What I'm Reading

At the beginning of this book, Rachel Weiss wakes up on New Year's Day with a hangover from the night before, a strange guy in her bed, and a new determination to generally try to be more responsible this year. After all, she'll be thirty soon. Maybe it's time to think about trying to settle down with a nice Jewish boy like her mother wants her to.

But then it turns out that what her mother actually wants is for Rachel to marry the rich young man whose parents just moved in next door! Christopher Butkus, as he is unfortunately named, is everything Mrs. Weiss wants for her daughter Rachel, regardless of whatever it is that Rachel wants.

Told through narrative and the titular group chap (with Rachel and her friends Sumira, Eva, and Amy), this story is funny and has good characters. It's a straight romance done well.

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Endless Night

Fiction by Agatha Christie

Mike and Ellie are a charming young couple who fall in love and get together to build their dream house in the English countryside. But unfortunately they seem to be threatened from all sides. There are Ellie's interfering, money-grasping relatives; and there's a creepy gypsy woman in the neighborhood who insists they have built on cursed land; and then there's Greta, the woman Ellie believes is her best friend but whom Mike is suspicious of.

This is probably one of Agatha Christie's best books. There is no detective, and the murder doesn't even take place until close to the end of the book, but it's still a first-class mystery.

The amazing thing is, I actually remembered exactly how the story ended (and who had "dunnit"), but was still able to enjoy the re-read.

I also read recently by this author: Postern of Fate

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Memoir of a Milk Carton Kid

Nonfiction by Tanya Nicole Kach and Lawrence Fisher

In 1996 Tanya Kach was a fourteen-year-old girl from a troubled home. Her emotionally distant father had written off her mentally ill mother after a difficult divorce, and he actively tried to keep Tanya from seeing her mom. Meanwhile, he had remarried and abdicated responsibility for Tanya to his new wife, whom Tanya hated. Tanya was looking for love and acceptance, and for a parental figure.

Unfortunately, she found Tom Hose, a security guard at the middle school (!!!!) who took an interest in her, convinced to come home with him, and kept her locked up in his upstairs room for ten years. (!!!!!!!!)

This is a true story, as unbelievable as it sounds, about a girl who thought maybe nobody cared about her, a predator who convinced her it was definitely true, and a bunch of authority figures (teachers and cops) who looked the other way and didn't try very hard to help.

Her lawyer and co-writer Lawrence Fisher has been working for years to help Tanya reintegrate into society, and get some justice from a system that failed her. It's an interesting story but pretty hard to read because of how sad it is.

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Margo's Got Money Troubles

Fiction by Rufi Thorpe

There is a movie out right now based on this book and I saw the trailer. It seemed to be about a young woman (Margo, obviously) struggling to take care of her new baby on her own. The only "support" she has is her mother, who insists that the baby (her grandchild!) hates her and won't stop crying, so she absolutely cannot babysit at all. Margo loses her job, and her roommates are moving out which doubles her rent... hence the aforementioned money troubles.

I don't know about the movie but the book is really good. The titular character Margo writes in an interesting mix of first and third person. The characters were well written and completely believable. I enjoyed this book a lot and will likely look for more by this author.

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Bossypants

Nonfiction by Tina Fey

This was a funny memoir read by the author.

Friday, May 15, 2026

The Underachiever's Guide to Love and Saving the World

Fiction by Sloane Brooks

At the beginning of this story, Courtney is a high-achieving but miserable girl who is busy earning money, pleasing her family , and generally being what other people want her to be. Then she loses her job and decides to embrace her inner underachiever and just try to be happy.

And then she goes through a portal into another universe.

This was a strange and quirky book. I liked some of it, but in general it was too long. The characters were good but the story was too slow.

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Same as it Ever Was

Fiction by Claire Lombardo

Julia Ames is a woman in her fifties who is pretty sure she mostly has her life together. Her relationship with her husband Mark is loving and stable, her grown son Ben is slightly distant but quite successful, and she's relatively close to her high-energy, emotional teenaged daughter Alma. She feels she can at least say she's done better with her children than her own toxic single mother, from whom she is estranged.

But then she sees Helen in the grocery store, and is immediately catapulted back in time to when she was a clinically depressed young mother of an intense little toddler. Helen had been a friend and lifeline back then, but somehow things had gone horribly wrong. Julia and Helen haven't spoken in almost eighteen years.

The story is told in two timelines: First, the current Julia manages her almost empty nest, and decides whether to try once again to reconnect with her mother. Second, the reader is taken back in time to see what really happened with Helen, and how it has affected Julia's life.

This was a really thought-provoking book, and the author does a great job of exploring the ups and downs of parenting, especially the endless never-enough-ness-feeling of motherhood. I loved the characters and the book was extremely well written, but it was also kind of depressing. I didn't like the ending.

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Don't Let Me Go

Audible Original Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

In a small apartment building there is a collection of disconnected people: Billy used to a Broadway dancer, but now he hasn't left his apartment in ten years. Rayleen is a former foster kid and current nail technician who avoids relationships like the plague. They are on the first floor. Upstairs are shy Felipe, grouchy Mr. Lafferty, and old Mrs. Hinman.

But in the basement apartment is the person who will somehow bring them together: Nine-year-old Grace lives there with her mother Eileen, a former addict who just might be falling off the wagon in a big way. Grace has a big voice and an even bigger heart, and she will inspire these lonely people to somehow form a community together.

This was a lovely and heart-warming story from an author I adore. Seriously, I could hang out with Catherine Ryan Hyde's characters all day!

I also read recently by this author: Where We Belong

I also listened to recently from Audible Originals: Roadkill

Monday, May 11, 2026

Roadkill

Audible Original Fiction by Dennis E. Taylor

At the beginning of this story, Jack Kernigan has just hit something with his dad's delivery truck. The problem is, he doesn't know what the heck it was that he hit. Actually, the bigger problem is the damage to the truck; his dad is already extra disappointed in Jack because he'd been expelled from MIT before his freshman year was even over.

But now he's got to spend the summer in his small hometown in Ohio, where at least he has his best friends Patrick and Nat to keep him company. And maybe the three of them can solve the mystery of what on earth (or not-earth?) Jack has run over with his truck...

This was a fun and funny story to listen to.

I also read by this author: For We Are Many

I also listened to from Audible Originals: Where We Belong

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Just the Nicest Couple

Fiction by Mary Kubica

Lily and Christian are the titular Nice Couple in this story. They are young professionals looking to start a family soon, but at the beginning of this story something happens that threatens them. The reader begins to see that under their nice exteriors, Lily and Christian are willing to do anything to preserve their reputations, even if it's not so nice.

This book was okay but too slow for a thriller. It did have a surprise twist at the end.

I also read by this author: Local Woman Missing

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Nobody's Girl

Subtitled: a Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
Nonfiction by Virginia Roberts Giuffre

Oh my goodness. This was wrenching and way, WAY too sad. I couldn't finish listening.

Sunday, May 3, 2026

What Happens Next

Fiction by Christina Suzann Nelson

Faith Byrne is a mother of two teenaged daughters who is still reeling from her unexpected divorce at the beginning of this story. A former investigative reporter, Faith does a podcast about people who recover from tragedy called “What Happens Next.” Now she has been contacted by someone from her past about featuring a cold case disappearance, and there are some surprises in store.

I really liked this book and will look for more by this author.

Saturday, May 2, 2026

That Night

Fiction by Chevy Stevens.

At the beginning of this story, Toni Murphy is finally getting paroled after a fifteen-year prison sentence for murder. Although she knows she was innocent of the crime, she's no longer really trying to prove it to anyone. No one believes her anyways. All she wants is to try to go back to her hometown and have a sort-of normal life. But the past keeps coming up to haunt her, and slowly the reader learns what really happened the night of the murder...

This was a good story with good characters. The ending was somewhat of a surprise, but some elements were too predictable.

I also read by this author: Still Missing

Friday, May 1, 2026

Death of the Author

Fiction by Nnedi Okorafor

https://www.barnesandnoble.com https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Zelu is a Nigerian-American woman who has been partly paralyzed since age 12. She is the second born of a large and loud family, and a child of parents from two different African tribes: Ibo and Yoruba. All of these things make up part of who she is, but none of them define her as much as this: Zelu is an author.

This book is about both Zelu and her writing, combining elements of her novel, scenes from her life, and interviews of her family and close friends about her. It has wonderful and believable characters, and I would give it a very high rating… except for the ending.

Without resorting to spoilers, I can’t tell you the ending of course. Let me just say it was ambiguous and anti climactic. So this book is well written, and the narration on the audiobook is stellar, but it’s been demoted down to one thumb, or less.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

The Windy City Saga, Books 2 & 3

Shadows of the White City and Drawn by the Current
Fiction by Jocelyn Green

I read the first book in this trilogy (Veiled in Smoke) a while ago, and these books continue the story. All three books were good!

The first book was set during the Great Chicago Fire, and I liked how the author skipped ahead in time for the next two books to other significant events in Chicago’s history. The second book was during the World’s Fair and the third involved the Eastland tragedy, which l had never heard of. It was all interesting.

Friday, April 24, 2026

The Secret to Southern Charm

Fiction by Kristy Woodson Harvey

The story in this book seems to have nothing really to do with the title; it’s about a mother, grandmother, and three grown daughters in a coastal Georgia town and the challenges they face. It also is apparently book number two in a series, although nothing in the cover identifies it as such.

It was an okay story but not great.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Where We Belong

Audible Original Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Fourteen year old Angie and her family are about one step away from homelessness. It’s just Angie and her mom and her little sister Sophie; since Angie’s dad died eight years ago they have been struggling. After getting evicted from their home, they have worn out their welcome at every friend and relative in town. Sophie is a non verbal (but also VERY non quiet!) autistic child of six, and her disability makes trouble for them everywhere they go.

Everyone is strongly suggesting institutionalizing Sophie, but Angie can’t bear that option. Can Angie and her family figure out how to live and stay together? Then an unlikely possibility presents itself, and strangely enough it begins with a dog.

This was a lovely character story, and the audio narration was wonderful as well.

I also read recently by this author: Falling Apart and Other Gifts from the Universe

I also listened to recently from Audible Originals: Reset

Thursday, April 16, 2026

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

Nonfiction by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

This hyperbolically named book by the married actor/comedians is pretty funny, but not hysterically so.

It was a bit too long and repetitive; if you like these people already you'll probably like it. If you don't know who they are you will be bored.

Monday, April 13, 2026

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

Fiction by Ellen Marie Wiseman

I could not finish listening to this book because it was about a girl imprisoned in a mental institution and I can't handle that subject emotionally. (I should have realized it from the description, I know. Sometimes I don't read the descriptions.)

I'm logging it in as Did Not Finish because I like this author and have read other books by her; I don't want to find myself in the middle of this one ever again.

I also read by this author (and finished!!): The Orphan Collector

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Falling Apart and Other Gifts from the Universe

Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Addie is sixty-something year old working a night shift security guard job and attending five AA meetings a week. But even though she’s eight years sober, she’s really never dealt with what was underneath her addiction.

Her new sponsor assigns her to redo her moral inventory, and she starts to really uncover some things. But then she kind of falls apart. Fortunately, although she is a chronic loner, Addie has a couple of good friends to help her through.

This was a really good character story.

I also read recently by this author: Michael Without Apology

Saturday, April 11, 2026

The Housemaid

Fiction by Freida McFadden

Millie needs a job badly, and she takes one as a housekeeper/ nanny for the Winchesters, only to regret it soon after. Nina Winchester is capital-C crazy and her child is a class-A brat. But Andrew Winchester is pretty darn hot, and it seems like he might be falling for Millie…

This book started out a little tedious but got interesting about halfway through. The ending was a surprise! There are a couple of sequels; I might give them a try.

I also read by this author: The Coworker

Thursday, April 9, 2026

The Summer that Changed Everything

Fiction by Brenda Novak

Fifteen years ago, Lucy’s dad was convicted of three terrible murders in their beachside hometown. Only seventeen and ostracized by her neighbors, Lucy changed her name and left town for good. But now she’s coming back to try to prove her father’s innocence…

This was an okay story but a little far fetched.

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Stupid Perfect World

Short Fiction by Scott Westerfeld

In the distant future, everything is so very perfect that they make high school kids go through “Scarcity” class so that they can appreciate how great they have it now. Each student must pick a past hardship that has now disappeared and experience it for two weeks, such as the common cold, or adolescent hormones.

This was a novella; I wished it were longer. It was a fun read.

I also read by this author: Afterworlds

Monday, April 6, 2026

Reset

Audible Original Fiction by Mark Tufo

An EMP from some kind of sun storm knocks out all technology on planet earth at the beginning of this story and the reader learns about it from three different perspectives in three different areas of the USA. It’s a serious post apocalyptic world in every place.

This book started out exciting and I really loved the characters, but it was just so DARK. It got awful. There is a sequel, but no thanks! I can’t sit through any more of the hopelessness of evil humanity. It was well written but terribly so.

I also listened to recently from Audible Originals: The Break Up Artist

Saturday, April 4, 2026

Still Missing

Fiction by Chevy Stevens