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.

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?

Antisocial Butterfly

For an antisocial introverted hermit, I’ve sure been going out and partying a lot! And when I say partying, I mean decorating themed cookies with my book club and hanging with some fellow old folks to talk about grandkids and such. It’s Day Three of this whirlwind of activity, and tonight I am playing online board games with a third group of peeps. Craziness. 

I had a bit of a sad yesterday when I realized that I no longer have any of my old blogs archived. Not sure what happened there, but my new philosophy is to deal with things as they are and not moan and groan about how I wish they would be. Well… maybe a just a little M&G, depending on the sitch. I still have some stuff from my old WP public blog available via the Wayback Machine, which used to annoy me because I never gave them permission to keep my writing available after I delete it, but since it’s too bothersome to get it taken down, I will use it for my own purposes instead.

Good news! I finished the insanely difficult 1000-piece puzzle I began over a week ago (had some help the first day), and now I’m ready for a puzzle break. I think I’ll try sketching something. I printed a swan outline for a guide, so hopefully it turns out decently.

It’s been a struggle in the migraine department with the heat and the wind. Crossing my fingers that tomorrow is better. Oh, I finished Stephen King’s epic time-travel novel 11.22.63, to which I awarded five stars on Goodreads (plus added it to my favorites list). I highly recommend it! Yes, it’s over 800 pages, but it’s so worth the time. I think it was Roy who encouraged me to read the book after I mentioned that I enjoyed the miniseries. Thanks Roy!

Generation Jones

I am not a fan of labels and have never really felt part of any labeled group, even ones I’ve paid to join. I guess it's human nature to try to find a group of folks to identify with, and by default other groups are "not us." This makes us feel safe from the scary things, or something. The modern mania to categorize people is, imo, mostly a marketing tactic to help advertise more strategically. I try to ignore labels, although some years ago it was brought to my attention that I am part of “Generation Jones,” which is apparently a cohort between Boomers and Generation X. I forgot about this until the other weekend when a group of friends began discussing it. 

If you were born between 1954 and 1965, like me, you may also be part of Generation Jones, especially if you don’t feel a connection to the Baby Boomers or to the younger folks in Gen X. Cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell coined the term “to describe a group with a unique set of cultural and economic experiences.” The name refers to “jonesing” (craving) and “keeping up with the Joneses,” as we supposedly yearn for the affluence of the Boomers and lament our unfulfilled promises. Many of us were "latchkey kids," coming home to empty houses when our mothers returned to work. We existed in the gap between Beatlemania and Nirvana, subsisting on punk rock, MTV, and Star Wars. Woodstock wasn't our thing, but we do recall Watergate and gas lines. We're more pessimistic and cynical than both Boomers and X'ers. 

Blah blah blah. Some of these items resonate with me (latchkey), and some don't (Star Wars). A lot of it is simply personal taste ~ I don't really like punk rock; I love the Doors and the Stones, which my dad listened to as well. I even love Sinatra and Elvis. What does that imply about which group I should be stuffed into? Nothing. I attribute my lack of wealth to a divorce, not to any mysterious cultural forces. I do feel somewhat unfulfilled as far as a career, but that was entirely my own fault, or not even "fault." I needed more time to process certain emotional issues in my teens and 20s and could not leap onto the college to career train at the optimal moment. As far as being pessimistic and cynical, I have no way to objectively judge if I am more or less so than people of different generations. Sometimes writers just make shit up because they have to get an article in by a deadline or want to say something edgy for attention. Not saying this is that. I don't know.

Anyway. I had a great lunch at Belmont Brewing Company in Long Beach the other day and learned that "flatbread" can be like a pizza! I had no idea; I've always ignored flatbreads on the menu due to the term itself sounding unappealing. Flat bread. Who wants that? But I ordered a veggie one due to curiosity plus nothing else struck my fancy, and it was absolutely delicious. I could only eat half, and the leftovers were yummy too. 

This weekend I binge-watched 11.22.63, the Netflix miniseries based on the Stephen King novel. I had never read the book, but I vaguely knew it was about a teacher traveling back in time to try to stop the JFK assassination. James Franco starred as Jake Epping and did a great job. I did have some problems with logistics; for example, at one point Jake's mentor told him that if Jake returned to the current year, everything he had changed in the past would be undone and go back to "normal." But then the movie ignored that whole concept, and Jake did return, twice, and that didn't happen. There were a couple other glitches as well, plus at various points the story became tedious and overly complicated. Like why not just kill Oswald or prevent him from leaving his house on that date? Instead, they (Jake plus his sidekick who was also in on the plan) dove into this whole mishmash about trying to see if Oswald was working for someone else, rented a place near him to spy on him, got involved with other characters, etc. In any case, the current day turns out worse if JFK lives, so that was interesting, and I would have liked to have heard more about it. The novel is considered one of King's best, blending science fiction and historical fiction, so I may have to add it to my ever-growing TBR pile. 

Midafternoon Musings

[I began this post midafternoon, but only wrote one paragraph. I finished it later at night.]

I stopped watching Dept. Q because it was nonstop downersauce. The acting was great, but every aspect of the various storylines was depressing, especially the one where a woman was being tortured for years. In a weird way, the realistic vibe worked against it for me. I would rather discover a show that’s darkly fun and completely unbelievable (like Manifest) as opposed to a series like Q that feels as if it could have happened.

IDK... I get that it's important to learn and grow from art, to expand one's perspective, etc., but I still come back to the fact that real life is depressing enough (my god, have you seen the news? nonstop horror!), and so I would like my entertainment to be, well, entertaining. I want love and romance and music and fun, not death and despair and torture and disasters. Ugh. And, as I noted above, if something is dark, then let it be a fantasy rather than something trying to mirror reality. That's just me.

Honestly, I think I might start watching the Christmas romcoms again in August. Those are guaranteed to be silly and upbeat. The great thing about them is that there are always new ones with new twists, but they all have a happy ending.

I read The Sublet by Greer Hendricks (short mystery) and gave it only two stars. I have nothing much to say about it other than it didn't interest me. I also read The Legend of the Seventh Virgin by Victoria Holt (historical romance novel) and gave it five stars. Yeah, from one extreme to the other. This was probably my favorite (or at least one of) VH's books. It was so involved, with such impressively complex characters and interesting (unexpected) twists. Just wow. I am so impressed by VH the more I reread her, especially compared to other more contemporary authors who don't dive deeply into their characters.

It's now past the date (July 27) when I can "return" Inky and trade her for another kitty without paying a new fee, and I can't even imagine. I already love her so much and consider her a family member. She is so sweet and adorable with the cutest quirks. I'm so happy we found each other! Yes, I still miss Gatsby and always will. He remains in my heart with my mom and others I have loved.

This week I am enjoying Substack more and Bluesky less. We'll see if that continues.

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!

Happy Fourth Eve

Actually I don’t feel much like celebrating July 4 this year (because reasons), and in any case I prefer to stay home with Inky ~ hopefully she won’t be too spooked by the fireworks. My friend L is coming over tomorrow to meet Inky and have lunch, so that will be nice. We plan to play games too and maybe watch a movie.

Inky is on Insta! Check out her pics if you wish.

She is continuing to adapt to being my spoiled rotten baby. She now lets me pet her several times a day (and she always purrs), but she prefers to be petted through the bars of a chair back, as if she somehow knows that I can’t pick her up that way. I did pick her up once, and while she didn’t freak out, she definitely didn’t like it. She's not super active so far and usually plays only when I'm around (my housemate says Inky stays on a dining room chair most of the day while I'm at work), and she definitely enjoys her meals. I've always fed my cats at will, so I hope that can continue with her and I won't have to restrict her food intake due to weight gain. I still can’t get over how beautiful she is, as if she were carved from the night sky.

*

My eyes are mostly better this week so I read another Victoria Holt novel: Lament for a Lost Lover. It's one of the stories from the Daughters of England series, and I gave it four stars. I enjoyed the character development and plot twists, plus the historical insights, which were nicely woven into the plot. (I wish I had read this series in order.) I began Knave of Hearts but soon realized I had read it recently under a different title (Zipporah's Daughter), so it went straight to the library donation pile. Next I read Missing in Flight, a mystery/ suspense novel by Audrey Cole, which kept me on the edge of my seat. Four stars for this fast-paced read. 

I finished The Watcher (Netflix miniseries), and I didn't think it was that good, but I did want to find out what happened. The ending wasn't very satisfying however. I love a good real estate themed story, but this one was too crazy and left unresolved issues, plus I can’t stand Jennifer Coolidge.

Have a good holiday, if you are celebrating, and stay safe!

Creme de Menthe

I have been brainstorming names for cats, since I plan to have one adopt me soon (wonder what she will name me?). Mostly I imagine getting a pure sleek black cat and focus on dark names like Raven and Nyxie and Nori (as in Noir, not seaweed), though there may not be a black cat available when I go to the shelter, so I need alternatives. I see that at the moment on their website there are female brown/ white/ orange kitties in the age range I would like, so I am gathering potential names for them. 

I like the name Confetti or Cupcake for a mixed color cat (AI suggestions), and I also thought of Sundae or Parfait, the latter of which reminds me of the creme de menthe parfaits I loved as a kid. Back in those days, it was no biggie for a child to have alcohol in a restaurant with their parents. These days, you can buy your kid a gun but not a beer, not that I want to get into politics here. The bigger question is why the heck did I like creme de menthe? It’s hideous! It tastes like melted toothpaste. If I had some now, I would barf. Well, most alcohol makes me barf, sadly, along with triggering a migraine. Ah, the days of wine and… more wine and fireballs and margaritas and mojitos and Bailey’s. You can keep the roses.

Anyway, I’m going to find my next soulmate kitty at the same place I met Gatsby (Orange County Animal Shelter). Whichever sweetie is there and connects with me next Friday will be The One. No more sketchy stuff with posts on forums about demented neighbors, powers of attorney, dead nephews, etc. I don’t want the adoption to be questioned.

I still miss Gatsby terribly; sometimes when I’m about to fall asleep I feel a little bump like he just jumped on the bed for a snuggle. I loved him so much.

*

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Sutanto was a fun short story with a nice twist at the end, and I gave it four stars. I created a challenge category for it: takes place in one day. It’s fun to create my own categories after the fact, knowing that my reads are not “going to waste” but instead will help me get to 100 books faster. Well, actually I am already over 100 books for the year, but I didn’t think of adapting the challenge to the books (like a Procrustean bed) until this week.

Slow Burner by Laura Lippman had a similar ending, but the twist was so much fun that I had to give it the full five stars. It was also a short, quick read. For this, I created another challenge category: involves a Greek myth. How the peacock’s tail feathers got their “eyes” is one of my favorites.

Next up is Ushers by Joe Hill, a fun short story, though a bit predictable at the end as horror often is. Four stars for the clever interview format and for keeping my interest throughout. My self-created challenge category for this one is: author’s parent is a famous writer. Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King. (I enjoyed Joe’s debut novel Heart-Shaped Box years ago.)

Another recent shorty was A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews ~ this one was a romance novella. The romance was meh, but the historical aspects were very interesting (and I dived into them further after finishing the book), so I awarded this book three stars. The title refers to the actual history of gas lighting in England, not to the psychological tactic of “gaslighting.” I didn’t have to create a category here, since it fit into the requirement of taking place during the holidays.

* 

I finished Sirens on Netflix ~ only five episodes total. It became more enjoyable as it went on, which had a lot to do with the increased screen time of Kevin Bacon, and I recommend it.

I also rewatched The Hating Game just because. It’s on Hulu. Speaking of Hulu and romance, I am completely over the Bachelor franchise. The last couple I rooted for broke up recently, as most of them do, and it’s starting to feel like a scam. Contestants audition for Bachelor Nation shows to become famous and get exposure for their Instagram accounts, it seems, not to find true love. The whole concept of “influencing” makes me gag. Get a real job!

One Hundredth Post

My first post on this reanimated blog was on August 12, 2024 ~ an impulsive act due to my desire to write about a movie. On my old WordPress blog, I would post a hundred times a month, filling the space with all kinds of pointless crap. Well, there’s still plenty of pointless crap here too, just at a much slower pace. And now I’ve hit the 100 post milestone, woohoo.

I thought at first that I would write lots of in-depth reviews, but it turns out that’s boring, so I mostly just write a few lines about what I’ve read/ watched, and that’s enough. I don’t do prompts or post pics or links to songs, nor do I say much about politics. All that is a giant drag, but it fills most of social media, as opposed to any original thought. I try to form my own opinions, not that I feel compelled to shout them all in public. 

I have a confession: when I shared the link to my Kitty vs Man post and a bunch of Facebook friends showed up to read/ react/ comment, that felt pretty pretty pretty good. Sometimes I miss that type of feedback, so the next time I write a funny (not book reviews, since most of my friends don’t read fiction for pleasure, which is something I will never understand), I will share it on FB. Don’t hold your breath ~ it could be another year before I am clever again.

Speaking of books, yesterday I almost abandoned the 2025 Reading Challenge because every book I started for the “recommended on Facebook” category was a DNF. The heck with this, I thought, imma read what I want instead and get through these huge TBR piles. But then… epiphany! There’s nothing sacred about the challenge; it’s just a bunch of random ideas jumbled together. So why can’t I simply change their categories into my own based on the books I wanna read when I can’t fit something into theirs? No reason whatsoever.

For my first self-created challenge category of “woman falls in love with her rapist,” I read The Demon Lover by Victoria Holt and gave it two stars. Usually, I rate her books higher, but this one was so annoying. This wasn’t my first encounter with the WFILWHR trope from Ms. Holt, but it was especially galling here given that the “heroine” was supposed to be highly intelligent and independent. I barely even consider Demon Lover to be a romance novel, bleh. 

The second SCCC is “MC falls in love with the boy next door.” The India Fan by Victoria Holt inspired this challenge category, and I enjoyed the novel very much. It was truly romantic (as well as historical fiction), and the novel contained exciting adventures/ travel along with local color and interesting side characters. Yay!

Onto the next hundred…

The Hating Game

In our previous episode, I mentioned that I had read The Hating Game, a contemporary romance by Sally Thorne, and gave it four stars. Yesterday I was poking around Netflix and saw that there was a romcom made from the book, so naturally I had to watch it. Generally, books are better than their movies, but this one was a close call. First, the casting was perfect with Lucy Hale as Lucy Hutton and Austin Stowell as Josh Templeman. Second, some of the slower and more repetitive parts of the novel were sped up in the movie, which was a good thing. Third, the chemistry between Lucy and Josh was super hot, and we could see that immediately in the movie, while it wasn't as clear in the book. There were moments that needed to be lingered over though, and in the movie they zipped past too fast. The movie glossed over the backgrounds of the main characters, but that info was needed for more of an understanding of their insecurities and motivations. In the movie, the job situation was wrapped up neatly with a bow, which was fine, but the book left things more ambiguous. which created the impression that their relationship would transcend whatever happened in their careers. If I could do it over, I would watch the movie first and then read the book.

Today I finished My Heart's Desire by Andrea Kane. The only reason I read this is because it was the 25th anniversary edition, which I needed for a box on my 2025 Reading Challenge. Apparently, it is a much-beloved historical romance (taking place at the start of the War of 1812), but I didn't care for it and gave it only two stars. I found the main characters shallow and boring, and the "plot" consisted of them becoming periodically enraged at each other over nothing just so they could have explosive makeup sex. Oh, there was another aspect to the story, which is that someone was trying to murder our dashing hero, but sadly the reader knew who it was the whole time so there wasn't even a fun mystery to solve.

I also read Kill for Me, Kill for You, a thriller by Steve Cavanaugh (a book club selection). This was a very layered, complex novel with interesting characters and incredible plot twists, and I liked it a lot. One of the major twists left me completely "gob smacked" as they say, but looking back I could have seen it coming. Didn't though! Four stars.

I watched another episode of Sirens, the third one I think, and I liked it but not enough to binge. I will watch them sedately, lol. I quit watching S2 of Nine Perfect Strangers because the new group of nine simply did not intrigue me like the first group did, despite Christine Baranski being one of the nine. Oh well. I will just have to watch her in the Mamma Mia movies 500 more times.

My friend L taught me how to play Farkle today, which was fun, and we also played Qwirkle, which is a good name for a pet. In fact, when I was still writing, I gave a dog that name. Alas, that WIP will sit in its folder for all eternity now. 

Speaking of pets, I've been messaging with a woman from a local forum who is trying to find a home for a neighborhood kitty whose owner can no longer care for her. I'm going to meet the kitty tomorrow night after work. She is an all black cat with golden eyes, and her name is Midnight. I will of course let you all know what happens.

The Ship of Theseus

I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the concept of self the day two days after my birthday. The title refers to a philosophical thought experiment where you are to imagine that over time every part of a ship has been replaced by a new part. When the project is done, is it still the same ship? How about if all the replaced parts of that ship are put together in a different location to create another ship… would this ship be a new ship or the old ship?

No, I have not had any plastic surgery ~ I just thought that this ship dilemma was interesting. It isn’t a trick, and I do not have an answer, other than to say how I often describe myself as being a geographical entity. I mean that “I” right now am a specific collection of cells hanging out in a precise location. I differentiate myself from others in this manner; no one else has these cells at this GPS location. I can move my cells to a new GPS location in the bathroom or the car and still be me, but what if only one cell was moved or ten or a million? At what point would there be no me? I don’t know. 

Would “I” continue to be me if all of my likes, dislikes, memories, mental abilities, etc., were uploaded into a computer program? I don’t know, but I tend towards no, at least not at the present time from the little I grok about technology. Would there be consciousness of the self? Dreams? Hopes? Anxieties? All the inconsistent me-ness of me? Maybe someday.

*

Anyway, I have read more of the Daughters of England stories written by Victoria Holt (aka Philippa Carr), and I notice they’re very uneven as far as endings, character development, info dumps, typos, etc. After reading 15 out of the 20 DOE books in this series (the last novel, Daughters of England [published posthumously], may have been ghostwritten, no pun intended), I can’t make generalizations about the series as a whole.

As I mentioned earlier, a few are not even romance novels ~ they don't have happy endings or even happy for now final scenes. Sometimes there are historical info dumps, but I would rather read the opinions of the characters because that's more interesting to me. Some of the DOE books focus on character driven storylines, while in others the protagonist is at the whim of her environment and doesn't seem to have much agency. Some DOE books are riddled with typos and other mistakes. Others seem to cut off abruptly without a real ending. My ratings on Goodreads thus vary from two stars to five.

If I weren’t so OCD, I’d probably move on from the Victoria Holt books now, but I am, so I’m not. I still have a few on hold at the library, and I have used ones coming from eBay. I managed to find all of the DOE novels and many of the other stand-alone Holt books. There are 52 in my list that I either have or can easily obtain (she wrote over 200!), plus as you know, I am still working on the 2025 Reading Challenge. Not to mention the 3-5 books I commit to read each month for my book clubs. This year, so far, I’ve read 81 books, which is insane. But here we are.

Today I finished We'll Meet Again, which was set during WW2 ~ I generally don't read those, but this was part of a series so I had to obviously ~ and it was really good! In a lovely case of serendipity, the protagonist turned 25 during the story, so this book satisfied my 2025 Reading Challenge requirement for that specific age of the MC. (What a silly requirement!) I was happy to cross off that box.

I decided I don’t want to give away all the new physical books I read, so this weekend imma look for shelves. The used books and the throwaway psycho thrillers will get donated, but the new series books will stay (esp if they have gorgeous covers), along with old faves I have in a box.

Five Year Engagement

I watched The Five-Year Engagement, a 2012 romcom, on Netflix last weekend. It stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt (I love Emily), and is rather well done for a story without a plot. Couple gets engaged, life happens, wedding gets continually postponed, couple grows apart, breakup occurs, couple realizes they love each other all over again, wedding happens. Not too exciting, but the film does a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of relationships instead of just skimming the surface, so that was interesting. There was a lot of humor too. 

I began reading No Exit ~ not the Sartre play but a 2017 "thriller" by Taylor Adams, which was made into a film by Hulu. Despite the supposedly dramatic premise of a college woman stranded in a blizzard at a rest stop with one or more very bad dudes, the story plodded along at an excruciating slow pace with a ton of inner monologue and repetitive thoughts. The protagonist came across as a total moron too, as did the rest of the characters. In an attempt to move things along, I downloaded the audio and played it at 1.5 while doing some chores and later driving. This was my first real audiobook experience, and I hated it just as I expected to. I kept wishing everyone would die so the book would end... eventually that sort of did happen, but it took way too long to get there. I can't even imagine how horrible the movie version is. Shudder. One star.

Oh, that book fit the 2025 reading challenge category of (you guessed it)... "became a movie," which is the only reason I did not DNF it.

You know that in addition to the "official" 2025 reading challenge, I have also challenged myself to read/reread all the Victoria Holt (aka Philippa Carr) novels I can find. So far, I have located 48 of them and finished reading 22. I'm not super inclined to buy them all new from Amazon, as I don't want a collection and donate any physical books soon after reading, so I've been getting some at the library and some used off eBay. My reading has thus been haphazard ~ late in the game I realized that it would have made sense to start at the beginning of the Daughters of England series (not all Holt's books are part of that series), but I didn't, so that's that. Anyway, this week I read the first novel in the series, The Miracle at St. Bruno's, which was originally published in 1974, and I gave it only two stars. It was pretty dull with loads of droning dialog and narration about English politics during the reign of Henry the VIII. There wasn't much romance, nor was there a happy ending. I wouldn't even call this a romance novel, though many of Holt's other books definitely are. It's historical fiction, I guess. If I'd read this one first, I might not have been motivated to continue! Many of her others contain history, but they are more character driven. I don't actually think I read Bruno back in the 1970s/1980s when I first discovered my fondness for Holt's books ~ I had no vague recollections while reading it like I did some of the others.

Anyway, juxtaposing The Five-Year Engagement with The Miracle at St. Bruno's gives us a good idea how external factors can really screw up a love match, whether it's your drunken sister getting preggo at your engagement party with your fiancé's best friend, or Catholics and Protestants murdering each other to confiscate land. We like to believe "love conquers all," but that's pretty naive. Hell, men living in Los Angeles won't even cross the Orange County line to go on a date, and that's a lot less brutal than having to move to Michigan or being tortured for your religious beliefs. Or maybe it's not. The 405 really does suck. 

OK, only three reviews tonight because my book club leader just gave us an assignment to read 100-150 pages of a book in the next 24 hours. Yikes! I'd better get started...

Pillories and Pall Malls

The weekend slid away from me, though not in a bad way ~ I accomplished most of the tasks on my list, but I never ended up having the time to paint. Some may think that I've been deliberately avoiding getting out a canvas again because I am usually so displeased with the results. That's probably partly true. It's also true that I need to feel a surge of creative energy early in the day in order to be motivated to paint, plus I must have a block of 3-4 hours of uninterrupted quiet time. These factors have not coincided for a while. Painting isn't like poetry: when inspiration strikes, I can write verse anytime, anywhere, and it doesn't matter if I'm tired or if there is chaos all around me. I guess painting is more like novel writing for me... I need a lot of time just to get in the mood to get started. Does that mean I shouldn't bother at all? I don't think so. I've written a few novels I’m proud of, and there are paintings I've done that I liked so much I hung on my wall. I suspect I will return to both hobbies eventually.

It's Sunday night now, and I have the block of time but not the surge of energy, so I figured I would write a post to publish in the morning. January 20, 2025 is notable for several reasons. First, we celebrate the life of a great man, Dr. MLK Jr. Second, a convicted felon will take the inaugural oath to become the 47th President of the United States. Some people are happy about this, while others, like myself, find it disgusting, terrifying, heartbreaking, etc. Perhaps we shall be proven wrong and everything will be "great again,” but I doubt it. (NB: the US was never great, but it was getting better until it started going backwards.) 

Third, the Santa Ana winds are returning to Southern California Monday night, and thus the horrible, dry conditions for more devastating firestorms will be present. I fervently hope there are no more fires and that all the poor people who lost so much during the previous ones can begin to recover. Fourth, I was very moved by the long overdue return of the three hostages in Israel. May the rest of the hostages be alive and healthy! May the terrorists released from Israeli jails in trade not cause any more harm. Fifth, I have a dental appointment at 8am, which is not exciting, but I forgot about it until the office called Friday to remind me. Obviously, I've been flossing like a maniac.

I read The Love Child by Philippa Carr (aka Victoria Holt). This was a fab read, and I gave the book five stars. All my life, I have increased my vocab and my history knowledge via historical romance novels. It's so much more interesting to learn in this way than from dusty, dreary schoolbooks. I had always assumed that stocks and pillories were the same thing, but they aren't, and the use of "pillory" in this book prompted me to look up the definition of both. A pillory is that locking wooden frame where someone is forced to stand uncomfortably for however long with hands and head sticking out of the front. Not only is it painful and humiliating, but also passersby can abuse the person. Stocks are just for hands and/or feet, no headlock, so in comparison being assigned to the stocks is somewhat of a lesser punishment.

I also looked up Pall Mall, which goes back a lot farther than the cigarette brand some of us may have heard of. Pall Mall was a 16th-17th century game, played with a wooden ball and a mallet, where the object was to whack the ball down an alley and through a ring in as few strokes as possible. The alley was also referred to as the Pall Mall. If the game sounds similar to croquet, that's because it is. When the game fell out of fashion, some of the Pall Malls turned into shopping areas... and were simply called malls. Did you know that? I didn't! 

Love Child ticks the box on my 2025 Reading Challenge as a book that takes place in a foreign land. Hey, England is foreign, and the main character was in Italy for a while too. I checked the "involves a sport" box with The Unraveling by VI Keeland. The MC's dead husband was an ice hockey player, and that fact is relevant to the story. This was an enjoyable read ~ I gave it three stars ~ but it wasn't great, and I found the ending very confusing. Spoilers!

The premise is that Meredith, a drunken psychiatrist, is stalking Gabriel because he looks too happy to be someone who had recently lost his wife and daughter in a car accident, and she gets obsessed with the need to discover how he is coping. Meredith's dead husband was the drunk driver who killed them, and Meredith is not coping well at all. DH had also been addicted to oxy due to an ice hockey injury, and he stole Meredith's prescription pads to get more drugs. Meredith knew the pads were gone, did nothing, and now blames herself for the deaths (as she should). She's consumed with guilt bla bla, but despite that she becomes super attracted to Gabriel. He appears to feel the same. She breaks doctor/patient rules many times, while steadily increasing her drinking.

There are all these weird coincidences where they keep running into each other (in NYC, no less), but then it turns out Gabriel is stalking Meredith. Why? His motivation is completely unclear (and we get only one short chapter at the end from his POV) ~ Gabriel was cheating on his wife and may have told his unhinged girlfriend to kill her by pushing her in front of a car (very iffy way to attempt a murder). If so, why would he stalk the dead driver’s widow afterwards? And why was the wacko girlfriend also stalking Meredith? It's all a big tangled blob, but who really cares since none of the characters are the least bit sympathetic, except maybe the dead wife and kid, but we don't get to know them in the story.

That's it. Have a good week.