Beloved - Toni Morrison (Spoilers?)

Well, this was a real tonal shift in reading from the previous book! 

This book was a challenge for many reasons. Obviously slavery in the U.S. is something we all have to confront and come to terms with, and it isn't easy to read about it or its (ongoing) aftereffects. The story here was kind of perplexing to me though. Is it someone's descent into madness, based on past trauma? Who really was Beloved? I am not sure what to make of it to be honest, but I will definitely be thinking about it for some time. 

Secret Connecticut: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure - Anastasia Mills Healy

April's theme is: books I have been putting off reading for no good reason! 

When I travel, I love to seek out places that are, as the title suggests, weird, wonderful, and obscure. Sure, it's fun to hit the main tourist sites and all that - imagine visiting Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower, for example - but I love offbeat stuff so this book appealed to me on that level. 

Who knew that Connecticut, one of the smallest states in the U.S., had so many weird places?? I had no idea that the inspiration for Arsenic and Old Lace took place there, or that the Amistad was docked there. There is a bridge with huge frog statues, a brain archive, a hotel with a helicopter in one of the rooms, so many interesting places to see. The author's writing style is very clear and conversational and she makes everything sound like someplace I want to visit. If you are planning a trip to Connecticut, this book is a must-have. Recommended. 

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch - Daniel Kraus

I know 3 books seems like a small amount for a month's reading, but this third and final book in the March  theme is a whopping 642 pages long, so in effect it could have counted for 3 full books in itself. This YA book* is in fact "Volume One: At the Edge of Empire" and covers the titular character's life and ... well, second life? from the turn of the 20th century until the 1930s. The writing is great, and for the most part the characters feel really alive in the sense that you may not agree with everything they do, but they seem like real people. There is a lot of attention to detail that I appreciated. There were times here and there that I felt the book could have been just a wee bit shorter, but the story kept me going. Apparently there is a sequel which I would totally read. Recommended. 

*I'm sensing there was a theme in that cardboard box

The Secret of Nightingale Wood - Lucy Strange

By coincidence, this YA book has a lot in common thematically with the previous theme book, however, the setting is completely different. I think I would have loved this book if it had been available to me as a kid (the target audience). As an adult I thought it was a lovely, well written book that felt like a classic book I would have read during my childhood. Recommended. 

The Space Between Before and After - Sue Stauffacher

Before we get to the review, I'd like to announce March's reading theme: books I got for free at the library! To clarify: these aren't books I got for free by borrowing them from the library, they are books I was able to take home and keep for free. 

It happened like this: 

One Saturday, I was out running errands with Mr. K and one of the errands was returning a library book. In the library lobby, there was a huge cardboard box filled with books with "FREE - PLEASE HELP YOURSELF" written on it. If you think I can pass that up, you are sadly mistaken! Mr. K was waiting in the car so to save time I randomly grabbed 3 books from this box and left. So the books in this theme are all from this generous cardboard box, ha ha!

And now, on to the review:

This YA (I think) book was a really touching story that I thought was well told. I really sympathized with the main characters, although the father got on my nerves from time to time with his rigid realism. It's a very sad story but the author is able to show how people can help a young person make it through a tragedy. Recommended. 

The Reading List - Sara Nisha Adams (Spoilers)

(This book is impossible to review properly without the use of spoilers, so please come back and read this once you've read the book if you'd like to avoid this :) )

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March's book club choice was.... OK. I don't know why I just can't connect with these "bestseller" type books. I loved the premise: a mysterious list of books found by random people leads to them connecting in unexpected ways. As a bookworm, this is such a cool idea - and I confess that if I found a list of books like this I would want to read them all as well. And I totally got that the books on the list are related to what the characters in this book are going through - that part worked for me. But overall this book was just... OK. Are there truly no editors of any kind in the publishing world anymore? The writing itself is loaded with cliches and is just "meh" at best. Characters are introduced and then disappear. No one is described in a way that creates mental images. The suicide at the end of the story makes no sense within the context of the story as told - what would have been better is for it to have happened before the book begins, as then the characters who never read books before can connect through mutual loss over reading as a way to get closer to their loved ones and process things. And I will go on record as saying that people who have never read a novel in their lives are highly unlikely to pick up Jane Austen and immediately swoon (but maybe that's just me). I didn't hate this but I wanted to like it so much more than I did. 

We That Are Young - Preti Taneja

Not sure what to make of this book, which is evidently a reimagining of King Lear that takes place in a wealthy Indian family. There was something about the writing style that felt kind of staccato, for lack of a better word; for whatever reason it was hard for me to read. I am still not sure what to think of some of the events that happen in the book but they are vivid images in my mind so I guess that worked as intended. And at nearly 500 pages, this was a good way to finish the February theme. 

Fun fact: since I paid $1.25 for this book, each page cost .003 cents. 

Haunting Paris - Mamta Chaudhry (Spoilers?)

This book had me at "Paris," one of my favorite places on Earth. If I had to come back as a ghost, I would love to haunt Paris - imagine being able to see all the catacombs at your leisure, and explore all the ancient places people aren't really allowed to go these days. Also, the cover is really well done - it's very melancholy in tone, and has a cool purplish tint to it that I am not sure is super obvious in the photo below, but that adds to the "I'm wandering Paris on a cool autumn night after a nice absinthe at La Fée Verte and marveling at this ancient wonder that is still alive today." So this book was a sure thing when I spotted it at the dollar store.

I swear I did not set out to get multiple books that touch on World War II and the Holocaust - this book is set in 1989 and deals with grief and loss, but also the past and how the past haunts us and influences who we become and why. All in all I liked this book. 

Annelies - David R. Gillham (Spoilers)

(This book is impossible to review properly without the use of spoilers, so please come back and read this once you've read the book if you'd like to avoid this :) )

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As you might imagine, this book all but leapt off the shelf of the dollar store and into my TBR pile based on the title alone. Who else could it refer to but Annelies Marie Frank? Longtime readers may remember that Anne and the Holocaust were my reading theme back in June 2015, and while I don't claim to be up to date on all of the books about Anne and her family and friends that seem to pop up regularly, I had never heard of this work of speculative fiction from 2019. 

The premise is intriguing: what if Anne had survived to be liberated from the Belsen concentration camp? The author has obviously done a lot of research, and the first third of the book follows the real story so readers who haven't read the Diary and other related books millions of times like I have get all the key information needed before the fictionalized account begins. I won't lie, I was sort of equally psyched to read this, and also nervous - what if the author bungles the storytelling and it annoys me? 

In the end, I thought the author did a decent job overall with this story. I liked that the helpers (Miep, Bep, Kugler, and Kleiman) were called by their real names. I also liked that the chaos following World War II wasn't sugar coated - there was no "movie ending" where the war ends and things are perfect; the world was in disorder and it wasn't easy for people who did survive to simply reintegrate into the society they had been forced from with the idea that they would not live to return to it. 

I am not sure what to think of the subplot of Otto Frank getting remarried to a fictional character invented by the author - he did remarry after the war, but I guess it worked as a writing device to keep things moving on. And thank goodness the author did not burden us with any sort of s3x scene (you never know with books that are trying to provide a "coming of age" story since that pretty much always seems to just mean "has relations for the first time"). The subplot where Otto has Anne's diary and waits a long time before giving it back to her was too dragged out in my opinion - while the author provided a good reason for this in the context of the story he was telling, I feel like Otto would have given it back to Anne right away if she had actually survived. But who knows. Anne also seemed sort of bratty and that seemed to go on a bit longer than I feel like it had to, but again, there is no way to know if that is realistic or not. 

All in all I can say it was worth paying $1.25 to read this - and now I guess I should seek out any other books about Anne I may have also missed. 

The Only Child - Mi-Ae Seo

This was a nicely creepy psychological thriller. A deceptively fast read, it covers some heavy topics and kept me guessing what was actually going on until the end. Well worth the $1.25 I paid for it and then some!

The New Hot - Meg Mathews

This was definitely an interesting find at the dollar store. Subtitled "Cruising through Menopause with Attitude and Style," this book is a thorough introduction to menopause, a subject not often covered in media. The book covers lots of topics including physical symptoms, hormone therapy, ways to relive related stress, and is inclusive, with information for trans people and even a chapter on male menopause. Each chapter has the author's own journey through the "change of life" as well as expert information and advice, and everything is written in an easy to read, breezy style that makes it a great way to get information as well as a starting point for doing more research on your own. All in all this was a quick, informative read that would be a great introduction to the topic. 

Matrix - Lauren Groff

Not sure what to make of this book, which was our book club choice for February. Evidently it is a sort of character study of Marie de France, a 12th Century poet. It's rather ... languid, I guess, and self-consciously literary (I won't bother to link that article I link too much already). While I didn't dislike it, I am not sure I liked it, either. One interesting stylistic choice was a complete lack of dialogue, meaning there are no words put into quotations. I can't really recommend it, but it did make me want to read up on the real person who possibly inspired it. 

You're on an Airplane - Parker Posey

February's reading theme is: books I bought at the dollar store. In the U.S. (not sure if other countries have this particular chain, although I know there are versions of this store all over the world) we have a chain called Dollar Tree, which sells a wide variety of merchandise including cheaply made versions of everyday products (plastic organization bins, picture frames, greeting cards, office supplies, makeup and nail polish, cleaning supplies, kitchen gadgets, seasonal stuff, snacks and candy, etc.) as well as "overstock" merchandise - mainly stuff that didn't sell in a previous store at regular price - for $1.25 (it used to be a dollar, but the prices have gone up slightly). Among all the other stuff they actually have a small book section that I of course check out if I happen to be there, and sometimes I find something I can't resist. February's books are these random $1.25 book bargains I stumbled on that have found their way to my TBR Pile. 

And now, on to our first such book! 

I am a big fan of Parker Posey, so when I saw this book I snapped it up without a second thought. She pops up in so many interesting projects, like Search Party, which is a totally fun series I love that is on HBO Max these days, classic comedies like Best in Show, and my two favorites of hers, Clockwatchers and Party Girl. So imagine my delight with this quote from the book: "I can always tell the Party Girl fans because they look fun" - I certainly hope I look fun. But something tells me I couldn't hold a candle to the author, who seems like she would be simultaneously fascinating and exhausting to hang out with. 

The conceit of this book is the title - it's structured as if you are seated next to the author on a flight and the book jumps around from topic to topic like a long conversation might. Unlike a typical autobiography that might start with childhood and run chronologically through a career, this one is literally all over the place. We do cover the typical scope of her life and career, just not in an "orderly fashion." There are lots of things I wouldn't mind hearing more about, so perhaps we'll get "You're on Another Airplane" in a few years. A fast, fun recommended read. 

Dracula - Bram Stoker

It's hard to believe I have lived to this ripe old age and never read this book. As I mentioned in this post, I signed up for Dracula Daily in 2022 - a fun free service that sends emails of book excerpts on the day in which they take place in the book. This was a great way to get into the book but ultimately it made me want to read more in a single sitting than 1 email can provide so I decided to get myself a copy for December gift-giving purposes. This was another hit from Mr. K - check this beauty out: 

Yes, this book has illustrations by the wonderful Edward Gorey. It's hard to see in the photo, but there are also bats printed on the pages too. The red portion of the cover is a velvet type material - all in all, a great presentation for a (if not the) classic vampire novel. 

To be honest, while I enjoyed the book overall, the writing could be hit or miss for me. At times it got too repetitive for my taste. I realize this is a feature of the writing of this time period, but it's still sort of annoying to this modern reader. When the writing is on, though, it works really well - the scene setting is well done and the atmosphere is suitably creepy. I can imagine this being a huge hit when it was initially released and it's easy to see why, and also easy to see why it is such an inspiration for vampire stories even today. 

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

As an English (literature) major, one might suppose that I would have a well-thumbed copy of this book lying around, perhaps even notated by hand here and there. Sadly you would be mistaken. For some reason I decided I wanted a nice copy of this book to have on hand so I asked for one for Yule and Mr. K did not disappoint - check out this lovely cover: 

I actually reviewed this book on this blog 10 years ago (you can read that here). I still haven't seen the movie I complained about last time, but now I think I might want to check it out, just to see how it all comes together. I still love the writing. The story is still making me think about how our choices make us who we are (and who we are not). There is probably nothing I can really say about this book that hasn't been said before (and better) but it deserves to be considered a classic. 

The Leading Ladies - Erika Maren Steiger

The second book in the Ella Graepenteck Genealogy Mystery series did not disappoint (my review of the first book is here). This is another fun cozy mystery that kept me guessing. Something new in this book is the inclusion of family trees that get filled out as the story unfolds; this was a really neat addition to the story and a helpful visual aid at times. Apparently there will be another book in the series coming soon and I can't wait to read it. 

The Book of Dust Volume Two: The Secret Commonwealth - Philip Pullman

Wow, readers, this book was really something. The author has created another engaging and complex chapter in this alternate universe and added so many new aspects to it that it's really satisfying for a fan to read. He has managed to weave together the events of the previous volume and show some of the results of previous actions and choices made. The villains are no less scary than those in His Dark Materials - in fact, in many ways they are more frightening. The heroes are doing their best but they are outnumbered (what fun would it be otherwise?). The overall tone in this book is more serious and somber, but this isn't unwelcome at all - and that's not to say that it's joyless or something. It's just a well done, complicated story with a lot of facets that touch on philosophy, theology, metaphysics, and who knows what else. It's also a ripping yarn. I cannot wait for the 3rd book to see how it all comes out. 

The Book of Dust Volume One: La Belle Sauvage - Philip Pullman

Readers what can I say, this book was well worth waiting for. It's a sort of prequel to the His Dark Materials book series and it introduces us to many new characters we can love and hate, as well as filling in some of the gaps in our knowledge of characters from the previous series. I absolutely adore Malcolm; I so wish I had had a friend like him when I was his age in this book. 

I can't really say much about the book without getting into major spoilers, but I will say that something deeply disturbing happens at the end of this book and it made me seriously angry. So angry that I considered writing a bit of a rant about it, but after much reflection I understand narratively why the author  decided on it; that doesn't mean I condone it at all - I think the way things play out would have been fine without this particular something. But whatever, overall, it didn't spoil my appreciation for this book in general. And I can't wait to read Volume 2, which was also a December gift. 

Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti were Gods on Earth - John Darnell and Colleen Darnell

My most anticipated December gift, this book was published in November of 2022 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Akhenaten's son, Tutankhamun (né Tutankhaten). As I mentioned here, my ever-present love for Egypt has had a bit of an awakening lately and when I discovered this book I couldn't put it on my holiday gift wishlist fast enough. 

This is a beautifully written, thoroughly researched deep dive into the history of one of Egypt's most controversial and, consequently, interesting, periods. As the subtitle suggests, the book goes into detail showing how the role of the royal couple was transformed during this period. The writing is wonderful, scholarly but easily understood. Numerous illustrations augment the descriptions and there are extensive notes provided for sources and ideas for further reading. 

My favorite part was the beginning of each chapter, when the authors bring history to life with vignettes placing the reader in a scene as it might have occurred in history. I would love it if the Darnells produced a series of historical fiction books set in Amarna, maybe a mystery series starring the chief of police? Just an idea! :) A must read for anyone with an interest in Ancient Egypt. Highly recommended. 

Side note - the autocorrect feature here in Blogspot recognizes and autocorrects the names Akhenaten and Nefertiti, but not Tutankhamun - isn't that interesting? 

Counterfeit - Kirstin Chen (Spoilers?)

This review might have details that could constitute spoilers if that bothers you! 

This was a fun January book club choice. A deceptively fast read, I am left with so many questions. The title can be literal, but it seems to also pertain to the story as a whole - I am not sure if I was dealing with an unreliable narrator, or not - what was real? Can't wait for the discussion. Recommended. 

Downtown: Minneapolis in the 1970s - Mike Evangelist and Andy Sturdevant

This is a really neat coffee table type book featuring Mike Evangelist's photos of downtown Minneapolis in the early 1970s, with some text by Andy Sturdevant. I spent some time there in the later part of the 70s so while this book is a teeny bit ahead of my time, and I was just a kid, the photos brought back lots of memories. If someone invents a Time Machine in my lifetime, I would love to go back to this Minneapolis and just walk around the streets and take in the sights for a couple of hours on a nice fall day. Nothing like some good nostalgia to welcome in a brand new year! Recommended. 

Quick side note - this book is the first for the January reading category/theme: Books I got as gifts in December 2022. Many more to come! :)