As mentioned in an earlier post, I finally broke down and decided to buy a copy of Percival Everett's James last week. It seemed like I had been waiting forever to get a copy from the library, so once I heard that James might be nominated for the 2024 Booker Prize I decided to go ahead and buy a copy despite my complete lack of bookshelf space. And at about 120 pages into it, I'm glad I bought it. I finished two books last week (The Humans by Matt Haig and Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves) and I'm about to finish John Ohara's 1935 novel Butterfield 8. So coming into this new week, I plan to finish that one, continue reading James, and make more progress on Look for Me There by Luke Russert. I first came across the Luke Russert book over on Kathy's Reading Matters blog when I spotted this review there. If you want to know more about this one, Kathy's review is a great place to start.
I'll likely be beginning at least two new ones this week that probably will come from this bunch (unless another surprise book comes from nowhere to haul me in):
This last one will be a little hard to stomach if I do get around to it this week. It's not something I would normally read, but I'm intrigued by the opportunity to get inside the head of someone as evil as this woman must have been. I am watching Peacock's series The Tattooist of Auschwitz right now (and have read the novel), but I'm as bewildered as ever by the notion that that kind of thing is even possible. Maybe Mistress of Life and Death has some answers to that question.
I'm also hoping for another big surprise or two to pop up because that often ends up being the best part of my reading week.
(I'm actually writing this early on Sunday afternoon as I prepare to drive the 90 miles to College Station for game two of the Super Regional baseball series between Oregon and Texas A&M. Only the top 16 teams in the country get this far, and if A&M wins today they will be among the eight teams going to Omaha for the 2024 College World Series. I'm excited because tickets to this series are really, really tough to get but my granddaughter gifted me with a pair that she got from the school. I'm, of course, pulling for a win but if A&M loses this one, there will be a winner-take-all game tomorrow night. So...by the time you read this, I'll either be super-excited or extremely nervous. I'm glad I don't know which it turned out to be.)
Enjoy the week, everyone.
Hey Sam, Waiting for a turn at James as well from the library. I didn’t realize that it was in contention for the Booker. As for Tim Russert, my sentiments exactly, and , I still tear up when I think of what a loss of a great American. I still recall where I was when my husband and I heard of his passing, kinda like where I was when President Kennedy, his son John Jr, when the space shuttle exploded and when I heard of the 9/11 attack. I didn’t realize Luke had a memoir but owthat will be another for my list. Diane D/ Bib by the Sea
ReplyDeleteDiane, that it's being considered as a Booker nominee is only a rumor for the moment. I do hope it gets nominated, because it's really well written. I'm halfway through it, and it looks like it is now going to diverge from Twain's timeline. I'm ready for that to happen.
DeleteI'll bet Russert would be shocked to know that his death would have had that kind of impact on so many people. I can't remember if you've said you have Kindle Unlimited. If you do, Luke's memoir is available there.
It looks like your baseball team won the game. Congrats! :D And that Russert memoir does look like a good one; I read Kathy's review of it, too. Happy reading this week!
ReplyDeleteThey were behind 8-4 in the seventh inning before they broke it open by scoring nine runs that inning. It was a wild night that saw me getting back home at midnight, starving. I couldn't go to sleep until two because of the excitement.
DeleteI'm not completely sold on the Luke Russert book yet because I don't feel as if I'm really getting to know Russert yet. It seems a tad superficial so far except for the chapter covering Tim's fatal heart attack and how the family found out about it. But I'm definitely going to finish it to see if that feeling changes.
Hi Sam, I hope you like the Luke Russert memoir. I started out not being that taken with it until I got to the New Zealand chapter and then I was interested. I felt as the book progressed a connection with Luke although I am alot older than he is some of the things he talked about, anxiety, I could relate to. Tim Russert was such a great journalist.
ReplyDeleteI just told Lark, up above, that most of what I've read so far seems kind of superficial and that I'm not "bonding" with the author or his thoughts so far. I did find that chapter on Tim's death and how Luke and his mother found out about it very moving, so I know Luke has it in him to change my mind. You're not the only one who has told me that it started that way for them, too, so I'm hopeful. I still miss Tim Russert; we could really use a journalist like him today.
DeleteI'm glad you decided to buy copy of James and will be eager to hear what you think once you're done. I hadn't heard the Booker rumors, but it sure makes sense. Sounds like the baseball game turned out to be pretty exciting!
ReplyDeleteI'm almost done with James as of this morning, and it's been a fun book to read. I think it got better when it veered away finally from Twain's book at almost exactly the halfway point. Since then, it's been a more brutal (and realistic) ride for Huck and Jim.
DeleteThe baseball game was one I'll never forget for lots of reasons, mainly because it was such a meaningful read, but the interaction between the crowd and the players (on both sides) made it something to experience. That's been a special school and place to me since the mid-sixties, and I appreciate what they do there more than ever. It's hard to explain.
My mother is in the middle of James for her book group. I wish you were close enough to join their discussion!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read BUtterfield 8 but when I was a brand new sales rep for Penguin covering NYC and Westchester, a bookstore on the Upper East Side told me its exchange was BUtterfield 8. I knew what a telephone exchange was but did not know the book or the movie so said something like, "I had no idea!" and hoped that would be enough until I could do some research! (My research pre-Internet often meant calling my mother who knows everything.)
I admire Michael Beschloss but that book sounds like tough going. Still, there are some books that are very satisfying in small doses!
Constance
I do, too, Constance. That would be fun...especially now that I finally reached The Big Reveal part of the novel. That alone would make for quite a conversation.
DeleteI remember those days when exchanges were "named" rather than numbered like they are today. I grew up inside a Randall exchange. Your mother sounds like a whiz at a lot of things.
The Beschloss book covers more ground than I wanted to read right now, so I might focus in on only the key days at first. I think the book...and the history...lend themselves to that approach, at least for now.
Her book group met tonight (coincidentally while my book group was a few towns away discussing a book called The Postcard which the library provided too late for me to read) so I just sent her your review. I saw her briefly this afternoon and she said it was excellent despite her not being a Twain fan. I guess my question is how did it compare to The Lincoln Highway? Did you read that? It was also very Twainy.
DeleteGlad she enjoyed the book despite not being a fan of Twain's. I wondered how it would read to someone less familiar with, or not fond of, the original novel. It would sort of be like reading it as a mystery series "standalone," I suppose. I haven't read The Lincoln Highway yet, despite having had a copy on the shelf for what seems like a year now. I picked it up in one of the brick & mortar Amazon stores that opened up in the Houston area rather briefly. I remember getting it at a really good price, but shelved and forgot about even having it until you mentioned it. I need to work it in. What did you think of it?
DeleteI really want to read James, and I may have to purchase a copy as well.
ReplyDeleteI remember From Here to Eternity and Butterfield 8 from when I was young, but never saw either film.
I'm not sure I'm up to Mistress of Life and Death right now. As interesting as it sounds, my current mood doesn't need another reality check of inhumanity.
James is really good, but I'm glad that I re-read Huckleberry Finn just a few weeks ago before tackling James. Everett only follows Twain's plot to about the halfway point of this new version, and that worked great for me because I was tiring of the concept of seeing the same material through Jim's eyes. The second half of the book is less comedic in nature by far.
DeleteI never saw either of the movies either although I'm sure that I've seen clips from both several times. Butterfield 8 kind of surprised me, and I have no idea what to expect from From Here to Eternity other than that it's going to take a lot of reading hours to finish it.
I hear you on Mistress of Life and Death. I haven't finished watching the TV series based on The Tattooist of Auschwitz yet because I need to take it in small doses.
I'm not sure that I will get around to all of them, but I find that putting them on a shortlist does tend to make it happen eventually. The Crisis Years is not exactly the book I was looking for (it covers more ground than just the missile crisis), but since it's a Kindle Unlimited, I thought I'd give it a shot.
ReplyDeleteJames Jones, author of From Here to Eternity, was quite popular in his day even though I never hear his name mentioned anymore. I'm not sure what that means as far as his ultimate reputation, but I've enjoyed other novels of his before. This one is really long, and I've never wanted to spend the hours required to read it in one go, so it may take a while.
We had a big come-back win in that game, as it turned out, by scoring nine runs in the seventh ending for a 15-9 victory. Not exactly a pitching duel. We play on Saturday evening against Florida for our first appearance in the series.
ReplyDeleteI had been looking at Piglet for a while but it was always priced higher than I wanted to pay. All of a sudden it appeared on Kindle Unlimited, so I downloaded it before it disappears from there.
James is good, especially the second half. I haven't reviewed it yet but have some pretty good notes that will help me keep it straight in my mind for another couple of days, I hope. I think you'll like it.