This book looked great, but after an hour of the audio, I find myself not paying attention to it at all. I‘m not sure if it‘s me, the book, the timing, or the narrator. Maybe I‘ll try it again someday in print.

A young journalist in 1920 manages to get invited to the home of a reclusive, famous painter to write an article. From there we learn about the artist and his niece as well as the journalist‘s own story. I really liked this and think it‘s far better than at least half the #WP25 shortlist.

This is my seventh read of Backman and for me, by far the weakest of his books. There are two timelines and both get short shrift. The current day timeline could be explored more thoroughly and the past timeline feels a bit held at arms length and too much tell. I‘m disappointed with this one.

Four siblings come together after some years estranged and a difficult past relationship with their mom. Each is at a crossroads of sorts and they are figuring things out between them after a prior fight. Somewhat predictable, but I enjoyed it as a lighter read.

Pic: Columbia River in eastern Oregon

I went into this one cautiously given the potentially hyperbolic title, but it straightforwardly lays out the increasing use of lawsuits by rich and powerful people when they simply don‘t like what‘s been said about them. At times, this has led to complete dissolution of media companies, which is sometimes the goal, as is the chilling effect on speaking truth. It‘s very well done.

The description of this book sounded promising but it‘s just dumb. It‘s winking so hard at Holmes/Poirot that it‘s more like a grimace. And the construction of it just doesn‘t work. I wish I hadn‘t read it.

The first hour of this 9.5 hour audiobook is full on physical and verbal domestic abuse, and I am not here for it. It feels like this is less how a boy‘s life is impacted by different potential names and more the impact of his abusive father‘s reaction to said names. I don‘t care to read a book that gives an abuser that kind of power.

Needing money and trying to stay hidden from a scandal she had a part in, Hailey takes a very sketchy job at an old cryopreservation ship. And then she starts to see things. This starts sci-fi and goes solidly into horror. Barnes keeps doing the isolated space story, but it‘s still working, so I‘m not mad. There are a few pacing issues in spots, but overall really good.

In this book, some people from the past, famous and not, have suddenly “returned” in the future. Fun conceit, but this just ends up being them sitting there telling their stories. Those stories are valuable, but it‘s all tell and no show and it‘s just been done so much better. I found it really heavy-handed. There‘s one section of backstory that‘s really compelling, so I think Bob has potential.

In these tightly intertwined stories, which could be called a novel in stories, Millet explores a group of characters from a friend/family group. Each story serves to deepen our understanding of one or more people. I enjoyed this one and think it will work for those who don‘t usually like short stories.

I felt Bartz‘s first book was a mess, but I was entertained by it, so I gave this one a try and it‘s not good. She follows the same formula to isolate the characters and then it‘s a mess in a way it isn‘t entertaining. If there‘s a third book, I will not be reading it.

A woman visiting the Alps one day discovers an invisible wall. No other people seem to be trapped on her side, so we move forward into a story of her efforts to survive. This definitely shares some DNA with I Who Have Never Known Men and On the Constellation of Volume. I found it riveting.

This completely delightful book finds a group of sheep in France with their shepherdess when a deer is found horrifically killed in the woods. The sheep try to solve the mystery while protecting their own flock. It‘s so cute and fun, and the translator really did a marvelous job.

Early in the COVID pandemic, Cora‘s sister is brutally killed in front of her in an anti-Asian hate crime. She then becomes a crime scene cleaner and starts getting visited by ghosts. I was initially put off by the title, but I‘m glad I got over that, as I found this really absorbing.

I tried, but this one is not for me. I don‘t like the writing or the voice and based on other reviews, it doesn‘t look like those will change, so I‘m out. #WP25 longlist

I was unenthusiastic when I saw this on the #WPNF25 longlist: really, another famous dead white guy? So I dragged my feet on picking it up. But once I did, I struggled to put it down because the writing is SO good. There are some issues with some bits near the end being slotted in not quite so seamlessly, but overall I really enjoyed this.

In the latest installment of the maid series, a televised antiques show comes to the hotel and the staff get the first crack at them, where Molly learns something extraordinary. We also get Gran‘s backstory in a separate timeline, which I wasn‘t sure about at first as it pulls us out of the hotel, but it did work. And once again, Lauren Ambrose is perfect on the audio.

Twins Julie and Chloe are separated quite young after their parents die. Now, Chloe is a trending influencer and Julie is at a dead end. Then Julie finds Chloe dead and finds herself slipping into Chloe‘s life. I really enjoyed this. It has a good tone and veers into camp (but it works) while providing social commentary on social media.

I was looking for a lighter, faster paced read, and this YA horror fit the bill. A family heads to a small Oregon Coast town for the summer. It‘s beautiful, but they‘re advised not to stay out after dark or talk to strangers. Obviously, something bad is going on. It was a fun read, though the cover is terrible and makes it look campy, which it isn‘t.

The spins this month for #ReadYourEbooks gave me 3 NF, which is fun. I didn‘t manage to read any last month, so we‘ll see how I do in May!

I wasn‘t a fan of An Island and so would not have read this if not for the #WP25 longlist, so color me surprised that I enjoyed it. It is a portrait of a selfish, self-pitying woman who I think the reader gradually comes to see we all have a bit of inside us. She‘s unlikable, of course, and we gradually come to understand her a bit by the end. I do think this is worthy of the list.

Abigail is trying to find her solo way in Soap Lake after her husband takes off for a work opportunity. In a separate timeline, we see Esme grow up in Soap Lake then meet the fate we see in Abigail‘s timeline. I enjoyed this overall but was sometimes thrown going back and forth between the stories, as there‘s no reminders that the timelines are different. I also thought the ending was a bit too drawn out and I got a little bored.

I did a lot of nodding and “yep”ing as I listened to this one, about how a subset of American society has turned against the knowledge of experts (and no doubt it‘s happening elsewhere, too). He doesn‘t offer solutions, which is of course frustrating, but then the first step to problem solving is acknowledging the problem. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, @Riveted_Reader_Melissa !

My first read of short stories from PE, and they‘re good, including a couple of fantastic ones. So far I do like his novels better, but it was fun with this one to read a couple a day.

MAGGIE NELSON 😲😍

And she signed my book! ☺️

A bomb goes off on a British school tour bus in northern France and Chief Inspector (on leave) Ortley rushes to the scene, as his daughter is on the bus. I would term this a literary mystery, as it does have a central mystery but the heavy lifting here is the exploration of anti-Middle Eastern racism in British society. It‘s terrific.

This is such an interesting book. It starts out as memoir of Yale law professor Kenji Yoshino‘s younger days as he processed his “otherness” in American society as a Japanese-American, gay man. He talks about covering—attempting to act as white and straight as possible—then goes into related legal issues. There‘s a gentleness to his writing and some of the legalities are more important than ever in our current moment.

This is a lovely look at the reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone, focusing on a runty pup who became a formidable adult wolf. While it does use the discredited concept of “alpha” repeatedly, the stories are still riveting and worthwhile. I loved it.

Here are my books for May #Roll100. I only managed to get one read for April, so hopefully I do better this month!

Two women traumatized by violent loss meet up in a trauma group, then decide maybe they can help each other. This was an enjoyable enough thriller to listen to, but most of the twists seemed very obvious and the big one at the end was unconvincing.

In this deeply intelligent, thoughtful book, Dr Cooper explores race and gender and many of the realities of living as a black woman. There are things here and there I would dispute (not the living as a black woman but, as I am white), but that disagreement doesn‘t make this book any less superb. #SheSaid

This book follows four African women who are connected to each other in various ways, exploring the reality of being a woman and all the indignities that can be pushed on a woman‘s body (including sexual assault on the page). The writing is very good overall but a bit uneven and the start of the third woman‘s story was so dense I was thrown in a bad way. Good but not great. #WP25 longlist

Finally, a book on the #WP25 shortlist I actually like! (I loved The Safekeep, but read it well before the longlist dropped.) This one follows an idealistic young Muslim British woman who goes to Iraq with a UN program in the hopes of repatriating ISIS brides. It balances the heavier content with snarky good humor and looks at how our own expectations can be blinding.

The main story here is of an Irish woman in 1910 who is delighted when an American man comes to her village to collect local stories about fairies. It‘s framed by a modern storyline of an American woman at loose ends in Ireland. A bit skimpy but charming. A low pick for me.

Happy Independent Bookstore Day! 🥳 I went to two indies today and one yesterday, and here‘s my haul! Mostly nonfiction and I had a really lovely time. I hope many of you were able to celebrate as well!

The premise of this seemed fun, so I thought I‘d give it a try. Unfortunately, it‘s immediately completely ridiculous. I thought I‘d give it a little time to see if that improved and by 25%, it‘s still completely ridiculous. So I‘m all done.

In 1970s Texas, Lou is a mostly closeted lesbian who lost part of her livelihood when Miss Kate died and is now at a crossroads since a hurricane decimated her small town. Then Kate‘s daughter Joanna returns to town and more upheaval ensues. Part mystery, part portrait of a community, this starts a bit slowly but fully hooked me. I really enjoyed it.

I knew this book would show truly deplorable behavior, but I was not ready for such bottom of the barrel depravity. I honestly believe there is nothing these people won‘t do to achieve their own ends, which is horrifying and terrifying. Such an eye-opening book. I hope a lot of people who continue to use Facebook read this and think on what they are supporting.

According to Sarah, Mark Zuckerberg believes Andrew Jackson was the best president of the US. WOW. That says so very much.

This book explodes the myth of Austen being the first female writer of significance by exploring the lives and work of the women who influenced Austen herself while looking at gatekeeping and sexism in “canon.” I really enjoyed this and @LeahBergen , this has you written all over it.

I am beyond frustrated by this book. It has such rich material—fish out of water, racism, stranger in your own land—and it‘s just kind of a mess. Plus, there‘s an explosive event near the end that was so gripping, I really wish the book had been set around it, but instead it‘s squandered. What is this doing on the #WP25 short (or long) list?

I loved Amber and Lacey‘s first book, and their second it equally good. It‘s astounding to see some of the racism Lacey has had to face and a good reminder of how not to behave. I‘m glad these ladies are able to approach this with humor while not diminishing the importance of revealing racism. I‘ll read anything they write.

I really liked Beautyland and the Book Riot podcast folks love this one, so I figured I‘d give it a try. I made it almost halfway through but I just don‘t care. It isn‘t grabbing me at all. So, on to the next.

I loved her debut novel and thus was excited for this, but it didn‘t quite get there for me. I thought the 3 stories were good, but the novella never pulled me in. And had some really high quality technical aspects and a great central metaphor, but it was almost like the technical bits got in the way of the magic. A low pick for me.

This was more action than other Klune books I‘ve read, but that worked for me. The story is engrossing and I enjoyed the characters. But I have some quibbles. The biggest is that there‘s a cute drawing on every chapter page that is actually a major spoiler, and I really didn‘t like that. Also, the overuse of italics for emphasis is insulting to the reader and the bashing of vegan food was old before it started.

I am finally submitting my nominations for #CampLitsy25. I tried to pick books that haven‘t been nominated yet. I particularly think Careless People would provide a lot of conversational fodder.

I listened to this mainly because it sounded like she spilled the tea about her relationships and conquests, which is largely true. (I love how she really tried to get with Keanu and he showed himself to be the gem we know he is.) I do feel like she held back a ton (her prerogative, of course), and she did mainly focus on her relationships here, but it was fun to hear about all the famous people.

Any collection of writing runs the risk of being uneven, and this is a bit. It starts off with 2 somewhat off-putting essays, but when it gets into the travel stuff, it‘s great, especially the 100+ pages on China. The end is a little bumpy as well, but overall I found this a really worthwhile read.

This book starts with a young American woman being injured in a hit and run in Shanghai. It is then an onion of a family story, slowly peeling away the layers to reveal each family member. Overall, I enjoyed it, but the section at the end is told by the woman‘s sister and the shift is a bit jarring; I wish her perspective had been incorporated throughout.

This book is a look at Fagan‘s brutal childhood in the foster care system in Scotland, filled with every horror that can be wreaked upon a child. This makes it a difficult read, of course, but it‘s very well done and vital for exposing the deep inadequacies in care systems and mental health care. A worthy presence on the #WPNF25 longlist.