Reading Wrap Up: December 2022

READING WRAP UP
(books from the tbr)

Hester
by Laurie Lico Albanese
Historical, Retelling, Scotland | Published: 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
loved the journey of this character along with embroidery spotlight

Going Rogue
by Janet Evanovich
Mystery, Humor | Published: 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
fun quips, action and donuts ;-)

Reading Wrap Up: July 2022

READING WRAP UP
(books from tour or tbr)

Mother Country
by Jacinda Townsend
Contemporary, Feminism, Africa | Published: May 3, 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
motherhood was a strong theme
Shannon, an African American woman, accompanies her boyfriend to Morocco to escape from education bills, medical debt, and the unexpected revelation of her infertility following a serious automobile accident. She comes across a toddler in a pink jacket with a face that resembles hers in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech. Shannon makes the choice to adopt and raise the girl in Louisville, Kentucky, with the assistance of her boyfriend and a bribed official. However, the girl already has a mother: Souria, an undocumented Mauritanian woman who was trafficked as a youngster and fled to Morocco to make a fresh start in her life.

In rendering Souria’s separation from her family across vast stretches of desert and Shannon’s alienation from her mother under the same roof, Jacinda Townsend brilliantly stages cycles of intergenerational trauma and healing. Linked by the girl who has been a daughter to them both, these unforgettable protagonists move toward their inevitable reckoning.

~*~

In Our Blood
by Caitlin Billings
Memoir, Mental Health, LGBTQ | Published: 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
motherhood theme also hit me with this one
When Caitlin Billings became a therapist, she did so with an intention to heal from her past. She wasn’t planning on a mental health relapse or an involuntary psychiatric hold. She was a mother now. A mental health professional. She thought the issues she’d faced in her past were dealt with, tucked away forever.

She was wrong.

Over the years, Billings contends with bipolar disorder while raising two children and fighting to regain her footing as a clinician. She feels she’s finally gotten a handle on her mental health when, on the cusp of adolescence, her elder child begins to struggle with disordered eating and depressive symptoms. Convinced that she is to blame for her child’s struggles, Billings pivots her attention to this new crisis, determined to keep it together for her family—but after it comes out that sexual abuse has taken place in their home, she questions her ability to protect her children and experiences a relapse. Amidst all this turmoil, her elder child also comes out as transgender, forcing yet another kind of reckoning. Billings must find a way to accept the many changes and unexpected challenges that have reared up in their lives—and, ultimately, to accept herself.

Reading Wrap Up: June 2022

READING WRAP UP
(books from the tbr)

Out of the Blue
by Jason June
Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ | Published: May 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
breakups, shakeups, fun times
adorable couple
Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the monthlong sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder--or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with: after all, humans are disgusting. They've pollluted the planet so much that there's a floating island of trash that's literally the size of a country.

In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together and Crest's pespective on humans begins to change, they'll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings...

A Little Bit Country
by Brian D. Kennedy
YA, Romance, Music, LGBTQ | Published: June 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
like a classic country love song with cute fuzzies
another adorable couple
Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar – a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet – and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

Reading Wrap Up: May 2022

READING WRAP UP
(books from the tbr)

Bloomsbury Girls
by Natalie Jenner
Women's Fiction, England, WWII | Published: 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
Instagram: #bloomsburygirls @authornataliejenner @stmartinspress
delightful treat with Jane Austen references, plight of women and coming into your own
Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances - most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time - Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others - these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.

Listen to an audio excerpt (here)

Reading Wrap Up: April 2022

READING WRAP UP
books from the tbr that may not be listed on book club posts

Take My Hand
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Historical, African American | Published: 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
eye-opening and a must share kind of story
Montgomery, Alabama 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she intends to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a worn down one-room cabin, she’s shocked to learn that her new patients are children—just 11 and 13 years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica and their family into her heart. Until one day, she arrives at the door to learn the unthinkable has happened and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.

Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten.That must not be forgotten.

Because history repeats what we don’t remember.

Reading Wrap Up: March 2022

READING WRAP UP
(books from the tbr)

An Honest Lie
by Tarryn Fisher
Thriller, Mystery | Release date: April 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
past and present collision makes for a thrilling tale
“I’m going to kill her. You’d better come if you want to save her.”

Lorraine—“Rainy”—lives at the top of Tiger Mountain. Remote, moody, cloistered in pine trees and fog, it’s a sanctuary, a new life. She can hide from the disturbing past she wants to forget.

If she’s allowed to.

When Rainy reluctantly agrees to a girls’ weekend in Vegas, she’s prepared for an exhausting parade of shots and slot machines. But after a wild night, her friend Braithe doesn’t come back to the hotel room.

And then Rainy gets the text message, sent from Braithe’s phone: someone has her. But Rainy is who they really want, and Rainy knows why.

What follows is a twisted, shocking journey on the knife-edge of life and death. If she wants to save Braithe—and herself—the only way is to step back into the past.

~*~

The Maid
by Nita Prose
Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
fun mystery with quirky protagonist
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

~*~

The Paris Apartment
by Lucy Foley
Mystery, Thriller, Paris | Published: 2022 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
some underbelly and dark goings on
Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge

Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.

Reading Wrap Up: January 2022

READING WRAP UP
(books not listed on book club and challenge posts)

Small Things Like These
by Claire Keegan
Historical, Christmas, Novella, Ireland | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
cozy story that packs a punch in the end
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

Five Tuesdays in Winter
by Lily King
Short Stories, Literary | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
collection of gems
Told in the intimate voices of unique and endearing characters of all ages, these tales explore desire and heartache, loss and discovery, moments of jolting violence and the inexorable tug toward love at all costs. A bookseller's unspoken love for his employee rises to the surface, a neglected teenage boy finds much-needed nurturing from an unlikely pair of college students hired to housesit, a girl's loss of innocence at the hands of her employer's son becomes a catalyst for strength and confidence, and a proud nonagenarian rages helplessly in his granddaughter's hospital room. Romantic, hopeful, brutally raw, and unsparingly honest, some even slipping into the surreal, these stories are, above all, about King's enduring subject of love.

Reading Wrap Up: December 2021

READING WRAP UP
(books not listed on book club and challenge posts)

Courting the Stationmaster’s Daughter
by Juli D. Revezzo
Historical, Romance, England | Goodreads | my rating: 3
love and not-so-easy courtship in the 1800s
After Honorine Camden is jilted, leaving her stunned and sparking a scandal in her tiny London borough of Wallflower, she's devastated. But when she overhears her father, the stationmaster, talking about arranging a party for their newly-minted underground railway station, she volunteers to help. Although she's intrigued with the handsome assistant stationmaster, Shane MacIntyre, she never expects to fall head-over-heels in love with him. Unfortunately, one tragic accident might derail everything.

The Lost Daughter
by Elena Ferrante
translated by Marcello Lino
Contemporary, Italy | Published: 2008 (first 2006) | Goodreads | my rating: 5
interesting take on women and motherhood
Leda, a middle-aged divorcée, is alone for the first time in years after her two adult daughters leave home to live with their father in Toronto. Enjoying an unexpected sense of liberty, she heads to the Ionian coast for a vacation.

But she soon finds herself intrigued by Nina, a young mother on the beach, eventually striking up a conversation with her. After Nina confides a dark secret, one seemingly trivial occurrence leads to events that could destroy Nina’s family.

These Precious Days: Essays
by Ann Patchett
Essays, Memoir | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
touching, heartfelt, pieces
“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.

At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a suprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both.

A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be.

Reading Wrap Up: July 2021

READING WRAP UP
(books not listed on book club and challenge posts)

The Bounty
by Janet Evanovich, Steve Hamilton
Mystery, Thriller, Paris | Published: March 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 3
amused with the banter
Straight as an arrow special agent Kate O’Hare and international con man Nick Fox have brought down some of the biggest criminals out there. But now they face their most dangerous foe yet—a vast, shadowy international organization known only as the Brotherhood.

Directly descended from the Vatican Bank priests who served Hitler during World War II, the Brotherhood is on a frantic search for a lost train loaded with $30 billion in Nazi gold, untouched for over seventy-five years somewhere in the mountains of Eastern Europe.

Kate and Nick know that there is only one man who can find the fortune and bring down the Brotherhood—the same man who taught Nick everything he knows—his father, Quentin. As the stakes get higher, they must also rely on Kate’s own father, Jake, who shares his daughter’s grit and stubbornness. Too bad they can never agree on anything.

From a remote monastery in the Swiss Alps to the lawless desert of the Western Sahara, Kate, Nick, and the two men who made them who they are today must crisscross the world in a desperate scramble to stop their deadliest foe in the biggest adventure of their lives.

The Hive
by Gregg Olsen
Mystery, Thriller | Published: June 8, 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
the focus on the inner circle of a kinda cult
pulled me into this story, which had a slow reveal
ugh! for the guru
Glamorous messiah or charlatan? A mask of beauty hides deadly secrets in #1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s mesmerizing novel of suspense.

In the Pacific Northwest, police officer Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a young journalist found at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsay soon learns that the victim was writing an exposé. Her subject: a charismatic wellness guru who’s pulled millions into her euphoric orbit…

To hear Marnie Spellman tell it, when she was a child, a swarm of bees lifted her off the ground and toward the sunlight, illuming her spiritual connection with nature—an uncanny event on which Marnie built a cosmetics empire and became a legend, a healer, and the queen of holistic health and eternal beauty. In her inner circle is an intimate band of devotees called the Hive. They share Marnie’s secrets of success—including one cloaked in darkness for twenty years.

Determined to uncover the possibly deadly mysteries of the group, Lindsay focuses her investigation on Marnie and the former members of the Hive, who are just as determined to keep Lindsay from their secrets as they are to maintain their status.

No Spring Chicken
Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability
by Francine Falk-Allen
Travel, Disability | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
informative gem, the travel tips are helpful
As we age, we all begin to have physical difficulties to contend with. It can be challenging for spouses, children, and friends to adapt to the changes people go through as they age—to drop expectations and meet their loved ones where they are. And, often, even though the advice is well-meaning, it is unrealistic and doesn’t help solve problems.

In No Spring Chicken, Francine Falk-Allen offers her own take on navigating the complications aging brings with equanimity (and a sense of humor).

The book is divided into three sections: Part I is a jaunt through accessible travel pleasures and pitfalls; Part II addresses the adaptations caregivers can make for a mutually rewarding relationship with their loved ones, plus advice for physically challenged and aging persons themselves regarding exercise, diet, pain management, mobility, care tips and more; and Part III discusses the rewards of engaging with support groups sharing similar issues, with a little activism and advocacy thrown in for good measure.

Accessible and wryly funny, No Spring Chicken is an informative guide to living your best and longest life―whatever your physical challenges, and whatever your age.

The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Historical, New York | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
felt anxious throughout in fear of the Belle's secret being revealed
interesting to learn about acquisition for a private library
The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan's personal librarian--who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and acclaimed author Victoria Christopher Murray.

In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection.

But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle's complexion isn't dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white--her complexion is dark because she is African American.

The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths to which she must go--for the protection of her family and her legacy--to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.

Reading Wrap Up: June 2021

READING WRAP UP
(books not listed on book club and challenge posts)

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
by Robert Kolker
Biography, Mental Health | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease.

Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins—aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony—and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen to one family?

What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy, and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. And unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction, and even eradication of the disease for future generations.

With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope.

Fascinating. Sad but hopeful. Glad they shared their story.

Things We Lost to the Water
by Eric Nguyen
Historical, LGBTQ, Vietnamese American | Published: May 4, 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
When Huong arrives in New Orleans with her two young sons, she is jobless, homeless, and worried about her husband, Cong, who remains in Vietnam. As she and her boys begin to settle in to life in America, she continues to send letters and tapes back to Cong, hopeful that they will be reunited and her children will grow up with a father.

But with time, Huong realizes she will never see her husband again. While she copes with this loss, her sons, Tuan and Binh grow up in their absent father's shadow, haunted by a man and a country trapped in their memory and imagination. As they push forward, the three adapt to life in America in different ways: Huong takes up with a Vietnamese car salesman who is also new in town; Tuan tries to connect with his heritage by joining a local Vietnamese gang; and Binh, now going by Ben, embraces his adopted homeland and his burgeoning sexuality. Their search for identity--as individuals and as a family--threatens to tear them apart. But then disaster strikes the city they now call home, and they must find a new way to come together and honor the ties that bind them.

Immigrant experience, hard decisions (consequences) and struggles from Asian perspectives.

Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty
by Lauren Weisberger
ChickLit, ARC | Published: May 18, 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and When Life Gives You Lululemons comes a highly entertaining, sharply observed novel about sisters, their perfect lives . . . and their perfect lies.

A seat at the anchor desk of the most-watched morning show. Recognized by millions across the country, thanks in part to her flawless blond highlights and Botox-smoothed skin. An adoring husband and a Princeton-bound daughter. Peyton is that woman. She has it all.

Until . . .

Skye, her sister, is a stay-at-home mom living in a glitzy suburb of New York. She has degrees from all the right schools and can helicopter-parent with the best of them. But Skye is different from the rest. She’s looking for something real and dreams of a life beyond the PTA and pickup.

Until . . .

Max, Peyton’s bright and quirky seventeen-year-old daughter, is poised to kiss her fancy private school goodbye and head off to pursue her dreams in film. She’s waited her entire life for this opportunity.

Until . . .

One little lie. That’s all it takes. For the illusions to crack. For resentments to surface. Suddenly the grass doesn’t look so green. And they’re left wondering: will they have what it takes to survive the truth?

It was hard to like these characters and the things they did. But I liked how they worked their way through their problems and issues.

Wrap-up: May 2021

~*~

Check Please!
volume 1: Hockey
by Ngozi Ukazu
Graphic Novel, YA, LGBTQ | Published: 2018 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
adorable characters with general feel good vibes
Helloooo, Internet Land. Bitty here!

Y’all... I might not be ready for this. I may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It’s nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There’s checking. And then, there is Jack—our very attractive but moody captain.

A collection of the first half of the megapopular webcomic series of the same name, Check, Please!: #Hockey is the first book of a hilarious and stirring two-volume coming-of-age story about hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life.

Check Please!
volume 2: Sticks and Scones
by Ngozi Ukazu
Graphic Novel, YA, LGBTQ | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
continues to be adorable with happy finale
I'm a junior on the Samwell men's hockey team now, and not only do I have new teammates and new responsibilities and new pies to bake... I've got a new beau. ( Remember me ) Believe me: Dating a professional hockey player wasn't anything I expected to do in college. My parents don't know; my teammates have no clue...

And Jack and I aren't sure that we want to keep it a secret.

The Wife and The Widow
by Christian White
Mystery, Thriller, Australia | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
cool character twist, ooh that guilty conscious
Set against the backdrop of an eerie island town in the dead of winter, The Wife and The Widow is an unsettling thriller told from two perspectives: Kate, a widow whose grief is compounded by what she learns about her dead husband’s secret life; and Abby, an island local whose world is turned upside when she’s forced to confront the evidence of her husband’s guilt. But nothing on this island is quite as it seems, and only when these women come together can they discover the whole story about the men in their lives. Brilliant and beguiling, The Wife and The Widow takes you to a cliff edge and asks the question: how well do we really know the people we love?
~*~ * books not previously listed on book club or challenge posts

Wrap up: Books 2020 pt2

This is another wrap up to catch up with the rest of the books read in 2020.

America's First Daughter
by Stephanie Dray
Historical, USA | Published: 2016 | Goodreads | my rating: 4 my two-bits: For the most part I liked this story. Some of it new to me as I did not know much about Jefferson's personal life. With Patsy and so many children, I wonder why she never opted for the birth control option she knew of. While the story got tedious at times, it works if you are in the mood for soap opera-like drama of that time period.

The Devil And The Dark Water
by Stuart Turton
Historical, Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 4 my two-bits: Enjoyed the old-ish sea-faring vibe.

Long Bright River
by Liz Moore
Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 4 my two-bits: It turned out better than expected. I was dreading how it might end which is most likely why it took me so long to finish. Sure had a couple twists. So glad it turned out the the way it did.

~*~ * header image source: reading woman

Wrap Up: Books

This is a wrap up to catch up with books read these past couple months.

The Duke and I
by Julia Quinn
Romance, Regency | Goodreads | my rating: 5
My two-bits: Read this to prepare for Bridgerton. Loved it and going to continue with the series as I want to see how the rest of the Bridgertons fare in love and romance.

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries
edited by Otto Penzler
Mystery, Christmas | Goodreads
Includes stories by Agatha Christie, Mary Higgins Clark, Ed McBain, Ellis Peters, Ellery Queen, and more
My two-bits: I read a couple stories which I liked. Will continue with this book next year.

Dune
by Frank Herbert
SciFi, Classic, Space Opera | Goodreads| my rating: 5
My two-bits: Good start to the series. But, did not feel the need to continue with series. Again, read this to prepare for the film adaptation.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing
by E.K. Johnston
YA, Historical, LGBTQ, SciFi, Romance | Goodreads| my rating: 4
My two-bits: Fun romp in the Victorian era.

All Systems Red
by Martha Wells
SciFi, Novella | Goodreads| my rating: 5
My two-bits: Fell for the characters and this storyline. Must continue.

Deadly Education
by Naomi Novik
YA, Fantasy, Magic | Goodreads| my rating: 4
My two-bits:Interesting world and magical elements to the story that got me curious and confused.

~*~ * image source: reading

Wrap up: Films

The end of the year is upon us and I have been away from the blog for most of this month.

Holidazing.

So, I thought I would do a little catchup regarding films I watched this month. Most of the films were for the Fall Film challenge (here) that I turned into a self-challenge. I was not able to finish them by today. But I like the picks, so I will continue to watch the rest of them next year.

I got one holiday movie in the mix which I loved :-)

Watched: on Netflix

Irreplaceable You (2018)
Director: Stephanie Laing
Writer: Bess Wohl
Stars: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michiel Huisman, Steve Coogan, Christopher Walken
Comedy, Drama, Romance | imdb | my rating: 2
A couple who have known each other since 8 are destined to be together until death do them apart.

FELT flat.

The Last Laugh (2019)
Director/Writer: Greg Pritikin
Stars: Chevy Chase, Richard Dreyfuss, Andie MacDowell, Chris Parnell
Comedy | imdb | my rating: 2
When retired talent manager Al Hart is reunited with his first client, Buddy Green, a comic who quit show business 50 years ago, he convinces Buddy to escape their retirement community and hit the road for a cross-country comedy tour.

JUST okay funny.

The Little Hours (2017)
Director/Screenplay: Jeff Baena
Based on book: The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
Stars: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Fred Armisen
Comedy, Romance | imdb | my rating: 5
In the Middle Ages, a young servant fleeing from his master takes refuge at a convent full of emotionally unstable nuns. Introduced as a deaf mute man, he must fight to hold his cover as the nuns try to resist temptation.

HILARIOUS. Funny witchery moments.

The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Director/Writer: Noah Baumbach
Stars: Adam Sandler, Grace Van Patten, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller
Comedy, Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
An estranged family gathers together in New York City for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.

LIKED the individual storylines and relationship growth.

Jingle Jangle (2020)
Director/Writer: David E. Talbert
Stars: Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Madalen Mills
Family, Fantasy, Musical | imdb | my rating: 5
An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever.

FUN with steampunk aesthetic. Has become one of my favorite Christmas films.

Sr. Pig (2016)
aka Mr. Pig
Director/Writer: Diego Luna, Augusto Mendoza
Stars: Danny Glover, Maya Rudolph
Drama | imdb | my rating: 4
A beautiful road movie, and a chance to talk about love for Mexico through the eyes of an American.

TOUCHING. Despite the imdb description, the pig is also an integral part of the story.

Other People (2016)
Director/Writer: Chris Kelly
Stars: Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford
Comedy, Drama | imdb | my rating: 3
A struggling comedy writer, fresh off a breakup and in the midst of the worst year of his life, returns to Sacramento to care for his dying mother.

SAD, but opportunity for the characters to bond.

Otherhood (2019)
Director: Cindy Chupack
Screenplay: Mark Andrus, Cindy Chupack
Based on book: Whatever Makes You Happy by William Sutcliffe
Stars: Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette, Felicity Huffman, Heidi Gardner
Comedy | imdb | my rating: 4
A grounded, soulful, celebratory comedy about three mothers and their adult sons. The film explores the stage after motherhood, Otherhood, when you have to redefine your relationship with your children, friends, spouse, and most importantly, yourself.

INTERESTING exploration of an aspect of motherhood.


Watched: virtual theatre

Ammonite (2020)
Director/Writer: Francis Lee
Stars: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones
Biography, Drama, Romance | imdb | my rating: 5 1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever.

LOVELY and sad take of the times. Beautiful scenes and sights.


~*~ * image source: Netflix screen