It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Another week, you guys. This summer is flying by. FYI, it’s a full moon today. I haven’t participated in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? in a long time, but it feels like the perfect way to begin the week. Thanks to Kathryn at The Book Date for hosting the meme.

Recently Finished:

Last night I finished Daphne Du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel. I LOVED it. I think I might even like it more than her novel Rebecca. It’s a masterful portrait of obsessive love and suspicion. It’s a Classic Club pick, so hopefully I’ll write more about it soon.

Currently Reading:

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John. This is a book that I started reading aloud to my son, and then he went and finished it on his own, so now I have to find out what happens! It’s really funny and I think it has great appeal for adults as well as children. It’s about a new kid in town who wants to be his new school’s top prankster, an identity he cultivated at his old school. Little does he know that he’s about to meet a stealthy prankster from whom he can learn a thing or two.

What’s Next:

I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott. Comparisons to Erma Bombeck, Nora Ephron, and Laurie Colwin all sound appealing. From the Goodreads blurb:

She offers up her own stories to show that identity crises don’t happen just once or only at midlife; reassures us that small, recurring personal re-inventions are both normal and necessary; and advises that if you’re going to faint, you should get low to the ground first. Most of all, Philpott shows that when you stop feeling satisfied with your life, you don’t have to burn it all down and set off on a transcontinental hike (unless you want to, of course). 

Bookish Conversation: My son and I visited a local independent bookstore weekend before last in search of Father’s Day gifts. I was proud of myself for not buying anything for me! My son said that I didn’t need to buy anything for myself because I already had so many books at home “that fill up our entire bookshelf.” I counted my unread books and told him that I only had 57 unread books in the house. He said, incredulously, “57?! You don’t need to buy any more books until you read at least 5 books you already have!” So that’s my plan, folks. Gotta read five of my own books before I can purchase any more. (Note: this does NOT include anything pre-ordered, i.e., the new Kate Atkinson!)

Have a great week!

 

 

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The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffith

Publication: March 2019 (US)

Format: Library hardcover

Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Reason I Chose It: I love Griffith’s Ruth Galloway mystery series, and two bloggers I follow loved it (FictionFan and Cleo.)

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book this engaging. I finished it in two days and felt like I really wanted to write about it while it was fresh. You may have noticed that I’ve been scarce around here for a little bit. I’m trying to figure out just exactly what I want my blog to look like. I feel like I need to shake things up. I’m really burned out on writing reviews. They’re not fun for me anymore, they’re more like homework that I want to avoid. I’ve got three finished books for the Classics Club that I’m going to try and write some mini-reviews for, but other than that I think my reviews are going on the back burner.

Anyway, back to the book. It’s told from the perspectives of three characters: divorced mom and English teacher Clare Cassidy; DS Harbinder Kaur, a detective of Indian descent who still lives at home with her parents at age 35, and Clare’s teenaged daughter Georgie, who loves books and writing but hides this talent from her mother. The setting is Talgarth High, a British high school with a so-so academic reputation and a haunted past. The novel opens with a story within the story, one that Clare teaches to her students regularly, “The Stranger,” by R.M. Holland, who long ago lived in the building where Clare now teaches. It’s a ghost story, a horror story, and it elicits chills from students year after year. Clare takes a break from discussing the story with some adult creative writing students to receive some awful news: her good friend and English department colleague Ella has been murdered. There’s a chilling detail: a line from the Holland story is found on a post-it note near her body. As the police seek the killer and suspect someone connected to the school, Clare turns to writing in her diary for comfort. Only one day she sees that an unknown person has written a message to her in her diary: “Hallo Clare. You don’t know me.”

I loved the Gothic atmosphere of this contemporary standalone British mystery. The ghost story within the story is genuinely spooky, and R.M. Holland’s life story adds another creepy element (his wife is said to have committed suicide in the building and supposedly haunts it.) The three main characters are strong and fully realized, each with secrets they keep from one another. Clare and Georgie’s mother-daughter relationship is very realistic, fraught with tension but fiercely loving all the same. DS Kaur and Clare at first are very suspicious of one another but grow into a nice mutual admiration. There are red herrings everywhere, especially after another person connected to the school is murdered. I genuinely had no clue who the killer was until very late in the book. An unexpected treat was Clare and Georgie’s sweet dog, Herbert. He plays a crucial role in the story and in their family, providing companionship and protection. This is also a book for book lovers: allusions to Harry Potter, Georgette Heyer, Shakespeare, and Wilkie Collins abound.

This was a smart page-turner, keeping me riveted and guessing until the very end. Great characters, atmosphere, and mystery. I’ve only read two other 5-star books so far this year, so I’m thrilled to add one more to the list. If you’ve never read Elly Griffiths before, this would be a the perfect place to start.

 

Library Checkout April 2019

In an earlier post I lamented never getting to backlist books because of all the holds coming in from the library on new titles. I did pause my holds but that doesn’t mean I’m not checking books out from the library! Here’s what I read, checked out, and have on hold for the month of April. Thanks to Rebecca at Bookish Beck for hosting this monthly meme – check her blog out!

LIBRARY BOOKS READ:

Outer Order, Inner Calm – Gretchen Rubin ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

My Sister the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Tooth and Nail – Ian Rankin ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope – Karamo Brown ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

CURRENTLY READING:

Harriet the Spy – Louise Fitzhugh (a re-read; I haven’t read it since childhood and was inspired by Marcie at Buried in Print.)

Road Rage – Ruth Rendell (Inspector Wexford #17)

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start-up – John Carreyrou (digital audio book; about 75% finished)

CHECKED OUT, TO BE READ:

The Folded Clock – Heidi Julavits (memoir)

The Rumor – Elin Hilderbrand (“light” fiction)

The Sky at Our Feet – Nadia Hashimi (middle grade)

The Story of Diva and Flea – Mo Willems (chapter book – not for my son, for me!)

The Psychopath Test – Jon Ronson (nonfiction)

A Dying Fall – Elly Griffiths (mystery)

Wade in the Water – Tracy K. Smith (poetry)

Bright Dead Things – Ada Limon (poetry)

IN THE HOLDS QUEUE:

We do NOT have time to list all of my holds. Currently I have 18 books on hold (for me) and some movies and music too. It’s utter insanity. I’m trying to manage them and not have them all come in at once. I still want to read some of my OWN books, plus I’ve got two classics in line for May reading. Some of the books I have on hold are:

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive – Stephanie Land

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls – Anissa Gray

An Anonymous Girl – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

RETURNED UNREAD:

I really should be better about keeping track of this! I’m sure I’ve returned things unread but I didn’t write that down. 🙂

So, anything spark your interest here? Have you read any of these? What’s your latest item checked out from your library?

Reading Round-up and The CC Spin Result

Hello friends, I hope you’ve had a good week! It’s time to do a little catching up and finally tell you what my Classics Club Spin result was.

Recently Finished Reading:

Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin.

This is the third book in the Inspector Rebus series. In this one the Inspector gets called down to London (from his home base of Edinburgh) to assist on a serial killer case, chasing a suspect nicknamed “The Wolfman.” There’s a lot about the psychology of serial killers here, and I liked how open-ended the case was right until the very end. Rankin highlights the tension between the English detectives and our Scottish protagonist. He’s not exactly welcomed with open arms. There’s a subplot about Rebus’s family, his daughter and ex-wife who live in London, and how he’s not exactly been the most present father. And another cringe-worthy romantic relationship – my least favorite element of these books so far. Rebus is kind of a screw-up in that area. I am not sure that I really like John Rebus, but he’s interesting and funny and complex and I like reading *about* him. And I’m a softie for a maverick detective. I eagerly anticipate getting to read the next installment.

Currently Reading:

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start-up by John Carreyrou.

I’m listening to the audio book of this from my library, and it’s BANANAS. I can’t even begin to comprehend the amount of money poured into this half-assed, shady, unethical operation. The hubris, megalomania, and privilege of Theranos’s founder, Elizabeth Holmes is mind-boggling. It’s a highly entertaining and eye-opening read. I’m ignoring my usual podcasts in favor of this book. I definitely recommend it. The narrator is nothing special, but the book is just so… wow. One heck of a story here. I’m about half way through.

Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope by Karamo Brown.

I’m OBSESSED with Netflix’s Queer Eye and all the guys. They are just the most joyful and kind-hearted people and their show makes me happy. So of course I’m going to read any memoir that one of them writes. (And I do like to read celebrity autobiographies.) Karamo is laying it all out there. I’m halfway through this and he’s just discussed his addiction to cocaine that nearly killed him, an interesting take on colorism and gender, and his love for his church and how he won’t let anyone cherry-pick Bible verses to denigrate who he is. He comes across just as confidently as he does on the show, and I like how he is baring all of his past mistakes honestly. I recommend this if you’re a fan of the show.

CC Spin Result:

The number chosen in Monday’s spin was 19, which means I’ll be reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. I’m really excited to finally read this and I own a copy already which is nice. Here is the Goodreads blurb:

The most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh’s novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder’s infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly-disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognize only his spiritual and social distance from them.

Have you read this?

What have you recently finished?

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Ayoola summons me with these words – Korede, I killed him.

I had hoped I would never hear those words again.

With that awesome opening, Oyinkan Braithwaite had me hooked from the start. Her debut novel, My Sister, the Serial Killer, is quite the page-turner – a quirky, darkly funny, kind of sad, creepy depiction of sisters caught in a warped dynamic.

Korede is the responsible, plain-looking older sister, working as a nurse in a Lagos hospital. Ayoola is the younger, flightier, more beautiful sister who posts incessantly on Instagram and attracts men easily. We are drawn into the action immediately, as Ayoola asks for her sister’s help after she kills the man she’s been dating.

“We need to move the body,” I tell her.

“Are you angry at me?”

Perhaps a normal person would be angry, but what I feel now is a pressing need to dispose of the body.

We learn more about the sisters’ childhood, their violent and abusive father. We start to understand more about how that affected them.

More and more, she reminds me of him. He could do a bad thing and behave like a model citizen right after. As though the bad thing had never happened. Is it in the blood? But his blood is my blood and my blood is hers.

Korede is in love with a doctor at the hospital named Tade. He is unaware of how she feels, viewing her as a friend who really listens to him. Once Ayoola and Tade meet, a meeting Korede was desperate to block, a chain of events is set into motion that will give Korede the opportunity to break free from the family’s cycle of violence and dysfunction. Will she be strong enough to take it, though?

There are moments of humor sprinkled throughout the novel, enough to make this not a bleak book despite the subject matter.

“You’re not the only one suffering, you know. You act like you are carrying this big thing all by yourself, but I worry too.”

“Do you? ‘Cause the other day, you were singing ‘I Believe I Can Fly.'”

Ayoola shrugs. “It’s a good song.”

I alternately felt sorry for and frustrated by both sisters. But I never lost interest or stopped wanting to turn pages. (I also LOVE the cover.)  This is a smart, insightful debut and I can’t wait to see what Braithwaite does next.

 

Classics Club Spin # 20!

It’s time again for another Classics Club Spin. I am so grateful for these Spins or else I really would take ten years to complete my list instead of five. Here are the rules:

At your blog, before next Monday 22nd April 2019, create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list.

This is your Spin List.

On Monday 22nd April, we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by 31st May, 2019.

This is perfect timing for me because I will be DONE WITH THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO soon! (Maybe even tonight.) Woo-hoo!

Here is my Spin List (in alphabetical order by author:)

1. Fahrenheit 451 – Bradbury
2. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Bronte
3. The Master and Margarita – Bulgakov
4. The Woman in White – Collins
5. A Study in Scarlet – Conan Doyle
6. Great Expectations – Dickens
7. Love Medicine – Erdrich
8. Howard’s End – Forster
9. Cold Comfort Farm – Gibbons
10. Nightingale Wood – Gibbons
11. The Thin Man – Hammett
12. Jonah’s Gourd Vine -Hurston
13. Quicksand – Larsen
14. The Blue Castle – Montgomery
15. The Gowk Storm – Morrison
16. Quartet in Autumn – Pym
17. Ceremony – Silko
18. The Warden – Trollope
19. Brideshead Revisited – Waugh
20. Stoner – Williams

We’ll see what number they draw on Monday.

Have you read any of these?

Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

“…it’s important to remember that outer order isn’t simply a matter of having less or having more; it’s a matter of wanting what we have.”

If you’re someone who feels like you’ve got too much stuff and all that stuff weighs on your mind, then Gretchen Rubin’s new book Outer Order, Inner Calm is for you. If you enjoy Marie Kondo’s show on Netflix but you think that her system is too rigid, this is definitely a book you should check out. (Literally. Check it out from your library so you don’t add to your clutter! ) Its bite-sized bits of advice are logical and encouraging and just might give you the push you need to let some things go.

If I only take away one idea from Rubin’s book, it’s this one: If you don’t need it, love, it, or use it, you should probably get rid of it.

Simple, right? And for me, it works better than Kondo’s “spark joy” idea. Everybody’s different, and Rubin seems to get that.

Another favorite piece of advice: The Three Strikes and You’re Out Rule. If she’s thought about getting rid of something twice before, the third time she thinks it, she gets rid of it. I sometimes find myself holding on to things that people have given me as gifts, but they’re things I don’t really want. I just keep them out of guilt, I guess. Now I can use this idea to show myself that I really DON’T want that scented candle or whatever it is.

Another great tip: Make a Mock Move. Would you bother to wrap up this item in bubble wrap and stick it in a box and put it on a truck to take it to a new house? If not, out it goes.

This is a very approachable advice book for people who don’t want to dump every piece of clothing they own in a big pile on the bed and tackle clutter all at once. Rubin is logical but also recognizes that people need beautiful things and sentimental things in their lives. In fact, her last section is titled “Add Beauty.” I really enjoyed this book and found it very helpful. You can read a few tips at a time or read the whole thing straight through in no time at all. I bet it will inspire you to look at your belongings and habits with a new eye.