The Penultimate Edition of : Nanaimo Island Reads! (If you need some book recs, check it out)

Thanks so much to those who participated in my goofy book choice games. I know it was a bit random, but if I were to ask people their favorite books, I could get one "I hated it!" for every "It changed my life!" And then I'd feel like I was choosing between people, rather than between books.

Also, some books simply get more publicity--there was a hit movie, it won a big American award, the author was on Oprah--so more people might have read them; yet they might not be "better" books.

Which doesn't mean you shouldn't plead a case for a book in here you've read. :-) Descriptions included as usual, in case your To Be Read pile hasn't already reached the ceiling.

Click on the book descriptions to go to the Goodreads page of each book...

Leave you babbling <-- Our winner, recommended to me by various ex-coworkers: Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare's attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control, making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Hitchcockian <-- runner up, recommended to me by two ex-coworkers: a ghost story set at Hundreds hall following the story of the Ayres family as their home and society crumble around them on post war Britain.

Most romantic in years <-- Recommended by no one, but won the Pen Faulkner award.: It is a perfect evening until a band of terrorists breaks in, taking the entire party hostage. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped.

Wrenching, soaring <-- Lost! Recommended eons ago by My Book Enabling Friend who owns more books than me, and has read more than me, especially good literature: The story of Sydney Henderson's family, as told by grown son Lyle, is about the price they all pay for Sydney's refusal to abandon his principles.

Mythic quality <-- Was a huge hit, even before Oprah recommended it. I think Enabling Friend recommended it, but also customers, and everyone says it has a SHOCKING ENDING. I've read two other Oprah picks, they were excellent.: Chronicling five generations of this eccentric clan, "Fall On Your Knees" follows four remarkable sisters whose lives are filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love.

Obsession! Possession! <-- Impulse buy. Supposed to be a literary vampire novel.: a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula

Spun like Arabian Nights <-- A hit at one point (before the movie), and recommended by a very interesting ex-coworker.: Grenouille’s quest to make the finest perfume in the world–and in the process of doing so he kills twenty-five virgin girls.

Afraid to turn the pages <-- Other runner up. My mother reads a lot of thrillers, recommended the author years ago.: Rules of Prey introduces Lucas Davenport, the badass Minneapolis cop who plays by his own rules but gets the job done when no one else can.

Knockout ending <-- Well you've all heard of this one too, I'm sure. : the story of Alice's slow but inevitable loss of memory and connection with reality, told from her perspective. ...readers learn of the progression of Alice's disease through the reactions of others, as Alice does, so they feel what she feels -- a slowly building terror.

Weary sun rising - Clear winner! Well it's time I finally read a Pratchett.

Dam the flood of disaster - I feel I should read a Norton. "A ship is stranded on an uncharted planet, and notwithstanding the breakdown of disclipline of the mixed alien/human crew members, a shocking and fascinating discovery is made."

Monstrous dwarf Queen Victoria - Bwa ha ha! Recommended to me by a very widely read coworker back in the 90s: "i suppose it could be defined as a "psychological thriller" but its very jungian, steeped in metaphor and symbolism and eroticisim and mythology and shakespeare."

Communications panel - Once caught my eye when looking for sci fi to buy: "Miles is less than 4 ft tall and deformed with delicate bones that break at the slightest strain. He makes up for this physical deficiency by an enormous personality. He’s smart, quick-thinking, creative and cheeky."

As she smiled - Was looking for another sci fi humor author: "one man has discovered the hideous truth: that humanity's ascent to civilization has been ruthlessly guided by a small gang of devious frogs."

The chilling flicker of disillusion nudged like the first twinge of toothache, unexpected, unwelcome, an uneasy hint of possible trouble. - I gotta love this line. I have so been there. Anyway, Francis is on the list because he's considered one of the top mystery authors of all time, and I still haven't read him.

Sea horse penis! This is the nurse talking about her burned patient's body. I remember picking it up and reading a little when the movie was a huge hit, and thinking: There's gonna be some disappointed women buying this book. It is arty.

Shut off the wireless - What a beautiful quote! Beautifully bound book too, I wished I could show that to you guys. About the "impending horrors of the coming Nazi occupation in Europe" and the impact on a museum guard, and a regular.

To the memory of my father: The winner! Maybe you Americans instinctively sensed it's about a Canadian connection to the US Civil War. "A Canadian counter-intelligence novel with a memorable romance at its heart, The Halifax Connection brings to life 1860s Montreal and Halifax with wit, action and a finale that will leave you breathless."

To Mata Hari - Love that dedication. A spy on trial for being a Nazi war criminal. I've never read Vonnegut--seems like a good place to start.

A visitation - Like Twilight, this author was inspired by a dream of the character--in this case a hearing impaired female tailor. "It really tells the life of deaf woman... being excluded from conversations, the tiring practice of lip reading, and the feelings of hopelessness that accompany the affliction. I am a hearing impaired woman myself and I was shocked that someone out there understands." (goodreads reviewer)

Devil in the details - I'm torn about this one. On one hand there's this: " Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin's stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction." On the other hand, no one's explained to me why it's so stunning. Also, it's not finished yet.

Nattering about evil - That's exactly what the book is apparently about--the nature of evil, how someone becomes wicked. Intriguing!

Top Picks:


The Time Traveler's Wife
The Little Stranger
Rules of Prey
The Light Fantastic
The English Patient
The Halifax Connection
The Museum Guard


Pretty much any book that begins with "the". Tune in... later... for the thrilling conclusion!

 

Make Me Read This Book!

LES LIVRES EN FRANÇAIS

Thank-you for participating in the Great French Vote-a-tude. The clear winner was "Coeur trouvé aux objets perdus" with Miel and Écume trailing behind. I'll add the Miel book to the short list because I've had it for SO long.

I'm not sure I'll understand L'écume des jours. I just read the first paragraph and it sounds like the man has taken a fingernail cutter to his eyelids. So I looked up the phrase and the line turns out to be a famous "contrepèterie"--a spoonerism.  Better watch the movie first.

NON FICTION

Are you ready for the next challenge? I haven't read a lot of non-fiction since my two Poli Sci degrees--I was in a department that assigned a LOT of reading. And when I read non-fiction, it's usually research for my novels.

So... which one would you make me read this year? Vote! Vote! Vote! You know you want to.

The Evolutionists: The Struggle for Darwin's Soul 

The debates, not over whether evolution happened, but how it happened--from within the field of evolutionary biology.

Why I Bought It: Read part of it on loan from work, and just found it to be an entertaining primer on evolution. 

Wild Swans

Three generations of Chinese women--an American, her Revolutionary mother, and her concubine grandmother.

Why I Bought It: Just sounded interesting.

Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Finance

Guy created the first bubble and bust in France. Topical non?

Why I Bought It: The dude sounds funny. And I enjoy economics, but have to read pop books cause I don't have the math mind.

 Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French

Why I Bought It: I've never been to France, and I don't hate the French. But the book looked entertaining.

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

Why I Bought It: Stats is like economics--I enjoy it, but can only grasp the frothy stuff.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

"Mines poignant comedy from his peculiar childhood in North Carolina, his bizarre career path, and his move with his lover to France."

Why I Bought It: Cause he's popular.

 The Corner

A year in the life of an inner-city neighborhood. The show The Wire is based on it.

Why I Bought It: Recommended by FriendPaul in the late 90s.

A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis

"how humanitarian organizations are often betrayed and misused, and have increasingly lost sight of their purpose."

Why I Bought It: Also recommended by FriendPaul. Yeah he's a cheerful guy. I think the dissertation he's writing is about western media coverage of the 1980s famine in Ethiopia. Should be vair interesting.

  Globalization and Its Discontents

"insider's account of global economic policy"

Why I Bought It: Recommended by my East Asian Politics prof--Stiglitz worked for the World Bank and is supposed to be one of the better critics of how US-led global organizations fuck around with other people's economies.

 When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda

"He coaxes to the surface the historical, geographical, and political forces that made it possible for so many Hutu to turn so brutally on their neighbors."

Why I Bought It: For school. But I was always speed-reading, so I want to re-read both this and Mamdani's other work. Super interesting descriptions of how ethnic identities are created.

The extra fun about this quest is that I'll feel obligated to read the books I bring with me. You can hold me to it!