(2) Brief reviews - Quartet in Autumn; Barbara Pym and Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendship; Nina Totenberg

 

Quartet in Autumn; Barbara Pym

Plume - 1977

This is a book I had on my 2022 - 2023 Bucket list and, I am happy I had a chance to finally read it. 

Quartet in Autumn is the story of (4) older coworkers approaching retirement age: Edwin, Norman, Marcia and Letty.  Each is single, lives alone and except for work lives a mostly solitary life.  When the (2) women retire, the story takes a darker turn. Instead of the leisurely days one tends to associate with not having to get up ealy and go to work each day. the reader gets a glimpse at how sad and lonely a life without plans, dreams, hobbies  or friends can be.

I thought this story was very well written. Pym uses wry humor to which at times take away from what could have been a very depressing story.

Rating - 4/5 stars 

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendship; Nina Totenberg

Simon & Schuster Audio - 2022

Nina Totenberg had a long career as a prize winning reporter for the National Observer and NPR. Her professional career also led to a remarkable fifty year friendship with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

While I was expecting a book that would focus mostly on the author's friendship and professional relationship with RBG that is only a small part of the story. This book is a memoir about Nina T and it is fairly well written. but just not what I was expecting.  I admired how these women fought for a voice for advancing equality for women over the years.  There were some heavier, more personal insights as well: both women had to deal with the illness and subsequent deaths of their spouses.  While this memoir was interesting enough, I expect that readers who were looking forward to a focus on RBG will be somewhat disappointed. The audio is read by the author.

RATING - 3/5 stars

Brief Book Review - The Custom of the Country; Edith Wharton

The Custom of the Country; Edith Wharton

(Combo audio/eBook - library download)

Tantor Media (2011) - 16 hours 20 minutes - read by Lorna Raver - very good)

This was the first book I decided to read from the book bucket list I created a few weeks ago and, I was very glad I tried it.

This is a story about Undine Spragg, a beautiful midwestern girl who has dreams of climbing the social ladder. The thing is, Undine isn't all that high on the ladder to begin with.  She knows how to attract the men that she thinks will help her but, once she gets the man she "thinks" she wants, she is already wondering if there is someone or something better that she can set her sights on. She takes advantage of everyone she meets. From New York to Paris when she meets a millionaire that seems worthy of her, she stops at nothing to make him hers.  She doesn't realize when she tires of him, divorce will be considered a black mark on her going forward.   

A classic satire, the ending shows the reader that even in the end, not much has changed for Undine.  She is still every bit a user. She's vain, obsessed with clothes, jewels and social status.  Although this book is funny and entertaining at times, Although I enjoyed this classic, I found it impossible to root for Undine.

RATING - 4.5/5 stars

My Bucket Reading List through 2023

 

Lately, I've felt inspired to take that perpetual TBR list of mine a bit more seriously.  After all, I'm not getting younger LOL, so it felt like it was about time to think about some books that I've been putting off reading for years but ones that I really want to read and think I would enjoy.

I narrowed down a list of several hundred and came up with these (25) books as top priority - what do you think - are any of these ones you have enjoyed?  In all cases, I've never read any of these books nor have I seen the movie - if there was one. BTW - I currently own all of these either in print, eBook or audio format. (Note: (4) of these titles will also work well for this years RIP challenge.)

1. The Bonfire of the Vanities; Tom Wolfe 
2. Boy's Life; Robert McCammon
3. The World According to Garp; John Irving
4. Mystery and Manners; Flannery O'Connor
5. Flannery: A Life; Brad Gooch
6. Stoner; John Williams
7. The Summer Book; Tove Jannson
8. Shuggie Bain; Douglas Stuart
9. Hotel; Arthur Hailey
10. The Hotel New Hampshire; John Irving
11. A Room with a View; E.M. Forster
12. The Lacuna; Barbara Kingsolver
13. The Haunted Hotel; Wilkie Collins
14. The Making of a Marchioness; Frances Hodgson Burnett
15. The Price of Salt; Patricia Highsmith
16. The Jewish Husband; Lia Levi
17. My Brother Michael; Mary Stewart
18. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life; Ruth Franklin
19. A History of Loneliness; John Boyne
20. The Custom of the Country; Edith Wharton - 4.5/5 stars - completed (8/16/2022)
21. Dreamcatcher; Stephen King
22. Appointment in Samarra; John O'Hara
23. Post-Office Girl; Stefan Zweig
24. Quartet in Autumn; Barbara Pym - 4/5 stars (completed - October 2022)
25. The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Victor Hugo