Happy New Year! I know it's February (by the time this gets published), but since it's my first post of 2025, I think it's still ok to say it.
For those of you that like to set annual reading challenges, I hope you are able to reach your goal. I always set my goal at 100 books. While I usually beat that goal, you never know where life will take you, so it seems like something that is attainable even with obstacles thrown in my way.
It's time to kick off the year with a summary of all the reviews for the books I read in January. I hope you find a few to put on your TBR list!
As a reminder, if you don't want to wait for my monthly blog post, you can see all of my book reviews in real time on Goodreads or The Story Graph.
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Shellhorn Legacy by Brian Kerr
This book is the story of the Shellhorn family. It begins with Garrett, who owns a shipping empire and eventually moves to America. Before his death, he transfers ownership of the company to his son and his wife. The story continues through several generations to eventually end with David. After working in the private equity field, David opens a coffee shop business that he hopes will rival Starbucks.
I found the story to be without a lot of depth. The book covers so much time and generations of people, that it really doesn't develop the characters of any of them. The writing style was also a bit basic and scattered for me. The book was fine, but I don't feel compelled to read more about the family or their story.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
To purchase this book on Amazon, click here: paperback.
Lincoln's Return by Julian T. Morrow
I really loved the premise of this book! At the age of 3, Sharmila shows an uncanny knowledge about President Lincoln. Her mother has experience with an uncle from India who claimed to have been reincarnated, and she begins to suspect that Sharmila is President Lincoln reincarnated.
As Sharmila grows older and begins to understand this other piece of herself, she realizes that her objective in life is to finish the job Lincoln started in today's modern world of division within the country.
The concept of this story is intriguing and the story itself is good. At times, the writing is a bit clunky and I think there was too much time spent on pieces of Sharmila's life prior to her becoming President (and that is not a spoiler - it is introduced in the opening of the book). The author also does a great job of incorporating events and people that are real into this fictional story.
Definitely gives you a lot to think about, and the ending is completely unexpected.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Pastoralia by George Saunders
This is a collection of short stories that all have a common theme of highlighting characters who are the misfits and seem to have life constantly throwing curve balls at them. The stories are all satirical and written to be over the top. They are not meant to be taken literally, but rather to emphasize how bizarre modern day life can be.
Very well written, but definitely quirky. And as those who follow my reviews know, short stories are not my favorite genre due to the fact that character development is tough. I did find these stories to be well developed enough that they kept me engaged, but short enough that they moved quickly.
This book is #85 on the New York Times list of the best 100 books of the 21st century. Three out of five stars.
The Insurmountable Edge - A Story In Three Books (The Insurmountable Edge, Book One) by Thomas H. Goodfellow
I'll start out this review by saying that if you pick it up and get interested enough to fund out how the story ends, this is a real commitment. I knew this was a book in a series, but figured it was like other series where they focused on the same characters, but had different stories in each book. That is not the case with this one. This book is literally part one of what is evidently a three book story. At the end of this book, you will have no conclusion as to how the story ends.
I did enjoy the book. General Jack Wilder has been on leave for 2 years caring for his niece and his fellow soldier (who is suffering from PTSD) on his ranch. When unexpected visitors appear on the morning of the anniversary of the death of Wilder's wife, he is pulled into helping the visitor (who looks a lot like his dead wife) and saving the country from war.
Definitely a good story and interesting, especially if you are into thrillers that involve the military. But, this is very slow. Book one was very long, and we are evidently only 1/3 of the way through the story and figuring out the "whodunit". I feel that the book could have used some editing to whittle out some of the unnecessary parts and dialogue, and that would have kept things moving faster.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
The Emperor Of All Maladies: A Biography Of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
This is a very comprehensive "biography" of cancer. The book takes you through the science of cancer - from very early times when it was first discovered, through the years of research and development in trying to understand and treat the disease.
The author does a good job of writing about a highly complex and scientific topic in a way that lay people can understand. It does get pretty technical towards the end, where he starts talking about the microbiology of cancer - cells, genes, DNA, etc. But in general, he does a good job of keeping the topic understandable.
There is obviously an immense amount of material that the author could have included. Just the sheer number of different types of cancer alone is too much to cover in depth in any book. I feel the author did a good job of focusing in on a few types of cancer, while clearly making sure the reader understands that cancer is not a "one size fits all" topic. There is no treatment or cure for "cancer" in its general sense. Each type of cancer is unique and must be treated that way.
The bottom line for me is that I learned a lot from this book. And that is what I use as my measurement for how well a non-fiction book of this type is well written. Interesting and informative! This book is number 84 on the NY Times list of the best 100 books of the 21st century. Four out of five stars!
Big Love And War Horse by Shallen Anne Chitwood
This is a compelling story that takes place in the early 1940s in North Carolina. Kay and Jonas are two siblings whose mother has recently died. Their father, Luke, struggles to deal with his grief and turns to alcohol and criminal activity, leaving Kay and Jonas to fend for themselves. Watching over them, however, are their loyal dogs - Big Love and War Horse.
As the story unfolds, Luke finally sees that he needs to straighten himself out and take care of his children. However, a chance encounter between Kay and Tom Dean - owner of the town general store and someone who grew up with Luke and his wife (Joy) - leads to more drama and everyone learning the truth of how and why Joy died.
The concept of the story was excellent and I really got pulled in by these characters. I did feel like the book was too short. The story and characters were interesting enough that they could have both used more development and still kept me engaged. In addition, part of the book was written from the perspective of the dogs. While it made sense as it helped to slowly fill in gaps that only the dogs knew, it was a bit awkward in the overall structure of the book.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Code Name: Pale Horse - How I Went Undercover To Expose America's Nazis by Scott Payne and Michelle Shephard
A fascinating and, at times, terrifying true story of an undercover FBI agent. Over his career, Scott Payne went undercover within some of the most hate-filled and terrifying organizations. In this book, Payne tells the stories of many of those undercover assignments and his role in taking them down.
This is a pretty short and very fast-paced book that I found very well written and interesting.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
This book will be published on March 25, 2025. To pre-order your copy on Amazon, click here: Kindle, audiobook or hardcover.
Not Okay? Okay: A Roadmap Back From The Brink by Sheridan Taylor
This book is about the author's struggle with mental illness, specifically anxiety and PTSD.
First, a couple of points to be aware of. The author is very blunt (quite a bit of profanity) and the style is very stream of consciousness. Additionally, the author gets a bit political for a chapter or two (he lives in Canada, so his criticism is directed that way). And while I understand that his frustration is something he believes ties into the mental health of the world overall, I felt like those pieces could have been left out and didn't add to the book. Finally, the book can feel a bit repetitive. The author shares at the beginning that he is basically writing things as they come to him, and it might be repetitive.
Having said all that, there are definitely great pieces of insight for anyone who is also struggling with mental illness or someone who is close to a person struggling with it. There are also great and practical pieces of advice to support someone with a mental illness or who is experiencing grief.
This book is not meant to be a medical journal on mental illness. It is a man sharing his experience. Take it as that and nothing more. For me, this book was worth reading to get his perspective and how he handled his situation.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Lost Roses (Lilac Girls, Book 2) by Martha Hall Kelly
This is a historical fiction novel that takes place during WWI. It tells the story from the perspective of three women. Eliza is an American living in New York. Her friend, Sofya, lives in Russia and is a relative of the tsar. Finally Varinkya is a peasant girl in Russia who begins working for Sofya's family.
As the war progresses and the Russian royalty is removed from power by the people, Sofya and her family are captured. Varinka takes Sofya's young son, and claims him as her own. Sofya is able to escape, and sets out on her own to get to Paris, where she believes Varinka has also fled with her son.
I found this one a bit slow to get going. And while I know that it was part of who the characters are, it honestly felt hard to feel sympathy for Eliza or Sofya. While both suffered in their own ways throughout the story, their aristocratic characters left it hard to feel sorry for them.
And while Varinka also suffered throughout the story, I found her character completely unlikeable.
Excellent writing and a well researched story, just a little challenging to really fall in love with the characters. Three out of five stars.
gHost Road by T.H. Cini
The main character of this book, Jimmy, discovers an old abandoned house one day when he is riding his bike. He quickly discovers that there is more to this house than he imagined, after he begins having strange experiences each time he visits.
This is a story about paranormal activity and the separation of body and soul. The author tries to teach a lesson as part of it - think almost of the story of A Christmas Carol.
This book is a little hard to follow and figure out what's going on at times. The story seems a bit choppy. I didn't find it to be scary, so if that is the vibe the author was going for, they missed the mark. But it's quick and entertaining with a bit of a surprise ending.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan
This is a collection of essays the author has written, that were published in various magazines. There is quite an uneven quality among the essays. There are a couple that I thought were outstanding, and a couple that I thought were difficult to follow and boring.
Some of my favorites were stories the author did about music and musicians - everyone from Axl Rose to Bunny Wailer to Michael Jackson.
Some hits and some misses, but the hits outnumbered the misses and made this well worth the read. This book is #81 on the NY Times list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Four out of five stars!
The Second-Smartest Dog That Ever Lived by Will Pass
This book is extremely clever and an enjoyable story. The main character is a dog named Leo/Rou, who is also the narrator. When Leo is dumped on the side of a highway and left for dead, Mary rescues him and brings him to live at her house with her other rescued animals, including a pug named Shakespeare.
Leo quickly realizes that he is not like other dogs and has the brain of a human. He also decides that he needs to return to Los Velos (which you figure out is Las Vegas) to find the man who dumped him and seek his revenge. He and Shakespeare end up setting out on this "quest" together.
The author does a fantastic job writing the book from the perspective of the animals. As an example, Leo is perplexed as to why Mary is so obsessed with her "screens" - the little one she holds in her hand, the medium one she types on, and the big one she stares at.
While I really enjoyed this, I do feel it would have been better if it was a little shorter. The whole part with the coyotes wasn't really necessary and could have been cut to make the book move a little faster.
Fun story and worth a read!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery Of The World's Most Expensive Bottle Of Wine by Benjamin Wallace
As someone who is very interested in wine, this is a great read. It tells the true story of a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite Bordeaux that was alleged to be owned by Thomas Jefferson, and was sold at auction for $156,000.
The book takes you into the world of high end wine collecting. Central to that world is the question of how can you really validate that a wine that appears on the market is what the owner really says it is? And if you don't drink it, what's the point?
The book does get a bit technical into the world of wine, and I can see where it wouldn't be as interesting for someone who isn't into wine. But if you are a wine lover, I encourage you to check out this fascinating story. Four out of five stars!
Sins Of The Mother by Anna Riggs
I'm pretty torn as to what to rate this book and how to review it. The story starts out with Charles and Penelope, who fall in love and get married. However, Charles has a brother named Will, who has a violent background and causes all kinds of misery for the family. I don't want to give away parts of the story, but Penelope gives birth to Mary, who seems to have inherited Will's bad character. The remainder of the story focuses on Mary and the deviousness and pain she causes those around her.
I found the characters in this book hard to like. Mary is pure evil, but even the characters you should like aren't really that likeable. And the drama is really written over the top. It's almost like reading a soap opera.
Having said all that, the story will suck you in, and after a slow start, it picked up the pace in the second half. I found it a little clunky that one chapter would end and in the next chapter you would just suddenly skip months, if not years. But that did keep the story moving.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
That's it for January of 2025! I'd love to hear about your 2025 reading goals. Comment here or send me an e-mail!
What books do you recommend I read next? Let me know! Did you check out any of these books? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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