{"id":12489,"date":"2024-01-29T12:58:34","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T17:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/?p=12489"},"modified":"2024-08-28T08:41:30","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T12:41:30","slug":"readers-notebook-1-29-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/2024\/01\/29\/readers-notebook-1-29-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Reader’s Notebook, 1\/29\/24"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have started 2024 on a huge reading run; I finished my seventh book of the year early this morning. It helps that I\u2019ve been sick the past couple days and unable to sleep, so I\u2019ve stayed up deep into the night knocking out the final book in this list.<\/p>\n

Said illness and lack of sleep will also push my sports notes entry to Tuesday this week.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel<\/a>
\nI read, and loved, Mandel\u2019s Station Eleven nearly nine years ago<\/a>. Then I watched, and also loved, the seres based on it exactly two years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When her next novel arrived, it came with great critical praise, and it immediately went on my reading list. However, since I knew it was about time travel and spanned hundreds of years, I assumed it would be sprawling and I kept putting it off. So I was very surprised when I finally added it to my Kindle and was able to knock it out in a single day. I was dumb for putting it off so long.<\/p>\n

Mandel\u2019s story indeed jumps from the early 1900s to the 2400s, with several stops between. She doesn\u2019t linger in any age too long which is one of the novel\u2019s true strengths. Despite the 500-year span the story feels tight and intimate. She wrote it during the worst days of the Covid 19 pandemic, and you can feel the anxiety and fear of those months in her words.<\/p>\n

That said, did it all work? I\u2019m not sure. Time travel stories always require some suspension of belief. Even allowing for that, there were some pretty big holes in Mandel\u2019s plotting. The resolution is a bit of a letdown as it felt too easy. If I were a bigger fan of sci-fi\/speculative fiction, I might be even more disappointed in how it all worked out. Since I am not, the quality Mandel\u2019s words helped smooth some of the story\u2019s flaws.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"\"\"
\nKennedy 35 – Charles Cumming<\/a>
\nBook three in Cumming\u2019s Box 88 series. Where the first two flipped back and forth between the past and current times, this one kept those two halves largely separate. It began a year after the Rwandan genocide ended, when young agent Lachlan Kite is tasked with assisting a Box 88 team as they attempt to capture one of the key figured behind the genocide. Their operation goes awry and 25 years later Kite sets out to bring the figures who survived that mission to justice.<\/p>\n

Meets the standard Cumming set in the first two editions, with the added bonus of this being a little tighter of a novel.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
\nThe Breakaway – Jennifer Weiner<\/a>
\nI doubt I would have read this under normal circumstances. Weiner, as much as she hates the term, gets shoved into the Chick Lit genre. And this book is certainly built around a romance that, at times, seems crafted so it could be transferred effortlessly from the page to the screen. She throws in just enough Big Issues, though, that this can appeal to non-Chick Lit readers. That\u2019s probably why it showed up on so many Best Of lists and got my attention.<\/p>\n

Abby is a struggling 30-something that can\u2019t quite get her life on track. While on a bachelorette party in New York, she hooks up with a guy and has an unforgettable night with him. She sneaks out the next morning without saying goodbye, fearing that he would not be interested in her in the light of day and sober, and returns to her life in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Two years later she is leading a bicycle trip from New York City to Buffalo when who should show up in her group than Mr One Night, Sebastian! What were the odds?!?! Guess who else shows up? Her mom, who she has a tense relationship with. Naturally Abby and Sebastian have some moments along the trip. Which leads to moments of conflict and romance.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot more going on in the story and it\u2019s more fun to discover it for yourself. As I said, Weiner attacks some large issues. Body image and societal expectations of women. Relationships between mothers and daughters. Internet fame\/infamy. The different tolerances for how men and woman behave sexually. Oh, and this is a good one, teenage pregnancy and abortion! Good times.<\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t be so cheeky. This was a good enough story to stick with it even for someone like me who doesn\u2019t usually read stuff like this.<\/p>\n

It also got me thinking about what the male equivalent of Chick Lit is. Westerns? Mysteries? Pulpy fiction with violence and sex? The espionage novels I read far too many of? I don\u2019t think there is a true equivalent but that\u2019s probably something best left for a separate post.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"\"\"
\nThe Seventh Girl – Andy Maslen<\/a>
\nFinally, another book I would not have normally read. From time to time Amazon offers free Kindle books to Prime users. I\u2019ve explored these in the past and they often end up sucking. Something about this book\u2019s description struck me, though, so I grabbed it.<\/p>\n

It is a pretty standard detective mystery, set in southern England. Detective Kat Ballantyne is obsessed with a serial killer who had plagued her city ten years earlier without being caught. His final victim was her best friend, and she\u2019s been haunted by ditching her on the night of her murder.<\/p>\n

When a new series of deaths that mimic the previous series begins, Ballantyne is assigned as head investigator. What follows is a harrowing series of weeks as she attempts to put the few clues they have together while new bodies are discovered with increasing frequency. Along the way her family life gets complicated (of course), she faces obstacles within her detective unit, and discovers something new and shocking about her best friend\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the deepest mystery I\u2019ve ever read, but it kept me turning virtual pages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have started 2024 on a huge reading run; I finished my seventh book of the year early this morning. It helps that I\u2019ve been sick the past couple days and unable to sleep, so I\u2019ve stayed up deep into the night knocking out the final book in this list. Said illness and lack of sleep will also push my sports notes entry to Tuesday this week. Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel I read, and loved, Mandel\u2019s Station Eleven nearly nine years ago. Then I watched, and also loved, the seres based on it exactly two years ago. When her next novel arrived, it came with great critical praise, and it immediately went on my reading list. However, since I knew it was about time travel and spanned hundreds of years, I assumed it would be sprawling and I kept putting it off. So I was very surprised when I finally added it to my Kindle and was able to knock it out in a single day. I was dumb for putting it off so long. Mandel\u2019s story indeed jumps from the early 1900s to the 2400s, with several stops between. She doesn\u2019t linger in any age too long which is one of the novel\u2019s true strengths. Despite the 500-year span the story feels tight and intimate. She wrote it during the worst days of the Covid 19 pandemic, and you can feel the anxiety and fear of those months in her words. That said, did it all work? I\u2019m not sure. Time travel stories always require some suspension of belief. Even allowing for that, there were some pretty big holes in Mandel\u2019s plotting. The resolution is a bit of a letdown as it felt too easy. If I were a bigger fan of sci-fi\/speculative fiction, I might be even more disappointed in how it all worked out. Since I am not, the quality Mandel\u2019s words helped smooth some of the story\u2019s flaws. Kennedy 35 – Charles Cumming Book three in Cumming\u2019s Box 88 series. Where the first two flipped back and forth between the past and current times, this one kept those two halves largely separate. It began a year after the Rwandan genocide ended, when young agent Lachlan Kite is tasked with assisting a Box 88 team as they attempt to capture one of the key figured behind the genocide. Their operation goes awry and 25 years later Kite sets out to bring the figures who survived that mission to justice. Meets the standard Cumming set in the first two editions, with the added bonus of this being a little tighter of a novel. The Breakaway – Jennifer Weiner I doubt I would have read this under normal circumstances. Weiner, as much as she hates the term, gets shoved into the Chick Lit genre. And this book is certainly built around a romance that, at times, seems crafted so it could be transferred effortlessly from the page to the screen. She throws in just enough Big Issues, though, that this can appeal to non-Chick Lit readers. That\u2019s probably why it showed up on so many Best Of lists and got my attention. Abby is a struggling 30-something that can\u2019t quite get her life on track. While on a bachelorette party in New York, she hooks up with a guy and has an unforgettable night with him. She sneaks out the next morning without saying goodbye, fearing that he would not be interested in her in the light of day and sober, and returns to her life in Philadelphia. Two years later she is leading a bicycle trip from New York City to Buffalo when who should show up in her group than Mr One Night, Sebastian! What were the odds?!?! Guess who else shows up? Her mom, who she has a tense relationship with. Naturally Abby and Sebastian have some moments along the trip. Which leads to moments of conflict and romance. There\u2019s a lot more going on in the story and it\u2019s more fun to discover it for yourself. As I said, Weiner attacks some large issues. Body image and societal expectations of women. Relationships between mothers and daughters. Internet fame\/infamy. The different tolerances for how men and woman behave sexually. Oh, and this is a good one, teenage pregnancy and abortion! Good times. I shouldn\u2019t be so cheeky. This was a good enough story to stick with it even for someone like me who doesn\u2019t usually read stuff like this. It also got me thinking about what the male equivalent of Chick Lit is. Westerns? Mysteries? Pulpy fiction with violence and sex? The espionage novels I read far too many of? I don\u2019t think there is a true equivalent but that\u2019s probably something best left for a separate post. The Seventh Girl – Andy Maslen Finally, another book I would not have normally read. From time to time Amazon offers free Kindle books to Prime users. I\u2019ve explored these in the past and they often end up sucking. Something about this book\u2019s description struck me, though, so I grabbed it. It is a pretty standard detective mystery, set in southern England. Detective Kat Ballantyne is obsessed with a serial killer who had plagued her city ten years earlier without being caught. His final victim was her best friend, and she\u2019s been haunted by ditching her on the night of her murder. When a new series of deaths that mimic the previous series begins, Ballantyne is assigned as head investigator. What follows is a harrowing series of weeks as she attempts to put the few clues they have together while new bodies are discovered with increasing frequency. Along the way her family life gets complicated (of course), she faces obstacles within her detective unit, and discovers something new and shocking about her best friend\u2019s death. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the deepest mystery I\u2019ve ever read, but it kept me turning virtual pages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-12489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-books"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12489"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12494,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12489\/revisions\/12494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}