Tag Archives: Reading

Reading Roundup – Spooky Season

Ok, readers, I intended to devote Spooky Season to horror.  I really did, but I just couldn’t do it.  I think the reason is just that I don’t like horror all that much.  Despite the horror renaissance that seems to be going on these days, I haven’t found much that has kept my interest.  Also, other shiny books caught my eye, like the new Beatriz Williams, The Wicked Widow.  ‘Cause we all know readers gonna read.  And most of us can’t stay focused on a theme when our favorite author has a new one.  So, here’s the Spooky season roundup.  Still creepy, just maybe not so scary.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

This one caught my eye because of the idea of making a documentary about an abandoned village with a dark past.  I love the Blair Witch Project.  It’s the best found-footage horror movie and I think a just all-around good horror movie.  I also gave this a go because it’s Scandinavian and they usually know their way around horror (and grisly murder mysteries).  But alas, this one didn’t live up to the hype.  It started out good with a group wanting to go out to the middle of nowhere to film and encountering puzzling problems that hint toward the supernatural.  But the story dragged, and the characters were not very interesting despite the author’s attempts to bring in themes of women and the history of mental illness stigmas.  I found myself skimming the last third of the novel.  It had some atmosphere, but the story didn’t deliver.  I wouldn’t recommend it.

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

I read about this one on a list of Dark Academia books.  I’ve really gotten into Dark Academia after reading Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House.  (I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment in that series, but the author seems to be tied up with that whole Netflix series thing.  What’s that about?) Anyway, school experiences are something most of us have in common so setting mysteries and ghost stories in schools seems like a no-brainer.  So, when this came up as a deal on Book Bub, I snapped it up.  We start the story with Oliver, who’s being released from prison after ten years and he decides to tell the detective who arrested him the whole story.  It’s a story that sees seven art conservatory students unravel in their senior year while quoting Shakespeare to each other as if it’s their own language.  Some might find this pretentious and tedious, but I actually loved all the drawn-out Shakespeare scenes because I just love Shakespeare.  This was a much more high-brow mystery and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the characters were fully rendered.  I would recommend this if you like a mystery wrapped up in young adult angst and the Bard.  Otherwise, you might want to give it a pass.

Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins

I picked this paperback up at the library’s annual fall book sale and had no expectations.  I was thoroughly impressed by the author’s ability with the unreliable narrator.  This felt inspired by The Turn of the Screw but didn’t steal from it.  It’s an entirely original story but like Joyce kept the reader wondering what was really going on here.  The story is told from the perspective of the nanny who moves into the head-master’s home in Oxford to take care of his selectively mute little girl.  When the girl goes missing, we only have Dee’s viewpoint to tell us what happened.  This was refreshing considering authors are going crazy with the multiple perspectives these days, which really seems like a cop out when Lucy Atkins wrote an incredibly compelling story with only one.  I whole-heartedly recommend this one.

Alright everybody, enjoy Turkey month and I’ll see what else I can wrangle for the next one.  Happy reading, y’all! 

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Reading Roundup – Goodbye to Summer

Tomorrow is the official first day of Fall and I’m ready for it.  I live in the Southeast, so we don’t usually get as much fall weather as I’d like, but I’ll take 80’s over 90’s.  This summer was eventful.  I got to go on a much-needed vacation where I stayed at a lovely B&B and saw some history in the low country. I also shot a gun for the very first time.  Equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.  I’m a member at the range and plan to exercise my Second Amendment rights as soon I find a gun I like (and can handle).

So, let us say goodbye to Summer and round up the best (and worst) books of the season.

Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

I’ll read Beatriz Williams anytime of the year, but this was a great way to kick off summer reading.  I was lukewarm on her last two, but this one I loved. It reminded me more of A Hundred Summers in tone and snarky fourth wall breaking. The Cold War isn’t my go-to for historical fiction, but I wouldn’t mind another story with Ruth and Sumner.  I continue to marvel at Ms. Williams ability to write so many good stories that balance pacing and characterization.  Bring on the next one.  (That’ll be the next installment of the Wicked Redhead series in October.)

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

I was wary of reading anything that featured the pandemic and I much prefer it be ignored, especially if it doesn’t have anything to do with the actual story. This story promised that the pandemic was the reason for the mystery, so I said, “Ok that could work.” But sadly, it just didn’t. I was expecting some cabin fever tension and really it was just some unlikeable and pretty boring characters, who spent a good bit of time apart and outside the apartment during this “lockdown.” The story was bleak and the detectives in present day seemed like they were there to bring some comic relief, but I found them annoying. A female detective constantly eye-rolling at her male sex-game loving partner was just a cliche. It spent a lot of time going over the same material to cover two perspectives, which I really hated. I just read it.  I don’t want to read the entire scene again.  And the descriptions of the lockdown and the pandemic were long and boring. I know all this because I was, you know, there. This was a disappointment.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This was my first of her books and I’m going to be spoiled now because this one was just so good.  I hesitated to get this one from BotM because it isn’t my usual speed.  But I’m so, so glad I did.  It’s a family drama set in the 1980’s in Malibu that just sucks you in.  I love a story that hooks you with how it’s going to end and then makes the journey getting there immersive and exciting.  A house party that ends in flames, a family with way too many secrets, and an author who knows how to pull it all together.  Well done, Ms. Reid.  I’ll be looking out for your next one.

Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang

This was another one that isn’t in my usual genre.  In fact, what genre would you put this one in?  Spy novel, social commentary, general fiction?  It’s really all these things. It’s a story about a Russian spy placed as a CEO in  Silicon Valley and the IT cube dweller who figures it out.  It’s not high action or anything but it does give a bit of insight into the culture around big tech.  I enjoyed the book for what it was but ultimately, I couldn’t really figure out what it was trying to be.  It’s an enjoyable read it you’re looking for something outside your usual, but it didn’t wow me.

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

I’ve enjoyed Lisa Unger’s books in the past, but I initially gave this one a pass because the premise sounded like it was riffing too much on Strangers on a Train.  A woman tells a stranger on her commute that her husband is sleeping with the nanny and then the nanny disappears.  But I was looking for an audiobook and this one was available, and one thing led to another, and I ended up really liking it.  I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s not as much like Strangers on a Train as you might think.  There’s a lot going on with both these women.  Lisa Unger does a great job of weaving a mystery that keeps you guessing without falling into the same old tropes.  When I’m in the mood for a thriller that’s going to give me something different, I turn to Lisa Unger.  I recommend the book, but if you like audiobooks, this is a good one.

Some Choose Darkness by Charlie Donlea

I’m a sucker for interesting characters and Charlie Donlea has created a good one in Rory Moore.  She’s introverted and OCD but she’s the best in the business at crime reconstruction.  This was a well-crafted mystery that kept me interested throughout, which is a feat these days.  The plotting and pacing were good, and I enjoyed spending time with Rory.  I devoured this one in a weekend.  I highly recommend if you’re tired of the same old same old in mysteries.

That’s it for summer reading.  Now, on to Fall and all that will come with it.  And as always, happy reading, y’all.

Book Review: Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson

What is there to say about Jenny Lawson?  She’s just great.  Really.  There aren’t many authors who can make me actually laugh out loud.  In fact, she might be the only one.  But I did while reading her newest memoir, Broken (in the best possible way), often and long.  She has a singular talent to make the mundane absolutely hilarious.

I’d been waiting for this book because I loved her first memoir Let’s Pretend This Never Happened.  I love to read about people who are struggling but make it funny.  Because we’re all struggling in some way, maybe not the way she is but we can all understand it.  When she describes her battles with depression, I get it.  Especially when she said it makes her feel “scooped out.”  I’ve actually used those words myself.  Virtual five!  So, yeah, we’ve all been there in some way as evidenced by all the mortifying slips of the tongue and misunderstandings submitted by the Twitterverse.  And I love the stories about her childhood and her conversations with her husband Victor. 

She understands the universal truth that we need to laugh and cry and laugh again because we’re all just doing the best we can.  Sometimes we’re scared and sometimes we just do it anyway and sometimes we can’t get out of bed in the morning but then we get up the next day.  She has more struggles than some, but she captures the ebb and flow of life in amusing and entertaining essays. 

I may not be buying any of her products from Shark Tank, but I will be buying her next book.  I wish you well, Jenny.  Be safe and take care and keep doing what you do.  You’ve got a fan in me.  Five enthusiastic stars.

Thanks to Goodreads giveaways for the ARC of this book.

Reading Roundup – The Buzz

This post (no comments about the length of time since the last one) is dedicated to the books I’ve read recently because there was buzz about them.  You know how they show up everywhere because some famous person has them in a “book club”?  Yeah, I usually don’t get pulled in by that, but a few times I did.  With varying results.

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

Let’s head back to summer 2020 (oh, come on, you’re not that traumatized) to when I picked up this little book.  There’s really not a lot to say about this book because not much happens. A girl waitresses at a fancy restaurant. Then she writes some. Then she goes on dates with two different guys. Then she worries about her finances. And then she sells her book, ta-da! And all her problems are solved because her book is the best one ever written, and she can name her price, and everybody can shut up about how she should have given up and gotten a real job a long time ago. This book just felt like some writer’s fantasy.  It was not the least bit realistic or interesting for that matter.  Because it doesn’t happen that way.  It really doesn’t.  I only finished this one because it was short.  I don’t recommend it.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

The cover got me on this one.  It’s just so intense and melancholy and beautiful.  And it was everywhere on Goodreads, so I gave it a go.  It’s definitely not something I would normally pick up but I’m really glad I did.  A story about a teen who starts a sexual relationship with her teacher and then a decade later has to decide if she was a willing participant or a victim could easily go melodramatic.  I can see many a YA book going full A Fault in Our Stars on that, but this one didn’t.  I was pleasantly surprised to read about a fully rendered character dealing with a difficult situation.  I totally got the mixed emotions, the need for acceptance, the absolute vulnerability of that age.  And the questions about what would make you a victim.  What part did Vanessa actually play and what is her culpability?  It was written with grace and understanding and even though I’ve never been in any situation like that, I got it.  Kudos to Ms. Russell for a graceful book about a really tough subject.  I’d recommend it but give a caveat about teen sexual abuse.

The Holdout by Graham Moore

I went for this one because I love mysteries and crime novels and the occasional legal thriller.  This one was billed as all three because it’s about a jury who got sequestered on a super high-profile case ten years ago and are coming back together to do a documentary on the case.  But then one of them ends up dead.  The titular holdout is our narrator Maya who convinced her fellow jurors that the defendant was not guilty.  We go back and forth between the past and present as Maya tries to clear her name for the other juror’s murder.  I finished this book but just barely.  It started off all right but quickly went off the rails.  The premise stretched credulity to begin with, but by the end I was rolling my eyes.  I’ve read a lot of mysteries and this one just doesn’t hold up.  Sorry, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I hate a book with an agenda.  I’m really confused as to what was supposed to be the focus of this book.  We’ve got a lot of characters all vying for our attention, but no one who’s really our POV.  We’ve got the interplay between the privileged suburban family and the itinerate bohemian artist and her daughter who blow into town and cause some strife, but that storyline was really cliched.  And there’s the whole story of the white family trying to adopt a Chinese girl while her mother tries to win her back after abandoning her.  I can’t reconcile how these two storylines were supposed to fit together.  Were the Richardsons villains and Mia and Pearl heroes?  Were we supposed to pull for the Chinese woman to get her daughter back from the white couple because they would cut the baby off from her birth culture?  The author left these things open, but I feel like there was a “right” answer lurking beneath the surface.  Maybe I just didn’t get it, but this is one Reese’s Book Club pick I wish I had skipped.

So that’s what I have for the talked-about books I’ve dabbled in.  Since three out of four didn’t hit the spot it’s safe to say there probably won’t be many posts about buzzy books.  I’m guess I’m just too contrary for the mainstream.

Until next time (no, I don’t know when that will be, stop asking) happy reading, y’all!

Reading Roundup: Yikes

It’s that time again.  That’s right, Reading Roundup!  Wha, wha!  So, in accordance with the current state of affairs in this world this post is dedicated to being negative.  These are the books I’ve wasted time on recently.  Will I be recommending them to anyone?  Spoiler: no.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Thank God I got this from the library because I’d be demanding my money back.  I thought this might be an enjoyable read for a long weekend what with its magic and lost manuscripts and forbidden love.  It might have been if I was really into descriptions of dusty manuscripts and libraries and wine and yoga and wine and tea and more wine.  If he’s a vampire and all he really likes is blood, why does he have so much wine?  And why does this author think we want to read about characters doing nothing but drinking wine and going to yoga and riding horses and hanging out in the library and drinking WINE?  Our main character is pretty chill for somebody who’s in immediate danger.  Is she in danger?  Yeah, I couldn’t really tell so I gave up.  Don’t waste your time and please don’t waste your money.

The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe

The title is ironic because depression isn’t hilarious.  Or is it?  Let me tell you what isn’t hilarious: this book.  If you’re looking for funny memoirs by people who suffer from mental illness, allow me to direct you to Carrie Fisher or Jenny Lawson.  While this book does have some good info about depression and it may help those “normies” out there understand our old friend “Clinny D” a little better, it just wasn’t that interesting.  He really lost me in the middle when he spent a lot of time on how his brother’s suicide affected him.  I’m sympathetic, but I just didn’t get how that really had to do with his depression.  All of his reactions sounded just like any person dealing with something that horrific.  I’ve seen BuzzFeed articles with tweets and Insta’s about depression that are way funnier than this book.  And if you’ve been there, you know you need a sense of humor to get through it.  A dark sense of humor, but a sense of humor, nonetheless.

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

I usually love Lisa Jewell’s books and I bought this one thinking I’d like it too.  But it just didn’t cut it.  It was a strange book.  There was a family, but they didn’t live upstairs.  They lived locked in a house and they were a cult or trying to be a cult.  And a baby disappeared back then and now she’s an adult playing the violin on the street in France… or something?  Yeah, this book was just a mess.  It was really hard to follow and not very interesting.  I’m surprised I made it all the way through actually.  For a good time, see other Lisa Jewell books.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I’m puzzled as to why this is getting made into a TV series.  I know Big Little Lies is awesome and deserves an HBO series, but this book really isn’t thought-provoking or funny or even interesting.  The characters come together for what they think is a wellness retreat but actually it’s the experiment of a wacky Russian-Australian doctor who started to resemble The Brain from Animaniacs more than a legitimate villain.  Don’t think that was what Ms. Moriarty was going for.  I didn’t make it through this one.  Just watch Big Little Lies.  Trust me.

All right, you kids be safe and don’t watch the news.  See you next time and happy reading!

Reading Roundup: General Fiction

I am sooooo behind on my book reviews.  I know you’ve all been clamoring for one.  Not really, but I’m going to say that because it makes it sound like I have real readers.  So, without further ado (or needless self-deprecation), here it is.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

This one has been hovering around my Want To Read shelf for a while.  I kept putting it on and taking it off and putting it back on again.  Finally, this summer it stuck.  I love stories told in unique ways and this one is really clever in that it tells its story through a dossier of emails, letters and news stories.  Bernadette Fox is a reclusive genius architect who runs away when her daughter wants her to go to Antarctica on a family trip.  Her daughter is desperate to find her and she’s the only one who doesn’t think her mom’s crazy.  I thought it was amusing and a light read.  I recommend it for squeezing in between those Scandinavian thrillers.  You know the ones.

The Golden Hour and The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

I’m endlessly impressed by Ms. Williams’s productivity.  Her new one-off historical novel The Golden Hour came out this summer and the follow-up to The Wicked City will be released in December.  I’m lucky if I get a blog post written every two months.  But anyway, The Golden Hour, set in the Bahamas during WWII, was a bit of a disappointment.  We’re following a gossip journalist in the inner circle of the former king of England and his wife Wallace Simpson.  What I didn’t get was that our POV character has the inside scoop, but she doesn’t share it with the reader.  I always felt like I was missing something, and I didn’t like that.  In preparation for the next installment of the 1920’s series, I picked up The Wicked City.  It’s got an interesting main character and I look forward to seeing more of her, but the current day storyline seemed extraneous.  Just because it’s historical fiction doesn’t mean we always have to have two timelines.  Just saying.  It wasn’t the best Beatriz by any means, but I have a soft spot for the 20’s so I’m going to continue the series.  Bottom line, I wouldn’t recommend The Golden Hour because it just couldn’t keep my attention.  I thought The Wicked City ran a little long, but it’s got potential for the series.  If you love Art Deco like me, pick it up.

The Garden of Small Beginnings and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

I picked up Abbi Waxman this summer and I’m so glad I did.  She’s hilarious, y’all.  In The Garden of Small Beginnings we meet Lillian, a widow with two little girls.  She’s an illustrator who’s sent to a gardening class to get up-close and personal with her subject.  Not everyone could make a story about moving on from the loss of a spouse funny, but Ms. Waxman does it brilliantly.  She has a wry wit that really speaks to me.  And that wit was on full display in The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.  I loved this book.  Nina is a bookworm who doesn’t like people and has no problem not having any family.  So when the father she never knew dies and leaves her with a ton of relatives and a mysterious inheritance, she’s thrilled!  Just kidding.  I recommend both these books with relish.  You can read Nina Hill without having read Garden but the characters overlap and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

Until next time.  Happy reading!

Reading Roundup

I’m currently in a “book hole.”  You know that place where you’ve finished a book and you just can’t settle into a new one?  It’s frustrating.  So instead of reading, I thought I’d write about the ones that have recently moved to the Read shelf on Goodreads.

The Hiding Place by CJ Tudor

I was really excited to get CJ Tudor’s second book since I liked her debut The Chalk Man.  I picked this one up expecting the unexpected because she seems to do that pretty well.  It started out fine.  I was intrigued by our less-than-truthful narrator and the eerie English setting.  We had a mysterious setup and I was onboard, but I found myself disappointed at the answer to the mystery.  Maybe I was just expecting too much but it just wasn’t enough for me.  I hesitate to recommend it because it didn’t do anything for me, but people are different.

Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams

It pains me to say it, but I didn’t really like this one.  I know, I know, I sing Ms. Williams praises a good bit on this blog and she really is great, but this one just, well, isn’t.  For starters it’s too long.  There are very few people who have any business writing books that are over 400 pages.  There was a story there, but I think it was just drowning in all the words and descriptions and introspections.  I personally didn’t connect with the narrator and it was never definitively explained why she refused to see her husband for the three years leading up to the book’s events.  Not to mention if you’ve read A Certain Age, you already know the story of her sister and father so you’re stuck treading water for the benefit of all those who haven’t.  I’d say skip it and wait for her new one The Golden Hour coming out next month.  I’ve already pre-ordered it.  I know I have a problem.

How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper

Book of the Month’s latest offering is a book about death and life and…well, death.  A book about a man who works tracking down next of kin for people who die alone in their homes sounds pretty depressing.  And he lies about having a happy family life while living like the very people he investigates for.  Again, depressing.  Except for the delightfully quirky love interest and the off-the-wall co-workers, right?  Sadly, this book just didn’t come together for me.  It’s one of those that was good enough to finish but not really that good.  Book of the Month has always been hit and miss and I think this one goes in the miss category.

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably thinking “Does this girl like anything?”  Yes, actually, I do.  I loved Kate Quinn’s new historical fiction novel The Huntress.  If you have the least bit of interest in historical novels and WWII, do not miss this one.  Like I said, very few can write a 500 pager, but Ms. Quinn is one of those few.  Intriguing characters, Nazi hunters, unorthodox love affairs, and female bomber pilots.  What’s not to love?  No one writes a battle ax character better than Kate Quinn.  I was enthralled by Eve Gardiner in The Alice Network and now Nina Markova.  I’ll be pre-ordering her next one for sure.  I do not need an intervention.

Happy Summer reading, y’all!

A Year in Reading

It’s that time of year again.  When we start looking back at the events that shaped the last eleven and half months and if you’re like me, the books that delighted us during that time.  I’ve been pouring over my stats on Goodreads and marveling at how many thrillers and mysteries I read.

When I was in Taiwan earlier this year hanging out with Rhonda, the lady of the missionary household, she asked me what people are reading right now.  I raddled off some names, you know, Ruth Ware, Tana French, the new Paula Hawkins.  It was only after the words were out of my mouth that I realized she meant church people.  What are they reading in Christian self-help, Kim, not the latest in chick thrillers.  Oh.  No wonder she was looking at me funny.

The year saw my introduction to historical fiction thanks to Beatriz Williams and her marvelous novel The Summer Wives.  I have a huge author crush on Ms. Williams and I’m current delving into her Schuyler Sisters series.  I admit it, I’m addicted.  I also enjoyed The English Wife by Lauren Willig and The Alice Network by Kate Quinn.  I had high hopes for The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton but it was disappointing.

This was also a big year for true crime.  I recently read I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.  That’s an incredible story made even more remarkable that the Golden State killer has been caught and Ms. McNamara is not here to see it.  It’s a sad story all around and one I’m going to watch as it develops in the news.  Other well-done true crime was The Dark Heart by Joakim Palmkvist and the Bloodlands series by Harold Schechter.

Memoir was down this year.  I usually have several under my belt by this time but in 2018 only two made the list, Hillbilly Elegy by J.D Vance and Cheryl Strayed’s beautiful story Wild.  I recommend them both.

A highlight in general fiction was Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove.  It’s a delightful story that strikes that difficult balance between poignant and amusing.  I also enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.  She’s at once off-putting and relatable, making for a page-turning romp that’s also like watching a train wreck.

Here’s to the great reads of the past year and all the great ones yet to come.  Merry Christmas, y’all!

Bridge to Nowhere

Have you heard about Markus Zuzak’s new book Bridge of Clay?  You probably have because the whole world loved The Book Thief and have waited forever.  No really, it’s been thirteen years.  That’s the first red flag.

When I heard Mr. Zuzak was publishing a new book I was excited because I loved the writing of The Book Thief.  I thought the plot wasn’t that original or exciting but the style was awesome.  I also loved I Am the Messenger because the story was so off beat and interesting.  If we could have a book that married the amazing prose of The Book Thief with a charming plot like I Am the Messenger, we might have a contender for Favorite Book.

But it was not to be.  I read an interview on Goodreads where Zuzak said he had been trying to write this book since he was really young and he agonized over everything, making sure it was perfect.  Uh-oh.  Red Flag number two.  Something that personal does not usually translate.  Mostly it’ll resonate with, well, you.  Despite this reservation I gave it a shot.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.  I read about half of the book and I have no idea what we’re supposed to be getting from it.  We start out with five boisterous teenage boys taking care of themselves with a bunch of animals running around.  That was actually the part I liked.  They were interesting, I liked the way they interacted, each with his own unique personality.  Enter the deadbeat father who asks them if they’d like to come with him out to the middle of nowhere and build a bridge.  Um, okay.  So one of them decides it’d be a good idea to quit school and go to the middle of nowhere with a man he hardly knows to dig holes in the hot sun so they can put a bridge over a mostly dry river bed.  Um, okaaayyy…

Most of the 250 pages I read didn’t even have anything to do with Clay or his brothers.  It was all about their mother’s childhood behind the Iron Curtain and how she got to Australia and their father’s childhood and how he married one girl and then got divorced.  Why do I care?

I’m sorry, but you introduced a whole group of really interesting characters and then left them for half a book to talk about their parents’ pasts?  What does that have to do with anything?  Not to mention this is supposed to be a first person narrative.  The narrator is the oldest brother who isn’t seeing any of this first hand and yet writes like he has intimate knowledge.

To me, this book was a mess.  I think this is what happens when a story marinates too long in the writer’s head.  He gets too close and loses perspective.  Zuzak wanted to convey some awesome family saga with great points about healing and forgiveness but really it’s just a bunch of sound and fury signifying nothing.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think Mr. Zuzak missed the mark this time.  I would give this one a wide berth.

Book Reviews: Non-Fiction

Ok, another round-up of book reviews.  This time we turn to non-fiction.  I love a good true crime but I also love biography and memoir, so this is a bit of all three.  Enjoy.

Blood Lands Series by Harold Schechter

I thoroughly enjoyed these short works by Harold Schechter.  Each one focused on a lesser-known true crime story in American history and only took around an hour to read.  I especially liked the one about the family of murderers living across the prairie from Laura Ingalls Wilder.  It was aptly titled Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie.  The other one I liked was The Pied Piper about a young man in the 1950’s who committed Manson-style murders by holding other young people in thrall.  I would suggest this series of short reads for anyone just getting into true crime.  They get in and get out and don’t have time to get dull and repetitive like so many I’ve abandoned over the years.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Before I traveled to Taiwan I felt that I needed to read Cheryl Strayed’s memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone.  It was well-written and quick and deeply poignant.  There’s something about solitude that really centers us.  One thing that stood out to me was the mental toughness it took to do something like that.  It wasn’t just physical.  It took a lot of “mind over matter” to get through it.  That idea of pushing through and overcoming really spoke to me.  I definitely suggest this one even if, like me, you have no intention of hiking anywhere, alone or otherwise.

In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson

I realized recently that while Frankenstein is a masterful work and is still relevant today, I knew very little about the woman who wrote it.  So I read In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson.  It was a little long but it kept me engaged throughout.  I think it’s amazing that Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was only nineteen.  People have mocked Shelley for being obsessed with death but death was all around her.  Her mother died at Mary’s birth, her half-sister committed suicide, her husband was killed in a boating accident, and only one of her four children lived to adulthood.  I think Mrs. Shelley can be forgiven for having a preoccupation with death.  Frankenstein is much more than a monster story.  It goes to the heart of what it means to be human and what happens when humans attempt to create life.  In Search of Mary Shelley is a good read and I recommend it for biography lovers.

The Dark Heart by Joakim Palmkvist

This is the best true crime I’ve read in awhile.  Set in Sweden, it follows the missing persons case of Goren Lundblad in 2012.  An interesting twist to the story was the role of Therese Tang, an investigator with non-profit organization Missing Persons Sweden.  Though not law enforcement, Therese blows the case wide open.  But the best thing about this one was the dramatization of scenes without straying into fiction.  I never thought Capote was successful in mashing up true crime and fiction in In Cold Blood.  This seemed to be much more fluid and engaging, without crossing any lines.  I recommend The Dark Heart for true crime buffs and anyone looking for a good whodunit.

That’s all for now.  Happy reading, y’all!