Reading in Place My Favorite Books: Part 1

This last week (and whew, what a week, heh?) friends and readers have asked for book recommendations. That’s a tricky endeavor as everyone has unique reading tastes. As a substitute, I thought I’d tackle something I’ve been contemplating a long time — a list of my own favorite books. Before Book Barmy, I kept notebooks of all the books I’d read with my thoughts – so pulling together my Favorite Books list presented quite a job. But seeing as I’m not going anywhere – I’ll give it a shot. Perhaps you’ll want to pick and choose from these Book Barmy favorites for books to read while sheltering in place.

I know the libraries are closed in many areas, so if you want to buy any of these books — Please contact your local independent bookstore. They will happily take your order, personally ship your book(s), and will surely appreciate your distancing business right now. Find your local bookseller HERE

So, in no particular order and surely missing some – here we go. I will use a combination of my own notes and the book blurbs to give you the briefest but most complete synopsis of each book. Many of these books have a permanent place on my shelves, while others are long gone – happily given away to others who will enjoy them.

My Favorite Books – Part 1

Stones for Ibara, by Harriet Doerr

An excellent novel of cultural understanding and misunderstanding — stereotypes, adapting, and the power of grace. Richard and Sara Everton who have come to the small Mexican village of Ibarra to reopen a copper mine abandoned by Richard’s grandfather fifty years before. They have mortgaged, sold, borrowed, left friends and country, to settle in this remote spot; their plan is to live out their lives here, connected to the place and to each other. The two Americans, the only foreigners in Ibarra, live among people who both respect and misunderstand them. And gradually the villagers–at first enigmas to the Evertons–come to teach them much about life and fate.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

This novel will absolutely transport you into the world of a Geisha. Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing a kimono; elaborate makeup and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with other geisha for men’s solicitude and the money that goes with it. We enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl’s virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and absorbing novel —romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and, for me, completely unforgettable.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

I never thought I would be interested in, let alone be besotted, by a book about two book artists in golden age of comic books — but this Pulitzer Prize winning novel just blew me away. A young escape artist and budding magician named Joe Kavalier arrives on the doorstep of his cousin, Sammy Clay. While the long shadow of Hitler falls across Europe, America is happily in thrall to the Golden Age of comic books, and Sammy is looking for a way to cash in on the craze. He finds the ideal partner in the aloof, artistically gifted Joe, and together they embark on an adventure that takes them deep into the heart of Manhattan, and the heart of old-fashioned American ambition. From the shared fears, dreams, and desires of two teenage boys, they spin comic book tales of the heroic, fascist-fighting Escapist and the beautiful, mysterious Luna Moth, the otherworldly mistress of the night. The writing is magic as they bring their comic book characters and stories to life — while also carving out their own vivid lives and amazing adventures of their own.

The Griffin and Sabine Series by Nick Bantock

These were hugely popular back in the 90’s and according to many critics,  somewhat of a gimmick – but I adored this series of books and have hung onto them all these years later.  Every so often, I’ll take them down and fall into what is the equivalent of adult pop-up books.

Griffin and Sabine are located on opposite ends of the earth — Griffin is a lonely artist in damp England, while Sabine is a native living on the sun-drenched island of Sicmon in the South Pacific.  We meet them as they have just become pen pals and it is their correspondence back and forth which comprises the Griffin and Sabine books.  Soul mates, they decide to meet, face to face. Their quest (and failures) to meet one another forms the backbone of these books. There are letters to open, postcards to read, handwriting to decipher, maps to study, all, for this reader — pure delight.  You’re given the sensation of having stumbled upon a romantic mystery to which only you are privy – a private secret kept locked between the covers.  The story is nothing much, but the discovery of it is exquisite. The art of these books is in their meticulous printing. There are actual envelopes glued into the text which you open to unfold an actual letter, postcards and beautiful illustrations– a true work of love on the part of Mr. Bantock and the publisher. 

We Took to The Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich

Back as a teen in New Hampshire, we’d experience snow day school closures (much like today’s shelter in place). During one snow day, attracted by the jacket cover inviting me down a snowy path to a snug home in the pines, I picked up my mother’s copy of We Took to The Woods and happily wiled away the afternoon. Louise Dickinson Rich took to the woods of Maine with her husband. There they found their livelihood and raised a family in the remote backcountry of the Rangeley area of Maine. Ms. Rich made time after morning chores to write about their lives. This is not a biography, not even a memoir. Instead, in a very informal, conversational style, Rich answers key questions people have asked her about her life as a writer, a wife, and a mother deep in the north woods of Maine. One question per chapter: “Aren’t You Afraid? Don’t You Get Bored? How Do You Make A Living?” Her answers are candid, funny, detailed, and enlightening. We Took to the Woods is an adventure story, written with humor, but it also portrays a cherished dream realized in a full life. First published in 1942. I have since found my own copy in a used bookstore — but sadly, without my beloved original dust jacket.

The Magicians Assistant by Anne Patchett

Anne Patchett is one of my go-to authors but this has to be my favorite of her novels so far. When Parsifal, a handsome and charming magician, dies suddenly, his widow Sabine–who was also his faithful assistant for twenty years–learns that the family he claimed to have lost in a tragic accident is very much alive and well. She is left to unravel his secrets, and the adventure she embarks upon, from sunny Los Angeles to the bitter windswept plains of Nebraska, will work its own magic on her. A deliciously original story about love — in all its many forms.

My Life In France by Julia Child

This is THE book to read if you want to know about Julia Child. It’s fun, insightful, and delightfully ‘Julia’. Previously on Book Barmy HERE

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

My list would be definitely incomplete without this treasure. I have purchased and given away many copies of this book — one of my top top favorites. Read more HERE

Okay, that’s enough for today. Don’t worry there’s plenty more — see Part 1 above.

I have to get back to a new book which I just started last night. It’s auditioning for this same list…

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Today is my younger sister’s birthday. I bought her this book as a joke gift, never intending to read it.

But, then I read good reviews and learned that it was up for both the Booker and the Woman’s Prize. So, with the deadline of my sister’s birthday approaching, I opened it up the other week and dove in.

Korede’s sister Ayoola has the inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends, the latest named Femi:

“Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer.”

My Sister the Serial Killer is written by a Nigerian novelist, and is set in Lagos, Nigeria. Korede’s younger sister Ayoola is many things: beautiful, self-involved, vain, everyone’s darling, and yes, a serial killer. Korede works as a nurse and lives at home with her mother and Ayoola. She is fastidious in her job, but doesn’t really have any friends due to keeping her sister’s secrets and cleaning up her messes, literally.

We begin in the middle of the action: Ayoola calls Korede in the middle of the night for help — she has stabbed her newest boyfriend. Out of necessity, Korede has become an expert at crime scene cleaning and evidence concealment. (Bleach is the best way to remove blood if you’re wondering or know your own serial killer.) Her life has become move the body, dispose of the body, clean up after the body, and hardest of all — stop her sister from carrying on with her social media posting as if nothing happened – and advising Ayoola to at least act sad about her latest ‘missing’ boyfriend.

But, everything changes when Ayoola sets her sites on a doctor Korede’s secretly in love with. Forced to sit back and watch in utter fear as Ayoola successfully flirts with him, Korede is faced with an inner battle to save the man she loves or to protect her sister.

Driven by her passion, and the fear she and her sister might get caught ~~ because, oops, Korede confessed everything to a patient who was in a coma but is now awake—Korede makes choices she never even imagined were possible.

The sisters’ story goes back and forth from their troubled childhood, to the present, to the near past, and onward. The story becomes deeper and more nuanced than one would first assume — as more history is revealed.

Nigerian culture is sprinkled throughout. There’s the heat, the food, and the traffic. The police are portrayed as corrupt and easily bribed. Even though their dead father was cruel and abusive, the mother and daughters are expected to host the annual lavish party to remember him.

My Sister, The Serial Killer isn’t a crime novel as such – there’s no mystery and no detection. It’s really the story of sisters and their relationship — the loyalty and the rivalry. It’s often darkly funny, but also tense, and unexpectedly poignant. There’s a scene where Ayoola is happily lapping ice cream while her (murdered) boyfriend’s sister is sobbing in grief — which stopped me cold.

This is a short little novel which you could read in one sitting, but you’ll want to linger, as it’s a very artfully written book. And, as an added bonus, you’ll learn how to clean a crime scene – just in case a family member goes rogue.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister, who, as far as I know, is not a serial killer.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I didn’t intend to read this book — it wasn’t on my TBR list or even on my radar, but read inhale it, I did.

It was a really slow day at the bookstore and I was shelving fiction when I recognized Ms. Moriarty’s name from one of my favorite TV series Big Little Lies. This popular Australian author is known for writing a book a year, and I would categorize her novels as Chic-Lit Thriller (I just made that up).

I decided to randomly pick one of her titles to browse through it – just browse, mind you – there’s a ton of books at home to read, I told myself.

Seventy two hours later, I closed Nine Perfect Strangers and looked around blurry eyed, as if emerging from a cave.

The setting is Tranquillum House, a remote health resort in Australia and nine people have gathered to revive their lives — some to loose weight, some to gain mindfulness, and others just to get a fresh start. Frances Welty, a middle-aged, romance writer whose novel sales have been dwindling, arrives at the health resort with a bad back and a broken heart. She quickly realizes that most of her fellow guests don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. The owner/director of the resort is odd, but charismatic, and Frances wonders if she should leave or stick it out. But stay she does and as she participates in the meditation, Tai Chi, and drinks the daily smoothies – Frances begins to feel a great deal better.

Several chapters go into the psyche and problems of each of the guests. We learn about their problems; marriage issues, a family recovering from the loss of a child, a has-been soccer player – all of them seeking health and bliss. But, the main focus is on Frances and Masha, the spa director. I laughed out loud at Frances and nodded in agreement at her attitude towards wellness and dieting. I had empathy for some of the characters and frustration with others, but overall I had anxiety on behalf of all of them — Tranquillum House is not all it appears to be. To paraphrase Bette Davis – fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be total nutter of a ride.

As the plot unspools, the transformative spa treatments start to take a dark turn. Masha gets weirder and the guests start to have strange interludes. I’ll stop there and won’t divulge any more. Just know there are lots of plot twists and some Agatha Christie-type scenes — all of which kept me turning the pages and turning the pages…

Nine Perfect Strangers is not high literary fiction, instead it has a ridiculous plot with some cliché characters, but it is also quirky, fun, and entertaining. The ending is a bit over the top, but the final chapters nicely tie up each characters’ story. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the book — Ms. Moriarty certainly can write a page turner and I now understand why she is a best selling author.

But now, afterwards, I think the experience was akin to eating cotton candy. Lots of fun — but why?

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I’ve read that Nicole Kidman bought the rights to Nine Perfect Strangers and is planning a series. Come to think of it, she would make the perfect Masha.

A Better Man by Louise Penny

A Better Man is the latest installment in Ms. Penny’s bestselling mystery series. If by chance, you’ve been banished in Siberia and aren’t aware of this series, please drop everything and start with her first Still Life – you should read them in order.

Don’t start with this one as you’ll just get confused. A Better Man, uses many references from her previous novels.

It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the Surete’s homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his second-in-command, and son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. There’s massive flooding in Quebec and the mystery begins when a father reports his daughter missing. Sadly, the daughter is found dead in the flood waters and it becomes clear that she had been abused by her husband and was also pregnant. So, of course the main suspect is this abusive husband…but perhaps not.

Ms. Penny takes us through plot twists and sub plots, scattering suspects as we go along. There are surprising dynamics that lead to the crime(s) committed here — from the psychology of spousal abuse — to the Surete’s highly questionable manipulation of a suspect’s social media account.

I always look forward to the cozy time back in the village of Three Pines, where the characters (and the reader) can gather sustenance from the community. But we only get short respites in the village and its characters. Clara deals with harsh critique of her latest art — all brutally served up via social media. Ruth meddles where she shouldn’t and Myrna has a sweetheart.

I will take a short break here to quote the New York Times on this book:

“a constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves”

And there it is – A Better Man (like her previous two installments) is deeper and darker and for this reader that takes some getting used to. 

 Ms. Penny’s still writes beautifully and deftly takes the story in multiple directions, always building the tension.  But it is darker world for Three Pines and our beloved characters. 

Spousal abuse is only part of the dark story — Gamache’s past still haunts him and his career. Social media is used to hurt and maim. Global warming is causing unprecedented flooding. And is Gamache or Jean Guy the better man?

Yes, the series is turning darker, more brooding, but perhaps just more reflective of today’s societal influences. I still maintain that Ms. Penny delivers some of the best mystery writing out there.

And, true to form I found myself furiously caught up in A Better Man with much late night page turning.

Ms. Penny, I’m your biggest fan.

A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie

It’s a well known Book Barmy fact that Deborah Crombie writes one of my favorite mystery series.  My gushing affection for her novels is documented in past posts HERE.

This rainy morning with a nice cup of tea, I finished the latest, just released series installment — A Bitter Feast.

As the book opens, Ms. Crombie takes the London-based police team of Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James on an idyllic escape to the English Cotswolds.  With their children and fellow police detective, Doug, all are invited to spend a restful weekend in the village of Lower Slaughter. 

A village called Slaughter? Well played Ms. Crombie — what could possibly go wrong?   Actually it’s a double entendre — Slaughter comes from the Old English word ‘slothre’ meaning muddy place.  Just part of the wonderfully sly writing style Ms. Crombie brings to all her books.

A Bitter Feast starts off slowly with all the elements of a cozy mystery –  a picturesque village, a warm English pub, and the lovely manor house to which Melody has invited her fellow police crowd to stay for the weekend.  The manor house has a spectacular garden, the pub boasts a wonderful chef, and there’s a sense of tranquility around Duncan and Gemma’s getaway to the Cotswolds.

But, as to be expected when there’s an assembly of police officers — their restful holiday soon goes awry with car wrecks, murders, poisonings, and illicit village affairs.

But, here’s what separates A Bitter Feast (and all Ms. Crombie’s novels) from traditional cozy mysteries — her sly (there’s that word again) introduction of simple details that become vital later in the story.  Only later does the reader realize that clues were being scattered while the characters stroll in the garden or are enjoying a delicious meal. 

As always, Ms. Crombie’s characters are well-developed, as they have been over the course of the series. All my favorite characters are here, I know them well.  But interestingly, Ms. Crombie puts both Duncan and Gemma somewhat in the background (after all they’re on holiday remember?) and lets others to take the lead in the investigations of the crimes befalling Lower Slaughter.  Melody’s upper class background comes into full spotlight as we are introduced to her titled parents and manor house.  Especially interesting was to see Duncan’s 15 year old Kit acting well beyond his years and stepping into adulthood.

After the somewhat bleak tone of her previous novel, A Bitter Feast has a more cheerful atmosphere — the murders and poisonings notwithstanding.  No seriously, it was lovely to join everyone at cozy pub in the evenings, to partake in a charity luncheon on the magnificent grounds of the manor house, and to look on as children played with dogs on the lawns.

But don’t be seduced by the lovely setting with its quaint cottages and gardens.  There is always a overshadowing — a quaint and cheerful cottage during the daylight becomes creepy and sinister at night. A meticulously maintained showstopper garden could be the source for a poisonous substance.  Nothing is as is a idyllic as it seems.

The food — oh did I mention the food?  The food dishes are described in luscious detail and the inside of the house restaurant scenes are fascinating.  Ms. Crombie has long said she chose England as her setting, so she could go every year to do research for her series.  In A Bitter Feast, she obviously took much pleasure in exploring food and the restaurant scene.  The descriptions of how a Michelin star restaurant menu is created, one painstaking dish at a time, is some of her best writing ever.

So entranced by the setting, I Googled Lower Slaughter and here’s a video of its beauty HERE.

A Bitter Feast is a purely wonderful, chunky book and well worth buying in hardcover right now.  As is custom, Ms. Crombie and her publishers include a hand drawn map of the setting on the flyleaf (hardcover only – worth the price alone).  Here’s just a sample:

As you can tell, I highly recommend any of Ms. Crombie’s series, but A Bitter Feast has to be one of my favorites so far.

Now comes the hard part – waiting for the next one. 

Many thanks to Harper Collins for providing an advanced readers copy.

 

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

My other corking* good vacation book was Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.

Ursula Todd is born on a stormy winter night in 1911. Because of the snow storm the midwife doesn’t make it on time to deliver the baby, so the baby dies. End of story.

Not quite.

Life After Life, as the title implies, is all about  ‘do overs’.  Ursula is born again and this time she survives. But only for a few days. So the ‘do over’ button is pressed again. And again, and again, and again. And in a real twist, these lives aren’t at all  linear.  In one life Ursula may live into her twenties, the next life, she only lives until her teens. Then, we’re moved forward to another life when she’s in her thirties. Then, we go back to when she’s still a schoolgirl. 

Each time Ursula retains something from her prior life, a forewarning, something that could change the future outcome of events, perhaps even history.  We are introduced to characters who go unexplained until later.  Little images and scenes come back later with greater meaning and you nod your head as you recognize the significance after all.

Crazy and confusing right? 

Trust me it’s actually not. 

Yes, Life After Life is an unusual book, and if you’re like me it will take a few chapters to get into the perplexing style — but once once you settle in — it’s an amazing read.   You have to be willing to recalibrate and I often had to flip back to see when and where I was (For that reason alone, I recommend reading this in physical book form, it would be hard to navigate in e-book format).  Once the pace of the book becomes familiar, you won’t be able to put it down. 

Ms. Atkinson is a sophisticated writer with an impressive vocabulary and uses bits of Latin, French phrases, and entire paragraphs written in German (sometimes loosely translated, sometimes not at all).  She also references obscure books and quotes philosophers such as Nietzsche and Camus.  But please don’t let this dissuade you — Life After Life is not overly intellectual — trust me I got most of it and I don’t have a PhD — just a good dictionary.  Here’s an example (I’ve provided the definition):

Time isn’t circular,’ she said to Dr. Kellet.  ‘It’s like a … palimpsest.’
‘Oh dear,’ he said. ‘That sounds vexing.’
‘And memories are sometimes in the future.’

 Ahh, I can hear you saying that’s the oldest premise ever (thinking Groundhog Day aren’t you?), but trust me dear Barmy readers, Ms. Atkinson’s imagination and creativity takes Life After Life to a whole new level.  She goes an unusual route to show that our character and choices don’t matter much either way. At times, Ursula gets killed in the exact same place and in the same way whether she’s a coward or a hero; a British secretary or high level civil servant; or even a German hausfrau. 

There is an impending feeling of dread as we wait to see what happens next to poor Ursula, but this is interspersed with humor and tenderness — mixing poignancy with a wry insights.  What I found most fascinating was this book took me everywhere from country village life, to 1960’s London, the Blitz and even (and somewhat unbelievably) Hitler’s Berchtesgaden.

There is literary genius in the manipulated narrative, but at its heart, Life After Life is simply a wonderful story, with many, many layers, tipped upside down and strewn about.  This book still has me thinking about possibilities and the role both choice and chance play in our lives.

In true appreciation, this goes on the keeper shelf for a second read.

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*Corking:  A British term:  extremely fine —often used as an intensive, especially before good — I had a corking good time.