Jamrach's Menagerie

By Carol Birch

This is the second time I read this book. The first time was back in 2013. All I wrote about it was how surprising it was. Well, this time, I knew what to expect. There was still some surprise, though, as I didn't remember all the details, and perhaps there were things I noticed for the first time. I found myself wishing one part of the book to be over already. I knew what was coming, but was still hoping that wouldn't come. That the part would end sooner and the inevitable won't happen. But that's not how things work. Needless to say, the book is very engrossing and illuminating. [I just learned through Wikipedia that two of the major events in the book are based on true stories.]  It is a beautifully written book. You know, the kind of book you go back to and still get surprised by things. [295pp.]

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Devotion (Why I Write)

 By Patti Smith

An enchanting story of a teenager and her devotion to skating, nestled within a brief memoir of sorts, perhaps a travel journal which in itself exemplify devotion to writing. She has a way of choosing the perfect sequence of words. I specifically remember one toward the end of the book that talks about how inspiration hits and the consequences of that. [95 pp.]

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The Age of Innocence

 By Edith Wharton

This book is mostly a criticism of a place and time in which the author may have experienced as a child. A society that has enclosed itself thinks itself the best that could be, not open to outside ideas and people, even those who were born inside it. The criticism comes through the story of two people who fall in love, but are not allowed to be together because of society's restrictions. But the book also shows the transient nature of societal conventions. 

I could relate to this story more than I did with Ethan Frome. The plot and actions of the main characters here seemed more believable. It could be because I was more aware of context in this book -- thanks to the introduction and afterward-- than I was in Ethan Frome. 

[fiction, 316pp.]

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Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick

By Zora Neale Hurston

This book of short stories by a wonderful writer was entertaining and surprising, sometimes sad, sometimes with a happy endings. Not always easy to read, as they are written in dialect. It is neat to see progression in- and experimentation with different writing styles. The writer has a great sense of humor and the introduction provides useful insights. [304 pp. Finished it at least 2 weeks ago...]

Noble Savage (Pere Atzil)

 By Dudu Busi

[Also titled as Noble Brute]

Since we can't simply go to the library and pick a book nowadays, I had to read a book I own while waiting for the book I ordered to become ready for pick-up. I hadn't realized that I read it so long ago -- in 2004. For some reason it seemed a lot more recent. I thought I remembered quite clearly what happened in the book, but was surprised upon re-reading the extremity of some of the events. This book tells the story of a boy who is the son of a divorced drug-addict mother and a crazy artist. He's fat and in love with the most beautiful girl in his school. The book is written from his point view a few years later, when he's 21, and describes the events happening when he was around 15. The language is very casual, which makes is a super fast read. It is funny and shocking. I just learned that it was also adapted to a movie, and I can tell just by viewing the trailer, that they've taken some serious liberties... [Hebrew; 270 pp.]

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Lucy Gayheart

 By Willa Cather

I so love reading Willa Cather's books. They are just beautiful works of art. They are grounded in life and they pull you in. This one was particularly beautiful (though it may be just because it's the last one of hers I've read -- I feel similarly every time I read/finish reading one of her books). 

Lucy, as her name last name suggests, is a joyous young woman, and spreads light and happiness wherever she goes. But that doesn't mean life only gives her roses. Growing up in a little Nebraska town, she studies music in Chicago, where she gets involved with a famous singer. But that's just a simplified summary, the actual story is way more complex. [208 pp.]

I just can't stress enough how much I like reading Willa Cather's books. I want there to be a thousand more of them. 

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Robinson Crusoe (The Life & Adventures of Robinson Crusoe)

By Daniel Defoe

This was an interesting read in terms of how it was written in contemporary, or even earlier English (mid 17th century) and seeing how spelling was different there. A constant reminder that this isn't happening in our time, or even a couple of centuries ago, because otherwise, in terms of the Human Condition, nothing really has changed. Sure, some norms were different (for example, I was quite disappointed that he never even asked what Friday's actual name was!). It was also a little frustrating that there's not much mention of tropical fruits that might have been found in the island - The only fruit he regularly harvested was grapes. I'm not a native fruit expert, but I'm sure there must have been more than that he could have tried. 

Religious sentiments are rampant in this book (another thing that reminds one of the time this book was written), which was a bit excessive. And there were some very long descriptions of minutia that were quite tedious, which made it take me quite a long time to read (though I did finish it about 10 days ago). But overall, it was, as I said, interesting. This edition also included reports on Alexander Selkirk, who was in part the inspiration of this story. [318 pp. including notes]

Link to book  (This is a later print. I read the one from 1972, Penguin English Library)

When All The World Was Young

By Ferroll Sams

This is the third part of the trilogy, where Porter Osborn Jr. is entering med school only to deliberately flunk it on the second year, so he can join the fighting forces. After some training and a lot more waiting spent due to bureaucracy, Sambo is finally sent to France as part of a General Hospital. Throughout the book, he is exposed to people of diverse backgrounds, helping him further to learn more about himself and reassess assumptions he was born into. It is interesting to see, how even though the young man (and the boy he was in the first two books) is always very sensitive and open minded, he still holds on to referring to the Civil War as War Between the States, and to honor the Confederate leaders while feeling bad at setting foot on streets or hotels named after Union Generals. [604 pp.]

The Whisper of the River

By Ferrol Sams

The second in the trilogy, this book covers college years for young Porter Osborne, Jr. Race, religion and sex are the major themes, while WWII looms in the background. Pranks are plentiful (at times very immature) and humor is widespread, with occasional moments of tearing up. Second read was a bit more attentive than first, since I didn't have to rush through it as before, but impressions remained quite the same, as far as I can tell. [528pp.]

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The Master and Margarita

By Mikhail Bulgakov

This is a second reading, about 23 years or so after the first. It was not quite as I remembered. Perhaps I am now seeing things through other people's eyes as well as my own, and my criticism and/or sensitivity levels are increased. I remembered this book as much more humorous and more focused than it seemed on this read. It is still interesting and worth the read if you're into magic realism. Also, this edition contains many helpful notes that explain the historical and political context of the book. [412pp.]

Link to book.

Run with the Horsemen

By Ferrol Sams

This is a second reading. The first one was quite rushed (though not as rushed as the 2 following books in the trilogy). This reading was quite as I remembered it from just about 3 years ago. Funny, fun, and heartwarming. [422 pp.]

Link to my Trilogy Bookcover project

Inappropriation

By Lexi Freiman

This book was pretty difficult for me to get into at first. Eventually I did, but it still seemed like the people described in it were so weird and were doing such horrible things, it was hard to identify with them most of the time. I don't know if it's a generational thing or what. Anyway, the main character, a coming-of-age girl whose physical coming-of-age is delayed, is very confused about which label to attach to herself. Obviously, she can't just be a cis-hetero-white person. That's not feminist enough. The two girls she sort of befriend are no help. The only bright spot in her life is the drag queen transgender woman and her Muslim sufi gay son. Oh, and the brother is pretty sane. In any case, shitty stuff bordering insanity is being done. [351 pp.]

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Of Men and Mice

By John Steinbeck

Poor Lennie. All he wanted was to tend rabbits. [118 pp.]

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The Lost Letter

By Jillian Cantor

A stamp collector's daughter finds a letter with an unusual stamp in her father's collection. The stamp takes her and a stamp dealer on a journey to the past and distant land, in search for the addressee on the envelope and the creator of the stamp.
I thought the book interesting story-wise, though somewhat expected. The writing might be a bit too explicit, but is not unpleasant. [322 pp.]

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Answered Prayers

By Truman Capote

Not sure what to say about this book, other than I don't really get it. This style of writing is not something I can easily follow. [150 pp.]

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The Song of the Lark

By Willa Cather

This is a Willa Cather book, through and through. I loved reading it, even if she found later on that there may have been too many details in parts of it. It tells the growing-up story of Thea Kronborg and all the people who helped her get to become a great and successful artist.

In the introduction to the second edition of the book, Willa Cather writes that she realized many people think the name of the novel refer to Thea, since she's a singer. However, she says it is named after a picture Thea admired, by the French painter Jules Adolph Breton. [434 pp.]

Link to book.