Nevermore: Letters from a Stoic, Natural Selection, Twelve Patients

 

Nevermore 9-10-24

Reported by Rita

Seneca's Letters from a Stoic by Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Along with the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca's Letters from a Stoic is one of the major texts of Roman Stoic philosophy. Themes include the rational order of the universe, how to lead a simple life, the effects and benefits of misfortune, and the necessity of facing mortality.

His letters offered good advice, much of which is still relevant today.      –MP     4 stars

 

Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand

When her boyfriend bails at the last minute, a New York woman embarks on their couples’ cruise alone to find that maybe the person she was supposed to fall in love with was herself. Note:  Short story e-book, Amazon original.

A light read. I thought it had a very satisfying ending.     –CD      5 stars

  

Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer

The medical director of Bellevue Hospital in New York uses the lives and conditions of 12 different patients, from a Riker's Island prisoner to a suicidal private school student, to take a snapshot of modern society.

While it was sometimes heavy with medical details, the stories were beautiful and very informative. I really enjoyed it.     –NH     5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

The Locked Door by Freida Mcfadden

The Teacher by Freida McFadden

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby

The King of Children: The Life and Death of Janusz Korczak by Betty Jean Lifton

King Matt the First by Janusz Korczak

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

New Books

Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We'll Win the Climate War by Tom Steyer

Deep Water: The World in the Ocean by James Bradley

Deep Space: Beyond the Solar System to the Edge of the Universe and the Beginning of Time by Govert Schilling

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

Strange Folk by Alli Dyer

A Pair of Wings by Carole Hopson

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Sally Holt was thirteen-years-old when she lost one of the most important people in her life, her big sister Kathy. Although the title implies that Kathy might be a missing person, the disappearance is permanent. A moment’s distraction, a swerve of the car, and Kathy is gone.

Sally narrates the story as if she was telling Kathy what has happened since her death. Sally tells Kathy what people at school said, good and bad, and in particular, what Billy does. Kathy’s boyfriend Billy was driving the car.

The story jumps in time, as Sally is now fifteen years older, reaching adulthood as Kathy never did. Sally is awkward at both ages, showing an inflexibility that probably only intensified with the trauma of such a loss. Yet Sally is also a likeable character, and the author develops the story in such a way that I found Sally’s actions and reactions to be understandable.

Their parents’ grief at losing a child is heartbreaking. In trying to hold on to Kathy, the mother even turns to a psychic in the hopes of finding some affirmation that her child is okay. The father is angry, and unforgiving. Young Sally feels alone, until she starts talking to Billy online. Their anguish and guilt bring them together, as they talk (and Sally makes notes to Kathy) over the years.

With moments of humor amid the characters’ pain, Alison Espach has created a thought provoking and insightful coming of age novel.

The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Olivia Green is a married mother of two who works three jobs as a cleaner. Her husband Jake works at his family’s struggling printing business and with both sons about to be in college, money is very tight.  That’s why Liv puts up with the influencer parents who expect her not only to clean but to look after their children and the office workers who think nothing of throwing trash on the just cleaned floor. The third cleaning job is for Essie Starling, the reclusive author of the Georgia Rory series, which should have been a dream job.  Liv loves Georgia Rory; the plucky, adventurous heroine has inspired Liv for years and seen her through many difficult times in her life. 

Essie, however, is not the easiest person to work for.  She’s not an ogre, but she IS very exacting and she pretty much ignores Liv—except for the occasional note.

So when Essie dies unexpectedly, the last thing Liv expects is that Essie wants her to finish her book—the final Georgia Rory story.  Can Liv give Georgia the happy ending her fans expect? And why would Essie choose her to write this book?

I had read other titles by Phaedra Patrick and enjoyed them, so I had an idea of her writing style.  She tends to write about women who are unappreciated or who don’t have an idea of their own worth, but then they take a voyage of self-discovery.  Actually, they sound a lot like Essie’s Georgia Rory, but that’s probably the point.  Liv’s husband keeps her in the dark about problems with the family business, her sons still expect her to pick up after them and solve their problems, and Liv herself has given up on her childhood dream of being a writer.

To write the book, and to find out why Essie chose her, Liv is going to have to step out of her comfort zone.  What she learns is both freeing and painful, and she is going to have to decide who she is going to be.

I enjoyed the book. I was ready for an uplifting tale and Patrick delivers.  Liv is a reader, so I loved hearing what she was reading (I was thrilled when she read Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen) but also I liked the way that Essie became more and more of a real character after her death.  I also liked the English setting and the supporting cast (though I did get very annoyed at Liv’s sons and the influencer parents) and I liked the discussions about books—structure, character arcs, etc.—that informed Liv’s struggles as an author but never bogged the book down. And I especially loved that this book is about book people, not just authors and editors, publishers and promoters, but about readers.

This is a cozy read for a chilly season!

New in November: Baldacci, Evanovich, and More!

 

Aaronovitch, Ben  The Masquerades of Spring (Rivers of London)

Baldacci, David  To Die For (6:20 Man)

Broadbent, Carissa  The Songbird & the Heart of Stone

Brown, Graham  Clive Cussler Desolation Code  (NUMA)

Coble, Colleen  I Think I Was Murdered

Evanovich, Janet  Now or Never (Stephanie Plum #31)

Evans, Richard Paul  Christmas in Bethel

Johnson, Craig  Tooth and Claw (Longmire)

Kawaguchi, Toshikazu Before We Forget Kindness (Before the Coffee Gets Cold)

Lupica, Mike  Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property (Spenser)

Malliet, G. M.  Death and the Old Master

Margolin, Phillip An Insignificant Case

Murakami, Haruki  The City and Its Uncertain Walls

Patterson, James  The House of Cross

Patterson, James  Raised by Wolves

Peterson, Tracie  A Truth Revealed

Roberts, Nora  The Mirror (Lost Bride #2)

Williams, Beatriz, Lauren Willig, Karen White The Author’s Guide to Murder

Nonfiction

Cher  Cher:  The Memoir, Part One

Clinton, Bill Citizen:  My Life After the White House

Montgomery, Sy  What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird

Rundell, Katherine  Vanishing Treasures:  A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures

Stewart, Martha  Martha:  The Cookbook

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

 

Twenty years ago, a neighborhood vanished.  The houses, the people, everything—gone, hidden behind some sort of barrier. The only survivors were three young women who were away from their homes when the disappearance happened.  Despite the researchers and the investigators, the conspiracy theorists and the occult believers, no one has been able to explain what occurred at Velkwood.

One of the survivors, Talitha, has been running from what happened for all those years.  She’s adrift, barely scraping by, and always haunted by her past.  She’s approached by Jack, a researcher who wants her to try to go back to the neighborhood—and he’s willing to pay.  One of the three girls, Grace, actually did go through the barrier once, but she won’t talk about it.  Brett, Talitha’s former best friend, has refused to try, not that Talitha really talks to her anymore.  Or to Grace.

But Talitha left something precious behind in that neighborhood:  her younger sister, Sophie.  If there’s any chance that Sophie is there, any chance that she can be rescued, then Talitha is going to try.

I picked this up because of the intriguing premise.  It’s well written and the hidden reasons behind the vanishing are powerful and memorable. It’s appropriately creepy for the season.  The ghost people in the neighborhood are well described but they’re also sort of standard issue characters.  My biggest problem is that I never quite connected to the characters:  Talitha, our narrator, is very closed off emotionally and tightly wound. She doesn’t let people get close to her, and for me that included the reader.  None of the characters came to life for me.  It’s not a bad book, and it does have important things to say, but as far as I’m concerned it didn’t live up to its promise.   Every book is not for every reader, and the very positive reviews others have given it are proof of that.  It just wasn’t a book for me.

Day of the Dead: More than 24 Projects that Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos by Kerry Arquette, Andrea Zocchi & Jerry Vigil

 

 Reviewed by Jeanne

If the colorful Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) decorations have caught your eye, here’s a craft book which will help you create your own.  The book opens with a brief overview of the history of the holiday with roots primarily in Mexico. It’s a day for honoring and remembering the dead, and a holiday that emphasizes family. It’s usually celebrated on November 1 and 2, but can be observed on other days as well.

I like looking at craft books even though I rarely attempt any sort of craft these days.  (I have a closet full of materials for projects that I thought I would do and haven’t.  It hasn’t been a total loss, though, as the cats have found the pipe cleaners to be the best toys ever!) Anyway, this is a gem of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It not only gave me information about the holiday but it highlighted the work of various artists. 

The first chapter was on ofrendas, which are altars to encourage the dead to visit their living families.  These are often set up in homes, but can be done in public spaces or in cemeteries.  Color photos show different styles, and then illustrate various elements of the altar: photos of the deceased, favorite foods, candles, and so forth.  The photos showed personal altars, altars for groups of people, and even for famous people like artist Frida Kahlo.  I especially liked that most of these had some background information from the various artists.  The next section shows how to construct a small altar, which actually looks both nice and like something I could do.  (The only iffy part is that they suggest using a cigar box.  I’m trying to remember the last time I saw a cigar box….)

The second chapter is devoted to Calaveras, the skeletons who play a big role in the decorations.  Again, there is an explanation of their role in the holiday as well as information on the materials often used to construct them.  There are some wonderful photos of different calaveras in elaborate settings, and made from various materials:  polymer clay, sticks, cloth, metal, and fabric. The book has very detailed instructions for the polymer clay ones.

The rest of the book does much the same, highlighting examples of the work as well as the artists who created them, and then supplying some instruction. I view this book as more inspirational than instructional, though clever people will be able to make

Mostly I just loved looking at the photos and admiring the artistry.  I also enjoyed learning more about some of the figures, cultural aspects, beliefs, and history.  I only wish it had been a coffee table type book with larger photos but then that would have made it less useful as a craft book.

Non-crafters could enjoy this book. Even if I never make any of the crafts, I have already had a great deal of enjoyment from the photos.  Now I want to watch “Coco” again—I think I’ll understand the symbolism behind the decorations more.

Nevermore: Moonflowers, A Lie Will Suffice, Modigliani

 Reported by Rita

 

 

The  Moonflowers  by Abigail Rose-Marie

An artist unravels her mysterious family history and its generations of women who depended on each other to survive.

I found it very interesting and did not want to put it down.    –MH     4 stars

 

A Lie Will Suffice: A Digiovanni Family History by Jay Wilkinson

A well-documented account of the challenges facing immigrants from Sicily to the New Orleans area in the early 20th century.

The presentation was good but became too involved and hard to follow.    - GP    4 stars

 

Modigliani : Man and Myth by Jeanne Modigliani

Amedeo Modigliani is one of Italy's best-known painters and sculptors of the 20th century. He is posthumously renowned for his characteristic style and eccentric personality. This biography includes more than 130 examples of Modigliani's letters and artworks, which the reader may appreciate and observe how his unique art progressed over the years.

Modigliani was a fascinating artist. This book is filled with beautiful photos of his paintings and sculptures.    –MD     5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

Ten Years a Nomad: A Traveler's  Journey Home by Matthew Kepnes

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Feed Them Silence by Lee Mandelo

Above the Waterfall: a Novel by Ron Rash

Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots by Thomas S. Kidd

No Time Like the Future: an Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox

 

New Books

 

 The Moonlight Market by Joanne Harris

The Martha Odyssey by Bonny Gable

Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World by Edward Dolnick

Telltale Hearts: A Public Health Doctor, His Patients, and the Power of Story by Dean-David Schillinger

The Plants of the Appalachian Trail: A Hiker's Guide to 398 Species by Dr. Kristen Wickert

Losing our Religion: an Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore