FEBRUARY 2022

 Hello Book Lovers,

We met on Thursday, Feb. 24th at Beth Hedengren's home and talked about many things, including books.  Here is the list from our discussion:

BETH HEDENGREN

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga 5 stars

A lovely little verse/prose book, Newberry winner, in the voice of a Syrian refugee who has come to the US. 12-year-old Jude leaves Syria with her pregnant mother when rebellion and violence threaten her home and family. Her father stays behind, and her brother is a rebel himself. Mother and daughter go to live with the mother’s brother, a doctor in America. They live comfortably in his nice home, welcomed by his blonde American wife. And yet, of course, life is hard in a new, strange country. The cousin is often cruel. School is bewildering. Jude sees harsh treatment of other Muslims. But Jude finds friends and joy in her new home, while keeping her ties to her religion and her homeland. Home can be more than one place,

 

The Year of Lear by James Shapiro 5 stars (but that's me)

 Shapiro responds to the problem of little direct information about Shakespeare with a thorough review of what we do know about the world in which Shakespeare lived.  Choosing the year 1606, Shapiro provides in depth coverage of the events of the time with intriguing suggestions of how those events may have shaped the plays written that year: King Lear, MacBeth, and Antony and Cleopatra. For example, the Gun Powder Plot to kill the king and parliament took place in November 1605 and was still a huge matter of national concern throughout 1606. Is it a coincidence that Shakespeare wrote two plays in 1606 exploring what happens when a king is deposed or killed? The connections to Shakespeare were fascinating, and I also enjoyed learning more about daily life in England in this time, such as the impact of the plague which appeared each summer.

 

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams 5 stars

Aleisha, a 17-year-old working in the Wemberly Library (just outside London) discovers a handwritten list of books, with a note at the top “just in case you need this.”  Moments later, an elderly Indian man, Mukesh, walks into the library asking for book suggestions. Since Aleisha is not a reader herself, she suggests the first book on the list, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” He checks it out to read, and Aleisha decides to read it too, so she can talk to Mukesh about it. Turns out both Aleisha and Mukesh do need the list. Aleisha’s mother suffers from mental illness and Mukesh’s wife has recently died. As they work their way through the list, the books bring them insight, healing, and eventually strength. This warm, charming book helped me reflect on how reading has influenced my life. On the “Reading List”: To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, The Kite Runner, Life of Pi, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Beloved, and A Suitable Boy. 

 

To the Land of Long Lost Friends, by Alexander McCall Smith 3 stars

Another lovely book about Precious Ramotswe and the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. 

 

The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes 4 stars

The first in a series of murder mysteries set in post WWI England, this book centers on a young lower-class woman, Louisa, trying to improve her situation. She manages to get a job as a nursery maid in the aristocratic Mitford home, but not before she is drawn into a mystery. A older woman, a valiant nurse in the war, has been brutally murdered on the same train Louisa was traveling in. Together with a young aspiring policeman and the oldest of the Mitford children, Louisa investigates and (of course) solves the mystery. Written by the daughter of the man who wrote Downton Abbey, this book also explores the interactions between upper and lower classes in this period. A very fun read.

 

BETH'S JANUARY BOOK LIST

 Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones 3 stars

Jones also wrote Howl’s Moving Castle, which is so good. The other night Mark and I watched the anime movie of it. So I thought I would read another book by Jones. This one was available to borrow on Libby. It was good. Sirius, a “luminary” attached to the star Sirius is tried for some great crime (unclear what) and sentenced to be sent to earth to live in a dog’s body. Here the story shifts from science fiction/fantasy to a dog story, as we see the world through the eyes of a growing puppy who can barely remember what he was before. Kathleen rescues him and loves him, a girl who is not loved by her adoptive family. Gradually he remembers his past life (though still retaining his doggy-ness) and undertakes a quest to find the Zoi, which will return him to his former sphere. There was a foreward by Neil Gaiman, who greatly admires Jones.

 

The Man Who Died Twice: Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 5 stars

Another fun mystery with septuagenarian sleuths in an old folks’ home. Highly recommended as a fun, intelligent mystery. People may get old, but they are still smart and capable. 

 

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson 4 stars

Third book in the Skyward series. In this book, the teen ace pilot, Spensa, ventures into the Nowhere in search of information about the Delvers, the monstrous enemy who fight her people. The Nowhere turns out to be a kind of Neverland, where no one ages or even needs to eat. Appropriately, Spensa joins “pirates” who fight but never kill. She meets a heroic adventurer, Chet, who, along with her sentient computer, M-Bot, helps her in her quest to learn. The great question she eventually faces is whether to stay in the Nowhere, where safe adventures abound, or return home to help her people fight the enemy. 

 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns book 1 by Rae Carson 3 stars

Crown of Embers book 2 by Rae Carson

The Bitter Kingdom, book 3, by Rae Carson

Princess Elisa is married to King Alejandro, a loveless marriage to bind their kingdoms. Elisa also is “Chosen” given a powerful jewel in her navel as an infant. Over the course of the trilogy Elisa gradually discovers the full extent of her powers. My favorite book was the first one, in which Elisa grows from an overweight, fearful girl who turns to food to soothe her worries—to a powerful rebel leader.  

 

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga 5 stars

A lovely little verse/prose book, Newberry winner, in the voice of a Syrian refugee who has come to the US. 12-year-old Jude leaves Syria with her pregnant mother when rebellion and violence threaten her home and family. Her father stays behind, and her brother is a rebel himself. Mother and daughter go to live with the mother’s brother, a doctor in America. They live comfortably in his nice home, welcomed by his blonde American wife. And yet, of course, life is hard in a new, strange country. The cousin is often cruel. School is bewildering. Jude sees harsh treatment of other Muslims. But Jude finds friends and joy in her new home, while keeping her ties to her religion and her homeland. Home can be more than one place,

 

MARYANN STEVENS

Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly 4️ Based on the true story of the prominent abolitionist & philanthropic NY Wolsey family, a widow & seven daughters, & their many good works before & during the US Civil War. Georgeanna & her very proper mother serve at Gettysburg as nurses for three weeks during & after the carnage of the famous battle. Along the way they befriend Jemma, a young runaway who is escaping a terrible situation in Maryland. The Emancipation Proclamation freed only the slaves in the rebellious states not in the border states where cruel & spoiled Anne-May, Jenna’s mistress’s, tobacco plantation is located. The story follows these three women, their families, their loves, their trials. Great read

Island beneath the Sea By Isabel Allende 4️ Historical fiction through the eyes of Tete, a mulatta, a slave, an unwilling concubine. We see her struggle to keep her children safe & win freedom. More than anything else, she is a mother; not only to her children sired by her master, but his legitimate children, & later her free children with a mate of her choosing. Haiti slave rebellion. Move to New Orleans. Excellent storytelling.

Three Sisters Three Queens by Philippa Gregory 3️ 21 hours Margaret Tudor, Catherine of Aragon & Mary Tudor. Written in first person voice of Queen Margaret of Scotland, & sister of Henry VIII. I was surprised that here was a Tudor I hadn’t read about. The royals were insufferably haughty, fickle, & selfish. Interesting but not uplifting story.

The Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly 4.5 ️ Based on the true story of Caroline Ferriday, a Connecticut blue blood whose tireless charitable work saved both WWII orphans & female survivors of prison camps. The story follows two other women.  The first, is one of the Polish women imprisoned at Ravensbruck who were operated on to test the efficacy of sulphonamides on battle wounds. Second, the only female MD who was charged & tried Nuremberg for her medical experiments in Ravesbruck.  It is a credit to the author that we come away celebrating humanity at its most exceptional rather than have our spirits broken.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 4.5 ️ The ‘club’ is a group of friends at an upscale retirement home in the beautiful English countryside north of London. Every week these friends meet to discuss & hopefully solve real unsolved murders. Then a real murder takes place, followed by another. The Club, using contacts from their former careers, gain access to evidence & clues & use their to aid the police. Osman is able to blend the murder investigation with comic moments. The great read.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick 4.5 ️ One year after his wife’s death, Arthur finds a beautiful expensive gold charm bracelet in his wife’s boot. As he endeavors to uncover her past, his emotions run high and low but eventually he feels peace & overwhelming happiness with their life together. Delightful story.

 

MARLENE MATHESON

Who Was? Sports Biographies: Muhammad Ali, Roberto Clemente, Wayne Gretzky, and Derek Jeter. It was very interesting to learn the stories of how their skills developed into great achievements.

I've always disliked Muhammad Ali's brashness, and still do, but now I have more understanding of how he became that way.

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate - Two books in one, alternating between 1975 and 1987, eventually tying the two together. The story of slaves, bought, sold, abused, lost from their families who continued to hope and search for their lost loved ones. The Book of Lost Friends was created by this search and was instrumental in some being able to find each other. 

Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown - A detailed account of what happened to the world and to specific Japanese-American families after the bombing of Pearl Harbor: the interment camps, the discrimination, terrible injustices, the brave Japanese-American boys who fought for the country they loved, and then the difficulties in trying to rebuild their lives after the War ended. 

Anyone who thinks that black people are the only ones who've endured injustices, should definitely read this book! 

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - A powerful memoir by a medical student, specializing in neurosurgery who becomes the patient (with lung cancer) at age 36. He tells his journey all the way through the illness, and finished by his wife. They were both physicians, having met in medical school, had a baby girl who brought much joy in the late stages of his illness. Powerful insights. 

JO ANN ABEGGLEN

1.  The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Fun book to read. Story told by the brother and sister over 50 years. Pieces of their life story filled in randomly.   3.5

2. The Other Martyr by Susan Easton Black. Story of Hyrum Smith’s life. I like her books, she finds different details about church history. 4.0

3.  The Water is Wide  and Nearer to Thee by Marianne Monson. This is 2 Vol work about the life of Jemima Hough and her travels with her mother in the 1840s to SLC.
It is well written and enjoyable reading. 3.5

4. Killing Crazy Horse by Bill O’Relley and Martin Dugard. It is the tale of the Indian Wars from 1800 through 1905. Well written, pretty graphic as to how soldiers and Indians are killed. Honest portrayal of how the Native people were moved off their lands and on to reservations. 3.5

5. The Washington Hypothesis by Timothy Ballard. This book explores evidence that the founding Fathers knew the Lord had a greater purpose for America.  The Lord helped in such interesting ways to wear down the British.  4.0

GERI CHRISTENSEN

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave.  This is a very interesting and almost compelling story that centers around the disappearance of a woman's husband and his teen-age daughter she is left with to try to help find what happened to him.  It is well-written and difficult to put down. I give this book 4 stars.