you'll find out for yourself.

The covered objects form the breadth of Austen's life, so it is fitting that the book begins with her chronology: from the marriage of her parents in 1764 and ending in September 2017 when JA becomes the face of Bank of England £10 note. The author, Kathryn Sutherland, introduces her book by asking us to "imagine a life story as a house clearance -- that's how for many of us it finds shape, as objects are passed on, memoires stirred and made." Oh boy, do I agree with that sentence after spending the last two months helping my mother muck out her house where she's lived to the past thirty years. My siblings and I bickered over who would get what prized possessions: My older sister got the family clock. my younger sister got the silverware and the beloved Tiffany-style lamp, I got the elephant table, and my brother got whatever he wanted since he was kind enough to not fight us for our favorite objects. Each object held memories for all of us.

The 41 objects are arranged chronologically too, after the 1st object, the only known portrait of Jane Austen done by her sister. Each object is accompanied by a brief description of the object and then what is known to have happened to this object since JA's time. In the case of this well-known graphite and watercolor sketch (4 1/2 x 3 1/8 inches), it was sold at Sotheby's in May 1948 as part of the collections formerly owned by Charles Austen's granddaughters. It was purchased by the NPG, The National Portrait Gallery, in London.

The Chawton House, where Jane, her mother, and her sister were living at the time of Jane's death is now a museum. Many of the objects described in the book are on display there. It is obviously a destination spot for many Janites like myself. And when I do go, I will have a better idea what I am looking at. This house was officially opened to the public in July 1949 and has slowly resumed something of an identity of what it was like when Jane lived there. Some of the objects where actually hiding on the grounds and have been restored to their former spots in the house. For example, a fragment of the green leaf wallpaper when an old stove was moved. The design, now known as "Chawton Leaf", was reproduced by historic specialists and printed using the traditional hand-blocking techniques of old. It now hangs in the dining room.

Another item found on the Chawton grounds was a dried flower spray for the hair found in the rafters of an out-building. Jane and her sister comment about wearing flowers in their hair for some event in one of their many letters sent to each other over the years. Could this be the actual flowers they referred to? As I read about how objects like this were found and authenticated, I sat with my mouth open. It is minor miracle that so many objects known to used by or about a woman who lived 250 years ago can still be traced.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute exploring the objects in this book and now I commend this book to you. Ask for it at your library.

Challenges: Nonfiction, Novella (short nonfiction is accepted), and Austen-related. a trifecta!

The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense and Sensibility by Natalie Tyler

Penguin Putnam, 1999.

Oh boy, I had fun with this book. Ms. Tyler has done her homework and gives Jane Austen fans what they want...more information about Austen. To begin with she asks the question, How Do We Love Jane Austen? Let Us Count the Ways. The reader then takes a quiz to determine what type of fan school he/she belongs in: Janite; Gentle Jane; Ironic Jane; or Subversive Jane. Not surprisingly, I am a Janite through and through. (And who knew my love of Paul McCartney helps qualify me for this delineation?)

Next up, Part 1 covers Jane's early life and her juvenilia. What was it like living in those days? What about her siblings and parents? Where did she live and why did they move? How did her writing grow and change? All these questions and more were answered in this section. Text would often be broken up with text boxes with information which seemed like little asides. For example, one text box contained the names of famous people who lived during the same time as Austen---Beethoven, William Wordsworth, and Sir Walter Scott being three on the list. Illustrations related to Austen done by relatives are infrequent but add a nice touch. For example, Jane's niece, Anna Lefroy, made a nice drawing of the Steventon Rectory where Jane was born and lived until she was 24. My favorite bits in this section were samples of and explanations of Jane's early writings. Short quotes from her various stories were shared. And a timeline explanation of each of her pieces of "juvenilia" is very helpful to my understanding.

Part II explains each of her major works in detail. In addition to her own research, Tyler interviews college professors with knowledge related to Austen. Each interview is recorded in a short dialogue with the professor answering only one or two questions. For example, Why aren't Austen's novels considered part of Romanticism movement? or Why study Austen? There is a quiz in each of the seven sections in this part. I just took the quiz: Letter Writing in the Novels. The directions were to match the characters that wrote the following letter with its intended character recipient. I did pretty good but didn't know the quote from Sanditon nor did I guess this one. Can you? (Name the book, the character writing,  and the character recipient. No cheating.)

"A poor honorable is no catch, and I cannot imagine any liking in the case, for, take away his rants, and the poor Baron has nothing. What a difference a vowel makes!---if his rents were but equal to his rants." 

As I reread Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion this year I found the chapters on those books particularly helpful. See my review of Persuasion where I quote from this book often. After reading the section II out of order I went back and read about her other four books (Sanditon, though incomplete at the time of JAs death, was included.) I had the hardest time reading the chapter about Mansfield Park because so many people don't like Franny Price as a character. A whole list of famous authors writing snarky comments about Fanny was included. Poor Fanny!

Part III is about Jane Austen's legacy---the film adaptations, the continuations, sequels, and spin-offs, JASNA, JA retreats, etc. Since the book was published over 25 years ago, this section was woefully outdated so I just skimmed through it. 

I love the book so much I want Natalie Tyler to update it and put it back in circulation so you can all read it, too. I'm guessing your public library won't have a copy of it, but keep your eyes out for it at used bookstores. That is where I found my copy. It contains too much information to take in at once and I know you will want to go back and look up something in it every once in a while.

 Challenges: Nonfiction November, Jane Austen-related.

 

-Anne

Two Five-star Memoirs

November is coming to an end and so is Nonfiction November. I'm making an all-out attempt to review all the books I read this month for the challenge. Today I am highlighting two wonderful memoirs.

Stay True: a Memoir by Hua Hsu

Doubleday, 2022. 208 pages.

Writing a memoir must be very difficult. How do you write about yourself without sounding like you are bragging or being self-deprecating? It must be very difficult but Hua Hsu pulls it off perfectly.

Back in 2024 the NY Times published a list of the top 100 books of the 21st Century (so far) and Stay True was number 58 on that list. Here is how the newspaper describes the book:

An unlikely college friendship — Ken loves preppy polo shirts and Pearl Jam, Hua prefers Xeroxed zines and Pavement — blossoms in 1990s Berkeley, then is abruptly fissured by Ken’s murder in a random carjacking. Around those bare facts, Hsu’s understated memoir builds a glimmering fortress of memory in which youth and identity live alongside terrible, senseless loss. (NYT)

Both Ken and Hua are Asian but their Asianess is very different. Hua was born in the United States to parents from Taiwan and his father returned there sometime during Hua's teen years, leaving the parenting to his mother or to notes faxed back and forth with his father. Ken's grandparents came from Japan and settled in California. Some of his relatives spent time in internment camps during WWII. Even though the boys are American they both feel "other" at times and find their way to each other during their freshman year at Berkeley in the mid 1990s.  A deep friendship is formed, the kind of friendship that blossoms in youthful years and is hard to replicate in adulthood. After Ken's murder it is a miracle that Hua made it out the other side of his grief. But with the help of a college counselor, he does make it out to the other side, giving him time and perspective to write this marvelous memoir and a beautiful tribute to a friend.

When Stay True won the inaugural Pulitzer Prize for Memoir or Autobiography in 2023 the committee had this to say about their selection:

Determined to hold on to all that was left of one of his closest friends—his memories—Hua turned to writing. Stay True is the book he’s been working on ever since. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging (Pulitzer).

Don and I listened to the audiobook of Stay True, narrated by the author. We both rated it with 5 stars. Don was especially taken by Hua Hsu's ability to write about his experiences in the past without placing current knowledge and adult wisdom into the narrative. It felt like he was writing about something that just happened not something that happened almost thirty years ago. 

I get to check off a few boxes for different challenges:

• Audiobooks with Don
• Nonfiction November
• Novellas in November, which includes short nonfiction.

All My Knotted Up Life: a Memoir by Beth Moore

Tyndale Momentum, 2023. 304 pages.

Many years ago the Women's Bible Study at church used a video series by Beth Moore and her organization, Living Proof Ministries. Every woman in our group really enjoyed the study, especially the video portion where Beth was filmed speaking to a group of women on Ephesians, a New Testament book of the Bible. I thought she was incredibly warm, personable, and, surprisingly, funny. I looked forward to every session. After that session ended our group went on to study some other topic or book of the Bible and I didn't think about Beth Moore much after that until her name came up in the news.

In 2016 Beth Moore made a bit of a splash in the news because she was one of the few well-known Christians to criticize publicly then-candidate Trump for his Access Hollywood tape where he talked about the way he treats women. I remember being pleased when I heard this. Finally a Christian standing up to despicable Trump behavior. What we didn't hear about on the news was how awful the people in her church and the Southern Baptist Conference (SBC) treated her after that criticism. Christians were angry with Moore, not Trump. 

Moore was back in news again in 2021 when she announced she was splitting from the SBC over the church's handling of sexual abuse cases among pastors. The abuse had been going on for decades but had only recently come to light. Instead of dealing with it church was covering up these crimes. When she confronted the church's leadership over their white-washing of these serious findings, the men on the council essentially told her to "shut up and stay in your lane." She'd had enough and she quit her association with the denomination, which meant it also ended her association with her own congregation. Once again, I rejoiced that some woman was finally standing up to those bullies, disguised as men of God. What I didn't know at the time was Beth Moore, herself, is a sex abuse survivor.

All My Knotted Up Life is Beth Moore's story, starting in her childhood when, as a young child, she was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her father. It continues through her young adult years where she heard the call to serve God, and onto her ministry years and beyond.

I loved every minute listening to this remarkably candid, funny, excruciating memoir. Beth read the book herself and her Texas drawl is so charming. In fact, I kept thinking her voice reminded me of someone I know well and then realized I have a friend, also from Texas, who sounds just like Beth. I was charmed. I cried as she shared hard stories for her to tell and couldn't help wondering if some of her friends from her old congregation are ashamed at the way they treated her as she tried to stay faithful to God and his calling in her life.

As a Christian I found much comfort in her words. It is so hard to confess to being a Christian these days when so many Christians behave in such un-Christlike ways... purporting to love Jesus but then being the most angry, racist, sexist, unforgiving people on the planet. Not Beth. She's one of the good ones.

This is her story.

My rating: 5 stars.

Challenge met: Nonfiction November.

-Anne

Nonfiction November, Week four: Diverse Perspectives

Nonfiction November 

Week Four

Diverse perspectives

Nonfiction books are one of the best tools for seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. They allow us to get an idea of the experiences of people of all different ages, races, genders, abilities, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, or even just different opinions than ours. Is there a book you read this year from a diverse author, or a book that opened your eyes to a perspective that you hadn’t considered? How did it challenge you to think differently?

I read to know the world better. I often find myself selecting books I think will bring me closer to understanding my neighbors around the world. Sometimes I have to tamp down the desire to avoid knowing something because it might make me uncomfortable. This can be true for both fiction and nonfiction reading.

One book I read this year which helped open my eyes to what it is like to be a male, growing up in the inner city, poor, Black, Muslim, motherless, and troubled was There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension. I'm none of those things  yet the author, Hanif Abdurraqib, who describes himself as a poet, essayist, and cultural critic, so beautifully articulated details of his growing up years I couldn't help but relate. In the conclusion of my review, which I hope you read, I said, "It's a rare book that makes you reflect so deeply on your own childhood and feel so connected to a story so different than your own." Nonfiction at its best!

-Anne

Nonfiction Review: THE ART THIEF

Title: The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel

Book Beginnings excerpt:

Friday56 excerpt:

Summary: The story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser.

Review: Don and I listened to The Art Thief this past week. It is a well-researched tale of a psychologically complicated, misguided, narcissistic art lover who steals artifacts from museums, galleries, and castles throughout France, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland over several years. He steals the art not for financial gain but because he loves the art and wants to have it to look at and to touch. Over the years he and his girlfriend stole over 200 pieces, worth millions, possibly billions. Spoiler alert: to write a book about an art thief, they have to get caught!

The first half of the book focuses on what Stéphane Breitwieser stole, from where, and how he did it. It became really apparent to us that Michael Finkel did some deep sleuthing in order to uncover this level of detail. Indeed, the author says it took him eleven years to research the details in the book, which included not only many interviews with the thief himself but also with his lawyers, the prosecutors, psychologists, and art crime investigators. The book crammed a lot in a short book, weighing in at just over 200 pages.

The audiobook was narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, an American actor, who did really well pronouncing all the French, German, Swiss names and places as the story recounts Stéphane and Anne-Catherine's trips around Europe on their many stealing sprees. We both enjoyed our listening experience with The Art Thief very much.

Ratings: Don -- 4 stars; Anne -- 4.5 stars.

-Anne

Sunday Salon and Nonfiction November -- Week 3

Weather: Lovely. Sunny and crisp today. This week we endured king tides and atmospheric rivers, however, bother weather terms we never even heard of as kids.

Nonfiction November, Week Three prompt: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. Or maybe it’s just two books you feel have a link, whatever they might be. You can be as creative as you like!

Nonfiction books about Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice and six other novels. I consider myself a Janeite, or a devoted follower of this author, and enjoy reading books about her and the time period in which she lived -- the Regency period in Great Britain. Currently I am reading two of the books pictured above, finished reading one just the other day, and hope to reread the other two soon.

• *Sutherland, Kathryn. Jane Austen in 41 Objects. Bodleian Library Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2025.
• Devito, Carlo. A Jane Austen Christmas: Celebrating the Season of Romance, Ribbons & Mistletoe. Cider Mill Press, Kennebunkport, Maine. 2015.
• Glaspy, Terry. The Prayers of Jane Austen. Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon. 2015.
• Jane Austen Companion to Life. The. Sourcebooks, Naperville, Illinois. 2010. With illustrations by Charles Edmund Brock.
• *Tyler, Natalie. The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense and Sensibility. Penguin Books, New York. 1999.                                                                                      *=Currently reading. Hyperlinks to Goodreads pages.

This year I am participating with the Classics Club/BronasBooks Challenge #ReadingAusten2025 to read all/some of the Jane Austen books and to participate in discussions about this beloved author. So far I have reread three of her six major works:

• Sense and Sensibility
• Northanger Abbey
• Persuasion -- review pending
• Hyperlinks to my recent reviews
• I haven't reread these three major works: Pride and Prejudice; Emma; and Mansfield Park.
• Hyperlinks to my older/past reviews
• Love and Friendship is considered part of her juvenalia writings, along with The Watsons, Lady Susan, The History of England.
• Sanditon, was incomplete at the time of Austen's death in 1817.

Other books I've recently completed or am currently reading/listening to:

• Audition by Katie Kitamura. A Booker Prize finalist. Read for Novellas in November Challenge. Audiobook. Complete. Rating: 4 Stars.
• Henry and June by Anais Nin. With completion of this unexpurgated diary (nonfiction) I have completed the genre challenge on StoryGraph. E-book. Rating: 2 stars.
• Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. A novella and a classic. I liked the words but not sure I understood the point. Audiobook. 3 stars.
• Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser. A novella and the 2025 Stella Prize winner. Audiobook. Upgraded rating: 4 stars.
• My Friends by Fredrik Backman. A book club selection. Audiobook. 4 stars.
• Heart the Lover by Lily King. An audiobook. I am enjoying this very much. 28% complete.
• The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. Audiobook with Don and nonfiction. 43% complete.
• White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky. My Classics Club Spin selection. Print. 41% complete.

Additional blogging links:

• Nonfiction Review: Furious Hours: Murder, Mayhem, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
• Reviews: Timecode of a Face and A Study in Scarlet
• TTT: List of 10 Randomly Generated Books on My TBR
• Nonfiction November -- Week Two

Have a lovely week!

-Anne

Nonfiction Review: FURIOUS HOURS: MURDER, FRAUD, AND THE LAST TRIAL OF HARPER LEE (+Discussion questions)

In a 2024 survey, 12.6% of respondents named To Kill a Mockingbird as their all-time favorite book from a given list. In 2021 a British survey found that 13% of the respondents named TKAM as the most inspirational novel. In the 2018 PBS "The Great American Read" it was named as America's best-loved novel overall. All of these surveys took place over 50 years after 1960 when Harper Lee penned her famous book and still today people everywhere sing its praises. If I were asked what is my all-time-favorite novel I'd answer To Kill a Mockingbird, too. So why, with all this success, did its author not publish another book for the next 50 years? 

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper by Casey Cep attempts to answer that question but it also shows how Harper Lee did attempt to write another book, a true-crime book, but abandoned her attempt many years into the project.

Back in the 1960s and 70s there was a black preacher in Alabama named Willie Maxwell. He was well liked and often called Reverend Maxwell, even when he didn't have a church. Then in in August 1970s his wife's bloated, dead body was found in a car in a remote area off the highway. She has clearly been beaten to death and all signs pointed to the Reverend as the suspect in her murder. A neighbor reported that around 10 pm Mary Lou had told her that Willie had called and needed a ride home, that his car was broken down. She was the last person to see Mary Lou alive. It was well know that the Reverend had many lady friends but what wasn't known was how many insurance policies were written in Mary Lou's name with Willie being the beneficiary. In those days it was surprisingly easy to take out life insurance policies on anyone and name yourself the beneficiary. It took the state a surprisingly long time to bring charges against Willie and by then the neighbor had changed her story about what Mary Lou said to her the night of her death. What the jury didn't hear was by that time Willie and this neighbor had become friendly and were planning to get married.

A year after their marriage this second wife was also found dead in a car alongside a country road. She had seventeen life insurance policies in her name. "For the Reverend," writes Cep, "becoming a widower was quite a lucrative business." After her death the Reverend took out life insurance policies on his mother, his brothers, his nephew, his aunt, even his just legitimized infant daughter and the bodies started piling up. Everyone knew it was the Reverend but getting the charges to stick was another story. Eventually justice was found for the Reverend but not through the courts. 

Enter Harper Lee and the second half of the book. It's been fourteen years since TKAM was published. Everyone is bugging Lee to write another book. Why not write a true crime story and go about the research the way she did when she was helping Truman Capote do his research for In Cold Blood? Eventually Lee spent a year in town interviewing and going over all the evidence she could get her hands one for the Maxwell cases. She worked with the lawyer who had been Maxwell's attorney. She uncovered every stone there was to uncover, then she returned to New York to write her book she was calling The Reverend. 

Unfortunately, after years of trying she gave up the project admitting she just didn't know how to organize all the information. During the intervening years between TKAM and this project the editor, Tay Hohoff, who worked with Lee at J.B. Lippincott, had either died or was retired. Lee floundered without the guidance of such a strong and capable editor behind her. Oddly, Casey Cep, this books author, was able to put together the whole Maxwell Murders debacle into a very interesting and compelling account in the book's first part and went on to write an excellent biography of Harper Lee in the 2nd. 

Time Magazine's Lucas Wittmann said this about Cep, "In elegant prose, she gives us the fullest story yet of Lee’s post-Mockingbird life ... an account emotionally attuned to the toll that great writing takes, and shows that sometimes one perfect book is all we can ask for, even while we wish for another."

In some ways I'm sorry I read Furious Hours because Harper Lee, the author of my favorite book, didn't come out smelling like roses here. She drank an awful lot and was, perhaps, an alcoholic. Whether she was or wasn't, alcohol use got in the way of her ability to write from Cep's reporting. After the collapse of the Reverend project, she never again attempted to publish anything other than a few letters or essays. In fact, just this year, a collection of stories and essays by Lee was published in The Land of Sweet Forever. And right after Lee's death in 2016 her sister published Go Set a Watchman, the book she wrote before To Kill a Mockingbird. It was a book she never wanted to publish (and many people wished hadn't been published since it casts the hero, Atticus Finch, in a very bad light.)

I read Furious Hours book for an upcoming book club. I gave the book the rating of 4 stars.

Discussion questions for Furious Hours:

1. How did the book change the way you think about Harper Lee and her literary legacy? What were you most surprised to learn?

2. What were the most disturbing aspects of Reverend Maxwell’s murder spree and the connection between him and his victims? 

3. What surprised you the most about the life insurance policies and the way these companies did business?

4. Discuss how race played into the case of the Reverend Willie Maxwell.

5. What were your first impressions of Tom Radney? How did your perception of him change as you read the book?

6. What do you think about the morality of Robert Burns’s decision to murder the Reverend Willie Maxwell? Do you think his acquittal was right? 

7. How did Harper Lee and Truman Capote’s relationship play into the larger story? How do you think Lee’s experience with In Cold Blood shaped her approach to writing her own true crime tale?

8. Why do you think the Maxwell case captivated Lee’s attention enough to dedicate years of her life to writing it? Do you think she finished it? If not, what do you think stopped her? What do you think happened to whatever existed of the manuscript?

9. Furious Hours combines the horror and mystery of a true crime tale with the in-depth history and detail of a biography. How does Cep integrate the two different pieces of the book? Why do you think Cep was able to pull off what Lee couldn't?

10. How does Furious Hours distinguish itself from other nonfiction books you have read? What other narrative nonfiction books have you enjoyed reading and would recommend to others?

(These excellent discussion questions come from the Sarasota Springs Public Library. I tweaked them just a bit but credit to the librarians at that library.)

-Anne

Reviews: TIMECODE OF A FACE and A STUDY IN SCARLET

November means novellas and nonfiction, and, if I'm lucky, two in one: short nonfiction (which is allowed for the Novellas in November Challenge!) The problem with reading short books is they often can be easily consumed in one or two days which means the reviews really start piling up. Right now I am eight reviews behind! Eek! In an attempt to catch up I shall attempt to write and publish two reviews a day. If that isn't sustainable I will at least aim for one. Don't expect lengthy reviews. Like the books themselves likely the reviews will be short.

Timecode of a Face by Ruth Ozeki
Audio: Canongate Books, 2022, 1 hour, 51 minutes.
Originally published by Restless Books, 2015.

Ruth Ozeki, a favorite author and a Zen Buddhist priest, sets herself the task of staring at her own face in the mirror for three hours hoping to discover new aspects of herself and her heritage. According to ancient Zen traditions "your face before your parents were born is your original face." Staring into the mirror for a long time Ruth Ozeki hoped to discover her true self and her true identity beyond what she knew from her parents. As she gazes on her reflection her thoughts ripple out to memories growing up as a mixed race child -- her mother was Japanese, her father Caucasian -- and the ugly racism she endured. Her thoughts also lingered on the process of becoming a Buddhist priest and having to shave her head as she took her final vows. She also reflected on her studies of the intricate art of the Japanese Noh mask, at one point even making one herself.

Throughout this essay Ruth Ozeki shows herself to be a well-grounded, interesting and interested person, a writer of great integrity. I am a big fan of her books, A Tale for the Time Being and The Book of Form and Emptiness, and now her essay writing. I am fascinated by her life story and how she incorporates Buddhist practices and beliefs into her writing. I didn't learn a ton from this essay but what I did learn about Zen Buddhism was so interesting. In fact, I found those bits of information much more captivating than what she thought of her earlobes.

I listened to the audiobook read by the author herself. It seemed perfectly paced and I was satisfied with what I got out of the listening experience. But here is one thing I've never encountered before when writing a review -- when I visited the author's own webpage, Ozekiland, she refers to this book by a different title: The Face: A Time Code. I'm not sure when and why it was changed, but if you have trouble finding it at a bookstore or library, you might want to try both title variations in your search.

My rating: 4.25 stars.

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A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Audio: Prince Frederick: Recorded Books, 2017, 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Originally published: Ward, Locke, and Company, 1887.

A Study in Scarlet is Conan Doyle's first introduction of Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective who has been dominating our imaginations for over 100 years. As in subsequent short stories about the detective the narration is handled by Dr. Watson who has recently returned to London after being wounded in the Battle of Maiwand. After agreeing to share an apartment with Holmes, Watson learns that his flatmate is a detective consultant, helping the police solve cases they have not been able to handle on their own. In this case, a corpse, an American from Ohio, is found in an uninhabited apartment dead on his back. There is blood but seemingly not from the corpse. After the police bungle the case, Holmes swoops in and figures out who dunnit with, what we have come to expect, just minute details everyone else overlooked. As it turns out the murderer had a vendetta against the dead man and his story jumps back to Utah territory and the Mormon settlement there. I won't share any more details because, it is a mystery and I don't want to reveal any spoilers for you.

I expected the first half of the story -- Dr. Watson as narrator; Holmes as eccentric go-it-alone detective; incompetent police -- but I did not expect, in fact I was bowled over by, the anti-Mormon message of the second half. What? Where did that come from? It always strikes me as funny/odd when a classic book, which has been published for years and years, surprises me with a plot twist I didn't see coming and no one has bothered to mention it to me my whole life. Ha!

This is only my second Sherlock Holmes story I've read. The other, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is much better, but if one wants to start at the beginning, this is place to start.

3.5 stars.

-Anne

Nonfiction November -- Week Two

Week 2 (11/2 – 11/9) Choosing Nonfiction (Hosted by Frances at Volatile Reader): There are many topics to choose from when looking for a nonfiction book. For example, there are memoir, travel, politics, history, religion and spirituality, science, art, food, and more. Use this week to challenge yourself to pick a genre you wouldn’t normally read.

I managed to finish no nonfiction last week. None. Sigh. But I am reading a book, a diary really, which I never would have selected except for the StoryGraph Genre Challenge. As soon as I finish this book, Henry and June: The Unexpurgated Diary by Anais Nin (Erotica) I will have completed the challenge!

Here is how the challenge works: Select and read a book from all 58 genres categorized by StroyGraph. One can see how they are doing by checking out the Stats page and looking at the chart, then consulting the genre list to see which categories are still missing. 

The StoryGraph Genre Chart found on my reading stats page. One book to go and I will have read a book for all 58 of their genres.

I didn't decide to do this challenge until April when I had already read books for around 35-40 genres without trying or paying attention. How hard could it be to complete it? As it turned out, it was very difficult.  First off many genres or categories I thought would be on their list, like "Westerns" and "Satire," aren't. While other genres I'm not interested in, like "Economics" and "Computer Science", seemed difficult to find a book I was willing to read. Oddly some books which were clearly about a topic, like "Race", weren't labeled as such. Fortunately StoryGraph does allow the public to make suggested corrections to a book's record, so I was able to check off books I read that fit, but needed a genre added to do so. All of the genres aren't necessarily for nonfiction titles. Some only work for fiction (Examples: "Speculative Fiction," being one! And then the confusing "Historical" [fiction] vs "History" [nonfiction].)

Here are a few books I really enjoyed that fulfilled a needed genre for my challenge:

Bring the Magic Home: An Exploration of Design Inspired by Disney Parks by Sunny Chanel

Genre: Design

I was twirling around my little neighborhood library trying to find books to fit the challenge and wandered over to the 740s to see if I could find a design book (crafting, interior design, textile design, flower arranging) and this book jumped out at me. Literally. It is a large,  heavy, oversized book with tons of color photographs. It didn't fit on the shelf properly. It is not the type of book one expects to find at a library but instead on someone's coffee table. I sat at a library table to leaf through it and was instantly charmed. Who doesn't love the designs at Disney theme parks? I checked it out and read through the book in a few days, enjoying every moment...though I am still not sure why someone would want their spare bedroom to look like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion. Ha!

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North American Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan and Victor Cizek

Genre: Reference

When I think "reference" I think encyclopedias and almanacs but here is a fantastically fun book for both kids and adults -- interactive maps on topics of history, culture, and geography. For example one map shows where can you find the continent's tallest and steepest roller coasters. Another shows where can you visit the world’s largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island. Think about that. Mind-blowing stuff.

Just like the last book, I read through this book quickly, turning back pages to show my husband some of the mind-blowing things everytime he would wander into the room. I learned so much from this excellent reference book. As it turns out I got to check off another genre for this book, too: "technology." Not sure how it fits, though. Perhaps one has to use technology to figure out where there is a lake within an island within a lake.

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The Afterlife of Data: What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care by Carl Öhman

Genre: Computer Science

Two things happened almost simultaneously which brought me to this book. One, I was looking through a list of my Facebook friends and realized that many of them were no longer living, yet their Facebook page persisted. Perhaps I even got a notice on one of their birthdays. Secondly, my mother, who is 96, got tricked into giving a scammer some of her social media information and her whole email list got send SPAM from them. These two things got me thinking about what should happen to social media information after a person dies. This book, based on its title, seemed like a perfect place to go to find out what we should do when Mom dies and what others should do with their loved ones Facebook/Twitter[X]/Instagram/Tik-Tok accounts.

I didn't get a definitive answer to my questions but I did learn some fascinating information about after death practices throughout history and how social media sites can serve as a place for grieving family members to memorialize their loved one and hang onto their grief. Did you know in a few years (2035? I can't remember exact date) there will be more dead persons' accounts on Facebook than live persons? And businesses are attempting to monetize the relationship between social media and grief? Many have already attempted it and have failed because people only want to have these resources if they don't have to pay for them. 

Unlike the above two books, I wouldn't say I liked this book. In fact, I found myself speed-reading through sections. But it has provided me with interesting thoughts to ponder. In fact, after reading The Afterlife of Data, my husband and I had a discussion of what he should do with this blog if I suddenly died. I'd like a few of my posts to still be available for the family to read through if they wanted, like my Sunday Salon posts which are more personal than other posts, and maybe a few of my favorite book reviews. I also instructed him to post a message that I had died. I hate it when bloggers I follow suddenly disappear. I wonder what happened to them. Did they die or just fade away, disinterested in continuing to blog about books?

I think StoryGraph should add a genre to this title: "philosophy." It certainly grapples with ethical questions that "computer science" can't adequately address.

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Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B.J. Fogg, PhD

Genres: Psychology and Self Help

I purchased this book during 2020 and just couldn't settled into it during the whole COVID pandemic lockdown. I tried to read it again a few years ago and found I wasn't interested in learning little techniques to change my life. I was ready to toss the book which this genre challenge came along and I realized I owned a "psychology" genre title.

Finally I read the dang thing and actually liked it. Not only that but I was able to make a few changes to my health practices which have (or I hope they will have) an impact on both my dental and visual health. How about that? Everytime I floss my teeth and clap my hands afterwards in a sort of a cheer, I say a little word of praise in my head for this book that showed me the value of celebrations when it comes to changing habits.

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This week, Week Two of Nonfiction November, we are asked to choose a book from a new genre, Well, clearly, I have already done that this year and this post is a celebration of my 2025 year of reading genres up and down the board (woot-woot.) So today I claim two genres which I am especially interested in reading more about: "religion" and "politics." Here are some titles I hope to explore/read soon:

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
Worth Fighting For by John Pavlovitz
Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
The Exvangelicals by Sarah McCammon
(Links for Goodreads for book descriptions)

-Anne