June 2024 in Books

I'm late (again) with my last month's reading recap, but I can blame it on vacation this time.  Overall a pretty good month of reading although there were a couple of duds in the mix. 

The Last Murder at the End of the World - Stuart Turton - fiction - five stars - Turton's books always have interesting premises and twists that you aren't expecting.  This book takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the last vestiges of humanity, three scientists and 120 some villagers, live on an island with a protective shield around the fog that has destroyed the world.  A murder is about to occur, and the books takes the reader through the timeline before and after the murder.  Told from a number of different view points, this one keeps you on your toes with a number of twists and turns that are not at all expected.  Great read.

The Paris Novel - Ruth Reichl - fiction - four stars - I'm a huge fan of Reichl and have read all her books.  If you have never read Garlic and Sapphires it should be at the top of your TBR list.  This book isn't as good as her others, but still a fun and easy read.  Stella has always lived a very prescribed, frugal, likef.  When her mother, who she is not at all close to, dies and leaves her a small amount of funds with instructions to go to Paris.  She's reluctant to go, but does at the urging of her boss.  In Paris she continues her frugal, predictable ways until she sees a beautiful dress in a store window.  This leads to a day of adventures in Paris which sets her off in a whole different trajectory.  She learns about herself, her mother, and her history.  Not as good as her prior books, but still a fun read.

Goddess of the River - Vaishnavi Patel - fiction - four stars - I really enjoyed Patel's previous book Kaikeyi.  This one was good, but not as successful as that one.  I don't know a lot about Hindu mythology, but I think that part of the flaw of the book is that Ganga the heroine, is involved in so much of the mythology and stories that it's hard to boil the book down to focus on her.  Or perhaps that Patel wanted to include too many ancillary story lines in the book.  It just seemed less focused than her previous books and the other story lines seemed to slow the main plot.  Still, I am a big fan of mythology and I loved hearing some of those stories from other cultures that I'm not familiar with.

Last House - Jessica Shattuck - fiction - three stars - Closer to two and a half stars, rounded up.  I thought this book was going to be good, but it was a disappointment.  It's about the Taylor family.  It starts early on when Nick Taylor and his wife are just getting started, building career and home.  Nick works for American Oil and is recruited in that endeavor to assist the CIA, although specifics are not provided it's implied that he provides some amount of assistance.  His wife Bet worked as a codebreaker during the war and is now a stay at home mom.  This was one storyline which I felt should have been explored more.  She had this interesting backstory and then kind of faded out of the book.  The second part of the book is about their kids Katherine and Harry.  Katherine become an anti-war, anti-establishment activist and her brother is somewhat adrift, only really feeling at home at Last House, a summer home that Nick bought long ago.  This story really never quite got off the ground and then really fizzled once it got to the second half focused on the kids.  Meh.

Lucky - Jane Smiley - fiction - two stars - This one was a clunker.  It's the story of Jodie Rattler, a musician was only somewhat successful, but who had an uncle who invested well for her, so she really hasn't had to worry about work, etc.  It covers Jodie's life, growing up and through later life.  There is not really an arc to this story, it's kind of a straight line, and a lot of it isn't that interesting.  The one part that was compelling to me was reading about Jodie and her family as they dealt with aging and death, first of her grandparents and then her mother.  If I had the chance to do it again, I would have skipped this one.

The One and Only Family (The One and Only Ivan, #4) - Katherine Applegate - juvenile fiction - four stars - This is the final book in the series.  In this book Ivan and Kinyani are expecting.  Ivan has to work through his feelings prior to the arrival of his kids as well as after.  He struggles with the fact that his kids will never be free as well as how to protect them.  This one wasn't as good as the rest of the books, but still a good ending to the series.

Neighbors and Other Stories - Diane Oliver - short stories - five stars - Oliver was an author in the 60s before passing away at the age of 22.  Her short stories have been 'rediscovered' and have now been released.  They deal with racism and prejudice and are thought provoking and even disturbing.  Excellent read.

Summers at the Saint - Marky Kay Andrews - fiction - five stars - Traci Eddings runs the St. Cecilia hotel which is sruggling to regain it's footing following the death of her husband and COVID.  She's recruited a group of young employees to help with its resurgence, including her niece Parrish.  When tragedy strikes, and someone is killed, Traci needs to find the culprit as well as determine why that individual was targeted.  As usual, Andrews' does a great job developing her characters.  Her books are a quick, fun reads.

Peace Like a River - Leif Enger - fiction - five stars - I really loved this book.  Reuben Land's family has a modest life, but they are a strong and united family.  His father is deeply devout and lives out his faith in all things.  And then Reuben's brother Davy is arrested for kiling two bullies who had been threatening their family.  On the night before his sentencing, Davy escapes.  Reuben and his family set out to try and find him while trailed by an FBI agent trying to find Davy as well.  Enger did an amazing job fleshing out the characters in this book and illustrating the conflicts facing Reuben.  I loved the themes of family, sacrifice, and faith.  Will definitely be reading more from this author!

Favorite this month was Peace Like a River and least favorite, clearly, was Lucky.  I'm currently reading Shelterwood which is good so far, but definitely on the sad side.  Would love to know what you guys have been reading!