Hello Book Lovers!
Like most of American politics these days, there was no middle ground during February's reading. The books were either completely awful or completely marvelous.
Luckily, unlike American politics, there was far more marvelous-ness than awfulness.
Unfortunately, unlike those pesky politics, very few aspects of the fate of the world rest on my reading choices. That I know of. I mean, who knows what dies I could be casting based on my Bookbub reviews, right?
I better stop right there, because I can feel some utter silliness creeping into my brain involving a Fate of the World Lottery based on the book titles of my five-star reviews vs my one-star reviews.
(If you ever wonder how writers come up with short stories, it's the exact kind of silliness just mentioned.)
Silliness and politics aside, if you're ready, then do a bit more scrolling to see my Top Three Reads from last month!
Note: If you're interested in grabbing any of these books for yourself, a tap on that title link or the cover will take you to the book's page on Amazon, or you can always look for the book at your local library.
First up, that clever, clever butler...
by P.G. Wodehouse
"There are moments, Jeeves, when one asks oneself, 'Do trousers matter?"
Head-shakingly funny pretty much sums up this collection of short stories featuring the somewhat dim-witted, well heeled Bertie and his preternaturally clever butler Jeeves.
Funny because... well, Wodehouse.
And head-shaking because no matter what good Bertie tries to do, he seems to only make matters worse.
If you're not familiar with the Jeeves stories, Bertie is a wealthy young man who seems to be friends with everyone and who seems to have an uncanny ability to get himself into predicaments. Cue Jeeves, who not only instinctively knows what Bertie should wear for the day, but also manages to have the solution to untangle each mess Bertie has gotten himself into.
Each of the stories in this collection is a hoot. Although a few do seem a bit formulaic, it's still a delight to watch the interactions between Bertie and Jeeves, along with Jeeves's talents and Bertie's... well, Bertie's perpetual wonder at Jeeves's talents.
Highly recommended if you're in need of something light-hearted and easy to read that will make you chuckle.
Next, we have a candy-munching detective (which makes this sound far lighter than it is... this dark crime thriller is NOT for everyone)
by Stuart MacBride
"Mr Cameron Anderson was in his mid-twenties and hailed from Edinburgh: which explained why he had a first name like Cameron."
Talk about knocking it out of the park with a first-in-series crime thriller! This was one of those books that, even before the end, I was putting the second book on hold at the library.
The basic premise: Detective Sergeant Logan McRae has returned to active duty after a medical leave of absence. He's barely back a day before he's being called out to the scene of where the body of a toddler has been discovered. Within a week, the body count has climbed, there's suspects aplenty, and the police keep hitting dead ends.
I don't think there was a character in this book that wasn't believable, and Logan himself is a great character. He doesn't have the stereotypical "crime thriller cop" problems with alcohol or dislike of people, but he does have some relatable problems.
The setting work is quick and to the point, with MacBride getting you into the feel of a scene in one or two punchy sentences that stoked my writer's envy more than once. And the plot... this is a long-ish book, but it doesn't feel that way as MacBride keeps pulling you along, ratcheting up the curiosity, and even making you sympathize for one of the suspects.
What I loved best though was the unexpected hits of humor (see quote above). This isn't a funny book. In fact, it's pretty darn grim, but some wry, gallows humor pops up just when you need it most.
As for the grim nature of the book, if you can't handle descriptions of the corpses of fictional children, you need to stay away from this one. MacBride goes for realism and doesn't pull any punches with what's being discovered. You have been warned.
My only problem with the book... Detective Inspector Inch (Logan's direct superior) is eating some sort of candy in every one of his scenes. I have never walked away from a book with a stronger craving for sweets! Now, where's that bag of Haribo....?
And finally, a criminally witty misfit
by Christopher Shevlin
"His brain decided that it must be an emergency, that there must be words, and so anything that come into his head also come out of his mouth."
Which perfectly sums up our haphazard hero Jonathon Fairfax. He's got nearly no social skills, confidence, or prospects, and that means it's great fun watching him blunder his way through a serious crime, surviving pursuit by a murderer, trying to make friends, and stumbling into love with someone.
The basic premise of this book is, well, complicated. A political secretary has been murdered and files have been stolen, which has a smarmy politician fearing his big secret might come out at any minute. Meanwhile, Jonathon accidentally makes a couple of friends and gets unwittingly tangled up in the whole affair.
The dry wit and the unexpected (yet wholly believable) characters in this book kept me giggling, and the curiosity over what was really going on kept me turning the pages. I did find myself having a little trouble understanding exactly what was going on on the political end of the story, but that might just be me. It still took nothing away from the entertainment of watching Jonathon bumbling his way toward figuring things out while occasionally making a mess of things.
Have you read any of these? What did you think? Did you anything great this past month, or anything horrible you might want to warn me away from? Be sure to drop a comment to let me know.
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