oreneta aground (but missinaibi's afloat!): August 2015

Books read, 2019

22.6.19 The Little Paris Bookshop, Nina George. A wee bit melodramatic, but good.
20.6.19.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J K Rowling. Brilliant
19.6.19 A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis. Yes.
19.6.19 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. J. K. Rowling. Fabulous, of course.
18.6.19 Notes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame Onwouache and Joshua Davis Stein. Fine
15.6.19 Power Forward, Reggie Love, fine
14.6.19 Findings, Kathleen Jamie. Largely lovely
13.6.10 Bird Detective, Bridget Stutchbury. Fascinating if not compelling
12.6.19 The Master of Disguise, Antonio J Mandez. Interesting
10.6.19. Running with the Kenyans, Arhadararan Finn. Good writing makes such a difference
8.6.19 The Elephant in the Room, Tommy Tomlinson. The man can write.
6.6.19 The Nature of the Beast, Louise Penny. Too intense
6.6.19 The Storied Life of A J Firky, Gabrielle Zevin, I think I've read it before and it was good both times
4.6.19 Birds, Art, Life. Kyo Maclear. Generally good, beautifully written.
1.6.19 Hidden Depths, Anne Cleeves. Good.
28.5.19 Goodnight from London, jennifer Robson. Last book of hers. :-(
23.5.19 Becoming, Michelle Obama, good.
19.5.19 Rich People Problems, Kevin Kwan, fine
17.5.19 The Fated Sky, Mary Robinette Kowal. Good.
16.5.19 Moonlight over Paris, Jennifer Robson. Schmatzy but good
15.5.19 The Goddess of Yantai. Ian Hamilton. Ok
14.5.19 After the War, Jennifer Robson. Good.
7.5.19 Somewhere in France, Jennifer Robson. Chic lit at its best. Historically accurate
6.5.19 Under Heaven, Guy Gabriel Kay. Excellent.
2.5.19 China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan, trite but satisfying
1.5 19 the Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson. Too dark by fa, but done
29.4.19 Fate, Ian Hamilton. So good I stayed up till 2am to finish it.
25.4.19 Norwegian Wood, chopping, stacking and drying wood the Scandinavian way. Lars Mytting. Surprisingly good
20.4.19 Eugene Onegin, Alexander Pushkin. Bloody good, and the first Russiam lit I've read.
20.4.19. Past Tense, Lee Child. Not my favourite.
14.4.19 Absolutely on Music, Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa. Fascinating
13.4.19 Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan. Good.
10.4.19. Precious Cargo, Craig Davidson. Very good
10.4.19 The Anna Karenina Fix, Viv Groskop. Unique and great
6.4.19. The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zweig. Beautiful and frightening and so important
3.4.19. Nine Women, One dress. Jane L. Rosen. Fluff, but good fun fluff.
2.4.19 Operació Urnes, Laia Vincens i Xavi Tedó. Frustrant però interessant
1.4.19 Lily and the Octopus, Stephan Rowley. Weird, but OK.
30.3.19 Unsheltered, Barbara Kingsolver. I'd have quit early on for any other author, but it was good, finally. Just.
28.3.19 The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, Nova Jacobs. Stretched belief. But ok
26.3.19. Dragon's Teeth. Michael creighton. Very good. .
25.3.19 Die me a river. Dianne Swanson. Odd and not good.
24.3. 19 Crocodile tears, Anthony Horowitz, meh.
23.3.19 Miriam Shamar Hits the road. Sheba Karim. Light, fine.
22.3.19 Telling Tales, Ann Cleeves. Good
21.3.19 Skunk Works, Ben R Rich and Leo Janos. Surprisingly good, mostly.
20.3.19 Woolly, Ben Mezrich. Very good.
17.3.19 Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett. Fabulous
14.3.19 A Tiding of Magpies, Steve Burrows. Good.
12.3.19 The Gown, Jennifer Robson. Excellent, up till 3am to finish it.
10.3.19. Snake head, Anthony Horowirz. Over the too.
9.3.19 Inside of a dog, Alexandra Horowitz. Fascinating.
5.3.19.Who thought this would be a good idea? Alyssa Mastromonaco and Lauren Oyer. Good.
5.3.19 The Imam of Tawi-Tawi, Ian Hamilton, good.
2.3.19 The Lady Astronaut of Mars, Mary Robinette Kowal. Good.
1.2.19 Ark Angel, Anthony Horowitz. Ridiculous.
21.1.19 Scorpia, Anthony Horowitz. Fine, not great.
17.1.19 The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal. Good acience, mediocre writing.
7.2.19 The Christmas Scorpion, Lee Child, ending a little abrupt.
7.2.19 Sightlines, Kathleen Jaime, very good.
20.1.19 c. J. Samson, tombland. Fine.
7.1.19 Eagle Strike, Anthony Horowitz. Meh.
4.1.19 The Crow Trap, Anne Cleeves. OK.

Books I ditched without finishing, 2018, 19

Levels of Life, Julián Barnes. The author may have won the man booker, but I'm doubting my love for that prize. Utterly without plot.
The Awkward Thoughts of W Kamau Bell, by same. Unfocused and uninteresting
This Side of Murder, Ana Lee Huber. Irritating.
The Hamilton Affair, Elizabeth Cobbs. I just don't care enough about US history
The Back Channel, a memoir of American diplomacy and the case for its renewal. Too many trees, not enough forest for this reader. .
The Master and Margerita. Sooooooo repetitive.
The Fued, Vladimir Nobokov and Edmund Wilson, the end of a beautiful friendship. Alex Beam. 1st half was fine, the just dull.
The Yiddish Policeman's Union. Michael Cabbon. Meh.
Scorpia Rising, Anthony Horowitz. These books are just so bad.
The Year of Reading Dangerously, Andy Miller. Loooooong winded.
Fascism, a warning, Madelinee Albright. Should read it, too depressing
The Seveneves. Neal Stevenson. Too much explanation, too little story.
The Happiness Curve. Jonathan Rauch. Good, but there wasn't enough for a whole book.
Less, Andrew Sean Greer. Dreary and dismal.
I am Bride, Laura Wilcocks. Just. Terrible, on so many levels.
Shrill. Lindy West. Shrill indeed .
H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald. Beautifully written, sooooo self-absorbed.
A New Lease on Death, Ruth Rendall. Pedantic
The Glass Universe, Dava Sobel. Dull and too long. The story got lost in the detail.
The Line of beauty, Allan Hollinghurst. Trite.
The Outpost, Jake Tapper. Too dreary
J. M. Coetze, Disgrace. Repulsive.
Y is for Yesterday, Sue Grafton. Too ambiguous about sexual assault as a crime.
The Widows on Malabar Hill, sujata Massey. Good basic story, really annoying flashback second storyline.
Robert B Parker, God Save the Child. Dislikable characters, too much mysogyny and too much description
The Children's Book. A. S. Byatt. She usally writes a brilliant ending which redeams the dull meandering book. Today it doesn't seem worth it.
Ka, John Rowley. Obtusely written chase saga. After a few pages i kept finding myself playing solitaire.
Enlightenment Now. Stephen Ponker. Wanted to read it, but it is so turgid. Uuuhhhghf
The Potlikker Papers, John T Edge. The book is fine, I'm just not that interested in the topic.
Travels with Herodotus, Ryszard Kapuscinski. Very good writing, but ultimately dull.
From Cold War to Hot Peace, an American Ambassador in Putin's Russia, Michael McFaul. Waaaaaaayyyyy too much detail and no big picture
What you're getting wrong about Appalachia, Elizabeth Catte. Undoubtedly she has some very strong points with which I would agree, but it is a book against another rather than about something. Also needs better editing.
Vagabonding. Rolf Potts. Politically adolescent and structurally patronizing
12.5.18 The Son. Phillip Meyer. If it says 'epic family saga', it's too long by half and entirely unbelievable.
The Shadow of the Sun, Ryszard Kapuscinsky. It was fine, but very old and not quite engaging enough for an incredibly busy time in my life.
Umami, Laia Jufresa. I just don't care enough to try to track the identity of the deliberately obscured multiple narrators, so many you forget who they are.
Wallflower at the Orgy, Nora Ephron. A book complaining about people being trite that is, in itself, trite. I just don't care
Founding Gardeners. I have to give up on Andrea Wulf, she takes a great idea and makes it boring. In this case, failing to discuss slavery within the context is at best, bizarre and definately takes away from her basic premis
Cycling Home from Siberia, Rob Lilwall, fine (just) till he brought in Jesus and American know how. Had enough of that lately.
The Communist's daughter, Dennis Bock. Sooo grim!
Dragon's Fire, Anne McCaffery and Todd McCaffery. So dark and not well written.
Chasing Venus, The race to measure the heavens. Andrea Wulf. Wanted to love it, but it was soooooo dull.
The Invention of Nature, Alexander Von Humbolt's New Nature. Wanted to love it. So badly. So depressing and still boring.
Artemis, Andy Weir. I thought the main character was a 14 year old boy. Nope, turns out SHE's a 25 year old. Shit writing, crap characters, uninteresting story.
A Coffin for Dimitrios, Eric Ambler. My husband loved it, it just didn't grab me.
Believe Me, Eddie Izzard. Terrible writing
I am Pilgrim, Terry Hayes. Too much very graphic violence

T. B. Read

Sarah Durants 5 novels
Charles Todd
Nero Wolf
Peter May
Walter Mosley
Scott and Bailey
Walender
The Paris Wife
Endeavour
Inspector Morris
Tennyson mysteries
Maigret
James Runcie
Grantchester books
Books by Louise Penny
Aunt Dimity
Love in a cold climate
Vassily Gorssman, all his books.
Tahmima Anam, The Good Muslim
Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Leila Aboulela The Kindness of Enemies
Ali Eteraz, Native Believer
Ausma Zehanat Khan, The Unquiet Dead
Saladin Ahmed, Throne of the Cresent Moon
Rabih Alaenddine An Unnecessary Woman
G.Willow Wilson, Alif the Unseen
Laila Lalami, The Moor's Account
WG Sebald
This is music...I have to get a Usman Riaz guitar cd
Elizabeth Hay’s Late Night’s on Air
Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod
Diana Gabaldon
2007: Wolf Totem - Jian Rong (China)
2008: Ilustrado - Miguel Syjuco (Philippines)
2009: The Boat to Redemption - Su Tong (China)
Whale Music, Paul Quarrington (sp?)
The Magicians, a novel. Lev Grossman
Staring, how we look. Rosemarie Garland-Thomson
A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert
A gate at the Stairs, Lorrie Moore
Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It, by Malie Meloy
Patricia Hampl, I Could Tell You Stories
Miller & Paola, Tell it Slant (the version with the anthology)
William Safire, The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time: Wit and Wisdom from the Popular "on Language" Column in the New York Times Magazine
William Safire, o Uncertain Terms: More Writing from the Popular "On Language" Column in The New York Times Magazine
Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
Edward P. Jones, The Known World
Embodied Visions, evolution, emotion, culture and film by Torben Grodal
Júlio Cortázar, Rayuela. In English or Catalan, sadly not Spanish yet.
W. James Popham, Transformative Assessment
The fixer, Bernard Malamoud
Life: a user's manual, David R. Godine
http://orenetaaground.blogspot.com/2009/05/show-some-lovin-mkay.html
Narrow road to a Far Province, Basho

oreneta aground (but missinaibi's afloat!)

Sunday, August 2, 2015

A very good day