Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie: Celebrity Book Clubs

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Fran Laniado- Author

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

January 31: Freebie

Once I started doing some research this turned out to be more than ten! I had no idea so many celebs have book clubs!

I think there are different “levels” of celebrity book clubs. Some are more casual, while others seem to be almost a business. I also think the celebs have different levels of personal involvement. But I like seeing what celebs are reading. It’s my favorite form of celeb “gossip” and I think these can often inspire nonreaders to pick up a book.

Oprah Winfrey – Oprah’s Book Club – I think this was one of the first such clubs, starting in 1996. In 2002 Oprah closed it for a while, saying she couldn’t keep up with the reading for the club, while still finding books she enjoyed. It was revived in 2003 with books being recommended on a more limited basis. In 2012, she launched Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 as a joint project between OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and O: The Oprah Magazine. In 2019 a revival of the video book club appeared on Apple TV+

Some of the (most recent) books:

Reese Witherspoon – Reese’s Book Club – Every month, Witherspoon picks out a book with a woman at the center of the story. She also has a tendency to make film/tv adaptations of these books either as an actor or a producer (or both). Members download the book club app and set up a profile. The Readership is a pay it forward platform aimed at promoting literacy, advancing diverse voices and making books widely available. The club also includes Lit Up, a fellowship for unpublished, underrepresented female writers. Fellows participate in a writers retreat and are matched with mentors leading up to the publication of their work.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Natalie Portman – Natalie’s Book Club – This seems to take place mostly on Instagram. Started in 2020, Portman interviews the authors of her book pick, posts quotes and discussion questions, and also features author’s book recommendations.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Emma Watson – Our Shared Shelf – In 2016, Watson started this feminist book club as an extension of her work with UN Women. Initially starting on Goodreads, Watson selected a book each month and posted questions and prompts for discussion. These discussions took place on Goodreads and Instagram. However, in 2020, Watson stepped back from the Goodreads club, leaving the boards unmoderated, but leaving all previous conversations open. She also continues to make Instagram recommendations using the #oursharedshelf.

Some of the books:

Emma Roberts – Belletrist – As a kid, Emma Roberts and her BFF Karah Preiss lived on opposite sides of the country. They would send each other books with notes on them in the mail. In 2017, they launched Belletrist, which started with a monthly recommendation, independent bookstore of the month, author interviews and more. It’s expanded over the years, and they’ve recently partnered with BookClub to introduce video content and audio conversations with featured authors.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Caitriona Balfe – Caitriona Balfe Book Club – The star of the Outlander TV series launched this club in 2020 on Instagram, It doesn’t seem like the picks are at regular intervals. She seems to select a book and then schedule a discussion which takes place on IG Live. However, the last one was in March 2021, so I’m not sure how active this one remains.

Some of the books:

Florence Welch – Between Two Books – Florence Welch, of Florence + the Machine started this club in 2012, when a teenage fan suggested the idea to her. It’s led by Florence Welch and a small team of others, but also features guest recommendations from various celebs. Book discussions take place on social media, along with readings and author interviews.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Patti Murin – Patti Reads Book Club – Patti Murin might not be a household name, but for theater geeks like me she is! The star of the Broadway production of Frozen, and prolific audiobook narrator, suggests books each month. Then that book is discussed on a forum. However it looks like the forum hasn’t been active since 2019. In 2022 Murin tweeted this, and it looks like she’s migrated to Instagram for sharing reads and recommendations.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Noname – Noname Book Club – Each month rapper and poet, Noname, along with a guest, select two books by authors of color to read and discuss. This club has various local chapters around the country. There’s also a monthly national zoom discussion call about the picks. They also send their monthly picks to incarcerated people through their Prison Program.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman
Care Free Black Girls by Zeba Blay
Intimate Direct Democracy by Modibo Kadalie

Kaia Gerber – Kaia Gerber Book Club – Model Kaia Gerber launched this club in 2020 during lockdown. She recommends books via Instagram and then hosts an IG live discussion with the author of the book (or star of the movie, on occasion)

Some of the books:

Gwyneth Paltrow – Goop Book Club – Many people know that Paltrow runs a lifestyle company called Goop. They may not know that there’s a Goop book club. The books are listed on the website and discussed in a private Facebook group and across social media with #goopbookclub. Author Q&As and live video discussions are also posted frequently.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Jimmy Fallon – Fallon Book Club – The Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon and his team periodically select books for viewers to read and discuss. These discussion happen on the Facebook group and social media using #fallonbookclub. Fallon actually joins in some of these discussion from time to time.

Some of the books:

Sarah Jessica Parker – Goodreads page – This is more of an overall book cheerleader presence than “club.” In 2016 Parker entered the publishing business, launching the SJP for Hogarth imprint dedicated to publishing work from emerging and established writers. From 2017 to 2019 Parker also served as the chair of the American Literary Association’s Book Club Central, an online platform for book clubs and readers. Book Club Central is no longer active, but you can still see some past pics on Parker’s Instagram, as well as more recent recs. In 2022 it was announced that she was launching a new imprint, SJP Lit, where she says she wants to acquire books about “unfamiliar territory” regarding people and places.

Some of the books:

Jenna Bush Hagar – Read with Jenna – Hagar is the co-host of Today with Hoda and Jenna. Each month, she picks a book that the club reads and discusses on the private Facebook page, as well as Instagram and across social media with the #ReadwithJenna. In addition to recommending her book club picks, she also often recommends related books (aka “readalikes”)

Some of the (most recent) books:

Amerie – Amerie Book Club – Singer/songwriter/author Amerie launched this club in 2018 with a commitment to highlighting diverse authors and unique perspectives and voices. It’s driven by a social media schedule on YouTube and Instagram using the hashtags #ABC #AmeriesBookClub and #ReadwithAmerie. At the end of each month, an IG Live session takes place where the author will answer reader questions.

Some of the (most recent) books:

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors of 2022 That Made Me Want More

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Fran Laniado- Author

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

January 24: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2022 (If you didn’t read books by 10 new authors, share new-to-you authors whose books you added to your TBR in 2022. Get creative, if needed!)

Rachel Harrison

In 2022 I read: Cackle

Next I want to read: Such Sharp Teeth

Why: Cackle was a fun, feminist, witch story, so I decided to see what Harrison does with werewolves! Actually I also looked at her other book, The Return, which I’ll also get to at some point, hopefully.

Ava Reid

In 2022 I read: The Wolf and the Woodsman

Next I want to read: Juniper & Thorn

Why: The Wolf and the Woodsman is a dark, sometimes ugly, fairytale that incorporates Hungarian history and Jewish folklore. While not a sequel, Juniper and Thorn is Reid’s second book, and it is set in the same world.

Grady Hendrix

In 2022 I read: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group

Next I want to read: How To Sell a Haunted House

Why: The two I read in 2022 were weird hybrids of horror and humor that appealed to the strangeness in me. Hendrix tends to explore a different subgenre in each of his books, and I’m interested in reading his take on the haunted house story.

Byrd Nash

In 2022 I read: A Spell of Rowans

Next I want to read: The Wicked Wolves of Windsor

Why: I won A Spell of Rowans in a Goodreads giveaway, and really enjoyed it. It combines a genre I often find comforting (small town witch story) with a darker story of trauma, and a murder mystery. I definitely want to read more of Nash’s work, and The Wicked Wolves of Windsor appealed to me most at first glance.

Alice Feeney

In 2022 I read: Sometimes I Lie

Next I want to read: His & Hers

Why: I won Sometimes I Lie in another Goodreads giveaway (I had bizarrely good luck with Goodreads giveaways in 2022!) and I really enjoyed the domestic thriller/murder mystery. Feeney has a few others that look good but this had the highest rating so I might try for this one first.

Susan Meissner

In 2022 I read: The Nature of Fragile Things

Next I want to read: Stars Over Sunset Boulevard

Why: The Nature of Fragile things told a compelling personal story against the backdrop of historical events: in this case the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Stars Over Sunset Boulevard is a dual timeline (a device I love) set in contemporary LA and Old Hollywood (I’m an old movie buff!).

Sylvia Townsend Warner

In 2022 I read: Lolly Willowes

Next I want to read: The Corner That Held Them

Why: My book club read Lolly Willowes and I loved the weird hybrid of character study, family drama, and the third act transition to witch story! I think it also reads nicely as a companion to Cackle (above), which turned out to just be good timing on my part. I did a bit of googling about what to read next, and came across this review, which intrigued me, so I decided to go with The Corner that Held Them next.

Barbara Comyns

In 2022 I read: Our Spoons Came from Woolworths

Next I want to read: Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead

Why: Our Spoons Came from Woolworths was another book club read. I had an interesting response, in that I liked it more after reading than I did while I was reading. I wanted to read more so I did some research. This blog says that Our Spoons is probably not the best place to start with Comyns (oh well!) but recommends this and another one. This sounded more interesting at the moment.

TJ Klune

In 2022 I read: The House in the Cerulean Sea

Next I want to read: Under the Whispering Door

Why: I had a slightly conflicted reaction to The House in the Cerulean Sea (explained here) but I did really like it and want to read more from the author. This and In the Lives of Puppets both look good really, so I’ll see which I get to first.

Taylor Adams

In 2022 I read: No Exit

Next I want to read: The Last Word

Why: No Exit was just a fast, exciting read. Sometimes that’s all I’m in the mood for! I looked through Adams’ other work and The Last Word sounded most interesting to me at the moment.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2023

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Fran Laniado- Author

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

January 17: Bookish Goals for 2023

The Luminaries – Toward the end of 2022 I tried to read Elinor Catton’s The Luminaries. It was difficult going and I put it down, because I heard about an instagram read along of the book taking place in February and March of this year. I think having the support of a read along will be helpful for tackling this long, dense book.

Rereads – I’m not usually much of a rereader because I tend to get distracted by all the new books out there. I’m also afraid of favorites not living up to my memory. But there are some books that I want to revisit, so I’m going to try to do that this year. Here’s a post about them.

Unread books – Like many of us, I’ve got an accumulation of books I haven’t read yet sitting on my shelf. Some I’ve been procrastinating quite a while, either because I’m intimidated, or because I haven’t been in the mood for them. But I’m definitely going to try to reduce the quantity of unread books on my shelf.

Finish drafting my WIP – This is related to writing, but since I’m writing a book (or what I hope will be one someday), I think this is relevant. I’ve described some of my struggles with the the book I’d been working on, so I put it down and started to work on something else. Well, really I picked up something I’d put down several years ago. After a struggle and an attempt to pre-plot that didn’t work out, I finally gave myself permission to pants, and feel reinvigorated. I want to finish at least one draft of this in 2023.

Read more indies – I follow some indie writers on social media that are really creative and inspiring. I want to read more of their work in 2023. I also want to read more from small press authors. Some on my TBR:

Remember that goals are supposed to be fun and not the source of stress – Like most goals I have a tendency to put pressure on myself to meet reading goals. I always try to remind myself that reading goals are for fun and nothing else. My reading isn’t measured by how many books I read in a year, but by what I get out of them.

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels.com

Be open to surprises – Bookish goals and TBRs are fun, but I also want to be open to picking up a random book and discovering I love it. I want to leave room to let that happen, by sometimes breaking a book buying ban, or stopping in at the library when I mean to go straight home.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books About New Year’s

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Fran Laniado- Author

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

Todays prompt is:

January 10: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023

But since I’m trying to read what I have and NOT to make a million more TBRs, I decided to do my own thing. Since we’re starting a new year, and looking ahead, I’ll share some books set on/near New Year’s, or that have significant New Year’s scenes.

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore – New Year’s Eve 1982. The title character is set to turn 19 at the stroke of midnight. She faces some big decisions in the year ahead. But as the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints. When she wakes up, it’s 32 years in the future, and Oona is 51 years old physically (mentally she’s still 19). She is greeted by a stranger who tells her that for the rest of her life, she will leap to another age at random. So from 19 she leaped to 51. From 51 she might leap to 25… Oona tries to build a life given her “condition.” There are perks and drawbacks and we watch Oona grow up (and down, and up again) on the outside, while developing normally on the inside.

Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding – This book opens on a New Year, when the title character decides to make some resolutions. These include, but are not limited to:

develop a functional, adult relationship
go to the gym 3x a week
learn to program the VCR
keep a diary all year

Some of these resolutions are more successful than others naturally!

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby – Four people meet one New Year’s Eve at a popular London spot for suicides. They all have the same plan for midnight. In four alternating first person perspectives, we get to know who these people are, and why they got to this point. Once they all meet, they end up sharing their stories and agreeing to postpone mortality (at least temporarily) to help each other.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith – This starts on New Year’s Day in 1975 and circles around to another New Year’s later on in the book. At the beginning, Archie, who’d planned to start the New Year with his suicide, ends up at a New Year’s party instead. At this party, he meets his future wife. The book itself is actually more about his friendship with fellow WWII vet, Samad Iqubal, but New Year’s party, and the resulting marriage, definitely set Archie’s life on a different path.

Middlemarch by George Eliot – This novel begins on New Year’s Eve, at a party given by the Vincys. It seems cheerful but there are a lot of tensions under the surface. Rosamund’s husband bores her. Mr. Lydgate has money problems. Mr. Farebrother is flirting with Mary, which makes Fred jealous. We get to know these people and their various problems big and small over the course of the novel.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – While the knights of Camelot are having a New Year’s feast, a gigantic green knight shows up. Gawain wins a fight with him, but the knight tells Gawain that he will return next New Year’s to take his revenge. Not the most promising start to a year…

Mixed Doubles by Jill Mansell – One New Year’s Eve, three friends are sharing their resolutions. Liza wants to get married this year. Pru wants to stay married, and Dulcie wants a divorce. Over the course of the next year, best laid plans will naturally go awry. Things get even crazier when the characters try to help each other.

Baby-Sitters Little Sister: Karen’s New Year by Ann M. Martin – When I was about seven years old, I thought that Karen Brewer was a kindred spirit. Case in point: on New Year’s Eve, Karen encourages her friends and family to make resolutions. Karen joins in, making a number of resolutions herself. To help make sure people are doing what they should, Karen takes up spying on them. Surprisingly, Karen’s nearest and dearest don’t appreciate this! They spy on her in return…

Fear Street Superchillers: The New Year’s Party by RL Stine – Another nostalgic New Year’s book, this one that actually begins at a Christmas party. A prank turns fatal when it turns out that the intended target had a heart problem. Naturally, the pranksters decide to hide the body and swear secrecy (because is there another way to handle it?). But then the body they’ve hidden disappears. In the lead up to the New Year, the pranksters start to die, one by one.

Happy reading in 2023 everyone!

Intentions for 2023

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Fran Laniado- Author

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com – I like this visual of intentions in the sand, because they may change or wash away completely and be replaced with something else.

Since the insanity that was 2020, I haven’t really set New Year’s resolutions. My logic has been that the world may be an entirely different place at the end of the year than it was at the beginning, so why bother “resolving” things that may no longer apply? That’s still true. But I’ve also found myself saying, “This year I’ll try to do X,” fairly often. So, these are not resolutions. They’re not resolute. They’re intentions. Things may change. You can read more about the difference here:

I learned quite a bit about myself as a writer in 2022. Earlier in the year, I wanted to become more of a plotter. I’ve always been a pantser, but I wanted to make my revision and editing process easier. When I tried to outline, I kept getting blocked. I’d feel like, “How am I supposed to know what happens at the climax? I’m not there yet!” I managed to get myself pretty stuck. It wasn’t until I gave myself permission to pants again that things started to flow. I started by doing 5 minute writing spints each day, just to produce something to work from. Then I increased the time by another 5 minutes and so on. Now I’m more excited about my WIP than I’ve been in quite a while. A lot of people swear plotting is superior to pantsing (or vice versa) but the truth is that different people work best in different ways. In 2023, I intend to go my own way, and not try to force my process into a mold that doesn’t work for it. I also want to accept that what works for one book may not work for another and to accept those changes as they emerge and evolve.
I want to notice when I’m happy and give myself permission to enjoy it. I have a tendency to notice when I’m sad or angry, but take positive emotions for granted. When I do notice I’m happy, I often ruin it by wondering if it’s justified and how long it will last. I want to be more accepting of happiness for just what it is, in the moment.
I want to make an effort to be generous with my time, my energy, my attention, and my understanding. I often have a scarcity mindset, particularly with things requiring energy. I’m going to try to remember that all of these qualities are renewable. They may be finite for a time, but they’ll always return.
I plan to do more rereading in 2023. I’m not usually great at that because there are a lot of books out there that I want to read that I haven’t read yet! But there’s also quite a lot that I’d like to revisit and see how my perspective has changed. See a list of them, and why I want to reread them here.
My words of intention for this year are JOY and GENEROSITY.

I’m not going to hold myself accountable for these things though. My priorities and values may change as the year evolves, in which case my intentions will probably change too.

Have you set any resolutions or intentions for 2023?

Top Ten Tuesday: Best of 2022 (Part 2)!

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Fran Laniado- Author

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

January 3: Favorite Books of 2022

Because I had a good year reading-wise I had to break this list into two part. This is part 2, and you can find part 1 here.

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner – I read this toward the end of the year and it closed things off on a good note. Sophie Whalen is an Irish immigrant, so desperate to get out of her NYC tenement that she agrees to marry a stranger. Martin Hocking is a widower, looking for a wife to be a mother to his five year old daughter, Kat, and give his home the appearance of happiness and health. Even though she’s put off by Martin’s coldness, she loves Kat, and settles into their new home in San Francisco. One day, a strange woman comes to the door making a shocking revelation. Before Sophie can even process what’s happened, the earth moves. Literally. In the wake of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Sophie must protect Kat and the stranger to whom she feels a responsibility to as well. She must find a way to get them to a place where they can all find answers.

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland – Ten years ago, Iris Hollow and her two older sisters disappeared from a Scottish street on New Year’s Eve. One month later, they returned, changed, with no memory of what happened to them. Ten years later, when the oldest sister, Gray Hollow, disappears again, seventeen year old Iris, and the middle sister, Vivi, try to find out what happened to her. As Iris and Vivi investigate, they discover that Gray left clues, that tell a bizarre story that suggests they aren’t the only ones looking for Gray. They also realize that the answer to the mystery of Gray’s disappearance may tie in to whatever happened to them all ten years earlier. I rated this book four stars, but I think I would have given it five if the ending had been slightly different. I can’t say more about that without spoilers though. It’s a modern fairytale in the darkest sense: mysterious, confusing, and occasionally eerie and grim.

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James – I often lament that Simone St. James doesn’t still write the historical gothics she started with, even though I still enjoy her current stuff. But this takes all those fun gothic elements and puts them in a (mostly) contemporary setting. In 1977, two random men were murdered with the same gun and a note near the bodies. Beth Greer was accused of the murders but acquitted. Forty years later, Shea Collins, who runs a true crime website, meets Beth by chance and asks for an interview. When they meet at Beth’s mansion for the interviews, Shea is immediately on alert. Something isn’t right. Is Beth a murderer, a manipulator, or is story Beth tells of forty years earlier actually true? And is Shea safe in the Greer mansion long enough to find out?

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor – The elderly Mrs. Palfrey arrives at the Claremont Hotel, where she will spend the rest of her life. She meets her fellow residents, all elderly people like herself, looking to end their lives in a generally pleasant environment. She’s disappointed when her grandson, Desmond, who lives nearby doesn’t visit. When Mrs. Palfrey strikes up a friendship with a young writer named Ludo, she tells a small fib to the residents of the Claremont. She says he’s her grandson. And Ludo and Mrs. Palfrey each provide the other with something that the other needs in a number of ways. This has a film adaptation, which I enjoyed, but I didn’t like that it felt the need to give it a contemporary setting. It also wasn’t content, as Taylor was, to let things remain sort of ambiguous. Still as far as movie version go, it wasn’t bad!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune – I went back and forth quite a bit about whether to include this one, for reasons described here. Those issues are why I gave this four stars rather than five, and why I can’t quite recommend the book as wholeheartedly as I might otherwise. It’s about Linus, a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, who is tasked with evaluating an orphanage for said youth. When he arrives at the orphanage, overseen by the mysterious Arthur Parnassus, he finds something he never imagined could exist. It’s something that more beautiful than anything Linus has ever known, and something Arthur will do anything to protect. It’s a shame that I know some of the problems I have with the premise, because it is a lovely story of found family, with humor, magic and danger.

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman – This is an old favorite that I reread in anticipation of the the film adaptation, and enjoyed just as much as ever. Catherine feels trapped by the role and expectations of a fourteen year old girl in 1290. Her father wants her to marry anyone who can pay enough for her. She’s pretty good at scaring off potential suitors but she’s aware that this is a temporary solution. The book is a diary she keeps all year, and it turns out to be a very pivotal year in her life, in many ways. I liked the film too, and I discuss it a bit in comparison with the book here.

Thornyhold by Mary Stewart- Gilly Ramsey was a lonely child whose life was brightened by her cousins occasional visits. When her cousin dies, she leaves Gilly her cottage. Thornyhold comes with a black cat, a lot of herbs (though the recipe book is suspiciously absent), carrier pigeons (with secret messages), as well as some potential friendships and romance. It also reveals some secret gifts Gilly may possess. This is sort of a hybrid of gothic suspense, romance, and fantasy. It’s what I’d call a slow, gentle, book thought. The stakes aren’t really life and death, but that’s a good thing because it’s a sort of comforting experience to read.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow – While Harrow’s debut novel The Ten Thousand Doors of January was a five star read for me last year, this was more like 4.5. But that’s still pretty good! Set in an alternate 1893, there are no more witches. Since the burnings, witchcraft has been all but eradicated in the US. When the Eastwood sisters, each with their own pasts and baggage, join the women’s suffrage movement, they discover a power that could turn the tide for witches and for women. My problems with this were more like slight quibbles than anything else really. For example, it didn’t have to be as long as it was. But it’s definitely worth a read. I’m just now realizing that a lot of witch books make up my “favorites” for last year!

Survive the Night by Riley Sager – This book is set in 1991. That turns out to be a very important detail here, because there were no cell phones. If there were, this would have been a very short (fairly dull) book! Charlie is a college student sharing a car with someone she met on a ride share board. She’s looking to go home to Ohio after the murder of her roommate and BFF at the hands of the Campus Killer. Josh, the guy she’s riding with, wants to get home to see his sick father. But as they drive, bits of Josh’s story don’t add up. And why won’t he let her see what’s in the trunk? As they head into isolated territory, Charlie begins to suspect she’s in the car with a killer. But the truth is more involved than she ever imagined. I thought this would be a standard cat and mouse thriller. It definitely was that, but it also had some twists and turns I didn’t expect. I had a quibble with the ending which knocked down the rating, but didn’t interfere with my enjoyment. It’s not great literature but it doesn’t try to be. I ran through this in about a day.

Have you ever read any of these? What did you think?

Favorite Books of 2022 (part 1)

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Fran Laniado- Author

I was only going to do one list, but I realizes that was enough for two this year:

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis – This had been sitting on my shelf for a long time, and I finally decided to read it at the start of 2022. It was worth the wait! Part of Willis’ Oxford Time Travel series, it’s set in the future, when time travel is a thing. It’s done regularly by historians. When one of them accidentally brings something back from Victorian England (you are not supposed to bring stuff through time!!!) it must be set right, and the time-space continuum is at stake. It’s a delightful combination of SFF, comedy, romance, and cats (to say nothing of the dog).

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid – Based on the Goodreads rating it seems like this is a love it or hate it kind of thing. I loved it, but I think the expectations you go in with are important. For one thing, despite the fact that the title suggests a Red Riding Hood retelling, this isn’t one. It incorporates a lot of folklore though. It draws from both Hungarian and Jewish traditions. It’s also not YA. Both main characters are in their mid-late twenties. Don’t go in expecting late teens. Finally, it’s dark, it’s violent, it’s ugly at times. But if that doesn’t scare you off, I really liked it!

White Ivy by Susie Yang – Again this has gotten some hate due, I think, to expectations. The cover blurb makes it sound like a mystery/thriller, and it’s not really, though it has some of those elements. It’s about a Chinese-American girl from an immigrant family, who wants to be accepted by an old money, privileged crowd of people. She finds a guy who she can marry and get what she’s always wanted. But she also encounters a man from her past who could threaten everything. This is a sort of coming of age, tied in with a love triangle (well, a triangle anyway…) and crime. It’s definitely a slow burn, but I enjoyed it.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell – In 1596, Hamnet Shakespeare, the eleven year old son of William and Anne Hathaway Shakespeare, died. A few years later, William Shakespeare wrote a play about a character with a very similar name to his son. This book goes into the Shakespeare marriage (though he’s never mentioned by name) and family life, and looks at how life and art overlap.

No Exit by Taylor Adams – This one was just a lot of fun. Darby Thomas is a college student on her way to Utah because her mother is dying. When she gets caught in a blizzard, she is forced to wait it out at a remote highway rest stop. Four other strangers are in much the same position. But when Darby ventures outside to try to get a signal on her phone, she happens to see a little girl locked in an animal crate in the back of a van. One of her fellow travelers is the kidnapper. But which one? And without a phone, how can she help this girl? It’s an exciting read, that I went through in about a day. There’s a movie, that I’d like to check out, but I don’t get Hulu.

Dead Blonds and Bad Mothers by Sady Doyle – I forget what made me pick this up, but it turned out to be really interesting. Our society is afraid of women. From the biblical Lilith, to the (female) T-Rex in Jurassic Park, to serial killers whose crimes are blamed on “domineering” mothers, to the subject of The Exorcist. Doyle divides femininity into three archetypes: daughter, wife, and mother, and traces the “monstrous” ways they’re seen in pop culture past and present. It definitely made me look at some elements of our culture with a different lens.

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner – This is a difficult book to explain. It doesn’t really fit a genre or a “type.” The title character is a spinster in the early half of the twentieth century. She lives with her brother and his family, and the family forces her into a fairly controlled, traditional role. One day, she can’t take it anymore and decides to move to the countryside. Lolly (or Laura, as she prefers to be called) is happy in her new life, until her nephew moves to town. She feels like his presence forces her back into the role that felt so confining, so she turns to witchcraft to find a solution. It’s sort of a hybrid of character study, feminist story, and fantasy.

Cackle by Rachel Harrison– By sheer coincidence I read this just after I finished Lolly Willowes, and they’re nice bookends to each other. Of course, after reading them, I was ready to move to the countryside and become a witch! When Annie and her longtime boyfriend break up, Annie leaves their New York City home and moves upstate, to a small picturesque village. She meets and befriends Sophie, who seems lovely despite the fact that the other locals seem slightly afraid of her. And yeah, some things about Sophie are rather…unusual…

Stay tuned for part 2!

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to My Collection

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Fran Laniado- Author

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

December 27: Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection (What books did you get as presents this holiday season? Or what did you buy with gift cards?)

Some of these were gifts, some were things I bought with gift cards (or otherwise…)

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner – This was from my dad, recommended by the lady in the bookstore. I read it just after I got it, and it was pretty enjoyable: interesting personal story against the backdrop of dramatic historical events. I was actually so interested in the character’s journey that when the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 happened, I was like, “Wait, I wanted to find out what happens with the others stuff!” But I think that reaction was definitely intended on the author’s part.

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama– My dad gave me this one too, and said he wanted to get me something I wouldn’t get for myself. While I wasn’t planning to buy it, it was on my library list, so I got to read it sooner than planned. Overall very good. A few times it veered into slightly too-self-helpy-for-my-taste territory (but even then, it’s never cloying) but overall it was in interesting combination of anecdotes from her pre-, during, and post-White House life that explain and illuminate her advice for tough times. And “tough times” can apply to pretty much whatever feels tough to you.

Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier – This was from my Aussie book buddy. I haven’t gotten to it yet but I plan to read the whole Warrior Bards trilogy next year, and this is the final one.

Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko – Another gift from my Aussie book buddy, I’m always a fan of magical schools, so I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while. Actually I just now got the idea to maybe do a list of books set in magical school next year…

Heavens to Betsy and Betsy In Spite of Herself by Maude Hart Lovelace – This is the second volume of Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. I read the first volume at the very end of 2021, and I look forward to continuing. So far, at least, they’re wonderful comfort reads. I bought this for myself at a pre-holiday used book binge!

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl– Another from the pre-holiday used bookstore haul. I’ve really enjoyed Pessl’s other books, and I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while. It’s my current read, and I’m enjoying it so far, but it’s definitely not the kind of thing everyone would love (at least so far!)

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – All through 2022 I was pretty good about not buying new books, but I had a week last month of the year! I was heading to see family, there was a bookshop at the bus station, I had time before my bus came, and I’ve heard really good things about this one. I mean, who can resist those circumstances?

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – This was purchased at the same store and same time as the above. But this felt slightly less self-indulgent, because I had a good excuse for buying this one: it’s a potential comp title for my WIP.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books After Death

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Fran Laniado- Author

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

Today’s topic was:

December 20: Books I Hope Santa Brings This Year

But rather than make another wish list (which could get very long!) I decided to do my own thing with a totally random idea I had one day. These are all books featuring either a dead protagonist, significant numbers of dead characters, an afterlife, and/or a personification of death. Yes, maybe the idea is a bit morbid, but I decided to go with it!

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders – This was probably one of the weirder books I’ve ever read! In 1862, President Lincoln’s son, Willie died at the age of eleven. Newspapers reported that the president was grief stricken, returning to his son’s tomb several times to hold his body. That much is true. But in the book, Willie is in a sort of midpoint between life and death, amidst a number of other ghosts, each with their own arguments, regrets, penances, and gripes. None are able to give up their earthly lives completely. Will Willie Lincoln join them, or move on to whatever comes next? And will his father be able to put his grief aside and do what needs to be done?

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold – I actually didn’t like this book as much as a lot of other people seemed to. That said, I think if it had had less advance hype I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Fourteen year old Susie is raped and murdered by her neighbor on her way home from school one day. From heaven, she watches over her grieving family and friends, the detective trying to solve her murder, and her murderer, himself. One thing I liked about this book was everyone getting their own version of heaven. Susie’s is sort of an idealized high school with none of the bad stuff!

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb – Helen died 130 years ago, but isn’t able to enter heaven because she carried guilt with her at death. She attaches herself to human hosts to sustain her spirit. Her most recent host is a high school English teacher. Sitting through his classes one day, she realizes that one of his students, is a spirit also. But James doesn’t attach to a host the way she does. He actually possess the body of one of the teacher’s students. He shows Helen how to inhabit a body too, and Helen and James fall in love. But they must reckon with their own lives and pasts, as well as those of their host bodies. Billy and Jenny. This has a sequel, Under the Light, which I haven’t read yet. I’ll have to reread this one before I can read that one though.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman- Technically, the main character of this book, Bod, is alive. But everyone else is dead! Bod was raised in a graveyard by ghosts (and a werewolf a vampire, and various other supernatural beings) following the murder of his family. It’s one of my favorite books by Gaiman (who I tend to have mixed reactions to) because as weird as it is, it also has a lot of heart. It was inspired by The Jungle Book, and it’s sort of a weird twist on the idea.

Passage by Connie Willis – I’m going to try to write about this without spoilers! It’s about a psychologist who volunteers for a project that simulates NDEs (Near Death Experiences). Her NDE has a sense of deja vu to it, and each time she goes under, she has a sense that something terrible is coming. And that’s about as much as I can say without spoilers! Mostly this book is filed under the heading “weird” in my brain.

The Returned by Jason Mott – Harold and Lucille’s son, Jacob, died in 1966. Many years later, he shows up on their doorstep, the same age he was when he died. He’s not the only one. All over the world people are coming back from the dead, unchanged. This was made into a TV series called Resurrection, because there was a series called The Returned, with a very similar premise that came out near the same time.

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl – A year ago, Beatrice’s boyfriend died and she left her boarding school and friends in the shadow of that tragedy. When they reunite, Beatrice and her friends get into a car accident. Fortunately no one is hurt. Or so they think. When they get home, a stranger arrives at the door and tells them they died in the crash. Only one survived. Now they’re in Neverworld Wake, sort of a halfway station, where they have to decide who the survivor of the crash was. Until there is a unanimous decision, they will be trapped, reliving the day of the accident again and again. The friend group soon realizes that their possible redemption lies with the truth about what happened to Beatrice’s boyfriend a year earlier. I really liked this one.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion – R is a zombie. He and his friend M spend most of their time shuffling around and eating brains. But when R eats a brain, he gets a bit of that person’s memory. So when he eats the brain of zombie-killer Perry, he sees Perry’s memories of his beloved Julie. For some inexplicable reason, R doesn’t want to eat Julie. He cares for her… This is sort of a zombie version of Romeo and Juliet that wasn’t bad, but I didn’t read any of the rest of the series.

Remember Me by Christopher Pike – Shari wakes up in bed with no memory of going to sleep. The last thing she remembers is being out with friends. When she leaves her room her family ignores her. Then, there’s a phone call from the hospital. No one will tell Shari what happened, so she goes with her family, and sees herself in the morgue. Even though her death is ruled a suicide, Shari knows she was murdered. She investigates her murder, visiting her friends in their dreams, while also facing a threat known as the Shadow. This is the start of a trilogy. I read it a million years ago, but I only remember reading the first book.

Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan – Bibi Chen plans to lead a group of twelve friends from China to Myanmar. Unfortunately, she dies before that can happen. The group decides to go on the trip anyway though, and Bibi tags along in spirit form. Then, the group disappears. I think Amy Tan’s fans are probably split on this book, since it’s a departure from her usual work. But really liked it. I found it weird and funny.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – This one is narrated by Death himself. It’s set in Nazi Germany, and is actually about a foster child names Liesel Meminger, who along with her foster father, saves/steals books from neighbors, graveyards and book burnings. She shares them with her neighbors and the Jewish man who lives hidden in her basement. Death (the narrator) distances himself from humanity for the sake of his own sanity, but Leisel breaks through his defenses, without even knowing it. I could go on about the narrative perspective in this, and whether the main character duties fall on Leisel, Death, or both. But it’s definitely a unique, haunting look life and death, in all their forms.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt – I read this years ago, and I think I liked it, but I don’t remember it too well. It’s about a girl who charms Death with her storytelling abilities. He agrees to spare her from…well, death…. if she can find true love in the next 24 hours. It’s sort of a gothic fairytale, and now that I’m writing about it, I’m thinking about rereading it…

Recent Movie and TV Adaptations 2022

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Fran Laniado- Author

Catherine, Called Birdy– book by Karen Cushman – copied and pasted from my Instagram post:

Overall I found it to be an enjoyable adaption of on of my favorite middle grade novels but I did have a few issues with the ending.

MILD SPOILERS HERE
************
The book ended on an ambiguously happy note. The film made it far less ambiguous. It was definitely what the viewer would have wanted for the character, but historically speaking, it was anachronistic. The anachronistic element didn’t ruin anything for me really because there were many, seemingly intentional, anachronistic elements in terms of music, dialogue, etc. But for me, the ending took me out of thing in a way that those elements didn’t. I don’t say that’s a bad thing because, as I said, the film’s version is definitely nicer for the character! But it’s just sort of a note I had on it. Overall, I’d still recommend it to fans of the book.

[BOOK][MOVIE]

Luckiest Girl Alive – book by Jessica Knoll – I was kind of disappointed in this one. I liked the book because it was a thriller that also addressed some larger social and cultural problems. The film addressed those problems too, but to the exclusion of what made the book an entertaining read. Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for a film addressing this content. But, in the book, I wanted to know Ani’s mysterious backstory because it affected her present. I was given just enough information to slowly puzzle it together as I read. That’s why the larger issues worked: because they were part of a compelling whole. Without that, what is left feels like a facile look and some serious problems.

[BOOK][MOVIE]

The Wonder – book by Emma Donohue – I was actually surprised this film worked as well as it did. The book was beautiful but very ambiguous. It left things up to the reader to interpret. I was worried that ambiguity wouldn’t work on film, which is a more concrete medium. But, fortunately, the filmmakers didn’t feel the need to give the viewer easy answers. It feels sort of like a dream, which is just right for the source material.

[BOOK][MOVIE]

Where the Crawdads Sing – book by Delia Owens – This one is a little tricky for me to review because while I liked the book a lot, I didn’t love it the way a lot of people did. I felt that the film adapted the story well, and that the scenery and setting were accurate to the descriptions in the book. Since the setting of the book felt almost more important to me than the plot or the characters, that was the part I most wanted to see done well, and it was.

[BOOK][MOVIE]

The Midnight Club – book by Christopher Pike -This is copied and pasted from this post:

For context I loved The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, but I wasn’t so thrilled with Midnight Mass. I felt like this was a return to characters I cared about and invested in. I liked the frame structure with the kids having a story telling club, and us seeing each story, as the larger story of the club unfolds. I read Christopher Pike’s novel it’s based on about a million years ago. The series also seemed to incorporate some bits and pieces from Pike’s other work. For some reason I remembered the book having a twist, that wasn’t in the show. I looked it up, and it doesn’t look like it was in the book either. So now I thinking something else entirely had that twist?

[BOOK][SERIES]

Persuasion – book by Jane Austen – Umm, I wrote a long post about this here. But here’s the short version:

I knew going in, that whatever I’d be watching, it wouldn’t be Persuasion as written by Austen. I tried to let those expectations go and watch it with an open mind. As a standard Hollywood romantic comedy, it was fine. No more, no less. I certainly didn’t find it as offensive as some did! The historically anachronistic elements didn’t bother me because they seemed intentional. But there’s no Jane Austen there, and when I wanted her, I felt her absence. For example, when Anne reads the note that Captain Wentworth has written her, that beautiful love letter comes off like a note jotted on a post-it with a number two pencil. Actually, I won’t say there’s no Jane Austen there. Rather it’s the wrong Jane Austen. While Austen is known for satire, Persuasion isn’t where those elements primarily come out.

[BOOK][MOVIE]

Bridgerton, season 2 – book (The Viscount Who Loved Me) by Julia Quinn – I actually preferred this to the first season of Bridgerton in many ways, and I think that where it diverted from the book, it was wise to do so. For the first 50% or so of the season it was fairly faithful. But, at a similar point in the book there was a plot point that would not have played well in a visual medium. I was curious to see how the show handled it, but aside from a brief mention, and a side plot involving something similar with other characters, it was all but omitted, which I think served the show well. I do wish the show hadn’t played up the love triangle plot, but you can’t have everything!

[BOOK][SERIES]

Magpie Murders – book by Anthony Horowitz – I actually still need to watch the last two episodes of this one, so take what I say with a grain of salt! I read the book about four or five years ago, and enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was an innovative twist on the whodunnit, which is typically not a genre that sees tremendous innovation. I think it was best to see the series a few years removed from the book, because while I remembered the overall premise, I’d forgotten most of the actual plot, so I’m able to enjoy the show without knowing all the answers.

[BOOK][SERIES]

Of course, there are also about 100 streaming channels out there that I don’t get! I want to see all these but don’t have access at the moment!

Pachinko (AppleTV+)
No Exit (Hulu)
Kindred (Hulu)
The Essex Serpent (AppleTV+)
The Time Traveler’s Wife (HBO Max)
Station Eleven (HBO Max) (though I’m not sure how I’d feel about this one post-COVID…)

Anything else I need to see? Or anything that you disagree with me about?