Sunday, May 31, 2015

Three In One: A Story of a Bird, a Woman, and a Man

H is for HawkH is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really excellent memoir. The author was really vulnerable about herself and the impact her father's death had on her life. She just pretty much lays it all out there. For me, that would be tremendously hard to do.

Additionally, the way Macdonald writes about birds of prey and their habits, was just so interesting and fascinating. Hawking seemed like a romantic sort of hobby to me, but it is really a lot of work for the owner. The building of trust between human and bird is a tenuous thing.

There's another layer of the story which is basically an autobiography of T.H.White, author of "The Once and Future King". The way she ties his story to her story was done pretty much seamlessly.

Her language is lovely:
"Looking for goshawks is like looking for grace: it comes, but not often, and you don't get to say when or how"
I highly recommend this book to the avid reader.


View all my reviews

Saturday, May 9, 2015

A Satisfying Tale

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour BookstoreMr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Webster: penumbra: something that covers, surrounds, or obscures :shroud (a penumbra of secrecy) )a penumbra of somber dignity has descended over his reputation — James Atlas.)
Until this very moment I had no idea what Penumbra meant, but after reading the last line of this book, I decided it had to mean something, and, what a perfect meaning it is.  It only adds to the smile of satisfaction I had when I read the last line of Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore.

I enjoyed every minute that I spent with Mr. Penumbra and his friends. What a mysterious place this bookstore is, and what curious people come to borrow the books from the “waybacklist”. Indeed, Mr. Penumbra’s bookstore is two bookstores in one. There is the bookstore that sells your “normal” books, and there is the “waybacklist” bookstore with books that engage and entice your curiosity. To tell you more would take away from the enigma that is Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore.

You will learn about Penumbra and his bookstore through the voice of Clay Jannon. Clay’s respect and affection for Mr. Penumbra and his friends grows throughout the story. Clay’s friends are intrigued by the bookstore and use their creativity to unravel the riddles that surround the bookstore. They are unique inidividuals who connect with each other through their relationship with Clay, and Clay’s relationship with Penumbra.

Some books just engage us from the first page all the way through to the end. I often speed through a book to find out what’s going to happen next! In my impatience, I will skip to the end and then go back and finish the book. Somehow, I innately knew that reading Penumbra in that way would ruin the story. I didn’t even want to rush through, but instead enjoyed each moment on the page in calm anticipation of what would happen next.  Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore was an entirely satisfying read.

View all my reviews