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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post #356

On The Blog Recently

• Best Books Of 2023
• 2023 Reading Statistics
• Best January - June 2024 Book Releases
• Best January - June 2024 Young Adult Book Releases
• I Read 200+ "Best Books Of 2023" Lists

In My Reading Life

Have you ever finished a book and were disappointed, but y0u're not sure if it's the book's fault or your own fault? That's me with A Sisterhood Of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg. It's not what I expected, but maybe that's on me? I didn't do enough research before buying it.

A Sisterhood Of Secret Ambitions is alternate history set in the 1920s. It's about a secret society of women who infiltrate American politics by seducing powerful men and influencing their political agendas. At this point in (alternate) history, women don't have any political power. The only way they can make their voices heard is by getting men to speak for them.

The secret society identifies an eighteen-year-old man who may become a future presidential candidate. The main character and her friends are sent to insert themselves into his life.

I adore this premise. There's so much potential for backstabbing and manipulation and messy emotions. I mean, imagine being that eighteen-year-old future politician. Imagine discovering that your friendships and romance are based on lies. That would be unsettling! It would be even worse to discover that your mother contacted a secret society to direct your entire adult life.

However, that's not what the book is about. That's what I thought it would be about. The actual book is kind of bland. The writing is clunky. The pacing is a disaster. There's no character development whatsoever. The author really beats you over the head with the "women are important" moral.

In reality, the main character doesn't want to be in the secret society. She's not interested in being a wife. She doesn't care about politician boy's feelings. It's a story about a teenage girl ignoring a secret society and becoming a writer. She learns to be the #GirlBoss of her own life. That's great, but I've read this story before. I was hoping for something new.

I understand that the author is subverting tropes. She doesn't want to write about bitchy women squabbling over a powerful man. But, the story didn't have to be that. The secret society is intricate and fascinating. I feel like the author threw away a bunch of cool world-building to give us a stereotypical historical fiction plot.

This book isn't what I wanted it to be. That's probably my fault and not the book's. My expectations were very, very wrong.

Then I read a massive book. It was the 976-page The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett. This is one of the biggest books I've ever conquered. Looking at it gave me chest pains because I knew it was a 976-page brick about building a cathedral. Yes, building a cathedral. How tedious can you get? It sounds miserable! I fully expected to read a few hundred pages and then quietly jam the book into the library return slot. (Can it even fit in the slot? Would it cause a minor earthquake when it hit the floor?)

But. Um. I read the whole book. All 976 pages. And I accidentally loved it? Seriously. This beast has consumed my life for the past twenty-one days. I couldn't leave it alone. I finished it yesterday and already miss lugging it around like a morbidly obese house cat. What am I going to do with myself now that it's over? (Well, there are sequels, but one step at a time.)

It's a book about building a cathedral in the Middle Ages. I promise it doesn't suck! Actually, it's a lot like A Game of Thrones without dragons and zombies. It starts with a mason searching for a job and then keeps sprawling outward until it's about a whole town. It would probably make an excellent Netflix miniseries. There are a ton of characters, but I never got confused because they're developed beautifully. They have distinctive personalities and goals. I was never mad about switching perspectives because I was invested in this town. I wanted to be in everybody's business.

For a giant book, the pacing moves quickly, and there's a new plot twist every few chapters. I can tell that the author was originally a thriller writer. Nothing goes right for these characters.

Actually, so much goes wrong that I started to wonder why they were making this cathedral at all. The construction project (accidentally) kills tons of people and causes decades of anger and financial trouble. Does the town really need a massive stone cathedral? Would God be mad if they just . . . did church in a different building? My town has a billion churches, and one of them used to be a car dealership. I don't think God is mad about recycling a building because The Holy Church Of Burt Chrysler Automotive hasn't collapsed on anybody yet.

Even though I was obsessed with this novel for twenty-one days, it does have issues. There's no reason for it to be 976 pages. It gets repetitive at times. Also, the plot is extremely violent, especially toward women. The ugly women are evil, and no one wants them. The beautiful women are good and get raped a lot. The men are like, "Whelp, my wife died of plague three hours ago. I guess I better smash that hot wench I spotted in the bathing pond." Everybody needs to chill, including the author. I don't want any more descriptions of Aliena's luxurious pubic hair. I've had enough. Thank you very much.

Am I going to read the sequel? I don't know. I want to. I just looked it up, and it's 1,237 pages. Goodreads neglected to say how many of those pages are descriptions of pubic hair. Someone needs to take the author's laptop away. He's written too much already.

Five stars!

In The Rest Of My Life

I don't know what to write here! I spent last week asleep because I have a not-COVID respiratory disease. I mostly flopped around in my bed and felt sorry for myself.

Five things that made me happy last week:

1. Finishing The Pillars Of The Earth. I'm a slow reader, so getting through that many pages is an accomplishment. I put a lot of hours into it.
2. Speaking of things that take forever, thanks to everybody who looked at my I Read 200+ "Best Books Of 2023" Lists post.
3. My mom got me Doritos. I haven't had those in a long time because I'm on a perpetual diet. Doritos are one of my true loves.
4. I watched the NHL All-Star Game. That's a fun time, even though Team MacKinnon was the first team eliminated from the tournament. I should just not pick favorites. My favorites always lose.
5. I attempted to go for a walk because I was bored of being stuck in the house. I looked like a plague victim, coughing and stumbling down the street. I'm pretty sure I scared a construction worker. He looked ready to hit me with his shovel.

Be Gone, Plague Demon

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Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!