Generations of an American family with hopes and dreams for the future are embodied in ‘Swede‘, our athletic and handsome protagonist. Then in the 1960‘s political unrest comes home, tearing at fabric that perhaps wasn‘t so strong after all. The realistic writing and story are extraordinary and thought provoking but depressing. In the end we are left with many questions. It‘s hard not to see similarities in our current political landscape.

I really enjoyed this epic family saga that takes place in a small Irish town. The story goes back and forth primarily between the perspectives of four members of the family and the struggles they face. I thought every character was extremely well written and compelling.

July — You Like it Darker
August — The Elephant Vanishes
September — Real Americans
October — Sleeping Giants

Tough decisions are going in to my #topread2024 #readingbracket

Rene Denfeld‘s novels tend to educate readers about the kinds of issues a social worker might encounter regarding underserved, voiceless people. In this novel we meet a boy that was abandoned by foster parents and the sister that uncovers what became of him. I thought it was a well written and satisfying read.

I really enjoy the observational, acerbic, sometimes gross and bittersweet humor of Samantha Irby. I especially loved hearing her read the essays this time.

American tech writer, essayist, philosopher and former Fundamentalist Christian, O‘Gieblyn points out similar promises of science and religion as her essays take on this phenomenon as well as transhumanism, AI, consciousness and more. I thought her insights were brilliant. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Three generations of a three part novel depicting members of a Chinese-American family. This is a good pick for anyone that loves an epic family drama.

Mary L. Trump leaves no doubt that Fred Trump Sr. was a cruel sociopath, more than capable of creating a monster. One thing I hadn‘t been aware of (or remembered?) was just how incredibly much money he was funneling to his favorite son. 🤯

Salman Rushdie was attacked by a young man with a knife at an event where Rushdie was to speak about keeping writers safe — over 30 years after the fatwa against him was issued. Here Rushdie tells us what he experienced during his incredible recovery.

“You didn‘t manifest everything bad in your life…” and furthermore the idea that you must be constantly pursuing happiness and staying positive can lead to anxiety and depression. Instead, Goodman advises us on how to be genuinely supportive of ourselves and others as we ditch toxic positivity for a more value driven life.

A well written memoir describing the inner workings of a sociopathic mind, from PhD and diagnosed sociopath Gagne. Despite challenging the societal idea that there is something inherently sinister about a person with a lack of feeling, Gagne‘s behavior is often pretty disturbing and she seems almost proud of it. It was interesting though and I do think I know more about sociopathy.

I rarely bail on a book so to do it to one written by DeLillo feels bad. I understand it‘s a Y2K critique of capitalism or something but I‘m just not interested right now.

An informative history of global revolutions and the way they have shaped our world is brilliantly covered by Zakaria, who says we are currently living through the third geopolitical revolution in modern history. Despite all the reasons to worry, Zakaria gives us reasons for hope. I found this book to be objective, well written, thoughtful and thorough. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

July — You Like It Darker
August — The Elephant Vanishes

I can‘t decide which collection of short stories I preferred. They were both excellent! Hmmm… #topread2024 #readingbracket

I absolutely loved this early (1994) collection of 17 surreal short stories with the haunting, mysterious, dream like qualities I have come to associate with Murakami.

September #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

Samantha is a lonely scholarship student enrolled in an elite postgraduate writing program with little more than her dark imagination to deal with an obnoxious cohort of twee rich girls. I read this novel in part as a metaphor for the writing process but there are multiple ways to interpret this wild story. It would be fun to discuss with a book club.

This reminded me of ‘The Little Book of Hygge‘, that I read a few years ago that featured Danish ideals of coziness. ‘Njuta‘ focuses on ‘the Swedish art of savoring the moment‘, but the concepts seem similar — candles, wool socks, reading, cake, fresh air, taking moments for yourself, etc. which I can totally get behind. But I felt this was mostly capitalizing on a familiar trend in lifestyle advice. Also, the holidays still sound like too much.

Told in the first person, protagonist Hank Chinaski is a thinly veiled version of the author — a womanizing, gambling, foul mouthed, alcoholic, postal worker. Often described as gritty and raw, I expected to delve into the dark side of human nature but amidst the misery of work and all the seedy ways that he copes, Bukowski can be brilliant, funny, insightful and strangely endearing, especially if you‘ve ever had a truly rotten job.

Yong takes us on a journey of animal sensory perception by explaining the ways they live in a different world, informed by their own unique bodies. I won‘t remember all of the facts (this would make a good reference book) but I will remember some of the highlights that stuck out to me and the overall way Yong helped me to reimagine life from these radically different perspectives.

Why did Tsukuru Tazaki‘s close knit group of friends suddenly drop him? The answer, discovered years later, could be off putting to some readers. However, I love the dream like, metaphysical and introspective way that Murakami writes. I always come away feeling as though I have new insights into humanity. I really enjoyed this one.

This was my August #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

Happy National Book Lovers Day! I used the day as an excuse to buy these two dollar store beauties…not that I need an excuse. 🤗📚 #nationalbookloversday

Domestic violence in the middle of what could otherwise be a romantic comedy does not diminish the message in my opinion. As in real life, when expectations are turned upside down it can make you question if something really just happened. I worried about the protagonist and felt invested in her outcome. I think this is an important topic for women to consider and discuss. I recommend reading the post script by Hoover after finishing the book.

My top fiction read in July was the new book of short stories ‘You Like It Darker‘ by Stephen King

#TopRead2024 @CSeydel

In this memoir about growing up Korean American and losing her mother to cancer, Zauner writes personally about culture, food and the sometimes fraught relationship between a mother and daughter that often strengthens as the child becomes an adult. I related to this as both a daughter and a mother.💔

I could not put down this book! I liked some stories more than others but did not feel like there was a single dud. This felt like classic Stephen King with some meta fiction, nods to other authors, references to his older works and many never before published stories.

I‘m jumping back in for a little end of summer help with my ever growing tbr pile. Here we go! August #Bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

Very clever and twisty whodunnit mystery with a surprisingly complex plot for a short book — not as great as some of her later work (there are probably too many side stories and dead ends) but worthwhile for Christie fans.

Halfway through the year and it looks like the one to beat will be ‘David Copperfield‘ by Charles Dickens.

January - Tom Lake
February- David Copperfield
March - Sea of Tranquility
April - Dead-End Memories
May - A Woman Is No Man
June - Waiting
Bonus - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Bonus - Bright Young Women

#topread2024

PS thank you @CSeydel for this great bracket template— I just realized you are the creator!

A depressing but well written and well researched novel confronting injustice within the American justice system and the (most likely) poor, marginalized people serving long prison sentences. I felt invested in the stories of all the characters — but especially that of main character, Romy. I felt that if I‘d been born under different circumstances I could have been her.

What books would you love to see on the list? My top picks include:

‘The Nix‘ by Nathan Hill
‘The Enchanted‘ by Rene Denfeld
‘Mink River‘ by Brian Doyle
‘Finding Me‘ by Viola Davis
‘Shadow of the Wind‘ by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Hope you‘re having an amazing Monday! Don‘t forget to tag me with your picks! #MondayMusings ?

I mostly loved the 22 books I‘ve read from this list and feel inspired to read more. Although, I have to admit that I DNF‘d their top pick. 🤦🏻‍♀️ #nyt #nytbest100

I thought this was ok as a vacation read that‘s easy to follow, but it did take awhile to get to the “thriller” part and when it did it wasn‘t very surprising. I have noticed that Downes does well with romantic tension though and wonder if she writes romances under another name.🤔

Vacation reading is the best! ☀️🍹📖

January - Tom Lake
February - David Copperfield
March - Sea of Tranquility
April - Dead-End Memories
May - A Woman Is No Man
June - Waiting

I loved the Cambridge University setting, the gothic/dark academia feel and the idea of a secret society influenced by Greek mythology called ‘The Maidens‘. I also enjoyed the appearance of a character from ‘The Silent Patient‘. However, the behavior of main character, Mariana, made no sense to me. This was between so-so and light pick.

This is a fun mystery/thriller. Two separate but equally creepy and slowly intersecting story lines focus on mums trying to protect their children. I loved the characters, the plot twists and the resolution. I enjoyed her writing style and plan on reading her other books.

This by no means realistic historical fiction whodunnit takes place in 1920‘s India amidst British rule, a strict social hierarchy and emerging women‘s rights — yet remains mostly light hearted with charming characters and obstacles that are fairly easy to overcome. This was a light pick for me because while enjoyable, I thought it could have used more editing.

A love triangle forms in 1960‘s China between a doctor, his (modern, educated) city girlfriend and his (simple, kindly) country wife. I enjoyed the way this novel transported me to another place and time while the romance/drama was symbolic of the changes that modernization brought to China. The writing was excellent.

January - Tom Lake
February - David Copperfield
March - Sea of Tranquility
April - Dead-End Memories
May - A Woman Is No Man

#topread2024 #fiction

This is told from the perspective of three generations of Muslim women — two originally from Palestine with the youngest raised in the United States. Past horrors in Palestine are referred to and are a catalyst for moving to Brooklyn but the story is about the women, internalized misogyny and the difficulties of living in a patriarchal society. I thought this was brave, well written and hard to put down though at times a bit heavy handed.

Crystal Hefner reveals a dark side to life in the Playboy mansion where a controlling and narcissistic Hugh Hefner preys on vulnerable young women. He‘s not here to defend himself but post ‘me too‘ his former lifestyle seems best left to a bygone era. I do think that framing herself as a ‘survivor‘ is a bit much but overall I appreciated how well written and insightful her memoir is.

‘Bel Canto‘ is loosely based on a true story when, in 1996, a group of young terrorists took over the Japanese embassy in Peru. I loved the way Patchett wrote these characters with complexity and nuance — hostages and terrorists alike. There is a surprising amount of tenderness, beauty and love within the tension and tragedy. However, this was a light pick for me because I found much of it too slow.

This novel imagines a world decades ahead but with the same potentially catastrophic events threatening civilization (the environment, pandemics, etc). There‘s futuristic technology with leaders vaguely reminiscent of people like Bezos, Musk and Zuckerberg but the conclusions reached in this book would have Ayn Rand rolling over in her grave — a plus imo! There‘s a lot going on here but I would recommend to anyone interested in tech fiction.

I just realized that Emma Straub‘s dad was Peter Straub (mental note to move his book ‘Ghost Story‘ up the tbr pile). This novel is really a love letter to a fictionalized version of him from a fictionalized version of her. I enjoyed the sweet father-daughter dynamic. The time travel aspect made me feel wistful and wish I could occasionally go back in time too.

January — Tom Lake
February — David Copperfield
March — Sea of Tranquility
April — Dead-End Memories

#fiction #topread2024

I gave this novel a DNF back in 2019 but between being made into a miniseries and reading that it was loosely based on Fleetwood Mac, I decided to try again. I can see why people like it but I find the interview format tedious.

I adored this collection of five gentle, female centered, melancholy stories of everyday Japanese life punctured with a big event and reoccurring elements that include coming of age, love, engagement, family, loss and a couple of building demolitions and hospital courtyards. I think Murakami fans will love Yoshimoto.

There is a surreal weight loss phenomena occurring with main character Scott, but this is really a story about accepting differences and caring for the people around you. Surprising and heartwarming — but if you‘re looking for scary, this isn‘t it. Maybe when King wrote this he thought the real world was scary enough?

This was the 2009 debut novel of Emily St. John Mandel. It‘s a beautifully written book about love and loss with a mystery at the center. I found the plot a bit implausible but liked it enough to ‘pick‘ although not as much as some of her later work.