As for reading, WHAT A MONTH! Somehow I finished 12 books this month! Albeit a couple were graphic novels, and/or novellas. But even still it was a very successful month. Even the audiobooks the wife and I listen to increased. We're becoming more consistent at listening and coming close to finishing a book a month almost!
First off I read the fifth collection of Catana Comics, Still Smitten. These comics are little slices of relationship love and I don't know how she knows what's going on in our house be they are so relatable for us it's crazy. We love reading these together as it's the perfect combination of heartwarming, funny, and loving.
9/10
The other graphic novel was Eat the Rich by one of my new favorite authors Sarah Gailey. Ah, the pun title master strikes again! They are fantastic at making titles for books that have double meanings, and *SPOILER* have significance to the story. This is a typical person marries into a rich family situation, with bad things to follow. Think the movie Ready or Not.
8/10
I didn't talk much about Sarah's other books, because one of the novella's I read was their fantastic dystopian tale Upright Women Wanted. This Handmaid's Tale meets The Book Of Eli future is a fantastic dystopian western about the power of "librarians." The best news is that the sequel was just announced! This is really a great title and I have another one of Sarah's books sitting next to me now, and a few more on my watchlist. If you like westerns and the fight for equal rights, or are a fan of Cathay Williams this book will be up your alley!
9/10
There were two book club books on my docket this month, Cue the Sun by Emily Nussbaum about the creation and history of Reality TV was the first. This was already on my to be read list and when I saw it was part of the library's book club I had to jump at the chance. I'm trying to read more non-fiction, and that doesn't just mean about traditional things, but about anything really. This was an interesting study of the subject and starts from radio and moves through game shows, older tv shows than you think, to the explosion in the 90's and ends in the 2010's with the election of the felon and his unlikely rise to power. I didn't realize how much reality TV I actually consume and enjoy (it's more than just The Amazing Race)! This helped me to recognize that and the chapter about the incomparable Chuck Barris is worth the price of entry on it's own!
7/10
The Measure by Nikki Erlick was my other book club book. Somehow everyone 22 years old or older receives a box with a string in it. The length of the string ties to the length of their life. Chaos ensued. It was a well told story and felt a little bit like The Dead Zone by Stephen King, and The Box by Richard Matheson. To someone that is familiar with speculative fiction, there's not much to see new here, even with it being well told. It also *SPOILER* wraps up with a cute little bow full of hopeful, if not happy endings, and felt a bit too much. Honestly, this book in a weird way reminds me of Inception. Fresh and new for people who normally don't consume speculative fiction.
6.5/10
I did read another non-fiction book, and it's one of the first self-help books I've ever read, The Practice of Attention: Cultivating Presence in a Distracted World by Cody Cook-Parrott. This was an attempt to learn some strategies for being more present, specifically while with the family. I have a tendency to ADHD out and not be as present as my family deserves. Nothing wrong with trying to improve yourself and getting help while doing that.
7/10
I finally listened to the sequel to Bless Your Heart, Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan. This is a *kinda* cozy horror book about a family of women who are cursed to fight the rising dead and protect their southern town. This takes place right after the end of the first book, and while it was enjoyable to return to the characters, the pacing and plot of this one was a bit off. I just wasn't drawn in as much, but it was enjoyable enough that I'll return to the series if there's a book 3.
6/10
The bittersweetness of reading Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey. This amazing series had another phenomenal edition, but it's getting closer to the end. I cannot recommend this series enough and this book was one of the best. I don't want to spoil anything with these books, but they are legitimately the best fiction books I've ever read on how people actually act and react to things. It feels so real even though its anything but. Just one more book, that I'm currently reading, and one last short story. The only thing good about finishing this book series is that I can then finally watch the show and play the video games!!!!!
9.5/10
The last four books I'm going to combine and write even less about. These were all the books the wife and I listened to. Hermit by S.R. White was an Australian thriller that took place over a day and it felt like it was a month. It was dry and wordy and the concept was great but it just dragged. The Probability of Murder by J.D. Barker and Patrick Logan was a serial killer, maths, figure out the puzzle and secrets book that had some twists, misogynistic cops, but also entertained like the pulps of old. Speaking of pulps, The Lies We Tell by J.D. Barker and Richard Bailey was an utterly ridiculous waking up for a coma and figuring out if you can trust your husband, friends and family tale that spent most of the time with inner monologues and bad dialogue, but we still were amused, even if it was just the outlandish looks we gave each other. Finally was None of this is True by Lisa Jewell. This is a Single White Female/A Simple Favor feeling book about two moms who navigate friendship, death and the truth. It's the best written book of the bunch, but not necessarily the most entertaining.
Hermit 4.5/10
Probability 7.5/10
True 7/10
Lies 6/10
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