November Reading Wrap-Up+

My November reading has been a bit sporadic. I think this is for a couple reasons. 

One is library holds. There is an art to getting the library hold timing right and it is an area I have no skill for. I had a few instances of holds coming in at the same time and then I was trying to figure the "Deliver Later" piece and it got delivered later but not later when I thought it would. But then I didn't want to start a new book lest the hold come in at the wrong time and repeat repeat repeat until I finally gave up and listened to podcasts for a few days before picking up a short audiobook I already owned. Of course on the day I started it, a library hold came in so isn't that the way it goes.

Two is Thanksgiving. Or not so much the day itself as the week of because we spent the week in San Diego which was a nice change of pace/weather from NJ. But while in the pre-child days, a vacation meant extra reading time, now I managed to get a few pages read on the plane there and...that was it. Not that I regret it. But we were busy when we were out there (Disney! Legoland! the zoo! friends! Thanksgiving!). Even on the plane I didn't even bother picking up the book because turns out 5 year olds are constant interruption machines and it wasn't worth it to keep reading the same paragraph over and over. Besides, there was a new If Books Could Kill podcast episode available. 

Here you can take a look at my reading schedule for the last couple months (since I keep forgetting to include this)

But hey let's look at the reading stats for November

Total books read

5

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets by John Woolf, Nick Baker and Stephen Fry

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

Off With Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonizing Women in Power by Eleanor Herman

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

Rachel is going to school and working in a bookstore in Cork when she meets James, who almost immediately asks her to be his roommate. The two become close friends, but things get complicated when Rachel's crush on one of her professors evolves in a direction none of them expected. This Irish lit fic is excellent, a bit of a coming of age, a bit unrequited love and a lot of complications that people can find themselves in. And really, I like the author's Goodreads review: "I wrote this book and it's a banger"

Rating: 4.25 stars

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

How far will you go to get a book published, to get the accolade you (believe) you deserve? June Haywood and Athena Liu were friends, or frenemies, from school on through writing careers of varying success. Athena is a "literary-darling" and June barely gets a first run. But when Athena dies, leaving behind a first draft of a new novel she hasn't shown anyone, what else is June to do but to take a few passes at it. And then present it to her publishers as her own work. Even though this is about the contributions of Chinese laborers during WWI which isn't exactly a topic June has tackled before. And when her publisher suggests changing her name to Juniper Song (her full first and middle name) to differentiate from her earlier, less-successful work (and maybe be a little ethnically ambiguous), well what is she to do? The bits of the book that deal with the subtle and not-so-subtle racism in the publishing world were the strongest for me, though honestly the whole thing is pretty great. And Kuang nails a protagonist who is wholly unlikable but very compelling to watch, so well done there.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets by John Woolf, Nick Baker and Stephen Fry

I was in between library holds and frustrated I couldn't get the timing right (as I said above) so I went looking through my audiobook library for something relatively short and that I could dip in and out of as needed and stumbled on this. It's a reread (relisten) about secrets around the Victorians, if that wasn't evident by the title, around topics such as sex, homosexuality, grooming, seances, and the general role of secrets in the society. It's interesting enough, with some interviews with historians and reenactments of some scenes but honestly it's also a bit forgettable. Which I guess is a case for relistening?

Rating: 3.5 stars

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

The sequel to the Marlow Murder Club and the club is back, this time solving a murder that was apparently predicted. Sir Peter Bailey is about to get remarried and invites club leader Judith to the engagement party, despite the fact that they don't really know each other. But Sir Peter seems to think something will happen at this party and he wants Judith, who was more than a little responsible for helping solve a murder in town the year before. When Sir Peter is found crushed beneath a large cabinet in a room locked from the inside, the police initially think it was an accident, but Judith and the other members of the Marlow Murder Club think otherwise. A fun, cozy mystery, that doesn't shine quite as strong as the first book but honestly, I'll still prob read more.

Rating: 4 stars

Off With Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonizing Women in Power by Eleanor Herman

A historical look at various women in power and how they have been treated and mistreated by a misogynistic agenda. Looking at topics, such as a preoccupation with women's appearance, sexual depravity, her shrill voice, etc. Herman looks at how terribly women in power have been treated simply for being women. The book is good though infuriating to see how little things have changed in some regards. The structure of the book is a bit odd, as she comes back to the same few historical figures multiple times and there is a lot more time spent on contemporary leaders (Clinton, AOC, Harris) than I would have expected.

Rating: 3.5

Pages read

1,628

Fiction

60%

Female authors

60%

BIPOC authors

20%

US authors

20%

Rereads

20%

Book club

20%

Book format

audiobook - 100%

Where'd I get the book

Kindle/Audible: 20%

Library: 80%

Decade published

2010s: 20%

2020s: 80%

Resolution books

80%

The Rachel Incident is by an Irish author

Yellowface is by a Chinese author

Victorian Secrets and Death Comes to Marlow are both by UK authors

October Reading Wrap-Up+

Spooky season! Did I read a lot of spooky books? Not really. I mean, I re-read The Graveyard Book which is becoming something of an annual tradition*. Which I am on board with. I've also been not reading but telling a version of Frankenstein to Matthew multiple times this month (often multiple times a day) after he saw a Frankenstein decoration on someone's lawn. He's getting a somewhat sanitized Mary Shelley version (no one gets killed in this version) and Matthew's takeaway is everyone should be nicer to the Creature, which is correct.

Total books read

5 - which brings me to my goal for the year of 52 books! 

Counterfeit by Kirsten Chen

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

The Darkwater Bride by Marty Ross

Counterfeit by Kirsten Chen

Enter into the world of counterfeit designer handbags. Ava seems to have the perfect life with her surgeon husband and adorable toddler, even if her fancy law degree isn't really getting use anymore. But, through a series of interviews with a detective, we learn how Ava was drawn into this underground world by a former college roommate who has come back into her life. It was a fun story with some tense moments and the two women felt real.

Rating: 4 stars

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

That title feels like a lot to live up to and honestly, beyond the title I didn't know much of what to expect. You'd think I'd at least remember where I first heard about the book, given it hasn't been out that long, but you would be wrong. A murder mystery where the main character Ernest spends just as much time talking to you, the reader, as he does the people within the story. And this is a technique that could get very old very fast, but Stevenson manages to make it work. A family reunion where everyone in this dysfunctional family has killed someone (though it's far more complicated than it seems). There are unreliable narrators who admit their unreliability, there are little hints dropped that are easy to miss but fall into place beautifully and result in twists that feel earned. It's interesting to see this listed as the first in a series as this didn't necessarily end in a way that felt like the beginning of a series, but I'd check out more Ernest books if they're as entertaining as this.

Rating: 4.5 stars

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This is my 6th time reading the book in 10 years. What else am I going to say about it? It's just as good every. time. And the full cast audiobook recording? Love.

Rating: 5 stars

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

 I said I didn't read much in the way of spooky books but I guess this kind of counts except. Eh. A writing retreat for 5 lucky winners hosted by famous feminist author Roza Vallo (except how she's feminist other than she writes books with women in them is not addressed) in a secluded mansion in upstate NY. The women are given the task of writing an entirely new novel and by the end Roza will select winner, give them $1M and get their book published. But something seems off about the house, the contest, the other people there. Though honestly, it takes a LONG time to get to that point. All of the characters sort of sound the same, the book-within-the-book chapters were...whatever. It was...fine. I finished it so it kept me interested and engaged enough for that but there were a few DNF moments

Rating: 2.5 stars

The Darkwater Bride by Marty Ross

I was in between library holds when I picked this up. I had a couple come in while I was reading Graveyard Book and then again during Writing Retreat (WR being one of the holds) so with this I was looking for 2 things: something I already have (so I don't have to worry about returns if the library hold comes in) and something short. Because even though I own my copy of The Graveyard Book once I started it, I really didn't want to put it down in favor of the library option.

Anyway, this is a reread, an audible original production that's more like a radio play than an audiobook. It's a creepy story of a young Victorian woman who travels down to London from a small town in Scotland after her father's body is dredged up from the river. There she finds her way to London's seedy underworld to try to find out the truth of her father and the rumors of a ghost bride. Suspenseful and well acted, enough so that I wanted to reread it.

Rating: 3.75 stars

Total pages read

1,500 nice round number

Fiction

100%

Female authors

40%

BIPOC authors

20%

US authors

20%

Rereads

40%

Book format

audiobook - 100%

Where'd I get the book

Library - 60%

Audible - 40%

Decade published

2000s: 20%

2010s: 20%

2020s: 60%

Resolution books

80% mostly due to non-US authors

Counterfeit author Kirsten Chen is from Singapore

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone author Benjamin Stevenson is from Australia

The Graveyard Book author Neil Gaiman and The Darkwater Bride author Marty Ross are both from the UK

*I checked my spreadsheet (of course) and this was my 6th time reading this book since 2013. However, it was less often this time of year than I previously thought.

2015: August

2017: November

2019: April

2021: October

2022: November

September Reading Wrap-Up+

September has come and gone and we are officially into fall, even if we're now getting some highs in the '70s around here. September was another busy month, but really, aren't they all? The monster started kindergarten (which he only refers to as "kindy" because we have watched a lot of Bluey in this house, and if you call it "kindergarten" or "school" you WILL be scolded). I've had lots of job stuff going on which at some point I may write about but not yet. But despite this busier month, I did get a fair amount of reading (or listening) done, so let's look at those stats

Total books read

5

The Plot by Jean Hanff Koelitz

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

The Bookeaters by Sunyi Dean

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

The Plot by Jean Hanff Koelitz

Can you really have a thriller about someone who steals a plot idea for a book? I guess so, cos that's what we have here. Even if that central crime of stealing-an-outline-for-a-story-that-never-actually-gets-written-by-the-original-author isn't really a crime. How many plots do you see recycled? But anyway. So we have an author Jake who after a promising first book hasn't really amounted to much, teaching at a 3rd rate MFA program, and generally feels sorry for himself. A student of his tells him of a plot that is like something NO ONE has ever seen before (spoiler, yes we have, but whatever), but then said student dies without ever writing the book. How can Jake let this story go to waste? He can't so he takes it upon himself to write it. And the world goes NUTS for it. (All of this is like the first half of the book but also the description on the back cover). Until someone anonymously starts accusing him of stealing a story that didn't belong to him. And then we have a mystery, a thrilled, while Jake tries to figure out who is this mystery person, where did this plot originally come from and is stealing an outline of a plot a crime? The book, to its credit, kept me engaged till the end. But I also don't think stealing a plot outline is a crime (a cool thing to do? no but also not really plagiarism) and the whiplash in tone was...something. 

Rating: 3.25 stars

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

This was a doozy. Jennette McCurdy was pushed into acting at a very young age by her mother. She just wanted to make her mom happy and even if acting wasn't her passion, it made mom smile so that was enough. The strict "calorie restrictions" were also her mom's idea. And her mom was thrilled when she made it onto the tween show iCarly. But none of this was what Jennette wanted. And if there is ever a memoir to say "we really need to tear down the whole world of childhood acting" it is this one. While the book deals with some very hard topics, Jennette does highlight the humor and WTFness she's come to realize through many years of therapy.  

Rating: 4 stars

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

It's a book about a group of creates who eat books instead of food and absorb the information from them. Doesn't that sound whimsical? And sure, the summary describes some darkness, with someone being born with a hunger for human minds. But still, they eat books. Whimsy. And then, as I was about 40% in I saw a description that was like "vampiric Handmaid's Tale" and while I don't totally know I agree with the vampiric part, Handmaid's Tale is pretty accurate and yeah, this is a much darker book than I assumed. It's an interesting world with exciting moments, though after finishing the book, it is taking some effort for me to remember what happened and how I felt.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

I really loved Pooley's Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, so was exciting to pick this up. It's a very similar story of several people from different worlds who are thrown together by an older, eccentric larger-than-life figure. Last time it was Iona and commuters on a train. This time it's artist Julian Jessop and a book "The Authenticity Project" where he tells the truth about himself and then leaves the book in a coffee shop, where it's found and read by the proprietor Monica. She adds to it and leaves it in a wine bar and so on. More people find the book, add to it, and lives of strangers become intertwined. It's a sweet, uplifting story about the importance of community. It's hard not to compare it to Iona because, at the center, it's basically the same story with a different set of characters and setting. Not necessarily a bad thing; I liked them both and it's something I could see myself picking up again. Though end of the day, I prefer Iona

Rating: 4 stars

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

Did you know there was another Thursday Murder Club book? Because I didn't know that when I was browsing my library app for something to read and was very excited to see this and this book did not disappoint. Another murder comes close to the folks at Cooper's Chase. Now the Thursday Murder Club is mixing with shady antiques dealers and drug dealers looking for a missing package. This story includes a lot more chapters focusing on the characters (or really, 2 in particular) separate from the mystery. In another book, this could have hurt the story and hurt the pacing. Here, because I am already in love with the characters, it worked. Was I bawling my eyes out at times? Yes, very much so, which was not anticipated when I picked this up, but again, I love these characters so it is forgiven. Keep the mysteries coming.

Rating: 5 stars

Total pages read

1,770

Fiction

80%

Female authors

80%

BIPOC authors

20%

US authors

60%

Book club books

40%

Book format

audiobook: 100%

Where'd I get the book

Library - 100%

Decade published

2020s - 100%

Resolution books

60%

The Book Eaters is written by a bi-racial author (born in Tx, raised in Hong Kong, now living in UK, per her bio)

The Authenticity Project and The Last Devil to Die are both by UK authors

August Reading Wrap-Up+

Oh man, August is done. Summer is fading and we're moving into fall.

August was a big month over our way. We moved. Again. We spent the last few months trying to buy a house. We did not succeed (hence some of that sulking I mentioned in the last post). And unfortunately we could not extend the lease on our rental to get us through the school year (because the little one is not so little anymore and just started kindergarten!) so we had to move. We're currently living out of boxes and will likely be doing this whole move all over again next summer. So some stress is...maybe not alleviated but we'll say pushed to the side till it gets to come back again in a few months. 

Total books read

4

Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace Perry

Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld

This is, as the title says, a modern retelling of P&P, set in the mid-2000s primarily in Cincinnati (with some stops in Houston, San Fran and NYC). A question I kept coming back to as I listened to this was "Why"? I'm not opposed to retelling of stories. I'm a fan of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, so it's not even that I think this is a story that shouldn't be touched. But I didn't really understand the purpose. It kept surprisingly close to the original source material, which made things awkward or nonsensical for current time. Or when things were updated they fell a bit flat. The barbs traded between Elizabeth and...well most people (Darcy, Caroline) don't have the same sparkle of the original, maybe because there is more bluntness. But despite all this, I did stay and listen through to the end vs dropping the book early so it caught enough attention for that

Rating: 3 stars

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney

I love discovering people who are not only readers but ALSO have similar reading tastes to myself, because then I get to dig through their reading lists and find lots of new titles to check out. In this case, a coworker and I realized we're both readers, we're now Goodreads friends, and I'm pretty much adding her full reading list to by TBR. Starting with this thriller. Couple Adam and Amelia win a weekend away at a remote former church turned B&B type thing, in a last ditch attempt to try to save their marriage. But something seems off. They're cut off due to a winter storm but someone seems to be at the church with them. There are also flashbacks via anniversary letters to help explain how we got to this point. There are twists. There are turns. There are things I didn't see so I won't spoil it here but this kept me guessing and the twists and turns felt earned.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

I am loving the genre of older forces-of-nature ladies solving murders (Thursday Murder Club, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers). Here slightly eccentric Judith (lives in a dilapidated mansion, wears a dramatic cape while riding her bike around town, drinks cheap whiskey, regularly skinny dips in the Thames behind her house, surprised everyone seems to know who she is) witnesses a murder. But no one seems to believe her so she takes on the investigation herself. Eventually teaming up with some other women in town that she would otherwise never have talked to, and they decide they need solve the murder happening in their quiet town. 

It seems unfair to compare this to the other books I mentioned above because those two are SO GOOD and I love them SO MUCH. This one is...not quite up there but still good and I will still be reading the others in the series.

Rating: 4.25 stars

The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace Perry

I was going to say I wish Goodreads had a way to track where you heard of a book going on your TBR list. Except, it most certainly has the option to do it and I just...don't track that. So I can't remember where I came across this book to add to my TBR but "contributor to the Onion writes essays about pop culture and how they intersect with her identity" sounds pretty great, so I'm not surprised it ended up on my list. The essays look at different pieces of pop culture (Buffy, Glee, Taylor Swift, to name a few) and how they contributed to Perry's identity as "gay as hell". The essays were funny with poignant moments and I enjoyed revisiting some of that 2000s pop culture.

Rating: 4 stars

Total Pages Read

1,382

Fiction

75%

Female authors

75%

BIPOC authors

0% 

US authors

50%

Book format

audiobook - 100%

Where'd I get the book

library - 100%

Decade published

2010s: 25%

2020s: 75%

Resolution books

50%

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney and The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood are both by UK authors

July Reading Wrap-Up+

This month was less successful for reading. Or...not less successful but just less of it. Probably because this month was also very stressful and I wasn't in the mood for doing much of anything but sulking. (I'm still in a sulking mood.) Which has lasted some additional days since I wrote this and the never bothered publishing it.

But instead of focusing on sulking, let's look at this fun bookish puzzle I got cos that is where I'm now at when it comes to wild nights these days.

Anyway, hey book stats, eh? 

Total books read

3

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us To Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

(I also started Severance by Ling Ma and while I think it could have been good, it wasn't the right choice for me at the time. )

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

A woman goes to the Boston Public Library to work on her novel. While there, she (and others in the Reading Room) hear a scream. she strikes up a friendship with a few other folks about what could have been happening and starts to work these new friends into her novel. When it turns out the scream was from a murdered woman, there is a crime to solve. BUT ALSO, this woman is a character in another story, which we learn about via letters from a beta reader, giving feedback on the chapters. I was intrigued by the mystery(ies) presented but wished we got a bit more of the beta reader piece. Some of the details didn't necessarily make all that much sense or maybe I missed a key detail (always a risk when doing an audiobook).

Rating: 4 stars

When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us to Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning

A history of WWII and how much soldiers wanted books. A bit about Nazis and book burning, a bit about how paperback books became a thing so that soldiers could have books with them that were lighter than traditional hardback books. WWII is not a period I typically find myself drawn to. This was no different. It's a bit like the rules of football: no matter what, I can't make myself care. Books are great. I'm a fan. I don't know that I totally understand how these helped win the war. I guess the argument is keeping up morale. 

Rating: 3.25 stars

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

I love this book. I was recently traveling for work and saw someone on the airplane reading this. Had this trip not involved a 4 hour delay and getting home after midnight instead of like 8pm I probably would have said something to this lady. BUT ANYWAY, this is at least my third time reading this. A story of friendship, in particular those friendships that you have as children. Yes, the story involves demonic possession and also the '80s so it gets a little silly but also legit scary and yes, it does make me tear up.  Who knew this Southern horror writer would be SO GOOD at teen girl friendships? (Me, I knew, cos I've read this before.)

Rating: 5 stars

Total pages read

889

Fiction

67%

Female authors

67%

BIPOC

0%

US authors

67%

Book format

audiobook: 100%

Where'd I get the book

library: 100%

Rereads

33%

Book club

33%

Decade published

2010s: 67%

2020s: 33%

Resolution books

33%

The Woman in the Library is by an Australian author

June Reading Wrap-Up+

Oh boy, I can't believe we are already well into summer. We just had a very busy long weekend (hence the delay getting this out) which is great but also exhausting. I was going to say it's also been a stressful month and honestly, yes, it was that, but also it's been stressful for a while so I can't entirely blame that (work stuff! house stuff! big things that are stressful on their own and very rude to combine together)

Since I'm already late with this, why not just jump right in to those stats

Total books read

6

World War Z by Max Brooks

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

A Libertarian Walked Into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling

Is It Hot In Here? by Zach Zimmerman

Unmentionable by Therese Oneill

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

World War Z by Max Brooks

I mean, come on. What is there to say at this point? Per my own tracking, this is roughly the 9th or 10th time I've read this since I first came across it, over 10 years ago. And let's be real, this isn't the last time I'm going to read it either. Or listen. This is one of the books that is that much better (IMO) as an audiobook.

Rating: 5 stars

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

How much do we know our parents? What were they like before we came along? What did they have to endure to get to the point where we knew them? These are all questions that come up as siblings Benny and Byron grapple with after their mother dies, leaving them a piece of their mother's famous black cake and a long voice recording. The story slows a bit when it deals with the kids current lives (especially Byron's) but comes together when hearing the mother's story. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

A Libertarian Walked Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling

"A tiny American town's plans for radical self-government overlooked one hairy detail: no one told the bears."

What happens when a group of libertarians decides to move en masse to a small New Hampshire town in an effort to create a libertarian utopia and hopefully spread the message of small government. Except sometimes those rules and regulations the government tries to impose have an actual reason. Like having bear proof garbage cans or fines for feeding the bears, so the bears don't, you know, associate people with food and then think of people AS food. The book is entertaining with a number of colorful characters. The story started as a magazine article and TBH, the article gets you all of the key points while the book felt a bit padded without adding too much.

Rating: 3 stars

Is It Hot In Here (Or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? by Zach Zimmerman

A collection of essays by a comedian who grew up in a conservative Southern household before becoming a queer, liberal New Yorker. His essays are (for the most part) very funny, particularly the chapter dealing with a very drunk twink and a date gone wrong. There were touching moments as well as he thinks about his relationship with his family or revisiting a relationship through their trips to Paris (and how those changed over time). 

Rating: 3.75 stars

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill

Picture this: you're somehow sent back in time to the Victorian era. Sure, you may know about this time from the books you read, but do you know all of the ins and outs to the more delicate bits of day to day life for an upper-middle-class lady in either the US or Western Europe? This book hopes to address all of this. Sometimes the tone was a bit...much. But overall the book was funny and informative, which made up for some of the bits that made me eye roll a bit.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Queenie, a Jamaican-British mid-20 year old living in London is going through a rough time. She and her boyfriend are taking a break and things are spiraling a bit for her as she tries to find somewhere to live, keep her focus on her job and figure out what is it she wants to be. Queenie is constantly making choices that make me want to throw the book across the room but not in a way that frustrated me with the story. Instead it felt like a real person looking for comfort and validation in all the wrong places. Despite the frustrations with her, I wanted to know what she was doing and how she was going to find the strength to hopefully pull herself up

Rating: 4.25 stars

Total pages read

1,890

Fiction

50%

Female authors

50%

BIPOC authors

33%

US authors

83%

Book format

audiobook: 83%

ebook: 17%

Where'd I get the book

gift: 17%

Kindle/Audible: 17%

library: 67%

Rereads

17%

Book club

17%

Decade published

2000s: 17%

2010s: 33%

2020s: 50%

Resolution books

33%

Black Cake is by a Black author

Queenie is by a Black and UK author

May Reading Wrap-Up+

My streak of reading an unusually high (for me) number of books seems to be at an end. I suppose I couldn't keep it up especially when I didn't know what I was doing to make it happen in the first place. This month was especially low on reading time because of vacation which in past times meant extra time for reading but turns out entertaining a 4 year old means there isn't a lot of time to read. But between time at Disney World and a Disney Cruise, we did have plenty of time to meet Mickey

Many Mickey encounters. And zero interest meeting anyone else.

Let's see those stats

Total books read

4

Now Is Not The Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Now Is Not The Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson

One summer in the mid-90s two misfit teenagers in a small Tennessee town meet and create a poster with the words "The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives and the law is skinny with hunger for us." With the use of a stolen photocopier, they paper the town with this poster. And people go nuts. It's a town-wide mystery that expands to the whole country. Are Satanists behind it? Some sort of cult? What does it mean? The reaction seems outsized given what it was but panics can be started over dumber things. Now 20 years later, a reporter has reached out to the now-adult Frankie to confirm if she is behind the poster and the panic. A coming of age story, the role of art and how the intended meaning might get distorted. The story is a bit tedious and as I said, the panic seems overblown, especially as it expands beyond the small town. 

Rating: 3 stars

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

This has a great opening. A young girl, Wen, is playing in the yard of a cabin in the middle of nowhere New Hampshire when a big man comes up. He's friendly, helping her catch grasshoppers until he stops and tells her that none of what is about to happen is her fault. Then 3 other strangers show up, wielding strange weapons as this big man Leonard yells that her dads won't want to let them in, but they have to help them save the world. What follows is horror and suspense and some very hard moments. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but even when I was (metaphorically) watching it from between my fingers, I wanted to know more.

Rating: 4 stars

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

First there was Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Then, I came across Iona. And Listen, I'm going to need 100 more books that center on force-of-nature women who meddle in the lives of strangers around them because I loved that book and I loved this one. Iona Iverson has strict rules for her daily commute, such as never talk to those around you. Sure, you can have fun nicknames for them but you don't get involved. Everyone is just trying to get to work. But one day Sexist Manspreader starts to choke and is saved by a nurse, leading to a chain reaction between a number of regular commuters. The book is funny and light and I need more books like this, please and thank you.

Rating: 5 stars

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Following Iona (and being on vacation) meant I was looking for something that was similar in tone. Lighthearted, funny, sweet. I also had the added requirement of something that I already had since I had failed to download a book before my vacation and since we were on a cruise, internet access was spotty at best. Seemed like a good time to re-read The Rosie Project, a sweet rom-com about a genetics professor Don who has trouble with social interactions. In an effort to find love, he embarks on The Wife Project, a detailed questionnaire to help him find the right partner. When his friend sends over a grad student Rosie, he finds she fails key questions. But she also has her own project, trying to find who her real father is. As a genetics professor, Don can help her here and more than that, finds he wants to spend time with Rosie, even when logically it doesn't make sense. I've re-read this a number of times and I love it each time

Rating: 5 stars

Number of pages read

1,175

Fiction

100%

Female authors

25%

BIPOC authors

0%

US authors

50%

Book format

audiobook: 50%

ebook: 50%

Where'd I get the book

Kindle/Audible: 50%

Library: 50%

Rereads

25%

Decade published

2010s: 50%

2020s: 50%

Resolution books

50%

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting is by a UK author

The Rosie Project is by an Australian author

April Reading Wrap Up+

I don't know what it was about April but I really had trouble getting into a reading groove this month. Some starts and stops. Some lack of motivation to read. A lot going on in the month that is enough of a mental distraction I didn't necessarily want to read. Also I currently have a trial of satellite radio and thus have been listening to the 90s station in the car instead of listening to books. Even with all that I still did get through a decent amount of books.

Since I don't have a good why, let's just get to the what. And by "what" I mean those stats.

Total Books read

5

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes

Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana 

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

I found my Kindle and I hadn't read this in a while but it was short and I remember it being funny. And it is. I felt like I'd rather watch it than read it, but then tends to be the same with any play. It's hard to find something to say about a book that has been around so long as is well know. It's funny and ridiculous and at times feels like a "best of Oscar Wilde" collection of quotes, but that's not really a fault in the play. (Though does remind me of when I was in high school a fellow student claiming Shakespeare used some cliched line when the teacher had to point out that line originated with Shakespeare, so wasn't really cliched at the time)

Rating: 4 stars

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Four women of a certain age (60) have spent their lives working as assassins for "the museum" but they're all retiring and taking a lovely cruise as a retirement gift from the company. But of course things can't be that simple (because if they were that simple then this book would be short and boring). Instead they seem to be targeted by someone that works for the Museum. Now they have to figure out why they're being targeted and what they can do to make sure their retirement doesn't end too soon. It has less of the humor I was assuming, perhaps unfairly, since I was comparing this to The Thursday Murder Club books but it's a fun mystery and I do appreciate some variety in protagonists

Rating 3.75 stars

Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes

I didn't read many pregnancy books when I was pregnant. Really just one, Expecting Better. Despite no longer being pregnant by a good few years, I had seen this one floating about and my library finally got a copy so I thought I'd check it out. I think if I was actually pregnant it would have been more helpful and more interesting. Instead it was...fine. I liked what it was doing, taking away some of the judgement  that I have heard (though haven't read so couldn't say first hand) can be in found in books like What To Expect. It's part memoir, chronicling Garbes own questions when she was pregnant, and looking for information instead of rules of what women were and (very often) were NOT to do. The bit on breastfeeding comes off a little more on the rules side, with a few side mentions of "but maybe some women can't". Being someone who didn't for a variety of reasons, this section felt more preachy and because a bit of a turnoff.

Rating: 3 stars

Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I read this for book club and I'll say that I enjoyed it more than the consensus of the group. A sliding-doors style story, where we follow main character Hannah, recently returned to her hometown after jumping from city to city looking for what is right for her, through 2 different paths her life could take based on one decision: does she stay out with her old high school boyfriend or go home with her friend she's staying with? The chapters alternate showing what her life would have been like depending on this one choice. At the heart it's a love story (stories?) and how much role does fate play in our lives. There is a bit at the end I liked but would be a spoiler so I'll leave out. However, the writing for this was just OK and the characters are a bit weak. To quote a fellow book clubber "Liking cinnamon rolls does not a personality make". And I found myself nitpicking a lot of details that typically only happens when I find myself annoyed with the book. But I didn't hate it and sometimes you want something sort of mindless

Rating: 2.75 stars

Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

I really wish I had it together enough to write down where I hear of books when I add them to my TBR list. I'm pretty sure this was a list of best new books in 2022 or something of that nature and would happily give credit if I had a memory better than that of a goldfish. The book is a collection of interconnected short stories all dealing with residents of a low-income high rise in Harlem. A new owner has taken over the building and residents are struggling to meet their current rent, let alone deal with rent hikes as new management is trying to push people out in order to get market-rate tenants in. The characters feel real and fully formed, each with a different and unique voice. The audiobook helped with this certainly (they had different voice actors for each short story, including Bahni Turpin who has read a number of books I like and it seems silly to get exciting for a narrator but hearing some bad ones makes you really appreciate someone so good), but the writing carries it as well. There is no mistaking a Mimi for a Quanneisha. My only real complaint is because the stories are interconnected it felt like there was going to be an over-arching narrative that would come to some kind of conclusion by the end. However, even without that this was an excellent collection.

Rating: 4.25 stars

Total pages read

1,240

Fiction

80%

Female authors

60%

BIPOC authors

40%

US authors

80%

Book format

audiobook: 80%

ebook: 20%

Where'd I get the book

library: 40%

gift: 40%

Kindle: 20%

Rereads

20%

Classics

20%

Book club

20%

Decade published

1890s: 20%

2010s: 40%

2020s: 40%

Resolution books

60%

The Importance of Being Earnest is by an Irish author and from before 2000 (by a good amount)

Like a Mother is by a Filipino-American author

Stories from the Tenants Downstairs is by a Black author