Flying through 2025, with April behind us already. It felt like a slower reading month for me in general, though I guess it's pretty much on par with the past few months. It just felt slower I guess.
I did acquire some new books in April though, so that's fun. I picked up a copy of the Vera Wong sequel Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto, I picked up a few Jasper Fforde Kazam Chronicles books as part of the read-to-the-boy-at-night series, AND I introduced the little monster to Independent Bookstore Day (a very important holiday) where he picked up a Pokemon Handbook and an InvestiGators book.
Lastly, before getting to the stats, I have started watching the Netflix show/miniseries The Residence and It. Is. Wonderful. Murder mystery, very Knives Out-esque (and I say this honestly! Looking at you, pretty much every single book that also claims to be like Knives Out) with an eccentric detective played by Uzo Aduba ("Crazy Eyes" from Orange is the New Black) hired to solve a murder at the White House.
Now, to The Stats!
Total books read
5
The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde
An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams
The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde
We're back in the Ununited Kingdoms with Jennifer Strange, who is still running Kazam after saving the last of the Dragons. Now Jennifer has to face corporate and government greed as King Snood IV is partnering with Sorcerer Blix for control of magic (with one side wanting to use it for business while Jennifer and her cohorts want to make sure magic remains free). There's all of the usual Fforde shenanigans, satire, absurdity, and of course seemingly impossible odds. A fun sequel in the Kazam Chronicles and my own monster seems to enjoy it as a story to fall asleep to, and maybe in the future one for him to read on his own.
Rating: 4.3 stars
An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten
A short collection of short stories about Maude, an elderly Swedish lady who likes things the way she likes them and doesn't mind a little murder if it helps smooth things out. It was nice quite what I was expecting when I picked up the book (though I should have cos the summary makes it clear what it's about) but it's a fun lil collection, and maybe keep an eye out on those little old ladies who seem to have murder around them.
Rating: 3.8 stars
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Phoebe's life has been falling apart so she decides she's going to treat herself to one last decadent vacation in her "happy place" (a boutique hotel she's seen but never visited), get herself a nice dinner, listen to some music, and then kill herself. But the hotel has been booked for the week for a large and elaborate wedding and Phoebe getting a room at all was a bit of a mistake. A mistake the bride is NOT OK with because how can Phoebe kill herself and ruin her wedding? The two women find themselves confiding in each other as Phoebe gets pulled more and more into the orbit of these wedding people. the book is so funny and touching, with so many poignant lines. This was a book I couldn't wait to get back into anytime I put it down. Loved it.
Rating: 5 stars
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
A character-driven story spanning decades about the Padavano family and the rift that comes between the sisters. William grows up in a house without love or connection, finding refuge in basketball. Until he's in college and meets eldest Padavano girl Julia and is embraced into her family. It's described as an homage to Little Women and there are lots of direct references to the book throughout the story, though the most I know about LW is watching a VHS copy of the 1994 Christian Bale, Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst version and about all I remember is the cover of the movie. I don't think that made much of a difference but perhaps if you know the story better this will resonate more. Because ultimately, for a character driven story, most of the characters felt flat to me. I didn't get much in the way of personality which meant it was harder to care about them and about what happened. But it had some beautiful turns of phrase here or there
Rating: 3.5 stars
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams
This book is wild. A memoir of Wynn-Williams time working in public policy at Facebook, in a role that she pitched to the company for months before finally getting hired because she believed Facebook could be a role of good in the world (this was early 2010s). She learns over her years there how wrong she was and the lengths senior leadership will go to protect their interests and their egos and make money. Every time you think "It can't get crazier than that" it DOES. Repeatedly. Facebook denies the claims made in the book and have sued Wynn-Williams claiming she breached her non-disparagement agreement and have blocked her from promoting the book.
Rating: 4 stars
Total pages read
1,666
Fiction
80%
Female authors
80%
BIPOC authors
0%
US authors
40%
Book club pick
20%
Translation
20%
Format
audiobook: 60%
ebook: 40%
Where'd I get the book
Kindle/Audible: 20%
Library: 80%
Decade published
2010s: 40%
2020s: 60%
Resolution books
60%
The Song of the Quarkbeast is by a Welsh author
An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good is by a Swedish author and is a translation
Carless People is by a New Zealand author
