November 2023 Reads

What I read in November: 

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! 

As we are in a buying season, I wanted to say out loud again please avoid buying books from Amazon unless they are unavailable elsewhere. Our indie bookstores need us if we're buying books, and Amazon does not ever need our book money. Buying books from Amazon or Target is killing the small local bookstores. If you are not near a local bookshop or can't get there for whatever reason, you can order on bookshop.org and choose a bookstore to support, or just have your purchase support a small bookstore in general as every purchase donates money to local bookstores. Buying from a small shop will cost you a few extra dollars and/or extra shipping, but it keeps bookstores alive. 

Purchasing books from Amazon kills bookstores, flat out. Here's a little more info on that.

If you're not buying but are reading (which is what I'm doing most of the time), there's also my lifelong favorite the local library - it is free for every single person and it is never too late to get a library card. You can also check out Netgalley for advanced copies.

Thanks for coming to my Don't Buy Books from Amazon or Target TED Talk.

Engrossing Reads

The Locked Door by Freida McFadden - A yearly shore rental guest dropped a boatload of Frieda McFadden books off to me in October and I've just started making my way through them now. I feel sort of like they are an assignment? LOL I've avoided this author thus far, not sure why. I liked this one. Paperback, gifted

'Till New Year's Day by Breonna Brownlee - As you all know by now, I am not a standard romance reader but I do like to pepper mysteries and lit fiction with romance and I love to support a fellow blogger (am I a former blogger at this point?). This novella was the perfect hour read before bed for me. Also loved Bre's novel Two Too Many - check that out if you're looking! Kindle, purchased

The Spy Coast (The Martini Club #1) by Tess Gerritsen - That rare Amazon First or whatever they're calling the monthly free book now that actually slaps. I don't know what future ones in the series might be like but I'll try them if she writes them because I like the characters assembled here. Also loving me some main characters in their 60s and beyond who are still actively living not solely reflecting on the lives they've already lived. Well done, Tess. Free Amazon First or whatever reads, digital 

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins - Quick and enjoyable. One of those layered try to figure it out reads with a few red herrings that were clever. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, book publishes January 9

The Lies You Wrote (Raisa Susanto #1) by Brianna Labuskes - I didn't see that coming. I'm glad to see this is a #1 - I liked Raisa and will definitely read more, hoping this becomes a series. I wouldn't mind seeing Kilkenny as the supporting character in future books. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, book publishes January 1

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger - I got sucked right into this - quick moving and a little scary at times - one of those books that is not winning any literary accolades but is getting an A+ for keeping me invested Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

All the Little Truths (Finley O'Sullivan #3) by Debra Webb - I’ve read all three in the past few weeks and have really come to love these characters. The books are simultaneously easy and intense and kudos to Webb for pulling that off. I’d definitely read more of these Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - Already sung about this from the rooftops in Instagram stories, but big, big love for this book despite standardly not having big love for Ann's novels. I read a copy from the library and then bought myself a copy for Christmas. As I get older, I buy less physical books with plans to keep them because I do not want shelves and shelves of books I didn't love - I only want to keep the ones I really loved. This was purchased with plans to keep. OCNJ library hardcover, now own a hard cover copy

Passed the Time Just Fine

Never Lie by Freida McFadden - The thing about these is that I can read them in a few hours, which is good? Totally fine way to pass a few hours. Paperback, gifted

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham - I'd clock it at a four, rounded up from 3.5, if we're going by a five star standard. Very passable and readable, but I did not devour this like I did her other two novels, probably because this was very slow out of the gate and also read younger to me and also had a similar setting to a book I just read and loved. I liked how things tied together throughout. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, book publishes January 16

Today Tonight Forever by Madeline Kay Sneed - Whew! I knew nothing about this going in and for some reason thought this was a light romance and it was absolutely not LOL. It was a lot. Some heavy AF topics in here, people dealing with deep shit that felt a little surface at times because there was so much going on, to go in depth on all of it would have been like three books. I was not prepared.

I loved the introspection of each character and the bits of overlapping perspective in POV shifts. Also loved the Deacon and Mollie characters immediately and fiercely. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

Not For Me**

**This usually means if I knew now what I knew before I started it, I would not pick the book up in the first place

 

Held: A Novel by Anne Michaels - First, this book is absolutely beautiful in both its writing and its undercurrent of despair. Second, it begins after WWI and I tend to avoid that time period for some reason? It does span many years after though. Third, it reads like a college lit assignment and I feel like I should be sitting around with others trying to discuss themes and appear intelligent. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, book publishes January 30

What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim - Again, beautifully and carefully written. Again, undercurrent of depressing and despair. I’d read a whole book focused entirely on Sunny. The plot, eh, the kids, eh, husband, eh. The best parts of the book were the Sunny parts. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

The Ex by Freida McFadden - What the hell was this, really. At the end I was like say what now? You want me to think what happened? Paperback, gifted

The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden - This was a little too boring and obvious for me and felt like a phone-in. Paperback, gifted

Did Not Finish

Hide Me Away by Lauren Street

The Other Half (DI Caius Beauchamp, #1) by Charlotte Vassell - Netgalley 

People to Follow by Olivia Worley - Netgalley 

Clover Hendry's Day Off by Beth Morrey - Netgalley, publishes January 30

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What have you been reading?

SMD

Show Us Your Books: What I read in May

It's that time again, book nerds! My favorite day of the month, the Show Us Your Books linkup with me Jana of Jana Says! If you are not clicking around and engaging with others about what they're reading, you are really missing out! Try to visit a few other blogs below and talk about books!

While you can see what I'm reading and look at the stars I give books on Goodreads, these monthly posts are really a much better way to know what I thought about a book. 

Here's what I've read since my last Show Us Your Books Post on May 12:

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay - This book was beautiful and layered and I loved everything about it. My heart was in my throat a lot and I liked the ending.

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman - Sometimes I like a little Hoffman whimsy and magic. This is one of the more depressing books I read by her but it didn't stop it from being good.

Fear the Darkness by Becky Masterman - The second Brigid Quinn book. I still love the characters of Brigid and her husband Carlo and their pugs. The supporting cast of characters in this one was interesting as well and there was a twist I did not see coming.

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves - I read this in a day. It's like dreams and nightmares all in one. Perfect for the summer if you can suspend belief in how some things work out.

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson - People always ask how I find what I'm going to read. This one I found trolling on the Facebook status of my friend Megan who asked for suggestions of what to read next. It ensnared me immediately and I liked the intricacy of the story. The Kind Worth Killing is the book worth reading.

Invisible by James Patterson and David Ellis - Standard Patterson co-written fare: short chapters, quick action, despicable bad person, valiant good person. Quick and easy.

Dirty Rush by Taylor Bell - Supposedly a true story about Greek life, I was fascinated. I wasn't in a sorority in college and no one I know had an experience quite like this one. It was a quick read and sort of like seeing a world nothing like the college one I inhabited.

Arcadia by Lauren Groff - I loved this book. The subject was weird and wonderful - life on a commune, and then off of it and a lot of character stuff in between. Is character stuff a technical term? Sorry, I'm tired. The writing was really good too.

Books I started and chose not to finish in May:
Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie - I knew within three pages I was not going to like the book or the character of Miss Marple. And I did not.

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King - I've actually never read a King novel, and I didn't like the writing style or plot enough of this one to carry on past page 50.

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen - I really really wanted to like this. I really didn't give a shit about the characters or the story and the writing wasn't good enough to hold me.

This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month. The next one is Tuesday, July 14. 

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Non-bloggers, what have you read recently? Let me know what you recommend and what to stay away from. Bloggers, link up your posts below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Show Us Your Books! - What I read in September

My friend Jana at Jana Says and I are both big readers. So the second Tuesday of each month we're blogging about the books we read the previous month. We thought we'd do this together, and if any of you readers out there would like to join us, that would be grand. Give a shout in the comments if you'd like it to be a link up.

Like my initial book post about what I read this summer, I will never be summarizing books because others do it better. If you want the book summary, click on the title and it'll take you there in a jif. The purpose of this post is to let you know what I thought of it.

As always, big shout out to the Philadelphia Free Library system for supplying me with all of these books. Much obliged.

My September Reads
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton - I really enjoyed The Secret Keeper when I read it last year. This book gets three stars out of five. I just didn't really click with it.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling - This was an enjoyable read and cemented the fact that I'd like to be friends with Mindy Kaling. Did I like it as much as Bossy Pants by my best friend Tina Fey? No, I did not. But I did like it.

We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas - This book was in all the magazines as the book to read. To be honest, for a while, I was like what the hell is so great about this book? It felt like it would never end - it was 648 freaking pages. I'm glad I stuck with it, but an editor whacking off at least 200 pages would've been a good thing. However it's the author's debut novel so I'm sure he fought for his blood, sweat, and tears to be contained. As far as characters go, Eileen was perpetually disgruntled even when things went her way, so by the time they were really not going her way, I had little sympathy left. The son was an epic turd and the father...What it ends up being about was interesting enough for me to keep reading, but if you don't have the time or the patience, skip it.

Overseas by Beatriz Williams - I have sung the praises of A Hundred Summers and The Secret Life of Violet Grant, both by Williams, on this blog before. This one, not so much. It was like a cross between a soft core Fifty Shades of Grey and a less well written version of The Time Traveler's Wife. The dialogue made me die inside a little - Williams way overdid the cheeky English words. Not my cup of tea, but if it's yours, check it out.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins - It's about, you know, crank...which the main character refers to as the Monster. Written as you see below, it was easy to devour. I can't imagine going down that hole, but I'm sure a lot of people couldn't before they started using. It was hard, subject matter-wise - why the hell would someone do this? What kind of life is this? But those are the same things that made it page turning.

Inside the pages of Crank

Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2) by Alexandra Bracken - YA dystopian lore, the second in a series (my take on the first can be found here). I enjoyed the second more than the first and will continue with the series. This shit is sort of crazy, but isn't all dystopian lore?

The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) by Tana French - I devoured the first four books of this series that's not a series like you think of a series as being in 2012. The latest one was released in January 2014, and I finally got around to it. It did not disappoint. I had to stay up until past 1 a.m. one night to finish it. I truly enjoyed all of these books and this one was no exception.

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Haikuesday

Slide into a book...

Is reading all day a job?

If not, can it be?

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What was your favorite recent read? Are we friends on goodreads?

What I Read This Summer

Hey party people. I threatened to start doing a dedicated book post every month. Here it is.

For those of you that hate reading, never fear, Thursday Thoughts returns next week.

Going forward they won't be so long, but for this one I'm covering three months because that's how I roll. I'm going to kick it back to June and cover the books I've read since then.

If you want to know what the book is about, you should click on the title to get to a summary. I'm not in the business of summarizing books. There are people who do that for a living and they will always be better at it than me, so just go read what they have to say about it. What I am in the business of is telling you why I did or didn't like it as best as I can.

Sometimes it's hard for me to describe, and I'm sure it is for you too. Sometimes a book will hit something so personal, so intrinsic to our personality, that we've never even really explored it before. So it resonates with us without us being really able to say why.

Big shout out to the Philadelphia Free Library system for supplying me with all of these books. Much obliged.

June Reads
May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Holmes - This one was a marathon, not a sprint. When I first started, I wasn't sure if I would finish but it drew me in and I genuinely wanted to know how things would end up. There was just enough zany to provide levity to some serious issues.

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky - I could've done without the gimmicky shit in this book about relationships and secrets and sickness, but I really liked the backdrop and it was an easy, mindless read. If I find myself wanting to be where the book is taking place, if the location and description of it call to me, I will put up with some bullpucky to keep reading about it.

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh - I was psyched about this book. It was really promising but it ended up tripping over itself a lot. There was definitely potential for more to the story, and I wish McHugh had gone further with some things. Still liked it, wanted to like it more.

Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs - If there's something I really hate, it's repetition in story telling. There's too much of that in this book.

How to be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman - There was some weird shit in this book. I kept reading to find out exactly what.

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - By page 63 (13 pages past the time I typically discard a book), I was ready to give up on this. I didn't, and I'm glad. This was a heavy read, and parts of it broke my heart. Really sluggish to push through on the front end for me, I wish I would've clicked with it a little faster.

July Reads
The Accident by Chris Pavone - The premise of this book is totally awesome. The execution is a little lacking. Still, it was my first time reading Pavone, and I've added The Expats to my list. I liked the writing. Who knew the publishing world could be so exciting and fraught with danger?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - I absolutely hated the writing style. But the story was compelling enough to carry me through, and it was overall a pretty quick read.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - Another heavy book for summer. I loved it. It was not happy, but the story was important. I'm glad the early years of the AIDs epidemic is getting play in books like this one and movies like The Normal Heart. While that's a facet of this book, it's more about relationships, love, and loss. It's a good read that sits low in your gut for a while when you've finished.

The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe - I was not expecting such heavy shit from this title. But there was a lot going on in here and it was a page turner.

The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams - Williams wrote my favorite novel of last summer (One Hundred Summers) so I had high expectations of this book. She delivered - it was something juicy to sink my teeth into without stretching my brain too much. Williams weaves a good tale and I'd love it if she came out with one book a summer. Perfect for a lazy summer reading fling.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken - YA dystopian lore, the first in a series. Sometimes I wonder how authors come up with this shit. It was a quick read and I'll continue on with the series.

August Reads
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman - To me, this was two different books - the flashbacks (which I loved) and the present day (not so much). I don't think she did a good job fusing them together. I put it down sort of saying, "So? What was the point?"

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen - This is the first of Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles books (in which Isles does not make an appearance). I had a hard time in the first 30 pages separating what I was reading from what my brain knows of the TV show. I'll carry on with the series in book form.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub - This was supposed to be the book of the summer? Read Violet Grant instead. It was hard for me to find anyone to like in this book.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I adored this book. I think the storytelling and writing style are perfect for the actual story. The characters are great and you can like the good guys and dislike the bad guys a little bit - the author blurs them enough to make them realistic. None of us are perfect and none of these characters are either. I really enjoyed it.

The Arsonist by Sue Miller - I really enjoyed While I Was Gone and The Senator's Wife, so I expected to love this. And I did for a while. But the title didn't really represent the book well and that annoys me. The way Miller packaged the end annoyed me too. It felt hurried while some other parts of the book felt draggy. I like you, Sue Miller. Try again though.

Do any of these sound good to you? What were your top reads this summer?



Linking up with Kristin for Stuff & Things