Wednesday Reading Meme
What I Just Finished Reading: Since last week I've read 3 books: The Boys by Ron & Clint Howard; The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison; and The Book of Etta by Meg Elison. Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I just finished my book last night, so I haven't started anything new yet.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: My latest round of physical library books haven't been transferred yet, so I downloaded Olive, Mabel and Me by Andrew Cotter to read while I wait.
02. The Boys by Ron & Clint Howard
A memoir of growing up in Hollywood by the Howard brothers. Ron, of course, is known for The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, and later becoming an acclaimed director. Clint is his character actor little brother. This was more an interesting look at the Howard family than a typical tell-all. The boys’ parents made sure never to live above their means, only taking 5% of the boys’ income as management fees and socking the rest away for a nice nest egg to start them off in life as adults. Most interesting to me was learning about dad Rance Howard’s approach to teaching his young sons to act. Some of the lessons given seem simple (know where you came from and are going to before and after a scene, just as background information to inform your performance) but can be applied to writing as well, so I found myself almost taking notes.There’s no surprises here, just a solid tale of a strong family filled with lots of love and determination.
Dates Read: January 02 to 05, 2023
Page Count: 371
4 out of 5 stars
Around the Year in 52 Books - Prompt 19 - related to the arts (02/52)
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 6 - read 6 books by an author who is new to you (05/06)
Lost Challenges A to Z Covers - F - Fence (02/26)
Challenge Factory Dusty Bookshelf - January pick
03. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
When a plague wipes out most of the population and leaves women vastly in the minority and babies and most mothers unable to survive childbirth, a midwife disguises herself as a man as she attempts to survive in the world. This novel is told partially in journal entries, with prose filling in the blanks and an occasional shift to omnipotent POV to let us know what happened to some of the secondary characters and to offer glimpses of others around the country and the world. It’s a good approach that lends the book a universal air and helps with the world-building. I wonder if the author was influenced by Stephen King’s The Stand. It’s a grim and dark world, with men indulging their worst aspects and the rapists and slavers that one expects from this genre, but also there are glimmers of hope. And the unnamed midwife is human and flawed. She makes mistakes, but she never gives up.
Dates Read: January 06 to 07, 2023
Page Count: 291
5 out of 5 stars
Around the Year in 52 Books - Prompt 08 - author’s debut book
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 16 - read 16 books from your favourite genre (02/16)
Lost Challenges A to Z Covers - R - Road
Challenge Factory Finish What You Started - January pick
04. The Book of Etta by Meg Elison
The 2nd book in the Road to Nowhere series takes place 100 years or so after the Unnamed Midwife’s time, when her journals have become the backbone of the new civilization. The plague is still killing female children and birth mothers at an alarming rate. But this time Elison uses this backdrop to discuss gender roles and identity. While the Unnamed Midwife only posed as a man for safety in the post-plague world of female slavery and male brutality, Etta is trans and feels divided into two selves: the Etta she must be at home and Eddy, the person she becomes when she goes out into the world on raids, like her hero the Midwife, trying to save women and girls from slavery. In a case of “no matter how much things change, things stay the same”, women are forced into strict gender-determined roles, and ideas that challenge them are censored. Etta/Eddy has only hints of the time before from the Unnamed Midwife’s journals to guide her.
This was a fascinating story. The world building is extensive, though there are some missteps (I never bought into Jeff City, for example.) Unfortunately there’s a turn into the supernatural near the end of the story that comes completely out of left field and is completely jarring with the real world Elison has built. Not sure what caused her to go there, but I’m hoping it will be explained better in the third and final novel.
Dates Read: January 09 to 10, 2023
Page Count: 305
4 out of 5 stars
Around the Year in 52 Books - Prompt 20 - cover or title that includes a route of travel (04/52)
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 16 - read 16 books from your favourite genre (03/16)
Lost Challenges A to Z Covers - A - Asphalt (04/26)
Challenge Factory Finish What You Started - January pick
**
I've just spent an hour on hold with the bank because my Visa card was compromised. The woman at the bank says it will be credited within 3 business days "pending investigation." I've ripped up my card and should get a new one in 7 to 10 business days. So frustrating. This last 7 days has been one giant stress bubble. Now I will wander off to continue eating all the things.
.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I just finished my book last night, so I haven't started anything new yet.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: My latest round of physical library books haven't been transferred yet, so I downloaded Olive, Mabel and Me by Andrew Cotter to read while I wait.
02. The Boys by Ron & Clint Howard
A memoir of growing up in Hollywood by the Howard brothers. Ron, of course, is known for The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, and later becoming an acclaimed director. Clint is his character actor little brother. This was more an interesting look at the Howard family than a typical tell-all. The boys’ parents made sure never to live above their means, only taking 5% of the boys’ income as management fees and socking the rest away for a nice nest egg to start them off in life as adults. Most interesting to me was learning about dad Rance Howard’s approach to teaching his young sons to act. Some of the lessons given seem simple (know where you came from and are going to before and after a scene, just as background information to inform your performance) but can be applied to writing as well, so I found myself almost taking notes.There’s no surprises here, just a solid tale of a strong family filled with lots of love and determination.
Dates Read: January 02 to 05, 2023
Page Count: 371
4 out of 5 stars
Around the Year in 52 Books - Prompt 19 - related to the arts (02/52)
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 6 - read 6 books by an author who is new to you (05/06)
Lost Challenges A to Z Covers - F - Fence (02/26)
Challenge Factory Dusty Bookshelf - January pick
03. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
When a plague wipes out most of the population and leaves women vastly in the minority and babies and most mothers unable to survive childbirth, a midwife disguises herself as a man as she attempts to survive in the world. This novel is told partially in journal entries, with prose filling in the blanks and an occasional shift to omnipotent POV to let us know what happened to some of the secondary characters and to offer glimpses of others around the country and the world. It’s a good approach that lends the book a universal air and helps with the world-building. I wonder if the author was influenced by Stephen King’s The Stand. It’s a grim and dark world, with men indulging their worst aspects and the rapists and slavers that one expects from this genre, but also there are glimmers of hope. And the unnamed midwife is human and flawed. She makes mistakes, but she never gives up.
Dates Read: January 06 to 07, 2023
Page Count: 291
5 out of 5 stars
Around the Year in 52 Books - Prompt 08 - author’s debut book
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 16 - read 16 books from your favourite genre (02/16)
Lost Challenges A to Z Covers - R - Road
Challenge Factory Finish What You Started - January pick
04. The Book of Etta by Meg Elison
The 2nd book in the Road to Nowhere series takes place 100 years or so after the Unnamed Midwife’s time, when her journals have become the backbone of the new civilization. The plague is still killing female children and birth mothers at an alarming rate. But this time Elison uses this backdrop to discuss gender roles and identity. While the Unnamed Midwife only posed as a man for safety in the post-plague world of female slavery and male brutality, Etta is trans and feels divided into two selves: the Etta she must be at home and Eddy, the person she becomes when she goes out into the world on raids, like her hero the Midwife, trying to save women and girls from slavery. In a case of “no matter how much things change, things stay the same”, women are forced into strict gender-determined roles, and ideas that challenge them are censored. Etta/Eddy has only hints of the time before from the Unnamed Midwife’s journals to guide her.
This was a fascinating story. The world building is extensive, though there are some missteps (I never bought into Jeff City, for example.) Unfortunately there’s a turn into the supernatural near the end of the story that comes completely out of left field and is completely jarring with the real world Elison has built. Not sure what caused her to go there, but I’m hoping it will be explained better in the third and final novel.
Dates Read: January 09 to 10, 2023
Page Count: 305
4 out of 5 stars
Around the Year in 52 Books - Prompt 20 - cover or title that includes a route of travel (04/52)
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 16 - read 16 books from your favourite genre (03/16)
Lost Challenges A to Z Covers - A - Asphalt (04/26)
Challenge Factory Finish What You Started - January pick
**
I've just spent an hour on hold with the bank because my Visa card was compromised. The woman at the bank says it will be credited within 3 business days "pending investigation." I've ripped up my card and should get a new one in 7 to 10 business days. So frustrating. This last 7 days has been one giant stress bubble. Now I will wander off to continue eating all the things.
.