The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire #1) – Craig Johnson

August 5, 2021 by

“Sometimes I feel like I’ve been here a very long time.”

Lonnie Little Bird

Walt Longmire has been the sheriff of Absaroka County Wyoming for a long time and the best friend of Henry Standing Bear even longer. He is looking forward to his retirement and trying to figure out how to make his outspoken deputy Victoria Moretti, his successor. There may even be a romance on his horizon. Unfortunately, a dead body requires his attention.

When Cody Pritchard is found dead, the town is curious, but not sad. In fact the suspect list is pretty long. It doesn’t take long for Walt to realize that the murder is related to the rape case two years ago where Cody and three other boys were convicted of assaulting Melissa Real Bird.

When this series was recommended to me some years ago. I didn’t intend to stick with it. The description read like a western crime novel — not really my genre. However, it came highly recommended from a reader I trusted and the husband of one of my dearest friends.

I couldn’t be more thankful that I did. The characters are rich and full. The plot while not overly complex, gives just enough of a ride to be enjoyable. The story is well told and Henry Standing Bear is one of my favorite fictional characters to date.

But the real treat is the writing. Craig Johnson’s ability to be both rugged and poetic is a thrill to the senses. The tiptoe into philosophical without indulgence is beautiful. The off shoots of different actions around the central plot create a real feeling while adding depth to characters I have grown to love.

More than mystery. More than crime. More than a western. Longmire is a solid series for anyone looking to make some new fictional friends.

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Bitter is the New Black – Jen Lancaster

May 27, 2021 by
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster (2006)

I love book clubs. There is something about surrounding yourself with folks who have the same passion as you – especially when the field is so broad (i.e. books) that you never ever run out of things to talk about and the opinions are never the same. 

The end of January, I found myself in the middle of a pretty heavy reading streak – Willa Cather (O Pioneer series), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Americanah), Edith Wharton (The House of Mirth), Homer. I was ready for something funny, light, and easy.  

Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office by Jen Lancaster fit the bill perfectly. Recommended by two different people on the Peloton Moms Book Club page, I checked the title out where I always check out titles – Goodreads.  

I have found Goodreads to be one of the best resources for all thing book opinion related. It contains sufficient general book information (publication date, length, genre), great synopses, and reviews aplenty. I have to admit I have not given this site the attention it deserves. Changing that is a goal. If you are active there, let’s be friends https://www.goodreads.com/lionsbride 

From Goodreads: This is the story of how a haughty former sorority girl went from having a household income of almost a quarter-million dollars to being evicted from a ghetto apartment… It’s a modern Greek tragedy, as defined by Roger Dunkle in The Classical Origins of Western Culture: a story in which “the central character, called a tragic protagonist or hero, suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected.” 

In other words? The bitch had it coming. 

The bitch is Lancaster herself. I was in.  

There’s quite the divide between readers of this book. Lancaster is self reportedly obnoxious, rude, self-absorbed, petty, materialistic, and privileged. The messes that she gets into are nearly all directly related to her tone-deaf walk through her Prada life. There are readers who can’t stomach her for all these reasons.  

I am the other reader. I think it is because I am also a writer. As a writer, I can’t imagine the head voices Lancaster had to quiet to get so real about herself. She pulls no punches – even though the heavy bag is her own flawed self. She is raw, authentic, open, honest. And she does so without being overindulgent, whiny, or pitiful. She isn’t looking for a pass or sympathy – she is looking for honestly and connection. I respect the shit outta that.  

If you are looking to be pissed off at an overprivileged white lady, Lancaster makes it super easy to get what you want. However, I think you’d be missing the point. Lancaster (in an attempt to not give away the whole story) writes about her previous self with the advantage of her growing self. What results is a cheeky offering of her journey with an obvious understanding of how ridiculous her behavior was.  

I enjoyed reading the funny way in which Lancaster offered up the previous version of herself in such a way that showed both unconditional self-love and a desire to be a better person. There may be better goals, but, in my opinion, this one is pretty damn solid.  

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In Cold Blood – Truman Capote

May 20, 2021 by
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote (1966)

I have never seen the movie Capote. I suppose I should. Honestly, I had never heard of Truman Capote until the movie came out in 2005. Now my children are reading In Cold Blood as part of their high school curriculum. Perhaps the difference is the time. In the late 80’s, early 90’s when I went through high school myself, maybe enough time had not passed for the 1966 novel to be considered worthy. Perhaps that it failed to win the Pulitzer where it’s contemporary To Kill a Mockingbird did and, was required reading when I was in high school. 

(As an aside and interesting coincidence – I learned that Capote and Harper Lee were best friends. Moreover, Lee went to Holcomb with Capote to help him research the Cutter murders. But I get ahead of myself.)  

Anywho. Once In Cold Blood found its way on to my children’s high school reading list, it, as many of those titles do, found its way onto my TBR. YA is not my favorite genre. It is tough sometimes to get interested in what the kids are reading. Therefore, when their reading lists for their various English classes come out, I try to make sure I read those with them.  

In Cold Blood took me two children to get through.  

Three years ago the book popped on a reading list. Capote had been the subject of a movie. The book was a true crime story. The first kid to read it seemed fairly interested. I ordered my own copy, placed it in the spot of honor by the bubbles for the tub, poured a glass of wine, and sunk deep into the hot water.  

I made it through roughly 50 pages. I wouldn’t pick it back up again until this year when it ended up on another kid’s reading list. 

“Mom, you’ve read that one, right?” Yeah, no. I started it, but I just couldn’t get through it. I found the beginning boring. It was lyrically written, which I enjoy, but repetitive and indulgent. I found myself unsure about what to say; my kid had to read it and I did not want to be discouraging.  

But I did want to be honest. Now that I have a few college English classes under my belt, I have a different view on required reading, open response discussion, and academia in general. If my kid didn’t like the book, I wanted her to feel free to express that so she can move on to the more important point – being able to explain her opinion on the work. If she did, I wanted her to feel free to disagree with me – and again, move on to the more important point. 

“I started it, but honestly, I didn’t get through much of it.” 

“Really? I mean, I know you don’t like all that violence and stuff,” (she was there through the Hunger Games debacle) “but I didn’t think this one was all that bad.” 

“You’re right, I don’t. But it wasn’t that. I just found the beginning kind of boring.” 

“Oh. Yeah. I get that. I felt the same way. But it gets better. You should try again.” 

So, I tried again – eventually. Her class was finished with both the reading and the discussion by the time I got around to it. But whatever, I got around to it.  

Now I can say that I have read it, as much good as that does. I think it was worth the read, but I am confused why high school students are required to read it.  

Quick synopsis – The entire Cutter family is murdered. Their small town is shocked as that kind of thing never happens there and definitely not to such a good, prominent family. The murders are Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith. This is not a spoiler by the way; it is obvious from the very beginning as suspense is not an intended characteristic of the book. The book covers the crime, the investigation, and the trial with personal epithets filled in along the way.  

The book is billed as a nonfiction work. I think that is a stretch. While I am certain it is mostly true and have little to go on except how I felt reading it, I find it impossible to believe the insights expressed by Capote are knowable to him. I think the book is more accurately described as semi-nonfiction, or semi-fiction. Either way, I think the difference between the expectation and what I got altered the reading for me. Instead of being able to either enjoy the story on its writing merits, or enjoy the story based on its informative value, I was able to neither as I felt forced back and forth between the two.  

There are more sinister undertones that I won’t get into in case you haven’t read it, except to say this: It is weird reading a supposed nonfiction work written by an author who seems to be affecting the story along the way in order to facilitate the story he wants to write instead of writing the story that is.  

I understand that I am probably in the minority here. The book repeatedly receives high marks and glowing reviews. Honestly, I get it. Capote is a gifted writer and storyteller. This one just wasn’t for me. 

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The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

January 13, 2019 by
The Wife Between Us - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

I wasn’t really sure about The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen when I originally picked it out. I couldn’t figure out if it was chick lit or women’s fiction; the difference is important to me. Don’t misunderstand, I am not a snob about it. I enjoy both styles. However, I wasn’t in the mood for chick lit. I wanted something that didn’t require a highlighter, but had some teeth to it.

I also needed to clean my house. I didn’t have all day to figure this out. Because I am attempting to be a more focused reader and writer, I dusted off my Goodreads app and (after I reset the password I couldn’t remember and handled the barrage of notifications I hadn’t answered) peeked at the suggestions from one my neglected reading groups.

Each month, Bound Together has three category of books: one Member Choice title and two “find a title that fits.” In January, Beneath a Scarlet Sky was the Member Choice. As I am still trying to get through The Tattooist of Auschwitz, I passed. “Off the Shelf” was to read a work that had something magical about the story or cover. I was not feeling it. “Author Read” did not designate a particular author this month. Instead, it required that the book be written by two people – with both their names presented on the book. I scrolled through the comments and someone suggested The Wife Between Us. What the hell, I needed to get on with my day so I spent the Audible credit and moved on.

My. House. Is. So. Clean. Seriously, I organized the armoire, cleaned out the pantry, decluttered the office, caught up the laundry – all of it. For two days I found reasons not to sit down so I could justify leaving the book playing in my ear.

Vanessa and Richard are recently divorced. Nelly and Richard are getting married. Vanessa is having a hard time holding her new job and controlling her booze. Nelly is preparing to transition to a whole other life. Vanessa is completely preoccupied with the woman Richard has replaced her for. Nelly swears someone is following her. Aunt Charolette and Sam are side-eyeing the whole thing.

Two things. First, if you think you know what you are getting into based on that synopsis, you would be wrong. Second, I can’t really tell you anything else without spoilers.

This is probably the most fun I’ve had listening to a book in a while. There was constant tension between the characters and in my own head. The authors gave just enough so that I knew there was something else going on and, if I didn’t figure it out, they were going to get me. There were moments I thought I had it. I didn’t, and they did, in fact, get me with the “holy shit where did THAT come from.” Then the real neat thing happened – the story didn’t end. They. Just. Kept. Doing. It. Even in the Epilogue.

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Nine Perfect Strangers – Laine Moriarty

January 9, 2019 by

I absolutely adore Liane Moriarty. I first encountered her with What Alice Forgot. That one is still my favorite. It feels a little disloyal to Liane to write about this one first before I have taken the time to tell about all the other ones, but alas, here we are. There’s a character…I’m getting ahead of myself…

Nine Perfect Strangers started out slow for me. In fact, there was a point where I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. I was wrong.

Liane’s approach to this story is slightly different than she has taken in the past. Her character development is super segmented in the beginning and finding the point to the story (and thus my interest in it) was difficult at first.

But then she does what she does best – just enough twist to rock your socks and just enough formula to be comfortable.

Some may see formula writing as a negative. I do not at all. I read for a number of different reasons, one of which is to be delighted. I am most often delighted when I encounter engaging characters in a familiar way with an interesting turn. Liane is one of my favorite go to writers when this is the read I am looking for.

Nine people from different points of life converge together for a 10 day wellness retreat hosted by former corporate diva Masha, and her direct help, Yao and Delilah. Liane does an excellent job of mixing up each characters’ real motivation and personality with subtle hints to the actual and swerves to catch you off guard later.

I suppose Frances should be my favorite character. She is a successful romance writer with a charmingly quirky personality. She reminds me a lot of me in a silly and shallow way and I enjoyed meeting her very much.

But she isn’t. The AT favorite character award goes to Tony. I adored him from the moment he is introduced, through his smiley face butt tattoos, all the way to the last page.

As is with most of her works, it’s hard to explain anything else about the book without ruining the adventure. She will deliver on the obvious and surprise you with left field.

As a complete side note to the review itself, a passage in Nine Perfect Strangers reminded me why it is imperative for writers to read and read often. It is no secret that I have had quite the time lately putting nouns and verbs together. It has been a painful process to get in the chair and write, much less find the ability to stay there. You can read more about that passage here.

In fairness, this is probably not intended to be the most profound message in the story. In fact, you’ll see so many other important ideas in the book, I am sure. However, on this particular day, in this particular reading, it was, hands down for me. There was no other close second. For that, I am immensely grateful and, flaws and all, give it five big gold stars.


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