Nevermore: Bonk, The Pyramid, Astonishing Color of After, Disappearance of a Scribe

 

Reported by Garry

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach is the hilarious and imminently readable book that focuses on sex. In her trademark witty and extremely well-researched way, Roach looks at the evolution of the science of sexuality. Our reader commented that there were many times while reading the book that she thought “Well, I was not wondering about that, but now that I’ve read a bit about it, I AM wondering.” The consensus amongst our readers is that any book by Mary Roach is entertaining, educational, very well-written and definitely about a subject that you wouldn’t normally think about reading, and this book is no different.  MC

 

The Pyramid is a prequel to the popular Wallander series of murder mystery books by Henning Mankell. This set of five short stories, stretching over nearly four decades, shows the evolution of the beloved Swedish police inspector. The first story is set when Wallander is a twenty-one year old rookie patrolman, with the last placed just prior to the first published Wallander novel “Faceless Killers”. This collection of short stories delves into the backstory of Wallander and those in his life, giving the reader further insight into the brusque but greatly insightful Swedish investigator. While this book was written well after the Wallander series was underway, our reader said that it really helped her understand the character better and cast a slightly new light on some of his quirks that show up in the novels.  DC

 

The Astonishing Color of After is a debut novel by Emily X. R. Pan strongly flavored with magical realism. Mourning, magic, art, and love all come together in this young adult story about Leigh Chen Sanders, a half-Asian half-Caucasian girl in the United States whose Taiwanese mother has killed herself and taken the hidden history of her family to the grave with her. Leigh is convinced that her mother has become a bird, and travels to Taiwan not only to track down the bird she believes is her mother, but to meet and get to know her family for the first time. Our reader is an artist, and was particularly taken with the way Leigh and her friend Axel described emotions as colors (Leigh is a synesthete whose senses tend to overlap; Leigh sees colors when she hears sounds.) Our reader liked this book and commented on how the author paints a realistic portrayal of depression and mental illness but also maintains a sense of wonder and joy.  MH

 

Disappearance of a Scribe is the latest mystery by best-selling author Dana Stabenow. Set in Ptolemaic Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra, this book is the second in her “Eye of Isis” trilogy. There is a possible serial killer on the loose – two bodies have been found on the bottom of the Alexandria harbor, two years apart. Both of them were fitted with cement sandals to hold them down, and their unsolved deaths threaten to derail Cleopatra’s plans to rebuild after the Alexandrian War. She asks Tetisheri, her new Eye of Isis, to find out who the deceased are and why they were murdered. Our reader enjoyed this historical fantasy novel with its well-crafted mystery and attention to historical details, and recommends it for an easy, fun mystery read.  MC

Also mentioned:

The Mitford Vanishing by Jessica Fellowes

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show by Jonathan Karl

Crossed Lines by Jennifer Delamere

House by Tracy Kidder

Slavery Remembered: A Record of Twentieth-Century Slave Narratives by Paul D. Escott

Haiti After the Earthquake by Paul Farmer

Get Well Soon:  History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright

Dopesick:  Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy

My Own Country:  A Doctor’s Story by Abraham Verghese

Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan

In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan

Free Speech Handbook: A Practical Framework for Understanding Our Free Speech Protections by Ian Rosenberg

You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neale Hurston

Greek Myths:  A New Retelling by Charlotte Higgins

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Reviewed by Laurie

I wasn’t sure if I should read this trilogy or not.  I mean, I’d heard all the rumors.  I envisioned it would be something like The Story of O (yes, I’m a product of the 60s). So I did what anyone would do in my situation:  I asked my 23 year old daughter if she thought I was “old enough” to read Fifty Shades.  She basically told me I could handle it and I started reading it.

It’s the story of this naïve young student named Anastasia who goes to interview wealthy, young, handsome entrepreneur Christian Grey. Sparks fly. They’re both intrigued by each other but young Mr. Grey has some um, unusual preferences and some demons from his past that may be too much for Anastasia to handle.

This is a book you will either love or hate. There is page after page of sex.  Just as some books are too descriptive, this is too sexually explicit in sections.  It’s not well written.  The characters can be annoying and the same vocabulary is used again and again.   There is a contract which defines their (very explicit) sexual relationship which had terms I did not know.  There are also some sexual items used which I didn’t know.  Of course I asked my daughter for definitions.

As I said before, this is a book you will love or hate.  I loved it.  I think it’s one of the best modern day romance series I have read.  I would even be willing to read it again, and I just might before the movie comes out.   How can I say that after I’ve just told you all the things wrong with it? When all is said and done, it’s a very good love story.  I just can’t resist a conflicted man and an innocent girl.  Ah, romance….

In case you want to read all three, the books in order are Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.