February ended up being an interesting month for my reading. Interesting in that none of the usual rules applied and I became impatient, starting and stopping books with all the crankiness of a fractious toddler needing a nap.
This week I took an adult version of a nap and spent three days in a small cottage on the southern coast of Washington. Three days of high winds and unceasing rain and I loved every minute of it. Reading was all I did, but very little writing so this is a bit brief.
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (Ernest Cunningham, #2) by Benjamin Stevenson
Published by Mariner Books
Publication date: October 17, 2023
Bookshop
I loved Stevenson’s debut, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone so was primed to enjoy his latest, Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. It didn’t disappoint, with Ernest Cunningham and his self-deprecating wit returning to find himself on a train journey across Australia. He’s accompanied by 5 other mystery writers and someone ends up dead. Gets a bit silly by the end, but not enough to deter my enjoyment of Stevenson’s dry wit and repeated breaking of the fourth wall to let readers in on the joke.
The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini: Review to follow
Medea by Eilish Quin: More great updated Greek mythology. My review
Family Family by Laurie Frankel
Published by Henry Holt & Company
Publication date: January 23, 2024
Bookshop
This is a brutal one for me as I adored Laurie Frankel’s This is How it Always Is, but Family Family lost me. A modern day story of adoption told with love and compassion as an antidote to the trope of ‘adoption trauma’. I loved the premise, but some of the choices in the plot felt wildly improbable to me, to the point I didn’t finish the book. Everyone I know loved this novel so feel free to ignore everything I just wrote.
After Annie by Anna Quindlen: Loving novel of grief and healing. My review
James by Percival Everett: Searing retelling of Huckleberry Finn. Review to follow
That’s all for me. How was your reading this month?
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*I received a free copy of Family Family from Henry Holt & Co in exchange for an honest review.*
If it makes you feel any better, I felt the same about FAMILY FAMILY. In fact, I’m beginning to think TIHIAI was a one-off, because I haven’t really liked either book that followed.
Well, if I have to be an outlier there’s no other curmudgeon I’d rather share the podium with. I think you’re right, TIHIAI might have been a one-off.
My favorite books of February couldn’t be more different: The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang, a searing collection of essays about living with a schizoaffective disorder, and The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel, a romantic comedy about eccentric Greenwich Villagers. What next?
Wow, you did cover a wide spectrum. I really enjoyed The Sweet Spot. It must have been a lighthearted relief after the essays.
Okay sounds like a great retreat. I’m not a Frankel reader so I’m okay, but I’m awaiting word on the James novel. Is it too brutal or is it worth reading? I’m trying to watch less news lately as the toll is huge. Your retreat is a good idea. Happy reading in March.
It’s definitely worth reading, unless you have a fragile white ego- which I doubt.
I’m trying not to watch any news at all. I just can’t. Knowing doesn’t change anything except to make my stomach hurt.