Books: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

I really enjoyed this book – it was a new take on the “chosen one” hero’s journey – with some great writing and an interesting main character.

While it wasn’t perfect, for the most part I was turning pages to see what was going to happen next. The book is not what I would categorize as “young adult” fiction, but I think the group that would really enjoy this story the most would be younger women looking to break out of whatever limitations have been imposed on them.

My biggest criticism with this story is that the uniqueness of the setting and locations are sort of taken for granted and rushed through. I think slowly lifting the curtain on these strange and secretive societies would build up the tension and suspense. Instead things are introduced in a rudimentary and dismissive way. “Oh, and this group can talk to the dead. Let’s go have lunch!”

But for the most part this stuff is forgivable and there is a pretty good mystery at the heart of the story that doesn’t get overwhelmed by all the magic and ghosts.

I also liked the gritty writing – it feels more real and dangerous (some of the violence done to the main character was a little over the top, however) and not innocent or saccharine.

Next I am reading An Old Man’s Game by Andy Weinberger.

Books: Vengeance is Mine by Marie NDiaye

This book was translated from French, so I’m not sure how much of the weird vibe I got was from the translation and how much was from the descriptions of a person losing their mind.

The book starts off normally enough, but slowly becomes confusing. Is this the narrator losing touch with reality? A conspiracy happening behind the scenes? Are even the narrator’s elderly parents in on it?

Written well this could be a very nice setup and lead satisfyingly to a twist or resolution. This to me had neither, yet I was still turning the pages eagerly waiting to see what was next.

One added bonus was the delicious-sounding foods that are described within the pages – the French are pretty serious about their cuisine.

Even after finishing the book I’m still not entirely certain what really happened. I believe that vengeance was had but I’m not really clear by whom. Who could I really believe?

Next I am reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

Books: Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia Dunlop

I enjoy this author’s writing on Chinese food – she has really managed to work her way into the culinary world of China, and her books on her background and experiences there are full of great stories and delicious food.

This book was a bit different than her others that I’ve read. Here she explores some fundamental questions – what is Chinese food, what are the different varieties and subgroups, and how has it evolved over history. All of this is from the “western perspective”, so she guides us through the introduction with a story about her first experience with British Chinese food.

The book is deep and wide, and the subject is much larger than most people would expect. The whole point of the book is to introduce a culinary world that was most likely previously unknown. She spends time in various parts of this culinary world – sometimes I was a little confused with the order of how she presents things – but in every chapter I found myself getting hungry.

For Americans like me China is fairly inaccessible. Even though it is right outside my doorstep (plenty of direct flights there every day!) the political and visa situation preclude any sort of impromptu visit. But this book takes you throughout China, on sort of a VIP tour of culinary hotspots and the chance to see what is being eaten now (and through history).

If I had any complaint I’d say that this book felt almost more like a reference book than one you’d read for entertainment. There is a lot of history and Chinese language, even poetry. This is natural and helps to understand the backdrop to each culinary tradition – but sometimes it was a bit dry to get through.

Thanks to this book I’ll start searching out restaurants around my area that may serve up some of these dishes for ethnic Chinese people living in Japan. The hunt is on now!

Next I am reading Vengeance is Mine by Marie NDiaye.

Books: Wellness by Nathan Hill

This is my first five star book of the year. Over a year of reading I usually come across 5-6 books that really make an impression on me, and it is always those moments after completion when you stare off into space and go “wow!” I almost didn’t read this book – because I ran out of time on my library check-out and I had to return it. But luckily my Kindle was still set to airplane mode and so the book was still there as long as I didn’t reconnect to the internet. I’m so glad I didn’t push it to the back of the line.

This was another long book, and my first time reading this author. The writing is not rushed – and the story moves ever forward but taking the time to flesh things out. I can imagine some readers might get frustrated with this, but I found that once you relaxed and didn’t worry about how much time you had, you could revel in the details and enjoy the payoffs when those details come back to matter later on.

This book takes place in several timelines, and one of them is right along the same timeline as my own, so the pop culture and the way people talk and think about the world lines up with my own experience. Maybe it was because of this that I vibed so well with the book.

Since this is my first time with this author I am not sure if it is his standard style but there is a ton of research, all of it in the extensive bibliography, and this really blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction.

I’m looking forward to reading the other book by this author (called The Nix) but I’ll wait a while – maybe towards the end of the year as a sort of bookend.

Next I am reading An Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia Dunlop.

Books: Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo

The true story of how a female slave in the south escaped captivity with her slave husband by dressing up and passing as a young white man, with her husband playing the part of his slave.

Because this is a true story, there is a lot of documentation out there and even a book written by the people themselves. The author of this book tells their story in a dramatic way and for the most part it is well written.

I was hooked into reading this book based on the premise of the escape, and like a good heist movie I was looking forward to reliving it – all the tension, the preparation, and the timing of it.

However most of this is covered in the first third or half of the book. The author spends a lot of time diving deep into the other people around the escaping couple – their owners, the people their owners knew, the city government in power at the time, the history of the innkeeper who they visited during one leg of the journey. These historical tangents (they felt like that to me) took away the tensions of the escape, and were often pretty dry.

The last half of the book is all about the effects of the escape, and for me this was the least interesting part of the book. Once the couple has made it safely out, there is very little tension to the story and it felt more like reading raw facts from a history book.

So overall I thought the book was worth the read for the first half or so, but I could have done with some judicious editing in the second half.

Next I am reading Wellness by Nathan Hill.

Books: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

This book was a really interesting read about a family (and community) in the countryside of Ireland, near Dublin. One by one we get inside the head of each family member, developing opinions about the others (without yet knowing their background and motivations). Gradually the reason for their behaviors come to light, and also shed light on events from their past.

The format of the book brings to mind movies like Wonder and American Beauty. Especially the climax of this book feels like it is lifted straight out of American Beauty, with one big difference.

I really enjoyed the storytelling of this book, and felt like I really knew these characters. It is a pretty long book, and as we get to know these people so well it comes as a bit of shock at the end when you have to say goodbye to them. I’d have preferred more resolution to the story but I can understand why it ended the way it did.

Books: The Fraud by Zadie Smith

I am usually either hit or miss with historical fiction, but this book landed in the rare area between.

This book looks at the life of a successful writer (although almost unheard of these days) through the eyes of his female cousin, who lived with his family after her husband ran away with her child and then died of scarlet fever. There is not a lot of information out there apparently for these people, which makes it ripe for a historical fiction treatment.

It is a unique book as the point of view allows the author to write about several authors of that time, including Charles Dickens, and make commentary on this man’s world from a woman’s point of view. A very clever woman, at that. There is a lot of wisdom in these pages, from nearly every quarter.

One thing I really liked about reading this long book was that the chapters are presented as bite size pieces – short episodes that are nearly self-contained and help to bring out the points that the writer wishes to make without the risk of having them pass unnoticed in the background of a broader story.

The story proceeds back in forth from different points in time, and I was sometimes confused at first with what was happening and when, but after a while you get a feeling for the framework and it makes sense.

There is an element of the story that comes through related to the sex lives of several of the characters. It wasn’t something I had expected from a novel like this but it certainly is germane to the content. Even so, to me it felt like it was also serving as a connection to the more sexually liberal modern times that we live in. It felt at first like a cheaply employed device to titillate, but the more I thought about it the more I was OK with it. It is hard to say more without giving anything away.

So, a good but not great book for me. Next I am reading The Bee Sting by Paul Murray.

Books: The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

I really loved the first book in what I guess is a series now, and this second book delivers in much the same way. We get the same great socially challenged main character, lots more backstory of her childhood and about her grandmother, and even a pretty good whodunnit on top of that.

This is what I would call a cozy book – despite the murder there are plenty of moments that stick the landing, both touching and humorous. We trust in the goodness of our main character and the people she trusts.

Compared to the first book there are fewer people here who try to take advantage of our heroine, and I thought that was a positive turn. There were fewer dark moments than the first book had, which I was kind of disappointed about.

I don’t know if the series will continue but I hope I’ll be able to read more about Molly the maid in the future. There were a few hints in this book that maybe things might shift a little – and I don’t think there is much backstory left to reveal. It may be a challenge but I’m interested to see where the author takes this in the future.

Next I am reading The Fraud by Zadie Smith.

Books: Under the Dome by Stephen King

Here’s a long Stephen King book that I hadn’t read before. On the surface the premise is enticing. What happens when a mysterious indestructible dome isolates a small town from the rest of the world? How will the townspeople adapt to this new reality?

Before reading I imagined that some bad people will become worse, and some good people will have a chance to step up. There is a lot of backstory for the characters of the book and the author spends a lot of time and pages into bringing everyone to life.

I liked some of the messages that are hidden in here, and it was hard to believe that it was written before the Trump presidency.

For some authors, the dome could service as a sort of prop – a way to examine how people change under pressure, etc. But near the end of the book the author does us the favor of explaining why it appeared, and where it came from. I appreciated this, and although I wasn’t exactly sold on it, it was nice to at least address it.

This was a long read and I’m a little tired after finishing it, so I’m reading a shorter book next time – The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose.

Books: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

I like most of this author’s writing, and the idea behind this story was quite original. The plot is outlandish (as a vehicle for the clever comments) and the characters are likable and fun to follow.

The book has a short, entertaining story that includes plenty of dry wit – maybe too much for my taste but I’m sure some people will really lick it up.

The author made the choice to keep things short and sweet, and I’m glad he did. The main character doesn’t really go through a lot of development and he really is just a sort of substitute for the reader – so there really isn’t anywhere to go with him after the story runs its course.

Good for a few laughs, this would be a good book to take on a short flight or a long weekend holiday.

Next I am reading Under the Dome by Stephen King.

Books: The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland

This book is a different take on vampires – a subject I don’t read much on usually. If you are reading a book about vampires, there are a few things that you’ll expect: wooden stakes, good versus evil, some spooky castles, and all the other things that have shown up in movies and books over the years.

This one takes a different approach, and portrays the life of a “good” vampire, and their struggles to overcome their nature. There are scenes throughout their (immortal) life, and the locations are chosen for their romance and relative locations to historical events.

It is a long story, and sometimes it felt like it was dragging and having trouble coming to its point. Some of the events in the “modern” side of the story were pretty incredible – and strained believability to put certain people and events into motion. I know it is probably weird to criticize a book about a vampire for believability, but the stuff about a vampire trying to pass for a regular person should be the most believable of all the content in this book.

So I commend the book for taking a different approach and for the unusual style – I just was hoping sometime more would have come of it.

Next I am reading Starter Villain by John Scalzi.

Books: The Watchman by Robert Crais

While Elvis Cole is the usual main character in Crais’ books – sort of a west coast version of Spenser – the far more interesting character is his (silent) partner Joe Pike.

This book is almost entirely focused on Pike and gives some clues to his origin, and shows off his mysterious yet kind character.

I really like this book because of the characters involved, the fast-moving pace and especially the bittersweet epilogue .

The way Joe Pike is written it might seem like he can’t carry a whole book on his own – even this book has some other characters doing the heavy lifting – but I’d like to see the author try someday. For now, this book is the best that we’ll get.

Next I am reading The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland.

Books: The Left Hand of Dog by Si Clarke

Comic science fiction is tough for me to get into. Once you read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy there aren’t a lot of books out there, and so I thought I’d read this one. It is a pretty new book, so it has all the diversity/pronouns/etc. which still feel shoehorned into stories these days.

Just like stand-up comedy, so acts will make you laugh, and some get on your nerves. I guess the rule follows in writing comedy as well. I wasn’t really vibing with the punchlines in this book, and rather than intellectually clever it felt like they were trying to be clever with pop culture references.

I’m sure some people will enjoy this one – it just wasn’t me.

Next I am re-reading The Watchman by Robert Crais. There is a couple week gap in the flow of library books right now – so I’m picking up old ones that I really enjoyed in the past.

Books: Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Reading this book shows you that sometimes patience pays off. The writer has a unique style where they introduce the backstory and/or thoughts of the characters in sort of a dossier style before things happen. I got used to it after a while, but in the beginning the author is asking for a lot of patience to wade through this before things start moving.

It is set in a location that I don’t run into much when reading: New Zealand. It was interesting to hear the idealistic young people in this story and how they felt about their country, their government, and the world around them.

And I was unprepared for how well the author ramps up the suspense, as we compare what we know and what we don’t, and consider each person’s point of view and their likely actions. With the exception of the villain in this book I felt everyone was pretty believable. The bad guy’s motivations were a little hard to buy and felt pretty one dimensional to me.

The writer did a great job with this book keeping me interested and wondering how this could all possibly be resolved as the book came to a close. The wild ending answered that soon enough.

I’m not sure right now what my next book is – but I’ll update here when I figure it out!

Books: Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

A while back I read a pretty good book called Legends & Lattes, sort of a cozy story about a tough character hanging up their sword and starting up a coffee shop instead of killing monsters. I enjoyed the book for the vibe and simple writing – you can dig up my review on this site.

Even though this next book is billed as “In the tradition of Legends & Lattes” it misses on most of the marks where the first book succeeded, and turns out to be like a checklist of non-traditional characters doing “cool” things and handling their problems and relationship issues in what is meant to be a clever, confident way.

My problem was with the main focus of the story on how these two people are getting used to each other and this new stage of their relationship. Most of the book is this pair cooing at each other and acting like teenagers in love. There are plenty of childish jokes and simple characters. The world they live in is only marginally fleshed out and probably doesn’t really matter anyway.

I liked the premise of the idea and the beginning of the book, but it soon turned into a childish romp and I had to grit my teeth to finish the story. Not recommended!

Next I am reading Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.