September Wrap Up # 2

Since my last update, I've read 5 things.

I'm not a huge thriller reader typically but in the autumn, I sometimes enjoy one. I heard about The Chain by Adrian McKinty and decided to pick it up. The premise is that a woman gets a call that her daughter has been kidnapped. She must do two things in order to ensure her child's safe return; she must pay a ransom, and she must kidnap another child to continue to chain. Similarly to the last thriller I read, this was a bit far-fetched but held me captive. I read the book in just two days. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed but overall, a good read. I gave the book 4 stars.

I then picked up The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa translated by Stephen Snyder. This was a Japanese dystopian that I had been hearing a lot of buzz about. The characters live on an island and things keep disappearing. The people then forget the things and destroy any remnants that exist. There are some people who don't forget and they are taken away by the Memory Police. It was very reminiscent of the book 1984 in which a society is being controlled by a group at the top, but what fell flat for me is the citizens didn't do much to protest or rebel. Overall, disappointing and something that will quickly fade from my memory. I gave it 3 stars.

I only have two more challenges for my Book Riot Read Harder challenge so I decided to use this next book to cross off one more task. I read Under the Painted Sky by Stacey Lee as my historical romance by an author of color. This was a YA western/romance so not in my wheel-house at all but it was fairly enjoyable. A young woman of Chinese descent runs away with a slave in the 1800s to find freedom, safety, and love on the Oregon Trail. The book was fast-paced, with minimal cringe-y scenes. I gave the book 3 stars.

Afterwards, I picked up George Takei's graphic memoir called They Called Us Enemy which documents his time in a Japanese internment camp in the 1940's. This was a period of history I knew little about and felt that the story was informative and interesting. I found it especially poignant when he compared his time being unlawfully detained to the border camps that are currently detaining incoming immigrants. While not the same thing, it's important to learn from our mistakes and I felt this information was crucial to current day events. I gave the book 3.5 stars.

The last book I finished was Almost Love by Louise O'Neill. This book was described as a book about an unhealthy relationship, an obsessive love, and possibly abuse. It definitely wasn't quite how I expected. A woman does get in an unhealthy relationship with a man 20 years her senior but he makes it clear from the start that he just wants no-strings sex. She agrees to that but then keeps wanting more. When he's clear that he has nothing more to offer her, she goes back and forth wanting him but being afraid to ask since she knows what he'll say. She was an extremely unlikable character with very little growth. I didn't connect to her and felt she was whiny and in a situation completely of her own making. I gave the book 2.5 stars.

September Wrap Up #1

So I've done a poor job updating you on my reading but so far I've been sticking pretty close to my TBR.

I'm going to split this into two parts, the first covering the first five books I read this month.

I picked up the graphic memoir Hostage by Guy Delisle. This was his account of being kidnapped in a part of Russia during his time with Doctors Without Borders. The story was captivating but also captured the boredom he endured being trapped in a small room for weeks on end. The art style wasn't my favorite, with only shades of blue and gray but his story was definitely interesting. This was translated from French. I gave it 3 stars.

Then I listened to Before I go to Sleep by S.J. Watson This is a amnesia thriller about a woman who loses her memory every night when she goes to sleep. She starts to embark on writing down her truths and finds she cannot trust her husband. Is he lying to protect her or is he hiding something? This was a bit unbelievable but still a compelling read. I will say that there is not much of a twist but since I do not read many thrillers, I did not need something too shocking. I gave it 2.5 stars.

Eagerly, I picked up my pre-order To be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers. I have read her three previous books and enjoyed them immensely, but unfortunately, I was disappointed by this novella. I think the thing Becky Chambers does best is create really well-rounded characters but because she decided to use the majority of the book with world-building instead, the characters were pretty flat. It is an adventure story of future astronauts going on a habitable world tour to learn more about different planets that can host human life. There were some interesting ideas on how they could adapt to specific challenges but overall, I just wanted more. I gave it 2.5 stars.

After reading some meh books, I decided to listen to a re-read of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. I find listening to a favorite can sometimes jump start me out of a slump. It was phenomenal and I finished it within a few days. I'm hoping to hold on to this last one so I can finish sometime around Christmas.

Finally, my library hold on The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead came in. This is a story based on a real-life reform school in Florida. The story is about a teen boy named Elwood who has a promising future when a simple association with crime gets him sent to this school. The corruption, beatings, and sexual assaults are horrifying and it especially hurts because he doesn't deserve to be there. This left a strong impression and I will search out other books by this author. I gave the book 4 stars.

August NEWTs Wrap Up

I did it! I became a Hogwarts Charms Professor.

I needed 7 NEWTs and I completed 10.

I needed A,E,O in Charms. I needed A, E in Defense against the Dark Arts, and 2 additional A's in other subjects I wished to teach.

Charms 
Acceptable: Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Exceeds Expectation: Monster Volume 2 by Naoki Urasawa
Outstanding: Nomadland by Jessica Bruder

Defense Against the Dark Arts
Acceptable: An Unrestored Woman by Shoba Rao
Exceeds Expectation: Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell

Transfiguration
Acceptable: The Binding by Bridget Collins

Herbology
Acceptable: Becoming by Michelle Obama

Care of Magical Creatures
Acceptable: As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman
Exceeds Expectation: Dawn by Selahattin Demirtas

Arithmancy
Acceptable: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia