Nevermore: Friends Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, How to Kill Your Family, Wesley the Owl

 

Reported by Garry

 

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir by Matthew Perry is a frank, darkly hilarious look at life by one of the stars of the most watched television series of the past 30 years. Born in Massachusetts and raised in Canada and Los Angeles, Matthew Perry was a nationally ranked teenaged tennis star before getting bit by the acting bug, and eventually found himself on the set of Friends – the blockbuster show that would define his acting career. Along the way, Perry became addicted to drugs – an addiction that he speaks about with candor in this memoir. Our reader said that Perry’s book was a real eye-opener, and that she now knows much more about the addiction process than she ever had previously.

 

How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie. Grace is in jail for murder, and she has murdered people, just not the one of which she is accused. Grace discovered that her previously unknown millionaire father rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, and vowed revenge against not only him, but every other member of his family, one by one – which she does. Gleefully. Our reader says that this book is both dark and very funny, and recommends it to anyone who has a dark sense of humor and likes books along the lines of Villanelle (the basis for the Killing Eve TV series) and My Sister, the Serial Killer.

 

Wesley The Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl by Stacey O’Brien is the heart-touching true story of Wesley, a barn owl and the human that raised him. Wesley was born with nerve damage to his wing and would never be able to survive in the wild. He was “adopted” by O’Brien, a trained biologist. The two spent an astonishing 19 years together, time which was documented by O’Brien with copious notes and photographs. Over the years, O’Brien got to know Wesley’s personality (he wouldn’t tolerate lies), his quirks (he also wouldn’t tolerate any of O’Brien’s would-be suitors), and how deeply intelligent and sensitive this bird of prey is.

 

Also mentioned:

 

Murder She Wrote series by Jessica Fletcher (and various authors)

The Good Sister by Gillian McAllister

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Life Travel and the People in Between by Mike Nixon

John Vance Journal

Whale Day: And Other Poems by Billy Collins

The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

Just As I Am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson

Lessons in Chemistry By Bonnie Garmus

My Dream of You by Nuala O’Faolain

Southernmost by Silas House

Tales from the Café: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Eat and Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being by Mary Beth Albright