Bronwyn
I heard the author on You're Wrong About in the second episode on Go Ask Alice and was intrigued (highly recommend the podcast!). The book did not disappoint. I've never read Go Ask Alice or any of it's successors, but the whole blaming LSD thing and the satanic panic stuff is right up my alley - and this definitely delivered!
Some of this was really hard to read (I honestly do think it's why I've been in a funk for a few days) - Sparks was obviously a troubled person, but the havoc she wrought was unbelievable. I understand that the book/s help people, and the author shows some of that too, but mostly I'm just mad at Sparks for what she did, specifically, to the family of Alden Barrett.
I don't love that there are no notes or a bibliography or something. The author tries to explain why at the end of the book, but it's not convincing to me. This could've been a five star book but I have to deduct for that. It's so obviously well researched and he just gets a bit hand wavy about it. sigh
I'd still recommend this though, as it's really well done and an interesting topic.
I heard of this from The Mookse and the Gripes podcast, looked it up, and thought it sounded so interesting. Two old friends, who bonded and fell out over an artist, reunite on ones deathbed. It sounds so simple, and it really is, but it's done so well, so interestingly. It's really about the artist and the painting in a lot of ways. There's bits of history of the artist, as well as of our unnamed narrator and friend. The way it's written is so well done, but really different from what I'm used to. I really loved this. I dragged out finishing because I didn't want to be done. Hopefully the library will get Hager's other book too.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this, but the whodunnit was clever and I didn't figure it out, so four stars.
Eta: there is a particular plot point that's... gross... I'm a bit more forgiving since this is originally from the 40s and from a culture I'm not familiar with, so maybe it's a bit more forgivable...
Like a lot of people (based on how long I had this on hold!), I watched the Candy miniseries on Hulu and wanted to know more. The show follows the book pretty well, but you definitely do get more here - sometimes too much more, it felt overly long at times.
I didn't like Candy Montgomery. And I still don't really understand why she did it. I don't buy the case the defense laid out - apparently one of the authors doesn't anymore either.
Overall very interesting though.
Overall I really enjoyed this! It got a bit bogged down when the detectives were describing everything, over and over. But the reveal was interesting, if a bit convoluted (but part of it is similar to a particular movie, so it has precedent. Of course, can't say what movie without giving bits away). In the end I really enjoyed it, though. I'm really enjoying these honkaku mysteries (this is my second) and will be reading more!
This was so charming! I preferred Paris to New York, which is always my complaint with these volumes with multiple books, but both were so sweet and fun that even liking NY a bit less, I still much preferred it to other books I've read.
I liked Paris and the whole “little old(ish) lady charms everyone around her and changes their lives”. It had something of Miss Pettigrew about it. New York was almost over the line of too coincidental and, almost, twee, but you just can't dislike Mrs Harris.
The library has Moscow also, with a long waitlist, so I guess I'll get my name on that list!
I struggled to get into this but wound up enjoying it. Phillip seemed more fleshed out than some of the other love interests. I kept picturing him as Toby Stephens' Mr. Rochester, which was interesting since I couldn't get Claudia Jessie out of my mind since she's so good on the show. It'll be interesting to see how they do this since the show has changed a lot already.
This was a better book I think. Some of the other reviews complain about how Marina's depression was handled, and so I was expecting that, and just didn't get it.
I'm taking a break before Francesca's, and then will be taking a longer break before the last few. I think that was why I struggled with this one. It's just a lot of the same overall, and these sorts of books aren't really my jam.
This was really good. It's more a book about a place than any specific characters, but we do see characters grow and change. Some people have happy endings, others don't.
In a lot of ways this is really bleak. There's poverty or near-poverty, sickness, potential scandals... There's a lot going on, but Holtby's writing is really beautiful and still hopeful. It's a long book, and I did struggle with the length at points, but I really enjoyed it all in the end. I'll have to read more by Holtby in the future.
I wanted to finish this by months end and I did! Thank you to the group, Reading the Twentieth Century, to get me to finally give this another shot. (My previous attempt began in June 2012 and was cut off when we moved and I just didn't have it in me to continue at that point.)
Received from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Look, the thing about Taylor Jenkins Reid is that she's very readable - I read this in a couple days. I've read all her books, each in a couple days. There's not always a lot there, but they're fun and good at the time, but I don't think about them much. Other than Evelyn Hugo, I've enjoyed her earlier books the best, and could do with more of those and less of these focused on famous people. That said, you'll definitely enjoy this if you've enjoyed her other books.
If you've read Malibu Rising, you know a little of Carrie Soto. But here, here you get her whole story.
I loved Carrie, even when she's hard to love, and her father, Javier. I loved watching her relationships with other players (Bowe and Nicki Chan foremost) grow and change. Some of these changes I saw coming, others I did not at all.
I know earlier I said there's not always a lot there, and I do stand by that - I don't know how much I'll think about Carrie now that I'm done - but there's still so much to take away from this book.
I loved watching Carrie grow and change. She's a tough person to be in the head of. I wanted to yell at her to be nicer a lot. But that makes for a nice change when she begins to soften and relax into who she is now.
I don't read many new books, but Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author that I always look forward to new books from. If you like her books, read this. If you don't, you still might enjoy this. Who'd've thought I'd enjoy a book about a tennis player?!
This was really beautiful but almost haunting. It's almost more a series of vignettes in the life of this family. The narration as a foursome of cousins was really interesting to read but really leant some depth to the storytelling - everyone is connected to everyone in all these different ways. I really enjoyed this. Yet another great NYRB Classics title.
This was another fun one. Benedict was a bit of a bully, which I didn't like as I love him on the show, but he realized it and overcame it. Sophie was sweet. It's all a bit silly but that seems par for the course with these. :) I think I'll take a bit of a break as they are getting a bit samey one after another, but I have to wait on the library anyhow, so...
I've enjoyed the Bridgerton show, so when I was in a reading slump I thought “why not?” This was entertaining for what it is. It's not my usual cup of tea, but romances and suspense/thrillers are good to get out of a slump. Everyone is a little bit awful and a little sweet. It's all ridiculous (always with these virgins being amazing in bed too...) but fun. I'll probably continue the series when I need out of a slump again.
This book man. It was not great. I read it because the concept seemed interesting (discovery documents in a law case!), but it just didn't work.
Also, if I realized the bulk of the mystery was going to be financial crimes, I probably wouldn't have even bothered, because it's so dull.
Why does everyone email each other all the time?! Some of it, sure. Email doctors, email your business correspondence, email people overseas. Yes, that makes sense. Emailing that you're waiting for someone? Or about a kid's toy? No! Just text! Especially since there are also texts included! One character at one point even emails(!) something to the effect of “why are you emailing? You were just standing next to me!” And, yeah.
I also feel like I never really got to know the characters. Issy is annoying and almost childlike despite being a nurse, but she's the only one I really felt like I understood even a little.
Revealing things through different phases of discovery is interesting, but just made me feel left out of what was going, or deliberately misled, a lot. I understand that's what mysteries usually do, but it just didn't work.
And, though I guess understandable, not having correspondence from certain characters made me not really care about them at all. The murder is so convoluted. The resolution is so anticlimactic.
Two stars because it reads fast and I wanted to know what was going on, but overall it just didn't work for me.
Overall I really liked this! In the introduction Jaffe says it's a sociological book, which makes sense, though it makes for a bit of an overly long book. The book follows multiple women (Caroline is the MC if there is one, but there's also Gregg, April, and Barbara) from about January 1952- December 54. They're all from different types of lives, and continue to have very different lives in NYC. The women are all really well done. I didn't love all the adultery, but maybe that's just NYC at this time. It reminded me of Mad Men (the office atmosphere, everyone sleeping around) and The Group. I didn't love that the last chapter was from a man's perspective as it's a book about the women, but I also understand what Jaffe was doing. I'm glad I read this.
This was pretty good. I think because I expected a twist, it didn't have the affect it could have otherwise, but here I am saying it has one, too, so... The characters were all really interesting and I definitely wanted to know what happened. It was a little predictable in some ways, but overall, pretty good.
I was waffling between three and four stars, but I'm glad I read this so I'll go with four. I appreciated the confusion of the older Maud, but young Maud seemed... stunted? or on the spectrum or something? that that part of the story didn't really work for me. You really feel for Maud though; the not knowing, the confusion. You also feel for her family members; it's hard when a family member doesn't remember anything from one minute to the next. I wish there was a bit more resolution, but for the story this is, it makes sense there's not. Overall I'm glad I read this, but I'm not sure I really liked it, if that makes sense.
This book was received from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
We Kept Our Towns Going tells the stories of the Gossard corset and bra factories in Ishpeming and Gwinn, Michigan. Moving chronologically, Wong follows the factories through their years of operation and beyond. The importance of these factories in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and beyond is shown through oral histories of individuals who worked or lived near the Gossard factories. This is a history of labor in an area not usually focused on, and Wong tells the story well.
Wong takes us through all the details of production in the Gossard shops. She describes the layout of the building; what went on on each floor; how the machines worked and how the women helped keep them working; how the materials were brought in and finished garments went out. Wong also uses the women's recollections to show how the different work structures operated, from how piecework worked and how it was paid out, to the office workers and truckers.
The communities in Michigan's UP were mainly centered around mining. Wong shows how this helped create the perfect environment for the Gossard factories to succeed in. Miners were often laid off for periods at a time, and the wives and daughters of the miners wanted or needed to help their families. The Gossard was perfect for these women.
Throughout each chapter we hear from former employees, children of former employees, other members of the communities, etc. to help us better understand the importance of the factories to their communities. Wong highlights the economic benefits to families and the towns from the first opening in the 1920s until the final closure in 1976.
The longest chapter in the book highlights the lead up to unionization of the Gossard plants and the strike that took place in 1949. I fully admit I didn't quite follow all of the strike negotiations. Whether that is due to the text lacking or my own gap in understanding unions though, I'm not sure.
The last chapters show the changing world of the 1960s and 1970s and the slow decline in the Gossard's work in the UP. Fashions changed and the garments produced were no longer in fashion. While the company tried to move with the times, ultimately the last Gossard factory in the UP closed in the late 1970s. Wong then takes us through what happened to the factory building, the workers, and the towns.
The story of the Gossard factories is bookended by the story of a quilt, made from Gossard fabric and made to highlight the women and the factories that supported the towns for over half a century. The quilt can be seen online at: https://quiltindex.org//view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-6495
Overall this is a fascinating story of a little told place and job. The oral histories are what makes the book stand out. The women, and some men, so clearly loved their jobs and what those jobs did for their communities. These stories should be more well known, and with Wong's book, they can be, if only a little bit more.
I wish I liked this a bit more than I did. I really liked the literary/academic mystery. The descriptions were beautiful. I totally lost steam with all the poems and letters though. I can definitely see why people love this, but it just wasn't quite there for me. I'm not sure if having seen the movie first helped or hurt. I think the movie condensed the story in a better way, but I also kept waiting for them to figure things out because I remembered enough of the movie. Overall it's beautiful and I'm glad I read it, it's just not a love for me.
I wasn't sure if I liked this until I got to the very end. I liked the early parts, the sideshow, but the middle dragged for me. The last page, the last paragraph really, made me appreciate it more. Which isn't fair, the story is great and disturbing, but that last bit just pulled it all together. (I feel misled by the introduction and how Dr Ritter is described. I expected more.)