Auntie's Annex: January Shelves
My shelf was a slow burn, winter vibes anyone?
Hello - and welcome to yet another installment of Auntie’s Annex, where I take off my mom and nanny hat and put on my cool big sister, fun friend, bookworm hat and let you know what I have been up to (reading-wise) that doesn’t involve putting sprinkles on bananas or being Queen Lucy from Narnia.
Are you hearing the soundtrack from Masterpiece Theatre yet? Are you trying to figure out what each aforementioned hat collection would look like? Me too.
January’s unintentional theme was Banned Books. Love this for me. The Libby app has a great Banned Books section and I returned to that list several times for inspiration. I think it feels like my own tiny, insignificant act of rebellion. After reading said banned books I have only one question: but whhhhhyyyyyy???
January Stax in Review:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
When I finally showed up to college at WWU this book was in our welcome package, and I could not get through it despite multiple attempts. Fast forward to now, I see it on the Banned Books list, my interest is piqued and I fly through this book in 4 days. A big change in the past ten years is way more conversation and understanding around nuerodivergent people. The growing exposure to this topic helped me to recognize and appreciate the narrator of this book in a whole new way that opened up this whole story for me. I loved this book and am curious (pun intended) why I never finished it before. Hurrah for progress and personal growth!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Mass
SLOG. My sister dubbed this fearie-50 Shades, and she wasn’t wrong. I have heard the series picks up in the later books but I am going to wait until they are yesterday’s talk and not so high in demand because this book wasn’t worth the effort I put into it.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Another banned book because…who knows why?! We shouldn’t let kids read about terminally ill kids? Who have to deal with their own mortality? Kids shouldn’t read really great writing? John Green is so good at creating angsty beautiful multifaceted teenage characters that you fall completely in love with. I would read this one again right away.
The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
Through no fault of hers, I have discovered something about reading Liane Moriarty - like I tell my son, Christmas is only special because it happens once a year. She has a bit of a “mystery” gimmick where she reveals just enough of an event, or strange news, or plot point that it piques your interest and then she circles around it like a school of hungry sharks around some chum, until the grand finale. She is such a brilliant and funny writer with great character development, but I need to start spacing her books out a bit more because otherwise it is just too much Christmas.
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
A story about childhood best friends that really focuses on just one girl and her confusing relationship with said best friend, her confusing relationship with her mother and father, and her confusing relationship with her employer. A true tale of self-discovery, except that I am unsure if the main character ever discovers herself. Zadie Smith’s writing is extrodinairy, and her characters are so utterly flawed in their humanity, I will be sure to visit her again. I have a hard time loving a book if I don’t find the protagonist loveable, and I am not sure about this one.
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
Book 4 in the series and they just keep getting better. Am I in love with all the characters? Do I want to move to small Quebecian town and get murdered? Yes and Yes. It would be an honor to have my murder case investigated by the great Cheif Inspector Armand Gamache. In this book you get to meet the extended family of dear Peter, the artist (IYKYK). The murder doesn’t even happen until Chapter 10!! And I NEVER suspect the right murderer. Is this because I am green to genre or because Louise Penny is just that good? TBD.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This was a take it or leave it book for me. Maybe gothic haunting books are not my genre? I recently read another haunted book that employed the ouroboros as a plot point, and I couldn’t get that books’ reveal out of my head, which had me jumping to conclusions and was also a bit of a spoiler, though the concept was applied differently. If you love hauntings and gothic sort of victorian feeling eerie writing, this might be the book for you!
DNF
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Felt like a book trying to be gross for the sake of being gross. Didn’t need to hear it.
One Italian Summer by Rebeccas Serle
I get it - you love your mom and now shes dead. I am sure this one probably picks up but I found the only child mom-daughter bond a bit off-putting and when the loan was up before I was finished I decided not to renew.
On the Nightstand
in hand: The Overstory by Richard Powers
on kindle: Sorry I am Late, I Didn’t Want to Come by
who writesaudiobook: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
On Deck:
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
WishList
Still chasing North Woods by Daniel Mason
Curious about Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. I’ve been spying it on a lot of best of lists.
Adulting (Am I doing it?)
Trying to discover what the book version of Masterpiece Theatre is and included PBS in the search keywords for obvious reasons and came across this gem. I will be asking B to print out the accompanying checklist ASAP.
Does anybody else have a partner who seems overly eager to do their taxes? Just me?
I went to two separate happy hours this month, which may not seem like a lot, but for being in the throes of raising two young kids and having general social awkwardness, I am going to give myself a double pat on the back for this accomplishment. Gold star. I spoke with other adults about adult things (but also our kids, because duh and also, IT IS A TRAP!!) without constant interruption. I had tea and a brisk walk on one, and then one too many spicy margaritas at the other because life is about balance and also because spicy margaritas are a gift from the gods. If you don’t tajin, you should.
We went family camping with B’s cousin and her kids. By the time B got there Friday night, Cousin and I had already lugged all the camping gear out, set up both family tents, and started a fire although we were outnumbered 5 (5 and under) to 2 (adults). Camping in Texas in January is a roll of the dice - it could have been high of 70, low of 50, sunny and perfect. Instead, it was a high of 45, a low of 24, and a bit overcast. We loved every second of it.
Should I dedicate February to reading romance? Considering it.
Thanks for being here. If you know someone who loves to read and has kiddos or knows kiddos, please share my newsletter with them!
See you next week and Happy reading y’all!
So many good books you suggested!
I totally agree about Liane Moriarty. I know she probably makes tons of money and is actually very celebrated but I still don’t think people give her the respect she deserves. She is so good. I can’t think of anyone who writes more entertaining books.
Yellowface does not have a loveable protagonist. That was the book that taught me I too prefer a protagonist I can root for and the best that I can say about the protagonist of Yellowface is that I just wanted her to give up and go away. The book is so well done and worth reading IMO but no warm fuzzies here.