Daughters of the Samurai - Janice P. Nimura

This nonfiction book was un-put-downable. It’s the true story of a group of young daughters of samurai, who were sent to the United States in the 1870s to learn “western ways” and help lead Japan into the 20th century. After a decade, they returned to Japan and worked to reform women’s education. To be honest, I attended one of the schools that one of these young women attended (albeit many years later, ha ha) and I am shocked that I had never heard of this mission or these young women until I stumbled on this book on the Library Sale shelves. It’s an incredible story and the author has told it skillfully and very well indeed. Highly recommended. 

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

 Confession time! According to the receipt I found in this book, I purchased it all the way back in 2005 - yes, FIFTEEN years ago - ! I remember buying the book, and I remember starting to read it, but for some reason (not lack of interest) I never got around to finishing it, and it ended up on my TBR pile. So much time had passed that I just started over and have finally finished this book. 

After all this time, I guess this book has held up. The premise - “How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” - makes perfect sense, and the author’s description of people who are “connectors” and “mavens” is definitely relatable - I’m sure we all know people like this in our daily lives. And of course, he mentions epidemics and pandemics, which is definitely relatable these days. To be honest, I am not sure what, if anything, I can add to a discussion about this book, but I did enjoy reading it. 

Behold the Dreamers - Imbolo Mbue

Yet another fortuitous Library Sale shelves find! I really enjoyed this book. It was a deceptively fast read that had a lot of depth. I really liked how all the characters were capable of doing good and bad things, just like real people. It was fascinating to see the immigrant experience through the eyes of people seeking the current version of the American Dream, and a bonus to see the reflection of those who seem to be living this dream. What’s also striking about this book is the reality behind these dreams - how much it costs, on a psychological level, to attain what we seem to think of as this dream, and how few people can truly bridge that gap without losing SOMETHING. Recommended. 

The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

OK, so you know how in my 6-month recap, I mentioned that my library was closed? It was, but it recently reopened in a limited fashion. One of the ways they are trying to get books to people who want them is a service where you tell them a couple of your favorite and least favorite books/authors and they choose a book for you based on this background information. Isn't that a neat idea?? If you think I could resist that, I have some bridges, tunnels, and monuments for sale at great prices (ha ha).

So it is that I ended up with this book, which I really enjoyed. Yes, it could be hard to follow at times, because as readers we are figuring things out at the same time as the narrator, but that's part of the fun. Having read the book, I kind of wish I had the time to re-read it right now, when I could pay attention to the details to see what I would pick up on now that I know why-, how-, and whodunnit. Recommended.

Orphans of the Carnival - Carol Birch (Spoilers)

The review below contains information that might constitute spoilers for this book. 


This was yet another dollar store book find, destined to become mine due to the title and the arresting cover design (side note, this will be my choice for Yellow in the Color-Coded Reading Challenge):

I didn't realize until I read the Afterword that this book was based on a true story, and a real person, Julia Pastrana, who was part of the burgeoning "freak show" circuit in the mid-1800s. The author makes her come alive in the book, and she is a very sympathetic character. Her manager/husband Theo not so much, although he is humanized a great deal as well. Both characters are given complex motivations for their actions. I will say that the author sometimes shifted the third-person point of view from Julia to Theo very quickly, so that a few times it was initially hard to follow whose mind/point of view we were eavesdropping on.

One thing I felt unsure of was the tie-in story set in the 1980s. On the one hand, it kept me guessing - the slight misdirection was well done, and I didn't figure it all out until the end. On the other hand, it took a fair amount of time to get where it was going, and I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters. The end result, however, brought tears to my eyes and was singularly heartbreaking. So in the end I guess it was worth it.

All in all, a fast read that has left me with mental images I'll likely never be rid of. Recommended.

This Last 6 Months in Reading

2020 has really been something, hasn't it? I truly hope whatever we all go through (and survive) makes 2021 stronger and better, like the proverbial phoenix rising from fire and ashes.

Longtime readers may remember monthly recaps, but month after month of writing "hmm, I read 0-1 book(s) this month" is depressing so I have decided to just do a mid-year check in instead.

I managed to read 7 books in the last 6 months, which is pitiful and yet such a vast improvement on 2019 that it seems like a victory. Strangely, the lockdown didn't really lead to more reading, which is too bad; I'm hoping to turn that around in this next 6 months. Of the 7 read books, several were from the library, as I had joined a book club (which is now on hiatus, unfortunately), but I did manage 2 from the TBR shelves. On a positive note, since my library has been closed, I haven't been able to impulsively check out books or buy tempting selections from the Library Sales shelves, so my TBR Pile has actually shrunk. Hooray!

So for the next 6 months, my goal is to read at least 7 more books, all from the TBR Pile. I can do it!

How has 2020 affected your reading?

Blog statement

Hi everybody,

With the state of the world I felt the need to comment.

Longtime readers know that I am not one to allow "politics" on my blog. This is mainly because I fear becoming some kind of battleground for negative people to spew hate and bigotry in the comments. That type of thing is not welcome here.

I would hope that longtime readers have noticed that I read a wide variety of books from a wide variety of authors, and that I participate in a wide variety of reading-related challenges, and that that means I have respect for a wide variety of humanity. I read books of all kinds, written by male and female authors, black, white, and other people of color (POC) authors, authors of all religions (and no religion),  LGBTQIA+ authors, etc. But in case it hasn't been clear:

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Thank you, and stay strong.

Butterfly Skin - Sergey Kuznetsov

One of the countless Library Sale shelves books that have crossed my TBR pile, this one was ... something else. A cover quote warns "the fainthearted had best stay away" and I can confirm that this is indeed the case. To be honest I found this book somewhat confusing; it slips between points of view as it describes the "romance" of sorts between a serial killer and a reporter who is trying to capitalize on his reign of terror. It can be very detailed in its descriptions of the crimes that take place, and of the proclivities of the reporter. All in all I guess this was worth the 50 cents I spent on it; not sure it would have been worth much more.

Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe

The subtitle of this nonfiction book is "A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland" and it's a good primer on "the Troubles" for those of us who heard about them in the news but had no real firsthand knowledge of them. It begins with the story of a disappearance, and then places that disappearance in the larger context of the motivations one both sides of the long-standing conflict in Northern Ireland. Gripping and sad, this book was a good read for a gloomy spring.

Side note: I am going to use this book for the "Black" category of the Color-Coded Reading Challenge

The Man Who Died - Antti Tuomainen

Yet another book I stumbled across at the library and decided to try, since I like Scandinavian crime fiction and this one is set in Finland. As it happens, this was a good find, and I quite liked this book. It was a darkly comic whodunnit that kept me guessing. I'd definitely read more books by this author. Recommended.