Books Read, May 2025 + recommend me a book!

Not a book, but book related thought lately – I went to see the opera Porgy and Bess with my 13 year old a few weeks ago. I had last seen this show ten years ago and I found I had a very different reaction to it this time around. (Spoiler alert…) Porgy and Bess tells the story of a Black community living in Catfish Row in South Carolina. Porgy, a disabled bigger is in love with Bess, taking her in when her violent murdering boyfriend flees from the law. At the end of the opera, Bess takes off for New York with her drug dealer. When Porgy finds out, he decides to go after her. Curtain. End of opera.

The first time I saw the opera, when the curtain came down at the end, I thought, “wait, that’s it?!?!”. I found the ending really unsatisfactory. I wanted Porgy to find Bess and have a happy ending. Or him to die on the way to NY, or Bess to die… something that felt like an ending, not a beginning. But the opera doesn’t tell you what happens to Porgy after he leaves Catfish Row. We don’t even know if he makes it to New York.

Watching the opera ten years later, though, this ending did not bother me as much. Maybe because I already knew what was going to happen? But maybe also because I’m ten years older and my expectations of narratives and story arcs have changed over the years. I was thinking about this because the 13 year old’s reaction to the ending was the same as my reaction ten years ago. She wanted to know what happened to Porgy. (She also had some choice words for Bess, saying he didn’t deserve him.) I read Katherine Graham’s memoirs in my twenties, and when I got to the part where she got married, I realized that we were only about 1/3 of the way through the book – there was still another four hundred pages to go. I remember that being kind of a narrative-challenging light bulb moment for me, this realization that there is a lot of life ahead of a person after marriage and that the narratives I had come to expect weren’t the only narratives out there, fiction or non-fiction.

I wouldn’t want to read a romance novel that doesn’t end with a happily ever after, but for other fiction, I think I’m okay with inconclusive endings. I think I can read a book where the real story is in the journey and not the destination. I still do like a book where the ending is tied up neatly, but when the ending is inconclusive, I don’t find it as unsatisfying as I used to. I no longer think it’s the author’s job to fill in all the blanks for me. I can think and speculate about what there’s character’s lives look like after “The End”. I felt like this about Clear. Lisa noted that the ending seemed abrupt to her, and I agree – I do wish that I knew what happened to the three main characters. But I also loved the journey they all went on before they end of the book, and I realized that was the story that the author wanted to tell. It might not be about where a character ends up geographically, but rather where they end up internally.

Anyhow – what about you? Do you like books with endings that feel final? Or do books with nebulous endings appeal to you too?

On to books read last month. I read more books that I usually do, a lot of them on audio since I was commuting a lot. Nothing outstandingly amazing, but each very engrossing in their own ways…

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo – This non-fiction book tells the story of Ellen and William Craft, who escape from slavery by boldly pretending that Ellen was a sickly white man and William was her servant. They board a train in Georgia and travel north to Boston. The escape spans about half the book, and the rest of the book tells about how the flee to England (via Nova Scotia!) and become famous speakers against slavery. The Crafts’ story is so amazing and this book is filled with many historical details, giving readers a descriptive sense of America at the time. One thing that really made me think – I knew that very few slaves could read or write, but when it is put in context of pretending to be a white gentleman, it is amazing to me that the Crafts managed to pull off their escape. Think about all the little things you have to read or write when travelling – schedules, tickets, hotel ledgers, menus. When the Crafts arrive in Boston and one of their first requests was to learn to read – that was such an emotional moment for me:

“Ellen had come of age in a house where education was prized, but denied to her-where she had only been able to stare at the alphabet in secret. Here was a new beginning, evidenced in the tentative series of loops and lines that she formed in her own hand-spectral, fleeting traces that she drew, erased, and drew, again, to spell out her name, Ellen.”

― Ilyon Woo, Master Slave Husband Wife, p. 137

This is a gripping and fascinating non-fiction read, if you are looking for narrative non-fiction – well written and detailed.

Stage Kiss by Amelia Jones – This romance novel tells the story of two actors performing as Elizabeth and Darcy in a touring production of a Pride and Prejudice musical. And the tour is stopping in DC. So many things in that plot summary are my catnip – Jane Austen retelling! Theatre! Set in DC! In truth, this book wasn’t the best romance novel I’d ever read – the attempts to parallel P&P are a bit of a stretch at times – but I had a fun time reading about my world in a romance novel – I could picture the places they were and the walks they took. I don’t know that it’s a super accurate depiction of my work life, but who cares? Okay, the one part that made my jaw drop, though, was when the two main characters had sex in the dressing room while in costume! I’m pretty sure dressing room sex happens all the time, but IN COSTUME!!!!?!?!?! I mean we don’t even let people sit on the ground or eat in costume. Having sex in costume is just irresponsible.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary narrated by Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones – Okay, fun P&P link here – Allison Steadhm played Mrs. Bennet in the iconic (and to my mind the best) BBC P&P adaptation. The Switch tells the story of Leena and her grandmother Eileen who are both in a bit of a rut, so they switch homes for two months; Leena takes her grandmother’s house in rural Yorkshire and Elieen will take Leena’s flat in London. I was looking for a sweet fun audiobook, and having enjoyed O’Leary’s Flatshare, I picked this one up, liking that the premise featured an older protagonist. The plotting is not as tight and flowing as Flatshare, but I still really liked this book and seeing how Leena and Eileen’s journey unfolded. I particularly liked Eileen’s attempts at dating and friendship as a senior citizen – Eileen is a quietly bad ass character.

Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan, read by Marc Cashman – This book was recommended to me by a co-worker and I read it because I had been thinking a lot about choices I was making that didn’t always seem to be the right ones. Journalist Hallinan explores the reasons behind mistakes and missteps and human error. This book read like a compilation of scientific research over the years about how human behavior is fallible. There were lots of interesting tidbits. As an overthinker, the part that really stuck with me was when Hallinan talked about how statistically, having more information does not necessarily make for more correct choices. So when I dither on making a decision because I feel like I need more information, that’s really my own reluctance to commit, not necessarily because I truly need more information. There was also an interesting discussion about how amateurs sometimes can catch mistakes that experts miss because they are looking at something with unbiased eyes. Often experts expect something to be a certain way, so they don’t read information carefully, glossing over details that they perceive as correct. Lot of interesting things to ponder, but to be honest, I feel like this book could also have been just as useful if it had been a podcast or magazine article as well.

Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane – This book was my 13 year old’s suggestion. It’s one of those books that is marketed as a romance, but really the romance aspect is secondary to the main character figuring out their life. Wedding photographer Harriet calls off her wedding to a perfect on paper man and moves in with Cal Clark who is also reeling from a broken engagement. Cal is a conveniently nice and sweet guy, but he’s the least interesting part of the book – he’s kind of a narrative box checker. The meat of this novel is about how Harriet, with the help of her friends, learns to free herself from the trauma of past relationships and help others do the same. The best parts of the book, I thought, were those friendships, and also I admit, I did love the details of her job as a wedding photographer. When I asked the 13 year old what she liked about this book, she said she liked that the romance wasn’t the main point, but that a lot of the book was about Harriet figuring things out for herself. I thought that was a pretty cool observation on her part.

A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath, read by Will Watt – This romance novel tells the story of Marlowe, a famous courtesan (though really, she’s 22 years old and has only had one lover in her life, so I felt like courtesan is kind of a misnomer). Marlowe flies hot air balloons as a hobby, and during one stormy flight, she crash lands on the island of Viscount Langdon. They shelter together until the storm passes and then have to navigate their mutual attraction once they return to London society. I think there were a lot of great character details – Marlow’s impoverished childhood, Langdon suffering from an affliction as a result of a train accident – all of it well researched and detailed. The plot itself is pretty slight, and the ending rather abrupt, but I still enjoyed it. Truth, though, the appeal of this book was 95% Will Watt’s narration. He just has the kind of voice that you can sink into and he imbues every word with a panoply of emotion and intent. This is one of those romance novels that are part of a huge series, and every character that seemed interesting probably has their own book.

The Crucible by Arthur Miler – LA Theatre Works production – This wasn’t strictly a book, but an audio version (borrowed via Libby) of the famous play. I had, shockingly, never read the play; it wasn’t required reading in high school. Early this year, a theatre friend of mine was singing the praises of the play John Procter is the Villain, now on Broadway, and I confessed:

Since the opera version is on the horizon for me, I thought it a good a time as any to finally discover Miller’s iconic work. It’s all kinds of messed up, isn’t it? I just felt icky at the end. Which I guess is kind of the point. I love LATW production of plays – I should listen to more of them.

On my Proverbial Night Stand (I realize that a lot of these books were in progress last month too…)
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela – I’ve been reading 15-20 pages of this book every day because I am detirmined to finish it before out trip to South Africa. It’s really gripping and inspiring.

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swan – Sheep solve mysteries I’m having a really hard time concentrating on this book, to be honest. But when I do managed to have a big chunk of time to give this book, I love it.

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, read by the author – I saw this book in an interview with Jose Andres as the book he most wished he could require the President to read. It tells about how illegal immigrants are inextricably woven into the fabric of our lives in America. The narration is a little dry, but the stories open my eyes and break my heart.

On another note….

Anyone want to recommend a book to read during my trip to South Africa? Things that check boxes for a vacation read for me:

• Gripping, immersive plot. (I like good writing and character driven books too, but for travel I definitely want a page turner)
• Average length – not too long (don’t want to pack a huge tome), not too short (or else I’ll finish it too soon.)
• Characters who are smart and trying to do the right thing, whatever that means to them.
• I like most fiction genres. Memoir or narrative non fiction also would be of interest. Fantasy or Sci-fi if there isn’t too much world building.
• Bonus points if it’s set in South Africa or London, written by an underrepresented demographic, has a bit (or a lot) of romance, or looks at a kind of niche subject/location/historical period.
• Books I’ve read in the past that I would consider perfect for vacation: The House on the Cerulean Sea, Where’d You Go Bernadette?, Agatha Christie novels, The Great Believers, Hunger Games Trilogy, Ministry of Time, Fleishman is in Trouble, Harlem Shuffle, The Monsters We Defy, Nothing to See Here.

Things I don’t care for:
-Unreliable narrators
-Suicide, sexual assault, or graphic violence

If you have any thoughts, I’m all ears!