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Wondering what the GeekMoms have been reading this month? The list includes an inside peek at Seattle, a National Book Award Winner set in North Dakota, a touch of Neil Gaiman, and a memoir by the daughter of the drunk at the bar.
Sarah is still unable to sit still with a book that is of her own choosing for more than five minutes at a time. So The Wonderful World of Oz
This month Kelly Knox devoured Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple. The novel is set in Seattle, chock full of locales, attitudes, and even a weatherman familiar to any Seattleite. You don’t need to be a Seattle native to enjoy the book, though. The humorous novel is a collection of correspondences gathered by Bernadette Fox’s teen daughter, Bee, as she attempts to put the pieces together to explain her mother’s disappearance. Bernadette is a strong, somewhat strange personality, but she is likable and identifiable. Kelly loved the scene at the International Fountain — where she and her own daughter have visited many times before — as Bee learns that no matter what, her mother always has her back. Inspired by the fictional Bernadette Fox, Kelly wants to give her own daughter that feeling one day.
Laura just finished The Round House , Louise Erdrich’s National Book Award Winner. The book takes place on the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. Thirteen-year-old Joe’s mother is viciously attacked and he seeks justice, understanding, and a place for himself among his storied ancestors. It’s a coming-of-age story as well as a look at a pivotal issue on today’s reservations. This book is more accessible than some of Erdrich’s other critically acclaimed works. In other words, it’s a compelling read.
Laura is currently engrossed in The Midwife’s Tale , first in a series of impeccably researched historical mysteries by Samuel Thomas. This book was inspired by a midwife who lived in 17th century England. The main character, Briget Hodgson, is clever and powerful. She refuses to declare that a condemned woman isn’t pregnant, buying time to clear the woman of murder charges. Thank goodness the author is planning a series.
Sophie has been continuing her quest to read all the official X-Files novels with Skin by Ben Mezrich, a rather gruesome tale that will have you feeling leery toward skin transplants for several weeks after finishing. It sees Mulder & Scully travelling to Thailand to hunt down a mythical monster called, rather obviously, the Skin Eater. Hmmm, I wonder what it does…? Sophie has also made her way through Neil Gaiman’s Calendar of Tales , a series of twelve short stories published for free in conjunction with Blackberry earlier this year. She continued the Gaiman theme by beginning Stardust and is looking forward to beginning her book club’s latest choice, Stephanie Meyer’s The Host , very soon.
On the recommendation of her friend, author Jennifer Margulis, Kris bought Daughter of the Drunk at the Bar by Michelle O’Neil and devoured it overnight. The memoir is a touching, heart-wrenching and yet uplifting look at growing up with an alcoholic father and a reminder that (as the subtitle says) for every regular manning a barstool there’s likely a family at home. In the book, “Janie” grows from preschool age to adulthood, wondering what she did to incite her father’s wrath, wishing that her mother would – just once – protect her from her father, and finding tiny moments of serenity when everything seemed okay.
