Date: July 24, 2023
Staff Person: Kristine
Title/Author: IF IT SOUNDS LIKE A QUACK by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling
Why am I reading it:
I DO try to work some non-fiction into my steady diet of fiction and this sounded…amusing and informative.
Verdict:
This book was…terrifying. Yes, there were, indeed, some mad stories about people who discovered, concocted, sold and sometimes went to jail for selling what they considered to be the ONE TRUE CURE for just about anything that might ail you. Laser treatment, prayer, leeches, bleaches, herbal supplements. I know there have been many “snake oil salesmen” through time, profiting from people’s vulnerability, gullibility…and desperation. The arrival of the internet has made that even easier to accomplish. What I somehow wasn’t aware of was a burgeoning “medical freedom” movement…Certainly I knew about anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers who seemed to feel that their personal comfort trumped any responsibility to support public health. I was unaware that there are hoards out there who would sooner believe “their own research” or that of some enthusiastic cure inventor…than they would any data coming from the CDC or the FDA or John Hopkins University. There are even a significant number of folks who believe in zombies. “By 2021, a national survey of Aerican fears found that 9.3% of adults, about thirty-one million people…actively feared zombies.” To further quote the author’s epilogue… after listing a number of people who had died from various cures: “All had their fates handed down because hey believed. They believed in Young, in faith healing, in other Ture Cures, in conspiracies, in lasers, in aliens, in medical freedom, in political leaders and hucksters who themselves believed in votes and money and power at any cost. All these things fused together at the far side of the looking glass, where a terrible, zombie-plagued dream world was spilling into reality. ”
It also didn’t take me from the middle of May to the last weeks of July to finish these. I’ve also consumed a couple of L A Noir titles DIE A LITTLE from Megan Abbott and SHE RIDES SHOTGUN by Jordan Harper and a fantasy title, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAERIES by Heather Fawcett. Found SHE RIDES SHOTGUN especially interesting and look forward to reading a newly released title, EVERYBODY KNOWS, from the same author. Also FALSE WITNESS by Karin Slaughter which I thought was dreadful and a couple of audio titles I listened to while traveling, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by P J TRACY, which I also thought was dreadful and FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND by Brian Freeman…which was fine.
Date: May 19, 2023
Staff Person: Kristine
Title/Author: PANTHER GAP by James A. McLaughlin
Why am I reading it:
I really liked his first novel, BEARSKINS, and am anxious to read his next effort.
Verdict:
Well…no shortage of action or complicated characters or gorgeous nature writing…but…can’t say that it all came together in a coherent whole. Can’t say I’m sorry to have read it…A review I pulled from Goodreads describes it pretty well! ” And though Panther Gap has a lot of interesting rivers of subject, they don’t all connect at the sea. ”
Date: May 18, 2023
Staff Person: Kristine
Title/Author: AGE OF VICE, by Deepti Kapoor
Why am I reading it:
It was well-reviewed and is a little outside my usual reading realm. A novel of modern India. Which is vast…so the tale is vast.
Verdict: I nearly abandoned it about 50 pages in because it IS a commitment. But, a few pages later I was hooked. It was fascinating, troubling, amazing. Some fraught combination of a Dickens tale and a Bollywood version of SUCCESSION. For all its length and complexity…it did seem to end rather abruptly. Not sorry I took the time to read it, though. I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile.
Date: May 9, 2023
Staff Person: Kristine
Title/Author: LAST REMAINS by Elly Griffiths
Why am I reading it:
I have loved this series about forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway since the first, THE CROSSING PLACES (2010) and always grab the latest as soon as it is available. I am…invested in the characters, their intelligence and interconnections, their complex affiliations, their lives and careers. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Griffiths has many other books…another series and some stand-alones. But, it’s the Ruth Galloway series that I, personally, like best.
Verdict: Was this the last in the series? It was #15 and does resolve some plot points that have long hung in sway. While I hope it’s not the last…because I love it…and it has not yet “fallen off” into the sameness trap that so many series do…if it WAS the last, well, it did resolve those plot points and I am satisfied.
Date: April 25, 2023
Staff Person: Kristine
Title/Author: EVERY MAN A KING by Walter Mosely
Why am I reading it:
Love Mosley. When I saw this new title coming up, second in the King Oliver series I was a little stunned as it turned out I hadn’t yet read the first, EVERY MAN A KING. Which I promptly did and now I’m excited to read this one. He is an American master and takes his readers into communities that they would likely otherwise never get to, black and white, rich and poor.
Verdict: Did I mention that I love Mosley? I am liking this new series very much and has characters that rival the strength of those in his Easy Rawlins mysteries…including a scary friend/accomplice right up there with the incomparable Mouse from the Easy Rawlins mysteries. If you haven’t yet read Mosely…get on it!
Date: April 16, 2023
Staff person: Kristine
Title/author: FOX CREEK by William Kent Krueger
Why am I reading it:
Can’t say I’ve read everything in the Cork O’Connor canon, but I am a fan and when this title was returned and didn’t generate another HOLD I grabbed it. I’ve been a bigfan of Wm K K ever since he was here for an event sponsored by us and Redbery Books some years ago. What a super guy! And…I don’t know if reading thrillers is an addiction, but, I know I’m not the only one who’s afflicted!
Verdict:
While the mystery upon which the plot is based is…a little murky, a little vague it, just the same, supports the action and the cast of characters, as always, (at least the good guys) are people that you care about. Very much an enjoyable read!
Date: April 6, 2023
Staff person: Jill
Title/author: We Are the Light by Matthew Quick (Author of The Silver Linings Playbook)
Why am I reading it: I was looking for a “light” read, and I thought I had found one (given the title). Wow, was I wrong! After starting We Are the Light, I did think about setting it aside. I’m glad I didn’t. It’s an epistolary novel, which makes this work even more interesting. If you decide on this one, be sure to read the acknowledgements section. It adds flavor to the story.
Verdict: I would recommend it (but not if your heart is set on a “light” read).
Date: 4/3/2023
Staff person: Kristine
Title/author: JUST LIKE HOME by Sarah Gailey
Why am I reading it: I do not routinely read horror…but, I DO read Sarah Gailey since I was wowed by her AMERICAN HIPPO some years back. (kind of like a Western…only with hippos!) So far this title is unsettling, disturbing but I sure keep turning pages! Our main character has gone home to care for her dying mother and empty the house built by her already deceased father, the serial killer. Also part of the scenario is an “artist in residence” using materials and “vibes” from the house to create his latest art project. What could go wrong?
Verdict:
Again, I do not routinely read horror. Seems like there’s always some creeping contagion, some fungal rot, some misshapen monster that represents, I don’t know what, exactly. The evil that lurks in the hearts of mankind? While I can’t say I loved this book, I am not sorry that I read it and, if you DO like horror…or psychological suspense, I think you’d enjoy this title.
