May 2025 Mid-Month Wrap Up

I have finished 3 books so far in May, and I have thoughts.

Avid Reader by Robert Gottlieb - Robert Gottlieb is one of those guys that lives to work. He worked at home on weekends and when he was away on vacation. He was an editor for Knopf for many decades, except when he was the editor of the New Yorker magazine. I was really interested in this book, despite the fact that it was basically 350 pages of name dropping. I noticed a couple of things about him. He loves everyone. Like, he repeatedly says "I fell in love with him/her immediately." If I was his wife, I would be concerned about how many people he fell in love with. Also, he always described women by how beautiful they were. Never the men. The men were tall or broad, but only women got more description of their personal looks. I didn't realize he was involved with the ballet. He "fell in love" with ballet as a teenager, and later in life was tagged as an advisor for the American Ballet Theater and also something in Miami. He edited a few books by and about dancers. I really have no idea why I was so fascinated by this book. It was basically just a who's who in mid-century culture and publishing. But I did.

The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens - I don't normally seek out thrillers. Especially political thrillers. But this one involves a woman his is about my age, and who lived through a traumatic political event that happened during my adult lifetime and that I remember. Hana is a middle-aged librarian at a little place in Minnesota, who wears frumpy dresses and cardigans to remain invisible. A police officer shows up at the library one day to tell her her best friend has died quite violently, and did she know anyone who had a problem with her. Both women escaped from the Bosnian war in 1995. Hana really likes this police officer, but she can't tell him about her past. She doesn't want to be sent back to the Balkans for war crimes. She takes it upon herself to find the guy who killed her friend. It was pretty good, plot-wise. The scenes set in Bosnia were fast-paced and the main character was interesting. The relationship between Hana and the officer was not believable. Why did she like him? We were just told she did, but he didn't do anything particularly winning. Typical romance writing from a man. The guy doesn't have to do anything but exist for the woman to fall for him. Gross. If she was any less badass, I think I might have given up.

Bibliotherapy: Books to Guide You Through Every Chapter of Life by Molly Masters - I mostly skimmed through this little book. The design was fantastic. Each page had margin decorations in lots of colors. The cover had gold foiling. Each chapter started with a discussion of the stated topic. Then there were 3 or 4 book recommendations for that theme. And finally there were lists of fiction and non-fiction books on that theme with one sentence descriptions. I wish there had been more editing. In several places, the author uses the word "novel" to describe a non-fiction book. A novel is inherently fictional. Also, she put a book of essays in a fiction list. Essays are non-fiction. Like, what is even happening here. The rating got a boost for the design elements, but overall it was just meh.

And those are the 3 books I've read so far this month.

I'll see you again at the end of the month to hopefully wrap up more reading for the month of May.