July Reading Wrap Up #2

I feel like I'm finally getting out of my reading slump. For the latter half of July, I have read 4 more books.

The first was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. This is my favorite of the series. I think re-reading a favorite book is a good way to break up a slump. I gave it 5 stars.

Then I picked up The One Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed out of His Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. This was a contemporary adventure story originally written in Swedish. The old man decides he wants an alcoholic drink but the nursing home won't allow it. So he decides to run away. The chapters alternate between his adventure and his past which was also quite exciting. It felt a bit like Forrest Gump because he was involved in a number of huge historical events spanning the world and met a number of political leaders. I had heard it was funny but I was disappointed by the lack of humor. Things got absurd, but not really funny. I gave the book 3 stars.

Afterwards, my library let me know the graphic novel Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant was available. This was about a young bisexual woman who traveled to her parents' house for the holidays. She then meets a polyamorous queer woman named Argent at a club and the rest of the story is about navigating a polyamorous relationship. At only 56 pages, it felt too short with very little plot or character development. I'm hoping for a sequel but as it stands, it only garnered 3 stars.

Lastly, I finished listening to What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randal Munroe. This was a great audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton. The author Munroe used to work at NASA, but then he quit and formed his own comic website. This mixed science and math with lots of humor. Additionally, because each chapter is based on a different questions, it was easy to pick up and read just a little bit more. I gave it 4 stars and would highly recommend it. (But make sure to follow along with the actual book because of the comics included)