2019 Books Read - July

A month of travel, friends visiting and having some painting done in the house still brought 10 books being read.   Overall it was a good month - no real stand outs, but a lot of good ones.   I'm trying to go back to recording more of my thoughts about the books here and less about plot.   There is a link for each book if you are interested in more.   Happy reading!

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

A murder (actually more than one murder) mystery that is the first in the Cork O’Connor series.   With it being the first book there is a lot of time setting up the background.  Who is Cork O’Connor?  Where does he live?   What is the connection of the area with the people of the Iron Lake Reservation?  At times the background seemed to almost be filler, but in the end it was necessary for the story. 

 

Mr. Krueger describes things, especially scenery, in a way that I can picture clearly in my mind.   His writing draws me in and makes it real.   There were enough twists and turns that even though it was a little predictable, I found myself second guessing where I thought it was headed.  After finishing the book I was left thinking about where the story goes in the future.   I’ve said before that is an indication of a good book.   In this case I can compare where I think it should go with where it actually does go as I will continue the series. 

A Well Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Anne Fowler

This was a library book club read or I don’t know that I would have picked this out, but I’m glad that I read it.  Alva Smith is out to marry a man who will help her family recover from the hard times they have fallen upon.   With the help of her friend, Consuelo she sets her sights on William K. Vanderbilt.  While it is not a match made in heaven, it is a match that results in marriage.   As it is with historical fiction, the main story is true but the private moments, thoughts and motivations are speculation.  

Alva Smith was a strong woman.   She was not only part of the clubs that raised money for charitable causes but she saw the need of personal involvement and the importance of knowing the money was doing the most good it could.  She was instrumental in helping restore the Vanderbilt’s name and family.   Alva enjoyed the money and station in life she had because of it, but she also had struggles in many ways.   William was often gone and she did not have the companionship a husband and wife should give to each other.   She accepted this and always stayed above the pettiness that could have crept in. 

Ms Fowler in a soft, quiet way brought Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont to life.   I felt transported back in time and could picture the people, dress, opulence and need.   A nice read.


Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from the Terrifying Cult NVXIM by Catherine Oxenberg

The title sums up this book.   Catherine Oxenberg’s daughter, India, gets drawn into the NVIXM cult.   Catherine herself almost got caught up in it too, but early on figured out that there where things that she was not comfortable with and she got out before getting in too deep.   In some ways it was a gradual awakening to the fact that India was actually in a cult, but once Ms Oxenberg starting seeing things clearly, she started her crusade.

This book is open and honest.   There is both heartache and rejoicing.   It is interesting to me how people get drawn in to a cult.   A lot of the NXIVM members are intelligent and there is a fair share that are actors/actresses.   (Reading the story, it is amazing some of the parallels to the Church of Scientology.) Ms Oxenberg does a good job of laying the story out.   It gives some insight into the draw of the cult, the brainwashing that subtly happens, the difficulty of accepting that a loved one is involved in a cult and the fight there is to convince others at times.   There were a couple of things that were repeated in the book, but otherwise a well written eye opening story.


Judgement Calls by Alafair Burke

I am probably the last person to know that Alafair Burke is James Burke’s daughter.   When I discovered that, I wanted to check one of her books out.   This is the first in a series centered around Portland, Oregon Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid.  Samantha is put on the case of the rape and attempted murder of a 13 year old sometimes runaway girl.   The case seems to come together and the bad guy seems obvious.   But not so fast, my friend.  

As a crime story, this one had all the good elements I like.   A strong character in Samantha Kincaid, a suspect that while it makes sense they are guilty there are still questions, secondary characters that are interesting and an ending that makes sense.   There are clues throughout the story as to guilt or innocence, but until the end I was still unsure.   Another series to add to my list.  

Wish You Were Here By Stewart Nan

Family vacation time at the family cabin sounds like a wonderful story, doesn’t it?!   Not when you are spending it with the Maxwells.   The story is told day by day and from the perspective of different family members that are there – the mother, Emily, daughter, Meg and her kids – Justin and Sarah, the son, Kenneth, his wife, Lise with their kids – Sam and Ella and the aunt – Arlene. The dog Rufus even chimes in on one day.  A more whiny bunch of dysfunction you will never find.   Of course they all bring their own problems that for the most part the others don’t know about, so most of the ruminating is done through those colored lens. 

 

If O’Nan’s aim was to make us feel the way the week together drags on for the family, then he was successful.  I, like most of them, were counting down the minutes until time to wrap this trip up and go home.   I usually try to stay away from things that may spoil a book, but in this case, I’m not sure there’s anything to spoil.   There was promise of one line the story could take, but it was just a tease and a big nothing burger.   The biggest surprise was that the family members who were thinking of the time to go home before they even got to the cabin, decided they were going to be heartbroken the next year when they no longer had the cabin to go to.   This would be understandable if they had a great revelation and decided they enjoyed their time together, but that didn’t happen.   Add on to that descriptions about such things as Sam going to the bathroom.   Really – I need to know about a boy sitting on the toilet having a BM?!  

This is another one of those books that overall has high ratings, but I just don’t get it.   Reading reviews it does seem that people either loved it or felt as I did.   Doesn’t seem to be much in between.   It is the first book in a trilogy and the other two do seem more promising, so I may give them a chance.  My advice, skip this one and try Emily Alone.

Running to the Edge by Matthew Futterman

I’m not a runner.  My husband is not a runner.  My children are not runners.  So why did I pick this book?   I don’t know.  It sounded interesting to me to read about the man, Bob Larsen, who figured out the best way to train when running cross country and track.   The story is interesting, even though I didn’t understand it all when they were talking intervals, distances, etc.  I did get the gist of it all though.

The story covers different runners and teams that Larsen coached.   I at times got a little lost with who was who with the runners, but it was interesting reading how the different members became a part of his team.   It goes through Larsen as a young man running to him coaching the Olympic long distance runners.   It is a little disjointed at times and every now and then there is a short chapter written about the experience of running from a runners perspective.   I think it was different people each time, but I’m not sure. 

Overall an average book for me.   It worked though as I read most of it while on the treadmill walking.   Gave me a little incentive to keep it up.  


The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/running-to-the-edge-matthew-futterman/1129853784?ean=9780385543743#/

Reading this book reminded me of both “Forrest Gump” and “Big Fish”, but it didn’t stand up as tall as either one of those.   The title tells you the plot of the book – a 100 year old man climbs out of his nursing home window on his birthday and disappears.   We follow his adventures with some unsavory yet for the most part likable characters and in so doing we find out his life story.   Of course it is all a little unbelievable. That’s what stories are at times.   Yet you can still lose yourself in a story and stretch your imagination.   I was expecting a few laugh out loud moments, but never really got them.   A fun book to read though.


Sometimes I Lie by Alice Fenney

A psychological thriller with a lot of twists along the way and a strange ending.  The main characters are Amber, who is in a coma in the now, her sister, Claire and her husband Paul.   It is a slow reveal of how Amber ended up in a coma and the true relationship that they each have with the others. It is told in sections labeled “Then” “Now” and “Before” and that is exactly how the story is told, in sections that fit together.   There is also often a list of three things – two are true and one is not.   As the story unfolds you can usually tell which is the lie, yet not always.    The book is well written and kept me engaged.  I was a little confused at the ending, but it did keep me thinking past the close of the book.   I’ve come up with my own after story, but I have since read that a sequel is coming out the first of next year.   It will be interesting to see if I’m on the right path.  

Forever and Ever Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith and Braving the Storms of Life by Randy Travis

Randy Travis has such a pure baritone voice (or sadly I should say had) that is perfect for pure country and gospel music.   It has been a while since I listened to his songs, but after finishing this book, I started again.  Thank you Spotify.

This is an interesting, easy to read memoir.   With Travis living with the effects of a stroke, I’m not sure how much of this was actually written by him and he acknowledges that some of the memories are from what other people have told him.   The memoir does ring true though.   What stands out to me most of all is the true Christian outlook that he seems to have.  Especially when it comes to other people and his ability to see good in them even when they have treated him badly.   For the most part, it is not a deep book, but in a plain way Travis’ life story is told and is an everyday inspiration.

The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California by Mark Arax

There were 2 reasons that this book drew my attention.  The first is that our daughter and her family live in the Central Valley.   Traveling out there we see the signs posted about the fight for water, we see the canals and the snow on the mountain.  This book tells the history of this fight and where it stands today.   The other reason is my dad spent most of his career working for Soil and Water Conservation Services.   The book also discusses the effects man’s manipulation of water has on the land.  I learned a lot about aquifers, subsidence, buying and cheating for water, drip irrigation vs spray, political battles over water and many other things.   Mr. Arax is a Fresno native and has his ideas on why things are the way they are today.  Some of his theories make sense others I’m not sure about, or else I’m not smart enough to follow. 

Overall, this was an interesting book to me.  I did have trouble following sometimes as I wasn’t sure what period of time he was talking about.  And if you have no real interest in environmental history, specifically in California, then I wouldn’t recommend this book.   I came away with the nagging thought of “What if they had just left it as God had made it.”   It definitely would be a totally different state and economy.  We can’t put the genie back in the bottle now