pickA timely read, the book offers a “hero's journey“ of Makina, a Mexican woman sent by her mother to find her brother on the 'other side', while also carrying a “package“ for a certain Mr. Aitch. While something is always lost in translation, I think Lisa Dillman worked hard (at least according to the Translator's Note) to pick up on the craft of Herrera's writing.
pickWhile I'm not usually into memoirs, this is really a beautifully written remembrance of his mother. What makes it beautiful is its honesty. Russo steps back enough in the narrative that it almost reads like fiction--we watch love mixed with guilt and manipulation, with a complexity that I think most people will recognize.
“It was from my mother that I learned that reading was not a duty, but a reward, and from her that I intuited a vital truth: most people are trapped in a solitary existence, a life circumscribed by want and failures of imagination, limitations from which readers are exempt.” (156)
pickThis is a book about grief and love. “A Novel of the Plague“ doesn't really cover it. That the plague is involved becomes less important than the relationships. It isn't an easy book to read if you have a soul. A historical imagining, O'Farrell illuminates the shadows of the historical icon known as Shakespeare, giving life to stories untold and names unsung.
pickThe writing is beautiful. Phillips writes her characters with such tenderness, but it is never overwrought. There's an interesting distance to the the narrative that keeps things feeling more historical than fictional. There were moments of dialogue that I felt dragged on a bit and the use of dialect made it challenging to engage, but the story is incredible, tragic, and inspiring; to warrant all three of those adjectives is indeed a feat.
so-soWho is George? Well, while we are treated to almost four decades of his existence, I'm not sure I felt any more confident in answering that question at the end than I did at the beginning. George is, it seems, fairly unremarkable, and I think (THINK) that's the point? This does lead to some humor, and the frustrating inconsistency of George's attitudes is also a plus. I think we are supposed to see him as flawed -- and he is-- but who isn't?
Giving a presentation on January 13th on alternative grading in the age of AI, so I guess this will be my “fun reading over break” 😂 #academia
pickI remember well when Ryan White was barred from attending classes due to fear of exposure. My stepmom, who was an editor for the L.A. Weekly, brought me home a print of Robbie Conal's “Artificial Art Official“ poster of Jesse Helms.
I was not prepared for how all of these memories would come flooding back in reading this book... please read my full RAVE review: https://readingrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025-51-great-believers-makkai...
Not a banner reading month for me, but cheers to the last week of classes! Here we go!
pickThis is light entertainment, following the capers of Professor Dr. von Igelfeld, as he navigates the topsy-turvy world of human interaction. McCall Smith good-naturedly pokes fun at academia without turning Professor Dr. von Igelfeld into a complete caricature. With a fairly zany plot , this installment of the series gently reminds us of the perils of taking ourselves too seriously.
so-soConceptually, this book is fantastic, and the fact that it highlights young women boxers is exceptional. I bear some responsibility for my somewhat “meh“ reaction to the book as I have very little interest in boxing, and I'm sure that sullied my reaction a bit. #TOB2025 #TOB25 Full review: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3934124522060211942/278442361882261270
pick
I liked the anchoring of witchcraft in nature. I felt the mystery aspect (especially Violet's mother's backstory) could have been beefed up a bit, maybe to replace a bit of the narrative of Kate's journey to the cottage, for example. It did start to feel a bit predictable, as others noted, although I have to say the surprise in the Epilogue made my day (I usually hate epilogues).
A solid read.
so-soThe Glass Box. Truthfully this was almost a pan, but I do have admiration for those who put themselves out there and self-publish. It desperately needed a good editor, and there was too much focus on the “action” as Corey and Isabella are pursued by an “evil mastermind” who gets about 4 pages of backstory. I picked it up in an LFL because it was a book cross and I have dutifully sent it to a different state! #bookcrossing
pickUnlike Narcissus and Goldmund, this felt rather dated, but intriguing enough as a love child of Catcher in the Rye and the Sorrows of Young Werther with a dash of Nietzsche and Freud thrown in.
Full Review: https://readingrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2025/11/2025-46-demian-hesse.html
#FollowTheLeader Challenge 2025
wish they credited the cover art, slightly creepy though it is
pickThe title felt a bit gratuitous to me, but then I thought, what would I title this novel?...There are moments that read like a charming coming-of-age tale, others that twist your heart [...] What a gift to be able to see ourselves through her eyes, to laugh at our silliness, to cry at our cruelty, to empathize with our pain. FULL REVIEW: https://readingrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2025/10/2025-45-beautyland-bertino.htm... #TOB2025 #TOB25
pickNo way on earth I could review it in a little blurb here. Longest audiobook I have ever listened to. Hope it is worth it to read my complete review (and not because I'm trying to get blog traffic) -- it is just that an 800 page book requires some thought...: https://readingrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2025/10/2025-44-love-songs-of-web-du-b...
pick...beautiful, tragic, funny,...There's even a plot twist -- handled deftly by Akbar, without resorting to clichéd sentimentality. ... lays bare themes of addiction, abandonment, artistic impulse, religiosity, media filters, racism, sexuality, and yes-- martyrdom-... like one of those rare honest conversations one might have with a close friend #TOB2025 #TOB25
Full https://readingrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2025/10/2025-43-martyr-akbar.html
Wind-down time. This was suggested to me nearly 15 years ago (I‘m a musician), and I bought it probably 10 years ago, and now I read it only when I‘m in a specific location, but I‘m doing it! A lovely book so far. Technically I‘m probably going to read Martyr! tonight since it is due back via Libby on Tuesday, but this made for a nicer pic!
pickHaving been a fan of the series with Kenneth Branagh (we didn't have the opportunity to watch more than one episode of the original Swedish series), I was eager to compare the experience of reading one of the books. This did not disappoint. There's a lot happening. Lots of character development for Wallander, who is going through his own stages of grief. My only real complaint is that I wanted more of the catalyst to be involved in the plot.
pickPhoebe is an amazing protagonist, and the book is full of characters who are hiding behind façades, and Espach lets us see that so that they don't become caricatures. The initial premise doesn't seem like it would be very funny--and it isn't--but the story is so very human and redemptive in that the characters get to be real people, making real choices. A delightful read. #TOB2025 #TOB25
“Maybe this is just what it means to be a person. to constantly reckon with being a single being in one body. Maybe everybody sits up at night and creates arguments in their head for why they are the loneliest person in the world.”
so-soI read a lot of reviews of this book because it occurred to me that I don't have a good sense of reading through an eleven or twelve-year old's eyes. My goddaughter was assigned this book for school, so I read it (as are her parents). I sat with it for awhile and looked back through it, trying to parse the pet peeves from the genuine criticisms.
I started this from my stash several weeks ago when I was laid up with back pain. I couldn‘t even get what was happening. Tonight I restarted it at a “Reading Dinner” at a friend‘s house: we read for roughly 30-40 minutes then have dinner. It is like a WHOLE NEW BOOK! Context matters!!
Well, I lied. In my last post I said I had a stack of books I got from a LFL that were going to wait until next summer. Well, I needed a book for a long car trip and grabbed this. I loved the Wallander TV series with Kenneth Branagh and have been eager to start the books. This is no. 6 in the series but if they used it for the TV series, I don‘t remember, which is good. I usually avoid reading mysteries that have been done as shows.
Loved the Bosch TV series and I‘m from LA originally so excited to dig into these. Picked them up at an unofficial little free library outside a general store in VT, and sadly, I won‘t dig into until next summer. Ignore the pine needle basket on the top—pandemic project!
pickArgh, the cropping is off, sorry. Full review: http://readingrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2023/10/2023-41-landscape-with-invisibl...
pickA biography of conservationist Georgiana Molloy who created English gardens in Australia during the 19th century. Read it back in 2007 and found it far more interesting than anticipated. The title doesn‘t scream “Book about gardening” 😂Probably picked it up via #bookcrossing but I can‘t remember. Trying to give some love to post-less books here :-)
Picked this up over the weekend and I‘m excited to crack it open! I love her Japanese Home Cooking book—the recipes are accessible and she gives you resources for where to buy harder-to-find ingredients. #cookbooks
pickThis book is a reminder of the things you should hold dear. The things that truly COULD make us great, or at least could reinvest in real patriotism. It is an expanded listicle of 20 “lessons“ from the twentieth century. If you feel you lack courage to resist, throw this tiny book in your bag and take it out and reread it as you wait for the bus.
Make eye contact and small talk (#12).
Start somewhere.
pickShort version: “Ambivalent“ is the right word to describe how I feel about this book. There were parts of this book I LOVED and parts I really did not love.
Suzie? I kept forgetting she existed and then she'd pop up like a game of whack-a-mole. The mushroom “scene“ was off the rails--these types of things made the plot feel like a game of yo-yo. Jinx was a GREAT character. Full review in comments. #TOB2025 #TOB25
pickIt isn't just simply “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as told by Jim.“ The messages aren't subtle, but it is an invitation to think about an old character (or actually old characters--Huck, too), in a new way. There are parts that drag a bit, but overall the novel illuminates the privilege of “adventures“ and how characters can reclaim and change the archetypes to which they've been relegated. #TOB2025 #TOB25
pickFred Rogers was, by all accounts, a hugely decent human being who used his primary platform (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) to address pressing issues in a subtle way. Long is careful not to glorify the man, and reveals tensions between Betty Aberlin and Rogers when the latter refused to move beyond subversive messaging about the Gulf War. His friendship and professional relationship with opera singer Francois Clemmons receives some nuance.
pickThis is a remarkable book that manages to combine "memoir with marine biology" as the podcast Science Friday put it (which was the impetus for me to put the book on my reading list). What keeps it from a full five stars for me is the whiplash between the two. Often, it is the passages focused on the sea creatures where Imbler offers their most potent observations. There are passages that brought me to tears.
Here for my grandpa‘s memorial and I always score something great from Mutual 16‘s lending library. And yes, I‘ve left books too!
“I considered the northern white stance against slavery. How much of the desire to end the institution was fueled by a need to quell and subdue white guilt and pain? Was it just too much to watch? [. . .] I knew that whatever the cause of their war, freeing slaves was an incidental premise and would be an incidental result.” (286) #truth
pickI care not a whit about wrestling, so I could have skipped that aspect of this book, and I also had the murderer figured out very early in the game, but still, this was very entertaining. This first book in the series hooked me, mostly through the protagonist who navigates both his demons and the quirky characters of his small town with a certain amount of earthy skepticism and hard-won good-naturedness. #firstpost
pick3.75 stars This gives us a better look at the Knoxes and the Bardos, the latter familiar from the previous book. The book opens with the grisliest murder yet in the series, and we soon learn that relativism looms large as we see a whole lot of "wrong place, wrong time" and "in over his head" sorts of explanations for bad behavior. There is a definite red herring, but it turns out to be a bit more interesting than usual.
#firstpost
pick#Series firsts are hard -- the author has to hook you on the characters AND tell a good story. Greenwood deftly uses the dancer Sasha and the impressionable Dot to help show us Phryne's character, but also as pivotal plot pushers. Phryne is hedonistic, yes, but not just that, and it is ultimately a pleasure to get some insights beyond her roaring 20s persona. The whirlwind sometimes overwhelmed, but overall I'm happy to continue with the series!
pickSince it doesn't yet have a post:
These men confront not each other, but the issues of apocalyptic perspective, abortion, women in the Church, violence and much more. They recognize these issues not as polemics to be tossed back and forth for endless bantering, but as fundamental to outlining a definition of “humanity.“ Both men are scholars and people of faith, aware of the cultural and social millieu around them. Also, short! #firstpost
pickThis is dystopic sci-fi, but it is also a “coming-of-age“ novel. And a declaration of faith. “Embrace diversity or be destroyed.“ “God is change.“ Butler celebrates the power of poetry--no matter the source. And she even recognizes the limits to her protagonist's agency, as Lauren must disguise herself (figuratively and literally).
And the book is remarkably prescient. A #favorite !
Pay attention to the beginning as it is what helps situate this Campbellian monomyth. 19h
Yes, it is a book about migration, but also more metaphorical border crossing 19h