July Wrap Up Part 1

The slump is getting a little better. I have read 4 books for the first half of July. This isn't really close to my average but it is a slight improvement over the last two months.

First I picked up The Missing of Clairedelune by Christelle Dabos. This is the second book in The Mirror Visitor Quartet. I loved being back in the world, finding out more about the people, the magic, and the gods. There is an overarching mystery of people disappearing which kept me turning the pages. The book ends on a cliffhanger and I'm eagerly waiting for the third book to be translated into English. I gave the book 4 stars.

Then I found out my library hold of Recursion by Blake Crouch had come in. Having previously enjoyed his book Dark Matter (which was a sci-fi thriller) I was eagerly awaiting another one. The book is about a disease called False Memory Syndrome which is happening to some filling their heads with lives they have not lead and people are responding by killing themselves. The story is told from two perspectives, a cop named Barry who responds to a suicide and a scientist named Helena who knows what is causing it. The book was compelling and I read a good chunk of it in one sitting, but over time the story becomes repetitive and dragging. The ending was very unsatisfactory, muddled, and not following the rules the book had set out. I gave it three stars but now thinking about it, I've downgraded it to a 2.5 stars.

I wanted something funny and lighthearted so I picked up The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams which is the sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Martin Freeman. He was a great narrator and there were a few moments where I laughed out loud (like the motivation for Earth's destruction), but for most of it I was bored. I gave the book 2 stars and I won't be continuing on.

Lastly, I picked up The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. This book has been getting a lot of hype and I was in the mood for a page-turner. This book is about a woman named Alicia who murders her husband and then stops speaking. She says nothing in her defense and is remanded to a psychiatric ward. A man named Theo gets a job as her psychotherapist and tries to understand her motivation for killing her husband and determine why she has gone silent. I enjoyed unraveling more about Alicia and I liked the twist at the end. I gave the book 4 stars.

June Wrap up #2

For the second half of June, I completed 3 books.

I read Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington. This is based on a true story set in Australia about three girls who are half white and half Aboriginal who are sent to a settlement to learn to assimilate. They are not allowed to speak in their native language and so they decide to walk all the way back to their hometown. This journey which was over 1,000 miles was harrowing and intriguing but the pacing of this journey was plodding and boring. The author includes lots of historical documents, proving parts of the story but all in all, it didn't capture my attention. The writing was very stilted and very little time was actually focused on the running away. I gave it 2 stars.



Then I decided to pick up a classic gay novel for Pride Month so I chose A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. This story is a day in the life of a middle-age gay professor who is still dealing with grief of losing his partner to an unexpected death. The writing was spectacular, profound, and heart-wrenching. Even little things that most people do without thinking caused a rushing of thoughts of his partner. The ending nearly made me cry. I gave the book 4 stars.

Lastly, I picked up A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos. This was a book I chose to re-read in preparation for picking up the sequel. I enjoyed it nearly as much as I did the first time but noticed more problems than my first read through. I ended up giving it 3.5 stars. (down from my original 4)

July TBR

Although I didn't stick to my TBR hardly at all last month, I still think it helped me focus on reading. I'm setting another TBR that hopefully will be more successful.

Recursion by Blake Crouch
The Missing of Clairedelune by Christelle Dabos
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Almost Love by Louise O'Neil
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams


and two ARCS:
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

June Wrap up #1

Not to sound like a broken record, but the slump continues. Here's what I've read so far in June.

The first book I finished was Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. This is about the company Theranos which claimed to be able to run multiple blood tests on just a prick of the finger. This was not possible and they scammed wealthy people and companies alike. This was a compelling narrative non fiction which is enjoyed. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Then I picked up All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman. I'd heard that this was quite funny but I didn't find it to be so. The premise is that the main character is a regular and he is married to a superhero (the perfectionist). However, the perfectionist's ex hypnotizes her at the wedding to not be able to see her new husband. He spends the rest of the book trying to undo the damage and along the way, we are introduced to other "superheroes." (They are quite odd powers). Ultimately, I found it too thin and found the ending very unrealistic. I gave it 2 stars.

In the evenings, when I didn't feel like picking up a new book, I'd listen to a few chapters of my Harry Potter audiobook. Those added up so that I finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I gave it 5 stars. I always do even though I recognize there are some flaws.

The next book I picked up was Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham. This is the second book in the Veronica Mars series. I read this in anticipation to the reboot that is coming to Hulu in July. This one wasn't nearly as good as the first book. I felt while the mystery was realistic, Veronica did some things that were out-of-character. I gave the book 3 stars.

Realizing I hadn't picked up anything for Pride Month, I decided to check out My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi. This was a manga memoir about a young woman who deals with mental illness and how that affects her relationships. At age 28 she still has yet to be kissed, so she hires a professional to teach her the ropes. I enjoyed reading this and gave it 3 stars.

I'm currently working through 2 more books that I think I'll finish before the month is up.

June TBR (Kind-of)

I'm still diligently working on my two year-long challenges so I had to pick a few books to definitely read. June is Pride Month so I wanted to work in some books that focused on LGBT+ characters or authors but because of my slump, I've selected many for me to choose from.

Challenge Reads:

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera  
All my Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman

Pride Selections:

Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

The Absolutist by John Boyne

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

A Little Life by Hanya Yanigihara

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rivka Brunt

Middlesex by Jefferey Eugenides

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

.

I definitely won't get to all of these but I want to aim high.

End of May Wrap Up

Well, the slump continues. I only read 2 more books in the rest of May.

I picked up Normal People by Sally Rooney after hearing such high praise about it. I had previously tried Rooney's debut novel Conversations with Friends which resulted in a DNF so my hopes weren't too high. The book is a slice-of-life story about two people named Connell and Marianne in high school and college. The story was fine, but I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Most of the conflict was derived from misunderstandings or not speaking their mind. I gave it 3 stars.

Then I picked up Dune by Frank Herbert. I've recently been enjoying science fiction more and decided to pick up this classic because my husband wanted to watch the movie. (I almost always read the book before watching the movie if I can help it.) It has a lot going on. There are warring houses, an inhospitable planet, deadly sandworms, and a precious resource called melange spice. There are prophecies, an order of superhuman women, and a boy savior. I did feel some of the writing was dense (my copy was nearly 800 pages) but I loved the world-building and found the story quite immersive. I gave it 3.5 stars. Then my husband and I watched the 1980's adaptation and found it quite lacking. I'm hoping the 2020 version will be much better.

I knew my slump was coming on so I didn't create a TBR. But now I wonder if I would've read more if I had created one.

Mid-month Wrap Up

I've been delayed in getting up this post but as I'm somewhat in a slump, I've not had that many books to tell you about. You may have noticed I didn't post a May TBR- I am trying to mood-read in an effort to get out of my slump.

I read/listened to Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I would definitely recommend the audiobook as it is a full cast and it helps since the book is entirely interview scripts. This was a story of a young messed up singer who joins a band and together they become a huge sensation. Just as they reach their peak, the band breaks up. These interviews help explore why and from many different perspectives. This band felt real, these characters jumped off the page. I wanted to hear these songs they were writing. I loved this book. I gave it 5 stars!

Next I read A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum. This was a multi-generational book about Middle Eastern Muslim women being stuck in undesirable positions and fighting for a better life. It was heart-breaking, illuminating, and angering. The book was split in two timelines, alternating between them each chapter. Sometimes it was repetitive and I was somewhat displeased with the ending, but overall a good read that I rated 4 stars.

Then I picked up a highly anticipated novel: Women Talking by Miriam Toews. This is based on set of true circumstances about a small sect of Mennonite women in Bolivia who were being drugged and raped by male members of the community. The book is an imagined response from those women. Firstly, this book is just a bunch of women sitting around a barn talking about their three choices: do nothing, fight, or leave. I was hoping they would come to a conclusion fairly quickly and then come up with a plan to enact their choice but unfortunately, that didn't happen. They sit around a talk, interjecting seemingly unrelated dreams or ideas which do not further the conversation. The minutes are taken by a man as the women are illiterate and regrettably, we get way too much of his background and his random thoughts. At the very end, they come to a decision but we don't learn much in terms of what it is like afterwards. This would've been better off as a short story since there is way too much filler. I hate-read the rest and awarded it 1 star.

The last book I finished was You by Caroline Kepnes. This was a creepy thriller about a stalker written in second person. At times, it felt like I was person he was stalking. This was a page-turner and I loved the twists. I would definitely recommend the audiobook and I'm eager to see the Netflix adaptation. Overall, I gave it 4 stars.