Will Slater and Julie Keegan are both gorgeous, ambitious, and powerful.  Their wedding, even though it's taking place at a remote island off the Irish coast with only a very select group of guests, will be the event of the season.  As the couple's nearest and dearest gather, however, tension continues to mount between the happy couple, the island's only residents, and the wedding guests.  When it reaches a fever pitch, one person is left dead.  Who hated the victim enough to kill them?  And why?  Stuck in an isolated place with no way to communicate with the outside world, those on the island must figure out which one of them is a murderer—before the killer strikes again.

With its And Then There Were None-ish premise, it's no wonder that The Guest List by Lucy Foley is being compared to Agatha Christie's classic.  The similarities, however, stop at the book's setup.  While Foley's version features a creepy, atmospheric setting, which creates a deliciously suspenseful backdrop, the story itself moves so slowly that the novel never reaches an "unputdownable" stage.  There were a few surprises in the plot but not enough to make the story feel clever or original.  In addition, the characters are almost wholly unlikable—most are immature, entitled snobs who have done terrible things to each other, which made it difficult for me to care what happened to them.  Not surprisingly, then, The Guest List made for a dark, depressing, and not super satisfying read.  I'd heard such good things about this book that I thought I would love it.  Unfortunately, I just ... didn't.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of One By One by Ruth Ware)

Before Pearl Harbor is bombed in 1942, the Takeda family is living in Los Angeles and doing very well for themselves.  Afterward, they start receiving the same distrustful sideways glances as every other Japanese-American in the U.S.  It's not long before suspicion turns into paranoia.  The Takedas, along with many of their friends and neighbors, are rounded up and forced into an internment camp.  With her father recently dead, 14-year-old Lucy and her mother have to fend for themselves in a place that is fraught with danger, corruption, and desperation.  Lucy's mom will do whatever she has to in order to keep herself and her daughter safe—including unspeakable acts that will have long-reaching consequences for them both.

Decades later, a murder in San Francisco leads police to Lucy.  As the investigation heats up, Lucy tells the harrowing, heartbreaking story of what really happened in Manzanar to her own daughter in an effort to clear her name and unburden her soul.

Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield is a thought-provoking story set during a shameful period of America's past.  I thought it would be more of a mystery than a historical drama—it's both, but with a heavier emphasis on the latter.  Littlefield's descriptions of life inside Manzanar are heartbreaking and barely believable, although they're based on indignities suffered in real life by real Americans.  Obviously, a story set in an internment camp during World War II is not going to be a happy one.  Garden of Stones is, not surprisingly, sad and depressing, a tale full of despairing people struggling through awful situations.  It is, however, also interesting and compelling.  The middle sags and the ending leaves some annoying loose ends, so overall, I didn't love this book.  It held my interest, though, and I liked it well enough to finish the novel and think about it quite a bit afterward.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other novels about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, such as The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner, Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill, Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban, Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman, and Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman)

Not gonna lie, I'm not super enthusiastic about today's topic of Top Ten Long Book Titles.  Maybe it's because I read mostly mystery/thrillers, which usually have short, snappy titles like The Mist, Killing Time, or Blood Moon.  Longer titles seem to be more the norm for rom-coms, contemporary fiction, and children's books.  To see if I'm right about this, I decided to take a look at the books I've read so far this year.  How long is the average title?  Does title length really vary by genre?  How many words is the longest title I've read this year?

Before we get to that, though, I want to give a quick shout-out to Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.  Give our lovely host some love, won't you?  You can learn all about Top Ten Tuesday on her blog.

Okay, here we go with my ultra scientific study of title length.  I've read 130 books so far this year.  Here's how their titles break down:

ONE WORD:  6

TWO WORDS:  28

THREE WORDS:  39

FOUR WORDS:  22

FIVE WORDS:  21

SIX WORDS:  9

SEVEN WORDS:  2

EIGHT WORDS:  2 

LONGEST TITLE WINNERS:  The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (horror) and The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead (contemporary MG) 

I appear to prefer three-word titles.  Interestingly, titles of this length appear in every genre I've read this year—mystery, memoir, rom-coms, historical fiction, YA, MG, etc.  Three-word titles do seem to be trendy these days.  I've especially noticed a string of them with this format:  The ______'s ______, like The Lieutenant's Daughter, The Embalmer's Apprentice, The Killer's Niece, etc.  What titular trends have you noticed lately?

Which super long titles have you discovered?  Which are your favorite?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will happily return the favor on your blog. 

If you've ever attended a Weight Watchers (now known only as WW) meeting, you understand the feeling of support and camaraderie that comes with having a group of like-minded peers behind you as you try to lose weight.  It's powerful.  Long before health experts understood the importance of weight loss support groups, there was Jean Nidetch.  A Brooklyn housewife who weighed more than she wanted to, Jean searched for a program that could help her slim down.  When a city-sponsored nutrition course helped her lose 70 lbs, her friends begged her to teach them how to achieve the same results.  In 1961, she started gathering these women in her home for sessions of instruction, discussion, and support. Weight Watchers—a company that would sell for $17 million in 1978—was born.

Like other WW attendees, I had heard the basic story of Jean's home-grown idea that turned into a formidable enterprise.  I knew little else about her, however, until I picked up This is Big by Marisa Meltzer.  Having struggled with her weight since childhood, the New York City journalist decided to give Weight Watchers a try.  Not only did she investigate the program, but she also started researching the life of its founder.  What results is a deeply personal but very readable account of Meltzer's struggles with her own weight, her experience as a Weight Watchers member, and a balanced recounting of Jean's life and how it changed in unexpected ways as her company became increasingly popular and profitable.  The book is funny, insightful, honest, and relatable.  As one who, like Meltzer, is often guilty of the "crime of appetite" (7), I devoured This is Big in almost one sitting.  Although it deals with weighty issues, the book really is that engaging.  I came out of it feeling understood and with a deeper respect for Jean Nidetch.  Despite a fanaticism that caused problems in her personal life, her entrepreneurship led to the development of a revolutionary company that was changing lives in the 60s and is still doing so today.  No matter what you may think of counting points, weight loss programs, and the whole dieting industry, you can't read This is Big without being a little bit in awe of what Jean Nidetch accomplished with her ingenuity, exuberance, and her deep desire to help other people.  Her story really is rather remarkable.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other weight loss memoirs, although I've never read another specifically about Weight Watchers)