My neighborhood book club chose Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. I enjoyed learning more about Fitzgerald, but the book dragged a bit for me. I had trouble getting through the last 150 pages. I think Fowler could have been more succinct. Perhaps, however, in showing the repetitiveness of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s behavior, we can truly feel how Zelda must have felt living with him? It made me sad to read how her life was consistently subsumed under his, but then I remembered the times. If you like historical fiction, I think you will enjoy this one.

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy was written by Lindsay Moran, the wife of a wonderful photographer I know. It sounded interesting and I thought I would give it a go. I enjoyed the book and it certainly enlightened me about the process of training to be a spy as well as the challenges presented by opting into this kind of life. I particularly enjoyed when Moran described meeting James (the photographer friend) for the first time. Blowing My Cover was a fun read, quick, not too deep, and engaging.

After starting and rejecting both The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild and The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, I picked up Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling  on the recommendation and loan of a friend at work. I enjoyed it (much more than Bossypants), and it was a very quick read, but I didn’t think it was hilarious. Perhaps this type of book just isn’t for me…

Ghost Boy is the memoir of Martin Pistorius, who mysteriously became a quadriplegic after a brief illness. “In January of 1988, Marsin Pistorius came home from school complaining of a sore throat. He never went back. Within a year, Martin had degenerated into a mute quadriplegic.” This was a completely engrossing book that I couldn’t put down. The description of his falling in love and marrying his wife came and went too quickly, but it was a fascinating read overall.

As I have said before (in this post) Kate Morton’s work is a guilty pleasure. Her stories are almost always ones where you become quickly and easily lost. Her newest, The Lake House, was no exception. I enjoyed the premise – deserted country home, stumbled upon by a woman fleeing her errors in London – lots of mysteries to solve. While it was predictable, and way too long, it was a good read.

I haven’t read any Isabel Allende in a long time (she was a favorite of mine in college and in young adulthood). A colleague recommended The Japanese Lover, and, upon learning it was written by Allende, I hopped to it, hoping I would like it. What a great story. It was written in Allende’s signature matter-of-fact style and kept you on your toes, waiting to know more about all the characters. What a pleasure.

I adored Life of Pi, and was excited to see that Yann Martel had a new book. The High Mountains of Portugal is made up of three intertwining stories. First is the story of a museum archivist, who finds a journal and goes up into the mountains to discover something about what he reads in the journal. Second is the story of a pathologist who has to do a very unusual autopsy. Third is the story of a Canadian politician who befriends an ape. While the second story was my least favorite, most odd, and required skimming, overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and had a unique tone. It won’t be for everyone, but if you are a fan of Martel’s, I think you will like it.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller was recommended and loaned to me by a friend (thanks, Julia!). I fell into the story immediately. Alexandra was born in England, but grew up with her family in Africa. The memoir traces Alexandra’s life in Africa with her family before she moved to America with her husband. This was a quick read and while I liked it, it felt a little flat to me and I didn’t love it as much as some memoirs.

I received The Wrong Man as a freebie and wanted something quick and easy to follow A Man Called Ove, because there was no way anything would compare. The basic storyline: Kit travels to Florida on business and falls for a man who turns out to be someone different from what he seemed. She becomes entangled in a dangerous crazy web. This was not a particularly well-written book and I am a little embarrassed that I read it (not my usual cup of tea), but it only took about 3 hours to blow through and it had a creative premise, which made it somewhat enjoyable.

STOP EVERYTHING AND READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY!! A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman was a true delight from start to finish. I kept reading and hearing good things about it and I even purchased a copy (which most people know I rarely do, preferring to pick books up at the library). It was absolutely worth it and I am glad to have it in my now limited collection (thanks, Marie Kondo).