Category Archives: Books & Reading

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (October 2024)

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This month, I’ve really had to start being more intentional with my reading so that I’ll be able to complete my reading challenges in time. I’ve now planned my reading for the rest of the year. For Diversity Across Genres, I have a TBR title for every missing prompt – two of which I read this month – which will help me move quickly from one finished read/listen to the next one. For Book Voyage: Read Around the World, I have already read something from every world region, but I would love to add another title for South America, Africa, and/or Southern Asia so I’ll see if I can squeeze any of those in. My Nordic Literature Reading Challenge is luckily not a time sensitive one, so I can read at my leisure for that one.

What have you been reading lately? 

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (2022) 📖

This was a fun mystery thriller. A mother witnesses her 18-year-old son murder someone and is shocked and baffled. He’s in police custody and his bright future is gone. However, when the mother wakes up the next morning, it’s actually the day before the murder and this pattern continues. As time continues backwards, the mother learns more and more about how this murder came to happen. I’m not usually a fan of time travel, but this time loop premise worked for me. Some aspects of the mystery I guessed in advance, but there were still twists that surprised me. There’s some substance to it also, such as questions around motherhood and parenting. It was a fun read! ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️

  • Book club read with work colleagues
  • Read My Own Shelf: Gifted

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell (2023) 🎧
Narrated by Nicola Walker and Louise Brealey with full cast, music and sound design

This is a book that needs to be listened to if you’re going to read it. The structure (which included podcast recordings) and production (with a full cast, music, and sound design) were so unique and well done. And the story was good, too. It’s a dark psychological thriller that follows Alix, a popular podcaster, who is intrigued by Josie and records her story for a podcast. As she digs deeper, she uncovers dark secrets that blur the lines between truth and deception. She soon finds herself in an unsettling friendship with her. I was riveted and have already recommended the audiobook to many. ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️⭐

  • Book club read with friends

Murder on the Red River (Cash Blackbear Mystery, #1) by Marcie R. Rendon (2017) 📖

This book had an unexpected intersection of interests! Descendants of Scandinavian immigrants were part of the setting. In an attempt to learn more about Scandinavian immigration to that area, I came across The Great Dakota Boom: Scandinavians, an interesting 4th grade lesson from North Dakota on Scandinavian immigration to the Red River Valley area, and as well as Norwegian Immigration to Minnesota, a deeper dive into the topic.

This book has a mystery element to it, but it’s more of a character-driven look at life for a 19-year-old Ojibwe woman named Cash in the Red River Valley (North Dakota/Minnesota border area) in the 1970s. Cash grew up moving from one White foster family to another and only graduated high school thanks to the support from her “guardian,” Sheriff Weaton. Her life now consists of driving trucks for local farmers, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, and playing pool. When a Native man is found dead, Cash is drawn into the investigation. The story puts a spotlight on the lasting impact of Indigenous youth being removed from their communities and placed into White foster care. I liked Cash, flaws and all, and appreciated the unique perspective the setting offers. I’m eager to dive into more of her story in the next book in the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️

Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1) by Talia Hibbert (2019) 🎧

I really enjoyed the main characters and their relationship in this romantic comedy. Chloe, a chronically ill woman in her twenties, is smart and strong and decides she needs to push herself out of her comfort zone. She enlists the help of her grumpy but attractive building superintendent in exchange for creating a website for him. As they spend more time together, their initial tension gives way to a slow-burning romance. It’s a funny, heartwarming story about embracing life and vulnerability. My only issue with it was the graphic, vulgar language used when it came to the sex scenes. For me, it was cringeworthy and just didn’t jive with the tone of the rest of the book. ⭐️⭐⭐️

What have you been reading lately?

Disclaimer: AVikingInLA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Related posts:

  1. Reading Lately (September 2019)
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (June 2024)
  3. What I’ve Been Reading Lately & #WITmonth (August 2024)

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (September 2024)

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After a summer packed to the brim with reading (July and August), September with its return to school schedules and fall activities was much slower paced. I did, however, return to my yearlong reading challenges with intention which was satisfying. I have now plotted out how to complete the challenges. We’ll see if it works out as planned.

Coincidentally, all three books this month took place in the 1980s – a memoir from South Africa, crime fiction set in Iceland, and literary fiction set in the art world. That was a unique experience!

What have you been reading lately?

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (2016)
Narrated by Trevor Noah 🎧

This was a captivating account of comedian Trevor Noah’s childhood in South Africa as he navigated life during Apartheid. He was born in 1984 to a White father and Black mother, at the time an illegal interracial relationship, and had a challenging childhood in many ways. Even though it’s in the subtitle, I did not realize this was a collection of stories. The stories jumped back and forth in time a little bit, which was sometimes jarring since he re-introduced aspects and people from earlier years later on as if they were new. The book was an eye-opening look at Apartheid and, at the same time, a moving tribute to his mother. Hearing Trevor Noah narrate it himself was exceptional. ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️

Reykjavík: A Crime Story by Ragnar Jónasson & Katrín Jakobsdóttir (2022)
Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb (2023) 📖

Ragnar Jónasson is a prolific and best-selling Icelandic crime fiction writer. I really enjoyed his Hidden Iceland trilogy, aka The Hulda Series. Reykjavík was written in partnership with the then-current prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir (2017-2024) so I was intrigued.

This is the story of a 15-year-old girl’s disappearance in 1956 when she took a summer job as a maid in a prominent couple’s home on a remote island and disappeared without a trace. On its 30th anniversary in 1986, an eager journalist revisits the case and new information comes to light. This coincides with Reykjavik’s 200th anniversary and Reagan and Gorbachev’s summit meeting in Iceland. I felt the book was trying to have a strong sense of time and place, but for me it was just a lot of place names that I didn’t know. And unfortunately, the story was not as engaging as I’d hoped and the translation was somewhat awkward at times. ⭐️⭐️⭐

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochilt Gonzalez (2024) 📖
Narrated by Stacy Gonzalez, Jonathan Gregg, and Jessica Pimentel 🎧

I really enjoyed the author’s debut Olga Dies Dreaming (Reading Lately, April & May 2022) and was quick to select this title as my Book of the Month selection, especially after reading, “From campus to galleries, this engrossing tale of two female artists paints a complex portrait of power and privilege.” Also, I’m all in for a nonlinear timeline, multiple perspectives, and a glimpse into a world unfamiliar to me, in this case the art world. I wish I had known in advance that Anita in this story was based on a real Cuban performance artist, Ana Mendieta, who had a very similar life (NY Times article).

This story follows art history student Raquel in 1998 and artist Anita in 1985. While researching Anita’s famous artist husband for her thesis, Raquel discovers Anita, who had largely been erased from the art world. Initially, I started with the audiobook but was quickly turned off by the overly dramatic narration for Anita. I pivoted to reading which was much better. However, soon after I got immersed in the story, Anita came back as a ghost after her untimely and questionable death and this caught me off guard as I was not expecting this element in the story. I powered through and enjoyed the resolution, though I wished Raquel could have sorted out her personal and academic challenges a bit sooner. ⭐️⭐️

What have you been reading lately?

Disclaimer: AVikingInLA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (June 2024)
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May 2023)
  3. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (December 2021) & #ScandiReadingChallenge Update 

What I’ve Been Reading Lately & #WITmonth (August 2024)

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Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately” when I enjoy linking up with other readers. My focus these past summer months was the reading challenge at work. Luckily, in August I had two 5-hour flights for uninterrupted reading which helped with completing that challenge. All of the books this month checked off a box (or more) for that challenge. I tried as much as I could to choose books that crossed over with other reading challenges, but with less success than I had hoped. I did complete all the prompts, though not with unique books.

August was Women in Translation Month so I made sure to support that initiative again this year. Since I read books by women in translation all year, I try to find new original languages and points of view to read in August. This August I read a novel translated from the Catalan with multiple unusual narrators which was a nice change of pace.

For September and the next months, I am refocusing on my Nordic Reading Challenge and the Read Around the World and Diversity Across Genres challenges as well as participating in the Norwegian #sakprosaseptember challenge where we read nonfiction (sakprosa means nonfiction) books that correspond to various prompts (with English translation).

What have you been reading lately? 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953) 📖

I found this 1984 edition on my shelf at my parents’ home. I believe I read it back then, but I didn’t have any recollection of details from the book. It was like reading a new-to-me book. I definitely enjoyed (re)reading the book because references and comparisons are often still made to it. Another interesting aspect of reading it is that Ray Bradbury lived in our neighborhood for years until his death in 2012. When his house was later sold and torn down, the new owners installed a gate with words from his writing to honor his legacy which I frequently pass by. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A classic AND a book about books, bookstores, or book clubs
  • Read My Own Shelf

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (2021) 📖

I really enjoyed Emily Henry’s Beach Read (Reading Lately, July 2023), but unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by this one. I loved the idea of Poppy and Alex’s friendship and the travels around the world they did together on a yearly basis, but I think there were too many trips going on. The main trip is the road trip to Palm Springs after 2 years of being separated after something “big” happened on their last trip. While the Palm Springs trip is happening, the story jumps back in time to previous trips leading up to the one that disrupted their friendship. And I felt the resolution to their relationship dragged a bit. (And too bad their planned trip to Norway didn’t work out!) ⭐️⭐️⭐

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A road trip book

When I sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà (2019) 📖
Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem (2022)

There wasn’t just one unusual narrator in this book but several, and together they told an immersive story of life in a present-day village in the Pyrenees mountains of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. The story unfolds through a series of interconnected narratives, each providing a very different perspective on the village’s collective experience. Starting with storm clouds and continuing with witches, mushrooms, a deer, mountains, and of course some human narrators and even a pet dog, the reader is immersed in this village’s life. I was surprised by how engaged I was in this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A book with an unusual narrator AND a book by a woman in translation
  • Book Voyage: Read Around the World: Europe (Spain)
  • #WomenInTranslationMonth

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros (2023) 🎧📖

This was a fun read, especially since so many others around me had recently read it or were reading it at the same time. I never would have thought I’d read and be so engaged in a high fantasy novel about “the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders”, but the trials and tribulations of the strong and independent Violet who never imagined herself there, her fellow cadets, and the commanding officers kept me turning the page. A note, if you are sensitive to the F-word, this book is not for you. Book #2 is on my TBR for when I need another read for pure entertainment. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: Romantasy AND a big book AND a book “everyone” has read

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (2022) 📖🎧

This is the story of two estranged siblings who reunite in California after their mother’s death. She had left them a voice recording to listen to together along with a black cake to eat together when “the time is right.” Their mother, born on an unnamed Caribbean island to a Black local woman and a Chinese immigrant man, shocks the siblings with the news that they have a half sister and she shares the story of her life growing up on the island and being forced to leave, of which they had no knowledge. Her story takes us from the island to the UK and USA, and interspersed with her story are those of the three siblings. There’s a lot going on here – many characters, many points of view, many issues – all of which kept me totally engaged in the story.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A book written by a BIPOC author AND a debut book
  • Book Voyage: Read Around the World: North America (Caribbean Island)
  • Read My Own Shelf: unread BOTM selection

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (Elderly Lady #1) by Helene Tursten (2013)
Translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy (2018) 📖

This collection of short stories features Maud, an 88-year old woman who lives alone and, due to a technicality in the contract from way back then, rent-free in her family’s spacious apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden. She is still agile and totally with it, unless she finds it beneficial to pretend she isn’t. When someone or something is causing a problem and threatening her lifestyle, she has no problem resorting to murder. It’s supposed to be a “funny, irreverent story collection” but it didn’t quite land with me.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lại (2011) 📖

This is a middle grade novel-in-verse about 10-year-old Hà who is forced to flee Saigon, Vietnam, with her mother and brothers when the city falls in 1975. It is based in part on the author’s own childhood. After travel on board a navy ship and time at refugee camps in Guam and Florida, they ended up in Alabama, a world so challenging and different from anything she had known. She struggled with the language, bullies, friends, and everything she missed from Vietnam. Family and friendly people did make it easier over time. It was a completely absorbing read and gave interesting insight into a refugee experience — all in verse which was impressive! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A book from a past school reader list
  • #DiversityAcrossGenres: Asian (API) / Historical Fiction

What have you been reading lately?

Disclaimer: AVikingInLA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (June 2024)
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately & Another Virtual Book Event (June 2020)
  3. My 10 Favorite Books for Women in Translation Month #WITmonth

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (June 2024)

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Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately”. My summer reading is off to a very satisfying start. A highlight of summers at home is returning home from work in time to sit outside reading in the afternoon sun.

I am primarily focused on our summer reading challenge at work. My plan is to complete all 25 prompts, but I’ll be double- (and maybe even triple-) dipping in order to do so. I’m trying to find books that check off prompts for my other reading challenges as well but not with as much success as I was hoping. I am, however, reading many unread Book of the Month selections that have accumulated over time which is very gratifying.

On the horizon is a trip to Norway to spend time with family. I look forward to long plane rides and long days with lots of downtime (rainy days inside or sunny days outside, it doesn’t matter) to get in long stretches of reading. I also eagerly await the opportunity to browse Norwegian bookstores and add to my collection of Norwegian language books.

How’s your summer reading going? 

Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar (2021) 🎧
Narrated by Vaneh Assadourian

This book takes place in 1979 and is about a Los Angeles woman who joins her boyfriend on a trip to his hometown in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for a family wedding. She’s an aspiring photographer and thinks this trip will provide the perfect opportunity to take the shot that will take her from lowly secretary to respected photojournalist. Also, she wishes to learn about her boyfriend’s childhood to understand him better. However, going to this war torn area of the world is not what she expected. There are certainly beautiful sights and touching experiences, but also frightening and tragic moments. The story is gripping and emotional. I loved learning more about the Kurdish culture and their struggles. The glimpse of Los Angeles in 1979 was also interesting.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Rabbit Factor (Rabbit Factor Trilogy #1) by Antti Tuomainen (2020)
Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston (2021) 📖

This is the first in a trilogy about insurance mathematician, Henri, who lives life based on careful calculations. However, his life is thrown off balance when he suddenly has no job and, at the same time after the death of his brother, finds himself the owner of an adventure park in dire financial troubles and with a great debt to criminals. It was a quirky and somewhat absurd crime fiction. The staff at the park were a motley crew, and Henri found himself in some odd situations. This Finnish author has been on my radar for a while, and learning that Steve Carell has signed to play the main character in an adaptation was intriguing (though no new news in the last couple of years). I can certainly see him playing it! I enjoyed it enough but won’t be reading book #2 anytime soon. Maybe another one by this author instead. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (2023) 🎧📖
Narrated by Maura Tierney

This was a good one. I got totally wrapped up in this family saga about four inseparable sisters — the ambitious Julia, Sylvie the reader and dreamer, the free spirited artist Cecilia, and Emeline caring for them all — and William, the broken man who became a part of their close knit family. There was joy and trauma, love and heartache, a very moving story. And the structure was interesting. Chapters alternated between perspectives of them all (in the third person) but time would overlap a bit so the reader experienced the same event from more than one perspective. Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A book from a celebrity book club (Oprah)
  • Read My Own Shelf: Unread BOTM selection

Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3) by Abby Jimenez (2024)
Narrated by Christine Lakin and Zachary Webber

I listened to Yours Truly not long ago and loved it (Reading Lately, April 2024) so I knew I wanted to read this one. However, I was concerned it might not live up to expectations. I need not have worried (though I was a little thrown off at first by the same male narrator for a different character but I got over it). I loved the world of these characters and now want to go back to #1. This is the story of Emma and Justin, both with major parental issues which complicated their plan for a summer fling to break a curse of their exes always ending up with their soulmates. It had humor, heart, and substance.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: Takes place during the summer
  • Read My Own Shelf: Unread BOTM selection

What have you been reading lately?

Disclaimer: AVikingInLA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May 2023)
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately & My Latest Virtual Book Events (May 2020)
  3. Reading Lately (September 2019)

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May 2024) & Summer Reading Plans

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Welcome to another edition of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately” where I join other readers through Modern Mrs Darcy’s monthly QuickLit posts in sharing what we’ve been reading lately.

Summer is here and with that, an additional reading challenge for me. At the elementary school where I work, we once again have a summer book bingo reading challenge with 25 prompts. My plan is to complete the whole board, but I’ll be double- (and occasionally triple-) dipping in order to do so. I’ll be reading books that check off prompts for other reading challenges as well. It will be a wonderful summerlong puzzle as I find books to meet prompts across all my ongoing reading challenges! Continue reading →

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately & Another Virtual Book Event (June 2020)
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (December 2021) & #ScandiReadingChallenge Update 
  3. Introducing the 2021 #ScandiReadingChallenge

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (April 2024)

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Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately” when I join other readers through Modern Mrs Darcy’s monthly QuickLit posts in sharing what we’ve been reading lately.

I love when an unanticipated common thread appears between reads. Sometimes it’s obvious very quickly; other times the common thread is more obscure. This month it was between two very different crime fiction reads, one I read for my Nordic Literature Reading Challenge and the other in anticipation of an author event at the LA Times Festival of Books last month. Continue reading →

Related posts:

  1. Introducing Reading Challenge 2023: Nordic Literature
  2. Denmark through Eyes of Indian Author Amulya Malladi
  3. Introducing the 2021 #ScandiReadingChallenge

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (March 2024) & Nordic Literature Reading Challenge News 

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Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately.” This past month I traveled all over the world — Maine, Uruguay, Vietnam, and Panama — and two of the books were even very new releases from 2024 which is unlike me. Continue reading →

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (April 2024)
  2. Introducing Reading Challenge 2023: Nordic Literature
  3. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (April 2023)

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (February 2024)

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Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately.” I normally try to get this out mid-month, but I needed a couple of more days to wrap it up this time. I continue to move forward without a 2024 iteration of my yearly Scandinavian/Nordic reading challenge, but I aim to have something in place by the end of March.

In the meantime, I’m motivated by challenges I’ve already committed to, in particular the #DiversityAcrossGenres reading challenge, and reading off my own shelf which certainly includes Scandinavian books. Continue reading →

Related posts:

  1. Introducing the 2021 #ScandiReadingChallenge
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May 2023)
  3. Introducing Reading Challenge 2023: Nordic Literature

What I’ve Been Reading Lately & Reading Goals (January 2024)

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It’s a new year with new beginnings, and it’s been a fun, strong start! I’ve set some reading goals and recommitted myself to reading challenges. I continue to join Modern Mrs Darcy’s Quick Lit where I join other readers in sharing what we’ve been reading lately.

A highlight of 2023 was the diversity of books I read both in regards to author perspective and genre, so in 2024, I am once again participating in the #DiversityAcrossGenres reading challenge. This year I am tweaking the genres a little. I’ll be reading General Fiction (a catch-all for all fiction that may otherwise not be included in the challenge), Romance, Mystery/Thriller (instead of Thriller/Horror), Historical Fiction (instead of Sci-fi/Fantasy), and Nonfiction.

I am also traveling around the world again using the The Book Girls’ Book Voyage: Read Around the World reading challenge as a framework. Their intent with the reading challenge is to travel from region to region together, but I will be jumping around as desired. My goal is to read more books set in countries I have not visited yet.

As for my Scandinavian/Nordic reading challenge, I am still thinking about the best way to proceed in 2024. When possible, I will certainly be reading Nordic books for the other challenges I am participating in, but I do want to plan a specific reading challenge as well to keep me focused throughout the year.

And finally, always a reading goal but really this year, is reading my own book shelf, especially unread Book of the Month selections. I’ve paused my membership until I’ve made greater process on that goal. I love exploring the new books every month, but I don’t normally get around to reading my selections in a timely manner. Once I clear some space on my unread shelf, I’ll start up again. Continue reading →

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (December 2021) & #ScandiReadingChallenge Update 
  2. Join the 2018 Scandinavian Reading Challenge!
  3. Introducing Reading Challenge 2023: Nordic Literature

What I’ve Been Reading Lately & Reading Challenges Update (December 2023)

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The 2023 reading year was a good one, so many different reading experiences. I didn’t quite check off all my goals as planned, but new and exciting reading opportunities came up along the way. Continue reading →

Related posts:

  1. Denmark through Eyes of Indian Author Amulya Malladi
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  3. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May 2023)