Careless People

 Book 86 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 30 - December 5

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

by Sarah Wynn-Williams

published 2025

Summary (via Goodreads)

From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.

Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences the challenges and humiliations of working motherhood within a pressure cooker of a workplace, all while Sheryl Sandberg urges her and others to “lean in.”

Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade—told in a sharp, candid, and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the consequences this has for all of us.

My Opinion

2 stars

Uh oh, I feel like I wandered into a firestorm by accident.  By chapter 11 I felt like there was backstory I'm missing so I looked up the author and saw the back-and-forth between her and Facebook over this book and the allegations on both sides.  The total lack of knowledge I felt led me to Goodreads to see how this book had ended up on my TBR in the first place.  That's when I realized I actually had a different non-fiction book titled "Careless People" on my list and when skimming my library's catalog, I didn't notice the difference and got this instead.

So without getting into the veracity of claims on either side, here's my opinion of the memoir itself...

I think my biggest disconnect with the book is calling it a memoir.  If that wasn't part of the title then it could be presented as a non-fiction book about the BTS of Facebook and its impact nationally and globally.  It could still be through the first-hand lens of someone who worked there, giving a little more leeway on fact-checking and research, but it would be clear the company is the focus of the book.  Instead, by calling it a memoir, I'm left wondering why a book about the author's life focuses so much on other people.

I also find it disingenuous for the author to continually throw everyone else under the bus with little accountability for herself.  I know everyone wants to paint themselves in the best light and think of themselves with the best intentions but if the author truly disagreed with every single morally gray (or flat out immoral) decision, it seems unlikely she would've stayed there as long as she did with the success she had.  It was tough reading her black and white critical assessments of everyone else and the lines she felt they were crossing while at the same time having no recognition of any lines she herself may have blurred.  That's not even my opinion on whether or not lines were crossed, it's seeing that she doesn't appear to hold herself to the same standard as she holds everyone else.

She also mentions not negotiating for a good salary and not understanding the wealth of those around her, implying she didn't even benefit monetarily as much as other managers did.  This doesn't impress me because it's either a) a lie or b) naive and nonsensical because why would you work so hard in a job you don't agree with for seemingly no benefit?  At least money would be understandable even if it's not the choice everyone would make...plug your nose, get your bag, use the money to do good and enjoy your family after you leave.  A throwaway line about your husband picking you up in your "dilapidated" car felt deliberately chosen to further illustrate the difference between the author and her co-workers.  Again, even if her co-workers made a ton more than her, I can't imagine she's working for minimum wage.

I'm glad for her own health that she's no longer working at a place she clearly didn't enjoy.  

The Book of Lost Hours

 Book 85 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from December 1 - 4

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

Who Would You Rewrite History For?

Enter the time space, a soaring library filled with books containing the memories of those who have passed, and accessed only by specially made watches once handed down from father to son - but now mostly in government hands. This is where eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in 1938, waiting for her watchmaker father to return. When he doesn't, she grows up among the books and specters, able to see the world only by sifting through the memories of those who came before her. As she realizes that government agents are entering the time space to destroy books and maintain their preferred version of history, she sets about saving these scraps in her own volume of memories. Until the appearance of an American spy named Ernest Duquesne in 1949 offers her a glimpse of the world she left behind, setting her on a course to change history and possibly the tie space itself.

In 1965, sixteen-year-old Amelia Duquesne is mourning the disappearance of her uncle Ernest when an enigmatic CIA agent approaches her to enlist her help in tracking down a book of memories her uncle had once sought. But as Amelia visits the time space for the first time, she realizes that the past - and the truth - might not be as linear as she's like to believe.

My Opinion

5 stars

This is the kind of book where my 5 star rating is more for the experience than the book.  I don't reread books but this isn't the kind of book I would want to reread even if I did.  The reveals along the way were timed well and the uniqueness of the book was what drew me in and kept it going.  However, there was still enough predictability to keep me comfortable and grounded (and yeah, the ending is wrapped up neatly but who's going to complain about a little unrealistic happiness?  Not me.). 

It was easy to visualize and get sucked into, the kind of book that snuck up on me.  I didn't realize how much I was enjoying it until it was over and I felt satisfied. 

Missing Pieces

 Book 84 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 29 - 30

Missing Pieces

published 2022

My Opinion

3 stars

This collection of 4 cozy mystery stories all involve jigsaw puzzles in some way.  I liked the mystery elements of all of the stories but there was no indication going in that all 4 stories (especially the last one) would have strong themes of faith as well.  That's something that would've impacted my purchase if it had been clear (I avoid religious books by personal choice) so I'm rating it in the middle.

Private Investigations

 Book 83 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 19 - 29

Private Investigations

published 2020

Summary (via the book jacket)

For many of us, a good, heart-pounding mystery if the perfect escape from real-world confusion and chaos. But what about the writers who create those stories of suspense and intrigue? How do our favorite novelists cope with our perplexing world, and what mysteries keep them up at night?

In Private Investigations, twenty fan-favorite mystery writers share first-person tales of mysteries they've encountered at home and in the world. Caroline Leavitt regales us with a medical mystery, recounting a time when she lost her voice and doctors couldn't find a cure; Martin Limon travels back to his military stint in Korea to grapple with a young man's disorienting immersion in a foreign culture; Anne Perry ponders the magical powers of words and stories conjured from writers' imaginations; and more.

These writers' true tales show just how much art imitates life, and how, ultimately, we are all private investigators in our own real-world dramas.

My Opinion

2 stars

Interesting concept that didn't follow through on execution for me which is especially strange considering the caliber of stories these authors usually create.  My favorite was "Lydia and Jack" by Connie May Fowler.

I loved the lines, "He remains a mystery. But he's no longer a secret", written by Sulari Gentill about an uncle nobody in the family spoke of.

The River's Daughter

 Book 82 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 16 - 19

The River's Daughter by Bridget Crocker

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

After Bridget Crocker's parents' volatile divorce, she moved with her mother from Southern California to Wyoming. Her life was idyllic, growing up in a trailer park on the banks of the Snake River with a stepfather she loved, a new baby brother, and the river as her companion - until her mother suddenly took up a radical new lifestyle, becoming someone Bridget barely recognized. The one constant in her life - the place Bridget felt whole and fully herself - was the river. When she discovered the world of whitewater rafting, she knew she'd found her calling.

On the river, Bridget learned to read the natural world around her and came to know the language of rivers. One of the few female guides on the Snake River, she traveled to the Zambezi River in Africa, some of the most dangerous whitewater in the world, where she faced death and learned to conquer her fears - both on the water and off. The river taught her how to overcome years of trauma and betrayal, to trust herself, and, finally, how to help heal her family from generational cycles of abuse and poverty.

A beautifully rendered memoir of a woman coming into her own, The River's Daughter opens us to the possibilities of transformation through nature.

My Opinion

4 stars

Beautifully smooth writing of incredibly traumatic events.  

The Lake

 Book 81 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 14 - 16

The Lake by Natasha Preston

published 2021

Summary (via the book jacket)

Esme and Kayla once were campers at Camp Pine Lake. Now they're back as counselors-in-training. Esme loves the little girls in her cabin and thinks it's funny how scared they are of everything - the woods, the bugs, the boys...even swimming in the lake. It reminds her of how she and Kayla used to be. Before...

Because Esme and Kayla did something terrible when they were campers. Something they've kept a secret all these years. They vow that this summer will be awesome. Two months of sun, s'mores, and flirting with the cute boy counselors. But then they get a message:

THE LAKE NEVER FORGETS.

The secret they've kept buried for so many years is about to resurface.

My Opinion

4 stars

I picked this book out in March from a bookstore while visiting my daughter at college.  It felt basic but also very readable.  I keep starting sentences and then deleting them because I want to talk about the book with someone who has read it but can't say anything to those who haven't.  

I gave it 4 stars because of how quickly I read it and how shocked I was by the end but I also recognize this is an entirely subjective 4 stars.  If I start to think about it and pull at the threads of plot developments it would unravel with questions so I'll just let it be.  It may not stand up to scrutiny but it was a great ride.

The Undetectables

 Book 80 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 2 - 14

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

A magical serial killer is stalking the Occult town of Wrackton. Hypnotic whistling causes victims to chew their own tongues off, leading to the killer being dubbed the Whistler (original, right?).

Enter the Undetectables, a detective agency run by three witches and a ghost in a cat costume (don't ask). They are hired to investigate the murders, but with their only case so far left unsolved, will they be up to the task?

Mallory, the forensic science expert, is struggling with pain and fatigue from her recently diagnosed fibromyalgia. Cornelia is suddenly stirring all sorts of feelings in Mallory. Diana is hitting up all her ex-girlfriends for information. And not forgetting ghostly Theodore: deceased, dramatic, and also the agency's first - unsolved - murder case.

With bodies stacking up and the case leading them to mysteries at the very heart of magic society, can the Undetectables find the Whistler before they become the killer's next victims?

My Opinion

3 stars

Be Gay.  Solve Crimes.  Take Naps.  Best tagline ever.

I wavered between 2 and 3 stars on this book but ended up on 3 because I am interested in continuing the series.  I liked the characters but felt the writing was an odd mix of not enough story to explain all the plot points yet also too much story because it dragged as I waited for them to catch up to what I predicted early on.  A prequel with some backstory of the town and magic would be super helpful.

I was surprised by how many major characters were victims, especially considering this is the first book in a series.  I like books where nobody feels safe because it adds to the unpredictability.