The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie

When I was a kid 10000000 years ago, I loved the Hercule Poirot novels, but I never really read any of the other books by the same author, like the Miss Marple books, etc. It recently occurred to me that a fun project might be to read all of Agatha Christie's books in the order in which they were published, so on a recent trip to the library I grabbed this, the first book, first published back in 1920. 

Cue the flashback to this book. SIGH. 

Once again, I get it, the n-word was used a lot in those days, people (well, white people, of course) didn't think of it as particularly offensive, it's not used against someone but as a descriptor of a costume (which in some ways is way worse), but I just can't. I can't erase or change the past but it really sucks to be reading merrily along and get slapped in the face like this. I guess I might be able to overlook it if things today were very different but ..... I just can't. 

Overall, this was a good mystery, although to be honest I had trouble keeping track of the characters. It was fun to meet M. Poirot for the first time and try to puzzle out the solution to the mystery, which is clever. But I think I will work on other books. 

View from a Hill - Mark Burgess

Another favorite band is The Chameleons (sometimes called The Chameleons UK in the US). Weirdly enough, I don't remember where or how I first heard them, I just have this impression that I have always really liked them. This autobiography tells the story of the band from the perspective of one of the band's founding members/lead singer. When I was a lot younger I wanted to be in a band, and this book made me both wish I could have made it happen and also feel thankful that it never did. Wow, record companies are some of the shadiest "businesses" out there! However, being in a band seems to consist of like 75% getting drunk/taking drugs/fighting with bandmates, 20% fighting with record companies, and like 5% playing and writing music so who knows, maybe I got the better end of the deal after all. This book was very well written and was an enjoyable, illuminating read. 

The main takeaway: if you are ever wondering about what the lyrics to your favorite song mean, it's most likely something to do with alcohol/drugs. LOL

Don't worry, there are more Joy Division books coming soon too, ha ha!

Reading Behind Bars - Jill Grunenwald

The closest I have ever come to being in a prison is a visit to Folsom Prison, which has a cool museum for visitors who like the Johnny Cash song but have no other business being there. Having watched shows like Oz, Orange Is the New Black, and even Prison Break, I can honestly say I have no desire to ever get a closer view of what goes on behind the walls. Luckily people like the author have more courage than I do, and can provide first-hand accounts, in this case from the perspective of a prison librarian. This book covered the importance of libraries in general to society, and the importance of information access to everyone, including people who are incarcerated. I imagine having access to a library could really make a difference to someone who might be trying to get their life back on track. I do have a question for the author - did the young man she recommended The Great Gatsby to like it? A fascinating look at a world most of us will never see for ourselves. 

Deadlines Don't Care If Janet Doesn't Like Her Photo - David Thorne

If you aren't familiar with this author, I suggest you start here to get an idea of his comedy. I happen to find him hilarious and this book was more of the same. Recommended. 

The Family Upstairs - Lisa Jewell

Readers, this book was a serious page turner. Recommended to me as a cool spooky novel, I have to say it lived up to the recommendation. I think I read this in a total of like 6 hours over 2 days and didn't want to put it down. It kept me guessing too. Recommended 

The Five Wounds - Kirstin Valdez Quade

Another book full of people that make it soooooooo hard to want to like them LOL This author really has a way of providing just enough information about characters to make the reader simultaneously want to root for them and also grab them by the shoulders and give them a good shake. I suspect there is much to be made of the symbolism in this book's title and the events that unfold. In the end I guess we are all wounded in some way, and it's what we are able to achieve despite these wounds that matters. 

A Woman Is No Man - Etaf Rum

Wow, readers, this book really broke my heart. It manages the nearly impossible task of making us feel hopeless and making us feel like there is always hope in the world, even if it's hard to see. It was sort of a tough read but it was also an interesting look into a community I personally knew little to nothing about. There is a character that I want to pluck out of this book and just hand a whole new life. I think this character will live in my head for a long time. Recommended. 

Legendary Children - Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez

Something you might not know about me is that I am a HUGE fan of the art of drag. I don't know when it started*, but obviously I was over the moon when RuPaul's Drag Race premiered way back in 2009, and I have watched every episode of the U.S. version since**. My favorite thing to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon is rewatch the latest episode and I sometimes even get a little emotional during the lip syncs, because watching amazingly talented, creative, and artistic individuals do what they do best is incredibly moving to me. 

Quick side note - The Boulet Brothers' Dragula is another cool drag competition that has moved to yet another paid streaming service, although it tilts a bit more toward the "filth" and "horror" elements, in case that's not your bag. 

At this point you might be wondering - is there a point to this post? Yaaaas queen, there is - I finally got around to reading this awesome book. The subtitle is: "The First Decade of RuPaul's Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life" and the book is just that - a history of queer culture as seen through Drag Race, which incorporates it at every turn. Now that I have read this book through once, I intend to read it again much more slowly, so I can pause and do research on some of the drag pioneers I wasn't already aware of. Total must-read for fans of drag and highly recommended. 

*Fun fact - I was blessed by a drag queen at age 21, which was a loooooooong time ago in a galaxy semi-far away

**As the overseas versions are on Paramount + and I refuse to pay for yet another streaming service I sadly won't be watching them soon, but I obviously hope to someday

Creatures - Crissy van Meter

So this book has left me feeling divided. Part of me felt like this was a somewhat pretentious grad-school/MFA exercise, and part of me can't stop thinking about what I think it all meant. All of the characters are difficult to like, in my opinion, but at the same time the author manages to make the reader care about what happens to - well, some of them. I feel like there was symbolism that I am going to be thinking about and unpacking on this one for a while. 

The Last Mona Lisa - Jonathan Santlofer

This book would be a great beach read. It's a fast-paced thriller in the style of Dan Brown. I'm not a fan of his, but if you are, you will probably like this book. I enjoyed the art history and travel aspects of the story - the author is an artist, and his knowledge shines through. The writing is also better than Dan Brown, albeit with some clunky bits, things that left me with questions, etc. It would make a decent movie too. All in all it was a decent choice for book club in January, if a little too "bestseller" for my taste.