Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Book: The God Of Small Things

 Book: The God Of Small Things

Author: Arundhati Roy

Pages: 333


This is my 53rd read for the year

This is the story of twins Estha and Rahel who live in India.  At 7 years old their world is trned upside down with a tragedy concerning their young cousin, Sophie.  At the same time, their mother has also in the midst of a scandal that will change them all forever.

This was an interesting book.  I can see why it won a prize.  It is crafted literature, and as one reviewer said "too brilliant".  The story got lost in the language style she uses for this book.  I had a hard time caring about the characters.  Or keeping up with her constant change in nicknames for different characters.  Overall it is an interesting story that you need to really be in the mood for and can read without distraction.

Stars: 3


Thursday, March 14, 2024

Book: Under A White Sky: The Nature Of The Future

 Book: Under A White Sky: The Nature Of The Future

Author: Elizabeth Kolbert

Pages: 272


This is my 52nd read for the year

In this non-fiction novel, the author explores the world we are creating.She interviews biologist, climatologist, engineers and researchers who are all trying to figure out what we are going to do as the globe gets hotter.  The interventions that are being explored are what are our hopes for salvation.

This was a pretty good book.  Unless you have your head in the sand, you are aware of the changes to our earth that are happening with climate change.  What is being done to address is a race against the clock.  As scientist explore ideas, the population of the earth continues to grow and along with it - a lot of problems.  Overall it is an interesting read - maybe a little dry from time to time, but I am glad I read it.

Stars: 4




Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Book: Kitchen Confidential

 Book: Kitchen Confidential

Author: Anthony Bourdain

Pages: 312


This is my 51st read for the year

This is Anthony's own story about his start in the restaurant business up until the publishing date of this book in 2000.  Anthony delves deep into the underbelly that is the kitchens in famous and not so famous kitchens.  He talks about who he learned from, and how that shaped him as a chef and a person.  What you read about his culinary world (sex drugs and bad behavior) may or not surprise you.

This was a pretty good book.  I really liked watching Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" on TV and that is how I came to know him.  He died not far from where we were living abroad in 2019, and since there I have continued to look into his culinary career.  This was the first book of his I have read (believe it or not he wrote a few fiction books as well) and I enjoyed it.  What I read about him didn't really surprise me.  He lived rough, loose, and on his own terms.  He is more humble in this book that I would have expected, but I think all people feel a bit "aw shucks" when talking about themselves.  

Overall a good book that will make you hungry for the delicious food he talks about.

Stars: 4


Book: Babel

 Book: Babel

Author: R.F. Kuang

Pages: 560


This is my 50th read of the year

I am going to just plop the Amazon review here for this book to save time
"828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.
Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence? "


I could not get into this book. I tried - I REALLY tried.  I had read Yellowface by this author and did not like it at all, so I probably went in thinking I wasn't going to like it.  Which isn't fair.  My problem with this book was it seemed to have way too many words to say very little.  It started out pretty good, and I was hopeful, but then it just went downhill.  I know what she was trying to do.  But this has been trope in a lot of recent novels and honestly - soap box in a novel that isn't non-fiction isn't my thing.  I just want to read a story.  And when the story gets lost and the soapbox takes over, I become disinterested.  This is a personal thing.  

Stars: 3


Sunday, March 10, 2024

Book: Freaky Friday

 Book: Freaky Friday

Author: Mary Rodgers

Pages: 144


This is my 49th read for the year

This is the story of Annabel.  She is tired of her mother telling her what to do.  She believes that when she is an adult she can do and think as she pleases.  When she wakes up on a Friday morning in her mother's body and her mother in hers, she finds out what it is really like to be not only a mother, but a mother to a child like Annabel.

This book was quite bad.  I borrowed it from the library for a reading challenge and read the original 1972 version.  It is not well written, and the story was a bit odd.  I KNOW this is a children's book.  But it just wasn't good.  There are a ton of Freaky Friday movies, but this was nothing like those.  Not that those movies are terrific, but they were more entertaining than this strange book.

Stars: 2


Book: Starter Villain

 Book: Starter Villain

Author: John Scalzi

Pages: 272


This is my 48th read for the year

This is the story of Charlie. He is a broke substitute school teacher who lives alone with his two cats  His older siblings are pressuring him to sell his dad's house so that they can move on from his death.  One day, Charlie gets a visit and told that his uncle Jake has died and left him his supervillain business.  Charlie is then swept into a life he never imagined fending off enemies of his uncle.  As Jake learns how his uncle Jake had started a war against the other supervillains and now it is Jake's turn to win it.

This was a pretty good book.  I have read one other Scalzi book (Redshirts) and really liked it.  This book is amusing and well written.  Silly, fun and entertaining, I sped through this easy read enjoying each page.  The ending was actually pretty good - even with some surprises I didn't see coming.

Overall a good book I am glad I read.

Stars: 4.5


Friday, March 8, 2024

Book: Mother Daughter Murder Night

 Book: Mother Daughter Murder Night

Author: Nina Simon

Pages: 368


This is the 47th read of the year

This is the story of Lana, Beth and Jack.  Lana - Beth's mother - has recently found out that she has cancer.  A high powered business woman who hasn't had a great relationship with her daughter, finds herself asking for help.  Beth has Lana move in with she and her daughter, Jack, so she can help her manager her chemo.  While Lana is staying wiht Beth and Jack, a man is found dead in the water.  Jack is a suspect because this man was supposed to be on one of her kayak tours.  As the investigation unravles, Lana finds herself deep into trying to solve what happened and to clear her granddaughter.

This is one of those books that I would say is not memorable.  It wasn't incredibly entertaining, and it was just a bit dull.  It wasn't a bad book, but it is going to be one of those books where I won't remember it far into the future beyond just having read it.  You can figure out the murderer pretty quickly, and honestly I really did not feel anything for any of the characters in the end to care that much.

Stars: 3