Review: Migrations

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a near future where entire species have gone extinct and the numbers of birds and fish are catastrophically low, Franny convinces a fishing boat captain to bring her aboard to follow the Arctic Tern (which she thinks will also follow the fish.) As the story goes on, more of her past is revealed. It sometimes feels like a story churning in its own destruction because obviously Fanny knows everything that has happened and the reader doesn't, but I liked the premise and the landscape. The crew is interesting as is the people they encounter, usually in cold and remote places, my favorite.

I had a copy of this from Flatiron Books through Netgalley although it came out August 4th so I'm obviously in catch-up mode with eARCs.

View all my reviews

Read in September: Books 234 - 256 of 2017

Pictured: 5-star reads for September 2017

234. Ember by Brock Adams *** (eARC from publisher through Edelweiss; my review)
235. Eat Only When You're Hungry by Lindsay Hunter **** (BOTM selection; my review)
236. Love Her Wild: Poems by Atticus ** (audioARC from publisher; my review)
237. The Glass Eye: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco **** (ARC from publisher; my review)
238. The Mountain by Paul Yoon **** (eARC from publisher through NetGalley; my review)
239. Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel ***** (library book; my review)
240. Sea Girl by Ethel Johnston Phelps **** (HOOPLA eBook through library; my review)
241. What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons *** (eARC from publisher through NetGalley; my review)
242. Solar Bones by Mike McCormack *** (eARC from publisher through Edelweiss; my review)
243. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart **** (interlibrary loan; my review)
244. When I Grow Up I Want To Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen ***** (library eBook; my review)
245. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead *** (library eBook; my review)
246. Ties by Domenico Starnone **** (eBook; my review)
247. Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua **** (personal copy; my review)
248. New People by Danzy Senna **** (eARC from publisher through Edelweiss; my review)
249. Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta **** (audioARC from publisher; my review)
250. The Secret History by Donna Tartt ***** (personal copy; my review)
251. After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones ***** (interlibrary loan; my review)
252. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson **** (personal copy audiobook; my review)
253. From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty **** (ARC from publisher; my review)
254. Dinner at the Center of the Earth by Nathan Englander **** (eARC from publisher; my review)
255. Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak *** (eARC from publisher through NetGalley; my review)
256. I Will Love You for the Rest of My Life: Breakup Stories by Michael Czyzniejewski **** (interlibrary loan; my review)

For the Man Booker Prize - McCormack, Whitehead.
For the National Book Award - Chen (also I bailed on the Jennifer Egan which is not represented in this list)
For the Newest Literary Fiction buddy reads - Hunter, Clemmons, Starnone
For the Reading Envy Readalong - Tartt

Reading Envy 071: Bad Priest, Good Priest, No Priest

Scott returns for a visit to the familiar Reading Envy Pub. We both bring spooky reads, memoirs, and... priests?

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 071: Bad Priest, Good Priest, No Priest.


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Books discussed:

 

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden McClure
I Fired God: My Life Inside -- And Escape From -- The Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Cult by Jocelyn R. Zichterman
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Other mentions:

The Battle of Agincourt, 1415
Henry the V by William Shakespeare
Henry the V (film with Kenneth Branagh)
Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
The Source by James Michener
Patrick O'Brien
1356 by Bernard Cornwell
The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
Philip K. Dick Award

The Cruelest Journey by Kira Salak (I said Longest)
Sleepy Hollow (film)
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Related Episodes:
Episode 014 - Flannery O'Connor with Zombies with Jason and Scott
Episode 052 - The Man with the Eyebrows with Philip and Scott
Episode 058 - Wishing for a Sequel with Scott
 
Stalk us online:
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter

Scott on Twitter
Scott on his blog

Reading Envy 064: Reading Down the Rabbit Hole

Jenny talks books with anyone who will listen, and finds a new reading friend in the library where she works. Tracy, who appeared at the tail end of episode 063, is back for a full episode. We discuss books that tie into movies, real life experiences, and more. (Caution: this episode may make you hungry!)

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 064: Reading Down the Rabbit Hole.

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via iTunes by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher (new!)

Books discussed:



The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Baker
Julia Child: A Life by Julie Shapiro
The First Wife: A Tale of Polygamy by Pauline Chiziane; translated by David Brookshaw

Other mentions:

Walter Edgar - SC writers
Dorothea Benton Frank
Mary Alice Monroe
Fran Rizer
Carolyn Hart
The Big Year (film)
John Adams by David McCullough
1776 by David McCullough
Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series
Diane Mott Davidson
The Forgotten Recipe by Amy Clipston
JennyBakes raspberry pie
The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper
As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto by Joan Reardon
My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prudhomme
Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
Julie & Julia (film)
The Last Queen of England by Steve Robinson
My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Asher
#scifijuly
Apex by Ramez Naam
The Big Book of Science Fiction ed. by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
BookBub


Related Episodes:

Reading Envy 005: The Second Definition of Geek (mention of Penguin Lives)
Reading Envy 048: Reading Goals 2016
Reading Envy 063: Desolation Road (Tracy makes another brief appearance)


Stalk us online:

Jenny at GoodReads
Jenny on Twitter

Reading Envy 044: Of Survival and Memory

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 044: Of Survival and Memory.

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Or subscribe via iTunes by clicking: Subscribe

Book selections:


Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival by Joe Simpson
This Earth of Mankind (Buru Quartet #1) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Tragic 1979 Fastnet Race by Nick Ward and Sinead O'Brien, read by Simon Vance
The Liars' Club: A Memoir by Mary Karr
The Secret History of Star Wars by Michael Kaminski
The Chimes by Anna Smaill

More mentions:
Touching the void (documentary)
Everest (film)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
Into Thin Air (film)
BBC film reviews podcast 
Hello Internet podcast
Traveler's Century Club list of nations
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
Star Wars Episode 7 (film)
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Serpent in Paradise by Dea Birkett
We Dream of Water by Srdjan Smajić
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
Luke's review of the North


And check Luke out juggling in all the places!


Related Episodes:
Episode 017 - Homeric Radiation at Lake Inverness with guest Luke Burrage
Episode 032 - Her Smoke Rose Up Forever with Luke Burrage, crosspost with SFBRP podcast

Stalk us online:

Luke Burrage on Twitter
Luke's podcast/blog, Science Fiction Book Review Podcast
Luke in GoodReads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny in GoodReads