What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? Please share! We’d love to know.
I finished up The Calamity Club for an upcoming book club discussion. I was glad I read it, but I have mixed feelings about it.
I also read:
Arrivals and Departures, a memoir by E.F. Stoddart for our self-published author program. It was very well written, but still missed the mark. When I read a memoir I think the author needs to help me understand why their life is worth reading about - what makes them interesting or exceptional - and this one really didn’t do that.
I also read our two discussion books, both of which I enjoyed: Chelsea Girls and Days of Sun and Shadow. Looking forward to talking to y’all about those starting tomorrow.
I’ll start The Top of the World by Ethan Joella tomorrow for review, followed by Inspiration from 9,000 Miles Away (another self-published book) and Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Ray Whitaker in prep for speaking with her in early July.
In audiobook format, I finished up Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear (excellent!) as well as The House of Hidden Letters by Izzy Broom, another novel I got to read in prep for the author’s visit with us. It was fun - a bit like a trip to a Greek Island in parts, a little historical fiction, a little romance… Next up (and for the foreseeable future) I’ll be listening to War and Peace for our side read.
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FINISHED:
Land by Maggie O’Farrell—The year is 1865 and Tomas is called away from his family to map part of Ireland for the British colonizers. Filled with descriptions of family, life on the island where they live, hardships, and separations, this book tells a family story that is at one moment thriving and at another time devastating.
It is slow in pace, beautiful at the sentence level, and as crushing and bleak at times as would be expected from an Irish novel. I found the journey with this Irish family to be moving and emotional in the most perfect ways.
How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle—a revisionist and humorous Civil War novel. I’ve never really appreciated satire until reading Trees by Percival Everett. Now I can add this Civil War tale that includes a white boy passing as an octoroon, speculative dramaturgy, and wit that illustrates some of the most destructive aspects of America. I wish I had read this one rather than listen to better appreciate the author’s skill at laying out the story in both honest and humorous ways. 
NOW READING:
ESCAPE FROM KABUL: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind by Karen Bartlett, read by Jayne Entwistle—told from the perspectives of female judges after the return of the taliban in 2021.
MOTHER EMANUEL: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church by Kevin Sack—June 17 was the eleventh anniversary of one of the most racist mass murders in American history. Now seems like a good time to learn more from this Pulitzer Prize finalist.
ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad—truth and justice vs power. A journalist looks for a better version of the West based on his experiences around the world.
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I finished “Taiwan Travelogue” last week and really enjoyed it. The book has an absolute ton about food and how cultures can oppress others by stealing their traditions. It deserved the International Booker Prize.
Now, I am reading “Endling” by Maria Reva and just hit a faux-finis or false ending, leaving me to wonder what possibly could happen next. It has a lot of wit and sarcasm and it is like nothing I have ever read. I recommend it highly if you are looking for something different.
Next, in the stack, Ars Poeticas, the Pulitzer Poetry winner, White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History, or Flesh.
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One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This stuck with me. It inspired me to be a better, more globally-minded person and less egocentric. Thank you to Book Browse for recommending it.
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Wow, that says a lot @Anthony_Conty. The person who loaned it to me said very similar things. I wish I had his way of phrasing things so succinctly. He really puts the obvious into a frame that emphasizes the issues.
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Kim, what were your “mixed feelings” about Calamity Club? Just curious.
Since my library added gobs more e-copies of Ann Patchett’s latest, I’m reading Whistler. I read reviews and summaries before starting the book as the cover made me think this might be a historical western. 
Just a few pages into the story and am liking the renewed relationship between the main character and her “former” step-father.
Merry-Go-Round Broke Down is an interesting, globe trekking story. I’m looking forward to next week’s discussion.
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Argh, you guys are adding a ton of books to my list – but it’s a nice problem to have! 
I finished On Oil by Don Gillmor. Highly recommend as I found it informative and timely.
I’m reading: The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany by Pamela D. Toler
I first learned about it on BookBrowse (thank you) and had bookmarked its page here to remind me look for it (I do this for books that either aren’t published or listed at the library yet). I forgot about that bookmark until the other day and found my library had a copy, hooray!
Two of my highlights:
Sigrid Schultz was the Chicago Tribune’s Berlin bureau chief and primary foreign correspondent for Central Europe from 1925 to January 1941. She was one of the first reporters—male or female—to warn American readers of the growing dangers of Nazism.
Also:
She took pride in the difference between true foreign correspondents and the lesser beings she dismissed as “junketeers,” reporters who “never, never ask embarrassing questions at press conferences and tactfully fail to report stories that might annoy the powers-that-be.”
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I came across Eileen Garvin’s “Bumblebee Season”, sequel to her “Music of Bees” (which I loved!). This one didn’t reach that level but it was good to “catch up” with the characters. I just started “Spy Coast” by Tess Gerritsen and am tearing through it. A member of my book group recommended it and I’m sure the other titles in the series will go on my TBR list. It’s a cross between “Killers of a Certain Age” & “Thursday Murder Club”, both favorites of mine.
kim.kovacs–I’m glad to learn that someone else was a bit conflicted about “Calamity Club”. I felt like the author tried to include too much, like she felt like she needed to include 10 years of writing into one story. But it was still better than some of my other reads this year but wasn’t outstanding.
It is going into my all time top 10! Cannot stop thinking about it.
I just finished ‘Kingfisher’ - so well written and oh so so sad. I am still on a high from ‘Whistler’ finished a few weeks ago (and I’ve read a few books since then). Now I want a similar vibe for my next book but I’m stumped. Beautiful story that makes me feel good (but not sappy). Anyone have any ideas?
You’ve made me add How to Dodge a Cannonball to my TBR!
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I’m using this week to get up to date on our War and Peace community read. I’m not too far behind, but hope to get a little ahead. I finished The Ascent of Rum Doodle and loved the satire and sly British humor. Despite that, I felt that the author was also delving into human behavior and how to we should treat our fellow humans. I’m almost finished listening to Force of Nature by Jane Harper and continue to enjoy it. I’m currently reading Days of Sun and Shadow for the BookBrowse Book Club Discussion and also Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover for my local book club meeting next week. Reminders is definitely not my type of book, but I’ll finish it since it’s for book club.
I hope it works for you. Satire used in this way is unsettling but definitely makes a point.
Great recs, Lisa! Both On Oil and The Dragon from Chicago would have gone past my notice if you hadn’t mentioned them. I like your approach of bookmarking BookBrowse articles as reminders - very helpful!
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Life and Death and Giants was excellent. I also enjoyed What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman which I bought several months ago when she was a QandA author on BookBrowse. I am reading Song of the Blue Bottle Tree by India Hayford. I know her second book is being discussed now, but I’m trying this one first.
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Currently reading “Into the Blue” by Emma Brody and I am finding it a “slow” read. Better said, it hasn’t hooked me yet! I’ve read some good reviews, have any others read it??? If so, your thoughts would be appreciated.
Starting” Daughters of the Sun and Moon” by Lisa See for my book club. Its about the LA 1871 Massacre. Historically speaking, it sounds interesting. I hope it’s not as slowed paced as her last book???
And after having seen Maggie Haberman on “Morning Joe” this a.m I have taken on her latest book, “Regime Change” on my Kindle. What a ride!
I’m currently reading Theo of Golden…..I’m really liking it, kind of similar to A Man Called Ove
I loved Spy Coast and could not put it down