Torontoc tries again to read more books from her shelves

Last year I didn't reach my goal of reading 30 books that I had owned for six months or longer. ( I read 22) I will try again. Last year was not a good year for the number of books read but I did enjoy those that I read.
So this year my goal is still- 30 books to read from my shelves!

Happy ROOTing this year, and good luck with your goal!

Happy ROOTing, go get those ROOTS!

Welcome back and have a great reading year!

Happy to see you back and may the reading enjoyment remain high!

Good luck for your 2024 reading!

Welcome back and good luck with your goal!

O.K. first reread and a book that I own!
1. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell I reread this book for my upcoming book club meeting. And it is still superbly written. Based on real historical characters, Lucrezia di Cosimo De' Medici Este did marry Alfonzo 11 of Ferrara and was dead after one year of marriage. This story depicts the way a very young unworldly teenager would respond to situations that she had no control over. In this novel, Lucrezia is a very talented artist and does take chances within the confines of her sheltered upbringing in the nursery of her ruling class parents in Florence. Sent to marry Alfonzo, her responses to her new surroundings and dangerous husband show innocence at first and later measured responses that protect her. O'Farrell comments in her end notes that Lucrezia's older sister and cousin met with mysterious deaths and could have been murdered by their husbands.

2. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff I haven't read this book in a while but it just popped up at me while I was looking through my bookshelves. The author is a writer in New York City who has moderate success in writing for TV in the 1950's and 60's. The book is composed with her letters to Marks & Co., a rare and secondhand bookstore in London. Hanff has very eclectic tastes and she relies on the staff at Marks & Co. to find volumes for her. Her correspondent is Frank Doel who does his best to find and send what Helene wants to read. The letters are dated from 1949 to 1969.Helene sends food parcels to the staff as Britain still has rationing of food. She becomes friends with the staff promises to visit but never does. eventually Helene does write this book that consists of the letters that cover 20 years. After it is published she does make a trip to England but that journey is covered in her next book.

3.The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff Really this book is a sequel to her book on her correspondence with Marks & Co. Her book is so popular that Helene is invited by her publishers to visit London and give interviews. Of course, the friends that she has made invite her to visit them-including Frank Doel's wife Nora and her daughters. ( Frank had died tragically) Friends of friends invite Helene to dinners, plays and more. The kindness shown by so many people show how Helene has touched them by her book and her own personality. Helene's delight at visiting London and seeing places that are important to her remind me of my first trip to London. The sense of history and literature seem to be infused in her writing. A very nice read for me.

>9 torontoc: I remember really enjoying 84 Charing Cross and I'm pretty sure I promptly bought the Duchess of Bloomsbury Street which must be in a dusty corner of my library :)

>9 torontoc: Two very enjoyable reads, though it's been a long time for me. I still remember the part in The Duchess when she's invited to attend a get together by a business contact, who snaps "I'm not throwing a dinner party for you!"

>9 torontoc: I really enjoyed these two books when I read them, ages ago. I enjoyed being able to picture the road (if not the shop) as I used to walk up Charing Cross Rd regularly when I worked in central London.

4. One Hundred Saturdays Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World by Michael Frank This is a reread for my upcoming book club. The author was introduced to Stella Levi in New York City. Over a number of years , he learned of her life in the Jewish Community on Rhodes. During World War 11 , all the Jewish inhabitants were transported to Auschwitz. Stella was one who survived. The book is so interesting as Stella described the life that she led with her family in the Jewish quarter or Juderia. Customs, languages and life are all described as well the as interconnections among all the friends and relatives on Rhodes. An important read.

>13 torontoc: I bought this book for my wife as a Hanukkah present this year and she loved it. She's lent it out to our sister-in-law but hopefully we'll get it back sometime soon, and I'll read it then.

>14 rocketjk: it was so interesting!
5. The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz I reread this mystery for my RL book club. And again it was a really good read. I couldn't figure out the murderer until it was revealed at the end of the story but it did make sense. The author puts himself into the novel as the writer who is asked by the private detective, Daniel Hawthorne, to write about him. I enjoyed this mystery for the second time!

6. All The Shining People by Kathy Friedman This book of short stories focuses on the children and the parents who moved from South Africa to Canada. I thought that the final stories were the best. Many of the stories just ended with no resolution. I was not happy about this format. The final two stories did use life in South Africa as a focus.

7. The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levi and translated by Anthony Berris I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about four generations of women who lived in Jerusalem in the 20th century. The Ermosa family had been in Jerusalem since the expulsion of Jews from Spain. They spoke Ladino and kept the traditions of a Sephardi household. There is much drama as the men must marry Sephardi women. Many of the men had been attracted to women of Ashkenazi background( Eastern European) but married brides that were selected by their mothers. There is much conflict with loveless marriages, and bad choices but still a desire to support their extended families. The stories within stories give the reader a background on the history of the women in the Ermosa family. A very good read

8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin I know nothing about gaming but this novel is wonderful. Sadie Green meets Sam Masur when she is visiting her sister in the hospital. Sam is dealing with injuries from a car accident. Due to a misunderstanding they don't meet again until they are both in college in Boston. They both create games and they become very successful business partners moving from Cambridge to California as their work changes the structure of game playing. Helped by their close associate, Marx, Sadie and Sam have successes, tragedy and failures in work and relationships. The story traces their lives for over thirty years. The writing is so good and I was engaged in this work.Highly recommended.

>18 torontoc: I loved this one too!

>18 torontoc: That sounds like an interesting read. I have to try and find it with some help from my brother.

>19 rabbitprincess:, >20 connie53:, I am going to look for Zevin's other books!

9. Field Notes from An Unintentional Birder by Julia Zarankin This is a reread for my in person book club and.. I still love this memoir. The reader learns not only about the progress of the author's fascination and education in bird watching but also about her life. She relates what she has learned about herself. This story is also about how Zarankin becomes a dedicated bird watcher and what she does in order to view the many species of birds that she learns both from others and her own study. Highly recommended.

>21 torontoc: added to my reading list - oops! I did it again!

>21 torontoc: I finished reading Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder and I'm so glad I followed your advice. Although Zarankin and I have had very different experiences, we're both the same age, immigrants to Canada at a fairly young age and occasional birders... I related to much of this fun, light book and came out of it with Woodcock trivia: an all around win :)

>23 Cecilturtle: -glad that you liked the book! I have attended lectures that Julia Zarankin has given- she is an excellent teacher!

10. Victory City by Salman Rushdie Rushdie is an amazing storyteller. He has created a fictional empire somewhere in what is now India or maybe Pakistan in the fourteenth century. The reader learns about the life of a woman, Pampa Kampana, who was given powers by a goddess just after the death of her mother. Pampa will create the city Bisnaga and the people who will live there. She will give them their history out of nothing except her whispering in their ears. Pampa will make two brothers kings of this empire. Her own history will be both good and bad as she becomes a queen, an exile, and an outcast. She will write the story of the rise and downfall of the city that she created. The narrative is so compelling and Rushdie's voice is so readable. I really enjoyed this story of magic and myth.

11. The Adversary by Michael Crummey I think that this author is a master of prose. This novel is about the bitter rivalry between a brother and sister in the early 1800's in a small outpost in Newfoundland. Both own substantial mercantile firms that manage trade, ships and ports. Abe Strapp is a bully and brutal man who inherited his father's business and manager. The Widow Caines is smarter than her brother but had to marry into money and a thriving business that she now runs. Both Abe Strupp and the widow Caines manipulate the people of to get ahead in the outport of Mockbeggar. The details of a very hard life for those who live in isolation and the way illness and weather change lives are key in this story. There is a lot of grief in this novel but the prose is terrific.

12. The Postcard by Anne Berest and translated by Tina Kover. This novel begins with the story of a postcard to Leila, the mother of the narrator, Anne, 60 years after the end of World War Two. There are only four names listed in the message area- Ephraim, Emma, Noemie, and Jacques. All died during the Holocaust and were the grandparents and aunt and uncle of Leila. Anne and her mother resolve to find out who sent the postcard. The story then turns to the lives of Ephraim and Emma as they move from Moscow to Riga to Palestine and finally to Paris. Their children, Myriam, Noemie and Jacques thrive in France. Leila provides all the information that she has discovered to Anne as they trace the lives of the four as France falls to Germany. Myriam is the only one who survives as she had married , Vincente, the son of the artist Picabia. Leila and Anne travel to the village where Ephraim and Emma lived during the war and discover more information about those who helped and those who betrayed Jews. After telling the story of her relatives, the narrator Anne focuses on her own life and thoughts about her relationship to her Jewish heritage. Although this book is presented as a novel many of the details do seem to be part of Anne Berest's own life. In fact the front cover features a portrait of Noemie Rabinovitch from 1941- Anne Berest's great aunt. A very good and thoughtful read.

>27 torontoc: Thanks for this review. I've been meaning to read Postcard since it was first published.

>27 torontoc: Hello

The touchstone doesnt match your lovely review.

oops-hard to fix but will try

you got it

13 Julia by Sandra Newman This novel tells the story of Julia, the lover of Winston Smith of author George Orwell's book 1984. The reader learns about Julia's background as the empire of "Big Brother" is formed. Julia works as a lower level mechanic in one of the big ministries. She dodges the rules and does have an active sex life. She sees when innocent girls in her hostel disappear when they are no longer needed. Julia is caught by one of the higher up officials and forced to entice several men to not only have sex with her but confess to crimes against Big Brother. Her own capture and torture are described with brutal precision.The lies of the Big Brother government are revealed but is the alternate government any better? The author leaves the reader with some uneasy decisions.

>32 torontoc: This book sounds fascinating. I picked up 1984 recently and started reading it. Would this be a book that should be read once I'm finished 1984, or could I read it at the same time?

Good luck on your goal this year!

>33 formativeage: I would read Julia after reading 1984

>32 torontoc: neat premise! I read 1984 a long time ago but this seems like a very interesting read.

>35 Cecilturtle: it is very well thought out!

14. Alchemy by S.J. Parris I ordered the latest novel about Giordano Bruno-renegade priest, spy for Walsingham and scholar- from England. In this adventure, Bruno travels to Prague at the request of Walsingham in order to find noted alchemist John Dee.Dee had been working on his discoveries at the court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph 11. However when Bruno reaches Prague, Dee has disappeared and is also accused of murdering a rival alchemist.Bruno contends with the threat of Spanish clergy and those who do not want him find out the truth. He meet famed Rabbi Loew and hears about the Golem who is also implicated in the murder. The plot is very complicated but I loved every twist and turn. By the way there was a very real Giordano Bruno.

15. The Life and Times of Andy Warhol by Typex This graphic novel covers the life of artist Andy Warhol.It is not for children and very adult in the depictions. Every person who was involved with Andy Warhol is described from his family to artists, film makers and musicians. I was surprised at the number of prominent musicians that he worked with at various points in his career. The descriptions and relations with women and men are not flattering. It was an interesting read but very raw in the interactions that Warhol had with many, many people.

Hi Cyrel. Finally getting to your thread in a attempt to get up to date with all my fellow ROOTers. Do you think you will reach your goal this year? Just curious if you think so.

>38 connie53: You know I don't think so- I have been reading at a much slower rate this year!
16. The Portland, Maine Chef's Table by Margaret Hathaway I decide to read through some of the cookbooks that I have been given over the years. This book lists many of the restaurants in Portland that have interesting menus. There is a description of the chef and their preferences and a recipe or two. Many of the recipes use important products that come from Maine-be it seafood or vegetables. I enjoyed reading this book and will try some of the recipes.

>39 torontoc: That's a pity, but at least you tried.

17. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. I always look out for James McBride's newest books. This novel tells the stories of the Jewish and Black inhabitants of Pottstown, Pennsylvania in about 1925 and later. Moshe owns a theatre where he has both Jewish and later Black musicians play. His wife, Chona, runs the Heaven & Earth Grocery store. Chona makes sure her her Black clients always have food. She is friends with everyone in the Chicken Hill neighbourhood where immigrants and Blacks live. When Chona helps hide Dodo, a young deaf boy who is wanted by the authorities( the plan was to put him in an institutional hospital) terrible chaos happens. Dodo is apprehended and the horrible Doc Roberts is implicated in an act of revenge. There is a great resolution due to the planning of Addie and her husband Nate, gangsters, railwaymen, theatre owners and more members of the Chicken Hill neighbourhood. A great read- highly recommended.

I'll ask this book when the group " Nov" thread comes out.
18 The Secret Life of John Le Carre by Adam Sisman. O.K. I had to reread the book that Sisman wrote after the death of David Cornwell. This slim volume expands the life story of Cornwell. Sisman was asked not to name the women that Cornwell has affairs with while he and his wife were alive. The reader learns about the many affairs that Cornwell had while he was married to his second wife, Jane. Each woman gave Cornwell a personality that he used in his novels. In fact, Sisman believes that Cornwell needed the intrigue and anxiety that came with hiding his illicit relationships in order to write. This slim volume certainly adds to the work that Sisman did with his biography.

19. The Pigeon Tunnel by John LeCarre This memoir consists of many articles written by the author for various publications. Le Carre wrote this book after the appearance of the biography written by Adam Sisman. In a way, this book almost upstages the biography. The stories are colourful and feature many people from Le Carre's past- directors, other writers, spies and more. I found that reading this book added to my knowledge of the writer. ( and I did read all of the George Smiley books.)

20. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett I reread this book for my book club. It is still a wonderful read. I highly recommend it to everyone! And you also have to read Our Town by Thornton Wilder -the play that figures so importantly in this story.
this is probably my last ROOT for the year ( well I may finish one more)