#19 [2024/CBR16] The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

I may have had the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance in my head when I decided to read a football romance. Also, my friend recommended The Wall of Winnipeg and Me (2023) by Mariana Zapata, and she usually has pretty good recommendations. This was a fun romance. It generally kept my interest, and I enjoyed reading it.

Vanessa Mazur had a pretty terrible childhood, but she's managed to make a pretty good life for herself. She wants to start a graphic design company, but has worked for the past couple of years as an assistant/do-it-all for Aiden Graves. Aiden is a defensive end in the NFL. He's a superstar with the nickname of "The Wall of Winnipeg." He's also incredibly standoffish and unmindful of Vanessa and all the work she does for him.

But after being berated by Aiden's manager one last time, Vanessa has had enough and she quits. She's ready to start her own business anyways. Shortly thereafter, Aiden shows up at her place, begging for her to come back. But he wants more from her this time. Born in Canada, marrying an American would solve his residency issues. He asks Vanessa to marry him for five years, after which, he will buy her a house and pay off her student debt. Having this financial burden off her back is too tempting and Vanessa agrees. 

As Vanessa and Aiden are faking being a couple, they develop real feelings for each other. It is a slow burn as the two really fall for each other and then finally admit it to themselves and each other. I enjoyed the little bit of football that was in the book--all from Vanessa's perspective, and I was glad they got together in the end. There's even a puppy! (Although I was a little disturbed that Vanessa would put a brand new puppy all by itself in the garage--the poor thing was probably scared!)

I was happy in the end, but it definitely took me awhile to warm up to Aiden Graves. If this wasn't a romance novel, I would have told Vanessa to stay away from him. He was rude, thought of no one but himself, and was difficult to get along with. At first I couldn't see why Vanessa even had a crush on him. I thought she should get together with Aiden's roommate: the guy she talked to about all her secrets and problems, another hot football player, and the guy she would go running with. But it all worked out in the end. Enjoyable.

#18 [2024/CBR16] Absolution by Alice McDermott

Absolution (2023) by Alice McDermott was one of the books I picked out from NPR's Favorite Books last year. I saw that it was about American women in Vietnam at the beginning of the Vietnam War, and figured it might be interesting. My father fought in Vietnam, but I know very little about it. The war in Vietnam felt like one of those subjects we practically skipped over at the end of U.S. History in high school, and my father rarely talked about it.

The beginning of this book sucked me in--with the main character feeling awkward and out of place at a party with her husband in Vietnam. As a dedicated introvert who is about to be dragged to my husband's work party tomorrow evening, I can definitely relate. Tricia is a shy newlywed married to a rising attorney and engineer, who is working for the armed services in Vietnam. 

Tricia first meets Charlene at this party. Charlene is a busy and powerful (in her sphere) mother of three. Charlene can be pushy and oblivious, but does try to do good with what she has. The book takes place in Saigan in 1963, and generally follows Tricia throughout her time in Vietnam. The American women and families all live in nice houses, with high fences around them, and waited on by Vietnamese servants.

This book is difficult for me to rate. At times, I couldn't stop reading. Yet at other times, the book felt uneven and I wondered where it was headed. I found the interactions between the characters to be the most interesting part of the book. Tricia and her husband seemed to love each other, but she was very much a stereotypical 1950's housewife. She was expected to present herself as his helpmate and had no say, or even knowledge, of much of what her husband was doing.

Charlene was also a very interesting character--annoying in how she pushed everyone around to get her way--but also impressive that she was able to push people around to get her way. On the one hand, Charlene worked hard at helping the Vietnamese women and children around her, but she also trampled over their thoughts and wishes in her eagerness to do what she thought was right. Is trying to do something good and maybe doing bad better than turning a blind eye to people's distress? Maybe?

After what felt like a bit of a wandering narrative, Absolution ends with something of a shocking twist that was certainly memorable and disturbing. Even though I wasn't completely drawn into this novel, I do think it would make a compelling Book Club choice. I can imagine a spirited discussion centered on the various choices characters make.

#17 [2024/CBR16] The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

My book club chose to read The Duke and I (2000) by Julia Quinn. I wasn't super excited about this pick because I was pretty familiar with the storyline. I'd already watched the first season of Bridgerton, which was based on The Duke and I. I was also pretty sure I'd previously read the book, but I couldn't remember when. If I have read it, it was before Cannonball Read started because I couldn't find a review of it. Anyway, because of the familiar territory, I decided to listen to this one as an audiobook for a different experience. 

Quinn is something of a master of writing romance books, and The Duke and I is the first book in a series that centers around the Bridgerton family. This family has money and lots of kids whose names begin with sequential letters of the alphabet (easier for everyone to keep track of, I assume).

Daphne Bridgerton is coming out this season in London and is looking for a husband that she can really care for. However, it's been difficult. Many of them see her as a friend or they are chased off by her oldest brother, Anthony. 

But then Daphne runs into Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings at a party. Simon is an admired Duke, but he had a pretty difficult childhood. His mother died shortly after he was born, and Simon was primarily raised by servants. His father was at first delighted that he finally had a son, but Simon was late to speak; and when he finally spoke, he had a stutter. His father was disgusted. He left Simon at the country house and even told some people that his son was dead.

Simon pushed his way into a good school and became successful and imposing despite his father's negligence and antipathy. Simon immediately admires Daphne's wits and spirit, and he's tired of being harassed by the mother's of all the wanna-be brides. He proposes that he pretends to court Daphne. That way, the mothers will leave him alone, and Daphne will be even more desirable after a Duke favors her. (You don't want to think too hard about this reasoning). 

But Simon and Daphne have some real attraction, and it gets more intense, the more time they spend together. So when Anthony finds Simon making out with Daphne, he demands that Simon marry Daphne. Simon doesn't want to marry Daphne because he never wants to have kids and doesn't want Daphne to miss out on motherhood. Simon tells Daphne that he is unable to have kids, and Daphne still wants to marry him.

The marriage is kind of sad because Simon feels so ambivalent and poor Daphne just wants him to love her. Eventually they have some very intense sex, but Simon uses the "pull out" method to keep from getting Daphne pregnant. Eventually Daphne figures out that Simon is capable of having kids, it's just that he doesn't want them. She is very angry and tricks him into coming inside of her (one of the more controversial scenes in the movie, but probably wasn't even noticed back in 2000). 

Daphne is successful and does get pregnant. Simon is at first angry and horrified before he pushes past his fear and the two live happily ever after. As a classic romance novel, The Duke and I holds up pretty well. Even on the third telling, it kept my interest.

#16 [2024/CBR16] The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

I picked up The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (2023) by James McBride because it was on a bunch of year-end best-of lists, including Barack Obama's favorite books. This one took a little while to get into as I figured out who all the characters were, but it was an interesting, well-written book. I can see why Obama included it on his list. This book is difficult to describe, and it's probably best if you just read it, but I'll do my best.

The story is centered around a Jewish woman named Chona, who grew up on Chicken Hill, a small neighborhood of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The majority of the book takes place in the 1930's. Chicken Hill is primarily Black and Jewish--all people not welcome in the nicer, whiter sections of town. Chona meets Moshe and the two quickly marry. The two live above the small neighborhood store on Chicken Hill. Moshe also buys a theater that he opens up to black folks, bringing jazz to the neighborhood, and making a good amount of money. 

Nate is a quiet, older Black man who works for Moshe. When his nephew, called Dodo, is orphaned after his mother's death, Chona helps care for him. A really bad combination of Chona's health, a creepy doctor and member of the KKK, and the state come together to spell disaster for Dodo.

Dodo is in a really bad spot and completely on his own when he meets the boy he calls Monkey Pants. Monkey Pants is selfless and brave and at least one scene with him had me crying. I think it was the most moving part of the book.

Much of this book is getting to know the neighborhood, including: Beatrice (an angry woman who used to be best friends with Chona), Fatty (Beatrice's brother who is a mover and shaker and makes money in a million ways), Paper (a beautiful Black woman who does laundry for a living and knows everything that happens on Chicken Hill), Big Soap (a friend of Fatty's and an Italian immigrant whose mother scolds him loudly in Italian). I appreciate that McBride created his characters with a lot more nuance than I've seen in other books. 

In the end, all of these characters come together in some ways good, in some ways bad that affect what happens to Dodo. In some ways, this story feels fantastical as Chona battles her illness and the bad guys get their comeuppance. But at the same time, the neighborhood feels very real. I found this to be a memorable, moving book. Recommended.

#15 [2024/CBR16] Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy

I am sitting on my couch, and I have over twenty reviews to catch up on. So, it's not surprising why I chose to read Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (2017) by Brian Tracy. I have a problem with procrastination, and I was looking for some inspiration. I listened to the audiobook. I thought the author did a good job reading the book. It was quick, to the point, and had some good ideas. Although procrastination still plagues me, some of Tracy's hints have stuck with me.

Tracy does not waste his time digging into the psychology of procrastination--something I'm actually a little curious about. I've read that procrastinators have a hard time regulating their emotions, and I wonder if that's true with me. But if you want that kind of insight, you'll have to read a different book; Tracy starts off with practical advice that will make you efficient and productive. 

I don't remember everything from the book now, but here are the things that stuck with me:

-Make sure you figure out what you want and what you want to focus your time on. You can't do everything, so figure out what it is you want to do. This is a major issue for me. Even on Duolingo, I can't figure out what language I want to focus on. I've narrowed it down to two, but there's at least four more that I'm interested in. And that's just one of the many things I don't *need* to do but enjoy.

-80/20 Rule - twenty percent of the things you do will reap eighty percent of the benefits. A lot of the rest of it is busy work. Quite often that twenty percent are things we might dread doing. But if you see that it would be the most useful and actually get it done, it can make the most difference in your life.

-Finally, eat that frog. That thing that you're dreading, do it as quickly as you can and get it over with. You don't want that frog hanging over you for your whole day. Tracy also discussed different techniques for taking on big projects that might seem overwhelming at first.

On the whole, this book was well worth my time. Even writing this review, I'm inspired to renew my efforts at being productive. We'll see how it goes.

#14 [2024/CBR16] Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

My book club chose Commonwealth (2016) by Ann Patchett ages ago, but it was a meeting I couldn't make. So when I ran out of time, I skipped the book entirely. However, because I've enjoyed other books by Patchett, I decided to pick this one up as an Audiobook.

I've enjoyed every book by Patchett that I've read, and Commonwealth is no exception. Although, this one is not quite at the top of my Patchett list, it is memorable. I appreciate Patchett's realistically drawn characters and nuanced family drama.

Commonwealth tells the story of two families that are torn apart by cheating and divorce. When Bert Cousins invites himself along to the christening of Franny Keating, it is Franny's mother, Evelyn who makes an impression. Not long after, Evelyn leaves her husband, Fix; she takes her two girls, Caroline and Franny, and moves to Virginia with her new husband, Bert Cousins. For his part, Bert leaves his four children: Cal, Jeanette, Holly, and Albie in California with their now single mother, Teresa.

Caroline and Franny resent their mother for breaking up their family, and they desperately want to get back to California. Cal, Jeanette, Holly, and Albie are undersupervised in California as their mother struggles to make ends meet. The four kids spend the summers with Caroline, Franny, Evelyn, and their father Bert in Virginia. 

The story jumps around in its timeline from Franny as an adult helping her father with chemotherapy, to her childhood. There is a fair bit of foreboding that something bad will happen to these kids after so much upheaval. The reader is able to see what they are like as kids, how the divorce changed them, and how they grew up.

One of the most interesting parts of the book to me was when Franny had a longstanding affair with a much older writer. It was fascinating to see how they came together. (She was a fan, of course, and they met in the bar she worked at). But it was also interesting to see how it slowly became clear to her that he was not good for her. I feel like this can be a common mistake when you are young--picking people who don't really value you, and Patchett did a good job with this relationship. 

I am behind on reviews, so I read this book ages ago. I also listened to it on Audiobook, which sometimes makes the details harder to recall. Yet, I still remember so many scenes from this book. It has stuck with me more than I expected. Patchett is definitely on my must-read list, and I think I'll eventually get to all of her books.

#13 [2024/CBR16] I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

I Have Some Questions For You (2023) by Rebecca Makkai is my second book by Makkai. My first one was The Great Believers which centers around the AIDS crisis in 1980's Chicago. I hadn't known what to expect, but I was blown away by the story and the characters. I don't now how Makkai does it, but she makes me feel what the characters are feeling in a real, visceral way. I Have Some Questions For You is a very different story, but Makkai managed the same effect. Perhaps I naturally relate even more to an awkward teenage girl than gay men in Chicago, but I felt the same emotional connection with the characters in this book.

Bodie Kane is headed back to her rich high school boarding school, Granby, which had been something of a nightmare when she was a student there. But now she's in her forties, a successful podcaster, and she's come back to teach a couple classes during their February break (an extra long winter break, so the rich kids can go skiing with their parents). 

Bodie had a pretty traumatic childhood with the death of both her brother and father. Shortly thereafter her mother had a mental health crisis and took off. A Mormon family took her in and had the money to send her to a posh boarding school in New Hampshire. Bodie had only two friends at school, and she felt completely out of place.

Part of Bodie is excited to go back to her school and see one of her old friends who is now a teacher. The other part of her is haunted by what occurred there. Not only is it difficult to face the memories of the asshole jocks and mean girls, but she has questions about what happened to Thalia Keith. Thalia was a transfer and shared a room with Bodie her junior year. Beautiful and rich, she joined the popular clique almost immediately, but she was still mostly decent to Bodie.

Their senior year, Thalia Keith is discovered dead in the school swimming pool. Omar Evans, the athletic trainer at the high school, and one of the few, if only, black men on campus is quickly and unceremoniously found guilty and sent to jail. They said that he was dealing drugs and sleeping with Thalia. At the time, Bodie accepted this, but looking back now, she's not sure it makes sense. 

The book is written as a letter from Bodie to her music teacher at Granby. She adored him, and credits him for helping her become her successful adult self. But again, from the vantage point of adulthood, she's realized that maybe he wasn't the great, selfless teacher she had thought.

This book is part murder mystery as Bodie tries to figure out what happened to Thalia, part coming-of-age teenage memoir, part Black Lives Matters consciousness, and part "Me, Too" awareness. I related intensely to Bodie's discomfort at school, especially when the kids were harassing her. Kids were meanest when I was in middle school. I was fortunately not the constant target of bullies. But I also was very sensitive and had no defenses; I was simply at the mercy of any mean kid out there. Makkai used her magic to make me feel how teenage Bodie struggled, and I deeply related to her. It was fascinating to see how Bodie viewed her teenage self as an adult, how she saw teenagers now, and how she interacted with her high school classmates as an adult.

I loved this book, and at this point, I think I might need to search out some of Makkai's earlier writing. What I do know is that I will definitely read whatever she writes next.