five things Friday: October TBR edition

I haven't actually checked to verify it, but I'm pretty sure that I already have more 4.5 and 5-star books in 2022 than I did in 2021. Either way, it sure feels like my reading year has been more successful, and that's rather satisfying. Plus I have high hopes for a few I still have on my list for this year after seeing such great reviews - and I'm packing some of them in to October since several of them seem seasonally appropriate for the month...

I'm not a "spooky season" kind of person in general and don't think I've ever purposefully picked books for - but it just feels right for October to be the month for some of the selections on my stack. I've got sort of witchy vibes in The Change; there's a ghost element to Unlikely Animals (super excited about this one - the author is excellent, based on Rabbit Cake); there's a family curse from a Vietnamese witch in The Fortunes of Jaded Women that causes them to never find real love and always have daughters; and there's a fantasy element to the middle grade pick Amari and the Night Brothers (which I have heard very good reviews of). Finally, when cold and wet weather starts to arrive, what's cozier than something with Jane Austen-esque feels? Really looking forward to A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting, some regency era romance that sounds like it has the right amount of (not too much) steam for me.

One of my September TBR books would actually be perfect for October - with its Halloween setting - if only I didn't really dislike it...

Here's a full recap of my September picks, which I also did a bit unusually in that I picked a theme of "Agatha Christie inspired" for the first half of them. Only semi successful, as you'll see (probably doesn't help that Agatha Christie books aren't my favorite to read anyway).

• The Agathas: this YA book was my best selection of the Christie-inspired picks because it fell squarely into a genre I like - YA mystery that's investigated by the teen protagonists - and just added on the element of the main character being obsessed with Agatha Christie (and thus inspired to channel her and her detective characters when her former best friend dies). A solid YA mystery if you're a fan of Karen McManus or Holly Jackson - it's got all those type of elements of high schooler death (but the overall tone is not too dark), cold case brought back up because of it, rich teens behaving badly, main character with some kind of media/book obsession that drives their desire/ability to investigate (a la the true crime podcast angle in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder), and friendships forged across stereotypical peer group lines in pursuit of the investigation. ★★★.5
• Daisy Darker: this locked-room mystery inspired by And Then There Were None, in which Daisy's family is assembling for their eccentric grandmother's birthday, and while they are stuck at the house with no one being able to leave or come for the night because of the tidal patterns, they begin to die one by one... Decent concept for a family drama thriller, if only it hadn't been so tedious to read. The narrative voice (Daisy's) was just annoying to me, so it was going to be hard to redeem it, but then on top of it the characters kept doing/saying things that were inconsistent with how they had been described earlier, and the eccentric grandmother was just so weird that it felt like slapstick on top of a story that was trying (?) to be more thrillery. Maybe it needed a better edit? Rather disappointing BOTM pick - I finished it, but I was kinda mad that I did because the big twist/reveal at the end did not make up for the slog to get there. ★★
• Dead and Gondola: this is a cozy mystery that pays homage to Agatha Christie by setting the story in a (such amazing sounding - I want to go to there!) mountainside chalet bookstore run by a family with the last name of Christie who loves their random connection to the famous author in this way, because they love her work. And then it turns out that when a stranger comes to their tiny Colorado mountain town and winds up dead in the gondola that takes visitors back down the mountain to the main part of town, after he had burst in to their store's Agatha Christie bookclub. At first they might be suspects, but then of course they find themselves as sleuths... Cozy mysteries are not really my thing - part of the hallmark of them is that they are investigated by amateur sleuths, and I really prefer a detective procedural that has a bit more of a broody protagonist - but if they are your thing, I would definitely recommend this one. The setting added a double meaning to the "cozy" because the bookstore just sounded so delightful, and because there's a snowstorm going on in part of the story, so reading it when you're all cozied up inside in the winter would just feel lovely. I liked the three generations of women in the story and the small-town feel. Also of course for fans of Agatha Christie who like to nerd out on talking about her work. [I was sent an e-copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.] ★★★
• Olive, Again: after loving a follow-up in the Lucy Barton series recently I decided I needed to finally pick up this follow-up to Olive Kitteridge. In the same way as Olive Kitteridge, this sequel tells Olive's story through loosely connected vignettes about her, and about people in her small Maine town. Olive has that same sometimes hard to take rough-edged, no-nonsense approach to the world and the people she interacts with - but at the same time you can see the good in her, like when she's the one person in town to go visit a woman with cancer, or when she seems to somehow have the right thing to say to grieving people ("as the kids would say, it sucks") or know how to sit with them. There's hard things in this book, in what all of the characters are going through with strained relationships or loss or financial hardship - Elizabeth Strout is a master at capturing such human feelings that just make you ache for the humanity of it all - but then there's hope and love too. Also a lot about aging in this book as Olive nears the end of her life, and in it she finds some renewal, some regret, and some realities of physical decline that Strout doesn't shy away from. Oh and as a bonus: I never realized how much Easter egg treasures you get with Elizabeth Strout - maybe that's newer for her - but I had loved seeing in Lucy by the Sea the cameos from characters in her other worlds (the Burgesses, Olive), and this one delighted me in the same way. ★★★★
• Ariadne: if you're a fan of mythology retellings, especially ones that bring to light the overlooked stories (i.e. the women's stories) and have a feminist slant, I'd recommend this one! I didn't love it as much as Circe, but still a solid retelling in my book... It tells the story of Ariadne (what her life turned out to be after helping Theseus slay the Minotaur, the thing she's known for, but a story that tends to give Theseus the glory), but it also tells the story of her younger sister Phaedra, and their relationship. One of them marries a mortal hero, one of them marries a god, and both suffer, as women have done through the ages, the consequences of men's and gods' follies and failings. At the same time, you see their domestic life and also the strength they bring to difficult situations, and the choices/help they make that change the course of history for their cities and families. As with a lot of mythology, it's a bit hard to track the characters at first (does help if you've had some exposure to Greek mythology before), but once you get into it, it's basically a historical soap opera. In this one, the beginning part felt a bit rushed and Ariadne a bit of an annoying infatuated teen, so I wasn't sure how I'd like it, but I think that suits her character at the time - she really has to grow into herself and her power - and makes sense that the author is trying to tell the story of Ariadne as a person, beyond the one part of her life (the Minotaur) that mythology typically reports. When I have Circe as the first book of this type I read, a huge 5-stars from me, it's hard for others to live up, but I did think this one was well done and really sucked me in, and it did a great job of reframing history/mythology to see it from the perspective of the overlooked, the women. ★★★★.25

Did you read anything good last month? Or have any seasonal books on the docket for October?

five things Friday: new & notable edition

A notable thing around here this week: Freddie got his first haircut! His little curls in the humidity were so sweet, but when the weather started to calm down a little, it was really looking mullet-y. So my lovely stylist helped us out with a little trim right after Hendrik's regularly scheduled cut. Freddie sat still on my lap for it, but he cried and cried and cried. It turned out so cute, but he seems so grown up which kind of makes me want to cry and cry...  Here's a distraction though: a few new & notable things in my life to report on.

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In my wardrobe: I thought fall maybe required an update to my "cool kid sneakers" as my friend (hi, Lesley!) calls them... though that name did come about before we had kids, so maybe they're "cool mom sneakers" now? Love a pair like this for wearing with jeans and tees/sweaters to jazz up an outfit but still be comfy for library walks, school pickups, etc. And now that we're venturing back out into the world a bit more (and have a new babysitter on the roster!) I thought this fall deserved a cute dress too. Love the cotton fabric (baby friendly) and print on this one; it'll be cute with tights + boots when it gets cold too.

Around the house: while I loved our West Elm coffee table, it was purchased when Hendrik was beyond the baby/toddler stage... and it was just not working with a now-mobile Freddie. Target to the rescue with this stylish but inexpensive round option, with no corners to bang heads on or metal legs to get tangled up in (Freddie is quite something with getting himself into sticky situations). 

And a couple of little indulgences: I haven't worn perfume in years but got a sample set from Vilhelm Parfumerie as part of a beauty advent calendar, and I started trying out one of the summery scents in the last few months - and have liked it so much that I actually bought a little bottle of the mango skin! It's kind of fun having a scent again, in a more grown-up way than the last time I did. And finally, the newest book from one of my favorite rom-com authors, Kerry Winfrey. I treated myself to it, and I'm loving it already - her books are feel-good and delightful. 

That's what's new and of note around here. How about for you?

five things Friday: September TBR edition

Summer reading season is on its way out perhaps, but reading is year-round event for me... so time to share my September reading list!

 

So I'm admittedly not all that into Agatha Christie, but I realized that I have three books on my shelf/Kindle inspired by her and thought I might as well theme my reading month a bit: Daisy Darker is a recent BOTM pick that is inspired by And Then There Were None [ack, spoiler alert - just finished while composing this post, and I thought it was a major slog and the big reveal at the end not worth sticking around for... sorry to say]; The Agathas is YA mystery where the characters draw on Christie's works to solve a mystery in their own town; and Dead and Gondola was sent to me by Netgalley and seems to be a cozy mystery set in a bookstore in which the co-owner sisters "channel their inner Miss Marple", so we'll see how that one goes for me (not usually a cozy mystery reader) - but kind of fun to discover these three books with similar inspiration on my shelves, but all in different genres.

To round out the month, since I might need something a little more hefty to sink my teeth into after the above, a couple of more literary picks that have been on my list for a while: Olive, Again (after reading and loving the newest Elizabeth Strout book last month, inspired to get to this Olive Kitteridge sequel finally!) and a feminist Greek mythology retelling, Ariadne (here's hoping I love it as much as Circe!).

 

And now a recap of my August list - which I rather enjoyed!

• The Lies I Tell: a satisfying entry into what I call the "thriller lite" category. There's great twists and turns but nothing too bonkers or icky (think recent books like The Last Thing He Told Me or The Love of My Life). This story about a con-woman going for her final long game and the reporter who is trying to expose her has just the right amount of twists and surprise, along with enough character development/backstory to understand where they’re both coming from, in why they would act this way with their lies and tricks - and to make you wonder just who is actually getting conned here, and what is the line between revenge and justice. Good girl power vibes too!. It reminded me of Janelle Brown's Pretty Things, with the exploration of how the con artist and the target actually end up in a friendship (?) and the reader has to wonder who, if anyone, is a villain here. Also reminded me of Joshilyn Jackson's Never Have I Ever.  ★★★★
• Tokyo Dreaming: the sequel to Tokyo Ever After, a YA book I loved - almost a cross between Princess Diaries and Crazy Rich Asians with a protagonist who is just a regular teen with middling grades in California who learns that her dad is the crown prince of Japan (and it also has the bodyguard romance element that I loved in American Royals). Great narrative voice, and just a YA delight in general. This follow-up continues the story and includes a love triangle, a bit of college application angst, and more of getting to know the royal family's relationships and history. All in all, pretty fun again even if it didn't have quite the novelty and tension (of the good rom-com variety) of the first. Definitely read it if you enjoyed Tokyo Dreaming though. ★★★.5
• Well Matched: another (loose) series continuation. This is a bit more open-door romance than I've been enjoying in general lately, but because I already know the characters and setting from Well Met and Well Played, I picked it up (they don't need to be read in order, but I think I did enjoy it more for knowing the characters already, since it does follow chronologically from the others). The character who gets a turn at romance in this one is single mom April, who has never really tried to connect to the community as she always planned to move away as soon as her daughter graduated. But when she enters into a fake dating scheme with local gym teacher Mitch, giving him a date for a family event in exchange for his help fixing up her house to sell, she of course starts to find herself falling for him and also more connected to the community than she realized... I liked that April's a bit older than the other protagonists in this series, and that she's the loner/introvert/party pooper type (as someone a bit anti-social myself, I connected with this, ha). Otherwise, it's a fairly standard romance but with characters and a setting I've enjoyed, so I was inclined to like it. ★★★.5
• Hollowpox: The third book in the Nevermoor series following Morrigan Crow and her training as a member of the Wondrous Society. It brings back all of my favorite characters (and setting - the magical and quirky Hotel Deucalion where she lives with her patron, the delightful Jupiter North, is just so great and inventive), along with a really well-paced exciting plot as Morrigan learns more about her personal "knack" (magical gift) while at the same time a disease is striking down Wunnimals (animals with human characteristics) in Nevermoor, causing mass panic, quarantines, and lockdowns. That part was actually super interesting to read in middle grade fantasy after living through the covid era, of what it's like to try to avoid and tamp down this disease that we don't yet know much about... You definitely need to read this series in order, but it's worth going back through if you like middle grade fantasy of the Harry Potter, etc. variety as so far each book has been better than the last in my opinion. ★★★★
• Lucy by the Sea: okay, I didn't think I was ready for a covid pandemic novel unless it was tangential, part of the background but not the focus (like in the thriller 56 Days). But in the hands of Elizabeth Strout and her beloved character Lucy Barton? I devoured a completely character-driven story that was 100% about the experience of being in lockdown in 2020. Basically, Lucy's ex-husband William comes to her and says that this Covid thing is about to get really bad, and we should leave New York City and go to a house I rented in coastal Maine. She reluctantly agrees, thinking it'll just be for a short time (didn't we all?), and the rest of the book follows their relationship as they live together in lockdown isolation, their worry about their adult daughters, etc. It felt reflective and honest and real, and I adored the appearances of other Elizabeth Strout series characters in this one too - fun surprises. Normally character-driven isn't really for me, but a few authors can make it compulsively readable and so relatable, like Ann Patchett (maybe even Emma Straub, a bit), and most definitely Elizabeth Strout (I've loved all of the Lucy Barton books in this regard too). I will grant, though, that these are all white women writing about lifestyles that I personally can relate to, so while I find them to be illustrative of life experience and thus really illuminating through the character's reflections, this won't be the fact for everyone (and also as relates to pandemic lockdown experience - I was isolating and barely going out like Lucy in this book, but of course the experience would be so different for an essential worker, etc.). I received a free e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ★★★★.5

Bottom line: several books in series here that I loved getting to continue with the characters, and I recommend starting them all, if you're into YA or middle grade or contemporary romance or great character/relationship-driven fiction...  Let me know if you jump in to any of them!

currently: summer's end edition

So I completely failed to mention that while I'm not able to keep up with hosting the Currently linkup (sad as that makes me), one of the regular participants, Jennifer, has offered to put it on her blog . I'm just going to be doing my own posts when the spirit moves and I have time (surprisingly few moments these happen simultaneously), so here's a life update by way of Currently - along with a note that you can do the official linkup tomorrow here, if you like! Otherwise do tell in the comments how you're currently doing.

Meanwhile, here's what's currently going on around here, with a Labor Day weekend, summer's end, back-to-school kind of flavor:  

rooting: for Serena Williams and (fictional!) Carrie Soto. Watching US Open tennis always gives me the end-of-summer feels, and it's one of my favorite sporting events - and as I mentioned in my brief Instagram review of this 5-star book, it was so fun to read a story about a fictional aging champion trying to win one last big title at the same time that Serena was playing in her last tournament. Made me feel so immersed in the world of tennis, continually forgetting that I was reading fiction. Unfortunately it's the end of the road for Serena, but there are some other exciting Americans to cheer for still!

packing: daily lunches again. Hendrik requested pretzel crisps + cheese as his "main" instead of the PB&J that he took nearly every single day last year, and we're rounding it out with apple slices, ants on a log, and fruit snacks. So far he's pretty pleased with his whole new bento box and outer lunch box situation and the lunchy contents (and the fact that his class is assigned an 11:50 lunch time, versus those poor kindergartners who have to eat at like 10:45).

buying: lots of apples at the farmer's market - see above. Always love it when they come in season locally as they're a favorite fruit across the board in our household. Hendrik likes the Snowsweet variety (they don't usually brown when sliced), and Peter always requests Macintosh, but for me it's all about the Pink Lady when I can get my hands on them.

hiring: a college student to babysit Freddie, now that the local campus is back in session. It's been amazing to have grandparental help with Freddie for his first year, but hopefully we can all get into a good routine now with regular care/work hours for me while Hendrik is at school rather than those spotty summer camp hours - especially given that the grandparents are all about to head off on their (jealousy-inducing) fall travels!

wearing: my favorite comfy + flattering stovepipe jeans again, as we've actually had a decently cool start to September. I'm sure we'll see some hot days again before fall truly arrives, but we've had a few mornings/evenings that have given a real taste of it. Much as I dread the coming of winter, I do love pulling out my jeans again and putting together fall ensembles - excited to recreate this one especially.

5 things Friday: fall feasting edition

I'm not ready to wish summer away by any means, since usually the weather is such that we still get to enjoy weekends at the beach this month - but with Hendrik finally back in school and the calendar switched over to September, there's no denying that the days are getting shorter, and we need to be a bit more organized about weekday life and getting dinner on the table.

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So I've been poking around online a bit about meal planning (actually one place I look is my own archives, thanking my past self for good ideas like this lineup of easy recipes, these dinner go-tos, and even this whole week of meals!), but then I found myself sidetracked by table accoutrements for my fall meals... way more fun to think about the decorating than the actual planning and cooking.

I love having floral arrangements around, but sometimes it just doesn't feel worth the effort/money when they last for only a few days - so when I recently learned about the Roxanne's Dried Flowers site, I got excited about the fall decor possibilities of having such lovely arrangements that will keep. The dried flower arrangements (naturally) look more realistic than a faux plant, and they're still so colorful and lovely and come in such nice vases too. Perfect centerpiece for a fall table that will last the entire season long. 

The dried arrangement pictured here inspired me to window-shop a whole tablescape inspired by the colors of the flowers and vase, and now I rather want to actual shop it - wouldn't this be so pretty for a fall gathering? Or even just making the everyday feel fancier, because the dishes are actually great deals. I've long loved the colored stemware I've seen floating around Instagram, and this option is a gorgeous color and great price point. And while I've always been an all-white ceramic dishes girl, this navy set caught my eye; I'm rather tempted to get some for that price, as it's a really fun change of pace that feels kind of cool but sophisticated (same thing for usually going for all silver-colored utensils, but loving this copper set!). Some pretty mustard-colored napkins round out the table and the color scheme of the floral arrangement.

A girl can dream, even if meanwhile it's mostly silicone baby plates that get dumped on the floor despite their supposed suction properties... 

Post sponsored by Jodiecball.com, but all opinions are my own.