September Books

Hi everyone. 

Once again I'm back with my list of last month's books.  It seems I get wordier and wordier about each book as I write more of these posts 😁; warning, this is a long post.

Last month I seem to have been in a biography mood, especially early in the month,  along with my favorite genre, mysteries. And then my reading choices started to change a bit.

My first book for September was this book called The Earl and The Pharaoh.  This non-fiction volume is basically the story of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon’s life.  Porchey, the fifth earl, worked with and financed Howard Carter who went on to discover King Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt. However, the Earl’s life was much more than his interest in Egyptian archeology. In fact, archeology was just one of the many interests of this man who had a lot of money and no job to keep him tethered. 

If you only wanted to read about Egyptian archeology and King Tut's discovery, then you would probably be disappointed in this biography. I think the title is a  bit misleading because this story tells you this Earl's entire life story and not just about the famous King Tut discovery.  Saying that,  I still liked this book. Here's my pluses and minuses.

I enjoyed how this book described all the changes to life in general from the late 1800’s  into the early 20th century. Some wealthy people like Carnarvon were able to buy early Motor cars and try flying in the first planes. It was interesting to read about what driving and flying were like at that time. It was also interesting to read about other aspects of daily life starting in the later reign of Queen Victoria and moving all the way into the reign of  King George V. All of these monarchs had connections to Carnarvons. The author does a great job of setting the time and place. I also enjoyed reading about the Egyptian archeology  carried out by Earl Carnarvon and Howard Carter, including  the many years before King Tut's tomb was located and opened.

My 2 negatives were that it was hard to keep track of some of the people mentioned in the book as there were so many of them. Also after a while it was just too chronologically complete. This book read like  a journal turned into a non-fiction volume, which of course it was, but I thought a bit more finesse could have been used to make it less like a year by year recounted story. Don't get me wrong, this book was well written, so perhaps that is the author's style. I liked this book and  enjoyed reading it. 

 The 5th Earl of Carnarvon had a fascinating life, and if you like reading about interesting lives, then you might enjoy this book.

 

I love mysteries and so after reading about the Carnarvon family it was back to a series I started last month "starring" Inspector Tom Janssen. This is book 2 in the Hidden Norfolk series.  DCI Tom Janssen is the local detective in this series, and he is joined by his younger, still-in-training sidekick Eric Collett. Also back in this book is head inspector Tamara Greave, again on loan from the regional headquarters. 

This time some terrible storms have wracked the Norfolk coast, and after a storm, a partially buried body is found by a dog walker in the low tide zone. The team goes through a list of not so recent missing persons and narrows the body down to one of 4 women. This corpse is found with much of their clothing already disintegrated, but she is wearing some rings and a necklace. That necklace is quite unique, and even though Tom Janssen and Tamara Greave at first disagree who the body belongs to, the necklace is a key piece of information.

Was this woman involved with some animal rights demonstrations? And what about the name on the remaining bit of business card tucked away in the clothing remains? As this story progresses it gets deeper into some secrets people are trying to keep about some information no one wants the police to discover. 

I felt like this story started strong, was a little bit of slow in  parts of the middle, and then really picked up at the end. And I was surprised where it ended up too.  It's overall another good story in this series.

My first listen in September was this quirky book. Edison's Ghosts  written by Katie Spalding. This book is about  many  famous geniuses throughout recorded history, starting with some ancient Greek names we all most likely to know including Pythagoras and working up to some more modern  people like Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein.  

 This is NOT a dry biography.   Each chapter covers a different person. What you are getting is a brief introduction to the different lives and what they did that made them a genius.  Plus you learn about various items that a serious biography would probably handle in a less  snarky manner.

For example, one story I didn't know was about Tycho Brahe, a man with whom I was familiar with his science, but I did not know about his famous pet. Brahe was a 16th century early astronomer, and he had a pet moose. That moose used to sleep at the foot of the astronomers bed and run alongside the carriage when Brahe was going some place. Sadly, the moose ended up getting drunk on beer while Brahe and the moose were off visiting, and the moose, while trying to maneuver some stairs, slipped and fell. That led to his death. In my modern view I feel very sad for moose, but it is an interesting side of history.

Not all the stories deal with something as unusual as a drunken moose.  Here's another example. I  didn't know that Isaac Newton was an agent for the British treasury.  I learned a lot of new information and even learned about some people new to me while listening to this book. 

This book was an enjoyable listen, but I'm not sure it would be everyone's style. Having taught high school for so many years, I really can see a lot of kids enjoying this book.  It is just interesting enough for someone with a short attention span. or someone who wants a very brief and entertaining introduction to some geniuses. It is a book you could stop after  a few chapters and pick up even months later if you were inclined. It made a great listening book however because the chapters were interesting and informative, but they also didn't require a whole lot of deep focus to follow.

Did you happen to see the movie Oppenheimer? J. Robert Oppenheimer was the man who ran the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico where the first atomic bomb was built during the Second World War. After seeing this (really excellent by the way) movie, I was curious to read more about the man and life in Los Alamos. This was the book I chose.

The title baffled me, but as I read the book I found out that this was the address in Santa Fe (New Mexico) where the central office for the project was located. Since Los Alamos was technically run by the military at the time, it was a closed area unless you had an entrance pass. The Santa Fe office was managed by Dorothy McKibbin, and before Los Alamos was finished being constructed, 109 East Palace was a very busy place. McKibbin ran the office after the "base" was actually up and running, even though Oppenheimer offered her a job out on the mesa-top. 

The whole building and set up of Los Alamos was really fascinating.  There had been a boy's school already on the mesa, which, to build the war time lab,  the government took over and then kicked out the occupants. That at least gave the early workers at Los Alamos a place to sleep, but so many facilities were necessary for Los Alamos to function. Not only were homes needed, but so were stores, doctor's offices, recreation facilities and also (obviously) lab space. Once most people entered the facility, they  were more or less stuck there. And with the worry over secrets being stolen or leaked, (and they were stolen), security was tight. Many people resented the military's presence (as this was really a military base), but people did make a life there. The author does a fantastic job clearly describing not only the building of this town but also life in the town once it was occupied.

Conant also does a great job describing the personalities involved, life in Los Alamos, and the bigger picture of this project. Even though this "event" produced a terrible weapon of mass destruction,  there was a strong sense of community. It's like everyone knew that this was going to be history, and  people did want to do their part for the war effort, especially nervous scientists who left Europe because they were Jewish or against the regimes. 

The author of this book, Jennet Conant, is the granddaughter of a man who was president of Harvard University and who  was one of the scientists at Los Alamos. Although she doesn't focus on her grandfather in this biography, she does include some interesting information in the prologue.  This author is an excellent writer who really makes you feel like you are at Los Alamos during the war. I know she has some other books published about this time period, and I think,  because this book was excellent, that I might be checking those out at some point also.

With a couple of serious biographies  under my belt during September, I wanted to listen to something different.  I also wanted something shorter  that I could get through more quickly than the biographies took. This book, Strange Weather in Tokyo,  fulfilled both of those reading interests. (Plus  I like the cover image too.)

In this story, a thirty something woman named Tsukiko meets her former high school Japanese teacher  at a bar/pub. She can't remember his name, so she calls him Sensei (which if you don't know means teacher), but he remembers her clearly.  He is an old man.  She is lonely. Since they are both visiting the same pub alone, a friendship develops between these two. 

One thing I enjoyed about this book was that the story wasn't at all predictable.  I expected Sensei to be lonely and sad, and I thought Tsukiko would be out enjoying her youthful single life. Yet that was not exactly  the case. I was also surprised to learn  how the relationship  between these 2 people developed over time. 

I like how this book incorporated the passing seasons and the events in Japanese life that each season brought.  This book doesn't have a lot of "wild" action in it like car chases or murderers being captured, but it is an interesting look at people. I also read online that it  was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2013, in case you are someone who leans towards award winning writing. 

For my next book I decided to pull another old Agatha Christie paperback  mystery off my bookshelf. My book is ancient (the paperback cost $1.50 new), but other than some yellowing, my book is in really good shape. It took me about half way through the book before pieces of the story rang a bell, but based on the cost of this paperback, it's definitely been decades since I read this book.
 

Superintendent Spence stops by to visit Hercule Poirot at his apartment in London.  He explains (to Poirot) how he investigated a case where a Mrs. Ginty was found dead in her home, and her lodger, James Bentley, seemed to be the only suspect. Bentley is then found guilty of the murder. Superintendent Spence doesn't think Bentley is guilty, even though all the evidence lead the jury to convict him. He asks Poriot for some help.

Poirot travels to Broadhinney to investigate. While he's there, a second murder occurs.  He also discovers an older newspaper article about 4 women who have a "history". The article is titled "Where Are They Now?"  Does this article have anything to do with Mrs. McGinty's and also the second death? 

Christie really is the queen of mysteries when you think about how she came up with so many varied plots and stories. And so often, her books end up surprising you in the end. I thought this book had a bit of  a slow start, but then like so many of Christie's mysteries, was hard to put down. 

Another listen in September was Ann Patchett's newest novel. Not only is Ann Patchett a very good writer, but this book was narrated by Meryl Streep, so how could you go wrong?

Laura grew up in New Hampshire and because of some spontaneous decisions, became an actress. That's when she changes her name to Lara. One summer in her younger days, she dated an actor who became quite famous named Peter Duke. Move onto 2020, and Lara is now married (not to Peter Duke) with 3 older daughters. She and her husband have a farm in Northern Michigan, and when covid shuts everything down, the family all ends up at home.  After their father slips one night about Peter Duke being their Mom's old boyfriend, the girls continue to press their mother for details about her relationship. 

This novel  partially revolves around the time when Mom/Lara was a young actress and dated Peter Duke,  and that story is woven into  the novel's present timeline, 2020. At this time,  the story is about life on the fruit farm in Northern Michigan during Covid . Since Patchett is such a lyrical writer, this story sucks you in and holds you fast.

Having read several of this author's books in the past, I was waiting for some kind of surprise to happen that would turn the story in a slightly  new direction. And when I had about 1.5 hours left to go, I was still waiting. There are twists, but this story is, in a good sense, about family and growing up when you're in your twenties. This story is  an enjoyable tale, and without giving away the whole story, it's interesting how Peter Duke and his brother Sebastian really weave themselves into the threads of this novel. 

My next book has been a very popular one on the blogosphere, and I can see why.   The Last Devil to Die is book 4 in the Thursday Club Mystery series, and it is another clever, fast paced and very enjoyable story. Perhaps the best of them so far. Elizabeth, Ron, Joyce and Ibrahim are back.  This time a friend of Elizabeth's husband, an antique seller, has somehow gotten involved in a heroin selling business, and he is found murdered in his car in a secluded woodlot. Donna and Chris, the 2 police officers you get to know in this series, have been taken off the case when higher outside powers step in. Of course, the 4 residents of Cooper's Chase Retirement Village, who are members of the Thursday Murder Club, try to sniff of this murderer, much to the dismay of the police.

Can Elizabeth, Ron, Joyce and Ibrahim actually solve the case this time before the police do?  Or are they going to help Chris and Donna get back on the case?

This book is also much more emotional than the other 3 books, but I must say, these novels just get better and better. If you're new to this series you probably want to start with the first book though, because part of the great thing about series, is that you get to know the characters and follow them over  what can be a longer period of time.

I'm not going to say too much more because I know some of you who read my book post also read this series.  And if you haven't read this series, you should. 👍

This is a book I was first recommended to read last Thanksgiving (November), that I then received for Christmas, and finally got around to reading. This is what happens when books get buried in my very tall reading pile next to my bed. 😬 ( Maybe now having a kindle my reading pile will get shorter. Grin.)

I  usually like Jodi Picoult books and find them hard to put down because she writes stories that deal with issues, and as a reader, you want to know where the storyline goes with whatever the book's topic is. I have never read any books by her co-author,  Jennifer Finney Boylan.  However, I found that this book just seemed heavy and was a downer almost from the beginning.  I actually procrastinated picking it back up. But I did pick it up, and then at about 100 pages, I thought I had the story figured out. (That proved to be partially true.)

When the story begins you meet Olivia who is a single mom with a senior in high school son named Asher. Asher has a girlfriend named Lily. Lily is found dead at the bottom of the stairs in her home, and Asher is arrested for murdering her. The story focuses on the legal scenario that follows. But to add to that  storyline, Olivia also came from an abusive marriage. It seems like practically everyone in this story can't escape their past baggage, which I suppose is true for all of us in real life. However, in this story, we get the past baggage thrown back at us a bit too much.

Saying all this, overall, this was not a terrible book. It was definitely a well written, interesting story. The book did improve as the story went on, and I  wanted to see what happened to Ascher. I also learned a lot reading this book, because at its heart it is a story about tolerance and acceptance of people who feel differently about who they are, male or female. I just wish this novel wasn't so bleak and depressing.  And the ending made me mad. (But I assume it was supposed to do that.) The bright spot in this novel is that Olivia is a beekeeper, and I really enjoyed reading about her time with her beehives. 

That's the end of this longish post. Funny, I read so much variety this past month that the first book about Lord Carnarvon seems as though it's been months, not a month, since I was reading it. 

Thanks for visiting, and I still like to get recommendations if you've read anything worth mentioning.