Book Notes

Now that I’ve finally read March, no one is talking about it anymore. They’re conversing about her new one. I’ll have to add that one to my ever growing list of books to read. March was decent though. It takes the father from Little Women, and gives an account of his life at war, and his life before he met and married Marmee, and the back history of how they came to lose their fortune.

It worked really well as a novel. Brooks was at her best chronicling slavery and March’s bystander observation of it. It got a little long for me at the end. I was tired of him, and reading about him. Just in time Brooks brought in Marmee as our new narrator. That helped considerably. Glad to have finally read what everyone was once talking about.

Fabulous. Where do I even begin? It’s been awhile since I have read an adult book that I really loved. The writing is lovely and evenly paced. The story is just sweet and complex enough to give it substance, but not to

make it too saccharine.

The story is set in Boston and takes place over a 24 hour period. The lives of two mixed families are irrevocably changed during the course of events around a snowstorm. Ann Patchett doesn’t tell a story so much as she lets us briefly into the lives of these characters. Characters that she knows so well, and that we get to know a little too. A beautiful book, one of her best.

This is probably the third time I’ve read this, and I still love it. The story takes place in 1906 in northern New York State around the real-life murder of Grace Brown.

Our narrator is Mattie Gokey, a lover of books and writing. She is also facing a difficult decision: attend Barnard college on a full scholarship, or fulfill a promise to her deceased mother and stay at home to care for her siblings.

She is a wonderful narrator and character. I’m always sad when the book ends. Highly recommended.

What a great book for dog lovers! Jon Katz has a humorous, honest, and gentle storytelling style. This book chronicles one year in which four dogs impact his life. Julius and Stanley are his laid-back, sweet yellow labs. Devon and then Homer are two Border Collies.

The entrance of Devon is what makes this book. He had a traumatized past, and it shows. From mini-van surfing and car chasing, to an impressive ability to open the refrigerator with his nose, Devon keeps that house on its toes. Jon has a great capacity to work with, love, and report to us the antics and adventures of his dogs. We laughed and cried over this book. A must for animal and dog lovers.

I will say nothing. I’ll write what I think in the comments section. You too!

Well, here it is! The title for our first ever Live Together, Read Together program.

It all begins one rainy night with a stranger standing outside Meggie’s house. A stranger that her father knows, but has never mentioned. A stranger who does not call her father Mo, but Silvertongue. A stranger named Dustfinger.

From there, Meggie and Mo are packing up and leaving their house, heading south. Along the way Meggie begins to piece together what is so special about this book named Inkheart, why her father has never read out loud to her, and what might have happened to her mother ten years ago.

I am not a real lover of fantasy as a rule, but this book I could not put down. I love the idea, the writing, the adventure. Mo is one of my favorite characters in a long time. It took me awhile, but Dustfinger is too.

Begin the conversation by clicking on the word “comment” below this post. It will allow you to add your own thoughts and respond to what other people have said.

I loved this book before it was released. From the moment that I heard that my favorite writer was tackling an issue that is so dear to my heart, I was ecstatic. The book is everything that I hoped it would be.

Barbara Kingsolver and her family address local, sustainable food production. For one year they ate only what they could grow or purchase from an area farmer that they knew. The writing is eloquent, and the family’s choices rewarding. We have been sharing this title out loud and it has made for some fantastic discussion. The food choices we make have enormous impact on our towns, our economy, and our world. In the unfortunate era of global warming, the shrinking of middle America, and staggering habitat loss, our food choices make an incredible difference.

Don’t be thrown off by the fact that this is non-fiction. There is a story here. And it is engaging, witty, and well thought out. It also includes mouth-watering recipes supplied by her daughter. The recipes, and a lot more information is available on the website animalvegetablemineral.com. There is a link to it from the blog roll. A must read for everyone.

I finished this quick read almost a week ago and still haven’t found a moment to write about it.

I picked it up because I liked the cover, and it was recommended in the same clump of books as one of my favorites, The Whistling Season. The setting appealed to me as well: Nebraska farmland.

Sixteen year old Lila finds herself pregnant and comes to stay with her grandmother, Toby, on her farm for the summer. There are a lot of unspoken family secrets that come to the surface over the course of the summer. Some that heal, some that harm, all of them needing to be said.

It’s an easy read, and was an Alex award winner so it is appropriate for and appeals to teens. Perfect for summer time reading.

I have not even finished this book yet, but I have to write up a review. Now, I have read Ivan Doig before and liked him just fine. But this is amazing. The writing is luxurious. I don’t know how else to describe it. Each word of every sentence is chosen with such care.

Doig is at times poetic, “The Rembrandt light of memory, finicky and magical and faithful at the same time, as the cheaper tint of nostalgia never is.” His observation unparalleled, “The pewter cast of light that comes ahead of winter crept into the schoolground as I performed the last of my winter errands, shadows growing dusky instead of sharp almost as I watched.” Not least of all is his humor and wit, “…if Father nicked himself shaving he thought he was two feet into the grave.” and “Damon’s eyes narrowed; if Aunt Eunice was on her way to the hereafter, it plainly seemed to be by a highly roundabout route.”

The writing is beautiful, the story lovely and credible. I wish the characters lived near me. I love them all, even the ones I was skeptical about at first. The setting is 1909 Montana, and the narrator is 13 year-old Paul Milliron. There is no involved overreaching plot, just the exquisitely drawn characters and their interactions with each other. I am enjoying this so much that I meter out my readings to make it last. I recommend with pleasure.

I am currently re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in anticipation of the 7th and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, coming out this summer. That raises the question, which Harry Potter book do I like the best?

The first was okay. The second I didn’t care for. The third was pretty good. The fourth was okay, the ending was fantastic. You know, right at the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament when he is transported to the cemetary. The 5th was also good. I’m still in shock over Sirius. I have trouble believing that’s real. Then the 6th. Also pretty good. Also still in shock at the end. That raises the next question: Who will die in the final book?

This is a toughy. I am old-fashioned. I want the bad guys to get their comeuppance. I want the good guys to sail off into the sunset. I have my fears that J.K. Rowling will not let this happen. She’s let so many die that I really grew to like. I understand that this is an epic battle, not everyone can make it. But Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, McGonagall, Hagrid and Mr. And Mrs. Weasley have to make it through. Otherwise we will be left feeling that there is no hope.

What do you think? Who will die? Who will live? Which book is your favorite?

I just finished this fine piece of young adult historical fiction. Ms. Larson first became interested in the story after finding out that her Great-Grandmother had homesteaded a claim by herself. She began researching and soon developed a fictional story based on her findings.

It’s an interesting take, set in 1918 with the first World War in full swing and the influenza epidemic headed that way. Hattie Brooks and her cat, Mr. Whiskers, head out to Montana to prove up a claim of 320 acres that she inherited. We learn the hardships right along with her, which makes the story all the more accessible.

 What struck me most was how little we’ve changed as people. During the first World War there was such anti-German sentiment that they changed the name “sauerkraut” to “liberty cabbage.” Freedom fries, anyone?

The writing is solid, the characters real. While it doesn’t pack the punch of A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, readers who liked that book will find much to admire here. Reading this book is not a bad way to spend a few evenings.