The Paradise Problem

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren (2024) 340 pages

Anna Green is barely getting by, working two jobs to support herself and her father's medical bills, when her husband drops by ‒ Liam is the brother of a friend whom she married in college so that he (and she) could get into family housing at UCLA. (She got to keep the couch when he graduated and went on his way.) She thought the paperwork she'd signed almost 3 years ago meant that they were now divorced. But he admits to her that they are still married, and well, he needs to bring a wife to an extravagant wedding in Indonesia in order to preserve a large inheritance from his grandfather. Anna and Liam had hardly interacted while sharing the apartment for those two years, but she's willing to play along as his wife when she realizes that he'll pay her well for her time over this 12 day extravaganza on a secluded island.

What happens next is kind of a mash up of Pygmalion and Crazy Rich Asians, with an especially toxic family member thrown in for good measure. And although sex hadn't been part of their original agreement back in college, sexual tension plays its own large role in this new situation.

Starter Villain

Starter Villain by John Scalzi, 264 pages

Charlie has had a rough few years. He got laid off from his journalism job, got a divorce, and lost his dad after moving back in to care for his sick parent. All he has now is a substitute teaching gig that barely pays the bills, a house that his three siblings are leaning on him to sell (so they can split the proceeds), and his beloved cat, Hera. When Charlie's long-absent billionaire uncle Jake dies, he doesn't expect much (anything, really), yet he's suddenly thrown into the midst of Jake's not-so-legal business as a *checks notes* supervillain. Yes, complete with spy cats and space lasers.

Before reading this, I knew nothing about this book except the title, the author, and the cover — not my general approach to books, but in this case, it absolutely worked. Starter Villain is fantastic fun from start to finish. Scalzi has a knack for taking a generic guy and throwing him into an insane situation that stretches the bounds of believability for the character but makes perfect sense for the story (see: The Kaiju Preservation Society). Throw in some super-intelligent animals and a few well-aimed jabs at one-percenters and mega-corporations, and you have one of the my favorite books of the year.

Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe  322 pp.

As he did with his own family in Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, Anderson Cooper & Katherine Howe chronicle another family of wealth and fame in the Gilded Age of the Robber Barons. The story begins with Johann Jakob (the first John Jacob) Astor's arrival in the U.S. to build his fortune in the fur trade, continuing through the building of the family's wealth through massive real estate holdings in New York, to the last downfall when Brooke Astor's son was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother. There are only brief mentions of the ex-pat branch of the family who created their own dynasty within the British peerage system. Even the less savory episodes in the family are handled matter-of-factly and not inflated by scandal mongering. An epilogue tells a brief history of actress Mary Astor, who was not related but was given the stage name to manufacture a public presence for her budding acting career. I listened to the audiobook version read by Cooper.

Sex and Vanity

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan, 315 pages

In 2013, Lucie Churchill attended the swanky wedding of her friend Isabel on the island of Capri, with her older cousin Charlotte in tow as a chaperone. Unfortunately, Charlotte's presence didn't prevent Lucie from falling for, and being caught in a compromising situation with, the enigmatic and ridiculously handsome George Zao. Five years later, Lucie has moved on with a different uber-rich young man when George comes back into her life.

OK, that sounds like an incredibly blah plot, but that's why Kevin Kwan's the writer here and I'm not. Much like his blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians books, Kwan and his snarky asides open up the world of the billionaire set and the social expectations of them, with layered characters and very real frustrations. Lucie's half-Chinese heritage is examined through the eyes of her family and friends, and through the prejudices she feels on a regular basis, while Kwan does an excellent job of presenting it without detracting from the story as a whole. I loved this book, and my only complaint is that it wrapped up too quickly. I need more Kevin Kwan!!

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, 527 pages

Economics professor Rachel Chu is madly in love with her boyfriend Nick Young, and, after two years of dating, is thrilled when he asks her to accompany him to Singapore for his best friend's wedding. Knowing next to nothing about his homeland and nervous about meeting his family, Rachel gamely agrees to go, not knowing what in the world she's getting herself into. Turns out Nick is rich. Like, beyond filthy rich. Rich to the point of nobody knowing who the Young family is because they've been crazy rich for generations. And as Nick is the heir apparent to the vast fortune, Rachel's arrival in Singapore makes everyone assume that she's a gold-digger who has somehow landed the best catch in Asia. And everyone from Nick's mother and her friends to his ex-girlfriend and her friends is determined to break up the happy couple.

This book was adapted into a wildly popular movie last year, and while I haven't seen it yet, if it's anything like the book, I can see why it got such great reviews. This book offers a view into the type of wealth that nobody reading this will ever experience (if I'm wrong, first, wow, and second, can I catch a ride on your private jet sometime?), exploring both the good and bad. It's touching, it's funny, and the characters are fantastic. I can't wait to read the next one!

Still Me

Still Me by Jojo Moyes (2018) 390 pages

Lou Clark comes to Manhattan from Great Britain to work as a personal companion to Agnes. Agnes is the second wife of an uber-wealthy man and has not been accepted by her husband's family nor by the social group in which he exists. Agnes suffers from depression and anxiety. Although Lou has somewhat of a learning curve in order to understand rich society and how to best assist Agnes, she proves herself up for the job. Lou's own struggles lie in trying to maintain a long-distance relationship with Sam (her boyfriend from England), as well as finding friends in New York. When things go very wrong in her life some months later, Lou's inner resources are tested. I was glued to the pages to see what choices she would make.

Empty Mansions

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman, 456 pages

When Huguette Clark died in 2012 at age 104, she left behind an astounding art collection, a Stradivarius violin, an extensive collection of masterfully created dollhouses, two massive Fifth Avenue apartments, a mansion in New Canaan, Connecticut, and a large oceanfront estate in Santa Barbara, California. But with the exception of a few close aides and medical staff, the reclusive multimillionaire had not been seen in almost 50 years and had not visited any of those beautiful residences in at least 20 years.

Empty Mansions details Huguette Clark's long life, from her world-traveling childhood as the daughter of copper king and land baron W.A. Clark (once estimated to be worth almost as much as Rockefeller and more than Carnegie) to her extremely short-lived marriage in the 1920s to her quiet adult life spent living with her mother in New York City. It's a fascinating story of the extremely wealthy, and Dedman does an excellent job of spinning out the tale in an engaging manner. As I listened to this book (wonderfully read by Kimberly Farr), my only concern was that the very private Huguette would have been furious that her life, which she had worked so hard to keep out of the public eye, was being laid out for all to see and hear. If you can get past that guilt nugget, however, you'll find this a fascinating tale.

Before the Fall

Before the Fall: a Novel / Noah Hawley, 391 pp.

A blockbuster of a book, about the crash of a private luxury plane into the Atlantic and its aftermath.  Great suspense, strong conclusion, and terrific scenes of the survivors in the moments immediately following the crash.  My favorite bits involved the fictionalized Bill O'Reilly/Fox News, called Bill Cunningham/ALC Network, although no one will be fooled by the name change.   Hawley skewers them wonderfully, but he is nearly as cruel to the Brooklyn hipster types, as portrayed by Doug, uncle to a survivor.

I really liked Hawley's The Good Father, although I can see why Before the Fall was more popular.