Wilson was hired to be one-dimensional.
1 Like
I think if there hadnât been that instant chemistry between the two of them (letâs leave it at âbrotherlyâ 
), Shane would have watered himself and his horse and ridden off â and might even have left Marian and Joe slightly annoyed because he had the gall to break off one of her petunias and stick it in his hat band.
Letâs pick a book for August, if youâre still with me out there. No westerns, I promise. 
2 Likes
I would still be interested in a couple from the last list. We can add them to this monthâs list this and see if anybody else is interested.
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
I read Dear Edward. It was nice, but I donât think itâs book club-worthy. At least, not for this crowd.
1 Like
From last time:
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
The Doctors Blackwell (non-fiction) by Janice P. Nimura
Iâm least interested in Dear Edward but still interested in This Tender Land. I have nothing new to add at the moment.
(I picked up Hamnet from the library yesterday. It took this long to make its way to me.)
1 Like
Posting some thoughts about the books. I have been following the discussion but didnât have an opportunity to join in until now.
I read both books very quickly (busy month, books werenât available at my local library) and so recollection is quite hazy. First time reading both books and neither wowed me. I think that a lot of people who loved the book, read it as youngsters when stories set in a very different time were enthralling.
True Grit
It was ok. I had fewer issues with the language and writing style than I did with the story. Looking at it from the adult womanâs perspective, I feel skeptical that a fourteen year old girl is capable of doing all that Mattie did. I did enjoy the dry humor of Mattieâs recollections.
The main characters are somewhat interesting and variably likable. Each shows a tenacity to stick with their course of action till they get results, and operate within their own set of rules.
Shane
I liked this book better. Of course, I grew up reading westerns; Louis LâAmour, Zane Grey and Max Brand were all part of the regular reading material available to me from an early age, thanks to my father.
The mythic Shane comes across as superhuman, perhaps due to the innocence of the narrator and the rose-colored glasses through which he saw his hero.
All members of the Starrett family fall under his spell â he is Joeâs bro (there were shades of something more), Marianâs wannabe(au) and Bobâs hero.
A man who was looking to belong somewhere found his place and people but in the end that becomes the reason that he canât stay. He has saved them but at the cost of his own peace.
Regarding the August book choice, I will abstain from voting. I have several road trips in July and August and donât anticipate having much free time to join the discussion. I will read the book if I can get it in time.
3 Likes
I also read The Doctors Blackwell. It was very good and I enjoyed it. I really enjoy reading about women who did things they werenât supposed to do, in spite of societal pressure against them. (Had I been braver in my youth, Iâd be a doctor today.)
2 Likes
@AnAsmom, thanks for your thoughts! I agree with you as regards Shane â heâs more myth than man, and thatâs on purpose.
As for Mattie Ross, she does seem savvy and brave beyond her years, but it never felt false to me. I love that about her andâto quote @VeryHappy out of contextââI really enjoy reading about women who did things they werenât supposed to do, in spite of societal pressure against them.â
Think of Malala Yousafzai at age 14! Or Greta Thunberg. Mattie Ross just seems like a regular, scrappy kid in comparison. 
1 Like
If Mattie was Matthew, a 14 year-old boy, nobody would think twice about it. Portis flipped gender on purpose. A âMattieâ adds that not-expected twist.
3 Likes
@mathmom suggested The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin a time or two ago. Goodreads:
Hugo Award for Best Novel (2016), Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015), Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (2016), World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2016), Grand Prix de lâImaginaire Nominee for Traduction (2018) (2019)
James Tiptree Jr. Award Nominee for Longlist (2015), Premio Ignotus Nominee for Mejor novela extranjera - Best Foreign Novel (2018), The Kitschies Nominee for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2015), Dragon Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel and Best Apocalyptic Novel (2016), Le Blanc Award Nominee for Melhor Romance Estrangeiro de Fantasia, Ficção CientĂfica ou Terror Publicado em LĂngua Portuguesa (2018) âŠless
It might be a good lazy-days-of-summer book.
1 Like
Iâll take off Dear Edward (given a couple of semi-vetos above) and add The Fifth Season:
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
The Doctors Blackwell (non-fiction) by Janice P. Nimura
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Looking at my want to read lists a couple stood out
Painter to the King by Amy Sackville
This is a portrait of Diego Velazquez, from his arrival at the court of King Philip IV of Spain, to his death 38 years and scores of paintings later. It is a portrait of a relationship that is not quite a friendship, between an artist and his subject. It is a portrait of a ruler, always on duty, and increasingly burdened by a life of public expectation and repeated private grief. And it is a portrait of a court collapsing under the weight of its own excess.
The Yield by Tara June Winch
Knowing that he will soon die, Albert âPoppyâ Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to pass on the language of his people and everything that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the wind.
August Gondiwindi has been living on the other side of the world for ten years when she learns of her grandfatherâs death. She returns home for his burial, wracked with grief and burdened with all she tried to leave behind. Her homecoming is bittersweet as she confronts the love of her kin and news that Prosperous is to be repossessed by a mining company. Determined to make amends she endeavours to save their land â a quest that leads her to the voice of her grandfather and into the past, the stories of her people, the secrets of the river.
Profoundly moving and exquisitely written, Tara June Winchâs The Yield is the story of a people and a culture dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of Indigenous language, storytelling and identity.
The Fifth Season is great, but itâs the first of a trilogy and Iâve already read it. Also this group mostly has not enjoyed the sci fi/fantasy choices.
This Tender Land would be first on my list. Iâve read Deacon King Kong already, but I liked it. The Yield sounds interesting.
Painter to the King does not appear to be at any public library in Massachusetts, so I think it will be too hard for people to get.
I agree: Painter to the King sounds really good but my library system has no copies.
We Begin at the End may be equally hard to get due to the long waitlist.
Hmm âŠ
First choices: Deacon King Kong and The Doctors Blackwell
Second choices: This Tender Land and Sharks in the Time of Saviors and The Yield
Iâd like to read The Fifth Season but I think @mathmom just semi-vetoed it.
Right now, my choices are either The Doctors Blackwell and Sharks in the Time of Saviors. The others are kind of blah to me at the moment. My preference would be Sharks because it would be easier to purchase used. I know that my library doesnât have either one of them. The Doctors Blackwell is just too new.
Prefer not to have Drs. Blackwell. Any other ones seem OK.
@ignatius just want to check with you, about We Begin at the End, was this the book you raved about last time ?
Also, friends are talking about Four Winds, page turner, Has anyone read this one, should it be considered for next selection ?
I read the Four Winds ( I got it at our library, which was a shock). It was a good book, but a bit depressing. I really liked it, and I guess I would read it again if I could get it at the library.