Books Read- January 2025

Last month, there was a beautiful essay on Cup of Jo by author Christine Pride called “A Reading Challenge- Who’s In?” Pride writes about the importance of reading books that portray a wide variety of people, situations, thoughts. It’s the Books as Windows idea – that books let you see into other worlds, but also can reflect your own world back to you. (Sometimes it’s “windows and mirrors”). Pride writes:

But as much as editors, agents, producers and development folks may be committed to more diverse offerings, we still have to count on audiences being willing and excited to embrace a variety of stories. There’s a dangerous trap of thinking that “Black stories” are just for Black audiences and “queer stories” are just for queer audiences, etc. […] It creates a mentality that certain books are for certain people. But we can’t always just read books about people like us or who share our histories, backgrounds and viewpoints — not only because that’s boring and reductive, but if audiences only consume certain types of content then only those types will continue to get published or made.

These days, when diversity of thought, situation, and experience is under attack by those who lead the country, I feel like it’s more important than ever that we continue to fill our media diet with viewpoints that are different from our own, and to demand diverse content from publishers and presenters. At the end of the essay, Pride asks readers to suggest books that are both windows and mirrors – books through which readers have found themselves introduced to a world very different from their own, or a book that tells of something from their own experience, something that they feel grateful to have seen reflected. Reading the comments is so interesting because there are definitely books people recommend where I think, “Hmmm…. I wouldn’t have thought to put that book on a list like this…” But then I would be wrong – because I think every book has the potential to be eye-opening to someone. Anyhow, if you’re looking for diverse book suggestions, there is a gold mine of books recommended in the comments of that post.

On to January Books!

The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw – I picked up this novel to read while in Malaysia since it was set in that country. Set in the early 20th century, the novel tells the story of Johnny Lim, an enigmatic textile merchant who is born a peasant, and becomes one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Malaysia. His life is recounted through three separate narrators – his son, his wife, and a British expat who was one of his best friends. The writing in this novel is beautiful, but ultimately I just just very confused by the whole thing, and maybe that’s the point. You get to the end of the novel still without any understanding of whom Johnny Lim was. I did enjoy reading it while in Malaysia, though, and getting a view of the history of the country.

This is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained by Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett – I really like Natterson and Kroll Bennett’s podcast “This is So Awkward” (It used to be called the Puberty Podcast) – they combine the science of puberty with solid advice on how to interact with tweens and teens with empathy and calm. This book is similar to the podcast. Each chapter looks at one aspect of puberty – from acne to body odor to periods to sexuality – and examines the science behind that aspect and then gives advice for how to talk to kids about it. They are big proponents of supplying kids with the science behind what is going on with their changing bodies and brains, and using that as a way to talk about why things sometimes feel difficult and tactics to manage. I do wish that there was more guidance on how to navigate things like executive functioning skills and screen time and decision making. I mean I really want to know how to get my tween to stop yelling at me, you know. I guess these things are outside the realm of physical changes. But as a whole, I found this book great as a basis for framework for a relationship that is open and informative.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood– This was a sweetly predictable romance-ish novel about Delphie, who chokes to death on a burger, meets her soul mate in the afterlife waiting room and then is given the chance to go back to Earth to find him. I thought it was fine read- it’s marketed as a romance, but the novel is more about Delphie’s journey from being an introverted screw up to someone who gets her life together through finding a community. I really enjoyed the premise of this novel. Still, protagonists who operate with a dearth of self awareness and who can’t adult don’t tend to sit well with me, and there were definitely times when I wanted to shake Delphie . Despite that, there are a host of quirky characters and slapstick situations, making this novel a nice light read, even if it didn’t stick with me for long.

My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long – Book 7 in the Palace of Rogue series. How much did I love this book! Okay, the cover is terrible – the hero is not the smirky-jerk he looks like on the cover and there is NO red dress in the book. There is a a blue dress that figure prominently. I get that there is a format-ish for romance novel covers, but perhaps at least they should look something like what is happening in the story. But you know what, even that inane cover doesn’t take away from how much I enjoyed this book – for sure my favorite of the series. Catherine Keating is a pragmatic country-bred doctor’s daughter sent to London for her first (and probably only) season. Dominique Kirke is a bleeding heart liberal politician and a charismatic orator who avoids emotional entanglements and idiots. They both end up at the same boarding house, and keep crossing paths at various balls and events where Kirke tries to advise Keating on how to avoid being eaten alive by the social alligators. What did I love about this book? The two main characters are both smart and kind and thoughtful, not prone to doing idiotic things. I liked that they liked each other from the get go- the chemistry between the two of them often made me smile – there were pages and pages of long conversations between the two of them and it never felt superfluous or boring – I really got a sense of why they fall in love, when they do eventually fall in love. (It does take a while to get there…). And the falling in love is the plot – no kidnapping or intrigue or nefarious uncles – just two people trying to make good choices. And Long’s writing is just so good – every word is perfect and does what it’s supposed to do – whether it’s to make the reader laugh or tear up or cheer or move the plot along. This was my favorite sentence:
“He could not locate the ends of his composure to regather it.”
I thought that was a fantastically crafted sentence. My one quibble is that there is a bit of a large age gap which I go back and forth on whether it is necessary. But I think, actually the age gap works better than usual. Anyhow, if you like well-written slow burn character driven historical romances, I would highly recommend this one.

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennett, Witch by Melinda Taub, read by Amy Hoggart – I’m a sucker for Jane Austen re-tellings, and this Pride and Prejudice twist was pretty intriguing. The title kind of tells the premise – Lydia Bennett is a witch, descended from a long line of witches. Kitty Bennet is her familiar, literally a cat who takes on the form of a Bennett sister when it’s convenient. There are demons to fight -we all thought Wickham was a dastardly rogue, but wait til you hear the truth of how truly wicked he is – spells to cast, balls to go to and neighbors to visit. The book is clever and smart, and I loved that it showed another side of Lydia Bennett. We all underestimated her, for sure. I don’t go for magic/fantasy books a lot, and it took a long time for me to feel like I understood the the magical elements of the story – parts of the world building felt tedious to me. But once the story got rolling, it was very entertaining.

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, Translated by E. Madison Shimoda – I saw this book at a bookstore in Taiwan and was so intrigued by the premise. This novel is a series of short stories that center around a therapist’s clinic that, as the title says, prescribes cats to solve their patients’ issues. This book was cute to start – the descriptions of the cats made me want to reach out and pet them – and then the end kind of went off the rails for me. I was so confused by the ending. I’m not smart enough for super allegorical books, and I suspect there is some of that going on here.

On my proverbial night stand:

The Love Songs of W.E.B. duBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers – still working my way through this very big book. I’m super absorbed by it, though.

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery – for Engie’s book club. A delight.

Jellyfish Age Backwards by Nicklas Brendborg – slightly witty, very dry non-fiction book that looks at the science of aging.

The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary – He works the night shift and is only home from 9am to 6pm. She needs a place to stay and answers and ad to share the flat, occupying it from 6pm to 9am. Soon they start leaving each other the least passive aggressive roommate notes ever.

The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey – Scottish lady travels to British Malay (Singapore) to be a companion to an English teen. Mysterious happenings happen. Not my usual fare, but I’m intrigued by the setting.