A Lot to Keep Straight

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

One day at the gym, Sam picks up a bag that she thinks is hers, but it isn't. In it is a Chanel jacket and Louboutins. She ends up wearing the items and having an amazing day at work. That same day, Nisha grabs a bag she thought was hers, and it wasn't. It had peasant shoes in it, if you will. A little later, Nisha's husband tells her he wants a divorce and cuts her off literally everywhere. Her husband has made it clear that in order for her to get any kind of divorce settlement, she has to bring him the shoes. What happens next is a series of events to get the shoes back. 

Nisha is able to track down Sam, and they end up friends. There is so much more to this story, but I am afraid to share too much lest I give it away. Suffice it to say, Moyes has written another fantastic book, and this one is very much worth your time. 

A Fictional Hallmark Movie

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

I bought this book for two reasons. One, I was drawn to the cover. Two, I have enjoyed Julie Murphy's young adult novels, so I was excited to read an adult novel. 

This book takes place in Christmas Notch, Vermont, which is pretty much a town from a Hallmark movie, but real. Teddy, a porn producer is producing a movie for the Hope Channel. Right before filming is set to begin, the leading lady and several members of the staff are injured in a freak tusk accident. In a pinch to recast, Bee Hobbes, a plus-size porn star, is cast opposite Nolan Shaw, former bad boy boy band member. Nolan is using this as a chance to clean up his reputation and earn some cash to take care of his manic-depressive mother. Bee is using this as an opportunity to get into mainstream movies. For their own reasons, they have to be celibate during filming, which sounds good in theory. The problem is, Bee is Bianca Von Horney, Nolan's fantasy girl. He's, obviously, attracted to her, and Bee finds that she is attracted to him. They try to keep from hooking up, but can't. They have amazing sex, sneaking around so no one knows.

You're left wondering if they manage to keep things a secret and if they actually develop feelings for one another. There were many times I was on the verge of tears-both happy and heartbreaking.  I really liked this one. I liked it so much, in fact, that I bought the sequel.

Tudor Mother and Daughter

Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History by Tracy Borman

This is another audiobook. I had heard this was coming out and was excited to read it because I love all things Tudor. I put it on hold on Overdrive, and it became available the other day. The problem was there was no way I was going to be able to read it in the time frame I would've been given, which is why I used an Audible credit.

For what it's worth, this wasn't a bad listen. The thing is, I am fairly well-versed in both of these historic ladies, so I didn't really learn anything new, which was disappointing. This basically goes over Anne's place in history, her background, etc. Then it does the same about Elizabeth. It wasn't as in-depth on either of them as other books I read, but that was ok. I wanted to read this because I was hoping for some hidden tidbit, and I was disappointed.

All of that said, I did learn that Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare's Hamlet was based on Katherine of Aragon, so that was cool.

If you don't know much about Anne Boleyn or Elizabeth I, this is a good place to start.

How Was This The Book Of The Year?

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Sometime in 2022, summer, I think, I got this as my book club selection. As it turns out, that was a waste for me. I thought it would be good. The characters were roughly my age and it was about video games. I didn't read it right away because, as you know, my TBR is a mile long and there's always something I want to read more. After this was named Book of the Year by both Book of the Month Club AND Barnes and Noble, I was excited to read it. Yet, I still put it off. It wasn't until last week that I started and finished it, and that is only because I listened to the audiobook, as there's no way I'd have stuck to this.

This is about Sam and Sadie, who met in the hospital when Sadie was there with her sister and Sam was there as a patient. It chronicles their lives from then until the present day. Sadie is a video game programmer, which brings others into their sphere. This had such potential, but it ended up being 13+ hours of these people's lives. People I felt no connection to. People I didn't care about. And it was mundane things too. It was clear that Sam was on the spectrum, but I don't remember that being mentioned at all. 

At any rate, I wish I had passed on this.  

Not the Jackie O I Know

 Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah

I love Paris and Jackie Kennedy Onassis is a cultural icon, so I really thought I was going to love this. I didn't and I hate that I spent the money to have this as an add-on for my book of the month and that I used an Audible credit for it. 

This book is about the year Jackie spent in Paris. She was completely immersed in the language and culture and attended the Sorbonne. She met someone and fell in love, but that didn't work out for complicated reasons. 

What struck me about this book was how mundane it was. Even when it was about the communists it was not exciting. The only time I perked up even a little was when Jackie had sex with Jack Marchand, but that gave next to nothing with regard to detail. 

In short, this book painted Jackie O as a boring woman, and I don't believe that was true. Unlike most historical fiction books, this one did not inspire me to research more. This was time and money I won't get back.

Recommended By A Student I Tutor

 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

A little backstory...Back in June, a friend of mine asked me to have his daughter write me a book report. She'd not turned in some assignments and even though she passed, he wanted her to show she could do the work. So, I pulled a dozen or so books together and took to her. While we were talking about books, she told me this was the only book she sort of read in her English class. She was enthusiastic when she talked about it, so I told her I'd read it because she liked it so much. 

I am not as enthusiastic about it.

When I was told about this book, I was told the teacher paired it with The Odyssey, so I was looking for it to be a modern retelling of that, or at least related to it. The only connection this book has to the epic poem is that Addie reads it at several points in her life.

This, as it turns out, is a modern retelling of Goethe's Faust or Marlow's Doctor Faustus. 

Addie is a young woman in France at the beginning of the book, and on the day that she is supposed to be married (against her will), she sells her soul to Luc. Part of her sentence is that she is always forgotten. She can't say or write her name either. This book encompasses three hundred years, and all of Addie's lovers during that time. The ending disappointed me.

I did not expect this to be as tedious as it was. I only actually read a hundred pages or so. The rest I listened to the audiobook. If I hadn't, I probably would've abandoned this book. In truth, I really only liked the chapters when she was with Henry, and then the author went and fucked that up.

I am not sure I could in good faith recommend this. 

Homework From My Therapist

 Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Paul T. Mason and Randi Kreger

First and foremost, I should mention that I "read" this as an audiobook, which is not really my style, but it was free on Audible, so...

In my session last week, my therapist "assigned" this to me as "homework." Usually, my homework consists of writing in my journal or things like that. This was the first time she had me read a book. I won't say I loved it because this isn't the kind of book you want to fall in love with, but it did provide me with some insight. 

As the title implies, this book is about taking your life back when someone you care about has BPD or NPD. 

One thing this book did for me is show me that I am not crazy. That the things I have experienced with some of the people in my life that I care about aren't my fault. Hearing some of the descriptors and stories from others helped me to see them in people I love. 

That isn't to say that at times I haven't exhibited traits of NPD or BPD, but that was something that was made very clear: sometimes everyone exhibits those traits. It's a fact of life. But exhibiting them from time to time and always are two very different things. 

I liked that the information was presented in layman's terms and that there were personal examples--both of people dealing with BPD and NPD in their lives, as well as the loved ones they interacted with. Perspective helped. 

I would definitely recommend this book to people who have loved ones with BPD or NPD.