The Lightkeepers, NOT The Lighthouse Keepers

Each time I tell someone about the book that I just completed, my first instinct is to call it "The Lighthouse Keepers." The title of the debut novel by Abby Geni is, in fact, The Lightkeepers. It's not until about two-thirds into the book where we learn the distinction. Our main character, Miranda, is reading a book given to her by one of the scientists on the islands.

It occurred to me that the book had not used the term "lighthouse keepers." I was glad of this. To do so would have implied that the primary task of those people had been to maintain a building, a human structure, instead, the book had referred to them as the keepers of the light itself. There was something important in that. Something fundamental... ...Perhaps there were only two kinds of people in the world - the takers and the watchers - the plunderers and the protectors - the eggers and the lightkeepers.

Miranda is a nature photographer who has chosen to live on the Farallon Islands, about 30 miles off the coast of California, to take photos for a year. Having never heard of the Farallon Islands, I had to quickly look them up, at the start of the book, to see what they were all about. In a word, wild! The Pacific is wilder there than at the coast, and the wildlife is truly wild. It's wondrous as well and Miranda sees and photographs things she never imagined she'd photograph. She's living in a cabin with the scientist who have been on the island for varying lengths of time. The scientists are like a family without the warmth. The relationships are revealed as the book progresses.

It's my habit not to read reviews prior to starting a book so I my first impression was that this book was going to be about how the adult Miranda is still trying to come to terms with the death of her mother when Miranda was 14. Yes, that was a big part of the book. But the book is also a thriller.

Thriller isn't a genre I'm drawn to but I suppose with the addition of nature and photography, I ended up loving this book. I found it difficult to get into. Some evenings I had trouble reading for long and not because I was tired. It's also not surprising that last night after finishing the book, I had terrible dreams about birds attacking. Yes, there are scenes reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds in the novel. If you're frightened of birds attacking, this might not be the book for you.

The story is told through unsent letters that Miranda writes to her mother who has now been dead for decades. I love her description of why she did mail some of her letters to the Dead Letter Office of the post office. The letters give us a chance to learn more about Miranda and how badly scarred she has been by the death of her mother.

I loved all the references Miranda makes to photography in the novel. About how painters and people who draw can focus on an event and then afterwards create a visualization of the event while photographers have to be focused (pun intended) on capturing the event in the moment. She talks about the purpose of photography. At the end of the book Miranda writes this:

I have imagined my pictures to be immutable and honest, as sure as the ground beneath my feet. But now I see the truth and photography are fundamentally at odds. A snapshot is a two-dimensional representation, like a painting or a sketch, carefully prepared, framed, and cropped. It is the world represented by the mind of an artist, rather than the world as it actually is. The photographer can cherry-pick what will be included in a collection of images; they can be selected or omitted with purpose, then assembled and arranged so that, as a whole, they might suggest any story at all.

As a hobby photographer, I understand her conclusion very well. It also reminds me of things I've read about Facebook, about people portraying their lives as better than they actually are, by only sharing the wonderful photos that represent their lives. It's no wonder that Instagram now has a way to add photos in "Stories." We can take the photos we think add to our story, we crop them and edit them and end up with the story we wish to present to our audience. I'm not sure if this message will resonate as clearly with people who aren't avid (okay, obsessed) photographers but it spoke loudly to me. I don't think this is the reason why I loved the book.

Until the very end of the novel, we only learn about the other human characters, the scientists living on the islands, through Miranda's eyes. As such, they remain sort of mysterious to us. The culture of the islands is that the past is not discussed. Maybe because Miranda is different because she's not a scientist, she gets some of the characters to share bits of their past with them. That adds to the thriller/mystery.

I was not surprised by the ending of the novel. In fact, I was able to predict how it would end pretty early on. I had to read to figure out how the plot would move from point A to point B. Since I'm not a regular reader of thrillers, I can't say if this would diminish the enjoyment to someone who is a thriller reader.

As I prepare to facilitate the discussion in my community book club, I am all set to do more research on the Farallon Islands. I'll add a postscript to this post if I learn anything that I think it very important or very interesting. When a member recommended this book for the club, she said that it might not be a book that the other club members would enjoy. I'm really curious to see how many enjoyed the book versus how many didn't... or how many didn't finish reading it.

I gave this book 4-stars on goodreads.com. I loved the book but it might not be for everyone.

Overdrive is driving me over the edge!

I used to love Overdrive. Now we've got this love/hate thing going on. I wrote about my issues with Overdrive several weeks ago when I had to uninstall the app on my iPad, reinstall and then create a new Overdrive account. In the process, I lost a bunch of books and access to one of my libraries.

Weeks later, I'm still having issues with the app on both my iPad and my iPhone. The book I'm finishing up now, The Lightkeepers by Abby Geni, has an unadjustable font size. What I loved about reading on the iPad was the fact that I could make the font a comfortable size for reading in any sort of light. The Lightkeepers stays tiny. No matter what I do. A more than 300-page book in print is reduced to 177 pages in Overdrive. That's small print for anyone!  (I wonder why I'm able to adjust the size of Dracula. Makes no sense.)

My second problem is that even after renewing A Breath of Snow and Ashes, the book I currently choose to read when I'm not reading a book club book, it shows up as expired in Overdrive. Coincidentally (and annoyingly), that's the book I lost when I was uninstalling and reinstalling. I got the book back... only now it's non-renewable! Talk about frustrating.

And the final problem I'm aware of right now is the fact that even though I've asked Overdrive to remember my library log-ins, it isn't. So each time I go to request a book or check on a hold, which usually happens in bed either late at night or super early in the morning, I'm forced to log-in. And of course all my log-in information and library card sit on my desk in another room.

The Overdrive app has been updated twice since I've started having all my problems. Each time I've updated, I've held my breath, hoping against all hopes that the particular update was going to solve my problems. So far it hasn't.

The ups and downs of technology.

A Man Called Ove

Sometimes when I know I can't make it to a book club meeting, I just don't bother reading the book. I'd heard so many good things about A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman so I was determined to read it no matter what. (It's probably a good thing that I wasn't going to the book club meeting since the book wasn't available to me until the day before the meeting. It was a quick read, but not that quick!)

A Man Called Ove is about a 59-year old Swedish curmudgeon who really comes into himself after two major life events, two losses to be more precise, and with the help of his new neighbors. The book proves my thoughts on life - that connection with others is one of the keys to a meaningful life. The reader gets to see that Ove's life takes on new meaning once he's personally connected to his neighbors, both young and old.

One thing that struck me as I was reading the book was that Ove is 59 years old. Now that isn't old! I had to remind myself frequently that I wasn't reading a book about an 80-year old man. He's... well, he's... okay, basically my age. One point made in the book is that life looks different when you're looking at your future life being shorter than what you can look back upon. But that doesn't mean that you're old - or that life is over. I took it as a reminder that I need to live life as best I can until the last possible minute. Frankly, some people are just old souls and I believe that with Ove's fairly sad upbringing, he was naturally an old soul with a strong sense of right and wrong.

I loved the cast of characters. I loved getting to know Ove's neighbors (both people and animals) and I loved the nicknames he called each one of them by, sometimes in his head, sometimes out loud. I loved that they were able to draw together as a community after so many years of being disconnected. I could very easily picture Ove's friendship with Rune, the man a few houses down who moved in with his wife the same day that Ove and his wife moved in, years earlier.

Ove's changes were realistic. People can change. Sometimes it's too late but other times it's not too late. Ove's story is somewhere in between.

The book is humorous at times and bittersweet at others. It was a quick easy read and I'd recommend it to nearly anyone who enjoys reading character studies. 

I love talking books

The other day I was talking to my older daughter and at one point realized that we'd been talking about books for a good chunk of the conversation. I interrupted her and said, "I love talking books with you!" And I do.

I've mentioned that my husband doesn't like to read. Of my three children, this one, my older daughter, is the only real reader. She loves to read. Finally. She didn't love to read as a kid. But now she does, and I'm thrilled.

I love hearing her say, "Mom, you need to read the book I'm reading. You'd love it." Even though she's a relatively new reader, she has a good sense of what I would and wouldn't like to read.

The first book that she recommended is the one she's reading now, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery. Her description reminds me of The Elephant Whisperer. This one might be a good one to suggest at my January community book club meeting when we suggest books we might want to read in the coming year. I might try to read it first myself.

I'm not going to mention the title of the other book. It's a political book. She and I lean the same way, we talk politics (lately) as much as we talk about books. It's not a book I would ever recommend to anyone since I don't care to discuss politics with most people. The description of the second book sounds like another one I'd like to read.

Too many books, so little time!

How many books are too many books?

Wow, this hasn't happened in quite awhile. That I have 4 books to read at the same time. Sort of.

I've been happily reading A Breath of Snow and Ice since my Overdrive fiasco last week. Pleasure reading of a book I'm reading only because I want to read it! I'm making slow and steady progress but it's a really big fat book! I wouldn't expect to finish it before the ebook expires.

Yesterday, I was finally able to pick up A Man Called Ove from the library. It's a print book so I can't read it in bed at night. I sat outside in the sunshine yesterday and read the first two chapters.

Later that afternoon, when I checked my email, I learned that The Lightkeepers, my November book club title for my community book club, was available to read. So last night when I went to bed, I started reading that.

Seriously. Three books. I haven't done this in... well... maybe forever. Back when I was doing three books at a time, one was an audio book, one was a print book and the third was a kids' book. Not three adult books at the same time!

Plus... I've got Dracula, my October Books & Beer Club title, downloaded onto my iPad as well. (Found it free on amazon. At least that one book doesn't have a due date.)

I struggled last night to decide how and when to read all these books. Since I need to get the book club books read and I want to get book #6 of Outlander read, too. It helps that I'm going on a trip involving air travel.

Here's the plan:

• Outlander is due in 6 days. I'll read that at night for the next 6 days, trying to get as far into the book as I can. (There's not a whole lot of difference dropping an Outlander book in the middle - or taking a break between books.)
• I'll read A Man Called Ove at the airports and on the airplanes. It's not a long book. I should be able to finish it in the 7 or so hours I'll have.
• Once Outlander expires off my iPad, I'll read The Lightkeepers. I should be able to finish that in the 2 weeks I'll have left before it expires. I have a feeling that by default I'm going to be leading that book club discussion.
• When to read Dracula, the one title that I don't really care about reading except that I love attending Books & Beer and wouldn't attend if I hadn't read the book? That's the question that remains.

E-Readers... or Something I Never Thought I'd See

I spent several hours yesterday afternoon on the verge of tears. Why? Because I couldn't get the Overdrive app on my iPad to work. I never thought I'd become so reliant on an e-reader. Ever. I mean... I love the feel of a print book. I love being the first person to read a new book. I love the touch of the pages. I love the smell of a book. It's a sensory experience that I thought I'd never been willing to give up. But gradually over time, I did. I probably only read about 2 or 3 print books per year.

There are three things I like most about e-readers (and possibly the only three things I really like about them).

1. I read books on my iPad. I have four different apps for reading: Overdrive, 3M (which I think is now called something else), Kindle and Nook. I carry one device with me, that I would be carrying any, and I have an unlimited library of books to read. As long as I have wifi, I can get new books. But even without wifi, I have a nice little library of books I've picked up here and there already on my device. I no longer have the fear of running out of books to read while away from home.
2. I can read in bed at night without having the light on. The light coming from my e-reader doesn't bother the guy I share my bedroom with as much as my book light used to bother him. And I can see better.
3. I like being able to adjust the size of the font of the print. My eyes just aren't what they used to be.

As I wrote, I've gotten more and more attached to my e-reader. I got a little bothered when on Saturday my e-reader got a little sluggish. It took quite a lot longer to "turn the pages" than it had previously. On Sunday, I got a little worried when the problem of turning pages became much worse. Did I really want to wait minutes between finishing one page and starting the next? You're right. No, I did not.

On Monday morning, I could no longer open the book I was trying to read. It was time for some serious trouble shooting. 

Step One: Close the app. Reopen. Have problems gone away? NO

Step Two: Restart the iPad. Turn it completely off. Turn it back on. Open the app. Have problems gone away? NO

Step Three: Delete the app and redownload. Be sure you have your password so you can sign back in. Okie dokie.

It was certainly easy enough to delete the app and redownload it. Easy peasy. 

Then the trouble began. I had to log into Overdrive again. I had my Adobe password which is how I thought I'd logged in to Overdrive in the first place  Only when I went to log in, my Adobe password did nothing. Nothing. I was able to see which email was associated with Overdrive right there on the app. I clicked on "Forgot your password," typed in my password and got the response that I had no account associated with that email. Really? What's going on here?

I searched my password books for Overdrive. I'd never written down a password for Overdrive. Just for Adobe... and that email didn't match. So I started guessing at passwords. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong... and wrong! (I tried some of the passwords many times. Back when I set up my Overdrive, I wasn't using all that many passwords.) I searched all over the Overdrive help section to see whom I could contact. They suggest you contact the library where you first signed up for Overdrive.

Okay, now we have a big problem here. I signed up with Overdrive (for audiobooks) when I still had a library card in New Jersey. I haven't had that library card in years. How was a library I was no longer affiliated with going to help me?

I decided I'd just set up a new account. (I used the same email address that Overdrive said was associated with my account. Interesting how when I signed up for the new account it never said that there was an account already associated with that email. I found that pretty interesting.)

I added my library to the Overdrive app, then I put in my library card number and PIN. Finally, I went to the library website to redownload the book I was in the middle of reading. I got an error message saying that if I want to download again, I have to use the Overdrive account I'd used to originally download the title. Who knows whatever happened to that account?

After all that frustration, I had what seems to be a working Overdrive app - but with no access to the book I was reading. Grrr. I searched for another title, just to make sure I'd be able to open and read any new books I took from the library. That worked. Thank goodness. And miraculously, I was able to find a different version of the book I'm reading (Breath of Snow and Ashes, book #6 in the Outlander series). And happily, I could open the book.

One advantage of having a new account is that I was able to download the Overdrive app onto my iPhone so now, even when I'm caught out without a book, I'll be able to read whatever is on my iPad. And it's supposed to sync to my latest bookmark. In the past, I wasn't able to get the two devices to sync. At all. Ever.

Last night, I went to read in bed. I opened my book, it asked if I'd like to go to my latest book mark, it opened to Chapter 4. Yay. 

Only there's a little problem. I can't change the size of the font. Really? So now I'm down to only two reasons why I like my e-reader. But can I give it up?

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

I discovered The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katrina Bivald quite by chance. It was delightful! Originally published in Swedish in 2013, it was published in English in 2015. It's the story of a reader, Sara, who prefers books to people and believes there is a book for every single person. That every single person can be a reader if given the right book to read.

Sara and Amy become pen pals, exchanging books and information about books. Sara, dissatisfied with her life in Sweden, is going to lose her job. Amy invites her to Iowa for a visit. Sara arrives in Broken Wheel, Iowa, just as Amy's funeral is coming to a conclusion. Now what is Sara supposed to do?

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a love story. It's a love story between Sara and her books, between the dying town of Broken Wheel and Sara, and between Sara and Tom. It's not exactly chick lit. But if you like chick lit and you love reading books about books, this could be the book for you.

Lots of references are made to books and authors in the novel, most of which I have either read or am familiar with. There have been times in my life when I've preferred books to people. I'm sure you won't be surprised that I found Sara very easy to relate to. Living where I live, I also have a sense about what a dying town might look like and how a new business in town brings a new life to the place. After all the heavy historical fiction I've been reading, it was nice to read something contemporary and light.