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How did you end your year ?

Share with us what you read January 2018 !

Did you start the year off on a bright note ?


Please provide:

~ A GoodReads link
~ A few sentences telling us how you felt about the book.
~ How would you rate the book

My January 2018 reads

Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance~Bill McKibben
Fiction
Rate: 4/5
I really enjoyed the Book Nook Cafe group discussion on this book. I thought the book provided a lot of food for thought. You can read my thoughts as well as others in the group read thread.

Sing, Unburied, Sing~Jesmyn Ward
Fiction
Rate: 3/5
I read this book for the PBS/NY Times book club. It was their first selection. It was interesting. However, magical realism is not my thing.

It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree--A.J. Jacobs
Non- fiction
Rate: 3/5
Interesting book. The author tries to create the worlds biggest family reunion for the Guinness Book of World records. I did learn a bit about companies that analyze your DNA. The book is light and comedic too. I've enjoyed his other books a bit more. The book has a nice recap at the end with links and ideas if you wish to trace your own family tree.

Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book--Dan Harris
Non-fiction
Rate: 3/5
I read the authors other book 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works which I gave a top rating. This book I enjoyed less. I found it way too repetitive. I don't need to be told what you are going to tell me, then tell me, than recap what you just told me. I am not senile yet. At times the book seemed like a vehicle to push you to his 10% happier app. Additionally, self deprecating humor is fine in small doses. I felt he went way overboard here to the point that it was annoying. Still, there are good ideas here for people starting out on their meditation practice. Personally, I prefer guided meditation and use the Free app, Insight Timer. I did like that he included a list of other books for the reader to check out. I will also check out his 10% happier with Dan Harris podcast.

The 8-Hour Diet: Watch the Pounds Disappear Without Watching What You Eat --David Zinczenko
Non -fiction
Rate-2/5
This is a book on intermittent fasting. (IF) The premise is you have an 8 hour eating window and you fast for the other 16. You can drink water, coffee & tea. There are a lot of health benefits as well as weight loss when one does IF. I've been doing it for only about a week but I am finding it much easier than I thought I would. I'll probably go to no eating after dinner instead. My schedule is such that I often skip lunch, so I must eat breakfast. This program works best if you can skip or delay breakfast. You can find all the info you need online.

The 5:2 Diet Book--Kate Harrison
Non Fiction
Rate 2/5
This is another intermittent fasting book. This one you eat healthy and normal for 5 days. Then fast for 2 days. On the fast days you are allowed to have around 500 calories. I know this is not something I could do long term. I got the book because I wanted to see if there was any tips that I could use. There really isn't anything that you can't find online.

January is ripe for examining our food and diet ideas, isn't it? You seem to have found a number of interesting ones, good & not-so-much. I like the 10% theme for life improvement. Clever.

I'll hold off until tomorrow because i'm fairly certain i'll finish one i've been working on for the last couple of week. You've had a good start to the year, Alias!

Madrano wrote: "You've had a good start to the year, Alias! "

Thanks, deb. I've made an effort to get off mindlessly scrolling Facebook and picking up a book.

I was surprised to see that i read ten books last month. Part was to give myself a running start at my '18 DL but mostly i managed to read so much because i got food poisoning and could do little else. Let's give it up for food poisoning! Yuk, just the thought of that sentence reminds me of much.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier was a fine book, based on real people. In the early 1800s Mary Anning found unique fossils on the shores near her home in Lyme, England. Her story is told in alternating chapters by herself and a London transplant who Mary teaches to collect such fossils. The two women collected throughout their lives and this is an imagining of their story. Anning was ill-used by professionals but worse used by amateur collectors. Chevalier is known for her re-creations of true moments in history. The first i read by her was Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance by Bill McKibben was a fun little book. I was hoping for guidelines, believe it or not, but liked what i read regardless. I'm glad we read it as a group.

VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good was written by Mark Bittman who created the way to eat when his doctor told him MB he was pre-diabetic. The idea is to eat strictly vegan until 6 PM, then moderately add meat, cheese, sugar, etc. for the end of the day meal & maybe even snack. My food-poisoning has prevented me from trying this but i hope to start this Monday. The book has recipes but also explains why some foods are bad for our bodies, as well as why eating vegan is good for us.

I read Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas: Crafts, Decorating Tips, and Recipes, 1920s-1960s by Susan Waggoner because i thought it was a mystery. Duh. Instead it was full of some history of Christmas from Dickens era through the 60s, as well as craft ideas to replicate some favorite decor from those decades. Learning about the Shiny-Brite company which made bulbs for trees and how they adapted through the years (for instance, clear bulbs during WWII due to an unavailability of paint). Funny ditty.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang is set in South Korea. The novel covers three stages in a family's life, beginning with the decision of one daughter to stop eating meat, having had a dream. The family reaction (not counting her husband, who is no gem) is vehement. This is told from three vantage points but the time periods are spread through several years, no one storyline overlapping.

Then i went into nonfiction mode. Spy Who Couldn't Spell, The : A Dyslexic Traitor, an Unbreakable Code, and the FBI's Hunt for America's Stolen Secrets by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee was a good work about how a would-be spy was caught and his secrets exposed (and not). Brian Regen was teased throughout childhood but overcame that while in the military, eventually becoming a good technician in the National Reconnaissance Office, about which i learned much. If you like codes, you'll have fun with the code techniques employed by Regen.

These Schools Belong to You and Me: Why We Can't Afford to Abandon Our Public Schools by Deborah Meier and Emily Gasoi. Informative book about incorporating democracy itself into the education system. Also included is a discussion on why standardized testing fails students & teachers (think bell curve) and how the right co-opted the slow classroom results to create the now popular private schooling which is the opposite of the idea of democracy in the class, where students could see the impact of their ideas. One feels sorry for Meier as she admits that she helped people in that right-led movement, believing they wanted the best for students when, in fact, it appears to have been motivated to make money & return to dogmatism in the classroom.

The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro Is the story of Billy Gawronski, first generation Polish 17-year old boy who stowaway on Robert Byrd’s ships for his first Antarctic expedition. While Billy was discovered on the ship fairly quickly, his story caught the imagination of people in the 1920s. Ultimately he didn't get to stay over the winter with Byrd but did get to Antarctica on Byrd's supply ship. Nice book.

The Saboteur: The Aristocrat Who Became France's Most Daring Anti-Nazi Commando by Paul Kix is the story of French resistance member Robert de La Rochefoucauld, with a noble family history. This is well told and full of adventures. Before turning 20 he fled to England, asked de Gaulle if he should join the British-led Special Operations Executive and learned skills to disrupt, kill and survive torture. He was, indeed, caught, tortured & sentenced to execution, escaping on his way to the site.

The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us by James W. Pennebaker shares studies and experiments about the use of pronouns to figure people out. In the preface “function words� are described as pronouns (personal and impersonal), articles, prepositions, conjunctions, negations, quantifiers, common adverbs and auxiliary verbs that reveal parts of your personality, thinking manner & emotional state. Personal pronouns are the most common in everyday speech. Apparently they make up for almost 60% of the words people use, even though they account for only one-tenth of 1% of our vocabulary! Using computers they toted up the use of those function words in emails, Facebook, and such, as well as lab experiments and phone calls. It's fascinating, although i suspect it could be better told. This is almost a "middle of the research" report and it is important. However, the truth is that most of us cannot (or won't take the time to) figure this out when talking with people unless they are quite obvious.

Alias, Sing, Unburied, Sing is a book that's popping up a lot lately. I'd like to read it one day.

Deb, what a great start to the year. Sorry to hear about the bout of food poisoning. Hope you're feeling a lot better.

The first book by Tracy Chevalier that I read was The Lady and the Unicorn. I really enjoyed it.
In general, I find her books hit & miss but I still keep reading them. The good ones are worth it.

I still haven't gotten to The Vegetarian.

The Stowaway sounds really interesting.

I've had a decent reading month. I haven't had a lot of reading time so thank goodness for audio books.

The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer by Kate Summerscale - I enjoy these old crime stories. However, this one seemed to lack connection to the reader. It all seemed a bit "surface" and without substance. 3-star
My review: /review/show...

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews - (audio) I don't think that this author can tell a bad story. Her books are humorous, sad, poignant and real. I really like this author. 4-star (I may have been too cheap on the rating)
My review: /review/show...

Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change by David L. Cooperrider - an interesting approach to focussing on the positive, rather than solving the negative, to reach a goal. 3-star
My review: /review/show...

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin - this was an interesting look at global control. For a short book, it had a lot to say. 4-star
My Review: /review/show...

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer - (audio) I didn't like the narrator for this. Each quote from someone was weak, unsure, soft, etc. I'm also not a fan of Jon Krakauer's writing. However, I found this story well told. 3-star
My review: /review/show...

Independent People by Halldór Laxness - this was a strange story. Straight forward but the characters were strange. I think this is a very Icelandic story. I will read another by the author and be more prepared for quirkiness. 3-star
My review: /review/show...

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - (audio) I read this when it came out but barely remember any details and am glad for the reread. This is a tightly woven, cold story. It was chilling. Margaret Atwood is another author that can write marvelous stories and this is one of them. 4-star
My review: /review/show...

I read "The Murder Pit", "Trouble in Paradise". "Warm Winter Kisses" and I listened to the Magus

Madrano wrote: "The Vegetarian by Han Kang is set in South Korea. .....This is told from three vantage points but the time periods are spread through several years, no one storyline overlapping...."

I liked this book, but found the middle part to be rather creepy.....

Madrano wrote:this but i hope to start this Monday. The book has recipes but also explains why some foods are bad for our bodies, as well as why eating vegan is good for us."

Congrats on an excellent reading month, deb. Also glad to hear you are all better.

VB6- I own and read this book. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when you give the diet a try. I don't eat vegan but do vegetarian on many days. I should skim the book again since I own it.

The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro
I know I posted about this book when I saw the blurb by the publisher. I am so glad you enjoyed it and read it. Thanks for the positive feedback on the book lists.

I really enjoyed reading your reviews while I sipped my morning coffee. A lovely way to start my day. :)

Petra wrote: "Miriam Toews -"

Very nice month, Petra.

This is the first I've heard of Toews. I will check her out on Amazon. Thanks.

Leanne wrote: "I read "The Murder Pit", "Trouble in Paradise". "Warm Winter Kisses" and I listened to the Magus"

I owned a copy of The Magus--John Fowles Though I never read it. I think due to the size. It didn't make the cut when I had to downsize when I moved to a smaller apartment. :(

I recall I purchased it when someone posted a bunch of really terrific quotes from the book. I'll have to read it one of these days.

Alias Reader wrote: "This is the first I've heard of Toews. I will check her out on Amazon. Thanks."

I have read A Complicated Kindness and All My Puny Sorrows. Both were good, but I really liked the first one.

Both of those are good, Julie. I don't know if I could pick a favorite.

Thank you, Julie & Petra.

Thanks for the kind comments and references on the books i've read. It's nice that we have both recovered. Here in Texas it's primary season, so i think we'll be busy going to candidate forums this month.

Petra, Toews is a new-to-me author but her work sounds good. Your comments are taken to heart, too. I'll have to check her out.

Julie, i agree about the middle segment in The Vegetarian, creepy. Although i think the author wrote about it well (maybe that's why it was creepy?), as i could see the images in my mind. Glad there weren't photos. LOL!

Leanne, i found two books titled The Murder Pit, do you recall the author's name? The Murder Pit, written by Jeff Shelby and The Murder Pit, by Mick Finlay.

Julie wrote: "Madrano wrote: "The Vegetarian by Han Kang is set in South Korea. .....This is told from three vantage points but the time periods are spread through several years, no one storyline overlapping......."

This book was seriously weird.....but it stuck in my mind.

The Vegetarian has been a book I think about reading and now I am truly curious about it. I may look for it in the library.

Alias and Madrano, I hope you both enjoy Miriam Toews.

Yep, "seriously weird" is a good way to describe it Barbara

Julie wrote: "Yep, "seriously weird" is a good way to describe it Barbara"

Okay.....with all these intriguing comments now I have to read it ! :)

Ha. I just looked at my review. It starts with "Well that was weird".

LOL, Julie. The first thing i did when i finished reading it was run to the computer to see what other readers thought happened. Fascinating to see the interpretations. I'll be eager to read what others here think about the book when you read it.

It was a short book, so it surprised me how much it's stayed on my mind.

My January reads:

1. i 2. Christmas in the Philippines and Christmas In Ukraine by World Book Inc. - I love Christmas and I love reading about the customs in different countries. 4 stars both books.

3. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore - again a Christmas-related story. So sweet and the edition I borrowed from the library had all kinds of pop up illustrations. I had no idea children's books could be so fun. 5 stars

4. The Apostate by Jack London -A very interesting and a very sad story of a young man who worked incessantly all his life until he became more like a machine than a human being. I felt so sorry for him, because we all feel like that sometimes...or all the time. The part I hated the most was that he was taken for granted by his mother and younger siblings.

5., 6. and 7. Library of the Dead, Book of Souls and The Librarians by Glenn Cooper - A very interesting trilogy mixing past and present...and future. It's not the greatest work of literature but it definitely keeps you entertained. First book 5 stars, second and third 4.5 stars

8. The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang - A very thought - provoking short story on the influence of technology on people's lives. It argues the danger the technology poses for humans because, by recording everything, we lose the ability to remember things ourselves and our memory wastes away. It's kind of scary to think how much we've come to rely on technology for everything. 5 stars

9. The Age of Ra by James Lovegrove - A surprisingly good book about a modern world where Ancient Egyptian Pantheon is worshiped by the whole planet Earth. It is far from a perfect world, because ever since the Pantheon defeated all the other deities a hundred or so years ago, the planet has been in constant war between the worshipers of different gods of Egypt. The only place where the gods have no influence (apparently by mutual agreement) is the Motherland, a.k.a. Freegypt. The author used the real-world politics and infused it into his story and did a great job out of it. I believe he gave a truthful picture of all of the players in our universe and not one of the big ones was spared the criticism. 4 stars.

Samanta, you had a nice reading month.

A few years back I read To Build a Fire and Other Stories by Jack London. It includes The Apostate and that was my favorite story in the book (there were many good stories).

Samanta wrote: "My January reads:

1. i 2. Christmas in the Philippines and Christmas In Ukraine by World Book Inc. - I love Christmas and I love reading about the cu..."

Very nice month, Samanta ! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your reads with us.

Good reading month, Samanta. I hadn't thought to include the short stories i've read but i like the idea, as i am a fan of them.

Samanta wrote: "by recording everything, we lose the ability to remember things ourselves and our memory wastes away...."

I cannot recall now where i read the following, so Googled it. Plato quoted Socrates in a discussion about the invention of writing, "For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them."

I love that! It seems with each new device there are those who sound the tocsin. Humans!

I read Over My Wed Body and it was a really great book. It had the perfect mixture of funny and romance. It sucked me in and I couldn't put it down.

I've also read Dare to Love which was also good. it was randomly suggested to me so i gave it a shot. I can't wait to read the rest of the series as well

Thanks for sharing, Shelby. I have a question about the first book, by Veronica Blade. The link to the book states it's the 5th in a series "Bride, Texas Series". Does this mean all 5 were set in Texas? I realize it could also mean that there is a series about brides & this one was the one set in Texas, each state having its own.

Hi all! New to this group, but I like this monthly check-in/recommendations scenario.

In January, I only finished one book, but it was a long one: The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber. It was right in my wheelhouse (science fiction + religious crises), and although it's not necessarily going to be my favorite book of the year, I give it 4/5 stars. It does an amazing job of creating a realistic religious character who is not a stereotype, which is a real challenge, and using science fiction elements to talk about relationships within marriage and within religion. I'm making it sound boring and ponderous, and it can get a tad slow, but I never wanted to stop reading it...the ultra-long-distance relationship between the planetary traveler Peter and his wife back on Earth keeps you reading to see how things turn out between them.

Welcome, Eliza ! It's my favorite thread, too. Thank you for adding your book to the thread.

My favorite thread, too. The Michel Faber book sounds good but is 500 pages, probably explaining the slow bits. Still, the topic intrigues this sci-fi fan. Thanks for the title, Eliza.

Madrano wrote: "My favorite thread, too. The Michel Faber book sounds good but is 500 pages, probably explaining the slow bits. Still, the topic intrigues this sci-fi fan. Thanks for the title, Eliza."

What really drew me in was the concept behind the title. "The book of strange new things" is what the aliens call the Bible.

Oooo, even better, Eliza!

Backtracking back to January 2018! I feel like I am in a book time machine or something! LOL :-) Also it seems that I knocked the books out of the ballpark that month as there are quite a few.

Where the Monsters Live: A Dark Revenge Thriller by Duncan Ralston - 4 stars.
My review:
/review/show...
(Yeah - I read a lot of Duncan Ralston books as you can see - he is one of my top horror authors!)

Retribution Ridge by Anna Willett - 4 stars.
My review:
/review/show...
(I really love this author - she has the capability of just grabbing you right away in her books. I have a few more on my kindle that I need to read yet.)

Craven Manor by Darcy Coates - 5 stars.
My review:
/review/show...
(Another author I read quite a bit of as she knows how to write ghost stories that will give you bad dreams! lol)

Merry Madness by Angel Gelique - 5 stars.
My review:
/review/show...
(I read quite a few books by this author too - one of my top extreme horror authors. This book though was mild compared to some of her other books she has out there.)

Seat 6A by Michael Bray - 4 stars.
My review:
/review/show...
(I really like this author as he seems to be able to pull the reader into his world quickly - matter of fact, I am reading one right now by him which is haunted book in a trilogy. This book though was a real short story, but still creeped me out!)

Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Brutal Co-ed Butcher by Ryan Becker - 4 stars.
My review:
/review/show...
(This was really a twisted true crime and before reading this book I had not heard of this killer before. The author did a great job of writing the story and putting it all together.)

Splatterpunk Fighting Back by Bracken MacLeod - 4 stars.
My review:
/review/show...
(This book contains short stories from different authors that is a very extreme read - need strong stomachs for this one! lol)

Hillary: Flesh and Blood by Angel Gelique
- 5 stars.
(See, I told you that I read her books a lot - two in one month that year! lol This was a second book in a trilogy which was really good, but it is extreme! Hard core extreme fans can only apply! LOL)

That is all the books for that month as it seems I was on a "book" roll! :)

Marie wrote: "Backtracking back to January 2018! I feel like I am in a book time machine or something! LOL :-) Also it seems that I knocked the books out of the ballpark that month as there are quite a few.

A vintage month for you !

Alias Reader wrote: "Marie wrote: "Backtracking back to January 2018! I feel like I am in a book time machine or something! LOL :-) Also it seems that I knocked the books out of the ballpark that month as there are qui..."

Thank you, Alias! :)

Marie, it's a pleasure to read how some stories push you to keep reading into the night. It sounds familiar.

There wasn't a link to your review of the last book you mentioned, Hillary. I'm eager to see what that's about.

I had not heard of Edmund Kemper, either. Naturally, i turned to Wiki to fill me in. Horrid man, sad childhood.

The title of the compilation, Splatterpunk, is a great one. Just what such a book needs to grab a reader.

Good month for you & i'm happy for you.

madrano wrote: "Marie, it's a pleasure to read how some stories push you to keep reading into the night. It sounds familiar.

There wasn't a link to your review of the last book you mentioned, Hillary. I'm eager ..."

I had too many I guess that I forgot to link that book Madrano! lol :)

Here is the link for you on the Hillary book:

/review/show...

Wow. Do you sleep with your lights on? :-)

Thanks for the review, Marie. What a story.

madrano wrote: "Wow. Do you sleep with your lights on? :-)

Thanks for the review, Marie. What a story."


Well Madrano is that a trick question?! LOL :-) Well for a seasoned horror fan the answer is no I do not sleep with the lights on, however, I have done it with some of the true paranormal books in the past. :)

You are welcome for the review! :)

When i read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood i was so shaken that i slept with the lights on. What sleeping i could do, that is. This was a real test for my husband of two months, i must add! LOL!

madrano wrote: "When i read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood i was so shaken that i slept with the lights on. What sleeping i could do, that is. This was a real test for my husband of tw..."

On my list to read but I have seen the film.

madrano wrote: "When i read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood i was so shaken that i slept with the lights on. What sleeping i could do, that is. This was a real test for my husband of tw..."

I had to read ICB for high school english class. It frightened the heck out of me.

I read it again as an adult in 2014 and it still packs a powerful punch.

I cannot imagine reading that in high school, particularly since two of those murdered were teens. Although discussing the book might have tempered my reaction. Mixed bag, i guess.

madrano wrote: "I cannot imagine reading that in high school, particularly since two of those murdered were teens. Although discussing the book might have tempered my reaction. Mixed bag, i guess."

I don't think it was appropriate. However, that is what the teacher selected for the class.

It must have really moved the teacher in some way. I wonder what i would have thought as a parent.