Books Read September 2021: 202-214

If only I could count the books I'm in the middle of! But September went quickly. I never even got to a Science September read.  Maybe next year.

A gentle reminder that all reviews can still be seen on my Goodreads profile (the review will be with the book; the format will be specified unless it's in print.) And the books with green outlines are my 5-star reads for the month!

202. The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
203. A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
204. Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel ⭐️⭐️⭐️
205. Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke, performed by MacLeod Andrews, Neil Shah, Dani Martineck, Sophie Amoss, Neil Hellegers, Cary Hite, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Joshua Kane, Amy Landon, Nicole Lewis, Brittany Pressley, Jonathan Todd Ross ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
206. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
207. Martita, I Remember You by Sandra Cisneros, et al; read by Sandra Cisneros, et al ⭐️⭐️⭐️
208. Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated by Aneesa Higgins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
209. Real Estate by Deborah Levy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
210. Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
211. Cackle by Rachel Harrison ⭐️⭐️⭐️
212. Church of Spies by Mark Riebling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
213. Voices in the Evening by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by D.M. Low ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
214. Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Total Books Read:13

Reread: 0

audio: 2
eBook: 6
print: 5

borrowed: 0
library: 3
personal copy:  1
review copy: 8
subscription: 1

Around the World: 4
Booker Prize Long or shortlist: 1
Erin & Dani's Book Club: 0
Europe 2021: 2
National Book Award finalist: 1
Read the World 21 (Western Europe): 2
Tournament of Books: 0
Upstate International Book Club: 0
Work book club: 0

Graphic Novel/Comic: 0
Memoir: 1
Music: 1
Nature: 0
Poetry: 0
Translated: 2
Women in Translation: 2

Review: Great Circle

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This could not be renewed at the library so it was now or never. The story is 90% a female pilot in the 20th century with enough dips into other storylines to want to go back to Marian. Do I think it will win the Booker? I'd be surprised, but I enjoyed the read.

Additional thoughts after recording about it and responding to comments...

I feel like by the time the author got to the actual great circle trip, I didn't need to read it, it almost felt redundant. I was all in on the side characters during Marian's time period but didn't need the contemporary time period except for what that allows us to learn about Marian (this could have been included a different way, perhaps.

The characters are all individually contemplating their sexuality which sometimes felt forced. I'm not a prude but I'm not sure it always fit? It stood out a bit awkwardly.

I did fall into the trap of f0orgetting Marian wasn't real. I like the historical fiction approach where the place and events are real but the people are made up.

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Review: Voices in the Evening

Voices in the Evening by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by D.M, Low
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those novels where you have to get into the routine of it, to read between the lines, to really understand everything going on. It takes place in a small Italian town after World War II, with everyone dealing with losing family members, wondering who to trust, and still needing to move forward. I liked the examination of happiness in relationships vs societal expectations as well. Ginzburg comes from an Italian Jewish family and her husband was tortured to death by Nazis before the end of the war, so surely those experiences were formative to this post-war novel, even though it's not about those events per se.

This came in from my New Directions Classics Club subscription, but I picked it off my shelf to read for Western Europe and the Read the World 21 challenge in Instagram.

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Review: Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler

Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler by Mark Riebling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My focus on reading Europe this year and finishing my checklist sent me looking for a specific read for Vatican City, and what could be better than a deep look into (many) archives to examine what the Catholic church and Pope Pius XII were really up to regarding Hitler. The author clearly did a lot of research - his list of citations is 100 pages - and the perspective is very much in defense of what appeared outwardly to be not enough of a response. I know even more Vatican archives have been opened to the public since this book came out, so it would be interesting to know how many of those details align.

I was interested in reading the historical views of the Church on espionage and tyrannicide, to learn more about how it functions inside wider communities of diplomacy, and why it can be useful to separate the Vatican from the Pope.

This also will fit the Western Europe focus for this month's #Readtheworld21 - not just the location of Vatican City geographically but the countries over which it has significant influence.

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Review: Summer Sons

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Lee Mandelo's debut Summer Sons is a sweltering, queer Southern Gothic that crosses Appalachian street racing with academic intrigue, all haunted by a hungry ghost." (Publisher summary)

I found out about this book on an August Tor.com article, "The Hills are Haunted; the Mountains are Hungry: Digging Into Appalachian SFF," and went looking for it immediately. It comes out September 28, 2021.

Andrew and Eddie were inseparable from childhood until Eddie decided to go to grad school early and kept making up excuses for Andrew to wait, then Eddie died by apparent suicide. Eddie is left to clean up the pieces and try to figure out the truth, but from when he first arrives in Nashville and picks up Eddie's car, he finds Eddie isn't *completely* gone.

There is some fun juxtaposition here between south and north, rich and not, academics and country (and some who seem to bridge the gaps - I've been in a Folklore PhD program and it's hard to picture those students racing cars and doing drugs but that is the world of this novel.) It also has a found family element that is pleasing! A great read for October if you're spooky.

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Reading Envy 229: Second Contact with Tom Merritt

Author and podcaster Tom Merritt joins Jenny to talk about books, mostly science fiction and fantasy, and Tom shares about his newest book, Project V.E.R.A. Jenny knows Tom from the Sword and Laser Book Club and Podcast, but it's not his only project!

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 229: Second Contact

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Books discussed:

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner
The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
Kyreen by Nikki Moore

Other mentions:

Daily Tech News
Know a Little More
Cord Killers
Sword and Laser Podcast
East Meets West
Tech Republic Top 5
Current Geek
Let's Talk About Star Wars
It's a Thing
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune
The Expanse (series by S.A. Corey)
NaNoWriMo
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
Wayfarers (series by Becky Chambers)
Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd
Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel

Related episodes: 

Episode 008 - Gone Rogue with guests Steve Richardson, Libby Young, and Mike Winiski
Episode 013 - The Secret Central Force with Josh Lawrence and terpkristin
Episode 038 - Monica Byrne Wants to Make People (Want to) Scream with guest Monica Byrne
Episode 055 - Too Late for an Autopsy with Julie Davis
Episode 087 - Going Native with Bookclub Social with Amanda and Grace
Episode 126 - Bernice Bobs her Hair with Jon Laubinger
Episode 154 - Is If If with Paula
Episode 191 - Stealthy yet Sparkly with Gail Carriger
Sword and Laser guest host - Episode 408
Sword and Laser guest host - Episode 409 

Stalk me online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Tom is @acedetect on Twitter and Instagram
Project V.E.R.A. can be found on Audible or Tomsnewbook.com
Tom's other books can be found on TomMerrittbooks.com


All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

Review: The Love Hypothesis

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars 

I've talked on the podcast a few times about the number of books featuring grad students in the sciences, well here is one more and it is a delightful fake relationship trope between a grad student and a professor (but at Stanford he's not her direct advisor so it's fine.) I'm not sure if it was deliberate but I pictured a young Snape as the professor.

And then Erin in Instagram said,

"Apparently this book is re-packaged Rey/Ben Solo fan fiction and the dude is Adam Driver…so Young Snape isn’t too far off IMO"

I had no idea but it does really work now that I know. It didn't feel shoehorned or suffer from the awkwardness of similar attempts in my opinion, so kudos to the author.

And I know this isn't the intent of #scienceseptember but it might be as close as I get this year.

I had a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and it comes out September 14, 2021.


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Review: Several People Are Typing

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book had me chortling in the car in under ten minutes. I don't know what the experience is in print, but the audio - narrated by MacLeod Andrews, Neil Shah, Dani Martineck, Sophie Amoss, Neil Hellegers, Cary Hite, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Joshua Kane, Amy Landon, Nicole Lewis, Brittany Pressley, Jonathan Todd Ross - is like sketch comedy if sketch comedy recited Slack channel conversations from a marketing firm where everyone finds reasons to WFH.

I have only used Slack a few times but that didn't interfere with my understanding of what was happening. Emojis are read as the item but I could :eyes: what they were doing. Different Slack channels are used to help the reader know who is privy to the information. Oh and I just spent 15 minutes reading about :dustystick:

If you had to move to a shared online space because of Covid - Slack, Teams, etc - I think this will be particularly amusing. There are some surprises in there I will leave for the reader.

I received a copy of this from the publisher through the Volumes app. It came out 8/31/21.

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Review: The Hidden Palace

The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Golem and the Jinni (2013) was arguably a perfect novel with compelling characters and setting, leaving a lot of readers wanting more. And the author gave us more..is that really what we wanted?

The rest of this post could be spoilers for the first novel.

The golem and the jinni have been friends and more for some time, but their relationship has started to change..the golem has really come in to herself as a career woman while the jinni has struggled to be honest about his dreams and desires. A few other characters factor into the story but the supernatural ones are even more held back by the humanity around them as they head into the first world war.

This came out June 8th, I had a copy from the publisher but of course that date has passed

 
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Reading Envy 228: Full of Secrets with Audrey Morris

Audrey Morris, one of the people I chat with most in Instagram about books and baking, joins me to talk books. She also shares about some award lists that have her looking forward to the next few months.

Download or listen via this link:
Reading Envy 228: Full of Secrets

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
Or listen on Google Play
Or listen via Stitcher
Or listen through Spotify 
Or listen through Google Podcasts

Books discussed:

 

 

Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
A Spare Life by Lidija Dimkovska, translated by Christina E. Kramer
In the Lateness of the World by Carolyn Forché
The Woman from Uruguay by Pedro Mairal, translated by Jennifer Croft
That Time of Year by Marie Ndiaye, translated by Jordan Stump

Other mentions:

Barkskins by Annie Proulx
Readalong information
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Wretchedness by Andrzej Tichy
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
Dishoom by Shamil Thakrar
The Employees by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut, translated by Adrian Nathan West
In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova
Consent by Annabel Lyon
Summer Brother by Jaap Robben
Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Catch the Rabbit by Lana Bastasic
What You Have Heard is True by Carolyn Forché
Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky
The Missing Year of Juan Salvatierra by Pedro Mairal
Census by Jesse Ball
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Varghese
Beyond Babylon by Igiaba Scego
Adua by Igiaba Scego
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Sorrow by Claribel Alegria
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford

Related episodes: 

Episode 088 - Author Head Space with Sara Moore
Episode 112 - Reset Button with Eleanor Thoele
Episode 195 - Muchness with Nadine
Episode 207 - Innocent and Ruthless with Tricia Deegan
Episode 212 - Subtly Fascinating with Vinny

Stalk me online:

Audrey is @dreesreads on Instagram
Audrey at Goodreads
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy


All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.