Book 208: You Perfect, Broken Thing by C.L. Clark (Levar Burton Reads Podcast Episode # 106 (August 3, 2021)

This short story knocked my socks off. Levar Burton chose "You Perfect, Broken Thing" for the 106th episode of his "Levar Burton Reads" podcast which I follow pretty closely. I had to include it.

C.L. Clark is a master at bringing the feelings of both despair and joy and showing that they truly can exist together. As far as I can tell, her story was published with Uncanny Magazine. You can read that version here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/you-perfect-broken-thing/ 

The author paints a gorgeous story about an athlete who must push herself to the brink to save her family. Training and competing isn't about winning some trophy or a gold medal. In this world, training and competing translates to saving your family's lives.

I was stunned at how much depth a short story could hold. I've shared this story with at least two friends, and one was in tears, like I was. For me, Levar Burton's voice lent itself to the beauty of the story (he's been a favorite of mine since childhood) and brought the themes home for me. I was enraptured at the love portrayed in this story and the sacrifices made for that love. Without ruining the ending for you, I will only tell you that it was an enormous surprise.

I encourage you to check out the "Levar Burton Reads" podcast on whatever platform you use to subscribe to podcasts. And check out this particular episode, which aired August 3, 2021.

Much love, LB!!! :)

Book 207: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

 

This book made me laugh out loud. At the present moment, books that make me laugh out loud are something I appreciate. 

Don's life is compartmentalized, neat, and bland. He looks at life in such a utilitarian way that he's just moving through the motions from one day to the next. He embarks on a project he's convinced will help him find the love of his life (and, he thinks, a wife). Unfortunately, he's a little light on experience with women, and the whole thing goes sideways.

When Rosie enters Don's life, he begins to learn why his project is a lost cause. But through the process, Don learns what is really missing from his life. I won't ruin the ending for you, but I can tell you that you'll enjoy getting there.

On a deeper level, this book taught me something about "the best laid plans" that we all try so hard to put into place. As humans living in reality, we're actually totally and hilariously underprepared for this task, and Simsion puts all of our shortfalls on display in this lovely little book. Plan your heart out, he seems to be saying, But enjoying the ride is just as important as where you wind up.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it in two days (a feat for me at this time of my life) and I bought a copy for my permanent collection. I hope you love it as much as I did.                                          

Book 206: The People of the Abyss by Jack London

Jack London is best known for his exploration of the unknown. Today, he'd be known as an "immersion experience junkie." I came across this book while reading another classic and took a break from that behemoth to read this beautiful little book. I'd highly recommend The People of the Abyss. 

The East End of London in the early 1900s was a terrible place, rife with poverty and starvation. News of the conditions reached Jack London in the United States, and he decided to embark on a journey to see the conditions for himself. He boarded a boat in 1908 and rented a room in a safe house near the East End. He purchased ragged clothing and assumed the identity of a lowly laborer immerse himself fully. With an emergency guinea (about a shilling and one penny) sewed into his sleeve, he stepped out into the streets to experience life in the most derelict corner of the "civilized" world.

At the time, the British Empire was still thriving, and it claimed had landholdings throughout the world. I'm not sure how it was received at the time of its publication, but The People of the Abyss certainly made it known that all was not well on the home front. Jack London does a fair job of making it clear that none of the wealth of the British Empire trickled down to the city of London's neediest citizens.

Jack London visited the infamous workhouses of London and met other "casual" workers who were daily fighting for their next meal and a safe place to sleep. He wrote about the gradual weakening of the workers by hunger, fatigue, and unjust, arbitrary laws like the one that made it illegal to sleep in public places during the day. The situation was so bad that huge numbers of people were committing suicide or killing members of their own families rather than allow them to suffer. Until I read this book, I didn't know the history of the East End.

This book was fascinating because it was a snapshot in time of a region that has been the subject of so many literary, television, and film projects. It also struck me that the socioeconomic situation documented within this book parallels our own right now - how the world's wealth is held by the top 1% of the population and everyone else is just trying to skimp by. Jack London does not mince words - he closes his book with an expression of his own opinion that if a country is truly civilized, there should be no abject poverty.

This e-book is available for free on Project Gutenberg (go to https://www.gutenberg.org/) and you can download it in several e-book formats. 

Book 205: Retrograde by Peter Cawdron

Let's talk science fiction. If you've read this blog for any length of time, you probably know I don't read many science fiction books. In fact, I've turned down multiple sci-fi book review requests because I just can't get into them.

Well, Retrograde is the exception, perhaps because it is actually half sci-fi and half mystery. One chapter in, I was hooked. It was imaginative, other-worldly, and had a lot of solid research behind it. Mars is inhospitable for most creatures. However, it seems it is the perfect place for inorganic life forms to thrive.

At first, this book confused me. Then I realized the author was playing games with my head. He gave me tidbits of information at the same time the main character was getting them. While she was trying to make sense of her situation, I was along for the ride. I took every wrong turn with her, until she was able to determine the source of the problem. A male author, Cawdron wrote Retrograde in female-first-person-narrative, which is not something I've come across very often. 

I'd die before giving you Peter Cawdron's secret, so you'll have to read this gem for yourself. If you're confused, it's because the author wants you to be confused. Hang on, push on through it, and you'll see that it's all worthwhile.

Book 204: The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock by Jane Riley

Dear readers, if you know anything about me, you know I love dynamic characters!

Oliver Clock is a sweet, gentle, middle-aged man with an overbearing mother and a family business to run. He is a funeral director, and a darn good one at that. Everything is going swimmingly, until it's not. Beyond his own grief, he finds a new direction for his business (among other things) and is no longer the same man we meet in the beginning of the book.

This is the first I've read of Jane Riley's books, and I hope it isn't the last. Her writing is excellent, and I especially appreciate her skill at forging descriptions of people and settings. I felt as if I could step right into Oliver Clock's funeral parlor. Even the smells were poignant - I don't think I've encountered a book that challenged my own olfactory memory in such a way.

I loved this book, and Jane Riley, you are a gem.

Book 203: Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

Before I begin this review, let me say that I have multiple family members who are (or have been) in the military. Some of them would like Edward Snowden to rot in Hell, or wherever he's living right now. I can understand that. He screwed over a lot of people in the intelligence community when he decided to unveil some of the most critically important covert technology to the world.

On the flip side, the intelligence community gave this young man (he is now 37 years old) access to top secret systems while he was a contractor. He may have been brilliant, but he was wholly blinded  to the ramifications of his actions, as many of us are when we are young. I'm not making excuses for his actions. I'm saying we've all been there. (Perhaps not at his level - Snowden is the Michael Jordan of Screwups.)

I had read about Snowden in the news but didn't understand the gravity of his sins against the government until I saw the movie Snowden with Joseph Gordon Levitt, which was released in 2016. And then, like you, I got chills up and down my spine, and wanted to delete my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Like, yesterday.

Whichever side of the issue you're on, this book will alter your perspective. I'll leave you to come to your own conclusions, but here are my thoughts. First of all, Snowden's wife (Lindsay) should be nominated for sainthood. Second, Snowden has been through a lot, but he still hasn't learned his lesson. I was left conflicted. It seemed he wanted forgiveness, but he did not want to apologize that by satisfying the needs of his own moral compass, he put former colleagues in harm's way.

I'm still very conflicted on Snowden's actions, but I think his book was important and well-written. Pick this up if you want to be as conflicted as I am!

Book 202: Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink

I like books about healthcare. I work in healthcare in a non-clinical capacity and I absolutely love what I do. I always wanted to help others through my work, and I'm proud to say I finally found the career that allows me to do that.

With that being said, having worked in a hospital setting, this book was pure hell for me to read. It is the story of Memorial, a community hospital in the heart of New Orleans, during and immediately after Katrina hit the region. It is also the story of the bureaucratic nightmare of a response from both the U.S. government and Memorial's corporate leadership.

I had absolutely no idea that people were stuck in hospitals with no power, limited oxygen, and utterly foul conditions following Katrina. So much of the media focused on the people huddled at elevated sections of highway and sheltering at the Superdome. I never knew anything about Memorial or the other hospitals discussed in this book. In writing this book, Sheri Fink enlightened me on why hospitals now commit whole teams to creating emergency preparedness plans. 

This book is disturbing. If you have any emotional trauma around death or dying, don't read it. If you have a hare-trigger gag reflex, don't read it. But if you want to appreciate a community hospital and the people who do the work to care for others, read this book. The author profiles so many medical professionals who were faced with impossible odds and no way out, and still found the energy and compassion to save lives. But it isn't all heroism. Five Days at Memorial is a stark reminder that a lack of accountability and communication can be a death sentence to those who are in our care.

If you are a healthcare professional, you will be moved to tears multiple times in reading this book.

Book 201: Less by Andrew Sean Greer

I will remember this book forever, for two reasons:

• I felt so close to the character in his bumbling yet determined exploration of the world to find himself.
• Nothing could have surprised me more than the twist at the end of the book. (For all of you "reverse readers" out there, do NOT read this book backwards. But DO read it twice.)

Andrew Sean Greer, you are a freaking artist. I absolutely loved this book.

The story of Arthur Less and his extraordinarily bad search for meaning through world travel is one that will leave you teary-eyed. You might be crying because you're laughing so hard, but it could also be because he is so desperately naive and sweet that you want to reach out and hug him.

I'm not totally sure that Greer was doing this on purpose, but I felt that Less was written to show all of us that we are not in control of anything within our lives. Life is total chaos. Sometimes that chaos works out to our benefit, sometimes it embarrasses us so badly we want to crawl into a hole and die.

Whatever its intent, Less is a hell of a book, and one I would highly recommend.

Hiatus: OVER.

Good morning/afternoon/evening, whenever you are reading this!

An odd coincidence got me thinking that it's time to get started again on this whole book blogging project. (Don't worry, I've been reading all along and keeping track of the books I've read...)

For anyone who thinks 2020 is bad, let me tell you: my 2019 was worse. My personal life got completely turned upside down, and I have questioned just about every life choice I've ever made. Except for reading. 

Books have been a constant companion for me throughout my life. I wasn't always the most ardent reader, but I've always been in the middle of a book or two since I was able to read. Books and their authors provide me with all of the stuff my parents didn't (or couldn't) teach me.

Life has not been easy. Some days I just want to quit everything and go live in a hut in the jungle by myself. And I really shouldn't complain, because so many others have such bigger difficulties.

Anyway, here's to another 200 books and another 12 years. May we continue on this journey together, our love of books uniting this global community as we confront our daily uncertainties and challenges.

Shout out to my eastern European audience - I'm very glad to have your support.

Love, Es

Book 197: Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky (Audiobook read by Andrew Garman)

Mark Kurlansky has written exhaustive books on everything from the history of the American oyster to the story of Clarence Birdseye and frozen food. Usually his books are interesting, but this one felt like a chore. The book was longer than it needed to be, and narrator Andrew Garman did not help, either. This audiobook was a drag. I couldn't wait to be through with it.

Despite the almost complete bore fest, there were a few tidbits hidden within the pages of this book that had to deal with watercolors, which is one of my interests. (Read this article on Medium.) Through Paper: Paging Through History, I learned that watercolors were used for a long time in other countries (Japan, China) and finally "adopted" by British artist Turner, who made watercolor a more widely  accepted art form. (Professional grade watercolor paper is usually made made of cotton, not wood, because it absorbs the water and leaves the pigment behind.)

I also learned about xuan paper, which is made from the bark of blue sandalwood in China, and it takes two years to prepare the raw materials to make the paper. Part of the process is laying the materials out on a hillside for months at a time and turning them periodically. (Professional watercolorists use double xuan, which is more absorbent than the single ply version.) Of course, I immediately had to find a xuan paper maker that would ship to Delaware. For $55 a sheet, I could have my very own xuan paper. Ummmm....

One more fairly interesting thing was that paper was initially made from rags, like the kind you might have sitting in your basement waiting to be used for dirty work - ripped up tee shirts and the like. There were people who went around collecting rags for paper mills, which cooked down materials until they were basically sludge and then put them into trays to dry to make paper. The idea of using wood fibers to make paper wasn't introduced to the western world until the late 1800s. In the U.S., the first operating paper mill was in my hometown of Philadelphia, near where I grew up. And they routinely ran out of rags and had to reach out to housewives to get them to save their rags to make paper.

Not every learning experience is a pleasant one, I suppose. Kurlansky's book was like that for me.

Book 196: The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin

Celia Fremlin wrote this book before she died. Her publisher, Faber & Faber, reached out to me to read the book and write a review of The Long Shadow and publish it today as part of an international blog tour. And I am extraordinarily sad that I can't tell Celia myself how much I loved it!

Imogen, the main character of this story, has lost her husband. She's been trying to put the pieces of her life together ever since he died so that she could move on. She's been in sort of a funk, and some guy keeps accusing her of having something to do with her husband's death.

All of a sudden, her family - her husband's stepchildren, their families, and even one of her husband's ex-wives - descend upon Imogen's home to keep her company during the Christmas holiday. Just as suddenly, odd things begin to happen around the house that make her question her own sanity and analyze the relationship she had with her husband. Who was he, really? What did she really know about him? The truth eventually comes out.

This book is full of surprises. Just when I thought I understood what was happening, Fremlin would open another door with her writing that I didn't even know was there.

I'm not going to tell you the conclusion, but I will say that if you love a good mystery, this is a great book to dig into!

And thank you, Joanna Lee of Faber & Faber, for the opportunity to contribute to the blog tour!

Hugs,

Es

Book 192: Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang, MD, and Nate Pederson

Damn, this book was funny... and also, not so funny. So many people died because of the insane cures that were detailed in this book.

Quackery is a list of certifiably ridiculous "solutions" that were concocted by their creators to heal people. In some cases, the quacks themselves believed in their cures, and in other cases, they knowingly defrauded their own patients.

The authors of this book are so, so snarky. I enjoyed the little remarks here and there that just brought the insanity of the "cures" home for the modern reader. I liked the photographs, too, although they probably would have shown up a lot better in the printed version of the book. (I had it on my Kindle Paperwhite.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think you would, too.

Book 191: The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro and Daniel Kraus (Audio book)

The movie was beautiful, poignant, and well made, but the book had more of an impact on me. I was happy to have it as company on a really long road trip. And it was really good.

This book is unique, because its author was also the director of the movie. Guillermo Del Toro - who made the most disturbing movie I've ever seen (Pan's Labrynth) - has created a book that is engaging on so many levels.

In the book, some of the characters are more well cultivated in the book than they were in the movie. Some characters are more interconnected than I originally thought, and at least two did not exist at all in the movie but appeared prominently and were in fact instrumental to the story in the book.

The story of the Gill God, Eliza, Giles, Zelda, and Strickland and his wife Elaine is an incredible one. It begins in the jungle and ends in Baltimore sometime in the 1960s. On their regular rounds as custodians for a scientific research facility, Eliza and Zelda encounter an amazing creature being held captive in a lab. When Eliza - who is mute - discovers that she can communicate with the creature, they become inseparable. The story that unfolds is one of courage, strength, and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.

I hope you'll pick up this book because it was worth reading, even after seeing the movie and having a preconceived notion of what things looked, felt, and sounded like.

Book 190: The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (Audiobook)

I am so-o-o-o lucky to have a coworker who is happy to share her advanced listener's copies of audio books. That's how I got my hands on this fantastic book.

It started out a little bit slow... but in no time I was hooked on the story so cleverly assembled by the authors. Every time I had to get out of the car, I was upset that I didn't have more time to listen.

The Wife Between Us is the story of two women who fall in love with the same man. Their stories are interwoven in such a way that it's almost impossible to tell them apart. And when the surprises come, they aren't just surprises... they're thrills... the kind that give you goosebumps when you realize you've been wrong all along.

I can't tell you much more without blowing the big secrets in the book, but the themes are clear. Abuse comes in many forms. Perception is everything. And people who will lie about the little things will lie about big things.

Definitely, definitely, definitely pick this up and read it. And pay attention.

Book 189: Origin by Dan Brown (Audiobook)

The author of The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons wrote this book last year and it was heralded by everyone who read it as amazing. I'm not sure I'd use that word to describe it, but it certainly was entertaining.

I really like Dan Brown for his original stories and the fascinating way he weaves together fact and fiction. Origin didn't disappoint at all in that aspect. In fact, I can't imagine how much research Brown had to conduct to create the story lines of Origin and his previous books.

Where I feel he falls short, though, is in the dialogue. The main character, Robert Langdon, is the same professor that unraveled the mysteries in the books cited above. In those books and in Origin, when Professor Langdon explains something to another character, it's almost like he's reading the information out of a textbook. For me, the dialogue makes the exchanges feel disingenuous.

Other than that one small thing, Origin was a fascinating read. I loved the characters and plot twists. Like The DaVinci Code, Origin makes you question what you thought you knew about the world around you. Brown uses his characters to hypothesize about Earth's beginnings and the future of humanity. I was absolutely fascinated.

Book 187: A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by Former FBI Director James Comey

Well, I rolled through this book in no time at all. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. And it was a relatively easy read.

Unless you've lived under a rock for the past two years, you know James Comey is the FBI Director who assumed his job in 2013 under Barack Obama and was fired in 2017 by Donald Trump. He wasn't even directly informed: he received news of his dismissal when he heard it on the news. 

This book detailed important milestones responsible for shaping James Comey's understanding and appreciation of real integrity and leadership. He told the story of his work as a prosecutor and attorney general and later, his rise to the position of FBI director. He told of the difficulty of the Hillary Clinton email scandal and the heat he took for handling it the way he did. And finally, he detailed his conversations with Donald Trump up to his unorthodox dismissal from his position. 

I received my Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership (BSOL) in 2016, so I found that I had a unique perspective on this book. Many tenets of leadership that I learned in my studies were embodied in Comey's experience. I loved his dedication to the separation of the FBI from political influences. I loved his commitment to justice. I think many people can relate to his desire to remain at arm's length from a president who so clearly could care less about integrity and facts. 

I hope you pick this up and read it, because it's not a difficult read, and it really explains a lot that I've wanted to know. 

The Child by Fiona Barton (Audiobook)

The Child by Fiona Barton was one of the best fiction books I've ever read [or heard on audiobook]. I will remember this book for a long time to come. It was very, very good.


Barton is an expert storyteller. The characters in this story - starting with the reporter, Kate - are realistic enough to touch.


When a newborn baby is found buried in a garden in Howard Street in a small UK village, a tiny blurb - not much larger than a classified ad - appears in the newspaper. The blurb catches Kate's eye, and she decides to pursue the lead. There must be a story behind the child's burial. How did the baby die? How did it get there? Who was responsible? Kate decides to uncover the truth about the newborn's death... even if it is the coldest case most police would ever encounter.


Barton assembled the story through a number of perspectives which can be very confusing. Hang on for the ride, and let her sort it all out. You won't be sorry. The story comes to a beautiful, poignant crescendo at the close of the book.


I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Book 185: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

Although I have a million other books to read right now, when I came across this one in the library book sale room, I had to set aside everything to read it. I couldn't put it down until I was finished.

I had seen the movie Everest about the 1996 climbing disaster but I didn't know anything about the people who went through it. Journalist Jon Krakauer from Outside magazine had been along on the journey that ultimately killed twelve people and injured and disabled numerous others. He wrote Into Thin Air six months after he returned home after the traumatic event.

Krakauer was a seasoned climber and had always dreamed of climbing Everest. He had his chance when the magazine sponsored his climb to get a firsthand account of the true Everest climbing experience.

Although no one can definitively say why the 1996 team had so many problems, Krakauer makes his own conjecture about why some people lived and others died. One thing he wrote will stick with me forever: that being determined is both a strength and a weakness on Everest. A person's will can be so strong that he or she refuses to give up even when disaster is imminent. They will literally kill themselves to achieve a goal. Everest Fever is a real thing, and it looks like it was the reason 12 people died in May of 1996.

Krakauer was adept at pulling together all of the accounts into a spellbinding narrative that will stay with me forever. I'm glad I picked up this book and I hope you will, too.

Happy Library Lovers Day!!

In honor of Library Lovers Day, I am simply posting photos of beautiful libraries.

St. Florian Monastery, Austria

George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University, USA

Main Library, Salt Lake City, Utah (I've been here)

Abbey Library of St. Gallen, Switzerland

Library of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada

Library at Chateau de Groussay, France

Reading Room, National Library, Paris

And here are some of my most well-loved libraries.

Smyrna Public Library, Delaware, in my hometown:

Dover Public Library, Delaware:

Free Library of Philadelphia, Main Branch:

And finally, the Free Library of Philadelphia, Roxborough Branch, where my love of the library began:

December is Read a New Book Month!

It's no surprise that December is "Read a New Book Month."
December = Christmas
Christmas = Gifts
Gifts = Books (Sometimes.)

According to Forbes, between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books are published each year in the United States. Of those, about half are self-published. A study by Stanford University found that fiction accounts for only 11% of books published in a given year. Almost 130 million books have been published (and reprinted) since the beginning of time. We've got thousands of choices at our fingertips, and more appear every day.

Sources for new book recommendations also change every day, but for me, some are tried and true. I always check the new book rack at my local Delaware library. It's usually front and center when you walk in. There's also a feature on the Delaware Library Catalog where you can view and request new books in both digital and print format.

My non-library sources for new books begin with NPR Books, which boasts a wide variety of books and reviews from authors I might never hear of otherwise. For situational awareness, I may check the New York Times Bestseller List, while repeating this mantra in my head: What is popular is not always good. (Like cars, cell phones, jobs, computers, and houses, "new" doesn't necessarily equate to "great." Duds are everywhere.) I also check Amazon New Releases, which is my best source for new books on sale. (There's also this fantastic feature on Amazon, where you can put together and publish your own public wish list and share it with friends and family. They can search for it, too.) I also like the Slate Audio Book Club.

Hopefully you'll get a fantastic book for Christmas, or a gift card with a huge balance on it, so that you can buy yourself a whole new collection of Mary Roach or Mark Kurlansky books that will blow your mind. (Hint, hint.) Who knows what December will bring?

My advice is to never stop reading. Whether it's given to you or you buy it, pick up a new book, wrap up in your favorite blanket, and enjoy the heck out of it.