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| If I get a chance to do the other side I might write "Hands off libraries!" Let's just acknowledge that there are too many valuable things They have put their dirty grubby grabby fascist nihilist anarchist hands on. |
Below are the first lines of the books I finished reading in March. Plus two I Did Not Finish. Two I rated excellent. Four books were part of a series. In one book there is a minor character with a physical disability.
I’m supposed to be getting ready for tomorrow’s Hands Off! rally. I made my sign and I have my letters to my Senators. But I just received two books on my kindle which I have been eagerly waiting for. The desire is strong to stay in tomorrow, read all day, do laundry, and cook for Passover. And if I cave to that desire, democracy dies. Onward!
Book 1
Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass.
Book 2
John Betjeman was right. Nothing bad could ever happen at Peter Jones. Thus thought Archie Williamson as he sipped his cappuccino and looked out over London’s rooftops from the Sloane Square department store’s sixth floor cafe.
Book 3
Thursday, May 19, 1921; 12 days before
Angel
Everything was as it should be on the nineteenth day of May in the hopeful year of 1921.
Book 4
On a Hot Day We Dream of Tea
In Botswana, home to the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency for the problems of ladies, and others, it is customary – one might say very customary – to enquire of people whom you meet whether they have slept well.
Book 5
The Library Lady
“That slowpoke Sarah!” Henny cried. “She’s making us late!”
Book 6
A Student Visit
“Well done.”
Perveen Mistry spoke aloud as she slid the signed contracts into envelopes.
Book 7
Writing my memoirs has been no easy task. I began putting down on paper my experiences from September 11, 2001.
Book 8
Morag Merrilea was an art student, earning money in her summer holidays by working as a secretary for Shopmark Fashions in Cnothan in the Scottish county of Sutherland. She was English and considered herself a cut above her fellow workers.
Book DNF #1
This is where the dragons went.
They lie…
Not dead, not asleep. Not waiting, because waiting implies expectation. Possibly the word we’re looking for here is…
…dormant.
Book DNF #2
Darkness came on that town like a candle being snuffed.
The titles and authors revealed:
Book 1
James
By Percival Everett
303 pages • first pub 2024
fiction historical literary.
Excellent in every way. Reads smoothly and quickly, and yet gives the reader much to think on. Highly recommend. The “little bastards” referred to in the first line are Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer – it’s an accurate assessment of their character.
Trigger warnings on racial slurs, racism, racial violence, rape, murder. For Book club #1, to discuss in May. Maybe I will reread it before the discussion.
Book 2
The Excitements
by CJ Wray
304 pages • first pub 2024.
fiction historical thriller
Slow start. No excitement until about 40% in. This book did an unseemly amount of hopping around time periods. Made me kinda dizzy. I did like one of the main characters – Archie – but really didn’t like any of the other characters.
Book 3
Angel of Greenwood
By Randi Pink
296 pages • first pub 2021
fiction historical Y.A. lit
I thought this book was excellent. It was proposed for the 9th grade curriculum at a local school district, but rejected by the ultra-conservative school board there. They claimed it was not advanced enough.
Balderdash. I found plenty of advanced vocabulary. It has a great story line and fine character development. The most fascinating part to me was the presentation of conflicts between the approaches of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois on how to achieve racial equity. What an excellent way to introduce high school students to these two thinkers!
The title character Angel is rather too perfect, and yet she was quite likeable. The other main character Isaiah had more depth, is more troubled, and is also likeable. Other readers complained that the author did too much “telling” rather than “showing,” but I disagree. I thought the author did an exceptional job of showing the “agency” of the people in the town, before the attack by White people. It’s rather like the town at the beginning of Their Eyes Were Watching God - a town run entirely by Black people, without White people interfering. They create for themselves a normal life. It’s really important for all readers, and especially White readers, to see this kind of portrayal.
What would our country’s history be if Greenwood had been allowed by White people to continue?
Book 4
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #13)
Alexander McCall Smith
257 pages • first pub 2012
fiction mystery
Huge amounts of tea drinking. I had read this book before, but long enough ago that I remembered none of the details. There are some sweet moments.
Book 5
All-Of-A-Kind Family (All-of-a-Kind Family #1)
By Sydney Taylor
188 pages • first pub 1951
fiction classics historical. middle grade
Scenes in the life of a Jewish family living in the tenements of New York City. A light children’s book with a lovely little plot twist at the end. For PT book club in April.
Book 6
The Bombay Prince (Perveen Mistry #3)
By Sujata Massey
349 pages • first pub 2021
fiction historical mystery.
A murder mystery with many interesting characters. There were many limitations on women in that society at that time period. Are we heading for the same here?
Book 7
A Small Contribution: Memoirs of a Social Worker
By Morris R. Heney
216 pages. 2021.
A book I happened upon, on Hoopla. One of my progeny has a degree in social work, so I was immediately interested. And it reminded me that my father wrote his memoir. This book was probably self-published. There were some editing errors - a few repeated sections, misspellings. I skipped some parts that were more policy-oriented. But overall I found it interesting. I remain grateful that there are people like the author and my progeny who do this difficult work, with little financial reward.
So far I don’t like reading ebooks on Hoopla. The text is more readable on the Kindle. But I would like to depart from Amazon products. I’m stuck. There is something called Kobo but I don’t have a clue how I could use library books on it, and right now I feel too distracted to change.
Book 8
Death of Yesterday (Hamish Macbeth #28)
By M.C. Beaton
272 pages • first pub 2013
fiction mystery
Sooooo many murders, in just one little Scottish town! Soooo many escapes! Not a great read, but distracting enough from the real world that I decided to finish it. The internet says the author’s quality of writing declined in her later years.
Book DNF #1
Guards! Guards! (Discworld #8)
by Terry Pratchett
416 pages • first pub 1989
fiction fantasy
Recommended by Older Daughter. Pratchett is a brilliant and clever writer, but I find his books too dark. Lots of dank, shadowy scenes, in a world where integrity and valor are not rewarded. (But is that not the world we actually live in?) Some amusing parts, but plenty of owls and rats, thieves and grifters.
Book DNF #2
The Cold Millions
By Jess Walter
352 pages • first pub 2020
fiction historical
Not sure why I couldn’t finish. Writing style was difficult? But it seemed to fit the setting of the book, which I usually appreciate. Too violent? Given that it’s about unions in the early 20th century, it was bound to include violence. Too much else to read?
