Be Frank With Me: A Novel by Julia Claiborne Johnson

An entirely impulsive grab off the shelf that turned out to be a quirky, enjoyable read. Each character has their own set of flaws and eccentricities, that when put together in a glass house in the LA hills, somehow finds a way to work. The story is told from the point of view of Alice, who is sent to help reclusive author MM (Mimi) Banning finish her second novel (the first, published years ago, Mockingbird style). Alice's main task seems to be not involved in getting the manuscript ready to send off to her publisher boss, but riding herd on Mimi's eccentric, (there are several medical diagnoses that also spring to mind) son, and keeping the glass house and its occupants clean and fed. There's also a comfort of a sort to see how outlier personalities can work, and can provide support for each other, in a strong, loving relationship.  This is where I could compare the book to several others (the cover even echoes the color of one) but since I despise reviews that say something is like "When Harry Met Sally" meets "World War Z", I'll refrain. I will say that the book gives many moments to allow for strong visualization of characters, and also has some delightful recalls of movies from the golden days of Hollywood.

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

I think it was the combined lure of a hint of King Arthur and of Ishiguro's prose that drew me to this book. A fascinating study of memory, and a poignant look at devotion. Plus an interesting premise and tale. Not as much Arthurian legend as I might have hoped, as this takes place in the aftermath of his rule, but plenty of fine writing, even if I never did get entirely lost in the story.

Tags: 2016-read, don-t-want-to-rate, fantasy, good-but-made-me-sad, great-cover, made-me-look-something-up, made-me-sad, magic, mixed-feelings, read, secret-history, still-trying-to-figure-this-one-out, thought-i-was-gonna-like, thought-provoking, will-look-for-more-by-this-author

The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins

Not what I had hoped for, but still had moments of enjoyment. Did get a little ponderous I the historical bits, but it was kinda interesting to see how the author wove the tale around known history without changing the historical facts. Would have liked the book better if it had more of modern day sandwiching the story and if I hadn't been snookered into buying the book at full price, since my library didn't have it available.

Tags: 2016-read, color-me-disappointed, creatures, e-book, fantasy, first-novel-or-book, great-title, made-me-look-something-up, magic, mixed-feelings, ok-but-not-great, read, read-on-recommendation, rounded-up-in-star-rating, secret-history, skim-read-til-the-end, thought-i-was-gonna-like

A Drinking Life: A Memoir by Pete Hamill

Pete Hamill has been one of my favorite authors and writers for a long time. This book covers ground and was published entirely before he entered my awareness. The story of his boyhood in Brooklyn, in The Neighborhood grabbed me, and didn't let me go until sometime in the mid 1970's when Pete Hamill heard his father singing on a hillside in Ireland (aka the last page of the memoir.). Hamill is still around and writing, so there's no spoilers there. I think the decades that make up the gap from end of this book to current day must, most certainly, be filled with fabulous tales.

I've loved Hamill's writing since I read Snow in August when it first came out in 1997. I gave it to my mother to read and he won my heart with her response. My mother grew up in Brooklyn, and though her neighborhood there was not Hamill's, she wept reading the story. "He knows," she said. "He knows." Some of his other books have also found a place on the bookshelf of my heart. When he writes of New York City, you are there, even in his memoir. I will say there were certain elements that fascinated me: that he dreamed of being a cartoonist; that in his quest to find himself, he got lost in his own neighborhood; that he found a way out to follow his art, only to lose it to circumstance, and stumble into what would become his career, and his gift to readers. I read of his time in Mexico City when my offspring was there, enjoying a visit with friends, and experiencing the opposite end of the spectrum from Hamill's experiences (thank goodness.) It was also fascinated to find the well known names, particularly in the last bit of the book, sprinkled into his life, some quite significantly.

Fascinating writing. Fascinating story. Not your usual "how I got sober" story, but one that truly investigated the life he led, how he got to the point that made him rethink, and very briefly, past that point. It's clear that Mr Hamill knows is craft as a writer and reporter. I raise my ginger ale to you, sir.

Chasing the North Star by Robert Morgan

In some cases, a lack of planning pays off.

Joshua, a young man enslaved on a South Carolina plantation has done the unforgivable-- he learned to read, and when caught reading by his master, who believes he has stolen the book to sell, since it is inconceivable that a slave could read, is beaten for his crime. Joshua decides to run away, He sets out woefully unprepared and unequipped: no food, no shoes, no plan, and only the money he stole from his mother's coin jar. But Joshua's big advantage is that he is smart, and knows the path and landmarks he must follow to reach his goal of freedom. Early in his journey, he meets Angel, another slave, who decides to follow Joshua as he follows the North Star. Sometimes in tandem, sometime apart, the two journey north, meeting the various challenges that confront them, using their brains and their luck to keep headed toward their goal.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the beautiful way Robert Morgan weaves a tale. I learned this about his writing in some of his earlier books, and settled in to enjoy a master storyteller when I cracked open the pages of this book. I was not disappointed. Morgan managed to bring alive the characters and places of the story, taking me along with Joshua from South Carolina, where I currently live, through the  more landscape that has been home for  me at various points in my life. While much of the landscape was familiar to me, the few places I'd not travelled were easily envisioned through his words.

Thank you Algonquin Press and Library Thing for sending me a copy of this book.

Tags: 2016-read, advanced-reader-copy, algonquingiveaway, an-author-i-read, early-review-librarything, i-liked-it, made-me-look-something-up, made-me-think, places-i-have-been, read, set-in-my-stomping-grounds, taught-me-something

Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston

I've been on a purge of the "stuff" in our home for a while now, and hoped this book would encourage me to go forth with renewed energy. It did, a little, but I also found a lot in it that made me more irritated at the author than inspired. Books by my bed don't mean that my primary relationship is with books rather than people. It means that I'm an avid reader and read a lot of books, though (now) keep only a smidgeon of what I read. If my house catches on fire, it's not the universe biting me in the behind for my clutter, though it would be a misfortune. It's more likely my recluse neighbor Barney, who lives down the hill, had one of his fires get out of control.  I found the author to be a bit patronizing, as well. 

What would really help me is a book that told me how to separate memories from objects, or how to detach myself from the joy those memories bring me of loved ones now gone, or times now past. It's not a sin to treasure memories, and sometimes objects help keep the heart whole, or help a wounded one heal. I want to cut down on our possessions mostly because I know it would make my husband happy, and to save my children from having to decide what to do with it all. The toy mechanical tiger that was my father's has memories for me from his stories, but they not only never met him, but never heard me tell the stories. Ebay, anyone? I think I need inspiration/motivation from inside myself rather than from inside the pages of a book.

Thank you blogging for books for sending me this book. I am removing it from the pile beside my bed, to help declutter the house.

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

It's hard to find those kind of books where the action slowly meanders through the streets and fields, and doesn't come blasting out of weapons, or splash through in a rapid sequence, firing wit at a whiplash pace. Winesburg, Ohio shapes the character of a small town through its characters, told slowly and gently through short story glimpses. I love a quiet paced book, with good writing, and even though this was really vignettes/short stories, it still had the gentle quality I long for in today's action packed world. It's a tale of another time, truly another world, and probably not to everyone's liking. I read it in sips and nibbles between other reads, because at times, the pace did make even Jane Austen seem fast.

I'm a'most embarrassed to admit, I might not have picked this up were it not for the Stanford Book Salon. I read in someone's review that the author died from peritonitis after his intestine was perforated  by a piece of a toothpick left in a martini olive. I just want to reassure everyone that knows about the czuk "Martini Night" ritual on (most) Fridays, that we do not toothpick our Castlevietro  olives.