What I Read December and Yearly Book Round up

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading. My reading has been a little bit more on the sparse side this month. 

Greed in the Gilded Age - The Brillant Con of Cassie Chadwick by William Elliott Hazelgrove

I picked this nonfiction book on a whim. This slim book details the con woman Cassie Chadwick. Cassie Chadwich conned about $2 million dollars out of several banks by simply claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie.  That was simply her biggest and most successful con until she was caught. She realized early on that she could con others by simply pretending to be a wealthy woman or soon to inherit wealth. The men of the time especially highly educated bankers were beguiled by her looks and simply took her at her word and believing every word of her story. It is a fascinating piece of history. 

Favorite Books of  2022

The Unanswered Letter by Faris Cassell (my review)

How to Host a Viking Funeral by Kyle Scheele (my review)

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (my review)

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (re-read) (my review)

The Maid by Nita Prose (my review)

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe (my review)

Reading by the Numbers

Total Books Read -19

Re Reads - 1

Fiction - 11

Non Fiction - 8

What I read November

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk

I enjoyed this book set in a college library. A priceless book is missing and a colleague who holds the answers is at death door.  I have never thought about donors and acquisitions this behind scenes look at an academic library. This was a good, interesting read.

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

This is a Sharon Says So book club selection. This nonfiction book reads like a fictional family drama. The Sackler family developed oxycontin.  This is the story of their family how they developed the drug, marketed, and profited from it. Arthur Sackler the oldest brother revolutionized how drugs were marketed. This is a complex story and Keefe does an amazing job telling it. This is a book that needs to be discussed.  This is a book that will stick with you.

I have been told I need to now need to watch Dopesick 

What I Read October

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading.

We are the Brennans by Tracey Lange

This is a family drama centered on a bar well actually a bar and about to open bar. There are secrets and lost love. Brennans are a complicated family. It was a decent read. 

The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey

If you are an Office fan this book is a must read. I have to admit I have only watched a handful of the office shows and I have never listened to the Office Ladies Podcast. I am reading this for a book club however, I found their stories fascinating a peek behind the curtain into how a TV series is produced. I am admirer of their friendship. It reminds me a lot about my best friend, and it got me to thinking how a book or a podcast from us would look. These ladies are great story tellers.

What I Read September

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The Maid by Nita Prose

My friend recommended this book. It is about a hotel maid named Molly aka Molly the Maid that gets involved in some shady dealings unintentionally. Molly while not explicitly spelled out is on the spectrum and does not read people's social ques well.  I thought this was an interesting book. I didn't expect the deep undertones. 

The quote below is advice from Molly the Maid's gran and it was one that I kept thinking about. I think this would be a good book discussion question. 

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

I re read this book.  I read it in 2019 but I am participating in Sharon Says So Third Semester Book Club.  This is a heavy read. I cried again re reading this book. This the real-life stories of Bryan and his fight to get innocent people off death row.  IT says a lot about how justice is served in this country. I am looking forward to hearing the author talk. Just Mercy was written in 2014.  

What I Read August

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading. My reading life has picked up.

Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

I literally read this in one day.  I haven't done that in ages. A story set at the Frick Mansion and about the Frick Family and an artist model named Angelica. 

Fiona Davis, New York Times best-selling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City's most impressive Gilded Age mansions - Amazon

More information about the real-life art collection - Frick Collection

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

This was another fast read. I loved how twisty this story is. 

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half brother, Ben, didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up—to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this?—he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite. The nice guy. The alcoholic. The girl on the verge. The concierge.

Everyone's a neighbor. Everyone's a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.- Amazon

What I Read July

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy. Check out what everyone else is reading.

No one is more surprised that I am actually posting books read. We have just moved. It has been an all-consuming adventure. I guess it is no surprise to anyone but my first thing I did was get a local library card.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

I actually started this at the beginning when we did a house hunting trip. That was April. I have picked this up and put it down so many times. It is a good somewhat light reading book. Poppy is a travel writer, and she has a complicated relationship with her best friend who often accompanies her on her adventures.I know it got a lot of buzz last year. I think this is a great beach read. It just came at the wrong time for me.

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly - I picked this up because I watched the series Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix. This follows the book fairly well and the differences don't really change the overall plot.  The main character Mickey Haller inherits another lawyer's practice after he is killed. One of the cases he inherits is a high-profile case of a movie executive in the book and in the series a game designer owner. Mickey likes to work out of his fleet of Lincoln cars. I really enjoyed both the book and Netflix series. If you are into lawyer books, I think this a great read.

What I Read April

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading!

I am a little light on titles this month.  It has been a busy one.

Learning in Public by Courtney E Martin

This book I found through Shannan Martin. This is about Courtney's choice to send her daughter to a poor performing neighboring school that was racial not integrated as in there are more people of color. Courtney is white.  Courtney lives in Oakland, CA where school choice is a thing. I found that Courtney spends the first part of this book just overthinking her decision and I understand it is a big decision.  I think a lot of us bring our bias to education - our choices about how our children are deeply personal.  It was an interesting book and helped me examine my own bias. Isn't that what a good book should do? This book was hard for me, but all in all it reinforced a few things for me. Children that come to school with involved parents are always going to do better whether the school is failing or not.  I have great admiration for Courtney because not only did she write about this, but she became active in her daughter's community to make the school parent leadership more actively representative of the student body and continues to be an activist.

What I Read March

I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy.  Check out what everyone else is reading!

I had a really good reading month.  I read a lot of variety. 

The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames by Justine Cowan

Justine had a difficult relationship with her mother. Her mother seemed to suffer from some mental health issues. In her later years her mother revealed to Justine she was a foundling in London. After her mother's death, she searches out her mother's origins. This is part a genealogy search and the history and inner workings of the foundling system. This is an interesting and a heart-breaking rue story Even after Justine's search there were unanswered questions about her mother. But what she learns explains so much she couldn't understand about her mother.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Finally got my hands on this book.  This is a great read. I understand the hype. Who doesn't love a family saga set in a surf town? 

How to Host a Viking Funeral by Kyle Scheele

Kyle is a wonderful speaker. I discovered him through Instagram.  He built a giant cardboard Viking ship and invited people to send in their regrets. Then he burned it to the ground. Kyle is hilarious and profound and that is a rare combination. I think we all have regrets and Kyle writes about this subject in such a relatable approachable way.  I wish I could follow through with my creative thoughts like Kyle.

What I Read February

I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy and her Quick Lit link up.  Check out what everyone is reading

 The Unanswered Letter by Faris Cassell

I have so many feels about this nonfiction book. A letter was passed to a doctor that a patient had in her family from long ago.  The patient didn't know why the letter was held on and whether the pleas in the letter were answered. In 1939, Alfred Berger mailed a letter to a complete stranger that shared his last name. In the letter was a plea. The doctor who came in possession of letter was Jewish and is married to a journalist, and he gave the letter to her.  Thus began a large research and genealogy project.  The book is incredibly well researched.  I wanted to know the answers to.  It delves into the holocaust and Vienna Jews. I learned more about the holocaust and why so many didn't escape and so many turned a blind eye.  This one will stick with you

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky

This was a quick read for me. It is about the mob during World War 2.  This is about family dynamics between 2 families and how the families are intertwined. There is a bit of a coloration between this book and The Unanswered Letter.  This fictionalized account of this mob family has them in the business of falsifying papers for well to do Jewish people during World War 2.

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

This is a memoir about Qian/Julie's immigration to the US.  In many many ways this book speaks to the heart break and living in the shadows when you overstay you visa.  She speaks of having no food and her parents working at low wage jobs. I find it surprising she chose to become a citizen because of her profound bad experiences in the United States.  I found this book sad though the outcome eventually is positive.  This book made me sad.  

What I Read 2022 - January

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit.  Check out what everyone else is reading.

Well not exactly starting off the New Year with a bang of new books read. I did squeak out one book.

My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd

This was Heather Lloyd debut novel.  It was a good story set in the Seattle area about Venus who was incarcerated and then released.  During her time in jail, her younger brother came up missing. Venus has a complicated relationship with her mother. This book also follows the story of her brother, Leo,  and his fate.