Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Two new books this week, both non-fiction, and a couple of my favorite subjects — food and birds.
New Arrivals
The Beach House Cookbook by Mary Kay Andrews from Tandem Literary.
You don’t have to own a beach house to enjoy Mary Kay Andrews’ recipes. All you need is an appetite for delicious, casual dishes, cooked with the best fresh, local ingredients and presented with the breezy flair that make Mary Kay Andrews’ novels a summertime favorite at the beach.
Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird by Katie Fallon from LibraryThing.
By incorporating information from scientific papers and articles, as well as interviews with world-renowned raptor and vulture experts, author Katie Fallon examines all aspects of the bird’s natural history: breeding, incubating eggs, raising chicks, migrating, and roosting.
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Let the Reading Begin!
Many of you are familiar with the Readathon, a twice yearly event which begins today at midnight GMT and continues for 24 hours.
Hundreds of readers are participating and posting on their blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram.
The Readathon starts for me at 7 a.m. Chicago time, and this is my eleventh Readathon.
I have yet to make a full 24 hours, but that is not necessary to enjoy the various events and be a part of a community of book lovers. Ideally, I would like to be on a warm island with lots of books, sunshine, and a good restaurant! Until that happens (haha) I will be reading in Chicago.
I will be updating this post throughout the Readathon.
Rather than fill my feed with posts that some of you may not be interested in, I will use this one post for my updates and mini-challenges throughout the day and on twitter at #readathon.
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Opening Survey
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I live in the USA in a suburb of Chicago.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
I always have such a difficult time choosing books for the readathon. Do I choose short books so I can actually finish one? I’m not the fastest reader on the planet! Or do I set one aside that I have been dying to read?
I’m starting the morning with Change Agent by by Daniel Suarez. It’s speculative fiction, a near-future biological thriller and a favorite genre of mine.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
My big bowl of popcorn in the evening.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I’ve been blogging for 10 years and have had a book blog since 2009. I’m an eclectic reader, gardener, bird watcher, amateur photographer and all around nature lover. I volunteer at the Forest Preserve as a wildlife bird monitor and at a bird rescue and shelter for pet birds in need of new homes.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
Once again, I would like to read Read More! I say it every time but I always get distracted by the challenges and visiting other blogs, but I enjoy the community of the event as much as I enjoy reading.
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Mid-Event Survey
1. What are you reading right now?
Change Agent by by Daniel Suarez.
2. How many books have you read so far?
This is my first book. I’m almost finished with it.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Next up, Good Birders Still Don’t Wear White. It’s a series of essays by well-known birders, aka bird watchers.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Oh yeah! Real life intruded several times. My birds wanted to be fed and cleaned, a few phone calls, and an unavoidable errand to name a few.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I haven’t spent as much time as I usually do visiting blogs and on mini-challenges.
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© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Almost wordless: Yesterday the apple tree burst into bloom. I have never seen this many blossoms on it.
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A Rapid Review
Publisher: Recorded Books | November 2016
Format: Audio CD | 7 hours | Rating: 4 stars
Audio Listening Level: Easy – Intermediate
A classic science fiction novel by one of the greatest writers of the genre, set in a future world where one man’s dreams control the fate of humanity.
What’s it about . . .
George Orr doesn’t want to sleep, because when he does, he dreams. Most of his dreams are meaningless, but occasionally he dreams that something has changed in his life or the world he lives in, and when he awakens, he finds his dream world has become reality. No one around him senses anything different, but he knows people have disappeared and history has changed.
George has been taking drugs in an attempt to suppress his dreams, but eventually he seeks help from a psychiatrist. Soon the doctor begins to realize that George really can change the future with his dreams and attempts to covertly influence him to make changes for the benefit of mankind. But the results are not what he intended.
What did I think . . .
The Lathe of Heaven was first published in 1971 and is set in Oregon in the year 2002. In this future, there is much poverty, racism, overpopulation, and despair. The climate has altered and it rains all the time. LeGuin was remarkably prescient in many of her visions and description of a future earth, including a changing climate.
This is a short novel with only three main characters – George, his girlfriend, and Dr. Haber. Using alternating points of view, the author sends a thought-provoking message about the consequences of playing god. And what can happen when you get what you wish for.
Audio production . . .
This is a newly recorded version of the book and is narrated by George Guidall. An audio sample can be found HERE.
As always, Guidall gives a believable performance. We feel Orr’s anxiety as he fears each new dream and the doctor’s arrogant attitude as he attempts to manipulate Orr. Other than the need to pay attention for the changing points of view, this is an easy and enjoyable listen.
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Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
© 2017 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Happy Monday! Only one book in my mailbox last week but I also received a couple of new audio downloads.
New Arrivals
The Animals’ Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Age by Marc Bekoff from LibraryThing.
A compelling argument that the time has come to use what we know about the fascinating and diverse inner lives of other animals on their behalf.
Audio Downloads
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins from Penguin Audio.
A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki from Random House Audio.
A sinister, sexy noir about art, motherhood, and the intensity of female friendships, set in the posh hills above Los Angeles, from the New York Times bestselling author of California.
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© 2017 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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I’m happy to see all the trees budding and blossoming even if it does mean allergy season is here!
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2017 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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A Rapid Review
Publisher: Harper | November 2016
Rating: 3½ stars
An evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer’s life—Felix Funicello, introduced in Wishin’ and Hopin’—and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it.
What’s it about . . .
Felix, an aging baby-boomer, turned 60 this past year. He is a film scholar and runs a film club in an old vaudeville theater.
One evening while setting up for a film, Felix is visited by the ghost of Lois Weber, a little known but innovative silent film director, and Billie Dove, an actress from the same era. They invite Felix to relive scenes from his childhood as they are magically projected on the screen.
The ghostly ladies return again and again, and these encounters help Felix gain a better understanding of the women in his life. He begins to look forward to his visits with Lois and her other ghostly friends.
What did I think . . .
I enjoyed the writing, and the ghosts were an interesting technique to allow Felix to travel back in time to visit with three important women from his life, but this story never really took off for me. There were some family secrets and drama revealed, and a look at feminism and the politics of the past, but nothing earth shattering or new.
I couldn’t decide if this book was intended as a nostalgic trip for baby boomers, or an education aimed at millennials. Either way, it was a pleasant read but not as engrossing as some of the author’s other novels.
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Source: Review copy provided by Harper.
© 2017 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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