It’s been a long time coming! Finally, a new blog post! Finally, I have read books! For reasons I can’t fully explain (“doomscrolling” is one candidate), I did not do a lot of (any) reading during the 2+ years of the COVID pandemic. However, I was recently invited to join my neighbourhood book club and I seem to have rediscovered reading skills! This lovely club is one where everybody reads anything they want, and we meet once a month to share the books we’ve read. It’s a wonderful way to get new book recommendation – with no pressure! – and to learn about what other people like and don’t like in their own reading choices. Plus, if you hate one of the books you read, there’s no offense taken. You really only have yourself to blame. Perfect!
Here’s how I have fared so far this year. I did notice that my gateway back to reading does consist of an awful lot of murder mysteries. Honestly, if you ever write a book, just put a picture of a bloody knife on the cover and I’ll read it!
Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story, by Christopher Moore
Christopher Moore is a very funny writer. His is witty writing, versus LOL gags. My favourite of his, so far, is Practical Demonkeeping which I wrote about extraordinarily briefly here. Bloodsucking Fiends, as you can probably deduce from the title, is about vampires but in a lighthearted and funny way as opposed to creepy and terrifying (Salem’s Lot), journalism-y (Interview with a Vampire), or weirdly misguided infatuation (Twilight). At least one murder takes place if you call being turned into a vampire being murdered.
The Sandman: Preludes & Noctures – Book I
Credits: Writer: Neil Gaiman. Artists: Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Dave McKean. Pencillers: Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg. Inkers: Mike Dringenberg, Dave McKean. Letterer: Todd Klein. Colorist: Robbie Busch.
I made it part of my 2023 reading challenge to read a Graphic Novel. Now, I confess to not really knowing what a “Graphic Novel” is, apart from maybe being a comic book with more pages. However, I recently watched the Sandman series, and this book, which covers the first 6 episodes, was languishing in the Graphic Novel section of the local library. So I’m calling this a checkmark on my reading challenge list. (Technically, it’s possible that The Sandman is a series of “comics” bound together and released as a “graphic novel”. Whatever that means). Regardless, I enjoyed it, and in keeping with the theme, many, many murders take place. The artwork is really worth seeing (trigger alert: sometimes gory). Also watch the series (trigger alert: sometimes gory). It’s uncanny how they were able to translate this comic/novel/book to screen!
The Witch Elm, by Tana French
Tana French is a wonderfully talented writer. This is the third book of hers I’ve read and I have added the rest of them to my TBR (“to be read”) list. The Witch Elm is a story about a young man named Toby who gets attacked during a seemingly random robbery and moves into his uncle’s old country house to recuperate. The murder is connected to a skull that is discovered in the hollow of an ancient Witch Elm tree on his uncle’s property.
The Appeal, by John Grisham
The murder in this book is committed by a greedy chemical corporation against an innocent community who had the nerve to expect clean, safe drinking water, and sued said corporation when the water turned out to be extremely carcinogenic. As given away by the title, the corporation appeals after losing the lawsuit and proceeds to use their massive wealth to buy elections and politicians in an effort to win the appeal. It’s a sad and distressing look at the world we live in today, and how corporations have managed to demonize the idea of large punitive damage settlements to protect their own massive wealth. If you like podcasts, try listening to the “You’re Wrong About” episode “The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill” for a real-life version of this despicable behaviour.
Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, by Sarah Vowell
Sarah Vowell writes about American history. She’s a charming and extremely funny writer, but her books would probably be enjoyed more by people with a much deeper understanding of US history, and, in this case, the American Revolution, versus a level of knowledge that they (I) learned from watching Hamilton. Although, the book does shed some interesting light on Lafayette’s role both in the play and in the war! Also – war, so fittingly there are many, many murders.
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
This book is indescribably good. Wow. Just … wow. I haven’t watched the series yet, but I expect I will. For now, I just want to continue to enjoy reflecting on the book. I’m not even going to try to summarize it, because I would absolutely spoil something in the process.
The Six-Figure Student Playbook, by Jackson Thornley
A book by the son of a good friend, his first venture into writing. Jackson is a successful entrepreneur and wants to share his secrets with you! This very small book is surprisingly densely packed with a myriad of tidbits that should be of use to any entrepreneur! My favourite insight is the importance of sophisticated sales skills, which I see being used by all of my self-employed friends. Spoiler alert: Nobody is murdered in this book!
The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz
Murder is right there in the title! Anthony Horowitz is a prolific writer who might give Stephen King a run for his money. The Word is Murder is the first in a series that features himself, Anthony, as a writer shadowing a misanthropic ex-detective named Hawthorne in order to write books about his private investigations. It’s an interesting blend of things that are true (anything about the author himself) and things that are fiction (anything involving Hawthorne and the active investigation). I’ll call this an “easy read”. Just the gateway drug I was looking for!
Next up: March books!