If Death Ever Slept, Rex Stout

I swear this book is a repeat of an earlier book in the series, but then again, WHO KNOWS. This is the 29th Nero Wolfe book, and a lot of those are three-story collections, so I've lost track. Anyway, I'd swear there's another book where Wolfe and Archie are in a shitty mood (this time it's over Lily Rowan, my favorite socialite) and so someone comes in with an absurd job and they both sort of dare each other into taking it, and Archie ends up going undercover to pose as someone's secretary to collect information. I think the other one was in Westchester, though (it's the book where Archie gets roofied), and this one is set in a duplex on Fifth Avenue.

I liked this one; there's lots of sassy dialogue, lots of Archie flirting and going to the Flamingo Club and being a pain to the police, and lots of suspects. On the other hand, it felt like a retread of an earlier book, and when the murderer was revealed it was pretty ".... eh. Okay, sure. Fine. Why?"

Grade: C
#76 in 2016

Three Witnesses, Rex Stout

I had a dream about Archie Goodwin so I figured I was time to finally get back to my Nero Wolfe read-through. Also, I wanted a palate-cleanser of fiction that would be comfortable and easy and charming and funny. Murder mystery series are that for me. Enough formula that I don't need to worry about how it's all going to play out, enough surprise that I want to keep reading.

Not gonna lie; I had to check goodreads to see what stories were in this book, and I just finished it yesterday. They are all very standard fare; in one a soldier who was presumed dead in Korea comes home to find his wife has remarried, and then he is murdered (for real this time). One of them is all about switchboard operators. And one of them involves Nero Wolfe adopting a dog, which was great from start to finish. Archie, of course, thought he'd make Wolfe mad by bringing the dog home, only then Wolfe wanted to keep the dog, and it was just adorable.

One fun thing about these books is that Archie and Wolfe stay roughly the same age but the books are set in the year they're written. Archie was a Captain in World War II, and now here he is, still about 30, during the Korean War. Another fun thing is that they are really of their time. I knew switchboards were a thing, and I knew sort of how they operated, but a mystery set around ladies and switchboards was super fun to read, since I got a much clearer and more vivid idea of how they worked.

Grade: B
#75 in 2016

Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded, Hannah Hart

Boy, I love Hannah Hart. There was a point when, after a few hours of watching her videos, I realized I was talking about her like she was my latest crush. Then I realized that she was my latest crush, and needed a minute while the whole world realigned itself a little. Anyway, I loved her goofy, very sweet cookbook so I pre-ordered her autobiography.

I am... not sure I can recommend this book. It's interesting and well-written, but it's the farthest thing from a light hearted, fun read.

A lot of the book is about Hannah's mother, who is schizophrenic, and was unable to really care for her daughters because of it. Hannah's younger sister was taken away by Child Protective Services. Hannah's father, who left and remarried, is a Jehova's Witness who disapproves of homosexuality. Hannah talks candidly about depression, self-harm, and growing up in a home that didn't have electricity or running water from time to time.

There are funny and charming stories here, and Hannah is almost always upbeat and positive about even the worst of her experiences. But I was so sad and upset reading about the things she has overcome that I wasn't sure I'd make it to the end of the book. I think what she really wanted to write was a book about our broken American mental health system, and her personal experiences trying to help her mother, and so the stories about YouTube and living in Japan are just sort of sprinkled on top.

Definitely check it out if you're interested, but don't mistake this for vacation reading or something fun to tell your friends about.

Grade: B
#74 in 2016

Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs, Dave Holmes

Go read this! It's hilarious and heart breaking, and you will want to read every part of it out loud to whoever is closest to you at the time. Dave manages to be very, very funny, while also reminding you of the crushing pain of being gay in the late 80s and early 90s, before being out and proud was really a thing for kids, especially at Catholic school. And he does it all to a mixtape of songs of the era that made me incredibly nostalgic. I'm a few years younger, but that just means I a) know all the songs and b) voted for him in Who Wants To Be A VJ on MTV, because TRL was requirement viewing for me after school, every single day, no matter how much I hated Korn and Limp Bizkit. My sister remembers my outrage during the trivia contest, shouting, "WHY AREN'T PEOPLE VOTING FOR THE SMART NERD WHO KNOWS STUFF???" when Jesse Camp inevitably won.

This book is a delight. You will feel all the feelings reading it, and you will want to tell these stories as if they were your own.

Grade: A
#73 in 2016

The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel, Melanie Benjamin

I really liked this book, until I got to the end, and then I spent a few days struggling with why I was so disappointed. This book is a wonderfully written, juicy romp through the New York City of the post-war years, featuring Truman Capote and all the incredibly rich socialites he made his social circle. In particular, Babe Paley (wife of Bill Paley, head of CBS, whom I recognized from the Paley Center name). There is a lot of great gossip, a lot of scandal, some betrayal, some dark secrets, and the inevitable moment (foreshadowed in the opening) when Truman turns all of this into a book, and his "swans" turn on him.

I really struggled to articulate why I was frustrated that at the end, the author discusses how, while the events are real, all the conversations are fictional. I love historical fiction; my favorite author, Dorothy Dunnett, fictionalizes all the people in the Lymond Chronicles and makes up conversations between them, and I don't feel let down like this. I thought for a while it was because of the weirdness of making up thoughts and feelings for people who were alive in the 70s, but I don't think that's it, either.

I think my frustration with the book comes from the fact that while the events are real (the black and white ball, Babe's will, Ann's death) those aren't the plot of the book. The imagined conversations between Babe and Truman, their emotional connection, their trust in each other, are the main plot of the book, and that's the part that's made up. Everything that makes the characters interesting, unless you have a previous interest in Truman Capote (and I realized that David Sedaris was narrating his parts in my head), is made up. I'm sure it's well-researched, but I came out of it wishing it had just been a non-fiction book. Yes, it's my fault for missing "a novel" in the title. But I would much rather read a super juicy non-fiction version of this story without all the imagined deep dark secrets.

Grade: C
#72 in 2016

She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, Helen Castor

Yeah. I've read one book in a month. Whoops. And I was so on track before. 

I loved this! The prose is super clear, the stories are REALLY interesting, and I loved looking at the rise and fall of these kings from the perspective of their wives. (Or moms.) Highly readable, very very interesting. I have no idea why it took me a month to get through, except I just lacked any spare time for reading, and when I climbed into bed at night I was ready to sleep, too tired to read. 

I should have more to say about a book I really enjoyed, but -- if this sounds remotely like a thing you'd like to read, definitely read it. 

Grade: A

#71 in 2016