L’homme qui plantait des arbres by Jean Giono, French narrator Jacques Bonnaffé, English narrator Malk Williams

My second French book of the year. I would read a few paragraphs or a chapter in print then switch to the French audiobook. After I finished, I listened to the English audiobook which took about 20 mins. This is a story about a man named Elzéard Bouffier in Provence who dedicated his life to planting trees. This book was great for French practice as it was short, had a lot of naturalistic vocabulary, and I could listen to the audiobook. I think it was well written. Even though I had to look up some of the words, I found the prose clear and easy to understand. As a result, the English translation was very good. It was an inspiring story but a fictional one. It is considered a parable and at times, it did have a moralistic undertone. I really enjoyed it as a French book and am considering getting my own copy if I can find another illustrated version.

1.0x in French. 1.25x English. Sept 5-7, 2024.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, Kate Reading (Narrator)

Back to some good old cozy fantasy. I do like low stakes but not no stakes fantasy. I was hoping this would be similar to Emily Wilde which is one of my favourite series of the last couple of years. It sounded similar as this was about an amateur scholar who studies dragons in an alternate 19th century world. The audiobook was well narrated and easy listening. It was in the style of a nonfiction memoir. Other than that, I was disappointed in the rest. I didn’t find the characters engaging. There was a romance but it’s a bit too subtle and under developed. The writing was too dry. The worse part was there were not enough dragons! They exist but they are barely interacted with. Part of me wants to listen to the next audiobook but I am afraid that the rest of the series will be the same: dragons in the background with a lukewarm protagonist.

1.5x. Sept 6-8, 2024.

Borders by Thomas King, Natasha Donovan (Illustrator)

A story about an Indigenous woman and her son trying to cross the US-Canadian border by asserting her true nation: Blackfoot. A reminder that governance and state borders is fairly new to human cultures.

Sept 8, 2024.

Death by Dumpling (A Noodle Shop Mystery, #1) by Vivien Chien, Cheryl May (Narrator)

Audiobook for about half and immersive reading with ebook. I have read cozy mysteries before and wanted to try a new series. I do not know where I found this one, probably GoodReads and my library had a few of them on Libby. The series is set in Cleveland, Ohio and centres around a biracial Chinese-American woman who works in her family Chinese restaurant. I actually preferred this over Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers except that Vera Wong had better food descriptions. Chien’s prose is clean and easy to read. Lana was, like most amateur detectives, very nosey and spent too much time breaking and entering. I did figure out the twists and the killer early on, but I do not mind it. It was satisfying to read and I really like the covers and titles. My library only has the first in audio. The narration was fine except I did not like the voice for the Detective. I will consider revisiting this series.

1.5-2.5x. Read on Kobo Mini. Sept 9-10, 2024.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo with Timothy Basil Ering (Illustrator), Graeme Malcolm (narrator)

Audiobook for the first 15%. Narrator was great and could have listened to more, but I wanted to look at the illustrations. This was a nice but I did not enjoy it as much as the last DiCamillo mostly because of how the character of Mig was portrayed.

Sept 10-11, 2024.

Soft Science by Franny Choi

I think I am hitting a reading slump even though I’ve been reading almost a book a day this month. What’s a reading slump from reading too many books? Anyway, I do think I’ve hit a poetry slump because both the Choi and Vuong poetry collections have not been resonating with me. I like poetry, but it’s very hit or miss. Some of the poems were intriguing though, but not enough.

Sept 8-11, 2024.

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

After Time Is a Mother, I wanted to see if Vuong’s debut collection of poetry would be better. I think I preferred this collection but I still did not feel connected to some of the poems. Overall, the novel On Earth We are Briefly Gorgeous is my favourite of Vuong’s works.

Aug 28-Sept 1, 2024.

Everything Is OK by Debbie Tung

Debbie Tung is one of my best discoveries of this year. I loved this graphic memoir even more than the others. It hit me close to home as another Asian woman who has had anxiety and depression. It deeply resonated with my own mental health journey. Beautiful.

Sept 1-2, 2024.

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston

Lovely, well done children’s book about a dictionary who tried to make her own story. It was sweet and there were so many details that I could read it over again.

Sept 3, 2024.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Ramon de Ocampo (narrator)

55% on audiobook. After a month full of literary books, I wanted easy going fiction. I had low expectations going into this because I am not a big contemporary romance fan. The audiobook was a great listen to on Labour Day as I tidied up and went on walks. I could have easily listened to all of it because the narrator did a great job. I appreciated the friendships and family relationships in the book. The book had enough stakes but it was not too stressful. The author did a good job of balancing the plot and the characters. I will probably read another book by McQuiston.

1.25-1.5x. Sept 1-4, 2024.

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work by Marilee G. Adams, Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

A CBT book that was recommended by my CBT-I instructor over a year ago. The book is written as a fictional story about a man who has a crisis at work. The actual story and plot are boring and serve only as a way to apply the process and questions. I do find this particular CBT method useful as it’s shorter and less intense than others I’ve tried in therapy. In any case, I am considering getting the print book and/workbook since I think I learn best with that method.

1.25x. Aug 26-Sept 5, 2024.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, Patrick Egan (Narrator)

This took a long time. I have a softcover and thought I would read it by print, but ended up slowly listening to it over the summer in bursts. I had to return the audiobook twice before finishing it. It was repetitive, but maybe somewhat necessary to drive home the psychological ideas. The narration was fine. I do think I will read and/or listen to Noise which I also have in print.

1.25x. June 12-August 24, 2024.

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell (Translator)

What an interesting cover. This was a May-December romance about a 37 year old woman and her retired former high school teacher. It’s about loneliness and connections. There were some nice descriptions of Japanese food and life. The characters were likeable. It was just too slow at times.

Read on Kobo Mini and Kobo Libra 2. August 22-25, 2024.

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, Lauren Graham (narrator)

Audiobook for 30% by itself and immersive reading. This was a grief novel about a woman who had a codependent relationship with her mother. I don’t know any woman who would say their mother is the love of their life. Aside from the oddness, this book had a silly but fun twist. It was not believable but it was nice to get away to Positano, Italy for a couple hundred pages.

1.25-1.5x Read mostly on Kobo Libra 2 and a bit on Kindle Keyboard. August 25, 2024.

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

Narrated by the author. Poetry read by the author is nice. This was short and while I liked the narration, I didn’t find myself connecting to a lot of the poems. I read Vuong for his lyricism. I am will try his first collection of poetry as well.

1.25x. Aug 26-27, 2024.

The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Lee Mi-ye, Sandy Josun Lee (translator)

This was a cute cozy fantasy about a store which sells dreams. There were some sweet moments, but it took me awhile to read this book. The characters were nice but they didn’t have enough depth for me to be very invested. The world building was good but took awhile to get a a hold of it. Maybe it was the translation. Still sweet and original. I’d consider reading more from this universe.

Aug 19-29. 2024.

The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda, Alison Watts (Translator)

Closing out on Women in Translation Month and the Storygraph Genre Challenge to read a thriller or crime novel in translation. I picked this up in the spring from my local rummage sale. I had not heard of it and it was a good find. This book and its mystery were very well written as it had several characters and their perspectives. It was very layered. I cemented a very important book appeal factor for myself. I do not like ambiguous endings especially for mysteries. This had a very ambiguous ending. It was not the cathartic ending that I wanted after all that well written build up. The whole book was really well written until the last couple of chapters which frustrated me.

Aug 31, 2024.

24 Hours in Ancient Rome: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There by Philip Matyszak

Narrated by John Telfer. This was a good history audiobook. It traces one hour of a Roman day through various characters and some of the stories are interlinked. The people in the book are fictional but based on accounts of real Romans from the time. I was excited to learn that Telfer narrated it. He narrated the complete Sherlock Holmes which I listened to 16 years ago. He did a great job here too. I have all the audiobooks for this history series. The narrators and the authors change, but I do like history through audiobooks so I’ll take my time to enjoy them.

1.25x. July 30-Aug 14, 2024.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Translator)

Second for Women in Translation Month. Had this on TBR for awhile since a lot of people had read it. I really liked the beginning and the voice of the neurodivergent protagonist; however, I became very frustrated when they introduced a stalking misogynist. He served a purpose but I had very little patience for misogyny. The ending was fine, but I could not say I enjoyed most of it.

Read on Kindle Keyboard. Aug 13-15, 2024.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, Thomas Teal (Translator)

This was a balm. I know of Tove Jansson but did not read or watch Moomin so this was my first experience with her work. The novel is a series of summer vignettes with a Grandmother and her granddaughter Sophie on island in the Gulf of Finland. It’s lighthearted and a breeze. There was some lovely writing. Wonderful little book. A great one for Women in Translation month.

Read on Kobo Mini. Aug 16-17, 2024.

Here is New York by E.B. White

This was a nice essay and love letter to NYC. A good way to use my thrifted, upgraded Kobo mini.

July 19, 2024. Read on Kobo Mini.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Narrated by Elijah Wood. About 30% audiobook. Great narration. I did not like the Tom Sawyer book and after this book, I hate the little brat. This book was a big improvement. Huck was a much better character who had actual development. Jim was interesting and the real hero of this story. I am looking forward to reading Percival Everett’s James.

1.25-1.5x. July 19-26, 2024.

Foster by Claire Keegan

Beautiful, sad, and lovely novella. I adored Small Things Like These and this one may even be better for me personally. Keegan is deftly able to explore people and feelings in such a short amount of time and words. Extraordinary.

July 27-28, 2024. Read on Kobo Mini and Kobo Libra 2.

The Liszts by Kyo Maclear

Nicely illustrated children’s book about an eccentric family who make lists.

July 30, 2024.

Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

Three Canadian nineteen year olds go to New York City. There is roaming and a lot of coming of age feelings. The Tamakis’ are good at capturing the adolescent and young adult vibes here. Even though the characters were moody and even annoying at times, they felt real for their age. The art was interesting as well.

July 30-31, 2024.

Audiobooks narrated by Nicolas Ralph. I listened to this nonfiction memoir series from February to June.

These books were wonderful. All five books were lovely. They were very cozy and relaxing. Ralph’s narration was excellent. I listened to them on Libby but will look into getting my own copies so I can relisten. I liked all the books but I found the last three most comforting. I preferred the small animal stories over the ones about cows. There were many funny stories. I did sometimes have second hand embarrassment and found some of the clients annoying. All in all very wholesome and lighthearted. Made for perfect audiobook listening before bed and any time of the day really.

“All Creatures Great and Small” 2020-Present TV Series

Four series/seasons have aired and we watched them from June to early July.

The new TV series changed a number of things and gave focus and arcs to the female characters. We found the show very well done. It was as cozy especially with the food and the knitwear. They even improved a couple of the sad stories from the books. I recently rewatched North and South, and Brian Percival who directed it (and worked a lot on Downton Abbey) also directed a lot of this series.

I see this TV adaptation as a fictional alternate reality to the memoirs which is almost as good as the memoirs in its own way. Looking forward to more series to come.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Read by Richard Armitage. This was a nice novel. I liked all the eight main characters. The writing was fine and the historical aspect felt accurate. I am a Jane Austen fan too so the premise and Austen discussions worked for me. There were times when I thought I could really like this book more, but there was something that held me back. As a character reader, I think I wanted more from the characters. Jenner did a good job with eight leads though. A lot of people I know liked this more than me so I recommend if you enjoy a light historical fiction novel.

1.25-1.5x. July 1-8, 2024.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

There was some interesting writing in this sci-fi short novel. One of the authors is local and there were a couple of references to my hometown. I like a short book and confident world building when done right. I could did not connect to some aspects of the story. I liked Red and Blue from what we saw of them but the war and the amorphous sci-fi setting felt garbled and cold. It was like recalling a very blurry dream. I couldn’t be fully invested. Not bad though and I appreciated the language and the character work.

July 8-15, 2024 over two sittings.

The Nineties by Chuck Kosterman

Read by the author Chuck Klosterman and Dion Graham. This was fun. Klosterman did research but does not claim it is a history book. It is more essays about various topics from 1990s including pop culture, politics, and technology. It’s similar to John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed. It was enjoyable to reflect on the decade that I grew up in. I like thinking about recent history even though the 90s were 30 years ago now! Recommended for those looking to revisit that time.

1.25x. July 10-18, 2024.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

There has been some hype for this book particularly in the Reading Glasses Slack. The book was perfect timing as I had been contemplating similar themes. The book was also set in June as well. One of my wheelhouses seems to be novels where protagonists tries other or parallel versions of their lives. It lived up to the hype for me. It was darkly funny. I liked Lauren. I found her relatable and all the things she did to try and live with her situation were probably what I would have done. I was emotionally invested with her for that one good romance. I liked the judicious use of her family and friends in the plot. I found the ending satisfying albeit bittersweet. This novel was quite long but it did not drag and I finished it in a couple sittings. The GoodReads rating is surprisingly low given the hype. I can see why it would be too long, overwrought, or strange for others but I had such a good time. It also made me reflect about the choices we make. I genuinely laughed out loud a couple times which is rare. It reminded me how much I hated dating. Fun book. May grab a copy.

Read June 22-23, 2024 on Kobo Libra 2.

The Balcony by Melissa Castrillón

Lovely children’s picture book about a girl who moves from the country to the city and starts gardening on her balcony. As another balcony gardener, I liked the art work.

Read June 25, 2024.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Narrated by Juliet Stevenson. Audiobook for about 30%. As always, Stevenson was terrific as a narrator. I still prefer to read print. For many years, I actually thought I had read this book because of the splendid BBC adaptation starring Richard Armitage and Daniel Denby-Ashe. I’ve enjoyed Gaskell before with Cranford and the romance here hooked me. I am very picky about romances. I do not really like most contemporary romance novels, but I seem to appreciate them more in classics and genre fiction. Gaskell was able to write from both lead characters with depth on their opposition and attraction to each other. I think John Thornton is one of the best Victorian romantic male leads. There was a lot of angst and longing and a satisfying ending. I rewatched the mini series, admired the acting, music, and direction once again. The book and the TV series are different. The book does do some things better than the TV script but the production of the series really elevated it. I then read some fanfic as I did not want the story of John and Margaret to be over. Will definitely keep my battered Wordsworth paperback edition and be on the lookout for a hardback in the future.

1.25x. Read June 23-29, 2024.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Read by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie. Listened to almost 2/3 on audiobook and finished the rest on library hardcover. Marcellus and Tova were lovely. Less interested in Cameron. Called the twist really early on. As much as I adored the narrator for Marcellus and the overall narration was fine, I wish I had time this week to read more from the text. Lovely novel.

1.2-1.6x. June 11-14, 2024.

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore

Narrated by Brittany Pressley. Audiobook for the first 35%. Narrator was not for me so I preferred to read this one on print. One of my selective book friends really liked this novel. It was fun. Oona was a bit of a mess at the start. As a fantasy reader growing up, I had wondered about this scenario happening to me before so I was already judging her a little. It would have been very scary though and Oona was grieving. By the end, I almost didn’t want this book to end. I grew to like the characters and wanted to see what else Oona did with her family. Good read.

1.5x. June 14-15, 2024.

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary

Narrated by Evanna Lynch, Heather Long, Kathryn Drysdale, and Luke Thompson. 20% on audiobook. I have mixed feelings about this one. At least I didn’t dislike it as I did the last one The Road Trip. As usual, O’Leary is good at giving her characters depth and not the typical romance. This novel had four leads. I did care about most of them. That is not easy for an author to balance. I saw one of the twists early on. My main issue with the novel is that it was really sad. The male lead’s trauma made him a basket case for most of the novel and it was not fun to read. As with The Road Show, the character development felt a little rushed at the end given the gravity of the situation. This finished the last Beth O’Leary book that I have on my physical shelves. I will hold off on reading her for awhile because even though I liked aspects of this novel and the Switch, I didn’t find them overall as good as The Flatshare.

1.25x. Read June 15-16, 2024.

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi

I am trying to read at least one poetry collection a year. I liked this one even though it was dark and somber at times. It explored grief, culture, identity, assault, climate change, and technology. I wanted to read this on my Kobo but the publisher’s note in the ebook discussed how they tried to recapture the use of space in digital format. I decided to borrow the book from the library and I did appreciate the format better.

Read June 5-7, 2024.

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum with Shanna Tan (Translator)

Last week, I kept getting signals to start this book from a podcast and seeing a post from the translator on Instagram. I’ve read at least one translated from Korean book where I struggled with the prose. It was much better here. The novel was about a woman in her late 30s who after burning out from work and divorce, opened a book shop. The story chronicled her development as a bookseller and the characters who frequent or work with the bookshop. There were themes of work, burn out, existential crisis, depression, isolation, family relationships, and identity. I found most of the characters very relatable. There were women and men across a wide demographic becoming friends and colleagues. I really enjoyed reading this novel. The debut author and translator both did very good jobs with the writing. I really hope to read more from them both in the future.

Read June 8-9, 2024 on Kobo Libra 2.

Every Living Thing (All Creatures Great and Small #8) by James Herriot

Read by Nicolas Ralph. The last book in this lovely series which I started back in February. These books were all so wonderful! I am sad that it is over but glad I can listen to them or even reread over text.

1.25x. June 2-11, 2024.