Nevermore: And Finally: Matters of Life and Death, The Lowlan, Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

 

Reported by Garry

 

And Finally: Matters of Life and Death by Henry Marsh. A few weeks ago, another reader read Do No Harm by the same author. In this follow-up, Dr. Marsh is dealing with advanced prostate cancer, which he expects to be fatal. (Spoiler alert: He survives.) During his treatment, and faced with what he believes will be the end of his life, Marsh looks back on his career with clarity and humility. One of the leading neurosurgeons in the UK, Marsh now finds himself on the receiving end of the medical system in which he has spent his entire professional career.  DC

 

The Lowland is the multiple award winning novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. Spanning 50 years and two continents, this ambitious novel with what our reader describes as “the most beautiful prose I have ever read” follows the lives and fortunes of two brothers – Subhash and Udayan. Born only 15 months apart, and with wildly different temperaments, one brother becomes a revolutionary while the other becomes an academic. When tragedy strikes Udayan, Suhash must step in and save Udayan’s widow – even if it means going up against his family and generations of strict social traditions.  NH

 

Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals by Laurie Zaleski. Fleeing an abusive marriage with only her clothes and her three children, Annie McNulty settled in an abandoned farmstead with little to her name but an unending supply of kindness. Annie started taking in abandoned and unwanted animals, and soon the farm grew to hold more than 600 animals. This delightful book is written by Annie’s daughter, Laurie, and tells not only Annie’s story, but Laurie’s, and the stories of many animals that the mother and daughter team rescued along the way.  KM

 

Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky is a fascinating look at the fish at the center of much of human history. Cod enabled the Vikings to travel the Atlantic and settle in the New World. It sustained many Europeans during the medieval times as there are cod stocks in various parts of the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Baltic Sea. Cod fishing endured even beyond the Black Death years and remains an important part of the Norwegian fish trade. Our reader states that this book is excellently written (as is anything by Kurlansky) and recommends it for anyone who has an interest not only in world history but the natural world.  CD

 

Also mentioned:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Whale Day and Other Poems by Billy Collins

Little Heathens:  Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish

Mountain Sisters: From Convent to Community in Appalachia by Helen M. Lewis

Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir by Marie Yovanovitch

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Ice Palace by Edna Ferber

The Dechronization of Sam Magruder by George Gaylord Simpson

Night Shift by Robin Cook

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

Nevermore: Do No Harm, Cashelmara, Wrexford & Sloan

 

Reported by Garry

 

Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery by is a memoir by Henry Marsh, based on his 30+ years as a leading neurosurgeon. Candid, darkly hilarious, and deeply insightful, Do No Harm lent our reader a much deeper understanding of not only the National Health Service (the UK’s centralized health care system), but of the brain and its incredible intricacies than she previously had. Far from ego-driven and self-congratulatory, Marsh explores not only the successes that he has had, but failures and mistakes made along the way. “Very truthful and very human” is how our reader described this book.  CD 

Cashelmara by Susan Howatch is a historical drama that starts in the late 19^th century and spans three generations of the de Salis family, aristocrats whose fortunes rise and fall with the politics of the time. Our reader says that the writer did a beautiful job of capturing the personalities of the various characters, including the historical slang and personal idiosyncrasies that set them apart from one another, and in particular noted that each character has a distinct “voice” that comes through from the page.  DC

The Wrexford & Sloan Mystery series by Andrea Penrose is a seven book series of regency-era books that are “brain candy” to our reader, but “GREAT brain candy”! Our reader particularly liked the great characters that Penrose has created in these books, and in particular noted that the characters are actually likeable people. The series focuses on Charlotte Sloan and the Earl of Wrexford, who carry on a “will they, won’t they” relationship while together solving murder mysteries that our reader describes as fun and wholly believable.  SC

 

Also mentioned:

Weird Virginia: Your Guide to Virginia's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets by Jeff Bahr, Troy Taylor and Loren Coleman

The River Hills & Beyond: Poems by Lou V. Crabtree

Sweet Hollow: Stories by Lou V. Crabtree

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester

Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo

The Maid by Nita Prose

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Sweet Land of Liberty: A History of America in 11 Pies by Rossi Anastopoulo

Raising Them Right: The Untold Story of America's Ultraconservative Youth Movement and Its Plot for Power by Kyle Spencer

Falling is Not an Option: A Way to Lifelong Balance by George Locker

She and Her Cat: Stories by Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Lessons from the Edge:  A Memoir by Marie Yovanovitch

The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods

Whale Day and Other Poems by Billy Collins

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld