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.

Nevermore: American Quilt, Underground Railroad, My Absolute Darling, A Brief History of Everyone, Girl in a Swing, Valley of the Kings

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore began this week with a couple of different readers delving into different books concerning slavery.  First, one reader finished An American Quilt:  Unfolding a Story of Family and Slavery by Rachel May.  This volume looks further than the Southern cotton fields to the production of textiles in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States.  May was able to discover the story behind an unfinished quilt from the 1830s—several slave women and their journey from the West Indies to New England.  Our reader was very impressed by the author’s research, and learned so much about slavery in her own home state of Rhode Island.

The next reader continued with The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.  Reaching #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, this novel recounts the story of Cora, a slave working on a Georgia cotton plantation.  Influenced by Caesar, another slave, she decides to run to the North using the Underground Railroad.  Our reader found this to be a really good book, although depressing in that the conditions endured by the runaways were very difficult.  Of special interest was that there were actually tunnels underground for some stretches of the routes, but that they were mostly symbolic, as they only went a short way.

Another New York Times bestselling novel was popular this week:  My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent.  A fourteen-year-old girl escapes the cruel abuse of her father by running off into the mountain wilderness.  Her survival skills taught by her father prove useful.  Our reader deemed this a wonderful book, and noted that the girl was not just fighting for her life, but for her soul.

Returning to non-fiction, another book club member read  A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes by Adam Rutherford.  This extremely readable work explains the workings of DNA and how humans have evolved over time.  Our reader demonstrated the clarity of the author’s work as she described the building blocks of our genetic code: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine.

Another reader had just begun A Girl in a Swing by Richard Adams.  This older romance about an English bachelor falling in love with a young German promised to be very entertaining.  Our reader noted that she was intrigued by the sheet pasted inside the front cover by a long ago librarian who asked readers to write down their impressions of the book.  Naturally, different readers had very different opinions.

Lastly, an archaeology buff noted that Valley of the Kings: Exploring the Tombs of the Pharaohs by John Romer was an extremely valuable resource for those interested in the lives of ancient Egyptian royalty.  Going from Napoleon’s era to the 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carver, this work of non-fiction thoroughly covers the discoveries made and information about the explorers who sought these antiquities.