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October 2023 Book Report

Yesterday, I enjoyed lunch with relatives who love to read. We exchanged titles we liked and gave a few brief book reviews. I learned that I come from a long line of avid readers, and we all have similar tastes in books. It was a joy to talk about our favorites and how much we love the book clubs we belong to.

This month, I didn’t read a lot of books. I couldn’t settle on something I wanted to read, so finding the right book for my mood took time. Some readers can select a pile of books and read through them. Unfortunately –or fortunately– I get easily distracted by the other books on my shelf. I guess it’s a nice problem to have, so I can’t complain.

Luckily, I picked one terrific book this month and gave it five stars. So, without further ado…

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

If you don’t mind a book with unlikeable characters, this is the perfect read for you. Fair warning: There is no character to root for in this novel, but I promise you they are all fascinating in their own right.

But let me back up. Yellowface is about two talented women writers, one more successful than the other. Athena is an Asian-American woman who has published award-winning bestsellers, has loads of fans, and has attained celebrity status in the publishing world. June published one novel that met mixed reviews and editors and publishers that ghosted her left and right. No one is asking her to write something new, and her dream to become a famous writer is fading fast.

The women have had a like/loathe friendship since college, and jealousy runs rampant between them. One night, while the two of them are having dinner in Athena’s apartment, Athena dies suddenly in a freak choking accident. She leaves behind a manuscript of legacy potential about Chinese labor workers, which June snatches up and makes into her own book. Soon, June –now known as Juniper Song–gets all the attention she ever wanted as a writer. Some are suspicious that this novel was really hers. Juniper/June can fend off her doubters for a while, but eventually, they haunt her until she can’t take it anymore.

Yellowface is a satirical look at the writing life and the publishing world. The author also weaves in extreme narcissism, white privilege, online mystery, and the shocking lengths one will go to keep the truth secret. You don’t have to be a writer to appreciate the twists and turns here, and the ending is immensely satisfying.

I listened to this book on Audible and was entertained from start to finish. If you read and enjoyed “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid, I think you will also like the similar themes of race and privilege, the friendship trope, and social commentary in this book.

Nonfiction November

I’m a big fan of nonfiction books. My favorite is memoir and personal essay collections, but I’m also a history buff and a trivia nerd. This combination of interests leads me to pick up anything I find interesting.

I already blogged about “Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The Making of Airplane!” here, but I’m adding one caveat to my previous review. Buying the book is definitely better than listening to it on Audible. While visiting an indie bookstore, I paged through the actual book and realized it was in a scrapbook format. Kind of like a keepsake or a souvenir and less like a book. Had I known this beforehand, I would have mentioned it because it is difficult to translate that format into an audio version. Nevertheless, I still didn’t care for it because it was more about the writers than the movie, which was disappointing.

I’m also in the middle of a few business books, including “Digital Body Language,” which is teaching me how to best connect with colleagues, customers, and cohorts online. So much miscommunication can happen when a rogue punctuation mark, the wrong emoji, or the tone of a text message is used and incorrectly perceived. Not to mention, rectifying the confusion from that communication can waste valuable time in the workday. Whether through a Zoom meeting, a Slack channel, or a simple email, there are ways to be much more effective, and I know I will be an even better communicator after I finish this nonfiction gem. FYI: I checked this book out at the library, returned it, and bought a hard copy for my bookshelf. That’s how much I want to have it handy when I start working again.

I’m hoping to have a much more productive reading life this month. Sadly, my Goodreads goal is looking like a pipe dream, but I’m still hopeful. As always, I’m open to suggestions, so tell me –what have you been reading lately?

XO,

Elisa

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Late Summer Book Report

An independent bookstore in Maine. Pictured is a long aisle of books and a stepladder to reach the ones up high. Over the summer, our family vacationed in Bar Harbor, Maine which is known for Acadia National Park. During the day, we hiked and explored Cadillac Mountain, Jordan Pond, and other notable points around the park. At night, I could be found tucked away into one of the many aisles of books at Sherman’s Bookstore, an independent shop that is said to be the oldest bookstore in Maine.

I wanted to be locked up in there for the night so badly, but the staff is quite thorough about checking the stacks to make sure no book lover is left behind. The staff also has a great sense of humor and love of books.

I know this because I came across a step ladder with the following sign posted:

In case you can’t see it, the photo is of my favorite Disney princess, Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, riding a stepladder around a library full of books. There is also a big red circle around it forbidding people to attempt this in real life. LOL!

I can’t be the only one who has always wanted to do this, right? Apparently not because the staff had to make a sign for it. How cool is that?! These are my kind of people.

ANYWAY, I was able to read quite a few books during vacation and the subsequent free time I’ve had on my hands since being laid off. Without further ado, here is my August/September book report.

It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway: And Other Thoughts on Moving Forward
by Elizabeth Passarella

Essay collections are totally my jam when it comes to nonfiction. While I love a good memoir, I find these slices-of-life chapters honest, inspiring, relatable, and, oh so funny. It’s the type of writing style I embrace in this blog, and I love reading other authors who write in a similar fashion. And when the author is a woman of a certain age, I have to celebrate and say I’m all in!

In short, this collection is about a husband and wife navigating change in midlife. They are selling their NYC apartment and want to renovate a new one, which was owned by an elderly neighbor in their same building. In between the planning, the dreaming, the bidding, and the negotiating, she is raising her kids during the pandemic and dealing with her husband’s mysterious illness. I could have done without the Bible references, but it didn’t distract from her stories. Three essays that stood out to me were the time she lost her child in NYC, the time she couldn’t get a hold of her husband, and, of course, the story about that ugly couch. I give this book four stars!

Killers of a Certain Age
by Deanna Raybourn

The best description I read about this book is “Golden Girls meets Kill Bill.” How fun!

I’m not one to read spy novels or anything remotely violent, but I am a sucker for a novel where the four protagonists are women of a certain age (see above review). These women are trained assassins who recently retired from a secret international organization after 40 years of killing bad guys for the greater good. Now, the women find themselves targeted by that same government organization. They don’t know why they have been targeted, but they must keep their wits about them to stay alive. As the book blurb says, “It’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller.” The violence is pretty tame, which was a plus for me. Only one character, Billie, is given the whole backstory of how she became an assassin. I wish the other three were given the same treatment, but that did not happen. What I did enjoy was how the author smartly incIuded office politics in their master plan to save themselves. Who can they contact? Who can they trust? How does the organization select its targets? And so on… The story was clever, and a page turner. I give it three and a half stars.

Hey Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing
by Emily Lynn Paulson

From the minute I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. I’ve always been intrigued by multilevel marketing (MLM) companies that sell everything from cute leggings to great skincare products and then promise the world to their army of salespeople in return. Primarily women, to be exact.

Written by a woman who moved up the corporate ladder as an immensely successful sales rep for an unnamed skincare company, this book is a behind-the-scenes look at the psychology behind MLMs and the women who dedicate their lives to them. The author shares her experience of how she was first welcomed into the company. From there, she became a sales rep and was strongly encouraged to do whatever it took to recruit more people into the fold. She shares the intense pressure she was under from higher-ups in the company, and the tactics she used to get ahead. In one case, she recruited a friend she knew did not have the money or resources to keep up with her demands, yet still encouraged her to stay the course. The author takes us inside the parties and conferences she attended, where she had to spend money to make money. And while she looked like she was successful on the outside, she was left with a house full of inventory, jeopardized her family finances, and became an alcoholic. It took a huge wake-up call for her to finally call it quits. Her story is both a fascinating and tragic one. I gave it four stars. The only reason I couldn’t give it five is because the company’s name was kept secret throughout the book. It seemed strange to me that the author would withhold that important piece of information after sharing her story. Otherwise, it was such an interesting read.

The MaidBook cover of The Maid, by Nita Prose
by Nita Prose

This book was a big hit last winter. I saw a lot of people talking about it, and I felt major FOMO. I decided to see what all the fuss was about and downloaded it on my Kindle.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I still don’t know why people thought this book was so great. The main character, Molly, is a socially awkward hotel maid who is likely somewhere on the autism spectrum. With the exception of a few people, she is treated poorly and even bullied by the people she works with and genuinely likes. When Molly finds herself as the prime suspect in the murder of one of the hotel guests, she trusts everyone and appears to walk around completely oblivious that someone may be framing her. This character also frustrated me because at certain points in the book, she had some insightful comments, but then went right back to being clueless. There is also the whole storyline about the grandmother which I won’t get into here, but the end was an unexpected and disturbing eyeroll for me. I’ll be generous and give this book three stars since I did finish it. Don’t waste your money like I did; borrow it from the library instead.

Book cover of Elin Hilderbrand's The Five-Star WeekendThe Five Star Weekend
by Elin Hildebrand

I thought this book had a neat premise. The protagonist, Hollis, is a celebrity food blogger who recently lost her husband in a tragic car accident. Perhaps as part of her grieving process, she decides to invite four friends from different decades of her life to her Nantucket home for the weekend. Each friend brings their own baggage as well as some strong feelings about their friendships with Hollis, but they want to be there for her. What unfolds is what the book blurb calls “a surprising and captivating story about friendship.”

Not only did I enjoy this book, but I also started to think about who I would invite to my own five-star weekend. I imagined my childhood friends meeting the friends I have now and whether they would get along. I’m sure they would, but what stories would they share about me?

I gave this book four and a half stars.    

Book cover for The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit SeriesThe Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series
by Jessica Radloff

Whenever there is nothing I want to watch on television but I need background noise, I turn on The Big Bang Theory.

True confession: It’s on right now as I’m writing this blog. 🙂

The author covers everything from the real-life romance between the actors who played Leonard and Penny (whose names I can’t remember right now) to how the show was cast and small details and trivia from the show’s ten seasons.

This was a fun and fast read for fans of the show. I give it four stars. 

Phew, that’s a lot of books! And there are more where that came from because Fall is my favorite reading season. A lot of people like summer reading, but I love sitting on my patio with a blanket, a glass of wine, a bonfire, and a good book. Right now, I’m working on my “Ten Before the End of the Year” pile. I have ten more books to read to reach my Goodreads goal of 33 books in 2023. I will share that list with you soon.

So, what are you reading? Tell me in the comments.

XO,
Elisa

July 2023 Book Report

I had a goal to read 12 books this summer. I didn’t think it would be difficult since I average about four books a month anyway. Since summer doesn’t officially end until mid-September, I had a good shot. Maybe I still do, I read three books in June, but I only read one in July.

I had a tough month. I was depressed, and my regular dose of Zoloft wasn’t cutting it. I had enough energy to work and watch baseball games, and that was it. Reading felt like a chore rather than a welcome escape. After finishing the one good book early in the month (which I’ll get to in a minute), I borrowed Did You Hear about Kitty Karr? from the library. But I returned it the next day after hearing a reviewer say it was a great story with a slow burn. In book-speak, this means it could take a while for readers to get into the story and reach the good parts. I knew this wasn’t the time for a challenge. I was already feeling challenged enough.

Did Not Finish (DNF)

I also DNF’d This Time Tomorrow, which I put down at one point and never picked back up. I thought it would be easy to jump back into the story, but as I began to read, I remembered why I didn’t like it in the first place. This hurt my heart and my pocketbook because I was halfway into the book and bought it as a hardcover when it first came out. These two strikes cost me time and money—two things I hate to waste. But I had to let it go. I donated it to the swim club library.

A Five-Star Read

The one book I did enjoy was The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. I listened to it for three days straight on Audible. I hung on to every word and plot twist until the final chapter, which brought about an unexpected but fantastic ending. Here is the set-up. A top-notch defense attorney and her husband, a struggling writer, have what seems to be the perfect marriage. They have career success, beautiful homes, and a great life. But everything changes when the husband’s mistress turns up stabbed to death in their marital bed. Of course, he is the primary suspect and looks guilty as hell, but he insists he didn’t do it. Heartbroken, the wife decides she is the best attorney and the only one that can defend him. As the mystery unfolds, there are many other characters who had the motive to kill her. With each new clue revealed, I found myself changing my mind as to “who dunnit,” which made this a lot of fun to read.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loved The Plot or The Silent Patient. This is a book you won’t soon forget, and listening to the audiobook was an added bonus.

No Book Buy July

The other challenge I put upon myself was not buying any books for the entire month. I wanted to save a little money and couldn’t justify bringing more books home when I already had so many unread ‘must-have’ novels. Still, a little retail therapy might have come in handy. When I’m depressed, I like nothing better than passing the time in an indie bookstore. The hunt for a new book feels productive to me, and being present amongst a community of readers always brings me joy. Instead, I tried to find that joy in the comfort of my bookshelves or at the local library. I’m not saying that denying myself the pleasure of buying books added to my depression. But it might have made it a little harder to bear.

Happy August!

I’m happy to say that I am doing much better. The new medicine has kicked in. I have more energy for reading and for life in general. I’ve already purchased two new books and am halfway through the first one now. I will continue to shop my shelves in August because I know I have some five-star books I can dive into. I’m not going to make a list of books that I promise to read this month. I will ease back into the reading life, pick up books I’m in the mood to read, and hope I have more of them to review next time.

What have you been reading lately? 

XO,

Elisa

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