What Kind of Paradise - Janelle Brown

Interesting choice for Book Club this month! I enjoyed this book and I am still thinking about some of the themes, which are rather too close to home in many ways. I do think the book could have been a tad shorter - I think the writing style, while enjoyable, sometimes came across as "too many notes." But I enjoyed the book and look forward to the discussion. 

I Must Betray You - Ruta Sepetys

Found this book at my local library's annual book sale last year and picked it up because I recognized the author's name (from this book I read way back in 2011!). This was a very fast-paced YA historical fiction novel that explores Romania just before the 1989 revolution. The author builds a real sense of the oppressiveness of life at the time, and provides some truly disturbing details. Recommended. 

The Spider Sapphire Mystery - Carolyn Keene

Found this book at a yard sale, and it's a copy from "my era" - the time of my childhood when I was reading every Nancy Drew book I could get my hands on. I may have even had this particular book - I no longer have any of my childhood books, unfortunately, and I can't remember which Nancy Drew books I used to own. It's a definite relic from the past, but I read it in 90 minutes so it was an .... interesting look into the past, ha ha. 

My Friend Anne Frank - Hannah Pick-Goslar

It's more important than ever to remember the stories of those who survived the Holocaust, as they are also telling us the stories of those who did not. This is a really important book - and not just because of the author's link to Anne Frank, who has become a symbol for those who were murdered. Hearing her own heartbreaking story is difficult - I cannot imagine even a fraction of what she endured. Recommended. 

Discovering Moths - John Himmelman

How much do you ever think about moths? I confess I don't think about them too much, except if I am reading after dark near a window, and my cat is stalking the moths who are attracted by the lamplight. A couple years ago I did notice a hummingbird moth visiting some flowers in front of my house, and that was a delightful sighting and also puzzling, as I didn't realize that many moth species are actually active during the day. 

If you would like to learn more about moths, this book is for you. The subtitle says it all: "Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard - Eastern North American Species." This was a really fun and informative book. The writing is great and the author is quite funny. The book features lots of illustrations and a ton of cool color photographs of moths, making it a great reference. It would make a great gift for anyone who is interested in nature, or who likes to watch birds. Recommended. 

Gothic Life - Aurelio Voltaire

Picked up this book at Five Below for $5 a while back, and I was *thrilled.* If you don't know the author, he's a super-talented musician, singer, songwriter, artist, and a bunch of other cool stuff including his great YouTube channel, The Lair of Voltaire. This book is like a printed form of many of his videos, and despite its size, it's stuffed full of wonderful information including step-by-step DIY project instructions, recipes, decor and design ideas, all with a goth twist. It really lives up to its subtitle, "The Essential Guide to Macabre Style." It would be a great gift for that goth in your life, or for anyone who loves Halloween. Recommended. 

On Tyranny - Timothy Snyder

Went out and got myself a copy of this book in January 2025, started to read it, and then inexplicably put it down until now. Maybe it was too close to home at the time? Not that it's any farther from home now, but ... who knows. This is a must-read book for anyone who has open eyes right now. As the subtitle suggests, it's "Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century" and it should be required reading. I will definitely be referring to this book. 

Western Lane - Chetna Maroo

Stumbled on this book in Dollar Tree, of all places. It's a small book that was shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, so I figured why not pick it up. It was a fast read but left a lasting impression. It's more of a character study than a plot-driven novel, but the writing was good and I enjoyed it. 

Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane

This book has the distinction of being one of the oldest books on my TBR Pile. It's one of the few remaining (maybe even the last?) books from the Borders Last Day Sales, way back when, when I was like the proverbial kid in a candy store grabbing books left, right, and center for a steep discount. 

I have no idea why I have been putting it off this long. This was quite the page-turner! I read it at a steady clip. The writing is good and the story moves along, and keeps you guessing and wondering. This would be a great read on a longish airplane flight as it would keep your interest. Also a great beach / vacation read. Recommended. 

Raising Hare - Chloe Dalton

What a lovely book. The author's amazing account of her life with a wild hare is a joy to read. As an animal lover, it always brings me joy to hear about a human that protects animals, that respects animals, and that can have a positive close encounter (or in this case, ongoing encounters I guess) with wild animals. And I even added a new word to my vocabulary: leveret, a word I don't ever remember hearing before reading this book. This book would be a great gift for an animal lover. Recommended. 

Real Americans - Rachel Khong (Spoilers?)

I have mixed feelings about this Book Club book. The writing was good but I am not sure what I am supposed to take away from it. The two main characters are so .... meh, so negative, so conflicted, but it's hard to know exactly why in some cases. From the title, I assumed the book would be some kind of exploration of what it means to be a first generation American, or how it feels to grow up in a place where you are in a minority group. Or even what it's like to be "white passing" in the U.S. But ultimately it really wasn't about any of those things? Not sure what to make of this. 

DNF - The Moonlight Runner

Oh dear oh dear, my July reading is not going well. Reader, I did it again - I invoked the "life's too short" principle and didn't finish a book. This one was a real trial. It was basically Twilight without the supernatural creatures. The writing was super clunky and I just couldn't get into it. It's a shame because the premise seemed interesting. Wish me luck for my future reading!! 

DNF - My Dear Hamilton

Well, this is a first for this blog! 

So this book was this month's book club selection, and it sounded promising from the description. 

It did not keep the promise LOL 

I seriously couldn't finish it. The writing was terrible. It was repetitive and long winded and the entire book could have been 1/3 of the whopping 600+ page length. I resorted to skimming here and there just because I HATE to give up on a book, but life is WAY too short to waste on this dreck. I should have just rewatched Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton musical. I also wouldn't mind reading the Hamilton biography that evidently inspired the musical. This book was a total waste of time, but it does have the distinction of being the first book that I didn't really finish that I am blogging here. Just watch the show Turn: Washington's Spies instead. LOL

The Rose Field - Philip Pullman

The back of this book states: "The breathtaking conclusion to The Book of Dust" - and so it was! Is it wrong to be greedy about books, in that I really want to spend more time in this world? I am also still thinking about a lot of the content. Fingers crossed we get more in a few years' time. Highly recommended. 

Hannah's Forehead & Other Horror Stories - David Thorne

Finally got around to reading this special-edition book that I got myself as a holiday gift last year. It came in a package with a bunch of cool and random items, which was fun, and it is numbered - although knowing the author, I wonder if all the books have the same number LOL Although it's described as being random musings that were not suitable for previous books, some of them really made me laugh. If you like this author, you'll like this as well. 

Threads of Empire - Dorothy Armstrong

How much thought do we ever give to carpets? I can honestly say I used to give them little thought, but after reading this book I will definitely pay more attention! I really liked the structure of this book, where we learn about the history of carpets and carpet weaving by looking at 12 separate carpets from various points in history, as described in the book's subtitle: "A History of the World in Twelve Carpets." A well written book that has opened my eyes to something I took for granted. 

Every Child Counts - Deborah D. Proctor, M.D.

This book's subtitle, "breaking the cycle of poverty by educating one child at a time" summarizes the contents nicely, as this book is both the recounting of the author's work with an orphanage in Costa Rica and her attempts to reconcile a really important question - do our attempts to help others actually help them? How can we best measure success? How can we provide help without disrupting a community? All important things that are easy to overlook or cast aside when we want to feel like we have "done something." And very timely. I enjoyed this book, for both this debate and seeing how it played out in real life over the years in the lives of some of the children. 

Four Treasures of the Sky - Jenny Tinghui Zhang

This was a seriously heavy novel. The subject matter is disturbing, even more so because it's based on reality. What is wrong with humanity? I really want an answer. As a species we are just awful in general. The writing is good and the topic is timely, so I am happy to have read this book and to have learned more about something I only knew a little about. So I would recommend this book, because we can never forget the past - we have to try to improve. Please tell me if you know how, I am out of ideas. 

Flood of Fire - Amitav Ghosh (Spoilers)

This review includes spoilers for this book, so please skip this review for now if you'd rather read the book first

I had to immediately read this third installment in this trilogy - I needed closure! And I certainly got it - moreso than the second book. I believe we saw what happened to all of the main characters from Sea of Poppies. The setups in River of Smoke mostly paid off as well. We see up close the horrible cost of war on the humans who are caught up in it, willingly or not. I loved getting to know Deeti's brother, although I missed Deeti. I also would have loved to see a certain horrible person get their comeuppance, although I suppose it's more realistic that that didn't happen, and to learn what happened to Kabutri. 

I will say that the plot around Zachary puzzled me greatly. I could not easily or readily connect his behavior in this book with his behavior in the first book - it seemed like such a character change. But thinking it over, maybe not? And also, when we have access to Baboo Nob Kissin's thoughts, it makes it more clear that Zachary is now the embodiment of the greed of this era, of the willingness to cause whatever harm is necessary to make money at the end of it all. Sadly, it seems like this era of evil greed is ongoing. Will it ever end? 

This line caught me entirely off guard and brought tears to my eyes and I had to pause my reading for some minutes to process it: "'Raj Rattan, sir,' he said in a clear voice."

All in all I am immensely happy that I stumbled on that copy of Sea of Poppies on the Library Sales shelves all those years ago. While I did love seeing the story play out across three books, that first book will always be one of my very favorite books of all time and I will never stop recommending it. 

River of Smoke - Amitav Ghosh (Spoilers?)

This review has some information that could constitute a spoiler, so please take that into consideration.

I finally, FINALLY got to read this book, the sequel to my beloved Sea of Poppies, and the second book in the Ibis Trilogy. Before I started the book, I had no idea if it was a direct sequel but it did in fact pick up pretty much right where the previous book leaves off. We don't hear a lot about some of the characters, which is too bad, because I just love them all so much I actually missed them. A lot of the book is almost more about placing us in space and time than catching us up on the characters, but we do spend quite a bit of time with some of them, and catch glimpses of others. I will say that it had less of a cinematic feel than the first book, but of course it was still top notch and I highly recommend it. On to the next book!! 

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde - Tia Williams

This book would be a lovely beach read. I liked the main character and I liked how the love story came together. The story would make a fun movie, even with the more serious topics the book covers. The writing was just OK, very typical of today's bestsellers, so much telling, telling, telling!! But overall a good light read if you're in the mood for a romance.  

Happy Land - Dolen Perkins-Valdez

I have mixed feelings about this book. The story was interesting but everything was sort of drawn out. I don't feel like the characters in the present-day part of the story were sufficiently developed to have an impact on me as a reader. I preferred the portions of the story that were set in the past - that was very inspiring and also, of course, infuriating because of the same hateful bigots that we can't seem to ever be rid of. It's really cool that it's actually based on a true story so I will be doing some research. 

The Girl in the Green Dress - Mariah Fredericks

This was an enjoyable mystery that kept me guessing. I liked the setting of course, and the inclusion of some of the famous people of the era as characters. The writing was slightly clunky here and there but overall this is a great beach read. 

Where the Rivers Merge - Mary Alice Monroe

This book was like a Hallmark Channel movie in book form. LOL

Paradise Falls - Keith O'Brien

As an Official OldTM, I have vague memories of the Love Canal but as I was a child, I didn't know any details. Having read this book, I am now in awe of how a dedicated group of people were able to painstakingly bring about change. At great cost, mind you, but my hat is off to them for doing the difficult thing in the face of tremendous adversity. But of course the real question is: why is money allowed to get away with absolutely everything? Why are companies allowed to destroy the environment and cause people to die of preventable things? It's disgusting and I hate it but I don't know what to do about it. This book was well written and I highly recommend it. Now excuse me while I go listen to one of my favorite songs, Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye, on repeat for a while. 

Isola - Allegra Goodman

February's Book Club choice was an enigma. The story is fascinating but this book is so drawn out it was difficult to really get into it. It wasn't awful, but it was just too low-key and slow going. Now I need to go down the rabbit hole of the true story this book is based on. 

Cabin - Patrick Hutchison

This nonfiction account was very enjoyable. The author is more outdoorsy than I am by a factor of at least 10, but I liked his writing style and he made me laugh out loud several times, which is actually extremely rare when I'm reading. The book made me want to be invited to the titular cabin with his fun friend group, despite the outhouse. It was kind of amazing to me that he started with basically zero knowledge and ended up turning an almost-wreck into a cool getaway spot, proven by the included photos. Recommended. 

Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt

What a wonderful book. I loved every minute of this. If you haven't read this just go read it right now. Highly Recommended.