Good Seeds

 Good Seeds: A Menominee Indian Food Memoir by Thomas Pecore Weso, 124 pages.

Thomas Pecore Weso is a Native anthropologist and artist, and this memoir centers on his childhood with his grandparents and extended family on the Menominee reservation in the 60s, all through the lens of what they ate. This was, through his lens, a period of transformation on the reservation, as modernization changed many traditional ways of life even as other aspects were still practiced by tribal elders.

I was very interested in this book, and especially with what Weso's training as an anthropologist would bring to it. Unfortunately, this wasn't an element the memoir seemed to be very interested in dealing with. It was, also unfortunately, not very well written. The whole thing is pretty disjointed and lacks any real cohesiveness. The end result being that despite being only slightly over 100 pages the book dragged. It also didn't help that most of the recipes at the end of every chapter weren't very interesting. They were mostly for very basic versions of very basic dishes, such as pan-fried fish, oatmeal, and baked beans. Overall, I'm sadly disappointed in this memoir.

The Bride Will Keep Her Name

 The Bride Will Keep Her Name by Jan Goldstein (2009) 259 pages

Madison is within a week of her marriage to Colin Darcy, an investigative reporter for NBC, when she starts receiving communications from an unknown person, indicating that her fiancé isn't who she thinks he is. She enlists her two best friends, Abby and Kat, to help her find out if Colin really might really be implicated in the murder of a call-girl/artist in the past year. Kat's job as an assistant DA in New York is helpful. As the days–and wedding-related events–click by, they uncover evidence that doesn't look good. Madison struggles to decide what to believe, whether to trust her head or her heart. Fast read.

36 Arguments for the Existence of God

 36 Arguments for the Existence of God by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein (2010) 402 pages

In this work of fiction, Cass Seltzer, a professor at Frankfurter University in Boston has written a book titled "The Varieties of Religious Illusion," and has surprisingly (to him) garnered acclaim, with his book translated into 20+ languages. He's been interviewed numerous times and dubbed "The Atheist With a Soul" by Time magazine. He has been offered a position at Harvard after teaching several years at Frankfurter, where he obtained his doctorate.

The plot weaves back and forth in time, showing his life growing up with a mother who had fled her Hasidic roots, getting his premed undergrad degree from Columbia University, and his life's course abruptly changing when he follows Professor Jonas Elijah Klapper to Frankfurter University to study in the Department of Faith, Literature and Values. He has finally gotten over his divorce and is currently in a relationship with Lucinda, a hyper-competitive expert in Game Theory who is known for "fanging" lecturers.

The characters teem with quirkiness, especially Professor Klapper, a pompous teacher who disdains the sciences; Roz, an old girlfriend who spent years studying a tribe in the Amazon; and also Azarya, a Hasid child who figured out for himself–by age 6–prime numbers. I needed to keep a dictionary handy for this novel, even on my third trip into this academic world, but it was so worth it.

Last night at the lobster

 

Last night at the lobster / Stewart O'Nan, read by Jonathan Davis, 146 pgs.

Even though business hasn't been bad, the Red Lobster is closing.  It is a snowy few days before Christmas but the last day for the restaurant.  Six of the employees will be transferring to the nearby Olive Garden but the rest are being laid off.  Manager Manny hopes to have enough people show up to be able to serve the lunch crowd.  Although many are late, he has enough on the crew to pull it off.  Somehow this sounds like a totally silly book but instead it is a thing of beauty.  I hung on ever word and can't believe how O'Nan makes the mundane memorable.

Cobble Hill

 

Cobble Hill by Cecily Von Ziegesar, read by Pete Simonelli , 307 pgs.  

It has been a long time since I started an audio book and did not ever want to stop it.  Of course I did have to stop it but I kept going back as soon as possible.  I found this to be absolutely hilarious and perfectly narrated.  A group of neighbors who are all goofy in one way or another eventually get to know each other.  I laughed often at their inner thoughts and feelings and just wanted to keep following this silly story. Kudos to Simonelli who did a great job bringing this crazy crew to life.

Crooked Kingdom

 Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, 561 pages.

Crooked Kingdom picks up right where Six of Crows leaves off, with the crows dealing with the consequences of succeeding in their heist. Unfortunately, it is hard to say much more about the plot of this book without giving away the plot of the first one. This book is somewhat exceptional among sequels in that it feels like a direct continuation of the first book while also being a complete and satisfying story all on it's own. 

Crooked Kingdom had all of the same heist elements that I appreciated from the first book, while also finding interesting new ways to challenge the characters despite their exceptional abilities, while at no point making them less exceptional. 

There are a few things that I didn't love quite as much about this book. It was occasionally easy to get confused about what was happening in the past and what was happening in the future, some elements felt a little rushed, and there are a few plot points near the end I don't really understand. However, I would still consider this an exceptional book, and a very worthy successor to Six of Crows. 

Six of Crows

 Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, 465 pages.

After watching Shadow and Bone on Netflix (it's excellent, I highly recommend it), I decided it was finally time to get to the heist book (featuring many of the same characters) that had been on my tbr list for so long.I love a good heist book, so I was pretty excited.

Six of Crows takes place mostly in Ketterdam, a fantasy city inspired by historical Amsterdam. Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a life-changingly huge job by one of the rich merchants who run the city. The only downside being that it is also impossible. A foreign scientist has developed a drug that magnifies the magical powers of grisha, allowing them to do impossible things. It is also highly addictive and completely lethal. The scientist was promised asylum in Ketterdam, but is snatched by another nation before he can get there. Now the merchant council is launching a mission to the frozen court in Fjerda, largely regarded to be impenetrable, to get him back before he is executed, and it falls to Kaz to pull together a team who can pull it off. 

This book has absolutely everything I love about heist media, and every element was exceptional. It had a twisty plot with lots of setbacks, people who are absurdly talented in a variety of fields, and bad and/or criminal people slowly coming to care about each other deeply. I also always have a lot of fun with stories where it only becomes apparent as things go along how much was part of the master plan the whole time, and the shifting perspectives in this book really heightened that effect. The shifting perspectives also made it hard to put this book down between chapters, so I definitely ended up staying up too late to read. This is exactly my type of book, and I enjoyed it so much that I immediately picked up the second one. 

Written in the Stars

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur, 370 pages

Astrologer Elle loves her life, despite her family's disapproval of her unconventional occupation. She does, however, really want to find her soul mate. Enter Darcy, a prim and proper, very serious actuary, whose brother Brendon sets her up on a blind date with Elle. Despite their palpable physical attraction to one another, the date is a DISASTER, which is why Elle is shocked when Brendon tells her how great Darcy thought it went. As it happens, Darcy was simply trying to keep Brendon from setting her up again, and begs Elle to play along, creating a fake relationship to fool both Brendon and Elle's judgmental family. But as they say, opposites attract, and both women find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other.

The "fake relationship" trope in romance novels isn't one of my favorites, but Bellefleur sells it with the familial pressures and obvious attraction between Elle and Darcy. I love the way that Bellefleur winks at Jane Austen (Elle is one of four siblings who have a very controlling mother), as well as the respect that Darcy has for Elle's astrology passion, despite not believing in it herself. And the side characters! Oh, they're fantastic and I would totally want Elle's best friend Margot on my side in battle. This was a great romance, with great chemistry, a great mix of conflict and attraction, and the perfect ending. Loved it, and I can't wait for Bellefleur's next book.

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers, 325 pages

Gora is a planet with absolutely nothing going for it — no native life, no atmosphere, nothing — except for its location at the conjunction of five wormholes, making it the perfect place for habitat domes to set up shop as the truck stop of the galaxy. When Gora's satellite shuttles are destroyed during a routine maintenance job, five people of four different species (none human) are stuck together in the Five-Hop One-Stop's dome, biding their time until the skies are clear enough for them to continue their travels. Over the space of a few days, they learn that despite their differences, they have much more in common than they ever expected.

After reading this, I have several emotions swirling around my brain. First, contentment at having read a stellar book full of kindness and consideration and just a bit of action. Second, sadness that this is the final book in Chambers' phenomenal Wayfarers series. Third, joy that I can reread those books whenever I want (and you can bet I will). Fourth, amazement at Chambers' ability to tackle so many heady topics with such care and control without making this seem like a sermon. And finally, anticipation at what she'll do next. Bring it on!

Twice Shy

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle, 308 pages

Maybell has been a housekeeper at a cheesy hotel in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for 12 years when she finally gets the news that gets her out — her great aunt has died and left her a huge house and hundreds of acres of land in the middle of nowhere. Maybell fondly remembers her aunt and the house as the one bright spot in an otherwise rough childhood, so she's thrilled to be able to call it home. Two problems though: First, in the 20 years since she saw her, Maybell's aunt turned into a hoarder, filling the lovely house with all manner of junk and letting it fall into disrepair. Second, it turns out Maybell isn't the only inheritor — she has to share with gruff groundskeeper Wesley, who despite being drop-dead gorgeous is about as talkative as a tree. But as they start clearing out the house, the barriers start to fall and the pair finds themselves building a relationship.

OK, so this is basically like reading a Hallmark movie, down to the highly unrealistic construction timeline. That said, it's a great fluffy read for when you NEED something like the book version of a Hallmark movie, and it doesn't try to be anything else. Read it when you need it. :)