Howling Frog Books

 A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir, by Lev Golinkin Here's my last Russian title for 2020!  It paired very well with the book I read earlier this year, When They Come For Us, We'll Be Gone , which was about the effort to get persecuted Soviet Jews out of the USSR.  Lev Golinkin was a persecuted Soviet Jew who wanted desperately to get out, though he was only a child. So: back in the 1980s, as the USSR was teetering on the brink of collapse -- though no one realized it -- the Golinkin family lived in Kharkov, in the eastern end of Ukraine (it's now known as Kharkiv).  They were Jewish, and that meant that they were publicly despised: the USSR proclaimed the brotherhood of all men, but they still required that your ID card state your ethnicity, and having "Jewish" on that line meant that you were subject to random quota limits and routine persecution.  Lina, the elder daughter, wanted to get into medical school, but the most stellar achievement

 I really like Erica's Broken Spine blog, and this year she ran a Reading Classic Books challenge that was fun to do.  I got all 12 done, and here they are: 1) Read a classic over 500 pages: The Fortunes of Richard Mahony, by Henry Handel Richardson (Ethel) 2) Read a classic by a POC and/or with a POC as the main character: The Dark Child, by Camara Laye 3) Read a classic that takes place in a country other than where you live: Virgin Soil, by Ivan Turgenev 4) Read a classic in translation: A Tempest, by Aime Cesaire 5) Read a classic by a new to you author: Subtly Worded, by Teffi 6) Read a book of poetry: Four Quartets, by T. S. Eliot (didn't get a post done on this one) 7) Read a classic written between 1800-1860: The Uncommercial Traveller, by Charles Dickens 8) Read a classic written by an LGBT author and/or with an LGBT main character: Passing, by Nella Larsen 9) Read a classic written by a woman: The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe 10) Read a classic n

 The Great Impersonation , by E. Phillips Oppenheim I have no idea how this wound up in my e-reader, but what a fun adventure tale this was!  It reminded me forcibly of The Riddle of the Sands (1903), in the way that you can see WWI coming over the horizon and what everybody is concerned about, but since it was published in 1920, after the war, it's really quite different.  1913, somewhere in German East Africa: Everard Dominey, a drunken, broken-down wreck of a disgraced English earl, meets up with an old schoolmate: Baron Leopold von Ragastein, a German who had an English education.  The two have always looked very alike, and they reminisce over drinks and tell their stories. Months later, Everard Dominey comes home, telling everyone he's turned over a new leaf.  He makes up with his wife, who has teetered on the edge of sanity for years, ever since Dominey fought with her stalker/suitor and came home covered in blood.  He's nice to his relatives, which he never was befo

The Apocalypse of Abraham and Ascension of Isaiah Some time ago, I happened to be reading about ancient scripture and the author mentioned "The Apocalypse of Abraham," which sounded intriguing.  With the magic of the internet, which has made so many old and difficult-to-obtain texts available to anybody willing to look for them, I found this Victorian translation of the Apocalypse and, as a bonus, "The Ascension of Isaiah."  Both of these are ancient texts that originally existed in Hebrew, but the only versions that survived into the present day were in Old Slavonic -- perhaps translated directly from the Hebrew, or perhaps mediated through Greek texts. "The Apocalypse of Abraham" is an apocryphal text that tells the wonderful story of young Abraham (in the first person), his realization that his father's idolatry is wrong, and a vision/conversation with God.  It comes in three parts: This is really pretty delightful.  Abraham's father, Terah, is

 The early part of the year seems so long ago and far away now that it is actually difficult to realize that I read some of these books this year.   Keely at A Common Reader ran a Russian Literature Challenge.   I read some great stuff, but this was also one of the challenges that really suffered during my slump.  I read eight books in total, which isn't bad, but boy howdy, I still have a lot of Russian literature on my shelf: Subtly Worded: stories by Teffi  Red Cavalry, by Isaac Babel The Unwomanly Face of War, by Svetlana Alexievich Virgin Soil, by Ivan Turgenev There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby, by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya White Guard, by Mikhail Bulgakov Resurrection, by Lev Tolstoy Rachel at Hibernator's Library hosted a History Non-fiction Reading Challenge, which I really liked.  I read 20 titles, of which 8 had something to do with Russia/the USSR.  I still have plenty of Russian history to read, but I did make a dent! Vasily Grossman a

 This fun little game has been making the rounds, so here's my version: In high school I was: the Scapegoat People might be surprised by: the Twilight of Democracy I will never be: [one of the] Last Ones Left Alive  (I'd get killed for sure, might as well wear a red shirt) My life in lockdown was like:  Nothing is True and Everything is Possible My fantasy job is: The Uncommercial Traveller -- or maybe a Mudlark! At the end of a long day I need: The Bookshop of Yesterdays I hate being: in the Forest of a Thousand Daemons Wish I had:  The Forest of Enchantments My family reunions are:  Tales of the Marvelous and News of the Strange At a party you’d find me with:  Robin Hood: Green Lord of the Wildwood I’ve never been to:  The Inland Sea A happy day includes: The Golden Thread  (I like to sew!)  Motto I live by:  Footsteps (that is, go for walks often!) On my bucket list is:  [Beside] The Ocean of Time In my next life, I want to have: The Castle on the Hill

Once again, I'm planning to participate in Bev's TBR challenges, of which there are two: the usual Mount TBR for books you own, and the Virtual Mount TBR, for library and other borrowed books. I'll be going for my usual Mont Blanc/Mount Crumpit goal of 24 books in each one.   Since I haven't been able to go to work or sort donated books for the past 9 months, I have done very well at both of these challenges; I haven't gotten nearly as many unexpected and new books (though I've still managed to add to my TBR bookshelf!).  I therefore read, respectively, 46 and 30 titles : Bill, the Galactic Hero, by Harry Harrison The Metal Monster, by A. Merritt  Siege Perilous, by Lester Del Rey The Case Against Tomorrow, by Poul Anderson Prisoners of Geography, by Tim Marshall Passing, by Nella Larsen Akenfield, by Ronald Blythe The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, by John le Carre When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone, by Gal

 The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, by Masha Gessen  This book is so good, but I had to put it down for a while along with pretty much everything else serious.  I'm trying to creep out of my cave filled with childhood favorites, but it's slow going.  While I don't feel guilty about this method of getting through 2020, I'm also looking back at the first part of the year and missing the amazing books I was reading then.  It's about time that I figure out a better reading balance. Masha Gessen uses four people's experiences to paint portraits of post-Soviet Russia, from the last days of Gorbachev's government through the hardening of Putin's regime into concrete -- it ends around 2015.   Gessen tries to understand Russian society and why totalitarianism always takes over, again.   There is fascinating discussion of the almost total lack of social sciences in the USSR; hard sciences were very prestigious, but disciplines like psycho

There is so much to write about and so little time before the end of the year!  Between books, wrap-ups, and fixing up for next year, I'm feeling a little indecisive about what to start with.  Then I go scroll through Facebook and utterly fail to write anything.  So let's get going already....  Karen requires a wrap-up post if we want to win a prize, which is a nice way to look back at some of the cool stuff I read this year.  I have to say, nearly all of these books turned out to be fantastic in their different ways, and I recommend any of them.  If I have to pick a favorite, it may have to be Red Cavalry , but I loved them all. 1.   A 19th Century Classic --    The Uncommercial Traveller, by Charles Dickens 2.  A 20th Century Classic --  Red Cavalry, by Isaac Babel 3.  A Classic by a Woman Author.  Subtly Worded, by Teffi 4.  A Classic in Translation.--  The Dark Child, by Camara Laye 5.  A Classic by a Person of Color. -- Passing, by Nella Larsen 6. A Genre Classic. -- T

 Victory!  I have done it!  I have read all 800+ pages of The Golden Bough .  Some of it was very interesting, some of it put me to sleep, and some was kinda horrifying.  I don't really buy Frazer's premise, but his premise is so inundated with a mountain of theorizing, speculation, anecdote, digression, and so on that it's quite hard to tell what it actually is. I don't quite want to finish this off with the extensive notes that I had for the other installments; I did nine chapters' worth this time.  But I do want to cover a few things.  Let's see what happens. LXI.  The Myth of Balder.  We're now going to take a trip up north and get into a completely new area -- the story of Balder the beautiful, killed by a dart of mistletoe.  And then he was given a nice funeral pyre. LXII..  The Fire-Festivals of Europe.  Since Balder was burned after death, let's talk about every kind of festival involving a bonfire ever, which is a lot.  After all, people like bo

Well, I have found one new 2021 reading challenge to join!  This year I did Russian literature/history (and not nearly enough of it; my pile is still tall), and now I shall do the World War II Reading Challenge at Becky's Book Reviews .  I have quite a tall stack of WWII books too.  They mostly cover Europe, from the UK to the USSR. I don't know if this is the official image or not So here are the rules: 2021 World War II Challenge Host: Becky's Book Reviews ( sign up here ) Dates: January - December 2021 Goals: Read, Watch, Listen, Share WWII related stuff Books Fiction published during 1939-1945 Fiction set during 1939-1945 Fiction that is about the leading up to the war Fiction that is about the direct aftermath of the war Nonfiction books about the War Biographies or Autobiographies with sections about the war Poetry or verse novels with a WWII setting OR publication date Essays, Articles, Op-Ed pieces historical-historical (straight up historical with no sub-genres) h

Hooray, Back to the Classics, hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate is still going strong!  You can check out all the rules at the sign-up post, but here are the categories: 1. A 19th century classic: any book first published from 1800 to 1899 2. A 20th century classic: any book first published from 1900 to 1971. All books must have been published at least 50 years ago; the only exceptions are books which were written  by 1971 and posthumously published. 3. A classic by a woman author. 4. A classic in translation, meaning any book first published in a language that is not your primary language. You may read it in translation or in its original language, if you prefer.  5. A classic by BIPOC author; that is, a non-white author. 6. A classic by a new-to-you author, i.e., an author whose work you have never read. 7. New-to-you classic by a favorite author -- a new book by an author whose works you have already read.  8. A classic about an animal, or with an animal in the title. Th

Everybody is already talking about next year's reading, and I can't keep up!   I'm only just starting to think about it and I don't know exactly what I'm going to change, if anything.  I've been pretty happy with my reading ambitions.        But I do know what I'm looking forward to in January, and that's the Vintage Sci-Fi Reading Month.   I love it so, and I tend to hoard books up for it.  Just a couple of weeks ago I found two Ace Doubles and I'm saving them for a treat!  I have a decent pile right now, but I'm kind of wishing for an Andre Norton title -- I got a fun kick out of the ones I read last year.  And, my clever sister found a treasure trove of old SF/F/weirdo stuff magazines available as PDFs, so I'll be dipping into that too. (I'm always hoping to find some James Tiptree, Jr. stories to read, so that seems like a good possibility!) My current pile has some re-reads on it, because I listened to a podcast talk about C. S. Lewi

  There's Something About Sweetie, by Sandhya Menon Hey, I'm back!  I've still been working on pulling out of my November reading slump, but I think I'm getting there.  And....I got a long-overdue blog makeover!  I love how it looks.  The images were done by Kat of Waffley Cute Designs , and I'm pretty thrilled.  On to the books -- I've enjoyed several of Sandhya Menon's fun and romantic YA stories now, and I say that as a not-very-into-romances person.  I barely put it down for hours!  This is actually a follow-up to When Dimple Met Rishi, and there is a third book as well, which I haven't read. Sweetie Nair is a track athlete, a talented singer, and also on the sturdy side.  In a world that places a huge value on being slim, she tries to proudly claim the title of fat athlete, and mostly succeeds -- except with her mom, who is forever harping on the need to slim down so that the good things of life will come to her.  Ashish is a basketball star who li

 Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide, by Grant Hardy I've read this book very slowly this year; it's fascinating, but it's also fairly heavy-duty.  Grant Hardy's complaint is that, in academia/the world outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, everybody spends so much time arguing about the origins of the Book of Mormon that they never examine the contents.  He proposes a different approach that doesn't need everybody to agree about whether the book is fiction or history: why not examine the narrative as we would a literary work?  The Book of Mormon has several different narrators, and we can examine their methods and motivations in the same way whether they were real or not. . ..if the Book of Mormon does not qualify as a literary masterpiece, it is nevertheless a complex and coherent work of literature, and its narratological strategies are of more than passing interest.  Professors in English departments are probably not used

 Network Effect, by Martha Wells OK, I love the Murderbot Diaries series.  It's fantastic.  This novel didn't disappoint and was so good -- and also set up for a good long run of Murderbot stories in the future, so yay! Murderbot, known in public as SecUnit, now works for Dr. Mensah on the independent planet of Preservation.  On the way home from a research mission with some of Mensah's family members, the ship is attacked and Murderbot, plus the teenage Amena, are kidnapped by some strange grey aliens.  It turns out that an old friend is in trouble, and so Murderbot is pulled into a very complicated hostage situation... It's a lot of action, thrills, angst, and weird alien remnants, plus Murderbot's difficult feelings.  It's nice to be with people who treat it like a person, but also that means they want to talk about feelings and....hug.  Ack. I love how Murderbot isn't a human, and really, really doesn't want to be one.  It's always kind of bugged

 14! Which gives me Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore, an intimidating brick of a mid-Victorian novel set in Scotland.  I hadn't realized that it's historical fiction, being set nearly 200 years earlier, in the late 1600s.   Doubtless there will be a whole lot of very Scots dialogue! Of course, when I googled the title to get a nice book cover image, the first thing that came up was cookies.  I don't think I've ever had a Lorna Doone cookie, but it is pretty funny to me.  When the cookies were first made and named by Nabisco, they would have been meant to evoke the romance of the Highlands.  Today, if you told almost any American that you were reading Lorna Doone , they'd think "...you're reading a cookie?"  The name would be meaningless otherwise. Scots wha hae!

 Hooray, it's that time again, and we're going to have a Spin!  This is the 25th Spin, which must be some kind of anniversary, right? We all know the rules (and if you don't, just click on that link up there), so let's get right to the list.  The Spin Number will be announced on Sunday, and the deadline won't be until January 30, 2021, so this is a good time to load up the list with terrifying doorstops of books!  Diary of London, by Boswell   The Gray Earth, by Galsan Tshinag  The Eustace Diamonds, by Anthony Trollope  Thus Were Their Faces, by Silvina Ocampo The Female Quixote, by Charlotte Lennox  The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo  The Well at the End of the World, by William Morris  The Black Arrow, by R. L. Stevenson   For Two Thousand Years, by Mihail Sebastian   Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens  Oblomov, by Goncharov Marriage, by (somebody...)  Stories by Nick Joaquin Lorna Doone, by R. D. Blackmore  The Four Quartets, by T. S. Eliot  The Imita

  A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking , by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) I only recently discovered Ursula Vernon at all, when I read Castle Hangnail in September.  After that, I kept seeing this book pop up on Amazon, but I didn't connect any dots until Redhead explained it all in her review and convinced me that this was a must-read.   So: T. Kingfisher is Vernon's pen name that she uses when she writes for adults.  I'd call this a YA book, but apparently publishers didn't quite know how to deal with it, so she just published it herself. Mona is 14, and a baker.  It's her job to get things started at 4am every morning at her aunt and uncle's bakery, and she is good at what she does.  Like quite a few people in her town, Mona has a minor magical talent -- hers is bread.  She can persuade muffins not to burn and make gingerbread men dance, that sort of thing.  And one morning, she goes into the bakery, and there's a dead body on the floor. The murder

 Solutions and Other Problems, by Allie Brosh Like the entire rest of the internet, I love Allie Brosh's cartoons and was more than a little worried that she had essentially disappeared for several years.  And indeed, it turns out that she was having a rotten time, what with the medical issues and the divorce and the tragedy of losing her sister.  Brosh also decided that cartoon-blogging just isn't a good format for her, so she put everything into a book, which is just as good as the first one.   Solutions and Other Problems is over 500 pages of text and illustrations, so there's plenty.  25 short essays talk about everything from childhood experiences to dogs Brosh has known, the odd neighbor kid, and her sister.  As always, half of the pieces had me laughing too hard to breathe, and several of the others brought on the tears. The first couple of chapters are available in their entirety if you preview the book, so I recommend that if you want to give it a try.  Anybody wh

The Moomintroll books, by Tove Jansson:  Comet in Moominland, Finn Family Moomintroll, Moominpappa's Memoirs, Tales from Moominvalley, Moominvalley Midwinter, Moominpappa at Sea ( I don't own the last , Moominvalley in November) We've all been feeling the strain lately, I know, what with the election and the Covid and the state of things generally.  I've reacted to it by reading nothing but the most comfortable of comfort reads.  The Russian history, the horizon-broadening literature, anything the least bit demanding, has fallen by the wayside.  I decided to take November off as far as events go, so no Australians (sorry, Brona) or non-fiction parties.  Instead, I have read at least six Moomintroll books in the last couple of weeks. I've long been a fan of the Moomins -- I discovered them in my mid-teens with a battered paperback of Finn Family Moomintroll.  That was about 1988 and they were at a low ebb of fame in the United States (and they've never been well