Sunday Salon: Bookish Books Reading Challenge 2023

  

Blogging About Books has started the Bookish Books Reading Challenge 2023. The focus is on reviewing only books whose main themes are related to books! Read host Susan's description here.  

I can think of  Carlos Ruiz Zafon and the four books in his series, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books: The Shadow of the Wind (review), The Angel's Game, The Prisoner of Heaven (review), and The Labyrinth of the Spirits.  

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. And The Book Thief are others.

The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr, published September 2015 by Harper is all about writing books, namely your memories. 

Book's beginning, Ch. 1, The Past's Vigor

At unexpected points in life, everyone gets waylaid by the colossal force of recollection. One minute you're a grown-ass woman, then a whiff of cumin conjures your dad's curry, and a whole door to the past blows open, ushering an uncanny detail. There are traumatic memories that ride u unbidden and dwarf you where you stand. But there are also memories you dig for: you start with a clear fix on a tiny instant, and pick at every knot until a thin thread comes undone that you can follow back through the mind's labyrinth to other places. We''ve all interrogated ourselves -- It couldn't have been Christmas because we had shorts on in the snapshot. Such memories start by being figured out, but the useful ones eventually gain enough traction to haul you through the past. 

In The Art of Memoir, Mary Karr synthesizes her expertise as professor and therapy patient, writer and spiritual seeker, recovered alcoholic and “black belt sinner,” providing a unique window into the mechanics and art of the form that is as irreverent, insightful, and entertaining as her own work in the genre. (publisher)

 

The Cat Who Saved Books (review)

Sōsuke Natsukawa, Louise Heal Kawai (Translator), February 2017

This is a book for bibliophiles, readers, reviewers, and those who collect books. It's also for those who don't read and are sceptical about the value of books.

And contemporary romantic comedy with a book loving heroine: Book Lovers (review) by Emily Henry. The main theme is romance, but books feature prominently.  

Setting for a romance: Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. On vacation, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. (publisher)

What bookish books have you read or are 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

Sunday Salon: No Two Persons: Stories by Erica Bauermeister, and Two Thrillers

 Not much reading done this past week, but I finished one and started on two new books. 

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

Publication: May 2, 2023; St. Martin's Press, NetGalley

Genre: literary fiction, contemporary fiction, adult fiction 

My comments:

No Two Persons - the premise is that no two people will ever read the same book. In other words, a book will affect different readers in different ways.

This is a series of stories about various readers of a book written by an introverted young woman, Alice Weir. The book, Theo, tells of a young boy surviving a childhood with a strict and abusive father.

The vignettes in the novel show this one book altering different people's perspectives and actions. The characters in the stories are all going through some conflict at the time they read the book. One I remember used the book as part of her artwork. She was the only character that didn't actually read the book, however.

Overall, the stories are of interesting personalities who find some inspiration or message in a story that helps them in dissimilar situations. 

On a thriller binge, I'm currently reading:

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman, 

Publication: June 20, 2023; Minotaur Books

Genre: adult fiction, mystery and thriller 

Publisher: Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses…

When Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb, they are ecstatic. Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and their glamorous neighbors welcome the couple with open arms. Things are looking up, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind.

But the neighborhood’s picture-perfect image is shattered when their neighbor Teddy – a handsome, successful father of three – is found dead on the steep banks of the Potomac River. The community is shaken, and as the police struggle to identify and apprehend the killer, tension in the neighborhood mounts and long-buried secrets start to emerge.

I'm Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publication: August 22, 2023; Berkley

Genre: adult fiction, mystery and thriller 

Publisher: Some friends—and friendships—are worth killing for in this dark, twisty suspense novel by national bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Jane is unhappy.  A struggling midlist writer whose novels barely command four figures, she feels trapped in an underwhelming marriage, just scraping by to pay a crippling Bay Area mortgage for a house—a life—she's never really wanted. 

There's only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane's best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their Creative Writing days at Oxford. Now, years later, Thalia comes back into her life. 

What 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

Waiting on Wednesday: Three New ARCs

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, highlights books you are eager to read 

Here are a few that came in the mail that I've not yet started. The book descriptions are from the publishers.

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp

by Leonie Swann

Publication: August 29, 2023; Soho Crime ARC

A quirky group of seniors attempts to solve one murder while covering up another—with the help of an enterprising tortoise—in this twisty, darkly funny mystery from the author of Three Bags Full

I Hear You're Rich: Stories by Diane Williams

Publication: August 10, 2023; Scribe UK

In Williams’ stories, life is newly alive and dangerous; whether she is writing about an affair, a request for money, an afternoon in a garden, or the simple act of carrying a cake from one room to the next, she offers us beautiful and unsettling new ways of seeing everyday life.

Second Best by David Foenkinos, Megan Jones translator

Publication: September 7, 2023; Gallic Books

A fictional boy's life is shaped forever when he loses out on the role of Harry Potter. It's 1999. Martin Hill is ten years old.... he makes it to the final two in the casting for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. When the other boy is picked, a devastated Martin tries to move on with his life. But how can he escape his failure, especially when it's the most famous film series in the world?  

A playful, poignant story about fate, loss and how the lives we wish we’d led might not be all they’re cracked up to be . 

What books are you eagerly anticipating? 

Sunday Salon: Two Books for AAPI and Two Suspense Novels

 Two more books for AAPI Heritage Month and Beyond...and two new thrillers

The Queens of New York by E.L. Shen

Publication: June 6, 2023; Quill Tree Books

Genre: Young Adult, Asian American Literature, romance

Three young Asian American friends in New York are pondering their future after high school. They are from different ethnicities, but that this does not affect their friendship - Jia is Chinese; Everett is Vietnamese; and Ariel is South Korean- but they are in fact, all New Yorkers.

I found the themes intriguing and timely: Everett experiences discrimination and stereotyping of Asians at a theater production in Ohio; Ariel helps her family by discovering the details of the sudden death of her adventurous and non-traditional older sister in Korea;' and Jia decides whether her future will be separate from her restaurant owning Chinese family. What is heartwarming about this novel is how the three band together to support each other in their crises, and how they help solve Everett's soul crushing experience in Ohio.

I was surprised by the novel, in a good way, as the cover of the book prepared me for a different kind of story.

The Comeback by Lily Chu 

Publication: May 9, 2023; Sourcebooks Casablanca

Genre: romance, Chick Lit, contemporary fiction

An enjoyable Chick Lit romance set in Toronto and Seoul, with stressed out lawyer Ariadne Hui connecting with her roommate's cousin, Choi Jihoon, who turns out to be South Korea's most famous contemporary star.

That Ariadne doesn't know who Choi really is adds to the drama of the story, and their romance leaves the reader wondering how things will end for two people from such different worlds. The romantic suspense was worth the read, also the info about how stars can be overwhelmed by their young fans and how they protect themselves while catering to their young audience.

I'm back to reading thrillers!

The New Mother by Nora Murphy 

Published: May 30, 2023; Minotaur

Genre: thriller, suspense, mystery, contemporary, adult 

I was impatient with Nat, the new mother, who is exasperated with the new baby - his sleeplessness, his crying, his demands to be fed every two hours. I could understand her frustration, but thought she was over-reacting.

When she accepts her neighbor's friendship and help, stay-at-home dad Paul, she seemed overly clinging and needy, especially when her husband made partner at his law firm and she can think only of how she misses her own law career.

I was prepared to dislike her and the novel all the way through. What changed my mind? The last part of the story was worth reading the first half, as putting up with a clearly unraveling new mother paved the way for a very good ending.

I changed from a 3 star rating to a 4-5.

Drowning by T.J. Newman

Published May 30, 2023; Avid Reader Press

Genre: suspense, thriller, adult 

This was an exciting thriller that started when an airplane with over 90 people on board crashes and sinks into the Pacifie Ocean near the Hawaiian islands. The main characters are a small family - Will and his young daughter, Shannon ,and his estranged wife, professional diver Chris - around whose personal lives the drama revolves.

Suspenseful, unpredictable, and filled with many other interesting personalities under extreme stress, the novel looks at human nature and the behavior of individuals facing difficult situations.  It also deals with the physical obstacles in trying to save the passengers trapped under water.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this nail biting adventure.

What 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

Book Tour: Long Enough to Love You by Kirsten Pursell

 Book Tour

About Long Enough to Love You by Kirsten Pursell

Publisher: Atmosphere Press (January 1, 2023)

Paperback: 252 pages

A coming-of-middle-age novel that challenges the assumption that the status quo is as good as it gets.

A love story of self, of past, of present, of future. One woman’s journey to put the pieces of her life together in the most meaningful way — at times chaotic, at times cathartic, but ultimately beautiful in all its imperfect pieces.

Jenn, fifty-something and empty-nesting, feels like a donut: whole on the outside but missing the middle. The deafening sound of silence in the picture-perfect, oversized home she shares with a husband who does not see her makes the voices arguing in her head hard to ignore. One voice tells her to stay because safe and simple is good; another says leave so you can be the version of yourself not defined by others. The thought of ever after without happily feels like purgatory.

The chance discovery of her long-forgotten diaries unearths memories of a first love long buried, reminders that the most beautiful love is sometimes wasted on the young. Her words become a very real reminder of everything first love had been when she reconnects with Tripp in unexpected ways.

Long Enough to Love You by Kirsten Pursell follows Jenn – a courageous yet vulnerable protagonist – as she dissects and unpacks her marriage in an emotional journey to stay true to herself despite societal norms and middle-age stereotypes that would suggest otherwise.

My comments:

I found that Jenn, in her mid-50s, a new empty nester, became entranced with the freedom that she finds opening up before her. Her re-examining of an unsatisfactory marriage, the death of her mother, and finding her old diaries, have also prompted her to want to spread her wings.

Her attempts to recapture her youthful past might be considered risque in at least one event. That she has a happy landing in her search for happiness is the reader's hope and it seems she will. 

Women in a similar position as Jenn will find her story inspiring and cheer her on towards the happy ending and a second chance at love. 

About the Author

Kirsten Pursell is an American author and sometime blogger. She lives in Oceanside, California. In addition to On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80’s Teenager, she has published two additional novels: Harvard and Company Clown. Her 4th novel, Long Enough to Love You, a women’s coming-of-middle-age contemporary fiction novel that chronicles one woman’s journey as she challenges the assumption the status quo is as good as it gets in middle-age and explores the reality we are never too old to find happiness and maybe even love later in life. Her books were downloaded over 10,000 times in 2022

Lisa Munley, TLC Book Tours

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Sunday Salon: The Chinese Groove, Crying in H Mart, Under the Naga Tail, Sunshine Nails

Books for AAPI Heritage Month that I started in May but will finish in June.

The Chinese Groove by Kathryn Ma

Published January 24, 2023; Counterpoint

Genre: Literary, Fiction, Contemporary, Asian Literature

Publisher:  Eighteen-year-old Shelley, shunned by richer members of his Zheng extended family in China, heads to San Francisco to live with his "rich" uncle, confident in the powers of the "Chinese groove," the unspoken bonds between countrymen that transcend time and borders.

But Shelley soon discovers that his extended family in the U.S. are not about to help him longer than the two weeks he was originally promised. How he manages to survive and be in a position to later help his uncle is the gist of the novel. 

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Published April 20, 2021; Knopf, library book

Genre: memoir, biography, Asian literature

Publisher:  
Michelle Zauner tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at  school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of months spent in her grandmother's  apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, Michelle's Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live.  It was her mother's terminal cancer that forced a reckoning and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. 

Under the Naga Tail: A True Story of Survival, Bravery, and Escape from the Cambodian Genocide

by Mae Bunseng Taing, James Taing

Published February 7, 2023; Greenleaf Book Group Press

Publisher: 

Forced from his home by the Khmer Rouge, teenager Mae Taing struggles to endure years of backbreaking work, constant starvation, and ruthless cruelty from his captors—supposed freedom fighters who turned against their own people. Mae risks torture and death to escape into the dark tropical jungles, trekking across a relentless wilderness crawling with soldiers....it is only his willpower to survive and dreams of a better country that give Mae the strength to face the dangers ahead.

This memoir, written with Mae’s son, James, is an incredible story of survival, and a testament to the human spirit’s capacity in us all to endure and prevail in spite of great adversity. Under the Naga Tail will find its place among the most epic true stories of personal triumph.

Mae Bunseng Taing now lives in Connecticut; his son James lives in the metro New York area

In the Shadow of the Banyan by Cambodian American novelist Vaddy Ratner 

Published: August 7, 2012; Simon & Schuster

Genre: historical fiction, Cambodian history, Southeast Asia

An award winning novel about a family losing a father and narrowly escaping the Cambodian war and the Khmer Rouge atrocities. 

A literary work of poetic, lyrical beauty, this novel is based on the real experiences of the writer as a child living through the time of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the writing, the author's use of poetic words and descriptions to tell this story of survival, loss, and emotion.

May Is Asian Heritage Month in Canada

It is interesting that Canada has also named each May as Asian Heritage Month, "celebrating the diverse culture and history of people of Asian origin in Canada". Their theme this year is "Stories of Determination."

This book fits the Canadian theme of "Stories of Determination."

Publication: July 4, 2023, Atria Books

Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen is a humorous novel about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who have built a nail salon that they have relied on thus far. Things change when an "ultra glam high end salon opens up across the street." They "will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon - even if it tears the family apart." 

More reading: 22 More books for AAPI Month and Beyond, recommendations by Novel Suspects

What 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

AAPI Heritage Month: Two Memoirs

 AAPI Heritage: More Books

Week three of the Asian American Heritage month book reviews and features. Wrapping up next Sunday. 

Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America by Julia Lee
Published April 18, 2023; Henry Holt & Co.

Genre: memoir, Asian American literature, race relations, biography

Julia Lee wants to debunk the stereotype of Asians being the model minority, who are seen as quiet, passive, acquiescent, sweet and polite.

The truth, she says, is that Asians are full of rage - first at their mothers for insisting on saving face, teaching their children to be decorous and always polite in public; and at the stereotypes of Asians propagated by society, beginning at school, and the racism and classism shown by students, teachers, and school administrators.

The author goes through the history of immigration in America, including the banning of Asian immigration for 60 years, before the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 relaxed the quotas. She cites the Korean shopkeepers caught up in the LA uprising and states that black versus Asian and minority myths are propagated by society at large to keep the minorities at war with each other so to keep the white majority on top.

She sees a solution in having all people seen as humans, not as a racial group, and be treated as individual human beings, and not as just a minority group.

The author is convincing in the history and the facts she presents for her case, and very detailed, giving multiple examples of racism and the violence and self-hatred that it can propagate. There is so much more to this book than I can cover here, but I recommend it highly as relevant to everyone living in America.

Julia Lee is an Assistant Professor of English at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. 

 

Her first book, The American Slave Narrative and the Victorian Novel, was published by Oxford University Press in 2010. Her second book, Our Gang: A Racial History of “The Little Rascals” was published by University of Minnesota Press in 2015. She has also published a novel, By The Book (2018), under the pen name, Julia Sonneborn. 

Owner of a Lonely Heart: A Memoir by Beth Nguyen

Publication: July 4, 2023; Scribner

Genre: memoir, Vietnam refugees, Asian American literature, women, immigrants

I thought again of how war separates families in strange and devastating ways, resulting in fractured relationships. Beth Nguyen was eight months old in April 1975 when she and her sister fled with their father and his relatives on a naval ship to the U.S. , leaving behind Beth's mother, who lived in another town. Years later, in 1985, the mother and her family arrived in Boston as immigrants.

Beth met her birth mother only after finishing her second year of college, but she had grown up with no curiousity about Vietnam, the past, or her birth mother. As Beth wrote," Our histories had separated long ago and had never truly met again."

However, Beth soon began to imagine and wonder about the grief her birth mother must have felt on finding her daughters gone when she went to visit them in the city back in Vietnam. Beth finally learns from what happened when her mother found an empty house, no note, and only news that their father had fled Vietnam with the girls those long years ago.

The novel becomes emotional for me, as the reader, towards the second half of the memoir, when Beth presses her birth mother for more honest answers about the past - how her mother felt and reacted to losing her daughters so suddenly. Though both her parents now have new families of their own, Beth seems haunted by what her mother must have felt and what she might feel still.

I felt that there was a breakthrough and that after her mother admitted she "cried and cried", Beth came to terms with the wholesome life she had had with her father and stepmother, and the new relationship she has with her birth mother and her family.

I feel I have not done justice to this very interesting and moving memoir of war and the aftermath of war on two families. This is a very worthwhile memoir for those interested in the Vietnam War, in refugees, and in the complex backgrounds and experiences of many immigrants.

The author:

Bich Minh "Beth" Nguyen is an American novelist and nonfiction writer. She is the author of the novels Short Girls, which won a 2010 American Book Award, and Pioneer Girl, and a memoir, Stealing Buddha's Dinner, which won the PEN/Jerard Award and was a Chicago Tribune Best Book of 2007 and a BookSense pick. She lives in Chicago and Indiana, where she teaches literature and creative writing at Purdue University.

Also writes as Beth Nguyen

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for access to these books. 

What 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