2023 Recap

 WOW!!!  What a reading year 2023 was, I can't believe I read 120 books!  I thought it would be 121 but this 600 page book of Christmas mysteries is taking longer than I thought it would...now it's a good head start on my first book of 2024!

Part of the increase in reading is because of my time.  We're down to one high schooler so activities are fewer, plus I babysit my niece and nephew at least once a week and read to decompress during their naps.

Another part of the increase is the short story collections available through Prime Reading.  They're each cataloged individually on Goodreads so it adds up quickly but since I would read them anyway (I'm not looking to pad my stats on an arbitrary goal I set for myself) and I read plenty of long books too, I figure that it averages out.

I also read at least one book starting with each letter of the alphabet.  I was actually really close to reading both a fiction and non-fiction book of each letter but there were 4 non-fiction letters I didn't get to (K, R, X, and Z).

In 2024 I'll set my standard goal of 100 books.  I'm also going to change up my reviews by checking in with my thoughts as I'm reading instead of waiting until the end to summarize everything.

Happy Reading!

Ryan and Avery

 Book 120 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from December 20 - 26

Ryan and Avery

by David Levithan

Summary (via the book jacket)

When Ryan and Avery meet at a queer prom, they feel an instant connection. But what about what happens next?

This is the story of their first ten dates.

The tender hopes.

The skittish fears.

The difficulty of introducing someone into your pre-existing life.

The strange wonder of having someone else make you see your life in a new way.

The possibility of heartbreak. Always, the possibility of heartbreak.

And that possibility's opposite: the change that maybe, just maybe, you've found the right person to love.

My Opinion

4 stars

I could've sworn that the first chapter (the snowed in date) was something I'd read as an essay or excerpt in another collection but I didn't see anything when I looked it up so maybe it's just a similar concept.

It was a good story with many strong, fully realized characters.  Having the dates run out of order threw me off a little so I had a little adjustment with each chapter to recognize what had already happened and what was yet to come.

As Avery is approaching Ryan before they've met, the author wrote a great line..."He has started their story before Ryan even knows it exists."

These Cold Strangers

 Book 119 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on December 23

These Cold Strangers

by J.T. Ellison

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the We Could Be Heroes collection available through Prime Reading.  I really enjoyed it until something at the end took me out.  I can accept the coincidence of the two main characters having a connection but throwing in a connection between the men in the viral video was too far.  There's no way someone could've planned how many people would've ignored him.

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On

 Book 118 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from December 16 - 22

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On

by Franny Choi

My Opinion

3 stars

I'm rating this book of poems neutrally because it's definitely a case of "it's not you it's me".  I could feel the weight, passion, and careful selection behind each word but I just didn't connect emotionally.  

I read a few at a time to let them linger.

Yes We Did

 Book 117 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on December 19

Yes We Did

by Lawrence Jackson

Summary (via the book jacket)

As the only White House photographer of color during the Obama years, Lawrence Jackson had a front-row seat to history - and an unique lens on it as well.

Yes We Did is filled with Lawrence's intimate photographs and reflections, along with first-person recollections from staffers, everyday citizens, and notable personalities including Stephen Curry, Bono, Valerie Jarrett, Admiral Mike Mullen, and others.

My Opinion

5 stars

This book was the perfect way to soothe my brain in this last week before the holidays.  

Unbelievable

 Book 116 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from December 9 - 18

Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History

by Katy Tur

Summary (via Goodreads)

Called "disgraceful," "third-rate," and "not nice" by Donald Trump, NBC News correspondent Katy Tur reported on—and took flak from—the most captivating and volatile presidential candidate in American history.

Katy Tur lived out of a suitcase for a year and a half, following Trump around the country, powered by packets of peanut butter and kept clean with dry shampoo. She visited forty states with the candidate, made more than 3,800 live television reports, and tried to endure a gazillion loops of Elton John’s "Tiny Dancer"—a Trump rally playlist staple.

From day 1 to day 500, Tur documented Trump’s inconsistencies, fact-checked his falsities, and called him out on his lies. In return, Trump repeatedly singled Tur out. He tried to charm her, intimidate her, and shame her. At one point, he got a crowd so riled up against Tur, Secret Service agents had to walk her to her car.

None of it worked. Facts are stubborn. So was Tur. She was part of the first women-led politics team in the history of network news. The Boys on the Bus became the Girls on the Plane. But the circus remained. Through all the long nights, wild scoops, naked chauvinism, dodgy staffers, and fevered debates, no one had a better view than Tur.

Unbelievableis her darkly comic, fascinatingly bizarre, and often scary story of how America sent a former reality show host to the White House. It’s also the story of what it was like for Tur to be there as it happened, inside a no-rules world where reporters were spat on, demeaned, and discredited. Tur was a foreign correspondent who came home to her most foreign story of all. Unbelievable is a must-read for anyone who still wakes up and wonders, Is this real life? 

My Opinion

3 stars

I'm rating the book neutrally because what was a positive (reporting from the time as historical relevance without reflection or personal opinions) was also a negative (didn't go in depth about personal experiences which is what I was expecting) so it balanced out to be a fine read.

Remembering this time makes me feel icky all over again so I'm going to throw out some random observations and not make them cohesive.

Reading something published shortly after Trump's 2016 win knowing everything that has happened since just makes me sadder.  He never hid who he was - how did everyone see this coming yet nobody take it seriously enough to really try and stop it?  There are people who wanted Trump because they believed in him but it seems like there were also a lot of people, especially in the Republican Party, who didn't want him but went along expecting "somebody else" to be the obstacle...those are the people that make me angry (and still do as it's still happening).

Reading her experiences as a journalist Trump was targeting specifically on Twitter was heartbreaking.  

Wait, what???  When she said, "like a lot of political reporters, I don't vote, because I think it's fairer that way. We are a part of the campaign; we are observers of it."  Is that true?  There is NO reason journalists shouldn't be exercising their right to vote, not only because everyone should but also because they're going to be among the most informed.  By that logic, no politician votes?  That's not true.  Nobody that works on a campaign votes?  That's not true.  So vote or don't but don't say it's because of the job.

Trouble

 Book 115 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on December 17

Trouble

by Janelle Brown

My Opinion

2 stars

This short story is part of the We Could Be Heroes collection available through Prime Reading.  It didn't really work for me - there was a lot of buildup for big things to happen in a short amount of time and then there wasn't really a resolution.  

I do know the main character though - someone who thinks they're justified in "helping" (but usually just meddling) can cause so much damage.

Unknown Caller

 Book 114 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on December 16

Unknown Caller

by Lisa Unger

My Opinion

4 stars

This short story is part of the We Could Be Heroes collection available through Prime Reading.  It was a quick read with a nice arc and satisfying ending.  The "non-suspenseful" parts were really fleshed out so it felt realistic.

X

 Book 113 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from December 2 - 16

X

by Ilyasah Shabazz

Summary (via the book jacket)

Before Malcolm X shook the world with his words and actions, his parents told him that he could achieve anything. But at fifteen, with his father murdered and his mother taken away, he figures there's no point in trying and escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he's found is only an illusion - and that he can't run from his past forever.

My Opinion

4 stars

This was a compelling novel but it had an extra undercurrent of sadness knowing it was based on the life of a real person.  My heart hurt reading it.

The Other Half

 Book 112 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from November 6 - December 9

The Other Half: The Life of Jacob Riis and the World of Immigrant America

by Tom Buk-Swienty

My Opinion

3 stars

I wavered between 2 and 3 stars on this one but decided to round up because the amount of time that passed between starting and finishing it could be part of why I felt disconnected from the material.

Jacob Riis accomplished a lot in his life and it's amazing that a) one person could have such an impact and b) that impact could've been completely lost after the people who personally knew him were gone if someone hadn't recognized the importance of preserving his photographs.

It makes me sad that some of his "novel" ideas would still be considered outlandish at this time.  People deserve respect and a support structure to meet basic needs.

On a unrelated note, I found a piece of stationary from the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Christchurch, New Zealand in the book with a handwritten note that said, "Winston Estes, author Part of the House".  My research shows this hotel was demolished after an earthquake in 2010 so this note has been hanging out in this book for quite some time!  I bought it in 2023 at a Planned Parenthood book sale in Iowa.

Pigeon Tony's Last Stand

 Book 111 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from December 3 - 4

Pigeon Tony's Last Stand

by Lisa Scottoline

My Opinion

2 stars

This short story is part of the We Could Be Heroes collection available through Prime Reading.  When it takes multiple sittings to get through a short story, I know it didn't grab me.

Apparently the characters are part of a larger storyverse the author writes but I agree with her that this story can stand alone.  The characters were well-described and I could picture the setting, I just wasn't very interested.

The Queen of Hearts

 Book 110 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from November 25 - December 1

The Queen of Hearts

by Kimmery Martin

Summary (via the book jacket)

Zadie Anson and Emma Colley have been best friends since their early twenties, when they first began navigating serious romantic relationships amid the intensity of medical school. Now they're happily married wives and mothers and successful careers - Zadie as a pediatric care cardiologist and Emma as a trauma surgeon. Their lives in Charlotte, North Caroline, are chaotic but fulfilling, until the return of a former colleague unearths a secret one of them has been harboring for years. 

As chief resident, Nick Xenokostas was the center of Zadie's life - both professionally and personally - throughout a tragic chain of events during her third year of medical school that she has long since put behind her. Nick's unexpected reappearance at a time of new professional crisis shocks both women into a deeper look at the difficult choices they made at the beginning of their careers. As it becomes evident that Emma must have known more than she revealed about circumstances that nearly derailed both their lives, Zadie starts to question everything she thought she knew about her closest friend.

My Opinion

3 stars

This was a really strong read.  The chapters were fast, the scenes were grounded, and the characters were realistic.  Reading about friendship between powerful women with great careers and decent home lives was nice.  I would definitely read this author again.

A 3 star review isn't bad but doesn't really match what I said in the paragraph above.  The first issue I had was the length of time the novel covered in the present; if the book had stayed the same but all the events happened in the span of a few weeks it would've felt more believable in how long it took for Emma and Zadie to finally talk. 

The ending is what really took me out.  I can't talk about it without spoilers but the reveal from the past was SO MUCH (especially the aftermath with the emails) that it felt out of character and hard to accept that there had been zero fallout and nobody caught on to any part of it.  It felt like too big a leap to feel like the present day relationships were solid when the transgressions were huge and ongoing.

I've jumped around trying to say things without saying things so I think I have to accept this review probably won't make sense.  

Kill Night

 Book 109 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on November 26

Kill Night

by Victor Methos

My Opinion

4 stars

This short story is part of the We Could Be Heroes collection available through Prime Reading.

The author did a great job of bait-and-switch at the beginning because the defendant of the case was completely unexpected.  It went from a 5 star to a 4 star read at the end because the story was building and building and then very quickly wrapped up like a word quota had been hit.  I'm glad everything worked out like it did but after how hard the police/prosecution/judge were fighting the defense, I expected there to be a little more back-and-forth before accepting the truth.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

 Book 108 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from November 6 - 25

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

by Helen Simonson

Summary (via the book jacket)

In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?

My Opinion

3 stars

Apparently older men with a gruff exterior that melts away to a soft interior, usually with the encouragement of a precocious child, is my bread and butter.  The pages passed by in a blink and I was all in and rooting for the Major and Mrs. Ali.

3 stars isn't a bad rating but what kept this from being higher, especially when I'm so drawn to this concept, is all the extra subplots.  It felt like so many problems in so many directions - the gun, the son, the land, the child, the club, the family, etc. - that it kept me on edge and then to have so many problems all resolve with few consequences (and most in a few sentences, such as Alice and the Lord showing up to the wedding together) left me unsatisfied.

You Know Me Well

 Book 107 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from November 24 - 25

You Know Me Well

by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

Summary (via the book jacket)

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is, until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend, Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other - and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

My Opinion

3 stars

The authors alternated chapters as the viewpoints alternated between Kate's and Mark's which helped distinguish the voices but the authors also worked really cohesively together and it wasn't choppy or abrupt when they changed.

It was a quick read (although it was technically two days it was really more in one sitting that just happened to occur before and after midnight).  I loved the all-in immediacy of the friendship and the frenzy of the first night but as the scenery changed it fizzled a little for me.  

Jumping from Helicopters

 Book 106 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from November 11 - 16

Jumping from Helicopters: A Vietnam Memoir

by John Stillman

Summary (via Goodreads)

In 1967, at age nineteen, John Stillman—refusing to wait for the draft—voluntarily enlisted in the Army to aid his fellow countrymen in one of the most opposed involvements in our nation’s the Vietnam War. Quickly falling in love with the rush of being a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, he believed his service would honorably help the South Vietnamese protect their country from the ruthless communist North and their Southern allies. But once in the volatile jungles of Vietnam, the merciless hunting and killing of the enemy, constant threat of landmines and booby traps, ambushes that could easily backfire, and deaths of his comrades made Stillman question how any man—if he survived—could ever return to his life as he’d known it. 

Written with John’s daughter, Lori Stillman, Jumping from Helicopters is a vivid and moving memoir that unearths fifty years of repressed memories with stunning accuracy and raw details. Interwoven with the author’s own journal entries and including thirty-five photographs, it is a story that will open your eyes to what these brave young men witnessed and endured, and why they returned facing a lifetime of often unspoken unrest, persistent nightmares, and forced normalcy, haunting even the strongest of soldiers.

My Opinion

5 stars

This book was unexpectedly personal for me.  I chose it on a whim from Prime Reading because I still needed a 'J' nonfiction book for the year and this looked interesting.  

I ended up getting so much out of this read.  At first I thought starting this the evening of Veteran's Day with my eyes still sore from crying on and off throughout the day might be too much but it turned out to be just what I needed.

In a serendipitous coincidence the author of this book was in the exact same area in the same year as my dad (and they were both Army) so it brought me both comfort and sadness to read descriptions of things he may have also experienced.

My dad was seriously injured 9/11/68 in the Quang Tri area and he was affected physically and mentally for life.  I knew the basics but we never really talked about it.  I would go with him to the VFW and his service was important to him but we didn't talk specifics.  We talked about visiting the Traveling Wall; when it was in our area he started to walk toward it before turning around because he couldn't do it.  When I visited the Wall in D.C. with my husband and kids we did rubbings of those who died in the same battle he was injured in; he appreciated the sentiment and was glad we honored them but didn't want to see them.  He died in 2019 (hence why I'd cried so much already - he's buried in our local Veteran's Cemetery) but I would've loved to share this book with him and think it's amazing the author and his daughter were able to process his experiences together.

Beyond my personal emotions and about the actual book...

The author was matter-of-fact about killing the enemy which can be startling but it wasn't disrespectful.  There were subtle shifts as the book goes on - he didn't enter the Army with bloodthirst but also wanted the enemy to be eradicated so he could go home.  He made good points about there being no adjustment period or debriefing to re-enter civilian life.  And what an awful joke for his dad to play on him at his "Welcome Home" party!!!

I never knew they were called "Charlie" as a shortening of the military alphabet for VC (Victor Charlie).

Quote from the Book

"I was home a long time before I was actually home. 

Vietnam has never ceased to haunt me every day, to await me every night. 

I still sometimes wonder if I ever truly came home."

Big Bad

 Book 105 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from November 13 - 14

Big Bad

by Chandler Baker

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the Creature Feature collection available through Prime Reading.  The author did a really good job of setting up red herrings so the actual conflict was a surprise but the downside of that in a short story is a lot of time was spent on things that weren't pertinent to the story so the outcome felt rushed and jarring.

Rich Blood

Book 104 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from October 28 - November 11

Rich Blood

by Robert Bailey

Summary (via Goodreads)

Attorney Jason Rich has made a fortune off other people’s bad luck. His billboard slogan—“In an accident? Get Rich!”—accosts motorists on highways from Alabama to Florida. As ambulance chasers go, he’s exceptional.

But after a recent divorce and a stint in rehab, Jason has hit a rough patch. And things only get worse when his sister, Jana, is accused of her husband’s murder. Even though Jason has no experience trying criminal cases, Jana begs him to represent her.

Jason has mixed feelings about returning to Lake Guntersville, Alabama—and even more reservations about diving back into his sister’s life. Between the drugs, the affairs, and a tendency to gaslight everyone in her inner circle, Jana has plenty of enemies in town.

But did Jana hire someone to kill her husband? Jason isn’t so sure. He heads back to his hometown to unravel the truth and face off against opponents old and new.

My Opinion

5 stars

Son of a bitch, what a roller coaster.  5 stars for the ride.

I liked the multiple viewpoints mixed in so there was a little more information provided throughout the book at a good pace but there were still many many questions.  I also appreciate the definitive answers even though this is the first book in a series.  As much as I enjoyed this book I'm not automatically continuing - this case and arc were done so well and I'm not sure it can be sustained.

I felt very antsy and sweaty while reading it and had to take a few days off.  If I hadn't been reading the electronic version I definitely would've been tempted to peek ahead and get some relief.

The Divorce Colony

 Book 103 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from October 25 - November 4

The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom in the American Frontier

by April White

Summary (via the book jacket)

For a woman traveling without her husband at the turn of the twentieth century, there was only one reason to take the train all the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On the American frontier, the new state's laws offered a tempting freedom often difficult to obtain elsewhere: divorce.

With the laxest divorce laws in the country, five railroad lines, and the finest hotel for hundreds of miles, the small city became the unexpected headquarters for society divorcees. Within this infamous "divorce colony", an unlucky few - a niece of the influential Astor family; a beloved society author; the daughter-in-law of a prominent Republican politician; and the wife of a suspected murderer - became celebrities, known both at home and abroad for their failed marriages. These women and their fellow divorce colonists put Sioux Falls at the center of a heated debate over the future of American marriage. As clashes mounted in the country's gossip columns, church halls, courtrooms, and even the White House, the divorce seekers faced a fight they didn't go looking for, a fight that was the only path to their freedom. 

My Opinion

3 stars

I don't really have much to say.  I liked the main focus on individual women seeking divorce for varying reasons set against the backdrop of the social landscape.  I'm also amazed at how quickly gossip and information carried from Sioux Falls to New York given the limitations on travel and communication.

We also use Sioux Falls as our lunch/leg stretching point every time we travel west from Iowa so that added a little familiarity as well.  It's a very pretty area.

A Hard Day for a Hangover

 Book 102 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from October 11 - 29

A Hard Day for a Hangover

by Darynda Jones

Summary (via the book jacket)

Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed because there's just too much going on right now. There's a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There's her persistent and rebellious daughter, Auri, who's out to singlehandedly become Del Sol's youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there's drama with Levi Ravinder - the guy she's loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him - and Sunshine - for good.

Like we said, the new day can take a hike.

My Opinion

2 stars

This is the final installment in the Sunshine Vicram trilogy.  Thank goodness it's a trilogy because I'm ready to be done.  I guess I'll just reread the Charley Davidson books again.

No. Just No.  There is no way people can be so great at solving mysteries with the barest of clues when needed yet also miss completely obvious things right under their noses (or, even worse, when people do solve them YEARS AGO yet don't share for some reason).  

With the mystery specific to this book, the person of interest was so obvious it was painful and then it wrapped up off screen with one throwaway sentence about finally identifying her.  With Sunshine's personal life stuff, I'm glad things were finally resolved and there's some semblance of a happy ending.

Ironically, now that the personal stuff is settling down I actually would've liked reading more.  I like the characters when they're working on police and/or town stuff; it was just way too long and too much on the paternity storyline.

Best of Luck

 Book 101 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on October 28

Best of Luck

by Jason Mott

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the Creature Feature collection available through Prime Reading.  My mistake to read a story about a monster that develops from a rash as I'm sitting in bed recovering from shingles.  

I didn't connect to the story very much.  A lot of time spent in buildup, a twist that made me sit up straighter and read faster, and then the finish happened too quickly.

Good Night, Irene

Book 100 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from October 14 - 24

Good Night, Irene

by Luis Alberto Urrea

Summary (via the book jacket)

In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiance in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. In training, she makes fast friends with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicked Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front lines, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle.

These two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Their time in Europe will see them embroiled in danger, from the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of Buchenwald. Through her friendship with Dorothy, and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope, which becomes more precarious by the day, is for all three of them to survive the war intact.

My Opinion

3 stars

The author notes that he took inspiration from his mother's Red Cross service (and included a photo of her in front of her Clubmobile) but the story itself is fiction.  

The parts that were good were really really good but there was an overall detachment I felt reading it.  Since Irene and Dorothy were compartmentalizing everything that also translated to big things happening and then moving on.  I think when Irene's defenses were down in the hospital was probably the "best" (but also most difficult) section for my investment because it was raw and there were emotions to feel along with the descriptions of the scenes.

In Bloom

 Book 99 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on October 16

In Bloom

by Paul Tremblay

My Opinion

2 stars

This short story is part of the Creature Feature collection available through Prime Reading.

Not for me.  The bulk of the story was a monologue disguised as an interview (with absolutely no interruptions or follow-up questions) that was more 'tell' than 'show', leaving me with no emotions even at the climax of the story.  Then unnecessary things were left unanswered (why does it matter if he lives alone or not and why mention it at all if it's not answered or relevant?). 

Maybe the meaning went completely over my head but to me it felt like the beginning chapter of a longer story so I got all the backstory intros and description of settings but not the actual point.

As I write this it seems like I felt more negatively than I originally thought but it's not a 1 star review because I'm not angry, I'm just confused.  

It Waits in the Woods

 Book 98 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on October 14

It Waits in the Woods

by Josh Malerman

My Opinion

4 stars

This short story is part of the Creature Feature collection available through Prime Reading.

It's a slow burn but it kept my interest and I was reading quickly to find out what happened.  I enjoyed it as a story but I'm not sure it belongs in this collection; the creature itself seemed secondary to the main plot of Brenda redeeming herself.

The Best American Short Stories (2022)

 Book 97 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from September 19 - October 14

The Best American Short Stories (2022)

My Opinion

4 stars

Collectively I liked pretty much all the stories which means my notes are a bit repetitive but as I usually do when reading stories by different authors in the same book, I jotted a few thoughts about each one individually. 

A Ravishing Sun

I could feel the rawness and pain of the story.  When I read the author's note and saw it was a lived pain, it hit me harder that she could write the depression so well.  I hope she's in a good place now.

The Little Widow from the Capital

Well-written, it went in a very unexpected direction.

Man of the House

I felt sad yet hopeful for the future of the characters.

The Wind

Really powerful.

The Hollow

It was fine but I didn't really connect with the story.  The disconnect from reality was intentional and important to the plot but it made it difficult to find anything to latch on to.

Detective Dog

Absolutely engrossing.

Sugar Island

I want to be friends with all 3 of the main characters.  A sweet little snippet of life.

The Souvenir Museum

Really easy to get lost in the story.  The unsettledness of the characters was added by my reading it in the very early hours of the morning after a rough night of sleep.

Post

The story was engaging but also bleak.

Bears Among the Living

It was like hearing a person's inner monologue, random thoughts with enough cohesion to make it clear one person was narrating.

I love the line, "I miss when my future was more interesting to me than my past".

Soon the Light

It was matter-of-fact but also somehow emotional.  One that I was very engrossed in while reading but cannot describe what it was about at all.

Mbiu Dash

I felt sorry and lonely for her.  Abrupt ending.

The Meeting

There was a bleak undertone to the story and it escalated quickly to a surprising ending.

The Beyoglu Municipality Waste Management Orchestra

I didn't understand the parts with the attic and how it had so many contents but the inclination of the character to "rescue" beautiful artistic items from the garbage made perfect sense to me.

The Ghost Birds

A new angle of a dystopian future.  It was interesting to read in the author's note that the roosting of swifts in the chimney of an elementary school is a real thing that happens annually.

Mr. Ashok's Monument

It was fine.  I had to start over a few times because it required concentration to orient myself.

Ten Year Affair

It was unexpected and I'm glad it was never physical.  Her feelings about him at the end made me laugh; it reminded me of being mad at my husband for not apologizing for something he did in my dream.

The Sins of Others

Although this story had a satisfying ending the injustice of the system made me so angry.  It also was a little frightening that it wasn't too much of a stretch of the imagination to picture this happening in real life.

Elephant Seals

Pulling one thread at a time unravels into so many futures.  I like that it kept layering on itself instead of telling the same event in multiple timelines.

Foster

Melancholy but I hope good things happen for the main character.

Ankle Snatcher

 Book 96 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on October 11

Ankle Snatcher

by Grady Hendrix

My Opinion

4 stars

This short story is part of the Creature Feature collection available through Prime Reading.  I was completely sucked in and when it ended I was surprised because I would've read more but also satisfied with when it ended because it kept things ambiguous.

The Pram

 Book 95 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from October 9 - 11

The Pram

by Joe Hill

My Opinion

2 stars

This short story is part of the Creature Feature collection available through Prime Reading.  It's not a good sign that it took me 3 days to read a 58 page story; I kept reading a chapter and then moving on to something else.

The last section of the story (from when the shed was cleaned out until the end) bumped it up from a 1 star to a 2 star because it was creepy.  

Your Table is Ready

 Book 94 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from September 18 - October 10

Your Table is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maitre D'

by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina

Summary (via Goodreads)

From the glamorous to the entitled, from royalty to the financially ruined, everyone who wanted to be seen―or just to gawk―at the hottest restaurants in New York City came to places Michael Cecchi-Azzolina helped run. His phone number was passed around among those who wanted to curry favor, during the decades when restaurants replaced clubs and theater as, well, theater in the most visible, vibrant city in the world.

Besides dropping us back into a vanished time, Your Table Is Ready takes us places we’d never be able to get into on our own: Raoul's in Soho with its louche club vibe; Buzzy O’Keefe’s casually elegant River Café (the only outer-borough establishment desirable enough to be included in this roster), from Keith McNally’s Minetta Tavern to Nolita’s Le Coucou, possibly the most beautiful room in New York City in 2018, with its French Country Auberge-meets-winery look and the most exquisite and enormous stands of flowers, changed every three days.

From his early career serving theater stars like Tennessee Williams and Dustin Hoffman at La Rousse right through to the last pre-pandemic-shutdown full houses at Le Coucou, Cecchi-Azzolina has seen it all. In Your Table Is Ready , he breaks down how restaurants really run (and don’t), and how the economics work for owners and overworked staff alike. The professionals who gravitate to the business are a special, tougher breed, practiced in dealing with the demanding patrons and with each other, in a very distinctive ecosystem that’s somewhere between a George Orwell “down and out in….” dungeon and a sleek showman’s smoke-and-mirrors palace.

My Opinion

2 stars

Maybe it's because the lifestyle is so far removed from mine or maybe it's because it sounds too good to be true but the stories were pretty unbelievable.  Everything always works out for him no matter the choices?  He does acknowledge the changes in the industry and culture and happily seems to think the progress is a good thing.

When I read in the epilogue that he was getting ready to finally start his own restaurant I looked it up and am very happy to see it's still up and running.  I'm sure his experience, people skills, and recognition of talent are big reasons why.

The Library of the Unwritten

 Book 93 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from September 16 - October 2

The Library of the Unwritten

by A.J. Hackwith

Summary (via the book jacket)

Many years ago, Claire was named head librarian of the Unwritten Wing - a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the Library. When hero escapes from his book and goes in search of its author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and the nervous and sweet demon Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifying angel Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the ability to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell...and Earth.

My Opinion

4 stars

Excellent title and premise that made me snatch it off the library shelf quickly and I was not disappointed.  It was a little convoluted at times but the situations kept changing in unexpected but plausible (at least plausible for the story...there's nothing realistic about this setting at all) ways.  There were many twists and turns and I plan on continuing the series but there was enough of a resolution that someone could read this one alone if they wanted to.

Quote from the Book

"We are the dreams that did not die with the dreamer. We care nothing for the dark."

Oak Avenue

 Book 92 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on September 23

Oak Avenue

by Brandi Reeds

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the Dark Corners collection available through Prime Reading.  I'm rating it neutrally because while it was entirely engrossing and I was tearing through it to find out the ending, the ending was unsatisfactory.  There was too much buildup to have such a sudden switch to people being helpful and there were too many questions left unanswered (and not the typical mystery "the end...or is it?" questions but story ones like the in-laws, why there was such a switch of multiple characters' behaviors, etc.).

Just a Girl

 Book 91 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on September 18

Just a Girl

by Alyssa Cole

My Opinion

4 stars

This short story is part of the Obsession collection available through Prime Reading.  My jaw was clenched the entire time because it was so frustratingly realistic.

A Good Day for Chardonnay

 Book 90 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from September 4 - 18

A Good Day for Chardonnay

by Darynda Jones

Summary (via Goodreads)

Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff--and even fuller-time coffee guzzler--Sunshine Vicram, didn't get that memo.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that's about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny's got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he's not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She's seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn't know when to quit, Sunny's life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.

Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.

My Opinion

3 stars

Too much.  I was invested and there was witty, humorous dialogue as always but I'm also a little angry at how much I've been drawn in because there really are too too too many situations going on to have everything continue to work out semi-well (yet also have so much death at the same time).  It also makes ZERO sense to me that the paternity issue was not laid to rest years earlier...duh.

So I'll continue the series but it's almost reluctantly at this point.  It's kind of like the Stephanie Plum series...I'm interested in the characters and want to know what's going to happen but I also know the wheels are going to fall off and I'm just going to have to suspend any semblance of reality and go for the ride.

Slot Machine Fever Dreams

 Book 89 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on September 17

Slot Machine Fever Dreams

by Chris Bohjalian

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the Obsession collection available through Prime Reading.  It was fine while I was reading it but as it continued to become more and more unrealistic it took away all the suspense and ended with a whimper instead of a bang.  It's not that I necessarily wanted anyone to die but it took 'honor among thieves' a little too far.