August:
89. Perry Mason: The Case of the Rolling Bones by Erle Stanley Gardner - Ohmygoodness, this one is so convoluted, I'm not sure how to describe it but I'll try. Perry Mason gets a job helping a trio of people who believe a man named Alden Leeds is being blackmailed. Alden is wealthy from a gold strike in Tanana, Alaska, years before. There are lots of complications to this tale: a girlfriend who is lying about her past, a former partner in the Klondike who may be dead or may be pretending to be Alden Leeds, the murder of a con man, and . . . everyone's lying. Even Perry Mason isn't shy about fibbing and misdirecting people. That's what made it confusing for me. So many unreliable characters! Still, I'm glad I read the book. It's been eons since I watched the TV show but friend Ryan mentioned that the Perrys of book and TV are different and I agree. From what little I recall, he seemed more strait-laced on the TV show. The Perry Mason of this book was edgier and deceptive in his own right. Check out the cover in my flatlay, below. It's a 1960 printing, very pulp-fictiony-cool.
90. Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane - Two couples, two generations. Brian and Anne Stanhope move next door to Francis and Lena Gleeson. Brian and Francis worked together early on in their careers so the Gleesons are excited when Brian and his wife move next door. But, there's something very strange about Anne. She's unfriendly, even hostile. And, yet, Peter Stanhope and Kate Gleeson (their children) become friends, until one fateful night changes the trajectory of both families' lives. So . . . I guess this is a family saga? I'm not sure how to mentally label it, but it's very character-driven and touches on all sorts of topics: family, friendship, love, mental illness, alcoholism, abandonment by a parent or both parents, trauma and its reverberations. It took me a week to get through Ask Again, Yes, not because I didn't like it but because I would stay up way too late reading obsessively and then not be able to read for a day or two due to fatigue. I enjoyed it — all the angst, the horror, the good and the ugly made it surprisingly gripping and the ending was very satisfying.
91. Miguel Street by V. S. Naipaul - A fictionalized account of the author's childhood in Trinidad, Miguel Street is told as a series of vignettes, each focusing on a particular character. They are not told in timeline order. You may read the story of a person who ends up in jail or leaves the country in one chapter, for example, and then they show up as a secondary character in other tales. Very entertaining, at once charming, funny, unnerving (there's a lot of misogyny and beatings), and an interesting glimpse into life in an impoverished area. I was most interested in the culture and the patois.
92. And Then, BOOM! by Lisa Fipps - A story in verse about a boy whose life keeps taking more punches. Joe lives with his grandmum (originally from England) in a gingerbread-style house. He has never known his father and his mother occasionally "gets the itch" and disappears. When Joe's mom is arrested, things go from bad to worse. Briefly homeless then living in a trailer, Joe and his grandmum do their best to survive but they're always hungry, always unable to pay all the bills. Then, tragedy strikes again and this time Joe's on his own. OMG, this book made me ugly cry. So good. I love the fact that there were always characters who tried to help, even if it wasn't enough. An excellent book to remind people of the importance of social programs for those who fall on tough times through no fault of their own. The ending is lovely and upbeat. A wonderful middle grade book, highly recommended.
93. Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin - The second in a series of children's books about cats born with wings, I found an ugly old copy of this book on a free books cart at the library when we went to drop off donations. The catwings have been living out in the country where two very kind children feed them; but, now two of them want to return to the city to check on their mother, a regular cat. They arrive to find that her dumpster home is gone and the buildings nearby are being demolished. After finding a kitten who also has wings (their sister), they search for their mother and find that she's now living in a new place and well cared for. The way I described it sounds a bit dull but it's quite an adventurous little book and I'm tempted to buy the entire series for fun. Free books are trouble.
94. The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman - At 68 pages, I'm not sure whether to call this a short story or a novella but it feels like the latter. Lucas just wants to be left alone and he's doing quite well at avoiding people. He works from home, orders Thai food delivery, and enjoys playing video games. He doesn't need the complication of having other humans in his life. Then, someone ditches a frying pan in an inappropriate place and Lucas gets caught up in the neighborhood intrigue as the board refuses to throw away the pan for fear people will see it as an invitation to dump things. But then it happens, anyway, and the pile of refuse grows. A delightful, silly and humorous tale. I particularly loved the fact that a woman staying in a nearby apartment was there while a doctor pretended she was in a coma to give her a break from her exhausting family life. I could have used a coma break a time or two, many years back. This was a free e-book download and my third read by Backman. I've loved everything I've read by him, so far.
95. William, An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton - My Persephone read of the month has a nice preface by Francesca Beauman, the owner (or one of the owners) of Persephone Books. Thank goodness she described the contrast between the first, very placid part of the story and the outbreak of war because I was bored out of my mind for a time and almost quit reading. William Tully is a clerk at an insurance company in London. He's small and rather dull, not a very likable character. When he comes into a small inheritance after discovering a passion for speaking out against the government (particularly against the military and war), he quits his job and meets Griselda, a suffragette who is also a passionate speaker, and they marry.
Just before they leave for their honeymoon in Belgium they see the headlines about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and think nothing of it. They spend 3 quiet weeks in an isolated Belgian valley cottage, then suddenly the woman who brings them breakfast leaves a note (which they can't read) and doesn't show up to leave food for their evening meal or make their breakfast. With no idea what's happened, they arrive at her farmhouse to find danger, chaos, and a level of cruelty that they never could have imagined. For about 100 pages, the book focuses on what happens to William and Griselda and the horrors they witness and experience. Will they make it out of Belgium alive? Well, there's just not much more I can say without spoilers but I can tell you the story is so visceral and fast-paced for a time that it had my heart pounding. Considering the start, I would never have expected to give the book 5 stars, but once you get past about the 50-page mark, the pages fly.
96. Well Done by Barbara Morrow - A reread, this children's book is one I bought when we were living in Ann Arbor at the scariest library sale, ever. So crowded. I'm a little crowd phobic. Well Done tells the story of a king and duke who don't like each other. If the king tells the duke to do something, the duke will always say, "No". This leads to a war in which the duke's people retreat to his castle grounds, leaving their livestock and fields. The king's siege on the duke's castle lasts so long that the duke's people begin to starve. Finally, the king says he's going to let the women and children go, but then he'll burn the duke's castle down. The duchess comes up with a plan and asks the king to let every woman take what they most value with them. He agrees and they all come out of the castle carrying their husbands. Youngest claims this is a true story. I am skeptical but it's a story I have loved since I bought it and the kids loved it, too.
97. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - This month's selection for the Contemplative Reading Project is a memoir by the singer in Japanese Breakfast about losing her mother and how she and her mother were most closely connected by the Korean foods her mother cooked and which she also ate on visits to Korea. This one was particularly rough in the middle because that was the point where she went into detail about her mother's cancer and decline. While my mother lasted a lot longer than Zauner's, it brought back some traumatic memories of how brutal a death it was, how exhausting to be a caregiver, and how traumatic to see my mother take her last breath (on a day that I was alone with her). However, I loved the descriptions of food and Zauner's stories about growing up Korean-American, as well as her struggles to become successful as a singer. The final part of the book, after her mother's death, is very uplifting so I'm glad I stuck it out but if I'd known there were details about a cancer death I would have skipped this book entirely. I didn't even bother reading about it; I just bought a copy blind. I'll be more careful in the future.
98. The Fall of Kelvin Walker by Alasdair Gray - The Fall of Kelvin Walker is set in the 1960s. Kelvin Walker is a Scot who has left his father's grocery store in search of a new life in London. Flush with cash, he goes to get something to eat before finding a place to stay and meets Jill. They talk for a while and he invites her to choose the most expensive place she can think of to eat supper, which it turns out he can't afford. Jill invites him home to her grotty flat, where she lives with Jake; and, Kelvin makes himself at home while absurdly trying to get a job by posing as someone well-known to get an interview. He gets kicked out repeatedly but eventually gets a very good job at the BBC based on his sharpness and ability to be adaptable in interviews. He rises rapidly but not everyone is happy about it. The book is wrapped up with the word "GOODBYE" on the final page (I kind of loved that). Kelvin is a strange character who means well and has a unique talent with words. But, too much confidence leads to his fall. An enjoyable, offbeat, very British read. The most common descriptor at Goodreads is "dour". Hmm. Kelvin is stern and unbending but confident so I'm not sure the word "dour" works for me, although when the fall comes, it is harsh.
99. Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin - Yep, I bought the set. The first Catwings book is set in an alley in the poorest part of town, where Jane (a normal cat) and her winged kittens live. It's a harsh place and the kittens are always in danger, although uniquely able to escape potential captors, due to the fact that they have wings. After some humans spot them and try to snatch the kittens, mama Jane tells Thelma, Harriet, James, and Roger that they must escape to the country to protect themselves. It's a long journey and one of them is attacked by an owl, but eventually they find two kind young humans who are willing to care for them without giving their secret away. A lovely little story. I'm glad I bought this set.
100. Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin (reread) - I reread the second book, this time the volume from the new set I purchased, so that I could read them in timeline order. Nothing has changed from the review above, except for the fact that I love this set so much I'm considering sending it to my youngest granddaughter when I finish and I loved it just as much the second time around.
101. Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin - Third in the series, this time a regular kitten named Alexander goes off on his own through the cat door of his nice house and gets lost then chased up into a tree. Unable to figure out how to get back down on his own, Alexander is surprised when Jane, the Catwing kitten found by her siblings in the second book, flies into the tree and shows him how to get down. Jane only says two words and otherwise refuses to speak. So, Alexander decides it would be a debt repaid and a kindness to help Jane learn to speak by talking through what happened to her that led her to stop speaking. And, then he gets adopted by the farm family that cares for the Catwings kitties. Another great entry, both adventurous and sweet.
102. Jane on Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin - In this final entry in the Catwings series, young Jane (the cat found hiding in an attic in a building about to be destroyed in Catwings Return) decides that living in the country is too dull for her and she's ready to go exploring. So, she says goodbye and heads for the city. There, she is caught by a man and becomes a sensation, which also makes her unhappy. Finally, she escapes to find her mother. I didn't love this one as much as the others, although the final couple of pages made it more tolerable. I kind of hated that Jane left Alexander. But, in the end it says she stayed with her mother but came back to the farm to visit her siblings and Alexander. OK, whew. I'm better, now. I loved this series. The books are slim, from 42-54 pages, and all beautifully illustrated. I'm so glad I found one for free. I doubt I'd ever have known about them, otherwise.
103. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - First published in 1877, this classic children's story is narrated by the horse, Black Beauty. I had no idea. All I knew of this book was that "it has horses" when I picked it up at the library sale, a couple months ago. Nor did I realize it was so old! Set in England in the late 19th century, Black Beauty tells the tale of a working horse who is sold repeatedly, sometimes ending up with kind owners and grooms, sometimes with cruel ones who don't know how to treat a horse properly. It's basically a morality tale, probably typical of the time period, and can be a little preachy. But, it's also quite an interesting learning experience about horses — what different jobs they performed and loads they carried or pulled, how important the right food and correct temperature of water were for their health, the different types of bits and reins, how a small stone or an uneven road could lead to disaster without the right kind of experience of care on the part of the driver. The story comes full circle with an early character returning to Black Beauty's life at his final home. Lovely.
104. The Faceless Adversary by Frances and Richard Lockridge - John Hayward was having a great day but now he's in trouble. The police think he killed a young woman and they have proof. But, he's never seen the girl in his life and her identity is hazy. Was John set up? If so, why? Who was the young redhead that was murdered and why would someone choose John as the fall guy? Will John and his fiancée figure it out before it's too late? The "mistaken identity" trope sucked me right in. When John's confused and the police are so sure at the beginning, there were some vague North by Northwest vibes. I loved that and the fact that I never felt lost in plot twists. My copy of The Faceless Adversary, published in 1956, was a library sale find. I'm ranking it as one of my top discoveries from a library sale.
This was an interesting month. I started with the Perry Mason book, which I think I bought at an indie bookstore (either The Strand or Square Books) and then felt slumpy, even though I was enjoying my reads. Crying in H Mart was a difficult read so that may have contributed to the slump problem, although I thought it was excellent and it's pretty typical for me to have a reading slump toward the end of the summer.
Of the books I read, 6 were books that I've had for over a year, two came from recent library sales and one off a library cart of free books, 3 were recently purchased (one as a set — the Catwings books), and I read one e-book. So, it was a pretty successful month for reading older books I've been hanging onto. Most will not stay in my house. Crying in H Mart was my only book club read. I started another but just wasn't getting anywhere, in spite of enjoying what little I read. And, there was another book I set aside, so I had two DNFs. I'll get back to both; it just wasn't the right time for them.
I also read my Persephone book of the month and enjoyed it. The last photo below is just silly. As I was reading Black Beauty and getting ready to read The Faceless Adversary, I kept thinking they looked like condiments. So, I took a photo of my ketchup and mustard books. I actually don't own any ketchup or mustard, so I had nothing cute to pose them with.
I didn't read any additional books I've been planning to read, as per my yearly goal. And, the book-buying ban has gone totally out the window. I'm giving up on it completely, but will try again in 2026. However, we have been very successful at ridding ourselves of older titles as I've gone through all of the cabinets of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and some bookshelves on a separate wall. So, 8 boxes full of books went to a local library (not my city's library but a nearby library system where I have friends to let me know when they're open to donations). And, we still have at least 8 more boxes of books that we didn't manage to haul there in time. But, they're all ready to go when they open up for the next library sale!
Happy Reading!
©2025 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
