Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

 Book 86 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from September 22 - 26

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

by Therese Anne Fowler

published 2013

4 stars

This was a quick read and the story would've held my interest even without it being based somewhat on real people.  I can't speak to how much is 'historical' and how much is 'fiction' but the extravagance of the 1920's and the group of artists in Paris that seemed to work hard(ish), play harder, and die young is a fascinating time to me. 

It also had the added benefit of a 'Z' title which is one of the harder letters to get in my A-Z Challenge.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 86th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- Title starting with 'Z' (I'm doing an A-Z title challenge)

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder

 Book 85 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from September 15 - 17

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder

by Kate Emery

published 2024

1 star

Spoilers so scroll away if you have any interest in reading this...

W

H

A

T

T

H

E

F

U

C

K

D

I

D

I

J

U

S

T

R

E

A

D

?

?

?

?

Spent 293 pages watching someone try to solve a murder only to have it revealed that there was no murder, it was an accident.

Spent 293 pages watching someone try to solve a relative issue only to have someone spontaneously monologue a confession under little pressure.

Also, the love interest was her cousin.  I don't care that it actually turned out not to be (his mom was faking DNA results to be in the family), they thought they were cousins and were in this environment visiting family with only relatives around.  And they were flirting when they thought they were cousins, not just a "phew we're not related now we can kiss" situation.  A love interest in this story felt so unnecessary anyway.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 85th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

The Midnight Train

 Book 84 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from September 12 - 15

The Midnight Train

by Matt Haig

published 2026

3 stars

Happiness squandered was painful to look at from the future.  

But the Ghost tried his best to feel gratitude that he had known happiness at all.

I liked the concept of this book more than the actual execution.  It felt like too much time in the present trying to figure out how to change the system rather than getting lost in the memories and feeling emotions.  I also wish there had been some sort of epilogue or something that gave information on any different paths.  

I laughed at this description: "In the sense that he couldn't read people very well. Where she could still read the book of someone from a single page, he could be presented with the entire novel and not follow its plot at all."

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 84th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

This Book Made Me Think of You

 Book 83 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read on August 30

This Book Made Me Think of You

by Libby Page

published 2026

5 stars

This was a lovely book I read in one sitting.  It was warm and light (ish - there are themes of grief) with characters who love books, bookshops, reading, and writing.

Tilly's husband Joe died 6 months ago.  She'd always been a reader but during his illness and after his death, she's found herself unable to concentrate and enjoy reading.  Then a surprise phone call comes from a bookshop owner - Joe had planned and left one book a month for the following year to help her cope.  From kids' books that reintroduce her love for reading to cookbooks that help her learn a new skill to fiction books that reignite her passion, she spends the year re-entering the world and rediscovering herself.  And of course the bookshop owner and his employees factor into this as well.

It was a bit fantastical but grounded in reality as long as you believe in luck and happy endings.  And there were so many book recommendations, from lists at the beginning of each month to conversations between the characters and even the blurbs from other authors on the back of the book (they all included their 'favorite book to share' with their blurbs)!  

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 83rd book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

The Virgin's Lover

 Book 82 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from August 18 - 28

The Virgin's Lover

by Philippa Gregory

published 2004

5 stars

I'm not very familiar with this time period so I can't speak to the accuracy (how much was 'historical' vs how much was 'fiction') but as a story, it was compelling.  Even though I know Elizabeth stays an unmarried queen I wasn't sure how she would get out of the situations she was in.  I felt very sorry and also a little embarrassed for Amy; she was written very sympathetically.

5 stars because this book made me want to read more about Elizabeth and also more from the author.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 82nd book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- A book I purchased in 2026 (my goal is to read any books I buy within 6 months of purchasing them)

After Visiting Friends

 Book 81 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from August 19 - 21

After Visiting Friends

by Michael Hainey

4 stars

This book was riveting and he's very good at pacing.  I wanted more after the information was found out, especially with his mom.  Reflection on how things remained hidden for so long (why not curious at all then hunting so deeply for answers) would've been interesting too.

How lucky he was that newspapers held the information he was looking for.  I'm sure many people have mysteries in their families that remain mysteries because their relatives didn't have articles written about them.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 81st book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- A book I own (my goal is to continue chipping away at my shelves/boxes of unread books)

- A book I own that is leaving my house for a new reader to find (my goal is to declutter and make progress on whittling down my shelves/boxes of books in my house)

An Unhappy Medium

 Book 80 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read on August 18

An Unhappy Medium

by Dawn Eastman

3 stars

I read the four books in this Family Fortune Mystery series pretty quickly because the paperback format and light content was perfect for traveling.

This book, the fourth, passed by very quickly.  My concerns before reading it about the author dropping off rather than wrapping up the series intentionally were unfortunately true, although there wasn't as much of a cliffhanger as there could've been.  There was more to explore in the family and the town but things were settled enough that I'm okay leaving it behind.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 80th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- A book I purchased in 2026 (my goal is to read any books I buy within 6 months of purchasing them)