July 2025 Books

7/2: Kate & Frida: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Books by Kim Fay (library, 2025) - Cozy book. I mean, one of the characters is in the middle of a war zone for some of the book and I'm still calling it a cozy book. 4.5/5 stars

7/6: Bonded in Death (In Death #60) by JD Robb (library ebook, 2025) - Why am I still reading these books? This was sort of boring and I'm over Robb trying to mine the pasts of Roarke and Summerset. The 4.62/5 stars on Goodreads is wildly out of pocket. When will I stop reading these less than mediocre books? 2/5 stars

7/12: Heartwood by Amity Gaige (library, 2025) - Character driven mystery about a hiker lost in the woods. Unputdownable. 4.5/5 stars

7/17: All Fours by Miranda July (library, 2024) - National Book Award Finalist or not, this was not a book for the likes of me. 2.5/5 stars

7/17: The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean (library ebook, 2024) - Delightful book I started and finished on a plane. I doubt I'll remember this book in six months, but I enjoyed my time with it.  4/5 stars

7/19: The Chosen (Reuven Malther #1) by Chaim Potok (library ebook, 1966) - Coming of age book about two Jewish boys in Williamsburg in the 1940s, complete with lots of daddy issues. I'm sure that this book has its lovers, but nothing happened in this book outside of a very long youth baseball scene. If you are into character-driven novels, this might be for you, but it was not for me. (I will say that the Nazi stuff, treatment of Jewish people, religious differences, etc. does hit a particular chord in 2025.) 3/5 stars

7/22: An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (library ebook, 1925) - Weird book. Is it a coming of age story? A story about toxic masculinity? True crime? Who knows? 3/5 stars

7/27: The Compound by Aisling Rawle (library, 2025) - Reality show book in a dystopian future. It's catnip for me, people. 4/5 stars

7/29: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (library, 2001) - The writing was great. The way Brooks weaves historical details in is amazing. But I did not want to read this book about a plague. 3/5 stars

Total: 9 books 
Average star rating: 3.39/5 stars

DNF:

A Visit from the Goon Squad (Goon Squad #1) by Jennifer Egan - The first scene was all about a woman getting drunk, shoplifting, and making poor choices. I don't need that in my life. This reminds me why I stopped reading it when it was first published. 

Infomocracy (The Centenal Cycle #1) by Malka Ann Older - I do not care for spy books AND I don't think I'm smart enough for this book. 

The Good House by Ann Leary - According to Libby, I listened to 69% of the audiobook! I have absolutely no memories of this at all. I'm pretty sure it was during one of my interminable and endless drives to and from Michigan. Maybe someday I'll come back to it. 

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg - I really hate being preached at. DNF at 7% and have no regrets. 

July 2025 Accountability Buddy

Tuesday, July 1
30-minute fully body strength training

10-minute full body stretch

Wednesday, July 2

45-minute yoga at the community center after work

Thursday, July 3

30-minute yoga for posture (focused on back pain)

60-minute Zumba class after work

Friday, July 4

Day off

Saturday, July 5

45-minute "run" - Look, I'm in Michigan and this seemed like the easiest thing to do, but it turns out that it was too hot for me, so I ended up walking for a lot of this. 

Sunday, July 6

25-minute evening flow yoga

5-minute yoga for sleep

Monday, July 7

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime*

Tuesday, July 8

30-minute total body dumbbell workout

10-minute post-workout stretch

Wednesday, July 9

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

45-minute yoga at the community center after work

Thursday, July 10

30-minute yoga at the student union at lunchtime

Friday, July 11

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

30-minute full body dumbbell strength training - I really liked this one. Sixty seconds on thirty seconds off, no repeats. 

15-minute full body stretch

Saturday, July 12

45-minute yoga for tight hips - This was definitely a "your mind wants to give up before your body" type of practice

Sunday, July 13

30-minute full body strength and conditioning

25-minute yin fascia release yoga - This lady was too into "your body's power source" and the "next level of present." That's not my jam, but it might be yours. 

Monday, July 14

30-minute yoga at the student union at lunchtime

30-minute Werq (dance) class after work

Tuesday, July 15

30-minute arms and abs 

20-minute somatic yin yoga - Look, this lady talked about the heart meridian and liver meridian, so you know what you're getting. Her voice is amazing, though, and it's a nice, quick mat practice. 

Wednesday, July 16

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

30-minute yin yoga for neck and shoulders 

Thursday, July 17

30-minute lower body workout

15-minute full body stretch

Friday, July 18

20-min yoga video

10-min leg stretch 

Saturday, July 19 - Tuesday, July 22

Off because I was out of town

Wednesday, July 23

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

30-minute upper body dumbbell workout

Thursday, July 24

30-minute lower body and abs

Friday, July 25

35-minute fast and fun walking workout (so sweaty!)

10-minute full body stretch

Saturday, July 26

45-minute lazy yin yoga - I'm beat. I just needed a day where I didn't push much. 

Sunday, July 27

50-minute hot, sweaty yardwork - Functional fitness for the win, I guess?

Monday, July 28

30-minute Werq (dance) class after work - Last Werq class because the instructor has a new job and won't be teaching it anymore. :(

Tuesday, July 29 and Wednesday, July 30

Days off

Thursday, July 31

30-minute morning yoga

Totals: 23/31 (74.2%) days 

13 days yoga

12 days strength/cardio

5 short 15-minute stretch classes at lunchtime

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*Our local healthcare organization does free stretch classes virtually three times a week. Sign up here! It's free. It's fun. We regularly talk about candy and what's for lunch. It's a delightful break in the middle of the day. You do not have to have your camera on. 

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I didn't quite get to my 80% goal because of days traveling and whatnot, but I feel pretty good about these numbers based on everything going on in my life.

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What's the last really good workout you did? 

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

I heard about The Compound by Aisling Rawle on Sarah's Bookshelves. It was described as Lord of the Flies meets Love Island and while that's not exactly accurate, it's not entirely inaccurate, either. 

In a near-future (maybe current day?) Lily wakes up in a remote desert compound where she is on a reality show with nineteen other young people. She's 20something, beautiful, driftless, and she's counting on this show to help make her future easier. The world is hard - jobs are boring, there's constant war, and there's a hint that these young people don't think they'll be alive in twenty years. 

The first part of this book was tough because twenty people is a lot. By the time you get to half that number, it's a lot easier to follow who is who. As the show goes on, we see Lily do more and more things for rewards and prizes that she wouldn't have considered doing early on in the show. Will Lily make it to the end with her own true self intact?

I think this book is mostly a critique of social media and late-stage capitalism (buy more stuff! stuff will make you happy!), but when I finished the last page, I still was wondering what the take home theme was supposed to be. There are plenty of interesting social critiques - how women (and men) of color are treated on television, how even when gender roles aren't assigned, people do what's "expected" of them, sexual attraction versus love, and the whole idea of television production on "reality" television and how it influences behavior outside of a set - but I just left the book feeling jangly and uncertain. 

Maybe that's the point. 4/5 stars

Line of note:

The boys were delighted with themselves, and spent a long time finishing it, and a longer time congratulating themselves on it. (page 136)

Ahem. 

Hat mentions (why hats?): 

Some people put their shoes on the lower shelf, and others put sunscreen and hats and aloe vera on the shelves. (page 80)

After two further challenges (name fifteen capital cities - a tin of white paint; reveal who we voted for in the last election - baseball hats for everyone) we were exhausted and starving. (page 90)

They were plainly dressed in shorts and T-shirts, sunglasses and hats. (page 134)

"A month ago, I could have told you the minute and the hour and the date at the drop of a hat." (page 264)

a swimming hat (page 287) - WTF does that even mean? Like one of those stretchy cap things?

The Parting Gift

I left you all on a bit of a cliffhanger about what I was going to get Blanche's mom since she's abandoning us for greener pastures. Was I even going to get a gift? I think you all knew I was going to get a gift, right? It's what I do.

Well, I got her a nice bag with our town's name on it. Seriously, friends, it's a nice bag. 

Then I filled it with my favorite road trip snacks.

Then I got Blanche some presents, too.

And then I gave to her. I didn't even cry. Not once.

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Do you find it challenging to meet friends as an adult? 

A Long Weekend in Seattle

Bestest Friend and I spent a long weekend in Seattle - we met up at the airport on Friday morning and she left on Monday morning (I spent the whole of Monday at the airport, but pretend that never happened). 

I'm going to condense this because is there anything more boring than somebody else's trip, but here's what we did if you're interested in the TL;DR version. I'll go into all the details below.

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Friday
Seattle Aquarium - Okay. Maybe I wouldn't normally pay that price for what it is, but it was fine. 
Public Market - This place is so much fun. Very crowded, so be prepared for that. 

Saturday
Underground Tour - Eh. Bestest Friend and I are bad at guided tours. LOL. Maybe it was our fault more than the fault of the tour. 
Seattle Center - What a beautiful area to wander around. 
Permanent jewelry - So much fun. 

Sunday
Whale watching tour - Really fun!
Fremont Market - Very impressive!
Gas Works Park - Beautiful!

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Accommodations

We stayed with our friend Jason. Jason went to Bowling Green with us and if you can stay with Jason, I would recommend it 10/10. His condo is beautiful, he gave us explicit instructions on transit, and he gave us a list of things to do every day. He had Perrier for me every morning. He has a million board games and owns more scarves than I do. He is the perfect host.

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Getting Around

Transit in Seattle is amazing. We took light rail from downtown and then busses everywhere we went. Google maps has amazing instructions, so we didn't even need a separate app. We bought an Orca card ($3) at the light rail station and then put $20 on it to get through the weekend. $30 would have been even better!

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What We Did

We met at baggage claim! It took forever to get bags. I wore a mask most of the time when I was in the airport or on a plane because it was so crowded. 

Seattle Aquarium - $54.95

There's an octopus! And sea lions! And giant manta rays. This was fine. I thought it was kind of expensive, though, for what it was. And it was very crowded. As someone who is still currently of the "we're in a middle of a pandemic" mindset, this was a challenge. I am not sure I'd highly recommend it, but if you're into marine biology, it's fun. 

Pike Place Market - This is the place where they throw the fish, you know? It's a warren of hundreds of restaurants, shops, buskers, and entertainment. We just kept ending up here and finding new places to eat and shop and admire. It's right on the water and only a couple of blocks from the bus stops downtown and I was so glad we spent as much time here as we did. 

In the middle is Jason, our host. In all photos of me with Jason, I am closing my eyes. It's just a thing. 

There is a skywalk between the top of the Ocean Pavilion of the Aquarium and Pike's Place Market that has breathtaking views of the city. We were there when the weather was TOP NOTCH and the sky was blue and the temps were in the mid-70s with no humidity. There are NO BUGS in Seattle, so I didn't even worry about not having any bug spray on me.

Taken from on top of the Ocean Pavilion. 

Beneath the Streets Underground Tour - roughly $32 a person

So, there was a fire and original Seattle burned down. They wanted to rebuild, so they did crazy things like building on top of existing foundations. That means that in the oldest part of Seattle, there are underground tunnels that were original Seattle streets. That sounds cool, doesn't it? Unfortunately, this is tour guide dependent and our tour guide just wasn't as amazing as he could have been.

Okay, this is a cool fact. These are leftover skylights from the underground. They were clear at one time, but the sunlight has turned them purple. They're so cool and now if you see them on Seattle streets, you'll know what they are. 

She looks like she's going on a real expedition here. 

Seattle Center - This area of the city is where the Space Needle is, as well as a couple of other museums and the International Fountain. There were street vendors and a concert going on when we were there and it was fun to just hang out in the wide green spaces and see people coming together in community. We didn't go into any of the museums or anything, but it's very pretty.

Storica Studio - Ever since Stephany wrote about getting permanent jewelry with her book club, I've been wanting to do it. Bestest Friend and I had a couple of hours to kill and I sort of jokingly said we could get bracelets and she was so excited to do it! We made an appointment at Storica Studio and were there in half an hour. 

This wasn't cheap, but Nina, the lady who welded them on for us, said it should last 18-24 months. I guess we'll see! I'll obviously update you when I break it because you know I will break it. 

We took a photo with Nina. Of course we did. 

Whale watching tour - $137

We were out on a deluxe ship for four hours watching whales. There was a naturalist on board telling us where to look and about the different marine mammals. Huge thumbs up. Definitely worth the price of admission. There was a dog named Motown on board.

There are sea lions on that buoy. 

It was no one's fault but my own, but I was underdressed. It was chillier on the water and I was wearing a dress and my duster, but I was just not warm enough. I should have packed a pair of leggings, but I did not and I would have enjoyed this more if I had some leggings, but that's my fault, not theirs. 

Fremont Market 

The Sunday Market in Fremont is hundreds of vendors selling vintage, homemade, and kitsch. We had so much fun.  We got there with only about forty-five minutes to wander around and I wish we had left ourselves a bit more time. 

Gas Works Park 

I have to admit that we were pretty exhausted when it was suggested we go to Gas Works Park. But we were assured that the view was amazing and that it would be worth the effort. I was so glad we did. This park used to be the site of a gasification plant and you can see the industrial remains still. There's a big hill with glorious views.

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Eating

Just picture me doing this the whole time

We ate a lot at Pike's Place. Three standouts are The Crumpet Shop, Jack's Fish and Chips, and Mee Sum Pastry. 

Crumpets. I legit ate most of that. I think Bestest Friend ate maybe 1.5 of those crumpets.

We ate dinners at a Mexican restaurant (where we had dinner with Jason's friends - is there anything more that I like to do than bring straight Midwestern lady energy to a gay man's birthday party? I'm sparing you the photos, but I think you all know exactly what it looked like) and a Thai place that were both good, but I do not have their names. We ate seafood at a place called Chinook's the last night we were there and the seafood chowder was to die for.

Mixed reviews on Biscuit Bitch, but I did eat that biscuit like I hadn't had carbs in years, so if you're willing to wait AN HOUR for biscuits, give it a shot. The crumpet place is better, though.

I did not have bad food in Seattle. 

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There was an incident where we got to a bus stop and there were fire trucks and an ambulance. Some guy had ODed and we watched them Narcan him. He came to, refused treatment, they all left, and he ambled off. All of this happened in the eight minutes we were waiting for a bus.

There are a lot of unhoused people in Seattle, especially in the downtown area. They all seemed polite and reasonable to me, but you should know that going in. 

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Have you ever been to Seattle? What's your favorite thing to do there? If you haven't, what would you like to see there?

The Return of Ellie Black

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean follows Chelsey Calhoun, a police officer who learns that Ellie Black, a girl who had gone missing years before, has been found. What follows is a twisting plot about what happened to Ellie and how it's entwined in the past of a crumbling sea town.

Did I read this front to back on a plane ride? Yes. Did I find it interesting? Yes. Did I predict the twists? One of them, yes, one of them no. Was that good enough for me? Yes. Is this a book I'm going to remember in ten years and think of as the best book I read in 2025? I doubt it. But I'd read more from this author. 4/5 stars

Line of note:

More than anything, Chelsey wishes there was a way to know when you were experiencing the happiest moments of your life. (location 634)

Right? If only I had known how good it was when I was sixteen. And twenty-six. 

Thing I looked up:

Our substitute English teacher held the whole class captive two minutes past the final bell to finish a poem about a snowman and a moor. (location 344)

This one? What else could it be, right?

Hat mentions (why hats?): 

Another of him and his family at the rodeo—parents and all six kids in jeans and cowboy hats. (location 94)

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Did you know you were experiencing some of the happiest times of your life? 

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

I have no idea how I started reading An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't know when I downloaded the audiobook read by Grover Gardner that it was more than 38 hours long. But, hey, if you're trying to read big books, I guess 38 hours is what you get. 

This book is insane. It's as if the author had no idea what genre he wanted to write in, so he wrote in all of them.

Clyde Griffiths grows up poor in Kansas City as the son of religious fanatics. He takes a job as a bellboy at a fancy hotel and is introduced to girls, drinking, and gambling. After a terrible accident in which a young girl dies, Clyde runs away to Chicago. While working as a bellhop there, he meets his father's brother who is a wealthy owner of a factory in Lycurgus, New York. His uncle offers him a job and Clyde is off to Lycurgus.

Clyde is not supposed to date any young women at the factory, but he gets involved with a woman named Roberta anyway. He also starts seeing a wealthy socialite named Sondra. Roberta gets pregnant, Clyde plots her murder so he can live a foot loose and fancy free life with Sondra and when Roberta drowns, Clyde is arrested and tried for her murder. 

YOU GUYS. What is this? Is it a coming-of-age novel? A murder mystery?  A romance novel with a love triangle? A character study of man going insane? Is it a legal thriller? 

I don't know what it is because I just referred to it as the toxic masculinity book that criticizes capitalism. I didn't love this book, but I was riveted by what would happen in the next chapter. What else could Dreiser possibly find to write about. 

Apparently this book was based on true events. According to Wikipedia:

Dreiser based the book on a notorious criminal case. On July 11, 1906, resort owners found an overturned boat and the body of Grace Brown at Big Moose Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. Chester Gillette was put on trial, and convicted of killing Brown, though he claimed that her death was a suicide. Gillette was executed by electric chair on March 30, 1908. The murder trial drew international attention when Brown's love letters to Gillette were read in court. Dreiser saved newspaper clippings about the case for several years before writing his novel, during which he studied the case closely. He based Clyde Griffiths on Chester Gillette, deliberately giving him the same initials.

I don't know. I don't think I'd recommend it, to be honest. 3/5 stars

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While I listened to the audiobook, the page numbers will be from this version on the Internet Archive. 

Lines of note:

And immediately after breakfast joining a long procession that day after day at this hour made for the mills across the river. For just outside her own door she invariably met with a company of factory girls and women, boys and men, of the same relative ages, to say nothing of many old and weary-looking women who looked more like wraiths than human beings, who had issued from the various streets and houses of this vicinity.  (page 258)

Pre-COVID cities were like this, right? Just long lines of people heading it to work. I liked the imagery. 

But if she questioned him in regard to these things now, would he not get angry and lie to her still more? For after all she could not help thinking that apart from his love for her she had no real claim on him. But she could not possibly imagine that he could change so quickly. (page 389)

Oh, so much symbolism in this passage! Also, isn't it interesting how quickly you can change from love to hate (or disinterest in this case). 

Things I looked up:

orchestrelle (multiple times on pages 292 and 293) -  A type of mechanical organ, specifically a player organ, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed to imitate the sound of an orchestra through the use of paper music rolls and a system of reeds and bellows

tergiversation (page 480) - the act of evading a clear or direct answer or position, often through ambiguity or deception

Hat mentions (why hats?): I counted 137 hats in this book! Hats were a main plot point. That's 50 more hats than in Gone With the Wind. I'll only give you multiples. 

felt hat (page 15, 87, 201, 298, 597, 871)

hat and coat (page 220, 232, 266, 523, 538, 586, 588 x 2, 589)

small brown hat (page 265, 510)

the same little round brown hat (page 277)

coat and hat (page 281, 538 x 2)

To match this pleasing little costume, she planned to add a chic little gray silk hat — poke-shaped, with pink or scarlet cherries nestled up under the trim, together with a neat little blue serge traveling suit, which, with brown shoes and a brown hat, would make her as smart as any bride. (page 468)

straw hat (page 475, 498, 511, 512 x 2, 515, 519 x 2, 533, 538 x 2, 539, 544, 545, 550, 552, 575, 588, 589 x 2, 590, 614 x 4, 615 x 6, 618, 630 x 2, 666, 697, 705, 706, 754, 778)

two hats (page 630 x 2, 633, 635, 645, 651, 652, 656, 666, 695, 746)

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Have you ever read An American Tragedy? Watched the movie A Place in the Sun starring starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters that is based on it?