Behind the Stacks May 2025

I have finished the majority of April’s books (with the exception of Instamom. It’s a hard book to get into even though I’m almost at the end. Here are the other books I finished in April or started in May.

Books I Finished:

• The Book That Matters Most by Ann  Hood. I liked the framework of the book (it was built around the book club and whatever the book club was reading) but other than that I didn’t really like it (certainly not as much as the other book I read by Ann Hood, the Knitting Circle). One of the characters daughters visits France, essentially gets kidnapped by a much older man and turned into a heroin junkie. And when the mother finds out all this she lets her daughter stay there because she now trusts her daughter to make good decisions. Yeah, because she’s done so well so far….

• Tom Lake by Ann Prachett. This book I actually listened to on audio. I liked it for the most part. It’s told mostly in flashback of the summer the mother (Laura) did summerstock theatre and fell in love with an arrogant dickwad who ditched her as soon as she injured her achilles and started sleeping with her understudy. He went on to become a great Hollywood star. His brother was nice at least.

• Hunger. Another Roxane Gay book This one was about how Roxane’s early trauma (a gang rape at age twelve) triggered her overeating because it was a reaction to the trauma and being overweight made her feel safe. She describes how physically painful it is to be so overweight, how humiliating, how people judge you, how she even judged herself. I really felt for her. At times she seemed so alone because she hadn’t told her family. They just thought she had a weight problem. HIghly recommend for anyone, even if they aren’t overweight but especially if they are.  

• Black Dahlia and White Rose Stories by Joyce Carol Oates. Its a good thing if you are a Joyce Carol Oates fan because she writes….alot. I tend to favor her short stories. You will never know where she is going with a story. It will always zig when you expect it to zag and it will always leave you deep in thought.

• Dietland by Sarai Walker. I was stunned to find this is actually a TV show. I’m not going to watch it. That’s not to say the book was bad. It was very intriguing and I probably would have finished it sooner if it wasn’t (ironically) my eating book. I designate one book at a time to be read while eating meals at the table (only if I’m alone though. I don’t want to be rude even if I’m itching to find out what’s next). Dietland is about a heavy woman called Plum and how she comes to terms with her body with the help of some other woman and a sensation called “Jennifer”

Books I’m Currently Reading

• This is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter. This is my favorite book of the year so far. I shouldn’t  be surprised. I love Karin Slaughter. She’s one of my favorite authors and definitely my favorite crime author. Her crime thrillers can be very dark and gritty, I’m just warning you (ex. In one book women are kidnapped, nailed to crucifixes and raped). This book takes place when the heroes of the series (Will Trent and Sara Linton) are celebrating their honeymoon at a lodge up in the mountains. The couple is engaged in some lake sex at night when they hear a scream. A murder has been committed and everyone at the lodge is a suspect. And trust me, there are plenty…….

• Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty. A psychic goes around on an airplane predicting the age people will die and how. It begins to freak people out when her predictions start coming true,

• Bad Feminist. What can I say? I’m hooked on Roxane Gay. I only recently started this book but since I consider myself a bad feminist as well, I’ll probably enjoy it.

• How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All Of Us by Rachelle Bergstein. I am actually watching an author talk on Wednesday. I love Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. If I could ever write a book like that I would mind that I probably would have to self publish it.

Books On My List:

• I have two books I need to get to reading before my book club meeting: the Green Mile by Stephen King and Bluebeard’s Egg and Other Short Stories by Margaret Atwood. Both iconic authors. Looking forward to it.

So yeah I guess you could say I like to read?