Show & Tell: I'm Back and I Read a Lot of Books.
Unstacked Digest for the week of December 22 - January 5
This is Show & Tell where I tell you some things I loved from the week and the one thing I hated, plus round up everything else going on around these parts. The first half of Show & Tell is free to all. The adoration and hateration are for paid subscribers only.
I guess we’re back from break. I am technically not, because the Mini Stacks’ school thought it would be fun to have a teacher development day today, Monday January 6th, after kids have been out of school for the last 18 days. But sure, yes, Happy New Year1. Since I took the last few weeks off from Grown-Up Show & Tell, so I have a lot to catch you up on. This might be a long one…
The Last Few Weeks on Unstacked
I asked the guests from the 2024 season of The Stacks to share the best books they read in 2024. They did not disappoint.
I read 139 books last year and ranked them all for you. Feel free to debate me in the comments.
Our book club pick for January is The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley.
I’m making a few changes around here (you can read about some in this post) so now you get monthly reads ranked and my books on deck list in one place!
Books I Read (since we last spoke)
Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot
I read this biography of Ronald Reagan simply because it was on NYT’s top 10 books of the year. It was a 32 hour audiobook, and while I think it is an objectively good biography (tons of detail and research) in the end it left me wanting2. The book goes deep on Reagan’s childhood and time in Hollywood, and foreign policy, but somehow leaves only about three hours to discuss AIDS, the Challenger disaster, the war on drugs, and his overall legacy. Boot seemed to focus his time and energy on the things that Reagan would have most wanted him to (“Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall” etc. etc.) and not the full scope of the man. I will give Boot credit for being critical of Reagan in places and giving him praise where it was due, but by the end, the book read like a book report and not a fully realized book itself. It is still feels like a major contender for the Pulitzer, and I did rather enjoy it as a history of the 20th century.
Fave of the week!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
You know this one, it is about a boy, Charlie, who gets a golden ticket to see inside the world of the biggest bestest chocolate factory on earth. I listened to this audiobook with the Minis and it does not hold up. The pacing is so odd, we spend so much time with poor Charlie and his starving family, very little time in the factory, there weird poems throughout, and the other kids with golden tickets are so strange. I think this is a case of me remembering (and liking) the movie a lot and thinking the book was that, and it is not that at all. The movie is better, there I said it.
The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy
The history of the rape kit and the woman who invented it, and she was erased from her own story. While the history and research presented in this book are well done and compelling, the author inserts her own sexual assault stories into the book feels so unnecessary. The memoir tone and approach are stylistically off base from the rest of the book, it completely took me out of the reading experience. It read like filler3 and that Kennedy was reaching to connect herself to this story that didn’t need to be about her at all.
Conclave by Robert Harris
The Pope dies and the bishops come to town to name the next Pope. I have to say I really did enjoy this little Catholic thriller. It is slow at the start, but once those old boys get to conclaving, it is a good time and hard to put down. There are twists, turns, and high stakes, even though it is mostly just old men being old and saying prayers. A good time if you want plot and melodrama.
Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over by Alison Roman
A cookbook for hosting without all the pomp. I love Roman’s recipes so much. She uses a tons of citrus, vinegar, and herbs. They are simple and straightforward and turn out perfect. Her prose however, are too cute by half. I don't think every recipe needs a joke or a twee comment. It is very 2016 blog content. So tl:dr, great food, embarrassing writing.
Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley
In 2019, Sloane Crosley’s apartment is burglarized and a month later her dear friend and former boss, Russell, dies by suicide. This is a memoir about grief and friendship. I liked it. This isn’t a book that I cherish, but it is one I’m glad I read. Crosley approaches the subject with vulnerability, cynicism and the perfect dash of humor. It is a beautiful tribute to a their bond. I personally loved that the book deals with the world of publishing through the eyes of book publicists (thats the job Crosely and Russell met doing). I rarely see that perspective in books, and the inside baseball was a welcome treat. There is a top notch section on the publicity drama for A Million Little Pieces that was fascinating and my favorite part of the book (the stuff on the robbery were less engaging, for sure).
God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas
An EMS worker and former medic in the Iraq war navigates his life, past and present, in this debut novel. Voicey as hell. The style is stream of consciousness and travels all over our protagonist, Joseph Thomas’, life. The way Thomas balances life’s little humors and tragedies rings to true to how it feels to live them; fff balanced and raw, yet still always searching for a way to get that joke off. His turns of phrase and dialogue are spot on. There were times, especially in the middle of the book, where I would zone out or lose my place, the style lends itself to that. There is some pretty graphic sex writing, which if we’re being honest, I am way too prude for. But as far as style, uniqueness, and voice, Thomas is doing the most in the best ways.
Housekeeping
came back on the podcast for The Stacks Book Club episode on Takcy by Rax King. 
I shared my top 10 books of 2024 on Here & Now.
, from the NYT, was our guest this week on the podcast and they are a GD delight. We talked about names, books, and so much more.Things I Love…
Pop Culture
The Golden Globes were last night, and there is a lot of pop culture I could’ve talked about here but honestly, the only thing that matters is Jeremyoquai Strong.
A look I am convinced this look was a nod to Zoe Saldaña’s role as Eva Rodriguez in Center Stage4.