The Overbooked Bibliophile

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Set during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927,  The Levee  by  William Kent Krueger  follows four men who set out on a rowboat amid a storm to save a family trapped in their ancestral home as the waters continue to rise. However, the family in question refuses to leave their home and what was originally a rescue mission turns into a coordinated effort to repair the damaged levee to ensure that the flood waters do not encroach on the property. As the narrative progresses, we get to know more about the men- a former priest and three convicts who have been assigned to service. As they struggle to keep safe from what’s going on outside, it becomes evident that the rising water and the weakening levee are not the only dangers from which they need to shield themselves. This audio novella clocks at 3 hours and 36 minutes. Though the length of this story does not allow for in-depth character development and of course, the author manages to give each of his ch...

My Rating:  4.5⭐  “I want to live on a magical island with my favorite author and be his sidekick……” Who wouldn’t want that? Twenty-six-year-old Lucy Hart, remembers the time she ran away from home at the age of thirteen to meet Jack Masterson, a famous children’s book author whose Clock Island series captured the hearts and imagination of generations of readers. She did meet the author, though her plans to stay with him didn’t quite pan out. The series remains her favorite and she shares that love with seven-year-old Christopher a student of hers, recently orphaned and now in foster care. Lucy carries the pain of an unhappy childhood and cares deeply for Christopher. She dreams of becoming his foster parent and eventually adopting him. However, her meager income as a teacher’s aide and less than suitable living arrangements make her an unsuitable candidate for the same. When her favorite author invites her to participate in a contest to win the only copy of his new manuscript...

My Rating : 4.5⭐️ (Plot: 4/5; Audio Narration: 5/5) Six hours after Diana Cowper, mother of famous actor Damien Cowper visits a funeral parlor to discuss plans for her own funeral, she is killed in her own home. Coincidence, or not? Was she aware of a threat to her life or was it something else entirely? Daniel Hawthorne, a former inspector with Metropolitan Police Force, is engaged as a private consultant on the case. Hawthorne convinces author Anthony Horowitz to write a book about him and his case, a fifty-fifty agreement that has Hawthorne tagging along with the seasoned detective while he investigates. Horowitz is a bit out of his depth (understandably so) when it comes to studying murder scenes, but is determined to hold his own. Hawthorne has his own inimitable style – he is smart, perceptive but secretive, not quite people-friendly and more than a bit curt with Horowitz who is often at his wit’s end trying to get Hawthorne to share his thoughts on the case, let alone himself. W...

My Rating: 3.5⭐ William Waters attends Northwestern University in Chicago on a basketball scholarship, a welcome opportunity for him to leave his family and unhappy childhood in Newton, Massachusetts. Playing basketball, attending classes and the connections he makes with his friend Kent who works with him in the student laundry and his relationship with classmate Julia Padavano signal a new life for him. Marrying Julia and becoming a part of the Padavano family gives him a sense of belonging after a childhood spent with parents who never showed any affection or emotional attachment toward him after a tragic loss in the family that occurred when William was just a newborn. The basketball court was William’s only refuge during those years. But the Padavanos – Julia, her parents and her three sisters Sylvie, Emeline and Cecelia welcome William into their family. Julia is ambitious and wants a life different from the one her mother had. She sees potential in William and steers him toward ...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ An apparent murder-suicide draws Melbourne-based Federal Police Investigator Aaron Falk back to his hometown of Kiewarra. Twenty years ago Aaron and his father left town after fingers pointed to teenage Aaron’s involvement in the death of his friend Ellie Deacon. Luke Hadler, a friend of both Ellie and Aaron, had helped Aaron when suspicions had been directed at him all those years ago. In the present day Luke, a farmer facing financial hardship on account of persistent drought, allegedly shot his wife and young son before turning the gun on himself. The only survivor of that tragedy is Luke’s thirteen-month-old daughter who was unharmed and is now with Luke’s parents. Luke’s father does not believe his son was capable of such a heinous act and asks Aaron to help find the truth. Aaron’s return to Kiewarra isn’t a pleasant one. Besides grieving for his friend, he faces much adversity from people who remember Ellie and the rumors surrounding her death all those years ago. ...

  My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “He had mastered his handicap, but he could not master the rebuffs he suffered, due to his appearance. The thing that drove him into seclusion was his failure to find anywhere a return of the warmth that flowed from him.” In 1930, painter Philip Rhayader takes up residence in an abandoned lighthouse on the marshlands of the Essex coast, retreating from a society that has judged him and been unkind to him on account of his physical deformities. He spends his time amid nature, sailing his small boat, painting and providing sanctuary to birds during the harsh winters When a young girl from a local village, Frith appears at his door with an injured snow goose, Philip cares for it nursing it back to health christening it “The Lost Princess”. Every year the snow goose returns In October before flying north, in the spring. Frith, drawn to the snow goose, also returns. The friendship between Philip and Frith friendship grows over the years - a friendship forged from thei...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ “As I’ve got older, I’ve come to realize that memory isn’t a question of simply recalling the things that happened day after day, year after year, but a patchwork of events etched across our hearts.” Eighty-seven-year-old retired librarian Freda now a resident of a senior living facility, spends her days taking walks in her neighborhood, reminiscing about the years gone by, and documenting her memories. As the seventy–fifth anniversary celebration of the Dunkirk evacuation approaches, she finds herself flooded by memories of that period and reflects on how her experiences have impacted her throughout her life. In 1939, twelve-year-old Freda, along with several other children was sent to Lincolnshire from her London home in Bethnal Green as a part of Operation Pied Piper- an effort to keep children safe from German aerial bombings. Billeted with the Willocks, who treat her like free labor, barely providing for her basic needs despite collecting the allowance paid to them ...

My Rating:  4.5⭐ In 2019, twenty-nine-year-old Kate Ayres flees London to escape an abusive relationship and finds sanctuary in Weyward Cottage, Crows Beck, Cumbria – a property left for her by her late Aunt Violet. As she embarks on rebuilding her life, her curiosity about the property prompts her to research her family history. As she learns more about her incredible legacy and the women who came before her, not only does Kate begin to see herself in a new light but also understands that she too possesses the power to take control of her life just like her ancestors. In 1942, sixteen-year-old Violet Ayres leads a suffocating life in her home at Orton Hall where lives with her father and younger brother. She does not know much about her late mother except for what she overhears in hushed conversations among the household staff. She dreams of becoming a scientist, studying animals and traveling the world. But an unfortunate turn of events finds her cast out of her home, fending for...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ It’s been five years since David Burroughs was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his three-year-old son Matthew. Eyewitness testimony claiming to have witnessed him burying the murder weapon and his own hazy memories of the night contributed to his conviction, though David has consistently maintained that he is innocent. Since then his marriage to his high school sweetheart, Matthew’s mother Cheryl has ended and she has moved on. He has refused to accept visitors and has cut himself off from friends and family. But then, his former sister-in-law Rachel, a journalist who has suffered setbacks both personally and professionally, turns up with a photograph taken by her friends during a recent trip to an amusement park that shows a child who resembles Matthew. Is Matthew still alive? If so, whose body did they bury? If he is alive, where is Matthew now? David is convinced that the child in the photograph is his son and he will leave no stone unturned to find M...

My Rating: 2.5⭐ During a Sunday service at Trinity Hill Church, Clemmie’s friend Muffin, also a resident of the senior living village in North Carolina where Clemmie lives, catches a glimpse of someone from her past – a past she left behind almost fifty years ago. Clemmie is bewildered by Muffin’s panicked response. Even after Muffin shares the traumatic events from her past and shares her fears, Clemmie isn’t quite convinced that anybody would harm Muffin over events that occurred so long ago. But over the following week, Clemmie realizes she is wrong. But in trying to help her friend will she be able to protect her own secrets? Not only Clemmie and Muffin, but others in their community carry burdens from their pasts and would want to protect themselves their families and the lives they have made for themselves from falling apart if those secrets ever saw the light of day. With its fast-paced narrative, sensitive themes and strong characterizations,  The Wrong Good Deed  by...

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice: Stories  by  Ao Omae  (translated by  Emily Balistrieri ) comprises an interesting collection of short stories that touch upon themes of friendship, gender politics and stereotypes, feminism, isolation and loneliness and mental and emotional well-being. In the first story “Realizing the Fun Things Through Water”(3.5/5) we meet Hatsuoka who receives a case of “hyper-organization water” from her soon to be mother–in–law who tells her to talk to it, sharing happy thoughts to increase its potency. Hatsuoka is conflicted over her impending marriage, unsure of what she wants while also dealing with the pain of the loss of her sister who had been missing for almost two years. As she waits for her sister to return to the house they shared, she anxiously contemplates the upcoming changes in her life. The second in this collection is the novella “People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice” (3.5/5) revolves around uni...

My Rating:  3.5⭐️  The primary narrative follows former high school English teacher Penelope “Penny” Schleeman as she moved to L.A. after the rights of her debut novel, "American Mermaid” is acquired by a Hollywood Studio. The money and the fame propel Penny into a new life, distinctly different from form her low-paying job in New Haven, Connecticut wherein she could barely make ends meet. Hired to co-write the screenplay with a professional screenwriter duo, she struggles to protect her source material and her MC, wheelchair-bound asexual scientist Sylvia from being rewritten into a more “cinematic” adaptation. But Penny has very little say in the process. As the narrative progresses, and Penny is gradually pushed out of the project on account of some mysterious modifications being made to the script that the others involved in the project believe are being made by Penny, the lines between reality and fiction begin to blur. Julia Langbein’s American Mermaid is genre-defying, ...

My Rating:  3.5⭐ Isabelle Manning’s dream is to be a successful writer just like her father, renowned and award-winning author Ward Manning. Unfortunately, Isabelle, who is about to turn thirty-five, is yet to publish her first novel. Isabelle idolizes her father, who for the most part is self-absorbed and egotistical and unable to accept the current dip in his literary career and the waning of the fame and recognition he once enjoyed. Isabelle was raised for the most part by her loving mother Claire, who was also a supportive wife to Ward, who prioritized his literary career and ambition over his family. Isabelle is struggling and it looks like her current manuscript is heading toward rejection. After her mother’s demise while sorting through her belongings Isabelle makes a shocking discovery- something left for her by her late mother- that triggers a sequence of events that compels Isabelle to question everything she knew about her family, and in turn her own life and motivations...

My Rating:  4.5⭐  Eve Alexopoulos is a journalist who has made a name for herself through her column “What’s Your Problem, Bro?” which is dedicated to exposing trolls – not their names per se but details about their true identities and their lives based on information gleaned through some digital sleuthing on her part. Eve does not mince her words and she unabashedly goes after these people, in an attempt to humiliate them and shut them down. Her column is successful, has proved profitable for the magazine where she works and garnered a book deal for her but needless to say has earned her a fair share of haters – trolls who just don’t troll her online but leave threats for her both at home and her workplace. Citing a potentially distressing work environment on account of the repeated threats and declining viewership, Eve’s boss decides to kill her column and reassign her to another segment. Dealing with flaming dogshit left at her door in the morning, a bomb hoax at work and n...

My Rating:  3.5⭐️ Set in 1873, the story begins with twenty-three-year-old Lenna Wilkes in Paris, participating in a séance as an understudy to renowned spiritualist and medium Vaudeline D’Allaire who specializes in establishing contact with victims of violence to help identify the perpetrators, bringing justice and closure for the families of the deceased. Lenna, though a skeptic, “practical” as she describes herself, has her reasons for working with Vaudeline. Her younger sister Evie, an aspiring spiritualist who had trained under Vaudeline was murdered on the last All Hallows Eve in London. Lenna is in the process of acquiring training and knowledge and enlisting Vaudeline’s help to find Evie’s killer. Vaudeline receives a letter from the Vice President of the London Séance Society, Mr. Morley who asks for her assistance to uncover the mystery behind the murder of the society’s President Mr. Volckman who was also murdered on All Hallows Eve. Mr. Volckman had been investigating r...

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Water Museum: Stories by Luis Alberto Urrea is a collection of thirteen stories many of which have been previously published. Dystopian futures, climate change, the immigrant experience and immigration politics, and cross-cultural experiences and relationships, are only a few of the themes explored in this creative collection of short stories. Among my favorites in this collection is "Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush”, an amusing story blending humor and magical realism featuring a Mexican graffiti artist who paints the walls of the city with his cryptic messages. I also enjoyed the very first story “Mountains Without Number”, a moving story tinged with nostalgia featuring the inhabitants of a dying town and their memories of a time long past. Another favorite of mine in this collection is “Amapola” in which a white boy’s love affair with a Mexican girl puts him in a difficult position when the girl’s shady family enters the equation. “The Sous Chefs of Iogua” is an ex...

My Rating:  4.3⭐️ Duck for Cover & Other Tales  by   Barbara Venkataraman   is a delightful collection of fourteen short stories! These stories revolve around friendships, family , community and so much more and touch upon varied themes such as revenge, love, deception and ageing among others. Some of these stories will surprise, some will make you laugh out loud and some will leave you pondering over the message they convey. I absolutely loved this collection as a whole but will mention that “A Dish Best Served Cold” (we follow two warring neighbors as the tensions escalate) , “Duck For Cover” (a man’s unfortunate experience with the ducks roaming his neighborhood has ramification on all other aspects of his life), “The Yes Man” (a life lesson to a son from his father who is suffering from dementia),”The Devil’s Workshop” (detailing a juvenile offender’s experiences during his period of community service and restitution), “My Canadian Girlfriend” (a long-distanc...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Have you ever read a book that leaves you so overwhelmed you don't have words to explain why or how? For me, it's this one! "He had wanted the singleness and the still connective passion of marriage; he had had that, too, and he had not known what to do with it, and it had died. He had wanted love; and he had had love, and had relinquished it, had let it go into the chaos of potentiality." A simple story of a man from humble origins who pursues a career in academics. This is the story of the life of William Stoner - his early life, his days as a student, his love for English Literature, his marriage and family and his career as an English professor- a life lived with quiet dignity, with its share of ups and downs, regrets, disappointments and small triumphs. It could be anybody's story. "Unremarkable" is a word one might use when when talking about William Stoner and in fact, the beginning of the novel stresses that point but then, why do...

My Rating:  4.5⭐️ "Secrets that are shared but still not understood remain secret.” The life of our protagonist Enzi, the child of accomplished immigrant parents takes a tragic turn after he loses his mother and his father’s alcoholism ultimately lands him in the system. Dyslexic, alone and without any support, he eventually becomes a runaway at the age of fourteen, drifting from place to place and from job to job. Taught by his mother to study patterns instead of the individual letters and numbers that he found so difficult to follow, he is able to hone his analytical and mathematical abilities. His perseverance results in his becoming a self-taught software programmer, even starting his own company with a friend which is later bought by a larger corporation, with whom he negotiates a lucrative employment opportunity for himself. When we meet Enzi, he is employed in the capacity of Director with the larger tech company but is also in cahoots with a Tsai, a shady businessman who r...