Review of Books – Summer 2022 – Part One

     My quarterly review of books has morphed into six months again – I guess I must have been too busy reading.   Since I last posted a general review in February (see link – Review of books Winter 2022) I’ve read so many books that I can’t remember what some of the earlier ones were about, other than the vaguest impression, so I’ll just try to hit the highs (and lows) of my reading list.  While I read many excellent books last winter, this selection was more mixed, (although all are rated a 4 or 5 star on Goodreads), not necessarily an issue when nicer weather prevails.  Sometimes you just want a book you can pick up and put down, without staying up too late.  So pretend you are in a bookstore browsing, and perhaps there will be something to tempt you when those chilly days arrive. 

Squirreling away books – from a circulating Facebook post

 (Note: these are not necessarily in the order in which I read them. This is Part One of a two Part post….because you know….it was long.

Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors – I’ve enjoyed her novels, (State of Wonder, Commonwealth) so when her book of essays – on home, friendships, family and writing – came out I ordered it.   I loved the first half of the book, about growing up wanting to be a writer, and having her three dads at her wedding, her difficulty in getting rid of her old typewriter, her decision years ago not to have children. I felt like I had found a new friend, but then I came to a very long piece which comprised the latter third of the book, about her relationship with Tom Hanks publicist, Sooki, who was diagnosed and eventually died of pancreatic cancer.  Ann Patchett owns an independent bookstore in Nashville, and their acquaintance came about when she scheduled an in-store reading of Tom Hank’s book of short stories, (Ordinary Type) many of which were about typewriters.  (That book is a whole other topic, and while I love Tom Hanks he should stick to acting as struggling writers in garrets all over the world could have done better given the opportunity.  Maybe it was a pandemic project but he is now working on a novel about the movie industry due out next year, which is being billed as an ambitious project.)   Ann Patchett and her physician husband helped Sooki find an oncologist for experimental treatment and even invited her to stay with them in their home for six months while she was undergoing treatment during the pandemic.  She warns that the downside of staying with a writer is that you get written about but perhaps she thought she was memorializing her? Sooki, being a very private person, and fighting for her life, mostly kept to the basement flat.  She was probably too sick to socialize, but the author seemed somewhat obsessed with the idea that their friendship should have been closer. That’s the problem with memoir – you can unknowingly reveal some less attractive aspects to your personality.  Otherwise, the book was good, and the writing lovely, but that last essay just spoiled the whole thing for me. Sometimes when something about a book really bothers me I’ll hop over to Goodreads and read the reviews – all five star and glowing, so it must just be me.  

I’m a big fan of British mystery writers, including Ruth Ware, so I really enjoyed this, her sixth and best book so far – a who-done-it about a group of six first year students at Oxford.  She’s come a long way since her first book, In A Dark Dark Wood.  (Others are The Woman in Cabin 10, The Turn of the Key, One by One)  Although the two female room-mates have nothing in common, they strike up a friendship, until one night the popular one, The It Girl, is found murdered in her room.  The creepy dorm porter is charged and found guilty, but ten years later, after he dies in jail still pleading his innocence , a journalist starts snooping around. The book is told, partially in flashback, by the other room-mate who is by then married to the It Girl’s old boyfriend.   It was very well done and very suspenseful, and fairly long at 400 pages.  It took me back to my university days, where the friendships you made were often forged during the first few weeks, although our porter was a kind elderly gentleman, whose job seemed to be sorting the mail into the mail slots (yes, those were the days my friends, you got mail), while keeping an eye on the front door, although he could certainly glare with disappointment when you came creeping in in the wee small hours of the morning, so I totally understand why the protagonist chose to climb over the stone wall near the back entrance.  This was easily my favorite suspense novel of the year so far.    

The other book, Local Gone Missing, is about a female British detective on medical leave in a small seaside town when a local man disappears on the night of a music festival.  A good read – this was my first book by this author. 

I was a big fan of Grantchester, the Masterpiece series set in 1950’s Cambridge about a whiskey-swilling, jazz-loving young vicar and his crime-solving detective friend Geordie, at least I was until the storyline descended into repetitive dross, probably inevitable given it is currently in season seven.  While there is always a murder in each episode, and a moral of sorts, I find the secondary characters are often the best part.  The TV series was based on a series of books by the author James Runcie, whose father was a vicar in that era.  I read the first book in the series, Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, (it sounds like a Hardy Boys title) more out of curiosity, and then the second, Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night.  The books are composed of self-contained chapters of some of the murders in season one and two, but as I already knew the outcome from the tv show I didn’t find it too suspenseful, although it was well written and sometimes insightful.  At the end of book two, they married him off to that simpering Hildegarde, and that was it for me, although his snobby friend Amanda was an equally annoying choice.  Poor Sidney, such terrible taste in women.  There are six books in the series, including the prequel in the war years.

The Tenth Nerve – a brain surgeon’s stories of the patients who changed him – was a memoir written by a Vancouver doctor, with each chapter about one of his more memorable cases.  I love a good medical book and the brain is such an interesting thing.  The tenth nerve refers to a new cranial nerve he discovered while operating on several patients with the same painful throat condition.  I found it well written and very interesting, if you like that kind of thing.

I love Frances Mayes so I was anticipating a travelogue in the vein of her usual Under the Tuscan Sun format, but this was more of a National Geographic guidebook, with sections on different parts of Italy – perfect if you were traveling there and wanted some background info on what to see and do in each region.  Unfortunately, the print was so tiny that I didn’t even skim through it.  There being no Italy in my foreseeable future, I returned it to the library, where the librarian, who has been to Italy five times (pause while I recover from turning green with envy) devoured it and pronounced it very good.   

I abandoned the Carl Bernstein book, which deals with his early years in the news industry in the 50’s and 60’s, after about fifty pages as I just didn’t find it interesting. 

The Truth About Melody Jones – is early Lisa Jewell,  2009, and yes she wrote about dysfunctional families even then.  A single mother has no memories of her life before age nine and seeks to uncover the truth behind her early life.   This was a paperback with very tiny print, but I persisted as I didn’t have anything else to read at the time.   

Bittersweet – How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole –  Susan Cain is the same author who brought us the wonderful 2012 non-fiction book, Quiet – a gift for introverts everywhere.  I was expecting an equally fascinating read.  I can’t even describe what this book was about, as the concept was so vague and shifting, that the book left me baffled and disappointed.  Not recommended – unless you want to wade through 300 pages looking for a few insights.   Billed as a masterpiece on the power of a bittersweet outlook on life, I would pass….and pass the dark chocolate.

This Agatha Christie autobiography was easily my favorite biography of the year, even though it was written in the 1960’s and published in 1977, a few years after the authors death.  I knew next to nothing about this elusive author, who led such a fascinating life.   See blogs – Agatha Christie – An Autobiography and Some Thoughts on Writing.

When I was growing up short stories were to be found in every periodical, even fashion bibles like Seventeen, and women’s magazines like Redbook and Ladies Home Journal.  (I used to devour my mother’s copies and not for the recipes.)  I vaguely remember short story collections coming back in favor for a brief moment in the 1980’s, but other than a few authors like Alice Munroe (who may be Canadian but I have never understood the exultation of, ditto for Margaret Atwood), they seem to have become extinct in popular fiction.  So I was surprised to see these two selections under New Releases. Maybe Tom Hanks started a trend?  Unfortunately, I abandoned both after skimming a few of the stories as they just didn’t grab me, although I admit I didn’t give the Lily King one much of a chance.  As for the Brooker Prize winner, Roddy Doyle, it was set in Dublin in the early days of the pandemic.  The first story involved a middle aged man who is diagnosed with coronary heart disease – yes, the 60’s is the decade when things start to fall apart –  and faces his own mortality.   I don’t get why he is a Brooker prize winner – when his command of English includes so much unnecessary profanity.   

Historical fiction about Jane Austen’s long neglected sister, Cassandra.  Excellent – blogged about it – see link. A first novel from this promising author.

Classic Elin Hilderbrand beach read about the restoration of an old Nantucket Hotel. The usual flawed characters, with too much bed-hopping, alcohol and food, but I did like the bit about the ghost.  She keeps saying she’s going to retire, but I don’t see any sign of it as she has a book of short stores coming out soon, Endless Summer. 

Sparring Partners – a novella and two short stories, one of which is about a prisoner who receives a visitor in his final hours on death row.  Sparring Partners is about two brothers who loathe each other and inherit their father’s once prosperous law firm.  I devoured these, but then anything by John Grisham is immensely readable.  His annual legal thriller, Biloxi Blues is due out soon.  I recently read an older novel of his, The Broker, (in large print, which pleasantly passed the time while waiting seven hours in ER for a CAT scan – only in Canada, folks), which was about a DC white-collar criminal jailed over secret documents who is issued a last minute pardon during the waning days of a corrupt US presidency.  (How prescient of him, given it was written in 2005) He is provided with a new identity by the CIA and set down in the middle of Italy where he must learn to blend in and learn the language with the help of a tutor. (Ah, the food, wine and scenery, such a hardship)  The aim –  to see which foreign government will pick him off – the Saudis, the Chinese, the Russians or the Israelis?  A good read and satisfying ending.  I think back then he took more care with his endings.  

Speaking of endings, I’ll wrap this up. See you next week for Part Two.

PS. The squirrel above squirreling away books instead of nuts, reminds me that my 2018 blog, How To Make A Chestnut Wreath, is trending again. It’s my second most popular post.

34 thoughts on “Review of Books – Summer 2022 – Part One”

  1. Anne says:
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    I always enjoy your refreshing book reviews. Of your selection I have only read ‘Local gone missing’. I like your reasons for leaving a book before finishing it too – I used to feel I ‘had’ to reach the end, but no more!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Ally Bean says:
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    I can understand why your wreath post is popular. You explained how to do it very well. Some how-to posts are more confusing than helpful.

    I like how you remember to take photos of the fronts of the books you read. That alone is impressive beyond your book reviews. I’d like to read the Ann Patchett one. I’m not acquainted with the Grantchester Mysteries, but they sound interesting to me. As always thanks for sharing your love of books.

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    • Joni says:
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      Thanks Ally, the chestnut wreath post rates high on a google search. I think you would like Grantchester – it’s a British Masterpiece series, but I got the first six seasons on DVD from the library. I’d heard of it, but never watched it. (I never watched Downton Abbey either until it was almost over, and then binge watched the DVD’s all one winter). The first 3 seasons were the best, with the red haired vicar James Norton but then he left. The new vicar is just okay, but I enjoy the storylines of the secondary characters (all well cast) and the mysteries.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Joni says:
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      Exactly! I always have so many others to read. There’s more next week, but remember this is since Feb. (there may have been a few I forgot) and I usually only read a book a week – just at night before bed, as I don’t watch much tv. I’m a fast reader though.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Linda Schaub says:
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    “So many books and so little time” is a phrase I hope not to be uttering once I am retired (who knows when that will be as he frets they will not renew the lease that’s up 01/31/23 and he’ll need to find another office to go to “‘for a year or so” – no words). I do miss reading and should be reading more than just on the occasional long holiday weekend which is when I read “Hotel Nantucket” … I cannot even keep up with Reader having been a week or longer behind, let alone trying to start another TV series. Unfortunately there are only so many hours in the day unless I buy a Lotto ticket. I have saved this link to keep a few in mind – I got a Grisham book last year, but can’t remember the name. His very first book was always my favorite.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Joni says:
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      I bought a Lotto Max (Canadian) last week as the jackpot was $70 million – but really it’s pointless. No one won. There were 60 prizes of 1 million each and only a few of those went too. I seldom play, but the guy ahead of me in the grocery store was buying tickets. I am able to keep up with Reader if I don’t write, but otherwise, it’s a struggle. Many of the people I used to follow don’t seem to be posting at all, or much. Your boss……I have no words either. Another lease? He’ll die in office….like old doctors do.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:

        I used to buy the Lotto tickets when they hit the big prizes as I figured I’d be happy with one of the $1 million prizes – last week it was $470 million for one Lotto and a very large amount for the other which was finally won. I stopped buying them as half the time I never got one number.

        I had the furnace guy in today and had a 12-5 window and he got here at 5:00, so I was later getting here. I won’t make it to Reader again tonight – been trying to get to bed by 10:00-10:30 latest. I did two or three days of Reader, then have to catch up on those comments, plus I posted yesterday and did a shorter post because I spent a good deal of time outside knowing what is coming ahead and to ensure I don’t run out of posts. I’ve been taking some pictures to make shorter posts until I get time to sit down and do the longer treks posts.

        Wait til you see what kind of Winter we are having – I sent you a link to a news story in another comment. Not looking forward to that. I still have things to finish buying for Winter. I am behind in everything as I decided to get some enjoyment out of mid-September through mid-October, as long as I could … it seems like I’ve had nothing but errands, appointments and stuff to deal with. Never-ending stuff. I think I have to have the handyman back before he does the gutters – he did not do a good job, or it is as the locksmith said “the house settled.”
        Three people I follow now post daily and one guy in the UK, does two posts a day of birds … I just “like” as I cannot keep up with multiple postings or even everyday anymore. It seems I catch up somewhat on Thursdays and Fridays as I have no posts, then it’s time to write a post, etc. Like a Catch-22. His father was 83 and still practicing. I’m not staying if he wants to do that … he will be 76 in March. That’s already past time to retire.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:

        I’ve been trying to get as many appointment in too before the really bad weather starts. Took mom to the chiropodist today, and Tues I have dentist. Good you took advantage of the good weather. It’s supposed to be nicer on the weekend. If he wants to continue working that’s okay,but he shouldn’t assume you want to, but then what would he do without you!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:

        I still have the groceries to finish up and want to do that next week and enjoy the warm weekend (74 Saturday) (71 Sunday). I have heard a few news stories about the two new Omicron subvariants combined with this bad flu. I want to finish up so I don’t have to go out to the store any more than necessary. I hope you and your mom can get your flu shots in soon. I have now suspended my allergy shots until next Spring although I was going to go through November but they needed to order serum and I said it was silly to order it and let it sit for six months untouched. We have to pay for our own serum ($150.00 for each arm), so I just stopped at that last appointment. So he called me this morning at 7:35 a.m. I was doing stuff in the house and had the radio on. Then he wrote me an e-mail to ask why we weren’t getting phonecalls or e-mails. I said “like I said before, the economy/inflation and companies hire HR people who can do negotiations, handle grievances, deal with unions and write work rules and employee handbooks and they likely use the forms for terminations, etc.” He refuses to believe that, but it is true. He asked me if I was willing then h looks for a new office space. I am hoping he returns from this vacation mellowed out and ready to retire.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:

        We had an HR dept. at the hospital and the retail chain I worked for – that handled all that stuff. The hospital may have had a lawyer they used for things they couldn’t settle with the union reps, but those would be rare occasions. Does he work for the companies or for individuals who have been let go or for both?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:

        I think that is the trend now Joni and the clients we have who are going this route hire “HR Generalists” which is a term I never heard of before, but they get degrees from a business school, or college and do everything he did before. He works for companies/management only. Occasionally he will review a severance agreement for someone who is referred to him, not to represent him, but just to review/counsel on the severance agreement and will do a letter to request a copy of the personnel file for them. If a terminated employee is 40 years or older, there is a clause that says they should review the agreement with an attorney and they have a certain amount of time (seven days I think) to do so … that is so they don’t sign off right away. But note “40” is old under the Age Discrimination Act.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:

        I actually got it back tonight, a day early, so am catching up, although I don’t know if I’ll post this week. I had a virus scan and updates and saves on a USB stick done, and also got the hard drive replaced – cheaper at $200 then getting a new one at $2000. He told me that Windows 10 updates are only good until end of 2025, so I will only be able to get another couple years out of it anyway. He did not recommend upgrading to Windows 11 yet, as there are too many issues still, unless you have to buy a new computer. What version of Windows are you using?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:

        I am still trying to get seven hours of sleep a night and it is wreaking havoc with getting Reader done. I am going to try while he is gone to catch up but also want to do next week’s posts. I didn’t know Windows 10 updates were done by 2025. I have not heard good things about Windows 11 and that it is still buggy. I have the Windows 10 laptop unused on the stove. I WAS updating it for viruses protection and updates but now it has a problem with two drivers which I will have to ask Ron to fix as I’m not going to do that and risk messing it up. I am still using Windows 7 and hate to switch as it means I have to transfer a lot of stuff over to that laptop and I don’t have anywhere to put this laptop until that’s done. I can’t type on the laptop on the stove – I just put it there as there is nowhere else to plug it in. It’s been there since June 2019 – it is not convenient!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:

        I’ve really noticed a difference with the new hard drive – it’s so much faster. I had bad sectors in my old one, so it was worth it to get 3 more years out of it, rather than pay $2000 for a new Zenbook. I’m behind 6 days in Reader – have not read since Monday and won’t tonight again. Hope you are enjoying the sunshine.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:

        I am not going to make it to Reader either tonight . I think I am now 5 days behind but at least there were very few posts this weekend, so that will help out. I did enjoy the sunshine Joni and walked 7 miles each day and came home today, did a little work outside and did laundry – getting here at 6:00 p.m., does not help being behind in Reader at all.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. annieasksyou says:
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    I read your entire post with a smile on my face. Your welcome honesty, gentle snark, and thoughtful observations make reading these reviews a delightful experience.

    As you mentioned Masterpiece Theater, my husband and I are thoroughly enjoying “The Durrells in Corfu.” We rarely agree on what to watch, so this one, with four seasons on Amazon Prime, should be nurturing our matrimonial harmony for quite a while.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Joni says:
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      Thanks Annie…..I’m glad you thought it was gentle snark, as sometimes I fear I’m too harsh – after all someone put a lot of effort into writing their book. Part Two should be this week if I can finish editing it. I loved the Durrells – we watched all of the seasons! I wish I had something good to watch right now – so much of what’s on Netflex is garbage. I’m wondering if I should cancel it and signup for Amazon Prime. Six seasons of Grantchester pleasantly pasted the winter last Jan/Feb. – one episode a night.

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  9. J P says:
    Reply

    Ah, the quarterly to semi-annual reminder that I can’t find time for a book. I usually get one in a year, but it might not happen until 2023. I get vicarious enjoyment from your summaries, at least.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Dave says:
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    I echo comments already made, Joni: your reviews are refreshingly blunt. Reviews on Amazon are suspicious in that the first few always seem to be positive. I have to read a dozen or more to be convinced whether to read a given book or not. I’ve added “The It Girl” to my list; sounds like my kind of mystery (and sounds very much like the creepy “The Roommate”, made into a movie). “The Nantucket Hotel” was my second stab at Elin Hilderbrand (the first being the excellent “Summer of ’69) and I thought it was very good… as long as you’re looking for something light and airy. Hilderbrand has earned her reputation as a “summer read”. I also enjoyed how she wrapped the book with a thorough visitor’s guide to Nantucket, because the setting for the story absolutely added to the enjoyment of the read. Would you recommend another of hers? She’s written so many – all set in Nantucket I believe, but I don’t plan on reading every last one, ha.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Joni says:
      Reply

      Thanks Dave….I hope I’m not too blunt in my assessments, trying to keep in mind that someone put a lot of effort into the book and it was good enough to be published, but maybe could have used some gentle editing or suggestions? I find Goodreads reviews are like that, the top ten or so are glowing, (probably friends/paid reviewers) and then I’ll find a few 3 stars who have the same problem/opinion I do. It pays to dig a bit, esp if you’re buying the book. Re Elin Hilderbrand, her books are pretty much all the same, but I’ll think on it. I just started reading her book of short stores Endless Summer, and in a clever piece of marketing she has selected a few characters from each of her books and wrote a short story/prequel/or sequel or additional chapters to the book. The problem is that I barely remember who the characters are/were or what book they were in, as her books are all so similar. I did not realize though that she started her career back in 1993 as a short story writer having had a short story accepted by Seventeen magazine and being paid the princely sum of $800. After being accepted by the very elite (and cutthroat she says) Iowa Writers Workshop she was complained to one of her creative writing teachers about how much she missed the east coast and they said well why don’t you write about it then. So she wrote The Beach Club, and I do remember reading that first book and it was quite good. I’m posting Part Two of the Book Review tomorrow I think, if I can get it edited tonight.

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      • Dave says:

        I’ve always thought the best writers are those who were in the profession of what they write about beforehand (lawyers, doctors, etc.) Hilderbrand fits the mold with her knowledge of Nantucket. Also seems most writers get started the way she did, with a short story as proof they have something more to offer. Good for her!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:

        Yes, I agree. With John Grisham his legal thrillers are always so good that I wonder how he stays up to date with his profession when he’s such a prolific writer. He said once he makes notes of cases which interest him.

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