DNF: The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
Published April 2017 by Random House Publishing Group
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:
A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi—and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes.

As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by political oppression—and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.

My Thoughts:
Before blogging, I read Kostova's debut novel, The Historian. Except for an ending that made me want to throw the book across the room, I thoroughly enjoyed that book. It was a wild ride combined with well-researched and well-written story. I was definitely looking forward to seeing what else Kostova had up her sleeve. But The Swan Thieves, Kostova's sophomore effort, left me flat. It lacked the adventure and pacing of The Historian that I was looking forward to.

The Shadow Land doesn't make that mistake; Kostova amps up the ride almost right from the start. That's exactly what I asked for, right? But you've got to buy into some pretty unlikely action and I didn't. I really did try to get past that, to allow Kostova to introduce me to Bulgaria, its past and its people. She's good at that and she convinced me to read nearly 200 pages while I tried to invest myself in the mystery at the heart of the story.

Considering the difficulty I've had falling into any book in the past few months, I might well have said to The Shadow Land "It's me, not you." That might well be true, even. Regardless, at that point, I couldn't muster the interest to keep reading. Given my reaction to this book and The Swan Thieves, it's likely that I'm through with Kostova. I doubt she'll miss me.

Life: It Goes On - May 21

You know what else goes on? The rain. I feel like I've been whining about the rain for weeks now! When we started planning the wedding, I wondered about ordering some handheld fans in case it was too hot. Now I'm wondering if we might need to order a lot of umbrellas and rain ponchos, in case it never stops being the rainy season!

I haven't necessarily been doing more reading lately, but I have been enjoying the reading more. Once the wedding is over, I may give myself permission to spend a week of evenings doing nothing but reading! I've been reading a lot of books with heavy themes - that week, maybe it'll be time for some chick lit, something light and fluffy.

My sister and her husband were up north for a couple of days so I got to spend some time with these two pups this week. They have a lot of energy so we played a lot of fetch and tug but they were missing their people so I got a lot of love, too.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: Slate Audio Book Club's discussion about Lincoln In The Bardo and a couple of episodes of This American Life; Ruby is still breaking my heart on audiobook; and live jazz music Friday night at The Omaha Lounge which is located in an old shoe store and still has all of the original fixtures and lighting. We'll definitely be going back there for the music and the atmosphere.

Watching: Some Grace and Frankie, The Voice (although, once again, I have some issues with the people who made it to the finals), some baseball, CBS Sunday Morning.

Reading: I finished Miss Burma and Notorious RBG and started The H-Spot. I'm finding, lately, that as much as I've really enjoyed the fiction I've been reading, it's the nonfiction that has pulled me in.

Making: I can't actually recall what we ate this week, except homemade mac and cheese with mushrooms and bacon.

Planning: Yeah, you already know the answer to this one. We did go and get the catering order finalized yesterday. The kids are having Mexican food and the place we're using is nothing fancy but the food is sooooo good!

Thinking About: How few days it is now until I get to see my kids again!

Enjoying: Lots of time with friends this weekend. Friday night we celebrated the birthday of the woman who introduced me to The Big Guy with a fabulous dinner then drinks and live music. Last night we had cocktails with friends at our favorite place in our "neighborhood." We knew that place was closing but were surprised to find out they had decided last night was their last night. Had to get in one last time!

Feeling: Surprisingly calm. For now.

Looking forward to: A four day weekend with the house to myself. BG is headed to Milwaukee with Mini-him for a bachelor's weekend. I've got a to of stuff planned to do but I'm giving myself one day to just sit.

Question of the week: Looking for recommendations for books I should read that week after the wedding when I won't be wanting to think to much.

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
Published: October 2015 by HarperCollins Publishers
Source: bought for my Nook

Publisher's Summary:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame—she has only tried to make the world a little better and a little freer.

But nearly a half-century into her career, something funny happened to the octogenarian: she won the internet. Across America, people who weren’t even born when Ginsburg first made her name as a feminist pioneer are tattooing themselves with her face, setting her famously searing dissents to music, and making viral videos in tribute.

Notorious RBG, inspired by the Tumblr that amused the Justice herself and brought to you by its founder and an award-winning feminist journalist, is more than just a love letter. It draws on intimate access to Ginsburg's family members, close friends, colleagues, and clerks, as well an interview with the Justice herself. An original hybrid of reported narrative, annotated dissents, rare archival photos and documents, and illustrations, the book tells a never-before-told story of an unusual and transformative woman who transcends generational divides. As the country struggles with the unfinished business of gender equality and civil rights, Ginsburg stands as a testament to how far we can come with a little chutzpah.

My Thoughts:
I have been wanting to read this book since before it was published, something like two years now. I may actually have developed the entire theme of my bookclub for the year as an excuse to make sure I found time for it (Family, Friendship, and Feminism).

This book grew out of the Tumbr account, NotoriousRBG; it grew out of...oh here, I'll let them tell you:

'This Tumblr began in tribute to Justice Ginsburg’s fierce dissent in a voting rights case, in which she acknowledged the long history, and continuing reality, of racial discrimination in this country. As she has said in another dissent, “The stain of generations of racial oppression is still visible in our society and the determination to hasten its removal remains vital.”"

I've been aware of Ruth Bader Ginsburg only about as long as most other people my age, that is to say since she was named as a Supreme Court Justice. Which is also to say that I must have been living with my head under a rock. Much of what makes Bader Ginsburg so beloved now, in addition to her fierce dissents to majority opinions of the Court, is her tiny stature and her, shall we say, advanced age. But those in the know have long known that this woman has been fighting hard for the rights of women (and, she would be quick to point out, for all people) for a very, very long time. Really, most of her life, first as a student fighting to get into law school, then to get every job she's ever had, and then on nearly every job she's ever had.


As for the book itself, the opening chapter, "Notorious," threw me a bit. I felt like we were beginning at the ending and I couldn't quite figure out where it went from there. And it did bug me quite a lot that the authors referred to Bader Ginsburg throughout the entire book as "RBG." Only RBG, never by Ruth or Bader Ginsburg or whatever nicknames for her her friends may use.

But the authors have clearly spent a great deal of time with the Justice, herself, as well as with her family members and those who know her best. Readers come away from the book feeling very much as if they know the woman who was known in her youth as Kiki. We learn about the great influences of her life, the great love of her life, the great achievements of her life. We also learn that Bader Ginsburg is a terrible cook, is as passionate about working out daily as she is about opera, and counted Antonin Scalia as a close friend. It's  clear from her body of work that Bader Ginsburg is also passionate equality of all people and incredibly devoted to her work.

Unbiased the book is not. But I think the title alone is fair warning that the authors are fans. RBG's legion of fans are surely more than happy with the book. I already knew RBG was a woman to be admired and a feminist icon. Now I'm certain that the woman is a national treasure.

Kate McKinnon is clearly another great fan!

Life: It Goes On - May 11

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there and those who have been like a mother to a child who needed one! We went to Lincoln yesterday to have lunch with my mom and dad to celebrate with her. Getting out of the house for a few hours is the best way for me to really relax so in a little bit Miss H and I will head off to a college baseball game to celebrate. Later Mini-him will come over for steak dinner. Wish my other two could be with us!

Realized the other day that the end of my five years for Classics Club was fast approaching and it was clear I wasn't going to get through the fifty classics I'd planned to get read in that period. I thought about leaving that page up on the blog as a reminder to get to those remaining books. Instead, I deleted the page. Who needs that constant reminder of failure when it was an entirely arbitrary goal? Sure, I should probably be reading more classics, especially since I already own them; but I'd much rather be reading what I want to read when I want to read it.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: Ruby by Cynthia Bond, read by Ms. Bond. I cannot believe this is Ms. Bond's first novel and I'm already aware that I am going to have a hard time putting into words how I feel about this book when it comes time to review it.

Saturday evening dinner time

Watching: The evening sky from the terrace of my brother-in-law's condo while we ate dinner on a beautiful Saturday night.

Reading: Still working my way through Miss Burma. Like Ruby, it's a tough read. I'll set it aside today to read this month's book club choice, Notorious RBG.

Making: A strawberry/rhubarb crisp with my first harvest of rhubarb for my dad and a peach crisp for my mom.

Planning: 45 days to go! I can't believe the wedding is only six weeks from now! I'm so looking forward to it but also a bit nervous that I won't be able to enjoy it because the control freak in me always has a hard time relaxing and letting things just be what they'll be.

Thinking About: My happiness project - I realized the other day that I'd completely let it slip by the wayside all of April and into May. I'm still going to work on the goals I'd set for May which is all about finding a contented heart.

Enjoying: Book mail! Best part of the books that arrived this week is that they came on my half day so they made their way into my office without The Big Guy seeing them. Thus, I avoided the "do you really need any more books?" question! I'm very excited about these books - so many have been on my wish list for years.

Feeling: Guilty about what a terrible blogger, and even more a terrible blog reader, I've become. I did have to resign myself to that continuing until after the wedding.

Looking forward to: Dinner with some of our oldest friends this coming weekend; they're coming to town to celebrate her birthday.

Question of the week: Summer is fast approaching - do you have any big plans for the summer?

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger
Published May 2012 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Read by Mozhan Marno
Source: purchased audiobook at my local library sale

Publisher's Summary:
Amina Mazid is twenty-four when she moves from Bangladesh to Rochester, New York, for love. A hundred years ago, Amina would have been called a mail-order bride. But this is the twenty-first century: she is wooed by—and woos—George Stillman online.

For Amina, George offers a chance for a new life for her and her parents, as well as a different kind of happiness than she might find back home. For George, Amina is a woman who doesn't play games. But each of them is hiding something: someone from the past they thought they could leave behind. It is only when Amina returns to Bangladesh that she and George find out if their secrets will tear them apart, or if they can build a future together.

My Thoughts:
Of The Newlyweds Ann Patchett said "Every minute I was away from this book I was longing to be back in the world she created." You all well know how I feel about Ann Patchett; when I grow up, I want to be Ann Patchett. So I feel like I missed something in this book when I say that I have very mixed feelings about it.

What I Liked:
Mozhan Marno's reading: Although she is American-born she perfectly captures the accents and speech patterns (well, at least I think she does - it sounded great to me) and manages quite a number of characters, each with a distinct voice.

Learning more about Bangladesh and it's culture: Four years ago, I read and very much enjoyed Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age about Bangladesh's war for independence from Pakistan. I referenced there the Concert for Bangladesh (George Harrison's and Ravi Shankar's first ever benefit concert). I got a kick, here, of hearing a character refer to that concert when he joked that he had been to Bangladesh, anyway to the Concert for Bangladesh. Like that character, that concert was my first awareness of this country and its very complicated history. Set where it is, much of the culture is similar to that of India and Pakistan. But for the Mazid family, their Islamic religion and village home add an entirely new layer to my understanding of the region. A good part of the book is set in Bangladesh which allowed me to learn about life for villagers, life in the city, and the complications when long traditions run into modern ways.

The way Freudenberger wealth with the Muslim religion: This book is set post-9/11 so Amina's Muslim religion plays a role in her relationship with George, what her family expects of her, and comes into play in the story of another character. But it never hijacks the story; it simply serves as another way to demonstrate the difficulties that relationships such as George's and Amina's face.

Seeing marriage through these characters' eyes: The publisher's summary says that Amina moved to America for love. But she didn't, not really. Their relationship begins more as a way to heal from other relationships but it's not like the usual rebound love kind of story. Amina likes George well enough but it's more about the opportunity to make a better life for her parents. And George likes Amina well enough. But because of the way that they met, because of the secrets that they are both keeping, and because of their very different backgrounds, there are well more than the usual number of adjustments that have to be made. Mostly by Amina who necessarily has to adjust to living in another country.

What I Didn't Like:
George's cousin: Kim plays a big role in the story but I just didn't care for her and couldn't understand the attraction that any of the characters had for her.

George, for that matter: Seriously, this guy seems like he's trying to be accommodating but he really doesn't make any changes in his life other than the occasional ride for Amina and learning to enjoy her cooking. How, I wondered, had he given the impression that he was someone she could learn to love and spend the rest of her life with?

Too much thinking: Sometimes it felt like we were spending much too much time in Amina's head, rehashing the same thoughts over and over.

I can't help but wonder, despite Marno's excellent reading, if I wouldn't have like this book more if I had read it rather than listened to it, if I had spent more than a couple of 25 minute blocks a day "reading" it.