Heading South

We're heading south soon and Lakeside Musing will be quiet for the next two or three weeks. I'm leaving my laptop at home (gasp!), but will keep up with your blogs on my old iPad. Commenting is cumbersome on that device, so you probably won't hear from me. 

I've packed only one book - Tigers in Red Weather  by Liza Klaussmann. It looks like a good vacation read, plus I love the cover. My kindle is loaded with books, too, of course. I'll see you sometime in mid-January… Happy New Year!

My 2013 Favorites: Nonfiction

This is my final list of 2013 favorites. I enjoy nonfiction, and always end the year wishing I'd read more. This year is no different in that respect, but it is unique in that all of my nonfiction favorites happen to be audiobooks. I also seem to have zeroed in on two main topics this year: food and the Kennedys.

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
by David Nasaw
narrated by  Malcolm Hillgartner
At 31 hours, this may well be my longest audiobook ever. Learning about Joseph P. Kennedy's life is essential to understanding the Kennedy mystique, and Malcolm Hillgartner is a new favorite narrator.

JFK's Last Hundred Days: The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President
by Thurston Clarke
Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner
An examination of Kennedy's last few months, from both political and personal perspectives. The unique format begins at Day 100 in August 1963 and counts down to that fateful day in November.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
by Michael Moss
narrated by Scott Brick
This book first struck me as nostalgic (remember all the great breakfast cereals of the 1970s?), but slowly drove me to outrage. If you eat, you must read this book.

Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation
by Michael Pollan
narrated by Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan has done it again. Cooked chronicles his three-year adventure learning, and trying to perfect, techniques involved in barbecue, braising, bread baking, and fermenting. Who knew he was such a fantastic audiobook narrator?

More yearly wrap-up:
My 2013 Favorites: Fiction
My 2013 Favorites: Audiobook Fiction

My 2013 Favorites: Audiobook Fiction

2013 was a great year for audiobooks! I listened while walking... on the beach in Florida, on the treadmill, and around my own town. I listened while driving, cleaning the house, and preparing dinner. Sometimes I even listened when sleep eluded me in the middle of the night. Audiobooks have added a new dimension to my reading, and every once in a while the combination of author's words and narrator's voice leads to an experience that is simply sublime. Each of these audiobooks was something special. Click on the titles for my review.

Calling Me Home 

by Julie Kibler

narrated by Bahni Turpin and Lorna Raver

The Good House

by Ann Leary

narrated by Mary Beth Hurt

Me Before You

by Jojo Moyes

Narrated by  Susan Lyons, Anna Bentink, Steven Crossley, Alex Tregear, Andrew Wincott, Owen Lindsay

The Other Typist

by Suzanne Rindell

narrated by Gretchen Mol


Honorable Mention:

Tess of the D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy
narrated by Simon Vance
When my interest in the print edition lagged, Simon Vance pulled me along with the audio version. Tess of the D'Urbervilles  ended up being one of my favorite books this year.

And I need to mention my current audiobook:

The Signature of All Things

by Elizabeth Gilbert

narrated by Juliet Stevenson

I didn't like Eat, Pray, Love very much and wasn't going to bother listening to The Signature of All Things, but Juliet Stevenson is one of my favorite narrators... and she's at her best here. At the 3/4 mark, I may not finish before the end of the year, but if I do, I'll probably regret not including it on my list. 

More yearly wrap-up:
My 2013 Favorites: Nonfiction
My 2013 Favorites:  Fiction

My 2013 Favorites: Fiction

Late December is, without a doubt, my favorite time of the blogging year. I love year-end lists... both reading yours and compiling my own. Typically, I wait until after Christmas to post my lists but, in anticipation of a short blogging break, I'm trying to wrap things up a little early. Here is my favorite fiction of 2013, listed in the order read. Click on the title for my review.

Mudbound 

by Hilary Jordan

…my book club loved it, too

The Burgess Boys

by Elizabeth Strout

…a favorite author tackles sibling relationships

And the Mountains Echoed

by Khaled Hosseini

…another winner from one of today's best storytellers

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

by Thomas Hardy

…redefined my idea of a tragedy

The Woman Upstairs

by Claire Messud

…readers seem to either love or hate this one

A Hundred Summers

by Beatriz Williams

…an utterly perfect summer read and my favorite cover of the year

The Age of Innocence

by Edith Wharton

…the last chapter turns this really good novel into a great one

Stoner

by John Williams

…my favorite book read in 2013

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

by Carol Rifka Brunt

…hard to believe this is a debut novel

I will post my favorite audiobook fiction tomorrow, and will turn the focus to nonfiction on Sunday. Stay tuned...

Wrapping Up 2013: Three Mini-Reviews

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
by David Nasaw
narrated by  Malcolm Hillgartner
Penguin Audio, 2012
31 hours
source: review copy from publisher

This is the best biography I've read in a long time and a nonfiction favorite of 2013. Joseph P. Kennedy was an exceptional man whose life intersected most major events of the 20th century. He was an outspoken (often to a fault), independent thinker who possessed extraordinary business and leadership skills, along with a strong sense of family, religion, and public service. Learning about Joe's life provides a foundation for understanding the entire Kennedy family.

The Patriarch  is a truly outstanding audio production. In addition to Kennedy's own Bostonian accent, Malcolm Hillgartner's wide variety of voices, including FDR, Churchill, and others brings this book to life. I loved every moment.

My rating:

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
by Julia Strachey
Persephone Classics, 2009
originally published 1932
119 pages
source: personal copy

Motivation: Classics Club Spin

I knew before beginning that this book was best approached as a series of vignettes and that made all the difference in my reading experience. The action takes place over the course of a single day - Dolly's wedding day. Friends and relatives gather at her home, head off to church, and eventually return after the ceremony.  Emotions always run high on a wedding day and in this darkly funny tale, much seems exaggerated. There is nothing especially memorable about this novella, but it  was pleasant way to spend a few hours nonetheless. The beautiful Classics Edition cover added to my enjoyment, too. I have yet to be disappointed by a Persephone title.

My rating:

Tell the Wolves I'm Home
by Carol Rifka Brunt
Random House, 2012
367 pages
source: borrowed from the library

Told from the perspective of a 15 year old girl, this stunning novel takes us back to that scary time in the 1980's when AIDS deaths were sky-rocketing and our understanding of the disease was in its infancy. June's beloved uncle dies early in the book, and as the family copes with his death, she forges a relationship with his partner  - a man whose existence she knew nothing about during her uncle's lifetime. Brunt nails the voice of a teenage girl, but I wouldn't necessarily call this a YA novel. Book clubs will find plenty to discuss with this title.  It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, I can't wait to see what Brunt writes next.

My rating:

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  It's been a while since I last participated, but this week's topic of newly discovered authors had me instantly composing a mental list . As it turns out, new-to-me authors comprised the majority of my reading this year so making this list was no easy task.

Favorite New-to-Me Author of 2013
(in no particular order, click on title for my review if available)

1.  John Williams:  Stoner  was my favorite book of 2013.
2.  Hillary Jordan:  I'm glad my book club selected Mudbound.
3.  Angela Thirkell:  High Rising, the first of her Barsetshire novels
4.  Claire Messud:  The Woman Upstairs was a 5 star novel for me.
5.  Beatriz Williams: A Hundred Summers was a perfect summer read.
6.  Jojo Moyes:  Me Before You certainly deserves all the hype.
7.  David Nasaw:  His Joseph P. Kennedy biography, The Patriarch, is outstanding.
8.  Elinor Lipman:  The View From Penthouse B... now on to her backlist!
9.  Ken Follett:  Fall of Giants kept me turning pages for two weeks.
10. Carol Rifka Brunt:  Tell the Wolves I'm Home is simply amazing.

Have you read any of these authors? Who have you discovered this year?

For more Top Ten Tuesday lists, visit The Broke and the Bookish.

Read-Along Fail: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

Read-alongs are the best, even if I ultimately fail to finish... as was the case last month with If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. I'd been curious about the book for years, and more than a little intimidated too, so was happy to learn of Care and Melissa's month-long project.

If on a Winter's Night A Traveler is basically a book about reading a book, or more precisely the quest to read a book. Each of ten chapters features the story of the Reader, and later the Other Reader, procuring a book and then the first chapter of that book. The book purchased in chapter one is incomplete, so the Reader tries to obtain another copy in chapter two, but it turns out to be a different book entirely. This continued for five chapters, the Reader still had no success locating the book he originally intended to read (If on a Winter's Night a Traveler) and I'd read introductions to five very different novels along the way.

In the end, I reached the midpoint early, took a short break, and then lost interest. Why? I was actually enjoying the book… which was strange because I usually run from anything even vaguely experimental. Somehow I had managed to relax, let myself go with the flow, and savor Calvino's language and cleverness. I had no idea what he was trying to accomplish, but was able to simply enjoy the ride. The first five chapters went very quickly so, not wanting to get too far ahead, I put the book aside and read my latest book club selection.

Big mistake.

When I finally went back to If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, I just couldn't get into it. This time the book beginnings just frustrated me and I became impatient with Calvino. Was it my own tension and impatience building over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday? Did I feel a need for closure? I'm not entirely sure, but will chalk this failure up to my own mood.

Overall, I experienced surprise, enjoyment, confusion, and frustration while reading If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, but ultimately, have no desire to finish the book.

I did learn two thing from this experience though. First, I am most definitely a "mood" reader and second, I have a hard time reading on a schedule. My mistake here was losing momentum. I should have just written the midpoint post early and kept on reading.

Let this be a lesson for the next read along.