I got a lot of reading done this month. I’m doing a Goodreads challenge to read 100 books this year. And I am 6 books ahead so far this year. But for this month, I read 10 books. A total of 4,096 pages. An average of 132 pages per day. So let’s get to it!
America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie (587 pages). Historical fiction again! This was the story of Martha (Patsy) Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter. When Patsy was 10 years old, her mother died not long after giving birth. Patsy devoted herself to her father, stepping into the role of mother to her two young sisters and of helpmate/protector to her father. Her story spans from Monticello to Paris (when Jefferson was ambassador) to the White House. She married a fellow Virginian and they had 12 children. Patsy was the only one of Jefferson’s children with his wife Martha who survived passed age 30. His children with Sally Hemings, however, survived far into adulthood. This novel explored the idea that Patsy knew of her father’s relationship with Sally. And her own relationship with William Short. The novel focused on letters, with each chapter starting with a few sentences from correspondence saved by the Jefferson family. When Jefferson died, he wanted only three things on his tombstone. Author of the American Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia. Not President, not Ambassador to France. Just those three things and not a word more. So Patsy is left, at his death, to determine which of his words she should burn and which she should leave for the world to learn. I finished in 6 days.
How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior (329 pages). My book club box book, so gifties are on Facebook and Insta. Wealthy and nearly 86 years old, Veronica McCreedy lives a rather lonely life in Scotland. She lived through the War and giving up her son for adoption. But as she gets older, she becomes more reflective. She manages to track down a grandson, Patrick, who she never knew existed. And one night, while watching a documentary, she comes to a big decision. She is going to meet the penguins of Locket Island, Antarctica. And there’s nothing anyone, even the scientists studying them, can say to stop her. After adopting an orphaned penguin (totally against policy), Veronica, Patrick and even the scientists begin to realize what family is all about. I finished in 3 days.
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad (230 pages). Technically a 28 day challenge to face personal white supremacy/privilege and to embrace anti racism. I found it rather eye opening. While I don’t think of myself as a racist person, I know that I, like most people, have both unconscious and subconscious racist thoughts and/or tendencies. This book brought them to my attention. Until I (or anyone) am aware of them, I cannot make a conscious effort to correct them. I finished in 5 days.
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (481 pages). I think I’d read one book by Allende years ago, but don’t remember it. I decided that I needed to add this, her debut and best known novel to my list. I knew (from Jane the Virgin) that Allende is the queen of the magical realism. But I didn’t really understand what that meant until I read this book. It follows several generations of the del Valle/Trueba families. Beginning with the del Valles’ and two of their daughters, Rosa the Beautiful and Clara the Clairvoyant, and stretching to their great granddaughter, Alba, the novel sweeps from city to hacienda, from wealthy to peasants, from Capitalists to Socialists, from anger to reconciliation. The mystical abilities of Clara are interwoven into the normalcy of familial struggle. I finished in 4 days.
The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger (461 pages). This was one of the most inventive novels I’ve read in quite some time. Sophie Diehl is a criminal law associate at a prestigious New England law firm in a fictional state. She is the only associate available when Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim schedules an appointment to discuss her upcoming divorce. Mia ends up insisting that Sophie take the case, despite her lack of experience. Turns out Sophie, for all her lack of experience, is the exact right lawyer to deal with this divorce. But the novel itself is basically all the correspondence that exists during a divorce proceeding- letters, emails, personal notes, court proceedings, etc- rather than an actual story. It was super creative! I finished in 2 days.
The Wardrobe Mistress by Meghan Masterson (303 pages). Back to my old favorite- historical fiction. This one was about one of Marie Antoinette’s dressers as the Revolution was happening (yes, it was not lost on me that I started it on Bastille Day!). Giselle is just 16 years old when she begins working at Versailles in 1789. While she agrees with the revolutionaries, she also feels great affection for the queen. Her loyalties are tested by her uncle (a former spy for the old kind who asks her to spy on the royals) and her fiancé (who is a young revolutionary himself). But as history unfolds before her, she realizes she has a front row seat to a new world. By 1793, when she is forced to watch her beloved queen die by guillotine, she and her now husband realize that the future they want in no longer in Paris. I finished in 3 days.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (517 pages). It’s the eve of the 10th Hunger Games. 18 year old Coriolanus Snow (yes, the future President Snow of The Hunger Games trilogy), his grandmother and his cousin Tigris are the last members of the illustrious Snow family, who’s fortunes were decimated with the destruction of District 13. This year, it had been decided that students will be assigned to mentor the tributes. And Coriolanus has been assigned to the female tribute from District 12 (the irony was not lost on me, as Katniss was District 12). Lucy Gray Baird is a member of the Covey, a gypsy like group of traveling musicians who got stuck in District 12 after the war. Lucy Gray immediately becomes the most popular tribute, with her beautiful singing voice and sassy attitude. She also quickly wins the heart of Coriolanus, who vows to do everything in his power to help her win. Even cheat if need be. But is he truly willing to risk everything for the love of a District girl? To realize that Coriolanus had once been a passionate and loving young man was heartbreaking when you realize what a horrendous man he was by the 74th Hunger Gomes. I finished in 4 days.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (336 pages). A little Turn of the Screw. And a lot freaky. Rowan lands a job nannying the four Elincourt daughters in Scotland. It seems like a dream job- high paying, the girls are sweet and the house is a smart house. But as soon as she starts the job, the parents are off on a work trip. And Rowan begins to realize that the job is more of a nightmare. When one of the daughters is found dead, Rowan is charged with her murder. The novel is actually a letter to a solicitor who she is begging to take the case. Because Rowan knows that, for all her mistakes, she did not kill a child. I finished in 3 days.
The Playground by Jane Shemilt (365 pages). Three London families’ lives intersect when their children join a tutoring group. Eve and Eric have three children (Poppy, Sorrel and Ash) and a seemingly perfect life (Eve comes from money so life is not a struggle). Grace and Martin have two children (Blake and Charley) and life is tough (Grace is an immigrant from Zimbabwe and they are struggling to make ends meet while Martin works on his next novel). Melissa and Paul have one child (Izzy) and a nightmare of a marriage (Melissa has to hide her bruises and Paul attempts to keep her from having any relationship with Izzy). But as the families become closer, the parents spend more time focused on each other and let the kids run free. Which is a big mistake. Because sometimes the games children play can lead to tragedies. I finished in 3 days.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (487 pages). It’s 1945 when 10 year old Daniel Sempere discovers a book by forgotten author Julian Carax. As he grows up and begins to work with his father in the family bookshop, he tries to find more of the works of this elusive author. He makes it his mission to learn everything he can about author and why there is a mysterious man burning every remaining copy of Carax’s works. Turns out there is so much more to Carax’s and Daniel’s stories- love, hatred, murder, deception, revenge. I finished in 6 days.
This month’s favorite was...The Turn of the Key. I think. I had like 7 favorites this month!
