Hello All,
Here are some additional books from Bookshare for you to look at and find some great books to read.
Geri
BETH HEDENGREN
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawandi
(From Amazon’s summary) We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third.
KARLA COX
The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen
I’m not sure how I chose this book; I’m even less sure how I stuck with it, since it was essentially a molecular and evolutionary biology, genetics and genomics textbook! But listening to it highlighted the flair and creativity - and the humor. I learned a lot about the overlap and engagement between several scientific pursuits, the way views of evolution have changed*, and how intricate scientific research can be. Quammen reintroduced many microbiology and evolutionary high achievers over the centuries and decades (think Darwin, Van Leeuwenhoek, Linnaeus), and introduced some important new players, among them Carl Woese, the star of this book; Ford Doolittle (not to be mistaken for the fictional doc who talked to animals), and Lynn Sagan Margulis, once married to Carl Sagan — thus pairing a molecular scientist with an astronomer: he studied the immensity of space, she the minutiae of microscopic life. The book was worth it for that peculiarity, but there are so many more! I guess I was ready for a microbiology and evolution micro-class!
One additional note: this book featured Woese, but was also filled with information about those peculiar, often entertaining and exclusive brilliants who dance on the razor-thin line between genius and insanity — and often cross between the two. Incredible research by a brilliant man. I wonder how close Quammen is to that line? 
If I were using MaryAnn’s ranking system, I would give this a 4.9. Seriously educational yet entertaining.
*I listened to the Church History Matters podcast series on Religion and Science; that may have prompted my interest in this book.
Skylark by Paula McLain
This incredible story takes place in France in two vastly separated centuries. The characters’ stories speak from the 1640s and 1940s, intertwining to tell the story of Paris’ underground tunnels, a river so filthy it had to be sent underground, and people who affected each other’s lives over generations. They tell a unified story of courage and resistance that reaches through time.
Alouette, a dye maker’s daughter in 1640 treasures her private discovery of a phenomenal blue; but she lives when women have no voice, so she is arrested to silence her and sent to a notorious prison for insane women.
A Jewish family intermingles with a Dutch doctor in the 1940s; Kristof’s determination to fight the evil that is Hitler brings him to the storied souterrain, the subterranean tunnels over which Paris is built, and from which Paris’ rock is sourced. Sasha, the Jewish daughter, is the embodiment of intelligence and hope.
The “spell-binding and transportive look at a side of Paris known to very few”, provides an overlap of their stories that is subtle yet elemental. The courage of these characters on parallel journeys of defiance and rescue, and the beauty of the storyteller’s craft, is remarkable.
The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
I’m back for another Maisie Dobbs round, thanks to JoAnn’s loan of several copies of the series!
In #7, an American adventurer and cartographer dies in WWI among British troops; his body is discovered and Maisie is called to solve the mystery of his death — because it was clearly a murder, though on a battlefield.
Maisie also deals with her beloved mentor’s passing, and finds herself falling in love again.
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
Maisie Dobb’s career takes an undercover twist in book #8, as she teaches philosophy at a small college in Cambridge to detect subversive activity among the students. This installment has extra layers through a young widow Maisie takes under her wing again, having helped her before; And Maisie’s deepening relationship with James Compton.
My daughter laughed when I referred to these as gentle murder mysteries! But I think that’s an apt description of this episode at least.
Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear
This Maisie Dobbs installment (#9) really is written like an elegy. Almost a chiasma.
It begins with a young woman, born in a poor house and entirely alone, who is raped but determined to have her baby (which she does with no assistance but a horse, in a barn and amidst the hay), and give him a better life than she has had.
Maisie is involved by the costermongers of Covent Garden when the woman’s son, grown into a simple-minded but gentle man with remarkable talents, is murdered. The story that unfolds has lots of gray moral areas and lots of morally gray people. It’s a fascinating, contemplative story that builds to a center point of intensity, with Maisie actually being forced to accept a change of opinion. Then the story unfolds carefully to land Maisie gently in a clarity she has sought from the beginning.
Many questions — about love, about dealing with her wealth, about what’s ahead for England and the world as Hitler gains power in Germany — remain, but Maisie finds her peace.
A gentle installment in a “gentle murder mystery” series.
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
Thanks for this recommendation, Beth!
“An original and clever mystery, with a flock of endearingly wooly detectives”. Funny and surprisingly endearing, and especially fun to listen to, with the Irish reader that puts the whole thing right where it belongs, on a green but craggy coastline of Ireland. Great fun!
Thaddeus Stevens by Hans L. Trefousse
While not my favorite biography, I learned a LOT about one of the most controversial figures in 19th century American history, and more about the issues prior to, during, and after the Civil War. I have to be honest: he reminded me a little of Pres Donald Trump. It will be interesting to see what historians make of him. His was definitely a love-hate relationship with the Americans of his time; the south especially despised him — though more than one southern senator came to value his tenacity and loyalty to his causes. I think I’ll get in a
line to interview him after this life. No regrets on listening to this one; I don’t know if I would have made it through a regular-paced read…
The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
I checked this one out based solely on the author; I am now an unshakable fan of Ariel Lawhon. She has created another historical fiction completely unlike Frozen River but equally captivating.
Based on a New York Supreme Court judge named Joseph Crater who mysteriously disappeared in 1930, Lawhon has researched the known facts and filled in the gaps with a fascinating and plausible story of organized crime, government corruption, and women who are the pawns in men’s sex and power games. A powerful “what if it happened like this” historical mystery!
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
A strange dystopian, possibly futuristic, possibly next-year story from the viewpoint of a handmaid, the women chosen to have babies to keep society alive. It has religious undertones, but seems mocking. I don’t regret listening to it on my Amazon Kindle site while I waited for other audio books to become available; it was well- written and interesting in many respects. But I learned it’s the first of a series that I won’t continue (it happens sometimes…!) and I can’t recommend.
The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell
Was this another recommendation from you, Beth? What a sweet, enjoyable and educative memoir about a Magellan penguin and his British rescuer living in Argentina, the people who learned from them both, and the intelligence and unexpected bonding with which this penguin was gifted! The personal growth of an open-hearted young man and the beauty and cruelty of nature were also elemental to this story. Beautiful, informative writing. A great choice!
PS. I watched the movie a week or so later, as luck would have it. Though very different from the book, it’s also a tender and powerful story. Also a great choice!
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
I gave in. I haven’t read this so-called classic since I was quite young, and I thought maybe I could see the literary value this time. There are passages that could rightfully stand among the greatest declarations of love, though more dramatic than real life. And the writing style is impressive. But the tone and message throughout is one of desperation and unhealthy obsession. Those who label it a great love story must have a sense of horror in what true love entails. Because I find it to be a horror story, more like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein than any classic I would categorize as a love story.
I gave in, in the face of its current resurgence; but I feel the same as the last time I read it, though only more so: Emily Bronte, and her sisters, were a bit unstable. Yet their tales endure. I must be missing something still.
I wrote all that before I finished Wuthering Heights. Now I realize what I missed: the ending. I’m sure I didn’t finish it when I was young. Because I knew nothing about the gentle ending, and the powerful events of regret and forgiveness that gave this horror story a peaceful ending. So, what the unstable Bronte girls understood was spiritual. I’m grateful I gave in and gave this strange, dismal book a second chance, because we all need second chances.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
A “tradwife” and powerful influencer from the present wakes up in 1855, and is forced to face some unpleasant realities about her beliefs, her choices, and her life.
Except that it wasn’t reality.
This is actually a book about reality shows, and internet obsession, and how strange the world can become through a warping lens. Another story that I don’t regret reading, but I don’t think I can recommend… In fact, it’s probably the weirdest book I’ve ever finished…
I wonder where the author got some of her material; she used the phrase “Doubt your doubts before your faith”; did someone say that before Elder Uchtdorf? Almost as darkly funny as it is disturbing. Another one I’ll share but can’t really recommend.
Doing Small Things with Great Love by Sharon Eubank
This came like a breath of fresh air near the end of my reading month! And it is one of those books that, once read, I need to own so I can share it. (I just got my copy, though, on Monday — so thank you, JoAnn!!) Sister Eubank has always been admirable for her intelligence and views. Now she’s joined my cadre of life’s heroines. She’s also inspired me to do two things: 1) Increase our humanitarian monthly donation, and 2) Pick up more JustServe opportunities. And maybe, soon, a 3rd: take part in quilting mornings.
Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear
One more Maisie Dobbs fit into this last week of a long month…
Maisie investigates the murder of two Indian women, while she contemplates the need to strike out for new adventures. She also makes a new friend that fills a similar place to Maurice; and she and James Compton face some difficult choices in their love affair. The title applies to many people in this story…
Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson
The main heroine of many in this story is inspired by Mabel T Grammer, a descendant of black American slaves who, unable to have children, adopted and helped place children born of German mothers and African-American soldiers. The agency she created lasted for 18 years. She received a Papal Humanitarian award. This historical fiction told many individuals’ stories with pathos and realism. Everyone who reads it will learn and feel uplifted. A strong recommendation!!
I finished this one today. It was a long month, with five Wednesdays and five Thursdays…
An incredible reading/listening month for me!
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