Book Nook Cafe discussion

Here is the Folder and thread to tell us what your monthly reads for May
2025 were.

Please provide:
~ A GoodReads link
~ A few sentences telling us how you felt about the book.
~ How would you rate the book

Here are my May reads.

The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World
by Greg Ip
Genre: Non Fiction
Rate: 3/5 Good
Format: eBook
This book was published in 2010. So it's a bit dated. That said, the book is about the basics of economics so the publication date isn't a big issue. It's written in easy to understand language with limited jargon. If you want a refresher or just want to better understand the financial headlines, this short pithy book is for you.


The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century
by Scott Miller
Genre: Non Fiction
Rated: 4/5 very good
Format: eBook + audiobook
I thought this was an excellent look at the turbulent times around 1900. I was pleasantly surprised that the book covered a lot of ground. From the title, I thought it would only be about the assassination. In addition to learning about the assassination of the President we also learn about the sinking of The Maine, the Spanish American war, the anarchist movement and Emma Goldman, tariffs, the U.S. attempt at acquiring Cuba, the Philippians, Guam and Hawaii to name just a few things.

I have a minor quibble with he layout of the book so took one star off my rating. It did jump back and forth a bit between topics. Still, the book absolutely held my interest and I feel I learned a lot about that period in history.

I listened to the audio as I read along with the eBook. The narrator, Arthur Morey, did a fine job.


The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides
Genre: Fiction Rate 2/5- Did not meet my expectations
It's the story of a women who is accused of murdering her husband. She now is in a psychiatric hospital and unresponsive and mute. Theo, who has issues of his own, is her therapist.
I found this book a bit of a slog and the plot twists too unrealistic for my tastes.


A Dog Named Christmas
by Greg Kincaid
Fiction
Rated: 3 minus
Format: Audiobook + eBook
This one is about a family in Kansas. Their last child, Todd, is twenty and developmentally challenged. Todd hears on the radio that the local shelter is having a foster a dog for the Christmas holidays program. The father agrees but insists, over and over again to the son, that the dog goes back December 26th.

As expected the book has a Hallmark channel vibe. Though I did find the father very unlikeable and his insistence on teaching his son, who has an intellectual disability, a lesson about keeping promises, heartless. It's an okay book for the genre.

I did an immersive read as I listened to the audio as I read along with the eBook. The narration was well done by Mark Bramhall.


In a Sunburned Country
by Bill Bryson
Genre: Travelogue
Rate: 5/5
Format: eBook
Australia is the world's sixth largest country and its largest island. It's the only island that is also a continent and the only continent that is a country. Eighty percent of the population lives on the coasts.

Bryson always brings humor to his travels. Which makes this a fun read. Between the lethal heat, the killer wildlife and my general distain for the sun and heat, I think armchair traveling with Bryson is the way to go for me. That said, it does look like a very beautiful country and the people are said to be very friendly to tourists.

I do wish the book contained photos. However, I found YouTube videos really added a lot to my enjoyment. Each stop along his travels I went to YouTube and watched travel videos. The book is well researched without being pedantic and boring.

Decent month, Alias. I actually forgot you read the economics book. Your point about dated not being an issue is on-target, imo.

Thanks for writing these up again for us.

I am so behind in creating "reviews" of the books i read while we were gone, that i'm just going to list them here, no links and little comment. Most of these were for our Challenge, so when i write them up, you can read them on that thread.

Zen Attitude--Sujata Massey. This is a post apocalyptic novel, wherein the planet can no longer produce much food, due to climate changes, which include a sun-shading fog. However, MC "chef" has found a job for a wealthy man on his Italian mountaintop. All sorts of food, including gene-produced. While i didn't like this much, there were some good observations about such places.

City of Bones--Michael Connelly. Not for Challenge. Generally i do not read this type of book because they go so quickly. Good, yes. And i know Connelly's Harry Bosch is a winner, including his kindness for victims and some perpetrators. Not being able to pace myself is MY problem, but...well, you know, it's good. lol

American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal--Neil King Jr. is a book John mentioned earlier this year, i believe. It was interesting because he shares plenty of historic moments from the US past, but mixes them with people living in those "historic" areas today. That aspect pleased me. I also like walking books, finding this one better than many because he mainly stayed at Air B&B rentals. Ergo, less about camping out. Thanks, John.

The Awakening of Miss Prim--Natalia Sanmartín Fenollera. A woman arrives in a small French town to work as a librarian for a somewhat wealthy man, who is raising his late sister's children. The entire town is peculiar, in that they all pretty much agreed to be sort of "out of touch" with cultural progress, even though computers exist, as an example. This suits Miss Prim. Still not certain how i feel about this one.

Ginger Pye--Eleanor Estes. This is a YA, about a family of four who adopt a dog. I think this was set in the late 40s or early 50s, as this was for my 50s Challenge. It was cute, touching on some history. Overall, it sounded so like children, i was pleased.

The Martian Chronicles--Ray Bradbury. Imagine Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio set on Mars. Each chapter is a story of its own, covering many years. It is different but i liked it very much, oddities and all.

Childhood’s End--Arthur C. Clarke. Aliens arrive on Earth and we follow citizens over the centuries, adjusting to the relatively harmless changes. This one surprised and pleased me very much. I had no idea.

A Kiss Before Dying--Ira Levin. These last 4 have been for my 1950-published Challenge. In this "mystery", maybe thriller?, not sure, each chapter is named for a different woman, each sister to the next. Their father is wealthy & a man is seeking them out to marry into that wealth. That's all i say. I liked it.

These brief reviews are fine, Deb.

You sure had a busy reading month. You only had one that didn't please you. That's nice reading month in my book !

My May reads (see longer reviews in the Book Salon)

The Book of Lost Names 2*. I did not care for the passive tense of the writing or the story

A Separate Peace 4*. This was a reread from a long time ago (high school) and I enjoyed reading it from an older. adult perspective

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy 4*. Posits an interesting, SciFi "cure" for generational trauma. Enjoyed the story and characters

Five Winters 4*. Though tagged "romance" it was really about a characters journey to motherhood

The Garden Party and Other Stories 4*. The story Miss Brill is haunting in its representation of human cruelty, achieved in just one sentence.

Anne of Avonlea 5*. Anne's journey to adulthood, ages 16-18 or so.

These Precious Days: Essays 4*. The title essay is a heartfelt paean to friendship

Hello everyone! For the month of May, I read four books.

The first book I read in May was Death on The Nile by Agatha Christie. To read my full review, you can go here.

A rich lady named Linnet is murdered on a ship on the Nile and Hercule Poirot goes on a quest to find out who dun did it.

I'll be honest. I don't think this was one of Christie's best. But that doesn't mean it's bad. I feel that this book has some of the best character building in the entire Hercule Poirot series by far. Like, I'm not even kidding. I also think this helped the book avoid the whole "there's too many characters and I'm struggling to figure out whose who" issue and made the (generally terrible) idea of having the inciting incident take place nearly halfway through actually work.

However, it does have some serious issues. On top of having a part that has way too many similarities to a part in Murder on The Orient Express involving the murder victim, the ending is just straight up godawful. To make a very long story short, it relies way too much on cheap tricks like dumb luck, making characters uncharacteristically dumb, and so many coincidences that it's not even funny. Like, the only way this ending makes sense is if it was done out of publisher/editor meddling.

Rating: B-

Second was Tenure by Blaine L. Pardoe and Mike Baron. I wrote a whole review on it and if you wish to read it, please go here.

Okay, here's the gist: College professor Braxton Knox loses basically everything. His job, his family, you name it, he's lost it. The reason? He didn't use a student's pronouns. Braxton embarks on a quest for revenge against those who have wronged him.

Now, on the surface, it seems like something that's too preachy or one-sided. However, while it's far from perfect, it does have a few things going for it. For example, I think what mostly prevents this book from being too preachy or one-sided is how it sets things up in way where you understand where Braxton is coming from and his words have real weight and how nearly every group involved has at least one or two good people. On top of that, this book really takes its time to show Braxton's life collapsing bit by bit, which not only allows the reader to feel and understand the impact of his losses, but understand why he decides to take revenge. I also think this is a book that excels at keeping things moving and keeping things engaging. Oh and the ending was pretty awesome too.

However, like I mentioned, this book is far from perfect. Like, some of the elements (such as Braxton himself and the kills) are rather hit and miss. In the case of Braxton, when the reader gets to understand his logic and when he puts forth a great effort to make tough yet necessary decisions, it's great! But sometimes, there's no real logic behind his actions or beliefs and moments that seem out of character for him and in those instances, it's really difficult to connect with him. In the case of the kills in this book, the ones that really work because they make sense from a character standpoint and have some creativity to them. The ones that do not are either because they're super anticlimactic or there's no real logic to them.

Also, some of the dialogue is rather on the nose and a moment of clear research failure.

Rating: B-

The third one was Four For The Road by K.J. Reilly. Full review here.

Three teenagers named Asher, Sloane, and Will and an old man named Henry go on a road trip to Tennessee and (most of them) make earth-shattering discoveries along the way.

I've had this one on my TBR for a while and I'm kind of kicking myself for not checking it out earlier. When it comes to the characters, this book knocks it out of the park for the most part and I think it's particularly noticeable in how the book depicts Asher's grief, the supportive nature of the main group, and the brilliant romance between Asher and Sloane. I also have to say, this book has an absolutely fantastic third act. Like, it's one of those third acts that would totally work as a teaching tool for how to pull off third acts.

On the flip side though, this book does such a disservice to Henry, it's not even funny. Basically, the moment Asher and the gang go on their road trip, all of the character development that made Henry feel like an actual human being with struggles and stuff gets tossed out the fucking window in favor of turning Henry into little more that the guy that thinks his dead wife is alive who is not allowed to overcome his struggles for no reason. I hate this. I hate this so much. It's lazy, pure and simple. Like, what is the point of making him a main character if he isn't going to be treated like a main character? I get that it's Young Adult and you want the teen characters to shine, but c'mon! Also, Asher is just allowed to join bereavement groups he's clearly not a good fit for and there's no explanation as to why this is or why his dad was allowed to sign him up for the senior citizen's bereavement group.

Rating: B+

My last May read was Wildlife of The World by a bunch of people like DK, The Smithsonian Institute, and Don E. Wilson. You can read my entire review on it right here.

This book is exactly what the title says it is. It's a book that explores as much wildlife of the world as it can within the span of nearly five hundred pages. If you love the Eyewitness books as much as I do, you're in luck because this book has a very similar style and for me, it's one of the highlights. Also, I love the way that it starts by talking about biomes, as I think it's pretty clever and basically lays the groundwork for the reader's expectations of what types of wildlife can exist where. Also, the sheer variety of wildlife and information here is astounding!

However, it's pretty clear that this book really could've used a little more time in the oven, as there are quite a few spelling errors and some questionable facts.

Rating: B

Overall. May was not perfect, but still quite solid.

Denise wrote: "My May reads (see longer reviews in the Book Salon)

The Book of Lost Names 2*. I did not care for the passive tense of the writing or the story ..."

It's a pity about the first book, as the premise sounded promising.

Overall, though, your reading month was one of positive reviews, which is always neat.

Interesting reviews, Hailey. Your patience is commendable, as well. I was frustrated with Braxton Knox character, given his major disconnect with working people and his reaction to them. It would really knock the rating much lower, for me.

And the Henry bit, as well. Maybe i identify too much with him, only to see him not as well addressed as the younger ones. But, i suppose the YA means we'd need to cut some slack, telling less of Henry's story.

Overall, though, since all your selections were in the B range, that makes for a good month. The editing & spelling errors of the last is kinda despicable, since so many people rely on the facts when reading such offerings.

Thank you for sharing two sets of reviews per book. And for sharing here!

Denise wrote: "My May reads (see longer reviews in the Book Salon)

The Book of Lost Names 2*. I did not care for the passive tense of the writing or the story

A Separate Peace 4*. ..."

You certainly had a wonderful reading month, Denise. Only one disappointing read. Well done !

I'm glad that you enjoyed your re-read of A Separate Peace. I also liked it a lot.

Hailey wrote: "Overall. May was not perfect, but still quite solid.
."

A very solid "B" month. Nice !

May has been a good month for me, and I found some new books to read! I enjoy reading those books, although I didn't read much, but I hope I can read a lot in June! So, here are my May reads!📖📚⭐

My May Reads
• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry - 4.25/⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
🎀I love this book, to be honest, and it's been a long time since I read Emily Henry books, and this one, I devoured it!
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

• Nobody Help You Change Your Thoughts by Pintu Saw - 4 stars/⭐⭐⭐⭐
💌It's my first self-help book I've read this year, and I enjoy it so much! I learn a lot about self-love and personal development. I think it improves my mental health and emotional health for myself. Thank you so much to the publisher and the author of this book, and I want to read some of his books!
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Overall, I only read 2 books this one and I have a lots of books to catch up on and I hope I could really focus on my reading this month:)

It looks as though your reading month was pretty good, Patricia. It's a bummer when a looked-forward-to novel has boring patches, but, as you noted, they end quickly enough.

Thanks for the Saw title. That you liked it is great! Good luck implementing what you learned there.

Patricia wrote: #12

"May has been a good month for me, and I found some new books to read! I enjoy reading those books, although I didn't read much, but I hope I can read a lot in June! So, here are my May reads!📖📚⭐..."

Nice reviews, Patricia.

I really like that you include who would enjoy the book. It's very helpful.

Wishing you a wonderful June of great reads !

Alias Reader wrote: Nice reviews, Patricia.

I really like that you include who would enjoy the book. It's very helpful.

Wishing you a wonderful June of great reads!...

Thank you so much! I hope you have a wonderful June too:)

madrano wrote: "It looks as though your reading month was pretty good, Patricia. It's a bummer when a looked-forward-to novel has boring patches, but, as you noted, they end quickly enough.

Thanks for the Saw tit..."

Yeah, you're right, Madrano! Thank you so much and I hope I can read more self-help books this year! Happy Reading;)

Well, silly me. In post #4, the first book i mentioned was Zen Attitude--Sujata Massey, which i read in May. However, the description i shared was NOT for this book but for Land of Milk and Honey--C Pam Zhang. Oops.

Today i wrote up Zen Attitude, but will repeat it here.

Antique dealer, American-born Rei Shimura, of Japanese ancestry, seeks specific items for clients. Her business is in Tokyo, where she finds a chest of drawers, which brings all sorts of problems for her, including being tailed, warned, consoled and confused. Her romantic attachment, a Scottish lawyer, working in the island nation, is supportive but, as a busy man, can only do so much. His brother arrives for a visit and Rei isn't sure what to think about him.

For me, there was too much going on in this book. The parts about the antique (& other older items mentioned) worked well but the romance angles weren't necessary, imo. As usual, when reading about other nations, i liked learning traditions, such as this one. “When I told her that I liked the pantsuit, she promptly denigrated it, as Japanese etiquette required.”

I know other nations have folks who do this, but that she puts it in that frame was interesting. It's not really about belittling myself, but a tradition to deflect. Of course, you've got to feel good about the compliment, though, right?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... by https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... by https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... by https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... by https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed your reviews, John.

You has a wonderful audible month. A good narrator really can bring a book to life. I'm listening to Fred Sanders narrate a Jon Meacham book. I love Sanders voice. I should also add Jon Meacham, who does the long intro for the book, also has a wonderful soothing voice. I'm surprised he doesn't narrate his own books.

I also liked the idea in Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey, exploring your own home town.

You had only one disappointing book. So, overall a very nice reading month for you. Well done !

Interesting reviews, John. I wouldn't have guessed Attlee's book would call to many, yet you liked it very much. Neat.

Thanks for the title of the Whyte mystery. It sounds a tad psychological, given the anti-social issue, which calls to me. For my money, almost all mysteries require a bit of suspended belief, be it in human behavior, specific incidents or "coincidences".

It looks as though you had a good reading month, as even the low one of the group rated 3-stars. I'm grateful you shared with us here.

madrano wrote: "Interesting reviews, Hailey. Your patience is commendable, as well. I was frustrated with Braxton Knox character, given his major disconnect with working people and his reaction to them. It would r..."

You're welcome, madrano!

I hear you about Braxton. It's weird that the book decided to have him treat customer service workers like dirt, even when they didn't deserve and even when there was a better way to handle the situation. Hopefully he'll be easier to connect with in the sequel.

Alias Reader wrote: "Hailey wrote: "Overall. May was not perfect, but still quite solid.
."

A very solid "B" month. Nice !"

A solid "B" month indeed, Alias! Though, I was a little surprised that all the books I read in May fell within the "B" range.

Patricia wrote: "May has been a good month for me, and I found some new books to read! I enjoy reading those books, although I didn't read much, but I hope I can read a lot in June! So, here are my May reads!📖📚⭐


..."

I'm glad to hear that May was a good reading month for you, Patricia! I'm also glad to hear that you got a lot out of Nobody Help You Change Your Thoughts.

My May reads are as follows:

The Devil's Doorway by Steven Pajak - 5 stars
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Trinket Box by John Kaden - 5 stars
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dying for Daddy: The True Story of a Family's Worst Nightmare by Carlton Smith - 4 stars
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Ojanox I: Scream in the Dark by Daemon Manx - 5 stars
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Darling Girls by Tamara Thorne - 5 stars.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Devil Music by Michael Penning - 5 stars.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

That is it for the month of May - I didn't read a lot like normal - just took my time with some of them except for that last entry - Devil Music I read kind of fast as I got stuck in it and couldn't put it down. lol :)

Other than that a good month. :)

Marie wrote: That is it for the month of May - I didn't read a lot like normal - just took my time with some of them except for that last entry - Devil Music I read kind of fast as I got stuck in it and couldn't put it down. lol :)
.."

Looks like you had a stellar month, Marie. Not a bad one in the bunch !

Alias Reader wrote: "Marie wrote: That is it for the month of May - I didn't read a lot like normal - just took my time with some of them except for that last entry - Devil Music I read kind of fast as I got stuck in i..."

Good reviews, Marie. Especially cool is that the first two authors are fairly new to you, so good reading ahead!

Like you, i’m baffled about the lack of arrests in the true crime book. How sad for the family & community.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Alias Reader wrote: "Marie wrote: That is it for the month of May - I didn't read a lot like normal - just took my time with some of them except for that last entry - Devil Music I read kind of fast as I got stuck in i..."

Thank you Alias. :)

madrano wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "Marie wrote: That is it for the month of May - I didn't read a lot like normal - just took my time with some of them except for that last entry - Devil Music I read kind of fas...

Good reviews, Marie. Especially cool is that the first two authors are fairly new to you, so good reading ahead!

Like you, i’m baffled about the lack of arrests in the true crime book. How sad for the family & community.

Thanks for sharing with us"

Thank you Deb. :)

Yes that true crime book truly had me puzzled about how law enforcement didn't zoom in on that guy and put him away sooner. Lives would have been saved if they had acted sooner rather than later.

Sad, in itself but as a community member, i would continue to question how good policing was in town.