Quarterly Update - Fourth Quarter 2023

[fauxklore]

To continue the catch-up, here are the books, movies, and goals progress from October through December.

Books:

17 Books this quarter.

1. Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give. I read this for the Crones and Tomes book club. This is nominally a Young Adult novel, but that didn’t make it easy reading. The story involves a 16-year-old girl who witnesses a cop killing her friend. The situation is complicated by her mostly white private school and the reactions of her friends and boyfriend. She needs to overcome her fears to take a stand. Overall, this is complex and interesting, but it’s also very violent.
   
   
2. Michael Lewis, Flash Boys. Lewis has written many books about the financial world. This one has to do with an effort to make Wall Street more fair to small investors. The human stories, especially the case of Sergey Aleynikov, a trader at Goldman Sachs who was arrested without it ever being clear for what crime, were interesting. But I admit that I didn’t completely follow the financial story.
   
   
3. John Connolly, The Caxton Private Lending Library and Book Repository. This was another book in the Bibliomysteries series published by The Mysterious Bookshop. A retired clerk stumbles upon a scene out of Anna Karenina and his investigation leads him to a mysterious library filled with books and characters that have become iconic. It’s a thoroughly charming novella. I especially loved the incident where a storm led to some of Moby Dick dripping onto a copy of Alice in Wonderland, leading to a white whale at the mad tea party. Highly recommended.
   
   
4. Julie Clark, The Last Flight. This was a READ book club selection. The plot involves two women who switch plane tickets as they are trying to run away from difficult situations. Part of the novel is back story, while the rest is what happens after one of the two planes crashes. I liked this book a lot - up until the last 30 or so pages,, when I felt cheated by a contrived revelation.
   
   
5. Rhoda Miller and the Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island, Jewish Community of Long Island. This is mostly pictures, with brief text descriptions. Long Beach got some mention and there was one picture of a house in Oceanside, but no mention of Island Park or West Hempstead. And they pretty much ignored Orthodox Jewish communities.
   
   
6. Gloria-Gilda Deak, American Views. This is a collection primarily of prints and lithographs of various places in the U.S. New York City is overrepresented while rural America is underrepresented. The descriptions are pretty bland. Overall, meh.
   
   
7. Ann Patchett, State of Wonder. This was another Crones and Tomes selection. It was an absorbing story, involving a pharmacologist who goes to the Amazon to investigate what happened to a colleague who was investigated progress on their company’s research. The characters were the heart of the story, but there was enough action to keep me interested. And there was a very interesting twist at the end. Well done!
   
   
8. Melissa Balmain, The Witch Demands a Retraction. This is a collection of light verse based on fairy tales. Mama Bear catches Papa Bear having an affair with Goldilocks. Snow White complains one prince isn’t enough. My favorite was Puss in Boots, who didn’t wear the boots, but just peed in them. Delightful.
   
   
9. Neil Travis, Manhattan. This was a thoroughly trashy novel, set in the world of a thinly disguised version of New York Magazine. There’s a takeover being planned, but the magazine employees are too busy with sex and drugs and betrayal. I needed four showers after reading this terrible book.
   
   
10. Julia Whitty, A Tortoise for the Queen of Tonga. This was a collection of short stories, on a variety of subjects. The title story follows the parallel lives of a tortoise and the lives of the Tongan royals as the country changes, including its Christianization. “Lucifer’s Alligator” had to do with a rebellion among the animals at Ocean World. My favorite story was “Jimmy Under Water,” about a boy who survives falling into an icy pond and, along with a childhood friend, becomes an ice diver. Overall, I thought this was an interesting collection and worth reading.
    
    
11. Jaroldeen Edwards, Things I wish I’d Known Earlier. Given that this is subtitled “Reflections of a Mother of Twelve,” one would expect her to mention the existence of contraception. But, no, this is standard conservative rah-rah stay at home mom propaganda. I should note this was in a box of books I got from a friend of my mother’s, so that’s no surprise.
    
    
12. Dick Francis, Reflex. I have mentioned several times the value of Dick Francis as a palate refresher. Once again, he delivered, with an action filled (albeit violent) novel about the murder of a racetrack photographer and the story of blackmail behind it. There are interesting details about photography (which no longer really work in this digital era) and a strong moral sense driving the story. As always, a good read.
    
    
13. Katherine Collette. The Helpline. This was a selection for the READ Book Club, but I ended up missing the meeting due to time zone challenges. This novel had been recommended to me as being similar to pieces like Eleanor Elephant is Completely Fine which I’d loved. But, alas, the main character (Germaine) is so completely lacking in charm and self-awareness that I wanted to throw the book - and her - through the window. I think much of the problem is that the relationships that should help to redeem her never get fully enough realized. And I hate the stereotype that people who are mathematically inclined - and, even worse, are absorbed by sudoku, have to be completely lacking in social skills. We need a better reason for Germaine’s failings and more reason to be convinced of her underlying humanity.
    
    
14. Dr. Bertel Brun, Ducks, Geese, and Swans. My parents had a number of these little illustrated books on various topics and, with this one, I’ve finally reached the end of the collection. I’m not particularly interested in waterfowl, but there were a few interesting tidbits in here. Notably, I hadn’t known that ducks are prone to just use any nests they happen to find, apparently not caring much whether or not the eggs are their own - or even those of their own species. I’m not sure that bit of trivia was a good enough reason to read this.
    
    
15. Melissa Balmain, Satan Talks to His Therapist. Another volume of light verse, a lot of this was topical, including several pieces about COVID. There are also pieces about aging and politics. Overall, both funny and relatable.
    
    
16. Marian Keyes, The Mystery of Mercy Close. This was great vacation reading - long, but light, with enough plot to be satisfying. Keyes is a reliable writer of chicklit. This novel has a light mystery element, as Helen Walsh, a down on her luck private investigator, is hired to find a missing member of a boys’ band who are supposed to be doing a reunion concert. She’s also wrestling with financial issues, relationship issues, and mental health issues. It all comes together surprisingly well, with a convincing happy ending.
    
    
17. Rebecca Skloot. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This had been in my to-read stack for ages and I finally got around to it on my flights home. I first learned about HeLa cells back when I was in high school and went to a Saturday science program at Columbia University. And, like everyone else, I knew pretty much nothing about the woman whose uterine cancer provided the cells that were (and still are) widely used in biological research. Skloot delves into the lives of Henrietta Lacks and her family and raises a lot of questions about the ethics of medical research and informed consent. Overall, an interesting read. Recommended.
    
    

Movies:

Two on airplanes and two in the movie theatre.

1. It Ain’t Over: I watched this documentary about Yogi Berra on an airplane. Even though he was primarily associated with the Source of All Evil in the Universe, it was still a fun movie. He had a well-deserved reputation for being a character, but his strengths as a player were significant, too. And, of course, he coached for the 1969 Miracle Mets. Overall, a very entertaining movie.
   
   
2. Paris Boutique: This was part of the JxJ Jewish film festival and I went with a couple of people from my Chavurah. The movie has to do with a French lawyer, Louise, who is sent to Israel to negotiate a property deal for her father. A scammer poses as her taxi driver, but turns out to be more helpful than expected. In the meantime, Louise meets a man of indeterminate religion and, despite her engagement to a man back in Paris, she starts a passionate affair with him. It’s a complicated story, with plenty of humor. And it is ultimately about friendship between women, despite the other plot elements.
   
   
3. Remembering Gene Wilder: This was also part of the JxJ film festival. It was an excellent look at Wilder’s career, with a lot of commentary by Mel Brooks,, who he worked closely with. There were lots of clips from Wilder’s film roles, and they were great reminders of his comic genius. I’d have liked a little more about his early life, but I was satisfied with he material on his later personal life (the tragedy of Gilda Radner’s death, his remarriage and his death from Alzheimer’s.) They are planning a theatrical release, hopefully in 2024, and I highly recommend seeing it.
   
   
4. Barbie: I finally watched this on my flight to Los Angeles on my way to the South Pacific. I found it delightfully subversive. I have to admit that part of the fun for me was seeing the various dolls I barely remember, e.g. pregnant Midge. And, as a person who cut open the knee of Bendable Poseable Skipper to see how it worked, I loved Weird Barbie. Highly recommended.
   
   

Goals:

There will be more details in the year in review, coming in a week or so, depending on how otherwise swamped I am with stuff. But for now:

• I didn’t make any more progress on my parents’ photos.
  
  
• In terms of educational activities, I went to a lecture about the Borscht Belt in October, an eclipse talk in November, and three lectures on Polynesian / Marquesan culture on my cruise in December.
  
  
• I took my 4th international trip of the year in December, to the Austral and Marquesa Islands.
  
  
• I didn’t finish any more crafts projects,, though I did make progress on two
  
  
• I finished the year at 53 books.
  
  
• As for museums, I went to the MIT Museum and the Museum of Failure in October, the Library of Congress and the Virginia Quilt Museum in November, and a few museums on the island of Ua Hika in December.
  
  
• I thought about doing housework every day that I was home.
  
  

Comments

[cornerofmadness]

The Caxton Private Lending Library and Book Repository and The Witch Demands a Retraction. sounds interesting.

I loved the book on Henrietta Lacks