Shady characters : Ampersands, interrobangs and other typographical curiosities / Keith Houston
What is it: all things punctuation and then some
Did I like it: yes exclamation mark

Me: Everything I had ever wondered about weird symbols and punctuation is answered in this book.
Friend C2: You wonder about punctuation?
Me: You don’t‽

The foreword was an indication that the author and I wonder about the same things. The difference between us is that he couldn’t let it go and ended up with so much research that it could be bundled into a book, whereas I only had to buy his book to have my questions answered.
I didn’t read this book because I’m a purist where it comes to punctuation, as anyone who is can probably easily tell from my writing: I throw in commas and (semi)colons where it feels right, rather than bother to investigate and make sure they are in the right spot. At best I use the Word grammar check to help me out, but the squiggly lines annoy me and often I’m not sure whether the suggestion is actually right, so I click “ignore this” way too often. My interest in punctuation is more the history of it, who came up with something and why, and what’s with the names of the symbols. This books covers it all and then some.

I learned about this book because articles about “stories hidden in your keyboard” are total clickbait for me. Fresh out of my reading slump, I skipped to the bookshop to get my hands on this read. And boy, does it deliver: the author did a deep dive into the pilcrow, octothorpe, and ampersand. If these names don’t mean anything to you, I’m sure you recognize their symbols: ¶ # &. These and other symbols each get their own chapters. I liked how the author put the symbols to use in the text, creating easy and clear examples. I’ve already memorized the code for entering an interrobang (‽ : a combination of an exclamation mark and a question mark) on a windows computer (alt+8253) and have probably been using it too often.
The one thing I found annoying, but that’s a general pet peeve and not something particular to this book, is when the text of a footnote continues onto the bottom of the next page. It disrupts the reading experience, and I would prefer a footnote that is limited to one page, even if it were to take up more space than normal.
Moving on.
This book taught me so much about typography and editorial work, and I’m sure the book is a standard in those worlds, but it is a dream to read for grammar nerds and curious minds as well; there are plenty of images to illustrate topics, there is an index and a vast list of notes. It’s not boring at all, in fact, it’s rather entertaining; the chapters travel through time, from graffiti in Pompeii to Johannes Guthenberg’s printer to touchtone telephones and the first email. It is worth pointing out that the book focuses on Western writing and publishing.
Bonus points for the wonderful title.

The banned books of Berlin / Daisy Wood
What it is: historical fiction with a solid alliteration title
Did I like it: so-so

I gave this a so-so because this book has two storylines, and one felt weaker than the other.
Let’s dive in.

This book starts off with an author note to provide historical context and then we’re off to Berlin, 1930, where Freya is losing her mother to cancer. Ingrid has been her ally, has made sure Freya gets to continue her studies, and Freya knows that everything will change once her mother is gone: she will be expected to quit school and take over Ingrid’s sewing business and the running of the household, leaving her without time to study and write, which is her biggest passion. All Freya’s fears come true, and to make things worse, the dire economic circumstances in the country mean that people can no longer afford to splurge on new clothes, and business goes down fast. So, she fires her assistant, closes the sewing room, and instead makes it available for rent. A lodger allows for a steady income and gives Freya a chance to explore the world outside of the suffocating house, finding employment as a seamstress and costume designer at a cabaret theatre. Although this is still far from being her dream job, it allows her a level of freedom, and a social circle of openminded free spirits.
Her new friends encourage her creativity, and she starts to write short stories. It is her dream to get published but when the nazi’s order a book ban, she learns how dangerous writing can be.

Then there is the story of Madeleine, who lives in the present in Los Angeles.
Madeleine is a journalist, and she got trolled after a story she wrote was not as well-received as she had hoped. One troll in particular is posting hurtful messages and Madeleine can’t deal with it. Instead of turning off social media and moving on with her life, Madeleine hops on a train and travels home to LA. Home is not quite the calm and relaxing environment though, as her mother and brother are at odds and her grandfather is freaking them out with his death cleaning. Madeleine is a little bit more accepting of this and helps him and even goes along on a trip to a Death Café where they meet Eva and her grandson Daniel. During the cleaning they have found letters and papers belonging to her great-grandmother, but they are in German which neither of them can read. When they learn that both Eva and Daniel can read German, this meeting turns out to be very lucky.

Unfortunately, one of these timelines was much stronger than the other and I wonder if it might have worked better if the weaker one got scrapped altogether as it didn’t seem to add much. The biggest reason the LA setting didn’t work for me, was the Madeleine character. I got rather annoyed by her: she’s paranoid and suspicious about anyone and anything even though she does exactly what she assumes and fears people will do with her; researching them online. This adds hypocritical to the list of traits I disliked her for. And while Madeleine is intrigued by Freya’s story and wants to be like her, she misses Freya’s fierceness and never truly stands out as a headliner. Madeleine’s grandfather and brother are the more interesting characters in the LA storyline, and they drive that storyline and thereby create Madeleine’s story. There also was more growth and development in their characters than in Madeleine’s.
Freya’s story in Berlin is set in a time and place that is as intense as it gets, yet this story still is more driven by character than setting. It takes a lot of a character to achieve that, and Madeleine pales by comparison.
The difference in storylines was not just about the characters, but the Berlin storyline also stood out due to the tension and action built up gradually. The LA storyline has no real tension built up and the big reveal in the ending felt rushed.

I really wanted to like this book, but it ended up never being more than an “it was okay”.

Zero stars, do not recommend / MJ Wassmer
What it is: Lord of the Flies in the dark
Did I like it: thumbs up

By sheer coincidence this is the second book in a row I read that has an emoji on the cover.
By extra coincidence this book also gave me strong vibes of familiarity, of basically being a retelling.

Dan and his girlfriend Mara were enjoying their second day of a holiday in the Bahamas when the sun exploded. Or melted. Nobody knows exactly how it happened but one thing is for sure: the light’s gone out.
The newly opened resort and the island it is on are owned by a billionaire youngster who doesn’t know what to do or how to handle the crowd. So, Lilyanna Collins steps forward. She’s a fitness guru and influencer and a guest staying in Building C.
The resort contains three different buildings, originally named A, B, and C. Building A offers basic facilities with just staircases, rooms with small tv’s and no balconies. B offers elevators, bigger tv’s and balconies. C is all about luxury and if you’re not staying at C you won’t know what it contains because you’re not welcome there.
In record-breaking time Lilyanna turns into a James Bond baddie, running the resort-in-crisis with an iron fist and only caring about getting herself and her husband off the island and back home by whatever means and at whatever cost.
This could have made Dan the James Bond of the resort, if only he hadn’t already been preoccupied by a bit of an existential crisis. He’s been feeling stuck in a job that prevents him from becoming something “more”, and fears he never grew into a “real” man and that he doesn’t deserve someone like Mara in his life. Mara, in the meantime, isn’t aware of any of his feelings and simply loves him for who he is, imperfections and all.
Their room neighbours Alan and Charles suggest they team up, find a way to get home themselves, and have each other’s backs all the way. Dan is hesitant but Alan assures him this conversation is happening all over rooms at the resort and they can’t waste any time. Because the two couples are getting along and Alan seems to be a “real” man with a plan, Dan agrees.
Except the plan keeps changing because the circumstances keep changing and self-doubting Dan learns to make some tough decisions along the way.

The story is a retelling of Lord of the Flies with adults and in the dark, and with hints of Animal Farm thrown in. (It is also very much something else that I won’t mention here as it would spoil everything.)
Seeing as the world is a pretty dark place at the moment and humanity is not exactly treating the planet with the best intentions, it’s kind of scary how this book seems not too futuristically dystopian. Putting that aside, it’s an easy read that contains plenty of snarky-ness to keep it entertaining. Although Dan started out on a four-out-of-five on my annoyance radar, he redeemed himself by showing growth and letting go of his dick-y behaviour. I guess some people need a near-apocalypse to become a decent human being. I started out by liking Mara more than Dan, but eventually I rooted for them as a couple.

All in all it was an entertaining read and if you’re in for some light-hearted dystopian adventure reading, look no further than this book!

Everyone in the group chat dies / L.M. Chilton (2025)
What it is: hip murder mystery
Did I like it: it was okay

This book falls into what I call the “hip murder mystery” category: a story that contains a lot of current cultural references, chat/text messages and slang. There’s a fine line between this all being used right or wrong: too much of any of it risks the book not aging well and or alienating readers. Books that do this well however, are easy and fast to read, and tend to be a lot of fun even if there is a high body count involved.
For me, this book skirted the line and it just made it to the safe side.

The story is about Kirby who has escaped Britain and is not living the dream in Spain where she is cleaning up the pool area of a hotel full of 18-to-30-year-olds in party mode, while she desperately tries to forget the past year, and the fact that at thirty-one she’s too old to join the party. An incoming text message in an old group chat makes everything even worse: Miss me?
It’s not so much about the question but more that it was sent by Esme, who died a year ago.

Da-da-da-dum.

The story keeps switching between last year and now to explain why the message has Kirby in a tailspin.
The Kirby of a year ago is living in a shared flat in Crowhurst back in England. The flatmates call themselves The Deadbeats because they’re all pushing thirty yet cannot afford to live on their own due to their terrible career tracks and the fact that they’re all stuck in a rut.
Then one day Esme arrives at the flat. Esme is a social media content maker and in town “to catch a serial killer”. Esme is very Gen Z and the Millennial Deadbeats are confused by her career and behaviour while Esme in return does not understand the cultural references the Deadbeats throw around.
Esme plays Sherlock on ShowMe (“the edgy version of TikTok”), and she digs into murders and disappearances that have gone cold. (And yes, her followers are called Watsons.)
Crowhurst is a boring and in-decline kind of town and the only thing noteworthy that ever happened there was a killing spree at the local fair in the nineties during which five teenagers were killed. The killer was killed as well though, so the Deadbeats are confused by Esme’s declaration that there is news to discover.

Da-da-da-dum.

This book did what it was supposed to do: it was easy and fast to read and it had a decent mystery. However, about half-way through the fun started to disappear a bit and it became more angsty and just an updated version of I know what you did last summer. By the last quarter it was definitely more serious than (dark) fun and I got a bit annoyed by Kirby.
While I happily kept picking up this book to continue reading I’m afraid I will have forgotten all about it in a few months as it really was just an average breezy read.

I recommend this for people who want something light and breezy with a mystery to solve.
I do not recommend this for people who want something original.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store / James McBride (2023)
What it is: an incredible saga slash murder mystery
Did I like it: so, so much!

This book caused a lot of discussion before I had read a single page, as I had purchased it thinking it would fill the five-word title position of the reading challenge. But counts a symbol as a word? I asked this question to just about everybody I bumped into, friends searched the interweb to find out what “the world” thought, discussions were had and opinions were divided. Then I decided to let the Word word-counter have the final say and that’s why the book was put in the award-winning category instead.

This book won the National Book Award and there are so many blurbs, proclaiming this to be a masterpiece. And I’m happily agreeing with all of them: this book is wonderful, incredible, and highly recommended.

The story starts with human remains that are found in a dried up well in the ‘70s in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. To find out the who, how, and why behind this, the story dives into the history of the Chicken Hill neighbourhood which decades before is the poor part of town where immigrant Jews and African Americans live. This is how we get to the title, because The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store is located there, and it is run by Chona. Chona is married to Moshe, who owns and runs a theatre.
There are a lot of characters that are introduced at different points in the story. And the story jumps through time so you really have to pay attention but that’s not difficult with a captivating story such as this.
The set-up is done wonderfully, and the main story is that of the community coming together to protect Dodo. Dodo is a young boy who became deaf in an exploding stove accident. His deafness puts him on the side-lines of society and because he lost his mother in the accident as well, the people of Chicken Hill embrace Dodo and take care of him. Nobody takes to him as much as Chona, who walks with a limp and knows what it means to be ignored by people. Her husband Moshe is less eager to help out, afraid of retaliations, but he can’t refuse Chona anything and along with his trusted janitor Nate, embraces Dodo as well.
An incident that involves both Chona and Dodo has the “people in charge” decide that Dodo isn’t well and dangerous and should be committed to the local asylum. When the people of Chicken Hill learn about this, they band together and try to keep Dodo safe. The story gets rough and real and it makes you hate characters and cheer on others.

As said, the story contains a lot of characters but the way they and their lives are described down into the finer details, is beautiful. The story is both heart-warming and heart-breaking, it punches you in the gut and it lifts you up. And it makes you say these kinds of things.
There is such a particular flow to this book, it just grabbed me and wouldn’t let go until long after I had finished it. Gosh, I love it when books do that.

Friend P: I’m reading a book, and it’s ah-may-zing and you should read it too, you’ll love it.
Me: We can swap, because the book I’m reading is so beautiful and I know you’ll love it.
Friend P: shows copy of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
Me: pulls copy of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store out of my bag.