What are you reading the week of June 15, 2024?

After almost 100 pages, I gave up on House of Leaves. It was the dullest book I have ever tried to read in my life, and I'm currently reading a textbook on Evolutionary Genetics!

>1 fredbacon: Had never heard of this novel, so was interested to look at some of the 379 reviews on LT and see what a polarising work it is. I note that it won six awards and is on eighteen “Notable Lists,” in case one is tempted to take those things seriously.

Three-quarters of the way through Cascade Failure. Killer Rays and Proving Ground will follow.

Having wrapped up those books, my "bedside" reading is The Forgotten Battle of the Kursk Salient, in as much as it's too heavy to lug around. The "portable" book is Battle in the Baltic.

As the forced march continues, I've charged through Tidal Creatures. The Light Years and The Wizard and the Prophet are on tap.

I have made it to the 1/3 point of In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower by Marcel Proust. Woo hoo! I am actually enjoying the reading experience, helped by the fact that the newer translation I'm reading is pretty good. It's just not a fast read and I'm not having a lot of reading time, either.

>1 fredbacon: I HATED House of Leaves. It's the only book I've ever read that I would classify as obscene. You're wise not to be reading it.

This week I finished Gone with the Wind. It was marvellous. It was well worth the ten days it took to read it.

I don't have a physical book to read at the moment. I have about 250 unread books, but not one of them appeals to me. I've taken The Miniaturist off the shelf, hoping that it will pull me in.

I'm listening to true crime as an audiobook - To Kill and Kill Again is a book I've never heard of it, but it's a fascinating book to listen to.

Mrs Jeffries On the Ball – Emily Brightwell
3***

Book number five in the Victorian Mystery series starring Inspector Gerald Witherspoon and his very capable housekeeper, Mrs Jeffries.

When Inspector Witherspoon agrees to escort Lady Cannonberry to the ball being held at the home of Lucinda Marlowe he doesn’t expect that one of the guests will be murdered right in front of him. Of course, this means that he is the chief investigator, and that his household staff (along with Constable Barnes) will be assisting him, ever so tactfully of course. Victorian London is certainly a hotbed of crime but Mrs Jeffries and her staff are more than up to the task of ferreting out the information to make the Inspector look good when he solves the murder.

This time Mrs Jeffries and the rest of the staff have to also manage their “behind the scenes” investigation while evading Inspector Witherspoon’s cousin, Mrs Livingston-Graves, who is visiting (along with her demon cat). Their efforts to get her out of the way are almost more entertaining than the investigation itself.

A Dark-Adapted Eye
Barbara Vine
4/5 stars
A death upends the lives of a family when Vera Hillyard was hanged for murdering a child in this unusual story of a family tragedy! 1986

>1 fredbacon: As a person who did read (and liked!) House of Leaves...I totally understand. I kept reading it because I loved the format, hunting down each footnote and deciphering censored/formatted messages, but it's not exactly the most attention-grabbing plot and there is some definite authorial bullshitting happening at the end.

I hope that if you pick it up and give it another try one day in the future, because the way Danielewski plays with format and form is so interesting (to me, at least), but it is almost the dictionary definition of YMMV.

I finished up The City We Became this weekend, and would definitely recommend! :)

SUNDAY – 11 Feb 24

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – Jenny Han
Digital audiobook performed by Laura Knight Keating
3***

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. To be clear, these are the letters she wrote to the five boys she’s loved, so far. She doesn’t mail them. She just writes, pouring out her heart and soul, saying all the things she’d never say in real life. These are letters for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed.

This is a lovely coming-of-age novel featuring a trio of sisters, of which Lara Jean is the middle sister. Among the issues dealt with are sibling rivalry, teen crushes, sex, social media (and bullying), and conflicting feelings – whether for your sister or your boyfriend.

It’s a charming novel and I really liked Lara Jean. She mostly has her act together, but she is only sixteen, and her big sis leaving for the other side of the world is forcing her to face some issues alone. Still, she’s a good kid; she’s smart, talented, loyal, principled, and determined to step up and take over Margot’s role in the family. And she has an open heart that is ready to learn about love and what it really means.

Laura Knight Keating does a wonderful job of performing the audiobook. She really brought Lara Jean and the other teens to life.

The Passionate Tudor: A Novel of Queen Mary I by Alison Weir (US edition)
New and finale in "Tudor Rose" trilogy

Note: the UK title of the novel is Mary I: Queen of Sorrows.

I had a conversation with a co-worker yesterday about House of Leaves. After I described the book, she commented that it sounded like the sort of book that I would love. And she's right. It "sounds" like it. Perhaps I'm just not in the right mood to read it. When I was younger, I probably would have loved it. As I'm getting older, I am not willing to spend my time reading a book that I'm not enjoying. If I'm going to give an author my time, I expect something in return from their book. The calculus of that deal is changing as the years go by. I didn't want to spend my evenings in the company of an unpleasant character. Especially when that character's story seemed to offer no interesting perspective.

>12 fredbacon: I was very heartened to discover that there’s a website called “I hate Love You Forever.” I thought I was the only person who was creeped out by this popular children’s picture book. At least House of Leaves seems to be a very polarising work, with many people on the “1/2 star, DNF” etc side. I certainly agree that no matter how highly regarded a work may be, if you have given it a reasonable trial and it’s giving you nothing, it’s time to turn it over to the Little Free Library or wherever. Life’s too short.

This Is How You Lose the Time War
Amal El-Mohtar
2.5/5 stars
I was not impressed with this science fiction book in which a dying world which has two rivals trying to win a war. Science Fiction

The new thread is up over here.

I forgot to post this week! I finished Maui Writers Ink/Supernatural Tales which was underwhelming, and Under the Duvet: Shoes, Reviews, Having the Blues, Builders, Babies, Families and Other Calamities by Marian Keyes which was enjoyable.