Fiction Review: State of Wonder

I just finished listening to State of Wonder by Ann Patchett on audio. Somehow, I missed it when it was published in 2011 and recently found the audio files sort of hidden on my laptop and unlabelled--a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed this journey into the deepest reaches of the Amazon, with plenty of surprises along the way.

Dr. Marina Singh, a pharmaceuticals researcher in Minnesota, is tasked by her boss, with whom she is having a secret affair, with traveling to a remote area of the Brazilian rainforest. Another researcher at her company, Dr. Annick Swenson, has gone missing there and cut off all communication with the company. Marina's officemate and friend, Anders, was first sent down there to find Dr. Swenson, but he died under mysterious circumstances. With his widow's tearful entreaties in her ears and the sight of his three sons fresh in her mind, Marina agrees to make the trip. She figures it will take her about two weeks to find and talk to Dr. Swenson, who was Marina's teacher in med school years ago, get an update on her progress in developing a new fertility drug, and find out the details of Anders' death, maybe even bringing back his possessions (and some answers) for his family. Once Marina arrives in Brazil, though, she sees that it won't be that simple. There is no sign of Dr. Swenson in the hot, exotic, crowded city, and those who know her say they can not predict when she will show up. Dr. Swenson does eventually emerge from the jungle, though Marina doesn't learn much from her, so she decides to follow her old mentor deep into the Amazon to the remote village where the makeshift lab is set up, following the same frightening path that Anders did just months ago.

This novel has a gradual build-up at the beginning, but once it gets rolling (when Marina arrives in Brazil), it is twisty and unpredictable, with plenty of suspense and unexpected revelations. That beginning in Minnesota is necessary to build in-depth characters and relationships, as Marina and her boss get the shocking news about Anders, visit his widow, and flashbacks help to fill in some background on all of the characters. Most of the novel takes place in Brazil--and much of that deep within the Amazon jungle--which provides a fascinating and immersive sense of place that permeates the entire story. The audio book is narrated by talented and well-known actress Hope Davis (I recognized her distinctive voice right away), so it is excellent, with plenty of emotion imbued in the story through her voice. Every time I thought I knew where this novel was going, it took another surprising turn, making for an engrossing and entertaining listen. Now, I am excited to read more of Patchett's backlist, since I have missed many of her novels since loving Bel Canto many years ago!

384 pages, Harper Perennial
HarperAudio

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Listen to a sample of the audio book, narrated by actress Hope Davis, here and/or download it from Audible.

You can purchase State of Wonder from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

Or you can order State of Wonder from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Celebrate Mardi Gras Today!

A Mardi Gras float heads down Canal Street - Mardi Gras 1988

Today is Mardi Gras day - we used to live in New Orleans, so this is a major holiday at out house! We had our annual party with a few friends (many of whom also lived in New Orleans when we did) on Saturday, and today, we will finish off the season with our annual tradition of Popeye's at a friend's house (yes, Popeye's is authentic Louisiana food!).

 

Want to join the fun today? Here is a collection of ways to celebrate Mardi Gras, New Orleans, and Louisiana today...including food, recipes, travel tips, movies & TV shows, and, of course, some great books! You can also check out my column in Shelf Awareness from last year that features books about and set in New Orleans, Armchair Travel: Destination New Orleans.

 

Great Adult Books Set In/About Louisiana (additional titles in my article linked above):

• The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells, author of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - I listened to Calla Lily's story on audio and laughed out loud & bawled my eyes out! It takes place in southern Louisiana, with plenty of local color.
• Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen - I loved this memoir about the food, history, people, and unique culture of New Orleans.
• Trail of Crumbs: Food, Love, and the Search for Home by Kim Sunée - although this food-focused memoir covers everyplace from Sweden to France to Korea, the author grew up in New Orleans, where the food culture impacted the rest of her life.
  

Middle-Grade and Teen/YA Books Set In/About Louisiana:

• Ruined by Paula Morris - a teen/YA mystery/ghost story set in New Orleans (the perfect setting for a ghost story!)
• The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman - a compelling middle-grade historical fiction adventure (with a touch of time travel), where a girl from 1960 travels back to 1860 Louisiana
• Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick - a middle-grade novel about Hurricane Katrina - powerful and gripping
• Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys - most people are familiar with her two YA novels set during WWII (Between Shades of Gray and Salt to the Sea), but this historical novel is set in New Orleans in 1950

Movies & TV Shows

• Chef  - a wonderful, uplifting movie about a family food truck that travels from Miami to LA, with a stop in New Orleans, of course! My favorite movie of the year in 2015.
• NCIS: New Orleans - though it's a crime show, it includes many scenes of New Orleans, mention of local restaurants and landmarks, and other local tidbits. They usually do a Mardi Gras episode around this time of year, so check your cable On Demand.
• You can also check out some classic movies and modern classics with New Orleans settings, like A Streetcar Named Desire and The Big Easy.
• Or tune in to watch parades and other scenes in New Orleans streaming live (or if you missed the parades, some great video clips) at www.mardigras.com.

One of the locals in Louisiana

Travel
All this talk of Louisiana making you want to visit? I have written articles about visiting New Orleans  and Exploring Cajun Country - check them out and start planning your trip (plenty of food recommendations in both!). I'm certainly ready to go back!

Crawfish!

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!
Notice that many of the books and movies about Louisiana are focused on FOOD? Yes, Louisiana - and especially New Orleans - is known for its amazing, unique food. This blog post on how to celebrate Mardi Gras includes my own recipes for some classic Louisiana dishes, plus food you can grab locally today and webcams where you can vicariously experience Mardi Gras - there are plenty of suggestions in this post that you can still manage to do TODAY! Or save it for tomorrow if you like - we eat this food all year round. 

NOTE that Zapp's potato chips - which you absolutely MUST try) have been bought out by PA-chip maker Utz, so you don't have to get them by mail-order anymore. We can now find them in local stores like Wawa here in Delaware....though we still ordered a carton of assorted flavors for Mardi Gras! (Cajun Crawtator and Cajun Dill are the best.)

Me & my sons, about 10 years ago

It's Monday 2/24! What Are You Reading?

You may have noticed I haven't been posting much here lately ... or visiting many blogs (even my favorites!). I am still neck-deep in trying to get my new book fully published. As I posted last week, I did manage to publish the e-book (on all the popular platforms), but I am still struggling with the print book. I keep thinking it is ready, and it'll be uploaded TODAY, and then I run into another challenge. Like today! After weeks of messing around with Word to format the half-finished document my hired formatter left for me when she quit abruptly, I was so thrilled on Friday (victorious!) to have figured out all the weird Word problems. I saved it as a pdf and also worked out those problems that cropped up from the switch. Then, I finally tried to upload it to Amazon ... error! It kept telling me my ISBN number didn't match. I figured that glitch out this morning, finally uploaded the cover and the manuscript, and ... more errors to correct. Apparently, the size of my cover graphic was off by 0.01 inch or something, so I had to go back to my cover designer to wait for her to revise it. Back in waiting mode, and once I get the cover accepted, I am sure that some errors will come up in the inside formatting, but at least I can fix those myself! You can read more about my book and order the e-book on all platforms (Kindle, Nook, Apple, etc.) here.

Our house is fully decorated for Mardi Gras!

Meanwhile, it's Mardi Gras time! We hosted our annual Mardi Gras party Saturday. We used to live in New Orleans, so we have hosted a Mardi Gras party since we moved north in 1990. When we were younger and I was healthier, it was a wild, late-night blow-out that grew to 50-60 people! These days, post-illness, it is a quieter affair with just our closest, oldest friends (some of whom also lived in New Orleans when we did). It's still a lot of work, but we always enjoy it ... and we've been living off left-overs of shrimp, jambalaya, and red beans & rice since!

I love the shiny purple fringe on our kitchen doorway!

So, we haven't had a lot of time for books this past week, but here's what we have all been reading:

I started my first-ever Ian McEwan novel, Saturday (can you believe I've never read him before?). It's a somewhat slow novel, describing in detail a typical Saturday in the life of a London neurosurgeon. It's interesting to read an entire novel within the limits of one day, though it includes his memories of the past, too. McEwan includes both the mundane details of any Saturday for the surgeon, as well as some really unusual and unsettling things that happen this particular day, so it somehow manages to tackle both the personal and the global. It's a fairly slow-moving story, and some sections--like the very detailed description of his squash match, which I know nothing about (including the terminology)--feel boring to me. Other passages, though, really seem to hit on some intriguing thoughts or universal truths, so my copy has quite a few dog-eared pages with quotes I want to write down. I'm about halfway and am enjoying it overall.

On audio, I finished listening to State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Somehow, I missed it when it was published in 2011 and just found the audio files sort of hidden on my laptop and unlabelled--a pleasant surprise! It's the story of Dr. Marina Singh, a pharmaceuticals researcher from Minnesota who has been tasked with traveling to a remote area of Brazil. Another researcher at her company, Dr. Annick Swenson, has gone missing there and cut off all communication with the company, and the first guy sent to find her has now died. It's a very intriguing story with in-depth characters and an immersive and fascinating sense of place. There are lots of unexpected plot twists as Marina heads into the Amazon with her former mentor and plenty of surprises. I really enjoyed listening to it, and it's made me eager to read more of her novels (this was my first since Bel Canto over a decade ago!).

I thought I could use some YA mixed in, so I am now listening to Solo by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess. I have been hearing rave reviews of this YA novel for years, but for some reason, I didn't think it would be for me. I am loving it! It's about a teen boy named Blade whose father is a renowned rock star, equally famous for his music and his addictions and outrageous behavior. It's a tough way to grow up, and Blade's mother died when he was only eight years old. His dad keeps saying he's changed but then everything falls apart again. In addition, Blade is in love with a girl whose father hates him (because of his father). The novel is written in verse, which may be part of why I avoided it. I'm not a huge poetry fan, generally. But, on audio, I wasn't even aware of the way this was written; it just sounds impactful and rhythmic and tells a story with emotional depth. Even better, with his musical family, the audio includes music, including Blade's own songs, which adds greatly to the wonderful experience listening to it.

My husband, Ken, has been reading a Christmas gift from me, End of Watch by Stephen King. This novel is the end of the trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes and continued with Finders Keepers, so he said he wanted to read book three while the rest was still fresh is his mind from last fall. According to the blurb, it's about a serial killer with a traumatic brain injury who is in a persistent vegetative state. Behind his still body, though, his mind is working fast thanks to a new experimental drug, and he is scheming to get revenge on those who crossed him, including retired police detective Bill Hodges, the hero of the trilogy. After reading The Outsider last year and realizing that one of my favorite characters in that novel was from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, I now want to read this series, too!

Our son, 25, is still reading The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams, book 1 in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, one of the books he bought recently with a Christmas gift card. Sounds like this one features dark sorcery, an elf-like race, royals and servants, a deadly riddle, and plenty of swords--all right up his alley! I can't remember, but I don't think he's read this author before. He's enjoying it so far, but like I said, it's been a really busy week, and this is a hefty one!
 




Blog post last week:

Nonfiction Review: An Indigenous People's History of the United States by by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese) - this YA version of the hot book is powerful, horrifying, and enlightening - a must-read!

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

My husband and I (on the right) with my mom and her husband, Mardi Gras 1988

Nonfiction Review: An Indigenous People's History of the United States for Young People

One of my book groups chose the adult version of this hot nonfiction title, but since it was not available through my library at the time, I requested the YA version, An Indigenous People's History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese). While I was reading it, the adult version of the same title also became available, so I was able to compare both books. Whichever version you choose, this book is a must-read for every American: certainly horrifying but also eye-opening and necessary.

This unique book is, as its title suggests, the history of the United States but from the perspective of the 15 million indigenous people who were here many thousands of years (BCE) before white Europeans came to claim the land as their own. It starts with early history of the full Americas and then zeroes in on the area that is now known as the United States. Topics include geography and the importance of the land to indigenous people; the role of corn in their societies, in both North and South America; the arrival of white settlers from Europe; and all that came later. Many historical myths are busted in this engrossing narrative, like that North America was wilderness when the Pilgrims arrived (rather, the Native Americans had strong communities and nations and plenty of infrastructure in place across the entire continent) or that American Indians were violent savages who scalped their victims (in fact, it was the European settlers who began the practice of scalping in order to reward those who killed indigenous men, women, and children). The book proceeds through the entire history of the U.S. to the present, discussing in detail our well-known historical events from the perspective of Native Americans.

This historical book is stunning, powerful, and often absolutely horrifying, but it is also immensely educational. It is shocking to read words that our beloved founding fathers and esteemed presidents (even Lincoln!) wrote about needing to exterminate Indians. The adult version of the book is more detailed and includes ample footnotes, but I preferred the "for Young People" YA version. It includes maps, graphics, and photos that help in understanding the facts but are completely missing from the original version (why did they think adults wouldn't find maps and photos interesting and additive?). Also, oddly, the last two chapters of the YA version are--about modern-day issues, including the conflicts and protests over oil pipelines going through Native American lands--are entirely absent from the adult version. I found these chapters extremely informative and would have read the adult version, if they'd been included, for even more details. Admittedly, this is a heavy and difficult narrative to read but such an important book for all of us. It was incredibly enlightening, opened my eyes to the details of our nation's historical and continuing impact on indigenous people, and I am glad to have read it.

244 pages, Beacon Press

NOTE: My book group postponed its meeting until March, so I don't yet know what the other members thought of this book.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Listen to a sampleof the audio book (based on the adult book--there is no YA audio) here and/or download it from Audible.

You can purchase An Indigenous People's History of the United States for Young People from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

Or you can order An Indigenous People's History of the United States for Young People from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 2/17! What Are You Reading?

No time today, with appointments all morning and the family coming home for dinner, but since we are all still reading what we were last week, I think I can fit in a quick update. Here's what we are reading:

I finished re-reading my Favorite Book of 2019, Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais (my review at the link). This outstanding novel is set in South Africa during apartheid in the 1970's. It's about the loving relationship between an orphaned white girl, Robin, and the black nanny, Beauty, who cares for her while also searching for her own missing teen daughter. I loved the novel even more the second time around, and knowing the basics of the plot also allowed me to notice more fully the beautiful writing. I was so glad to be immersed in Robin's and Beauty's lives again. It is, at times, a heart-breaking story, but it is also filled with warmth, love, hope, and lots of humor. Bianca has a particular (often hilarious) talent for capturing the internal life of a little girl. I met and got to know the author last year at Booktopia, and I've invited her to videochat with my book group on Wednesday - can't wait! I finished reading it last night, and my husband laughed when I said, "Oh, no, it ended again." This book has a solid place in my ever-changing Best Books Ever Read list.

On audio, I am still listening to State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Somehow, I missed it when it was published in 2011 and just found the audio files sort of hidden on my laptop and unlabelled--a pleasant surprise! It's the story of Dr. Marina Singh, a pharmaceuticals researcher from Minnesota who has been tasked with traveling to a remote area of Brazil. Another researcher at her company, Dr. Annick Swenson, has gone missing there and cut off all communication with the company, and the first guy sent to find her has now died. It's a very intriguing story with in-depth characters and an immersive and fascinating sense of place. There are lots of unexpected plot twists as Marina heads into the Amazon with her former mentor. I'm enjoying it and wondering how it will end.

Ken has been reading a Christmas gift from me, End of Watch by Stephen King. This novel is the end of the trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes and continued with Finders Keepers, so he said he wanted to read book three while the rest was still fresh is his mind from last fall. According to the blurb, it's about a serial killer with a traumatic brain injury who is in a persistent vegetative state. Behind his still body, though, his mind is working fast thanks to a new experimental drug, and he is scheming to get revenge on those who crossed him, including retired police detective Bill Hodges, the hero of the trilogy. After reading The Outsider last year and realizing that one of my favorite characters in that novel was from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, I now want to read this series, too!

Our son, 25, is still reading The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams, book 1 in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, one of the books he bought recently with a Christmas gift card. Sounds like this one features dark sorcery, an elf-like race, royals and servants, a deadly riddle, and plenty of swords--all right up his alley! I can't remember, but I don't think he's read this author before. He's enjoying it so far.



Just one blog post last week:

My Summary of Books Read in January - a good reading month & a great start on my 2020 reading challenges

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Books Read in January

Winter reflections

January was a good reading month for me and a great start to the new year! Here are the books I finished in January:

• Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center (MA) - adult fiction on audio
• Running on Red Dog Road by Drema Hall Berkheimer (WV) - memoir
• Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday (NY, Iraq) - adult fiction

• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Sweden) - adult fiction on audio
• Recursion by Blake Crouch (NY) - adult fiction
• Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (Poland) - adult fiction

I read six books totals, which is about average for me. All six were adult books last month--no middle-grade or YA. I listened to two of them on audio, and one book was nonfiction, while the rest were all fiction (again, about average for me!). They took place in a wide variety of locations, so I got a good start on my reading challenges (see below). I focused in January on books on my shelves or that I've been meaning to read for a while (in addition to two book group choices), so I enjoyed all of these. It's hard to choose a favorite some I liked them all and they were all very different, but I think Asymmetry grabbed me the most.

Progress in 2020 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the link above. I have some fun ones going this year! Here's how January stacked up:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020 - Interestingly, I only read 2 books from my own shelves since some of my "TBRs" last month were audios (which I am allowed to count, but I usually just focus on physical books taking up space on our shelves!).

2020 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - January was Winter Wonderland, so Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk fits. I wouldn't exactly call the setting wonderful or magical, but it was very wintry and snowy, with some fairy tale overtones.

Back to the Classics 2020 - no classics in January, but I am determined to do better than last year!

PopSugar Reading Challenge - this is a unique one! I fit all six of my books into categories last month:

1. Book recommended by favorite podcast: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
2. Book that passes the Bechdel test: Running on Red Dog Road by Drema Hall Berkheimer
3. Book with the same title as a movie but unrelated: Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
4. Book I meant to read in 2019: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
5. Medical thriller: Recursion by Blake Crouch
6. Book with a main character in her 20's: Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center 

2020 Nonfiction Reader's Challenge - Running on Red Dog Road by Drema Hall Berkheimer fit the memoir category.

2020 Diversity Reading Challenge - I read three diverse books last months. The January category was diverse folktales/culture/mythology; or diverse retelling; or non-western setting and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk fit.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I read books set in Iraq, Poland, and Sweden last month - quite a world tour!

2020 Literary Escapes Challenge - I read books set in three states: New York, Massachusetts, and West Virginia (a rare one!)

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In January, I filled 20 spaces on my bingo card:

Spaces Filled:

Things You Save in a Fire - free book, achievement, quest
Running on Red Dog Road - family, read an e-book, antiques, historic
Asymmetry - shelf love, read a physical book, not in a series
A Man Called Ove - meant to read in 2019, audio book
Recursion - ulterior motive, repercussions, favorite author
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - library book, diet, cold weather
Free Space

What was your favorite book read in January?
 

It's Monday 2/10! What Are You Reading?

BIG news here today! My new book, Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic

Illness was published last week! If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I have been working hard on this, so I was thrilled to finally share it with the world. Visit my writer's website for more details about the book and the links to buy it. It is currently available as an e-book on multiple platforms, and the print paperback will be available in the next two weeks. The book is all about not only surviving with chronic illness (of any type) but thriving and finding joy and peace in your life, and it is based on my own experiences, those of my family, and many other people living with chronic illness whom I have interacted with over the years. So, if a loved one (or you!) has some sort of chronic medical condition or disability, please share the book information with them.


The book's release was the big event of last week, and I didn't have much extra time for anything else, so I apologize for not making the rounds to all the blogs I wanted to visit - I hope to make up for it this week!

Health-wise, I am doing much better. My Lyme disease recurred/flared up recently, but I finally got to a stable point in the treatment last week, so my joint (hip) pain is improving, and I am feeling better overall. Trying to catch up and get back to "normal" (my new normal, as the book says!).

As always, we have been reading lots of good books at our house this past week:

I finished reading An Indigenous People's History of the United States for Young People, the YA version of the nonfiction book of the same name by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. This (the adult version) was the January choice for one of my book groups, but the meeting got postponed until March. I actually have both versions of the book here, from the library, so I mostly read the YA version but also dipped into the adult one sometimes, when I wanted more detail on a certain topic (though I was surprised to see that the YA version had two excellent chapters at the end on modern issues/advocacy that were missing from the original). A friend clued me in that the YA version includes maps, graphics, photos, and other visual information that really enhances the book; I don't know why they wouldn't include all that for adults, too! The maps are especially helpful. The book is just what its title suggests: a history of the U.S. from the perspective of Native Americans. As you might expect, it is absolutely horrifying but also quite enlightening. Did you know that it was actually the colonists, not Native Americans, who began the practice of scalping? Leaders of the new colonies offered cash for scalps (i.e. proof of killing an Indian), including those of children. Ugh. Whichever version you choose, this is such an important book, but it is very heavy reading.

After that, I needed some comfort, and I had the perfect book for it. I am re-reading my Favorite Book of 2019, Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais (my review at the link). This outstanding novel is set in South Africa during apartheid in the 1970's. It's about the loving relationship between an orphaned white girl, Robin, and the black nanny, Beauty, who cares for her while also searching for her own missing teen daughter. I am loving the novel even more the second time around, and knowing the basics of the plot is also allowing me to notice more fully the beautiful writing. I am so glad to be immersed in Robin's and Beauty's lives again. It is, at times, a heart-breaking story, but it is also filled with warmth, love, hope, and even humor. Bianca has a particular (often hilarious) talent for capturing the internal life of a little girl. I met and got to know the author last year at Booktopia, and I've invited her to videochat with my book group next week. Favorite books are like old friends.

On audio, I am still listening to State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Somehow, I missed it when it was published in 2011 and just found the audio files sort of hidden on my laptop and unlabelled--a pleasant surprise! It's the story of Dr. Marina Singh, a pharmaceuticals researcher from Minnesota who has been tasked with traveling to a remote area of Brazil. Another researcher at her company, Dr. Annick Swenson, has gone missing there and cut off all communication with the company, and the first guy sent to find her has now died. It's a very intriguing story with in-depth characters and an immersive and fascinating sense of place. I'm sure there will be plenty more interesting plot twists as Marina heads into the Amazon with her former mentor (I am sensing some Heart of Darkness themes here). I'm enjoying it so far.

My husband, Ken, finished a Christmas gift from me, Blue Moon by Lee Child. This is his all-time favorite author and series, so he was excited to read this latest book (number 24!) about Jack Reacher, just released in October 2019. According to the blurb, this one involves an elderly couple who get into financial trouble, both Ukrainian and Albanian gangs, loan sharks, thugs, and assassins! Ken enjoys the writing and the suspense and fast-paced action of these novels, and this one was no exception. He enjoyed immersing himself in his favorite fictional world and flew through the novel in record time.

Now, Ken has moved onto another Christmas gift book, End of Watch by Stephen King. This novel is the end of the trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes and continued with Finders Keepers, so he said he wanted to read book three while the rest was still fresh is his mind from last fall. According to the blurb, it's about a serial killer with a traumatic brain injury who is in a persistent vegetative state. Behind his still body, though, his mind is working fast thanks to a new experimental drug, and he is scheming to get revenge on those who crossed him, including retired police detective Bill Hodges, the hero of the trilogy. After reading The Outsider last year and realizing that one of my favorite characters in that novel was from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, I now want to read this series, too!

Our son, 25, is still reading The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams, book 1 in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, one of the books he bought recently with a Christmas gift card. Sounds like this one features dark sorcery, an elf-like race, royals and servants, a deadly riddle, and plenty of swords--all right up his alley! I can't remember, but I don't think he's read this author before. This first book is almost 700 pages, so that should keep him busy, though I don't think he had much time for reading last week, as he was visiting his girlfriend in another state. He did mention he's enjoying it so far, though.



Last week's blog posts:

 TV Tuesday: Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector - new TV series based on one of our favorite book series is great so far!

Fiction Review: Recursion by Blake Crouch - another time-twisting, mind-bending thriller

Fiction Review: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk - a quirky, funny mystery set in Poland

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Fiction Review: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

When Book Cougars, one of my favorite podcasts, announced a February read-along of the novel, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones), I thought it was a very odd--and sort of creepy--title! Then I found out that this little novel from Poland was short-listed for the International Booker Prize, long-listed for the National Book Award for Translated Fiction, and won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. Impressive! This quirky, funny, thoughtful novel deserved all those accolades, and I am glad to have read it.

An older Polish woman named Janina (though she dislikes her name and anyone who calls her by it) lives in a remote rural area near the Czech border. She is an ex-civil engineer who used to build bridges and now teaches English to children and studies astrology. While her home is in a lovely area during the short summer, the winters there are fierce and lengthy, when Janina helps to caretake for the people who own summer homes there. One night, Janina's neighbor, Oddball (she often nicknames people rather than remembering their names), comes to her door to ask for her assistance; their other neighbor, Big Foot, is dead. As the only three people in the area during the winter, the two of them go to Big Foot's small cabin and find he has choked to death on a deer bone, with evidence of the deer he poached in the kitchen. Janina, a staunch vegetarian, is certain that the animals took revenge on the man who had killed so many of their brethren, though the police don't seem impressed by her theory once they arrive. Shortly afterward, another suspicious death occurs in the same area, and this time, the police determine that it was murder. As Janina consults the stars and spends time with her friends--including Dizzy, her former student who engages Janina in helping him translate William Blake's works--other deaths occur, and she continues to hound the police about her theory that the animals are taking revenge on the hunters in the area.

I know this sounds like an odd plot description ... and it is an odd sort of book but in a good way. It is unexpectedly funny--often in a way that had me reading passages aloud to my husband, like this one, with Janina musing about her quiet neighbor, Oddball:

"With age, many men come down with testosterone autism, the symptoms of which are a gradual decline in social intelligence and capacity for interpersonal communications, as well as a reduced ability to formulate thoughts. The Person beset by this Ailment becomes taciturn and appears to be lost in contemplation. He develops an interest in various Tools and machinery, and he's drawn to the Second World War and the biographies of famous people, mainly politicians and villains. His capacity to read novels almost entirely vanishes; testosterone autism disturbs the character's psychological understanding. I think Oddball was suffering from this Ailment."

We both laughed over this, since I often complain my husband barely speaks to me (though he does still love to read novels). The entire novel is peppered with passages that either made me laugh out loud or were insightful thoughts that made me nod my head in agreement, like:

"Once we have reached a certain age, it is hard to be reconciled to the fact that people are always going to be impatient with us."

In fact, the incredible cleverness and humor in this book make its translation seem even more amazing. I think it must be hard to translate humor and wordplay into a different language, but this translator has done a magnificent job, including passages from Blake that Janina and Dizzy translate  (the title itself is a line from Blake). Aside from the pure pleasure of reading the narrative and being privy to Janina's thoughts, it's an interesting and intriguing plot, a murder mystery set in a small community. Who is killing off the local hunters? Could Janina actually be right? The novel does make you stop and wonder. My book is filled with tabbed pages with quotes that I want to write down, and I thoroughly enjoyed both the mystery and spending time with quirky Janina and her friends.

274 pages, Riverhead Books

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Listen to a sample of the audio book, narrated by Beata Poizniak in a lovely Polish accent, here and/or download it from Audible.

You can purchase Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

Or you can order Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.