Kathy's Picks | well-readmoose

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Kathy's Picks

I love Alice Feeney. She is the queen of the reveal. This latest book, as with those that preceded, readers will have all the facts before them, but perhaps won't hit upon the solution. I'll be first in line for her next novel.	I love Ward’s writing. It’s intelligent and rife with unreliable narrators and characters. We do not see things as they are. This latest book, like those previous, dabbles with mental instability. Don’t trust what you see. The truth is present on every page, but I bet you interpreted it inaccurately. Omg. Is this what I love about her books?? I think it is. Don’t fall asleep reading this one. You’ll need your wits about you!	McBride's latest is a cultural timepiece of 1930s New England, America; a clashing cultural deep dive into the every day lives of Jewish, Black, and White communities in a small town. The character development is excellent. You'll enjoy the turns of phrase (not heard since the last family reunion with your grandparents), the unity found through music and the dancehalls of old, the connectedness of small communities, the politics of local unions and churches, even the horrors of mass asylums. It'
What a zany, adorably cringy, appropriately humorous, and thoroughly relatable peek into the comedic and troubled brain of Maria Bamford! Both heartfelt and tragic, it's a fascinating window into the challenges faced by those who struggle with intrusive thoughts, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and attempting life during this insane period in Earth's history. 1. I will leave the cults I've joined. 2. I will recommend this book. 3. I will no longer shop at Target.	Having walked away from Mormonism myself, it wasn't hard to recognize the author's journey...cleverly reframed in this technicolor new horror release. As BOTH religion and television have been referred to as the opiate of the masses, what a brilliant combination we find in _Mister Magic_. This was a fantastic audio download from Libro.FM...and perfectly narrated.	What a wildly imagined, as well as heavily researched, book! I suppose the argument could be made that, 'when looking for patterns, one will find them'...however, it was easy to be swept into the cyclical nature of Howe's hypothesis. Man IS a creature of habit after all, and ANYONE who studies history is bound to notice generational cycles. What I wasn't prepared for was the optimism and hope for the future that was written on nearly every page...IF ONLY WE MAKE THE RIGHT. NEXT. MOVES.
I will continue to read everything Harrow pens! This was a rich, evocative, and engaging horror/fantasy with wily, gritty, flawed (even ugly) characters whom I found endearing. The story has tension, romance, a vengeful ghost, and a house that chooses its own caretakers/wardens.	As a bookseller, it's common to read through books at a breakneck pace; always on to the next tale, genre, or page-turner. When you come across a book so achingly beautiful as _Hello Beautiful_...you wish time could slow. I wanted to spend YEARS within this story. I adored the complexity AND simplicity of the sisters' relationships with each other. Reading _Hello Beautiful_ was like spending time with the friend who 'knew me when' and the sister who's always known me.	No two people read the same book....that is the heart of this GORGEOUS story. I love Bauermeister's writing. I love that she doesn't give you the life-changing book but instead SHOWs you how the book changed or affected each reader's life. As a bookseller, the bookseller's chapter spoke to me on every level. Read it. Or do as I did and listen to it on Libro.FM. THEN, buy the hardcover... because this GEM of a book deserves a spot on your shelves!
Seven Angry women, one dead man. I was intrigued from the get-go. What kept me interested was the diversity of women affected by the dastardly deeds of this one man. They weren’t all jilted lovers. For example: his current wife, a former lover, a business partner, the auntie who raised him, the woman he raped, etc. There was ample evidence he needed to go….but which member of the group was responsible?? This was a diverting and entertaining ‘whodunnit’.	It's damn near impossible to categorize a book that's so EXQUISITE in its composition but SO disturbing that I need therapy!! Each page is like a song. The writing reads like a melody. The subject matter will curl your hair. I loved every second.	Another devastatingly honest, utterly captivating, and furiously relatable page-turner from Audrain! Her writing shines a light on, and speaks truth to, some of the shadows that persist in motherhood and female relationships. Who hasn't lost their patience and screamed at their child? Who hasn't suspected a spouse of hiding something? Who hasn't looked at their neighbor with envy? How are these shameful moments changed when they are WITNESSED?? I read this book in a day. Wow.
Dederer asks the question: What happens when you can't divorce the art from the actions of the artist? Polansky, Cosby, Jackson, Hemingway, Picasso... We once appreciated art without the artist's biography. But, with the immediacy of the internet and the reckoning of the #METOO movement, CAN we know the artists we love are monsters, and still consume their art? I'm still conflicted!! But, I'm not alone. This was a thoroughly thought-provoking book!	The authors deftly peel away the layers of outlandish content, arriving at the origin of some of society's most prevalent doozies, and at the center of each pearl...is a granule of sand. If we study the birthplace of most conspiracy theories, we discover that one irrefutable granule of truth. While the authors debunk the most popular conspiracy theories being batted around today, they also demonstrate how and why so many American citizens are RIGHT to question their government.	We, you and I, could choose to see the living world as a gift, rather than viewing it as a commodity. This is an immensely beautiful book. Spend long contemplative moments within these pages, then take your new self outside. Breathe in the natural world. Tell me you were unmoved. Tell me you’re not changed.
This was a genuinely creepy book. Nevermind the dead....the living, with their dark secrets and predilections, are worse! I maintain, there's a special place in hell for those who damage the innocence and trust of a child.	I loved this nautical true story of mutiny on the high seas. The men lived by a strict code. What IS to be done when the captain loses the confidence and respect of some of his crew? When your RANK determines whether your account of events is to be read, let alone believed, it makes for a very interesting page-turner. Grann brings a similar level of intrigue to this story that was present in _Killers of the Flower Moon_. GOOD GOOD GOOD!!	"There's no place on earth with more of the old superstitions and magic mixed into its daily life than the Scottish Highlands." - Diana Gabaldon How right she is! There is something about the very air of Scotland that makes it feel as if 'the supernatural' is around every rock, wave, cold breeze, or gorse bush. This was such a deliciously dark and eerie story. You can't move away from your past and you can't outrun it. Some grievances leave a mark that can't be rubbed away.
Some hate and spite runs so deep it keeps the dead from their graves. Follow a father running from a mystery he can't explain. He needs work. He needs to feed his children. He needs to remain off the grid and undiscoverable. So when he's offered a job with a paycheck so deliciously tempting, how can he pass it up? His simple task: spend time in the Spite House, and record what, IF ANYTHING, he experiences. How hard could it be? This was a fantastic, spine-tingling, page-turner!	This was a great atmospheric and cultural read! It's a tale of haunting loss and the dark dreams that seep into daylight hours. Steeped in indigenous culture, this was a fast, spine-tingling tale. Oddly enough, I found myself thinking back to Stephen King's Pet Sematary on more than one occasion. This connection made it twice as creepy; ....old haunts merging with the new.	It's the one where they rush to judgment and incarcerate a black man on flimsy evidence. It's the one where people knew more than they said. It's the one where a woman is at the mercy of a man. This is a compelling book; a dark window into our culture where assumptions, or proclamations of innocence or guilt, often get in the way of the truth.....and women tend to pay the lion's share of the costs. I listened to this book via Libro.FM. It's an excellent audiobook.
In this dual narrative, readers are introduced to Ruby and Eleanor; two young women in the 1950s navigating the minefields of racism, colorism, sexism, socio-economic challenges, and forbidden love. Two women, each with ambitions and goals for bettering their lives through education and hard work, cross paths in an unexpected way. This was a perfect celebration of black struggle, achievement, passion, and ambition....and an incredible snapshot of 1950s America.	What an incredibly intelligent book for lovers of math, philosophy, and intrigue. Alicia checks herself into Stella Maris psychiatric facility with nothing but the clothes on her back, and a plastic bag with $40K in cash. The reader sits as a fly on the wall in the therapist's office.McCarthy eliminates the fluff, and two narrators (patient & therapist) banter back & forth at lightning pace. I saw a review that said, "If you read The Passenger, don't skip dessert." Stella Maris IS that dessert.	This book explores the origins of some more recent popular phrases such as "America First," "American Exceptionalism," etc. Myths originate in kernels of fact and more importantly in what human needs they satisfy. I found this book to be enlightening and interesting. The myths the historians chose to explore were decidedly from today's right-wing...as if the left doesn't entertain myths of their own. BOTH sides myths deserve exploration if we're to find mutual understanding and a path forward.
The Commandments were hard and fast rules, black and white, written in stone, not open for interpretation. The 7 (really 8) Deadly Sins are more nebulous. What is gluttony/lust/greed/etc. to me, may different for you. The church adopted these deadly sins as a cautionary warning, but it doesn't escape ANYONE how they've been used, more often than not, to control women. Loehnen deftly dissects each of the sins (including the 8th) and welcomes women to RECOGNIZE.

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