Kate’s 2¢: “Any Bitter Thing: A Novel” by Monica Wood

“Any Bitter Thing: A Novel” by Monica Wood a

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   I downloaded this book because it is read by my favorite narrator, Martha Harmon Pardee. She did an excellent job of reading this story and kept me listening almost without stopping until the end. I liked having the prayers of the traditional Catholic Breviary begin many chapters.

A few take-aways:

–The human craving is for story, not truth.  

–Memory embraces its errors, until what is and what is remembered become one.

–The velvety between place…That cushiony , neither here nor there, where my senses both blurred and sharpened

 From www.monicawood.com

Monica Wood is an author of several novels, including ANY BITTER THING, a national bestseller1. Her writing has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, the New York Times and many other publications1. She was born on August 16, 1953, in Mexico, ME2. She graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in 1975 and from the University of Southern Maine with an M.S. in 19812. She is married to Daniel Abbott, a teacher2. She lives in Portland, Maine  with their cat, Susie.

   Monica’s newest novel will appear in 2023 from Mariner Books. Her most recent novel, The One-in-a-Million Boy, has been translated into 20 languages in over 30 countries. She is also the author of When We Were the Kennedys, a New England bestseller, Oprah magazine summer-reading pick, and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award and the Maine Literary Award. Her novel Any Bitter Thing was an ABA bestseller and Book Sense Top Ten pick. Her other fiction includes Ernie’s Ark, which has been excerpted on NPR’s “Selected Shorts” and selected by several towns and cities as their “One Book, One Community” read; My Only Story, a finalist for the Kate Chopin Award; and Secret Language, her first novel.

   Her widely anthologized short stories have won a Pushcart Prize and been featured on public radio. She also writes books for writers and teachers. Her nonfiction has appeared in Oprah, New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Parade, and many other publications.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Any bitter thing: a novel DB62828

Wood, Monica. Reading time: 9 hours, 44 minutes.

Read by Martha Harmon Pardee.

Family

Psychological Fiction

Recovering from a near-fatal car accident, guidance counselor Lizzy Mitchell thinks she hears the voice of her uncle, Father Mike–her childhood guardian who died shortly after he was falsely accused of molesting Lizzy twenty-one years before. Lizzy investigates the charges while trying to save her marriage. Some strong language. 2005.

Downloaded: March 6, 2024

Download Any bitter thing: a novel

Kate’s 2¢: “Another Country” by James Baldwin

“Another Country” by James Baldwin a

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…

   This book was published in 1962. I can imagine the up-roar it must have caused, as it exposes all of the social taboos of the time, except maybe one.

   I did not enjoy the story, although Earle Hyman did an excellent job of narrating the book with his authentic voice.

A few take-aways:

–He was controlled by laws he did not understand. Nor did he understand what force within this body had driven him to such a desolate place.

–A thin tired girl. Unwitting heiress of generations of bitterness.

–His recollections in no way freed him form the things recalled.

–The world is already bitter enough. We’ve got to try to understand.

–Most people have not lived.

He’d merely been taken in the outward adventure of life, in order to avoid the clash and attention of the adventure proceed within.

–Love was a country he know nothing about.Now they were all equal in misery, confusion, and dispare.

From the web:

   I gave up trying to find out more about this author. There were only books to purchase.

   The book jacket tells us he was born in NY and raised in Harlem. “Go Tell It On The Mountain”, Notes Of A Native Son”, and “Geovani’s Room””Nobody Knows My Name””The Fire Next Time” and three plays.

   Why wouldn’t the weg have more information about this prolific author?  

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Another country DB16421

Baldwin, James. Reading time: 14 hours, 43 minutes.

Read by Earle Hyman.

Psychological Fiction

A talented black musician, his beautiful sister, and his white friend strike out against the conventions of sex, race, and society. Violence and explicit descriptions of sex.

Downloaded: March 6, 2024

Download Another country