Maybe One Day

Maybe One Day by Debbie Johnson (2020) 367 pages

Jess grew up as a sheltered only child in a small city in England. Eventually, she gets her way about studying at a school about an hour's bus ride away from home, meeting Joe there. She eventually moves out of her parents' home and she and Joe have a child. A tragedy ensues and Jess ends up getting care in a mental facility, told by her parents that Joe has moved on from her.

It's seventeen years later. Jess's mother has just died. Her father has already been dead for years. Jess and her cousin Michael poke around in the attic and find a box of letters and postcards to Jess from Joe, that Jess had never been given. She decides to go on a journey to find Joe, enlisting her cousin, along with another friend, Belinda, who knows Joe. Instead of starting with the last place he had written from, Jess wants to follow the cities in order, in order to better understand Joe's own journey.

Will they find Joe? If so, will he have another partner? That's the risk of finding him. By the way, the characterizations of Michael and Belinda are great. The journey takes them to various cities in Ireland, England, and later, across the ocean. The relationships feel true and the uncertainty about whether they'll find Joe keeps one reading; I couldn't put this novel down.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

 The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty, 483 pages.

Amina al-Sirafi was one of the most famous (and infamous) pirates on the Indian ocean during her colorful younger years. But ten years ago she left all of that behind to raise her daughter, after a tragedy so dark she doesn't like to think of it. That is until her family is threatened and she's pulled back in to find a kidnapped girl, with a reward so great it would change her family's life forever. Unfortunately, fortunes don't come that easy and she quickly finds herself in over her head and facing off against magic that is frankly terrifying. 

This was the epitome of an adventure book, and it was so much fun! The Islamic folklore was incorporated in a way that almost felt more like magical realism than full fantasy, and it helped the story to ride the line between very believable and larger than life. I loved all of the characters, and for the whole time I was reading this book I didn't want to be doing anything else. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys historical fantasy, lighthearted pirate adventures, and older female protagonists who get things done. 

The Peach Keeper

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen (2011) 273 pages

Willa's family used to be rich a couple generations ago. They had a lumber company in the North Carolina town of Walls of Water. When the business went south, her grandmother, Georgie, went from living in a huge mansion to being a maid for another family. Willa's only family member now is Georgie, who has dementia and lives in a nursing facility. Willa makes her living running a niche sporting goods shop/coffee house.

Paxton, thirty years old, is somehow stuck living in the pool house at her parents' home, the farthest she could get away without her mother throwing a fit. Paxton is involved in a flurry of civic activities for her rich, philanthropic family, including the renovation of the mansion that Willa's grandmother used to live in until her family went broke. Paxton is also in love with Sebastian, a high school classmate who has recently returned to set up a dental practice in Walls of Water. She believes that their relationship cannot go further, which makes her sad.

Colin is Paxton's twin brother, a landscaper based in New York City.  He  is back to help finish the plantings at the renovated estate. Although not interested in him, Willa has attracted his attention.

Paxton and Colin's grandmother is the cantankerous Agatha, who is now mostly blind.

A skeleton is unearthed at the estate, along with the contents of a suitcase which includes a newspaper from 1936, back from when Georgie and Agatha were young women. Who was this dead person, and could the grandmothers know anything about his death?

This novel stirs the younger people, tweaks the older folks, and adds mystery, confusion, and a touch of magic. The result is a fast-reading book that I found really satisfying.

Orwell’s Ghosts

Orwell's Ghosts:Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century (2024)  240pp.

So much Orwell, so little time. Amazing to me how an author can produce so much in so little time. Orwell was only 46 when he died. Known primarily in the U.S. for his novella,Animal Farm, and the seminal novel 1984, he published a great quantity of reviews, essays and other novels. And being elevated to an iconoclast, he has been interpreted, studied and adopted by scholars and laymen alike. Our humble library has at least 40 titles about Orwell.

It has been 75 years since 1984 was written, and one of the newest paeans to his life, times and legacy is from academic Laura Beers. The subtitle of her book, Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century, gives the reader a clue as to how the author will parse Orwell. This interpretation begs the reader to explore Orwell's oeuvre beyond the cursory introduction that many readers have experienced. Beers is not shy in calling out the louts who claim that every slight is "Orwellian" and glom onto his legacy as their own, however misguided and ignorant. In six brief chapters Beers informs the reader about a number of Orwell's insights into modern dystopian scenarios, such as inequality, censorship, and totalitarianism. 

The chapter on patriarchy hones in on one of Orwell's failings. Critically, but without malice, Beers details Orwell's rampant misogyny in his writings and in his personal life. As a writer Orwell failed to recognize or respect women. Beers cites a number of contemporary feminists that were active (and published) in Britain; in spite of Orwell's extensive literary reviews, essays and social commentary - none of these authors received his praise or wrath.

In his personal life, his lack of support for women's rights and his opposition to abortion seem antithetical to his socialist stance. Even contrasted with the attitudes of his contemporaries — Beers is relentless in pointing out — none his actions or writings in regard to violence to women is acceptable or excusable. Beers graphically illustratesthis with excerpts and anecdotes of the violence, sadism, and predation in Orwell. In conclusion, Beers acknowledges Orwell's progressive bonafides, but starkly details his limitations and transgressions concerning gender politics. 

This book succeeds in whetting the appetite for the further exploration into arguably the most trenchant critic of the 20th century.

Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman

 Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Dr. Lucy Worsley  432 pp.

Dr. Lucy Worsley is a historian, well-known to watchers of British television documentaries, of which I am one. Those familiar with her will know she has a slight speech impediment. So I knew this while embarking of the audiobook version of this biography. I'll admit, it was occasionally annoying to listen to but the book itself is a very detailed account of the 85 years of Agatha Miller Christie Mallowan's life with all its ups and downs. Born in the last decade of the Victorian era, she was raised in an upper class household, not formally educated, nor expected to become a "working woman" because that "just wasn't done." With the change to the new century and then the advent of World War I, along with family financial difficulties, Agatha became a working woman. She married Archibald Christie at the beginning of the War and published her first book The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1921. She continued her prolific writing until Postern of Fate in 1973. During that time she had a child, had her mysterious disappearance, divorced Archibald, and remarried a much younger archaeologist named Max Mallowan while continuing to write and making multiple extended stays in the Middle East. Her writings include novels, short story collections, plays and movie scripts, some under the name Mary Westmacott.. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. Many years ago I made it a goal to read all of Christie's mysteries which I completed when in my 20s. 

Lesbian Love Story

Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives by Amelia Possanza

In Lesbian Love Story, Amelia Possanza examines a number of archives, looking into the world of lesbians over time. Possanza sometimes puts herself into her story-telling about lesbians or compares the lives of the lesbians she has studied to her own modern-day experiences.

In seven chapters, we learn about lesbians whom we have never heard of, as well as ones whom we have (the poet Sappho, golfer Babe Zaharias). Some lesbians are persons of color, some were married to men, some never actually came out as lesbians, but it seems quite likely that they were, and some were able to pass as men, in order to be with the women they loved.

Possanza is looking for a long-lasting love story, hoping that she will find one for herself, too. Because historical records often leave gaps, Possanza sometimes adds to the story what she thinks might have happened. I found it an enjoyable, informative read.

Falling in Love

 

Falling in Love by Donna Leon  256 pp.

Opera diva, Flavia Petrelli appeared in the very first Commissario Brunetti mystery. She returns to Venice and the 24th book in the series. She is performing at La Fenice Opera House in the lead of "Tosca." She returns to her dressing room to find it inundated with yellow roses. This has been happening during her tour across Europe. The excess has also spilled into the apartment she is using meaning the culprit knows where she is staying. The instigator is not just an avid fan, but someone obsessed and stalking her. Brunetti gets involved after a young singer whose voice Flavia had taken an interest in is attacked on the street and ends up hospitalized. The assailants words during the attack leads Brunetti to believe it is connected to Flavia's stalker. Of course, while all this is going on there are the usual problems within the police Questura/Headquarters which Brunetti and Signorina Elettra conspire to get around the evil Lt. Scarpa and who suspended  another officer thereby docking his pay. Stealth and hiding places around the stage, allow them to thwart the attempted murderer with Flavia only suffering a minor injury.

Smoke Kings

Smoke Kings by Jahmal Mayfield, 390 pages

Two years after their friend Darius was beaten to death by a privileged white teenager (who was, of course, declared innocent of the crime), Nate, Joshua, Isiah, and Rachel are seeking justice in their own way. They're hunting down the descendants of those who committed hate crimes and are charging them reparations, which then gets turned over to minorities in need. The methods they use for this scheme is dangerous, and when a couple of kidnappings go sideways, the quartet finds themselves running from the law and an angry (and organized) group of racists.

When I started this book, I had some trouble enjoying it, as there is no strictly "good" person in the large cast of characters. I appreciated what the four kidnappers/blackmailers were trying to do, and understood their motivations, but hoo boy, were they going about it in an extreme way. HOWEVER, as the story developed, so did my understanding of their complex relationships, and I ended up really loving this book. Recommended for fans of S.A. Cosby and for anyone who's mad about the continuing state of racism in this country.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall, 391 pages

E. has lived most of her life in the Deep House, an architectural marvel built in a reef 14 fathoms deep, and as her Maladies of the Mind keep her from leaving or socializing much, she knows the place and its surrounding creatures pretty well. So when she observes a large aquatic eel-type creature, E. writes a letter to the author of her favorite sea creature classification novel, Scholar Henery Clel. When he writes back, they begin a correspondence that leads to a burgeoning relationship that forms mostly through the written word. But when both of them vanish in a mysterious seaquake, E.'s sister and Henery's brother come together to share their siblings' letters and see if they can figure out what happened to them.

This epistolary novel is set in a strange world that is mostly ocean, and between that and the formal ways of addressing one another, it feels somewhat Victorian, almost like a gentler and easier to read cousin of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The book says on the spine that it's fantasy, and I'm not sure I quite agree with that, but I will say that it was a lovely book that's worth putting a bit of time into reading.

Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres

 

 

Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres, by Kelefa Sannah, 476 pgs

This is a fun read that tracks the kinds of labels we as a culture have used to describe music genres over the years. Sennah writes about some of the most popular genres of music in the 20th century and while I had hoped for more actual historical context regarding major record labels in general, the author does a good job of taking the reader through the myriad of subgenres and micro-categories that are created by music listeners simply by way of consuming music--proto punk, alternative, sippy cup country, trap--there's seemingly no end to the labels and descriptors we'll give to even the slightest deviations and evolutions in popular music. Sennah spent a majority of his writing career covering music for the New York Times in the 2000s before moving over to the New Yorker, and he seems to put away his harshest criticism here, offering a more nuanced voice for his first non-fiction work.  Interestingly, the Rock and R&B chapters are the longest, probably because they have the most history. Sanneh recognizes he's not perfect though as he describes his first takes on Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to be less than ideal, but he has since learned that criticism is more fluid art then anything else. Recommended for adults.

Technically Yours

Technically Yours by Denise Williams, 365 pages

Five years ago, Pearl left her entry-level job at a Chicago tech startup for a big career advancement in California. She also left behind Cord, the startup's cofounder and a guy with whom the simmering sexual tension was about to finally erupt into a boil. Now Pearl is back in Chicago and has found herself a job as the interim executive director of a non-profit dedicated to helping expose marginalized teens to tech career paths. And who should show up as a new board member but Cord. Can they keep their feelings for each other PG and keep things professional?

The answer to that is "definitely not," and it's frustrating as all get-out to read this walking HR scandal being pitched as a fantastic romance. These are two ostensibly smart people who do one dumb thing after another, risking her career and the great nonprofit she helps run just because they can't keep it in their pants. (Also, Cord could just step down from the board that he was pressured into being on and there would be no conflicts whatsoever.) This book made me mad, and unless you're in the mood for a good hate-read, I'd suggest avoiding it.

The Berlin Letters

The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay, 356 pages

In 1961, when she was just a baby, Luisa's mother tossed her over the newly erected barbed wire barrier in Berlin, where Luisa's grandfather caught her. Luisa's mom hoped she'd be able to soon follow her daughter into West Berlin, but unfortunately that never happened, and Luisa grew up believing that her parents died in a car accident that left her in her grandparents' care. 

In 1989, Luisa is now a naturalized U.S. citizen and she's working for the CIA as a codebreaker, using some of the skills that her grandfather taught her as a child. But when a packet of letters with a familiar mark on them appears in her office, Luisa must confront the idea that everything she thought she knew about her family is wrong.

Hopping back and forth between Luisa's life in 1989 and her father's life in the 1960s and 70s, The Berlin Letters explores the Cold War through the lens of those who were trapped in East Berlin and cut off from their families, while simultaneously exploring the secretive ways that information was leaked out from behind the Iron Curtain. This was a fast-paced and interesting tale, and it makes me want to learn more about ciphers and the 1980s East Berlin punk scene and everything in between. An excellent and approachable historical fiction novel.

Daughter of the Merciful Deep

Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope, 405 pages

It's 1933, and Jane lives in Awenasa, an all-Black town that's a haven for the former slaves and others who have been run out of mixed-race towns across the south. But now there's a dam being constructed that will drown the town in a new lake if everyone doesn't sell up (at a low price, of course) and move out quickly. Jane is willing to do whatever she can to save the town, and that salvation may come in the form of a man with magical powers...who also looks exactly like a dead man from Jane's past. But he says there are ancient gods that can help save the town, so Jane must get past her fears to help her friends and neighbors.

In the author's note at the end of this book, the author says she was inspired to write the book based on the stories of the Black "drowned towns" across the South. Multiple towns like Awenasa were wiped out by dams and lakes, displacing people from the property they had fought hard to acquire and cultivate. I love the way that Penelope weaves together these elements of the past with African creation myths and a full fantasy world. The book's a bit slow at the beginning, but is well worth the read. Highly recommended!

The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic

The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic, by Jessica Hopper, 426 pgs 

Much of the time, reading criticism of someone else's artistic work is pure drudgery, but this book is just the opposite. Jessica Hopper's glorious prose is witty, hyperbolic and aggressive--just like a rock critic should be. This book is essentially a collection of articles and interviews from the last twenty years of the author on a band circuit in Chicago, where she built her own career without any schooling or professional network--a monumental task for anyone in this field. She wrote her heart out for music, chronicling the rise of Chance the Rapper, lamenting the capitalist take-over of meaningful punk rock venues and applying feminist theory to outdated ideas of rock music--the lack of inclusion and tearing down the punk rock "boys" club--band by band. Particularly fascinating is her transcription of an interview with Jim Derogatis, a fellow music critic working at the Chicago Tribune, who details how his investigative work led to R. Kelly being prosecuted for sexual assault. Each essay is more or less a memoir of Hopper's fixation on music and how it helps her learn more about herself and ourselves. The great thing about reading music criticism is getting to listen to the music after you've read something--try to hear what Hopper is hearing--and in so doing, you become a more involved listener. 

If Something Happens to Me

If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay, 324 pages

Five years ago, Ryan Richardson and his girlfriend Alison Lane were spending some quality time together when they were attacked. Ryan was knocked out and Alison (and her dad's BMW) disappeared. When the ensuing investigation turned up nothing, everyone assumed Alison was dead, and many people thought Ryan murdered her. But now, the missing BMW has been pulled up from the bottom of a lake, and there are two dead guys inside, who nobody at all seems to know. There's definitely something more to this story.

This was a quick read and fine for a summer afternoon, but it also felt a bit underdeveloped, like I was reading out an outline or Cliff's Notes version of the story instead of the novel itself. If you want twists and turns and don't really care to read too deeply, this one might be for you. Otherwise, there are better thrillers out there.

Candidly Cline

 Candidly Cline by Kathryn Ormsbee, 320 pages.

Cline Alden loves music, just like the other Alden women before her. But these days her mama doesn't seem interested in music, insisting that it won't get Cline anywhere and that she should be practical. So when Cline hears about a young songwriters workshop forty minutes away at the University of Lexington she's sure she has to go, and just as sure her mama won't understand. With some fibbing and some help from her gran she manages to get to the workshop, where she realizes just how much of herself she's been keeping to herself. Which only becomes more obvious when she starts falling for her songwriting partner when she hasn't even told anyone she likes girls yet. 

This book was so extremely wholesome and honest. Despite being a middle grade novel Ormsbee's prose is rich and lush, and Kentucky comes through clear and strong. I also appreciate how focused this book stayed, not going off on the common diversions I was expecting from a coming of age novel and instead staying very focused on it's own themes. It also gave me a good list of classic country music to look into. Overall, I found this novel so emotionally fulfilling and smart, and I would definitely recommend it to others, middle schoolers or adults.

The Friendship Study

The Friendship Study by Ruby Barrett, 307 pages

Former firefighter Jesse hasn't been feeling like himself since he was in a career-ending car accident a few years back. History professor Lulu has just returned to her hometown after a rough exit from her last job abroad and is having trouble connecting with her new colleagues. Their mutual friend George sets them up on a blind date that seems to go nowhere...but when both sign up for a study on how adults make friends, the sparks begin to fly, despite a strict no-sexual-relationships rule between study participants.

This is an awkward story about awkward people, and while that may make it more realistic than most romance novels, the writing is also awkward, making the whole book a bit lacking. There are plenty of steamy scenes that will definitely appeal to some readers, but the overall plot and character development leaves a lot to ask for. Meh.

The Wealth of Shadows

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore, 366 pages

In the days leading up to World War II, there were definitely politicians around the globe that had an inkling that Hitler was planning to invade most of Europe. But the people who had the best idea? The economists. The Wealth of Shadows details a group of real life economists, tax attorneys, and U.S. Treasury Department leaders who created a secret organization to try to stymie the Nazi war machine without officially breaking the U.S. neutrality agreements. The creativity of these plans, the hard work on creating legal loopholes, and the forward-thinking planning is incredible, and I'm glad Moore was able to shed some light on this previously unknown element of World War II. Who knew that economics could form such a captivating basis for historical fiction??

Logical Family

 

Logical Family: a Memoir by Armistead Maupin 292 pp.

The well admired author of the wonderful Tales of the City series gives an insight into his upbringing in North Carolina and his later life in San Francisco. One can hardly imagine this icon of the LGBTQ+ world as a conservative Southerner who once worked at the TV station owned by the infamous, anti-gay Senator Jesse Helms. He also served as a US Navy officer in Vietnam and Cambodia receiving recognition from former President Richard Nixon. By his own admission, his early rampant conservatism was an attempt to finally win his father's affection. Maupin began his writing career working in the news media and went on to write about the endearing cast of characters in the Tales books which began as a serial in a small California newspaper. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, read by Maupin. It brought back fond memories of when he performed here with the Gateway Men's Chorus many years when I met him and was totally charmed.

Palestine

 

Palestine by Joe Sacco (1996) 288 pages

I've had reporter and artist Sacco's The Fixer and Other Stories on my reading list for awhile. Then I saw he wrote this book of graphic journalism called Palestine. It is available on Hoopla. Considering current events I thought this was a great opportunity to learn more about the Palestinian perspective. This was written back in the 1990s. I was in high school and definitely not paying attention to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. There are nine chapters. It took some time to get used to the chaos of some of the comic panels. Narration and speech bubbles are at angles or follow an "S" curve. Eventually I did grow to enjoy the style of Sacco's black and white sketches. Joe Sacco (illustrated with prominent round glasses and lips) is there on the ground meeting and interviewing everyone he can. He shares the history with chapter 2 containing columns of text and smaller illustrations compared to the rest of the book. Sacco witnesses and hears dozens of stories about the Occupation, the colonial power of Israel taking land and homes and lives to control and reduce the Arab/Muslim presence of Palestinians. He visits multiple refugee camps. He encounters the red tape of the Israeli military. He experiences the hospitality of tea served in every Palestinian home. He hears prison stories and stories of violence. He hears how the court system works against Palestinians and the Israeli hospitals avoid treating serious injuries of refugees. He discovers the differences of opinion about peace talks from the different Palestinian factions. Chapter 8 contains an especially heartbreaking tragic story from a Palestinian mother. Old folks tell stories of this happening decades ago. Teenagers tell stories of it happening then in the '90s. The news shows it is still happening now. Joe Sacco talks to Israelis, who have come from other Western countries, too. It is a complicated political issue, but identifying which group Sacco sees as the colonizers and which are the oppressed is not hard.

Daughters of Shandong

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung, 386 pages

Hai is the eldest daughter of a wealthy landowner in Shandong, China when the People's Liberation Army begins sweeping through the country. As a girl in a traditional household, she, her sisters, and her mother are all second-class citizens, so when the decision comes to flee to Quingdao and eventually Taiwan, Hai's father and grandparents leave them behind to face the Communists and the hardships that come with being stripped of all shelter, food, and other necessities. 

Daughters of Shandong tells of Hai's journey with her mother and youngers sisters to Taiwan, including their time begging for food, living in refugee camps, and walking hundreds of kilometers in the hopes of finding a relative who would take them in. It's an interesting personal experience of this slice of Chinese history, and is told almost like an oral history or memoir. While it's perhaps not my favorite historical fiction, I'd love to see more stories from this time period and experience.

The Rom-Commers

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center, 321 pages

For the past decade, Emma has put her life on hold, caring for her disabled father while her younger sister finishes her education. Now, however, she has a chance at a dream job: writing a romantic comedy screenplay with her writing idol Charlie Yates. Unfortunately, as much as he can write just about anything else under the sun, Charlie can't write a romantic comedy to save his life...nor is he particularly interested in trying. But Emma didn't fly halfway across the country and put her dad in her sister's willing but unexperienced care just to churn out a lackluster screenplay.

The setup of this novel is not the greatest, but it feels like a good old fashioned rom-com. Just the right amount of slapstick, a few tears, and some decent meaningful kisses, and there you have it. I have a few quibbles with the relationship (Emma lets him get away with SO MUCH casual rudeness — but then she also goes into it with a "I can fix him!" mentality, so...) and I think they're both too dramatic to have a long-term relationship. But this is a rom-com in book form, so I'll let it slide.

Daughter of Mine

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda, 354 pages

Hazel has never enjoyed returning to her hometown of Mirror Lake, but when her father (a longtime detective with the Mirror Lake police department) dies, she has no choice. She's always had a difficult relationship with her two brothers, and the revelation that their dad left his house and everything in it to Hazel has certainly not helped anything. Complicating matters even more is the fact that two cars have now been dragged out of the depths of the lake, and one can only have gone in from the yard of the house that is now Hazel's. And now, when she stays in the house, she can't fight the feeling that someone is watching her.

This was a quick read, and a fun way to spend an afternoon. However, I wouldn't put it on the top of my list of thrillers and it probably won't stick with me for much longer than it takes to type out this review. It's a solid OK in my book.

The Frozen River

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, 432 pages

In the winter of 1789, the Kennebec River froze solid early, trapping a dead body in the ice near the town of Hallowell. Midwife Martha Ballard is the first to examine the dead man, who has been beaten and hanged — and given that he was also a rapist, deservedly so. However, nobody in the small town knows (or at least is willing to reveal) who killed the man and Martha doesn't trust the loose judicial system to find the real culprit, so in the course of her work around town, Martha starts her own investigation. In such a small town, it's hard to keep a secret, yet Martha manages to unearth a lot of shocking ones, including some that threaten her family's livelihood and the lives of her patients.

Martha Ballard was a real woman, an amazing midwife who managed to deliver more than a thousand babies without ever losing a mother to childbirth (quite the feat at that time!) and took meticulous notes. This book is loosely based on her life and some real events that took place in Hallowell, Maine in the late 1700s. It's masterfully told, and makes me want to learn more about Ballard. If you enjoyed the Outlander series, you'll likely dig this one too.

Rogues

 Rogues: The True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe, 368 pages.

This book pretends at more cohesion than it truly has. It would probably be more honest to market it as an anthology of Patrick Radden Keefe's journalism, which happens to be mostly focused on crime. That structural gripe out of the way, Radden Keefe's writing is very good, and I found myself drawn into chapters that I had little interest in when I started. He does an excellent job building suspense without making real events feel like fiction; as well as presenting what feels like a fair and balanced perspective in many cases. I would recommend this book to fans of the author's other work.

Girly Drinks

 Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory O'Meara, 384 pages.

This book is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, with an emphasis on world history. O'Meara traces the history of women producing, marketing, and drinking alcohol from the dawn of civilization in ancient Mesopotamia to trendy New York bartenders in the present day. Furthermore, she doesn't only concern herself with the standard "western civilization" path covered in many world history classes. This book goes to every continent except Antarctica, and returns to many places multiple times. This is both a good and a bad thing. The book is organized pretty much chronologically, which is great for placing things in a world context, but often jarring when a story in France is interrupted by a ten page unrelated interlude in Africa, before returning to France again. 

That being said Girly Drinks is extremely readable. My only other complaint is that O'Meara is guilty of one of the classic blunders of feminist books, where she feels the need to point out how feminist the book is every few pages instead of just showing us. Aside from this minor quibble, it is very obvious that the author runs a podcast, and her casual intimate style makes this book very approachable and fun.

The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale

 

The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale by Virginia Kantra (2023) 368 pages

Dorothy Gale, also known as Dee, was working on a graduate degree in a creative writing program in Kansas. An instructor there, Grayson Kettering, took her under his wing and as a lover. Two years later, when he published his best-selling novel, it was apparent that he'd used her as a much-ridiculed character in his book. The character's name in the book is Destiny Gale.

Fleeing the embarrassment, Dee goes back to the Kansas farm owned by her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, in this re-imagined version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. After regrouping, and also establishing her younger sister at college, she goes to Trinity College at Dublin to work on her degree there. Her enthusiasm and earnestness help her meet a variety of people, making new friendships that are almost too good to be true. Her biggest problem is in working with the professors in the writing program. She tries to hide the fact that she's the Destiny Gale in Kettering's book. She's also trying to figure out what home is to her: as a child, her mother would leave her and her little sister at the homes of various people while working on grandiose art installations around the world. After their mother died in a weird accident, they went to live on the farm in Kansas, with Dee never feeling that they were really wanted there.

A lot of relationships are examined, not just those of Dee and her little sister Toni, but of people in Dublin, too, including Dee's new friend Reeti and two rather different men, Sam (a sexy guy who runs a news-agents shop) and Tim (a serious guy who's working full time but also getting a business degree at Trinity). These are just some of the great characters in this multifaceted novel, which works so well.

Next-Door Nemesis

Next-Door Nemesis by Alexa Martin (2023) 338 pages

Collins Carter, a native Ohioan, is living back in her childhood bedroom after a tumultuous breakup with Peter, her boyfriend in Los Angeles, after he took a script she had been working on for years and sold it as his own. She was enraged. A neighbor in LA filmed her as she was vandalizing Peter's car while sob-singing, wearing high heels and a silk robe. The video went viral, pretty much assuring her of being blacklisted in the industry.

When she finally reappears in public in her Ohio subdivision, she's blind-sided again, this time by Nate, one of her best friends from childhood, who had suddenly unfriended her in high school. Now he's a realtor and also sits on the board of the neighborhood's homeowners' association. They spar often, especially after Nate gives Collins a citation for planting a tree in her parents' yard without getting approval from the homeowners' association. This means war! She decides to run for president of the association, an office he is also running for. It's a humorous hate-to-love story with a cast of colorful characters, including Ashleigh and Ruby from high school, as well as Collins's parents and myriad nosy neighbors.

The Helsinki Affair

The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak, 355 pages

Amanda Cole is stuck in a boring CIA posting in Rome when a Russian man comes in and tells her that a U.S. Senator is about to be assassinated in Cairo. When her boss refuses to act, Amanda finds herself leading the Rome CIA station and leading an investigation into the corporate blackmail and espionage scheme that led to the senator's murder. Along the way, she discovers that her father — Charlie, a CIA agent who is just months away from retirement — may have played an instrumental role in the plot...but for which side?

Bouncing back and forth in time between Amanda's investigation and the titular events 30 years earlier, this is a twisty, often confusing spy-filled plot, in which it's never clear who can and should be trusted. I'm not much of a spy novel fan, and this one didn't do much to change my mind. But for those who can't get enough of the Cold War in their fiction, it might be worth a read.

My Darkest Prayer

 My Darkest Prayer by S. A. Cosby (2022) 267 pp

Southern noir is a genre I haven’t tried before and this book is a page-turner. Cosby has a knack for putting you in the action and action is the key word here. Jack Reacher would feel right at home with protagonist Nathan Waymaker. In a homage to author Walter Mosley, Waymaker has named his hot-rod pickup “black betty” and the author has taken on the mantle of Mosley and I dare say Chester Himes and Donald Goines when it comes to graphic descriptions of fighting and fornicating. Between the seemingly endless fisticuffs, Cosby offers a glimpse of the human bonds (and foibles) of small-town southern life—regardless of skin color. However, he is not shy about calling out the unbridled racism of the South, although he interweaves the sociology with the story line without distracting from the narrative.  And the story is, as one of the characters might say, a humdinger and about as implausible as you can imagine. The reader is subjected to many murders, corrupt law officers, gangsters, and old scores to settle.  Waymaker works (and resides) in his cousin’s funeral home and has a vibrant past, biracial in a small town (parents murdered), former marine and ex-sheriff’s deputy. Like the early Mosley characters, Waymaker is an unofficial “fixer”, the go-to guy when answers can not be found via the traditional route. And like Mosley’s Easy Rawlins sometime sidekick Mouse, Waymaker has a hard partner capable of merciless violence -- Skunk. As with many crime fiction stories this one wraps up with gratuitous non-stop carnage. Cosby is an interesting writer; he has a great ear for dialog, and a fun way with home-spun homilies – clever without ladling on the saccharine. I almost felt I was reading two stories, the biography of Waymaker and the separate world of his noir adventure.

The Book of Doors

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown, 403 pages

One night in a New York City bookstore, an old man — a regular — quietly died, leaving a mysterious book with an inscription to bookstore clerk Cassie on the table next to him. Cassie took it home and soon discovered that the book had the ability to turn any door into any other door in the world. While she was excited by the prospect of immediate inexpensive travel and the prospect of never having to use a public bathroom again, Cassie's roommate Izzy was a bit more apprehensive about this magical item. Turns out, Izzy was right, as the Book of Doors opened up a world of magical (and often dangerous) books and the people who hunt them down.

This debut novel is full of adventure, time-traveling twists, and creative solutions to magical problems. I loved Cassie's relationship with Mr. Webber (the old man who died in the bookstore), and the way that she learned about herself through the experiences with the Book of Doors. I can't wait to see what else Brown comes up with in future books!

Hunt on Dark Waters

 Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert, 320 pages.

Evelyn is a witch who makes bad decisions. Her latest bad decision is stealing her extremely dangerous vampire lover's family heirlooms after a fighting and then jumping through (and exploding) a portal to an unknown location said vampire situationship was hiding in her home. The next thing she knows she's being fished out of the sea by a handsome sea captain at the head of a ship full of monster hunters and being given a legally required join-or-die ultimatum, so her day really isn't getting any less complicated. However, soon she's developing serious feelings for uptight Captain Bowen, and the return of those feelings is rocking the pillars of belief he's built his world around. 

I had to rewrite this review when it became very obvious to me that most of my gripes with this book come down to the fact that I am NOT the target audience for the "romantasy" genre. The writing was solid and the action was good, although the plot didn't go in the direction I expected (which I feel like is more the result of a very misleading blurb than anything else). I thought it was an extremely interesting choice to start with urban fantasy and then jump right into a portal fantasy, and that choice alone is honestly what has me the most interested in reading later books in this series. I was very compelled by the world-building, and wish I had gotten to see more of it, rather than quite so much romance, but again I suspect this is mostly a genre preference. I will say the fact that pretty much the entire plot hinges on a love-at-first-sight plot made it a little harder for me to buy into. Also, this was marketed as a pirate romance but the Cŵn Annwn are absolutely not pirates by any stretching of the definition, as they are literally the government. All gripes aside, this was still a fairly fun book to read and it had enough gems that I did recommend it to a few people I know in real life. A fun summer read with a very inaccurate blurb.

Fun Home

 Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, 232 pages.

Alison Bechdel, originally most famous for the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For and what came to be known as the "Bechdel Test" (originally presented in that same comic strip), presents an extremely literary take on the memoir genre. This is especially impressive in comic form. This classic of the graphic novel genre is centered mostly on Bechdel's early life and her relationship with her father, who she only learned was a closeted gay man with his own troubled past shortly after her own coming out as a young adult (an event which tragically happened shortly before his death).

I've heard this book referenced many, many places and have meant to get around to reading it for years. I'm glad I finally did, because I do feel like it lives up to it's own reputation. I am often not the biggest enjoyer of the memoir genre, but Bechdel does an excellent job portraying not only very human and personal details, but also shaping them into a story that is so narratively neat it's hard to believe it is nonfiction. The comic is rich in detail and meticulously constructed, and I would definitely recommend it. 

Finding Margaret Fuller

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki, 395 pages

In the late 1830s, an aspiring writer went to stay at the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and over the next decade, became a sought after literary critic, founding mother of the women's rights movement, and bestselling author. Yet few today know of Margaret Fuller, who died in 1850 at the age of 40. This book tells her story, from that first visit to Emerson's home through her work becoming a literary critic and foreign correspondent covering Italy's bid for unification. Peppered throughout the book are many literary heavyweights including, Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott (who was a little girl at the time), Nathaniel Hawthorne, George Sand, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

I don't know much about the Transcendentalists, much less Margaret Fuller, but after reading this book, I can honestly say I want to learn more about her. The first half of the book felt very focused on the men around Fuller, which seemed unfortunate for a book about such a fiery feminist, though the second half (which roughly corresponds with when she stopped spending so much time at Emerson's house) finds Fuller finally in the spotlight, and as such, is a much better part of the book. I can only wish that the whole book had been that way, and that I could have heard more about her travels as a single woman (which was very risque at the time). I suppose I'll have to track down some of her own writings to learn more about that.

The Demon of Unrest

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson  592 pp.

Once again Erik Larson has taken a seminal event in history and delved into the deeper surrounding and causes leading up to it. This time it is the events leading up to the American Civil War that he has written about in details that the average person would not know. Gleaned from information taken from government documents, communiques, letters, diaries, and newspaper accounts, Larson has created a surprising readable account of the days beginning with Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency and ending with the attack and surrender of Fort Sumter which began the war. The dissention in Congress over the issue of slavery and the belief of the slave states that Lincoln would abolish slavery, which was not his intention, led to the eventual secession of states from the United States. The main players in this book are Major Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter and a former slave owner, Edmund Ruffin who makes it his life's ambition to stir up violent pro-slavery excitement whenever possible, Mary Boykin Chesnut whose diary about the social details of the "Chivalry" of the South and Charleston in the days leading up to and during the Civil War, and Lincoln, the President who tried to prevent the war but was too often thwarted by his own Secretary of State, William Seward as well as the unreliability of long distance communication. The audiobook was read by Will Patton who does an adequate job but it could have been better. 

Kill for Me, Kill for You

Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanaugh, 340 pages

It's been six months since Amanda's daughter was murdered and her husband, blaming himself, took his own life. Amanda and the police are sure they know who the killer is, but his wealthy and powerful family has kept him too well protected to make any legal moves. Amanda's sole motivation to get out of bed is to figure out a way to kill the man who destroyed her family. When a close call forces Amanda into court-ordered group therapy, she meets another woman, Wendy, who's in a similar situation — Wendy knows who killed her daughter, and is ready to make him pay.

Meanwhile, Ruth has been brutally attacked at home by a serial killer who she saw reflected in the dark window, and knows she'll recognize if she ever sees him again. But the police investigation has gone cold, leaving Ruth paralyzed by fear, unable to return home or even leave her hotel room.

When I first picked up this book, I thought it would be a sad imitation of Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train. But it's more of an homage with lots of unpredictable twists, understandable (if crazy) motivations, and a delicate balance of grief and suspense. It's fantastic, and highly recommended.

In a Not So Perfect World

In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander, 337 pages

Sloane has been single and unemployed for the last six months, but she's on the cusp of landing her dream job, if only she can design a video game prototype in 10 days. After randomly kissing a guy at a bar who turns out to be her hot neighbor Charlie, he invites her on a weeklong trip to Turks & Caicos, taking the place of Charlie's ex-girlfriend, who he thought was The One (she was instead a cheating meanie) and now just wants to make jealous with Instagram pics of his new "girlfriend." Seeing a chance to work on her game from a fancy hotel with an ocean view, Sloane agrees to go on the trip, not expecting to also fall for Charlie.

If that summary sounds a bit far-fetched, don't worry, I agree with you. I'm fine with fake dating tropes, but this one was about five steps too far. I couldn't buy into the premise at all, the characters made some really questionable choices (the first of which is naming a dog after the worst character in Buffy), and this was just all kinds of dumb. If you hate-read things, this might be worth your time. Otherwise, skip it.

Lagoon

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor, 304 pages

When extraterrestrials arrive on Earth, they do so in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria. The wave formed from their splash landing pulls three people on Bar Beach into the ocean — a marine biologist, a soldier, and a rapper — changing their lives and tying them inextricably to the first contact chaos. And the being they meet is beyond anything they could have imagined. Adoyele, as the creature has named themself, has come with a message of peace, hoping to share ideas and a planet. But not everyone is as accepting of Adoyele as those first three people, and it seems their mission might be a bit harder to accomplish.

There are many, many first-contact stories, and this isn't even the first one I've read in which extraterrestrials land in Africa. However, it is the first I've found that manages to bring to life Lagos and imbue the story with traditional Nigerian storytelling styles. It's electric, thought-provoking, and just the sort of wonderfulness I've come to expect from Okorafor. Can't wait to see what the Orcs & Aliens say about it on Monday!

The Dinner List

 

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle (2018) 273 pages

Sabrina is celebrating her thirtieth birthday, meeting her best friend Jessica at a restaurant. But Sabrina is surprised: this is not an ordinary dinner, it's a party of six, some living and some dead, from a list Sabrina compiled in college (and later edited a bit). The list includes Audrey Hepburn, because (of course) everyone wants Audrey Hepburn on the roster at their imagined six people at dinner. Also included is Sabrina's father, who was an alcoholic whom her mother kicked out when Sabrina was five years old. Her philosophy teacher, Professor Conrad, is included, too. As is Tobias, a man that Sabrina first met at an art show on the beach at Santa Monica Pier when she was in college, and later found again by chance in New York City years later. Sabrina feels that she and Tobias were meant to be. Their relationship, as well as the relationship between Sabrina and her father and Sabrina and Jessica come under the microscope. The fatherly Professor Conrad and the surprisingly motherly Audrey Hepburn help move the process gently along. 

I thought this was a well-done quick read, as we learn about Sabrina's life and her relationships.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See (2023) 352 pages

I read some books for pure enjoyment, and they don't need to be deep. Others, like this one, come across immediately as historically well-researched, and tell a deep and immersive story. We first see Lady Tan as an eight-year-old child in the year 1469 in China, learning at her mother's side what she needs to do to be a good wife (hint: produce sons for her husband). It doesn't matter that all my modern liberal views are shouting against the traditional role of Chinese women and the awful tradition of foot-binding ‒ the story stays true to the time and I just need to accept it. Tan Yunxian knows as a child what the expectations are. She will eventually leave her parents' home and become subjugated to her husband and to her mother-in-law as she attempts to make as many sons as possible for her husband.

However, this child has a unique story: after her mother's death, she was sent to live with her father's parents, both of whom were doctors. She soaks up the research bent of her grandmother, in addition to all of the medical knowledge that she can, and eventually she knows what she needs to know to help heal others, particularly women. She is saddened, as a fifteen year old bride, when her mother-in-law demands she not practice medicine, but over time, she is allowed to pick up parts of her practice, in conjunction with a childhood friend who is the daughter of a midwife. While both a doctor and a midwife can be present at a birth of the child, their roles are very different: the doctor does not touch blood or handle the baby.

This is the fascinating tale of a woman's life, and it is apparently based on the life of a real woman, a Chinese physician who actually wrote a book about her research. The Chinese traditions, both medical and cultural, are eye-opening. The differences in the the lives of upper class women, working class women, and concubines in China stand out. Highly recommended.

The Great Divide

The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez, 321 pages

In 1907, able-bodied people (mostly men) were flocking to Panama in search of work helping to build the long-promised Panama Canal. Along with the backbreaking work, the influx of workers also had to deal with malaria, mudslides, and a segregated social order that placed white Americans well above the people of color who worked hard to make their lives possible. This novel brings to life the atmosphere surrounding the Canal project, from the migrant workers to American doctors fighting against malaria to native Panamanians who struggled to balance their desire to earn money with their dislike of the not-quite-colonization of their country. It's a beautifully told meditation on progress and the impact it has on individuals instead of the world economy. Well worth a read.

None of This is True

 None of This is True by Lisa Jewel (2023, 400 pages)

Imagine you're out for dinner to celebrate your 45th birthday, and the woman at the next table over happens to be celebrating her 45th too! You two connect in the bathroom over your shared circumstances.

This is how Alis and Josie first met. Alix runs a podcast about successful women, and Josie feels like she has a story to tell about her own life that's about to change. What else do these two women have in common? What's different, or should I ask, appears to be different?

I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend because there are bits that are from podcasts and news broadcasts, and it's like actually listening to it! The book really lives up to its title, in classic Lisa Jewell fashion.

Fun mystery, but not a whodunnit but more like watching a tapestry being unwound in reverse. The bits and pieces come together and woven through. It's one of those books that you can sit back and not spend a lot of brain power on trying to figure it out before she tells us -- you can just watch it unfold. Good characters and eerie feelings, overall an interesting suspense book!

★★★★☆

The Golem of Brooklyn

 The Golem of Brooklyn by Adam Mansbach (2023, 272 pages)

Despite many pop cultures inclusions, golems are actually an ancient Jewish mythical creature. They are made of clay or mud, and their sole purpose is to protect the Jewish people from harm. It becomes animate and sentient with the inscription of the Hebrew word for truth written on its forehead. My favorite part included in some legends, and this book, is when the golem has completed its task, the creator removes the first letter of the word truth (eh-met אמת), to show the word death (met  מת) and it is returned to inanimate clay.

This book is written by comedian Adam Mansbach (who also wrote Go the F*ck to Sleep, to give you a perspective on his writing style). It starts with an art teacher stealing clay from his school over a long period of time, and eventually forming a golem. He didn't think it would work, but here we are. We then follow the shenanigans of the golem, his creator, and everyone who gets swept up on the way to a tiki torch antisemitic march.

Bonus points for great queer and Jewish representation and discussion. I thought it really encapsulates Jewish conversations around controversial topics, and the book didn't end with a solid answer. I really appreciate that. 

★★★★★