Giovanni's Room

 Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956) 192 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Libby narrated by Matt Bomer. It included an Introduction by poet Kevin Young that provided a lot of context. In a not-quite chronological narrative we meet David, a white American, having a "gap year" in Paris. There are conventional expectations back home and he is engaged to a young woman, but she is spending time away from him in Spain. David has a passionate affair with Giovanni, an Italian working in a bar in Paris. The two young men become roommates, but through self-denial and homophobia, David cannot admit that he is gay. When his fiancé joins him some sexist views come to light and a murder adds tension to the situation. The mysteries of the human heart are brilliantly explored by Baldwin.  

March Totals

 Wow! A fabulous reading month for UCPL, as we blow last years best month out of the water by a whole 10 books! Without further ado: the March totals.

Annie: 4 books, 1011 pages

Byron: 4 books, 1332 pages

Chani: 3 books, 967 pages

Jan: 5 books, 1731 pages

John: 2 books, 740 pages

Kara: 29 books, 10207 pages

Kevin: 2 books, 656 pages

Regan: 10 books, 3343 pages

Tracey: 10 pages, 3174 pages

Totals: 69 books and 23,161 pages

The Correspondent

The Correspondent (2025) by Virginia Evans, 285 pgs.

Sybil is retired, but her days are far from empty. She spends some time each day exchanging correspondence with people who have impacted her life. She writes to authors whose books she has enjoyed. She composes emails to customer service representatives and college deans. She writes to her brother, to her best friend, to her children, to people she has mentored and people she has hurt. She does not write to her ex-husband, but she hears about how he is doing--how he is coping with his cancer diagnosis. Sybil learns about the lives of others and tells about her own life, but there is often something missing, something left unsent. Piecing together the life of Sybil Van Antwerp through her correspondence, seeing her growth from letter to letter and rooting for her from afar, one gets the sense of the fullness of her experience. Her connections to others not only define her existence but also enhance it. In the end, it is clear that Sybil has impacted many lives herself. 

My mom recommended this to me as her favorite read of 2025, and I have to echo her endorsement. This book deals with a lot of heavy topics--aging, death, loneliness, grief--but it is also full of hope and love. Sybil is such a fun character to follow because she is deeply flawed from the start, but there is something endearing about the way she reaches out for connection and (for the most part) thoughtfully communicates with others. I also found myself becoming invested in the storylines of folks that Sybil wrote to. Virginia Evans did a great job writing this book full of love and empathy, especially for folks coping with the grief of aging. Please read this book :)

Bookhunter

Bookhunter by Jason Shiga (2007), 144 pgs.

Oakland Public Library, 1973. The crime: impossible. A refence book, "for in-library use only", has been stolen and replaced with a near-perfect fake. Who had the know-how to make this switch? How was the thief able to get the reference copy out past the alarmed sensors? The library police are the only ones with the literary vernacular and the guts to solve this tricky case before it's too late. The stakes are high; the books are bound; and the criminal is going down.

Any library nerd will love this graphic novel. There is an overdramatized police procedural plot regarding a missing library book, a car chase complete with someone hanging off the back of the car, 1970s technology...what's not to love?! The art style is very different, colored in shades of brown and gray (library theme I assume), and looks a little silly, but it is clearly meant to emphasize the absurdity of it all. It is a fun and quick read for anyone nerdy enough to wade through the old technology references. 

Ruby Falls

Ruby Falls by Gin Phillips, 336 pages

In 1928, a man got lost in the caves outside Chattanooga and found a gorgeous underground waterfall he named Ruby Falls after his wife. Within months, the falls had become a tourist attraction, though Ruby's friend Ada Smith found herself sneaking into the caves to explore beyond the official tour route. Soon, Ada got to know the caves better than almost anyone, which is why she was one of two people chosen to serve as a safety net for a psychic whose latest stunt is finding a hatpin in the caves by only reading the minds of the men chosen to hide it. While the stunt begins innocuously, it slowly unravels, as they pass the deadline to emerge from the caves and still haven't found the pin. Soon everyone is on each other's nerves, which reaches an apex when, after a brief rest, one of the men escorting the psychic is found dead. What was fun now becomes a race to escape the caves before the food, water, and light run out, and with a murderer in their midst.

I enjoyed reading this very claustrophobic book, as I love caves and all the spookiness that they bring. It was hard to tell if this was historical fiction, a mystery, or a thriller, as it certainly had bits and pieces of all three. But in the end, it doesn't really matter, as it was a fun read.

All We Ever Wanted

All We Ever Wanted  by Emily Giffin (2018) 331 pages

Finch Browning, a senior from a private high school, has just found out that he's been accepted into Princeton. However, a scandal arises when he sends our a photo from a party. The photo shows sophomore Lyla Volpe lying on a bed, apparently drunk, in a short dress with a breast mostly exposed. A caption on the photo refers to a green card, which some see as racist, since Lyla is half Brazilian. This touches off an investigation at the school, and if Finch is suspended, it's possible that his admission to Princeton could be rescinded.

Alternating points of view are those of Lyla, her father, Tom, and Nina Browning, Finch's mother. Lyla just wants the adults to ignore the whole issue. Tom, her father, is furious and wants justice, hoping, but not at all sure whether a rich kid like Finch will be held accountable. Tom is not wealthy, and he is regretting getting Lyla into this private school that seems to be filled with students who have way too much money. Nina doesn't know what to believe, but she's fearful that the story about Finch is true, which seems to mean that he is turning out more like his father, someone who thinks his wealth means he can do whatever he wants. She wants justice for Lyla, who reminds her of her own younger self, who was assaulted in college.

The storyline evolves and it's not clear what really happened, whether Finch is taking the rap for someone else, or whether he's responsible for the photo. I sometimes wondered why I was reading this book, but as the possibilities emerged, and the main characters tried to view the multiple ways to see the situation, I needed to see the story through to the end.

The Bridge Back to You

The Bridge Back to You by Riss M. Neilson, 368 pages

When they were teens, Olivia and Carmello met and fell in love as they worked together in Celia's Place, Carmello's mother's restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. Raised by activist parents who never stayed in one place long, Olivia finally found a sense of home in the restaurant, which provided her with stability and fed her desire to become a chef. At 20, however, Olivia left Providence to seek her food fortunes elsewhere, and while Carmello wanted to go with her, his loyalty to his mother and her health needs kept him home, and destroyed their relationship. A decade later, Celia has died after a long battle with cancer, leaving Olivia a 25% stake in the restaurant that she hasn't seen in years. While she's still drifting between jobs as a personal chef, Olivia has a bit of time on her hands, and decides to head back to Providence to see what she can do for Celia's Place... and perhaps reignite the relationship to which she compares all others.

Usually, a multicultural second chance romance with lots of droolworthy food, single parents, and good representation of living with mental and physical health issues is a slam-dunk recipe for me. And for the most part, this romance was excellent. HOWEVER, the plot devices related to Celia's will soured it for me, as all of it seemed contrived. But if you're able to look past that, this one is a fun read, though it will make you hungry.

Lake Efffect

Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, 288 pages

It's 1977 in a tight-knit neighborhood in Rochester, New York, and when a recently divorced woman gives all of the ladies in the neighborhood book group a copy of The Joy of Sex, it's like a bomb has gone off. Nina begins to realize that her long and emotionless marriage isn't making her happy anymore and that she should seek pleasure elsewhere. Meanwhile, Nina's oldest daughter, Clara, steals the book to woo the boy next door, her first love. But when Nina and her prominent neighbor run off for quickie divorces and a wedding, it upends everything, including Clara's relationship with her now-stepbrother. Just as we're getting used to the late 1970s, the book jumps forward 20 years, to check in on food stylist Clara and her estrangement from her family.

This was a quick, engaging read that took some odd and hilarious turns, and really examined family, betrayal, love, and somehow surviving it all. My problem with this book is that most of the development seems to happen in the 20-year gap between the 70s and 90s. Both sections are fantastic and well worth reading, but I kinda wish we'd had a chance to see exactly how everyone got to where they were in the 90s. Still, definitely worth the read!

Feel the Fear...and Do It Anyway

Feel the Fear...and Do It Anyway (1988) by Susan Jeffers, 209 pgs.

Fear is an integral part of the human experience. It was ingrained into our ancestors who needed its signals to flee from wild animals and natural disasters--but in the modern era, sometimes our fear response actually holds us back rather than protecting us. In this self-help guide, Dr. Susan Jeffers outlines her theories about fear and her advice on how to overcome it. 

I am not usually a big self-help reader, but I enjoyed this one. It is a little bit dated--Dr. Jeffers often tells you to "put on a tape" or use another form of older technology--but the overall advice holds up relatively well. This book is all about reminding yourself that you are stronger than you may think. You can handle whatever life throws your way.

How to Fake It in Society

How to Fake It in Society by K.J. Charles, 320 pages

The Comte de Valois de La Motte, son of the woman who purportedly stole an infamous necklace from Marie Antoinette, has run out of funds. But he does have a painting that may draw a high price from fans of the late French queen, and who better to buy it than Titus Pilcrow, a paint-maker who has recently found himself unexpectedly married and then widowed, the beneficiary of an elderly woman's need to marry and keep her noxious nephew from inheriting. Titus immediately takes to the Comte (Nico, as his friends call him), and asks him to help steer Titus through London's high society. Despite Nico's nefarious plans, he agrees and finds himself unwilling to con the man that he finds increasingly appealing. But as debts rise and unscrupulous loan sharks come calling, Nico must make some move — but will it destroy his burgeoning relationship with Titus?

This was a very engaging story, and I particularly loved all the details about color creation, artistic techniques and forgeries, and fashion. However, between those and the long con that was going on throughout the book, the romance got a bit lost in the shuffle. Still, a fun trip into a historical romantic tale.

This book will be published April 28, 2026.