Ten Things On My Reading Wishlist

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. This week is all about the things we want to see more of in books. How fun!

1. Horror
This is a weird complaint considering how behind I am on both Stephen King and Joe Hill, but I wish there was as much to choose from as in other genres.

2. Teen books set in rural areas
There just aren't many teen books out there that depict rural life the way I know it from growing up in Maine.

3. Female characters who eat, especially stress eat
It's 2017 and I'm tired of every single female character being unable to eat every time she is the least bit upset. I don't think I've ever been unable to eat in my life. I eat when I feel sick to my stomach for crying out loud.

4. LGBTQ characters in adult books
Again, it's 2017. There are a ton of teen books with queer characters in them, which, hooray! But what about adults? We can't just leave it all to Sarah Waters (although she is amazing.) I was actually surprised when my former coworker who started the Queer Book Group at my library complained about having a hard time finding books to read, but it's true. What the heck?

5. Dialogue attribution
I know it's unfashionable and unliterary but please tell me who the hell is talking. You cannot launch into 20 lines of dialogue and only attribute the first line, because then I need to make up voices for the characters in my head and alternate them so I can keep track of who is saying what and that is just too much work. I don't know who decided it was a bad idea to include a dialogue tag once in a while, but this is a terrible idea and I'm sorry it has caught on.

6. Historical romances set in Russia
I love Regency England as much as the next person, but I also think that pre-Revolution Russia would be a fantastic setting and also these books don't all need to be about the Romanovs and their friends, please and thank you.

7. Historical romances set in the US
Ok, I read one by Lorraine Heath which I really liked and have been meaning to read the rest of the trilogy, and then I discovered Beverly Jenkins, and now Alyssa Cole wrote that great Civil War interracial romance, so there's not nothing. But there could be more! What about colonial New England or Gilded Age New York or a little romance between two pioneers during the westward expansion or involving a bootlegger during Prohibition? There's lots of fodder out there, people!

8. Chick lit
This whole genre seems to have died out and it makes me sad. Please come back. You were so much fun.

9. Strong female friendships
It doesn't have to be the center of the novel, but I'd love if a romance or historical or dystopia or whatever features a strong female friendship in its story. So often the heroine is a loner or has a group of casual acquaintances but I really love a great best friend in my fiction.

10. Short novels
I don't mean novellas, I just mean novels that are under 300 pages. There are many novels that could easily be under 300 pages, but they aren't. I have a bit of a commitment problem.

Oh, I thought of an 11th!

11. Historical romance couples who are equally matched in sexual experience
Almost always, the heroine is totally virginal and ridiculously naive, and the hero has a lot of experience but is totally swept away by the heroine's magical vagina when they finally do it. I mean, seriously. Can we have a lady who has had a sexual thought in her head? This is one of the (many) reasons why I so enjoyed Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover by Sarah MacLean. This heroine has a past and she is a grown-up in every way.

What would you like to see more of in books? I bet there are things I'd love that I'm forgetting!

Angel Catbird

Angel Catbird, Vol. 1 by Margaret Atwood (2016)

A genetic engineer has an accident that results in becoming part owl and part cat, with an ability to transform between his human self and catbird self. He then meets other half-cats and a villain who is (of course) half rat because rats are always evil. Everyone is very scantily clad.

I honestly have very little to say about this book. It was ok. There wasn't a lot to the story, the art was fine but not really my style, I found the dialogue a bit forced and awkward, and I didn't recognize Margaret Atwood in any of it. Atwood says in the introduction that she grew up on comic books and that this doesn't feel like the surprising departure to her that others may view it as. To me, it feels like maybe she's trying to write the kind of comic she enjoyed in her youth rather than writing something in her own style but in graphic form, if that makes sense. It's honestly not terribly creative, though it's also just the first volume in a series so perhaps there will be more to the story later on. I won't be following it though.

I didn't actively dislike it, it just didn't do anything for me. As far as Atwood is concerned, I'm going to stick with her novels.

The Little Book of Hygge

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking (2016)

I've come a bit late to the hygge party, but now I might never leave. For the uninitiated, hygge is a Danish lifestyle/philosophy that celebrates coziness and togetherness and warmth. And according to Meik Wiking, CEO of The Happiness Research Institute and the author of this book - it's the reason why Danes are consistently found to be the happiest people in the world.

How does one achieve hygge? According to the book, some of the top things Danes associate with hygge are hot drinks, candles, fireplaces, Christmas, board games, sweets and cakes, cooking, and books. To make your home more hyggelig, Wiking suggests the following:
1. A hyggekrog (a cozy nook to sit in)
2. A fireplace
3. Candles
4. Things made out of wood
5. Nature (leaves, nuts, animal skins, etc.)
6. Books
7. Ceramic
8. Think tactile (have a variety of inviting textures)
9. Vintage
10. Blankets and cushions

If you want to see what this all looks like in practice, I recommend searching for hygge on Pinterest. I now have a hygge board where I'm saving all kinds of ideas to implement at home. The great thing about this is that unlike other design styles, hygge is cheap. (Well, the lamps recommended in this book to achieve the right levels of light are super expensive, but also not strictly necessary.) Anyone can buy candles and a snuggly blanket and make some tea and have friends over to cook together. Cooking simple comfort foods with friends is far more hyggelit than going out to a restaurant. Doing these cozy activities with others is one of the most important parts of hygge, the ideal group size apparently being 3-4 people. Small and casual is the name of the game.

This way of living is great to get you through the cold months, but it's not just for winter. Picnics, camping, and just lazing about on a warm summer day are also hygge. As is gardening, because it feeds into the idea of making things, another important element. Harvesting vegetables to cook or picking berries you'll later make into jam - with your friends, of course - are totally hyggelit. As is other crafting, like knitting. Warm sweaters and socks are essential elements and making them yourself is the height of hygge.

I'm not one for embracing trends, but now and then I find something that just works for me (like bullet journals!) and in this case, I've just found the name and specifics for something that I already wanted and didn't know how to get. For instance, I've walked into rooms and known that they felt like what I wanted to achieve at my house, but couldn't isolate the elements that made them feel that way. Now it all kind of clicks for me and I know exactly what to bring in to achieve the casual coziness I want. (Seriously, I am currently trying to buy an antique church pew.)

Needless to say this was a totally fun little book that I really enjoyed! The cover above is a slightly different edition. The cover and subtitle varies from my copy, but the cover art is so much better. On mine, there's just a teapot with candles on either side and that's it. There are many books about hygge that have been published recently and I've already grabbed another from the library and got on the wait list for a third. If you like Scandinavia or coziness, I do recommend checking this out!

Have you read this or other books on the topic? How do you hygge?

Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books I Haven't Read

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a freebie about book covers. I thought it would be fun to list my favorite book covers that appear on books I haven't read. The ones that make me happy every time I see them even though I may have no interest whatsoever in actually reading them.

1. Leaving the Sea by Ben Marcus
I have no idea what this is even about and I have no intention of ever reading it but it's one of my favorite covers ever. So tactile, so three-dimensional, so satisfying. Peter Mendelsund is the designer of his covers. (see also The Flame Alphabet.)

2. She Rises by Kate Worsley
I've actually heard that this book is good and would kind of like to read it someday. But for now I just enjoy the art.

3. Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum
I've heard from a trusted source that it's not very good so I'm just going to remain content enjoying the cover.

4. Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link
Reading this book is not out of the question, though I have no definite plans to do so. Her book Monstrous Affections also has a great cover.

5. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
I didn't like Arcadia so I probably won't read anything else by this author, but I do love this cover.

6. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
I read about a page of this book and it just wasn't my style, which is too bad because I love the beautiful cover and poetic title.

7. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
I tried to read it, I tried to listen to it, I failed. I wanted to love it as so many people seem to, but couldn't get very far at all because somehow it just seemed overly fond of itself. But I still love the cover.

The last three I reserved for cookbooks. I love looking through beautiful cookbooks and have picked many of them up based on the beautiful, delicious-looking cover photos. I don't actually enjoy cooking though, so my fantasy is for someone to cook all of those things for me. At any rate, I don't recall the titles of the ones I've loved the most but here are three that I did identify as having seen before and really liked.

8. My Bread by Jim Lahey
I love rustic, earthy bread and that round loaf on the cover is even in a cast-iron pan. Someone recommended this book of no-knead breads to me and I went so far as to check a copy out of the library before remembering that kneading is actually the part that I like.

9. Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott
Who doesn't love pie? The title font and edge of a hand towel just make it that much more homey.

10. Baking by Dorie Greenspan
I think this is the one I recently saw on a return cart at the library and stood there looking through it while completely forgetting what I was there to do. So many delectable baked things, beautiful photographed. What I would not do for that cake on the cover.

I almost included the Smitten Kitchen cookbook because the cover is wonderful, but I may actually have made things from that one before. I definitely made some Smitten Kitchen recipes, though I don't recall if they were from the book or the website. Either way, there is no shortage of gorgeous cookbook covers to choose from!

What are your favorite book covers?

An Extraordinary Union

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole (2017)

In the midst of the Civil War, a young black woman with a remarkable memory goes undercover as a slave to spy for the Union. Elle works in the household of a senator with an extremely spoiled daughter, both very loyal to the Confederacy. Southern belle Susie is self-centered and determined to get what she wants - and she sights her sights on Rebel soldier Malcolm McCall. But Malcolm is also a spy and he only has eyes for Elle. Can Elle and Malcolm work together to help the Union without being caught? And can a white man and black woman forge a romantic relationship in a society that views her as less than human?

Hot off the press! I've read so much about this book and, of course, totally love the cover (even though my library put a barcode on top of Elle's face - WHY??) You can't tell from this image, but it's a trade paperback and the cover is textured. So fancy!

It's hard to buy a happily ever after for an interracial couple during the Civil War but I know there were mixed-race couples even at that time. It just couldn't have been easy. But if anyone deserves happiness, it's Elle Burns. She is incredibly smart, and not just because she can remember everything she's ever seen and done in perfect detail. She's intuitive, resourceful, and has excellent judgement. Malcolm is ok too. He abhors slavery and finds it difficult to act otherwise, which he needs to as an undercover Rebel soldier. He obviously cares about Elle and appreciates all her best qualities, but she's definitely superior in most ways. I found them both believable though. They were good people, but not too perfect to believe.

The inherent inequality of their relationship is addressed a bit, and Malcolm is completely aware of what it looks like to outsiders, or even to Elle. Knowing how many white men enjoy taking advantage of slaves, Malcolm was sure to be clear with Elle that he wasn't just looking for a good time. He wanted a relationship and respected her as much as any white women (and way more than some of them.) Elle, too, had very mixed feelings about having sex with a white man. I also loved that Elle is not a virgin. I'm so sick of romances in which the heroine is completely unexperienced (and usually totally clueless) and the hero is very experienced and must teach her all the things. (But of course the sexytimes are better with her than any other woman because magic.) Having a past relationship gave Elle more nuance than most romance characters, and I think was integral to the maturity and strength of her character.

Being an undercover slave was fraught with danger, and there were some narrow escapes. As the attraction grew between Malcolm and Elle, Susie became more of a threat. She was part of a Vigilance Committee that rooted out traitors to the South, and her pettiness and disregard for people rose to the fore every time Malcolm resisted her advances. Interestingly, we were given a little bit of insight into why she was so horrible. It wasn't developed quite as much as I liked, but I appreciate that she wasn't wholly two-dimensional.

Overall I really enjoyed this story, which is the first of a series. I'm so glad to have found another author writing historical romances set in the U.S. I've also read Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath, and both Forbidden and Breathless by Beverly Jenkins, but wasn't aware of other authors writing American historicals. I love a good Regency, but there's so much to explore here as well and it's nice to see another author doing just that.

Tender is the Night

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1934)

Dick Diver is a psychiatrist married to a former patient, Nicole, whose wealth affords them an elaborate lifestyle and assures her the best care possible. Young actress Rosemary Hoyt becomes obsessed with Dick when they meet on the French Riviera, complicating a marriage that already strains as Nicole becomes more healthy and strong than perhaps her husband counted on.

Both professionally and personally, Dick is widely admired. When we are introduced to him in this novel he is always the center of the party and everyone wants to be acquainted with him. As time goes on he is floundering, professionally and personally, drinking heavily, and he's become much less appealing to be around. Colleagues no longer hold him in such high esteem (and for someone who is supposed to be so respected, he hardly works at all throughout the course of the novel) and he barely tries to be charming anymore. At one point when his friend Mary admonishes him for not listening to her he says "But you've gotten so damned dull, Mary. I listened as long as I could." Which went over terribly well, as you can imagine.

Dick and Nicole's marriage was fascinating, but dark, her mental illness casting a shadow over everything. Their relationship was unequal because of their age difference and relationship as doctor and patient. Dick acts rather paternal towards her, his admonishments going far behind what is required for her mental health. I can't tell if that's supposed to be a negative characteristic or is just symptomatic of Fitzgerald's own views on women. Early on he says of Rosemary: "Like most women she liked to be told how she should feel..." And he describes Nicole's older sister as "...a tall, fine-looking woman, deeply engaged in being almost thirty" and goes on to describe her spinsterish ways.

The spare but evocative style is familiar to anyone who's read The Great Gatsby, and a few passages stood out to me such as Rosemary and Dick's taxi ride together:

"But there was little time to cry, and lovers now they fell ravenously on the quick seconds while outside the taxi windows the green and cream twilight faded, and the fire-red, gas-blue, ghost-green signs began to shine smokily through the tranquil rain. It was nearly six, the streets were in movement, the bistros gleamed, the Place de la Concorde moved by in pink majesty as the cab turned north."

I found the timeline of this novel incredibly confusing. In the first part, Rosemary meets and becomes quite fond of the Divers, falling in love with Dick. There's a lot of drunken debauchery with their friends that culminates in something very serious happening at the end of part one. When part two begins, it goes back to Dick first meeting Nicole and covers how their relationship began, and I expected that it would stop before the events of the part one, and then part three would continue the current story. But Rosemary appears in part two which means we've already rejoined the story in progress and I'm just not certain where that happens. Part three seems to pick up much later, though I could never tell how much time was passing at any point during the book. Furthermore, the events at the end of part one are never referred to again, which makes it even harder to place which parts of part two happened before or after that.

It took me a very long time to warm up to this book, and the whole time I kept thinking that i'd like it more the second time. I still think that though I did begin to really like it about 2/3 of the way through and more I think about it the more I like it. There's a lot to unpack and think about. I know that it's based on Fitzgerald's own relationship with his wife Zelda, and now I'm intrigued to read more about them. If anyone has a suggestion of a good book that covers their relationship, please let me know!

I read this for the Classic Book-a-Month Club. As I mentioned in my original post about that, I'm only planning to read along for 4 or 5 of the books. This is my second, after House of Mirth, and I'm looking forward to reading Raisin in the Sun next month. I've only ever read a few plays - there was all the Shakespeare I read last year and the only other one I can think of is The Cherry Orchard, which I read in college - so it should be an interesting change from my usual fare.

Top Ten Things That Will Make Me Instantly NOT Want To Read a Book

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is the opposite of last week's. The interesting thing about this topic is that even though certain things are instant turn-off's to me, it doesn't mean that I won't actually read the book if I hear enough good things about it. They're just things that make me immediately say NO or, more likely, roll my eyes and say "Gah."

1. World War II
Haven't we exhausted this topic? Apparently not. But I am exhausted of it. I know All the Light We Cannot See is supposed to be amazing and I've been told that I'd like it, but I just can't get interested. Maybe someday.

2. An overly precious title
I'm looking at you, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. In fact, for a while there were a number of books with similarly-constructed titles and I just find it annoying. (The Adjective Feeling of Adjective Noun. It's a thing.) I don't care how good the book is supposed to be.

3. Anything that a review calls a "tour de force."
I realize this is a problem with reviewing and not the book itself, but it still turns me off. The phrase is incredibly overused and I take it out on the books, which really are just victims in all of this. The same goes for anything with a plot point described as "unthinkable." Nothing is unthinkable. In fact, this author already thought of it a couple years ago when they started this book, and it's probably not even so original that there's not another book about it out there somewhere. Many people have thought about this thing.

4. Neurotic middle-aged men trying to find themselves
I just don't have the patience for that crap. Come to think of it, anything about privileged white people trying to find themselves strikes me the same way. They really need to find some hobbies.

5. Over 500 pages
It's not that I don't read long books, I do. But it's a large time investment that I'm hesitant to take on and why is everything so incredibly long?

6. Short stories
I've been very excited about authors I like having new books come out and then I learn they are short story collections and I immediately feel disappointed. I have a strange relationship with short stories in that I think I don't like them so I try to avoid them, but when I give in and start reading them I remember that I do actually like them. It's very confusing.

7. When a book is compared to an amazing wonderful book that I'm sure it is nothing like
It might be a great book, but don't try to tell me that it's the next Gone Girl or the next Eleanor & Park because it's not. It might be wonderful, but just tell me why it's wonderful without making unfair and untrue comparisons because I don't believe them.

8. Sports
If the plot has anything to do with any sort of competitive sportsball thingy, I am instantly uninterested. The closest I've come recently is The Boys in the Boat, and that's because I was forced to read it.

9. Spies
In theory spy stories are super interesting and exciting, but the reality for me is just a lot of confusion. I read about half of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy and stopped because I had no idea what was going on. Then I watched the entire movie, and I still don't know what was going on. I did like Code Name Verity though, so it's not impossible for me to enjoy a spy story.

10. Cover art that I don't like
I mean, A Little Life, right? Or as I think of it, Michael J. Fox Having An Orgasm. (Is it just me?) I still plan to read it - it's on my personal challenge for the year - but I wish there was more than one cover option. Why is this seemingly the only book with the same art on the hardcover and paperback? To make me uncomfortable, that's why.

So there you have it - everything I could think of that makes me instantly not want to read a book. What factors turn you off from a book immediately? Share in the comments!