Book Talk – July 14th, 2024

Always good to see everyone at Book Lovers SIG.  Regulars Beth, Peggy, and Christina were on hand, and Jim joined us after a several-month absence.  Linda couldn’t make it but did share her reading.

Christina was touch and go, as she has had some back problems, which forced her to cancel her attendance at the recent AG.  Which means we must have been extra special to have her join us!

I also heard from Coleen who continues to have health problems.  She reports that she had a bit of a setback, but finally got out of the hospital.  Not the same original problem, but a new corollary. She hopes to be able to get over everything eventually, but it is just a long and drawn-out process.

She is still having trouble reading due to eye muscles/coordination issues. She has been listening to an audio book but keeps falling asleep!  So no books to report.

She says to tell everyone hi, but that she’s beginning to feel isolated and would appreciate a phone call if you get the chance.  Afternoons are best.  Her mobile phone number is 913.642.2480.

In all, 55 books were read/discussed/reviewed.  The full list can be found here:

https://mamensa.org/category/book-lovers-sig-book-talks/

Book Lovers SIG always meets the second Sunday of each month; in this case August 11.  We meet online using Zoom, so it is easy to join in.

Folks generally start checking in around 2 pm for a bit of socialization.  Book discussions begin around 2:30 pm, more or less, or when Peggy says, “OK, Let’s talk about books!”.

To join us on Zoom, simply click on the link shown below:

https://tinyurl.com/BookLoversSIG

You can also open your Zoom app and use these parameters:

Meeting ID: 946 0436 4344
Passcode: 844358

Remember, Book Lovers is yet another way for members who do not live in large metropolitan areas or who can’t make it to local events to get more out of their Mensa membership.  We don’t assign books; we just talk about what we’ve been reading lately.  Even if you haven’t had time to read this month, join us anyway.  Maybe you’ll hear about something that interests you; happens to me all the time! ~ Brad Lucht

*****

Beth

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.  Back in the world of time travel and humans vs. history.  A funny look at people trying to fix something they think they screwed up, when it’s just part of a much bigger picture they can’t see, and the almighty history will have its way in the end.  And, by the way, history is already written, and our mucking about in it won’t make any difference.  So, it’s really about living in the now, and not crying over spilt milk.  It is interesting to think we are living in some future person’s history, and brings up all sorts of questions about free will and the direction of time.

The Wolf’s Eye (The Order of the Seven Stars #2) by Luanne G. Smith.  This is book 2 about magic during WWI in Prussia/Russia.  One of our main characters has been bitten by an evil wolf and transforms into a werewolf once a month or more.  They had some magic elixir that can contain the transformation, but they’re out, and they think the person who made it is dead.  (It really helps to read the 1st book first.)  Our protagonist set off on the trail of any help they can find, digging into hidden family secrets.  Of course, there is another werewolf on the hunt for them.  It was a good story and was pretty consistent in its rules of magic.

The Deadline by Jill Lepore.  A collection of essays by the prominent historian, Jill Lepore.  She can write the phone book in an interesting way.  It’s a 600 pager, so I didn’t finish it before the library took it back.  Interesting insights by a master story teller of true tales.

Wiser by Dilip Jeste.  Are you wise or just old and stuck in the 60s?  Both.  Discusses the basis of wisdom, there’s a test to take that is so easy, everyone is wise.  It’s an interesting way to look at wisdom, with some science thrown in.  I think there are some insights, but it becomes self-reinforcing and I lost interest.

Living with Intensity by Susan Daniels.  This is a book about the what, why, and how of neurodivergence in intelligent kids (even grown-up kids) and how the label of “gifted” leaves out all the other ways that gifted people may be different and the results of not getting their needs met or acknowledged, and how to work with it.  This one hit very close to home, and a few of the insights I gained took a lot to process.  Too much time: so the book went back to the library.

Three Musketeers (volumes 3-5:  Twenty Years After, Blood Royal, and Between Two Kings) by Alexander Dumas (translated by Lawrence Ellsworth).  I’m finally learning the history of France in the 17th century and pieces are starting to fall into place.  Once I accepted that this was supposed to be comedy/satire, it is a much more enjoyable read.  The effects of class are so blatant:  that was what all the fighting was about.  There is the royalty (regular people who got born into the right (or wrong) family at the right time; the aristocracy (our heroes, who want more rank); the clergy, many of whom have NOT been ordained, but still wield the power of the church; and the peasants.  So, our heroes are doing their thing, and their lackeys are picking up after them while one sleeps in a bed and the other sleeps in the stable.  High ranking prisoners have dinner served to them, get daily tennis, have guards to keep them safe.  No dungeons here.  They use up horses the way we use up tires on race cars.  Still a good read.

The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich.  Most of the studies of psychology have been done on Western college students.  This book looks at the results of that bias, and how a different way of looking at societies can be to look at kin-based vs. individualistic societies.  The insight so far (25% through) is to understand how kin-based cultures will have different values than individualistic cultures.  Yes, the church was very much involved.

Peggy

Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie.  Short stories, some in Radch universe. I liked one story, based on the Mayan ball-court games, but was otherwise disappointed.

Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier.  In this book’s Venice/Murano, and only there, time travels slowly so one woman’s lifetime takes us from 1500 to the present. The main character’s family are glassblowers in Murano and she takes advantage of a narrow opportunity window to make glass beads.

Lucky by Jane Smiley. The life of a musical St. Louis girl is followed through her career ups and downs. A high school acquaintance who pops into the story occasionally, the “gawky girl”, is very similar to the real Jane Smiley. Smiley eventually writes a book based on the main character. An interesting rumination on how authors rework actual life for their books to sharpen the plot.

God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible by Candida Moss. The author, a specialist in Early Christianity, started wondering how she would fare if her eyesight weakened in that time period.  The answer: buy slaves to read/write for her or at least have wealthy friends to lend them to you.  After all, that’s what Saint Paul did.

Christina

A lot of my reading choices this summer have been guided by BookList’s Roll Your Next Read dice game. I’ve indicated the books’ keywords below.

Mysteries & Thrillers

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari. A cozy murder mystery with a touch of dark academia. Roll Your Next Read keyword: Backlist.

Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf.  This is a thriller set around a reality show that is a thinly disguised revenge plot.  I felt like as a reader I was given far too much information to build up much suspense, but there were some fun set pieces.  And who hasn’t dreamt of locking a bad boss in their own wine cellar?  Read for the Sleep When I’m Dead Book Club.

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden.  Tired of all the bonkers plot twists in the latest contemporary thrillers?  Slow down a bit and relax on your fainting couch with this love letter to Victorian Gothic literature.  A governess arrives at a remote estate for her new assignment and quickly discovers that all is not as it seems.  Super tropey in all the best ways.  Read for the Haunted Victorian Book Club.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Spicy.

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen.  A group of retired spies think they’ve found a nice little haven in rural Maine, but the spy game thinks otherwise.  I really enjoyed the added perspective of the local police chief suddenly dealing with a dead spy on her turf.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Random.

The Prisoner of Paradise by Rob Samborn.  Supernatural thriller set in Venice, featuring Il Paradiso and a tourist who can hear a woman in the painting talking to him.  The plot goes in circles a lot and ends on a cliffhanger, but there’s a lot of creepy, cultish fun.  Read for the Sisters in Crime – Colorado Book Club.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Travel.

Secrets of the Greek Revival by Eva Pohler.  Three friends buy an old house and discover many secrets, past and present, as they renovate it.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: S.

The First Fiancee by Rita A. Popp.  Contemporary cozy mystery set in New Mexico.  A young woman must figure out if her sister is about to marry a guy who killed his first fiancee.  Read for the Sisters in Crime – Colorado Book Club.

A Murder of Quality by John le Carre.  This is the second George Smiley book and not a spy novel at all.  A former wartime colleague calls Smiley in to check on an acquaintance who feared her husband was going to kill her.  Smiley agrees and finds that the woman has already been murdered.  Not really dark academia, but the action does occur at a boys’ school.

Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen.  A cozy mystery set in Vermont, inspired by Frances Lee Glessner’s miniature crime studies.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Nature.

Nonfiction

Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession by Rachel Monroe.  The narrative bounces all over the place but is a fascinating look at the link between obsessive women and true crime and also why the true crime genre holds so much appeal for women in general.  Read for the F*cked-Up Book Club.

It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism by Bernie Sanders.  Mostly stuff I already knew, but it was good to have it all laid out in one place.  A very validating read.  Read for Stranger Than Fiction. Roll Your Next Read keyword: I.

What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? by Frederick Douglass.  Powerful abolitionist speech.  I listened to the Amir Abdullah narration and highly recommend it.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: 4th.

Middle Grade & Young Adult

Out of the Blue by Jason June.  Queer teen merfolk romcom.  Good nonbinary rep and commentary on the destruction of ocean life.  Silly fake dating romance, and I find that the whole merfolk genre doesn’t really appeal to me.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: O.

Martin McLean, Middle School Queen by Alyssa Zaczek.  A 12-year-old boy discovers the joys of drag and must figure out how to balance this with his new role leading the Math Bowl team.  Much wackiness ensues.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Rainbow.

Horror

The Route of Ice and Salt by Jose Luis Zarate.  This was sold to me as a re-telling of Dracula’s voyage to England on the Demeter.  Uh… I guess so?  The cargo is mentioned briefly, and weird supernatural deaths abound.  But it’s mostly just a really horny captain obsessed with his crew’s f*ckability.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Water.

What Grows in the Dark by Jaq Evans.  Lots of great ideas here, but the execution was lacking.  I still feel like this writer is worth watching, though, as their skills develop.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Color.

SFF Amazon/Audible Shorts

Slow Time Between the Stars by John Scalzi.  Short story from the perspective of an AI tasked with finding a new home for humanity.  More contemplative than I’m used to from Scalzi, but enjoyable.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Scroll.

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay.  In this second-person narrative, you awake with amnesia and work through discovering who you are and what the heck happened.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: New.

Summer Frost by Blake Crouch.  My favorite of the three.  A video game developer accidentally creates a powerful AI, liberates it from its game, and decides to train it up properly.  Much wackiness ensues.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: B.

June on the Range Reading

Showdown Trail: A Novel of Wagon Train Days by Louis L’Amour.  Originally published under the pseudonym Jim Mayo.  Entertaining adventure/romance.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: L.

Play

Is He Dead? by Mark Twain and David Ives.  A fun little farce in which the painter Millet fakes his death and pretends to be his own sister.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: T.

Collections

Let the Light Pour In by Lemn Sissay.  Delightful collection of short “morning” poems.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Sunshine.

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma.  I did not have the cultural background to understand most of these weird AF short stories, but I liked Ma’s distinctive writing style.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Author.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.  Listened to the audiobook on a road trip with a friend.  Some stories I already knew, but Gaiman’s narration was entertaining.  Roll Your Next Read keyword: Friend.

Brad

Alias Emma by Ava Glass.  Classic story of a spy, abandoned, left to find their own way back to safety.  A bit farfetched in places, but the writing is such that it is easy to suspend belief and immerse yourself in the story.  ****

The Traitor (Alias Emma #2) by Ava Glass.  An agent had been murdered in London.  By Russians. In a most gruesome way.  The Agency sends Emma Makepeace undercover to identify the murderer and perhaps take down an organization selling chemical weapons to bad actors.

There is a jaw-dropping twist at the end that I guarantee you will not see coming.

This is a book I did not want to put down and am REALLY looking forward to the third book in the series, The Trap, coming out this September.   If you like the Slough House series by Mick Heron, I think you will like this as well.  ****

The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight by Martha Ackmann.  Such an important story.  Hard to believe (or is it?) that this isn’t taught in schools.  It amazes me that even today some politicians still fight against equal opportunity for all.  Such a waste.  *****

The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom.  There are basically two stories here.  One involves a group of survivors from a yacht that exploded, the other the inspector that found the empty life raft a year later.

Without giving anything away, I simply did not find the inspector’s initial actions plausible.  And if you can’t suspend your disbelief, the story falls apart.  And then, to top it off, you are told at the VERY END that none of this really happened, that it was all just a hallucination by a minor character on a luxury yacht.  Crap like that really burns my toast.  Not recommended.  ***

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh.  This was a fairly length read, but once you got sucked into the soap opera of a plot (space opera, actually), you really didn’t want to let go.  This won a Hugo in 1981, and I was excited to read the next in the series, but it isn’t available in a digital format.  Aye yai yai!  You’re killing me here.  *****

According to Goodreads, Cherryh has won four Hugos and is one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed authors in the science fiction and fantasy field. She is the author of more than forty(!) novels.

Jim

Laughter Is The Best Medicine (Readers Digest) Humor from many editions of the Readers Digest.

How Come I Always Get Blamed for The Things I Do by Brian Crane.  A compilation of the Pickles comic strip.  Opal and Earl Pickles are elderly grandparents, with a daughter and grandson living with them.  It has many keen observations about relationships, especially long married ones.

Smith of Wooten Manor by J.R.R. Tolkein.  Every so many years, a great Cake is baked and a selection of the children in the village get a slice.  One slice has a special gift.  The story involves magic, faeries, and surprises.

Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkein.  A dragon has been destroying the countryside.  A farmer becomes ‘friends’ with it but tells the town he has captured it.  He becomes the hero, but then things happen…

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill.  Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest.  They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town.  But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle.  She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian.  Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.  One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic.  Xan decides she must raise this magicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own.

The Midnight Library by Matt Kaig.  A very troubled young woman has everything go wrong in her life.  She decides to commit suicide.  As she does, but before she dies, she finds herself in a HUGE library.  Every book is an alternate life she could live/could have lived.  She must decide on which story to take as her own before midnight, or she dies forever.

Encounter With Tiber by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes.  A sci-fi tale about a race in the Alpha Centauri system who knows that life on their planet will be destroyed at a fixed, known time.  They send scouts to Earth to see if they can send all their people there.  But they find stone age humans.  They find that Earth may not be the best choice, and try the Moon, Mars, and 10 other star systems.  There are lots of details about space, spaceflight, and living in space that are obvious contributions from Buzz.  It was a delightful read, showing several evolutionary types of space travel, and dealing with some interesting questions about near-light speed travel.  Highly recommended!

Linda

On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service, by Anthony Fauci.  A bit dry, but interesting info on infectious diseases and his research on them, the pandemic, and his relationship with several presidents.  ***

The Blessing Way, by Tony Hillerman.  Crime solving in the Southwest, a lot of Indian mysticism.  Will not follow this author.  **

The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff.  Maybe recommended by this group?  A young woman survives in the wilderness after escaping from an abusive community in 1600s America.  *****

The Black Ice, by Michael Connelly.  Book 2 of Harry Bosch series.  ****

American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins.  A Mexican woman and her daughter travel the arduous immigrant path to the US to avoid a cartel boss who wants to kill them.  ****

The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett.  A family saga.  ****

Michael

Michael wasn’t able to join us, nor did he provide a list of books he has been reading, but he did pass along that he has read 24 of the NY Times Best Books of 20th Century.