Nevermore: Demon Copperhead, Lessons from the Edge, Lessons in Chemistry, Birdseye

 

Reported by Kristin

Our first Nevermore member picked up Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, noting that she was only on page 79 after hours and hours of reading. The young boy who is the titular character has such a dysfunctional family that our reader felt very protective of him, and wishes that she could have been his foster parent. Demon’s father has everyone snowed even though he’s a terrible person, and Demon grows up in a very difficult situation. Despite the rough going, our reader hopes to make it through the 600+ pages of the book from this Southwest Virginia author, especially since the characters are so well developed.

 

Lessons from the Edge by Marie Yovanovich intrigued another reader, as this memoir is by the former United States Ambassador to Ukraine. Yovanovich writes about the extreme corruption that ran rampant through the government. She does have optimism that Volodymyr Zelensky, the president since 2019, can strengthen the integrity of the country and improve worldwide relationships. Our reader states that Yovanovich writes very well on such important and timely topics.

Another “Lesson” title came in much lighter but also highly praised: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Touted as a feminist fairy tale, this popular novel features Elizabeth Zott, a female scientist in the 1960s who isn’t taken very seriously and ends up running a cooking show. Cooking is chemistry, after all. Our reader said that this was another bit of brain candy where the bad guys are bad, the heroine is good, and justice is served in the end, making this a fully satisfying read. 

Another reader was fascinated by Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man by Mark Kurlansky, the first biography of Clarence Birdseye, known as the “father of frozen food”. Birdseye invented a process for freezing food on a large scale, which could then be distributed and sold to households all over the country. According to our reader, Birdseye was a highly inventive man and once he registered a patent for an invention, he sold it and happily moved on to his next project. Our reader “loved it!”

Also mentioned:

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Whale Day: And Other Poems by Billy Collins

Dogfight by Calvin Trillin

Last Things by C.P. Snow

My Dream of You by Nuala O’Faolain

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

The Bone Yard by Jefferson Bass

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

3 books in Maisy Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

Night Shift by Robin Cook

Booked: A Traveler's Guide to Literary Locations Around the World by Richard Kreitner

Wonders in the Sky: Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times by Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck

Spare by Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber

Nevermore: She and Her Cat, Sisterland, Lessons from the Edge

 

Reported by Garry

 She and Her Cat: Stories by Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa. Renowned anime director Makoto Shinkai turns his hand to prose with this touching, unusual look at cats and their relationships to their humans as well as the relationships of the humans to each other. Made up of four intertwined stories narrated by both the cats and their humans, this sweet book touched the heart of our reader.  CD

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfield. Kate and Violet are identical twins born with psychic abilities. As they grow up and apart, Kate tries to deny and suppress her abilities, while Violet has embraced hers and is now a psychic medium. Violet starts to have premonitions of an impending earthquake devastating St. Louis, and Kate must come to grips with not only her own abilities, but her fraught relationship with her sister. Our reader states that this book begs for a sequel, and will read it in a heartbeat when it arrives. (If it arrives. We’re not psychic.)  DC

Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir by Marie Yovanovitch. “Insightful, extremely educational, and a complete page-turner” is how our reader described this memoir by the former US Ambassador to the Ukraine. Born in Canada to Russian émigré parents, Marie Yovanovitch joined the State Department and rose through the ranks in an impressive and occasionally nail-biting career that saw her serve in Somalia, Armenia, and the Ukraine, amongst others. In the middle of her third ambassadorship, she was abruptly recalled and targeted by a smear campaign, which culminated in her testifying at the first impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump.  KM

 

Also mentioned:

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

The Good Sister by Gillian McAllister

Cashelmara by Susan Howatch

A Wrexford & Sloan Historical Mystery series by Andrea Penrose

The Riviera House by Natasha Lester

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest by Carl Hoffman

Last Things by C.P. Snow

Life on the Mississippi by Rinker Buck

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

Observations by Gaslight: Stories from the World of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye

Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano