March Reads
Two-Minute Book Reviews
These Precious Days — Anne Patchett (Audiobook, Audible)
I’ve adored Ann Patchett since tripping over The Magician’s Assistant in 2015. Her descriptions of emotion and the human landscape are everything I want from a writer. I love her fiction, and I adore her non-fiction. She reminds me of me. (If I were a wildly creative and successful writer.)
“I was an uncomfortable child, a small adult, biding my time.”
“Most of the writers and authors I know were made for sheltering in place. The world asks us to engage…but given the choice, we’d rather stay home.”
She, too, loved Tom Hank’s short story collection, “Uncommon Type.” (I had my book club read it, and they looked at me in universal confusion. I felt alone in my love for the book. Ah! But not alone. Ann liked it, too.)
She even grew up loving Snoopy! As wacky connections go, this is a fun one. How she details her love for Snoopy, and why, might be one of my favorite essays in the book (but again, I loved Uncommon Type, so…).
This collection is a beautiful exploration of friendship, process, and grace. In her essays, Patchett generously shares so much of her life. As much as I loved it, I loved her previous collection, “This is The Story of a Happy Marriage,” even more. If you enjoyed “Precious Days,” please pick up “Happy Marriage.” I’d love to know what you think.
Case Histories — Kate Atkinson (Paperback)
I struggled as much with this book as I will writing the review. Here’s the problem: I loved the writing and felt invested in the characters and their stories. We meet Jackson Brodie, a private investigator, and he carried his own as the main POV with a sense of humor and interesting history.
“If hell did exist, which Jackson was sure it did, it would be governed by a committee of fifteen-year-old Italian boys on bikes.”
Right? How great is that?
“All women come to an age when they’re just too old to wear their hair down, even beautiful women with beautiful hair, and neither Amelia nor her hair had ever been beautiful.”
Snarky, yes. A bit wordy, sure. But you know Brodie’s opinion (and can see Amelia). The book had all the great pieces, but they wouldn’t come together. The author takes pity on us and gives us the final three chapters where she lays out what happened, but I find that disappointing. I want to see, not be told.
As much as I liked Jackson Brodie, I won’t seek out the others in the series. “Case Histories” felt like three unrelated histories with other confusing bits thrown in.
The Impossible Us — Sarah Lotz (Digital Advanced Reading Copy)
Take an email banter-filled romcom and cross it with Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, and you’ll arrive at this “Quantum Anomaly” romance. You must be okay with alternate reality/parallel universes and British slang. (I am!) If so, dive in. Impossible Us was an engaging story with likable characters and a unique premise.
Wahala — Nikki May (Audiobook, LibroFM)
I read this as an audiobook, and the narrator, Natalie Simpson, blew me away! She captured a staggering number of accents, dialogs, genders, and attitudes perfectly. Amazing.
The book itself? I rarely enjoy a book when I dislike the characters. And wow, did I dislike Boo and Simi! The gossip, the self-absorbed whining, and the constant disparaging of their charming husbands set my teeth on edge. Isabel is supposed to be the villain, but these two steal the show.
The characters were frustrating, catty, and made stupid decisions, but they felt real. I wanted the story. I needed to know what happened next. I also loved learning about Anglo-Nigerian culture.
I’m excited to see what Nikki May writes next.
The Resting Place — Camilla Sten (Digital Advanced Reading Copy)
The Author’s note is one of the best I’ve read. Charming and funny, she offers an entire paragraph for each person who supported her writing. It was brilliant and witty (as is her Author Bio on Goodreads). Sadly, the story itself didn’t work as well for me (clearly, I”m in the minority based on other reviews).
Eleanor witnesses her grandmother’s murder and comes face-to-face with the killer. She has Prosopagnosia (face blindness), so she doesn’t know who did it or why. Months later, she learns her grandmother left her a spooky estate in the middle of nowhere, so she goes there. There are shadows, sneaky bits, and a blizzard. Cell phones are not the only things that die.
The pacing didn’t pull me in, and I cared so little for the characters that I wasn’t even worried about their health and safety. Eleanor/Victoria (depending on who refers to her) is inconsistent. She swings from weak and anxious to brave and daring from one scene to the next.
The Resting Place is classified as “Horror,” but I don’t see it. Luckily.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot — Marianne Cronin (Audiobook, Libby App)
A glorious story of two dying women, one 17 and the other 83. This sweet, marvelous, charming, funny tale made me laugh and cry. It was incredible as an audiobook if you love a Scottish brogue.
DNF (but removing from TBR with a clear conscience for having tried them):
- The Keeper of Lost Things — Ruth Hogan
- The River — Peter Heller
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance — Robert Pirisig
- Dixie Divas — Virginia Brown
- Simon the Fiddler — Paulette Jiles
What did you read in March 2022? Do any of these sound interesting?
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