Below are the first lines of the six books I finished reading in May. Short books because I am short on concentration. And there was an election to attend to. And a democracy to save from corruption and autocracy.
Book 1
A Note to the Gentle Reader
It’s happened. You’ve finally taken that dream trip to England.
Book 2
Chapter I
The Demise of the Author
I debated for a time as to whether I ought to open these memoirs at the beginning or at the end – that is, if I would start out with my birth or with my death.
Book 3
Police Constable Penny Rogers had been right on the bumper of the minibus, siren wailing and lights flashing, for several miles before it finally pulled on to the hard shoulder of the motorway.
Book 4
June 13, 2008
I glance down at a familiar number on my phone, one that traces back to NBC News in Washington. Probably Dad checking in.
Book 5
i attack the day with energy and conviction [art shows a person still in bed]
i make my own choices i sit down in the shower
Book 6
My husband said something a few years ago that I often quote: Eighty percent of everything that is true and beautiful can be experienced on any ten-minute walk. Even in the darkest and most devastating times, love is nearby if you know what to look for.
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| Prayer for the cosmos. 2022. Still applies. |
The titles and authors revealed:
Book 1
Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village
Maureen Johnson with Jay Cooper (Illustrator)
128 pages • first pub 2021
A very fast read. I needed this in order to get back into reading. Having read numerous murder mysteries set in quaint English villages, I can say that this book is both amusing and accurate. No plot, no characters. Watch out for the vicar!
Book 2
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
By Machado de Assis, Flora Thomson-DeVeaux, Translator
240 pages • first pub 1881. This translation
fiction classics
I first heard of this one on booktube - Tristan and the Classics. I picked it because it sounded similar to Tristram Shandy*, and it promised to be amusing and short. Then I mentioned it to my daughter and she started RAVING about it. She read it as part of her big reading project to read, within one year, one book related to each country on a continent. This one was for Brazil.
It’s a satire, mocking the upper class of colonial Brazil. There are layers to the mockery, and I am sure I did not get everything there is to get about this book. I think (not sure) it is also mocking the 19th century novel, and 19th century philosophers. It seems to be a book ahead of its time. I did get bogged down in the middle section (I stopped reading and then resumed a few weeks later). It is composed of usually extremely short chapters. Nevertheless, because I often wanted to look at the helpful footnotes, it was a slow read.
In a previous translation, the title is translated as Epitaph of a Small Winner.
I abandoned the ~200-page translation by Gregory Rabassa, mainly because it was a hardcover and the print was too small; the Rabassa translation was published in 1997, and I thought I could benefit from a newer version. Translation can make a huge difference in the reader’s experience with a book, so I carefully researched and ended up buying the kindle version of Flora Thomson-DeVeaux’s translation. (God and/or the Flying Spaghetti Monster will have to forgive me for giving that small amount of money to Amazon.) It has helpful footnotes but not an overwhelming number of them. I am very annoyed that the cover of the book does not name the translator! This is unfair to Flora Thomson-DeVeaux. Not only is that a name that is pleasant to say out loud, but for her efforts her name should be on the cover.
*Full title: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne, published in 1760, a good deal earlier than Bras Cubas. My college Russian Lit teacher introduced me to Tristram Shandy, but it was not part of any curriculum.
Book 3
How to Age Disgracefully
By Clare Pooley
352 pages • first pub 2024
fiction contemporary
“Romp” could be a good word to describe this book. It took me a while to get into it but once they started all the plotting I really started enjoying it. There was nothing sinister (although there is some violence related to drug trade) – they were plotting how to save the community center and carrying out a bit of personal revenge. And then I saw the reference to Iona Iverson, the main character in Pooley’s previous book, and I was all in. Quirky, fun characters and plot.
Book 4
Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself
By Luke Russert
272 pages • first pub 2023
nonfiction memoir travel
A travel memoir by a lost soul looking to find himself. The chapter where he escapes a coup is fascinating. I ended up underwhelmed by the author’s discoveries about himself, but the travel descriptions were quite interesting. Content warning: alcoholism, grief.
Book 5
Conquer the Day: A Book of Affirmations
By Josh Mecouch
144 pages • published 2021. comic book
A very clever and often funny book, but also kind of depressing. Be warned - the affirmations are ironic.
Book 6
Somehow: Thoughts on Love
By Anne Lamott
208 pages • first pub 2024
nonfiction essays
For book club in June.
A meaningful book. An easy read, but also challenging because, let’s face it, there are people in this world whom I do not want to love. Love is not an easy action.
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I had better get my concentration back soon, because in August, one book club has assigned me to read Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. 441 pages • first pub 2018. True crime. Not my usual genre!
