Review: Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead

Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead
Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ok this book’s cover is VERY misleading. This book was VERY VERY depressing. It was not dark humor. It was depressing. Once I got over how depressing it would be, I loved it but do NOT be fooled by the cover. It’s not cute and light, it’s heavy and depressing.

View all my reviews

Review: That’s Not How It Happened

That's Not How It Happened
That’s Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel delivered what it promised. It was big hearted and for fans of Kevin Wilson. A family that’s struggling through good news and bad news as the balance of power changes and fame and potential fortune wreak havoc. I loved it.

View all my reviews

Review: Strangers in the Villa

Strangers in the Villa
Strangers in the Villa by Robyn Harding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

also interesting. her books are compulsively readable for me. her endings always seem to fall short.

View all my reviews

Review: The Drowning Woman

The Drowning Woman
The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

interesting and twisty but i somehow kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. and it never did. kept me reading, though.

View all my reviews

Review: The Parisian Heist

The Parisian Heist
The Parisian Heist by Jo Piazza
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars.

I loved this story about two women in alternating timelines. Jo van Gogh working hard to preserve the legacy of her husband’s brother and make him to be the famous and recognizable artist he never was in his lifetime with the helps of an old friend of her husband’s. Emma, a struggling artist, who cleans the home of Stella Swanson, the widow to an art empire who can’t get a penny to her name thanks to the kids of her new deceased husband. The storylines alternate until they inevitably intersect.

As with all Piazza novels, this story is about strong women doing hard things. Being underestimated and overcoming odds. I love art so this was an extra special one for me. I loved every minute I spent with it.

with gratitude to netgalley and Dutton for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: The House of Doors

The House of Doors
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

what a beautiful beautiful story. I have always been a fan of Somerset Maugham and this book made me get (albeit a tiny) glimpse into him. I loved the writing and the story. Loved it.

View all my reviews

Review: Dissection of a Murder

Dissection of a Murder
Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. This was good but maybe because I went in with high expectations I didn’t end up either being as shocked or loving it as much as others seem to have.

View all my reviews

2026 – Onward – May 25

Meh this week was a total wash. I had a lot of after-work meetings and I just came home exhausted. I ate out practically every day. It was not the best. We will see if I can do better next week.

  • Progress on the big five:
    • Y: The pergola got here and man oh man we spent hours trying to put it up! It’s up now and i LOVE it.
    • G: It was such a hard week that I completely and totally missed the donation truck when it came by. I’m going to have to reschedule. Giving myself grace.
    • S: Nothing more to do here this week.
    • Sa: No new progress on this, still just have a plan.
    • D: Still commuting all the way down to new office. I need to schedule maintenance, maybe I can do it for this week.
  • Three Medium goals:
    • Yes so much more this week, I am on a roll!
    • Still have a few ideas for the yard and want to vacuum it all, too. Then onward to the garage. I will start with buying a rug, I think. I like rugs it turns out.
    • I didn’t do extra work on this, this week. I will try to this coming week.
  • Start: some bumps but one day at a time.
  • Stop: doing a good job on this mostly. last week was just hard.
  • Continue: more of this, this week. so much time with so many people. met with someone new, then P from work, then went to bookclub, then met with J. Lots of socializing this week. Too much, in fact.
  • Brave: Yes, looking for a new sitter for Sadie. I may have a lead. Let’s see if I get lucky.

Good progress this week. Here’s to a better week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.

2026 – Onward – May 18

My big goal this month is to focus a bit more on health both for movement/stretching/mental well-being and for nutrition. I’ve made some tangible progress on this, this week. I’ve had several of the breakfast ideas from the list last week and I’ve made shredded chicken, beef+broccoli, zucchini+groundbeef and I’ve also made the 5-5-5 eggs. Even though I’ve also had lots of chocolate, etc. I feel happy that I ate much more protein and vegetables this week. So, progress. Let’s see if I can keep it up.

I’ve also taken small steps towards movement. On the days I am home, I take about a 3mile walk but I wasn’t doing enough on the other days. This week I did short 10-minute exercise each of those days and I also stretched or did restorative yoga almost all of those days. So, progress there, too.

Let’s see what I can keep going and turn into a routine.

  • Progress on the big five:
    • Y: I sort of ended up doing a little here partly because I rearranged the yard a bunch. We’ll see how much of it sticks direction-wise but I love the way it looks now. I ordered a pergola so we’ll see if that does the trick for the sunlight which is the only big problem I have at this point. Once I solve that I can move on to storage and trees and heat. And lanterns!
    • G: I have donation truck coming this week. I also found a place to donate books. I have sone ideas for the garage but I want to first see if I can get the big ikea unit into the garage.
    • S: Nothing more to do here this week.
    • Sa: No new progress on this, still just have a plan.
    • D: Still commuting all the way down to new office. Didn’t do anything else for now. Well I did pump air into my tires thanks to the help of a friend at work! so we will count that.
  • Three Medium goals:
    • Did some more great work this week. Not as much as I wanted but some.
    • So much progress on the yard, garage will be next but still iterating on the yard.
    • I started the list. It’s been interesting to explore what I think they want and the origins.
  • Start: Still so far so good!!
  • Stop: Still sleeping earlier thanks to new office and new schedule!
  • Continue: spent a lot of time with strangers at cafe! Also met with both J and L this week! Have some more coming up next week.
  • Brave: Still no progress on this, might be another week or two.

Good progress this week. So proud of myself and how much I am doing. Day by day, drop by drop. Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.

Review: Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online

Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online
Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online by Fortesa Latifi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting read. It was more nuanced and balanced than I had thought. The part that was most interesting to me was about the Mormon church and the role they play in backing influencers and also explanations around why there are more Mormon influencers.

View all my reviews

Review: Five

Five
Five by Ilona Bannister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My friend Lauren recommended this to me and I read it in one swallow. It was an excellent mystery because it was about character development and each of these characters are so very flawed. The author does a great job making you both really dislike them and also feel for them. The voice is also very difference since she breaks the fourth wall regularly. I loved it.

View all my reviews

Review: Heartburn

Heartburn
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am so sad to say that I was disappointed by this. I love Nora Ephron’s movies. I love her sense of humor. But this book, it didn’t feel like it went anywhere. It almost felt incomplete to me.

View all my reviews