What book are you reading?

[Charlie&Rose]

Just started James Patterson again....forgot how much I enjoyed him, and the Women`s Murder Club.

[tijlover]

I just finished reading Paul McCartney by Peter Ames Carlin. Not nearly as exciting as the bio of Mick Jagger, but I expected that. It's too bad they never re-united for one last tour. They wee offered $50 million for last tour, long, long ago, but George, in particular, didn't want to ever tour again.

[Koveshnikov]

Dark Corner (Witch Cat Mystery #2) by Vicki Vass
https://goodreads.com/book/show/42287767-dark-corner
Evil has awoken in Asheville, North Carolina, and Terra Rowan must prepare the Ladies of the Biltmore Society for battle. With her familiar, Pixel, a crooked leg fluffy orange cat, and her apprentice Abigail Oakhaven, a stubborn teenage girl with a bloodline dating back to the beginning of time, she begins their journey. The witch hunters have come to the Appalachian Mountains in search of the last witch of Salem. The magic of the mountains can no longer protect her and her coven. She must travel to the one place on earth that holds the secret to save mankind – Dark Corner.
Combining elements from different cultures, Appalachian folklore, Celtic legends, Native American mysticism, Dark Corner continues its new witch mythology while staying true to the realm of cozy mystery.
Terra Rowan is a witch trapped between worlds and lost in time.

[oeccscclhjhn]

First Family (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell #4), David Baldacci 2009.

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[Mark S.]

THE GIRL IN RED
Christina Henry



The premise is fun. It's basically THE STAND meets LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. Prose is decent. Pacing is good. But ... pass.

Why?

I have never gotten too much up in arms over the whole Mary Sue complaint. Then I read this book. The main character is bi-racial, bi-sexual, with a prosthetic leg, none of which bothered me. But she is smarter, wiser, and more capable than every single character in the book. Not a single weakness than I noticed. In the very first chapter, she manages to disembowel a would-be rapist with her hatchet, despite having no formal fight or combat training, or even being a Girl Scout. And she refuses to use a gun, even though she is being hunted by bad guys while trying to avoid military patrols. Because, you know, guns are so un-cool, and she's just so awesome that she'd never use a gun.

I like formidable heroines in books. But flawless ones? Always stronger, smarter, faster, wiser, and tougher than every other character or situation? Ugh. That's not just boring. It's irritating.

[pinetreelover]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

The premise is fun. It's basically THE STAND meets LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. Prose is decent. Pacing is good. But ... pass.

Why?

I have never gotten too much up in arms over the whole Mary Sue complaint. Then I read this book.

Thanks for teaching me something new! I wasn't familiar with "Mary Sue", but looked it up and learned (from Wikipedia) that a Mary Sue is a generic name for any fictional character (usually female) who is so competent or perfect that this appears unrealistic for the world's settings, even in the context of the fictional setting.

[southwest88]

Constantine's sword : the church and the Jews : a history / James Carroll, 1943- , Houghton Mifflin Co., c2001, 261.06 CARR.

Subjects
Christianity and antisemitism -- History.
Catholic Church -- Relations -- Judaism.
Judaism -- Relations -- Catholic Church

Length
xii, 756 pages ; chronology, chapter notes, index

The history of a terrifying relationship. Judaism doesn’t need Christianity, Christianity desperately needs Judaism. Why is Christianity @ odds with Judaism? Step by step answers to questions about the relationship between the two. History & theology from a former Paulist priest, about his search for answers to the Christian Jewish question. Highly recommended reading, but not for the squeamish.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by pinetreelover

Thanks for teaching me something new! I wasn't familiar with "Mary Sue", but looked it up and learned (from Wikipedia) that a Mary Sue is a generic name for any fictional character (usually female) who is so competent or perfect that this appears unrealistic for the world's settings, even in the context of the fictional setting.

You have to be careful. A lot of complaints about Mary Sues are not justified. Sometimes reactionaries just plain don't like strong women in fiction and scream, "Mary Sue!" Which is totally unfair. Strong women in fiction can be great.

But THE GIRL IN RED is a prime example of how not to write a strong female character. Not only does the heroine almost read like a SJW character sheet in a D&D game --- bi-racial? check! bi-sexual? check! smarter than her stereotypical older brother? check! smarter than both her very educated parents? check! unafraid and confident in every situation, even against stronger opponents? check! --- but she comes across as smug and condescending. She never once came across as truly afraid or insecure or wondering what to do. I was never once afraid for her, because it was so obvious she was such a super heroine that no one stood a chance against her.

That's just not fun. I grew up loving Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley and Princess Leia and Jean Grey because they were fighting against opponents who were stronger, faster, and more powerful. They were in very real danger. I never got that feeling in THE GIRL IN RED.

It's too bad really, because the premise of the story was a lot of fun, and Christina Henry is really good at pacing and description. I might try some of her other titles, but THE GIRL IN RED is definitely a pass.

[southwest88]

Blowout : corrupted democracy, rogue state Russia, and the richest, most destructive industry on Earth / Rachel Maddow, c2019, Crown/Random House, 338.2728 MADD.

Subjects
Tillerson, Rex W., -- 1952- -- Ethics.
Gas industry -- Corrupt practices.
Gas industry -- Corrupt practices -- Russia.
Gas companies -- Corrupt practices.
Russia (Federation)

Summary
"Rachel Maddow's Blowout offers a dark, serpentine, riveting tour of the unimaginably lucrative and corrupt oil-and-gas industry. With her trademark black humor, Maddow takes us on a switchback journey around the globe-from Oklahoma City to Siberia to Equatorial Guinea-exposing the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas. She shows how Russia's rich reserves of crude have, paradoxically, stunted its growth, forcing Putin to maintain his power by spreading Russia's rot into its rivals, its neighbors, the United States, and the West's most important alliances. Chevron, BP, and a host of other industry players get their star turn, but ExxonMobil and the deceptively well-behaved Rex Tillerson emerge as two of the past century's most consequential corporate villains. The oil-and-gas industry has weakened democracies in developed and developing countries, fouled oceans and rivers, and propped up authoritarian thieves and killers. But being outraged at it is, according to Maddow, "like being indignant when a lion takes down and eats a gazelle. You can't really blame the lion. It's in her nature.""-- Provided by publisher.

Length
xxi, 406 pages ; notes on sources, index

Another terrifying book. Big oil intends to drill every last barrel of oil & cubic foot of natural gas, even as the World collapses. It’s the money, don’t you see? Tightly written, a history of extraction & the riches (& woes) that always accompany it. A very readable history.

[ClaraC]

I just finished reading All Together in One Place by Jane Kirkpatrick. The writing was a little smarmy, but the story fascinated me.

It's based on a journal entry by Ezra Meeker, who crossed the plains on the Oregon Trail several times in the 1850s. He encountered a covered wagon train driven solely by women and children - on the way to Oregon, the men had all died.

So the author recreated the characters based on his writings, and added touches of information she'd taken from other diarists of the time.

Reads a little like Little House on the Prairie, but man, what grit. Life was so hard on the trail, and scary, and wonderful.