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.