A Quiet Story With So Much To Say: Everything I Never Told You

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng is a quiet story, told in wisps, like smoke that too late reveals the raging inferno behind the closed door.

No one is quieter than Hannah, a member of the Lee family, each member of which is filled with unspoken words, unfulfilled dreams and unrequited longing.  Hannah may be the first witness revealed to readers, but this masterfully written story doesn't hinge on a single witness. Instead, Ng weaves effortlessly between each of the Lees, who, in turn and all at once, reveal nothing and everything, too often with a brief glance or deafening silence.

One morning, 16-year-old Lydia doesn't come down to breakfast. The only clue to Lydia's whereabouts lies with Hannah, who (like everything else) keeps it to herself. It takes a few days, but the Lees get their answer — and it changes their lives forever.

The story is told in fluid time: past mixes with present, smoothly transitioning between them, and allusions to the future are few and far between but still delicious nuggets that suggest that life goes on.

The intimacy readers have with the Lees is immediate, with a longing of its own. Readers long to know Lydia's whereabouts, they long to comfort those grieving — and they long to shake those who need to be awoken from their frightful slumber.

Ng does something that is, like the story, very subtle: she uses very little dialogue. Most of the characters express themselves through thought or memory, silenced by their own fears and apprehensions. The Lees don't talk to each other. They don't talk to other people. Do they have their own voices? Do they know how to use them?

Their lives are as small as their voices, their dreams as fragile as their silence. Can they dare to dream, to reach beyond what's been allotted to them by their small town, by its small minds?

The novel is set in the mid-20th century, which I'd like to think is a different time. I'd like to think we're more enlightened, more inclusive, less shocked by and less insulated from different cultures. I doubt current events would buoy my hopes. By seeing how things were, we can better see if how things are is how they really should be.

Part of my enjoyment is that I came to the story with little more than the dust jacket description, and the discovery of — well, everything — was rewarding. There is so much I want to say, but I don't want to reveal too much of its magic. It's an amazing read, and I recommend it highly.

Have you read it? What do you think? Let me know!

Autumn is Nigh! Read Fast for Your Summer Reading Program!

We're getting down to the wire here at the Summer Reading Club headquarters: the end is near! Well, the end of summer reading is approaching. (For this club, it's the Sunday of or after the autumnal equinox. This year, that's September 27, the first day of Fall for the Book!)

How are you doing with your reading? Have you deviated from your list, attracted by shiny new (or new to you) books? Or are you focused on what you want to read, book reviews be damned?

I'm cheating on my original book list. (As usual.)

I like the idea of a guideline, but I also like to deviate from my pre-approved script of reading when I read about a "great new book" from Book Riot, stumble across a great book in the library or one of my reading cohorts lets me know what's on their nightstand or Audible list.

Since Memorial Day, I've consumed about 3o books, and I have bookmarks in a few others.

Here are the books currently on my nightstand:

1. The Monk
2. Prisoner of the Devil
3. The Dalai Lama's Cat
4. Alexander Hamilton
5. Everything I Never Told You
6. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
7. Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Life 
8. The Book of the Unknown: Tales of the Thirty-Six

A couple of those books have deadlines  — I plan to meet one of the authors, for example, and I'm seeing a musical based on another of the books. The rest will be read when I pick them up, which is a nice way to approach a book.

 

How has your reading progressed? Are you keeping to your list, or are you veering off when something else good comes along? Let me know!

Recommending a Book That's Out of This World

As I write this review, I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm. I need to surrender and just start with a command:

Read The Martian. Go buy it now and start reading it. When you have to take a break from time to time, and you may, pop back here and read this review.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, here's my review: I loved this book. I would rank it as one of the best books I've read this year.

The buzz was pretty high from readers and reviewers, and I heard there was a movie in the works starring Matt Damon. When Amazon advertised the book for a ridiculously low price, I downloaded it to encourage myself to read it. There it lingered.

My friend Melanie and her son listened to it on a recent road trip, and her description intrigued me:

Remember that scene in Apollo 13 when the engineers needed to build a filter out of items than astronauts could find on the space ship? That's what this book is like, only even better.

My dad was one of those engineers who helped the Apollo 13 crew, and I always admired his ability to problem-solve and learn how to do and build anything. I knew I had to read the book.

I am so glad I did. I learned how to use my Kindle highlights just so I could re-read the good parts and highlight them for future enjoyment. There were plenty: not only was Mark Watney's personal records entertaining and honest, but his sense of humor was relatable and geeky. As much as I liked Mark, I admired him for his response to JPL on Sol 98 (2), when he was instructed to "watch his language."

The story was enjoyable but intense: Mark lived in a hostile environment where anything could happen to him. He could be injured or die, and I wasn't sure if I could trust Weir to write a story with a "happy ending," whatever that might be (and as the story progressed, that was harder to define). Also, the book was very technical and detailed, which was exhausting to read. Every once in a while, I had to set the book down for the day. (Those of you who are reading this review during such a break: Am I right?) Have faith in the author: he loves his characters as much as you do, and he remains true to them throughout the book.

Weir created many different characters who acted and sounded very different from each other. He also changed narration style from time to time, which was very jarring the first time it happened. However, the changes made perfect sense and strengthened the story.

Often, if I enjoy a book enough, I am loathe to see the movie — but for Matt Damon and The Martian, I'm willing to overcome that reservation. Personally, I recommend readers finish the book before watching the movie, in case any of the magic of Mark's intelligence is glossed over for a Hollywood tale. (Anyone who does the reverse, let us know how you liked that order.)

One last thought: I hope this book made you think about Mother Earth, about how we need to protect her because we can't live without her. 

Is anyone else in the Mark Watney Fan Club with me, besides Weir? Let me know!

Independence Day: Too Late to Apologize

In honor of the brave men and women who helped the United States of America become a reality, I offer a fresh look at the acts of sedition required for success — expressed in song.

Thanks to Soomo for such a revolutionary take on music and history. (Check out the video on women's suffrage: it will make you gaga.)

Summer Reading Update: Coming Along Swimmingly, Thank You Very Much

Fellow readers, are you spending enough time with your books this summer? I suspect I am falling behind, but I tend to do that when I have a lot of books going at once.

Below is my "completed" list  from Memorial Day weekend and my nightstand list.

 As you'll notice, a few books on each list were not on my original summer read  list, but I'm flexible in that way. There are a couple of shorter pieces, but as I noted before, it all balances out.

1. Start Late, Finish Rich
2. Picturing Grace
3. Divergent
4. The Three Monarchs
5. Moriarty
6. Station Eleven
7. Good Omens

Here are the books currently on my nightstand:

1. The Light Between Oceans
2. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
3. Stepmonster
4. Steve Jobs
5. The Descent
6. A God in Ruins
7. Second Life 
8. The Martian
9. Man Seeks God: My Flirtation with the Divine 
10. Alexander Hamilton

I have bookmarks in five of those books, so I may not finish them all tomorrow, but I'll have a cascade as I reach the end of some really, really good books.

Simultaneous reading doesn't always indicate boredom or slow books. Sometimes, like with The Martian, I can't take the relentless pace of excitement and revelation. 

(For the record, read The Martian this summer. You will be glad you did.)

How has your reading progressed? Are you keeping to your list, or are you veering off when something else good comes along?

Virus and Irony: Station Eleven in Review

It comes out of nowhere and takes the world by surprise, a new virus with a near-total mortality rate. What it does to humanity is devastating. What humanity does in its aftermath is fascinating.

In Station Eleven, watch the world through the eyes of people with connection to a single person: the world-famous Arthur Leland. Each has experiences that, when woven together, tell a fascinating, riveting story about hope and loss, love and fear.

This isn't a "science fiction" book beyond the idea that it's futuristic and involves the end of the world as we know it. It's the story of people trying to live in a world that is strange, cruel and beautiful. Emily St. John Mandel chooses an interesting, comprehensive cast of characters through which to see this new world, and it was amazing to watch the threads slowly create one of the most interesting, gorgeous designs I've seen in a while.

Much like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Mandel doesn’t try to tell the story of the plague on society beyond what the characters can tell us. I prefer it that way: the omnipotent narrator isn’t always welcome when a story can be told better in small ways. It’s the “a-ha” moments, the hints and ideas that slowly take shape, that are the strength of books told in such individualistic ways. I thought the connections wrought for the title were too thin, but it didn’t change the quality of the story or the value of the characters.

After you finish the book, be ready to spend an inordinate amount of time examining how you use the tools of your life and whether you could thrive in the post-flu world. And become determined that in the future, you will dedicate yourself to print media. Just sayin'.

This beats Alanis Morrisette's definition of irony: I read Station Eleven on my Kindle.

Reading, and Fine Print: Prime and 'Unlimited' as Reading Resources

Recently, I managed to wrack up a $30 Kindle book bill one month buying books priced at $3 or less. Now, $30 isn't huge in the grand scheme of things — I can spend that on a single printed book (sans latte) at a full-price bookstore. However, I am always looking for a great deal, so I reviewed my Kindle and Amazon reading and borrowing privileges.

I noticed some of my recent inexpensive buys were Kindle Unlimited or Kindle Prime books, which meant I could read them for free (with some restrictions).

Kindle Prime members are Kindle owners who may borrow a single book each month from a select list. Kindle Unlimited permitted readers to borrow, for a fee, an unlimited number of books each month from a select list. Between the two, I could read for three months on what I spent in a single month.


But was it really a deal? Were the books I wanted to read Unlimited to me?

The short answer: no.

The long answer: none of the 130 books on my Amazon book wish list are Unlimited.

My wish list skews toward popular fiction and non-fiction (at least, that's where I found them when I listed them). If I was paying a monthly fee to read e-books, I'd want access to books I would buy to read.


I checked for Kindle Prime books on my wish list and found the same: not a single one.

Now, to be fair, Kindle Prime borrowing books don't always display on non-Kindle devices, and I searched on a laptop computer browser. Perhaps the same is true of Unlimited books as well.

Typically, I do not shop on my Kindle, so it's not helpful to me if books are accurately tagged as Unlimited or Prime only when viewed on Kindle. I would prefer Amazon tantalize me with Prime and Unlimited books across all platforms — and perhaps lure e-reader enthusiasts to purchase a Kindle reader. (Amazon, please take note.)

Long story short, I am not subscribing or investing in Kindle book borrowing or subscription programs beyond what I already have. I have been spending a lot of time reading e-books lately, and I am weary of a few Kindle features that highlight an e-reader's limitations. I am tired of my Kindle telling me it's low on power. (That's my job, to be low on power.) I don't like having to use a sliding bar to skip around a book, and I haven't mastered the "jump to bookmark" feature. "Added features" such as first chapters of new books show as part of the book I'm reading, so I can finish a book but still show a few percent of the book left to read.

Having said that, I am not going to abandon e-readers completely: my Kindle gives me more than a hundred books at my fingertips, and I am grateful for that, especially when I travel.

However, I would prefer Amazon expand its subscription programs to include more of the books I want to read. I'd consider a subscription if the catalog was worthy.

What do you read on? Have you traveled cross-platform, and do you have a preference?