2 more delightful books finished

Finished July 16
How I Write: The Secret Lives of Authors edited by Dan Crowe with Philip Oltermann
What a great idea this book is! The editors asked a number of authors to send information, including photos of objects, about what inspired their writing. The responses vary widely, which makes it all the more fun. The book design by art director Vince Frost enhances the responses and adds to the knowledge, especially for readers like me, who are very visual. Some entries are only one line, some run to extra pages. The authors reply candidly for the most part and I found many fascinating insights into their work. For many the responses made them more human.
Will Self's post-it notes remind me of a colleague's workspace, but so many gave me ideas and inspirations for my own workspaces (both home and office). I might just have to get my own copy!

Finished July 15
Consequences by Penelope Lively
As usual, Lively's characters come alive for me in her writing. This story starts with a young couple: Lorna, from an upper class background and Matt, an artist working in wood engravings. As the story follows their married life, living in a rural cottage without electricity or running water, the characters show theirselves more clearly. The novel continues with their daughter, Molly and her daughter Ruth. The theme of love comes through strongly here, both the love between women and men and the love between parents and children. The importance of family relationships and intimacy is highlighted. As the title indicates, the book is about the consequences of the decisions the characters made and how they continue to affect others in the future. A lovely book.

Quite a few finished

Finished July 14
Small Wonder: essays by Barbara Kingsolver
This wonderful collection of essays addresses the world as Kingsolver sees it. She pulls no punches about this time in history. The essays range from personal ones about her own family and environmental concerns to larger issues politically. Her writing is excellent and you can tell she is passionate about all the subjects she writes on. I found myself moved and inspired by these writings and left with hope for the future despite the obstacles currently facing humanity.

Queen's Court by Edward O. Phillips
This delightful novel follows Louise Bingham as she settle into life in Montreal after moving back there from Victoria after her husband died. She connects again with her cousin Diana, but worries about Diana relying on her too much for company. She also reconnects with a previous lover, and remembers why she ended the relationship, while not necessarily discarding future possibilities. In her new apartment, she finds the neighbour across the hall a bit full of himself and has suspicions about his motives. When her son, Craig, comes to visit, her adds to the mix and she discovers she really doesn't know him that well.
I really enjoyed this entertaining book.

Healing and the Mind by Bill Moyers
Moyers interviews a number of experts in the field of holistic medicine, finding out how they came to where they are in their practice, what they see as the realities of their practice and what are the issues. This was interesting, and the fact that it was written 15 years ago made it interesting to see advances, or lack thereof, in the different areas.

Finished July 13
A Fall from Grace by Robert Barnard
This mystery surrounds Detective Inspector Charlie Peace and his wife Felicity. The couple are moving in advance of the birth of their second child and, unexpectedly, Felicity's father offers to give them some money towards their house if he can live with or near them. Since Felicity does not like or get along with her self-centered father, they help him find a house nearby. As they settle into the new neighbourhood and become aware of some issues, they also learn of Rupert's real reason's for leaving his old town. They are already beginning to wonder about the relation of these problems when a death occurs and Charlie thinks it is murder, despite the local police opinion. I enjoyed this story, but found the plot a bit forced and the story light.

Why Can't a Man be More Like a Cat by Linda Kenner and Antonia van der Meer
I got this book from my mother-in-law who picked it up as a discard from Toronto Public Library. A nice little bit of humour about the differences between cats and men, although my cats don't always conform to these descriptions, and neither does my husband!

At Sixes and Sevens by Rosie Harrie, read by Nerys Hughes
Two sisters, who lived with the father, were quite different. Rhianon did all the work around the house and was taken for granted and blamed when anything went wrong. Serena was the pretty one who got everything she wanted and therefore expected everyone to fall in with her whims.
When Serena egged on her boyfriend and Rhianon's to fight, Serena's boyfriend was hurt badly and eventually died. Rhianon's boyfriend went to jail, but not before having a passionate moment with Serena and fathering a child. Rhianon took the child in to look after and Serena went back to her flirty ways while Pryce was in jail.
This story dragged a bit, and Rhianon, despite being described as intelligent, seemed too easily taken in by her sister. Rhianon was too good to be true, and Serena too bad. The characters didn't feel real.

Work-related title

Finished July 12
151 Quick Ideas to Deal with Difficult People by Carrie Mason-Draffen
The ideas given here cover a large range of situations and personality types. They include help on confronting conflict, both as a player and as a third-party. A lot of them relate to communication including what to say, how to say it, body language, and who to say it to.
There are also ideas given that help to prevent problems from occuring in the first place, much easier than cleaning up afterwards. The ideas also relate to a variety of situations: issues between peers, team issues, meeting issues, and supervisory issues. Some were common sense, some were intriguing, and others were a bit unlikely. Overall a good tool to improve your people skills. Everyone should be able to get something out of this book.

One to read and one to listen to

Finished July 11
Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott
This is a fascinating novel, part mystery, part romance, part paranormal, and part history. Lydia Brooke, historian is asked to finish a book on Isaac Newton that a fellow historian and friend, Elizabeth Vogelsang, has almost finished. But there are several issues that arise. Lydia previously had an affair with Elizabeth's son, Cameron Brown and left him. Elizabeth's death is suspicious in nature. Some of Elizabeth's notes are missing, and her friend Dilys has been helping her by contacting the dead through seances. Elizabeth had a young friend, also a historian, Will who helped with research and who warns Lydia of the dangers she sees for her. Animal rights activists appear to be launching violent protests in attacks on animals and on humans related to research involving animals, as Cameron is. How and whether these issues relate to each other and whether there are connections between Newton's time and the present are questions Lydia is forced to look at. She is not sure what her role is and how others may be using her.
This is a fascinating book, especially the bits of Elizabeth's book that appear throughout.

Out of the Blue by Charlotte Bingham, read by Kim Hicks
I finished this audiobook on the way to work this morning. This story has both mystery and romance as well as a touch of the supernatural. Set in Somerset, in and around Swindon, the story also relates to the history of the area. Florence Fontaine lives in the Old Rectory and her daughter Amadea lives in town. Both women are still affected by recent tragedy. Florence's husband died and then her son David died in a swimming mishap when he rescued his sister and another swimmer who needed assistance.
The story begins with Florence finding a young man asleep in her guest cottage, dressed in Regency clothing. He appears to be suffering from amnesia. Amadea's neighbor Rob, who is a doctor specializing in brain injuries becomes involved and so does Florence's neighbor Dottie as they try to help the young man discover his identity. A good choice for a light summer read.

A psychological thriller

Finished July 5
Suffer the Little Children by Donna Leon
This mystery in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series set in Venice is a gem. Brunetti's wife plays a role in this story, but his children are not as evident as the are in some others. Brunetti gets drawn into a case run by the carabinieri in which a doctor is injured when his home is invaded. As Brunetti and his co-workers try to figure out what is going on, with the doctor, with illegally adopted children, and with false doctor visits, some questions are answered, others lead to more questions, and ethics and morality rear their heads. Wonderful!

Memoirs, Historical Fiction, and Self-Improvement

Finished July 2
Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg, read by the author
This is a bit different than what her novels usually are. It is set during World War II in Chicago, around an Irish Catholic family, the Heaneys. Besides the parents, Frank and Margaret, there are 3 girls Kitty, Louise, and Tish along with 3 younger boys. Louise and Kitty having been seeing two young men that are now shipping out to war. Louise and Michael become engaged, while Kitty remains unsure of Julian's intentions. Besides their own two young men, the sisters write to other young soldiers they have met at USO dances endeavouring to keep their spirits up. Kitty begins working at the Douglas aircraft factory to both help support the family and the war effort. She also learns to take pride in her work. Tish is the lively one, flirting with the men and keeping everyone's spirits high. As the war goes on, Louise finds herself pregnant after Michael comes home for leave and the family supports her through this. As the girl's allegiances to young men adjust, so do their relationships to each other. I found the ending forced and unfulfilling and generally did not enjoy this as much as Berg's other books.

Finished July 2
Live Longer: Boost Your Energy, Strength, and Mobility--and Feel Young for Life by Sally Brown
This is a nicely written book with each idea (of the 52 brilliant ideas) given in around 5 pages. I found several that I was already doing (yeah!) and some that I will definitely start doing. Each idea is fairly well presented and tips are given. There are links from one idea to others in the book and questions and answers at the end of each idea. The book is well formulated and the ideas reasonable and stated factually. I liked it and made notes on several.

Finished June 29
The Company They Kept: Writers on Unforgettable Friendships edited by Robert B. Silvers and Barbara Epstein
This was an interesting collection of writings on special friendships brought together in one volume. Many were published previously or given as talks at memorials. I found the range of writing interesting and the types of relationships varied. Some of the writers were more admirers than close friends, while other friendships had interruptions. The stories give new viewpoints to those written about as well as about the writers. An interesting idea, well-executed.

A Mixed Bag of Reading and Listening

Finished June 27
You Suck: a love story by Christopher Moore
My first vampire romance. This book had a lot of humour and the characters had some depth to them. I particularly liked Abby Normal. She rang true. The police tracking the vampires, the elder vampire seeking revenge, and the blue hooker brought to town by the Animals all added their own twist to the story. The character William with his huge shaved cat were great and the sweater was a nice touch. I liked some of the subtle humour here. I think my favourite was this exchange:
"You're the one with almost an MBA," Barry, the short balding one, said to Lash.
"You should know what to do."
"They don't cover what to do with a dead hooker," Lash countered. "That's a whole
different program. Political science, I think."
So, amusing and very different.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami, Read by Janet Song
Like all Murakami's novels, this one uses language with finesse. His choice of words is always well thought out. There are some definite themes here, such as screens (like TVs) and mirrors. These blur the lines between real and dream worlds. The characters are solid and well-thought out and they relate well to each other. I love this type of novel, where you have to pay close attention to the phrasing and the mannerisms and not just the plot. The contrast between what Mari thinks of herself and how she appears to others came across strongly. She is stronger than she thinks she is, and the ties she forms with her sister and her trombonist friend show that.

Finished June 25
Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe
This is a great guide for email, guiding the reader through when, and when not, to use email for communication. Advice is given for avoiding miscommunication, often a problem with email due to the lack of tone of voice and body language. The authors even help with those situations where you've sent something you shouldn't have.
I consider myself pretty good when it comes to email etiquette, but I still learned a few things from this book. Definitely a good choice.

Three finished over the weekend

Finished June 24
This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M.Homes
I loved this book. The main character, Richard Novak is a fifty-five year old divored man who makes a living trading stocks from home. He manages his life with a full-time housekeeper, a nutritionist, a trainer, and a masseuse. The book begins when he has an attack of intense pain that takes him to the hospital emergency room. As he begins to notice what is going on around him and come back to life in a sense, many more things begin to happen. A sinkhole starts on the hill outside his house. He meets people he may never have met in his life before the pain and tries to reconnect with his family. On his way home from the hospital, he stops at a donut shop and meets the owner Amhil, whose enthusiasm gathers him into an unlikely friendship. In helping a little girl rescue her horse from a sinkhole he meets the famous actor who lives across the street from him. He finds himself becoming involved in others' lives and assisting them in making new starts as well. This is a great book and I could hardly put it down. I can't help wondering what happens next to everyone.

Finished June 23
Falling Man by Don DeLillo
This is a novel of the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Keith is a man who worked in the towers. He finds refuge in the home of his estranged wife and son, but also in sharing the events of the escape from the towers with another escapee, Florence whose briefcase he ended up bringing with him out of the building. He remains emotionally detached from all of them and ends up in a nomadic existence, living a solitary life of his own making.
Lianne, his estranged wife has accepted him back into the apartment and her bed, but still isn't sure of where their relationship is going.
Justin we see from their point of view only, a child disturbed by the attack, looking at the sky for signs of more planes, retreating into a world where he uses only monosyllabic words.
There are also choppy insertions from one of the terrorists, first from Germany where they are training mentally for the attack, then from Florida where they are taking flight training, and finally from the plane itself. These don't seem to relate to the rest of the story and don't fit well. I don't think they add anything.
For those characters dealing with the aftermath, the struggle to make sense of their lives and their futures is an ongoing one, with moments of enlightenment.

Finished June 22
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
I listened to the unabridged audio with Atossa Leoni reading. I found it utterly engrossing. You hear the story first from the point of view of Mariam, a girl from Herat born out of wedlock (a haromi) and married at 15 to a much older man from Kabul. The next narrator is a young Kabul girl, Laila, who is left an orphan after a bombing in Kabul. She becomes the second wife of the same man Mariam married. The two women have very different backgrounds, and very different attitudes but become very close. The events taking place in Afghanistan, and particularly in Kabul over the years that the story takes place are made vivid as part of the story. As the women struggle with their situation and eventually escape their husband I found myself caring a lot about them. Kabul became more real as a city home to many as the daily struggles are interactions are recounted along with the larger events. The horrific decrees of the Taliban (any woman caught wearing nail polish will have a finger removed stays with me) and the struggles of the inhabitants to survive in a war zone is made very real. The emotions of both women and their thought processes are given very realistically. I absolutely loved this book.

Read over the weekend

Finished June 17
Apocalypse 2012: a Scientific Investigation into Civilization's End by Lawrence E. Joseph
This book explores the significance of the year 2012 in different cultures, finding a common denominator in a massive change, rebirth, and end of "the world as we know it" among them. He goes on to look at different scientific scenarios leading to a similar outcome. These include the building of global warming; impending eruption of a supervolcano; a peak in the sunspot cycle where the low spot has already had huge numbers of sunspots; and larger cycles like mass extinction (which the earth is overdue for). It's enough to scare you underground! I found both the cultural myth side and the scientific side interesting, and the lack of concerted attention by government to the scientific issues sad. It is definitely an interesting book and may cause you to change some of your behaviours.

Finished June 16
Obsession by Karen Robards
To me the title didn't really fit the plot on this one. There is a lot going on: sexual chemistry, murder, threats, kidnapping, the CIA, jewels; but at times it seemed almost too much. The staging of events, the re-enactment of murders, the drugging of participants to keep them in character was all a bit over-the-top. Needless to say the good guys won in the end, with a small sideshow at the beginning and end to bring in the "obsession" part. And the all lived happily ever after, with all the nasty characters dealt with. Definitely a book that keeps things moving and you have to pay attention to keep on top of the plot. A good summer read.

Finished June 15
Hide by Lisa Gardner
This is a page-turning thriller. An underground room is discovered on the grounds of a disused Boston mental hospital. In the room, arranged on shelves in bags, the mummified remains of six young girls. The only obvious clue is a locket with a name around one of the girl's necks.
A young woman who used to go by that name, Annabelle Granger, goes to the police to tell her story, hoping that they might be able to tell her why she spent her life on the run with her parents, changing names and cities every couple years.
As they reach into the past to try to find the answers, a victim of an older case is drawn in as well as several possible suspects. The plot keeps moving and never feels forced, yet also isn't too predictable. I really enjoyed this.

Four more recent fiction

Finished June 13
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman, performed by Linda Emond
This audiobook grabbed me from the beginning. A woman gets into a car accident and instead of staying to deal with it starts walking down the road. When stopped she refers to a dual kidnapping from thirty years before. The woman claims to be the youngest one of the two girls that went missing, but holds out on telling the story of what happens. As we hear about the day the girls went missing from different points of view and gradually learn more and more about what really happened, our mind opens to more and more possibilities. A great suspense book.

Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
The discovery of a young man's body in a bathtub scattered with flowers gets the lead detective Vera Stanhope thinking. When a second body is discovered, also scattered with flowers, this time in a tidal pool, she tries to find a link between the two victims. The group of friends who discover the second body draw her attention. They are very disparate characters and yet seem very close. The character of Vera is well-drawn and sympathetic. As you discover her background and loneliness, and see how she uses it to be a better detective you come to like her more and more. I enjoyed this one, the second I've read by Cleeves and will be looking for others.

Finished June 10
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
As expected Jodi Picoult takes a situation that is difficult to discuss and examine and helps us to see it in new ways. In this case, it is a school shooting, where ten students are killed and many more injured. She shows the leadup to the shooting and the aftermath from many different viewpoints. The four main ones are the shooter; his mother, a midwife; her estranged friend, a local judge assigned the case; and the judge's daughter and shooter's schoolmate and sometime friend. All of them are shown living their lives, making the occasional mistake that all of us are prone to make. They are also shown dealing with the aftermath of the event. The mothers question their own behaviour, wondering if and where they went wrong. You see the precariousness of popularity in high school and the peer pressure and social politics that go on, not merely with the students, but with the teachers and administration as well. Parents try to help their children protect themselves, without always understanding all they have to deal with.
It is definitely a sad book, but also a book that makes you question behaviours and norms and think about ways to make a difference.

Finished June 6
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
This short novel about a young couple's honeymoon night and the summary of its aftermath is very moving. You could see what was going to happen and yet hoped that it would not be as bad as you thought. You felt for both of them, products of their upbringing and of their particular families. You wanted them to find a way through it, that would bring their relationship to a truer, more honest place. It seemed to me to be about many of our failings as humans, about fear of admitting lack of knowledge, pride, fear of baring one's true self, and an inability to admit that we were wrong.