April 2026

 

 Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library, Stony Creek, CT April 27, 2026

Lots of reading this month. Some good books and a few duds. Also some library visits.

Fiction:

The Director by Kehlmann, Daniel; translated from the German by Benjamin, Ross 

Fictional account the life of German film director G. W. Pabst during WW2  in Germany and Austria.

The Decagon House Murders (House Murders, #1) by Ayatsuji, Yukito; translated from the Japanese by Wong, Ho-Ling

Saltwater by Hays, Katy 

Family drama, set on Capri. 

Home of the American Circus by Larkin, Allison

Family drama set in Somers, New York. 

Our Numbered Bones by Balen, Katya 

Writer dealing with writer's block and grief retreats to an isolated cabin in bog and gets mixed up in an archeological investigation. 

Anna O by Blake, Matthew 

Are there any characters in this novel of revenge that don't breach professional ethics? 

Other People's Houses by Waxman, Abbi  

Neighborhood drama. 

The Forbidden Notebook by de Céspedes, Alba: translated from the Italian by Goldstein, Ann

Family  drama in Post WW2 Rome.

The Beheading Game by Lemann, Rebecca

Anne Boleyn rises from the dead and seeks revenge.

After Life by Forman, Gayle 

A YA novel on grief and death.

Life: A Love Story by Berg, Elizabeth 

Maudlin.  

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Dixon, Glenn

Dystopian. Somewhat sentient appliance (they aren't all small - one is a refrigerator and one is a car)  try to aid their house's humans face a crisis. The concept is interesting but there is no depth to the plot or characters. FSeems like a first draft.

Upward Bound by Brown, Woody

  

My Dear You by Khong, Rachel 
Very good collection. I liked them all. 
Contents: My dear you -- The freshening -- Slow & steady -- Tapetum lucidum -- The family O -- Serene -- Red shoes -- Good spirits -- Colors from elsewhere -- D Day.

Python's Kiss by Erdrich, Louise; illustrated by Abe, Aza Erdrich

I liked the first four stories but didn't care much for the rest.  I prefer erdrich's longer works.
Contents: Python's kiss -- Wedding dresses -- The hollow children -- Love of my days -- Domain -- Asphodel -- Borsalino -- Asassin -- December 26 -- The feral troubadour -- Big cat -- Amelia -- The stone. 

 

Last Seen Wearing: The First-Ever Police Procedural by Waugh, Hillary 

Police procedurals are not my favorite mysteries but this is historically interesting.

The Last Letters of Sally and Walter by McGovern, Cammie The "letters: are Scrabble tiles, not written correspondence.

 

City Limits by Hannah Smart 

Window Seat by Watkins, LaToya 

  

Nonfiction: 

The Secret History of French Cooking: The Outlaw Chefs Who Made Food Modern by Barr, Luke

Covers 1965-1998 

True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color—from Azure to Zinc Pink by Stamper, Kory 

I kinda expected this to be more about color than it is. It does address the problems of defining colors for the dictionary  (Webster's). But there's too much about the egos and infighting among the editors and wanna-be editors. Lexicographers aren't especially colorful people, btw.