February 2024

Lots of bodies in my February fiction reading--I lost count. 

Everything this month was from public libraries.  No Gutenberg, no online reading to speak of, and I didn't get to the two ARC on my nightstand. Maybe next month....

Fiction:

The Storm We Made by Chan, Vanessa

Life of a family in Japanese occupied Malaysia. A decent read.

The The Excitements by Wray, C.J. 

A fun romp to Paris with two ninety year old sisters and their nephew.

Dead in Long Beach, California by Blackburn, Venita 

A woman finds her brother dead by suicide in his apartment and she does some strange things.

The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Schillace, Brandy

An enjoyable village mystery. I think it's going to be a series. If so, I will read the next one.

Who to Believe by Hill, Edwin

Several murders, several suspects, several narrators....  Once I got into it I liked it.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Hallett, Janice 

Murders, more murders, and a very convuluted conspiracy. Also, a very good read

The Adversary by Crummey, Michael

I didn't like it as much as others by Crummey, but it is very good.

Interesting Facts about Space by Austin, Emily

The blurb calls this "...fast-paced, hilarious, and ultimately hopeful...." Uh, the first and last might be true--it was nicely paced and ended on an optimistic note. However, "hilarious" just doesn't fit. This is not laugh-a-minute funny. There are some amusing monents and it's not too dark and dreary but there is a lot of unhappiness.

The Swallows of Kabul by Khadra, Yasmina ; translated from the French by Cullen, John

Good but a difficult read.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by Romero, R.M.

Y.A.  A nice coming of age story. With ghosts.

The Phoenix Crown by Quinn, Kate and Chang, Janie

An earthquake (1906), a couple of murders, a grand ball, an abduction, a rescue, and more.... How did they manage to make it all so boring?

Fourteen Days edited by Atwood, Margaret

A collaborative novel where the tennants of a rundown NYC apartment bulding gather on the roof each evening for fourteen days of the early Covid lockdown. Each has a story to tell. I enjoyed it.

Contributors: Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Cassara, Jennine Capó Crucet, Angie Cruz, Pat Cummings, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Douglas Preston, Alice Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, Caroline Randall Williams, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, and Meg Wolitzer.

Nonfiction:

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Wilkinson, Crystal

I really enjoyed this memoir. 

Hollywood: The Oral History by Basinger, Jeanine and Wassan, Sam

Many, many clips from a series of interviews with representatives of all facets of production (producers, executives, directors, actors, set and costume designers, cinematographers, editors, etc.) for the American Film Institute. Nicely arranged in a thematic/chronological order. Interesting but they soft pedal a lot of stuff and I think they (the interviewees) make it look better than it was.

Inside Qatar: Hidden Stories from One of the Richest Nations on Earth by McManus, John 

The writing annoyed me, I'm not sure why, but the book is informative.

Islands of Abandonment by Flyn, Cal 

Lots of lovely descriptions, lots of viewing with alarm, lots of sad stories, and a bit of optimism. An ok read.

 

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Kolker, Robert

I don't know what to say about this other than it was confusing to have the experience of one family mixed in with a summary of research into the causes of schizophrenia.