Emily May's bookshelf: read en-US Thu, 03 Jul 2025 22:54:59 -0700 60 Emily May's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1)]]> 212174157 From an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy comes The Raven Scholar, a masterfully woven and playfully inventive tale of imperial intrigue, cutthroat competition, and one scholar’s quest to uncover the truth.

Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered.

It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.

If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.

We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.]]> 656 Antonia Hodgson 152933988X Emily May 0 4.48 2025 The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy, #1)
author: Antonia Hodgson
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: fantasy, currently-reading, 2025
review:

]]> Woman at Point Zero 25198077
From her earliest memories, Firdaus suffered at the hands of men—first her abusive father, then her violent, much older husband, to finally her deceitful boyfriend-turned-pimp. After a lifetime of abuse, she at last takes drastic action against the males ruling her life.

Still as beautiful and cutting as it was when it was first published, this new edition will continue to resonate powerfully with readers for years to come.]]> 142 Nawal El Saadawi 1783605944 Emily May 5 2025
Based on a real encounter Nawal El Saadawi had while working as a psychiatrist in an Egyptian women's prison, this novel is a disturbing portrait of a woman pushed to the edge by a lifetime of exploitation, betrayal, and injustice.

At the center of the narrative is Firdaus, a woman awaiting execution for the murder of a man. As she tells her life story to the unnamed narrator (a stand-in for El Saadawi herself), we are drawn into a brutal world, where gender and class intersect in ways that trap women in cycles of subjugation. Firdaus recounts the abuse she endured from childhood through adulthood-- by her family, employers, husbands, and lovers-- with a chilling detachment. This emotional restraint, rather than dulling the impact, only intensifies it: she has endured so much pain that she is now numb.

The character of Firdaus left me feeling devastated, but it is not just her suffering that hurt... it is also her resistance. She tries again and again to claim control over her life-- through education, through work, and eventually through sex work, which she paradoxically finds more empowering than conventional employment:

All women are prostitutes of one kind or another. Because I was intelligent I preferred to be a free prostitute, rather than an enslaved wife.


In a world rigged against women at every turn, her assertion of autonomy is met time and again with punishment.

I found El Saadawi's prose to be really effective. She writes without sentimentality, just with a raw, brutal honesty. Firdaus' story is astoundingly bleak, yet her refusal to bow down even as she approaches her death sentence makes her an empowering figure and not just a victim. She is a character who will stay with me.]]> 4.18 1975 Woman at Point Zero
author: Nawal El Saadawi
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/23
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: 2025
review:
A tiny, sharp-edged knife of a book.

Based on a real encounter Nawal El Saadawi had while working as a psychiatrist in an Egyptian women's prison, this novel is a disturbing portrait of a woman pushed to the edge by a lifetime of exploitation, betrayal, and injustice.

At the center of the narrative is Firdaus, a woman awaiting execution for the murder of a man. As she tells her life story to the unnamed narrator (a stand-in for El Saadawi herself), we are drawn into a brutal world, where gender and class intersect in ways that trap women in cycles of subjugation. Firdaus recounts the abuse she endured from childhood through adulthood-- by her family, employers, husbands, and lovers-- with a chilling detachment. This emotional restraint, rather than dulling the impact, only intensifies it: she has endured so much pain that she is now numb.

The character of Firdaus left me feeling devastated, but it is not just her suffering that hurt... it is also her resistance. She tries again and again to claim control over her life-- through education, through work, and eventually through sex work, which she paradoxically finds more empowering than conventional employment:

All women are prostitutes of one kind or another. Because I was intelligent I preferred to be a free prostitute, rather than an enslaved wife.


In a world rigged against women at every turn, her assertion of autonomy is met time and again with punishment.

I found El Saadawi's prose to be really effective. She writes without sentimentality, just with a raw, brutal honesty. Firdaus' story is astoundingly bleak, yet her refusal to bow down even as she approaches her death sentence makes her an empowering figure and not just a victim. She is a character who will stay with me.
]]> Culpability 222259253 From the bestselling author of the "wise and addictive" (New York Times) The Gifted School comes a riveting family drama, set at a summer rental on the Chesapeake Bay, about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, killing an elderly couple, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident.

During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident—suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.]]> 380 Bruce Holsinger 1954118961 Emily May 2 contemporary, arc, 2025
I was really excited when I read the blurb because it sounded like a timely premise: a family get into a car accident in their self-driving minivan, killing two people and starting a conversation about culpability when it comes to AI. The five Cassidy-Shaws were all absorbed in their own world, their own devices, letting the minivan do its own thing. Are they to blame? Can they be held responsible for the accident?

Except the waters are quickly muddied by several secrets the family members are hiding, changing the conversation from one about AI ethics to one about the characters and their personal issues.

Still, though disappointing, I love a family drama as much as anyone. The problem was I didn't find much to sink my teeth into there either. The characters are a bit basic, and even cliche in Alice's case-- she seems to be a typical ansgty teenager obsessed with an AI chatbot (the interactions were a bit of an eye roll, honestly).

Noah is the narrator and I couldn't stand him. He has an inferiority complex toward his wife and is frequently insecure, but his insecurities are just touched upon and not explored in a way that would add depth to his character. The way he views his teenage son and comments on his girlfriend is just weird, too, and I am unsympathetic to his drunk driving with his daughters in the car. Maybe I could have given the guy a break if we'd gotten to know him better, if his character development had been more complex.

The themes are messy and inconsistent as the book tries to juggle too many things at once: Lorelai's OCD, criticism of sheltered and entitled teens, the use of AI drones in war zones, Alice's chatbot, Charlie's new girlfriend and mental health, and somewhere in there the whole discussion about guilt and responsibility after the road accident.

Nothing much in terms of AI ethics or compelling family drama. An extra star because the use of mixed media made it more readable and easy to get through.]]> 4.28 2025 Culpability
author: Bruce Holsinger
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/07/02
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: contemporary, arc, 2025
review:
This is one of those books that seems unsure what it wants to be, so it straddles the line between family drama and a meditation on AI ethics and never really satisfies with either.

I was really excited when I read the blurb because it sounded like a timely premise: a family get into a car accident in their self-driving minivan, killing two people and starting a conversation about culpability when it comes to AI. The five Cassidy-Shaws were all absorbed in their own world, their own devices, letting the minivan do its own thing. Are they to blame? Can they be held responsible for the accident?

Except the waters are quickly muddied by several secrets the family members are hiding, changing the conversation from one about AI ethics to one about the characters and their personal issues.

Still, though disappointing, I love a family drama as much as anyone. The problem was I didn't find much to sink my teeth into there either. The characters are a bit basic, and even cliche in Alice's case-- she seems to be a typical ansgty teenager obsessed with an AI chatbot (the interactions were a bit of an eye roll, honestly).

Noah is the narrator and I couldn't stand him. He has an inferiority complex toward his wife and is frequently insecure, but his insecurities are just touched upon and not explored in a way that would add depth to his character. The way he views his teenage son and comments on his girlfriend is just weird, too, and I am unsympathetic to his drunk driving with his daughters in the car. Maybe I could have given the guy a break if we'd gotten to know him better, if his character development had been more complex.

The themes are messy and inconsistent as the book tries to juggle too many things at once: Lorelai's OCD, criticism of sheltered and entitled teens, the use of AI drones in war zones, Alice's chatbot, Charlie's new girlfriend and mental health, and somewhere in there the whole discussion about guilt and responsibility after the road accident.

Nothing much in terms of AI ethics or compelling family drama. An extra star because the use of mixed media made it more readable and easy to get through.
]]> The Plague 19229822
Older alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780141185132. Newer cover may be found here]]> 249 Albert Camus Emily May 4 classics, 2025 “But what does it mean, the plague? It's life, that's all.”

This is a very interesting read a few years after the outbreak of COVID. The parallels between my own experience of living through a pandemic and lockdowns and that of the inhabitants of Oran in Camus' fictional story are striking.

In The Plague, an outbreak of the bubonic plague-- the monstrous Black Death, Yersinia pestis, that killed about half of Europe's population in the 14th century --forces the Algerian city of Oran into lockdown. As in our own times, the crisis exposes the best and worst of humans, both their noble and selfish impulses.

When you read this book, it becomes clear that there was nothing particularly special about the COVID pandemic. Even in the 1940s, Camus could predict how people would react. Of course, there was the devastation of loss, but it is more interesting how many of the town’s inhabitants see not the loss of life, but their own loss of freedom. Camus understood that those unaffected, or not yet affected, by the plague would be angry, especially at the doctors enforcing quarantines.

One such doctor is the protagonist, Dr. Bernard Rieux. We follow him as he trudges on, tending to the sick, observing as those around him struggle, despair, and experience loss of faith.

There is also this collective denial that persists well into the outbreak; the characters are deeply reluctant to disrupt normalcy, to even accept that it has been disrupted. And others, such as Cottard, quickly seek to profit from this new reality. He is the classic disaster capitalist-- the person who spins tragedy to his advantage and flourishes when society breaks down.

I had read before that this book is considered absurdist and existentialist, both of which put me off reading it for a long time. I am not a fan of abstract books where everything supposedly has a hidden meaning (but you'll have to strain to see it yourself because the author is faarrrr too mysterious to tell you how super clever they are, but trust them, they are super clever), but, thankfully, that's not this book. The narrative is compelling and the themes are clearly expressed and powerful.

It is existentialist in the sense that the plague is random, destructive, and senseless, and it confronts the characters with the irrationality of life. Rieux is a symbol of resilience, of soldiering on and doing one's duty in the face of meaningless suffering. The priest, Father Paneloux, has an especially interesting journey-- from someone who is adamant the plague is a punishment from god to someone who accepts it is not redemptive, not part of a divine plan.

The tone of the story is a mix of hopefulness and resignation. Camus seems to have faith in humans, some humans, like Rieux who continues to fight-- not for reward or even because he thinks he'll succeed, but because it's the right thing to do. But he also believes in a chaotic and irrational universe. Tragedy can strike whenever, wherever, and to those least deserving of it. We are ultimately reminded that the plague can resurface at any time.]]> 3.98 1947 The Plague
author: Albert Camus
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1947
rating: 4
read at: 2025/07/02
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: classics, 2025
review:
“But what does it mean, the plague? It's life, that's all.”


This is a very interesting read a few years after the outbreak of COVID. The parallels between my own experience of living through a pandemic and lockdowns and that of the inhabitants of Oran in Camus' fictional story are striking.

In The Plague, an outbreak of the bubonic plague-- the monstrous Black Death, Yersinia pestis, that killed about half of Europe's population in the 14th century --forces the Algerian city of Oran into lockdown. As in our own times, the crisis exposes the best and worst of humans, both their noble and selfish impulses.

When you read this book, it becomes clear that there was nothing particularly special about the COVID pandemic. Even in the 1940s, Camus could predict how people would react. Of course, there was the devastation of loss, but it is more interesting how many of the town’s inhabitants see not the loss of life, but their own loss of freedom. Camus understood that those unaffected, or not yet affected, by the plague would be angry, especially at the doctors enforcing quarantines.

One such doctor is the protagonist, Dr. Bernard Rieux. We follow him as he trudges on, tending to the sick, observing as those around him struggle, despair, and experience loss of faith.

There is also this collective denial that persists well into the outbreak; the characters are deeply reluctant to disrupt normalcy, to even accept that it has been disrupted. And others, such as Cottard, quickly seek to profit from this new reality. He is the classic disaster capitalist-- the person who spins tragedy to his advantage and flourishes when society breaks down.

I had read before that this book is considered absurdist and existentialist, both of which put me off reading it for a long time. I am not a fan of abstract books where everything supposedly has a hidden meaning (but you'll have to strain to see it yourself because the author is faarrrr too mysterious to tell you how super clever they are, but trust them, they are super clever), but, thankfully, that's not this book. The narrative is compelling and the themes are clearly expressed and powerful.

It is existentialist in the sense that the plague is random, destructive, and senseless, and it confronts the characters with the irrationality of life. Rieux is a symbol of resilience, of soldiering on and doing one's duty in the face of meaningless suffering. The priest, Father Paneloux, has an especially interesting journey-- from someone who is adamant the plague is a punishment from god to someone who accepts it is not redemptive, not part of a divine plan.

The tone of the story is a mix of hopefulness and resignation. Camus seems to have faith in humans, some humans, like Rieux who continues to fight-- not for reward or even because he thinks he'll succeed, but because it's the right thing to do. But he also believes in a chaotic and irrational universe. Tragedy can strike whenever, wherever, and to those least deserving of it. We are ultimately reminded that the plague can resurface at any time.
]]> My Brilliant Career 219536297 272 Miles Franklin 0241699584 Emily May 0 4.50 1901 My Brilliant Career
author: Miles Franklin
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1901
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/02
shelves: classics, clothbound-own, tbr-other
review:

]]> The Call 42435915
It starts slowly and takes 80 or 100 pages before then shocking the reader with its radicalism. It begins with a leisurely and detailed trawl round a house in Lowndes Square, ending up in the heroine’s ‘lab of one’s own’ (the title of a recent book about women scientists). It is clear at once that the domestic detail is a crucial part of The Call.

The novel gets into its stride when Ursula accompanies her mother to Henley (it is the July of 1909), encounters some suffragettes – and is appalled by them. But some months later, by chance, she sits in on a court case involving a prostitute and her nine-year-old daughter who has been sexually assaulted by a client. The leniency of the three-month sentence compared with a twelve-month sentence for a man who has stolen a pair of boots horrifies her. She realises that ‘it was the law that was insane, or rather the lawmakers... The suffragettes were right. There was some connection between such things and the Vote.’

Sadly, novels about the war and about votes for women were largely ignored during the 1920s: the former was too raw and the latter ‘too remote to be topical & too recent to be innocuous’ (Edith Zangwill to a friend). Even the theme of a woman scientist in a man’s world was rather remote for the average novel-reader. Yet, as Elizabeth Day writes: ‘The Call gives a rare insight into a woman’s domestic life in the first two decades of the 20th century ... domestic details about running a house are, most unusually, given their due alongside Ursula’s political actions, elegantly making the point that a woman’s work behind closed doors is just as worthy of our attention as what goes on in the wider world.’ By making political points in the guise of a ‘woman’s novel’, the author stunningly reveals her commitment to feminism.’]]> 448 Edith Ayrton Zangwill 1910263192 Emily May 3 classics, persephone, 2025 The Call was the complete opposite of that. A slow beginning eventually gave way to a compelling and dynamic middle that once again grew slow and lukewarm towards the end.

It didn't help that I had no interest in the love story and couldn't see the appeal of Tony. Every time the narrative focused on his relationship with Ursula, I started to lose interest. I actually don't think a love story added anything to this book at all and I just wanted to get back to the story of the suffragettes.

But the central story is a fascinating and horrible one. It follows Ursula through her awakening to the realities of law and politics in Britain, showing how a young woman in the early 20th century could go from disapproving of the suffragist movement to being an ardent supporter who sees women's suffrage as essential.

I have always found it very interesting that some women were anti-suffrage, and I think Zangwill does a good job of portraying why this was the case. Ursula is a brilliant and intelligent young woman, but she finds the suffragettes a bit silly and dramatic until she happens to witness a court case that results in, she feels, a grave miscarriage of justice. Like Ursula, many women were not privy to the legal injustices going on in their country, precisely because they had been kept out of law and government.

It also details the awful reality for imprisoned suffragettes who engaged in hunger strikes to protest that they were not treated as political prisoners. Many were force-fed, a controversial act that has been compared to torture.

Towards the end, however, the suffragette story was pretty much over, and the focus turned to the war and Ursula's relationship with Tony. I found all of this far less interesting, and the ending itself seemed a bit forced.]]> 4.05 1924 The Call
author: Edith Ayrton Zangwill
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1924
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/21
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: classics, persephone, 2025
review:
Many times I have complained about books with a slow middle bookended by a faster-paced beginning and end, but The Call was the complete opposite of that. A slow beginning eventually gave way to a compelling and dynamic middle that once again grew slow and lukewarm towards the end.

It didn't help that I had no interest in the love story and couldn't see the appeal of Tony. Every time the narrative focused on his relationship with Ursula, I started to lose interest. I actually don't think a love story added anything to this book at all and I just wanted to get back to the story of the suffragettes.

But the central story is a fascinating and horrible one. It follows Ursula through her awakening to the realities of law and politics in Britain, showing how a young woman in the early 20th century could go from disapproving of the suffragist movement to being an ardent supporter who sees women's suffrage as essential.

I have always found it very interesting that some women were anti-suffrage, and I think Zangwill does a good job of portraying why this was the case. Ursula is a brilliant and intelligent young woman, but she finds the suffragettes a bit silly and dramatic until she happens to witness a court case that results in, she feels, a grave miscarriage of justice. Like Ursula, many women were not privy to the legal injustices going on in their country, precisely because they had been kept out of law and government.

It also details the awful reality for imprisoned suffragettes who engaged in hunger strikes to protest that they were not treated as political prisoners. Many were force-fed, a controversial act that has been compared to torture.

Towards the end, however, the suffragette story was pretty much over, and the focus turned to the war and Ursula's relationship with Tony. I found all of this far less interesting, and the ending itself seemed a bit forced.
]]> <![CDATA[We Are All Guilty Here (North Falls, #1)]]> 221559926 The gripping and exciting first book in a brand new crime thriller series from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author.

Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.

Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.

But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?]]> 446 Karin Slaughter 0008625891 Emily May 0 waiting-for, mystery-thriller 4.53 2025 We Are All Guilty Here (North Falls, #1)
author: Karin Slaughter
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, mystery-thriller
review:

]]> And Then We Screamed 222027209 Holly Bourne Emily May 0 waiting-for 0.0 And Then We Screamed
author: Holly Bourne
name: Emily May
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for
review:

]]> What We Can Know 223854881 2014: A great poem is read aloud and never heard again. For generations, people speculate about its message, but no copy has yet been found.


2119: The lowlands of the UK have been submerged by rising seas. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost.

Tom Metcalfe, an academic at the University of the South Downs, part of Britain’s remaining island archipelagos, pores over the archives of that distant era, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the lost poem, a story is revealed of entangled loves and a crime that destroy his assumptions about people he thought he knew intimately well.

What We Can Know is a masterpiece, a fictional tour de force that reclaims the present from our sense of looming catastrophe, and imagines a future world where all is not quite lost.
]]> 320 Ian McEwan 0593804724 Emily May 0 4.32 2025 What We Can Know
author: Ian McEwan
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, sci-fi, modern-lit
review:

]]> Holloway 233608850 Holloway has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.]]> 320 Elana K. Arnold 0062990888 Emily May 0 waiting-for 0.0 Holloway
author: Elana K. Arnold
name: Emily May
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for
review:

]]> The Corner 61393081 Tracy Sierra Emily May 0 waiting-for 3.86 The Corner
author: Tracy Sierra
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Untitled (Shadow of the Leviathan, #3)]]> 102615935 Robert Jackson Bennett Emily May 0 waiting-for, fantasy 4.71 Untitled (Shadow of the Leviathan, #3)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.71
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, fantasy
review:

]]> Alchemised 222490389 In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy ― and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.

'What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save'

Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner ― of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.

In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile, undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.

According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?

To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight―to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self―is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.]]> 1040 SenLinYu 0593972708 Emily May 0 waiting-for, fantasy 4.56 2025 Alchemised
author: SenLinYu
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, fantasy
review:

]]> Red City (The New Alchemists) 222765064 The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.

Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.

Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city—and the paths of their lives—will be irrevocably transformed.

The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates' brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> Marie Lu 125088568X Emily May 0 waiting-for, fantasy 3.62 2025 Red City (The New Alchemists)
author: Marie Lu
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, fantasy
review:

]]> Katabasis 210223811 Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.]]> 400 R.F. Kuang Emily May 0 waiting-for, fantasy 3.93 2025 Katabasis
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, fantasy
review:

]]> Forget Me Not 217387937 A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.

With the entire summer now looming ahead—a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother—Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents… as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.

Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.]]> 336 Stacy Willingham 1250887976 Emily May 0 waiting-for, mystery-thriller 4.17 2025 Forget Me Not
author: Stacy Willingham
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, mystery-thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)]]> 223889699
Robert Langdon, esteemed professor of symbology, travels to Prague to attend a groundbreaking lecture by Katherine Solomon—a prominent noetic scientist with whom he has recently begun a relationship. Katherine is on the verge of publishing an explosive book that contains startling discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and threatens to disrupt centuries of established belief. But a brutal murder catapults the trip into chaos, and Katherine suddenly disappears along with her manuscript. Langdon finds himself targeted by a powerful organization and hunted by a chilling assailant sprung from Prague’s most ancient mythology. As the plot expands into London and New York, Langdon desperately searches for Katherine . . . and for answers. In a thrilling race through the dual worlds of futuristic science and mystical lore, he uncovers a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.]]> 688 Dan Brown 0385546890 Emily May 0 waiting-for, mystery-thriller 4.25 2025 The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)
author: Dan Brown
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/01
shelves: waiting-for, mystery-thriller
review:

]]> So Long a Letter 151374 90 Mariama Bâ 0435905554 Emily May 4 classics, 2025
The way Ramatoulaye writes is not sentimental, but I found her tale to be very upsetting. She tells of how her late husband took a second wife, without consulting her or any consideration for her feelings on the matter. It is especially painful because Ramatoulaye is a highly-educated, independent working woman with modernist values, and is both hurt and humiliated by the betrayal.

Mariama Bâ writes about the emerging conflict between progress for women and continuing patriarchal traditions in West Africa. Women like Ramatoulaye were changing Senegalese society in many ways, yet their husbands still had (and still have) freedom to practise polygamy-- and had no qualms about doing so. The indignity of this for these brilliant, educated women is hard to stomach. It is not merely a harmless cultural tradition, but something deeply hurtful and destabilizing, often used to assert male dominance or to discard aging or educated wives for younger, more "manageable" ones.

There is an especially poignant moment when Ramatoulaye reflects on the companionship she once shared with her husband, something now completely destroyed by the discovery that he did not value her in the same way she valued him.

A surprisingly quiet book that perhaps pierces deeper precisely because it doesn't shout and make a fuss.]]> 3.98 1980 So Long a Letter
author: Mariama Bâ
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1980
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/29
date added: 2025/06/30
shelves: classics, 2025
review:
A short, quick but powerful read in the form of a letter from the recently widowed Ramatoulaye to her friend.

The way Ramatoulaye writes is not sentimental, but I found her tale to be very upsetting. She tells of how her late husband took a second wife, without consulting her or any consideration for her feelings on the matter. It is especially painful because Ramatoulaye is a highly-educated, independent working woman with modernist values, and is both hurt and humiliated by the betrayal.

Mariama Bâ writes about the emerging conflict between progress for women and continuing patriarchal traditions in West Africa. Women like Ramatoulaye were changing Senegalese society in many ways, yet their husbands still had (and still have) freedom to practise polygamy-- and had no qualms about doing so. The indignity of this for these brilliant, educated women is hard to stomach. It is not merely a harmless cultural tradition, but something deeply hurtful and destabilizing, often used to assert male dominance or to discard aging or educated wives for younger, more "manageable" ones.

There is an especially poignant moment when Ramatoulaye reflects on the companionship she once shared with her husband, something now completely destroyed by the discovery that he did not value her in the same way she valued him.

A surprisingly quiet book that perhaps pierces deeper precisely because it doesn't shout and make a fuss.
]]> A Scanner Darkly 756984
The undercover narcotics agent who calls himself Bob Arctor is desperate to discover the ultimate source of supply. But to find any kind of lead he has to pose as a user and, inevitably, without realising what is happening, Arctor is soon as addicted as the junkies he works among...]]> 220 Philip K. Dick Emily May 3 sci-fi, dick-lit, 2025 4.05 1977 A Scanner Darkly
author: Philip K. Dick
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1977
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/29
date added: 2025/06/29
shelves: sci-fi, dick-lit, 2025
review:

]]> Under the Net 907650 286 Iris Murdoch 0099429071 Emily May 0 classics, tbr-other 3.75 1954 Under the Net
author: Iris Murdoch
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1954
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/28
shelves: classics, tbr-other
review:

]]> Don't Let Him In 220160814 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell, three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.]]> 368 Lisa Jewell 1668033879 Emily May 3 mystery-thriller, 2025 Don't Let Him In, it is one of my least favourite Lisa Jewell books so far. I have clicked back and forth between two and three stars several times now, and I'm still not sure whether I should be rounding up or down.

This is one of those books that is weakened by its own convolutions. There are so many different characters-- and two main timelines plus lots of further mentions of other pasts-- that it is genuinely quite difficult to follow, especially in the beginning. Once I'd sort of made sense of who was who and when was when, it got better, but there were still too many characters and too much jumping around for any of them to make much of an impact.

Also, the blurb hands you pretty much the entire plot of the book. Nina and Martha are both in relationships with a guy who seems too good to be true. A significant portion of the book is from the guy's perspective so we're not left wondering for more than a couple of chapters. There's no real mystery in this story; it's more about waiting for the characters to catch up and find out what the reader already knows.

And about those characters-- it is really hard to have any standouts when you are moving between this many people. They come across as cliche and underdeveloped. Ash, for example-- her whole personality seems to be "vegan". It doesn't help that so many of them are naive to the point of being unbelievable. Several characters in this book question how they could have been so stupid, and I have to agree with them: [spoilers removed]

That being said, there was some fun to be had. Plenty of wide-eyed, open-mouthed reading at the audacity, plenty of wanting the culprit to be caught. Jewell often shortens her already quite short chapters towards the end of the book, racing back and forth between perspectives until they eventually meet at the climax. It's effective; I was hooked towards the end.

So, quite compelling but lacking in strong characters. I would have liked to have seen more character development of them all. Even the character we spent most time with would have benefited from further exploration, I felt. I didn't feel I had a good understanding of him and his motivations, even at the end of the book.]]> 3.79 2025 Don't Let Him In
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/28
date added: 2025/06/28
shelves: mystery-thriller, 2025
review:
2 1/2 stars. While I did end up enjoying the last quarter or so of Don't Let Him In, it is one of my least favourite Lisa Jewell books so far. I have clicked back and forth between two and three stars several times now, and I'm still not sure whether I should be rounding up or down.

This is one of those books that is weakened by its own convolutions. There are so many different characters-- and two main timelines plus lots of further mentions of other pasts-- that it is genuinely quite difficult to follow, especially in the beginning. Once I'd sort of made sense of who was who and when was when, it got better, but there were still too many characters and too much jumping around for any of them to make much of an impact.

Also, the blurb hands you pretty much the entire plot of the book. Nina and Martha are both in relationships with a guy who seems too good to be true. A significant portion of the book is from the guy's perspective so we're not left wondering for more than a couple of chapters. There's no real mystery in this story; it's more about waiting for the characters to catch up and find out what the reader already knows.

And about those characters-- it is really hard to have any standouts when you are moving between this many people. They come across as cliche and underdeveloped. Ash, for example-- her whole personality seems to be "vegan". It doesn't help that so many of them are naive to the point of being unbelievable. Several characters in this book question how they could have been so stupid, and I have to agree with them: [spoilers removed]

That being said, there was some fun to be had. Plenty of wide-eyed, open-mouthed reading at the audacity, plenty of wanting the culprit to be caught. Jewell often shortens her already quite short chapters towards the end of the book, racing back and forth between perspectives until they eventually meet at the climax. It's effective; I was hooked towards the end.

So, quite compelling but lacking in strong characters. I would have liked to have seen more character development of them all. Even the character we spent most time with would have benefited from further exploration, I felt. I didn't feel I had a good understanding of him and his motivations, even at the end of the book.
]]> <![CDATA[My Even Day (Arbordale Collection)]]> 1133995 32 Doris Fisher 0977742334 Emily May 3 for-the-kids, childrens 3.70 2007 My Even Day (Arbordale Collection)
author: Doris Fisher
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One Odd Day (Arbordale Collection)]]> 1133994 32 Doris Fisher 0976882337 Emily May 3 for-the-kids, childrens 3.97 2006 One Odd Day (Arbordale Collection)
author: Doris Fisher
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> Ten Little Ladybugs 183526 22 Melanie Gerth 1581170912 Emily May 4 for-the-kids, childrens 4.09 2000 Ten Little Ladybugs
author: Melanie Gerth
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Night We Got Stuck in a Story]]> 61991814 304 Ben Miller 1471192490 Emily May 0 for-the-kids, childrens 4.05 The Night We Got Stuck in a Story
author: Ben Miller
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Boy Who Made the World Disappear]]> 53409015 272 Ben Miller 1471172678 Emily May 3 for-the-kids, childrens 4.01 The Boy Who Made the World Disappear
author: Ben Miller
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The One and Only Ivan (The One and Only #1)]]> 11594337
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.]]> 304 Katherine Applegate 0061992259 Emily May 0 for-the-kids, childrens 4.25 2012 The One and Only Ivan (The One and Only #1)
author: Katherine Applegate
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daddy Pig's Office (Peppa Pig)]]> 45401224 24 Neville Astley Emily May 4 for-the-kids, childrens 3.50 Daddy Pig's Office (Peppa Pig)
author: Neville Astley
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Peppa's Christmas Wish (Peppa Pig)]]> 17265236
Snuggle up with Peppa Pig in this 2-in-1 wintertime storybook! It's Christmas Eve, and Peppa is hoping for a very special gift from Santa Claus. Will her wish come true? Then, Peppa and George decide to build a great, big snowman. This charming book includes two stories and a sheet of stickers!]]> 24 Neville Astley 0545565111 Emily May 4 for-the-kids, childrens 4.04 2012 Peppa's Christmas Wish (Peppa Pig)
author: Neville Astley
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Camel Who Had The Hump (The World Of Rachel Bright & Jim Field)]]> 206794062 Empowering children to acceot their feelings and nurture reliance, this inspiring rhyming story is the perfect tool for parents and carers looking to help welcome more joy into their families. From award-winning, bestselling creators Rachel Bright and Jim Field.]]> 32 Rachel Bright 1408366428 Emily May 3 for-the-kids, childrens 4.33 The Camel Who Had The Hump (The World Of Rachel Bright & Jim Field)
author: Rachel Bright
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Pandas Who Promised (The World Of Rachel Bright & Jim Field)]]> 137248831
An action-packed, heart-warming tale of being true to your word and true to yourself, from the creators of the international bestseller The Lion Inside.]]> 32 Rachel Bright 1408356112 Emily May 4 for-the-kids, childrens 4.49 2023 The Pandas Who Promised (The World Of Rachel Bright & Jim Field)
author: Rachel Bright
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> Stig of the Dump 979470 176 Clive King 0140364501 Emily May 3 3.91 1963 Stig of the Dump
author: Clive King
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1963
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, classics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dog Who Danced on the Moon]]> 204929332 There once was a boy called Jeremy Grace
Who had a remarkable interest in space.
He was quiet and shy, very often alone,
Just him and his dog, spending time on their own.

Jeremy dreams of journeying through space, but nobody believes in him . . . Nobody, that is, but Maxwell, his incredible dancing dog who encourages him to reach for the stars. The pair embark on an out-of-this-world adventure - but when they are faced with an incoming comet catastrophe, it takes bravery, daring and a little bit of dancing to save the day.

Heartwarming and inspirational with a touch of magic, this read-aloud rhyming picture-book story encourages children to follow their dreams.]]> 0 John Boyne 0241529484 Emily May 2 for-the-kids, childrens 3.55 The Dog Who Danced on the Moon
author: John Boyne
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.55
book published:
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> Refugee 33118312 352 Alan Gratz 0545880874 Emily May 0 4.37 2017 Refugee
author: Alan Gratz
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> Ground Zero 52664722 In present-day Afghanistan, Reshmina is an 11-year-old girl who is used to growing up in the shadow of war, but she has dreams of peace and unity. When she ends up harboring a wounded young American soldier, she and her entire family are put in mortal danger. But Reshmina also learns something surprising about the roots of this endless war.]]> 336 Alan Gratz 1338245759 Emily May 0 4.32 2021 Ground Zero
author: Alan Gratz
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Time for School, Little Blue Truck]]> 53968502 32 Alice Schertle 0358412242 Emily May 4 for-the-kids 4.19 2021 Time for School, Little Blue Truck
author: Alice Schertle
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Good Night, Little Blue Truck: Join Little Blue Truck and Farm Friends on a Stormy Night for a Heartwarming Bedtime Story]]> 43261175 The #1 New York Times Bestseller
Beep! Beep! Beep! It’s time for sleep. Say goodnight with Little Blue Truck and friends!
 
A storm is brewing and Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are hurrying home for bed. But who can sleep with all that racket? It’s not long before other friends show up seeking safety from the storm. Thunder and lightning sure can be scary, but it’s easy to be brave together. When the clouds roll on and the sky is clear, it’s all aboard for a bedtime ride! Beep! Beep! Shhh . . .

Illustrated by John Joseph in the style of Jill McElmurry (1954-2017), who created the original Little Blue Truck illustrations.]]> 32 Alice Schertle 132885213X Emily May 4 for-the-kids, childrens 4.38 2019 Good Night, Little Blue Truck: Join Little Blue Truck and Farm Friends on a Stormy Night for a Heartwarming Bedtime Story
author: Alice Schertle
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade (The Last Kids on Earth #2)]]> 27876828
Jack, his three best friends (maybe the only people left on Earth), and their pet monster Rover need to get to the bottom of this. Along the way they encounter a lot more than they bargained for, including a giant Wormungulous, a pizza parlor monster hangout, an ancient evil who destroys worlds, and a stereo system that is totally the bomb. Can Jack figure out why the zombies are vanishing . . . before he and his friends are next?]]> 320 Max Brallier 0670016624 Emily May 0 4.32 2016 The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade (The Last Kids on Earth #2)
author: Max Brallier
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, fantasy
review:

]]> Tabby McTat 6912538 32 Julia Donaldson 1407109243 Emily May 4 for-the-kids, childrens 4.07 2009 Tabby McTat
author: Julia Donaldson
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79 (I Survived, #10)]]> 20578944
Serien Jeg overlevede fortæller om ægte historiske begivenheder som en fiktiv fortælling, der lægger sig tæt op af historier fra virkelighedens verden.]]> 108 Lauren Tarshis 0545459397 Emily May 4 4.03 2014 The Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79 (I Survived, #10)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 (I Survived, #9)]]> 18222566 In one of the darkest periods in history, one boy struggles to survive....

In this gripping addition to the bestselling I Survived series, a young Jewish boy joins the resistance “partisan” fighters outside the Warsaw ghetto. Does he have what it takes to survive the Nazis—and fight back?]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545459389 Emily May 4 4.22 2014 I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 (I Survived, #9)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011 (I Survived, #8)]]> 17265269
Visiting his dad's hometown in Japan four months after his father's death would be hard enough for Ben. But one morning the pain turns to fear: first, a massive earthquake rocks the quiet coastal village, nearly toppling his uncle's house. Then the ocean waters rise and Ben and his family are swept away-and pulled apart-by a terrible tsunami.

Now Ben is alone, stranded in a strange country a million miles from home. Can he fight hard enough to survive one of the most epic disasters of all time?
]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545459370 Emily May 4 4.16 2013 I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011 (I Survived, #8)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 (I Survived, #7)]]> 15809669
It's 1863, and Thomas and his little sister, Birdie, have fled the farm where they were born and raised as slaves. Following the North Star, looking for freedom, they soon cross paths with a Union soldier. Everything changes: Corporal Henry Green brings Thomas and Birdie back to his regiment, and suddenly it feels like they've found a new home. Best of all, they don't have to find their way north alone-they're marching with the army.

But then orders come through: The men are called to battle in Pennsylvania. Thomas has made it so far . . . but does he have what it takes to survive Gettysburg?]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545459362 Emily May 4 4.15 2012 I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 (I Survived, #7)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 (I Survived, #6)]]> 13228500
The only thing Lucas loves more than football is his Uncle Benny, his dad's best friend at the fire department where they both work. Benny taught Lucas everything about football. So when Lucas's parents decide the sport is too dangerous and he needs to quit, Lucas has to talk to his biggest fan.So the next morning, Lucas takes the train to the city instead of the bus to school. It's a bright, beautiful day in New York. But just as Lucas arrives at his uncle's firehouse, everything changes -- and nothing will ever be the same again.]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545207002 Emily May 4 4.24 2012 I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 (I Survived, #6)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 (I Survived, #5)]]> 12690071
Ten-year-old Leo loves being a newsboy in San Francisco -- not only does he get to make some money to help his family, he's free to explore the amazing, hilly city as it changes and grows with the new century. Horse-drawn carriages share the streets with shiny new automobiles, new businesses and families move in every day from everywhere, and anything seems possible.But early one spring morning, everything changes. Leo's world is shaken -- literally -- and he finds himself stranded in the middle of San Francisco as it crumbles and burns to the ground. Does Leo have what it takes to survive this devastating disaster?The I SURVIVED series continues with another thrilling story of a boy caught in one of history's most terrifying disasters!]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545206995 Emily May 4 4.09 2012 I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 (I Survived, #5)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 (I Survived, #4)]]> 11472069 101 Lauren Tarshis 0545206987 Emily May 4 4.22 2011 I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 (I Survived, #4)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 (I Survived, #3)]]> 9439221
Barry's family tries to evacuate before Hurricane Katrina hits their home in New Orleans. But when Barry's little sister gets terribly sick, they're forced to stay home and wait out the storm.At first, Katrina doesn't seem to be as bad as predicted. But overnight the levees break, and Barry's world is literally torn apart. He's swept away by the floodwaters, away from his family. Can he survive the storm of the century -- alone?]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545206960 Emily May 4 4.19 2011 I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 (I Survived, #3)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 (I Survived, #2)]]> 8500194
Chet Roscow is finally feeling at home in Elm Hills, New Jersey. He has a job with his uncle Jerry at the local diner, three great friends, and the perfect summertime destination: cool, refreshing Matawan Creek.But Chet's summer is interrupted by shocking news. A great white shark has been attacking swimmers along the Jersey shore, not far from Elm Hills. Everyone in town is talking about it. So when Chet sees something in the creek, he's sure it's his imagination. . . until he comes face-to-face with a bloodthirsty shark!]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545206952 Emily May 4 4.13 2010 I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 (I Survived, #2)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (I Survived, #1)]]> 7285966
Ten-year-old George Calder can't believe his luck -- he and his little sister, Phoebe, are on the famous Titanic, crossing the ocean with their Aunt Daisy. The ship is full of exciting places to explore, but when George ventures into the first class storage cabin, a terrible boom shakes the entire boat. Suddenly, water is everywhere, and George's life changes forever.

Lauren Tarshis brings history's most exciting and terrifying events to life in this New York Times bestselling series. Readers will be transported by stories of amazing kids and how they survived!]]> 112 Lauren Tarshis 0545206871 Emily May 4 4.08 2010 I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 (I Survived, #1)
author: Lauren Tarshis
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, historical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Kids on Earth (The Last Kids on Earth #1)]]> 24611765 especially not for the eerily intelligent monster known only as Blarg. So Jack builds a team: his dorky best friend, Quint; the reformed middle school bully, Dirk; Jack's loyal pet monster, Rover; and Jack's crush, June. With their help, Jack is going to slay Blarg, achieve the ultimate Feat of Apocalyptic Success, and be average no longer! Can he do it?]]> 256 Max Brallier 0670016616 Emily May 4 4.10 2015 The Last Kids on Earth (The Last Kids on Earth #1)
author: Max Brallier
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, fantasy
review:

]]> Counting by 7s 15937108
Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.]]> 380 Holly Goldberg Sloan 0803738552 Emily May 0 for-the-kids, childrens 4.13 2013 Counting by 7s
author: Holly Goldberg Sloan
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> When the Sky Falls 56817000 320 Phil Earle 1783449659 Emily May 0 for-the-kids, childrens 4.27 2021 When the Sky Falls
author: Phil Earle
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> The Honest Truth 22571259
But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.

So Mark runs away. He leaves home with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier--even if it's the last thing he ever does.

The Honest Truth is a rare and extraordinary novel about big questions, small moments, and the incredible journey of the human spirit.]]> 240 Dan Gemeinhart 0545665736 Emily May 0 for-the-kids, childrens 4.25 2015 The Honest Truth
author: Dan Gemeinhart
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> The First Year 231249141 474 Matt Goodfellow 1915659922 Emily May 0 4.61 The First Year
author: Matt Goodfellow
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.61
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, poetry
review:

]]> The Last Bear 55150890 The Last Bear is perfect for readers of 8+, beautifully illustrated throughout by Levi Pinfold – winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and illustrator of Harry Potter 20th anniversary edition covers.

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life…

This moving story will win the hearts of children the world over and show them that no one is too young or insignificant to make a difference. The Last Bear is a celebration of the love between a child and an animal, a battle cry for our world and an irresistible adventure with a heart as big as a bear’s.]]> 288 Hannah Gold 000841128X Emily May 0 for-the-kids, childrens 4.34 2021 The Last Bear
author: Hannah Gold
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> The Midnight Guardians 53207690
HIVE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER!

TOPPSTA CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER!

Sometimes at the darkest hour, hope shines the brightest…

When Col’s childhood imaginary friends come to life, he discovers a world where myths and legends are real. Accompanied by his guardians – a six-foot tiger, a badger in a waistcoat and a miniature knight – Col must race to Blitz-bombed London to save his sister.

But there are darker forces at work, even than the bombings. Soon Col is pursued by the terrifying Midwinter King, who is determined to bring an eternal darkness down over everything.

PRAISE FOR THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIANS

"Montgomery's latest is an enthralling, Narnia-flavoured novel with the folkloric feel of a Christmas classic." Guardian

"Beautifully drawn fantasy characters ... a story of hope and love underpinned by witty humour.” Daily Mail

"A magical slice of historical fantasy fiction.” i Newspaper

"This lovely adventure story has the feel of a classic children's book." Book of the Week, The Week Junior

“Ross Montgomery’s beautiful writing and epic storytelling weave together a magical adventure set against the backdrop of World War Two.” WRD Magazine

" Spectacular . A story of real and rare power - The Midnight Guardians is one of the best books I've read in years." Kiran Millwood Hargrave

" The Midnight Guardians is torch-under-the-duvet, can't-stop-reading magic . British folklore rebooted … in an edge-of-your-seat, heart-filled search for hope in the darkest hour." Piers Torday

"Embark on a mythic, comic, classic adventure with the finest fellowship since Frodo set a hairy foot beyond the Shire.” David Solomons

“ Glorious! I think this is Ross Montgomery’s best book an adventure across WWII wintry Britain with a Kindertransportee, a boy dressed in shorts and his three imaginary friends. A joy of a joy of a thing .” Katherine Rundell

"A gem of book, jam-packed with heart and humour and one utterly unique set of friends." Peter Bunzl

“ Pure magic. Storytelling at its very best.” Abi Elphinstone

" Brilliant! The Midnight Guardians is the perfect blend of humour, adventure and emotion. Simply beautiful." Lisa Thompson

"Funny, thrilling, moving ... everything that is brilliant about children's literature . A triumph." Sophie Anderson

“ Brimming with imagination and warmth , and powered by the strongest magic of all - hope. Fantastic from first page to last.” Catherine Doyle

"Beautiful. A magical, big-hearted adventure full of wit and warmth . One of the best children's books I've read for ages." Anna James

“A tale of enchantment and friendship … a ll the warmth of a timeless story, told between friends round a winter fire … funny and true in the way all good stories are.” Thomas Taylor

“The adventure whisks you through wartime trouble and mythical danger like riding a giant tiger through falling snow … A magical story.” Jack Noel

“With the spirit of Narnia, but a heart of its own. The Midnight Guardians is totally enchanting . I gobbled up every word.” Aisha Bushby

"I inhaled this wonderful book in one sitting ... humour, beautiful writing, heartbreak, hope, and a fat badger in a waistcoat. I'll be recommending it to everyone ." Katya Balen

" A real triumph of the imagination , blending the appeal of a classic adventure with Montgomery's heart and humour, and a hint of Narnia." Editor's Choice, The Bookseller]]> 400 Ross Montgomery 1406391182 Emily May 4 4.24 2020 The Midnight Guardians
author: Ross Montgomery
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/06/25
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Delight)]]> 123832 Librarian note: An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here.

Now the basis for the major BBC tv adaptation The Paradise, this is a lavish drama and a timeless commentary on consumer capitalism. The Penguin Classics edition of Émile Zola's The Ladies' Delight is based on an acclaimed, vivid and modern translation by Robin Buss, who has also introduced the novel.

The Ladies' Delight is the glittering Paris department store run by Octave Mouret. He has used charm and drive to become director of this mighty emporium, unscrupulously exploiting his young female staff and seducing his lady customers with luxurious displays of shimmering silks, satins, velvets and lace. Then Denise Baudu, a naïve provincial girl, becomes an assistant at the store - and Mouret discovers that he in turn can also be enchanted. With its greedy customers, gossiping staff and vibrant sense of theatre, The Ladies' Delight (Au Bonheur des Dames in the original French) is one of the most richly exciting novels in Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart cycle.

This edition also contains a bibliography, introduction, chronology and explanatory notes.

Emile Zola (1840-1902) was the leading figure in the French school of naturalistic fiction. His principal work, Les Rougon-Macquart, is a panorama of mid-19th century French life, in a cycle of 20 novels which Zola wrote over a period of 22 years, including Au Bonheur des Dames (1883), The Beast Within (1890), Nana (1880), and The Drinking Den (1877).

'A complete page-turner about the consumer society, greed, fashion and instant gratification'
India Knight

'A fine translation'
The Times Literary Supplement]]> 429 Émile Zola 0140447830 Emily May 3 classics, 2025 3.95 1883 Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Delight)
author: Émile Zola
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1883
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/23
date added: 2025/06/23
shelves: classics, 2025
review:

]]> Woman on the Edge of Time 129640 384 Marge Piercy 0704346567 Emily May 2 sci-fi, 2025 Woman on the Edge of Time is a popular book on various university courses, and I can see why. As a subject of study, it has a lot going for it-- political theory, feminist thought, speculative futures. But as a reader looking for a compelling story, I found it not my type of book. It contains more concept than character, more ideology than nuance.

It was a difficult book to enjoy. One of those weird reading experiences where a lot is happening, but it still feels dull-- largely because the heavy symbolism and abstract ideas meant it never quite felt real. The suspension of disbelief never came to me.

I was actually really interested in Connie at the start. The opening is dramatic: she’s imprisoned in a mental institution after defending her niece from an abusive pimp. But Piercy’s framing of Connie almost entirely as a vessel for political ideas-- her character, her pain, her mental health all become symbolic-- made her feel less like a person and more like a literary device.

While institutionalized, Connie is either visited by a time traveller from the future or experiencing some pretty intense hallucinations. The former is a wacky premise-- why would a messenger from the future appear to a drugged, vulnerable woman in a psychiatric hospital? --and the latter is significantly less interesting.

This time traveller, Luciente, sort of beams Connie to the year 2137 and the utopian world of Mattapoisett through a kind of telepathic time travel. Connie is, for some reason, a "receiver" and can form psychic connections, though the whys and hows are not especially well-explained, fitting with the general ambiguity of the novel.

In Mattapoisett-- where communal childrearing, fluid gender identities and ecological harmony are the norm-- everyone is kind, everything is shared, and conflict is minimal. Connie also glimpses a possible alternate future-- a nightmare world of surveillance, exploitation, and control.

I understand and appreciate the themes: warnings against human commodification, the misuse of technology, and oppressive systems. The ideas are sound. But the execution is clunky. Richly drawn characters and immersive world-building are notably absent. The dialogue often feels wooden and overly scripted, and large chunks of exposition slow the narrative down. The middle drags, as Connie shuttles repeatedly back and forth between the institution and the future.

Readers looking for a book that combines fascinating concepts with vivid characters and complex world-building should try Ursula K. Le Guin instead.]]> 3.87 1976 Woman on the Edge of Time
author: Marge Piercy
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1976
rating: 2
read at: 2025/06/17
date added: 2025/06/23
shelves: sci-fi, 2025
review:
I know Woman on the Edge of Time is a popular book on various university courses, and I can see why. As a subject of study, it has a lot going for it-- political theory, feminist thought, speculative futures. But as a reader looking for a compelling story, I found it not my type of book. It contains more concept than character, more ideology than nuance.

It was a difficult book to enjoy. One of those weird reading experiences where a lot is happening, but it still feels dull-- largely because the heavy symbolism and abstract ideas meant it never quite felt real. The suspension of disbelief never came to me.

I was actually really interested in Connie at the start. The opening is dramatic: she’s imprisoned in a mental institution after defending her niece from an abusive pimp. But Piercy’s framing of Connie almost entirely as a vessel for political ideas-- her character, her pain, her mental health all become symbolic-- made her feel less like a person and more like a literary device.

While institutionalized, Connie is either visited by a time traveller from the future or experiencing some pretty intense hallucinations. The former is a wacky premise-- why would a messenger from the future appear to a drugged, vulnerable woman in a psychiatric hospital? --and the latter is significantly less interesting.

This time traveller, Luciente, sort of beams Connie to the year 2137 and the utopian world of Mattapoisett through a kind of telepathic time travel. Connie is, for some reason, a "receiver" and can form psychic connections, though the whys and hows are not especially well-explained, fitting with the general ambiguity of the novel.

In Mattapoisett-- where communal childrearing, fluid gender identities and ecological harmony are the norm-- everyone is kind, everything is shared, and conflict is minimal. Connie also glimpses a possible alternate future-- a nightmare world of surveillance, exploitation, and control.

I understand and appreciate the themes: warnings against human commodification, the misuse of technology, and oppressive systems. The ideas are sound. But the execution is clunky. Richly drawn characters and immersive world-building are notably absent. The dialogue often feels wooden and overly scripted, and large chunks of exposition slow the narrative down. The middle drags, as Connie shuttles repeatedly back and forth between the institution and the future.

Readers looking for a book that combines fascinating concepts with vivid characters and complex world-building should try Ursula K. Le Guin instead.
]]> Atlas Shrugged 662 This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators?

Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world’s motor — and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story.

Tremendous in its scope, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life — from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy — to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction — to the philosopher who becomes a pirate — to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph — to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad — to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels.

You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions.

This is a mystery story, not about the murder — and rebirth — of man’s spirit. It is a philosophical revolution, told in the form of an action thriller of violent events, a ruthlessly brilliant plot structure and an irresistible suspense. Do you say this is impossible? Well, that is the first of your premises to check.]]> 1168 Ayn Rand 0452011876 Emily May 0 classics, dnf 3.67 1957 Atlas Shrugged
author: Ayn Rand
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: classics, dnf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Remembrance Of Things Past: Vol 2 (Penguin Clothbound Classics)]]> 25242110 1200 Marcel Proust 0241205948 Emily May 0 4.04 1919 Remembrance Of Things Past: Vol 2 (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
author: Marcel Proust
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1919
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: classics, clothbound-own, tbr-other
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pnin (Penguin Clothbound Classics)]]> 77264824 176 Vladimir Nabokov 0241638429 Emily May 0 3.75 1957 Pnin (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: classics, clothbound-own, tbr-other
review:

]]> The Travels 22814478
Marco Polo was the most famous traveller of his time. His voyages began in 1271 with a visit to China, after which he served the Kublai Khan on numerous diplomatic missions. On his return to the West he was made a prisoner of war and met Rustichello of Pisa, with whom he collaborated on this book. His account of his travels offers a fascinating glimpse of what he encountered abroad: unfamiliar religions, customs and societies; the spices and silks of the East; the precious gems, exotic vegetation and wild beasts of faraway lands. Evoking a remote and long-vanished world with colour and immediacy, Marco's book revolutionized western ideas about the then unknown East and is still one of the greatest travel accounts of all time.

For this edition - the first completely new English translation of the Travels in over fifty years - Nigel Cliff has gone back to the original manuscript sources to produce a fresh, authoritative new version. The volume also contains invaluable editorial materials, including an introduction describing the world as it stood on the eve of Polo's departure, and examining the fantastical notions the West had developed of the East.

Marco Polo was born in 1254, joining his father on a journey to China in 1271. He spent the next twenty years travelling in the service of Kublai Khan. There is evidence that Marco travelled extensively in the Mongol Empire and it is fairly certain he visited India. He wrote his famous Travels whilst a prisoner in Genoa.

Nigel Cliff was previously a theatre and film critic for The Times and a regular writer for The Economist, among other publications, and now writes historical nonfiction books. His first book, The Shakespeare Riots, was published in 2007 and shortlisted for the Washington-based National Award for Arts Writing. His second book, The Last Crusade: Vasco da Gama and the Birth of the Modern World appeared in 2011.]]> 464 Marco Polo 014119877X Emily May 0 3.44 1298 The Travels
author: Marco Polo
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.44
book published: 1298
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: classics, nonfiction, clothbound-own, tbr-other
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Name of This Book Is Secret (Secret, #1)]]> 1099301 Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch.
As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret.]]> 364 Pseudonymous Bosch 0316113662 Emily May 0 for-the-kids, childrens 4.07 2007 The Name of This Book Is Secret (Secret, #1)
author: Pseudonymous Bosch
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/22
shelves: for-the-kids, childrens
review:

]]> The Street 44087805
The Street tells the poignant, often heartbreaking story of Lutie Johnson, a young black woman, and her spirited struggle to raise her son amid the violence, poverty, and racial dissonance of Harlem in the late 1940s.

Lutie is confronted by racism, sexism, and classism on a daily basis in her pursuit of the American dream for herself and her son, Bub. Lutie fully subscribes to the belief that if she follows the adages of Benjamin Franklin by working hard and saving wisely, she will be able to achieve the dream of being financially independent.

The first novel by an African-American woman to sell more than a million copies, its haunting tale still resonates today.

“Petry is the writer we have been waiting for; hers are the stories we need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment, while also offering a page-turning good time. Ann Petry, the woman, had it all, and so does her insightful, prescient and unputdownable prose.”—Tayari Jones, New York Times Book Review]]> 378 Ann Petry 0358187540 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 4.31 1946 The Street
author: Ann Petry
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Shirley 31168 Jane Eyre, which earned her lifelong notoriety as a moral revolutionary, Charlotte Brontë vowed to write a sweeping social chronicle that focused on "something real and unromantic as Monday morning." Set in the industrializing England of the Napoleonic wars and Luddite revolts of 1811-12, Shirley (1849) is the story of two contrasting heroines. One is the shy Caroline Helstone, who is trapped in the oppressive atmosphere of a Yorkshire rectory and whose bare life symbolizes the plight of single women in the nineteenth century. The other is the vivacious Shirley Keeldar, who inherits a local estate and whose wealth liberates her from convention.

A work that combines social commentary with the more private preoccupations of Jane Eyre, Shirley demonstrates the full range of Brontë's literary talent. "Shirley is a revolutionary novel," wrote Brontë biographer Lyndall Gordon. "Shirley follows Jane Eyre as a new exemplar but so much a forerunner of the feminist of the later twentieth century that it is hard to believe in her actual existence in 1811-12. She is a theoretic possibility: what a woman might be if she combined independence and means of her own with intellect. Charlotte Brontë imagined a new form of power, equal to that of men, in a confident young woman [whose] extraordinary freedom has accustomed her to think for herself....Shirley [is] Brontë's most feminist novel."]]> 624 Charlotte Brontë 0141439866 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 3.76 1849 Shirley
author: Charlotte Brontë
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1849
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Belinda 52050404
Maria Edgeworth's 1801 novel, Belinda , is an absorbing, sometimes provocative, tale of social and domestic life among the English aristocracy and gentry. The heroine of the title, only too conscious of being 'advertised' on the marriage market, grows in moral maturity as she seeks to balance self-fulfilment with achieving material success. Among those whom she encounters are the socialite Lady Delacour, whose brilliance and wit hide a tragic secret, the radical feminist Harriot Freke, the handsome and wealthy Creole gentleman Mr Vincent, and the mercurial Clarence Hervey, whose misguided idealism has led him into a series of near-catastrophic mistakes. In telling their story Maria Edgeworth gives a vivid picture of life in late eighteenth-century London, skilfully showing both the attractions of leisured society and its darker side, and blending drawing-room comedy with challenging themes involving serious illness, obsession, slavery and interracial marriage.]]> 560 Maria Edgeworth 0199682135 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 3.67 1801 Belinda
author: Maria Edgeworth
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1801
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Hester 6829259 Hester tells the story of the aging but powerful Catherine Vernon, and her conflict with the young and determined Hester, whose growing attachment to Edward, Catherine's favorite, spells disaster for all concerned.

Catherine Vernon, jilted in her youth, has risen to power in a man's world as head of the family bank. She thinks she sees through everyone and rules over a family of dependents with knowing cynicism. But there are two people in Redborough who resist her. One is Hester, a young relation with a personality as strong as Catherine's, and as determined to find a role for herself. The other is Edward, who Catherine treats like a son. Conflict between the young and the old is inevitable, and in its depiction of the complex relationships that develop between the three principal characters, Hester is a masterpiece of psychological realism. In exploring the difficulty of understanding human nature, it is also a compulsive story of financial and sexual risk-taking that inevitably results in a searing climax.

Margaret Oliphant is one of the great Victorian novelists, and this edition re-establishes her importance.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.]]> 512 Mrs. Oliphant 0199555494 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 3.98 1883 Hester
author: Mrs. Oliphant
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1883
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Ruth 34817372
In writing Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell daringly confronted prevailing views about sin and illegitimacy with her compassionate and honest portrait of a ‘fallen woman’.]]> 432 Elizabeth Gaskell Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 4.01 1853 Ruth
author: Elizabeth Gaskell
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1853
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Evelina 733164 beau monde - and in particular by the handsome, chivalrous Lord Orville. But her enjoyment soon turnd to mortification at the behaviour of her vulgar and capricious grandmother, and by the rakish Sir Clement Willoughby, who torments the naive young woman with his unwanted advances. And while her aristocratic father refuses to acknowledge her legitimacy, Evelina can hold no hope of happiness with the man she loves.
Published anonymously in 1778, when the secret of its authorship was revealed France Burney's epistolary novel brought her instant fame. With its ingenious combination of romance and satire, comedy and melodrama, Evelina is a sparkling depiction of the dangers and delights of fashionable society.]]> 560 Frances Burney 0140433473 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 3.66 1778 Evelina
author: Frances Burney
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1778
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Lady Audley's Secret 43238950 Lady Audley's Secret quickly established Mary Elizabeth Braddon as the leading light of Victorian 'sensation' fiction, sharing the honour only with Wilkie Collins. Addictive, cunningly plotted and certainly sensational, Lady Audley's Secret draws on contemporary theories of insanity to probe mid-Victorian anxieties about the rapid rise of consumer culture. What is the mystery surrounding the charming heroine? Lady Audley's secret is investigated by Robert Audley, aristocrat turned detective, in a novel that has lost none of its power to disturb and entertain.]]> 512 Mary Elizabeth Braddon 0140435840 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 3.94 1862 Lady Audley's Secret
author: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1862
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> The Women's Room 46456 The Women's Room follows the transformation of Mira Ward and her circle as the women's movement begins to have an impact on their lives. A biting social commentary on an emotional world gone silently haywire, The Women's Room is a modern classic that offers piercing insight into the social norms accepted so blindly and revered so completely. Marilyn French questions those accepted norms and poignantly portrays the hopeful believers looking for new truths.]]> 526 Marilyn French 1860492827 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 4.00 1977 The Women's Room
author: Marilyn French
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1977
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Sister Carrie 6106505
The tale of Carrie Meeber's rise to stardom in the theatre and George Hurstwood's slow decline captures the twin poles of exuberance and exhaustion in modern city life as never before. The premier example of American naturalism, Dreiser's remarkable first novel has deeply influenced such key writers as William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Saul Bellow, and Joyce Carol Oates. This edition uses the 1900 text, which is regarded as the author's final version.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
]]> 466 Theodore Dreiser 0199539081 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 3.80 1900 Sister Carrie
author: Theodore Dreiser
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1900
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Abigail 43452825 Abigail, the story of a headstrong teenager growing up during World War II, is the most beloved of Magda Szabó’s books in her native Hungary. Gina is the only child of a general, a widower who has long been happy to spoil his bright and willful daughter. Gina is devastated when the general tells her that he must go away on a mission and that he will be sending her to boarding school in the country. She is even more aghast at the grim religious institution to which she soon finds herself consigned. She fights with her fellow students, she rebels against her teachers, finds herself completely ostracized, and runs away. Caught and brought back, there is nothing for Gina to do except entrust her fate to the legendary Abigail, as the classical statue of a woman with an urn that stands on the school’s grounds has come to be called. If you’re in trouble, it’s said, leave a message with Abigail and help will be on the way. And for Gina, who is in much deeper trouble than she could possibly suspect, a life-changing adventure is only beginning.

There is something of Jane Austen in this story of the deceptiveness of appearances; fans of J.K. Rowling are sure to enjoy Szabó’s picture of irreverent students, eccentric teachers, and boarding-school life. Above all, however, Abigail is a thrilling tale of suspense.]]> 333 Magda Szabó 168137403X Emily May 0 historical, to-read-longlist 4.27 1970 Abigail
author: Magda Szabó
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: historical, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> South Riding 10307254 Middlemarch, South Riding offers a panoramic and unforgettable view of Yorkshire life.]]> 518 Winifred Holtby Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 4.10 1936 South Riding
author: Winifred Holtby
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1936
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> The Death of the Heart 15982783
It is London in the late 1930s and sixteen-year-old orphan Portia is plunged into the sophisticated and politely treacherous world of her wealthy half-brother's home . Wide-eyed and disconcertingly vulnerable, Portia encounters the attractive, carefree cad Eddie. To him, Portia is at once child and woman, and he fears her gushing love. To her, Eddie is the only reason to be alive. But when Eddie follows Portia to a sea-side resort, the flash of a cigarette lighter in a darkened cinema illuminates a stunning romantic betrayal--and sets in motion one of the most moving and desperate flights of the heart in modern literature.]]> 368 Elizabeth Bowen Emily May 0 to-read-longlist 3.51 1938 The Death of the Heart
author: Elizabeth Bowen
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.51
book published: 1938
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: to-read-longlist
review:

]]> The Custom of the Country 26950 - Anita Brookner]]> 370 Edith Wharton 0143039709 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 4.05 1913 The Custom of the Country
author: Edith Wharton
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1913
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/21
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Lettice Delmer 5976547 208 Susan Miles 1903155215 Emily May 0 3.47 1958 Lettice Delmer
author: Susan Miles
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1958
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/18
shelves: classics, poetry, persephone, 2025, dnf
review:

]]> No Name 3195096 No Name shows William Wilkie Collins at the height of his literary powers. It is the story of two sisters, Magdalen and Norah, who discover after the deaths of their dearly beloved parents that their parents were not married at the time of their births. Disinherited and ousted from their estate, they must fend for themselves and either resign themselves to their fate or determine to recover their wealth by whatever means.]]> 748 Wilkie Collins 0199536732 Emily May 4 classics, 2025
Of course, that makes it very difficult to explain what the book is about. You can probably guess from the title that it deals with issues of illegitimacy, such as they were in Britain in the mid-1800s, but it’s also a story of vengeance, told from the perspective of a spirited young heroine. Then add in some awful villains, disguises, and trickery... works for me!

Like The Count of Monte Cristo, one of my all-time favourites, this is the story of a young person who has been wronged. Deeply, awfully, infuriatingly wronged. And their determination to seek revenge and set things right. It’s hard not to feel angry on her behalf, hard not to want Magdalen Vanstone to succeed in her quest.

200 pages shorter and this might have been a five star book. Collins gets a bit wordy sometimes, especially with physical description-- a quirk I remember from The Woman in White. The beginning is excellent, and the later chapters are strong too, but some parts in the middle dragged, particularly the back-and-forth between Wragge and Lecount as they juggled that fool Noel Vanstone.

But still a great read with some compelling twists and turns. Though I think the book's greatest strength is that I liked Magdalen so much.]]> 4.03 1862 No Name
author: Wilkie Collins
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1862
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/14
date added: 2025/06/18
shelves: classics, 2025
review:
This is one of those books where, if you haven't already, I wouldn't suggest reading the blurb. The description spoils the plot of the first 200 pages or so, and I think the dramatic events hit much harder if you don't know what’s coming.

Of course, that makes it very difficult to explain what the book is about. You can probably guess from the title that it deals with issues of illegitimacy, such as they were in Britain in the mid-1800s, but it’s also a story of vengeance, told from the perspective of a spirited young heroine. Then add in some awful villains, disguises, and trickery... works for me!

Like The Count of Monte Cristo, one of my all-time favourites, this is the story of a young person who has been wronged. Deeply, awfully, infuriatingly wronged. And their determination to seek revenge and set things right. It’s hard not to feel angry on her behalf, hard not to want Magdalen Vanstone to succeed in her quest.

200 pages shorter and this might have been a five star book. Collins gets a bit wordy sometimes, especially with physical description-- a quirk I remember from The Woman in White. The beginning is excellent, and the later chapters are strong too, but some parts in the middle dragged, particularly the back-and-forth between Wragge and Lecount as they juggled that fool Noel Vanstone.

But still a great read with some compelling twists and turns. Though I think the book's greatest strength is that I liked Magdalen so much.
]]> No Surrender 12438237
The narrative is faithful to real facts and incidents, with some of the main characters drawing on leading suffrage figures. One is based on Lady Constance Lytton and another, the heroine Jenny Clegg, is a Lancashire mill girl – thus putting paid to the myth that the suffrage movement was mainly middle-class: the main focus of the novel is on the strong support for women’s suffrage by women workers in the textile mills and on the prejudice against votes for women on the part of many of the men in the labour movement.

When Emily Wilding Davison, who was to die in 1913 under the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby, reviewed No Surrender, she wrote: ‘There is scarcely a notable incident of the militant campaign which is left untouched. As we devour its pages, we once more review such unforgettable events as the Pantechnicon incident, the protest of the Grille, the Suffragette Fire-Engine, the sending of women by Express Post to the Prime Minister, and the final word-picture of the procession of 1910. But for vivid realism, the pictures of prison life, of the Hunger Strike and Forcible Feeding, are difficult to beat. It is a book which breathes the very spirit of the Women’s Movement.

As Lydia Fellgett writes in her Persephone Preface: ‘A political novel cannot be successful without well-written characters: it is therefore also a love story between Jenny Clegg and the Independent Labour Party member Joe Hopton. And it is about powerful female friendship fostered through a common cause. But like most of the (surprisingly few) novels that emerged from the women’s suffrage movement, No Surrender’s importance comes from its documentation of social history; it is polemical but not without complexity; it accurately portrays the arguments of the anti-Suffragists alongside those of the heroines, and it is a passionate account, full of enthralling detail and political fervour.’]]> 328 Constance Elizabeth Maud 1903155843 Emily May 0 3.84 1911 No Surrender
author: Constance Elizabeth Maud
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1911
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/18
shelves: tbr-persephone, classics, persephone
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Earth (Les Rougon-Macquart, #15)]]> 27310205 Zola's novel of peasant life, the fifteenth in the Rougon-Macquart series, is generally regarded as one of his finest achievements, comparable to Germinal and L'Assommoir. Set in a village in the Beauce, in northern France, it depicts the harshness of the peasants' world and their visceral attachment to the land. Jean Macquart, a veteran of the battle of Solferino and now an itinerant farm labourer, is drawn into the affairs of the Fouan family when he starts courting young Francoise. He becomes involved in a bitter dispute over the property of Papa Fouan when the old man divides his land between his three children. Resentment turns to greed and violence in a Darwinian battle for supremacy.
Zola's unflinching depiction of the savagery of peasant life shocked his readers, and led to attacks on Naturalism's literary agenda. This new translation captures the novel's blend of brutality and lyricism in its evocation of the inexorable cycle of the natural world.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more."]]> 464 Émile Zola 0199677875 Emily May 0 to-read-longlist, classics 4.29 1887 Earth (Les Rougon-Macquart, #15)
author: Émile Zola
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1887
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/17
shelves: to-read-longlist, classics
review:

]]> Oblomov 226384
A Penguin Classic

Written with sympathetic humor and compassion, this masterful portrait of upper-class decline made Ivan Goncharov famous throughout Russia on its publication in 1859. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a member of Russia’s dying aristocracy—a man so lazy that he has given up his job in the Civil Service, neglected his books, insulted his friends, and found himself in debt. Too apathetic to do anything about his problems, he lives in a grubby, crumbling apartment, waited on by Zakhar, his equally idle servant. Terrified by the activity necessary to participate in the real world, Oblomov manages to avoid work, postpones change, and—finally—risks losing the love of his life. This superb translation by David Magarshack captures all the subtle comedy and near-tragedy of the original.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]> 496 Ivan Goncharov 0140449876 Emily May 0 classics, to-read-longlist 4.07 1859 Oblomov
author: Ivan Goncharov
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1859
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/17
shelves: classics, to-read-longlist
review:

]]> Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont 21316566 208 Elizabeth Taylor 1844089339 Emily May 4 classics, 2025 4.10 1971 Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont
author: Elizabeth Taylor
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1971
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/03
date added: 2025/06/17
shelves: classics, 2025
review:
Short and very depressing book about old age. The characters are charming and likable, which does nothing to soften the blows when they come. And the last line of the book hit me like a bucket of ice water.
]]> El Dorado Drive 220239062
Twice a month the women of the Wheel meet. New members bring cash to add to a pool and then gift to one lucky member. It’s all about giving back. Lifting each other up—as women should, as they must.

When Harper is invited, with the promise of an end to her financial burdens, the sisters inadvertently unleash a darkness lurking within the group. If they’re not careful it might just get them killed.]]> 368 Megan Abbott 0593084969 Emily May 0 3.57 2025 El Dorado Drive
author: Megan Abbott
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/11
shelves: mystery-thriller, arc, dnf, 2025
review:

]]> The Satisfaction Café 220160649
As Joan and her children grow older and their circumstances evolve, she makes a drastic change by opening the Satisfaction Café, a place where people can visit for a bit of conversation and to be heard and understood. Through this radical yet pragmatic business, Joan constructs a lasting legacy.]]> 352 Kathy Wang 1668068923 Emily May 4 2025, modern-lit, arc Your life was the most terrible thing to give away. Day after day, when you passed it not as you wanted, when you spent it as a compromise.

I'm a big fan of Kathy Wang's books, though they seem to hover around a 3.2 average rating on 카지노싸이트, which is uncommonly low. But, looking over the reviews, I see a lot of misplaced expectations. People disappointed that Family Trust was not Crazy Rich Asians; others disappointed that Impostor Syndrome was not a thriller.

I don’t say this to dismiss those readers who genuinely just don’t enjoy Wang’s writing, but I do think it is very helpful to know what kind of story you’re getting. And what Kathy Wang writes are intimate and slow-moving character studies, sometimes about unlikable people. I find her books to be less about what happens, and more about how the characters process and respond to events psychically and emotionally. It's not Kevin Kwan or Harlan Coben. It's more Celeste Ng, Ann Patchett or Angie Kim.

This kind of storytelling works for me. I enjoy it. I can see why it would be boring as hell for a reader in the mood for a thriller or soap opera.

The Satisfaction Café is another slow-moving character-driven story-- primarily about a woman's life, but also about the cast of characters she meets over the course of her lifetime. While we're setting expectations, I think it's worth noting that the titular cafe does not make an appearance until later in the story. Before that, we see Joan coming to the United States from Taiwan, having a quick and disastrous first marriage, then eventually marrying Bill, an older and very wealthy American.

I found Joan very easy to sympathise with, and I eagerly followed all the ups and downs of her life story. She faces hardships, and sometimes she gets very lucky, while through it all Wang weaves in the stories of all those around her with emotional intelligence and empathy.

The actual cafe, when it does emerge, is a kind of talking therapy cafe dedicated to offering a compassionate and listening ear to all those who enter, a similar idea to the but with its own base (i.e. not hosted by other businesses.) Joan's observations throughout her life have been that most people are just looking for someone to talk to, to make them feel listened to, and so the cafe becomes her passion project.

Not a propulsive pageturner, but I found The Satisfaction Café to be a quietly compelling novel that rewards patience. If you appreciate nuanced character studies that explore the complexities of human connection and the subtle ways people cope with life’s challenges, this book will likely resonate deeply.]]> 4.03 2025 The Satisfaction Café
author: Kathy Wang
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/11
date added: 2025/06/11
shelves: 2025, modern-lit, arc
review:
Your life was the most terrible thing to give away. Day after day, when you passed it not as you wanted, when you spent it as a compromise.


I'm a big fan of Kathy Wang's books, though they seem to hover around a 3.2 average rating on 카지노싸이트, which is uncommonly low. But, looking over the reviews, I see a lot of misplaced expectations. People disappointed that Family Trust was not Crazy Rich Asians; others disappointed that Impostor Syndrome was not a thriller.

I don’t say this to dismiss those readers who genuinely just don’t enjoy Wang’s writing, but I do think it is very helpful to know what kind of story you’re getting. And what Kathy Wang writes are intimate and slow-moving character studies, sometimes about unlikable people. I find her books to be less about what happens, and more about how the characters process and respond to events psychically and emotionally. It's not Kevin Kwan or Harlan Coben. It's more Celeste Ng, Ann Patchett or Angie Kim.

This kind of storytelling works for me. I enjoy it. I can see why it would be boring as hell for a reader in the mood for a thriller or soap opera.

The Satisfaction Café is another slow-moving character-driven story-- primarily about a woman's life, but also about the cast of characters she meets over the course of her lifetime. While we're setting expectations, I think it's worth noting that the titular cafe does not make an appearance until later in the story. Before that, we see Joan coming to the United States from Taiwan, having a quick and disastrous first marriage, then eventually marrying Bill, an older and very wealthy American.

I found Joan very easy to sympathise with, and I eagerly followed all the ups and downs of her life story. She faces hardships, and sometimes she gets very lucky, while through it all Wang weaves in the stories of all those around her with emotional intelligence and empathy.

The actual cafe, when it does emerge, is a kind of talking therapy cafe dedicated to offering a compassionate and listening ear to all those who enter, a similar idea to the but with its own base (i.e. not hosted by other businesses.) Joan's observations throughout her life have been that most people are just looking for someone to talk to, to make them feel listened to, and so the cafe becomes her passion project.

Not a propulsive pageturner, but I found The Satisfaction Café to be a quietly compelling novel that rewards patience. If you appreciate nuanced character studies that explore the complexities of human connection and the subtle ways people cope with life’s challenges, this book will likely resonate deeply.
]]> Family Trust 38359019
For his son Fred, the inheritance Stanley has long alluded to would soothe the pain caused by years of professional disappointment. By now, the Harvard Business School graduate had expected to be a financial tech god – not a minor investor at a middling corporate firm, where he isn’t even allowed to fly business class.

Stanley’s daughter, Kate, is a middle manager with one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious tech companies. She manages the capricious demands of her world-famous boss and the needs of her two young children all while supporting her would-be entrepreneur husband (just until his startup gets off the ground, which will surely be soon). But lately, Kate has been sensing something amiss; just because you say you have it all, it doesn’t mean that you actually do.

Stanley’s second wife, Mary Zhu, twenty-eight years his junior, has devoted herself to making her husband comfortable in every way—rubbing his feet, cooking his favorite dishes, massaging his ego. But lately, her commitment has waned; caring for a dying old man is far more difficult than she expected.

Linda Liang, Stanley’s first wife, knows her ex better than anyone. She worked hard for decades to ensure their financial security, and is determined to see her children get their due. Single for nearly a decade, she might finally be ready for some romantic companionship. But where does a seventy-two year old Chinese woman in California go to find an appropriate boyfriend?

As Stanley’s death approaches, the Huangs are faced with unexpected challenges that upend them and eventually lead them to discover what they most value. A compelling tale of cultural expectations, career ambitions and our relationships with the people who know us best, Family Trust skewers the ambition and desires that drive Silicon Valley and draws a sharply loving portrait of modern American family life.]]> 387 Kathy Wang 0062855255 Emily May 4 arc, modern-lit, 2018 how early the days turned black once winter began.
Ooh, this is a good book for fans of those literary family dramas about rich people and the unbelieavable shit they get up to. It's sort of like a Celeste Ng novel but with a bit more melodrama and obnoxiousness.

It's a story about a wealthy Chinese-American family in Silicon Valley, and how their patriarch's pancreatic cancer diagnosis affects them all. The similarities with Ng's work are most obvious in the way Wang explores character interactions and tells her story through details and careful observations of human behaviour. The characters are in turn annoying and sympathetic, which makes for an interesting and multilayered read.

There's Stanley Huang himself-- a selfish old man prone to violent fits of temper. There's his smart and financially savvy ex-wife Linda, who has just gotten into online dating; his son Fred, a Harvard Business School graduate who is trying to boost his career and impress his gold-digging girlfriend; his daughter Kate, the breadwinner in her household, currently supporting her husband's start-up; and his second wife Mary, who may or may not be lurking in hopes of a shiny inheritance.

If you like books about carefully-drawn characters and some juicy drama, Family Trust should hit the spot. Wang handles each character with care and sensitivity, but also isn’t afraid to poke fun at them. Humans are ridiculous, especially in the upper echelons of the business world, so be prepared to roll your eyes at times— such as when Fred despairs over his mediocre achievement of landing a job with a $300K salary(!)
What was Denny up to in the attic? What was her husband doing with his life?

Additionally, the mysteries of Stanley's will and finding out exactly what Kate's husband gets up to in the attic every day make for a compelling read.

Really, though, there is an even greater value in this book. It serves as a portrait of a modern generation of Chinese-Americans who have been pushed to achieve, attend America's best schools, and break into the business and tech worlds. Wang portrays this world with its flashy promises and subtle racism and not-so-subtle sexism, and taps into an experience that many East Asians are having right now in America.

In the 2010 census, East Asians made up just over 4% of the US population and yet in 2013 they made up more than 20% of the workforce at Google, Intel, Yahoo, Hewlett Packard, and LinkedIn. described feeling "stuck in between" being Asian in Silicon Valley; viewed as a high-performing and privileged group, often overlooked in affirmative action programs, but still stereotyped and held back from the majority of executive positions.

The experiences had by Fred and Kate in this book will mirror that of many others in the second decade of the 21st Century. And for those readers, like me, who do not fully relate, it is perhaps even more interesting to gain insight into the lives of Chinese and East-Asian Americans in Silicon Valley. A valuable, engaging read.

| | | | ]]> 3.17 2018 Family Trust
author: Kathy Wang
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/22
date added: 2025/06/11
shelves: arc, modern-lit, 2018
review:
how early the days turned black once winter began.

Ooh, this is a good book for fans of those literary family dramas about rich people and the unbelieavable shit they get up to. It's sort of like a Celeste Ng novel but with a bit more melodrama and obnoxiousness.

It's a story about a wealthy Chinese-American family in Silicon Valley, and how their patriarch's pancreatic cancer diagnosis affects them all. The similarities with Ng's work are most obvious in the way Wang explores character interactions and tells her story through details and careful observations of human behaviour. The characters are in turn annoying and sympathetic, which makes for an interesting and multilayered read.

There's Stanley Huang himself-- a selfish old man prone to violent fits of temper. There's his smart and financially savvy ex-wife Linda, who has just gotten into online dating; his son Fred, a Harvard Business School graduate who is trying to boost his career and impress his gold-digging girlfriend; his daughter Kate, the breadwinner in her household, currently supporting her husband's start-up; and his second wife Mary, who may or may not be lurking in hopes of a shiny inheritance.

If you like books about carefully-drawn characters and some juicy drama, Family Trust should hit the spot. Wang handles each character with care and sensitivity, but also isn’t afraid to poke fun at them. Humans are ridiculous, especially in the upper echelons of the business world, so be prepared to roll your eyes at times— such as when Fred despairs over his mediocre achievement of landing a job with a $300K salary(!)
What was Denny up to in the attic? What was her husband doing with his life?

Additionally, the mysteries of Stanley's will and finding out exactly what Kate's husband gets up to in the attic every day make for a compelling read.

Really, though, there is an even greater value in this book. It serves as a portrait of a modern generation of Chinese-Americans who have been pushed to achieve, attend America's best schools, and break into the business and tech worlds. Wang portrays this world with its flashy promises and subtle racism and not-so-subtle sexism, and taps into an experience that many East Asians are having right now in America.

In the 2010 census, East Asians made up just over 4% of the US population and yet in 2013 they made up more than 20% of the workforce at Google, Intel, Yahoo, Hewlett Packard, and LinkedIn. described feeling "stuck in between" being Asian in Silicon Valley; viewed as a high-performing and privileged group, often overlooked in affirmative action programs, but still stereotyped and held back from the majority of executive positions.

The experiences had by Fred and Kate in this book will mirror that of many others in the second decade of the 21st Century. And for those readers, like me, who do not fully relate, it is perhaps even more interesting to gain insight into the lives of Chinese and East-Asian Americans in Silicon Valley. A valuable, engaging read.

| | | |
]]> Atmosphere 221070772 An epic novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program and the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilots Hank Redmond and John Griffin; mission specialist Lydia Danes; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.]]> 337 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1529152976 Emily May 3 historical, 2025, romance
I preordered this book months ago, but it wasn't until my preorder showed up that I saw the book had a subtitle: "A Love Story." Romance isn't really my genre, but I reread the blurb and figured that maybe it was meant symbolically-- like a love for the universe, or for Earth. Something like that.

That's what this sounds like to me:

As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.


It wasn't. Atmosphere is maybe 20% about a woman in the 1980s space shuttle program and 80% romance.

And you know what? If you're looking for a romance with a bit of a space backdrop, then it's quite good. Very sweet. I liked both characters. Definitely cheesy sometimes, but it's hard to find vegan romance.

The beginning is the most arresting part of the whole book, and it certainly got my attention. Disaster strikes very dramatically, then we jump back in time to learn about the years leading up to this mission.

The middle of the book is where it had lots of ups and downs in terms of keeping my interest. I would become interested, but then it would get repetitive and I would just be reading to make it through that chapter. The subplot with Frances and that POS Barb had me invested-- more so than the love story, if I'm being honest. In fact, I think my interest in how this would resolve is what took the book up to 3 stars. Burning fury always speaks to me more than sweet romance, but, hey, that's enough about my issues.

The ending I won't spoil, but I will say I found it almost annoyingly predictable how everything played out.

So... written well enough, if you enjoy Reid's writing, and with a decent cast of characters. But I wanted more about Joan as one of the first female astronauts at NASA, and less about Joan as a girlfriend. I know we were warned-- it clearly says "A Love Story" on the front page of the book --but reading the blurb once again, I don't really think we were warned enough.]]> 4.55 2025 Atmosphere
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/06
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves: historical, 2025, romance
review:
One of my most anticipated reads of the year turned out to be underwhelming ☹️

I preordered this book months ago, but it wasn't until my preorder showed up that I saw the book had a subtitle: "A Love Story." Romance isn't really my genre, but I reread the blurb and figured that maybe it was meant symbolically-- like a love for the universe, or for Earth. Something like that.

That's what this sounds like to me:

As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.


It wasn't. Atmosphere is maybe 20% about a woman in the 1980s space shuttle program and 80% romance.

And you know what? If you're looking for a romance with a bit of a space backdrop, then it's quite good. Very sweet. I liked both characters. Definitely cheesy sometimes, but it's hard to find vegan romance.

The beginning is the most arresting part of the whole book, and it certainly got my attention. Disaster strikes very dramatically, then we jump back in time to learn about the years leading up to this mission.

The middle of the book is where it had lots of ups and downs in terms of keeping my interest. I would become interested, but then it would get repetitive and I would just be reading to make it through that chapter. The subplot with Frances and that POS Barb had me invested-- more so than the love story, if I'm being honest. In fact, I think my interest in how this would resolve is what took the book up to 3 stars. Burning fury always speaks to me more than sweet romance, but, hey, that's enough about my issues.

The ending I won't spoil, but I will say I found it almost annoyingly predictable how everything played out.

So... written well enough, if you enjoy Reid's writing, and with a decent cast of characters. But I wanted more about Joan as one of the first female astronauts at NASA, and less about Joan as a girlfriend. I know we were warned-- it clearly says "A Love Story" on the front page of the book --but reading the blurb once again, I don't really think we were warned enough.
]]> Neuromancer (Sprawl #1) 29889257
Before the Internet was commonplace, William Gibson showed us the Matrix—a world within the world, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace. Henry Dorsett Case was the sharpest data-thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a mirror-eyed girl street-samurai riding shotgun, he’s ready for the silicon-quick, bleakly prophetic adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction.

Penguin Galaxy

Six of our greatest masterworks of science fiction and fantasy, in dazzling collector-worthy hardcover editions, and featuring a series introduction by #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Neil Gaiman, Penguin Galaxy represents a constellation of achievement in visionary fiction, lighting the way toward our knowledge of the universe, and of ourselves. From historical legends to mythic futures, monuments of world-building to mind-bending dystopias, these touchstones of human invention and storytelling ingenuity have transported millions of readers to distant realms, and will continue for generations to chart the frontiers of the imagination.

"The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
"Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein
"Dune" by Frank Herbert
"2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke
"The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"Neuromancer" by William Gibson

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]> 277 William Gibson 0143111604 Emily May 2 sci-fi, 2025, dick-lit
But, then again, maybe not.

One of the themes of Neuromancer is that of alienation and despondency in a time of mass technology. But it also continues a modernist/postmodernist trend among 20th century authors (especially American and especially male)— the emotionally-detached male protagonist drifting through the novel, the narrative dislocation, the dreamlike blurring of reality.

And, in truth, I simply don't like it.

It really is that simple. I don't care to read about Case, our disaffected hero, endlessly trudging through an empty, nihilistic world. There's zero emotional depth to his character, making it hard to care about his fate.

This is one of those books that never once invites you to form an emotional connection with any of the characters. These people did not feel real to me; I did not suspend disbelief for them. Throughout every chapter of this book, I was conscious that I was reading fictional words on a page.

Also, the novel's pacing is sluggish, especially for a work that’s supposed to be setting the stage for a fast-paced, technological revolution. Gibson’s tendency to linger on the esoteric details of cyberspace and hardware at the expense of character development or plot momentum makes for a less-than-engaging read.

I appreciate it as the historical artifact it is-- a pioneer of the cyberpunk genre and weirdly prescient --but that's it.]]> 3.74 1984 Neuromancer (Sprawl #1)
author: William Gibson
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1984
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves: sci-fi, 2025, dick-lit
review:
Maybe if I had read this book in 1984, if the concepts of the matrix and cyberspace, the web and AI, were genuinely new and mind boggling to me, maybe then I might have been more impressed.

But, then again, maybe not.

One of the themes of Neuromancer is that of alienation and despondency in a time of mass technology. But it also continues a modernist/postmodernist trend among 20th century authors (especially American and especially male)— the emotionally-detached male protagonist drifting through the novel, the narrative dislocation, the dreamlike blurring of reality.

And, in truth, I simply don't like it.

It really is that simple. I don't care to read about Case, our disaffected hero, endlessly trudging through an empty, nihilistic world. There's zero emotional depth to his character, making it hard to care about his fate.

This is one of those books that never once invites you to form an emotional connection with any of the characters. These people did not feel real to me; I did not suspend disbelief for them. Throughout every chapter of this book, I was conscious that I was reading fictional words on a page.

Also, the novel's pacing is sluggish, especially for a work that’s supposed to be setting the stage for a fast-paced, technological revolution. Gibson’s tendency to linger on the esoteric details of cyberspace and hardware at the expense of character development or plot momentum makes for a less-than-engaging read.

I appreciate it as the historical artifact it is-- a pioneer of the cyberpunk genre and weirdly prescient --but that's it.
]]> Vera 30965725 did happen to Vera?]]> 336 Elizabeth von Arnim 1784872334 Emily May 4 classics, 2025 Strange how tightly one's body could be held, how close to somebody else's heart, and yet one wasn't anywhere near the holder. They locked you up in prisons that way, holding your body tight and thinking they had got you, and all the while your mind– you –was as free as the wind and the sunlight.
This book made my skin crawl. That's the best way I can think to describe it. From the unsettling build-up-- the very first chapters where you just know something is not right --to the horrifying events later in this story, I was on edge the whole time.

The premise goes like this: Lucy and Everard meet in the wake of two tragedies-- the death of Lucy's father and Everard's wife --and bond through their shared heartache. The pair quickly fall in love and get married, but when Lucy arrives at The Willows, Everard's country mansion, the ghost of his previous wife, Vera, looms in every corner. As Lucy is confronted by the reality of her new life, she starts to question exactly how Vera met her end.

If that sounds weirdly similar to Rebecca, I don't think it's a coincidence. I'm fairly certain du Maurier must have taken some inspiration from von Arnim. Though the result is two books different enough to both be worth reading.

As with Manderley, The Willows is an isolated and oppressive setting, almost a sentient character in its own right. Vera is steeped in Gothic tradition-- the gloomy house, the eerie presence of Vera herself through her life-sized portrait, the weak female protagonist, mental fragility and psychological doubt, and, of course, just a pervading sense of dread.

I found Vera to be a darker, more chilling and ultimately bleaker read than Rebecca, though I am being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. Du Maurier's work is more subtle, more balanced and nuanced, perhaps, where von Arnim's is more straightforward with no question as to who the villains are; Du Maurier seems to be sympathetic to all her characters, von Arnim arguably to none. While I typically prefer Du Maurier's style of storytelling, I can't deny that von Arnim writes a powerful and claustrophobic tale here. And one, I should add, very different to The Enchanted April.

My least favourite part of the book was how the ending seemed to come so abruptly. I was getting anxious at the dwindling number of pages, thinking surely there's no way all the questions could be answered and everything resolved in that short a space... and I was right. I feel von Arnim could have found a better place to wrap things up.

But I'm still very glad I read it. Rebecca is often tagged as romance, but no one could make that mistake with Vera. It is a brutal, feminist study of [spoilers removed].]]> 3.73 1921 Vera
author: Elizabeth von Arnim
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1921
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/01
date added: 2025/06/04
shelves: classics, 2025
review:
Strange how tightly one's body could be held, how close to somebody else's heart, and yet one wasn't anywhere near the holder. They locked you up in prisons that way, holding your body tight and thinking they had got you, and all the while your mind– you –was as free as the wind and the sunlight.

This book made my skin crawl. That's the best way I can think to describe it. From the unsettling build-up-- the very first chapters where you just know something is not right --to the horrifying events later in this story, I was on edge the whole time.

The premise goes like this: Lucy and Everard meet in the wake of two tragedies-- the death of Lucy's father and Everard's wife --and bond through their shared heartache. The pair quickly fall in love and get married, but when Lucy arrives at The Willows, Everard's country mansion, the ghost of his previous wife, Vera, looms in every corner. As Lucy is confronted by the reality of her new life, she starts to question exactly how Vera met her end.

If that sounds weirdly similar to Rebecca, I don't think it's a coincidence. I'm fairly certain du Maurier must have taken some inspiration from von Arnim. Though the result is two books different enough to both be worth reading.

As with Manderley, The Willows is an isolated and oppressive setting, almost a sentient character in its own right. Vera is steeped in Gothic tradition-- the gloomy house, the eerie presence of Vera herself through her life-sized portrait, the weak female protagonist, mental fragility and psychological doubt, and, of course, just a pervading sense of dread.

I found Vera to be a darker, more chilling and ultimately bleaker read than Rebecca, though I am being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. Du Maurier's work is more subtle, more balanced and nuanced, perhaps, where von Arnim's is more straightforward with no question as to who the villains are; Du Maurier seems to be sympathetic to all her characters, von Arnim arguably to none. While I typically prefer Du Maurier's style of storytelling, I can't deny that von Arnim writes a powerful and claustrophobic tale here. And one, I should add, very different to The Enchanted April.

My least favourite part of the book was how the ending seemed to come so abruptly. I was getting anxious at the dwindling number of pages, thinking surely there's no way all the questions could be answered and everything resolved in that short a space... and I was right. I feel von Arnim could have found a better place to wrap things up.

But I'm still very glad I read it. Rebecca is often tagged as romance, but no one could make that mistake with Vera. It is a brutal, feminist study of [spoilers removed].
]]> Lucky Jim 395182 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here

Regarded by many as the finest, and funniest, comic novel of the twentieth century, Lucky Jim remains as trenchant, withering, and eloquently misanthropic as when it first scandalized readers back in 1954. This is the story of Jim Dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a provincial university who knows better than most that “there was no end to the ways in which nice things are nicer than nasty ones.” Kingsley Amis’s scabrous debut leads the reader through a gallery of emphatically English bores, cranks, frauds, and neurotics with whom Dixon must contend in one way or another in order to hold on to his cushy academic perch and win the girl of his fancy.

More than just a merciless satire of cloistered college life and stuffy postwar manners, Lucky Jim is an attack on the forces of boredom, whatever form they may take, and a work of art that at once distills and extends an entire tradition of English comic writing, from Fielding and Dickens through Wodehouse and Waugh. As Christopher Hitchens has written, “If you can picture Bertie or Jeeves being capable of actual malice, and simultaneously imagine Evelyn Waugh forgetting about original sin, you have the combination of innocence and experience that makes this short romp so imperishable.”]]> 296 Kingsley Amis 0140186301 Emily May 0 classics, dick-lit, tbr-other 3.76 1954 Lucky Jim
author: Kingsley Amis
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1954
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/01
shelves: classics, dick-lit, tbr-other
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)]]> 227918236 'What we all need,' said Larry, 'is sunshine...a country where we can grow.'

'Yes, dear, that would be nice,' agreed Mother, not really listening.

'I had a letter from George this morning - he says Corfu's wonderful. Why don't we pack up and go to Greece?'

'Very well, dear, if you like,' said Mother unguardedly.

Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family - acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long suffering mother and Roger the dog - take off for the island of Corfu.

But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna - among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies.]]> 336 Gerald Durrell 0241767067 Emily May 0 0.0 1956 My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)
author: Gerald Durrell
name: Emily May
average rating: 0.0
book published: 1956
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/31
shelves: nonfiction, memoirs-or-bios, to-read-longlist, clothbound-own
review:

]]> A Simple Story 6822706 345 Elizabeth Inchbald 0199554722 Emily May 1 classics, 2025 A Simple Story for its historical context, but it's a painful read.

It's not even complexity. In fact, in many ways it's simplicity. Flat and moralistic narration, the lack of psychologically-complex characters, the silly frilly dramas that don't hit right because the characters seem to be reacting over absolutely nothing.

Reading A Simple Story is like being locked in a room with the most frivolous, self-absorbed person you've ever met-- except you're also expected to care deeply about her emotional turmoil. The novel may have its historical importance, but as a reading experience, it is a test of endurance, thanks in no small part to the insufferable Miss Milner.

The novel wants us to pity her, to see her as a tragic, misunderstood woman undone by societal constraint-- and, let's be clear, I am not a tough crowd for this message-- but it’s hard to feel compassion for someone who is so consistently irresponsible, willful, and oblivious to the consequences of her own behavior. I love a strong woman who refuses to behave, but she is like a combination of a toddler and a poltergeist, always melting down and causing chaos.

Inchbald may have intended to critique the limited roles available to women (and there are moments of potential nuance buried beneath the melodrama) but any subtlety is drowned out by Miss Milner’s relentless tantrums and the novel’s overwrought moralizing tone.

The second half is marginally better because we no longer focus on Miss Milner, but any hope I had that we were going in a fresh new direction quickly dissipated as the narrative settled into an ever more tedious moralizing tone. Miss Milner's daughter is less annoying, but makes up for it by being lifeless and boring. And the discussions about morality and social duty make it read more like a sermon than a story.

This may be the last time I read a supposedly pre-Austen Austen.]]> 3.35 1791 A Simple Story
author: Elizabeth Inchbald
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.35
book published: 1791
rating: 1
read at: 2025/05/30
date added: 2025/05/31
shelves: classics, 2025
review:
You know, 18th century classics can be really quite trying. I've heard it said that 18th century novelists were really just finding their feet and trying to figure out the novel form which would later be perfected by many 19th century authors-- and that is exactly what this reads like. I try to appreciate books like A Simple Story for its historical context, but it's a painful read.

It's not even complexity. In fact, in many ways it's simplicity. Flat and moralistic narration, the lack of psychologically-complex characters, the silly frilly dramas that don't hit right because the characters seem to be reacting over absolutely nothing.

Reading A Simple Story is like being locked in a room with the most frivolous, self-absorbed person you've ever met-- except you're also expected to care deeply about her emotional turmoil. The novel may have its historical importance, but as a reading experience, it is a test of endurance, thanks in no small part to the insufferable Miss Milner.

The novel wants us to pity her, to see her as a tragic, misunderstood woman undone by societal constraint-- and, let's be clear, I am not a tough crowd for this message-- but it’s hard to feel compassion for someone who is so consistently irresponsible, willful, and oblivious to the consequences of her own behavior. I love a strong woman who refuses to behave, but she is like a combination of a toddler and a poltergeist, always melting down and causing chaos.

Inchbald may have intended to critique the limited roles available to women (and there are moments of potential nuance buried beneath the melodrama) but any subtlety is drowned out by Miss Milner’s relentless tantrums and the novel’s overwrought moralizing tone.

The second half is marginally better because we no longer focus on Miss Milner, but any hope I had that we were going in a fresh new direction quickly dissipated as the narrative settled into an ever more tedious moralizing tone. Miss Milner's daughter is less annoying, but makes up for it by being lifeless and boring. And the discussions about morality and social duty make it read more like a sermon than a story.

This may be the last time I read a supposedly pre-Austen Austen.
]]> The Other 13414715 An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here

Holland and Niles Perry are identical thirteen-year-old twins. They are close, close enough, almost, to read each other’s thoughts, but they couldn’t be more different. Holland is bold and mischievous, a bad influence, while Niles is kind and eager to please, the sort of boy who makes parents proud. The Perrys live in the bucolic New England town their family settled centuries ago, and as it happens, the extended clan has gathered at its ancestral farm this summer to mourn the death of the twins’ father in a most unfortunate accident. Mrs. Perry still hasn’t recovered from the shock of her husband’s gruesome end and stays sequestered in her room, leaving her sons to roam free. As the summer goes on, though, and Holland’s pranks become increasingly sinister, Niles finds he can no longer make excuses for his brother’s actions.
Thomas Tryon’s best-selling novel about a homegrown monster is an eerie examination of the darkness that dwells within everyone. It is a landmark of psychological horror that is a worthy descendent of the books of James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson, Shirley Jackson, and Patricia Highsmith.]]> 258 Thomas Tryon 1590175832 Emily May 0 horror, tbr-other 3.83 1971 The Other
author: Thomas Tryon
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1971
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: horror, tbr-other
review:

]]> The Lost Estate 983730 The Lost Estate is Robin Buss's translation of Henri Alain-Fournier's poignant study of lost love, Le Grand Meaulnes. This Penguin Classics edition also contains an introduction by Adam Gopnik.

When Meaulnes first arrives at the local school in Sologne, everyone is captivated by his good looks, daring and charisma. But when Meaulnes disappears for several days, and returns with tales of a strange party at a mysterious house - and his love for the beautiful girl hidden within it, Yvonne de Galais - his life has been changed forever. In his restless search for his Lost Estate and the happiness he found there, Meaulnes, observed by his loyal friend Francois, may risk losing everything he ever had. Poised between youthful admiration and adult resignation, Alain-Fournier's compelling narrator carries the reader through this evocative and unbearably poignant portrayal of desperate friendship and vanished adolescence.

Robin Buss's translation of Le Grand Meaulnes sensitively and accurately renders Alain-Fournier's poetically charged, expressive and deceptively simple style. In his introduction, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik discusses the life of Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the First World War after writing this, his only novel.

I read it for the first time when I was seventeen and loved every page. I find its depiction of a golden time and place just as poignant now as I did then
Nick Hornby]]> 227 Henri Alain-Fournier 0141441895 Emily May 0 classics, tbr-other 3.71 1913 The Lost Estate
author: Henri Alain-Fournier
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1913
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: classics, tbr-other
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Siege of Krishnapur (Empire Trilogy, #2)]]> 256280 The Siege of Krishnapur, widely considered one of the finest British novels of the last fifty years.

Farrell's story is set in an isolated Victorian outpost on the subcontinent. Rumors of strife filter in from afar, and yet the members of the colonial community remain confident of their military and, above all, moral superiority. But when they find themselves under actual siege, the true character of their dominion--at once brutal, blundering, and wistful--is soon revealed.

The Siege of Krishnapur is a companion to Troubles, about the Easter 1916 rebellion in Ireland, and The Singapore Grip, which takes place just before World War II, as the sun begins to set upon the British Empire. Together these three novels offer an unequaled picture of the follies of empire.

Winner of the Booker Prize.]]> 344 J.G. Farrell 159017092X Emily May 0 historical, tbr-other 3.93 1973 The Siege of Krishnapur (Empire Trilogy, #2)
author: J.G. Farrell
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: historical, tbr-other
review:

]]> Tropic of Cancer (Tropic, #1) 249 Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller’s masterpiece, was banned as obscene in this country for twenty-seven years after its first publication in Paris in 1934. Only a historic court ruling that changed American censorship standards, ushering in a new era of freedom and frankness in modern literature, permitted the publication of this first volume of Miller’s famed mixture of memoir and fiction, which chronicles with unapologetic gusto the bawdy adventures of a young expatriate writer, his friends, and the characters they meet in Paris in the 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is now considered, as Norman Mailer said, "one of the ten or twenty great novels of our century."]]> 318 Henry Miller 0802131786 Emily May 0 classics, dick-lit, tbr-other 3.69 1934 Tropic of Cancer (Tropic, #1)
author: Henry Miller
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1934
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: classics, dick-lit, tbr-other
review:

]]> Parades End 850619 'The finest English novel about the Great War' Malcolm Bradbury, Guardian

Ford's masterly story of destruction and regeneration follows the progress of Christopher Tietjens as his world is shattered by the Great War.

In four volumes -- Some Do Not..., No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up and The Last Post -- Parade's End traces the psychological damage inflicted by battle, the collapse of England's secure Edwardian values and the new age, embodied by Tietjens's beautiful, selfish wife Sylvia. It is an elegy for the war dead and the passing of a way of life, and a work of amazing subtlety and profundity.

'The best novel by a British writer...It is also the finest novel about the First World War. It is also the finest novel about the nature of British society' Anthony Burgess]]> 836 Ford Madox Ford 0141185945 Emily May 0 4.12 1928 Parades End
author: Ford Madox Ford
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1928
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: classics, historical, tbr-other
review:

]]> All the King's Men 2488848 661 Robert Penn Warren 0141188618 Emily May 0 classics, tbr-other 4.07 1946 All the King's Men
author: Robert Penn Warren
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: classics, tbr-other
review:

]]> Excellent Women 3968796 288 Barbara Pym 1844085260 Emily May 3 classics, 2025 Miss Buncle's Book, but Excellent Women just wasn't quite as charming. Both are books about quiet, unassuming spinsters surrounded by the drama of the supporting characters, so perhaps it was a poor choice to read two such similar books in the space of a week.

I would not describe my experience as negative, though, and I'd still consider reading more by Pym.]]> 3.97 1952 Excellent Women
author: Barbara Pym
name: Emily May
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1952
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/30
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: classics, 2025
review:
I don't know if I read this too soon on the heels of Miss Buncle's Book, but Excellent Women just wasn't quite as charming. Both are books about quiet, unassuming spinsters surrounded by the drama of the supporting characters, so perhaps it was a poor choice to read two such similar books in the space of a week.

I would not describe my experience as negative, though, and I'd still consider reading more by Pym.
]]> <![CDATA[Miss Buncle's Book (Miss Buncle #1)]]> 59129485 352 D.E. Stevenson 1906462577 Emily May 4 classics, persephone, 2025
I had the pleasure of spending a full bank holiday reading Miss Buncle's Book-- it is one of those books so charming, funny and easy to read that I devoured it in a single day.

Miss Buncle, a quiet, plain and unassuming spinster, has debts piling up and decides there's only one thing for it-- she must write a book to earn some money! Only, she has zero imagination, so she takes a look around at her village full of ready-made characters and writes a novel about them, changing names but leaving in a lot of recognisable details.

When the novel publishes, it isn't long before some of the townsfolk start to realise that Silverstream bears a peculiar resemblance to Copperfield, and that Mrs. Horsley Down might just be Mrs. Featherstone Hogg. And so on. Some of them love the book, others are deeply offended by it, but nobody could ever suspect that quiet little mouse Barbara Buncle of being responsible.

It's a really fun read with a whole cast of vivid characters. Miss Buncle herself is a delightful protagonist: down-to-earth, a bit clueless in some ways but brilliant in others. There is also what appears to be a coded lesbian relationship between Miss King and Miss Pretty-- two women who live together in a classic "Boston marriage" and obviously love each other very much, one very butch/masculine and the other more femme-- and Stevenson portrays their relationship with warmth and respect.

I enjoyed both the experience of the book, and looking back over some of the deeper themes. It is a caution about dismissing anyone because they're quiet little wallflowers and, in fact, suggests maybe those people are exactly the ones to watch. All wrapped up in some small town drama! I will be reading the sequel.]]> 4.07 1934 Miss Buncle's Book (Miss Buncle #1)
author: D.E. Stevenson
name: Emily May
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1934
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/26
date added: 2025/05/30
shelves: classics, persephone, 2025
review:
4 1/2 stars.

I had the pleasure of spending a full bank holiday reading Miss Buncle's Book-- it is one of those books so charming, funny and easy to read that I devoured it in a single day.

Miss Buncle, a quiet, plain and unassuming spinster, has debts piling up and decides there's only one thing for it-- she must write a book to earn some money! Only, she has zero imagination, so she takes a look around at her village full of ready-made characters and writes a novel about them, changing names but leaving in a lot of recognisable details.

When the novel publishes, it isn't long before some of the townsfolk start to realise that Silverstream bears a peculiar resemblance to Copperfield, and that Mrs. Horsley Down might just be Mrs. Featherstone Hogg. And so on. Some of them love the book, others are deeply offended by it, but nobody could ever suspect that quiet little mouse Barbara Buncle of being responsible.

It's a really fun read with a whole cast of vivid characters. Miss Buncle herself is a delightful protagonist: down-to-earth, a bit clueless in some ways but brilliant in others. There is also what appears to be a coded lesbian relationship between Miss King and Miss Pretty-- two women who live together in a classic "Boston marriage" and obviously love each other very much, one very butch/masculine and the other more femme-- and Stevenson portrays their relationship with warmth and respect.

I enjoyed both the experience of the book, and looking back over some of the deeper themes. It is a caution about dismissing anyone because they're quiet little wallflowers and, in fact, suggests maybe those people are exactly the ones to watch. All wrapped up in some small town drama! I will be reading the sequel.
]]>