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.

I adored Brooklyn and was pleasantly surprised to learn that there would be a sequel. Even better, I won my only Goodreads giveaway by winning a copy of this book. The publisher also sent a copy of Brooklyn. I look forward to rereading it at some point.

Brooklyn ended so neatly and it did not need a sequel. I think some readers who liked Brooklyn would not necessarily like this sequel. It really upturns Tony and Eilis’s happy ending. As someone who was more neutral on Tony in Brooklyn, this novel does him and his family no favours. Having said that, I enjoyed the messiness and drama of Eilis’s Irish hometown relationships. I could not help root for a relationship even though I knew it would not end well. The pacing of this novel was unusual because while it was character driven, the reader sort of knows there are no simple, good solutions for the characters. The ending had a fitting resolution yet it was open ended too for Eilis. There was not enough Eilis who I really liked as a character. I am now hoping Tóibín writes a third book in this series. Very well written as before. It reminded me that I should read Nora Webster too.

Read June 3-4, 2024.

Moonbound by Robin Sloan

A few months ago, I was wondering when Robin Sloan’s next novel was coming out because I really enjoyed Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Book Store and Sourdough. I was delighted to get this ARC and it uplifted me after a not as good read. This novel was set in the post-apocalyptic future which is a setting I do not gravitate towards. It was sci-fi but had elements of fantasy and classic middle grade fantasy classics. At times, it reminded me of Studio Ghibli and anime. I felt immersed in the world building and the adventures of Ariel the 12 year old boy protagonist and the Chronicler. There were many side characters and quests. My small quibble was that there were perhaps too many side quests, but most things played a role in Ariel’s journey. The writing had the same interesting yet lighthearted tone of Sloan’s previous novels. It’s a distinct tone that I’ve found engrossing as a reader. I had a great time. I’m looking forward to reading the print copy for the maps.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy. This book was published June 11, 2024.

Read on Kobo Libra 2. May 29-June 1, 2024.

I Want to Eat Your Pancreas by Yoru Sumino, illustrated by Idumi Kirihara, translated by Beni Axia Conrad

This was a two volume manga omnibus about two high school classmates who become friends when the introverted boy discovers the popular’s girl’s secret of terminal illness. The story had good character development and developed a strong platonic friendship between the leads. There is a twist which is very sudden and in keeping with the theme of mortality and randomness of life, but it was very jarring. Not sure if that was the right plot device. Aside from that, this was good manga.

Read June 2, 2024.

Period Power: Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You by Maisie Hill

Read by the author. This was fine. I was already familiar with most of the concepts and conditions. It’s a bit more “woo” than I would have liked since there were treatments here which need more scientific research. I understand that things are understudied but until we have studies, most things are guesswork and placebo. Overall, the book has a good message about trying one’s menstrual cycle and giving the message to have more agency in women’s health.

1.5x. May 27-June 4, 2024.

I Left the House Today! by Cassandra Calin

Very cute and funny comics. Some were very relatable to me.

June 5, 2024.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

I am going through the Throne of Glass series a bit slowly and reading library books when they come in. I had mixed feelings about ACOTAR, but I did enjoy that series’s word building. I kept hearing from others that this is the better series. I like Celaena a bit better than Feyre. I like Dorian a little bit, but I do not really care about any other characters including the love triangle. Overall, I was meh on this book until the last 50 pages which had a set up for the next book in the series. There will be a nice change in scenery. Before that, I will try the next in the recommended order: The Assassin’s Blade which is the prequel novella collection.

May 24-25, 2024.

Words to Make a Friend: A Story in Japanese and English by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Naoko Stoop

Cute and lovely children’s picture book about two girls who communicate in English and Japanese. I wish my library had the hard copy. Lovely illustrations.

Read on Libby app. May 27, 2024.

The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong

Narrated by Eric Yang. Audiobook for 23% and it was fine. I read most of it on hardcover. This book was darker than I expected. In the last couple of years, I’ve become more sensitive to some content. This book reminded me that I should check content warnings more often. This novel is a work of metafiction. It went between a graphic novelist Benson and the his version of his 13 year old self Benny. I was interested in Benny the kid and he was the only likeable main character. The other adults Benson and Constantine the Samurai had issues and they felt underdeveloped by the end. The novel was slow and difficult to read until it got to the metafiction part. Then it felt like an interesting time travel novel which was more enjoyable. Unfortunately, then it got dark again. The climactic ending felt abrupt and confusing. I understood most of it but it still felt disorienting. I was dissatisfied since I was not really feeling most of the characters. I am glad Benny was unharmed because there were many moments where he was vulnerable or at risk. I am not sure if I am glad I finished this book. It was distinctively written and I did feel for one of the characters. On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy the gloomy and humourless mood of the novel.

1.5x. May 26-28, 2024.

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

This novel was written like a screen play. It’s difficult to describe the work. It’s one of the most experimental works of fiction that I’ve read in a long time. It’s short due to the format, but it took me awhile to finish because there were heavier themes as it tackled Asian migration and identity in the West. I was impressed with how the author packed so much character work, reflection, and humour in this format. I felt like I could reread it again to appreciate the weight of some of the ideas and writing. It was unique.

Read on Kindle Keyboard. May 11-20, 2024.

Book Love by Debbie Tung

Adorable and relatable for all bibliophiles.

May 23, 2024.

Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions by Steve Martin, illustrated by Harry Bliss

A cute illustrated memoir. Steve Martin tells stories to Harry Bliss and his dog Penny. They are illustrated in a comics style and Penny gets some lines too. The other half of the book are New Yorker style comics which I assume Martin also wrote while working on this.

May 24, 2024.