Murder at the Elms

Murder at the Elms by Alyssa Maxwell (2023) 309 pages

Emma, a reporter for The Newport Messenger, and her new husband Derrick, who is the owner of that same newspaper, are back from their honeymoon. The year is 1901 and Emma raises eyebrows by continuing to use her maiden name as her byline. She's quite an independent woman for the times.

The Elms is a newer mansion that has been built to use electricity, as well as coal. It's also the home of owners who pay their help well, but give them no time off. Most of the help is fired when they decide to go on strike for more time off. One woman on the housestaff who is not part of the group who strikes, is murdered during a large gathering for a musical event.  When it becomes known that a valuable item is missing and that the murdered woman may have stolen it, the crime is not as clear: Is it a union vs anti-union thing, or a conspiracy of some other sort? Emma and Derrick want the story for their publication, but they also want to help the police solve the crime, as well. Being acquaintances with the rich owners helps them have access to more info.

Not having read any of the other books in Maxwell's Gilded Newport series was not an impediment to following the storyline, although I would be interested in learning more of the background of the main characters.

The Wedding People

The Wedding People by Alison Espach, 367 pages

Phoebe Stone has had a rough life topped off by a particularly difficult past few years. Her career as an adjunct professor (and the book she's writing) has stalled, the last round of IVF treatment resulted in a miscarriage, her husband left her for a friend (one with a baby already!), and after all that, her cat died. So Phoebe has taken it upon herself to travel to an overpriced oceanfront hotel and kill herself. But when she arrives, she discovers that an over-the-top wedding has completely taken over the hotel, and after she shocks herself by confessing her suicidal intentions to the bride, Phoebe soon finds herself swept up into the wedding hysteria.

The description probably makes this book seem like a cliched happy-times-save-suicidal-person sappy story. But it's not. It would have been easy for Espach to fill this book with cardboard characters, and from the outset, it looks like they might be. But those stereotypes — privileged demanding self-centered bride, day-drinking mother of the bride, womanizing best man, angst-filled stepdaughter-to-be — are pulled aside to reveal remarkably realistic characters. The depictions of depression are also very realistic, without getting maudlin. This was a phenomenal book, and, if this is indicative of Espach's writing, I need to read more of her books. 

Solitaire

 

Solitaire by Alice Oseman, 400 pgs.

Tori Spring finds no particular joy in being alive. She goes to school, talks to as few people as possible, and returns home as quickly as she can to create an entry on her blog, watch a film, or talk to her brother (who is, quite probably, her best friend). Tori finds almost everything uninteresting, not worthy of a second glance, until one day, she notices a trail of bright sticky notes which lead her to a blog called "Solitaire." She meets another student, Michael Holden, who has discovered the blog, and they embark on a journey neither of them could have expected. 

After reading, and loving, the Heartstopper graphic novels, this book's much darker tone took me a bit by surprise, but it fits well within the universe Oseman has created. Tori's external indifference and internal cycle of discovery and doubt create a frustrating, but very real, experience for readers as they see the world simultaneously through her eyes and from the outside. She discovers something new, then hides from it; she reaches out, then recoils; and no one in her life seems to understand her, except perhaps Michael Holden. Overall, the book was a bit drawn out for me--especially with the cycle of actions and emotions Tori experiences--so I would have enjoyed a slightly condensed version more, but I liked getting to know Tori better and found Oseman's world building to be very impressive.

Here

Here by Richard McGuire (2014) 304 pages

The new film Here by Robert Zemeckis starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright is based on this graphic novel. With such big stars the narrative thread must be more consistent and traditional, but I am still curious to see how it is adapted. This graphic novel is quite abstract with a "camera" view that does not move, but the time period depicted does jump wildly forward and backwards in time. It only gives you glimpses, often in small windows, into the broad stretch of time. We see ancient prehistory, history when no house is in the foreground, nearly the whole twentieth century history in the house that might be the main character, and speculation about our near future. There are some mini stories that are sequential over several pages: siblings sharing a joke, archeologists hoping to find relics on the property, Ben Franklin's family in a colonial house "across the street," a painter from the 1870s, and the building of the house in the foreground. After climate catastrophe, I especially loved the virtual tech imagined a couple centuries into our future. Following the time stamps is a nice mental puzzle, but I think the point is more to see the commonalities of how humans act and react to each other.
 

The Madness

The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich, 318 pages

Dr. Mina Murray has dedicated her professional life to helping women deal with  trauma. After all, she has her own experiences with traumatic experiences, ones that manifest in obsessive behavior that she hasn't allowed herself to address. When Mina's estranged friend Lucy contacts her for help, Mina soon discovers that Lucy is exhibiting the same mysterious symptoms as a Jane Doe she recently treated, and they're by no means the only women experiencing these problems.

This retelling of Dracula focuses on what's happening to the women that are preyed upon while simultaneously giving Mina and the other female characters more agency than the original. It's well done, and timely, and with a Welsh setting, is still wonderfully gothic (though it has me craving bara brith now).

Snapshot

 Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson, 100 pages.

Davis and Chaz are officers who specialize in Snapshots, investigations that take place in perfect physical recreations that replicate a certain day. Within the Snapshot they're the only people who are real, giving them power to do essentially whatever they want there. They decide to use this power not only for their assigned "find the murder weapon" assignment, but also to hunt a serial killer that seems to be being covered up for some reason. As the stakes climb higher, it becomes more and more uncertain if they will both make it back to reality alive.

This was an interesting little sci-fi novella. It played with familiar tropes in a way that was creative and still exciting. There wasn't a whole lot that totally blew me away, but I did have a fun time throughout following where the plot was going. This is also a little on the introspective side for a sci-fi detective novella, which I found refreshing. A fun, quick read for people who like a detective story with a twist. 

Ash Dark As Night

Ash Dark As Night by Gary Phillips, 295 pages

It's 1965 in Los Angeles and photographer Harry Ingram is risking his neck to document the Watts riots that are raging in the city. When he captures a damning photo of police officers killing an unarmed young Black man, Ingram is thrust into the spotlight himself, drawing unwanted attention from the police and others who aren't so keen on what the people are fighting for. However, the notoriety helps him out as Ingram searches for a man who went missing during the riots, a man who may have been involved in some nefarious deeds.

The era and noir feel of this book are fantastic — it captures the unrest of the time and the grittiness of Ingram's life perfectly. However, this is billed as a mystery, and that seems to take a backseat to all of the protests and investigation involved with the civil rights movement. So it's a good book, just maybe not a mystery.

I Was A Teenage Slasher

I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, 372 pages

Tolly Oliver was just a regular awkward kid in west Texas until his dad died and he somehow became even more of a social outcast. When he gets way too drunk and commits one too many party fouls at a high school party (he wasn't even invited! how dare he!), a few members of the marching band decide to bully him to the brink of death. And something that happens that night starts changing Tolly from awkward kid into a slasher straight from a horror movie. As his best friend Amber starts to suspect the transition, the friends do everything they can to stop the inevitable. But hey, slashers gonna slash, right?

Stephen Graham Jones is a master of slasher horror, and this might be my favorite of his books. It's not as horrifying as many horror novels, though it's certainly plenty gory (careful if you're eating while reading). It's a fantastic primer for slasher tropes, and it's unexpectedly hilarious as Tolly discovers his supernatural slasher abilities. Fans of the subgenre, as well as new horror readers, will love this one.

The Family Experiment

The Family Experiment by John Marrs, 453 pages

In the near future, having kids is too expensive for all but the most wealthy people. To address that issue, an enterprising tech company has come up with virtual children, which, through the magic of haptic suits and VR headsets, can be raised and interacted with in the metaverse throughout their whole "life." To promote this new offering, the company has created a reality show in which five couples and one single man raise virtual kids at an accelerated rate over nine months, at the end of which one winning couple or individual must choose whether they want to keep their virtual child (who, if they've done everything right, they care for as much as they would a biological kid) or if they want to kill that coding and try for a real world baby.

This is a horrifying concept done disturbingly well. There's emotional manipulation, sure, but this book also features social media judgment, child abductions and exploitation, and, well, reality TV. Oh, and some really unlikeable characters. There is an audience for this book, and I know that when those people who want horrifying books about technology and AI and its impact on our lives ask for a recommendation, I'll have this one ready to hand over. Because it IS well-thought-out and executed. Disturbingly so.

The Third Wife of Faraday House

The Third Wife of Faraday House by B.R. Myers, 338 pages

Emeline Fitzpatrick is determined to marry her beau, a dashing lieutenant in the British Navy, but her guardians instead ship her off to be the third wife of wealthy Captain Graves, whose first two brides died in childbirth. Or at least that's what Emeline's told, as when she arrives at Graves' remote island home, she finds that the second Mrs. Graves, Georgina, is still alive, though just barely. Sure that her Navy suitor is coming to rescue her, Emeline is determined to keep Georgina alive as long as possible, and see if she can't figure out what's actually killing her.

This gothic tale has tinges of Jane Eyre and more than a little Rebecca, though it pales in comparison to both of those classics. This was suggested to me as a mystery, and while it's definitely mysterious, it's not A Mystery, if you will. Still, it's a fun gothic romp (if that's not too much of a contradiction!), with a helping hand from a ghost.

We Speak Through The Mountain

We Speak Through The Mountain by Premee Mohamed, 143 pages

In this sequel to Annual Migration of Clouds, protagonist Reid has made it to the safe bubble of Howse University, despite her lifelong battle with a horrendous virus and almost losing her leg to a wild boar. At the university she finds safety, shelter, and just about anything she could want — except answers. As she keeps pressing to learn more about what caused the environmental destruction of her hometown, and the virus that's affecting so many of its residents, Reid rapidly finds herself on the wrong side of the university authorities.

This was an excellent sequel to a book I wish I'd read first. This was recommended to me and I picked it up without realizing it was a sequel. Someday I'll go back and read the first book, but I really wish I'd done a bit of homework and read that one first. Because it's a fascinating world Mohamed has created, full of thought-provoking questions about privilege and how it can and should be wielded.

Sylvia's Second Act

Sylvia's Second Act by Hillary Yablon, 344 pages

Sylvia has never been happy living in Florida after she and her husband retired, and when she walks in on him in flagrante with the neighborhood bimbo, she's done. Sylvia and her best friend Edie pack their bags and with a bit of spunk, determination, and very little research or cash, move to New York City to live out their Sex and the City dreams. Before long, Sylvia has a part-time job assisting a wedding planner, and things are looking up, even if her daughter thoroughly disapproves of her new lease on life and her ex is being a jerk.

There are a million books about women of a certain age taking life by the horns and trying out new things. This definitely fits well in that pile, though I'm not sure I'd put it at the top of my list of that type of book to recommend. It's funny, but there's no real emotional depth. It's not great, not horrible, just kinda there.

Haunted to Death

 

Haunted to Death by Frank Anthony Polito (2024) 294 pages

Peter and his fiancé, JP, host a hit reality TV show called Domestic Partners, where they find and restore old houses in a Detroit suburb. JP's background as an actor helps, as does Peter's background as a writer. Their current project is to restore an old manor home that has been vacant for many years. 

Fiona Forrest has just turned 25 and learned the manor is now hers. Her parents were heirs to a fortune, but unhappy in marriage. They had hosted a Halloween party 25 years ago, when her mother turned 25, and her mother fell (or was pushed) to her death from a balcony during the party. Not long after that, her father and his second wife were killed on their honeymoon. Fiona was raised by her nanny and her husband, and not told about her background until recently.

Now, Peter and JP and their crew are at the manor, and weird things keep happening. Some vandalism and some ghostly sightings have caused some injuries and some near misses. Is the place haunted?

A funny novel written with a share of suspense in a zippy style.

After Annie

After Annie by Anna Quindlen, 285 pgs.

It was a completely normal evening for the Brown family--dinner on the stove, all four kids bumbling around the house, Bill just getting back from a job--when suddenly, it became the night that everything changed. Annie Fonzheimer Brown, the matriarch of this tight-knit family, died and left those who loved her the most with a whole lot of memories and a whole lot more hurt. Bill, Annie's husband, and their children, Ali, Ant, Benjy, and Jaime, have to figure out how to keep their family on the right track without Annie there to steer them. Annemarie, Annie's best friend since childhood, has to find a new reason to stay clean now that the one who helped her get there is gone. Together, and separately, these characters learn what it means to keep going after a great loss, and readers get to experience the joy and sadness of getting to know who Annie was through the memories of others.

I was not expecting to love Annie as much as I did by the end of this book (perhaps a surprise, since my name is also Annie), but I truly do feel as though I got to know her. My image of her is messy, formed from a mod-podge of memories and feelings--some jagged at the edges, some smooth and shiny--and I finished the book with a sense of gratitude toward the light that Annie left behind. It is so sad that when a person dies, they become a mod-podge, a light, a memory, a feeling, rather than an actual person, but it is beautiful that Anna Quindlen is able to capture that painful idea so well. The characters are pretty interesting (although Bill needed a snap to reality at times), and I love the focus on therapy for different people. Overall, kind of sad (who would have thunk!) and frustrating and urgent and slow but mostly full of love and family and strength.

The Soul: A History of the Mind

The Soul by Paul Ham (2024) 864pp

A first glance (particularly if you are an atheist) this is a seemingly impossible and definitely daunting read – 800 soul-rending pages? But in my weird librarian way I tackled it by randomly opening and diving in. Fun to skim through the thousands of years of history of the mind (Ham conflates the mind with the soul). Surprisingly I was smitten. Ham, an Australian, is a professor at an esteemed educational institute in France and is a polymath. Reading this tome felt like being in a college seminar – Ham’s brilliance and mastery of the subject never flags. He even manages a bit of humor – chapter sub-title I Kant --when he humorously claims no expertise in obtuse Kantian philosophy. Needless to say, this is an exhaustive overview and in proper pedagogical fashion the author declines to take a position. Readers are given copious rope to do with the content as they please.

John Lewis: A Life

John Lewis: A Life by David Greenberg (2024) 696pp

A heart-rending biography of an iconic civil rights legend. It is very difficult to not write a hagiography of Lewis and Greenberg doesn’t hide his admiration, but at the same time he doesn’t ignore the difficult and at times wrongheaded decisions Lewis made during his life. The author does a yeoman’s job of laying out the early life and the harrowing later years Lewis lived through. To Greenberg’s credit he details the complexity of the civil rights movement and the raucous behind-the-scenes maneuvering inherent in such a monumental endeavor. One unfortunate incident is the struggle for the leadership of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). Lewis is blind-sided by militant activist Stokely Carmichael who wrests control of the organization during a late-night meeting. Years later after entering the political arena Lewis has another dreadful moment during the 2008 presidential primary between Barrack Obama and Hilary Clinton. Lewis has a tight connection with the Clintons and endorses her – but backlash from constituents and the threat of a primary challenge to his Congressional seat force Lewis to awkwardly backtrack and switch sides. These two examples (among others) illustrate how hard it is to be an uncompromising human in a brutal dog-eat-dog world. Greenberg’s sympathetic yet critical biography is the perfect antidote for our tumultuous time.

Table for Two

A Table for Two by Amor Towles (2024) 451pp

My fiction selection process is pretty simple. If the book is not on the bottom shelves and it has an interesting cover and blurb I will give it a try. Naturally I end up reading (and not reading) books that should be left unopened. Vaguely aware of Towles’ reputation, I checked this out. According to the back cover it includes a collection of New York stories and a novella set in LA.  Being contrary, I started at the end with “Eve in Hollywood,” a noir story which is a continuation of an early Towles story, Rules of Civility. The story is split into seven vignettes, each from the point of view of one of the main characters. Each character has a clear voice, a motive and a part to play. Excellent writing. What a treat. This is classic noir with double-crosses, muted brutality, blackmail and vice. Equally entertaining, but not obtrusive, is Towles’ description of Hollywood in 1938. He explains the studio system and the attendant turmoil generated by the movie industry and the moguls who ran it. The reviews say it all – exhilarating, witty, humorous, erudite and sophisticated.

Factfulness

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World -- And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, 288 pages.

The book starts with Hans Rosling, a professor of public health and medical researcher, gathering a whole lot of data. He surveyed people in all sort of specializations, at all sorts of income levels, in countries around the world; and found that people consistently did much WORSE than they would have guessing randomly when asked about global trends. His questions had to do with things like rates of childhood vaccination, global population trends, and extreme poverty. People worldwide consistently not only overwhelmingly got the questions wrong, but usually thought things were much worse than they were. 

This book is Rosling's attempt to get at the kinds of logical fallacies and thought traps that contribute to all of this incorrect information. Each of the ten chapters is dedicated to a different one of these "instincts" he has identified, such as the "gap instinct" or the "straight-line instinct" (respectively: the tendency to want to separate things into two distinct groups, and the tendency to think rates of change are constant). Each chapters uses both a plethora of examples and data to illustrate the point, then ends with easily actionable bullet points to help reform your own thought patterns. 

I think this is a pretty useful little book! It is both easy to read and fairly actionable, and I appreciate that the author is very excited to share where he gets his information from. This is also not written as an inflammatory book at all, but rather something that's intended to be both comforting and productive. There were times that I found his reasoning to be a little simplistic and occasionally lacking in nuance, but I would still consider this to be a book worth reading, especially with the vitality of media-literacy today. 

Humor Me

Humor Me by Cat Shook, 306 pages

From the outside, Presley Fry is on the ramp to her dream job. She's a producer's assistant on a late night TV show (the one she grew up watching), thanks to a leg up from a family friend's husband, who happened to be an executive at the network. But Presley is also dealing with lingering unresolved feelings from the death of her alcoholic mother 18 months earlier, and when she runs into her mom's old friend just before that friend's network exec husband gets named in the #metoo movement, her grief and the friend's stress become a bit too much to bear.

I feel like that's a fairly bad description of a nuanced look at life as a young female professional in New York during 2017. Because that's what this book is. It captures being a 20-something who is in the "putting in the work" part of a career that's eventually going to be amazing. It captures the complex emotions that accompany the death of a loved one that you sometimes didn't like all that much. It captures the confusing dating scene that exists in friends, hookups, and way too many apps. All in all, it's a pretty fantastic book.

American Rapture

American Rapture by CJ Leede, 370 pages

Sixteen-year-old Sophie has lived a very sheltered life, especially since her twin brother, Noah, was taken away at age 12. Her very religious parents forbid her to read the news, watch TV, own a cellphone, or basically do anything aside attending her Catholic all-girls high school. But when a rapidly moving virus sweeps into town, Sophie finds herself suddenly alone in a brand new world where infected people become hypersexual overly aggressive zombies. A young police officer helps her out, and soon the pair have gathered a small group of people (and one dog) that works together to flee both the virus and the religious fanatics who think that the virus is God's plan to rid the world of sin.

The idea behind this book is a solid one — sheltered teen is worried that her burgeoning sexuality is a sign of the devil's infection — and for readers who just want to read some horrific sexual zombie violence (like, the zombies raping victims while they also eat their faces), this certainly has it in spades. However, the execution is a bit off. I didn't really buy that Sophie was Catholic (Evangelical, sure, but Catholic? Nah.) and there were several things she could do that didn't really mesh with a super-sheltered life. However, if you want to read about a really gross trip to all of central Wisconsin's finest tourist traps, this is the book for you. (If you'd rather read something about sheltered people dealing with a pandemic though, pick up When the English Fall by David Williams — it's fantastic.)

The Field Guide

 The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, 114 pages.

The Grace children move with their mother to their great-aunt's strange and broken-down old mansion. The strange sounds in the walls quickly escalate to worse things at the hands of an invisible tormenter, who just might be a creature from the world of faerie.

I remember tearing through this series as a kid, and given that it's been a whole lot of years, I wanted to see how well it held up. I'm glad to report that it is still a pretty neat kid's book! The illustrations throughout really add to the feeling of the book, and there's a really interesting atmosphere. That being said, this book almost feels like a prologue to the series, as we are only really introduced to the world of faerie in the very last pages. The book reminds me just a little of A Series of Unfortunate Events for slightly younger readers. I would recommend it for middle schoolers or older elementary schoolers with an interest in mythology and unraveling mysteries. 

The Scorpio Races

 The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, 409 pages.

Every November on the island of Thisby men ride in the deadly Scorpio Races. The mounts are not normal horses, but capaill uisce, carnivorous water horses who eat raw meat and long for the sea. Sean Kendrick is nineteen and a four-time champion who understands the water horses like nobody else. Puck Connolly is a girl who never expected to be the first woman to ride in the race, but she's willing to take extreme measures to get what she needs. 

This was an interesting take on the myth of the kelpie. Stiefvater built a really excellent sense of place into Thisby, and there is a very isolated feeling that suffuses the atmosphere of this book that I think is pretty effective. Although I'm not sure I liked this book quite as much as some of the people who recommended it to me, I did still definitely like it. That being said, I'm not totally sure what kind of reader I would recommend this strange, slow, young adult novel to. 

The Art of Asking

 The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer, 339 pages.

This book, which is part memoir and part self improvement guide, is based on the TED Talk of the same title. I was a fan of Amanda Palmer's music, both with The Dresden Dolls and as a solo performer, as well as her blog writing, and both put together made me think that this book (read by the author) would be worth my time. 

It definitely was. In addition to being a very open look at Palmer's life, this is a book about vulnerability. It's a book that believes deeply in the goodness of people, and the power of community. It's the kind of book that encourages courage. I would recommend it widely, and especially the audiobook (which feels like an especially strong recommendation coming from me, who usually struggles with audiobooks). The thirteen minute TED Talk is a great place to start, and if you find yourself interested, consider treating yourself to this book. 

Here One Moment

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty, 501 pages

On a flight from Hobart to Sydney, an unremarkable older woman stood up from her seat at the front of the plane and began walking toward the back, methodically prediction the age and cause of death of everyone on board. While everyone was shaken, nobody could agree if she was the real deal or just crazy, even after the first person died according to the "Death Lady's" prophecy.

This was an intriguing examination of fate, determinism, free will, and our own obsessive tendencies. At times it was hard to keep track of who was who (it's a LARGE cast of characters, after all) and I kind of wish we'd heard about a few more people at the end, but really, it was an excellent book. I can see why there's such a long wait for the book.

A New Lease on Death

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke, 325 pages

Cordelia died a few months ago, but she hasn't left behind the tiny apartment she loved so much (she didn't leave it much when she was alive — why start now?). New tenant Ruby was grateful to get a fully furnished apartment, though she hasn't been able to keep the plants alive. When the guy across the hall turns up dead, ghostly Cordelia and Gen Z Ruby team up to solve his murder.

This was a surprisingly fun and funny mystery novel. The author clearly spelled out the rules of ghost/human interactions, which made the whole thing easier to believe and created some fun hurdles. I also appreciated that both Cordelia and Ruby brought their own skills and talents to the investigation. I loved it, and I'll happily read more in this series when it comes.

August Kitko and the Mechas from Space

August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White, 451 pages

I first read this "giant robots from space" book a couple years ago, and my blog post from then still stands. I think I liked it a bit better this time around, though that could be because I had a better idea of what was going on. I'm curious what the Orcs & Aliens say about it tonight!

It's Elementary

It's Elementary by Elise Bryant, 353 pages

Mavis' daughter is one of few Black students at her elementary school, so when pushy PTA president Trisha forces Mavis into chairing the PTA's DEI committee, she's pretty sure she knows the reason why. But her first PTA meeting reveals plenty of juicy gossip, including a bone-shaking feud between Trisha and the new principal. When the new principal doesn't show up for work the next day, Mavis is convinced that Trisha's behind it, and she and the dreamy new school counselor decide to team up to investigate.

I like the general idea of this book — an overworked single mom following her suspicions about an overbearing PTA president and dealing with the casual racism of the other parents while attempting to solve a disappearance — but the author and/or editor needed to pay a bit more attention to the details, as several things came up that distracted me from the story. But it's a decent cozy mystery, and I'll probably read more if there are any sequels.

The Hating Game

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (2016) 363 pages

Two struggling publishing companies have merged, resulting in a two-boss leadership. Lucy is the uber-assistant to Helene, who is more book-oriented. Joshua is the capable assistant to Richard, who is more finance-oriented. Lucy and Joshua share an office where they face each other all day while they work on their projects. Lucy was ready to be friendly to Joshua, but he came across as cold to her. Their working relationship resembles an ongoing war, where at its calmest, they have staring games. At other times, they've gone to HR, where their problems are well-documented. When the bosses announce a new position of a chief operational officer, both Lucy and Joshua apply for the position.

It's a rom-com where we think we know the trajectory, but will the expected‒and unexpected‒bumps along the way bring this couple together or force one of them to quit their job? The novel was made into a movie, which seems true to the book. I enjoyed both. 

The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (2020) 451 pages

Louise Erdrich's novel is based on her grandfather's preparation to testify at a Congressional hearing in 1954. Names have been changed, except for that of Arthur Watkins, a Republican senator from Utah who held strong feelings against American Indian tribes. Thomas Wazhashk, a member of the Chippewa, was a night watchman at a jewel bearing plant. In the off-time, when he was not making his rounds, he read up on tribal issues. He knew that the congressional plan to emancipate tribes was a ploy to further strip the Chippewa and other tribes of the little land that they still had in North Dakota, which would force the people from their homes, where they were already living in deprivation. He helped spread the word about the bill, rallied tribesmen to collect signatures against it, and gathered a contingent to go to the hearing in Washington, DC.

A related storyline shows Patrice, a nineteen-year old woman who also worked at the jewel bearing plant, and how her wages were necessary for her family's subsistence. She has complicated feelings dealing with women her own age, as well toward young men who are interested in her. The relationship between Patrice and her mother show tribal customs related to health and death. We learn that each has had dreams which made them certain that Patrice's sister, who left the reservation to marry, is in trouble. We see strong loving relationships as well as abusive ones throughout the novel. It's easy to understand why the book won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize.

The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards

The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards, A Memoir (2024) by Jessica Waite 309 pages

Jessica Waite's memoir details her shock and grief at her husband Sean's sudden death at age 47. Her difficulties are compounded when she comes across information that shows he had been a consumer of pornography, and also had affairs. Her money situation looked scary, too, finding that his credit cards had large balances.

The memoir starts raw with Jessica learning of Sean's death in an airport in Denver, and wanting to break the news to their nine-year-old son gently. As Jessica's grief turns to anger, the memoir chronicles her emotional journey. She comes across as fully human, sometimes saying or doing cringy things, but also showing the many resources she used to find healing.

We Used to Live Here

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, 312 pages

Eve is waiting for her wife to come home for dinner one night when a family knocks on the door, saying that the father grew up there and could they please take a look inside for a few minutes? What starts as a fairly innocuous request ends up turning into a horrifying tale of gaslighting, passages appearing and disappearing, and missing people. It's hard to tell what kind of horror this story is — a week after finishing this, I honestly don't know if it's a haunted house or eldritch horror or portals to another universe or mimics or what. It's definitely terrifying though, so it achieves what it set out to do.

The Night Guest

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir, 194 pages

In this short Icelandic horror novel, Iðunn wakes up every morning more exhausted than she was when she went to bed. Several trips to various doctors show that nothing's wrong, though that certainly isn't stopping her exhaustion. Then she starts discovering mud on her feet and mysterious bruises...and the neighborhood cats keep going missing...

This is a quick, propulsive read that took me only a couple hours to zoom through. It's unsettling, and unclear, and while the ending was a bit more confusing than I'm used to, I have a feeling it's appropriate for Icelandic horror. Worth a read, if you have a free afternoon.

This Disaster Loves You

This Disaster Loves You by Richard Roper, 380 pages

After 20 years of marriage, Brian's wife Lily unexpectedly disappeared. She sent a postcard saying she'd be gone for a while, but seven years later, she still hasn't returned to the small inn and pub they ran, and both Brian and the pub are worse for wear. But when Brian stumbles across a series of Tripadvisor reviews that he thinks were written by Lily, he embarks on a trek that crisscrosses Britain, following her clues.

This was an OK book about a man dealing with his grief, though I had trouble fully buying into Brian and Lily's love story as it's presented and one reveal at the end had me doubting the structure of everything that led up to it. However, Brian's friend Tess, an Australian woman he meets on the road, is amazing, and I'd happily read a book about her. Unfortunately, this isn't that book.

The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster

The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster by Shauna Robinson, 337 pages

Mae Townsend is just weeks away from her wedding, but looking at her side of the aisle, she's reminded forcefully of her estrangement from her dad's side of the family. See, the marriage between Mae's white mom and Black dad was controversial for both families, and Mae hasn't seen any of her aunts, uncles, or cousins since she was 6. So when she learns of her paternal grandmother's death three weeks before her wedding day, Mae spontaneously decides to attend the funeral and get to know them, whether they like it or not.

This is an interesting examination of deep-seated conflict and the way it can play out in mixed-race relationships over the generations. Did it feel particularly realistic? Not really, especially considering all the stuff Mae takes on while juggling wedding plans and work. Was it enjoyable to read? You betcha.

Time's Agent

Time's Agent by Brenda Peynado, 207 pages

The discovery of pocket worlds means big things for researchers, including archaeologist Raquel and her botanist wife. But hopping between these worlds can cause big problems, especially when the timestream of some worlds runs much faster or slower than the world we're used to. Such is the case when Raquel accidentally misses 40 years of our world after a super short trip to a pocket universe. She returns to find that everything has changed, from the people she thought she knew, to the technology, to the new-to-her uses for pocket worlds.

This is a fascinating short book that examines capitalism's innate exploitative nature of anything new, as well as the ramifications of humans not protecting those things that need it. It's a bit heavy-handed at times, but overall worth reading.

Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime

Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime by Leonie Swann, 338 pages

When one of the batty residents of Sunset Hall receives a free trip to a fancy hotel and spa, all of her elderly roommates decide to go with her. However, mysterious things start happening almost as soon as they arrive — there's a presumably dead person floating in the pool with a curled up snake resting nearby; two hooded people go for a walk along the ridge, but only one returns; and why is there a random guy dropping onto the balcony of their room? The titular Agnes and her friends decide to investigate these various mysteries in a manner that is more than a bit chaotic.

I'm not sure what I thought about this as a mystery. Halfway through, it was hard to tell who or how many people were dead, and there were no real suspects, which felt a bit late to call this a mystery for real. Fans of the Thursday Murder Club, Marlow Murder Club, and Killers of a Certain Age might pick this one up, though it's not nearly as good as any of those mentioned earlier in this sentence.

Dad Camp

Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter, 353 pages

John has always had a good relationship with his daughter, Avery. He's coached her soccer and softball teams, and they've always had fun together, but now she's 11 and starting to pull away, and John's starting to worry that their relationship is disappearing. His solution to solidify that relationship: a week at a summer camp for dads and daughters. Of course, when Avery learns that the camp is during the week that she should be trying out for the elite soccer team, which is ALSO the last week before school starts (and thus her last chance to hang out with her friends for the summer), she's furious, and the camp becomes that much harder to handle. When they're put in a cabin with a workaholic dad, an "alpha bro" dad, and a former-chef-turned-stay-at-home dad and their respective daughters, "dad camp" seems like the worst idea ever.

So many books of this nature have focused on moms and daughters or fathers and sons, so it's refreshing to find such a fantastic funny, heartwarming book about father-daughter relationships. I love that it examines what it means to be a good dad — and it's not just one thing — while still keeping the plot moving and the laughs coming. And I loved seeing the growth of the characters in the book, especially as they learned to support each other. Highly recommended.

A Reason to See You Again

A Reason to See You Again by Jami Attenberg, 230 pages

After the death of family patriarch Rudy, the Cohen women are set adrift. Rudy's widow, Frieda, drowns her sorrows in alcohol, while daughters Shelly and Nancy run off to take the tech industry by storm and marry a shady traveling salesman, respectively. Over the course of 50+ years, their lives diverge and come together, creating a complex tapestry of strained relationships and unresolved grief. Told through vignettes set every few years between the late 1960s and today, it's a very realistic story of a very dysfunctional family.

So Thirsty

 So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison, 304 pages.

Sloane Parker is starting to grow old in a life she finds deeply mediocre, but at least it's safe. Her lukewarm husband buys her a trip to a luxury cabin with her best friend, and Naomi makes it her goal to shake Sloane out of the life that isn't making her happy and really live for once. The shake is perhaps a little harder than she intended, as the wild party she drags them to ends with death instead of life, and vampiric transformations for the two of them. Faced with mounting horror, Sloane has to decide if the price of change is too high for happiness. 

This book opens really strong. I liked the character voice for Sloane, and I liked how much fun the author was clearly having with little dramatic irony lines as the audience knows they are reading a vampire book but the characters don't know they are in one. Unfortunately, I found myself losing interest as we got to the actual vampire part of the book and Sloane's angst started drowning out anything else, which is a little unfortunate and unexpected given the genre. I did still find this book to be fun and easy to read, so while I wouldn't consider this an amazing book, I do think vampire enjoyers would have a good time with it. 

Iron Widow

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021) 394 pages

This is the beginning of a relatively new series. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Rong Fu on Libby. Part Mighty Morphin Power Rangers kaiju adventure and part feminist revenge tale. The story is set in the future, but cultural values and some characters were pulled from Chinese history, according to the author. This leans more toward fantasy than science fiction with Chi energy powering soldiers' armor and the mecha Chrysalises like the vermilion bird pictured on the cover. Zetian is a powerful teen pilot who gains the nickname the Iron Widow. She is unstoppable in fighting the misogyny in her culture in addition to the alien insectoid "invaders" that the government sends the soldiers to eliminate.
 

Impossible City: Paris in the 21st Century

Impossible City by Simon Kuper (2024) 258 pp

Part memoir, part travelogue and part history, Impossible City takes the reader through an introduction to contemporary Paris and follows the author as he eventually becomes a French citizen. Kuper is a journalist for the Financial Times and the writing is brisk, but the organization is scattershot, perhaps appropriate for one of the world’s most complex cities. A reluctant emigre, Kuper uses detailed personal anecdotes to illustrate the unique character of 21^st Century Paris and his place in the metropolis. This is a dense book – a series of vignettes on various aspects of Paris including transportation, terrorism, politicians, culture and of course food.

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer, 371 pages

Dan's having a great time spending time with his girlfriend on the beach at an all-inclusive, adults-only tropical resort. Then the sun explodes. And because Dan happens to be the closest person to the microphone when all of the resort guests gather, he ends up becoming the de facto leader of one of the schisms that inevitably forms when the VIP guests start hoarding resources for their final days.

A blurb on the cover of this book calls it Lord of the Flies as written by Douglas Adams, and that's not too far from the truth. It was certainly one of the funnier books I've read about class warfare and the end of the world, and I heartily recommend it.

August Kitko and the Mechas from Space

 August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White, 451 pages. 

August Kitko had resigned himself to inevitable death by giant robot with the rest of the planet. Which makes it a big surprise when the doomsday robot is attacked by a second giant doomsday robot, who proceeds to kidnap him and make him an integral part to the forces trying to save humanity from certain destruction. This is a whole lot of pressure for a jazz pianist, and soon he's drawn into a series of questions whose answers will determine the fate of his species. 

I had such a great time with this book! I had a hard time putting it down, and managed to tear through the whole thing in a few days. I was impressed at the amount of thought put into making all of the mechas unique and interesting, and that thoughtfulness translated into some really fabulous giant robot fights. I thought this novel did a really good job balancing these fun and exciting elements with the seriousness of the extinction event in the premise. I also really liked both Gus Kitko and Ardent Violet, who is both Kitko's rockstar love interest and the second protagonist of this book. This is a space opera with an emphasis on the opera, which is a fun choice. This book definitely makes my recommendation list, and I'm very excited to discuss it with Orcs & Aliens next week!

October Totals

Time for cozy reading season!

Byron: 3 books, 1070 pages

Jan: 5 books, 1711 pages

John: 2 books, 834 pages

Kara: 9 books, 3239 pages

Karen: 9 books, 2750 pages

Kevin: 2 books, 557 pages

Regan: 8 books, 2156 pages

Totals: 38 books, 12,317 pages 

The Shadow of the Wind

 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (trans. Lucia Graves), 506 pages.

Daniel Sempere's bookseller father takes him to a mysterious building called The Library of Lost Books, a safe haven for lost and forgotten books underneath Barcelona. Here Daniel is given guardianship of a novel called The Shadow of the Wind, but his search for the author spans decades and draws him into ever darker mysteries in a city recovering from civil war. 

This book was recommended to me more than a decade ago by one of my best friends, and I'm so glad I finally got around to it. Even better, I imagine I appreciated it more now than I would have as a teenager. This is a dark and moody mystery with a distinctly gothic tint. The novel takes its time and revels in its sense of atmosphere, and I found myself completely immersed in it, not dissimilarly from how Daniel felt about his precious book. It is easy to forget that this novel is historical fiction and not Ruiz Zafón writing from the 1940s. This historical Barcelona feels so comfortable and lived in that it's hard to believe that the author was born decades later. Although I'm very late to this party, I would definitely recommend this book to a whole wide range of readers. 

Behind the Lens

Behind the Lens: My Life by David Suchet 375 pp.

David Suchet is best known for playing Agatha Christie's most famous detective, Hercule Poirot which he did for 25 years. But Suchet has been a fixture of English drama for over fifty years, performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and on other stages. During his long and successful career he is never without his camera, having learned photography from his grandfather, to keep a record of not just his acting, but his life. In this somewhat unusual memoir he relates tales about his upbringing, drama training, career, his ancestry, his beliefs, and his family. The photos he includes are of a wide variety of subjects. Some of his life details are surprising - living with his wife on canal boats that could be moved from town to town as he performed in different theatres. Other details were a surprise to him, such as his Jewish ancestry. This is a memoir with non of the sleazy parts, only a straightforward story of Suchet's life and career. He seems to be beyond any scandal and is well respected among his peers and especially his fans.

Magic Has No Borders

Magic Has No Borders by Samira Ahmed, Sona Charaipotra, Saba Tahir, Sayantani DasGupta, and eleven more authors  348 pp.

This collection of short stories takes stories of ancient Southern Asian gods, goddesses, and spirits and reimagines them for a modern audience. The stories are rich in detail and characterization. They include many of the lesser deities of the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and other diaspora of the region. Each tale is of empowerment over some evil, though not all are tales with happy endings. The settings and situations are captivating, giving incite into some of the spiritual beliefs of the area. I am not a fan of short stories but this one is so richly done it was irresistible. I listened to the audiobook which was performed by several narrators. Most were excellent with a couple of them less so.  

Assume the Worst

 Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear by Carl Hiaasen 39 pp.

This is not the commencement speech you expect to hear. Hiaasen takes all those charming platitudes espoused for a happy, successful life after graduation and turns them on their heads. In essence, those very platitudes that one hears, "Live each day as if it were your last," and "If you set your mind to it, you can be anything you want to be," sound nice but in reality are not realistic. Most of us do our best to plod through life in a job that just manages to support us in the mundane way we've become accustomed. But this book isn't just dream crushing scenarios. It does end with some solid advice on living your life.

The Midnight Feast

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley (2024) 354 pages

Francesca and her architect-husband Owen, have opened an ultra upscale resort at the top of a cliff by the sea in Dorset, England. The resort includes part of a huge forest. A moodiness prevails in the setting, with crows‒some humongous‒seeming to cast judgement. The locals in the area are resentful of the resort owners and their rich patrons, especially angry because the resort has cut them off from their ability to go through the forest and to access the sea easily.

It's opening weekend and Francesca is obsessed with having everything just right, to get good publicity from all the top raters. But what she hadn't counted on was Bella, a young woman who came to the resort alone. Bella had spent a summer in the area 15 years ago. Something very bad happened here that summer, when Bella met Frankie, the granddaughter of the people who owned the mansion at that time, but what?

The point of view changes with the chapters‒primarily Bella, Francesca, Owen, and Eddie, a farm boy who has taken a job washing dishes at the resort. The time also pivets back and forth.

The story is often dark, with a few characters that are somewhat caricatured. Riveting, in its dark way, the story grows more complex, with the characters more connected than they seemed at first glance.

MEM

MEM by Bethany C. Morrow (2018) 189 pages

Are you a fan of the Netflix series Black Mirror? You might like this. This short novel is set in the 1920s and doesn't feel as dystopian. A scientist has discovered a way for people to extract memories. The MEMs are zombie-like pale copies of the original person that just re-experience the emotional core of the memory until they expire. Except for Dolores Extract #1, who chooses the name Elsie to distinguish herself. She breaks all the rules by remembering all of her source's memories and has the unique ability to remember new experiences. Is she fully human? The mystery of her existence in a non-linear timeline with profound questions about identity, memory, and civil liberties are explored with much contemplation.