Here’s my next reading update. This is a mixture of audio books, Kindle Unlimited options and old-fashioned paper paged books.
<i>The Last Days of Café Leila</i> by Donia Bijan
This novel is set in both the U.S. and Iran. The novel is told from the point of view of Noor. As a young teenager, Noor was uprooted and sent to the U.S. to escape the revolution. She mostly assimilates to American culture, becomes a nurse, marries a doctor and has a child. She returns to Iran with her daughter when her father is ailing and her marriage is broken.
Very well written and the characters are fully developed. While we might not be able to understand all of Noor’s motivation, she is a devoted mother and daughter. Some might question her devotion to her daughter Lily (considering the ending of the book) but she is determined to show that one cannot be afraid, even when facing dangers in the land that she loves. Five stars! (I almost recommended this one for Cook the Books.)
The Hanford Necklace by Shannon St. Hilaire
I received an advanced reader copy of this book. I had never heard of the Hanford Project in Washington state, only the Manhattan Project in New Mexico. This novel describes what it was like to work there during WWII and what it was like growing up there in the 21st century. You can read my full review here. I rated it four stars.
Whistler by Ann Patchett
I am a huge Ann Patchett fan. That being said, I read this in starts and stops and I think if I had read it all the way through in a couple of settings, I would have rated it higher. Patchett does it again, however. She is a master of characters and Eddie is one of them. As in most of her books, there are deep, underlying relationship dramas. A car crash, a failed marriage, and secret relationships could all clash together in just “too much” but Patchett winds us through the conflict. I was rooting for Daphne and Eddie from the start (although I have to say that at one point at the beginning of their new relationship, I thought they might start an affair…..) Four Stars!
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarita by Tim Federle
Last year I bought Get Lit on a whim at an adult book fair. I rated that book four stars. This year I picked up Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarita and I would rate this new tongue-in-cheek literary-based cocktail book FIVE ++++ in comparison. First of all, it’s wittier and the recipes are based on classics (both old school and contemporary) and it includes more than cocktails. There is a “Virginal” section with mocktails based on YA and children’s lit: Frog and Toad are Sober; Watership Down the Hatch; and Little Soused on the Prairie to name a few. (There are ways to spike them up.) There is also a “Scholarly Snack” section: Salads for Algernon, Banana Karenina, and Animal Cracker’s Farm. Finally, there are some hilarious drinking game suggestions. Drink every time: Faulkner goes off plot, James Patterson publishes another book, Tolstoy casually introduces another character in War and Peace, and referring to Frankenstein as the monster and not the doctor. Loved it! The recipes are good too. Watch for a full review here soon.
Wreck by Catherine Newman
Ever since I read Sandwich I have been dying for Wreck to come out. Newman’s snarky yet real depiction of a “woman of a certain age” is just plain hilarious (but empathetic at the same time). The book opens with a tragic loss of life in a car-train collision. Whiley Rocky’s family didn’t know the victim well, the young man was from their community and went to school with their oldest son. Both Rocky and her daughter Willa are effected by the death. There is no murder mystery and this wreck becomes symbolic of Rocky’s own emotional and physical state.
This description sounds like a tragic novel. Wreck is not. Rocky’s character could easily fall into a tragic category, too. But she does not. The novel is real in it’s family drama and in the family humor. Rocky is real in her personal struggle while keeping a (mostly) positive outlook. She never loses herself (too much).
This could also be a foodie book so I am posting a longer review later. FIVE STARS!
The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (audiobook)
I listened to the audio book recently in preparation for the movie coming out in March 2027. I can’t wait. I still loved the story. The narrator was a bit drab at times but I kept with it. (I read the paperback in 2020.) This is my favorite Hannah novel.
I’m currently reading Language Arts by Stephani Kallos (potentially five stars), 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation―And Making Your Own Life Easier by David Yeager (a work thing), and Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo (another potential FIVE!).
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