December Reading Wrap-Up+

I am trying to start this post early, before the month ends because I don't know if you know this about December, but it's a busy month. And tbh, I am exhausted from spending literal HOURS wrapping presents and yes, they look pretty and also yes, I hate wrapping things. I also took a brief break to go out to a MALL, days before Christmas, so listen, errors were made. What I'm saying is, be nice to some of these mini reviews because I do not know what's about to happen.

Also be nice because while I wrote a bunch of these early, I clearly didn't get this post out early or even on time. Between reading another book before the year ended and then also trying to keep the small one entertained throughout break (he has spent literal DAYS scatting, so my constant background has been "Beep da boop de da de da ba BAH" and sometimes him humming the theme to Sanford and Sons), it's been hard to get things done. But we try our best. I'll be working on some wrap up posts as soon as I can

Number of books read

6

The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

The Maid by Nita Prose

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

(I also read a few Encylopedia Brown books to the small one but didn't count them here for what is ultimately arbitrary reasons [I forgot]. That said, did you know there is a character in these stories that collects TEETH? It's mentioned in multiple stories, often unrelated to the case and everyone is just like "Cool, better give this kid our teeth for his collection." I have bothered people IRL about this and am now spreading this for all of you to enjoy as well.)

The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot was one of my favorite reads of last month, which was unexpected (and I read a lot of really good things in November, so this says a lot). We continued on with the story, this time as we see Roz try to get back to her island after being refurbished and sold to a farmer. It felt like there is more action this time around, though we still get moments of Roz connecting with the creatures around her (this time, the cows and even the children on the farm. The story is still touching and funny at times but it lacked some of the wonder of the first book. Now, did I cry while reading this? Yes, multiple times. Was it still very good? Yes, very, would read again. Will I read the last book? Yes, eventually, though Matthew has opted for some different stories for now so we're taking a break.

Rating: 4.5 stars

The Maid by Nita Prose

Molly is a maid at a high end hotel. She's very exacting in her work and proud of the work she does. Things have been difficult for Molly these last few months because her Gran, the woman who raised her and helped her navigate the world, has passed away. Molly has trouble reading other people and following social cues, so to not have her grandmother's guidance has been daunting. Especially so when she finds a rich and prominent regular guest at the hotel dead in his room and Molly becomes the main suspect. There seems to be something going on at the hotel that Molly isn't quite clear on (something that some people take advantage of). It is a fun locked-room mystery, and the character of Molly at the center makes the mystery something fun (and frustrating at times).

Rating: 4 stars

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

A thriller that I do not even remember how it ended up on my radar but this one was pretty fun. Cons and secrets. Evie Porter is getting ready to move into with her boyfriend, a guy with a close-knit group of friends and a big house in Louisiana. Except there is no Evie Porter; it's just an alias she was given by her employer Mr. Smith for a job she doesn't really know the details of yet. Her last job didn't go so well and her boss doesn't like mistakes, so she knows she has to be careful. Maybe there's even a chance she can change the path she's on. This book pulled me in with an early scene and I had to know what happened next. 

Rating: 4 stars

Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones

OMG this book. This audiobook, specifically. Which sure, I listen to a lot of but I feel it is important to say this is specifically a review of the audiobook because I am pretty sure there is little overlap between the audiobook and the written book. Leslie Jones narrates her memoir, which appears to be about twice as long as the written book and multiple times she makes comments like "Oh I guess I should read this part as I wrote it" or "They wouldn't let me put this in the book, but I'm going to tell you it here." And let me tell you, it is WONDERFUL. The book is just Leslie telling you stories, some sad, some hard to hear, most hilarious about what is has been like for her. This was so much fun. Granted I couldn't listen to it when the little one was around because to say there is a lot of cursing is an understatement. I mean, look at the title, you know what you're getting into. Jones seems like a lot, and not in a bad way. She seems to be very much like the persona you see in her standup or when she was on SNL. What you see is what you get and what you get is so much fun.

Rating: 4.25 stars

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

I read this last November and this year, I was looking for something Christmasy to read. Something Christmasy but also I had just finished watching Wake Up, Dead Man the latest Knives Out movie* so I was naturally in the mood for a bit of a murder mystery. While I already knew this mystery, it was still fun and just the right choice for a full day of wrapping. And it's a quick read (the wrapping outlasted the audiobook). Ernest, returning from the other Stevenson books, is trying to figure out if his ex-wife is really innocent of her boyfriend's death, given she woke up covered in his blood with no memory of what happened. 24 chapters, so you can read as an advent calendar if you wanted. Fun, quick mystery and I look forward to more Ernest Cline mysteries

Rating: 4.5 stars

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Admittedly, I picked this up because I wanted something short I could finish before the month ended. And I was looking for something to do that wasn't just scrolling social media, but easy enough to pick up and put down (I've read this a bunch of times, in addition to seeing stage productions and the movie) because over break, it's me and the boy and turns out children cause a lot of distractions. (Seriously, you should see how long just this mini-review has taken me to write.) If it wasn't clear from the amount of times I've read this, I am a FAN of this play. It's so funny and moving and has beautiful lines.

Rating: 5 stars

Number of pages read

1,788

Fiction

83%

Female authors

50%

US authors

50%

BIPOC authors

17%

Rereads

33%

Format

audiobook: 67%

ebook: 17%

paperback: 17%

Where'd I get the book

library: 83%

indie: 17%

Decade published

1960s: 17%

2010s: 17%

2020s: 67%

Resolution books

67%

The Maid is by a Canadian author

Leslie F*cking Jones is by a Black author

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret is by an Australian author

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is by a UK author and was written pre-2000

*Side note, I loved this. I mean, I also loved Glass Onion and Knives Out remains one of my most favorite movies, so I expected to and way to live up to expectations, please give me 4000 more Benoit Blanc movies, thankyouverymuch

November Reading Wrap-Up+

First, what happened to November? What do you mean it's already December? I am not prepared for that. October felt like it went at a somewhat normal clip but November was a real blink and you miss it situation. 

Second, I dunno what's going on with comments on here. I'm working on it. Slowly. Basically I have a plug in for comments and it's been acting up for...honestly who knows how long. A long time. So I'm trying to figure that out. 

Third, I am tired. And sore. I guess putting up Christmas decorations, which I did the other day, was too much for me. Am I ready for the holidays? Yes I am. I mean, I am ready for some more time off. Am I ready like I have anything done or planned? No, no I am not. So I'm sure this month will also go super fast because stuff is going to sneak up on me.

But hey, why don't we just get to those stats. 

It's a little lighter this month than the past few. In part because I had a hard time getting into books for a bit here. Then the little monster has moved on from me reading to him till he falls asleep to listening to Harry Potter audiobooks. And I was right in the middle of Sarah Vowell's Unfamiliar Fishes which I know I could just finish on my own, but I haven't done that yet. 

I also read The Wayside School Collection which includes Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Wayside School is Falling Down, Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger and Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sacher but I never counted it for some reason. And since it's made up of 1/2 re-reads and 1/2 new stuff, it seemed too complicated to try to count it as one long book and since I read it between last month and this, I really don't feel like going back and re-doing October to account for what I read when. I like tracking my stats but I am also quite lazy when I fall behind.

Number of books read

4

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

I actually started this book back in February and while I enjoyed it then, I found the book a little hard and things in the world were a little...depressing and while I was enjoying it I couldn't do it right then. Plus my library hold got returned and it was a long wait to get it back. Not that I waited for that, I just bought the audiobook* knowing I was going to want it eventually. Well, eventually came.

The story is about, as the title says, witchcraft for wayward girls. Unwed pregnant girls living in a world before Roe v. Wade who find themselves at a home in middle of nowhere Florida where they can have their babies, give them up for adoption and then go back to their old lives. The girls don't even learn each others' names, instead going by plant names like "Rose" and "Fern". The girls are given strict rules to follow by adults who "know what's best". Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her a book about witchcraft and makes her feel powerful. But at what cost?

This has all the hallmarks of a Hendrix book, which I love. Well-rounded female characters, a premise that feels a bit silly (the book is called "Witchcraft for Groovy Witches" afterall) but that is treated seriously and thus, the story is tense, moving, upsetting. There is horror (gory moments, body horror) though I wouldn't say this is as scary as some of his other stuff. Not in the traditional way. But the trauma that the girls go through, it was rough to read at times. By the end though, I loved it. It's not my favorite of his stuff but it's probably one of the strongest ones.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang

This story is wild. Every time I thought I figured out what the story was and where things were going, we'd take a turn and be somewhere entirely new. And not in a "twist for the sake of twists" frustration. It was crazy and fun. Julie Chan's life isn't going great. When she was young, her parents died in a car accident and she and her twin sister were split up. She was taken in by a disgruntled aunt who resents having to raise Julie (and never lets her forget it) while her sister was adopted by a wealthy white couple and became a rich and famous lifestyle influencer, living the seemingly perfect life. The sister's never really spoke (save for when Chloe used her sister for a viral video). But one day, Julie gets a strange call from her sister and not long after, she finds Chloe's dead body and the police think Julie is Chloe. 

Julie is now trying to fit in to her sister's life, in part to try to figure out what happened, but in larger part to take part of the life she feels she deserved. Of course, that picture perfect life was anything but. Julie isn't the most likable character, which made the story work so much better, especially as things amp up with an influencer retreat on a private island. Thrills and twists and funny and nuts.

Rating: 4 stars

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

An astronaut love story. Joan has always loved space and when she is chosen to be among the first class of women to join NASA in the summer of 1980 and try to become an astronaut she is thrilled. The story flips between the days in astronaut training, getting to know the other cadets and 1984 when a tragedy happens on the space shuttle and Joan is on the ground, doing what she can to help get the astronauts home.

The story was a bit slow and the the timeline jumping felt like more of a gimmick at first, though it's something that grew on me as the story went on. I won't say too much to avoid spoilers but just saying there is a love story, the world can be deeply unfair, and I was definitely crying on the plane as I finished the book (while also texting a friend about my feelings about certain characters who I am still mad at).

Rating: 4 stars

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

See, I thought I cried at Atmosphere. And then I read The Wild Robot to Matthew, a book that I thought would just be a fun book about a robot and animals. HAHAHA joke's on me. I didn't know much about the book when I picked it up, other than I saw it on a lot of lists for "books to read to your kid" and I vaguely knew about a movie made based on it that was supposed to be good. 

This book. Roz (ROZZUM unit 7134) is a helper robot that finds herself washed up on the shore of a remote island. She doesn't know why she's there or what her purpose is, the animals on the island see her as a monster and she is battling storms as she tries to survive. She slowly learns from the animals and  integrates herself into this strange world, even adopting an orphan gosling. The story doesn't shy away from death, though surprisingly that's not where the tears came from (or at least not the main place). But Roz's relationships with the animals, trying to find where she belongs, and what she does when her past catches up to her. Whew. The movie too. Beautifully (BEAUTIFULLY!) animated and just as lovely of a story and we are already reading the next book and when I am emotionally ready, I'm sure I will come back to this. 

Rating: 5 stars

Total pages read

1,406

Fiction

100%

Female authors

50%

US authors

75%

BIPOC authors

25%

Format

audiobook: 75%

ebook: 25%

Where'd I get the book

indie: 25%

library: 75%

Decade published

2010s: 25%

2020s: 75%

Resolution

25%

Julie Chan is Dead is by an Asian-Canadian author

*Using Libro.fm if you want to support small biz for audiobooks!

October Reading Wrap-up+

A few days late for this and I even managed to leave out a book I read when I posted on IG. So the month is going great, thanks for asking.

Except that's not true. The month is fine. It went very fast but then don't they all? There was prep for Halloween, including buying some new decorations (the skeleton family will get names at some point, especially because Matthew has decided one of them is going to live in his room the rest of the year. He's got the spirit. And he has enough candy I think to last him until next Halloween.

Why don't we just jump into the stats, shall we? I'm already so behind.

Number of books read

6

Holes by Louis Sacher

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Holes by Louis Sacher

Another Matthew bedtime read, I was looking up lists of good books to read to 2nd graders and saw this pop up a few times. Confession, as much as I looooooved Sacher when I was young* I missed this one. It came out a little late to my in my orbit, which is too bad for young me, because this was excellent. Stanley Yelnats is sent to a boy's detention center in the middle of no where Texas desert where he is sentenced to spending a year digging holes. There's clearly something going on here and no talk of "character building" is going hide something sinister behind this camp and whatever it is the Warden is searching for. It's a very different tone from Wayside School, more serious, more sad, though still funny at times. A few scary(ish) bits where I thought perhaps I have made a mistake reading this to the boy, but in the end he enjoyed and I keep thinking about it

Rating: 4.5 stars

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

And here is at least part of the reason I re-read the full Thursday Murder Club series over the last couple months. WORTH IT, GOOD IDEA, ME.

The gang is back, after taking some time away from solving crimes, following the events of the fourth book. Joyce's daughter is getting married and the best man seems rattled. There's a fortune, an unbreakable code, and someone wants him gone. Naturally, he turns to Elizabeth for help (even if he hasn't met her before, I mean, wouldn't you?). Now Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron & Ibrahim have to solve the case bringing their strength and their personal subplots along, as the gang tries to work through a mystery that falls in their lap. It is just as much of a goodtime as the last books and I am happy to delve back into the world of Cooper's Chase. If there are more TMC books in the future, I am certain I'll reread them all again before that one is released.

Rating: 5 stars

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Another reread. Another book I was reading to the boy at night to bore him to sleep. Not that I think the book is boring. But maybe for a 7 year old that is already sleepy. Anyway, probably Bryson's most well-known work as he documents his attempt to walk the Appalachian trail with his buddy Katz. The book is funny, full of colorful characters and crotchetiness on the part of Bryson, as well as digressions about the environment, history and the nature of the trail itself. It's a reread for a reason and I enjoyed it just as much this time, even if it took me so long to read ( because I was reading only a few pages a night).

Rating: 5 stars

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

I wish this was a movie. There were multiple times I was listening to this I was laughing thinking "Go ahead, and let me see how you would stage this and keep the tone serious. I dare you." 

Nick Radcliff shows up in Ash's life following her father's death. He sends a condolence card saying they worked together years before and suddenly he's striking up a relationship with Ash's mom. But Ash feels something is...off about Nick, though she can't quite say what. But the more she digs up, the more confusing things seem but the more she wants him away from her family.

It's hard to say more without getting into lots of spoilers so I won't. But I will say the book is very repetitive and for roughly the first 40% (I listened as an audiobook) I was wondering when we would get something new. And we do (kinda) at about the 60% point. Some of my issues could be with listening vs reading and actors' choices in reading lines (there were multiple actors for the multiple narrators) but I don't think that's entirely it. If anything, they prob helped because they gave me something to laugh at. There were moments of tension (this is a thriller after all) but many of them seemed to be resolved within a paragraph or so.

I reiterate I wish this was a movie because I think it would make very good fodder for something like How Did This Get Made** BUT to be fair to it, after a slower beginning (and some middle) I was interested to see where things were going and it was fun to bug my husband about.

Rating: 2.75 stars

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

I was searching for a spooky title in whatever was available immediately through my library when I saw this. I read another Tremblay book, The Cabin at the End of the World, a few years ago which I enjoyed but was also disturbed by. (It falls into the "I'm glad I read this but nothankyou to doing that again" pile.) So I was interested but hesitant to read this. 

In the early '90s, a group of young filmmakers decide they're going to make a horror movie. A movie that never got released in full, but has developed a cult-following around the few scenes that did make it out. And now 30 years later, Hollywood is going to remake it and they've brought back the guy who played "The Thin Kid" the only surviving cast member. The story jumps between flashbacks of what it was like making the original and current day, as well as a table read of the script (was this present day? the past? even listening with dif voice actors for everyone, I'm not sure and that's not a knock on the writing). It's a slow pace, though I thought it worked for the story and this was something I was looking forward to listening to, even through some of the more disturbing scenes.

I won't get into the ending too much. It's one you kind of see coming though it was a bit of a let down. I was hoping for something...more maybe? But overall, this was creepy and I enjoyed

Rating: 3.8 stars

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Another book I loved in the past that I'm going to foist on my son. Good news, hew as into it and is now listening to the audiobook sometimes while he sleeps.

Claudia feels unappreciated at home and decides she's going to run away. But Claudia, raised in an affluent NYC suburb, is going to run away in style. She decides she's going to run away to The Met and she's going to bring her little brother Jaime along with her because, well, he's got the money. The two manage to make their way to the famous art museum and get settled into a routine of hiding from guards, taking baths in the fountain and even doing laundry. But something is still missing. Until a new statue comes in and Claudia & Jaime decide they need to solve the mystery of Angel. Perhaps those mixed-up files from the title will come in handy? The book is so fun. To my adult eyes, sure it feels a little light on development (not really sure why Claudia wanted to run away, what were they really going to do to solve the mystery) but it was still charming and who doesn't like the idea of running away to somewhere like The Met. (Personally, my choice would have been The Museum of Natural History, but that's just a personal preference.)

Rating: 4 stars

Total pages read

1,792

Fiction

83%

Female authors

33%

US authors

67%

BIPOC authors

0%

Rereads

33%

Book club

17%

Format

audiobook: 50%

ebook: 50%

Where'd I get the book

library: 100%

Decade published

1960s: 17%

1990s: 33%

2020s: 50%

Resolution books

83%

Holes, A Walk in the Woods, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler were all published before the 2000s

The Impossible Fortune and Don't Let Him In are both by UK authors

*I knew I loved the Wayside School books, but I was recently going through my old books at my mom's and didn't realize just HOW MANY Sacher books (There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, and more!) I had that, I'm sorry, made very little impression, or at least hold very little memory in adult me. But I took them home anyway so as he gets to them we'll see if they spark anything

**A podcast about bad movies that I highly recommend

September Reading Wrap-Up+

Hit my reading goal (52 books) for the year! Some of that was pushed over by a couple of kids books that are certainly quicker to get through sure. But still I think they count. I also think this means maybe I need to change my goal for next year? We'll see what the rest of the year brings.

Last month, I talked about my (mini) reading slump and how I thought maybe I would just buy an audiobook version of a book I already own in hardback. Readers, I did it. And even though this had a different narrator than the previous Thursday Murder Club audiobooks, this was still a solid choice. Good job, me.

Total books read

7

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

The BFG by Roald Dahl

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture by Sara Petersen

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

A friend mentioned that a friend of theirs had recently started this book and when I saw my library had a copy, and couldn't figure out what else to read, I thought I'd give it a try. This is, as I've seen it described, a book about "ordinary people doing ordinary things" and a book summary is going to sound extremely boring. A group of people who work at a not-Target work the very early morning (starting at 4am) shift to unload and get the store stocked before it opens to customers. The manager of "movement" (formerly "warehouse") is self-absorbed, incompetent and generally ruins the flow of their work, while claiming insubordination to every little thing. But there's a chance to get rid of her because if she gets a promotion, maybe she won't be their problem anymore. Ultimately the book seems to be various vignettes of the different people in movement, their motivations, their circumstances that brought them to this job, what's going on in their personal lives and what this promotion could mean for them. The description calls this "darkly funny" and I don't know that there's that much humor in it. It's not depressing but it's also not an especially funny (dark or otherwise) book, though to be fair, very few books described as funny are. I liked it well enough and was drawn into the stories, but wished the characters were a bit more fleshed out and distinct.

Rating: 3.75 stars

The BFG by Roald Dahl

We're still on a Dahl kick with Matthew and it turns out, despite having read all this stuff a long long time ago, I do not remember any of it at all. For this, I remembered there was a giant, who is nice, a bunch of giants who are mean and eat people and a little girl. And none of that is wrong, sure, but there was a lot more about how many people are eaten every night (for what seems like a nightly occurrence for hundreds of years at least) the Queen of England playing a much bigger role in the story than I would have guessed. While I was a little worried about Matthew's reaction to children being snatched from their bed at night as a bedtime story (we're dealing with enough nighttime anxiety right now, thankyouverymuch) it didn't seem to bother him. I did have to skip over a couple bits that...let's say, didn't age great, but I didn't have to put the book down entirely so, still good? 

Rating: 3.75 stars

The Martian by Andy Weir

Another book for Matthew! I mean, technically because I started reading this one to him to get him to go to sleep after I finished Project Hail Mary and thought he might like this enough to be interested but not so much that it would keep him awake. Instead, I realized how long this is for him, because I've been reading this, little by little, every night since July and multiple times he would ask "Is this still the Mars book?" Not necessarily as a bad thing (He also wanted me to clarify if we were on Mars, on Earth or on the ship, whenever the setting changed, so he was paying some amount of attention.) but I don't think we'd read any other book for quite this long. From my perspective, I still liked it. I've read it multiple times, so there weren't any real surprises, other than how much it curses, which is something I didn't quite think of till I was reading it out loud to a child. I had said of Project Hail Mary that it felt like The Martian just in another flavor. Having re-read The Martian now, I think I might like PHM a bit better? 

Rating: 4.5 stars

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

OH HEY, here's that book that I already own in hardback but then bought as an audiobook. Guess what? It's still great. I love love love the characters, this was another fun set of murders for the friends to solve, and overall an excellent time. I didn't LOVE the audiobook narrator this time around, since it was a different person. But I don't think they did a bad job, per se, and if they were the only narrator I heard, I wouldn't even be commenting. But I really like the narrator of the first 2 books (Lesley Manville) and often thought "Well that's not what Joyce sounds like" through this book. But the book is so good that honestly, at the end of the day, it was fine and I still loved the time listening to it.

Rating: 5 stars

Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture by Sara Petersen

I can't remember where I first heard of this, but I had it on my watchlist if my library ever got a copy and lo and behold, they did! Petersen takes a look at the world of mommy bloggers, the ways that they make being a mom look and how that differs from real day-to-day realities of parenting, making people feel bad and thinking "if only I bought x item, my life would be better". She talks a bit about the shift from women looking to magazines to see examples of these types of women, to blogs and most recently to IG & TT influencers as a more "authentic" voice. She talks about her own insecurities at being a mom and following these influencers (even sometimes buying the things they promote). But of course, she also delves into the problematic areas of presenting a perfect, unattainable life as if it is relatable, the lack of representation of mommy influencers that aren't white (and indeed, a number of influencers who are flat out white supremacists), of moms who aren't thing, of moms who aren't cis and straight. A narrow view. The only area she didn't really touch on that I expected was about the kids involvement and what it would do to them. Though I suppose that would move into a different topic. The book was fine. It had interesting points, it had some areas where I zoned out a bit while listening. But overall, it was fine.

Side note, this is the second recent book I've read to mention the podcast Maintenance Phase, which is excellent, and you should prob follow (even if they release episodes very sporadically, there is a nice back catalogue. Go enjoy getting angry at the health & wellness world.)

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

A Mi'kmaq family has been traveling from their home in Nova Scotia to Maine to pick blueberries during the season. One summer, the youngest child, a girl named Ruthie goes missing. After this beginning we're introduced to two storylines: a girl named Norma who grows up in Maine as the only child of a very overprotective mother but has strange dreams of another family and a man Joe, Ruthie's older brother and the last person to see her before she vanished, as he recounts the way his life changed every since his sister disappeared. 

I don't know if I would have had a different experience reading vs listening to it, but (as with other similar stories) I never felt a connection to the characters, especially Norma. There seemed to be a lot of show vs tell and Norma especially felt flat. I heard the book telling me Norma was questioning herself and who she was, but I never really saw it. I heard the book telling me how much Norma loved her mother, despite her overprotectedness, but never saw it. Joe was a little more successful, felt a bit more rounded as a character, talking about all of the regrets he had and the tragedies that seemed to befall their family from that fateful day.

I thought the book ok. I wished the characters had been fleshed out, that there had more of an examination of grief and loss. Because the story, the idea was interesting, but this is so much about the characters and I just couldn't connect with them.

Rating: 3.25 stars

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

Another Thursday Murder Club book. I wasn't expecting one quite so soon but the library hold came in and who am I to question fate? I know I said just above how much I love love love the characters and guess what? STILL TRUE HERE. I love the characters. I love the mysteries. I especially love the side parts that aren't about the murders or the heroin but about growing older, about death. You know, all of the really light-hearted fun stuff? I loved this one (obviously) and now I'm ready for the latest in the series, whenever that library hold comes in, or more realistically, I just buy my own copy because who am I kidding?

Rating: 5 stars

Total pages read

2,328

Fiction

86%

Female authors

43%

US authors

43%

BIPOC authors

14%

Rereads

57%

Book club picks

14%

Format

audiobook: 57%

ebook: 43%

Where'd I get the book

library: 71%

Kindle/Audible: 14%

Indie: 14%

Decade published

1980s: 14%

2010s: 14%

2020s: 71%

Resolution books

57%

The Berry Pickers is by an Indigenous, Canadian author

The BFG is by a Welsh author and published before 2000

The Bullet That Missed and The Last Devil to Die are both by the same English author

August Reading Wrap-Up+

August was something, and it's crazy to think and the summer are over. School has even begun again (something that still takes me some time to get used to as someone who always went to school after Labor Day) and as much as I love autumn, I am going to miss the freedom and relaxation that summer gives you. Sure, I won't miss the 100+ degree days and am really enjoying being able to have the windows and blinds open again, but still.

By the end of the month I was sort of swirling on a book to read. I started a Backman novella, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, which seems good but also sort of depressing and not what I was in the mood for. Then a library hold came in for A Well-Trained Wife and I started it and it was fine but I realized not really what I wanted. So I ended the month listening (and re-listening) to a lot of podcast episodes instead, while debating if I should just BUY the audiobook for The Bullet That Missed (the third Thursday Murder Club book) even though I own a physical copy. Not that that has stopped me in the past.

Also, and then we'll get to the stats, but my work has suddenly blocked my access to my blog because it was marked as "gambling". If there is some way for me to make money on this via games of chance, please let me know. Maybe there are a lot of bets being made on my reading trends.

Number of books read

7

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

Matilda by Roald Dahl

I Want To Burn This Place Down by Maris Kreizman

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

Silly shenanigans and murder for hire. Four women have been best friends through decades, through ups and downs. Most recently downs, given some bad financial decisions their husbands made. But when one dies suddenly and the window gets a big life insurance payout, the others wonder if maybe that's the answer to their retirement plan (see what I did there?) It's a ridiculous story with a silly premise that builds and builds. I won't say much to keep from spoiling but there are twists and turns and misunderstandings and it never takes itself seriously (neither should you). It was silly and entertaining and multiple times I turned to my husband to say I promise never to hire a hit man on him if he promises to never hire one to take me out. #marriage

Rating: 3.75 stars

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

I really liked The House in the Cerulean Sea about an orphanage for magical children, so when I was flipping through available audiobooks from the library and saw this described as something for fans of The Good Place and that it won a Goodreads Choice Award for Favorite Fantasy I thought why not. It's the story of a man name Wallace, who kinda sucked when he was alive. Uncaring, inconsiderate, workaholic, etc. But he's not alive long and instead finds himself being led by a Reaper to a teashop in the middle of no where to see the ferryman Hugo, who will help him move on to the next part of his journey. But Wallace doesn't want to be dead and he doesn't want to go. Hugo tells him there is no rush, he can stay as long as he likes but he can't leave the teashop. Wallace takes this time to process what it means that he's dead, what could be on the other side, and also what are these feelings he's developing for Hugo the ferryman (and what can they do about it considering the whole "dead" thing?). I liked the premise, I liked the idea, but in the end it all fell a bit flat for me and the love story seemed a bit shoehorned in (it felt more natural in Cerulean Sea). It was OK, but didn't quite live up to the hope I had for it, especially after the first part.

Rating: 3.25 stars

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

A million stars. These books are perfection. I love them all (the books as well as the characters). I was looking at my review from the last time I read this and I made a comment how I should just buy the book. Well reader, I did. Because why would I deny myself something so wonderful that of course I will be reading again. Characters are great, the mystery is intriguing, it is touching and moving and did I mention how much I love the characters? Will I just buy the third book as an audiobook (because I already own it in hardback, but I have 2 copies of the first book so why not?) We'll see!

Rating: 5 stars

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Typically, I don't include books I'm reading to Matthew in my reading. I don't want to be tracking and reviewing 100 picture books and things would get very repetitive. Even though I def have thoughts about his books. Perhaps I'll write something up about that. But ANYWAY, we have started expanding bedtime stories into more than picture books (though they're still there) and have moved into longer stories we don't finish in one sitting and have far fewer pictures. I remembered reading this one in 2nd grade and so figured this could be a good one for him. He already liked The Fantastic Mr. Fox (and he's a fan of the Wes Anderson movie). First for review I will tell you Matthew LOVED this. His eyes lit up at the mention of a lifetime supply of chocolate, he felt bad for Charlie, he was mad at the kids (mostly Veruca Salt, but we'll get to that in a second) and he is excited for The Great Glass Elevator*.

Now some parts did make me cringe and bit and reading it I kept thinking how, maybe with the exception of Veruca, the other kids are not that bad. If anything their "crimes" were mostly "not listening when told not to do something dangerous" but of course that's never what they're scolded for. Augustus Gloop's crime is just being fat, Violet just chews a lot of gum, Mike Teavee watches TV (yes, he watches a lot of it, but the book is clear the sin is watching it at all). Veruca is the biggest pain, a clearly spoiled brat, though the book does place some blame on the parents and in the end, she's the one who ends up with the lightest punishment, or at least the one with the least long-lasting effects. (Augustus is squeezed in the pipe till skinny, Violet is back to her normal size but now permanently purple, Mike is stretched until he's 10 ft tall and Veruca and her parents...get some garbage on them they can wash off later and be exactly as they were before.)

Rating: 4.25 stars

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

I can't remember where I first heard about this but it's been on my radar for awhile. Alas the library didn't have a digital copy of it so I mostly forgot about it until we were visiting Boston (or in this case Brookline) and we stopped by my old local bookstore The Brookline Booksmith (check them out if you're in Coolidge Corner) and there was a copy of it sitting on the discount table. Naturally I had to pick it up and then I read it in about 2 days.

A graphic memoir about Roz dealing with her aging parents and all of the end of life stress that comes with it. It was funny and sad and touching, dealing with all of the hard feelings and anxieties that come from having all of those unpleasant conversations and decisions that happen. Chast is honest about her worries, her guilt and the complicated relationships she had with her parents. This isn't an easy read but there is humor throughout, even during the difficult times, and it was a book I flew through and I'm sure will read again.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Another "hey I read this for Matthew but I'm gonna count it anyway." Not much to say here except that I had remembered a lot more happening at the school, and I suppose it was about half the book, but it seemed to be over quickly. Including how the Trunchbull was dealt with, though it's possible I'm remembering more of the movie and things are different there? Who knows. He liked it though he never seemed quite as excited as he was with Charlie. I still liked it cos hey, girl who reads a lot and is way smarter than her family and pulls pranks on them (he did appreciate the pranks and REALLY did not like Matilda's dad) what's not to like?

Rating: 4.5 stars

I Want To Burn This Place Down by Maris Kreizman

A quick collection of essays where Kreizman grapples with her disappointment in various institutions, primarily healthcare and the general "American Dream" apparatus (or lack thereof). Many of the essays (all, really) are personal in nature, dealing with her diabetes and a failing system around her, or with her reckoning with the portrayal of cops as heroes on various shows, her brothers becoming cops and what that means in the wake of things like George Floyd. They were mostly...fine. I didn't have too many strong feelings in either direction while listening. Honestly the most excited I got was when she mentioned the podcast Maintenance Phase and I thought "hey I listen to that one!". Then, I turned off the audiobook and 

relistened to an old episode of that.

Rating: 3 stars

Total pages read

1,958

Fiction

71%

Female authors

43%

US authors

43%

BIPOC authors

0%

Rereads

43%

Format

audiobook: 57%

ebook: 29%

paperback: 14%

Where'd I get the book

library: 86%

indie bookstore: 14%

Decade published

1960s: 14%

1980s: 14%

2010s: 14%

2020s: 57%

Resolution books

43%

The Retirement Plan is by a Canadian author

The Man Who Died Twice is by an English author

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and Matilda are by a Welsh author

*So while my husband started reading him The Great Glass Elevator there were some...not great things in there, so we quietly returned that book to the library and he never asked about it. Probably because in between I took a trip to my mom's and dug through boxes of old kids books I brought up about 100 new (to him) books including many Calvin & Hobbes, which OK those aren't really new even to him but he's been enjoying those enough. I also left my copy of Great Glass Elevator in those boxes in the basement.

July Reading Wrap-Up+

July was a busy month. We started it in Seattle, the little one is way-less little now as he has turned 7 and we had the subsequent celebrations for said milestone (including a bounce house in the rain), some acknowledgement of a wedding anniversary on the same day (which will be forever in the shadow of the birthday) and so much time playing minigolf and swimming. We also dealt with a broken AC during a heat wave, a missing mailbox and the town flooding (our house was mostly dry, the car had some issues). A lot of good stuff, some less-fun stuff and much reading. So let's take a look at that, shall we?

Number of books read

6

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Harder, Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn

The sequel to Killers of a Certain Age, we're back with our group of older-lady-assassins, who have been laying low since their last adventure when their corporation tried to have the "retired". But the women are getting a bit bored with actual retirement and aren't that upset to find out that someone seems to be trying to get revenge on the Museum for hits carried out decades earlier and our fav assassins are in their crosshairs. Spanning a few countries (love a stop in Venice), the women need to do what they can to keep themselves and their loved ones safe while taking out this latest threat. Not necessarily a lot of humor in the books, but these are a lot of fun and I was RACING through the end of the book (because I wanted to hear how things turned out and also it was about to be returned to the library). I think I even liked this one more than the first, so that's a skill in and of itself.

Rating: 4 stars

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

How does he get me every time? I have seen these on book displays all over the place but I was waiting for my hold from the library to come in. And then when it did I was like "Hmm, maybe this isn't the right time. This seems sad and not sad in the normal Backman way and I dunno if I want that". But the hold was so long I decided to go for it and past me was a dumb dumb thinking this would be sad in the manipulative way or that this wouldn't worm it's way in. It's a story about childhood friendships and art and loss and grief and happiness and finding "your humans". It's funny and there are unlikely pairings and the story seems to be heading one way before shifting in another direction. Did I cry during this book? Yes, multiple times, though as I think about it probably as many times because something happy happened as something sad (also I am a SAP when it comes to crying while reading). I don't know that this is my favorite Backman book but it's probably his best one.

Rating: 5 stars

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I am a big fan of The Martian (book and movie; audiobook, less so); not so much a fan of Weir's follow up Artemis (it was fine), but I heard there was a movie coming out about this one, and I was in a bookstore in Seattle and figured I can't leave empty handed (perish the thought!) so I grabbed a copy of Project Hail Mary. And look, if someone were to say "This is basically The Martian" I can't say I'd have too much of an argument against that. Yes, the reason he's alone is different and there are some things that are semi-spoilers (the trailer for the upcoming movie brings it up) that make it different enough. But Ryland Grace and Mark Watney are basically the same guy or at least closely related, and the story is a series of problems solved through the Power of Science and Math! The stakes are higher, since now instead of one guy left on Mars, our hero needs to figure out how to save the entire planet Earth. And this was fun! Ryland Grace wakes up in a spaceship with 2 dead astronauts and no memory of who he is or why he's here. Slowly things come back to him and we get a series of flashbacks as he remembers things (a nice way to handle those scenes and break them up within the present-day story). I do skim a lot of the math details because listen, I'm just going to assume his math is right and I am happy he has all this knowledge but I, do not need to get bogged down. It's hard to talk about too much more without giving anything away so I'll just say I really liked this one and I look forward to eventually seeing the movie (with my track record, should be in about 4 years)

Rating: 4.25 stars

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Harder, Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds

I first read this book about a decade ago and was looking for something I had on my phone to help put my son to sleep. In that sense, I can say this book worked WONDERFULLY. According to my book bullet journal, we would manage about 8 pages a night before he was out and he often would ask me "Are we almost DONE with this exercise book yet?" I know, this isn't the nicest compliment to give, but if you're looking for something to bore a small child to sleep with, I can attest this one works. The book cites a lot (a LOT) of studies around the science of exercise, mostly centered around running, swimming, cycling and sometimes weight training (usually in services of one of those first 3 things). There are some interesting points, most boiling down to "Exercise is important for health (though not necessarily for weight loss, this book is not about that) and you should probably do both aerobic and strength training" along with a lot of information about if you want to push your serious training forward. It has little tips that I do still do, such as practicing balance by standing on one foot while brushing your teeth. There's nothing really revelatory here but also, the book is over 10 years old and it says the science here moves fast so it's not all that surprising

Rating: 3 stars

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

I can't remember where I first heard about this, but I am glad I did and that my library hold came in. Linus Baker works for a shadowy company that oversees state-run orphanages that handle magical children. Linus has always been a quiet rule follower, doing his assessments of the orphanages, providing meticulous reports, though not following up after his reports are turned in (the rules say that it is no longer his responsibility then). Linus truly cares for the children though reminds himself it's important he doesn't get attached. One day Linus is given a special assignment by Extremely Upper Management to assess a house on a remote island that includes some of the most dangerous magical children in the state's care, including the Antichrist. Linus must assess not only the home but the caretaker Arthur Parnassus, who seems to have some secrets of his own. The story is very sweet and I will definitely be checking out the sequels.

Rating: 4 stars

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks

This book, especially the audiobook, is like attending a bunch of parties with Mel Brooks and having him tell you story after story about working in show business. This isn't an autobiography where you're going to to a full picture of who Brooks is as a person. This is going to give you a bunch of fun stories with lots of celebrity name drops spanning a 7-decade career. You get a few glimpses into his personal life, but he says that this is a story about his time in show biz and he didn't want to get too into his personal life, so he doesn't. But for a series of stories, where everything works out and everyone becomes great friends, it's fun. I could see this getting a bit tedious if you're reading it and going over plot synopses of his books but listening to him tell him and recite dialogue and sings songs in the audiobook made it just the thing.

Rating: 4.25 stars

Total pages read

2,430

Fiction

67%

Female authors

33%

BIPOC authors

0%

US authors

83%

Reread

17%

Translation

17%

Format

audiobook: 67%

ebook:17%

paperbook: 17%

Where'd I get the book

Library: 67%

Kindle/Audible: 17%

Indie: 17%

Decade published

2010s: 17%

2020s: 83%

Resolution

17%

My Friends is by a Swedish author and is a translation