Becky's Book Reviews

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Century of Viewing, Month 5

This month I watched thirty-seven things. I'm not sure if I accounted for the many, many, many days of watching Karen Read's retrial, but, I don't think I did. I also watched a handful of episodes of Stargate SG-1.

I did finish the 1980s and 2020s.

May's 5 Star Movies

Apollo 13
Notting Hill
Sherlock Jr
The General
Music and Lyrics
Enchanted
The Navigator
Remember the Day
Seven Chances
Go West
Battling Butler
The General
Call the Midwife, season 14
The Cameraman

May's 4 and 4 1/2 Star Movies

College
The Dark Knight
Steamboat Bill Jr.
The Dark Knight Rises
The Great Mouse Detective
Dog Man
Chariots of Fire
Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror
Hamilton
536 AD: The Worst Year in History
Coney Island

Week in Review #22

This week I read ten books.

52. Scarlet. A.C. Gaughen. 2012. 287 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Fiction, YA Historical, YA Romance, 5 stars]

Read this if...
You enjoy Robin Hood adaptations
You enjoy historical fiction with some romantic elements

53. The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place. Kate Summerscale. 2024/2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [true crime, adult nonfiction, 4 stars]

Read this if...

You enjoy adult nonfiction, true crime
You enjoy books about journalism and ethics

54. The Girls in the Picture. Melanie Benjamin. 2018. 448 pages. [Source: Review copy] [5 stars, adult fiction, adult historical fiction, Golden Age Hollywood, silent films]

Read this if....

You enjoy historical fiction with real people
You enjoy books about early Hollywood
You enjoy silent films
You enjoy stories about friendship

51. Leo the Late Bloomer. Robert Kraus. Illustrated by Jose Aruego. 1971/1994. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, picture book]

Read this if....

You enjoy picture books
You enjoy children's classics

52. Board book: Mog and Me. Judith Kerr. 1984/2025. 16 pages. [Source: Library] [board book, 3 stars]

Read this if...

You enjoy board books
You enjoy classic children's books

53. Our Gorgeous Baby. (Board book). Smriti Prasadam-Halls. Illustrated by Eve Coy. 2025. 24 pages. [Source: Library] [board book, babies, 5 stars]
Read this if...

You enjoy board books
You enjoy books about babies

54. Can't Stop Kissing That Baby. K.L. Going. Illustrated by Fiona Lee. 2025. [Source: Library] [3 stars, picture book]

Read this if...

You enjoy books about babies
You enjoy picture books

55. The Peddler of Puddles. Beth Ferry. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. 2025. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, picture book]
Read this if...

You enjoy Beth Ferry's books
You enjoy picture books

56. Thunderland. Maggie Edkins Willis. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 3 stars]

Read this if...

You enjoy books about storms
You enjoy picture books

45. The Pursuit of Elena Bradford. Ann H. Gabhart. 2025. 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, Christian fiction, historical romance, 1840s]

Read this if...

You enjoy Christian fiction
You enjoy Christian romance
You enjoy Christian historical

Century of Viewing, week 22

1910s

1917 Coney Island. Buster Keaton short with Roscoe Arbuckle. Set at an amusement park of sorts, a somewhat fickle girl comes between three guys. I enjoy this one so much! Buster Keaton gets a job as a life guard at one point.

2020s

2020 Hamilton. This is the year the filmed show appeared on Disney +. It is a musical about Alexander Hamilton....and Aaron Burr....and perhaps the general politics of Early American history.
2022 536 AD: The Worst Year in History? I have a strong feeling this one was filmed a good bit earlier than 2022...but this is when the video was uploaded onto YT. This is part of a catastrophe series--I haven't seen the others--and it is examining various theories to see if 536 AD truly was the 'worst' in the dark ages. Volcano. Crop failures. Plagues and disease. Starvation. Etc.
2025 Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror. A Netflix documentary about the Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995.
2025 I am still watching to the Karen Read retrial.

Friday, May 30, 2025

May Reflections

In May, I read thirty-one books. Fourteen of these were five star reads.

Books reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews

44. Mickey7. Edward Ashton. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, science fiction, adult fiction]

45. The Inheritance Games. Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 2020. 386 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Fiction, YA Romance, YA Mystery]

46. The Tides of Time. Sarah M. Eden. 2025. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, time travel, adult romance, historical fiction]

47. The Trouble with Heroes. Kate Messner. 2025. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, j fiction, coming of age, verse novel, mg fiction, poetry]

48. Death in the Jungle. Candace Fleming. 2025. 346 pages. [Source: Library] [YA nonfiction, nonfiction, true crime, 5 stars]

49. Amazing Annie: The Spectacular and Mostly True Adventures of Annie Kopchovsky. Stephen Krensky. Illustrated by Adriana Predoi. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book biography, children's nonfiction]

50. The Hawthorne Legacy. Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 2021. 380 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, YA fiction, YA romance, YA mystery]

51. Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Katie Wray Schon. 2025. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, nonfiction picture book]

52. Scarlet. A.C. Gaughen. 2012. 287 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Fiction, YA Historical, YA Romance, 5 stars]

53. The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place. Kate Summerscale. 2024/2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [true crime, adult nonfiction, 4 stars]

54. The Girls in the Picture. Melanie Benjamin. 2018. 448 pages. [Source: Review copy] [5 stars, adult fiction, adult historical fiction, Golden Age Hollywood, silent films]

Books reviewed at Young Readers

44. Orris and Timble: Lost and Found (Orris and Timble #2) Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Carmen Mok. 2025. 80 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, early chapter book, animal fantasy, j fiction]
45. Anything. Rebecca Stead. Illustrated by Gracey Zhang. 2025. 56 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book]
46. Bearsuit Turtle Makes a Friend. Bob Shea. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, picture book]
47. Cats in Construction Hats. Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen. Illustrated by Leeza Hernandez. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, construction, cats, picture book, rhyming books]
48. Echo. Adam Rex. 2025. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, picture book, friendship]
49. Just a Banana (Board Book, Lift the Flap) Barney Saltzberg. 2025. 24 pages. [Source: Library] [board book, 4 stars]
50. Downpour: Splish! Splash! Ker-Splash! Yuko Ohnari. Translated by Emily Balistrieri. Illustrated by Koshiro Hata. 2025 (2018). 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 5 stars]

51. Leo the Late Bloomer. Robert Kraus. Illustrated by Jose Aruego. 1971/1994. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, picture book]

52. Board book: Mog and Me. Judith Kerr. 1984/2025. 16 pages. [Source: Library] [board book, 3 stars]

53. Our Gorgeous Baby. (Board book). Smriti Prasadam-Halls. Illustrated by Eve Coy. 2025. 24 pages. [Source: Library] [board book, babies, 5 stars]

54. Can't Stop Kissing That Baby. K.L. Going. Illustrated by Fiona Lee. 2025. [Source: Library] [3 stars, picture book]

55. The Peddler of Puddles. Beth Ferry. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. 2025. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, picture book]

56. Thunderland. Maggie Edkins Willis. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 3 stars]

Books reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible

40. The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House. Joanna Davidson Politano. 2025. 400 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, christian fiction, christian romance, historical romance]
41. A Matter of Honor. Laura Frantz. (Audio narration by Amy Scanlon). 2024/2025. 206 pages. [Source: Library] [adult historical fiction, adult historical romance, Christian romance, novella, 4 stars]
42. What to Do With Your Whirly Swirly Thoughts. Jennie Allen. Illustrated by Nadia Gunawan. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, feelings and emotions, mental health, 4 stars]
43. 1-3 John: Fellowship in God's Family (Preaching the Word). David L. Allen. 2013. 435 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, bible commentary]
44. Child's Garden of Bible Stories. Arthur W. Gross. Illustrated by Rod Taenzer. 1948. 146 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, bible story books, children's books, children's classic]
45. The Pursuit of Elena Bradford. Ann H. Gabhart. 2025. 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, Christian fiction, historical romance, 1840s]

Bibles reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible

4. Giant Print Handy Size Reprint NASB 1977 Edition. 2011. AMG Publishers. 2304 pages.

2025 totals

2025 Totals
Books read in 2025	159
Pages read in 2025	36388

January 2025
Books read in January	30
Pages read in January	7020
February 2025
Books read in February	30
Pages read in February	4782
March 2025
Books read in March	34
Pages read in March	8595
April 2025
Books read in April	34
Pages read in April	8293
May 2025
Books read in May	31
Pages read in May	7698

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

54. The Girls in the Picture

54. The Girls in the Picture. Melanie Benjamin. 2018. 448 pages. [Source: Review copy] [5 stars, adult fiction, adult historical fiction, Golden Age Hollywood, silent films]

First sentence: Lately the line between real life and movies has begun to blur.

Premise/plot: The Girls in the Picture is the story of a troubled friendship between Frances Marion (writer, scenarist, director) and Mary Pickford (silent film actress, celebrity, half of a power couple). These two met in the early-early days of silent films, even before films moved to Hollywood, before there was HOLLYWOOD. This one roughly covers the span of 1914 through 1932. Chapters alternate between these two narrators. Readers learn about famous directors, movie studios, actors and actresses, and details about how the movie making business got its start. These are real actors, actresses, directors, movies being mentioned. For example, Frances Marion wrote The Poor Little Rich Girl which was one of Mary Pickford's biggest hits. While it doesn't cover every movie in which either was involved, it does plenty of name dropping.

While there is romance in both their lives--Frances with Fred Thomson (silent cowboy movie star) and Mary Pickford with Douglas Fairbanks (silent film star)--the focus mainly is on the complexity of their decades long friendship.

My thoughts: I have been meaning to read this one for years. When I started deep diving into silent films earlier this year, I knew the time was finally right. My months watching silent films and my experiences watching several documentaries about silent films helped greatly bring this one to life. (For those that are curious--though no one is that curious--Buster Keaton gets one mention as a pall bearer to Fred Thomson.)

I definitely enjoyed this one. I thought it was well researched and definitely worth reading.

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

53. The Peepshow

53. The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place. Kate Summerscale. 2024/2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [true crime, adult nonfiction, 4 stars]

First sentence: In the evening of Tuesday 24 March 1953, Harry Procter, the star crime reporter of the Sunday Pictorial, drove over to a Victorian terrace in Notting Hill in which the bodies of three young women had been discovered.

Premise/plot: Kate Summerscale's newest nonfiction book--true crime focused, of course--is about the killings at Rillington Place. It is a story that unfolds through the perspective of several interested in the case--namely Harry Procter and Fryn Tennyson. Procter is a crime reporter who GETS very involved in his stories. Fryn Tennyson Jesse is a [female] crime writer. This isn't a book solely focused on the criminal case alone. It is a story about HOW that story is conveyed to the public. It is a story that focuses on true crime reporting itself. It is about the pros and cons, the possibilities for sensationalism, the possible ethical violations of this type of reporting. It is also about the crimes--the many, many crimes. But it is also about the public's interest in true crime and how crime can be 'entertainment' for the masses. The book does focus more on these crime reporters THAN on the police investigation or the legal aspects of the case.

My thoughts: Kate Summerscale's books are almost always dark, dark, super dark. Her books often have horrifying details of crime that aren't for the casual reader. For those, however, who do have an interest in true crime, her books are always worth reading. I read this one in two days. It was a compelling read for sure.