I’ve finally managed to wrangle myself back into a reading habit. How? By setting a cheeky-20 minute timer every day and making myself read. I can do anything for 20 minutes, and if the alarm goes off and I feel like quitting, I can do so guilt-free. More often than not, I end up reading past the alarm because I’m enjoying myself.
Here is what I’ve read since February.
I use the Goodreads rating system, which is:
- One star: did not like it
- Two stars: it was ok
- Three stars: liked it
- Four stars: really liked it
- Five stars: it was amazing
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage – Ann Patchett – ★★★★★
I checked this out from the library thinking it was a novel, but it turned out to be a collection of her nonfiction essays. I loved it and I love her even more knowing about her life: how she adores her dog, how she briefly married when she was young, just everything. This is my second Ann Patchett book and I can’t wait to find the third.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens – Ina Garten – ★★★☆☆
If you’re a younger person reading this post and your elders have said things like, “just go knock on some doors and they’ll give ya a job because people like pluck!” — read this book and you’ll know why they all believed it. Because sometimes it really was true. With nothing but love and respect for Ina, I think in this book’s case “luck” is money… or access to someone with money.
Transcendent Kingdom – Yaa Gyasi – ★★★★★
A story about many things; some heartwarming, some heartbreaking. Gifty is a Ghanian-American woman who, in searching for scientific answers about her brother’s addiction and death, ends up working through her own religious capital-B Beliefs vs. simply believing. It’s equally difficult and gorgeous to read. I read Homegoing and adored it as well.
Saint Mazie – Jami Attenberg – ★★★☆☆
-~-SPOILER ALERT-~
My toxic reading trait is that I feel oral histories are lazy writing so three pages in, I was already grumpy. But I thought, “Okay, I enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six so this might pan out.”
Every time I started getting into the good parts of Mazie’s story it jumped to one of the interviewees and I’d groan. Why were we being subjected to the creepy Sorenson guy? Is Nadine (the interviewer) Mazie’s grandchild? We never find out.
We got so little of the altruistic side of Mazie that I feel a bit ripped off. I wanted more of her taking care of her “bums.” Because in the end, it was the seedier men who were good to Mazie, while the more “upright” ones (the Captain, George Flicker, the publisher) used her or were cruel.
Democracy in Retrograde – Elmily Amick and Sami Sage – ★★★☆☆
I hate generational tropes but it’s a very Millennial-coded book. Lots of pull quotes, some lists, and the “when they go low we go high” tactic which we all know didn’t (and doesn’t) work. Even Michelle Obama has had to rework that. And in July ‘25, July ‘24 already feels like 20 years ago.
A lot of it is a workbook. I started out doing the exercises earnestly, but got tired of reading six pages and then slamming into 5-15 pages of questions. The authors did state at the beginning that you don’t have to read the book in order and can skip around.
I would love a book like this aimed at grizzled Olds who remember life before Buzzfeed quizzes.
Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of our Deadliest Infection – John Green – ★★★★☆
Hard facts about tuberculosis intertwined with the story of a young Sierra Leonean man with TB. It’s good, it’s really good. TB can be cured with drugs, except as Green says, “Where are the drugs? The drugs are where the disease is not, and where is the disease? The disease is where the drugs are not.” It’s all about inequity, as usual.
The Gardener’s Plot – Deboara J. Benoit – ★★☆☆☆
It was okay. The main character was really, REALLY naive yet ballsy at the same time. It was difficult for me to keep track of the many similar small town characters in town because there was no real character development. All of the men except for the mean one blended together. All of the women except for the mean one blended together. The middle portion was very repetitive but it passed the time.
The House in the Cerulean Sea – TJ Clune – ★★★☆☆
Gentle and whimsical. Not a favorite, but sweet and by the end I was rooting for the children even though I still thought some of them were brats.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye – John Scalzi – ★★★☆☆
Quick and clever. This was my first Scalzi book and it was fine. I wish I had more of some of the characters and less about others.
All Fours – Miranda July – ★★½☆☆
I need you to know that menopause is messy but by no means is it a reason to completely explode your life.
This book was a wild ride and not for the prudish. Some parts were written beautifully. And others (especially the role-playing toward the end) were confusing. I had to read one passage several times to figure out who exactly she was sleeping with. Don’t get me started on the dog, which lives.
However, the Drivers vs. Parkers discussion was great and July is definitely onto something with that.
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers – Samuel Burr – ★★★☆☆
It was okay. I wish I had time to learn more about Clayton or Pippa, instead of learning only a little about both. That’s a big quibble of mine: when we learn about every single side character to the detriment of getting to know our main characters.
Long Island Compromise – Taffy Brodesser-Akner – ★★½☆☆
One of my favorite fiction genres is “terrible wealthy families with secrets” but did we have to go so deep into Beamer’s private life? I don’t think we did. Also, I knew who kidnapped Carl from early on and … listen. I can sling spreadsheets and write for days but I’m about as sharp as a sack of wet mice when it comes to mysteries. If I solved it, it wasn’t well hidden.
I am on Goodreads and Storygraph. I want to leave Goodreads but I have such a vibrant feed there. Storygraph is a bit empty.
Happy reading!
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