Swing
Time
By Zadie
Smith
Great books
take us into new and different worlds, which was exactly my experience when
reading Swing Time. The setting
fluctuates between England, Africa and New York City. The main character is an English woman of
Jamaican descent. I loved seeing the
world through her eyes and her experiences.
Swing Time appeared on
quite a few recent booklists and I can see why.
Zadie Smith’s words have contributed to my ever-expanding awareness of
race… this time, as it exists more globally, outside of the United States.
Food
Rules
By Michael
Pollan
Food
Rules is the kind
of book that should be kept handy and reread regularly. It’s filled with healthy advice and folklore
related to our eating habits. The book is
divided into three sections that describe Pollan’s philosophy on eating: Section I Eat food, Section II Mostly Plants,
Section III Not Too Much. I picked up a used copy at the local library sale,
where I had donated another copy a while ago.
Maira Kalman beautifully illustrates this later edition. It’s definitely a keeper!
The Dead
Key
By D. M.
Pulley
Thrillers
are not my favorite genre, so I’m not sure if The Dead Key is a great
book or not. The story bounced between the fifties and the early 2000s in
Cleveland, Ohio. A series of young
women, generations apart, unknowingly became involved in a large banking
crime. Murder, mystery and plenty of
mid-century period details abound. It was incredibly suspenseful, and I
couldn’t put it down. I found it engaging,
even though I don’t regularly read or really even like thrillers. I’d recommend giving it a try, even if you’re
not a regular reader of thrillers.
The Last
Painting of Sara de Vos
By Dominic
Smith
The Last
Painting of Sara de Vos was my sister’s book club choice for this month. I listened to the Audible version of this
book, which included the discussion questions read at the end. I think the book
demonstrates how both the art world, past and present, are both dominated by
men. Women must work harder to belong,
and rarely achieve the same success as men.
The lives of Sara and Ellie, living and working centuries apart, were
deeply influenced by the art world of their time.
Watch the
relationships and marriages while reading, including Sara and her two husbands,
along with Marty and Rachel. I would
include the relationship with Ellie and Marty.
Several
reviewers mention that this is a book about mistakes and I would agree. They also mentioned the similarity to The
Goldfinch by Donna Tarff and I would agree with this, too. While the books
are different in many ways, too, both
are good reads. The themes of mistakes,
consequences and regret occur in both. The
Last Painting of Sara de Vos was a very enjoyable listen and would be a
good read.
West
With the Night
By Beryl
Markham
Perhaps
this was not the best time to read West With the Wind by Beryl
Markham. It’s August 2017 and our
country is embroiled in racial and political turmoil, which definitely affected
the way I felt as I read this book. It
was well written. I generally like
memoirs, and West With the Night was a good one. Many of Markham’s stories were engaging and
entertaining. However, her language was
frequently infused with racism. Her
lifestyle and attitudes were those of White privilege and entitlement. I was
also horrified by Markham’s descriptions of elephant hunting. She was very proud of the fact that she was
the first person to track elephants for hunting by plane. I do realize that all of this was a
reflection of the times in which she lived, but that does not excuse or make
any of those elements acceptable. At the
end, I had mixed feelings about West With the Night. It’s totally out of step with my values and I
have a big problem with parts of the book.
But I cannot deny that it is very well written and an interesting
memoir. Would I have chosen to read the
book knowing it’s down side? Probably
not, but I can’t say that I’m sorry that I read it. Beryl Markham was a notable twentieth century
woman and for that reason, it was a valuable read.
Lafayette
in the Somewhat United States
By Sarah
Vowell
I wish that
I could say something positive about Lafayette in the Somewhat United
States. I chose to listen to the
audiobook, hoping it would be better than the actual book. It wasn’t. In fact, it might have been better
just reading the old-fashioned way. This
book is a shining example of writing that is telling rather than showing. It was nothing more than a cutesy, flippant rehash
of history. There was no attempt to make the recitation of a historical
timeline creative or interesting. The author and a few other mostly male
readers did the narration, which was terrible.
In this age of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, it just did not work for
me. I’m going to give the book two stars, one for the Revolutionary War review
and one for the attempt to relate it to our present political situation. Once again, I’m sure that I’m in a
minority. Sorry, but Lafayette in the
Somewhat United States was not my cup of tea.
The Year
of Reading Dangerously
By Andy
Miller
The Year
of Reading Dangerously by British author, Andy Miller, was my favorite read this month. It was a book about books and how they were
woven into Miller’s life, which is my ideal reading material. I loved Miller’s British sense of humor and
laughed my way through much of the book.
He does warn that there are spoilers, which from my perspective, made it
even better. The used copy that I
purchased at the local library book sale has found a permanent spot on my
bookshelf!
