Books Read in August 2013
I travelled to Ontario in August to attend a niece’s wedding so a couple of the books I read were on my Kindle. I’ve wondered in the past whether I’ve rated books I’ve read on that device lower simply because it’s not my preferred reading experience. Both of August’s books rated 4 stars, though, demonstrating that I can enjoy Kindle reading.
You can find the single mystery book I read at the bottom of this post
1. I DO NOT COME TO YOU BY CHANCE by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Fiction, West African) 
This is the second book by a Nigerian author that I’ve read this year, and although I’ve given it the same rating I issued Half of a Yellow Sun, this one has a completely different tone.
Set in modern Nigeria, this book follows Kingsley Ibe, a young village man, who wants to fulfill the responsibilities of oldest son and is encouraged to do so by his traditional parents, who think that education is still the way to a well-paying job. But rapid changes in modern society have altered “the rules” and Kingsley finds himself turning to a black sheep uncle who involves him in 419 schemes. Despite the subject matter, this novel is almost light-hearted – and outstandingly enjoyable.
Read this if: you’re interested in those ubiquitous emails scams from the “other” side. 4½ stars
2. LIAR AND SPY by Rebecca Stead (Fiction, Children’s Chapter/YP) 
Rebecca Stead’s 2010 Newbery Medal winning novel When You Reach Me is one of my favourite children’s chapter books of all time, and so I went into Liar and Spy with unrealistically high expectations.
Georges and his parents have recently had to sell their house in Brooklyn and move to a near-by apartment. There Georges meets Safer and his younger sister, and reluctantly joins their spy club.
Liar and Spy reflects Stead’s straight-forward style, and understanding of youngsters in their early teens.
She builds suspense in a very believable situation and has, not one, but two surprises at the end. I highly recommend this for young and older readers alike.
Read this if: you enjoy well-written stories that appeal to younger readers because they’re not quite what they seem; or you’d like a book that both you and adolescent can read, enjoy, and discuss. 4 stars
3. I SHOULD HAVE STAYED HOME by Horace McCoy (Fiction, Vintage)
McCoy wrote in the 1930s in a contemporary setting. This story revolves around Ralph, a small-town hick who’s come to Hollywood to break into pictures, and his roommate Mona who is equally desperate to become a star. McCoy didn’t sugar-coat the reality of Hollywood life or the effects of the Depression on Americans of all stripes.
I’m not sure who approved the cover of this re-issue but I think it’s very much all wrong.
While I was reading this, I was thinking it felt like The Postman Always Rings Twice meets They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, so I wasn’t too surprised to learn that McCoy did indeed write the latter.
Read this if: you’d like a look at old-time Tinsel Town, stripped of its tinsel. 4 stars
4. UP, BACK & AWAY by K(im) Velk (Fiction, Historical, Time Travel, Children’s Chapter/YP)
Fourteen-year-old Miles undertakes a mission for an ailing elderly friend, and finds himself transported from today’s Vermont to the English countryside of 1928. There he must find “a girl and a secret”. With not much more than that to go on, he bravely sets out to fulfill his mission.
I loved this book and recommend it to readers of any age.
Read this if: you enjoy the time and setting of Downton Abbey; or you’d like to see how a modern teen can adjust to life—and society—of 85 years ago. 4 stars
5. A FEW GREEN LEAVES by Barbara Pym (Fiction, Vintage) 
Reviewer Trixie says: “After writing about London settings, Pym returns to the small country village of her beginnings. But, this village lacks the comfortable traditionalism of her earlier Some Tame Gazelle. Much of the book dwells on the changes that have come about in the English countryside by 1980.”
A Few Green Leaves is not depressing, however. It is instead humorously realistic about the incongruities between what people have been raised to expect and what actually is. I greatly enjoyed this, as I have all of Pym’s writings.
Read this if: you’ve read some other of Pym’s works and would like to see them “gel”. 3½ stars
6. ALL QUIET ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Magnus Mills (Fiction)
I read this book to earn 30(!) points in Semi-Charmed’s Summer Reading Challenge in the category of a book by an author born in my birth year (1954). It was my introduction to Mills.
The protagonist in this work is an itinerant handyman who lands in an Lakes district (England) campground at the end of the tourist season and is engaged by the owner for various odd jobs, most of which seem to involve green paint. As time progresses the jobs do indeed become ‘odd’. The reason for that is eventually revealed, along with an unusual end.
Read this if: you’re a Magnus Mills fan; or you’re in the mood for a literary ‘odd story’. 3½ stars
7. THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB by Will Schwalbe (Non-fiction, Biographical, Bibliophilic)
Although this could be said to about the books that Schwalbe and his mother read and discussed as she underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer, it really is about Mary Ann(e) Schwalbe: her life, and her battle with that cancer. If you know that going in, you might not find this as disappointing as I did.
Read this if: you’re interested in the story of one courageous woman who worked hard for world change, even through the unchangeable diagnosis which resulted in her death. 3½ stars
8. A WEDDING IN DECEMBER by Anita Shreve (Fiction, Women’s) 
This story turns on an odd premise: Bill and Bridget were college sweethearts who rediscovered one another at their 25th reunion. 
Bridget was already divorced; Bill left his family; they’ve booked their hasty wedding—Bridget has breast cancer—at a Massachusetts inn that another college classmate owns. Instead of inviting current friends and extended family, they have chosen to gather their college classmates.
It’s an improbable premise, peopled by the requisite stereotypes, most, if not all, with questionable morals.
Read this if: you’re thinking of attending your college reunion. It should be a warning. 3 stars
9. YOUR DAUGHTER FANNY: The War Letters of Frances Cluett, VAD
In 1916 Fanny Cluett, a nurse from Belleoram Newfoundland, volunteered to serve in the nursing corps in WWI France. During her journey, training, and posting in Europe, she wrote letters to her mother. Many of these have been collected and reproduced in this book, along with a foreword by Nfld politician Rompkey.
Read this if: you’re interested in Newfoundland history; you’re from the Fortune Bay area in Newfoundland; or you’re looking for a primary source document for your research on WWI. 2½ stars
Since I read only one mystery book in August, I’ve decided to include it in this post with my more general reading.
LEAVING EVERYTHING MOST LOVED by Jacqueline Winspear (Fiction, Mystery, series)
This is the tenth and latest instalment in the ‘mystery’ series featuring investigator Maisie Dobbs in 1930s London.
Two young immigrants from the Indian community in the city have been murdered. Maisie is hired to find the killer
by the brother of one of these women.
As usual, the mystery is secondary to Maisie and the other players in her life: James, Billy, and Sandra. These relationships and the growth of the characters is the main draw for me to this series.
Read this if: you’ve read the previous books in the series – it’s really best read in order. 4 stars
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