Bookish Chatter | Finishing a Series and a Prize List; Two Bedtime Readalouds

Wednesday! I have to admit that I’ve had a hard time figuring out the days this week; I’ve kept my notebooks close so that I could confirm my place in the space/time continuum. My blog keeps me grounded and honest! We are in the midst of a beautiful week with more warm and sunny days to come so my attention has been turned outside. Still – I have a few books to chat about today. I have finished a series that I started about a year and a half ago with many of my blogging friends and the short list of a prize that I follow. I’ve also finished two bedtime readalouds with my kiddos. So let’s catch up on my reading!

FINISHED THIS WEEK:

I have a lot to say about Tales of Burning Love, so please bear with me. Technically, this is the fifth in the eight book Love Medicine series, but I read them out of order and got to it last. I was so excited because it answered a lot of questions for me, especially the ones I was left with at the end of The Bingo Palace. It was like a missing puzzle piece. I was always a little skeptical about the necessity of The Beet Queen in the series, despite actually loving the book. That one kind of stuck out to me and didn’t quite fit in with the rest — until now.

In Tales of Burning Love, we see the convergence of Dot (The Beet Queen) and Jack Mauser’s storylines. Who is Jack Mauser? He is: 1) Fleur’s grandson; 2) the son of Mary Kashpaw and Awun Mist; 3) the man June married in that bar and then traipsed off to her death in the Easter snow; 4) if I say any more then I will be spoiling the book for you, but he is the culmination of so many plots from the original Love Medicine book and the resulting series.

This book cemented Louise Erdrich’s genius for me. How she pulled all of these characters together throughout eight novels is beyond me. It is absolutely worth the time to slowly devour this series and to learn about the lives of these characters. It will seem overwhelming at first, but the story deepens and strengthens with each book and family tree you encounter. It is amazing!

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Pod was shortlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction and I struggled through it. I almost abandoned it several times, but it’s relatively short so I decided to take it one chapter at a time and will admit to some skimming near the end. This book is set deep in the ocean with a wide range of characters, such as different species of dolphins, whales, and pufferfish. We see how the ocean life works together and need each other to survive, but we get a special look into the lives of dolphins. The main characters is Ea, a spinner dolphin who doesn’t quite fit in with her pod and flees when disaster strikes. It’s dangerous for a lone dolphin in the ocean and her tale is harrowing.

And yet – I was never taken by this story and never felt sucked in. I’ve never read anything like this so three stars for originality and Paull’s devotion to the environment, but my interest was never really piqued. This wasn’t a book for me but a few blogging friends have found it thrilling! I’d love to hear if it worked for you.

(PS: this was the last of the short list for the Women’s Prize for me! I still have a hold on The Bandit Queens through Libby and that will probably be the last book from the long list. I’m nearly finished with my reading for this year Women’s Prize – sob!!)

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Bryce and I mixed things up with our pre-bedtime readaloud and tried out The Castle in the Mist. The plot was really cool — a brother and sister are visiting their aunt in England when they stumble across a boy in a castle and lots of odd things happen as they get to know each other. This book was kind of creepy, which Bryce and I both enjoy.

The plot may have been fascinating but the writing left a bit to be desired. I never thought that I’d secretly hope he’d want to abandon this one and return to Captain Underpants! This is a series and I’ll pick up the second book at the library one day this week because I’m interested in where this series goes. It has a lot of potential!

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Bronwyn and I finished Ivy and Bean Take the Case last night. In this one, Ivy and Bean decide to try their hands at being Private Investigators and stumble across a real neighborhood mystery to be solved. I’ll be honest: I was just as perplexed as they were about what was happening. It was riveting. In the end, I liked how the girls solved the mystery. I’ve said it many times, but they are so silly and fun!

SLOW & STEADY:

I am still reading Doctor Zhivago! I took a week or two off but have returned and am so interested in this story. The first part of the book is set basically during the same time as War & Peace, but goodness. It’s so much more approachable! I’ve read almost 250 pages and Yuri (Doctor Zhivago) and his wife Tonya are on the train to the Urals, their sanctuary during the war. I’m fascinated by all of the political parties and am starting to sort through them. I’m also wondering how Lara is going to pop back into his life!

In my research for this book, I’ve learned that the story goes through WWII so there’s still a lot of ground to cover in only about 200 pages. I’m excited to see how this plays out.

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I’m currently listening to Instructions for a Heatwave and it’s perfect for this warmer weather. I’m just glad that it’s not as hot here as it is in the book! I finished Pod late last night and have to decide what to pick up next. I think it’s going to be Time Shelter. I started it in early April and fell into my reading funk, but I want to try again since it won the International Booker Prize on May 23rd.

What are you reading? What is occupying your time right now? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. I hope to be back on Friday with another update. Until then – take good care!