Brenda's Bookshelf

Our cat, Khaleesi, has been a constant source of amusement during our confinement. She seems to be coming to terms with our constant presence and may even appreciate it, but cats are inscrutable so you never really know what they are thinking!  What I do know is that treats at 6:30 pm on the dot are non negotiable and sometimes she even tricks me into giving them to her early by her constant whining and glaring! So I thought today I would explore books that speak to our relationship with animals, both real and imagined.

At first The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski seems like a classic story about a boy and his dog, but when his father dies suddenly and his uncle begins to insinuate himself into their lives and their business of raising a unique breed of dogs, Edgar decides to try and prove his uncle’s complicity in his father’s death.  His efforts fail spectacularly and he and his three yearling dogs are forced to flee into the wilderness. With prose that is both lyrical and spare, Wroblewski captures the wild beauty of the north woods of Wisconsin, the iconic beauty of American farm life, and the essence of family.

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans is a story of a horse and its rider both traumatized by a terrible accident. It is story of a mother’s fierce love and her determination to find a way to heal both of them and the man who not only untangles the trauma between horse and rider but revives a woman’s heart.  This is a love story, a story of healing, and an exploration of the ways our lives become entwined with the animals we love.

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht is a fascinating exploration of myth and reality, legend and facts and how the stories we tell ourselves create a truth all their own. A young doctor returns to the Balkans to work with refugees. She is confronted with a large family who insist that they must dig up the bones of their ancestors in order to rid themselves of a strange malady that is slowly killing them. Confronted with a reality that is not her own, she remembers the many stories her Grandfather who lived in the area had told her. He talked of his encounters with the “deathless man” and about the tiger who escaped from the zoo and befriended the deaf mute woman in his village, the Tiger’s Wife. Slowly she begins to understand the wisdom and truth inherent in these stories and they allow her to gain a new appreciation not only for the family she is trying to help. but for her own heritage.

The Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto is an amazing book about the clash between ancient traditions and modern life in a remote village in Mozambique. There a ghost like lioness has been preying on people in the village and the elders hire a hunter to track and kill the lioness. Alternating between the hunter Archangel Bullseye and Mariamar, a young woman whose sister was killed by the lioness it soon becomes clear that there is more to the attacks than at first it seemed. Archangel is unable to track and catch the lioness and Mariamar, who while locked away by her abusive father begins to reflect on the marginalized lives of the women in the village, we soon begin to see the scope of the violence that has occurred in the village. Couto skillfully balances the mystery and suspense, while unlocking the secrets of what happened to Mariamar and the village.

I hope that you can find something here that interest you! What are some of you favorite books about the relationships between animals and humans?

Today we are going to explore some syfi and fantasy books. If you want to escape our present reality there is no better way to do it then to read about different worlds that don’t yet exist or may never exist. At this point reality is a bit over-rated, right?

The Three Body Problem Trilogy by Cixin Liu (Author), Ken Liu (Translator) is one of the most creative and interesting syfi books I have read. A secret military installation in China makes contact with aliens. The alien’s own civilization is on the brink of destruction so contact with Earth couldn’t have happened at a more opportune moment and they prepare to abandon their planet and invade earth. On earth news of the invasion is mixed. Some welcome the idea of superior beings taking over what they see as the corrupt and utter failure of humanity and others prepare to fight the invaders. Good character development with a different historical and cultural perspective which I found fascinating, along with an important message! 

Artemis by Any Weir is another fascinating look about life beyond planet earth. This time our setting is a mining colony on the moon and the main character is a young woman who moonlights as a procurer of black market goods. Although set in the distant future, greed, inequality and injustice are still what fuels crime and intrepid Jazz Bashara is soon way over her head in intrigue, criminal syndicates who are out to kill her and the authorities who are convinced there is a conspiracy to overthrow the mining company’s control of the moon. Sharp, smart, witty, and sarcastic, Jazz is a great character that you wish you could emulate and Weir pull out all the stops, building the tension until an explosive end!

Robin Hobb is a prolific writer who has numerous fantasy series that you will enjoy. My favorites are the Farseer Trilogy in which FitzChilvary Farseer, who has some strange magical abilities and is trained as an assassin to work for the king. In The Fool and Assassin Trilogy we meet up with the same characters some twenty years later in a wonderful reunion that is filled with political intrigue and adventure.

Additionally, Robin Hobb has written the Liveship Traders Trilogy which offers one of the most interesting concepts in the fantasy genre, ships that are actually conscious. What they are and how they came to be is one of the intriguing mysteries at the heart of these books.

Michael Sullivan who is also a prolific writer recently released a series where the main character is a woman who must unite her people against a more powerful and magical enemy. The Legends of the First Empire series has all the magic, sword fighting, and adventure that any fantasy reader could want!

Finally for something a little bit different, Katherine Arden has written a lovely series of books based on Russian folktales. The result is a genre defying series that is part historical, part folk tale and in every way a marvelous read. Start with the first one with the intriguing title The Bear and the Nightingale and you will not regret it!

So there you have it. I think you will be happy to read any of these books and escape from our present reality! Enjoy!

I thought for this fourth in the series on “What to Read During a Pandemic” we should at least try to confront the “elephant in the room,” so to speak.  Up until now I have given you ways to escape, books that show us how to persevere in trying circumstances, and books that are reassuring, but today lets confront what is keeping us inside while we watch the world we know fall apart. Today I want to share some non fiction books that explain our present circumstances by showing us what has happened before when humanity faced similar or even greater dangers. These books are easily accessible, put things in a historical and scientific context and yet manage to keep your attention. If you are like me the more knowledge I have about what is happening around me and the more I understand what doctors, scientists and researchers can do, the less anxious I am. I know this is not true for many, but if it is true for you then these books should really appeal to you!

Flu: The Story Of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused it By Gina Kolata is one of the most interesting and fascinating books I have read. By delving into the history of the epidemic and revealing the latest research on the actual flu virus that caused the pandemic, Kolata give us a nuanced and factual account of what happened and some prescient advice on how to avoid another pandemic in the future!

The Fever of 1721:The Epidemic That Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics by Stephen Coss could not be more on point or have a more positive message. In 1721 the scourge of small box raged through Boston and the surrounding colonies.  As death tolls rose due to the incompetence of the British Governor of Massachusetts, a debate raged among medical and political circles about the efficacy of a new treatment called “inoculation,” smallpox which became the instrument of change, revolutionizing both medicine and the politics of the colonies forever. Coss tells this story through official documents, letters, diaries, newspapers and sermons while giving historical and cultural context to create a full picture of the times.

The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World by Steven Johnson is the story of the 1854 cholera epidemic in London. At the time they did not even know what this disease was or how it was transmitted, but a physician and a local curate in one of the most hardest hit areas of London begin to use scientific methods and plot the course of the outbreak on maps so they could track down the source of the illness. As a result of their tireless efforts in finding the cause they forever changed the way modern cities were built and the nature of government in providing infrastructure that would protect its citizens.

In the Wake of the Plague by Norman F. Cantor, sheds some much needed light on the Black Death during the fourteenth century. We know that it took one third of the populations of Europe, but much of what we think we know about the plague are myths. For example we all know the the children’s song “Ring Around the Rosie.” but few know that it was a song about the physical manifestations of the plague. Cantor uses contemporary literature, documents, diaries, court documents and many other resources to illuminate a dark chapter of history and shows us how it changed the course of history.

The Hot Zone, by Robert Preston is the true story of  a potentially devastating outbreak of an exotic “hot” virus in a Army Research Center right outside Washington in the early 1990’s. Although a bit dated now, Preston’s breathless narrative as he describes the efforts to a avert a human disaster is still terrifying and completely true!

I hope you find something to read here that helps ground you in the facts of what we are facing and provides hope that on the other side of this massive disruption and loss of life, history shows us that these outbreaks can bring positive and lasting change politically, scientifically, medically and culturally.

As we end week three of physical distancing, I am struck by how much more socializing I am doing. My sister and I who used to talk with each other maybe once every two weeks are now calling each other two or three times a week. I am calling my dad every other day since his retirement facility is now in lock down and we can not longer go to visit him. I talk to my daughters almost every day either by phone or text. We have set up group texts and chat groups for both sides of the family so we can check in easily and see how everyone is doing. I am learning how to do Zoom so I can still meet with the various groups I belong to. I am talking on FaceBook and email list serves to people I have rarely talked with in the past. Although we are apart physically this out pouring of alternative ways to still be with others is reassuring and gives me a sense of normalcy in a world that no longer seems normal. So since reassurance is on my mind I thought today I would recommend books that are reassuring.

Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, by Krista Tippett.  This book is based on the interviews Krista Tippett an award winning journalist and author conducted on her show entitled On Being. which is broadcast on NPR.  From Pico Iyer, Elizabeth Alexander, Jean Vanier, the Dalai Lama, Maria Popova and many more, Tippett Tippett adroitly reveals the wisdom that each of these men and women have to offer and  reveals what they have to teach us about life, love, faith and hope and by doing so she offers us a master class in the art of living.

Mary Oliver’s poems are one of the places I go to when I need some reassurance. Her way with words, and ability to get to the essence of things helps ground me when I need it most. A Thousand Mornings and Felicity are two of her collections I highly recommend.

Anne Lamott is another of my “go to” authors. I love her practical, brutal honesty and confessional writing style. She says all the things about herself that I can’t even begin to articulate about my own life and yet she finds joy and hope in the midst of the mess. Now that is reassuring! Read Help, Thanks, Wow: the Three Essential Prayers, Traveling Mercies or Plan B.

Now for some fiction to balance out the non-fiction.

In Plainsong and Eventide, two related novels by Kent Haruf, he reveals life in the small fictional town of Holt, Colorado. There is the family upended when their wife and mother cannot seem to get out of a bed, or a pregnant teen who is offered a lifeline by two old bachelor brothers who know nothing about teenagers or for that matter babies, but give her a place to stay with them or an elderly ill grandfather who realizes that he doesn’t have the energy or imagination necessary to raise his young grandson. With each revelation of the loneliness, fear and loss each of his characters experience, we also see acts of kindness and gentleness, and even love in the way people connect with each other in times of trouble and are family to one another even when they are not related at all. Clearly a lesson we are all seeing lived out now in our present circumstances.

In Close Your Eyes and Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian, we follow seventeen year old Emily in the aftermath of a nuclear plant disaster in Vermont. In the midst of the evacuation that follows Emily overhears speculation that her father, who worked at the plant, had been drunk and caused the accident. Fearing public ridicule and shame, Emily flees and becomes just one more runaway teen in the city of Burlington. Her story might have ended there but she meets a young boy named Cameron and to protect him she has to face into reality and make the tough decisions she has avoided until now. This is a story about resilience, and the struggle to find normalcy when the world is no longer normal, and learning that sometimes when you suffer unimaginable loss all you can do is close your eyes, hold hands and face into it.

I hope these books have stirred your interest. Let me know what books you have found reassuring in the midst of all that we face right now!

This week I am focused on books that take us out of ourselves and our current situation and tell stories about people who experienced difficult and trying  circumstances and yet persevered.

A Gentleman in Moscow  by Amor Towles is a remarkable story about a man who is trapped in the Metropole Hotel in Moscow during the revolution in 1922.  An unrepentant aristocrat, Count Rostov, is later sentenced to house arrest in the hotel and must contemplate what it means to be a man of purpose in his now reduced circumstances. This is a great read with charming and interesting characters and may even give us insights into how we can be purposeful in our own reduced circumstances.

The High Mountains of Portugal is Yann Martel’s second book after his best novel, The Life of Pi. In his new book we follow Tomas who finds an intriguing entry in an old journal describing an artifact that could change our understanding of history. So Tomas, in 1904 sets out on a quest, in new fangled contraption called the automobile to see if he can find the artifact in the journal entry. This reads sometimes like a fable or even a ghost story, but at its core it is an exploration of love and loss, faith and unbelief.

The Martian by Andy Weir will certainly snap you out of feeling sorry for yourself! What if you were one of the first astronauts to get to Mars and by some unfortunate series of mistakes you were abandoned there by the other members of your crew? What if you lost all ability to communicate with earth or the members of your crew on the space ship? What if you knew that the soonest they could come back for you is in one year or maybe eighteen months? Intrigued? You should be! This is a nail-biting un-put-downable- read!

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin is one of the most delightful books I have ever read! A.J. Fikry is is the owner of Island books, the only book store on Alice Island. He has recently lost his wife and then under bizarre circumstances loses his one of his most prized possession, a rare book. With that gone, his financial situation becomes even more dire and he is afraid he might lose his bookstore. One night while closing up his shop he finds a little girl with an Elmo doll sitting quietly in the  children’s section. The note pinned to the Elmo doll says: I want Maya to grow up in a place with books and among people who care about such kinds of things. I love her very much, but I can no longer take care of her. You will have to red it to find out what happens next and you will not be disappointed!

I hope one of these books intrigues you!

I will be back next week for another in this series. In the meantime, let me know what genre or theme of books you want me to explore next!

Greg Iles writes with passion and intensity, which is why I like him so much. After his block buster Natchez Burning trilogy this much anticipated stand alone novel cements Iles’ standing as a great Southern writer, who much like Pat Conroy, is not afraid to reveal the South’s ruthlessness and corruption behind its facade of gentility and good manners.

At the end of Cemetery Road is a statue, high on the bluff, overlooking the river. That statue is one of the reasons Marshall McEwan swore he would never return to Beinville, Mississippi, for it is a memorial to his brother, the one his father blames Marshall for killing. But now his father is dying, and Marshall, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist in Washington, DC, must return home to help his mother and run the family newspaper.

What Marshall had not anticipated was how much had changed in Bienville since he left. The newspaper, once a thriving institution, is failing, the girl he loved so desperately in his youth is now married to one of the richest and most powerful families in Bienville, and the town itself is on life support -barely hanging on until the contract for the new paper mill owned by a Chinese conglomerate is signed. Bienville, once a thriving town while Marshall was growing up, is suffering from crime, rampant drug use and sky rocketing unemployment. For all these reasons the whole town seems to be holding its breath until the contract with paper mill is signed.

Then an archaeologist and an indigenous peoples advocate is found dead near the site of the paper mill and Marshall receives an anonymous tip that seems to point to murder. Marshall, with the help of his former girlfriend, Jet, begins investigating when another murder occurs. As they uncover the facts behind the two murders, Marshall soon realizes that the real power behind the city, The Poker Club of which Jet’s father in law is the leader, is more corrupt and ruthless then he ever realized and they can act with impunity since  the source of their power comes all the way from the top in Washington, DC.  Undeterred, Marshall persists in uncovering the truth, while trying to deny the lies right in front of him and the danger that stalks him under a mask of southern hospitality and gentility.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Sharon and Keith

Book Study Worthy? Yes!

Read in Library ebook  format.