The Last Child

Book 22 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 21 - 28

The Last Child

by John Hart

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2009

Johnny Merrimom was thirteen when his twin sister disappeared. Now, one year later, she is presumed dead. His mother is devastated, his father gone, and life will never be the same. But Johnny has a map, a bike, and a plan. He's going to find his sister, even if he has to track down every dangerous character in the county - a do-or-die mission that troubles police detective Clyde Hunt. He's also been searching for Johnny's sister, and he knows to what dark places a case like this can lead. But even Hunt can't imagine how far Johnny will go to learn the truth - or what he will find when he gets there.

My Opinion

3 stars

This book was unsettling and I wanted to read quickly because so many things and I was so uncomfortable and wanted resolutions now!  It bogged down a little for me as more plot points were added but that also helped some of the twists; I had no idea what was going to happen.

I debated between 3 and 4 stars on this and ended up rounding down for a few reasons.  There were too many coincidences, especially when factoring in Johnny's age and actions, and the plausibility of every plot point wrapping up and every mystery unraveling was too much of a stretch.  I also didn't like the ending, both because it was heavy-handed on religion and because where the characters ended up didn't make sense (not enough time had passed for some of the relationship developments).

I see there is a second book featuring this character and I will probably read it even though I'm not sure where the story can go from here.

Ten Great Mysteries

Book 21 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 23 - 27

Ten Great Mysteries by Edgar Allen Poe

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 1993 (this book with introductions; the stories themselves are older)

The Pit and the Pendulum...The Purloined Letter...The Tell-Tale Heart...A Descent into the Maelstrom...and six other choice chillers by the acknowledged master of mystery, fantasy, and horror.

These ten absorbing stories, selected by a famed anthologist of science-fiction and the supernatural, prove that even after a century Poe's imagination still works its macabre magic.

My Opinion

3 stars

This light paperback has been in the bottom of my purse for a long time as the "emergency book", something that's always there just in case I finish a book while I'm out or leave in a hurry without bringing a book with me (the absolute horror!).  Now that the world has shut down and I won't be leaving the house for awhile, I decided to bring it out of the reserves and actually read it.

If I read short stories by different authors I will usually separate and talk about them individually but when it's multiple stories by the same author I usually don't.  My overall feeling about this book and the selection of stories is that I like Poe's shorter works but the longer the story gets the denser and wordier it gets and the longer it feels.

I only recognized 3 out of the 10 stories.  Of those 3, The Black Cat was my favorite, The Tell-Tale Heart still holds up and The Pit and the Pendulum was hard for me to evaluate as a story because all I could picture as I was reading was the movie version with Vincent Price.  Of the remaining 7, I would say his lesser-known works are lesser-known for a reason but if I had to pick a favorite among them it would be A Descent into the Maelstrom. 

Quiet

Book 20 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 1 - 22

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

by Susan Cain

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2012

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society. 

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

My Opinion

3 stars

This is interesting to read as the world shuts down due to the coronavirus.  It definitely adds to the conversation that there is room for introverts to succeed in a workplace or school because not every meeting has to be face-to-face, not every activity has to be in a group, etc.  I wonder if there will be more telecommuting even when things open again or if things will go right back to the extrovert-friendly settings.

The book was very readable and most chapters had a good mix of personal anecdotes and research to keep it interesting and relevant.  A lot of it was things I'd already thought about as an introvert married to an extrovert and raising our 4 kids (we've had 20 years of personality negotiations without knowing the terminology of "free trait agreements" or "restorative niche") but there were things I hadn't considered before, especially regarding religious leaders.

I loved her description of the feeling of her family reading separate books in the same room on Saturday afternoons: "It was the best of both worlds: you had the animal warmth of your family right next to you, but you also got to roam around the adventure-land inside your own head."

Quote from the Book

"The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it's a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk."

Homegoing

Book 19 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 15 - 21

Homegoing

by Yaa Gyasi

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2016

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation. 

My Opinion

5 stars

I loved this book and would've continued reading it through a million more generations.  The chapters for each character were full of details about both the individual and community but didn't feel long or forced.

The genealogy chart at the beginning was handy and I used it as a refresher before each chapter.

The Prizewinners

Book 18 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from February 28 - March 15

Masterpieces of Mystery: The Prizewinners

by multiple authors

selected by Ellergy Queen

Summary (excerpt from the introduction)

published 1976

*the stories chosen were published between 1910 and 1956

Volume Two of Masterpieces of Mystery contains stories of crime, detection, mystery, and suspense written by nine Nobel Prizewinners and twelve Pulitzer Prizewinners.  You didn't know that some of the most famous figures in literature wrote tales of crime and detection? You will be delightfully surprised.

My Opinion

4 stars

I was specifically looking for the story "A Jury of Her Peers" which led me to this collection of stories.  Although this collection was published in 1976 the stories themselves range in publication date from 1910 - 1956.  Each author was a Nobel or Pulitzer Prize winner (hence the title of the book) and the little author bios and picture at the beginning of their story was a nice touch.  This was Volume Two and since my library carries more volumes I might give them a try as well.

I'm rating it 4 stars overall because I enjoyed pretty much all of the stories but as with any collection featuring multiple authors, I liked some more than others.  I have a few notes on each story that I will include.

"The Return of Imray": good story. I was a little lost on the mistake that led to his death but I think that was due to the time passed since the story was published (they were able to spot the imposter due to a cultural reference that completely went over my head).

"The Curse of the Fires and of the Shadows": short but descriptive.

"The Miraculous Revenge": very wordy but fine.

"The Willow Walk": one of my top 3 favorites.  It had a psychological twist of "was it all an act?" that kept me thinking after it was over.

"The Neighbors": this was ok but it's a stretch to call it a mystery story since the mystery didn't happen until the end and was followed immediately by a confession.

"Ransom": one of my top 3 favorites.  I read it nervously as I had no idea what was going to happen.

"An Error in Chemistry": one of my top 3 favorites.  This was a true mystery where you could go back and see the missed clues after the conclusion was revealed.

"The Corsican Ordeal of Miss X": my least favorite one. I had to stop reading it twice (not a good sign for a short story) and it was so many words only to be summed up by a convenient confession at the end.

"The Murder": creepy but can't explain why.

"Coroner's Inquest": short and unexpected.

"A Jury of Her Peers": the reason that I picked the book, it was good. 

"It Takes a Thief": good writing but confusing ending.  Another one where the cultural changes since it was published could be part of the reason I didn't get it.

"The Murder in the Fishing Cat": this story gave me the most emotional reaction so far because his singular point of view sucked me into his desperation but I'm not listing it among my favorites because the ending was abrupt.

"Tabloid News": good writing with the extra random shock of the prisoner being taken to jail in Mitchellville (MO, as the story later specifies).  I grew up in Mitchellville (IA) and we have a prison in our small town.

"The Amateur of Crime": this one used one of the more expected mystery scenarios (dinner party of strangers followed by murder) but it was effective.  Well-written start to finish with a natural but not completely predictable conclusion.

"A Daylight Adventure": it was fine but I'm glad it was short because the speech patterns were a little difficult to follow.

"Goodbye, Piccadilly": ugh, nothing against the author because it was the times but the gender stereotypes (such as the reasons a woman couldn't be a spy) are eye-rolling.  The story was long but really good with lots of details and actual crime solving using context clues.

"Only on Rainy Nights": this one didn't make much sense to me.

"Clerical Error": short with an unexpected ending.

"The Hunting of Hemingway": lots of scenes and characters for a short story but it was fine.

"The Bottle Mine": the writing was good but the topic didn't interest me so I didn't get much out of the story.

I'd Rather Be Reading

Book 17 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 4 - 12

I'd Rather Be Reading:

the Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

by Anne Bogel

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2018

Reading isn't just a way to pass the time - it's a lifestyle. Books shape, define, and enchant us. They are part of who we are and we can't imagine life without them. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads you to remember the book that first hooked you, the place where you first fell in love with reading, and all the books and moments afterward that helped make you the reader you are today.

My Opinion

5 stars

This wasn't like any book I've read before because it's all about reading but not in an educational, pompous way.  It's about the actual love of the act of reading and the connection to it even if the material we're reading isn't always the best. It made me think of what I enjoyed the most about my time working in a library - being surrounded by fellow readers and having a community for an activity that is mostly solitary (which is interesting since the fact that it's solitary is part of the reason I enjoy it so much).

It's a cute little book that I'm glad I got from the library and was the perfect companion to read in spurts as I waited for kids.  I've been in a bit of a reading slump so it was a great reminder of why I love reading.

"Bookworm Problems" and "The Readers I Have Been" were my favorites.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"I feel certain of this: I wouldn't be the person I am today if I weren't a reader. I don't just mean because I enjoy reading or spend so much time with books. I mean that from an early age, and without consciously intending to, the ideas I got from books formed the interior architecture of my mind."

"When we share our favorite titles, we can't help but share ourselves as well. Shakespeare said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but we readers know one's bookshelves reveal just as much."

Sisters in Law

Book 16 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from January 28 - February 29

Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court 

and Changed the World

by Linda Hirshman

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2015

The relationship between Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg—Republican and Democrat, Christian and Jew, western rancher’s daughter and Brooklyn girl—transcends party, religion, region, and culture. Strengthened by each other’s presence, these groundbreaking judges, the first and second to serve on the highest court in the land, have transformed the Constitution and America itself, making it a more equal place for all women.

Linda Hirshman’s dual biography includes revealing stories of how these trailblazers fought for their own recognition in a male-dominated profession—battles that would ultimately benefit every American woman. She also makes clear how these two justices have shaped the legal framework of modern feminism, including employment discrimination, abortion, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and many other issues crucial to women’s lives.

Sisters-in-Law combines legal detail with warm personal anecdotes that bring these very different women into focus as never before. Meticulously researched and compellingly told, it is an authoritative account of our changing law and culture, and a moving story of a remarkable friendship.

My Opinion

2 stars

There were moments of interest but overall I found it dry.  It wasn't difficult to get through but I don't feel like I got 302 pages' worth of information and don't know much more now than before I started (and I don't have more than passing knowledge of O'Connor, Ginsburg, or the Supreme Court so the bar was pretty low for me to learn anything new).

The reminders of how hard women have fought for the rights they have and how back-and-forth everything is with progress/rollbacks/progress made me sad.  I need RBG to hang on until the next administration so Trump doesn't get another nominee!

Quote from the Book

"Neither of them is perfect, of course, but Justices Ginsburg and O'Connor are unambiguous heroines of the modern feminist movement...Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are the Jane Addamses and the Susan B. Anthonys of the succeeding generations."