Week 2 1/12/2020 - 1/18/2020

As predicted, it was a very busy week and I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked. Instead of reading three and a half books, I read two and a half which is still pretty respectable considering that none of them are YA.

I went ahead and picked up the next Mary Russell book: A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King. I halfway predicted that Holmes' presence would have to diminish in order for the books to be driven by Mary Russell and that played out in this volume. While still very much a part of the narrative, Holmes really only appeared a handful of times. Mary stumbled into and led her own investigation which for quite a while didn't necessarily look like mystery. By the time the actual mystery became apparent, I was already tied up in the narrative about a women-led cult. In some ways I didn't like this book. I found the drug imagery involved in the plot highly disturbing and I didn't like the new romantic angle to the relationship between Russell and Holmes. Beyond everything else, it seemed strange to me the degree to which the plot centered on the topic of the Women's Liberation movement when ultimately the female protagonist needs a rescue from a male force. However, despite the couple of issues I've outlined here, it was a very good read. The post WWII women's movement in Britain was very interesting as are the feminist readings of the Old Testament that Russell is studying in the book. I've always found the deliberate translation errors/choices in the bible intriguing. The incidental education I just received in the history of heroine that I just received (and fact checked) was also interesting, if disturbing. Conclusion, not my favorite book, but interesting enough that I will be giving the next book in the series a try.

My other book of the week was Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. I collect Chabon books which is a little odd because I hated the first book of his I read. Rather, I was forced to read the book by a college seminar which didn't predispose me to like the thing. (I suspect I would end up with a  different impression if I read it now.) In any case, he's one of the authors that I collect. This book is a bit of a contradiction: it's short, it's a swashbuckling adventure, and the typeface makes it look like a YA - it is not. It's outside of of Chabon's usual areas of literature. It's good though. Before picking up the book, I knew nothing about the Khazar Empire. I still know very little, but it seems like a very interesting period of history. Chabon created two unusual main characters, Amram and Zelikman, who are one part philosopher, one part soldiers of fortune, and two parts scoundrel. For all that, they get quickly get embroiled in a revolution when they cross paths with a foul mouthed young princeling named Faliq. The plot was straightforward and quick moving, the language was lush and beautifully layered, and the humor was both wry and bawdy. In all I'm left with two pieces of advice: 1 - read it on a rainy day when you won't have to stop to attend to the interruptions of life  and 2 - this is not a intended for a young audience.

I suspect this upcoming week will be just as hectic as the last one however I'm going to try to get in three books at a minimum. I'm already halfway through Dreyer's English, so it feels like an attainable goal.

1. Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer (Finished 1/16/2020)
2. Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James
3. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi*
4. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater* (Finished 1/18/2020)
5. Delta-V by Daniel Suarez
6. Where Do You Get Your Ideas? by Fred White

*books that meet Book Challenge Requirements