March Reading Recap
Hello, fellow book lovers! I hope spring reading is treating you well. I’ve been fortunate enough to get my hands on two ARCs, which were both entertaining and are out now.
I also started my journey with The World: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore. This 1,344-page beast tells the history of the world through the families that ruled it. I’ve had my eye on it for quite some time and was gifted it for my birthday (shout out to my husband!). So far, so good. I’ll keep you all updated. Until next month, happy reading!
Tripping on Utopia by Benjamin Breed
Quick Synopsis: Different forms of psychedelics have been around for centuries but really emerged in mainstream culture for recreational use starting in the early ‘40s. Two anthropologists, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, convinced the world was on the brink of disaster, thought it was their responsibility to save it by using psychedelics. And well, you can imagine how that turned out.
Strong Points: This in-depth look at the history of psychedelics is wild. It was a real page-turner, from the CIA getting involved in the research to how it shaped Silicon Valley. It’s very well researched….
Weak Points: …Maybe a little too well researched. It got a little long and fact-heavy towards the end after the love affairs and LSD experimentation had died down. If you’re interested in the origin story of psychedelic science, I would highly recommend the first 3/5 of this book.
Writing Style: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Recommend
For fans of: Subculture Vulture by Moshe Kasher, Burn Book by Kara Swisher, and Filteredworld by Kyle Chayka
So Fetch by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Quick Synopsis: The history of the making of Mean Girls and how it shaped a generation.
Strong Points: I’m a sucker for behind-the-scenes tidbits on shows and movies that I love. Finding out who was up for the role of Cady and the rest of the Plastics was so fun, and reading about how Lindsay would rebel on set made me laugh (I have always suspected my beloved Lindsay Lohan was a bit of a tyrant).
Weak Points: I have read a few of Armstrong’s books, such as one on the making of Sex and the City and another on Mary Tyler Moore, and I have to say, this is by far her weakest book. While the others of hers were about television shows that lasted for several seasons, this was about a single movie. She ran out of stuff to talk about halfway through and started to babble on about Mean Girl internet memes for the other half of the book. Really, I’m not exaggerating. Half of the book was about Mean Girls memes and the internet culture around it. A lot of her “inside scoop” I could have read on my own with a little Google search. I’m not sure if she found out about the new Mean Girls movie coming out and wanted to rush to get this book published, or if there wasn’t a lot to share. Either way, this was a dud. I was very disappointed because, like all girls born in the 90s, Mean Girls was one of my favorite movies growing up.
Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 2/5
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
Not Recommend
For fans of: One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy, When I Was Your Age by Kenan Thompson, and Toxic by Sarah Ditum
The Bishop and the Butterfly by Michael Wolraich
Quick Synopsis: After the stylish Vivian Gordon went out one night and was discovered the next day in a Bronx park having been strangled, the cops searched her apartment to find notebooks filled with the names and secrets of socialites and businessmen that blew the lid off of schemes involving the New York City mayor, cops, and the gang members behind the infamous Tammany Hall.
Strong Points: It’s hard to write a book that captures the reader for all 450 pages, but somehow Wolraich has done just that. Between the twists and turns and the drama unfolding chapter after chapter, I had to remind myself that it was nonfiction. The pictures and newspaper clippings sprinkled throughout were a nice touch to add faces to the names.
Weak Points: Between the gang members, political leaders, and businessmen, it was hard to keep track of who was who, especially in the beginning.
Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Recommend
For fans of: A Murder in Hollywood by Casey Sherman, James by Percival Everett, and The Last Outlaws by Tom Clavin
Still Life by Louise Penny
Quick Synopsis: In a sleepy Quebec town outside of Montreal, a beloved woman is discovered shot in the woods. This is just the case for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache!
Strong Points: I’ve been hearing about these Louise Penny books for years, but finally cracked one open last month and really enjoyed my time with it. The setting and characters were charming and comfy, and the pacing was masterfully done. If you need a getaway from your hectic life or simply want to get lost in a murder mystery book, this one is for you.
Side note: I picked this book up at a local book store, and upon getting to around page 100, I realized it started to not make sense and jumped from one scene to a the middle of a different scene. The pages were completely out of order, going from page 142 to 178. It made reading the rest of the book a little chaotic, having to search around to find the page that came next. I loved it!
Weak Points: It had a few preachy, religious ideas dropped in here and there. While it didn’t ruin the overall story, I definitely rolled my eyes a few times. I’m not the biggest fan when authors do this. It didn’t add anything to the story and felt unnecessary.
Writing Style: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4.5/5
Flow/Pacing: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Recommend
For fans of: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, and The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
The Hearing Test by Eliza Barry Callahan
Quick Synopsis: After waking up with a droning sound in her ear, the narrator is diagnosed with sudden deafness. Left without an explanation for what caused this and the impending doom of total deafness, she attempts to continue to live her life in New York.
Strong Points: Add sudden sensorineural hearing loss, AKA sudden deafness, to the list of things I am terrified will happen to me. According to NIDCD, only roughly 10% of people with this disease have an identifiable cause, leaving a very large 90% of people not knowing the cause of their diagnosis. TERRIFYING! Having sudden deafness on my list of irrational things to obsess over is the only strong point of this book... and I suppose that’s not really even a strong point.
Weak Points: This is a weak stream of conscious-type writing that, instead of documenting her journey with hearing loss, documents everything else unrelated to her hearing loss. Her hearing loss is more of an afterthought. After reading the synopsis, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book, but I was extremely disappointed. The narrator wasn’t too mad about the diagnosis and what was happening to her, but she didn’t seem happy about it either. She just kind of went along with it. This makes for an unrealistic, dull character that the reader cannot connect with and a rather boring story.
Writing Style: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Plot: 2/5
Flow/Pacing: 1/5
Overall Rating: 2/5
Not Recommend
For fans of: Getting tricked by an interesting, but false synopsis. Just kidding.
Here are some books: Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley, Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti, and Worry by Alexandra Tanner
Disillusioned by Benjamin Herold
Quick Synopsis: American suburbia was built on dreams of picket white fences and a chance at upward mobility. A promise of a better life for generations to come. Is it an attainable dream or just a myth?
Strong Points: The author spent time with each family, and the interviews and research showed in this story. I liked how the author gave POV from different demographics, like a wealthy Republican family where the mom was a stay-at-home mom. Another upper middle-class family where the parents were both highly educated and a lower-middle class family that was just trying to get by while trying to give their children the life they deserved. It was effective in giving the reader a chance to see the struggle from different perspectives.
Weak Points: The title is misleading. It wasn’t as much a focus on America’s suburbs as it was on the school districts in these suburbs. While I understand that school districts affect the suburbs and vice versa, I think the author should have titled this book more appropriately. Instead, sell the book as a study on the correlation between struggling school districts and the surrounding suburbs. The author is a talented education journalist. Still, it needed to be pitched differently, in my opinion.
Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Flow/Pacing: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Not Recommend
For fans of: An American Dreamer by David Finkel, Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman, and The Cancer Factory by Jim Morris
James Bond and the Sixties Spy Craze by Thomas Shubilla
Quick Synopsis: A deep dive into the 1960s spy craze with Ian Fleming's James Bond character that started it all.
Strong Points: This book was thoroughly researched, and I learned a lot of interesting tidbits, like that JFK was a huge fan of the Bond novels by Ian Fleming and that he had a special viewing of From Russia with Love two days before his assassination, making it his last film he watched. These films were such an event. I think we take it for granted that everything is streaming or that we can rent movies digitally to be viewed in the comfort of our own living room. Back in the day, seeing big blockbuster movies was an event. Goldfinger was such a hit that a movie theater ran it 24 hours a day for weeks. Imagine being able to show up at the theater at 2 a.m. to watch Bond kick some ass. Well, the Catholic Church was not pleased with Goldfinger or any of the other Bond movies, as was the German government. They were both very vocal about how vile they thought the movies were. (If the German government and Catholic Church disapprove of your movies, you're doing something right.)
Also, remember books like James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Well, that exact children’s book author, Roald Dahl, wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Once. Okay, I promise, I’m done with the fun facts. You can read the rest yourself.
Weak Points: That being said, being a James Bond fan, I wanted more James Bond content. I didn’t care so much for the listing of other spy movies and television shows that took place in the 1960s (shockingly so, so many for such a short period of time). I had to force my way through the last part of the book.
Writing Style: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Flow/Pacing: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Recommend
For fans of: Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka, Death Comes Too Late by Charles Aradi, and the Rule of Threes by Jeffery Deaver
*Thank you, NetGalley, and Globe Pequot for providing me with a free, electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You by Becky Holmes
Quick Synopsis: One woman's quest to expose and understand online romance scammers via her Twitter page.
Strong Points: The author’s voice was so strong, I think that’s the part I loved most about this book. That and her interviews and stories she shares from people’s experiences with romance scammers. The author shows such empathy towards the people who have been scammed, explaining how even highly educated people can become prey. With a large number of people turning to apps and the internet to find love, online romance scams have skyrocketed, especially during Covid, when people were stuck at home and lonely. I certainly learned not to judge those who get scammed too harshly.
Weak Points: No weak points, really. This was a fun, light-hearted book about romance scammers.
Writing Style: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Recommend
For fans of: List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, and You Are Here by David Nicholls
*Thank you, NetGalley and Unbound, for providing me with a free, electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.” - Voltaire
