the holdout

Happy Leap Day! It’s March tomorrow, but the weather lately seems to be convinced that it’s proper springtime…for the past few weeks we’ve been seeing highs in the 50s and even 60s! Flowers are starting to bloom! Of course it’s this winter, when I’m not commuting to Carson City five days a week, that we’re having this mild weather. It seems inevitable that there’s more snow and cold in our future but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.

In Books…

Perfume: This book was…strange, more than anything. It’s about an amoral young man born in France in the Middle Ages without a personal scent but an extraordinarily powerful sense of smell and his quest to make the most beautiful perfume in the world. This requires the murders of young women. It’s very odd and sometimes repellent but strangely compelling.
Whores of the Devil: This is a non-fiction book chronicling witch-hunts (and witch-hunters) throughout history, and the title should have been my tip-off that it was going to go in a highly sensationalized direction. There was a LOT of editorializing going on as well, with little in terms of overarching structure to tie things together. It’s not good.
Funny Girl: I really loved About A Boy and High Fidelity, but I was starting to wonder if I’d ever read a Hornby that was actually good instead of just alright again. This one, which tells the story of actress Sophie Straw and the people she works with on the opposites-attract sitcom Barbara (and Jim), is not quite a full return to form but comes very close: sweet, funny, and with sparkling dialogue.
The (Hidden) Lives of Tudor Women: I am a real sucker for nonfiction about the Tudor period, especially anything about royalty. This book tries to marry a chronological look at the period with Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man in a way that isn’t always successful, but it’s interesting information and engaging…at least, if you’re into this sort of thing.
The Year of Reading Dangerously: As someone who was a voracious reader as a child, went through a period of reading very little, and then got back into books myself, this memoir by Andy Miller recounting a very similar experience was something I was predisposed to like. It’s not anything memorable, but it’s pleasant enough to read.
The Holdout: I’ve always been fascinated by juries, so this legal thriller about a sequestered jury which renders a controversial verdict and then is reunited a decade later only for murder to ensue seemed right up my alley. It’s one of those where you have to turn your brain off a little, the main character behaves in ways that are so dumb for a person in her position that it’s not believable. It’s entertaining enough, though, until an ending twist that landed with a thud.
A Visit From the Goon Squad: I am going to go ahead and officially acknowledge that the “interconnected short stories” genre of literature is not one I enjoy. This book does it about as well as it can be done…Jennifer Egan is super talented and engages in some interesting experiments with form. But some segments are weaker than others (the last story fell pretty flat for me) and I really wish it was just an actual novel.

In Life…

My mom came to visit: For her birthday (which was yesterday!), my mom made a trip out west to visit the people who are important to her…which obviously includes me and her son-in-law. She was only in town for a few days but we had a nice dinner and a fun brunch and (of course!) a trip to the bookstore. We also saw the new Little Women, which I loved so much.

One Thing:

I work in the political sphere, but I am not at all inclined to run for office myself. But I absolutely understand the obstacles in the way of women who do…one of which is the sheer cost of looking professional all the time. Which is why this move from M.M. LaFleur (a retailer which I have never purchased from, mostly because my job doesn’t require business formal attire outside of 4 months every other year during session) is so great: they will help outfit ladies running for office with the kind of clothes they need to be taken seriously. This is an awesome move!

Gratuitous Pug Picture:

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! This week, my least-favorite biannual topic: upcoming releases! Like I mentioned in my December monthly wrap-up post, I read over 80% backlist, and like to chose books that have stood the test of time. But I do have 2020 releases that have made my list to read, so here are the ones coming out before the end of June, all of which I am fortunate enough to have review copies of!

Followers: This one will be my first 2020 release of the year. It’s a speculative fiction about women getting wrapped up in the world of influncers and social media and seems like a thought-provoking, engaging read.

The Holdout: As a former lawyer, I’ve always been interested in stories about trials and juries, and so this seems right up my alley. After a holdout juror swings the verdict towards not-guilty in a high profile trial, the jurors come back together for a true crime documentary years later. And then one of them ends up dead. I’m usually a person who prefers character over plot, but this seems like the kind of twisty I could get into.

The Magical Language of Others: A memoir in letters from a mother who leaves her teenage daughter behind in America to return to her native South Korea, this seems like it will be heart-tugging.

Every Reason We Shouldn’t: Contemporary romance not usually my genre, but I can never resist a skating angle, so this story about two teenagers who connect at the rink is on my list!

Hidden Valley Road: I was a psychology major, so a book about mental illness research will always grab my attention. This book examines the story of one seemingly-average family who had 12 children, half of whom were eventually diagnosed as schizophrenic, and the role they played in scientific investigation into the causes of this disease.

The Body Double: Another subject area that will almost always catch my eye is the nature of celebrity and fame, so this fictional tale of a young woman hired to impersonate a reclusive Hollywood star who had a nervous breakdown is intriguing.

My Dark Vanessa: This has already gotten a good amount of pre-publication buzz, and promises to tell a compelling story about a woman who finds herself re-evaluating the relationship she had with a teacher when she was in high school, that she felt in control of at the time but is no longer sure about.

Run Me To Earth: I enjoy reading fiction about areas of the world I’d like to learn more about, and southeast Asia is a region I’m definitely under-educated in. This book is about three orphans in Laos in the 1960s, who grow close and then are split across the world when they’re evacuated from their homeland, and sounds really interesting!

The Companions: I’ve always had a soft spot for dystopias, but they have to have a good concept. This one, about a world where one’s conciousness can be uploaded before death into various robots to either continue on with one’s family (for the lucky) or just rented out for anyone by the company that controls the technology, has caught my eye!

Lakewood: Another dystopian novel, this looks at the history of medical experimentation on people of color by telling a story about a young black woman looking to help her family who finds a job that seems too good to be true. There’s a great salary, free housing, and more…she just has to volunteer to be a secret lab rat. Definitely sounds like something that I’d appreciate reading!

A Month In The Life: February 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020

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