Fictional Meanderings

AI dragon with jellybeans

[I wrote this earlier in my Some Thoughts on Fiction post, but then I realized it should be its own thing.]

Novels are created from a writer's imagination, as least partly, but the key for me is that they could be true, either in this world or in a fantasy world. There are all types of fiction, but for me to immerse my mind in a story, I have to find the characters and the situations believable. But what about House of the Dragon? I have mentioned my love for that show. Sure, there can be dragons (or gods, ghosts, genies, vampires, shifters, etc.), but they have to follow the rules and conform to the boundaries the writer built for the fantasy universe. Anything that is “magical” needs to follow a set of rules, preferably presented in advance, so that plot twists and resolutions avoid the dreaded deux ex machina. Non-magical events should conform to boundaries we already understand from this world, and no rules should be fudged to resolve a conflict. 

Skip this paragraph if you are familiar with the deux ex machina plot device. This is when in the stage plays of old a literal “god” (the deux) would come down from the ceiling to solve the problem. A crane-like machine would lower the actor to the stage. When we use the term now, we generally mean that the writer failed to create a resolution using the rules s/he already established in the story's universe and instead had something new swoop in to save the day. Let's consider James Bond in Live and Let Die escaping certain death via crocodiles by nimbly leaping across their backs to safety (in a suit and dress shoes!). That’s perfectly in line with the 007 character. But if the writers had decided instead to have the crocs all suddenly expire from multiple lightning strikes, that would count as a deux ex machina device and be horribly unsatisfying for the audience. Good writing always avoids this! 

Back to dragons. In the imaginary world that George R.R. Martin created for Game of Thrones, there are established rules, such as dragons don’t burn and neither will the special humans with dragon DNA, so it’s fitting that Daenerys survives infernos, but her cruel brother Viserys, who is always faking his dragon status, gets burned to death by molten gold. What isn’t believable in the story, however, is when people without antibiotics survived messy, painful, and terribly unhygienic amputations. The dragons are fine in my mind; Jaime surviving his hand getting lopped off is not.

The problem I have with most shifter romances is matter of logistics. What happens to the human clothing when a man shifts into his tiger or bear or wolf or whatever? And doesn’t he get all smelly and gross and full of parasites during his animal phase? What happens with all that when he shifts back to human form? Yes, I know that even in the spiciest novels no one talks about using the bathroom (unless that's part of the spice), but I can’t stop thinking about these “practical” issues while I’m reading, so it kind of wrecks the whole shifter story for me. 

Non-magical stories do not escape my fussy criticism either. In romance novels and romcoms, I have a huge problem with too many coincidences; often, more than one is too many. The fact that the hero and heroine meet at all is an amazing coincidence, so why pile more on top of that to make the story wobble from unbelievability? I'm a fan of Collen Hoover’s popular novel Verity (soon to be released in movie form with Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and some man), but there’s no reason for the protagonists to “pre-meet” in a coffee shop, with the requisite spilled coffee and ruined blouse, before they actually meet at the job interview. In the novel I’m currently reading, Heartbeat at My Feet by Kristin Judd, the protags will meet when Josie travels to Sorrento, Italy with Cicero (the adorable doggie), so why did Judd create an awkward encounter between Josie and Giorgio at a gelato shop before that? It makes no sense!

In thrillers, my biggest problem is usually the protagonist acting contrary to her given character or any person really simply to further the plot. If you introduce a smart, sensible businesswoman who inherited her kooky old great-aunt's mansion, you can’t have her fall apart the minute she steps into the house and begin to make the stupidest decisions. Honestly, the only intelligent thing to do when you get bad vibes from a creepy old house is to GTFO and check into a motel (not the Bates one though), not spend the night there in your filmy nightgown and explore the basement at 3AM because you heard a weird noise. FOR PETE’S SAKE!

No, I do love fiction. Good fiction. And there’s plenty of it. You just have to sift through the dreck, which I’m generally willing to do. I finish most books that semi-annoy me because I forgive imperfect writing, but they have to contain at least one redeeming quality, like a cute dog. And gelato, whatever that is ~ apparently not ice cream, as I had previously assumed, according to AI. I don't think I've ever had gelato, but now I want some.

Watch everyone comment about the gelato and not my profound observations about fiction.

Two for Tuesday: Movies Again

 

Two ducks in Los Angeles (my photo)

1. Two if By Sea (1996). This romcom stars Sandra Bullock (Roz), one of my favorite actors, and Denis Leary (Frank). Yaphet Kotto (RIP) plays a detective (O'Malley), and you might remember him in the dual roles of Dr. Kanaga and Mr. Big from Live and Let Die, as well as many other roles over the years, Bill Bennett directs. Frank is a small-time Boston thief who steals a $4M painting he plans to hand over to "Phill the Shill," a big-time criminal who is presumed dead by most in law enforcement, except for O'Malley (who has a personal vendetta against Phill). Roz is a bookstore clerk and Frank's long-suffering girlfriend, who wants Frank to give up his criminal ways and become a legit citizen/ husband/ father, but in the meantime she helps him because she's a lot smarter than he is.

Frank decides to make a long weekend out of the art thievery escapade, so he and Roz end up crashing at an unoccupied house in a ritzy area, where Roz meets a wealthy, handsome neighbor who falls in love with her, and she considers dumping Frank. There are some funny side characters, including Michael Badalucco, who has been in a zillion movies. I wouldn't say this is great romcom, but there are some laughs, and Sandra is always enjoyable. I watched this on Netflix over the July 4th weekend.

2. Ladies First (2026). This movie would have been hilarious on July 4, 1986, but it felt dated as a new movie. It stars Sasha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, and it's directed by Thea Sharrock. Charles Dance costars, and you may remember him as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones. I certainly do! The acting is top notch, but the premise that a misogynistic bully male boss hits his head and is magically transported to a parallel world where women are in charge feels a bit "been there done that" to me. There are many funny moments at first, but they soon grow repetitive and stale. We get it, OK: everyone wants to be respected, yada yada. The idea that a man would feel bad about being treated like a sex object by women doesn't really work because I don't think most men would feel bad! The movie should have focused more on gender-based pay disparities, which isn't dated because it's still happening, but I guess that's not as funny as penile implants. 

Usually, I don't bother reviewing movies I don't like, but I did watch Ladies First to the end and figured it deserved a bit of a write-up since it's new and being hyped on Netflix.

Thunder (flash fiction)

Colorful music notes (Pixabay)

The empty stage beckons like a blank canvas ready to burst with color and movement.

She flings herself across the floorboards, whirling and twisting, jumping and kicking, all to the beat of a mad rock and roll symphony playing inside her head. 

Sweat drips down her face as she dances faster, merging with the music as a single entity, encouraged by the thunder of imaginary applause and the screams for an encore.

This is what she has been waiting for her whole life, while pretending to be an introvert and hiding her true talents from the world, when all along she craves the spotlight and the adulation of millions.

“Janice, did you finish vacuuming the auditorium yet?”

Jolted out of her fantasy, she reluctantly trudges off the stage and back to her pile of cleaning supplies.

~*~

Written for Denise’s Six Sentence Story (thunder).

Spark My Interest

Sparking light bulb image from Pixabay

So many things spark my interest that it can be hard to focus. There are always a zillion books I want to read, a zillion minus x shows I would like to watch, poetry to write, pictures to paint, exercise routines to try... Not everything ignites however; most of my ideas don't go anywhere. For example, I saw Jim's post yesterday about slang terms and thought of the fun word "delulu," a softer way to say hey you're nuts for thinking that. I decided to write a triolet, but it fizzled. That happens a lot. I don't want to post a meh poem because I did too much of that on my old blog just to participate in prompts. Now, you may believe that all my poetry is meh, and I wouldn't argue! The poems I post on this blog though are ones that please me, which is good enough, but the delulu one wasn't meant to be.

The other day at work, I saw the most beautiful screensaver first thing in the morning (it was probably AI generated) of gorgeous purple flowers in the foreground, stunning greenery, vivid blue water, fluffy clouds, and a whole bunch of pretty trees. I took a photo of it with the idea of painting a triptych, which is a set of three pictures, related to but slightly different from each other. I was very excited to begin this project on the weekend, but it is now the weekend, and my interest has waned. I'm sitting here typing this post at the table where I normally paint, and I feel no desire to get out my painting supplies. I lost my spark.

What has kept my interest lately is exercise! I know, how weird. I had this old Leslie Sansone Walk at Home video that I used periodically, but I was a bit bored with it. On impulse, I ordered her 30 Day Challenge video and did it faithfully through the month of June. I am not here to testify to some miracle now, as I don't think anything really changed. I weigh the same, and I look the same amount of flabby. My clothes don't fit any better, and I still would not be comfortable wearing a swimsuit in public. But I feel really good! I feel so good that I ordered a couple more of her vids during Prime days and 5 more of her videos off eBay! I've been mixing up the routines and doing two per day on days I don't work, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. I just love it. I love it so much that I go to sleep and wake up planning which ones to do. Here's an even more bizarre thing: I used to do these videos with music only so I didn't have to listen to Leslie's jabbering, but now I like her jabber. I feel inspired by her silly pep talks and giggly banter with Nick Drago, one of the cute walkers she has on a lot of videos. OK, I admit I kind of have a crush on him even though he's in his 40s and was way younger than that on these vids from around 2010-2015. I'm a bit disappointed that he doesn't appear on one of the videos I bought, but it's a women-only one, so OK. 

Idk what happened to Leslie as she suddenly retired from all the things. I hope she's not in ill health or something (she's 65 like me, so not super old but not young either), but I wouldn't pay to subscribe to her channel because neither she nor Nick seem to be performing any longer. Not sure what exactly Nick is up to (can't really find out that much via stalking his Instagram, not that I did, lol), but he appears to be married to this gorgeous blonde named Chelsea, so it's best to just forget about him. Oh, I was going to do that Great Minds Think prompt about being immortalized by transporting myself into a video and making Nick Drago fall in love with me, but that seemed even more ridiculous than saying I would like to be immortalized by all my great writing, so it was a no-go. Lost my Nick Drago fantasy spark, alas.

Anyway. Happy 4th, whether you're sparking or not. Sparking used to mean courting, you know, not in our modern sense of hooking up aka "dating" (barf), but in the sitting on the porch swing with a glass of lemonade within earshot of the parents kind of way. Very sweet and chaste with no ghosting allowed because everyone knew you were there. You could spark more than one person at a time because, after all, it was only lemonade, but even so it all was supposed to lead to marriage and the whole nine yards.

~*~

Written for Linda's Stream of Consciousness Saturday (spark).

Summer Reading Bingo 2

Reading challenge bingo card

Welcome to my summer bingo book series, where I post five short reviews at a time. I'm giving myself the whole summer to finish the bingo card, not just the month of June. This is my second set of reviews; you can find the first set here.

1. Free space. Guarded by the Grizzly Bear by Reece Barden. This book was recommended by Mary, and it sounded fun, so I grabbed it off Kindle Unlimited. It had been some time since I tried to read a shifter romance, and this one got 3 stars, which is a good rating from me for this type of novel, where I find it impossible to suspend my disbelief. While the male main character was a stereotypical possessive jerk, though of course totally hot as required (it's never acceptable when a non-handsome man stalks you), the female MC (a cop) was strong and interesting, until the end anyway, and that was a treat. The setting seemed to be in the USA, maybe Montana, but around the halfway point there were a few UK spellings (favour, pyjamas), so maybe it was set in Canada. Unclear. This kind of thing throws me out of the story because I need to understand the logistics. Even a fantasy novel should be consistent with details. Bad proofreading, assuming there was any.

(I wouldn't normally use the "free space" so soon, except I had already started this book when I decided to join in on the summer reading bingo suggested by my book club leader.)

2. Ice cream on cover. Ice Cream and Incidents by Agatha Frost. I really wanted to like this book because it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a cozy mystery. It began in a promising way with some unexpected characters, but it soon turned into a boring drag (not punning). The writing was simply flat with loads of telling not showing. There was zero chemistry between the main character Julia and Barker, her fiancé; in fact, I thought they might be headed for a breakup given their lack of affection (I know cozies don't do explicit love scenes, but there was nothing here). They were happy with their dull cardboard existence, apparently. The only reason this novel gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because some of the drag queen scenes were fun. The description on Goodreads is incorrect, btw: there was no murder, just a stage “accident.” Finally, the title had nothing to do with the story. Yes, they had ice cream a couple times on vacation, but Julia was a cake baker. Why not Icing and Incidents?

3. Has June in the title. June by K. Nicole. Despite all the typos (what is it with books lately not being properly proofread and edited?!), I really enjoyed this book! Gave it 4 stars. It was a very atypical romance novel with fresh writing and interesting characters. And chemistry, whew! There was lots of graphic sex in this book, which was important to the plot. Another strong female lead carried half the story, with the hot criminal dude taking the other half. As in Grizzly, the female MC was a cop, but in this case the male MC truly was a bad guy. Some of the Black lingo was a little hard for me to follow, but I got the gist of most of it from the context, especially as the story progressed. The writing was full of vivid detail, which I always appreciate. I have a huge TBR pile, but eventually I want to read more books by this author.

4. NY Times Best Seller. Never Leave the Dogs Behind by Brianna Madia. This memoir was hard to read from an emotional standpoint, but it was very well-written and ultimately satisfying. Since her marriage fell apart, Bri is suicidal, manic-depressive, and dissociative. The only thing keeping her going is her love for her dogs. She isn’t a very likable person, but the reader can understand why she became so bitter and ran off to the desert to get away from everyone. Internet popularity is always a double-edged sword, and it was great to see Bri finally quit caring about hateful Instagram comments and root her sense of self in the physical world. Four stars.

5. Published in June. The Beach Holiday by Nina Manning. I had mixed feelings about this book. First, it annoyed me with the now/ then narrative. I understand that a lot of thrillers do this, but I find that it lessens the suspense factor. We know Sadie is safe because there’s a “now,” so we may not be as invested in the “then.” Just tell the dang story as it happened! Why is this so difficult lately? Second, the narration was in first person, but we were only privy to some of Sadie’s headspace. She kept secrets from us and lied to us. If you want to create distance from the reader, use third person. All that said, I ended up enjoying a big chunk of the story only because it was so different and weird, though preposterous. There were a lot of unanswered questions too, the main one being… why the heck couldn’t Sadie have told her family about Bruno?! I guess that would have wrecked the flimsy premise of Sadie “needing” to go to Fiji. Three stars.

Alrighty then, I have completed 10 bingo squares, yay me! Onto the next set of reviews…

The Other Side (flash fiction)

Mysterious doorway image created by AI

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Of course I knew it would happen sooner or later, but I wanted something dramatic and spectacular, as would befit my superior status, not this slow, insignificant fade. I had always been vastly different from other humans and possessed an extraordinarily towering intellect, which generated heightened emotional responses to common situations. My giftedness had been a source of envy to many, and occasionally that resentment escalated to where I had been targeted, harassed, or shunned simply for being me. 

Nothing had changed at the end. People were too awed by my dominance to even bother visiting me, much less pay me the deference to which I was due. Obviously I had deserved a much greater degree of success than had been bestowed by the universe, but even the alleged higher beings failed to recognize my greatness! As far as the lower beings, I magnanimously forgave them for their lack of appreciation, for they were much too ignorant to even begin to comprehend my complex nature. Naturally, I would punch them in the face if I had the chance again.

Anyway. Enough dillydallying. It was time to go, and I wasn’t sure why I hesitated at this late date, as I would certainly not miss this wretched place nor any of these lesser creatures.

The door was closed, and as I put my hand on the doorknob, I felt afraid of what I might find on the other side.

~*~

Written for Fandango’s Story Starter 252 (this time as an ending) and inspired by recent events.

Mythical Creatures

Pegasus, mythical like my soulmate 

I searched for the mythical grail

Every night on the internet 

Joined dating sites to no avail 

I searched for the mythical grail

Never imagined I would fail

Fell hard into depression’s debt

I searched for the mythical grail

Every night on the internet

~*~

Triolet quadrille (structured 44 words) written for dVerse’s Quadrille #250 (myth). I sometimes think about those 5 years I wasted post-divorce looking for my mythical “soulmate” when I could have been doing more reading, writing, or painting.

Inky Pinky Hodgepodge

Inky pinky painting

I'm participating in the Hodgepodge again this week, which is hosted by Joyce. She sure comes up with some great questions!

1. June 17th, 1994 was the day of the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase. What were you doing in 1994? I'm guessing somebody is going to tell me they weren't born yet but that's part of the fun of the Hodgepodge. Lots of generations are represented here. 

In June of 1994, I was a 33 year-old SAHM, so I imagine that I was doing mommyish things and not paying much attention to the news. I vaguely knew this big event was happening, but I had way more important stuff going on, like coloring with my daughters and baking cookies.

2. What's your favorite summer salad that isn't the traditional tossed green lettuce kind of salad? Do you like fresh fruit in a salad (other than in a fruit salad of course)?

I love fruit salad and fruit in any green salad, especially berries and mango. My favorite summer salad is the strawberry poppyseed chicken salad at Panera (check it out).

3. Is chivalry dead? Should it be? 

Chivalry is a double-edged sword, pardon the pun. Obviously the old-timey chivalry with knights and jousts and stuff is dead, except at Medieval Times and Renaissance Fairs, but we now use the term to describe "gentlemanly" type of behavior. While it may seem nice for men to be especially courteous to and protective of women, and also pick up the check, that often comes with a price. I think we all know what that price is. The concept seems pretty dead to me these days, but I have aged out of that world, so I guess I don't really know. Personally, I'm fine with not having those things and not being expected to do anything in return either. As far as holding doors/ elevators, that's just general politeness ~ people do it for each other regardless of gender, which is how it should be.

4. Would you rather spend a week of your summer vacation in Hawaii or Alaska? Have you ever been to either? Are they two places you really would like to see? How do you feel about 'Hawaiian pizza' aka pineapple on a pizza? Have you ever eaten Baked Alaska? 

Neither, as I dislike traveling and being away from home/ kitty. I've been to Hawaii a few times, and it was nice. Friends have taken Alaskan cruises, and the photos look interesting, though cruises appeal to me even less than vacations in general. I'm totally fine with Hawaiian pizza, though I probably wouldn't order it, as I prefer an all-veggie pizza. We had Baked Alaska at my second wedding (1988), which was a terrible idea (not mine). It was dramatic and tasted fine, but I missed having a real cake. 

5. World Cup play is happening now...are you interested? Watching any matches? Did you or your children play soccer/futbol? There are eleven US cities hosting matches--Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York with the stadium in NJ, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle along with  three cities in Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey) and two in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver). You get free tickets to one of these matches. Which city do you choose? Tell us why. 

I have zero interest in any sporting events. My daughters did not play soccer. I guess I would take the free tickets to the Los Angeles games and give them away to someone who'd enjoy them.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

On Saturday, my friend Lisa and I had dates ~ literally. She brought over hot honey sushi (don't judge; it's delicious!) and date rolls with coconut. We watched the first part of the HBO Billy Joel documentary (I already saw the whole thing, but she hadn't), and will watch part two in a few weeks. It's excellent! The reason I resubscribed to HBO is because House of the Dragon is returning for the third season next Sunday, and that's one of the rare shows I enjoy. (See, I can suspend my disbelief for dragons!) It's been a while since I subbed, so I clicked on the cancel button to see what it would entail, and they thought I was cancelling right then, so they offered me half price for three months. LOL! I guess I will have HBO until October now. Any movie recs? Since it's so long between seasons and my brain is stuffed with so much junk, I am rewatching S2 of Dragon this week to prepare.

Yesterday (Sunday), my coworker and I did a "paint your pet" session at Pino's Palette. No, we don't put paint on the pet! We paint from a photo. She did her cute poodle-type doggo, which came out great, and I painted Inky. Because we needed room for her tail, the canvas has an area that needs "more," as you can see in the above image, so I ordered some large black stickers from Amazon to spell out her name on the left side. I'm really pleased with my painting, especially the eyes!

Today (Monday) I took the day off from work and will be driving up to Los Angeles in a few hours to see my granddaughter in her first ballet recital. I'm happy I can do this, as I don't get to see the kiddos all that often. Living an hour's drive away (at the best of times) sounds close, and it's certainly closer than a plane flight, but it's not like I can just pop in whenever. Visits are always planned around work and school.

That was more of a recap than a random thought!

Summer Reading Bingo 1

Reading challenge bingo card 

I've decided to participate in this bingo (25 books) reading challenge via my online book club. It's for June in our club, but I won't be able to finish it this month, so I've given myself the whole summer. I will be reviewing the books for each bingo square, five at a time. Here's the first set (note that I used the first three in another challenge). 

1. Short story or novella. Incantation by Alice Hoffman. This novella was about a family of Jews in Spain around the time of the Inquisition. Absolutely awful, yet fabulous writing. I'm glad it had fewer than 100 pages because idk if I could have read more about this terrible time. I gave it 5 stars, and I think it's important to be reminded about how evil humans are to one another, since we can become numb to the news. I haven't created labels for young adult or magical realism, but I think historical fiction plus fantasy will do for this novella.

2. Set during summer. Love at the Lake by Julie Milo. I gave this book 3 stars for attempting to tackle the weighty subjects of dyslexia and adoption in an otherwise fluffy novel set at a summer camp, but it didn't do either all that well because so much time was devoted to the fluff. I'm not one of those who hates "pure" romance novels (without any mystery or other element), but I need more of a plot than high school angst over whether or not a boy/girl likes the other boy/girl. Note: the characters were 23 years old, but still acted like teens.

3. Road Trip/Vacation. The Date by T.H. Murdock. Super fun suspense story! This one really kept me on my mental toes. Every character became a murder suspect at one point or another during the escape/ vacation to New Zealand, which is a hallmark of a good mystery. Lots of witty dialogue and unpredictable twists abound too. I can’t say that I was rooting for any particular character, as none were very endearing, but overall the book was a treat!

4. Standalone. The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager. I usually like Sager, but THATL is so slow for about half the book. It’s tedious to read about Casey getting drunk every day and obsessing over the other house. I am not a fan of alcoholism being either a character “trait” or a plot device. What did we ever really learn about Casey as a person without the booze? Not a lot. Then finally when the action starts to pick up, the story veers into ridiculousness. The things Casey accomplishes when drunk are completely unbelievable, and the entire plot goes totally into the weeds at the end. Two stars may be too generous, but that's what it got from me.

5. Flowers on the cover. The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods. This book didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be: romance, ghost story, historical fiction, magical realism? A novel can transcend genres, but this one just seemed confused, and the pieces didn’t mesh well together. That said, I really enjoyed Edith’s character development and the way she blossomed with self confidence and determination to help her new friends. As she came to terms with her grief over her mother’s death, Edith discovered she had a great capacity to love and live again. Also, there were delicious cupcakes involved! Three stars.

Gatsby on the Bridge

 

Gift from friends on Gatsby's passing

(This is an imaginary encounter between my darling kitty Gatsby who passed in May of 2025 ~ it would have been his 15th birthday today ~ and another kitty on the rainbow bridge. I wrote it for Missy's Mad Challenge where she asked us to use a particular line in our piece. I italicized the line.)

He wasn’t supposed to be there—but then again, neither was I.

I watched the grey and white tuxedo kitty hesitate on the rainbow bridge, his golden eyes confused and fearful. It was too soon for him, as it had been for me. We had been so well loved and pampered that no one expected us to go this early. Though our humans hadn't known each other, they both said the same thing: "You are going to live forever, sweet baby, or at least until age twenty."

Neither of us made it to 20, or even 15. As my gaze met his, we silently exchanged stories. His name was Gatsby, and his kidneys had failed before his 14th birthday. He had such a happy life with his human, and she was heartbroken as he became sicker, but she told him it was OK to go because he was in pain and could no longer enjoy his life. I had a similar story. I reassured Gatsby that he would be at peace now, and his treasured memory would live on with his human. She would always love him, and in his honor she would give another special shelter kitty a loving home. 

Gatsby began to cross the bridge again, his steps more confident and his eyes bright and alert. I could tell we'd become great friends and play together forever as soon as he finished coming over. 

Maybe we were both exactly where we were supposed to be...

Challenge Accepted and Completed

Powell's in Portland, August 2015

In December, the leader of our online book club posted a genre challenge. I sort of forgot about it, and she posted a reminder last week. As I perused the list, I realized that I actually had satisfied each one, except for young adult, a genre I generally hate. I browsed the Kindle Unlimited YA offerings the other day until I found a novella that didn't sound too bad. Now, I'm finished with the books and will post a brief review of each. (I read all these and more this year.)

1. Contemporary Fiction. I read (and watched) Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, which I discussed in some detail last week in this post. I gave the book 3 stars on Goodreads.

2. Historical Fiction. I finished up my lengthy Victoria Holt (aka Philippa Carr) binge with Daughters of England. Though this book was last in the series, it wasn't last chronologically, and I still enjoyed it a lot. Holt expertly weaves history with fiction to create believable plots and characters. The stories are inseparable from the history, as political events drive beliefs and behavior (same as now, even if we are unaware in the moment). I am used to Holt's abrupt endings, though I find that they are discordant with her meticulous storytelling otherwise. Four stars. 

3. Fantasy. The Gunslinger by Stephen King satisfied this genre. I found the novel to be ambitious, as it was clearly a setup for the next in series (good example of why I am not fond of series where each book does not stand alone, as Holt's do), but it only works well if you go on with the series, which I did not. I tried ~ I began The Drawing of the Three ~ but it was so gory and gross that I DNF. I gave Gunslinger 3 stars regardless for King's high quality writing. I don't have to enjoy plot and/or characters to appreciate his wordsmithery.

4. Science Fiction. Another Stephen King novel goes here: 11.22.63. I watched the miniseries first and mostly enjoyed it (discussed at the end of this post), and then at Roy's recommendation I read the book. I absolutely loved it! The descriptions were so lush with detail that I really did feel like I was back in the 1950s and early '60s. The butterfly effect was fully in play too, with several iterations of "what if," and I am always up for that sort of thought experiment. I highly recommend this epic novel (800+ pages, so set aside some time). This book received a 5-star rating from me.

5. Mystery/Thriller. I grabbed The Date by T.H. Murdock last week from the Amazon First Reads pile, and I'm glad I did. I gobbled up the whole novel in one day because it was that compelling. Murdock expertly layered in the suspense, shifting suspicion from one character to another, until the reader was completely hooked. I literally couldn't put it down until I knew whodunit. Another 4-star winner.

6. Romance. Love at the Lake by Julie Milo fit this category as well as one in another challenge. I gave it 3 stars for attempting to tackle the weighty subjects of dyslexia and adoption in an otherwise fluffy novel, but it didn't do either all that well because so much time was devoted to the fluff. I'm not one of those who hates "pure" romance novels (without any mystery or other element), but I need more of a plot than high school angst over whether or not a boy/girl likes the other boy/girl. Note: the characters were 23 years old, but still acted like teens.

7. Nonfiction. At a library sale, I found a "coffee table book" titled Love of Goldens by Todd R. Berger and had to get it for my daughter and son-in-law, who have a golden retriever (Rory). I love goldens too now! I gave this book 5 stars for the wonderful photos and adorable vignettes.

8. Biography/Memoir. I finished Peter Gethers' Norton the cat trilogy with his second book (read out of order), titled A Cat Abroad. While this middle section of Norton's life was enjoyable enough to get a 4-star rating from me, it wasn't as compelling as books one and three. The first book was our introduction to baby Norton and how he impacted the author's life, and the third and last one was exquisitely sad as we had to say goodbye to our sweet kitty friend. Abroad was exactly as titled ~ Peter takes his kitty on all sorts of trips, which were fun adventures, with vivid and descriptive writing, but I couldn't appreciate all the French language jokes, and it was not as emotionally gripping overall.

9. Literary Fiction. I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans for my online book club, and it fits this genre. This book began in the most tedious way by flinging a boatload of characters at the reader (18 in the first 16 pages!) that were impossible to keep track of until later in the story. I kept going however and eventually became intrigued by the threads tying all these people to the main character. I also liked that the MC was cranky and unlikeable, but she was still interesting to read about. Three stars for this.

10. Young Adult. Incantation by Alice Hoffman is categorized as YA, so I chose it because I liked her writing in the past. What can I say about this book? It was about a family of Jews in Spain around the time of the Inquisition. Absolutely awful, yet fabulous writing. I'm glad it had fewer than 100 pages because idk if I could have read more about this terrible time. I gave it 5 stars, and I think it's important to be reminded about how evil humans are to one another, since we can become numb to the news. I haven't created labels for young adult or magical realism, but I think historical fiction plus fantasy will do for this novella.

11. Horror. In general, I avoid horror novels and movies, except when there is a promise of a solid story along with the gore/scariness. The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton delivered. I found this story to be fresh and intriguing, and I was fascinated by the relationships among the sister-wives. It was "gothic" in a way and full of creepy ghosts, despite being set in a 19th century house in Utah, not a crumbling old English mansion. Four stars.

12. Poetry or Short Stories. Odd category mix, as these are two very different genres. I read Poems for the Lost Because I'm Lost Too by Exurb1a, and I found the writing highly relatable even though the author is a young guy in Eastern Europe. His themes of existential angst, isolation, and meaninglessness resonated with how I have felt off and on over all the years of my life. He went off into the weeds a bit with his forays into the supernatural, and I skimmed those sections, but overall... yeah. Liked it! Four stars.

As a side note, I am not being hypocritical with my high ratings of most of these challenge books after complaining repeatedly that people rate books too highly ~ I read many books recently that merited 2 or 3 stars, but I focused on the better ones for these mini-reviews. For example, in the poetry category, I gave 2 stars to another book of verse, but why mention it when I can recommend Poems for the Lost?

Rory and the Wolf

AI generated image of a golden and a wolf

(I'm participating in the Friday Challenge from When Words Collide, which asks us to create a conversation between two characters, imaginary or otherwise. I chose my daughter’s golden retriever Rory and an imaginary wolf. Please check out Fandango's excellent take too ~ I found the challenge via his blog. PS: I changed Rory's gender for the story.)

Rory (happy face): Hi! How are you? Isn't it a gorgeous day?

Wolf (annoyed): It was. Until you showed up. Do you realize that you just spooked the rabbit I was hunting, and now I won't have any breakfast?

Rory (sad face): Huh? Breakfast? Did you not get fed? I'm so sorry!

Wolf: Get fed? Oh right. You're one of those.

Rory: One of what?

Wolf (sniffs in disgust): A pampered pet. You live inside a comfy prison where your guards give you a handful of kibble twice a day. While I, on the other paw, enjoy the great outdoors, hunting my own food, and doing whatever I please.

Rory (tail wags): But I love kibble! It's so yummy! 

Wolf (rolls eyes): You should be ashamed of yourself. You were once one of us, a great hunter, but then they bred you down to retrieve silly birds they shot, and now look at you.

Rory: I know, right? I'm so beautiful! And a good boy too! They tell me every day how wonderful I am and how much they love me.

Wolf: Love? From humans? Feh. You'll never know the joy of having your own mate and pups to carry on your magnificent lineage. I bet you're snipped.

Rory (confused): Snipped? Is that a toy? I love toys!

Wolf: Ugh. You sicken me. If you were part of a pack, you would have no need for humans. 

Rory: But I love my humans! They're my pack! Today is bath day, and I'm so excited! I love baths!

Wolf: OMG. 

Rory: And I love my sister Lily and our kitty Maui, even though I sometimes wish she wouldn't always hog my bed. I love my bed! 

Wolf (licks lips): You have a kitty? Where?

Rory: Back at the RV. Actually, I am a teeny tiny bit lost. I wasn't supposed to wander away from the campground.

Wolf: If you lived like a proper wolf, you would never get lost. I know exactly where I am at every moment due to my excellent sense of direction and smell.

(A voice calls in the distance Rory, Rory!)

Rory (excited): That's my human! He found me! (woofs)

Wolf (slinks away): Enjoy your prison kibble. 

Rory (woofs a lot): Here I am! I made a new friend! Where'd he go? What's snipped?

No Cheat Codes

1000 piece panda puzzle

I have come full circle in the puzzle arena. When I first realized that some of the newer jigsaw puzzles have "cheat codes" printed on the reverse side of the pieces, I vowed never to use them. I knew that it would take all the fun out of struggling to find pieces, declaring that some must be missing, announcing that the puzzle is defective, moaning that nothing goes anywhere, and finally finishing triumphantly. But then one time I used the codes... just a little bit. The next time I used them more, and finally I said eff it, flipped all the pieces over, sorted them by code, and did the puzzle fast. I did that a couple more times, even though the end result left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. Yet once I began to cheat, I couldn't stop myself. It was an addiction, a sickness, a mindless compulsion. I was proud that I could complete a 1000 piece puzzle, by myself, in two nights. Yes, yes, it was a hollow victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Then came the panda puzzle: 1000 pieces of black bamboo stalks over a multi-colored background and a panda face. It looked really hard, something I might have avoided in the olden days, but I could just use the codes, right? Wrong! The panda puzzle doesn't have codes. The reverse side of the pieces are totally blank. I couldn't back down. Man vs puzzle! Or woman as the case may be. I put the edges together and sorted some of the colors, though that was really hard, wah. I found one of his eyeballs, put a bit of his face together, and managed to connect some other mini blobs here and there. My friend Lisa came over to help on Saturday, but we mostly snacked and chatted. It's now on the third night of the panda puzzle, and I am very dismayed at my lack of progress.

Otherwise, I had a lovely Mother's Day. I drove up to Los Angeles see my daughter and grands. Sharon and I exchanged similar gifts: we bought each other yummy scented candles! I played games and colored with the kiddos, which was really nice, as I hadn't seen them for a while. The drive home sucked though, as my GPS indicated there was something happening that was lengthening the trip time, but it didn't say what or offer an alternative. Since the freeway looked clear, I kept going but stayed in the rightmost lane in case I wanted to exit quickly. In Huntington Beach, traffic suddenly stopped, and now the GPS said there were multiple crashes ahead. Multiple! I got off on Beach Blvd, at which point the trip time dropped by 10 minutes. Hello! Why didn't you tell me to get off? I had to use my brain, which was so annoying. 

I began reading Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid when I couldn't sleep last week, and it's pretty good so far (one of those alternate timeline type gimmicks). I generally like and sometimes love TJR's writing, so I will probably continue on with this, even though the main character hasn't impressed me much after 50 pages. On Goodreads, this book is tagged as a romance novel.

The other day, I began a "romantasy" novel on my Kindle titled Dire Bound by Sable Sorenson. It's for my online book club, as I would almost never choose a book like this on my own. I really don't enjoy the genre at all, nor do I enjoy graphic descriptions of violence and sex (what they now call "spice"). I guess there are exceptions for a well written story with interesting characters, but this doesn't seem to be one of those, so I think I will toss it in the DNF pile. Life is too short to slog on through books I am not enjoying!

Stephen King, on the other hand, has intrigued me with The Gunslinger, which is the first novel in his Dark Tower series, though it's very dark and violent. I picked up the rest of the series from the library yesterday. I'm not sure if I will read all the books though ~ book two (The Drawing of the Three) needs to be better than The Gunslinger for me to continue on to the third. It's a big time commitment as most of the novels in the series are ridiculously long. He's coming out with a new book in October (Other Worlds Than These) that's part of a different series, but he says we should read it because it "puts a cap on the Talisman novels and serves as the final Dark Tower book." Does this mean that I will have to read The Talisman and its sequel Black House? I suppose it does. Sigh…

That's a lot of reading! Anyone want to bet on which I will finish first: panda puzzle, TJR novel, or the second Dark Tower book? 

First Reads of 2026

Before I get into the books, I want to say a word (or 500) about stats. As you know, Bob, one of the main reasons I gave up two relatively popular blogs is because I became obsessed with checking my stats. With Ultrablog, my obsession was tracking IPs to try to figure out who was visiting me ~ this rarely works now because peeps use their phones, and the IP and location changes. I also freaked out if a post received way fewer views/ comments compared to my average. With my more recent WP blog, I was obsessed with follower count as well as comments per post. Like many other bloggers, I quit worrying about views per post, as those are meaningless. Fast forward to this blog, where I don’t fuss about any stats whatsoever. I have noticed lately that WP bloggers based in the US and UK are wondering why they get an onslaught of views from places like Hong Kong and Singapore, when they don't have any followers from there. Welp, now that I have been commenting more on those WP blogs, I too am getting views from Hong Kong and Singapore. While my comments here are about the same as they've been all along, averaging only a few per post, my views overall have exponentially increased. What am I going to do about this? Nothing. I assume that the view counts are as meaningless as they've ever been, but I just wanted to feel included.

OK then. Let's start with my first DNF of the year: The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter. This was one of our three January books of the month, which is the only reason I started it, as I have heard that Karin's books are horrendously gory and violent. Yep, it was horrible ~ technically a thriller, but really more like horror, at least at the beginning. I read about 10 pages or so and gave up. So, I have no idea whether the story is good or if the grossness abated, but I tend to believe not/ not. I won't ever try this author again. Yuck! Here's a thing about trigger warnings: they don't work that well for me because I can handle impossible goriness, such as supernatural shenanigans, but when it sounds realistic, I am out. Karin's sounded real. When I read, I picture what I am reading throughout the book, so those disturbing images stay with me. The ones from TGD are still kind of floating around my mind a bit.

The first book I read for the year was A Cat Abroad by Peter Gethers. I read his first Norton book, The Cat Who Went to Paris, six years ago and loved it. Then for some odd reason I skipped the second book in the trilogy and went straight to the third: The Cat Who'll Live Forever. This was also great, though as you might guess from the title, heartbreaking as well. It hasn't been that long since Gatsby died, so even thinking about that third book makes me cry. Recently, as I was (obsessively) rearranging my physical bookshelves, I realized that I had never read the second book, so I ordered a used copy. I loved it, though not quite as much as I loved the other two books because it’s very travelog-y, as one might expect. Since I have never been to Europe nor do I know any French, many of the funny moments don't do much for me. And not to be mean, but I don't have much (or any) sympathy for the travel mishaps of people who have gobs more money than I do. I can smile at the petty ironies and minuscule woes of their lives, but do I really care? Nah. Norton's behavior is still adorable however. Four stars (the other two received five each). This counts as a memoir on my genre hop list.

I am still teary over a novel I finished this morning: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It begins very slowly, and I might have DNF'd it except that a couple peeps in my book club loved it. So, I kept going and am sure glad I did! Nora, the MC, is a whiny, sad sack of a person, and I didn't relate to her all that much, at first. The premise is that after she tries to commit suicide she hovers in a state between life and death where she visits a fantasy library that contains all the stories of her life that might have been as well as a huge tome of regrets. As Nora chooses other lives to slip into, she's guided both practically and philosophically by her old primary school librarian (the one person from her past who had shown her unconditional kindness). As Nora's epiphanies accumulate, I begin to resonate with them, especially the ones about living to please other people. Whether struggling to keep a straight A average for my mom or to be accepted by my peers or to find a boyfriend, my earlier life was also dominated by the need to receive praise from others. My first paragraph about blog stats is a good example. I internalized all this dreck to such an extent that I felt guilty when not writing a bestselling book while working full time. Why can't I do more? Other people do more. Why can't I achieve any level of socially blessed success, blah blah blah. Anyway, TML explores these ideas plus the obvious conclusion that being yourself is enough. Going after your own dreams is not selfish. Relinquishing old dreams and being content with what you have (where I am now) is just fine too! None of these are radical concepts, but Haig presents them in a fresh and emotionally relevant way, so TML received five stars from me. It also counts as a fantasy book on my genre hop list.

Speaking of the genre hop challenge, it's not my intention to complete the entire list the first quarter. I may expand the categories into subgenres or simply read two or more from each. While A Cat Abroad counts as a memoir, it's not a biography, so I will try to find one of those I might enjoy (the category is biography/ memoir). Also, I noticed at the bottom of the hop list is a bonus category to reread five favorite books, which I may do too. The whole point is to read books I love, and if I can't give a book three or more stars, I probably should consider tossing it in the DNF pile. Of course, sometimes I'm digging a book and then get really annoyed at the ending, so there's that. 

Hope your new year is going swimmingly so far ~ mine is, literally, with all this rain. Back to the office tomorrow I go, hi ho, hi ho.

PS: I found a way to add a DNF shelf to my Goodreads without it marking the book as "want to read," which was so annoying. I had to do it from my laptop. Apps aren't always all that and a bag of chips.

PPS: Nope. Goodreads insists on marking my DNFs as "read," which wrecks my count. I have deleted the DNF shelf once again.

Officially in My Fusspot Era

This year I have read an absolutely insane amount of books (250+), and I have come to some decisions. First, I am slowing down because I want to retain more of the content. Second, I have been in a genre rut with psycho thrillers and romance, and I want to read more broadly in 2026. I don’t mean more fiction genres, but other types of books entirely, such as poetry, biography, and science. Third, when I do read genre fiction, I plan on being much fussier. 

This all is basically just me clarifying stuff for myself; I expect it to have zero interest to anyone else. I needed a place to vomit my thoughts.

I won’t read a contemporary romance novel if the meet cute involves clumsiness/ spilling of food, beverage or paperwork. Post meet clumsiness may be acceptable depending on the circumstances. In The Hating Game, Lucy was trying to make Josh jealous and tripped/ fell in her sexy dress and high heels, dumping out her purse all over the floor. That was funny and cute, but it was also cringe because I would have sprained my ankle. It’s like the scene in Miss Congeniality when Gracie strides out all gorgeous and blows Eric’s mind… then she falls. These are not technically meet cutes!

I won’t read a CRN or any kind of mystery where the plot could be obliterated by one session with Google. I mean, come on. Any type of fake ID/ mistaken identity motif is not going to work in a modern story unless the character has bought fake creds from a super hacker. Or if they’re a government agent. 

I don’t want to read books with teenaged protagonists. This is handy because it rules out genres that already don’t appeal to me, such as fantasy and young adult. I can’t bear anything about high school drama, nor do I want to see teens saving the world in some dystopian yuck. But what about Victoria Holt? All her heroines are teenagers. Great question! I am tired of her books and don’t plan on reading any more of them, so that works out. Granted, teens were different back when and way more mature, but even so. Also, I am suspicious of that “new adult” genre full of people under 30. They’re annoying and not much different from high schoolers.

I still like romances, though I am on somewhat of a break, but I don’t want to read about second chances. They annoy me. I just finished a holiday romance (The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer) that had not only a second-chance motif but also was full of ghosts (a la A Christmas Carol), and I liked it enough to give it three stars. But I consider it an exception, mainly due to the fabulous job Jean did in describing migraines and related issues, including rationing meds because insurance allows only nine pills per month. In general, however, I don’t care for ghosts or exes hanging around past their expiration dates. 

What else? I don’t like the trope of the grumpy boss (billionaire or not) and his “sunshine” romantic interest. Why does the man always get to be the grump anyway? I am over mafia romances because they’re all the same. I am not a fan of contemporary characters who “hate” each other and end up in a fake-dating situation because there’s never actually a need for it other than to satisfy the terms of a will, but characters who are willing to sell their souls for a chunk of change don’t appeal to me anyway. Maybe hater dater fakery is acceptable in a Regency or other old-timey romance, depending on the details. Back then, people had fewer options. I am not ruling out CRNs though ~ they just need to have better plots than the standard omg I spilled coffee on the cutest guy but it turns out he’s my hot new boss and totally grumpy because his grandma cut him from her will unless he gets married in 30 days and he really needs her farmland to develop an enrichment camp for orphans.

Now we come to murder, blood, and gore. In general, I am not a fan of graphically described injury and death, but I do love mysteries and detective stories, so I will tolerate gore for the sake of the story. If I see from the book jacket that the main point of the novel is to come up with gruesome torture scenes, then that’s a hard pass right there. It’s one thing to describe a death in context of a police procedure, but it’s quite another to witness the writer revel in bloody descriptions. I don’t want to go inside the mind of a maniacal serial killer who gets off on amputations, etc. There are so many gross books out. But I also don’t want to read cozy mysteries, where bodies are bloodless and the murder scene smells like pumpkin spice candles. 

Horror is too disgusting and disturbing for me. I gave it a chance with the Haunted series by Lee Mountford back in October because I liked the first book, but they became a nonstop river of gore. The last few books were basically a skim because of all the rotting corpses and mangled eyeballs. Shudder. I’m reading a murder mystery right now that is all about the various clues and psychological aspects of the characters. (So far, there haven’t been any disturbing passages.) That is what I like in a story, not descriptions of death or how bodies look in the morgue. The same goes for any book about relationships ~ I want to read rich and vivid details about the characters’ mental and emotional worlds, not a boring recitation of sex romps. 

This also means I will be more discerning re the books I am willing to read for my book clubs, especially the online club.

Books That Could Have Been a Text

I read a lot. I mean a lot. For example, it’s now October 7 (very sad anniversary of the attack on Israel, but also Prime Day, yay), and I have already finished four books this month (OK, one was a novella). Some people don’t read four books in a year! I know, because I am friends with them. Smart people, great at games, but reading isn’t their thing. Anyway, for a while now, I have been pretty jaded about plots. It’s been said that there are no new storylines, but only new ways of retelling the same old ones, and I concur. Hence, this post: book types that could have been a text question to AI.

1. Haunted House 

Q: I have inherited an old house from my weird uncle, and it’s full of strange symbols, shadowy figures in the mirrors, and scary thumps and moans during the night. What should I do?

A: Run away right now and don’t go back!

2. Devil’s Spawn

Q: I am six weeks pregnant and have undeniable proof that the father is a demon who will use this child to unleash chaos and terror upon the world. How should I proceed?

A: Get an abortion! (And quit having sex with demons.)

3. Forbidden Room

Q: I am governess to the mad duke’s daughter, and he said that I must never go into the attic, but the upstairs maid told me there’s a trunk in there containing the duchess’s diary which will prove that the duchess ran off with the coachman and wasn’t murdered by the duke. Should I retrieve the diary so the duke will love me?

A: No. Stay the hell out of there and make friends with the new coachman. I hear he is cute (and also not mad).

4. Grumpy x Sunshine

Q: My new billionaire boss is incredibly mean and horrible, though he is very handsome and did I mention a billionaire? Should I put up with his verbal abuse for 300 pages until he sees me in a bikini at the company retreat and falls in love with me?

A: No. He will always be a jerk. Find a new job.

5. Friends to Lovers

Q: I just had an epiphany that I am in love with my childhood best friend, but he hasn’t ever indicated he feels the same except that one time when he was really drunk, which I don’t count. Should I despair over this for 300 pages while we try to make a go of romances with others or take a job I don’t want in a faraway state to get away from this mess?

A: Neither. Just tell him you love him right now.

6. Fake Dating

Q: I hired an actor to pretend to be my boyfriend at my cousin’s wedding so my family would stop bugging me about being single, but we got drunk and slept together. Now I am in love with him, but if I tell him, I won’t be able to figure out if what he says back is real or acting. For how many pages should I agonize over this?

A: Zero. Tell him immediately.

7. Fantasy Quest

Q: So like you know I found a map to the lair of the ancient monster dragon who guards the sparkly thing that will save the universe from destruction. Should I skip my midterms and go get it right away before the witch grabs it for evil purposes?

A: No. Study for your tests, eat your vegetables, and quit peering through game portals.

8. Amateur Detective

Q: I don’t think the police did a thorough investigation into the cookie dough murder, and since I have retired from the library I have time to help. Should I take my poodle Mr. Noodles to the bakery cafe and try to get more information from the shady new waiter?

A: Mind your own business and leave solving crimes to the cops.

9. Family Feud

Q: Should I let the misunderstanding with my sister fester for another 50 years until one of us is dying, or have a difficult conversation with her before the next round of holidays?

A: /eye-roll/

10. True Story

Q: Hey, do you think people would enjoy reading about my transformative journey from—

A: No.

The end.

My Grandson Turns Five

Remember that George Carlin routine about how we are "going on" the next number ("I am sixteen going on seventeen?") until we become twenty-one? And we don't use months or half-numbers after that. Hey, I am almost 64.25! It was impossible to find the routine on YouTube, but I did stumble onto a transcription. He was truly hilarious. Anyway, my older grandson had his space-themed birthday party yesterday, and it was a lot of fun. He is now five going on six.

Speaking of five, I gave five stars to The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel. Wow, what an intense read! I highly recommend this taut mystery novel. It's on the shorter side at under 300 pages, but man it packs a punch. TW: it begins with the gruesome death of two children. It's not one of those stories that focuses on gore though; it's more about family bonds and feeling trapped in small town life.

The Conjuror's Wife by Sarah Penner was a gripping little fantasy/ historical fiction short story. I loved the twist at the end and gave the book four stars.

I was disappointed in the latest Freida McFadden thriller I read: Do Not Disturb. The twists were often predictable, and there was very little motivation given for the characters' actions. Also, and maybe this is not fair to the book, but I am really tired of the abused wife who can't leave until it's too late motif, especially when there aren't even children involved. This type of story usually features a protagonist with whom we are supposed to sympathize while she keeps doing stupid things, the dumbest one of course being falling for the "too good to be true" man. Meh. Two stars.

I read The Changeling by Philippa Carr (aka Victoria Holt), which was another romance/ mystery novel in the Daughters of England series. I found it enjoyable but not as good as some of the others, so I gave it three stars. The title basically gives away the main twist of the story. 

Via a friend's recommendation, I have started the Netflix show Dept. Q, and so far I am intrigued. It's a detective mini-series set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the acting is top-notch.

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week!

This and That

This week has been busy, with a bunch of ups and downs, which is why I haven't blogged, even though I can't wait to tell you that Inky is now a big cuddler! She is soooo sweet and affectionate and even sleeps on my bed with me during part of the night. She's curled on my lap right now and purring as I'm typing. I haven't forgotten about Gatsby, my soulmate kitty, and I will always love him, but Inky is helping to heal my heart. I love her too and think about her when I'm at work; my condo feels like a home again now that I have a sweet kitty waiting for me.

Today is my divorce anniversary (the second divorce; I don't remember the exact dates my brief first marriage began and ended). Fourteen years ago today, July 11, the dissolution of my 21 year marriage (plus two years of legal separation) was finalized, which was a huge relief. For five years afterward, I tried to find someone new, and I stayed pretty optimistic about my chances until 2016. That's when I started to accept the idea that a new romantic relationship wasn't going to happen and it would be better to stop dating altogether, as the process was increasingly depressing. It took a couple years longer for me to feel fully comfortable being single and not looking.

I have made a new Substack account: lightmotifs.substack.com. Please follow me and I will follow you back. The reason I made an account is because one of my writing friends invited me to contribute to his poetic series on the body, and I wrote a poem about hair. It turned out well, and he is going to publish it on his Substack soon. I didn't have to make my own account to get credited, but why not? Maybe I will be in the mood to write more poetry on my own stack (or whatever you call the pages there). Last time I joined, I found it confusing and way too political, so I deleted my account, but every form of social media is stuffed with politics 24/7, so I have to take responsibility for avoiding it and focusing on what I do enjoy (same with Bluesky). That said, my first comment on the app was about Pete B (love him). LOL!

(I still find the app confusing, btw. When I logged on, it said hey how about these four friends we found for you? I said, OK, I will follow them all, but now they have disappeared. What's up with that?)

I read The House of a Thousand Lanterns by Victoria Holt and gave it four stars. It's a romance mystery novel, and I found both aspects very intriguing. A chunk of the book takes place in Hong Kong, and the local color was fabulous. I have no idea whether it was accurate, but I enjoyed it regardless. 

Earlier in the week I finished The Weight of Blood by Tiffany Jackson, a horror novel and an homage to Carrie by Stephen King. I wasn't sure at first if I would like this book because it's partly told in podcast format (which is apparently a "thing" now), but I did like it ~ I gave it four stars! The story involves a lot of racism and cruelty and some fantasy elements as well. 

Finally, I read The Only One Left by Riley Sager. Shades of Verity abound in this psychological thriller about a caregiver, Kit, who who is "forced" to take a job working for an alleged murderer at the crazy mansion on the edge of the cliff. Everyone in the story is a potential or actual murderer or victim, and though the story is basically well written, I found the pacing tedious at times. I kept wondering why Kit simply didn't walk away from the mess and begin again somewhere else where people didn't know her. The ending was so convoluted that I gave up trying to understand what motivated everyone to do what they did. Three stars.

The Life List

Hurrah! I finally found a movie I liked on Netflix. It's a 2025 romance called The Life List and stars Sofia Carson. I enjoyed the story, the acting, the romance, the humor, etc., and I highly recommend the movie to my readers. The premise is that Elizabeth is concerned about her daughter Alex, who seems to be just drifting through life without any goals. Unfortunately, Elizabeth is dying, so she won't have a chance to help Alex the way she would like to; instead, she found a "life list" Alex created when she was 13, and in her will Elizabeth conditions Alex's inheritance upon fulfilling her teenage dreams. Elizabeth enlisted the help of her lawyer to keep Alex focused, and each time Alex completes one of her goals, she receives another CD from him with Elizabeth giving Alex words of love and encouragement toward the next goal. It made me tear up a few times.

Do you remember any of your dreams/goals from when you were 13? I don't know if I even had any "big" goals at that age. Mine were undoubtedly immediate and superficial... welp, nothing really has changed much in that regard. LOL. I did enjoy writing fiction and poetry, but I don't think I imagined myself as a famous writer (good thing, eh?). I probably wanted to get straight A's in school, and most likely I was obsessed with solving puzzles and finishing needlework pictures. 

I was about to cancel my Hulu subscription (again) before the price jump to $9.99. It's rare that I find something on Hulu I want to watch, and the new bachelor season won't be coming up until the fall. But when I went to the Hulu website to cancel, they said what about if we only charge you the same $2.99 for another six months? I said OK. Of course, in November I will be hooked on the new Golden Bachelor season, so I'll probably be willing to pay $9.99 for a few months until it ends. After that, nah. Probably nah. The reason the next one is special is because they announced that the new Golden Oldie is the hilarious French guy from the last Golden Bachelorette, so I do have to watch. 

Recently I finished reading Five Broken Blades, a fantasy novel by Mai Corland, and gave it two stars. The first third was incredibly slow and tedious, though it did pick up toward the end. Why authors insist on writing chapters in first person present tense from different characters, I do not know. This would have been the perfect opportunity for third person narration so the reader would have had an easier time gliding from one POV to another. Corland made one character sound ignorant, so his bad grammar at least made it clear when it was his chapter, but the others blended together. Yes, she put their names at the beginning of the chapters, but the rest of the voices weren't distinct enough to keep straight. To be fair, fantasy isn't my favorite genre, but in fact the fantasy elements were pretty well done here. It was simply the lack of depth of the characters and their motivations that made the book kind of a drag to get through. Happily, it fit my 2025 Reading Challenge category of being part of a series ~ hopefully, our book club leader won't want to continue this series! 

I put Verity by Colleen Hoover on hold at my library. My in-person book club has chosen it for our June novel, and though I read it years ago (and gave it two stars), I am worried I won't remember enough of it to join in the discussion. I'm curious if my rating stays the same this round ~ also there's a brand new chapter included, so we shall see if that makes a difference. I'm definitely interested in seeing the movie next year with the great cast of Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett, and Dakota Johnson.

Happy Pi Day

Did you do anything to celebrate 3.14? I didn’t; I just worked all day. I ate a round tortilla with peanut butter and honey, which I think counts a bit, but I would have been happier with real pie. I didn’t see the eclipse of the moon last night either. Or maybe it was this morning. I don’t know. I work, I sleep, I exercise, I read fiction, I scroll social media, and I play solitaire on my phone… that’s my life Monday through Friday. I don’t like to go out after work because Gatsby has been alone all day, and I want to spend time with him. 

This week I read a book I had been looking forward to: Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (it ticked the multiple authors requirement on my 2025 Reading Challenge). Crusie used to be one of my fave romance writers, and a while ago she paired up with Mayer for more action-oriented novels so he could write the tough guy characters. This was the first one of theirs that I read cover to cover. Blech! It was about an amusement park in Ohio that served as a demon prison, and a select group of humans with special powers had been tasked with keeping the demons contained. There was also a bad human who wanted to let the demons out for his own nefarious purposes. Except for the hot sex, which there wasn’t that much of, the story seemed like young adult fantasy silliness with a plot full of holes, and I didn’t care about any of the characters. Oh well. Two stars. 

Even though I hadn’t read Crusie in years, I realized that I was tired of her writing style. She has this tedious pattern of internal monologue for her characters, which quickly gets on my nerves, and then I remembered it had begun to annoy me 20 years ago. I suppose at one point I found it fresh and amusing, but now it’s grating. Not to mention that if you’re going to create a world with supernatural elements, please make it make sense, be consistent rather than turning the magic off and on for convenience, and give the motivation an adult level of sophistication. Grrrr!

I decided tonight that I want to put a bird in my cherry blossom painting, so it’s not ready for the ‘gram yet. I will paint the bird this weekend and probably start a new painting too. It rained all week, which makes me crabbier than usual, so I’m hoping for a nice sunny day tomorrow.