fauxklore

Thanks to another friend, I had joined a facebook group for National Just Read More Novels Month. For me, this translated partly into Just Read Shorter Novels for a month, ending up with 7. So, rather than waiting for my usual quarterly book rundown, here’s what I read in January. Note that there are 8 books here, but the first book didn’t count for NaJuReMoNoMo because I had started it in December and only had the last 30 or so pages to read on New Year’s Day.

William Stuart Long, The Exiles: This was a long book and is, in fact, the first volume in a 12 book series about Australians. The author, whose real name was Vivian Stuart (nee Violet Vivian Finlay) was even more prolific than that, writing over 70 books under at least 7 names. This book traces a young woman, Jenny Taggart, from a family tragedy through poverty in London through being transported to Australia on the First Fleet. She makes a great success oi her life there, though there is plenty of tragedy and loss along the way. From what I can tell, the historical background was pretty accurate, too. Overall, I thought this was a good read and I look forward to reading more of this series.
Alexander Kent, Midshipman Bolitho and The Avenger: I like the Bolitho series for the characters and the relationships between them, not the naval battles. This one has Bolitho on leave at home and getting pulled into service to help deal with smugglers along the Cornish coast. The Bolitho novels were not written in chronological order, so I already knew some of what will happen later on between Richard Bolitho and his brother, Hugh, who he is serving under on this mission. I figured out a critical plot point pretty quickly, but it didn’t matter. It was still a good, quick read.
Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing: This was for my book club, but I had suggested it to them, based on the recommendation of a couple of friends. It follows several generations of the descendants of two women who never knew they were sisters and tells the history of Ghana and of African-Americans along the way. I’ve traveled in Ghana, which probably helped in my enjoyment of this, but I think it should be accessible to anyone. This was fascinating and I recommend it highly.
Jeff Lindsay, Dearly Devoted Dexter: This is part of a series (made into a TV show later on) about a blood spatter technician for the Miami Police who is also a sociopathic serial killer. This book involves a particularly horrifying series of crimes, but it also has to do with Dexter’s relationship with his family and his girlfriend and her children. The writing is breezy and entertaining, but it does feel strange to be cheering for Dexter, who is, after all, a serial killer.
Stephanie Evanovich, Big Girl Panties: I needed a change of pace, so it was time for some chick lit. The genre tends to be predictable, so that isn’t a big criticism. The premise here is that a fat woman meets a personal trainer on an airplane, becomes his client, and transforms her life via weight loss, fitness, and, eventually, getting involved with him. To be fair, she doesn’t end up skinny per se and he realizes he loves her though she isn’t model thin, but there are still several annoying aspects to this book, starting with how much weight she loses how fast and going on to equating fatness with eating disorders and emotional issues. Then the whole thing is rather steamier than I really wanted to read on the train to work (including a subplot involving the trainer’s best friend who enjoys spanking his wife). Meh.
Sara Woods, Tarry and Be Hanged: This is a British mystery from the late 1960’s, before mystery writers felt that they had to throw in a couple of hundred extra pages of subplots. Anthony Maitland gets his client acquitted of murder, but he still needs to find out whodunit to rescue the client’s reputation. This is a decent enough example of the genre, though I’d have appreciated an epilogue telling me what became of some of the characters after the crimes were solved.
Alexander Kent, Band of Brothers: More of Richard Bolitho, who passes his commissioning exam to become a lieutenant and is charged with helping a new midshipman adjust, along with doing his actual job. There was a minor annoyance in the form of having one character with the first name Montagu and another with the surname Egmont, which are just similar enough to confuse me a little. I also wish Kent didn’t have the nasty habit of killing off characters I like.
Stephen King, The Dead Zone: Nobody does suspense better than Stephen King. This book is about a guy who spends 4 and a half years in a coma after a car accident and awakens with psychic powers, which prove to be more of a curse than a blessing. There are ups and downs along the way, culminating in an interesting moral dilemma. You probably already know whether or not you like King’s writing. If you do, this is a good example of it.

Crossposts: https://fauxklore.livejournal.com/446844.html

I am really tired because I was out late on Wednesday night. I went to The Grapevine, a storytelling show in Darkest Maryland. (Except it really isn't. It's technically on the D.C. line of the border in Takoma Park. But it involves going to an extreme end of the Red Line, so it is rather like falling off the edge of the earth.) The featured tellers were Noa Baum and Donald Davis. Normally, there is also an open mike, but they skipped it, possibly because it was very very crowded.

Anyway, Noa had a new story about dolls, mixed with a story about Vasilisa the Wise and Baba Yaga. Some of the transitions between the two didn't quite work for me, but it was an interesting piece. One thing, though - and I know this is not Noa's fault - but Baba Yaga's hut does not have doors or windows. That (along with the chicken feet) is one of its key features. She goes in and out via the chimney.

As for Donald, he told two stories - Mrs. Rosemary's Kindergarten and a story about haircuts. I've heard both of them multiple times before, but it doesn't matter because he is just such a great teller. Overall, the show was a real treat and worth the exhaustion.

I compounded the exhaustion last night because I was absorbed in reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and stayed up to finish it. It's an excellent novel and brought back memories of traveling in Ghana.

Friday Five: I don't usually do these, but since my grandfather was a jeweler, this one appealed to me.

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry? Describe. I have a necklace that my great-grandmother supposedly bought in China. It's black enamel over what I think is brass, with complex designs of the metal showing through the enamel.
Is there a piece of jewelry that you wear daily? Describe. I wear at least one ring all the time, except for when I travel in somewhere dicey. It's usually a square-cut sapphire ring, but I have identical emerald and ruby rings (and some others I sometimes wear depending on what I have on).

I used to wear an onyx ring on my index finger all the time, but I've been having some joint issues that made the finger swell, so I haven't been wearing it much.
What is the most costly piece of jewelry you own? I have a star sapphire and diamond ring I inherited. I never wear it because it is fragile and doesn't really go with anything, but it was custom-made for my mother so I feel obliged to keep it.

Of things I actually bought for myself, I have a Marty Magic gold ring in the shape of a bat. I also have a couple of pairs of Lunch at the Ritz earrings, that are big and dangly and fabulous for special occasions.
What piece of jewelry would you secretly (or not so secretly) love to own, but do not? Why don't you? Maybe more from Lunch at the Ritz, possibly one of their necklaces. I don't wear necklaces much, however, because I tend to play with them and break them.
Is there a piece of jewelry you once owned but no longer own? What happened to it? I had another sapphire ring which disappeared in the course of one or another move ages ago. I keep hoping it will turn up, but after 30+ years it seems unlikely.

Crossposts: https://fauxklore.livejournal.com/444588.html

Let’s finish off the quarterly list making, before I get to my annual grand wrap-up. Here are the books I read over the last three months of 2018. There would have been one more, but I fell asleep early on New Year’s Eve, with 30 or so pages left.

Harry Golden, Enjoy, Enjoy! I’ve read several of the collections of Golden’s pieces for The Carolina Israelite and mostly liked them. However, this book felt rather repetitive. I smiled at pieces about Jewish food and similar nostalgia, but I cringed at his broader attempts to speak on behalf of the Jewish community on topics like race and women’s rights. Okay, this was published in 1960, so it isn’t surprising that he was behind the times. That doesn’t mean I have to suffer through reading it. Disappointing.
Alice McDermott, Someone. This was a book club selection and tells the story of an Irish-American woman in Brooklyn. I prefer novels with stronger plotlines so I found this pretty dull. There are things that happen, like another woman in the neighborhood discovering her new husband is actually a disguised woman, but nothing extraordinary happens to Marie, the main character. Overall, I thought this was a tedious read/
Daniel M. Pinkwater, Young Adults. If you’re familiar with Pinkwater’s writing, you know he does silliness very well. The adventures of the Wild Dada Ducks, as they create chaos in high school and into college, are absurd and entertaining. It is, however, a bit mean-spirited at times, so I’m not sure I’d recommend it to readers of the target age group.
Alexander McCall Smith, A Time of Love and Tartan. Another volume in the always delightful 44 Scotland Street series is always something to look forward to reading. There is the usual mixture of warmth and mild absurdity. The main thing for me here is that I genuinely like most of the characters and look forward to spending time with them.
Alexander Kent, Richard Bolitho – Midshipman. Kent actually wrote the earlier adventures of Richard Bolitho out of chronological sequence (i.e. this is the first book in Bolitho’s Royal Navy career, but wasn’t published until 1975, while the series started in 1968 with book 7). Even a 16-year-old Bolitho is immensely likeable, as he tries to get his superiors to do the right thing – and gets in trouble for doing so. I’m glad I have more of this series to read.
Giovanni Guareschi, Comrade Don Camillo. And now I have read all of the Don Camillo books! Guareschi’s village priest continues to charm me as he battles the forces of Communism, largely in the form of his rival, Peppone, the mayor of their village. This volume has Don Camillo going to the USSR, disguised as a member of a Communist delegation. He finds opportunities to meddle in various affairs, solving problems and bringing comfort to almost everyone he meets. This isn’t laugh out loud humor, but Guareschi’s work always brings me a smile.
Jeff Linday, Dexter in the Dark. I normally advocate reading a series in order, but I happened to pick up a couple of the Dexter novels for trade at a used book store, so I take what I can. This is pretty weird stuff, largely because it feels horrible to find myself rooting for an admitted serial killer. Still, he only kills people who really deserve it. And the writing is breezy and fast-paced, so I did enjoy reading it.
Beth Harbison, Secrets of a Shoe Addict. This is pretty stereotypical chick lit as three women get into expensive trouble while chaperoning a school band trip to Las Vegas, and start a phone sex business to pay off the debts. There are amusing relationship issues – including what may be the worst first date ever (involving a ventriloquist and his dummy) – but everything turns out well in the end. Well, maybe not so much for the dummy. It was an amusing escapist read – which is sometimes just what I need.
Dan Chaon, Await Your Reply. Wow! This was another book club pick, and it proved to be one of the best novels I’ve read all year. The book alternates among three stories, each involving people who are running away or towards something amid lots of questions about identity. It isn’t until very near the end that we learn how the three stories are related. There are some pretty gruesome aspects to parts of the book, but, if you can handle the opening (involving a severed hand), it doesn’t really get any worse. Highly recommended.
Neil Gaiman, Coraline. I had seen the 3-D movie years ago, but hadn’t read the book before. Coraline’s adventures, exploring her house, lead her to a horrifying other world, in which the Other Mother tries to win her over, but to what end? I’ve read a lot of Gaiman’s work and find it consistently entertaining, but decidedly dark.
Eric Kimmel, Bar Mitzvah. I’m not sure what the intended audience for this book is. It probably works best for non-Jews who have been invited to a bar mitzvah and want some background on what to expect. I found it dull – and not especially accurate – with the exception of the personal anecdotes that are mixed in with the explanatory material.
Morris West, Harlequin. International finance, cybercrime (circa 1974), and Middle East terrorism – I certainly can’t complain there wasn’t enough happening! There’s nothing profound, at least from the perspective of our era, in which the computer manipulation of international finances isn’t such a novelty. But it was a good enough escapist read.
Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey. Fforde is one of the most original novelists working nowadays. I’ve read a lot of his Thursday Next series, so was intrigued to find this first book in a new series in a Little Free Library near work. The concept is a society in which, after the Something Which Happened, people are categorized by their color perception. There are rigid rules, with complex loopholes, and all sorts of delightful details about this dystopian world of Chromatica. There are rumors that there will be sequels (or, possibly, a prequel next year) and I would even buy that brand new and in hardback.

By the way, for this year, I joined a facebook group for National Just Read More Novels Month, the object of which is to read lots of new novels (i.e. not re-reads, vice newly published) in January. I've started with the next Bolitho novel (chronologically, not by publication date).