Before getting to the first lines, I have a question. What is a great book club book that you have read within the past year?
Below are the first lines of the three books I finished reading in June, all of which featured women and girls figuring out how to do life despite the obstacles in front of them.
Book 1
November 28, 1905
Princeton, New Jersey
The Old North bell tolls the hour, and I realize that I’ll be late. I long to break into a sprint, my voluminous skirts lifted, my legs flying along the Princeton University pathways.
Book 2
Reviving Ophelia was my attempt to understand my experiences as a mother of a teenage daughter and a therapist for adolescent girls.
Book 3
On November 21, 2019, I walked through the door of Room 1100 of the Longworth Office Building in Washington D.C., to appear before the House Intelligence Committee.
The titles and authors revealed:
Book 1
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray. 347 pages. 2021.
The book started slowly, but about half-way through the pace picked up. The characters and plot were interesting. Based on historical persons. I read it for book club.
Book 2
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (25th Anniversary Edition), by Mary Pipher, PhD, and Sara Pipher Gilliam. Published 2019. 399 pages.
Difficult material, but well presented. I had to skip some chapters because the subject matter was too difficult for me. It made for a helpful, deep, and searing discussion at book club. Mary Pipher is adamantly against social media.
Book 3
There is Nothing For You Here, by Fiona Hill. Published 2021. 432 pages.
This is the memoir of the expert on Russia who testified to Congress related to the first impeachment of President Donald Trump. She has an interesting story. Some of it is a bit repetitive but the overall main points are good ones, I think.
Working on
The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Translated by Larissa Volokhonsky, Richard Pevear. First published 1879. This translation first published 1990. 796 pages.
Up to about page 531 (Part III, Book Nine; 62% of the total) by end of June. The murder has now occurred. Dmitri Karamazov is being questioned.
Did not finish
Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson. Published 1995. 322 pages. Nonfiction.
I thought this book would be mostly about Scotland. I read a few chapters and there was nothing about Scotland. Those chapters were quite amusing, so I might return to it. But I had other more pressing reading assignments, and library books appeared on my kindle before expected. And I kinda wanted to read about Scotland.
Please do let me know what you are reading these days.
3 comments:
That's one of the few Bryson titles I never read. I totally appreciate not feeling fulfilled when you expect a book to be about something and it's not about that topic.
My book club read and LOVED: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow, and separately adored her other book, The Ten THousand Doors. Other books we recommend: We Had a Little Real Estate Problem by Kliph Nesteroff, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, The Food of Love Cookery School by Nicky Pellogrino (a bit twee, but still good), Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood, Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, Meet Me At The Museum by Anne Youngson, The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett
We did read the Personal Librarian. I did think it was interesting to learn about the money, the nuance of racism in that time period, how much the main character bluffed her way into her position, but then made a serious contribution that I never knew about. The history of the collection was also fascinating--I would love to see it someday. My book club keeps talking about making a trip to NYC to see places we've read about.
Not even a bit surprised to learn Mary Pipher isn't down with social media. That tracks.
I find those Russian novels so daunting. And much depends upon the translation, I suspect.
I read "Meet Me At the Museum" and really liked it. It flowed well and gave me a lot to think about. Thanks for reminding me!
One book club I am in read "The Vanishing Half" which I thought was excellent - a fascinating look at how people view themselves, and very well written.
Just stopped by after seeing your comment on The More the Messier. I wanted to see what books you were reading. I just read a book by Ivan Doig called 'The Whistling Season', and I loved it. It might be my new favorite book. The characters have lots of depth. I read it for book club and the other book club members also thoroughly enjoyed it.
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