The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

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by Gabrielle Zevin, 2014, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 3.5 stars

This is a really nice story about a bookseller on the fictional Alice Island off the coast of Cape Cod. There is a little bit of romance, some mystery, and a lot of serendipity. The main character, A.J. Fikry, evolves from a mean, crotchety person to a lovable crotchety individual as he finds his purpose in life.

The author is a real lover of books, and it shows throughout the story. There are little book reviews written by the bookseller interspersed throughout the book.

I read this book much more quickly than I usually read, only to find that I was sad that I had finished it. That is definitely a sign of how much I enjoyed it.

The Survivors

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by Jane Harper, 2021, Audiobook narrated by Stephen Shanahan, Macmillan Audio 2.0 stars

I don’t think this is Jane Harper’s best work, although I have read only two of her books. The first book I read was her first book The Dry, and I enjoyed it a lot. The major difference was that Tge Dry focused on one character who was dragged into an investigation of a murder against his wishes. He eventually solved the crime after following various leads.

The Survivors, on the other hand, deals with a number of individuals who are affected by two incidents, one some deaths from a storm twelve years prior, and another death that has occurred recently but under similar circumstances. The story meanders back and forth from the prior incident to the current one and finally comes to an end when all of the information is revealed.

This novel takes place in Tasmania where I had visited briefly in 1970 so I was curious about the location. It was interesting in that regard, but I didn’t enjoy it otherwise. The characters weren’t that interesting, and the plot just seemed to wander. There wasn’t much of a twist in the end and the solution to the mystery was ho-hum. Hopefully, some of her other books will be much better.

The reader did a nice job as I enjoy a book about Australia a lot more when it’s read with an Australian accent.

Lessons in Chemistry

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by Bonnie Garmus 2022, Doubleday, New York 4.0 stars

This is a story about a woman in the 1950’s who has a passion for science and wants to conduct research in chemistry. Unfortunately, she runs into many challenges, the primary one being that she’s a woman and is not recognized or respected as a scientist.

The primary character, Elizabeth Zott, is very outspoken and is fired from her job. The company she worked for didn’t really want to hire her in the first place, but they were forced to by a large doner. She subsequently becomes a chef on an afternoon TV show and demonstrates that cooking is basically science.

The plot of this novel is really very clever, but the character of Elizabeth Zott really stands out. The dialogue is crisp and funny, and this all adds up to a very enjoyable novel.

Some of the ingredients of this book are a bit hard to believe (a dog who can recognize almost a thousand words, a four-year-old girl who reads adult books), but if you can accept that it’s all fiction and read on, the book is really enjoyabe. I am glad, however, that it was set in the 50’s as it does make the story much more believable.

It is a delightful book to read and also very fast. It’s too bad that some of the terrible things described in the book that happen to women actually happen in the real world.

My Italian Bulldozer

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by Alexander McCall Smith, 2017, Pantheon 3.5 stars

This is a delightful book about a man who breaks up with his girlfriend and then travels to Tuscany to finish writing a book about Tuscan food and wine. He finds that when he gets there that the car rental company has not record of his rental reservation and there are no cars available. He ends up renting a bulldozer to travel around while he is there, and the rest of the story goes on from there..

The author is really adept at capturing the essence of his various characters, whether they are Italian or otherwise. When reading a book by Alecxander McCall Smith the reader can just picture whatever individual is being depicted.

When I picked up the book, I thought that this would be a great situation to read a story filled with hilarious escapades and I would be doing belly laughs. While there are certainly some very funny moments, it’s more of a very pleasant experience to read. I really did enjoy it.

Cooper’s Creek: Tragedy and Adventure in the Australian Outback

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by Alan Moorehead, originally published in 1963, Kindle version, 2010, Skyhorse2.5 stars

This book is about an exploration expedition into the interior of Australia in 1860. Much of Australia had never been explored at that time and this was one of the first attempts. There were many decisions, actions, and inactions that led to a disastrous outcome. While the expedition has been compared to some of the more famous early polar expeditions, the author at one point indicates that this expedition would be largely forgotten had it been successful.

I encountered a person from Australia, and I mentioned to him that I was reading this book. He asked me how it was. I told him “It’s very dry, like your country.” Well, he didn’t take my comment very well, but I think this about sums it up. There is a lot of detail, quotes from letters, dairies, and newspaper articles, etc. In addition, the terrain of the area being explored is not all that interesting. The result is that this is one of the least interesting books I have read. I recall reading Moorehead’s White Nile and Blue Nile many years ago, and I found those to be much more interesting.

The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler

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by David Kertzer, 2022, Audiobook narrated by Arthur Morey, Random House Audio  3.5 stars

In 2020 the Vatican opened up numerous documents in their archives relating to communications and meeting between the Vatican and the Italian and German governments before and during WWII. Kertzer makes extensive use of this new information in his latest book about the history of the Vatican and their dealings. This book paints a very disturbing picture of the Vatican and particularly, Pope Pius XII, and the incidents that took place during that time.

The picture I got of Pius XII from this book was that he was a very weak individual. His main mode of conduct was to curry favor with Hitler and Mussolini to avoid any additional friction between the Catholic Church and the Fascist governments. Pius’ only objection to the anti-Jewish laws was that there was no leeway for baptized Jews and children of mixed marriages. He had absolutely no compassion for any human beings who were outside of the Catholic Church. In fact, one gets the impression that he did not even consider them as human beings. This attitude was, no doubt, the result of the longstanding views of the Church over the centuries vis-a-vis the Jews, but Pius XII was definitely not a person who would speak up on behalf of the Jews.

The book seems well researched and is easy to follow. I did detect a bit of disgust in the narrator’s tone of voice as he read, but I think it would be very difficult for anyone to recite so many failings on the part of the Church and Pius XII without conveying some of one’s personal reactions.

I would recommend this book to anyone to read as it shows how complicit and disgusting the actions (and inactions) of the Vatican and Pius XII were during that time.

Still Life

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by Louise Penny, 2005, Audiobook narrated by Ralph Cosham released in 2014, Macmillan Audio 4.0 stars

This is the first of Louise Penny’s mysteries with Inspector Armand Gamache in the Quebec town of Three Pines. There is an intricate plot revolving around the death of an elderly woman by an arrow shot through her heart. The plot is intricate with many twists and turns and it’s hard to figure out who did it until the end.

What is even more interesting about the book is the characters. The author carefully develops each of them until the reader can almost picture each one’s presence. There is also some humor associated with some of them that is very subtle.

The writing is excellent and the narration is also very good. I look forward to reading (or listening to) more of Penny’s novels.

Fishing for Fun, and to Wash your Soul

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by Herbert Hoover, edited by William Nichols, 1964, Random House, New York 2.5 stars

This book was in a box of books that I inherited from my grandmother back in the 1990’s. I hadn’t read it until recently when I decided to share it with our book club.

The book is a delightful collection of Herbert Hoover’s thoughts on the joys and other aspects of fishing. It’s only 89 pages and it took about an hour to read. The book was published in 1964 which is the same year he died, but I don’t know how it came to be. Perhaps it was a tribute to Hoover? It does contain some ideas that are outdated in 2023 (such as Hoover’s belief that it would be too costly to clean up rivers and streams that are already polluted and the idea that a fisherman should be entitled to catch as much fish as he likes), but most of his thoughts about fishing are valid today.

Anyway, it’s a fun read!

Reinventing American Health Care

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by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 2014, Public Affairs, A Member of Perseus Book Group, New York 3.5 stars

I noticed this book in my son’s library and thought it would be interesting to read as I didn’t know the details of the American Care Act, known as “Obamacare”, which was passed in 2010. Dr. Emanuel was an advisor to Obama when it was being designed and is a fan of the ACA.

Because the book was published in 2014 and much has happened since then, it is a bit outdated. The Act has been challenged in the courts but was upheld by the Supreme Court as it was determined that it was a tax (something that the administration argued it was not). Also, the individual mandate was subsequently eliminated by Congress. Nonetheless, the ACA is still with us, although enrollment is somewhat less than what Dr. Emanuel was predicting in 2014.

I found the book to be interesting and very readable. The author obviously has an extensive knowledge of the subject and is also quite aware of the political issues related to healthcare reform implementation. He was overly optimistic that the ACA would bring health care costs down in the U.S., but his insight regarding the plan and its implementation was helpful.

I would be interesting to get his current views on the ACA either through reading his more recent publications or communicating with him directly.

Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff

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by Rosemary Mahoney, 2007, Back Bay Books, Little, Brown and Company 3.5 stars

This is a somewhat odd book written, I think, by a somewhat odd woman. Who would want to do what she did? Row down the Nile River by herself in a small fisherman’s skiff? No way!

But, yes, she did it and she describes it beautifully in this book. She befriended or conversed with many native individuals along the way and the conversations are very enlightening. She was particularly interested in the Egyptian and Sudanese views on women, particularly how the men viewed native women versus western women. It is apparently okay to have sex with a western woman but, a Muslim native woman would be shamed and outcast, if not killed, for committing the same acts. She notes the hypocrisy in several of her conversations with male individuals she encounters along her journey.

My only criticism of the book is that it ended so abruptly. At one moment she is rowing down the Nile, fleeing from a pursuer. Then she parks the skiff in the destination city and walks away. I think the book is missing a final chapter where she would offer some final thoughts on her experience and how it affected her after she had a chance to reflect on it. Also, there were very few really exciting things that happened to her, but the great writing and the strange undertaking held my interest.