2025 July Reading Wrap Up

 

I read 7 books this month of which 4 were new to me authors for a total of 2464 pages.  The stories ran the gamut from 3 stars to 5 stars. 

my grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry by Fredrik Backman -   5 Stars

"Every seven year old deserves a super hero. And whoever disagrees with that need their head examines."  

In Five Years by Rebecca Searle  - 4 Stars

"But all of that is an hour from now. Now, on the other side of midnight, we do not yet know what is coming. So let it be. 

One Last Breath by Laura Griffin - 3 stars 

“She’d been played all along. Once again, the dumb blonde."

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley - 4 stars

“It’s a beautiful building, but there’s something rotten at its heart. Now he’s discovered it he can smell the stench of it everywhere.”

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley - 5 stars

"We're the whole damn cake." Said Bea.

"The whole damn cake." echoed Iona

The Zero Game by Brad Meltzer - 5 Stars 

"It's the first rule of politics. The only time you get hurt is when you forget it's all a game."

Piranesi by Susanna Clark - 4 Stars 

"In my mind are all the tides, their seasons, their ebbs and their flows. In my mind are all the halls, the endless procession of them, the intricate pathways. When this world becomes too much for me, when I grow tired of the noise and the dirt and the people, I close my eyes and I name a particular vestibule to myself; then I name a hall."

Reading Log as of July 30, 2025 - Piranesi

 

I finished Susanna Clarke's Piranesi which had been sitting on my shelves forever and it took a couple tries to get into it. I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell so was looking forward to reading it. 3.5 stars 

"Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known."

Piranesi lives in a labyrinth of halls, communicating only with 'the other', helping him with research. It's an alternate world devised by a madman and Piranesi doesn't question it until one day the other says something strange that arouses his suspicion. Piranesi begins to read his old journals and learns all about a life he'd forgotten.   ****

James' Review -Watchmen (2024)

 

Hey, believers of justice. Your old pal is back... after quite the lengthy hiatus and we're discussing WATCHMEN. Specifically, the animated two-part movie adaptation. Quite recently, I saw this with dad and both parts were an enjoyable watch. 

Watchmen Chapters I and II adapt the 1980s comic story and follow it to the letter despite taking creative liberties at certain points, but the soul of the comic remains. The animation is 3D with a bit of 2D as well as some slowness to certain movements and is similar to Marvel's WHAT IF combined with the Spider-Verse movies. In relation to this adaptation resembling the former Marvel show, it makes sense given that WATCHMEN is set in an alternate world where superheroes are real and the only popular comic genre out there is pirate comics.

If you want to watch this, go ahead. But be warned, Watchmen was never for kids. Both parts are R-rated, so brace yourself for some bloody moments and pretty mature themes that come up throughout. Aside from that, the animation is really good and so is the cast. Katie Sackoff, who's voiced Bo-Katan in Star Wars, voices Laurie aka Silk Spectre II and Troy Baker, who has experience with DC beforehand, provides the voice of Ozymandias as Mathew Rys voices Dan "Nite Owl" Dreiberg. 

With all of that talent, the big voice acting highlight has to be Rick D. Wasserman as The Comedian, who is a crime-fighting American patriot... with a twisted sense of humor and was influenced by Peacemaker and Marvel's Nick Fury (and perhaps The Joker?). His voice is gruff and nearly villainous-sounding, which technically makes sense given the many nefarious things The Comedian has done. He killed people in Vietnam and... gave Laurie's mom, the original Silk Specter, some pretty nasty trouble until Hooded Justice intervened, for lack of a delicate explanation.

My overall thoughts?

Oh, man. Despite having some moments that'll make you go "uhh", if you're looking for something akin to the WHAT IF show from Marvel studios, this version of Watchmen is for you... if you can handle what is in store and if you've read the comic. This isn't for the faint of heart, but it's manageable. And to those familiar with the original story, yes, the giant alien squid monster does appear. My score is a 9.9. 

Reading Log as of July 27, 2025 - Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

 

This week I finished Clare Pooley's Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting which was a wonderful story about 6 strangers who ride the London trains every day and start talking and form friendships which changes their lives forever as they work through job losses, bullying, and marriage troubles.  5 Stars

"Every day Iona Iverson, a stylish, opinionated, larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, rides the train to work with her dog, Lulu. Every day she sees the same people, whom she knows only by nickname: Impossibly-Pretty-Bookworm and Mr-Too-Good-to-Be-True. Of course, they never speak. Seasoned commuters never do.

Then one morning, the man she calls Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader chokes on a grape right in front of her. He’d have died were it not for the timely intervention of Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver.

This single event starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people discovers that talking to strangers can teach you quite a bit about the world around you—and even more about yourself."   

Also Brad Meltzer’s mystery thriller The Zero Game that starts off as a game and becomes deadly serious when one of the players is killed and someone tries to cover it up.  Full of twists, turns, and action that kept me reading long into the night.  5 Stars 

“Matthew Mercer and Harris Sandler are best friends who have plum jobs as senior staffers to well-respected congressmen. But after a decade in Washington, idealism has faded to disillusionment, and they’re bored. Then one of them finds out about the clandestine Zero Game. It starts out as good fun-a simple wager between friends. But when someone close to them ends up dead, Harris and Matthew realize the game is far more sinister than they ever imagined-and that they’re about to be the game’s next victims. On the run, they turn to the only person they can a 16-year-old Senate page who can move around the Capitol undetected. As a ruthless killer creeps closer, this idealistic page not only holds the key to saving their lives, but is also determined to redeem them in the process. Come play The Zero Game-you can bet your life on it.”

Currently reading the nonfiction story of All the Beauty in the World about a guard who works at the Met in New York which is quite interesting and educational to boot.

Also Piranesi and not sure where it’s going and whether I’ll continue. Need to give it a few more pages to make up my mind.

Reading Log as of July 16, 2025 - One Last Breath

 

Laura Griffin's One Last Breath in her Borderline duology was not that great. It has been sitting on my shelves forever and I thought I had read it, but turns out I never did. 

"When pampered former cheerleader Feenie Malone takes a job writing fluff pieces for her South Texas paper, she has no idea she's about to stumble into a juicy news story that could launch her career -- if it doesn't get her killed first.

Almost as soon as she breaks out her press pass, she crosses paths with Marco Juarez, the macho PI obsessed with solving his sister's murder. The information he has might be the perfect lead -- but his dangerously sexy looks could be a deadly distraction.

Juarez has zero patience for reporters, especially mouthy blond ones. But with the evidence pointing to Feenie's ex-husband, Marco thinks she could be useful. Confident he can keep her on a tight leash, he lets her in on his investigation. He quickly discovers he's underestimated his new partner, as well as the danger they both face.

Now he must protect her -- to the very last breath...."

Convoluted, yet not, story about a clueless woman married to a 'mob' type guy, who once they get divorced, finally gets a clue, becomes a reporter and sticks her nose into her ex husband's business. With the help of a former policeman, now private eye survives the results amazingly, and falls in love in the process.  The characters were really stupid.  3 Stars  It was good but....

Reading Log as of July 12, 2025 - The Paris Apartment

 

I was supposed to be reading Ruth Ware's Zero Days, but I got distracted by Lucy Foley’s The Paris Apartment which was clever and interesting.

“Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge

Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.”

 Ben disappears and Jess is determined to find him. The apartment is really part of the family home of a family in which each member has a separate apartment. They are dysfunctional, they have secrets, they are strange. Jess isn’t exactly a good person either herself. She snoops until she finds out the truth.  Set in Paris, it is the America against every one else. Lots of twists and turns.  4 Stars. 

Reading Log as of July 09, 2025 - In Five Years

 

I’m currently still on Y for the A to Z and Back Again alphabet challenge so reading In Five Years by Rebecca Serle which has captured my attention. Not easy to do these days.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?

When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.

But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.

After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.

That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.”

So Dannie skips ahead five years in the future for one hour, meets a man, who she'll meet later, whose in love with her best friend who is dying. What does she do? 4 Stars 

James Reviews -Band of Brothers (2001)

 

War. It claims lives, it changes history and the Second World War was one of the most infamous of these wars. However, war can be entertaining to watch in movies and TV shows with many works of historical fiction set during World War II. And yet, many of these movies and shows try to be accurate to history despite the creative liberties.

Released in 2001 on HBO, Band of Brothers follows Easy Company during WW2 In Europe with the first episode dedicated to their training & their bonds before episode two throws us into the action starting with D-Day. Created by SAVING PRIVATE RYAN’s Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks, the show is based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s book BAND OF BROTHERS and most of the series’ ten episodes start with interviews with the veterans of Easy Company. 

My father and I watched it months ago and this was worth a watch, with a moving intro complete with incredible music, and well-crafted war scenes with fantastic early 2000s special effects. Bloody, intense and often unsettling, BAND OF BROTHERS is a tale of bravery, brotherhood and defying odds in history’s darkest period and pulls no punches. 

I rate this four stars and suggest you watch it, this is a show you will not miss. See you later, fellow historians.

-James M

Reading Log as of July 5, 2025 - my grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry

 

I finished Fredrick Backman’s My Grandma Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry.  Such a sweet, heartwarming, hilarious, intense, imaginative story.  Made me laugh, made me cry, made me wonder, as well as want to shake a couple adults for their attitudes. All the feels. At first, all the bickering between every one turned me off. But once I got past that, the story started to get better.

“Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy—as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-strangers crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.”

Now I want to read more of Backman’s books. Not sure which one yet. Maybe Britt-Marie was Here, since the character was in the book I just read.

5 stars