April Wrap-up
It was a slow month. My dog Rose died, and I was too distraught to focus well. It sucked. I am very sad. I hope I can concentrate better in May. I did manage to read a few good books.

I love George Takei for his acting, his activism, and his humor. They Called Us Enemy is a graphic memoir about Takei's childhood spent incarcerated in an interment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. It was a heartbreaking story, but also one of family perseverance. We are repeating our mistakes again. We put innocent people in camps because of racism, and now we're doing it again. When is enough enough? #RealHistory @Librarybelle

I picked up some books at #ResistBooksellers in Petersburg, Virginia, with my book club yesterday. They are a Black owned indie bookstore that sells books by Black authors. I got some gems for #RealHistory.

@Librarybelle

This enchanting fantasy tale was a slow burn but a high pick. It was intriguing as it all unfolded, and I had a great time with it. All of the characters were amazing. Except for Laura. Laura was a narcissist. I don't think I was supposed to feel that way.

I'm reading this graphic nonfiction novel for my #RealHistory book for April by George Takei, who was in a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II as a child.

@Librarybelle

The hibiscus just happens to be blooming, and it is a plant I managed not to kill yet, so I wanted to show it off. It has nothing to do with the book.

What if the moon suddenly turned to cheese? What are all of the plausible scenarios that would occur within the government, NASA, the church, etc.? How would that impact the average person? Complications and hilarity ensue, and it is a wonderful whimsy. 5 stars!

This is incredibly dark for a YA book, and it is really difficult to read a dystopian at this point in history, but Haymitch's story is well told. The book is not uplifting, but it is gripping. I appreciated the Poe quotes.

This novel spans the history of a family for three generations, jumping around from Y2K New York and ending with Chairman Mao in China. It gets a lot into DNA and the meaning of time. I liked it a lot, especially the part about Chinese history. I grew very attached to these characters. It was a compelling story.

This gothic fantasy had all sorts of creatures in it, from witches to vampires to ogres. It was a meaty adventure with some good twists. It felt like it could have been a longer novel. The ending was a little rushed. All in all, it was a solid 4 stars, and I'm interested in reading more by this author.

I had mixed feelings about parts of the plot, but I have a lot of respect for the topic. Overall, I'd give it four stars for making me think of the women who served in the Vietnam war.

If you have any issues with trauma, this hits hard. I thought it was well done and explored many topics faced by marginalized communities. It is not your average horror novel. It is very clever and does not back down from the uncomfortable. I read it in solidarity with Trans Week of Visibility + Action.

My Storygraph March stats. Feel free to friend me on Storygraph. I am Eggbeater there also. I only have like 4 friends. 😞

I felt a lot of sympathy for Mary when this story was told from a cook's perspective. If your job doesn't offer sick leave benefits, you tend to work no matter how sick, consequences to others be damned because they obviously don't care about you. There is a lesson there.

I came out of this reading experience feeling like I had a better understanding of history and race relations. The book was intense. I'm really glad I got to learn about Malcolm X in his own words. Laurence Fishburne does an excellent job narrating.

A dark academia fantasy/ horror novel about students with the gift of persuading others to their will. I thought it was clever and raised some good questions about free will and consent. It was a fun ride.

If you've ever been on a dating site, this book will help you learn what to avoid.

It is very humorous and delightfully obscene, yet it takes a very in-depth, compassionate look at the victims of romance fraud. One of the points made is that people tend to blame the victim. Part of the book is just snapshots of the author trolling scammers, but a lot of it is well researched information.

Adventures in female bonding! It isn't exactly realistic that this many women kill their husbands in the same neighborhood at the same time, but you have to suspend disbelief in order to appreciate this dark revenge comedy. The book manages to honor the gravity of the subject of domestic violence during Covid lockdown while adding some levity and imagination to the situation and still be respectful. Funny, not funny. The audio was great!

I loved this adventurous, mountain-climbing fantasy novel. I can't wait to read the second one. The vivid descriptions of the agonizing climb up the icy mountain made me feel like I was there. I was cold and exhausted. It was so well drawn. It was exciting and different. Read this book with a hot cup of tea.

The book was intriguing and addictive. There was a part I didn't completely buy into, but I still loved it. This is how rich New Englanders really behave. The family dynamics and character development were solid.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was billed as horror, and there were very graphic birthing scenes, but really, I thought it was also quite a touching tribute to women and motherhood. I was surprised it was written by a man. It seems like he did his homework. I thought it was beautiful.

I liked the symbolism and the outright bitchyness. It really was weird and my kind of book. It would have been five stars if not for my skepticism about the likelihood of the ending.

⚠️Warning animal death does occur. I know for me personally, I'm more sensitive to that than people's deaths.

I couldn't rate this book. It's well written, and the brain energy theory sounds plausible. I am skeptical of some of the solutions to mental illness, particularly the ketogenic diet. I can't speak to its efficacy until I've tried it. The book describes the theory in scientific terms involving mitochondria and the metabolic system. It's is fascinating, and parts are over my uneducated head. I will have to do my own research. I have a project now!

This was an okay read for me. I really liked Their Vicious Games, but I wasn't feeling this demonic horror as much. Devon, the main character, struck me as a bit immature. I think it was too campy for me. None of the characters resonated. It could have been the audio book. I did like the twist.

T. Kingfisher is one of my favorites. I get her humor. This was a dark fairy tale that was also humorous and sentimental. It was creative and imaginative. I really appreciated the faithful guardian geese.

This is a genre-bending book that combines a mystery/thriller with literary historical fiction. There were many perspectives to keep track of and several different time periods. I thought it was more complicated than it had to be, but I enjoyed it. The characters will stick with me, although I don't count it as the stunning literary marvel it is hyped up to be; it is a good book.

This was my last book of 2024, and it was a great one. It's a suspenseful fiction murder mystery that also brings awareness to the very real issue of the high rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) cases that go unsolved in this country. I thought it was respectfully done.

The suspense really grabbed me in this thriller. The tension was written quite well. I was actually scared. I'm never scared.

I thought this was going to be a cuddly, feel-good book, but it was actually pretty intense--in a good way. I was completely engrossed in the town and the behavior of its characters. The novel goes out of its way to point out the misogyny that is an integral part of many boys' sports teams and the consequences of that. It is not for the faint of heart. This book is a roller-coaster. I thought it was excellent.

This horror novella is about as Christmasy as I like to get. I liked it. I was engaged. The characters were all delightfully obnoxious. I only wish the krampus had made more of a showing.

This twisted thriller was really riveting. I sympathized with the characters, and there was a lot of crafty misdirection. It's clever how it's all wrapped up.

I loved it! I couldn't put it down. I would recommend it to anyone else interested in the plight of women thought to be witches in the 1590s Scotland. It is scary and interesting at the same time. The story goes back and forth between 1594 and the present day, and the two time periods are tied together by a creepy book.

This book was a good homage to the fierce and loving Persian women I know in my family.

I felt the book was realistic. The storyline could really happen. I don't think any book can truly capture the horror that was Khomeini, but it did illustrate how the U.S. had previously interfered with the Iranian government, ultimately leading to a terrible backlash. I hadn't fully grapsed this history until this book.

Be forewarned that this is not a cosy mystery. There is a lot of domestic violence and rape as well as traumatic birth covered in this book. The cover and title are misleading in their cutsieness. I liked the author's descriptive writing style, and I liked the main character very much, but the ending was overwhelming, and I felt yanked around.

This book was thought-provoking and entertaining. I loved becoming enmeshed in all of the characters' lives. I became addicted to them all, and I was on the edge of my seat.

This a true crime story about Rebecca Zahau, who dies naked in a rather brutal way, and the San Diego police think it's suicide. However, her family is suing a man for murder in civil court.

I felt this case was reported objectively so that the reader was free to form their own conclusions. I really feel for both families.

This book really had my attention. It was great. I found it to be an original take on the relationship between witches and demons. The characters were very entertaining, the plot was interesting, and the mystery was gripping. It's billed as a YA fantasy, but I think adults who like horror would like it. I did not want to put this book down.

The book is told from the perspective of Annie, an AI robot who is owned by a man. It follows her as she tries to grapple with ownership versus free will. It was insightful, and it made me think. It was also just a really good story. I would have been pissed had the ending gone a certain way.

3.75 ⭐️

Some stories in this collection were 5 stars. Others didn't make much sense to me. It was worth the read for N.K. Jemisen and Tananarive Due. I discovered some new-to-me authors who were also pretty good. I loved the face-eating baby aliens.

This was a gripping thriller with very good character development. I liked the dysfunctional family dynamic. I was proud of myself for suspecting the end.

The doctors weren't trying to cure these women of "hysteria" or otherwise treat it. They were making a spectacle of them for their own accolades. The book was fascinating and horrific at the same time. In some spots, it moved a little slow. The ending was awesome.

This was billed as horror, but honestly, it's just bizarre. I didn't feel like I got it. It was interesting, though.

This book was too slow for me to always stay interested. It seemed a little bit longer than necessary, and I did not connect with the characters as well as I would have liked. I did, however, appreciate a couple of the twists. Ruh was the most fleshed out character that I liked.

This was a cute, funny, farcical short story. It was just what I needed today. Fredrik Backman understands well the amusing side of human nature. It reminded me of an old, British comedy show.

It wasn't in the Litsy library. It is new.

Books. Ice cream. Tissues.

It's a cruel joke, but I can't get the gelato open, but this is how I cope.

This was a striking, compelling story about race relations and police brutality. It was written from two different points of view--the perspective of a Black woman and a white woman who were best friends. I feel like I got a lot out of this book. It was a meaty, thought-provoking story.

By the time I was finished with this book, I felt like I'd survived an exhausting slog. Maybe it's not the book's fault. I was bored by Moby Dick too. Jay is trying to MacGyver his way out of a whale and reconcile his relationship with his dead father. The book is heavy with allegory and light on the plot. It will give it some credit: it was sufficiently gross.

This is eye-opening historical horror. Ghosts play a big part in the book, but they are not nearly as terrifying as the living during the Jim Crow era. The book made me wonder how much has really changed. We still have the school to prison pipeline.

This is a fairly long book, and it is worth every page. I loved the main character, 12-year-old Robbie Stephens, and I was on the edge of my seat worried about him.

Possessive (literally and figuratively), spooky spirits in 1950s Holland. This is a well crafted, gothically influenced story, reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe. It's also a queer romantic tragedy. The reader has to figure out what is real and what is not. I loved the ambiance, the fact that it kept me guessing, and the vicious protectiveness of the ghosts.

This book is on the level of some of Stephen King's best work, and the translation comes across perfectly. I love books that are so captivating that I get lost in them, but also are so interesting that I feel compelled to look up historical facts. I didn't know much about Argentine history before this book, but I will be a little better educated now thanks to fiction.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of. It might have been easier to have read this book in print, but I did enjoy it. Rosie, in particular, was a wonderfully flamboyant character.

Nothing could compare to The Thursday Murder Club.