Nevermore: Blunders, Fried Green Tomatoes, Anti-Racist, Trauma, 100 Year Old Man, Dusty Springfield

Reported by Garry

 We started this week with a hilarious and frustrating book, History’s Biggest Blunders and The People Who Made Them by Ian Whitelaw.  This book looks at some of the MANY disastrous moves made by very smart people, and covers topics such as Moses, Hitler invading Russia, Anthony Weiner’ sexting scandal, and the domestication of plants and animals by humans (yes, that had unintended negative consequences).  Our reader thought this book was very well researched and really liked how it shows that we are all human and prone to making mistakes, sometimes with disastrous outcomes. Highly recommended.    

 

Our next reader reviewed the neo-classic Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fanny Flagg.    This book is set in a very small town in Alabama and skips back and forth in time from the 1930s to the late 1980’s and is told from the perspective of four women whose lives intertwine.  The author does not sugarcoat the segregationist history of the south which some readers may find uncomfortable.  Our reader did thoroughly enjoy the book and plans to read more books by this author. 

 

Immediately following that review was a look at How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X Kendi.  Our reader has been making her way through this book for a while now and finds that it is very thought provoking, densely packed with research and, while not an easy read, an extremely important book for anyone wishing to reframe the way that they look at race and racial equality in America.  The author is very frank about his own racial biases, failures and successes and awakening.  Very highly recommended, this book will give you tools and reasons to change how you think about yourself and the rest of society.  

 

Our next reader reviewed the autobiography Trauma: My Life as an Emergency Surgeon by James Cole.  Dr. Cole traveled a very different path to becoming a surgeon than most, as he trained to be a surgeon while in the Marine Corps.  While serving, he was also part of the US Special Operations Command and was a Navy Reserve SEAL Team member – not your typical surgical background.  From his military experiences, to dealing with alcoholics, car wreck victims and industrial accidents in a civilian setting, this book lays bare the working life of a trauma surgeon.  Our reader thought this book was very engaging and offered a view into a life that few of us will experience, and recommends it.

 

A light-hearted antidote to the heaviness of Trama was our next book, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassen.  This whimsical novel follows the adventures of Allan Karisson, a centenarian explosives expert, who one day decides to escape his nursing home and embark on an adventure.  Allan goes with the flow, and the flow he goes with takes him to the most unusual places – he saves General Franco’s life, meets Stalin, Einstein, Truman, Mao Tse Tung and more.  Our reader says this is a very funny, lighthearted book that is laugh-out-loud worthy at times, and highly recommends it.

Another world traveler was highlighted in our next book, Dancing with Demons by Penny Valentine and Vicki Wickham.  This is the authorized biography of world famous singer Dusty Springfield.  Springfield rose to fame in the late 1960s and was a world-wide hit by the early 1970s, but her path was not an easy one – neither for her nor the people around her.  Springfield was bipolar, lesbian, had OCD and was addicted to drugs and alcohol.  This tell-all book was written by Springfield’s manager of 13 years, and a close friend – at times heart wrenching and at other times sensational, this book was highly recommended by our reader for a look behind the façade of one of the world’s leading pop singers. 

Nevermore: Valley of the Kings, After Coal, 100 Year Old Man, and More!

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore went straight into weighty subjects this week, with our first reader reporting upon Valley of the Kings: Exploring the Tombs of the Pharaohs by John Romer.  Filled with glittery gold and other unique artifacts discovered in Egyptian royal tombs, this volume is well organized and thorough.  Jammed full of facts, our reader said that in fact it was a little dense, and it was a little like “shoveling snow that has been soaked in rain water for twenty years” just to get through it.

After that was After Coal: Stories of Survival in Appalachia and Wales by Tom Hansell.  Many comparisons have been drawn between Appalachia and parts of the British Isles as they have a geologic similarity.  Coal mining helped to build the economies of both regions, and the depletion of easily mined resources has brought hardship to both as well.  Our reader was fascinated by the parallel timelines experienced on both sides of the Atlantic.

The same reader found some humor in a work of fiction:  The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.  Allan Karlsson is reluctantly living in a nursing home even though he is in good health and feels perfectly able to live on his own.  Faced with his upcoming 100^th birthday party, Allan decides to skip out, through the window, that is.  Our reader chuckled at Allan’s history as a side figure in some of the most important pieces of history during his lifespan as he connected in some small way with Stalin, Churchill, Mao, and other world leaders.

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty brought a smile to another reader’s face.  A trio of sisters, Lyn, Cat, and Gemma Kettle, are busy living their lives in Australia.  The thirty-three year old women deal with love and family, individually as well as within their special triplet bond.  Our reader found it light, funny, and worth reading.

Another reader enjoyed Freefall, a debut novel by Jessica Barry.  When Allison is presumed dead from a small aircraft crash in the Rocky Mountains, her mother Maggie just can’t believe that it could be true.  Our book club member commented that the story was fast moving and intriguing, and right in your face from the very beginning all the way to a huge twist at the end.  However, another reader dissented, saying that she found the book rather formulaic and was not surprised by the ending, and even found herself disappointed that she had wasted the time to read the entire book.

Returning to non-fiction, another reader picked up Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life by Christine Hyung-Oak Lee.  At age thirty-three, Lee experienced confusing symptoms which culminated in the diagnosis of a stroke.  During her recovery, she went through many changes in her marriage, having a child, and learning to work in the corporate world again without the benefit of a filter for her thoughts.  Our reader enjoyed her straightforwardness and sympathized with the difficulties Lee faced.

Finally, another reader attempted to read the fourth in the private eye Cormoran Strike series:  Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling.)  However, our reader managed to get through about ten pages (of 656) and decided that “what this woman needs is a good editor.”  She decided to return the book for the benefit of another more patient library patron.

Ambrea will return tomorrow with her review of The Return of the King.