What are you reading the week of April 6, 2024?

I just finished Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here. This is a book that has been on my to-be-read list since I was a teenager. Now it seems more relevant than ever. It's a cautionary tale and biting satire of American politics corrupted by populism and faux patriotism. It's less a novel than an alternate history book that was firmly based on the politics of the era in which it was written. I think that I'll leave it at that.

In the home stretch of U.S. Navy Attack Aircraft, still picking at The Kingdom of Gods, looking at starting No One Avoided Danger and The Tainted Cup later in the week.

Started this audio via Libby ~

Finding Margaret Fuller: A Novel
by Allison Pataki

The Burnt House
Faye Kellerman
4/5 stars
Decker and his wife Rina get involved in a mystery of a woman airplane employee who was supposed to be on a flight that crashes. Her body is not identified and Peter Decker gets the assignment to track down Roseanne when her stepfather insists that she was killed by her abusive husband. Great read! Favorite Mystery Authors

Hi all, new LT member here. I've just finished All The Lovers In The Night by Meiko Kawakami for a local book club. A great read in my opinion. Looking to move on to The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin next.

>1 fredbacon:

I've decided that a re-visit with the It Can't Happen Here audio is a must at this juncture. I last listened to it around the time Trump was elected. I spotted the audio in the hoopla catalogue, and Libby libraries have the eBook versions.

I'm on a roll of obscure histories/bios/mysteries. The latest, just finished, is The Curragh Incident the story of what on the service seems a rather obscure event (at least to a U.S. citizen) of a 1914 event within the English Army in Ireland wherein a bungling higher up in the Irish Command forced what to all intents and purposes was a loyalty oath on the Command's officers. The officers considered the ultimatum an insult and reacted with disdain. The whole affair became a scandal for the Liberal government in power at the time in London. In the end, though, I found that the history, written in the 1960s, or 50 years after the events described, provided an interested take on the politics and difficulties surrounding the concept of Irish Home Rule as the clouds of what would become World War I were darkening the skies of Europe. You can find my longer summary and review on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

Next I'll be staying in "obscure" mode, this time with The Mountains Wait, the memoir of a Norwegian living in the north of that country just before and during the Nazi invasion, and then, briefly, during the Nazi occupation of his country and town. The author, Theodor Broch, escaped Norway, and this memoir was published in 1942.

Ramón and Julieta – Alana Quintana Albertson
Digital audiobook narrated by Alexandro Amado and Vanessa Vasquez.
3***

This is a retelling of Shakespeare’s most famous couple, set in San Diego’s thriving Mexican-American community. Ramón Montez is the scion of a family fast-food empire. Julieta Campos is a celebrity chef who is determined to save her sea-to-table taqueria from closing. But her new landlord is none other than the charming mariachi she met at the Dia de los Muertos celebration. And worse, his father is the man who stole her mother’s taco recipe decades ago.

Of course, these star-crossed lovers will find a way to join forces despite the bad blood between their families.

I really liked Julieta; she’s intelligent, determined and fiercely loyal to her family and her community. I was not a fan of Ramón’s at first, but he eventually grew on me. I did think that the way Albertson chose to “fix” the central conflict was unrealistic and rushed, but it was still a fast, fun read. And it sure made me hungry for Mexican food (thank heavens I’m about to head to Texas to visit family).

The audiobook is perfectly performed by Alexandro Amado and Venessa Vasquez. Dual narrators was a great choice for this work.

>5 whatmattreads: Welcome to LibraryThing!

Tiger Honor – Yoon Ha Lee
3***

From the book jacket: Sebin is a young tiger spirit from the Juhwang Clan who wants nothing more than to join the Thousand Worlds Space Forces and, like their uncle Hwan, captain a battle cruiser someday. But when Sebin’s acceptance letter finally arrives, it’s accompanied by the shocking news that Hwan has been declared a traitor. Apparently, the captain abandoned his duty, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Sebin hopes to help clear their hero’s name and restore honor to the clan. Nothing goes according to plan, however.

My Reactions
This is a fast-paced space opera adventure tale. It’s the kind of book my nephew would have loved when he was about 10-12 years old.

Lee has built a fantasy world that includes various shape-shifters, interplanetary travel, military jargon, and various magical elements. Not all the “good guys” are good; not all the “bad guys” are bad. Sebin struggles with conflicting loyalties as he tries to outwit far more experienced adults. He may be a new cadet (and not even sworn in when the battle begins), but he has trained at home for a long time to take his place in the Space Forces. He is a keen observer and frequently thinks several steps ahead. Though relatively inexperienced, he manages to gather a small group of loyal friends to help him. He’s a born leader, and not afraid to bow to another team member’s particular expertise

I haven’t read the first book in the series, so was a little lost in terms of the world-building. I felt I didn’t fully understand the Thousand Worlds setting. Still, it held my attention and I was intrigued enough that I’ll probably read more from this author.

>5 whatmattreads: Welcome to LibraryThing!

I've just finished re-reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I like all of her books, but this one is a particular favourite.

I'm listening to My Antonia by Willa Cather. I'm enjoying it very much.

Tracing Your Irish & British Roots by W. Daniel Quillen.

I finished If It Bleeds by Stephen King on Tuesday and it did not disappoint.
Now I'm reading The Wild Remedy: How Nature Mends Us by Emma Mitchell at work and The Colorado Kid by Stephen King at home.

I finally finished A House for Mr Biswas. I don't know if how long it took me to finish this book was a function of the book or my too busy life, maybe both. Mohun Biswas was a character to be admired for his attempts to be true to himself and not be swallowed up in his aunt's or wife's families, but he so frequently let his anger and desperation destroy his chances to actually achieve any autonomy.

Off Season – Anne Rivers Siddons
Book on CD read by Jane Alexander
3***

Lilly Constable, reeling from the sudden death of her husband, decides to go to her family’s Maine cottage to regroup and reflect on her marriage to the love of her life, Cam McCall.

I thought this would be a book about her marriage, but at least half of it was about Lily’s first love, at the tender age of eleven to the “boy next door,” Jon Lowell. It was tender and sweet, with drama provided by Peaches, a girl who has lost her parents and is being raised (and coddled) by her grandparents. Still, it’s an idyllic summer that Lily remembers; or it was idyllic until tragedy struck.

I’d previously read another book by Siddons, and I liked her writing. But that was a horror / supernatural read and this one was not. Oh, she does include a “presence” (ghost?) in the story, but it’s not the focus of the book. In any case, I kept turning pages, but it was hardly memorable.

Jane Alexander does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to handle. But she sets a good pace, and I found her performance easy to listen to. Still, I read at least a third of the book in text format.

The new thread is up over here.