Weekly Reading Thread: November 5-12

I read A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin. I heard about it on the Novel Pairings podcast. It's a Regency romance about a young woman who tackles the London season in order to find a rich husband who can pay off her dead parents' debt and help her support her four younger sisters. Very Jane Austen-ish! I enjoyed it, it was a light read.

Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout. I had read Strout's book Oh, William about the same characters a couple months ago, so I was up to date with the story, which begins as the covid pandemic begins and Lucy heads out of New York City with her ex-husband William, who sees what is coming and convinces Lucy they must head for Maine and hunker down. Some reviewers were hostile to this book, not wanting to read pandemic fiction just yet, but I thought it was the best of any of her books I've read, mostly because it felt cathartic to read about a character sharing those feelings of disorientation, fear, and grief. I liked it.

You Can't Be Serious by Kal Penn. This is Kal's memoir about growing up the son of Indian immigrants, bucking the expectations of his community to pursue a career in acting, and the subtle and not-so-subtle racism he's encountered in Hollywood. He also chronicles the years he spent campaigning for Obama and then working for Obama's administration. I found his stories about the obstacles faced by Asian-American actors to be really enlightening. The book has a light-hearted tone with a lot of funny stories.

This book was also Kal's coming out moment, as he briefly discusses meeting his fiance, and some LGBTQ people were upset that he drastically downplayed being gay in the book. I felt it was very odd, too. I wondered if he may be thinking of writing another book just on that topic, but I'm probably wrong. I didn't even know he was gay and I've been a casual fan for years, so it seems that's a part of his life that he wishes to keep private.

Last week I read a Summer to Remember by Erika Montgomery. It was an easy, enjoyable read if a little predictable. But there were a few twists I didn’t see coming. 4/5 stars

Now I’m reading Holy Chow: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt. I love this series as it combines great humor, interesting mysteries and short chapters.

I finished reading That's Not What Happened and it was so good! I also read Saving Noah - Lucinda Berry and read it in a few days, it was very good. Just started The Best Day Ever - Kaira Rouda and very interesting so far. I know there must be another book or two I am missing. when I read on kindle or listen on my phone, I return them and forget what I read! I really need to write my books on the calender!

I read Fairy Tale by Stephen King and really liked it. It comes in at 650 pages, give or take, so it’s a commitment. It’s not his usual scary stuff, so no worries there.

Take Your Breath Away - Linwood Barclay

I've given up on 2 duds and read this sample and liked it. Luckily the library had it. I'm about 1/3 - 1/2 done and its moving along well so far!