Sunday Salon: Books to be Read and Books Finished

 Currently reading, thanks to NetGalley and the publishers

A House for Miss Pauline by Diana McCaulay, Feb. 25, 2025; Algonquin Books. Genre: adult novel, fantasy

I was eager to read this book by author Diana McCaulay, about a ninety-nine year-old woman in rural Jamaica who is fierce about the land she owns.

Description: With an unforgettably fierce 99-year-old Jamaican heroine, A House for Miss Pauline is a tender story with a mystery at its heart that asks profound and urgent questions about who owns the land on which our identities are forged. 

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin, April 29, 2025; Dutton. Genre: cozy mystery, thriller

Description: Kristen Perrin is back with the second novel in her Castle Knoll series. Annie Adams is caught in a new web of murder that spans decades, returning us to the idyllic English village that holds layers of secrets.

I am enjoying this but only wish I had read the first novel, as this one refers back to incidents that happened in that book with carry over to the follow up novel. Still an interesting read, though.

I finished two books

White Mulberry 

Kinda Korean

Both books are by Korean American authors. I'll save the reviews for Jan. 13, Korean American Day, which is on a Sunday. Perfect for that week's Sunday Salon. 

What are you reading or watching this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves  

Sunday Salon: A Slew of New Books to Read

 Copying of blog posts ?

I recently added a LiveTraffic Feed to the lower right side of my blog and have noticed that someone from Boardman, whatever, wherever, or whoever that might be, has been regularly and systematically combing my posts from all years since the blog first started to the present. Here is just a small sample of searches from Boardman over the past many, many weeks. I am flattered, but.... scanned one of the posts in those searches on a plagiarism site and found that indeed, someone has used many of my sentences about the book in question. 

How does one deal with this? I don't earn anything from my blog, all of my reviews are free. 

A visitor from Boardman viewed '10/1/13 - 11/1/13' 2 hrs 10 mins ago

A visitor from Dallas viewed '10/1/13 - 11/1/13' 2 hrs 10 mins ago

A visitor from Boardman viewed '11/1/11 - 12/1/11' 2 hrs 15 mins ago

A visitor from Council bluffs viewed '11/1/11 - 12/1/11' 2 hrs 16 mins ago

A visitor from Lewisham viewed 'BookBirdDog (BookDilettante)' 3 hrs 11 mins ago

A visitor from Boardman viewed '2/1/17 - 3/1/17' 

An author on FB suggested it might be a bot! Here's what I found on Quora:

Here are some ways to stop bots from crawling your website:

1. Use Robots.txt. The robots.txt file is a simple way to tell search engines and other bots which pages on your site should not be crawled. ...
2. Implement CAPTCHAs. ...
3. Use HTTP Authentication. ...
4. Block IP Addresses. ...
5. Use Referrer Spam Blockers

UPDATE: I activated the robots.txt file in my blog settings, and http authenticaton, but this hasn’t worked. Boardman is as active as ever! 

Just published

Apartment Women by Gu Byeong-mo, translated, December 3, 2024; Hanover Square; NetGalley

Genre; literary fiction, Korea, women's fiction

Description: "a story of family, marriage and the cultural expectations of motherhood, about four women whose lives intersect in dramatic and unexpected ways at a government-run apartment complex outside Seoul

When Yojin moves with her husband and daughter into the Dream Future Pilot Communal Apartments, she’s ready for a fresh start. Located on the outskirts of Seoul, the experimental community is a government initiative designed to boost the national birth rate. Like her neighbors, Yojin has agreed to have at least two more children over the next ten years.

Yet, from the day she arrives, Yojin feels uneasy about the community spirit thrust upon her. Her concerns grow as communal child care begins and the other parents show their true colors. Apartment Women traces the lives of four women in the apartments, all with different aspirations and beliefs. Will they find a way to live peacefully? Or are the cultural expectations around parenthood stacked against them from the start?

A trenchant social novel from an award-winning author, Apartment Women illuminates the imbalance of women’s parenting labor, challenging the assumption that “it takes a village” to raise a child."

I'm looking forward to reading this one, about parenting styles.

Taken by Danielle Ramsay, Nov. 25, 2024; Boldwood

Genre: thriller

Description: "I am accused of the worst of crimes – murdering my baby – and I have hours before this passenger ferry docks in Spain to find him, alive.

Someone knows about my difficult past and darkest secrets, and now I think they’ve taken my baby. But who would do this to me and why? I know the answer. Or least I think I do…

Despite what my husband says, I’m not ill. Am I? For I have discovered he has an agenda…"

This novel got my attention because it's not only a thriller but it's set in Spain!

When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar, Nov. 19, 2024; Soho Teen

Genre: thriller, YA mystery

Description: The splintered relationship between two Indian American cousins is at the center of this dark, twisty YA mystery—

Shy, nerdy Tanvi has always thought of her perfect cousin Mimi as her sister. Not only did Mimi’s family raise Tanvi after the tragic death of her parents, fierce Mimi has always protected Tanvi at school. 

When Tanvi captures an incriminating photo of Mimi and a rival Beth at a party, she wakes up the next day with a bump on her head, and no memory of what caused her injuries, Mimi is gone.

The search for Mimi takes a dark turn as the cops announce that they are now hunting a murderer. Could Tanvi be the killer? Tanvi must discover if she’s capable of murder—and the truth of what happened to Mimi.

Another missing person thriller I'll look forward to reading. 

Nobody's Perfect by Sally Kilpatrick, Dec. 1. 2024; Montlake

Genre: women's fiction, contemporary, humor, romance

Description: Vivian Quackenbush enjoys a typical life. She has winesday evenings with her two best friends. Her son is in college. (But) after nearly twenty-five years of marriage, Mitch wants a divorce. He confesses that he doesn’t love her anymore.

What is Vivian to do but channel her anger, frustration, and pain into a video she posts online. Overnight, Vivian goes viral. Millions of views and counting. Vivian 2.0 chooses to lean—maybe even toward the younger single father next door.

Now Vivian is wondering where she goes from here. She’s discovering that somewhere in her trending if upended life, she’ll have to figure out who she really wants to be.

So these reads are in my immediate future. What are yours? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves  

The House Swap: Three Domestic Thrillers

 These two domestic thrillers with the same theme and title are as similar as they are different.

The House Swap

by Rebecca Fleet

May 22, 2018; Penguin Books

 "A domestic noir novel, in which a house swap becomes the  backdrop to a crumbling marriage, a torrid affair, and the fatal consequences."

Caroline and Francis accept an online offer to swap their London apartment for a house in the suburbs for a week. Leaving their young son with a relative, they hope to forget their troubles on this vacation.

I like how the plot builds suspense as time goes on. Caroline finds familiar items in the starkly decorated house that bring back the past - a vase of pink flowers, familiar music that they find in the house that brings back haunting memories to disburb her peace of mind.

And an overly friendly neighbor Abby adds to the mystery of what's really going on. The ending brings a startling conclusion about the identity of the other swapper, the one in the London flat. It  that made me wonder if Caroline and Francis will truly have any peace.  I gave this four stars. 

The House Swap by Miranda Rijks

December 4, 2024; Inkubator Books, NetGalley 

 "Two families organize a house swap, the perfect holiday arrangement." 

I shared the disappointment of one of the couples, the Browns, in their house swap, when the French chateau they exchanged their trendy London flat for turned out to be partially in disrepair and with ongoing renovations, with a stealthy intruder to add. 

The Lester's delight in their London flat, however, turned sour when their teen son, Rafael, disappears.

It was intriguing to see how the plot advanced and unfolded, though I was hoping for a different plot device - not relying on one person from each couple knowing each other in the past.

It's interesting that the author, Miranda Rijks, says she would never do a house swap herself.  And only because of the tidying, cleaning, and other work that would be involved. I guess she wouldn't expect  dangerous drama as in her domestic thriller!

Note: I wonder what an alternate plot could look like if the characters in the novels didn't share a secret past. 

A Book with a Similar Theme

The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas

Harper Paperbacks, August 5. 2025, NetGalley

I found this an interesting story when a "life swap" goes wrong for two look alike sisters, Alice and Tasha. Tasha and her husband Aaron have a blissful four days on their first trip to Venice for the house swap, while Alice and Kurt have a disastrous experience in Tasha's house in Bristol, England.

I enjoyed seeing how this played out and discovering the culprits behind the murders at the swap in Bristol. Nothing was predictable. The ending, also, was a surprise - the relationship between the sisters.

Have you had an experience with a house swap? Would you do one? 

What books are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday 

Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way by Jonah Berger

 

Nonfiction reading

Magic Words by Jonah Berger

January 1, 2023; Harper Business

Genre: language, communication, psychology

I came across this library book by chance and was eager to read it.  Who doesn't want to know how to get your own way? The theme is communicating to convince - tips on how to and how not to. 

 

Believe it or not, the author even references the future president elect a few times re making speeches (conveying the utmost confidence and conviction) that sway many people. And this book was published in 2023! I guess it's not so much What you say as much as How you say it! 

Another point of the book - speaking in concrete not abstract terms makes more of an impact. Specifics win over generalities. Depending on the situations, of course. 

I'm halfway through the book and eager to see what else the author offers. Update: depending on the situation, suggestion is using could or would instead of should; using a noun replacement for a verb; using the present tense instead of the past, and more.

Description: how six types of words can increase your impact in every area, from persuading others and building stronger relationships, to boosting creativity and motivating teams.

I was hooked, and just sent a copy of the book to a friend in a new job. 

Getting ready for Christmas

I gave two of J.E. Rowney's earlier thrillers three stars on NetGalley, and my most recent read of hers, (The Other Passenger), I gave four stars  . I'm eager to see if this most recent book, Xmas Break (Nov. 2, 2024; Little Fox Publishers) will be as good. 

Description

When Isla reluctantly accepts her estranged sister Clara's invitation to spend Christmas at a luxury mountain retreat, she expects awkward family tension – not a fight for survival. After years of silence following their mother's death, this holiday reunion seems too good to be true. And it is.

Currently reading: ARCs

Rowan Gallagher stalks her ex by following his avatar on her phone and seeing his whereabouts at all times. But when she is a suspect in his death, she has to get out of it. Portland, Maine. (May 2025; Harper)

I started this a while ago but got side tracked by other books, a common occurrence, unfortunately.

I may have to start close to the beginning again to follow this thriller. The description sounds interesting and vaguely familiar: 

It's been years since Zoe last saw them – since they graduated and lost touch.

Years since the night an unexpected death shattered their close-knit group of friends.

Now, Zoe is invited to a wedding on a remote island in Scotland. Apprehensive, she hopes the long drive with Lily will ease her nerves.

Lily has agreed to give Dan a lift, and Rod is joining them, along with his fiancée.

And when they come into trouble on a cold, dark, desolated Highland road, a chain of events will leave them all shaken to their core. (Nov. 20, 2024; Boldwood Books

What books are you reading? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday 

Wearing the Dog: Sunday Salon

 An older book found in my TBR list, whose title stood out to me

Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman

Published March 3, 2020; Ecco, NetGalley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Judy deals with years of loss and resulting anxiety by carrying around her dog, Charlotte, not in a handbag or on a leash, but in a baby sling around her neck. She seems not to mind the stares of incomprehension from friends and strangers.

I found everything strange about the character and her situation, her living in different rooms in the same house with her husband Gary, from whom she is unofficially separated, and dealing with her young son as well as his school, teachers, other mothers, etc. while always "wearing the dog."

I guess the novel shows how people cope in different ways with their lives and its complications. An intriguing novel with some good insights by the book's unusual narrator Judy. The ending, however, seemed to add to the oddness of the book, when wearing the dog seems to become an acceptable, spreading concept in Judy's world.

In the mail 

Exposure by Ramona Emerson

October 1, 2024; Soho Crime

Genre: thriller

Description

In the follow-up to the National Book Award–longlisted Shutter, Navajo forensic photographer Rita Todacheene grapples with a fanatical serial killer—and the ghosts he leaves behind.

A dual-voice cat-and-mouse thriller, told from the points of view of a killer who has created his own deadly religion and the only person who can stop him, an embattled young detective who sees the ghosts of his Native victims.

ARCs

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

Published January 2, 2024; S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, NetGalley

Genre: historical fiction, Malaya

Description

Malaya, 1945

A novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII—and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.

Told from the perspectives of four unforgettable characters, The Storm We Made is a dazzling saga about the horrors of war; the fraught relationships between the colonized and their oppressors, and the ambiguity of right and wrong when survival is at stake.

Elephant Herd by Zhanh Guixing, in translation

January 14, 2025; Columbia University Press, NetGalley

Genre: historical novel, Sarawak, Malaysia

The cover and title grabbed my attention and the book covers a period of time in Malaysia that was always interesting to me.

Description

Elephant Herd is a vivid and captivating novel by the Taiwan-based Malaysian Chinese (Mahua) writer Zhang Guixing, whose distinctive style evokes the jungles of Southeast Asia. It is an atmospheric account of a Malaysian Chinese young man’s journey upriver deep into the Sarawak rainforest of northwest Borneo in search of his uncle, the leader of a Communist guerilla group. Venturing through the jungle, the protagonist—largely referred to only as “the boy”—enters a verdant and vertiginous world of wild creatures and political peril.

Its main narrative begins in the 1970s and proceeds to explore the repercussions of Sarawak’s midcentury Communist insurgency. Focusing on the boy, his extended family, and his Indigenous classmate and travel companion, Zhang examines the complex relations among ethnic Chinese, local Malays, and Indigenous peoples. 

Hotel Lucky Seven by Kotaro Isaka, in translation

Publication: November 19, 2024; Overlook Press. NetGalley

Genre: thriller

Description: 

Bullet Train’s hapless underworld operative and his handler are back in this thrilling, "outrageously entertaining" new novel from internationally bestselling author Kotaro Isaka.

Will the unluckiest assassin in the world find things easier this time around? All he has to do is deliver a painting to a hotel guest, a portrait made by his daughter. Easy enough, except when Ladybug makes the delivery, he realizes that the guest is clearly not the guy in the painting. Then he attacks Ladybug, they fight, and the guest ends up dead. How can such simple jobs always go wrong?

What are you reading/watching this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves  

New Mystery Novels: Set in Karachi, Dublin, Midwest USA

                  New review books in the Mail

The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips, April 1, 2025; Soho Crime

Setting: Karachi, Pakistan

Description: A portrait of a city fueled by corruption and a woman relentlessly in pursuit of justice, this engrossing crime novel builds to an unforgettable, emotional conclusion readers won’t soon forget.The Museum Detective is an exciting, gritty new crime thriller that announces a whip-smart and brilliant sleuth 

Archaeologist Dr. Gul Delani's investigation into a sensational discovery in a desert cave ( an ancient mummy in a sarcophagus) gets complicated—and personal—when it collides with her years-long search for a missing family member.

Inspired by a real-life antiquities scandal in Pakistan.

Mandatory Reporting by Jenny Wilson o'Raghallaigh, October 15, 2024; Simon & Schuster

Description: Jonah's study abroad year in Dublin isn’t going as planned—he finds himself in classes about the human mind, in therapy with an enigmatic doctor, and in a family mental health clinic working alongside a beautiful, troubled supervisor.

When someone dies, Jonah is caught in the unfamiliar web of relationships at the core of the Irish experience. Has he miscalculated, and have his mistakes caused another tragic death? Did he reveal too much to his therapist? Did the mandatory reporting enrage a violent father? As the police investigate, is Jonah the prime suspect?

Guilt and Ginataan, a kitchen mystery  by Mia P. Manansala, Nov. 12, 2024; Berkley cozy mystery

 Description: The Shady Palms Corn Festival is one of the town’s biggest moneymakers, drawing crowds  looking for delicious treats, local crafts, and of course, the second largest corn maze in Illinois. 

Lila Macapagal and her Brew-ha Cafe crew, Adeena  and Elena, make a little wager on who can make it through the corn maze the fastest—but their fun is  cut short when a body is found in the middle of the maze…and an unconscious Adeena lies next to it, clutching a bloody knife. 

Lila has to prove her friend Adeena innocent of this crime.

Ready for mysteries anyone? 

What are you reading/watching this week? 

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves