My Current Reads
Books I’ve read and reviewed.
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
When the local paper receives a letter from a woman claiming her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, Jean Swinney, a feature writer, navigates both the mystery and the threat of getting too close to the family involved.
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
After hearing from several reasonably reliable sources, Myfanwy Thomas accepts the fact that she will soon awaken in a London park, surrounded by dead bodies, and with her memory gone. Knowing what's to come, she decides to leave instructions for her future blank-slate self in order to ensure her survival and to hopefully get the wheels started on figuring out who wants her dead, a threat that looks to become a full-blown mole hunt.
Time Squared by Lesley Krueger
Time Squared works to explore women's agency across different eras. Eleanor and Robin meet in 1811, but Eleanor begins experiencing memories of other lives, revealing a mental time-jumping she calls 'glimpses.' As Robin fights in various wars, Eleanor lives through different struggles of her own. The novel delves into the roles, power, and stresses women face throughout history and their impact on relationships.
The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray
The third book in the Jane Austen-verse mystery series, The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, featuring amateur gumshoes Jonathan Darcy (son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam) and Juliet Tilney (daughter of Catherine and Henry), who are pulled together again to solve a string of murder attempts on one Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
Pulling in a hazy time-travel-esque conceit, Howard delves into a sort of fates and consequences argument via his character Odile from her vantage point of her reality's construction of valleys. In a constant spherical flux with time, the valley to the west is 20 years previous and the valley to the east is 20 years in the future.
Clear by Carys Davies
Clear is set during the 1840s Scottish Clearances, where a poor minister takes a job evicting the last occupant of a remote island. Despite his wife Mary's qualms, John goes, only to be severely injured upon arrival. Ivar, who has lived alone for decades, nurses John back to health. Though they don't share a common language, they develop a fragile connection as John learns to understand Ivar's world.
In Universes by Emet North
A truly interesting debut, In Universes features what, in essentials, feels like a series of deeply connected short stories. These episodic pieces are deeply entrenched in and intertwined with one another and their core story, set at the beginning almost like a prologue, covering themes about identity, relationships, and agency.
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Real Americans presses into the crevices between generations, thickening the connective tissues with stories of befores and afters, whys and wherefores. Over the course of the novel, spanning three generations and fifty years, Khong goes after a lot, but I never felt like we quite got there.
Within Arm’s Reach by Ann Napolitano
Napolitano's debut novel, Within Arm's Reach, is getting a reissuing after the incredible success of Napolitano's 2023 hit, Hello Beautiful. First published in 2004, Within Arm's Reach allows the reader to spend some time with three generations of an Irish American family. From grappling with an unplanned pregnancy to wading through the complexities of the various relationships, this debut explores the unspoken emotions and interconnectedness within the family, emphasizing an enduring, but sometimes testy, bond.
The Wager by David Grann
Not my favorite narrative nonfiction, The Wager is centered on the story of the HMS Wager, a Royal Navy ship, and the 1741 mutiny for which it is now famous.
Acid for the Children by Flea
Flea, iconic bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, shares the story of his life's beginnings in Acid for the Children, from his unstable upbringing in Australia and New York to his formative years in the gritty Los Angeles of the 70s and 80s.
One Woman Show by Christine Coulson
Told through the imaginative idea of using stylishly witty museum wall labels, One Woman Show, Coulson's follow up to her short story collection Metropolitan Stories is a unique approach to a life-and-times tale of one woman's 20th century life.
Day by Michael Cunningham
In a recent interview with Alexandra Alter of the New York Times, Michael Cunningham posed an intriguing question — "How does anybody write a contemporary novel about human beings that's not about the pandemic?" Indeed. And for that alone, I like the idea of authors tackling their own pandemic novels.
West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman
McDorman indeed deals out an unconventional murder mystery. Setting this at a remote and isolated location, convening a large group where everyone is a potential suspect — even the unpredictable detective on the case, is only part of the callbacks to classic mysteries that have come before.
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
Moss's Ghost Wall explores the connection between past and present, urging us to question our own progress alongside the tangible misconstruing of a misused history.
Companion Piece by Ali Smith
Companion Piece continues her Smith's Seasonal Quartet project, which artfully explored contemporary issues through lyrical prose and interconnected stories. This novel stands separately from the Quartet but maintains its spirit, offering a hopeful glimpse while still analyzing our changing world.
The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner
Originally published in 1984, The Children's Bach covers a lot of ground for a slim volume. With the reprinting (featuring a foreword by author Rumaan Alam) comes a new generation and a new audience. And The Children's Bach feels very much a product of its time.
Falling by T. J. Newman
Falling by T. J. Newman was a fast-paced, intriguing suspense novel that reminded me heavily of the Harrison Ford (as Jack Ryan or the president) or Bruce Willis (Die Hard, etc.) movies from the 1990s.
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
Amidst a looming financial crash, Rachel and James become friends and embark on a bohemian lifestyle in their early lackadaisical years of adulthood in Cork. This witty but emotional novel….
They Do It with Mirrors by Agatha Christie
Miss Marple senses danger during her visit to an old friend who lives in a Victorian mansion, which also serves as a rehabilitation center for troubled youth. A young patient fires a revolver….