The Vinyl Underground

The Vinyl Underground by Rob Rufus (2020) 328 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by Nick Mondelli. It is 1968 and Ronnie is still grieving the death of his brother over in Vietnam the year before. He's now a senior and questioning his future plans. Does he still want to pursue his brother's dream of being a radio DJ in California, or go to college to pursue his own path? Will either of those even be an option if he is drafted? Ronnie's brother had sent him a series of letters each with a recommended song on a 45rpm. He privately cherished these letters and his brother's stash of great albums. With his best friend Milo, their new neighbor Hana, who is half-Japanese, and a fellow star wrestler Louis, who has already failed his first senior-year to defer being called in the draft, Ronnie forms the Vinyl Underground. They form the record club to share righteous songs and chat about school and the war while drinking and smoking weed. They also plan how to dodge the draft. Ronnie finds it is better to work through his grief when he shares his brother's letters and recommended songs. Hana's family is new to town and faces a lot of racism. A bully at school constantly accuses her of being a spy for the Vietnamese. There is a scene of a sickening attack on Hana that is racially motivated. Milo wants to be a filmmaker and has recorded the attack, but the police doubt the identity of the assailant. This sets in motion the boys planning a super secret prank at the school prom. I loved the name-dropping of musicians from this decade. I could hear most of them in my head. I loved the exploration of courage in the face of pro-war forces and those who protest the war machine.
 

The Brides of High Hill

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo, 128 pages

On their never-ending quest for stories, cleric Chih has found themself in the company of a bride-to-be and her parents on the way meet the groom at his estate. When they arrive, however, something seems off, with fortified walls surrounding the compound, odd sculptures spread throughout, and, perhaps most unnerving, the groom-to-be's insane son locked in a labyrinth. Soon Chih learns that stories are even more powerful than they thought, and that monsters are not always hidden in the shadows.

This is the fifth entry in Vo's Singing Hills Cycle of novellas, and just like all the others, it's excellent. Not really much more to say than that, and also, read these books (in any order, though I wouldn't necessarily start with this one).

Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies

Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack, 352 pages

Ten years ago, Eleanor Dash went on vacation in Rome, fell in love with charming PI/"consultant" Connor, and helped solve a string of bank robberies that ended up with the head of the local mafia behind bars. When she came home, she wrote about it, changed a few names, and unbelievably had a bestselling mystery novel.

Today, Eleanor is getting ready to write her tenth book, and is back in Italy with now-ex-boyfriend Connor (who ended up being as self-centered as he is charming), her assistant/sister Harper (who put aside her own dreams of becoming a writer to help Eleanor), a few other novelists (including Eleanor's other ex, Oliver), and 20 of Eleanor's superfans (who won the trip by winning an online contest). While this is already a recipe for discomfort and wacky hijinks, there's also someone on the trip who seems to be trying to kill Connor...and possibly Eleanor.

This was a light and somewhat silly read, full of fourth-wall-breaking footnotes (more than 200 of them, yeesh), and situations that still make no sense to me. I was able to figure out the killer WAY too early (before there was a corpse, actually), which definitely took away from my enjoyment of the book and makes it really hard to recommend. Instead, read Benjamin Stevenson's Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone for a more interesting meta-mystery.

First Lie Wins

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston, 340 pages

When this book opens, Evie Porter is on the verge of moving in with her dreamy boyfriend Ryan Sumner and while she's having a bit of trouble fitting in with his friends (they all grew up in the same small southern town they still live in), everything seems to be coming up roses. But as the story unfolds we learn that Evie is not at all who she claims to be — instead she's a grifter on a long-con assignment from her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, and unsuspecting Ryan is her target. When a woman comes to town bearing Evie's real name and biographical details, she realizes that this job is not like anything she's dealt with in the past, and she must figure out what's going on before she gets caught in her web of lies.

I generally like stories about grifters on the verge of being caught, and this buzzy book is definitely a fine addition to that library. However, there were points where I felt the book was twisty just for the heck of it, and I felt like one of the characters in particular was a bit derivative (but probably because he reminded me so much of a character in Leverage, a heist show I've been binging recently). Not the best thriller I've read, but definitely not the worst either.

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life by Matt Paxton (2022) 310 pages

I have too much stuff; this kind of book always draws me in. Author Matt Paxton, who has a business emptying houses, also has a presence on television, with an A&E series called Hoarders and a show on PBS called Legacy List with Matt Paxton. He tells stories of real people he has helped, starting with his own when he was a young man tasked with cleaning out his father's and grandparents' homes. He thinks it's critical for us to tell the stories of why we have trouble letting a particular item go, and he believes that if we can tell the story of what it means to us, then it will be easier to give the item away.

In addition to the psychological aspects to decluttering or preparing to move, he also has many practical guidebook-type suggestions on how to start and what to do with the things that we're relinquishing. He also tells us what supplies and precautions we should take when physically cleaning a house. The book has a resource section at the end, along with a thorough index.

The section I need most is his section on dealing with documents and photographs. He thinks we should be able to pare away 80-90% of our photos. He also suggests using digital photo managers and making sure to back up anything that we digitize.

I liked the way the author's own story, and those of several of his clients, were woven into this helpful guide.

The Unsinkable Greta James

 

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith (2022) 306 pages

Greta James has worked her way up in the music industry. She's now a well-known indie rock guitarist. But her career is at risk because just a week after her mother's sudden death a few months ago, she had an onstage meltdown that has gone viral. She hasn't gone back to perform anywhere since then, although her sophomore album is ready to be released and needs to be hyped.

Meanwhile, her father, whom she has butted heads with since she was in her teens, is set to go on a one-week Alaskan cruise that was supposed to be a 40th anniversary trip with his now-deceased wife. Greta's brother talks her into going on the cruise with their father. There are a lot of emotions that need to be addressed, and their conversations are frustrating for both of them.

When Greta meets a professor on the ship, there's a mutual attraction between them, in spite of him being quite different from anyone else she has dated. Oh, and he's not quite divorced yet, and has two young daughters. 

There's a lot that needs to be unpacked between her personal life and her professional life, but I feel that it is handled realistically.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (2012) 320 pages

Harold is retired with little to do. He and his wife, Maureen, have long ago lost their spark. One day, Harold receives a letter from a former co-worker, Queenie, who had left her job suddenly more than 20 years ago. Queenie has cancer and has written to say goodbye. Harold writes a sentence or two and goes out to mail it. but keeps passing up mailboxes to walk farther before mailing the letter. Somehow the thought arises that he should visit Queenie in her hospice, some 500 miles away, so he just keeps walking.

Once the reader can accept this idea - along with the thought that by walking (not driving), he can keep Queenie alive longer - a new purpose for Harold is set into play. He walks, he thinks, he talks to people. He calls Maureen from time to time. Maureen, by the way, is bewildered by his actions, and actually starts to think back on their relationship's origin and reassess her opinion of Harold. Harold is doing the same - for his relationships with Maureen, their son David, Harold's parents, his old boss, and Queenie.

It's a tough trip, and especially so as Harold picks up disciples along the way.

What seems to be a simple story expands, often injecting surprises. I liked it, and had to see what happened at the end.

Just for the Summer

Just for the Summer by Abby Jiminez, 418 pages

Justin and Emma suffer from the same curse: everyone they date ends up going on to meet their soulmate immediately after breaking up with them. So the pair comes up with a plan to break that curse: they should date each other for just long enough (one month, four dates total) and then break up so they can each meet their own soulmates. Except when they meet, the sparks fly and Justin in particular is determined to make this relationship last longer than required by their agreement. However, both of them have some serious baggage to deal with too: Justin's mom is headed to prison and he'll soon become the guarding of his three minor siblings, while Emma's a traveling nurse who only sticks around anywhere for three months tops (which may or may not be a holdover from her nomadic childhood with a largely negligent mother and bouncing around in foster care).

While all romance novels feature an element of unbelievability, this one features some of the most believable problematic dates, hurdles to the relationship, and solutions to problems that I've seen in quite a while. It's a fantastic slow-burn romance with an amazing cast of characters well beyond Emma and Justin. Highly recommended!

James

James by Percival Everett, 302 pages

In Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the titular character and runaway slave Jim travel south on the Mississippi River, encountering a series of perilous mishaps that repeatedly separate the pair. That classic of American literature is narrated by Huck, and when Huck and Jim get separated, the story naturally follows Huck.

In James, Everett retells the story from Jim's point of view. And in this book, Jim is an eloquent, educated man who plays up the stereotypical vernacular and dumbs himself down in the presence of white folks (his way of thinking is that it seems a good way to stay alive, being the dumb slave they expect). Along the way, Jim and Huck encounter many people who wish Jim harm, as well as some who claim to be anti-slavery but still refuse to treat Jim as an equal (or even someone worthy of decent treatment).

This is an excellent retelling of an American classic, bringing extra dimensions to the shared adventures with Huck and filling in the gaps where Huck and Jim are separated. While it's definitely possible to enjoy this fantastic book without reading Twain's original first (that's the boat I'm in), I have a feeling it would be even better with that book in your reading history. Either way, it's well worth a read and worthy of the many accolades that it's sure to acquire.

As the Crow Flies: A Longmire Mystery

 

As the Crow Flies: A Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson  316 pp.

This is the eighth book in the Longmire Mysteries Series. After an unpleasant encounter with the new reservation Chief of Police, Lolo Long, Sheriff Walt Longmire and his best friend Henry Standing Bear are out scouting on the rez in Montana for a location for Walt's daughter's wedding after a conflict eighty-sixed previous plans. The wedding is two weeks away. While in a remote location they witness the death of a young woman who falls from the cliff at Painted Warrior. Was she pushed or did she jump? Then Walt's dog, Dog, discovers the infant child she was apparently holding when she fell. The baby is bruised but not seriously injured. They secure the area and rush the baby to the medical center. Long arrives at the center ignoring Walt's reason for being there and immediately starts causing problems. Eventually she realizes what has happened and ends up enlisting Walt's help in solving the death even though he is out of his jurisdiction. The arrival of Walt's daughter, Cady, and her mother-in-law-to-be complicates things further. After much conflict with Chief Lolo and then the FBI agents, who arrive because the death occurred on Federal land and the arrival of Walt's daughter, Cady, and a couple more deaths, the mystery is satisfactorily solved. There is so much more in this story than just the mystery and the wedding. Walt's relationship with "the Bear" and Henry's beat up truck, "Rez Dawg", add great comic relief to what would be a mostly depressing story. And the I listened to the audiobook read by the master, George Guidall.