Nevermore: After the Cataclysm, Force of Nature, Family Lore, When I'm Dead, To Conjure a Killer, This Time Tomorrow

 Reported by Kristin 

 

We had a small group on this very cold day, but it was nice to Zoom in and talk books!

 

First up, one reader discussed After the Cataclysm: Volume II: The Political Economy of Human Rights by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman. Covering Western influenced political movements in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, Chomsky and Herman come together again to look at how the United States is involved in the political regimes of many other world countries. Our reader expressed her fraught emotions that so many lives have been lost, decades past and continuing to the present day.

 

Another more life affirming book was mentioned by the same reader: Force of Nature by Joan M. Griffin. The non-fiction work tells the tale of three women friends, all 50-somethings, who set off to walk the beautiful John Muir trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Our reader noted that alongside the description of the beauty and difficulty of the trail, the author included nitty-gritty details such as the relief of receiving food and clothing packages, including the delight of being able to put on clean underclothing after days of hiking. This comes highly recommended!

 

Another reader is just getting into another new book, Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo. Dominican American Flor has a special gift--she can predict when someone will die. When Flor announces to her family that she wants to have a living wake, their responses are generally along the line of "Oh no, is Flor going to die soon??"

 

When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey interested one of our book club members, with the main characters being a husband and wife team, a police detective and a medical examiner, respectively. When bodies of their teenage daughter's friends start showing up, and then their daughter goes missing, these parents must race against the clock as they investigate the murders of the young women.

 

Clea Simon's Witch Cats of Salem series returned to Nevermore with the fourth in series To Conjure a Killer. Main character Becca is part of a young coven based in Cambridge, all members working earnestly to cast spells. Little does she know that her mystical feline friends may be the ones who have more substantial power. When Becca's ex-boyfriend shows up (dead), guess who is a prime suspect? 

 

Another recent book read was This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. Our reader said this was another time travel or time slipping book which she keeps finding in her reading pile. Alice goes out to celebrate her 40th birthday with her lifelong best friend. Her life is okay, but somewhat mundane, and she is dealing with anticipatory grief for her hospitalized father. But when she wakes up the next morning in her childhood home with her father at the table, she realizes she has returned to her 16th birthday, and perhaps a chance to live her life a little differently. Again, and again, and again.

 

Also mentioned:

 

Sigrid Rides: The Story of an Extraordinary Friendship and an Adventure on Two Wheels by Travis Nelson

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

The Fireman by Joe Hill

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Nevermore: American Dream, Southern Literature, Medicine, Huck Finn Again, The Cutaway, and Notorious RBG

Reported by Kristin

Our first reader led off with Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power by Noam Chomsky.  A film of the same name was created first, then this printed version addressing income inequality in America.  With each of ten chapters focusing on the ten principles mentioned in the title, Chomsky argues a well documented case.  Describing it as “like a graphic novel and a seminar at the same time” our reader found the book interesting and informative.

Next up was Rough South, Rural South: Region and Class in Recent Southern Literature by Jean W. Cash and Keith Perry.  This collection of essayists include some self-educated and some with more formal education.  Despite their varying backgrounds, all authors seem to have a realistic view of the people and place of the South.  Our reader enjoyed the book, although she was puzzled that more women and people of color were not included.

Mind Over Meds: Know When Drugs Are Necessary, When Alternatives Are Better—and When to Let Your Body Heal on Its Own by Andrew Weil, MD is a new release from this well known physician and author.  Focusing on just how many Americans are overmedicated by both prescription and over the counter drugs, Weil discusses side effects and drug dependency as well as suggesting more natural alternatives.  Our reader liked the eighteen short chapters, each dedicated to a specific medical problem.  Weil concentrates on “integrative medicine,” that is, knowing what effects that medications will have on the entire body.

Continuing in the medical vein (please pardon the pun,) our next reader reported on An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take it Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal.  Discussing the economic rules of the medical market and the difficulties patients may have navigating the complexities of the system, Rosenthal explains how individuals can cut through some of the confusion and take control of their own healthcare.

A thriller consumed our next reader—The Cutaway by Christina Kovac.  Television news producer Virginia Knightly is drawn into a missing persons search that she fears may involve foul play.  Discovering even more about the corruption of the press and politics in Washington DC, Virginia soon finds herself at risk in the gritty corners of the city.  Our reader said this was a very good book.

Another novel this week was Huck Out West by Robert Coover.  Huckleberry Finn is back, but now he’s all grown up and bouncing around from job to job in the old West.  As always, Huck is charming but has no direction in his life.  He will work for whoever pays the most and has no qualms about changing jobs at the proverbial drop of a hat.  Our reader enjoyed the novel as it is a fresh look at Mark Twain’s characters over 130 years after their original introduction to American society.

Lastly, Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik was discussed.  Octogenarian Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become an pop-culture sensation, with her image spreading across blog posts and tattoos alike.  Nominated to the highest court in the land in 1993 by Bill Clinton, Ginsburg has become known as a relative moderate who gives careful consideration to the rule of law.  Our reader very much enjoyed the combination of history and eye-popping layout of the book.