10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
10 Things That Never Happened is such a good book. It is about this guy who works at a bathroom retailer and his boss who owns it. It takes place in England and it follows some hijinks as they navigate an ever-changing relationship. There is amnesia, family drama, Christmas, and one unique looking cat. It is not deep but it is a very fun read. I laughed out loud and found it quick to get through. It was easy, bitchy, gay, and cheeky. I loved the humor and found it real. There were a few things that bothered me though including a couple of the side characters. First off, if someone is that inept, they should have a very stern taking too or be let go. The amount of damage that one person could do and still be employed there was never established. He should have been gone a long time ago. It was infuriating. There was also a young employee that I found annoying as well. All but the first, clown of an employee grew on me throughout the book though. There were also a few editing errors but overall I would recommend this.
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Category: Uncategorized
Surviving War, Creating Family, and How to Stop Being Annoying
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The War That Saved My Life is about a girl and her younger brother who live with their horrible mother. WW2 starts and they are sent to the countryside to live with a woman, Susan, who didn’t want to take in kids in the first place. She is not in a great emotional state but she takes care of them. It follows their journey together especially how they grow and survive. The war is ever present in their lives. It is a sad and uplifting book. I had a physical reaction to the beginning portion detailing life with the mother and there are many sad, aggravating situations in this book. I can totally see how people would love his book and connect to what was going on. I felt a little cozy and heartwarming while reading. I don’t have kids and I am typically not a huge fan of them, so I found myself lacking that strong connection. I found Jamie annoying sometimes and a little brat. I felt sorry for Ada but it was very surface level as I also found her a little too much. Sidenote, I got this recommendation from the Currently Reading podcast, and the podcast also made similar comments about the Swiss Family Robinson as Jamie does in this book. This is definitely a book for young readers and it is not something that I fell in love with. I enjoyed it but found some elements grating. It would be a great read to share with your kids. Overall, it was decent.
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Relatable Reading Book For Readers and Avoiding Social Situations
So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Hell hath no fury like an expectant reader scorned.” So Many Books, So Little Time was about the author and her year of books. She sets off with a list of books she wants to get to and she incorporates her everyday life in this task. She comes from the publishing world and has some great insights as a reader. It delves into her past, her relationship to books/reading, and how books/reading interact with her world. It was so relatable and funny. I found myself taking tons of notes and nodding my head in agreement many times. Her humor is very witty and observational. Sara Nelson relates bookish topics to and extrapolates on them in ways that are fresh and interesting. For example, she introduces me to the term double booking (I am familiar with doing it just not the term) and relates it to the famous Woody Allen quote on bisexuality. I smiled a ton as she accurately touches on the experience of choosing what book to read & the feeling of not having one with you, lending books to friends, resisting reading something that is popular & being touted as a must read, and rereading books. I tied together her thoughts on looking to be surprised when reading and reading a book before watching the movie. It has to do with coming to my own conclusions on the interpretations of the characters and story before being told what it should be by a director or reviews. Sara tells this heartwarming story about reading Charlotte’s Web with her kid and how it was a moment of connection with her past and present. And the very next chapter talks about erotic books and adult topics/actions. I did not expect that and I loved it. One thing I struggle with and currently have a different view on is putting down a book if it is not working for you. I have a hard time abandoning a book. I want to add it to my read list. Hence, “the people I love and the person I am-are not normal: we’re book people.” To finish with something to remember, “not only is reading a distracting during difficult times…but it’s a highly socially respectable means of social avoidance.” Get your read on!
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Expensive Wine Will Kill You and Avoid Cave Exploration to Save Yourself
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was hoping that this book would be different than the first one. Sadly, I still do not like the two main characters at all. The Sentence of Death is another book about Hawthorne, the detective, and Anthony, the writer. This time it follows them as they try to solve the death of a divorce lawyer. Another guy, who knew the lawyer, also died the day previous. It is a typical murder investigation with twists and turns. Red herrings and lies abound. The team of two do what they do to find out how everything links and who did what. There is cave exploration, relationship drama, a book club, scripts, and the writing world. There is also mention of wine which is funny and weird as I just got done reading The Billionaire’s Vinegar which involved the rare wine world. I read the jacket of this one and smiled at the mention of a 1982 Châteu Lafite. I also just started listening to the Currently Reading podcast which brought me to this series in the first place (I won’t blame them) but another book they mentioned was also mentioned here. Just two funny little coincidences. I did think the actual plot of the book was ok. I did guess before they officially revealed the solution but just barely. It was interesting how things connected between people and events. After saying that though, the same things that bothered me about the first book pissed me off here. First off, Hawthorne is a self-centered asshole. He is homophobic and doesn’t care how his actions affect others. The only thing he has going for him is his ability to solve crimes but that still doesn’t mask his unpleasantness. It is funny because the actual author of the book writes “you cannot have a central character who is simply, by his very nature, unpleasant, and although I wouldn’t have used that word to describe Hawthorne, there were moments”. Apparently, you can. Secondly, it is interesting that the author writes himself as a bumbling idiot. He has no self-respect, he cannot say no, and he unconsciously tries to foil the investigation. It is beyond annoying. I despise bullies and this book had a couple. I already mentioned one but then the cops. It just frustrates me beyond belief that people get away doing things without consequences. I also did not like the ending. I did have the rest of the books sitting here from the library, but I don’t think I can continue the series right now. It just aggravates me too much.
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The Wine Scam, Provenance, and How To Get Drunk With A 1800s President
The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book is about a fraud perpetrated in the wine world that many people knowingly or unknowingly participated in. Benjamin Wallace’s writing follows the apparent “discovery” and sale/auction of a cache of wines purportedly belonging to Thomas Jefferson. He tries to tie this together over multiple decades from the 18th century with Thomas Jefferson and the late 20th century into the 21st with all these rare vintages that were found and sold. It delves into the wine world on both sides of the Atlantic and references many players in this space. It was an aggravating read as people can suck and consequences be damned. I cannot believe the lack of caring by the people in this book regarding provenance, especially the auction houses. Everyone just wants to make a buck and doesn’t care about authenticity. That is what hurt me most about this book. The lack of veracity in historical artifacts. At first The Billionaire’s Vinegar started off boringly. There were tons of people, vintages, and vineyards rattled off that they lost all meaning and contributed very little to the story. This somewhat continued throughout the book, and it was hard to work out the connections or refer back to who exactly a person was. I wish the structure of it was more cohesive. There would be times a person would be mentioned who was conducting a test or some other random person and suddenly, we would be delving into their backstory. We would be given a history that contributed nothing. It was exhausting and dull. It would just around between different timelines and there did not seem to be a connecting thread that was being followed. The ending was also horrible. I was so hopeful for this book as I like historical, intriguing, and sudden find type themes. There were pockets of intrigue but there were too many deviations into uninteresting topics to help hold this one up. Ultimately, I would skip this one but looking into wine and its history especially the rare ones, would be interesting in and of itself.
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Best Fiction Book In Years and Wanting To Skip Eating, Work, and Sleep to Finish
I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am Pilgrim is the best fiction book I have read in years! Terry Hayes is a master storyteller. He weaves an alluring, investigative thriller surrounding a plot to unleash hell on earth. The book has another crime storyline that just barely kisses up to the main story but adds to the overall excitement. It follows a member of the intelligence community and one of the most calculating & devious villains I have ever seen. He is out for revenge and will stop at nothing to get it. The planning and execution is unbelievably detailed. I love how we find out little bits at a time. I found myself getting frustrated and agitated with the antagonist (but I loved it!) which drew me in deeper. It was the mark of a well written character. The story integrates multiple characters, timelines, and plots but it is done seamlessly. There is murder, secrets, high stakes, and great locations. It has a great balance of good and evil as well as successes and failures. The see-saw of it all was amazing. I love how in the first chapter or so the reader is thrown for a loop and I was made to check my assumptions. There was a part where I felt physically nauseous due to what was happening and the description. A book that can elicit physical reactions also rates high for me. I cannot identify one detracting factor, so I am going to go out on a limb and say this novel is perfection! The main character comes alive and it is like you are along for the ride. He is portrayed so well, and he has faults too, so it makes it more realistic and engaging. He makes mistakes which heightens the pressure and stakes. The scenarios are full of energy and tension. The little hints and foreshadows at the end of chapters just basically forced me to keep going. Terry Hayes is funny and clever writer. The way he phrases things is great. “A rope of gold chains around his neck big enough to anchor a cruise line.” I did not want to put it down. I didn’t want to go to sleep. I toyed with calling in sick to work (I didn’t but I wanted to) just so I can read some more. If I could give it 6 stars I would. This should move to the top of everyone’s TBR pile immediately.
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Life is Short And How to Make it Shorter So You Don’t Have to Read This
Life Is Short: An Appropriately Brief Guide to Making It More Meaningful by Dean Rickles
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Well, this book is about the shortness of life I guess. I know at several points while reading I wished my life was a lot shorter. It was supposed to convey how to approach life realizing that death and limitations were a good thing. It allows humans to be intentional about how we live our life as our decisions actually mean something. “Limit gives birth to freedom.” There were some good one liners and advice that I captured but I have heard it explained elsewhere and in a much easier to swallow pill. I also found that there were tons of quoting others. It ruined the flow and made me think what thoughts did the author contribute. This read like a textbook from a highly pretentious college. It was very, very dense and difficult to read. I struggled and rolled my eyes multiple times. Some days I could only read a couple pages before I had to step away. Dean Rickles was unnecessarily lofty and his prose was meandering. I also question some of his beliefs around religion and that without humans the universe would be pointless. I don’t want to spend any additional time thinking about this book as it has already taken too much of my life. Do not read. Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman is a thousand times better than Life is Short.
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Sleepwalking Through Life and Other Disasters To Wake Up The World
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Station Eleven is a tale about multiple characters and a pandemic that wiped out an untold amount of people here on the planet. It jumps between moments in time and locations. I actually liked how this was done. Sometimes, when authors choose this path, it can be confusing and annoying but, in this case, it heightened the suspense and investment in the story. I felt like I was taken by the hand and brought along for the journey as I was experiencing everything firsthand. I did like Miranda a lot as she seemed chill and had an approach to life like “well this is how it is”. The author drops these little nuggets of foreshadowing that creates an ominous read which drew me in and I was hooked by page 25. I have always like disaster or survival stories and this one fits the bill wonderfully. I loved how Star Trek was mentioned at several points and a key phrase as the mantra of one group. I am a huge Star Trek nerd and it made me smile. Emily St. John Mandel does an amazing job of connecting people and events. She weaves a history and connectedness between things that is brilliant. There was a scene where a snow globe gets described but then also all the people and steps it took to make it, including truck drivers and people that package the globe. The way she also points out explicitly and aptly what life was like before and how humans interacted with the world was perfection. The depth and brilliance are lyrical. There was a description of friendship with respect to expectations and the work needed that really resonated with me. I was immersed in the world and enveloped by the prose. As one character put it, were they (are we?) just sleepwalking through life with our jobs, life, and what counts for happiness? Clark mused on in his past how he would take redeyes from NYC to LA and marvel at the sun rising as “the world was waking up.” Maybe, the world does really need to wake up and this is what took it to happen. Overall, this was a superbly written novel that brings forth all the feels and is so strongly rooted in possible reality to make it scarily relatable.
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Bored To Death and Other Queer, Geeky Ways To Die
Board to Death by C.J. Connor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is about 30-year-old guy who chooses to come back to Utah and help run a board game shop for his father as his father was diagnosed with a medical issue. He is gay and recently divorced. A shop owner neighbor comes into his life as a murder takes place on his doorstep. The murder seems to revolve around an original game that predates Monopoly. There is a small amount of romance and an even smaller amount of mystery. I am not sure how to classify this one. I cannot find a genre to place it in. The book dips it’s toe into a few different classification pools but never takes the plunge. The main character, Ben, annoyed me slightly. I am not a fan of the meek, easily scared, or pitiful literary trope and unfortunately Ben fits this mold. Granted, it is not as strong with him as other characters, but it still applies. There were two quotes that I did enjoy though. “I loved attempting to read Dune. It was so much easier to accomplish than actually finishing it.” I relate as I have attempted several times to get more than 50 pages into that novel. The other I thought was funny and unique was “I’d had a bowl of Thin Mints doused in milk for breakfast, for goodness sakes. You can’t ethically expose the world to yourself when you are in that state of mind.” Sadly, two good quotes do not a good novel make. Ben was not a good sleuth (he just started giving all his own information away at one point) and it felt that he had no impact on moving the story along. I can’t recall of anything he did by himself. It was bland but a very easy read. I did like that it had queer elements though. You can skip Board to Death and play Solitaire instead.
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Zen Affirmation Repetition and A Must Read For Billionaires
The Zen Monkey and the Lotus Flower: 52 Stories to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Thoughts, Find Happiness, and Live Your Best Life by Tenpa Yeshe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a collection of parables about how to approach living your life. It provides guiding principles and meditations on improving your mindset. There are 52 stories, which is perfect for reading one a week. I don’t think this was meant to be read in like a few sittings, front to back. I think it would have a bigger impact and make more sense to choose one to read at the start of the week. This would be a good book to have as reference material so that when you are preparing for the day or need a pick me up you can just grab it and find a story that would apply to your present situation. It has some helpful and useful guiding thoughts, but it does not have any new mind-blowing reveals. It is wisdom that we have all heard before but it is nice to hear it again. The stories are cute and they frame it in a way that helps it sink in. I did end up taking many notes. However, there were a couple things that bugged me. First, there is a lot of repetition regarding the topics. More than one story revolved around being one with nature, gratitude, letting go, change, and being in the present moment. Granted, it might help to hammer home the points, and this highlights the fact that reading a story a week would be the way to go but it caused some eye-rolling. Even some of the names of characters repeated in different stories. Also, there were some rehashing of story beginnings. Tons of characters were dissatisfied or restless. There might have been a type or complete nonsense in one story. I think there is one huge takeaway that can sum up how to go forth from this book. “It is in our hands to shape ourselves and determine who we really want to be.” I think this should be a must read for billionaires and people in power.
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