Quick notes and thoughts on the eight books I got through in January.
BILLY SUMMERS by Stephen King
Genre: Contemporary Action | Length: 528 pages | Tags: assassination, military PTSD, fugitives on the run, mismatched partners in crime
10-Second Summary: Washed-up sniper Billy Summers makes a living out of assassinating “bad guys.” After a successful job takes a treacherous turn, he finds himself on the run from both the law and the men who hired him. Along the way, fate has him cross paths with Alice, a troubled teen who alternately serves as the buoyant force that keeps him kicking and the anchor that drags him down.
Love it or Leave it? Leave it. I’m sure they’ll make a Billy Summers movie or TV show and in the process, they’ll sanitize the heck out of it and hopefully do away with most of the sexual weirdness that makes this book so indigestible.
Score: 2.5/5 stars
IN THE WEEDS by Tom Vitale
Genre: Memoir | Length: 304 pages | Tags: Anthony Bourdain, culinary tourism, TV behind the scenes, eulogy
10-Second Summary: Tom Vitale spent a little over a decade chasing chef-turned-travel-personality Anthony Bourdain around the world. This intimate memoir chronicles the eleven years Tom devoted to filming Bourdain’s show and offers an unfiltered look into the chaotic life of one of the most lovable and mercurial celebrities of the 21st century.
Love it or Leave it? Love it. I laughed out loud, I almost cried, I got angry, I got nostalgic… it was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, and I never wanted it to end. A brutally honest tribute that would no doubt have Tony cursing and applauding.
Score: 4.5/5 stars
THE LAST DUEL by Eric Jager
Genre: Medieval Non-Fiction | Length: 256 pages | Tags: medieval France, jousting, women’s rights (or lack thereof), movie adaptations
10-Second Summary: When Jean Carrouges is confronted with the news that his wife Marguerite has been raped by his fellow squire, he triggers a chain of events that culminates in the deadly decision: he and the accused Jacques LeGris will duel to the death under the assumption that God will bless the truthful party and guide them to victory. But it’s not just Carrouges and LeGris’ lives who are at stake: should her husband lose the duel, pregnant Marguerite will be deemed a liar and burned alive.
Love it or Leave it? Leave it, but watch the movie. The film adaptation ups the drama and covers about 85% of the content in the book.
Score: 3.5/5 stars
A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy | Length: 336 pages | Tags: magical boarding school, teen angst, unlovable narrator, malevolent setting
10-Second Summary: High school junior Galadriel is friendless. Her lone wolf act wouldn’t be an issue at a normal school but unfortunately, Gal attends a magical prep academy where less than 50% of each class makes it out of graduation alive. Forced to make connections out of necessity, she gathers an eclectic array of allies and tries to make it through another semester unscathed.
Love it or Leave it? Conflicted… but leaning towards leave it. It’ll be a much better TV show than a book (seriously, it’s primo CW fodder).
Score: 3/5 stars
BEASTS OF A LITTLE LAND by Juhea Kim
Genre: Historical Fiction | Length: 576 pages | Tags: Korea, Japan, Asian political schema, prostitution, communism
10-Second Summary: During one of the most turbulent chapters of Korean history, a shy courtesan named Jade comes of age. Her tale serves as the focal point and driving force of the story, but along the way, a richly-imagined cast of secondary characters seamlessly weaves their stories with hers. The result is a beautifully tangled web of loves and losses that spans nearly a century and refuses to release the people it ensnares.
Love it or Leave it? Love it. It’s a book you find yourself reading with all five senses.
Score: 4.5/5 stars
A THOUSAND SHIPS by Natalie Haynes
Genre: Mythological/Historical Fiction | Length: 368 pages | Tags: The Iliad, The Odyssey, Greek gods, the tragedy of womanhood
10-Second Summary: Behind almost every male hero is a woman: a mother, a sister, a wife, a daughter, a mistress. A Thousand Ships shoos the men of the Iliad and the Odyssey off stage and wrangles the women who birthed them, loved them, and despised them. Amassed as one powerful ensemble cast, goddesses and mortals alike take turns telling their oft-overlooked stories.
Love it or Leave it? ADORED it. Poetic and educational all at once, A Thousand Ships is solidly in my top ten all-time favorites list.
Score: 5/5 stars
THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis
Genre: Historical Fiction | Length: 352 pages | Tags: New York, high society, art history, dual timelines
10-Second Summary: It’s 1915 and teenager Lillian Carter is in the midst of becoming Angelica: a nude muse for the most renowned artists in New York City, and the inspiration behind nearly every female bust of note in the bustling metropolis. Five years later when the Spanish flu robs her of her mother and a sordid murder sullies her good name, Lillian is forced to abandon Angelica and go to work as a maid for the Fricks, one of NYC’s richest families.
Love it or Leave it? Love is a little strong, let’s go with liked it. It wasn’t exactly a revelation but it was still a quick, fun read- precisely what I want from my BOTM books.
Score: 3.5/5 stars
BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY by Qian Julie Wang
Genre: Memoir | Length: 320 pages | Tags: China, New York, illegal immigration, poverty, public school
10-Second Summary: Little Qian and her mother arrive in America on the heels of her father, but Mei Guo– the Chinese name for America, which translates to Beautiful Country- isn’t nearly as beautiful as they’ve been led to believe. Forced to swallow their pride and adapt to life below the poverty line, Qian recounts her formative years in the slums of New York with an equal measure of tenderness and disdain.
Love it or Leave it? Again, loved it feels a little strong so we’ll go with liked it. It’s an important glimpse into a reality that most people would rather ignore. What keeps this from being a “loved it” is that I kept getting distracted by how negatively the author wrote about her childhood self. She paints herself as brash and even repulsive for most of the book but she was literally an elementary school kid. The lack of self-love and the borderline intolerance for herself is offputting.
Score: 3.5/5 stars
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