June MiniReviews – Part 1

Have I mentioned that my life is pretty much just peaches right now???  You all really just can’t understand LOL  In the meantime, here are a few books that I read all the way back in June…

Sometimes I don’t feel like writing a full review for whatever reason, either because life is busy and I don’t have time, or because a book didn’t stir me enough.  Sometimes, it’s because a book was so good that I just don’t have anything to say beyond that I loved it!  Frequently, I’m just wayyy behind on reviews and am trying to catch up.  For whatever reason, these are books that only have a few paragraphs of thoughts from me.

The Horse & His Boy by C.S. Lewis – 5*

//published 1954//

Growing up, this was one of my least favorite books in the series (along with The Silver Chair), but every time I reread it, I enjoy it more.  There’s a lot to soak in here about providence and why bad things happen to people and how that all works together for good, plus it’s just a fun story.  Narnia is always a joy to me.

Kitty’s Class Day & Other Stories by Louisa May Alcott – 3*

//published 1882//

I’m a huge fan of Alcott, and some of my all-time favorite books were penned by her.  However, I’ve had this collection of short stories on my shelf for literal years and somehow never read it… and when I did, I honestly wasn’t that impressed.  The subtitle for this one is “Proverb Stories” and each tale has a little saying/proverb at the beginning and then the story goes on to illustrate it.  Consequently, these came across as a little on the preachy side.  Alcott is always a fan of making her writing somewhat moralistic, but I feel like that works better with her longer-form writing, as we are able to see characters grow and mature organically.  Here, with only a few pages per story, the lessons felt a bit too in-your-face for my tastes.  Perfectly fine but honestly not particularly engaging.

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling – 4*

My reread of the Potter books also continued in June with a chapter a day of the fourth book.  I think this is where the series really starts to take off, with a lot of connections being made.  It’s a chunkster of a book and sometimes does feel a little ponderous, but overall I still find this series plenty entertaining.

Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez – 3.5*

//published 2021//

In May I read Woven in Moonlight and found it to be a decent enough read that I wanted to pick up the sequel, Written in Starlight.  It’s hard to tell about this one without giving away some spoilers for the first book, but basically there is a character from the first story who ends up being sent away into the jungle as a punishment at the end of the book.  It honestly felt a little jarring, so reading the second book felt like reading the other side of the coin.  Although the main character is different, it really ties in with the first story and, I felt, tied up a lot of loose ends.  Overall, I think I actually liked this one better, even if the main character was super dense from time to time.

Led Zeppelin: Heaven & Hell by Charles Cross & Erik Flannigan – 3.5*

//published 1991//

My husband is a huge Zeppelin fan, so we have several nonfiction books about the band.  In my quest to read all of the books I own (LOL) this one was the next stop.  Published in 1991, it was written at a time when there was still a lot of chatter about whether the band would get back together, with John Bonhome’s son, Jason, as the drummer.  This book read more like an extended fanzine, with a lot of information about band paraphernalia, concerts, albums, concert memorabilia, etc.  If you already love Zeppelin and are just looking for some random tidbits, it’s worth picking up for the photographs if nothing else, but if you don’t know much about the band, this isn’t really a great place to start, because the authors definitely assume that you already have foundational knowledge about the band members and the trajectory of the band itself.  I definitely preferred Flannigan’s sections to Cross’s – I find Cross’s writing to be somewhat condescending, something I also noted when I read his biography of Kurt Cobain, Heavier Than Heaven.  Ultimately, Cross felt like it was super important to spend a great deal of time hating on Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis (which I haven’t gotten around to reading yet), which, whether or not his claims were justified, just came through as rather petty.  A moderately enjoyable read, but not one I’d particularly pick up again.

Rearview Mirror // May 2021

I just don’t seem to be getting any forwarder on my blogging!!  Ah well, here’s a recap from May, which was a stupendously busy month at my greenhouse job – definitely reflected in the overall amount of reading I got done, my lowest month of the year so far.

Favorite May Read

Although it was technically Carry On, Jeeves, I like to choose a new read for this slot when possible, which means Project Hail Mary is going to take the win.  This book ended up being funny, engaging, emotional, intense, and all game together in the end – a total win for me.

Most Disappointing May Read

Possibly Love at First by Kate Clayborn, which was honestly an okay read for me, but somewhat boring and just not that engaging.  However, as you can see from my little pile of 3* reads this month, it could just as easily have been any of the other meh reads I had.

Other May Reads

• 3*
  • 100 Years of Color by Kate Greenwood
  • The Gin O’Clock Club by Rosie Blake
  • The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn
  • Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
  • Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez
• 3.5*
  • Living in Norway by Solvi Dos Santos & Elisabeth Holte
•  4*
  • Anchored Hearts by Priscilla Oliveras
  • The Dating Plan by Sara Desai
  • Happiness Hill by Grace Livingston Hill
  • The Marriage Game by Sara Desai
  • Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
  • Unicorn Famous by Dana Simpson
• 5*
  • Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
  • The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

May Stats

• Total Number of Books Read:  18 (1 Kindle, 17 physical)
• Total Pages Read:  5361
• Average Star Rating for September:  3.75
• Longest Book: Project Hail Mary (476 pages)
• Shortest Book:  Unicorn Famous (171 pages)
• Oldest Book:  Happiness Hill (published 1932)
• Newest Book: Unicorn Famous, Second First Impressions, Project Hail Mary, Anchored Hearts, The Dating Plan, and Love at First were all published this year.
• Number of New-to-Me Authors:  5

May DNFs

None this month!!

TBR Update

This I keep updated as I go, so it’s current as of today, rather than as of the end of May. I am also making progress on winnowing down the unread blog emails!!! Under 800!!! LOL

For those of you who don’t know, I’m weirdly obsessive with organizing the TBR, and have it on a spreadsheet divided into six different tabs:

• Standalones:  509 (up one)
• Nonfiction:  125 (down one)
• Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  648 (holding steady)
• Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  252 (up one)
• Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 114 (down one)
• New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 143 (up six!)

Current Reads

• I’m trying to have one nonfiction book on the go all the time right now, just a chapter a day.  It actually is helping me get through the ones both on my official nonfiction section of the TBR and some of the scores of nonfiction I already own!  Right now I’m reading The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson, about a preacher in the 1960s who ended up moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to work with a gang ministry.  This one has been on my shelf for literal years but I’m glad that I’ve finally picked it up as it’s thoroughly engaging.
• The PemberLittens group on Litsy is on our final Austen read – Persuasion.  I quite like this one and am enjoying the gentle chapter-a-day pace.
• Another Litsy group is reading through the Emily of New Moon trilogy by L.M. Montgomery.  Despite the fact that several of Montgomery’s books rate in my top books of all time, I’ve never read this series.  I think when I was growing up Mom told me that it was sad, so I never bothered.  But I’m probably old enough to handle the sad now haha  So far, the first book, Emily of New Moon, has been okay, but it really does have a down tone compared to many of Montgomery’s other books.  And Emily’s Aunt Elizabeth is just a terrible person.  Like Marilla without any sense of humor or empathy.
• I’m also trying to check some classics off my list, also via the chapter-a-day method, and am currently read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, another of those classics I’ve just never gotten around to reading.  It’s short and snappy so I’m really enjoying it.
• My “regular” book that I’m reading right now is The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan.  A while back I read The Joy Luck Club and enjoyed it so much more than I was anticipating – I’m usually not a fan of novels.  So far, this book is also drawing me in despite being a book it doesn’t “sound” like I should enjoy.
• Finally, last night I wasn’t feeling sleepy and just wanted something happy and fluffy to read before going to sleep, and ended up getting about a third of the way through My Lady Jane, which I have been meaning to read forever.  So far, absolutely fantastic.

Up Next

The probably next five(ish) reads –

• The next free Kindle book I’m planning to check off the list is a collection of the first three books in the Lexie Star cozy mystery series.  I can’t decide if I’m hoping that I enjoy them and read the whole series, or if I hope the first book is dreadful and I don’t need to read the rest! LOL
• I still have a handful of books from the Regency book box I bought off of eBay a couple years ago.  They’ve ranged from “what even” to “pretty decent” so we’ll see what The Duke’s Disappearance has to offer.
• A while back I read Smoky the Cow Horse and found it surprisingly engaging.  So, when we were in South Dakota in 2019 and I saw another of James’s books, Flint Spears, I decided to pick it up.  And two years later, I’m planning to actually read it!!  Actually not a bad timeline from purchase to reading for me.
• My next Wodehouse book is one I actually somehow haven’t read before – Sam in the Suburbs.  I’m rather excited about it as I only have a tiny handful of unread Wodehouse books left.
• Still working through my personal collection of unread books – the next will be Holdfast by Patricia Beatty.  Back in high school I purchased a bunch of library discards by Beatty but haven’t read them all (or at least not since the late 90s).  She’s a mixed bag for me – I’ve kept a couple and gotten rid of a couple, so we’ll see how this one plays out.  Many of her books are set on the west coast in the 1800s, so moving to early 1600s Ireland will be a definite change of pace!!

Well, that about brings you up to speed as well as summing up my May reading.  On to June!!!

May Minireviews – Part 3

Oh look, more minireviews from the backlog!!!

Sometimes I don’t feel like writing a full review for whatever reason, either because life is busy and I don’t have time, or because a book didn’t stir me enough.  Sometimes, it’s because a book was so good that I just don’t have anything to say beyond that I loved it!  Frequently, I’m just wayyy behind on reviews and am trying to catch up.  For whatever reason, these are books that only have a few paragraphs of thoughts from me.

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez – 3*

//published 2020//

This one has been on my radar for a while because of that gorgeous cover, and also because I’m always interested in books with a Central/South American flavor to them.  This book was, I think, what you might call magical realism rather than fantasy.  It was a solid story about a group of people holed up in hiding because they people that they conquered several generations ago have now risen up and conquered them.  There’s a lot of discussion about imperialism and what it means to have a group conquer another group, and which culture is the “real” culture, etc etc.  Some of it was handled well while other bits felt a little too polemic.  While I liked the characters, I also somehow couldn’t connect to them.  There were really random scenes that felt over-the-top violent for the rest of the story, and Ibañez decided to arbitrarily kill off a character I really liked, which always annoys me.  The author also chose to put a LOT of Spanish words in her text, which did add to the flavor of the story, but there was no glossary in the back, and the context did not always make the meaning of the words obvious, which meant I frequently had to stop to look up words, which always takes me out of the story – for some reason way more than it does when all I need to do is flip to a glossary.  (I think because looking it up means I have to actually set down the book and pick up a completely different item – my phone or a computer – to find the answer, which frequently leads to other distractions.)

In the end, I did like this book, and I think some people might like it even more than me, but it just wasn’t a perfect match.

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai – 4*

//published 2020//

I had actually been meaning to read this book for a while, and then a member of the traveling book club chose the sequel, The Dating Game, for her pick.  Even though the second book could be read as a stand alone, I figured this was a good chance to go ahead and read this one, and I ended up really enjoying them both.  This is just the kind of fun and fluffy romance I like (although a little on the sexy side).  Layla was quirky without being obnoxious; Sam was angsty but reasonably so; and Layla’s family was absolutely hilarious while still filling realistic.  This one definitely hit the spot and I can totally see myself rereading it at some point.

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai – 4*

//published 2021//

I didn’t like this one quite as well, but still really enjoyed it.  My main issue with this one is that Daisy and Liam are in a fake relationship, but are CONSTANTLY talking about how it’s fake when the people they are supposed to be fooling are just in the next room, or around the corner, or what have you.  It was driving me crazy how they would basically get into a shouting match about how the whole thing is fake, and yet Daisy’s nosy family never noticed???  It just didn’t jive.  Liam also spent a little too much time hating on himself – we get it, you were a jerk.  Still, all in all it was still great fun.  A third book is scheduled to be published in November, and I’ll definitely be reading it!

Living in Norway by Solvi Dos Santos & Elisabeth Holte – 3.5*

//published 1999//

This was another book that I read for the Food & Lit Club, where we “visit” one country per month with books and recipes.  May’s country was Norway, and I read this one in addition to a travel guide that I didn’t review (it was very travel guide-y).  Reading Living in Norway was like reading a PBS special. I could practically hear the soothing voiceover of a narrator the entire time.  Going season by season the authors visit different homes in Norway, discussing architecture, history, hobbies, and ways of life. I’m not sure how much this book reflects the majority of Norwegians’ lives as it seemed to focus a lot on the artsy types, but the photography was gorgeous and it was all and all an enjoyable read.  I’m fascinated by life so close to the Arctic Circle in terms of daylight and weather and loved reading how the people who live here embrace winter and the long hours of darkness.  So many of the architectural details there are because of the long winters, so it was very interesting to learn more about them.  Maybe not a book for everyone, but if you’re looking for some gentle nonfiction with a lot of photographs, this was pretty fun.

Love at First by Kate Clayborn – 3*

//published 2021//

I read Love Lettering last year and had a lot of mixed feelings about it, but decided to give Clayborn’s new book a try.  Once again, I was left with a book that had a fun concept but, for me, no follow-through.  I really liked Will and Nora, but this whole thing with Will needing to sublet the apartment felt weird and forced.  The synopsis makes it sound like Will’s going to, I don’t know, tear down the entire apartment building or something, but instead he literally just wants to make it into an Air B&B? Like I get you not wanting that to be your next-door neighbor, but it didn’t seem worth the amount of angst that was going on.  What redeemed the story were all the secondary characters – all the other apartment building folks were delightful and fun and I really enjoyed them.  This one weirdly reminded me a lot of Second First Impressions which I had read earlier in the month, and, like that one, this one just didn’t quite hit the mark for me, because all the conflicts felt strangely manufactured instead of natural.

The Nature of Small Birds // by Susie Finkbeiner

Well, friends, as I feared, the orchard has taken over my life!!  It’s been several years since we had a decent crop of peaches, but this year it’s a bonanza!!  We have peaches, plums, nectarines, and blackberries EVERYWHERE!  We’re always short-staffed at the beginning of the season because the hours are all over the place and it can be hard to find people who are interested in just working for a couple of months.  Since I absolutely love the people who own this orchard and since I only live a mile away, I end up filling a lot of gaps!!  Surprisingly, although I’ve eaten several peaches every day for the last three weeks, I’m still not tired of them.  They are SO DELICIOUS.  So take a road trip to central Ohio and get your fix!! :-D

In the meantime, I honestly haven’t been reading nearly as much as I usually do.  However, I did have this review copy of The Nature of Small Birds that I finished last week and have been meaning to post about.  I enjoyed this gentle story about a family who adopted a young girl from Vietnam, yet it somehow failed to really stir a great deal of emotion for me.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In 1975, three thousand children were airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted into Western homes. When Mindy, one of those children, announces her plans to return to Vietnam to find her birth mother, her loving adoptive family is suddenly thrown back to the events surrounding her unconventional arrival into their lives.

Though her father supports Mindy’s desire to meet her family of origin, he struggles privately with an unsettling fear that he’ll lose the daughter he’s poured his heart into. Mindy’s mother undergoes the emotional roller coaster inherent in the adoption of a child from a war-torn country, discovering the joy hidden amid the difficulties. And Mindy’s sister helps her sort through relics that whisper of the effect the trauma of war has had on their family–but also speak of the beauty of overcoming.

Told through three strong voices in three compelling timelines, The Nature of Small Birds is a hopeful story that explores the meaning of family far beyond genetic code.

The three timelines are Mindy’s adopted father, Bruce, in present day/2013; Mindy’s adopted mother, Linda, in 1975; and Mindy’s adopted sister, Sonny, in 1988.  Choosing to not have Mindy – the actual Vietnamese girl who was adopted – be one of the narrative voices was an interesting choice to me.  I can see why the author made that choice, but it also kept me distanced from the character who seemed like she should be the center of the story.  I never felt like I really knew Mindy or understood her choices – but it almost didn’t matter because she honestly didn’t make a lot of choices in this story.  Things happened to her a lot more than she made things happen.

//published 2021//

From the synopsis, I expected more of the story to focus on Mindy’s search for her birth family in Vietnam, but in reality that was a very small part of the story.  In the present day, Bruce is wrestling with the failing health of his parents, which frequently took precedence over Mindy’s search.  In 1975, Linda is struggling to please her strict, overbearing mother-in-law while still doing what she believes is right – adopt a child from Vietnam despite Bruce’s mother’s outrage – Bruce’s brother was killed in Vietnam during the war, and his mother can’t believe that they are willing to adopt “one of them.”  Sonny’s storyline takes place when she is a senior in high school/the summer right after her graduation (Mindy is a couple years younger) and is a lot about Sonny realizing that even though they all love Mindy a lot, they can never truly understand the difficulties and prejudices she will always face.

Each of these storylines was perfectly interesting and pleasant, but there never was any zing to the story.  It was a very straightforward narrative without a lot of complications, but in many ways it felt rather directionless.  At the end of the story, I just wasn’t sure what the “point” had been.  This was especially emphasized by the fact that Bruce’s mother treats Mindy like garbage consistently across all three timelines, yet no one else in the family ever actually stands up for Mindy or tells Bruce’s mother to shape up.  I was very disappointed by the way this was presented, that basically it felt like everyone was willing to compromise on Mindy’s well-being for the sake of peace within the family.  Sometimes, there are reasons that there shouldn’t be peace in your family, and treating a child cruelly is definitely one of them.  This aspect of the story really brought down my overall enjoyment of the book.

I have mixed feelings about whether or not I would actually recommend this book.  It was an interesting look at a piece of history (Operation Babylift) that I hadn’t really heard much about before, and it was a perfectly fine story.  However, I honestly found it rather boring in places because the story wasn’t actually going anywhere, and there were just too many instances of Bruce’s mother being a jerk and no one saying anything about it for me to really like this book or consider rereading it at any point.  In the end, it’s 3* for this one, and another case of a book I wanted to like more than I did.