Mom's Book Thread ~ Week 7 (February 10th - February 16th)

[Negin]

everyone!

I read Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont - 4 Stars - Although this story has an underlying touch of sadness, it was a delightful read. This is one of those books where nothing much happens, and it’s more about the prose, the depth of the characters, and the relationships. The story is about elderly people living in a London hotel during the late 1960s. In my mind, I imagined The Claremont to look like this.



The ending was a bit abrupt, but it was truly a lovely book.

Some of my favorite quotes:
“Everything she did was unhurried, almost authoritative. She had always known how to behave. Even as a bride, in strange, alarming conditions in Burma, she had been magnificent, calm – when (for instance) she was rowed across floods to her new home; unruffled, finding it more than damp, with a snake wound round the banisters to greet her. She had straightened her back and given herself a good talking-to, as she had this afternoon in the train.”

“I must not wish my life away, she told herself; but she knew that, as she got older, she looked at her watch more often, and that it was always earlier than she had thought it would be. When she was young, it had always been later.”

“She realised that she never walked now without knowing what she was doing and concentrating upon it; once, walking had been like breathing, something unheeded. The disaster of being old was in not feeling safe to venture anywhere …”

“As one gets older life becomes all take and no give. One relies on other people for the treats and things. It’s like being an infant again.”

“It was like being a baby, in reverse. Every day for an infant means some new little thing learned; every day for the old means some little thing lost. Names slip away, dates mean nothing, sequences become muddled, and faces blurred. Both infancy and age are tiring times.”





MY RATING SYSTEM
5 Stars
The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite of mine.
4 Stars
Really Good
3 Stars
Enjoyable
2 Stars
Just Okay – nothing to write home about
1 Star
Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

[Rebe]

That book sounds delightful, Negin. Putting it on my list.

After finishing Pachinko, one of the best multi-generational novels I've ever read (FYI, there is a lot of language and many explicit scenes in this book - I don't see them as gratuitous but want to tell those who may be bothered by this), I read On Reading Well. This is a book arranged by virtue (patience, hope, love, chastity, etc.) with an excellent novel or short story used to explain it in a literary way, sort of a moral analysis of the story and of the virtue. By an English professor at Liberty U - really well written and thought-provoking. It finally made me appreciate Cormac McCarthy's The Road, which I was barely able to finish several years ago (due to emotional distress, I guess), and it also made me go read "Everything That Rises Must Converge" and "Revelation" from my brand-new Flannery O'Connor collection, and I was floored by her incredible writing.

Nest up for me is The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

[Negin]

That book sounds delightful, Negin. Putting it on my list.
After finishing Pachinko, one of the best multi-generational novels I've ever read (FYI, there is a lot of language and many explicit scenes in this book - I don't see them as gratuitous but want to tell those who may be bothered by this), I read On Reading Well. This is a book arranged by virtue (patience, hope, love, chastity, etc.) with an excellent novel or short story used to explain it in a literary way, sort of a moral analysis of the story and of the virtue. By an English professor at Liberty U - really well written and thought-provoking. It finally made me appreciate Cormac McCarthy's The Road, which I was barely able to finish several years ago (due to emotional distress, I guess), and it also made me go read "Everything That Rises Must Converge" and "Revelation" from my brand-new Flannery O'Connor collection, and I was floored by her incredible writing.
Nest up for me is The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

Rebe, "Pachinko" is on my list, as are quite a few others that I've heard about from this thread. I'm adding "On Reading Well". I have often thought that I may not like "On the Road" since I saw the movie "No Country for Old Men" years ago and hated it. Looking into all those titles.

[KathleenM]

Hello friends!

I ended up ditching the Secret Service book I was reading last week - it was just a little too dry. It was kind of interesting, but when I get to the point with a book where I don't look forward to picking it up, I start reconsidering.

I started reading The End of Alzheimer's by Dale Bredesen, MD. The book was brought to my attention in a Facebook thread and intrigued me. I will probably skim it and glean unless it is so terribly interesting that I can't put it down. I don't really see that happening, as it is a tad dry as well! The author has spent much of his career studying cognitive decline, and has some insights to offer in terms of things we as individuals can do to take care of our mind and body and not lose ground due to diseases like Alzheimer's. When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some 20 years ago, I had thought that surely the coming decades held the promise of amazing breakthroughs that would assure me of not experiencing the same fate. In reality, little progress has been made, and treatments that once seemed promising are not panning out. The author posits a new theory of the origins of the disease as well as new approaches to treatment. Interested to see what he has to say...

[Michele]

Thanks, I've added both of your books Rebe and Negin. My list is getting so long that I'm a little bit red faced!!! I finally read a book. LOL. It seems shocking to me. Thanks to all of you I read Virgil Wander. I really enjoyed this book.. Thank you friends. I'm now reading Times Convert. It's the most recent in the Deborah Harkness series. It's actually a prequel and I'm enjoying learning the back stories to some of my favorite characters. We're having a girls long weekend (my husband and last gymnast still at home are in Chicago for a meet) and it's been relaxing, productive and full of laughter. I feel so grateful and blessed to have time to really breathe. Happy reading friends.

[Negin]

When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some 20 years ago, I had thought that surely the coming decades held the promise of amazing breakthroughs that would assure me of not experiencing the same fate. In reality, little progress has been made, and treatments that once seemed promising are not panning out. The author posits a new theory of the origins of the disease as well as new approaches to treatment. Interested to see what he has to say...

This may be of interest to me. Alzheimer's is a concern of mine, more my husband's, but that would mean me also. It affects the entire family.

Thanks, I've added both of your books Rebe and Negin. My list is getting so long that I'm a little bit red faced!!!

Michele, my list is also extremely long!
Your weekend sounds so blissful and perfect.

[Negin]

Kindle books on sale today.*

Lilac Girls - historical fiction - WWII

A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life - memoir

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale today - historical fiction.

[Stacia]

I finished I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven for my book club. I read about half, then put it down & ignored it for over a week. It wasn't because I didn't like but rather because I knew sadness would be coming & I wanted to avoid that for a bit. It's a quiet, contemplative book. I cried at the end. (And got my ensuing headache.) If you're looking for a nice little piece that provides lovely description of the Pacific Northwest in a remote native village, this will suit you. It does touch on the meaning of life, as well as death, so it's sort of a "big themes" in a little package type of book.

In a world that knows too well the anguish inherent in the clash of old ways and new lifestyles, Margaret Craven's classic and timeless story of a young man's journey into the Pacific Northwest is as relevant today as ever.

Here amid the grandeur of British Columbia stands the village of Kingcome, a place of salmon runs and ancient totems - a village so steeped in time that, according to Kwakiutl legend, it was founded by two brothers left on earth after the great flood. Yet in this Eden of such natural beauty and richness, the old culture of totems and potlaches is under attack - slowly being replaced by a new culture of prefab houses and alcoholism. Into this world, where an entire generation of young people has become disenchanted and alienated from their heritage, Craven introduces Mark Brian, a young vicar sent to the small isolated parish by his church.

This is Mark's journey of discovery - a journey that will teach him about life, death, and the transforming power of love. It is a journey that will resonate in the mind of readers long after the book is done.

[Negin]

I finished I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven for my book club. I read about half, then put it down & ignored it for over a week. It wasn't because I didn't like but rather because I knew sadness would be coming & I wanted to avoid that for a bit. It's a quiet, contemplative book. I cried at the end. (And got my ensuing headache.) If you're looking for a nice little piece that provides lovely description of the Pacific Northwest in a remote native village, this will suit you. It does touch on the meaning of life, as well as death, so it's sort of a "big themes" in a little package type of book.

Some of my friends on GR seem to have liked this. I'm adding it to my list, since they have similar taste to me. Thanks, Stacia. Sorry that you got a headache from the crying.