The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon (David Grann)

Hardcover

The "hero" of the book is Percy Fawcett, who became obsessed with finding the fabled city of El Dorado (which he dubbed "Z").  Such was his mania that, on his last attempt to get there in the '20s, he deliberately left obfuscating clues as to his intended route so that no one might get there first -- which, of course, foiled attempts to rescue him.

It was interesting, sure, but I so despised Fawcett that I had a hard time caring about his passion.  He was, pure and simple, an asshole with a one-track mind.  He abandoned his family -- in abject poverty -- for years at a time and held everyone he met to an impossible standard.  Because he was, by all accounts, blessed with a superior constitution, he had little patience for those who dared to get sick on an expedition.  He's definitely an imposing figure, but not a very sympathetic one.

It's doubtful I would've finished this if it hadn't been book club pick.

B-
Non-fiction #7

Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You (Sam Gosling)

Audiobook

Gosling starts off his book with a great anecdote about receiving a "mystery box" full of contents from someone's bathroom to examine.  He does so and deduces a lot, correctly, about the owner of the items.  That was cool.

Too bad that the bulk of this book was either obvious (people who put candy on their desks or have open doors and comfy seating are inviting others to stop by and spend time with them; they're probably extroverts!  those who close their office doors want to be left alone; they're possibly introverts!) or not in keeping with the title's hook.  I was interested in some of the studies, like the accelerated question/answer period that turns people into fast friends or the one that suggested that whites take special care not to admit noticing race whenever possible...but will drop the act if cash is offered -- but how is that about stuff and snooping?

This is basically a jumble of interesting factoids and studies about personalities and their manifestations -- but it's not a cohesive book.  Shoehorning a phrase like "as an experienced snooper" into the narrative dozens of times doesn't mean that there's much snooping really going on.

C-
Non-fiction #6

The View From Saturday (E. L. Konigsburg)

Hardcover

On the surface, this is a story about four diverse New York students, all of them "nice," coming together as secret friends who then become the youngest-ever middle school champion quiz team.

"The Souls," as they call themselves, are:
Noah - is an almost-abrasive know-it-all
Nadia - a transplanted Floridian with a genius dog
Ethan - a quiet wannabe theater geek born into a farming family
Julian - an out-of-step Indian who brings them together through tea parties

The team sponsor/coach is Mrs. Olinski, who's teaching again for the first time since the accident than made her a paraplegic.

Honestly, I was lost some of and bored most of the time.  All five of the characters narrate sections of the story and I couldn't keep the peripheral characters straight nor care about their character quirks.  Also, there seemed to be a desire to make it a bit "magical" -- Mrs. Olinski had been on the verge of choosing a different student over Julian to round out the quiz team and, somehow, The Souls knew this.  At the end of the story, Mrs. Olinski asks the group "Did I choose you or did you choose me?" and The Souls reply is "Yes!"  Uh, whatever.

D+

When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead)

Hardcover

Strange how a young-adult sci-fi/fantasy novel can ring truer than memoirs written by and for adults.  I knew nothing at all about this book going in -- and it really sneaked up on me.

Twelve-year-old Miranda is a "latch key" daughter of a capable, single mother whose own life is still on hold after her unexpected college pregnancy.  Although their apartment is somewhat shabby and their family unit somewhat unorthodox for its 1979 setting, they're happy enough.

Then things start changing for Miranda.  Her best friend Sal decides he no longer wants to be friends with her, Miranda finds a new friend in a similarly rejected classmate, she begins to have feelings for a boy, she meets a boy (possibly autistic) who doesn't readily understand the needs and emotions of others, and she also starts receiving secret notes from the future.

So much is tackled here: from racism to the difference in income levels to bullying that it's truly shocking, in reflection, how effortlessly all of the topics seemed to be handled.  I snapped this closed with satisfaction that a new classic has arrived.

B+

Thin Is the New Happy (Valerie Frankel)

Hardcover

I laughed in delighted recognition at the first several pages of this memoir. Valerie and I suffered the same -- completely unfair/ridiculous -- childhood torment of being put on a diet and forced to "weigh in" while disappointed parents shook their heads and sighed. Like Valerie, I was NOT FAT, but I did commit the sin of developing breasts slightly early and of not being able to shop in the petites section like the non-puberty-hitters whose classroom desks surrounded mine. When I brought my best friend home with me at age 13, my mother accused me of befriending the bona-fide chubster just so that I might look small by comparison.

But childhood is where the similarities between Val and me stop. She has spent a lifetime hating her body and accepting criticisms of it as her due -- at one point numbering her self-loathing daily thoughts in the hundreds. She regularly tormented herself by slapping her naked belly in front of the mirror so that she might bear witness to the ugly jiggle. Rather than rejecting her parents' methods of shame as a weight-loss incentive, she tweaked them to a more vicious level. She took a job with a fashion magazine and starved/snorted herself thin to fit in there. She then married a man who dismissed her, after their first meeting (at one of her weight low points), as "chubby" and, therefore, not worth calling. Her second husband (before marriage) told her he'd love her body more without the belly...and she calls him "the best" in her thank yous. Idiot needs to get a clue.

Apparently Val's now succeeding on her "Not Diet," and bully for her -- but I don't believe she's conquered her lifelong battle with poor body image. The real test will be if her next favorite piece found on a shopping spree is a size 10 rather than a size 8. Will she still crow? Will she still be "successful"? Has she learned ANYTHING?

C-
Non-fiction #5

Leonardo the Terrible Monster (Mo Willems)

Hardcover

I was absolutely charmed by this picture book.

Leonardo can't compare to the other monsters -- he's just terrible at being scary.  Because he's seen as more adorable than atrocious, he decides to give everything he's got to scaring Sam...the scarediest kid Leonardo can find.  Well, things don't work out quite as Leonardo intended.  Instead of scaring the tuna fish out of Sam, they each gain a friend.

How I wish this book had been around when my boys were in its target audience.  Guess I'll just have to settle for reading it to my grandkids.

A-

The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle #1 (Patrick Rothfuss)

Kindle/Paperback

Meet Kote: mild-mannered innkeeper in a nothing town.  But...wait up now...he's got a weird sword.  And he seems to be the only one who (secretly) knows how to deal with the giant made-of-rock demon spiders that invade the area.  And, wildest of all, he's got (dun-dun-duuuunnnnn) red hair.  I'm sure that Gary's as excited as I am that I'm finally done with this book as now he no longer has to listen to my constant stream of "And get this" commentary.

Kote's actually Kvothe, subject of bar stories.  He's famous for being super amazing in every situation.  When Chronicler (a dude who, you know, chronicles stuff) comes asking for his story, Kvothe decides that, sure, he'll tell it.  And then Rothfuss neatly deals with any continuity criticisms or poor storytelling by having Kvothe demand that Chronicler not change a dadgummed WORD, not even to clean up the narrative because this is Kvothe's story, dangit!

Kvothe is super smart.  He's super talented.  I get wish fulfillment...but to have a character whose only flaw seems to be that he is smarter than everyone else is beyond ridiculous.  I couldn't have cared less about this arrogant ass -- and even if I HAD cared about him, I was never even tempted to worry about if he'd survive/get out of a situation because 1) he's the greatest mind in the entire world ever and 2) he's fine.  He's sitting in his bar telling the story right now.

Super long and super full of itself without earning my time/attention by coming up with an interesting world or characters.  If this hadn't been a book club choice, I would've quit reading within the first dozen pages.

D+