The 2020 AW Reading Challenge! Perfectly visionary.

Cobalt Jade

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After some thinking I decided to swap out my Setting Sail selection, Blackfish City. I was a little more than halfway through and and kept putting off reading the rest. I had real reluctance there to waste my time with a story and characters I didn't care about, not even to see how everything was resolved. After my experience with Twilight I learned not to put myself through such torture, so I'm subbing another: Narwhal: Arctic Whales in a Melting World, by Todd McLeish. Surprisingly, it takes place in the same corner of the world.

And no I do not recommend Blackfish City.
 

Brightdreamer

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Started another one on the list, my "Out Of This World" selection: Cards of Grief by Jane Yolen, a short older novel about a world whose culture is dominated by grieving the way Ancient Egypt was dominated by death... a culture irrevocably changed by a botched first contact. So far, interesting worldbuilding and a nice concept.

ETA - I may have to swap out my seafaring title. Tried starting The Bone Ships on Kindle and... am not sure I'll be able to finish. Just plain not enjoying the world or the characters, too many smeerps thrown at me while I'm still finding my footing, and the voice just isn't clicking. (And I really am not sure I can stand this MC for another chapter, let alone a book.) So I may be swapping that one out eventually. For now, I still have to finish Cards of Grief (which has some serious dating issues, pushing well into cringe territory, but is at least keeping me reading.)
 
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Brightdreamer

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And cleared another one. Cards of Grief explores a culture centered around grief, and how it is disrupted by the arrival of offworld human visitors and the introduction of a new concept: love. Yolen's prose is, as usual, borderline lyrical, and the culture itself isn't bad, though the characters could be stiff. The story itself ages horribly in its portrayal of sex, sexism, and race (and cultural superiority), unfortunately, to the point where I'm not even sure I could recommend it as a first contact story without a load of caveats.

And with that I'm halfway through.

Updated List (6/12):
1 - I spy: The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, by Jackson Ford. DONE 3/8/20
2 - Eyes to the skies: A book connected to weather, or with a weather-themed title. - Ill Wind, by Rachel Caine.
3 - Take note: A book where music features prominently, or about musicians. - Crystal Singer, by Anne McCaffrey.
4 - By its cover: Camp Tiger, by Susan Choi. DONE - 1/4/20
5 - Setting sail: A book taking place mostly or all on water. - The Bone Ships, by RJ Parker. (PAUSED - MAY SWAP)
6 - Getting started - The Rage of Dragons, by Evan Winter. DONE - 1/19/20
7 - Three-color mythology: A graphic novel or comic book. TBA
8 - Out of this world: Cards of Grief, by Jane Yolen. DONE 3/13/20
9 - Tag team - Bob, by Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead. DONE - 1/28/20
10 - Succinct: A book with a one-word title. - Updraft, by Fran Wilde.
11 - You might also like. . .: A book recommended by someone real, or by a bot. Highfire, by Eoin Colfer.
12 - No hablo: Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Walter Starkie. DONE - 2/26/20
 
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Chris P

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Congrats on being halfway thorough! My reading time has been mostly gobbled up by a series of online trainings I'm taking.
 

mrsmig

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I've been hip-deep in rehearsals for my next show (and fully expecting the plug to get pulled on it at any time), but still managed to enjoy the heck out of The Essex Serpent. Author Sarah Perry manages to weave elements of horror and suspense into a book that also contains social commentary, a couple of unusual love stories and a cast of multi-faceted characters (including some delightfully complex child characters). It's also gorgeously written - one of those books that made me wriggle with delight at an unexpected plot twist or a beautifully phrased sentence.

I think I'm going to tackle The Song of Hiawatha next.


2. Armchair voyages Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
6. Eyes to the skiesRain: Four Walks in English Weather by Melissa Harrison DONE
9. Youthful exuberanceWe Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson DONE
17. Better known forTerry Jones’ Medieval Lives by Terry Jones and Ed Ereira
22. Setting sailWaterlog by Roger Deakin DONE
25. Support the home team - Chasing Danger by Richard C. White
27. Old world charm The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry DONE
37. Literary literal alliterationMudlarking by Lara Maiklem DONE
38. Loose EndsMedieval Children by Nicholas Orme
40. Ripped from the headlines Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
42. You might also likeMidnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham
44. Epic OdysseyThe Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 

Cobalt Jade

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Brightdreamer, I read your full review of the Yolen book. It sounds like it was inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin's earlier Hain novels (Specifically Rocannon's World and Planet of Exile) which have also not aged well, though in LeGuin's defense, she was also playing with Medieval Romance tropes.

I finished Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World, by Todd McLeish. I'd give it a three. I was expecting more of a science book though and in this one the author was too colloquial. Still, I felt I took a long trip to a seldom-visiting, or even thought about, corner of the world (the arctic seas west of Greenland and east of Hudson Bay.) On to something else.

2. Armchair voyages: A book taking place somewhere you have always wanted to go, but have never been.
Henry Lawson’s Best Stories, Henry Lawson (Australia)
The National Poet of Australia.


12. Take note: A book where music features prominently, or about musicians.
Buried Alive, Myra Friedman
Bio of 1960s rock star Janice Joplin, acclaimed in its time. DONE


14. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
Pride and Prejudice,
Jane Austen
OK, it’s time to tackle this.


18. Out of Africa: A book taking place in Africa (including North Africa).
The Fate of Africa, Martin Meredith
History of Africa after colonization up to the 1990s.


22. Setting sail: A book taking place mostly or all on water.
Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World, by Todd McLeish DONE


25. Support the home team: A book by a fellow AWer.
TBA


26. Face your fears: A book that intimidates you, for any reason
The Tale of Puddin’head Wilson, Mark Twain
Been wanting to read this for a while but haven’t read Twain since Huckleberry Finn.



29. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel or comic book.
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
Life in Iran from the perspective of a child who lived it. DONE


34. Out of this world: A book taking place in space or on another planet.
Brightness Falls from the Air, Joan D. Vinge
The adventures of Cat the telepath continue.


37. Literary literal alliteration: A book whose title or author’s name is an alliteration.
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
On my bucket list.


41. Succinct: A book with a one-word title.
Lolita, Vladimer Nabokov
My cousin read this and I feel I should too.


47. Just the facts, Ma’am: Non-fiction on any subject.
To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire, David Cowan and John Kuenster
Account of the terrible fire in a Chicago Catholic school. DONE
 

Cindyt

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Loved Alas, Babylon. The voice drew me in from the forward, and I boohoo'd throughout. What was spooky is reading about grocery runs--fiction and reality running concurantly.

2. Armchair voyages: A book taking place somewhere you have always wanted to go, but have never been.
France: The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

4. I spy: A book featuring spies or espionage.
The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad

9. Youthful exuberance: A first-person book with a child narrator.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

11. Interrogatively speaking: A book whose title is a question.
Whatever Happened to Janie? - Caroline B. Cooney

14. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald DONE 02/21/20

16. By its cover: A book you know nothing about, chosen solely by the FRONT cover (no reading the jacket flap, back cover blurb, or reviews).
Dragonfly - Leila Meacham

18. Out of Africa: A book taking place in Africa (including North Africa).
The Covenant - James A. Michener READING

24. Getting started: Read the first book of a series.
The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler

26. Face your fears: A book that intimidates you, for any reason.
Vertigo - G. S. Jennsen

30. Happy days are here again: A book published between 1945 and 1960.
Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank DONE 3/15/20

38. Loose ends: A book you started last year and haven’t yet finished.
Robicheaux - James Lee Burke DONE 1/15/20

40. Ripped from the headlines: A true crime book.
If You Tell - Gregg Olsen DONE 2/2/20
 
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Chris P

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I'm glad you liked Alas, Babylon. I read it way back in the 80s and still remember a lot about it. I get to the end of some books now and can't remember the main characters' names sometimes! Of course, I was a bit younger with a better functioning brain back in the 80s...
 

Chris P

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Amid a bunch of online trainings I've been taking, I finally got through Catch and Kill, by Ronan Farrow, which is my Ripped from the Headlines true crime selection. The book focuses on the investigation into the sex crimes of Harvey Weinstein, and Mirimax's efforts to keep them quiet. Their efforts being with a "catch and kill," wherein the accuser is caught with a large cash settlement and the story is killed with a non-disclosure agreement. When that defense begins to teeter, in comes the high powered lawyers, the scary phone calls, and the private investigator tails. In this case, Weinstein's friends in high places, including Farrow's employer NBC (which is soon to have sexual misconduct problems of its own) can be relied on to apply the pressure.

Although this book is a nice insight into this world, I think Farrow is too into this world, and as an outsider I found it hard to follow the dizzying trail of high-level names that mean nothing to me or to understand why their behavior (before their role in the cover up was revealed) was out of the ordinary.

I'm not sure what to read next. With the trainings out of the way, but locked up at home 23 hours or so a day, I'm sort of adrift. We'll probably go back to work once I figure out something I really want to spend time at home on!


Another’s Mother Tongue: Any book in the foreign language of your choice.
French: Short Stories for Beginners - various

Eyes to the skies: A book connected to weather, or with a weather-themed title.
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus

No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

By its cover: A book you know nothing about, chosen solely by the FRONT cover (no reading the jacket flap, back cover blurb, or reviews).
Cherry - Nico Walker Done

Better known for . . .: A book by someone who’s more famous for something other than writing.
Gristle: From factory farms to food safety - Moby and Miyun Park

Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character.
The Book of Unknown Americans - Cristina Henriquez Done

Loose ends: A book you started last year and haven’t yet finished.
The Gilded Age - Mark Twain and Dudley Warner

Tag team: A book by more than one author.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan

Ripped from the headlines: A true crime book.
Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow Done

Down on the farm: A book featuring farmers, agriculture, or taking place in an agrarian setting.
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture - Wendell Berry

What your great-grandparents read: A book written more than 75 years before you were born.
A Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

No hablo: A book originally written in another language (i.e., a translation).
Drive Your Plows over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk[/QUOTE]
 

mrsmig

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I finished The Song of Hiawatha and to be honest, did not expect to like it as much as I did. There was something very soothing about the insistent meter, and the language is certainly beautiful, in a melancholy way. I'm now returning to Arctic Dreams, which I put aside a couple of months ago, one chapter in.

2. Armchair voyages Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
6. Eyes to the skies
Rain: Four Walks in English Weather by Melissa Harrison DONE
9. Youthful exuberance
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson DONE
17. Better known for
Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives by Terry Jones and Ed Ereira
22. Setting sail
Waterlog by Roger Deakin DONE
25. Support the home team
- Chasing Danger by Richard C. White
27. Old world charm
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry DONE
37. Literary literal alliteration
Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem DONE
38. Loose Ends
Medieval Children by Nicholas Orme
40. Ripped from the headlines
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
42. You might also like
Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham
44. Epic Odyssey
The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow DONE
 

Chris P

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I'm glad you liked Song of Hiawatha. Perhaps I'll give it a shot. As much as I like purple prose, poetry in general is usually lost on me. Honestly, I am a little wary of writings from that time about Native Americans, but I'm probably thinking of James Fenimore Cooper's work and the problems with it. [Aside: Mark Twain wrote an essay "James Fenimore Cooper's literary offenses" which lampoons Cooper hilariously well, but of course doesn't address what we would consider insensitivities.]

I've gotten started on my What your great-grandparents read: a book published more than 75 years before you were born. I chose Oscar Wilde's Picture or Dorian Gray just because I've not read any Wilde at all other than a couple short stories ("The Happy Prince" is memorable, if sappy). So far it's quite readable and gets right into the story. Does it read like a play to anyone else, at least the first chapter? On one hand it moves quickly, but I sometimes get distracted imagining actors performing it rather than events playing out.

I also can almost guarantee my great-grands never read it unless it was translated into Swedish or Italian, which could be, or they read it much later in their lives (my last great-grand lived until 1980). Even so, they would have been more likely to read the more popular literature of their day. I recently learned about Washington, DC novelist E.D.E.N. Southworth, who was enormously popular in the last half of the 1800s and was the best selling American novelist of that time. She's all but forgotten today, so I guess the whole "commercial versus art" divide was true even back then--there was more to read than Wilde, Twain and Dickens! I downloaded the public domain ebook of The Hidden Hand, and might read that if I do a bonus round this year.
 

mrsmig

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I'm glad you liked Song of Hiawatha. Perhaps I'll give it a shot. As much as I like purple prose, poetry in general is usually lost on me. Honestly, I am a little wary of writings from that time about Native Americans, but I'm probably thinking of James Fenimore Cooper's work and the problems with it. [Aside: Mark Twain wrote an essay "James Fenimore Cooper's literary offenses" which lampoons Cooper hilariously well, but of course doesn't address what we would consider insensitivities.]

There's some stuff at the end that made me wince - where white missionaries show up and Hiawatha urges his people to listen to them because they're bringing the word of the One God - but overall it avoids the Noble Savage motifs that occur in most writing about Native Americans by white men of Longfellow's era.
 

Chris P

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I finished A Picture of Dorian Gray. Wow, that was good! Accessible, paced well, connectable characters, and some top-notch scenes. The Tweet-style synopsis (Dorian doesn't age but his picture does) simply does not do justice to what turned out to be a very heartfelt and actually spiritual story. At first, Dorian relishes in the fact that his avatar takes the brunt of his dissipation, and a mixture of curiosity and self-indulgence leads him down a path of doing what he wants, when he wants, without consequence. I saw a parallel with addiction; empowering at first and encouraged by enablers such as Lord Henry, but slowly whittling away at our very fiber, here Dorian's picture, until it's too late to undo the damage. I don't know if that's what Wilde had in mind, but that's what came to mind to me.


Another’s Mother Tongue: Any book in the foreign language of your choice.
French: Short Stories for Beginners - various

Eyes to the skies: A book connected to weather, or with a weather-themed title.
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus

No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

By its cover: A book you know nothing about, chosen solely by the FRONT cover (no reading the jacket flap, back cover blurb, or reviews).
Cherry - Nico Walker Done

Better known for . . .: A book by someone who’s more famous for something other than writing.
Gristle: From factory farms to food safety - Moby and Miyun Park

Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character.
The Book of Unknown Americans - Cristina Henriquez Done

Loose ends: A book you started last year and haven’t yet finished.
The Gilded Age - Mark Twain and Dudley Warner

Tag team: A book by more than one author.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan

Ripped from the headlines: A true crime book.
Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow Done

Down on the farm: A book featuring farmers, agriculture, or taking place in an agrarian setting.
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture - Wendell Berry

What your great-grandparents read: A book written more than 75 years before you were born.
A Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde Done

No hablo: A book originally written in another language (i.e., a translation).
Drive Your Plows over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk
 
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Cobalt Jade

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I like Dorian Gray a lot as well. True to its time, Gray's dissipations were largely left to the reader's imagination....
 

Chris P

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I watched the 2009 adaptation with Ben Barnes and Colin Firth, and there it was a sexual libertinism. That was hinted at in the book, and the opium den scene was pretty up front. All can be addictions, or things we initially revel in but keep hidden. I had to chuckle, though, where at midpoint Dorian travels the world, getting interested in gemstones, tapestries, etc. Oh, the scandal! Connoisseur of fineries! This part was overly detailed, so I skimmed and might have missed how these put him in contact with less savory folks and the lifestyle they lead.

BTW, the scenes in the opium den and Dorian meeting James Vane at the docks were superbly written.
 

yesandno

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I noticed the Out of Africa category and am hoping that in their searches someone has run across recent fiction about Egypt--particularly Coptic Christians in Egypt. I can't seem to find anything and I don't know it just doesn't exist or if my search skills are lacking. Sound familiar to anyone? TIA!
 

Chris P

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I noticed the Out of Africa category and am hoping that in their searches someone has run across recent fiction about Egypt--particularly Coptic Christians in Egypt. I can't seem to find anything and I don't know it just doesn't exist or if my search skills are lacking. Sound familiar to anyone? TIA!

Hmmmm! My Google skills are exhausted on this one. Are you looking for historical or contemporary? This novel appears to be modern: https://www.timesofisrael.com/egyptian-novel-explores-christians-under-controlling-church/, however Amazon turns up nothing so it might not be available in English.
 

yesandno

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Chris P

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Well, I hate to abandon two books in the same challenge, but I've done all I can do with The Gilded Age by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. This was my "Loose ends: A book you started last year and haven’t yet finished" selection. There are many reasons I couldn't finish this book last year, nor this year, and why it is one of Twain's lesser-known books: forgettable characters, loose plot, incoherent story line, and Warner's overly long belaboring of satirical scenes. I wanted to finish it because it's Twain, and because it's DC. I liked the scenes taking place in locations I know (and have seen in photos from that time period), and the overall satire holds up today of the special interests jockeying for Congress to fund their schemes. But, it could have been done in about one-third of the book's original 603 pages.

As this is the only book I started last year and didn't finish (or would even consider finishing), I swapped the category out completely and the random number generator gave me Three-Color Mythology: graphic novel or comic book.

Any suggestions? I'm considering Home After Dark by David Small, or Berlin by Jason Lutes. Any reviews from you folks? Or any other great graphic novels I should check out? (I'm not much for superheros, zombies or manga--just not my thing.)



Another’s Mother Tongue: Any book in the foreign language of your choice.
French: Short Stories for Beginners - various

Eyes to the skies: A book connected to weather, or with a weather-themed title.
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus

No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

By its cover: A book you know nothing about, chosen solely by the FRONT cover (no reading the jacket flap, back cover blurb, or reviews).
Cherry - Nico Walker Done

Better known for . . .: A book by someone who’s more famous for something other than writing.
Gristle: From factory farms to food safety - Moby and Miyun Park

Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character.
The Book of Unknown Americans - Cristina Henriquez Done

Three-color mythology: A graphic novel or comic book.
Berlin - Jason Lutes

Tag team: A book by more than one author.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan

Ripped from the headlines: A true crime book.
Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow Done

Down on the farm: A book featuring farmers, agriculture, or taking place in an agrarian setting.
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture - Wendell Berry

What your great-grandparents read: A book written more than 75 years before you were born.
A Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde Done

No hablo: A book originally written in another language (i.e., a translation).
Drive Your Plows over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk
 
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Cindyt

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I read almost four looooooong, boring chapters of The Covenant by James Michener. Life is too short. So, I dumped it for Naomi Benaron's Running the Rift. It's a novel about a long distance runner who flees from the Rwanda genocide. The first page was simple, yet it grabbed me.
 

Cindyt

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1. Armchair voyages: A book taking place somewhere you have always wanted to go, but have never been.
France: The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

2. I spy: A book featuring spies or espionage.
The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad

3. Youthful exuberance: A first-person book with a child narrator.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou READING

4. Interrogatively speaking: A book whose title is a question.
Whatever Happened to Janie? - Caroline B. Cooney

5. No Cliff Notes this time: A book that’s required reading in most high schools or universities.
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald FINISHED

6. By its cover: A book you know nothing about, chosen solely by the FRONT cover (no reading the jacket flap, back cover blurb, or reviews).
Dragonfly - Leila Meacham

7. Out of Africa: A book taking place in Africa (including North Africa).
The Covenant - James A. Michener ABANDONED
Running the Rift - Naomi Benaron

8. Getting started: Read the first book of a series.
The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler

9. Face your fears: A book that intimidates you, for any reason.
Vertigo - G. S. Jennsen

10. Happy days are here again: A book published between 1945 and 1960.
Alas Babylon - Pat Frank FINISHED

11. Loose ends: A book you started last year and haven’t yet finished.
Robicheaux - James Lee Burke FINISHED

12. Ripped from the headlines: A true crime book.
If You Tell - Gregg Olsen FINISHED
 
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Hi everybody! I haven't been on here in a while because the state of the world has been stressing me out and I've also been having to homeschool my child which is a whole new thing that I'm not sure I like. But, these last few days I've finally had time to pick a book back up, which is much needed. I finished "The Great Believers." I give it 4 stars.

The Great Believers 4-star review
This book takes place in the years 1985-2015. In 1981, the first AIDS case was reported. By 1985, the world was still very uneducated about it and people who had contracted it were very discriminated against for being diseased. I remember when this was happening. I was pretty young, but I have vivid memories of the AIDS epidemic when it first started and people being so scared of it.

"The Great Believers" follows the life of Charlie, Yale, Fiona, Nico, Terrance and Teddy. Yale is an development director for an art gallery in Chicago. He is working with Northwestern to create a very big art show that should make millions of dollars. This story really digs into the lives of all of these friends and how they struggled with the world through this epidemic. Being an outsider while all this was going on in the world was upsetting. This was what I feel a probably very accurate account of what people with AIDS went through during the 80's and 90's before doctors started to be able to treat it and medication was discovered to slow the processes.

I really grew to love the characters and connected with each of them in different ways. This book also brings to light how terrible humanity can be when they are uncertain about things. I've always been a person to say it and I will never stop. Please do not judge people because of things you see on the outside or because of the way that they are. You do not know their lives, what they have been through or what they have to do to survive on a daily basis.

I give it 4 stars because it took a while to get into. It also skips back and forth between 1985 and 2015. When books do that, it's always hard to keep track for a little bit until you get used to the rhythm.


1. Out of this world: Cibola Burn by James Corey

2. Tag team: Still Life with Crows by Preston and Child - DONE

3. Ripped from the headlines: The Shoemaker: The Anatomy of a Psychotic by Flora Rheta Schreiber - DONE

4. No hablo: IQ 84 by Haruki Murakami - IN PROGRESS

5. Succinct: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

6. Loose ends: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai - DONE

7. Face Your Fears: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

8. I Spy: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre - DONE

9. No Cliff Notes this Time: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger

10. Better Known For...Bossypants by Tina Fey - DONE

11. Mail Call: House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

12. Old World Charm: The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas - DONE
 

Chris P

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Verboten, that sounds like a great book. I too remember when AIDS got big in the news. I was in middle school, and between how little we knew and people being afraid to be real to kids about sex it was terrifying. They'd have school assemblies with an "AIDS expert" from the country health department, who likely had no more training than an afternoon seminar. Q: "Can you get it from kissing?" A: "We don't think so." Q: "What if you had a cut on your lip and kissed someone?" A: "We don't know." Q: "Can you get it from a toilet seat?" A: [laughing] "No." Q: "Why not?" A: "We don't know." They tried to be reassuring but came off as condescending. They would tell us "Don't worry" then spin a cautionary tale filled with so many "we don't knows" and "better safe than sorrys" we didn't know what to believe or who to trust.

I can't even imagine what those in the midst of it experienced, which is why these stories need to be told.
 

Verboten

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Chris P., it was a good story, but quite sad. I wouldn't have been old enough to understand all of it when it first came about, but I've read a lot about how people were treated. However, the information wasn't nearly as detailed as this book. I think I had an idea, but you never really know about how something like AIDS and how it affects people until you hear about the ones who were in the thick of it and experienced it first hand. This novel definitely opened my eyes to how much worse it was. I do remember a lot of the "I don't know." This book portrays that so many people reacted so negatively instead of just trying to find out more about it by getting to know someone who was going through it. I think it's how we react to a lot of things and we never really sit down to think how our actions or words may hurt someone else.
 

Chris P

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Cindyt: I read Michener's Mexico for the challenge last year. It was okay, but not his best from what I'm told. There is a reason he waited 25 years to publish it from that the insiders say--he knew it wasn't his best. I've not even heard of The Covenant. I like reading about Africa (I lived in Uganda for two years) but a Michener novel is quite the investment! The one you chose sounds good. I look forward to seeing what you think.