What Are You Reading --- September 2015 - Page 11

kaed · ‎09-13-2015

I read "The Nightingale" and loved it. One of the best books I've read in years.

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

I just finished The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. It was hard to get going on this book but once you do it is an easy reading and very charming.

I am now reading Spare Parts by Joshua Davis. It is the true story of four undocumented teenagers in Phoenix that won a robot contest at the University of California. Kind of a against all odds story. I think it might have been made into a movie. Interesting little book.

smoky22 · ‎05-30-2010

@Vamp wrote:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lachs by Rebecca Skloot
Nonfiction. If you are interested in science, particularly biology, this is really good.

I have a question about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lachs. A mother in Tennessee has asked that it be banned from the school library after her 15 year old son's class was assigned to read it (for science class, I think). She called it pornographic (I think she probably meant graphic). I haven't read it, although it's on my list for someday. Would you say it's too graphic for a 15 year old?

"everybody counts or nobody counts"

smoky22 · ‎05-30-2010

@DiAnne wrote:
I just finished The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. It was hard to get going on this book but once you do it is an easy reading and very charming.

This book has been on my waitlist forever (it seems). I can't wait until it's my turn. I'm glad you advised to keep reading even if it doesn't start out strong. I actually find that with quite a few books.

"everybody counts or nobody counts"

SWEET · ‎03-09-2010

Finished The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer. Interesting book about 4 children and their lives in alternating chapters.

Going to read Nora Roberts The Liar next.

Vamp · ‎04-14-2010

@smokymtngal wrote:
@Vamp wrote:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lachs by Rebecca Skloot
Nonfiction. If you are interested in science, particularly biology, this is really good.
I have a question about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lachs. A mother in Tennessee has asked that it be banned from the school library after her 15 year old son's class was assigned to read it (for science class, I think). She called it pornographic (I think she probably meant graphic). I haven't read it, although it's on my list for someday. Would you say it's too graphic for a 15 year old?

Interesting.

No, I don't think it's too graphic for a 15 year old at all. Henrietta Lachs had cervical cancer, so there is some discussion about that as well as how the cancer had spread through her body, but the author does not go into gory detail about it. There is also mention of some of the more unpleasant things about her life (and members of her family), including cheating, syphilis, domestic violence and such, but again, the author doesn't dwell on it or go into a lot of detail. Skloot only mentions these incidents as they are pertinent to the story and treats them factually. They are not over-sensationalized in any way. I would have no problem with my son (who is 16) reading it, but then, I don't believe in censorship.

The book is really about the development of scientific research using Henrietta Lach's cells (they were used widely throughout the world in such applications as how human cells react to outer space as well as the development of innovations such as the polio vaccine) and the question of the ethics of using her cells without her family's knowledge or understanding. Nothing I wouldn't want my kid to think about, and certainly there is nothing graphic in there that he probably hasn't already been exposed to. I'd be more worried about what he was watching on TV, if that was my primary concern. The book is in no way pornographic and, in my estimation, not very graphic either.

Vamp · ‎04-14-2010

@Judaline wrote:
@Vamp wrote:
I've been MIA for a couple of weeks, so I'm going to post what I've read most recently:

Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Very inspirational in terms of the author's sheer will, but a lot of her behaviors and choices frustrated me as well. Good read.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
I really enjoy historical fiction, and this one is well written, but (and this is a big "but") there is nothing happy in this book. It is one depressing, wretched event after another. It got to be exhausting. Still, it was worth reading.

Little Century by Anna Keesey
Really well written but the story itself was a little slow, at least to me. (Maybe because it is about cattlemen and sheep farmers in Oregon?) The protagonist is a young woman who turns out to be stronger than she thinks she is.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lachs by Rebecca Skloot
Nonfiction. If you are interested in science, particularly biology, this is really good.

I LOVED The Kitchen House, vamp. Have you read Mudbound? or Rush Home Road? I read them all in a row once and just by chance they were all similar.

smoky, I'm glad you are enjoying the Inspector Wexford novels. I liked them all save one, but can't really remember which 'one'. The last one I read was 'The Rotweiller'. Really good.

Yes, I have read Mudbound (loved it) but not Rush Home Road. I thought The Kitchen House was really well done, but I just wanted one good thing to happen, lol. Sometimes my head is not in the right place for some books at the time I read them. I am looking for something uplifting and light for my next book.

smoky22 · ‎05-30-2010

@Vamp thanks for the assessment of the Henrietta Lachs book. It was exactly what I had previously read about it. That woman sounds very narrow minded. I feel bad for her son.

"everybody counts or nobody counts"

Colinka · ‎10-15-2011

Don't get "The Good Neighbor" (A.J.Banner) mixed up with "The New Neighbor." by Leah Stewart.. I would heartily recommend the second title. Here's an annotation from Goodreads:

Ninety-year-old Margaret Riley is content hiding from the world. Stoic and independent, she rarely leaves the Tennessee mountaintop where she lives, finding comfort in the mystery novels that keep her company, that is, until she spots a woman who's moved into the long-empty house across the pond.

Jennifer Young is also looking to hide. On the run from her old life, she and her four-year-old son Milo have moved to a quiet town where no one from her past can find her.

In Jennifer, Margaret sees both a potential companion in her loneliness and a mystery to be solved. But Jennifer refuses to talk about herself, her son, his missing father, or her past. Frustrated, Margaret crosses more and more boundaries in pursuit of the truth, threatening to unravel the new life Jennifer has so painstakingly created and reveal some secrets of her own.

A very popular book with my Mystery Book Club.