In book-ish news – the New York Times has released another “Best {blank} of the 21st Century”, this time “The 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century.” Of 50 the books on the list, I’ve read eight. I can’t say that I really enjoyed any of them, though. One book I thought was completely bonkers. Two books of those eight were books that I hated. (They both featured unreliable narrators, which is the one narrative device/trope that makes me automatically want to throw a book against a wall and feel like I’ve wasted hours of my life in reading that book. Not telling you which ones because that would be a spoiler…) And you know, reading the book descriptions, I did put another fourteen on my “want to read” list, but there were many more that made me say, “Oh absolutely not for me.” All of which leads me to realize… maybe I just don’t like thrillers?
I sure hope the NY Times makes a “50 best Romances of the 20th Century” list soon. I’ll be here for that one.
Anyhow, on to books read in July! I read nine books this month, thanks largely to going on a reading retreat at the beginning of the month and also spending a lot of time in the car listening to audiobooks.
Sideways Stories at Wayside School by Louis Sacher, read by the author – We listened to this in the car on the way to Taiwan camp. I remember reading this book as a kid and it really stuck with me. The book is a series of stories about a school where instead of having the classrooms built next to each other, there was a mix up and the classrooms were built on top of each other, so that the school was 30 stories tall. Anyhow the school and students are wacky with their own logic. The stories were just as offbeat and perceptive as I remember.
Courting Miss Hattie by Pamela Morisi – I picked up this 1991 novel on my reading retreat because I’d never read a Pamela Morisi book, and a lot of romance authors I read recommend her books. The story is set in early 1900s Arkansas and centers around Hattie Colfax, a 29 year old who runs her family farm following the death of her parents. After spending her life working the farm and not having any marriage prospects, she finds herself being courted by a widower with many children. But once Hattie is being courted in earnest, Reed, her young farmhand/ friend (who happens to be engaged to the town beauty) starts to realize that maybe he also has feelings for Hattie. This was a really sweet and (for the time) unconventional romance novel. It didn’t knock my socks off or anything, and the sweeping vistas and character archetypes definitely feel dated, but it was a pleasant read.
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward: I picked up this book when I saw it in a Little Free Library because it had won the 2017 National Book Award. This novel takes place in Mississippi and tells the story of 13 year old Jojo and his drug addict mother Leonie (who is Black) who embark together on a road trip to the State Penitentiary to pick up the newly released Michael, his father/ her boyfriend (who is white). A lot of this book was hard for me to read because I don’t really like reading about child neglect, but I thought Ward really was able to show a side to Leonie that wasn’t just that of an irresponsible mother, thought there was certainly a lot of that going on. I’m not sure I completely understood where the book was going – there are some elements of magical realism going on – but the exploration of trauma, both individual and collective, and to some extent the trauma to come in the future, made this book a really stay with me.
The Anti-Ableist Manifesto by Tiffany Yu – This was one of my non-fiction reads this month, suggested to me by my intern at work who is writing her Masters project about the intersection of neurodivergence and stage management. I thought this book had some great concrete ways that we can make the world easier for people with disabilities (differently abled people?) to navigate. What struck me was that there is no one way to engaged in anti-ableist behavior because everyone has their own preferences for how they want their disability to be acknowledged (or not). I think the biggest takeaway I had was that we all need to help elevate people with disabilities so that they are not ignored or patronized. Visibility and representation matters, and goes a long way to helping people feel included and like they can function without barriers. This was a really eye-opening book for me.
ABC Murders by Agatha Christie, adapted by Annabel Lee for Audible Studios: This is the second Christie mystery adapted by Audible after The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I really like these adaptations – the performances are top notch melodramatic, but also with heart, and I enjoy the post WWI framing that these stories are given – it lends them a bit of emotional depth. I read ABC murders years ago and I feel like it’s clever and a little over the top, making it a very entertaining novel. (I just saw that Audible is just released a similar adaptation of Murder at the Vicarage with Toni Collette as Miss Marple, and I’m putting that in my queue.)
For Better or For Worse: Home Sweat Home by Lynn Johnson – For Better of For Worse was one of my favorite comic strips growing up. I liked how it was about a family just trying to live their lives and I could related to all the characters. The strips don’t often have side splitting punchlines, rather the humour is rather quiet. Home Sweat Home is, I think, one of the later compilations – they kids have all grown and have been launched in the world. Maybe it’s a function of the new phase Johnson is writing about, but I noticed there is a lot more text in the book than I had seem previously. Sometimes the word bubbles cover half or more of each cartoon cell. At any rate, I enjoyed catching up with the Patterson family and seeing where their lives were going.
Dare to Love a Duke by Eva Leigh – I was in a historical romance phase and I’d never read any Eva Leigh, so I picked this one up. It’s an interesting premise – Lucia Marini manages a secret society (read: sex club), and Tom (newly the Duke of something or other) discovers that he has inherited the club following this father’s death. Tom is trying to succeed in politics so needs to divest himself of such a scandalous possession. Lucia needs the club to continue in order to keep her employees, well, employed and also to support some side aspirations. This book was fine as historical romances go. I thought Lucia was smart and independent and interesting. Tom was less so. The premise and plot was interesting, but the writing was a little banal to be honest.
The Dead Romantics by Ashely Poston – I loved Poston’s The Seven Year Slip, so I picked up this book from a used bookstore on my reading retreat. This novel tells the story of ghost writer Florence who returns home to attend her father’s funeral only to run into the ghost of her publisher Ben, the same man who just fired her for being unable to deliver on a book. This book wasn’t as magical for me as The Seven Year Slip. I really liked Florence and the quirky small town characters and details, but I thought Ben wasn’t very well defined. Other than being really good looking, I didn’t really understand why Florence would want to be with him. I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry there. Still, the book had plenty of charm and humour and how everything is resolved at the end did give me goosebumps.
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed – This book – my second non-fiction read in July- is culled from Strayed’s Dear Sugar advice columns. I picked up this book from a used bookstore during our reading retreat because I had always seen it on lists of “Essential reads for new graduates” type lists. The writing is beautiful and heart-wrenching, but I found the advice a little narcissistic. Which is ironic because a lot of the letter writers are asking her how to deal with narcissistic people. I felt like Strayed’s advice is always about making boundaries and holding to them while recognizing that people won’t change. In fact she literally writes, “It’s a truism of transformation that if we want things to be different we have to change ourselves.” Boundaries and acceptance and self compassion are all very healthy things, but it all just made my heart ache for the lack of connection the letter writers had with other people. Maybe that’s just the nature of letters to an advice columnist. Each letter and response was full of wisdom and compassion for the letter writer’s suffering, but after a while the letters started running together for me. This book is probably better read in small doses, spaced out with a couple days in between to digest.
On my night stand:
Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian – I’m really enjoying this book. It’s gut wrenching and funny all at the same time.
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of boys by Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson – still working through this book. It’s insightful, but no magical solutions yet.
The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope – still plugging away at this. I don’t understand why people in this novel continue to get engaged to people they don’t want to marry. Trollope would probably say it’s about image and money.
Etna by Paul Yoon narrated by Shrader Thomas – Story told through the eyes of a dog trying to find his way home in the wake of war. It’s not a kid’s book, but on a whim I put it on for the kids and we are all now super invested in Etna’s return home.
The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson, read by Claire Danes- We were listening to this before Etna, but no one seems to like the narrator, so I might need to finish this one without the kids. What I don’t get, though… why doesn’t Odysseus just get on his boat and go home? He’s having too many adventures.
Have you read any of the thrillers on the NY Times list?