The Royal Insider

 Book 94 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from October 22 - 26

The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen,

the King and Princess Diana

by Paul Burrell

published 2025

3 stars

First of all, I'm not British so I'm not familiar at all with the day-to-day tabloids, tv appearances, etc. meaning my knowledge of Paul Burrell is pretty slim. He seems to want to be/remain famous just based on my opinions of those who go on reality tv shows, as well as one of his main gripes about The Crown being that there wasn't a character representing him. 

I felt a little icky reading this because it felt like telling tales out of school but admittedly, I was also very curious. He definitely spills tea and names names but I'll take the advice that he says the Queen gave him and read it with a grain of salt.

 

Without any other information about the veracity of his words, I'll go off the writing of the book itself.  He cuts no slack for those he doesn't like (Prince Harry in particular) and seems to have a bit of a 'hero' complex for himself.  It's hard to believe he was involved in so many pivotal moments (such as saying he chose the 'revenge dress') but never had anything negative to say about himself or his interactions.  It comes off a bit pompous, like when someone says their biggest flaw is "working too hard" in a job interview.

************************************

Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 94th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

A Rage to Kill

 Book 93 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from October 16 - 24

A Rage to Kill 

and Other True Cases

by Ann Rule

4 stars

Before true crime podcasts and social media sleuths, there was Ann Rule.  I loved reading her books in middle/high school so when I saw this at a used book sale I had to grab it.  

Although the criminals would've been caught much easier through today's technology, the crimes themselves didn't feel dated.  Rage is timeless.

It also has been long enough since this book was printed that some of the projected parole dates have passed.  Looking everyone up to see if they'd died/been paroled/reoffended/etc. sent me down a different rabbit hole.

*********************************

Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 93rd 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)

The Astral Library

 Book 92 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from October 12 - 22

The Astral Library

by Kate Quinn

published 2026

2 stars

Great idea, disappointing execution.  It felt like too many books (haha, apt for a book about books) in one.  I think either the concept of discovering the Astral Library with less of a conflict or someone already established in the library experiencing the big conflict would've flowed better.  By doing both, it felt rushed and there wasn't time to breathe during reveals.  My choice would've been the first; I loved the traveling between books and all the different Patrons.

******************************

Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 92nd book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

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

Pageboy

 Book 91 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from October 12 - 15

Pageboy

by Elliot Page

published 2023

3 stars

It was an interesting perspective to read so much of the turmoil of fighting against feelings of sexuality and gender without much about life after transition.  It could be because it's still somewhat new or it could be because he wants to keep the more recent aspects of his life private but the result is lots of sadness without seeing the rainbow at the end (to use a cliche).  We're not owed anything as readers but I am glad he's famous so I know he is continuing to find success and can be less worried about his current well-being than I would've been based on the book alone.

When reading, some sentences trailed off like I think they would've if he'd been speaking, like when people end their sentences with a question mark.  I hope he's found more confidence in his voice.

*************************

Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 91st book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

The Sane One

 Book 90 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from October 6 - 12

The Sane One

by Anna Konkle

published 2026

4 stars

The book started with a little bit of 'iykyk' quality.  The author gave clear depictions without overexplaining, justifying or villainizing so readers who can relate know exactly what she's saying but those who haven't may not understand.  As it continued, she was incredibly truthful while maintaining dignity. 

It was easier to read knowing she found community and success as an adult.

*************************************

Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 90th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

Murder at Christmas

 Book 89 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from October 2 - 6

Murder at Christmas

3 stars

There are a surprising number of books with themes of Christmas crimes.  I think I've read one every year without even going out of my way, and October feels like the perfect time to do it.

First I was noting not many of the stories have murder but then I got to the story "Murder at Christmas" and realized it's a story title and not necessarily the theme.  Looking more closely, the title of the book is "Murder at Christmas and Other Stories" so that's on me.

Overall it was a decent way to pass the time.  There weren't any clunkers but also not ones I'm raving about either.  My favorite was "A Matter of Life and Death".

As always when reading short stories by multiple authors, I'll include a little about each story below.

The Theft of the Christmas Stocking

Fairly implausible in how quickly everyone talked to him but necessary to move the plot along and keep the story short.  The age of this book showed; there's no way now that somebody would be able to disappear as easily as he did.

'Twixt the Cup and the Lip

Really good pacing with unexpected ending.  It was one of those that made sense looking back but the author did a great job sneaking little things in so the resolution didn't stand out until it was revealed.

Death in the Christmas Hour

I struggled with this one.  Too many kernels of ideas and characters for one short story.  The bare bones of the premise was good but it was too convoluted.

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story

I was waiting for a bigger reveal.  It felt out of place in this book...there wasn't even a mystery and barely a crime.

Christmas Gift

Did a good job of making me feel sorry for a criminal.

Rumpole and the Chambers Party

I didn't really see the point but it wasn't the ending I expected.

Murder at Christmas

The story the book is named for.  Luckily it was a good one since at about 50 pages, this one story is a large chunk of the entire paperback.

I did see the victim twist coming and was waiting for them to catch up but there were so many other things happening in the meantime to fill character space that it was still entertaining.

Father Crumlish

This passed quickly and I caught the clue but suspected the wrong person.

A Matter of Life and Death

It started slowly and confusingly but ended up being my favorite.  Good combination of following clues, using knowledge, and a bit of luck.  Plus it ended well.

Miss Crindle and Father Christmas

It was fine.  It was more of a 'tell' mystery than a 'show' one.  I feel like maybe the characters are from another story because I seemed to be missing some backstory.

*******************************

Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 89th 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)

- 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)

The Civil War

 Book 88 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from August 30 - October 5

The Civil War: A Visual History

published 2026

3 stars

I rated this one neutrally because the reasons I didn't enjoy it as much were also the reasons the book worked as well as it did.  For example, it's a heavy oversized book which made it cumbersome to hold and also prevented me from taking it with me for those moments I can steal to read while I'm out.  But it being oversized kept it from feeling dense and overwhelming and made a big difference in the visuals so I agree with the decision.  It also took me so long to read because of these circumstances (and honestly, the only reason I finished as "quickly" as I did is because I set page goals the final week to be able to return it to the library).

One thing I noticed and absolutely loved when comparing it to other books with many sidebars, graphs, etc. is that this book required no flipping back and forth.  The extra things on the pages related to that page and were contained to that page; it sounds so simple but trust me, this is rare!  So I was able to turn a page, look at all the extras, and then continue with the text of the book.

For a book that says it's a visual history there was way more text than I expected.  While there were new viewpoints and first-hand accounts the more standard information seemed surface level and I don't think the book would've suffered with less of it.

Personal note: while I'm glad Lee made mistakes and lost the battle, if someone writing a book about me 150+ years later said, "[Lee's] judgement may have been impaired - he was tired and suffering from diarrhea...", I would come back and haunt them.  That's a joke; it's important to be factual but at the same time...saying he was shitting so much he couldn't think straight seems like an extra dig.

Fact I learned: there was a man who served as vice president under two different presidents.  His name was John C. Calhoun and he served with President John Quincy Adams and President Andrew Jackson.

*************************************

Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 88th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)