January 2023 - What are you reading?
kathy_t
2 months ago
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What Are You Reading in January?
Comments (124)Just finished "My Freshman Year" written by an anthropology professor who takes a year's sabbatical to live on campus in the dorms to see how her students' world is in real life. It wasn't as interesting as I thought it was going to be, but she did make some good points. A lot of college is time and work management skills, and there are quite different stages that you pass through as you progress through your education. I live in a university town, and am constantly amazed by how alien some of the students seem (lack of respect for property, others, themselves etc) so this reminded me that just how young (in both chronology and maturity) some of the students are. Plus it helped to explain some of the choices these kids make: I worked two jobs in college to buy groceries and pay electricity bills etc. For quite a few students, working two jobs is to pay for their monthly payment on their loaded Escalade or their Coach purse. I am sure there are students who are in a similar position to where i was in college, but perhaps I just don't see those so much. In my neighborhood, the parents from out of town swoop in, buy a really nice historical house that costs buckos and then hand it over to their kid while he/she is in college and then sell it. While I had to walk fifteen miles to school up four hills and forge a river.... Anyway, interesting book if you're curious about the college kids of today. Now on to "Woman of Independent Means" by Elizabeth Forsyth-Hailey. It's probably dated but hopefully, it's not as bad as "Georgy's Girl"......See MoreWhat are you reading in January 2020?
Comments (147)Has anyone mentioned The Woman in the Windowby A.J. Finn? I searched the forum before posting, but it's not turning up. I can hardly believe this one hasn't been discussed here. Several people at my book club meetings have been raving about it, although it's not been on our reading list. I decided what the heck, I'd start it, and I cannot put it down. It absolutely has me on the edge of my seat, and is very well written -- the kind of story that just draws you in from the very beginning, with bizarre happenings that leave one guessing and wondering. I can't wait to see how this plays out, and hope I won't be disappointed at the end. I also just learned that the author is a young man, which surprised me, because of the depth of emotion he gives to his female character. Besides that, he's rather adorable....See MoreIt's January 2021: What are you reading?
Comments (56)Eons ago,and almost certainly here, someone introduced me to the Literature Map website. If you type in the name of an author you enjoy, the screen pops up with other authors who write in a similar vein. It hasn't been perfect for recommendations, but it has occasionally introduced me to a new-to-me author that I've loved. https://www.literature-map.com/ I just finished Ann Patchett's The Dutch House and it was terrific. She has a gift for writing family dynamics. The narrative hopped around in time quite a bit, but I felt that by doing so, she added layers to the story as each segment helped to bring the main characters' lives more clearly into focus. It was a really good book, and one that I'd meant to read quite some time ago....See MoreWhat are you reading? January 2022 Edition
Comments (121)I found with reading Cloud Cuckoo Land that it helped to "go with the flow" and take events as they happen in this non-linear read. Two books that I recently finished - The Promise by Damon Galgut, winner of the 2021 Booker Prize. I loved this book that is set in South Africa and involves a family of three grown children and their parents. As the book opens, the mother is dying and she causes consternation by not only asking that her Jewish roots be recognized at the end of her life, but also asking her husband to promise to give a small house to their long-time Black maid. Family and race issues abound. Challenges with this book are that there are no quotation marks around dialogue and sometimes topics slide into one another so that it's necessary to read carefully to detect a change in speaker, subject, etc. Excellent for a book club discussion; 5 out of 5 stars. Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols (non-fiction). This book is somewhat old fashioned but charming nonetheless. Mr. Nichols purchased a large house and property in England in 1947 since he was interested in gardening. When he located Merry Hall, the house and garden had been neglected for several years so it needed tlc. The author discusses what he found there and the changes he made to suit his tastes. It has some humor, partly because of his awe and timidity when dealing with the long-time gardener. They don't always see eye-to-eye in determining what is suitable or appropriate for the property. 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5, higher for anyone interested in gardening....See Morerouan
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