Quick Lit: October 2024 Edition

Welcome to Quick Lit: October 2024 Edition where I share books that I chose for my own reading enjoyment in a mini-review format. These are not books I received for review, but books that I’ve been wanting to read or that have caught my attention. Most of them have been talked about ad nauseam or have been on my to-read list for a long time so they don’t really need a full review. But, I’d still like to give them some space here on the blog, so instead, I’m offering mini-reviews of the books that won’t get full-page space here.

I’ll be linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy and her monthly Quick Lit link-up. Be sure to head over to see others share their Quick Lit posts.

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read more about that.

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I recently reviewed BY ANY OTHER NAME and several middle-grade books. Did you know I also regularly review children’s books? Check them out HERE.

I’m currently reading THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM on my Kindle, THE SECOND LIFE OF MIRIELLE WEST for book club, and I’m listening to Abi Daré’s newest book, AND SO I ROAR.

I’m currently watching Call the Midwife, Great British Baking Show, Dancing with the Stars, and Survivor.

This month’s list includes 8 books from the last two months of reading. You’ll find a memoir, mysteries, fiction, and a health-related book. Let me know if any of these books are on your reading list!

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Quick Lit: October 2024 Edition

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BEING HENRY
The Fonz…and Beyond
By: Henry Winkler
Published: October 31, 2023
Publisher: Celadon Books
Non-Fiction/Memoir
Format: Hardcover through Library

I grew up watching Happy Days and even though Scott Baio was my favorite on the series, I still liked the Fonz. When I saw he had written a memoir, I knew I’d want to read it. I had even thought about purchasing it for my dad to read. Sadly, I didn’t have the chance to share this book with my dad. But, when a friend donated money for me to purchase books for our library in my dad’s memory, I knew this would be one of the books I would get.

Henry Winkler is a self-described anxious man and it shows through his writing. His stories are a bit all over the place. He doesn’t necessarily tell a linear life story, but jumps around and apologizes for getting ahead of himself. I enjoyed reading about how his career began, first in theater and off-Broadway and eventually landing the spot of Arthur Fonzarelli. He shares his struggles with dyslexia and how that hampered his success in school and learning lines. He has even written a children’s book series with a co-writer about a kid just like him titled HANK ZIPZER. I can see reluctant readers loving this series and other titles he has written.

A few friends shared that they listened to the audio version and felt his stories seemed scattered and hard to follow and his narration was too fast. I would recommend the physical copy because it does include two sections of photos both from his professional and personal lives.

I appreciated the bit of wisdom he received from his fellow cast member and lifelong friend, Ron Howard after being frustrated with a script.

“And so this wise eighteen-year-old taught this theater-seasoned but TV ignorant twenty-eight-year-old a very important lesson for the rest of my career: a little tolerance, with a sprinkle of patience.”

Isn’t that advice all of us can learn from? In sharing his experience writing children’s books about a childhood Henry Winkler, he heard from a fan that his books got him through school. He found this to be one of the greatest compliments he ever received.

I enjoyed Winkler’s memoir and learning some of the inside stories from his long career in television and movies.

I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS
Flavia de Luce #4
By: Alan Bradley
Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle
Published: November 8, 2011
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Mystery
Format: Audiobook through Libby

I’m still working my way through the Flavia de Luce mysteries. This one, set during Christmas at Buckshaw, was a fun listen. Jayne Entwistle is such a delightful narrator and I enjoy listening to her so much.

When a film crew comes to Buckshaw to shoot a movie, Flavia is entranced by the movie star. When a blizzard arrives and everyone is trapped at Buckshaw, well…you guessed it..someone is murdered. Of course, Flavia finds the body and spends the rest of the book trying to find the murderer even though the police chief tells her not to touch a thing or get involved. But, how can Flavia resist? She uses her wit, humor, and great detective skills to nab the murderer again!

TALKING AT NIGHT
By: Claire Daverly
Narrated by: Emma Appleton
Published: June 6 2023
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby

This is the story of Will and Rosie. They meet in high school through Rosie’s twin brother, Josh, at a bonfire and then again when Will is stranded at their home during a snowstorm. The story travels through the lives of Will, Rosie, and Josh and how their lives are intertwined, how Will and Rosie fall in love, and how their lives come apart after a tragedy.

Even in adulthood, when they drift apart, they still find a way back to each other through friendship and even romance. But, life keeps intervening to keep them apart, yet they can’t stop thinking of each other.

I enjoyed this story but found it a bit slow-paced at times. I thought it was mostly well-written and well-narrated, but sometimes I just wanted the author to get to the point. It was also quite sad and not the romantic story I was looking for at the time.

MILLER’S VALLEY
By: Anna Quindlen
Published: August 5, 2016
Publisher: Random House
Fiction
Format: Hardcover

I chose this for our book club last month. Anne Bogel recommended this to me in a personal mini-matchmaking message she offered for the Patreon supporters of her podcast, What Should I Read Next? Incidentally, the other book she recommended was HELLO, BEAUTIFUL. Spoiler…I loved them both.

“No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, not really, even if they go.”

In this quiet novel, Mimi tells the story of her family, from the 1960s to the present. The Millers have always lived in Miller’s Valley, a small town in Pennsylvania on the banks of a river that frequently floods. The story begins with one of the many floods to ravage their home, yet the Millers take it in stride and ride it out, then return and clean it all up again.

“Charm is like tinsel without the tree. What’s tinsel without the tree? Shredded tinfoil.”

Mimi shares much of the hardship she faced growing up in a working-class family with one brother, Eddie, who went to college and rarely returned, and another who went to Vietnam and came back a different person. Quindlen writes with such honesty and heart that you feel like you know Mimi and her family. Even though there are a few surprises tucked into the story, you won’t find a big plot or shocking twist, just a family story or perseverance and love.

“My Tom. My Mother never called me her Mimi, or called my brother her Eddie. It was always her Tom. I couldn’t even argue with it. He was my Tom, too. Since he’d left, the house had seemed like a baby’s rattle with all the jingly things inside gone.”

I’ve only read non-fiction by Quindlen. Back in 2012, I read and loved LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE by Quindlen, and in 2020 I read HOW READING CHANGED MY LIFE. I would definitely read more of her books.

THE JUICE LADY’S GUIDE TO FASTING
Cleanse and Revitalize Your Body the Healthy Way
By: Cherie Calbom, MSN, CN
Published: January 3, 2017
Publisher: Siloam
Non-Fiction
Format: Paperback

Cherie Calbom is very well known as the Juice Lady. She has a whole series of books and a plethora of information on her website. I’ve had this book since 2017 and just recently saw it again in my stack. I thought I’d give it a read. I honestly thought it was about Intermittent Fasting, where you eat inside a block of time (8-10 hours) and fast for the rest. This is a common habit among menopausal women and I wanted some more information about that.

Unfortunately, it was about Juice Fasting. In other words, fasting from all other foods except drinking juiced fruits and veggies for a certain number of days. While I found this information interesting and took some recipes from the book, this isn’t something that can fit into my lifestyle at this time. I’m also not interested in buying a $450 juicer to accommodate this plan. Do I doubt that juice fasting is great for your health? No. Do I think it would be difficult to do? Yes. As I said, I copied some of the more smoothie-type recipes and jotted down some of her other tips from the book related to cleaning out your gut. But, for the most part, this book wasn’t what I thought it was.

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE LAKESIDE SUPPER CLUB
By: J. Ryan Stradal
Narrated by: Aspen Vincent
Published: April 18, 2023
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby and Paperback

I’m thrilled to say I’m a J. Ryan Stradal completest. I have read all three of his novels and have loved every single one. Even though this was my least favorite of the three, I still really enjoyed it. I listened to the audio version and the only downside to reading the physical book was probably keeping all the characters straight. I had a lot of difficulty with remembering who the characters were and keeping track of who was in what generation since the novel goes back and forth in time.

As a child, I grew up going to a local supper club every Friday night with my parents. They had the traditional Pink Squirrel drinks and Wagon Wheel fries. I even tried Frog Legs as a kid and liked them. While I was listening to this I visited a traditional lakeside supper club in Northern Minnesota for a fish fry. I felt like I was in the novel as Stradal described the supper club in the story.

This story of generations of families owning and visiting supper clubs was about so much more than working at a supper club. This story deals with betrayals, loss, family dynamics, and love. It’s a classic Midwestern story and I will sing Stradal’s praises to anyone who asks. Now…when is his next book coming out?

EVELYN, AFTER
By: Victoria Helen Stone
Narrated by: Tanya Eby
Published: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Thriller
Format: Audiobook through Audible

My cousin and I chose this book as an Amazon First Reads book back in 2016. She read it right away and I, obviously, did not. I had also gotten the Audible version at the same time. Did you know that you can add the audible version for often just a few dollars when you purchase the eBook? It will say how much the audio narration will be to add it to your Kindle purchase right under the Buy Now for Kindle. Anyway, I needed an audiobook since my Libby holds weren’t coming in so I downloaded this one for a quick listen.

I should have checked the synopsis as I didn’t realize it was about infidelity. This is a topic I typically don’t read and since the novel starts with this right away, I should have just stopped listening. But, I kept at it and did not like the characters one bit. This one deals with infidelity by both the husband and wife, along with revenge and poor behavior on all sides. I was mildly curious about how it would all turn out so I did listen all the way to the end, but it did make my skin crawl in several spots.

Tanya Eby also narrated WORKING STIFF and I thought her narration was great.

THE LOST BOOKSHOP
By: Evie Woods
Published: November 7, 2023
Publisher: One More Chapter/HarperCollins
Fiction
Format: Paperback

“‘The thing about books,’ she said, ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.'”

This was our book club read and all of us loved it. I absolutely love the cover and feel like it is one of those book covers that would be so pretty framed. I honestly wasn’t sure whether I would like it since there is a bit of fantasy/magical realism in the story. But, it didn’t bother me as much as expected and I immediately became immersed in the lives of Opaline (1920s), Martha, and Henry (present day). This is a dual timeline and triple narrative story where each chapter alternates from each person’s story/perspective.

“Everything got lost in a blur of tears after that. I felt like I was breaking apart and no one was coming to put me back together.”

The magic is around a lost bookshop that Henry is trying to find and Martha appears to be living inside of, but she doesn’t know it. Opaline and Martha are both fleeing dangerous circumstances and forging a new life for themselves, just in different eras. But, their stories do converge and it was a fun twist I wasn’t expecting. Opaline has the chance to open her own shop of curiosities, collections, and books and I wanted to visit it so badly.

“That was the amusing thing about collecting: you never knew what would hold value, nor to whom. Were we all preconditioned to love certain things? A moment in childhood, lost to memory but indelibly marked on our souls? To me, the promise of finding what I did not know I was looking for was the lure of the game.”

Readers who love historical fiction, books about books (especially classics), a European setting (London, Paris, & Dublin), and a bit of romance should definitely check this one out. There is plenty to discuss and it is a joy to read, even among the characters’ hardships.

“I wanted to cover my ears like a child. Hearing her name made everything worse. He wasn’t to know it, but I had fallen in love with him like falling down a flight of stairs, and it hurt every bit as much. Suspecting this heartbreak in advance hadn’t helped to prepare me for the reality.”

What good things have you been reading? I’ve also read books that I reviewed for publishers. Check them out, HERE.

You can see all my other Quick Lit posts by clicking, HERE.

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