Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Winter 2021 To-Read List

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish tag hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Listen. I can't be the only one staring down the barrel of a year reaching its end left feeling slightly... left behind. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm fully prepared to greet 2022 as a new friend, but in a very real sense, it's never been easy for me getting through the end of a year. Too much room for self reflection. 

Which is probably why I liked this week's Top Ten Tuesday so much! Instead of focusing in on the numerous end-of-the-year lists I've been seeing floating around friends' blogs and bookstagrams lately, this topic serves as a reminder that you're not running out of time to chalk up a few more reads; in fact, you're far from it. Sure, the year's almost over. But soon enough, you'll have a fresh start, a fresh perspective, and a fat stack of books remaining from the ones you didn't manage to make it through in 2021.

How lucky are we?

Yes, there are still a few more weeks left. Let's make them good ones, shall we? And if we can't, then at least let's fill them up with as many cozy corners, animal companions, and mugs of hot chocolate as we can. Oh, and books.

BC : Before Christmas

1. Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, from the Dear America series, Kathryn Lasky

If you've been reading this blog for years (Hi, Dad), then this title is a familiar candidate for you. If you have no idea of who I am as a person, then this probably seems like an odd choice for a 28-year-old's seasonal fixation. The short story is this: I've read this Dear America installment every single December, advent-calendar-style, since I was a kid. It's partially to blame for my love of the 1930s as a time period, and I'll always adore the woefully outdated original cover I own, because I've always kind of thought the girl on it looks like it could have easily been a member of my mom's side of the family. And if that's not enough of an explanation for you, then you should know that Lasky is also responsible for the Ga'Hoole books, another youthful obsession of mine. 

2. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

There will never be a Dickens title I love more than this one, and that's coming from someone with an enormous soft spot for Great Expectations. But to be clear: whenever anyone asks me some kind of oversimplified question like "What are some of your favorite books?" this one ALWAYS makes the list. I'm a sucker for a good moral tale, Christmastime, and anything that gives me an excuse to watch a great Muppet movie. 

3. All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire (Love at Stake #5), Kerrelyn Sparks

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, I'm running out of time to close out the dockets on my 2021 Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge... and wouldn't you know it? This title is a perfect contender for one of the end of year slots. I've still got two other books - and a whole lot of reviewing - to do, in order to dispense with the rest, but this is the one that has earned its place in this line up... partially because I'm just so excited about its terrible font and chapter header illustrations. The rest of the books, on the other hand... I'm sure I'll get around to them before January. 

Soon-ish : Either the End of the Year, or the Beginning of the Next One

4. A Murder is Announced, Agatha Christie

Thanks to a couple Anglophile best friends back in middle school, there is little as comforting and nostalgic for my brain as sinking into an Agatha Christie mystery. After taking it a little easier as an adult, I'm finally beginning to find my way back into the backlog, and picking up as many sweet little copies as I can find at random thrift stores and secondhand shops. My slim vintage copy of this one might be fragile, but so far, the words have been holding up, and I can't wait to slip further between the covers for a good, cozy read. 

5. Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner

I bought this in support of one of my favorite independent bookstores this summer, and quickly found myself surrendering it to my mother only days later because she had committed the cardinal sin of only having brought ONE book on a week-long vacation. My impulses served as correct, as she was not only immediately hooked, but handed it back to me with the solemn declaration that "You are going to cry. So hard." I've been looking forward to it ever since!

6. An Everlasting Meal, Tamar Adler

An absolute favorite, and masterclass of the food writing genre. I also happened to only have read it for the first time two Decembers ago, back in 2019, and I have been borderline evangelical about it ever since. Most likely as a result of a youthful obsession with M. F. K. Fisher - one that, as an adult, I have been trying my damnedest to pass along to my fledgling college kitchen lurker baby brother - this sustainability and instinct-guided entry into the world of home cooking is definitely going to be worth the reread. 

7. The Blacktongue Thief, Christopher Beuhlman

Speaking of my bro, this Fantasy novel served as an easy-choice birthday gift this past August, one that was immediately validated by the fact that he finished it and passed it back along to me within the space of a week. I've been leaning towards a good Fantasy novel for a while, but didn't feel like reaching for an old favorite, so I feel like this one will make for a good craving crusher during the last lazy weeks of the year. 

8. Trick Mirror, Jia Tolentino

Here's the thing: I tried my absolute best to give this book my full attention during a recent flight down to California, and it's a total testament to its strengths in voice and subject matter that it was able to distract me, even for a matter of minutes, from the soul-crushing anxiety and borderline tangible doom that I felt while traveling 1. alone, 2. on an airplane, 3. during a pandemic, and oh, right, 4. for the first time since, I kid you not, Election Night 2016, when I was on a five-hour plane trip back from Florida while voting results were being counted. I only made it 30 pages in to this collection of essays, but those were precious moments I wasn't spending staring out the window and considering whether or not I had told my family I loved them enough times before I left Seattle. Might as well give it another shot, now that I'm safely on the ground. 

9. The Realms of the Gods (The Immortals / Daine #4), Tamora Pierce

I started this wonderful series back during my siblings' Spring Break of this year, and it would make zero sense not to finish the tetralogy out before we hit the new one. I'm actually halfway through this thing, but have been postponing picking it up again, for fear of not being able to enjoy it enough. I mean, do I even deserve to read a good book, if I'm not appreciating it properly??

10. Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare

I've gone back and forth a couple of times, trying to decide which of the many titles stacked on my bedside table deserves this final spot. Should it be Circe, by Madeline Miller, whose high-floating words and moody subject matter just don't fit my reading mood at the moment? Or should it be The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton, who I have attempted to start reading what is probably a stingy estimation of four or five times so far, but have never been able to get into? In the end, I'm forced to consider a conversation I recently had with my brother: Shakespeare used to be one of my perennial favorites, something I had an encyclopedic knowledge of and could quote from extensively. Now I can barely get through them, unless accompanied by an audiobook. #pastenglishmajorproblems. It would be nice to get back to basics in the new year. 

What's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

I Beat NaNoWriMo 2021!

Well, I did it again: I beat my writing challenge for National Novel Writing Month 2021!

Did I beat it recently? Well, no: I beat it exactly a week ago, back on November 25th, at like 12:34 in the morning. You see, my annual goal is getting it all wrapped up by Thanksgiving, and after pulling out 9,281 words in a 24 hour period, I actually did the damn thing, which - up until about a week previous to that point - I wasn't even sure was going to happen at all. 

So perhaps you can imagine why I've been putting off writing about it here so strongly. I had a convenient excuse or two... there's Thanksgiving with the family to get through, of course, and then setting up the house for Christmas in the two days following, but subsequent to those points, there was a lot less in my favor to argue for continuing to not acknowledge my tremendous victory.

Then again, that's almost 10K words - a good fifth of the overall challenge - that I wrote in one day. In just the drafting for this blogpost alone, I've misspelled the word "novel" twice already. I had to let the word gardens of my mind flower and regrow again before I made another pass over them with the absolute garbage hacking lawn mower I call my personal writing habits. 

In total, this is my seventh year participating in NaNo and winning, which honestly feels pretty damn good... and only continues to set up for the inevitable year when I am unable to meet the challenge, and all of the self-worth I've stacked on the flimsy collapsible table of "I can write a lot in a short amount of time" will someday fall down. 

But yes, I am the champion, and all that. 

For now. 

Let's continue to just ignore the fact that I'm still 11 books behind on this year's already-reduced Goodreads goal, shall we?

Anyways, here's some of the important stuff that came to mind while writing this year:

1. I acknowledge I left you on a bit of a cliff-hanger in my last blog entry, so you should know, that I ended up picking up "Ferdy Fernsby" again - my previous year's story concept, for which I wrote a 50K word outline - for pretty good reasons. You could argue that it was the right choice because it provided the strongest foundation for building a compelling story, you could say that it was the one that came with the most peer expectation driving it, you might have chosen it yourself based sheerly on the principle that it's a gem of a concept and deserved a little extra attention. 

All told the reason I chose to pick it up again was this: I reread approximately two pages of the outline, and was immediately overwhelmed by a feeling of abandonment so strong that I knew immediately that revisiting this world that I had created was of the utmost priority. I didn't want to leave my characters sitting all alone and unsupervised in some incomplete Word document.

Or, as I phrased it to my younger brother: 

2. I wrote the actual novel itself... through Chapter Three. 

This should only be half of a surprise: because my last year's Challenge was spent constructing an insanely detailed outline, it should have been easy enough to guide myself through writing elements like world-building details and character dialogue, which, if we're all being honest here, are definitely the most fun parts of writing fiction. However, things didn't shake out that way... because I kept finding myself adding more and more detail. And characters. And set pieces. And backstory. 

I may have tapped out at 51,590 words, but that's only because each of my Chapters that far had qualified practically as it's own short story, and thanks to a 25K word Chapter One, maybe even a novella. 

3. As it turns out, writing a detailed 50,000 word outline is NOT going to give you everything you need to know about the characters who fill out of the population of a whole kingdom-state. And while I have previously lauded my own ability to organically generate compelling character names - which, to again toot my own horn, I am - I certainly had a devil of a time coming up with actual people to occupy the world, deciding whether they were important enough to even get a name, and then dealing with being surprised when they inevitably come back 'round into the narrative again later. 

Honestly, NaNo can be a bit of a mind-killer when you get too bogged down with the fact that upon revising, some of those hard-won words are going to have to be taken out. It can really get into your head, and affect the flow in which you keep writing... which doesn't exactly make the Challenge easier, either. 

The frustrating part about being a writer, is that everything - both the good and the bad - is your own fault. Thanks, brain! 

Am I glad I did it? Obviously. I always am. But will I forever be perennially frustrated when the process is not as easy, charming, or enjoyable as I expect it to be? Yeah. NaNoWriMo 2021, you really sent me for a loop.

But on the flip side, you also make me want to write again on my own terms, when I'm not staring down the barrel of having to make up for a 13K word deficit when I'm only 10 days into the challenge. So maybe deconstructing negative self-guided behaviors is a win? 

Did you take part in NaNo this year? How did things go? Did any of this stream-of-consciousness-while-on-cold-medication blogpost make sense? Let me know, in the comments below!

PrepTober: Why You Should Do NaNoWriMo, and Why I'm Panicking

NaNoWriMo has now becoming a part of my regularly scheduled November programming. It's as natural to me as watching the Macy's Parade Thanksgiving morning, or pretending not to start paying attention to the Hallmark Channel's holiday lineup starting around the 15th. In fact, if you've been hanging out around these parts, you've probably seen me taking part before!

2014 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020

But this year has been different for me. It's not your normal PrepTober... instead, I have been living in PanicTober.

On one hand, I've been pretty busy, so it's normal that I'd get a little bogged down and distracted. I'm working on a couple different projects that keep me mentally preoccupied, and that's on top of my normal pumpkin-and-apple-and-butternut-squash October cooking marathon. I also turned 28 years old recently, so that took up a good week of time, strictly applied to celebrating and making a custom round of Jeopardy! in the hopes of stumping my family members.

(Favorite question / answer, tucked into the "Literary Before and After" category: "Demi, Wells, and Grocery Store Joe make their way through the early scenes of Genesis, hoping to score roses in the midst of the Angelic War and Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden."

"What is Bachelor in Paradise Lost?" of course.)

Still, I've never really encountered the feelings I've been feeling before: instead of the typical skeptical anticipation, or nervous excitement, or even just general readiness to get started, I've been kind of stuck in an apathy corner. I perused more than just a few past ideas and plot bunnies I've been squirreling away for the past year or so, and yet, nothing was sparking joy.

So for the past week or so, I've given it a lot of private reflection. And when that inevitably failed, I decided to make a half-hour's worth of a PowerPoint discussion to present to both my Dad - also a writer - and my younger brother, the best little rubber ducky I've ever met.

The results were mixed.

Which, of course, didn't help overly much.

It's not so much a Writer's Block, as a Writer's Balk: I have ideas - plenty of them! - it's just that I'm having trouble committing to one in particular. And, you know, the whole concept of a nonstop month of writing thing. Essentially, what I'm facing is not a Crisis of Content, but a Crisis of Confidence... while I have an amplitude of ideas, the thing that's bogging me down, is that I don't have an abundance of faith that any of them in particular are going to be able to carry me through.

So, instead of digging myself deeper into a Panic Hole about it, I decided to tell you a couple of reasons I think you should be a part of NaNoWriMo instead, too.

1. It's a great time to get into a big project.

Chances are, you've thought about writing a book. Let's be real: you're reading a very obscure and random blog, specifically written about books, in your downtime, so chances are, you're a creative type with more than a little free time and interest in the written word. There is literally no better time to take the leap and do something impressive, if only based solely on the fact that you know there are thousands of people the whole world 'round doing the exact same thing.

Also, don't know if you've noticed, but we're still in a pandemic. America could do with more people holing up inside next to their computer.

2. You'll definitely see your writing and ideas develop across the month.

One of my favorite things about this particular developed patch of the Internet, is that because I have been writing for what is now ELEVEN years, that when I go back to early days and start to read, you can seriously chart the shift in my written voice. I've grow a lot over the past decade, and it's reflected in my syntax and diction, as well as the content I consume. NaNoWriMo is kind of like that: reading back your finished challenge, from start to finish, shows exactly how your skills changed over time, even if said time was only a month.

3. You don't have to follow the rules: there are plenty of non-traditional NaNo plans to follow, too.

So far, I've written novels, sure, but also short stories, non-fiction, and an adaptation of previously written work. I know friends who have used it as the basis for self-published material (my Dad), and those who have manuscripts that no one either than themselves have ever read (Me). No one says you have to go into things with the explicit intent of writing a novel that will someday get published. Do your own thing! 

4. It helps form a habit. (Be careful what kind of habit that is.)

Does it prompt you to start writing every day? Absolutely. After maybe, say, six completed challenges, does it kind of teach you to write every single day for about a month and do so blindly and follow it like a crazy person until you hit 50K, and then tuck it into a box in your mind and then not write fiction for any other day of the year, so that while you're in the habit for the month of November, the rest of the year is a wash?

Maybe.

5. It's a great fun fact to share at parties.

Who do you know who's written a book, and in a month, no less? (Well, because you're here, reading this blogpost... me. But that's beside the point.) It's a fun, cool thing to brag about. Not a lot of people do this sort of thing. Besides, if you don't, that idea that's been kicking around in your head for years is never gonna get written. If not you, who? And if not now, when?

If you end up taking part, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe your motivation can help spur on some of mine? And just in case you're wondering what my project ends up being - or if I even decide to end up writing at all - guess you're going to have to watch until the first week of November to find out. 

In the meantime, I'll be going over my PowerPoint again.

Are you taking part in NaNo this November? Got any ideas for how to motivate myself towards actually committing? Let me know, in the comments below!

Big Box of Paranormal Romance, Part Three: A Summer Fling with Psychics, Werewolves, and a lot of Uncomfortable Staring

This summer, I did a lot of things. Like going camping for four weekends throughout the season - something you heard a lot about here - and spending a week and a half at the end of August in Central Oregon, in one of my favorite places in the whole world (something you did not hear about even a little bit). My family made a triumphant return visit to Ren Faire after not being able to attend through the pandemic, I said goodbye to my sister and her longtime girlfriend as they moved to California, and I packed my little brother off and away to his sophomore year of college... and that was all just in August, too. 

I orchestrated what ended up being a complete college-style course, full of weekly fifty-plus slide Powerpoint decks, grocery lists, and daily kitchen exercises, across ten full weeks, in order to teach my apartment-headed brother how to cook for the first time on his own. 

I bought, approximately, a hundred books (Really more like twenty-something, but after a certain threshold, it doesn't really matter. Besides, fifteen of those - eleven from thrift stores, four from Barnes and Noble - were bought over the course of one day, for my bloggoversary, so all told, it was a lot). 

I failed miserably at the Seattle Public Library Book Bingo for the second year in a row (Perhaps I should have spent more time reading books, and less time buying more of them?). 

But also importantly, I read - or at least tried to read - five more novels from my Big Box o' Paranormal Romance. And let me tell you, that was no short order either. That's exactly what I want to tell you about today.

PROLOGUE  //  PART ONE  //  PART TWO

Strap in, people. This is going to be a bumpy ride. 

june

#7. Out of Mind (Court of Angels #2), Stella Cameron

Two stars.

Summary: The products of two of the most powerful psychic families in New Orleans, Willow and Benedict broke up years ago, for reasons Ben never quite understood. He dedicated his time to developing his gifts and and the family businesses alongside his siblings, while Willow has spent the last few years pretending he, her powers, and the legacies of their families don't exist at all, instead choosing to start a boutique concierge service that caters to Nola's elite. However, when her wealthy clients make a habit of turning up dead, she is forced to contend with the undercover world she's done her best to remove herself from... and finding a way to stop the evil that's coming to claim her, might just mean seeking haven in Ben. But is it better to hold him at arm's length, and stay safe, or embrace the magic, and risk getting hurt again? 

Quote:

"She was no fool, and she'd spent enough time around families like theirs to know she'd been snaffled, and who she'd been snaffled by." 

All in all, I'll say that it was different. Unique, kooky, surprising. And at no point was anyone ever referred to in a racially / sexist / etc.- charged, derogatory manner (which I cannot say for other Paranormal Romance I've read this year). And while there are some depictions of personal assault (something which served absolutely zero narrative purpose, and was kind of brushed off), it was substantially less than what else I've seen elsewhere, as well. So in comparison to some of the other stuff I've been reading recently, it wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, it also wasn't too good. 

There were some fun things to comment on. There were loads of bizarre character names - like Bucky Fist, Dr. Blades, and Rock U. - and the main baddies can can be best summarized as "Evil Psychic Animorphs," changing into various alien-ified magical beings that look like a bearded vulture, giant lobster, and a bat. 

However, I didn't have that good of a time. The plot was both linear, and bizarrely paced. Only the sheerest scrap of psuedo-plot held the two main characters apart from each other (and was reframed about fifty pages from the end to lend sympathy towards a completely separate character, who would go on to be another protagonist later on in the continued series). As the sequel itself in line in said series, it felt like a constant battle to parse out who characters were, let alone how they could possibly be connected to each other. The resolution felt expected and boring, which is really saying something, because it came at the tail-end of a masquerade-themed wake for a wealthy murder victim, as well as a three-way battle with a bunch of psy-powered shapeshifters.

And let's be real, I didn't like the characters. I didn't like the plot. If anything, one of the only things I liked was the writing style, bizarrely piecemeal and abstract and STRANGE. Lots of choices were made in this book, but at the very least, at least those choices didn't include some of the other severely questionable behavior I've seen in other Paranormal Romance.

july

#8. Dangerous Tides (Drake Sisters #4), Christine Feehan

Four stars.

Summary: Libby Drake is a little different from her sisters: the goody-two-shoes of the family, she opted for a life dedicated to the medical field and helping support others, while they travel the world, work in dangerous fields, and live large. On the other hand, they all share one important trait: they are a coven of seven witch sisters, tasked with protecting each other and their home of Sea Haven. For Libby, stepping out of the careful path she's carved for herself is a lot easier said than done... until an impulsive decision to help revive billionaire Ty Derrick, near death after a search-and-rescue accident, brings her too close for comfort under his careful inspection. For Ty, magic is something best left to fairy tales, and it's much more likely that Libby and her sisters are delusional at best, and charlatans at worst. But if accepting the otherworldly will let him get close enough to Libby to win her heart, a little adventure may be worth the prize... especially with evil stalking them both, and getting closer every day. 

Quote:

"'I know what Harry and Sam said upset you, Ty,' Libby said. 'I have no interest in your money.'"

'That doesn't make me as happy as you think it would. If you were interested in money, I'd have something to offer you.'" 

This book wasn't necessarily top-tier literature, but you know what it was? Fun. Zany. Unique. Compelling. Chock full of characters that made you want to just know what their DEAL was... even though the main characters just kind of made you want to smack them around a little bit. 

What I'm saying is, that this is a romance between a human who is both the personification of The Giving Tree, and one in a line of 7 accomplished, loving witch sisters, as well as a man who can best be described as "Sexy Billionaire Sheldon Cooper," who makes up for his numerous personality defects by being both 1. a rescue helicopter volunteer for the forestry service, and 2. a scientist trying to find a cure for leukemia. That's right, ladies: he's basically a billionaire, firefighter and a doctor, rolled up into one infuriatingly obtuse, know-it-all package. He's also someone who repeatedly told the main character to her face that her family was shady as hell, and that no one would have ever believed them if they weren't beautiful. What a winner! 

But I loved it. And not only is it a 4-star romance, in my eyes, but it's also the second best out of the entire Big Box of 20 Paranormal Romance novels I've been reading through this year. 

The style of writing I found to be really endearing, especially when it came to dialogue, because of how completely open and without pretense all of the main characters were. How refreshing is it to read a Romance where the issue is NOT a lack of communication, but instead, in finding an avenue for two people to effectively communicate without wanting to psychoanalyze each other? Or, as the hero remarks multiple times, they should just hook up all of the witches' brains to EKG machines, and map how their brains function! (Again, a real catch, this one.)

My only qualms have to be about this extended conflict in figuring out who the big "malevolent force" is - as it's obvious from literal, LITERAL jump - and... honestly, that's it. Pacing was solid, tension crackled, stakes were high, and the action was well-plotted. Ooh! I did want to spend more time with the fiancés of the other sisters, which included a former foreign agent, and the sisters themselves, who included the likes of a mystery author and an international pop singer.... then again, maybe that's a good reason to pick up the other books in the series, right? 

(Notable: this is not an idea I've floated for literally any other Romance I've read from the box so far.)

#9. Master of Wolves (Mageverse #3), Angela Knight 

DNF on 128 out of 310.

Summary: Jim London still can't believe his best friend, Tony, is dead. In fact, he's so sure that foul play was what ended the fellow werewolf's life, that he goes undercover in the very police force he believes responsible... but it's not like you can fake cop credentials that easily. Instead, he uses his shifting powers to become the newest recruited member of the K-9 unit, so he can stay out of suspicion, while getting an on-the-ground eye at what, exactly, this suspicious precinct is really up to. What he wasn't accounting for was a distraction in the form of his handler, Faith, a woman hell-bent on proving herself in man's profession after a bad breakup at her former post. And what neither the very human Faith and werewolf Jim were counting on at all, was a secret society of vampire mages, planning on using this small Louisiana town to stage a coup. What will happen when Faith finds herself on the receiving end of a whole lot of magical nonsense? And what does King Arthur and Merlin have to do with any of it? 

Quote:

"For reasons no one clearly understood, when a werewolf shifted form, his clothes shifted, too. Once he resumed being human, the original clothing came back, along with whatever he happened to have in his pockets - car keys, cell phones, even guns. It was one of those direkind mysteries Tony Shay used to call PFM -- Pure Fucking Magic." 

So far, I've been having good luck with romances from this Box that take the opportunity to get a little crazy. After all, both Dream Eyes and Dangerous Tides succeeded, for me, when they swung for the fences, with large casts of characters, big reveals, and secret societies of magic users... all told, it seems like an easy-enough blueprint to follow, if you're willing to get a little wild. 

Unless, unfortunately, you're Master of Wolves, what HAD been one of my most-anticipated reads of this challenge - Number One, actually! - picked out of the box when I first received it. In that case, you get a little too crazy. 

I think the problems I had with the novel can be pretty summed up into two categories. One, I made sure to consider carefully, as it is a product of my current contemporary perspective in 2021, and was weighed on actions and dialogue pulled from only textual evidence. The second one barely required any textual evidence at all, as it simply wasn't there. 

The thing is, the main heroine is a police officer. That carries with it a certain weight in the after-effects of 2020. But the back cover material makes it very clear as to what Faith's profession is, and I still named it my most anticipated title out of the whole reading project! Unfortunately, after reading, it just doesn't make the grade. While you might disagree with my censure, and claim that it's too harsh to judge a book written in 2003 by the social perspectives of over fifteen years later, let me make this perfectly clear: she is a "bad apple" cop. And I would have thought so if I had read it in 2003, too. 

Take this scene: she attempts to coerce a character into committing a traffic violation, so she can pull them over, based purely on the fact that he looks sketchy because he was GOING THE SPEED LIMIT. When that doesn't work, she searches through her database to come up with a compelling reason to do it - as people of the legal profession "aren't creative enough" to simply allow her to arrest him on instinct - and finds that his tabs are a month expired. Bingo! Not only does she pull him over, but she threatens him with committing an unauthorized search of his car - because apparently only people with drugs to hide go the speed limit - and mocks him into giving her probable cause. When he attempts to flee, she sics her German Shepherd on him with little warning; when he tries to wrestle himself away and hits her in the melee, she crows victoriously that he's given her a good reason for her to land a punch herself, as she had been itching for a fight. 

As it turns out, he has good reason to want to get away: he brokenly cries to her, while successfully subdued by dog-Jim's intervention, that the people who get arrested in that jail have a habit of ending up dead less than a day later. She mocks him for it, as she's been working at that jail for months now, and hasn't noticed any such pattern herself... then goes on to say that he's probably been using a lot more drugs than just what she's found to think such things, and she might as well write him up for others, too. 

Needless to say, the following happens pretty damn quickly in the following chapters: his pattern is almost immediately proved true, she realizes other cops in her department are covering up the murders, and she finds the crying guy's corpse - chest cavity completely hollowed out and gaping open on the pavement - the following evening. She has the grace to feel guilty about it for LESS THAN A SCENE, and then is completely distracted by sexist interactions with the other cops. 

And she's supposed to be THE GOOD GUY. 

The second issue I had with it, in the end, was a general lack of coherency. Dream Eyes played fast and loose with its psychic mumbo-jumbo, but they always kept it on-theme, and realistic for the Universe they had created. Same with Dangerous Tides... while a family of witches who also double as / date famous people makes for a lot of plot to juggle, it's alright as long as you keep it inside a certain realm of believability. 

Master of Wolves didn't care about coherency or realism at all, and didn't make much attempt to hide it, either. It chalked up entire segments of werewolf world-building to "PFM" so often, it's like the author put exactly zero thought into developing the character's powers or culture. 

But even beyond that, the greater stakes of the larger narrative are absolutely bonkers:

Merlin - yes, THAT Merlin - is an interdimensional alien who came to earth to bestow King Arthur and Guinevere with magical powers, turning them into a superhuman vampire-mage race to protect humankind, as well as formed a secret society of werewolves, as a sort of "self destruct" button necessary to keep the Knights of the Round Table in check.  Now there's a secondary sect of evil vampires, and the werewolves have to race to stop them, without letting Arthur and the Knights know they exist. 

Also, a small town is Louisiana has a jail that's being controlled by one of said evil vampires, and a terrible cop is trying to battle it out against an entire precinct of other terrible cops to stop her. Also, they're all werewolves, too, only they're bad. 

Almost makes you forget about how terrible Faith is at her job.  

august

#10. Nico (Ruin and Revenge #1), Sarah Castile 

DNF on 38 out of 350.

Summary: Nico Toscani - a mafia boss and bastard son, held out of the line of succession after his domineering uncle inserted himself into the lineage over Nico - has a pretty good life: in charge of not only several lucrative Las Vegas enterprises, but overseer of one of the most successful casinos just off the Strip, he spends his days dedicated to his work, and plotting his return to power in the Toscani family. Mia Cordano, on the other hand, does her best to stay out of the violent entanglements of mafia life, opting instead to pursue a career in cybersecurity, working with the same casinos ran by the Vegas underground. After a workday-gone-wrong for Mia, the two are thrust back into each others' circles, and wouldn't be able to keep their hands off, if it weren't for one pertinent fact: their families hate each other, and hold one another responsible for the feud that killed Nico's father over a decade ago. But with tensions rising within the hierarchy of the Vegas families, and pressure mounting on Nico to prove his name, there's no chance that Mia won't be drawn into the crosshairs... but is Nico willing to give it all up to keep her safe?  

Quote:

"'Cristo santo! I told Vito to hire the best cyber-security firm in the city, and he hired you?'

Mia folded her arms across her chest. 'What do you mean by that?'

Nico made a dismissive gesture with his hand, trying not to focus on any one part of her beautiful body. 'First of all, you're a Cordano. Second, you're a woman.'" 

I feel absolutely zero remorse in DNFing this one so quick out of the gate, based on two significant principles: not only is this book just soooo not my vibe, but it's also technically not even a Paranormal Romance! 

I think the reason for the miss-shelf is pretty forgivable, as I feel like shadowy headless torsos covered in Photoshopped tattoos are pretty standard fare for cover material in the genre. However, there's no mistaking that a problem happened along the line of this one, as there is zero vampire/ ghost/ psychic/ werewolf/ etc content in it at all. It's a Mafia Romance. And to be clear, that's really not the only thing I saw wrong with the content.

Within the first 40 pages alone, there are numerous threats of violence - both regular and sexual - committed against women, gun violence, assault and battery, as well as more of both kinds threatened to be committed against a child. There is drug use, and patriarchal bullshit, and lots of mafioso talk in the most unconvincing of manners. It's dark and iffy in a way that I get is like catnip for Dark Romance readers, but that is just completely not up my alley at all. 

So, it's a no from me! 

#11. The Portal, Sharon Pape

One and a half stars for readable-but-racist. (I read it and finished it. Deeply racially stereotyped, but not deeply outwardly vicious, which is more than I can say for other books in this box.) 

Summary: Published in 1994, this novel follows the adventures of a young researcher while working with an archeologist dig in Four Corners. However, it's not long before the hours in the hot sun start to take their toll, as she finds herself having longer and more complex dreams about a mysterious Native American figure, following her around the dig site. As reality and dreams blend together, she becomes more and more sure that her "shadow man" is real, and following her as she works... but she can't understand how. What does this mysterious Zakoura Kree want with her? Why is she so incapable of resisting his enigmatic pull? And why are the other people on the reservation so unwilling to tell her who he really is? 

Quote:

"The wind that rumbled through the canyon sounded angrier than usual; in the distance a coyote howled in counterpoint. No other noise intruded on the stillness of the cave. Even so, she was certain that the Indian* was back. She felt his presence." 

*Note: this is from the first paragraph of the book. I'm not joking when I say that it hits the ground running with the outdated nomenclature.

Coming hot off the heels of DNFing my previous two Paranormal Romance box picks - disheartened and rapidly losing steam in continuing on in this challenge, honestly - I really wanted to make sure I didn't just skim over my next read. So was it the best idea to pick up one of the examples that, from even the back cover material, I could already tell was going to be a bit of a racist dumpster fire? Well, as it turns out, yes. 

It was a stereotyping, hodge-podge scrapbook attempt at cobbling together a bare minimum of compelling details about archeology, Native American history, and the sheerest veneer of romance. It frequently used language that is now considered offensive terminology within the Native American community, it took no pains to meaningfully develop any of the background characters beyond cardboard cutouts and preserved no sense of humanity beyond rote characteristics, and its plot hinged on a tired destined-soulmate premise that robbed the narrative of any deeper meaning and nuance. 

But like driving past a car accident, I just couldn't look away. Both the questionable Native American shaman hero and fresh-out-of-her-doctorate-program heroine were deeply unlikeable from just a lack-of-personality sense, and routinely made what can only be summarized as a relentless and interminable volley of bad decisions, and yet it somehow found not just enough even ground to pass as what could not only be described as a "romantic story," but also as more compelling than a book about King Arthur the vampire mage and the werewolf race created to stop him. 

The ending/ solution was bizarrely contrived, and never fully explained. Motivations for multiple characters were simply left up to general interpretation, rather than have personal connections noticeably develop at all. Almost all believability the reader had to buy into in order to allow the story to progress, relied on threadbare and severely stereotyped characters and antiquated views of Native American life and culture. Without the "stoic native" trope, this book would not exist, as that made up the personality for not just one, but several of its main characters. 

And here's what also just drove me batty: they ruminated for hundreds of pages - HUNDREDS of pages - about whether it was possible for someone to exist on one plane, and then be transported to another. How can he possibly move so fast, seem as if he exists in multiple places at once, vanish without a trace, and then invade her dreams with images of a place that she's never seen before? 

The title of the book is The Portal. It's a freaking portal. And yet, they do not come to grips with this idea until about 75 to 80% of the way through the novel. 

One of the things I've been learning throughout this project, is how confident I am in my ability to one day sell a Paranormal Romance. And I wouldn't have to rely on stereotyping an entire persecuted community to do it. 

So, that's where I'm at with the Big Box right now! I'm midway through #12 at the moment - Minion (Vampire Huntress Legend #1), by L. A. Banks - but I wasn't lying about what I said earlier: I think I'm starting to lose a little bit of steam. Which is a massive bummer, because I only have to read eight more books after that to have finished the Box! 

If I close out Minion by the end of the month, these are the only books standing between me and the new year / end of the challenge: 

• All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire, Kerrelyn Sparks
• Hostage to Pleasure, Nalini Singh
• Darkest Lie, Gena Showalter
• The Empath, Bonnie Vanak
• The Phantom of the Bathtub, Eugenia Riley
• Servant: the Acceptance, L L Foster
• The Guardian, Sherrilyn Kenyon
• The Summoning, Heather Graham

Here's what I'm hopeful for: that the next few reads I explore will be less problematic and more crazy than what I've been reading so far, that October will make for a month of great Paranormal Romance vibes, and that AIWfCiaV is going to make for great by-the-tree material. I hope that I'll have more above-three-stars, and less DNFs. But more than anything, I hope I actually make the challenge. 

And who knows? With the starting line of NaNoWriMo pretty much a little over a month away, maybe I'll do the damn thing and get started on my own material. Come on... it's Paranormal Romance. 

And according to my TikTok-loving sibling, it's a "Bella Swan and Elena Gilbert sort of Fall" anyways. 

Do you think you'd read any of the books in this summer stack? What are your favorite topics within the Paranormal Romance genre? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Fall 2021 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Boy, this is just the latest-in-the-day "Top Ten Tuesday" ever, huh?

I think it's a pretty good representation of my attitude about the onset of Fall as a whole. While I'm amped for the oncoming cozy season - leaves have already started to turn around here, and so has my wardrobe to chunky sweaters and my pantry to apple cider and pumpkin flavors - I'm stymied by a bit of celebration that has yet to occur: a great friend from college is getting married in Palm Springs in less than two weeks, and I'm making the trip down to Cali to not only ring in the new ring in style, but also check in on my sister and her girlfriend, who both moved down to LA in the middle of August.

So don't get me wrong: Trader Joes Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese is absolutely in my fridge, and one of my younger siblings has already broken out a spiderweb-print tablecloth currently covering our kitchen table. But am I exactly mentally prepared for Autumn, when I'm still responsible for sweating my butt off in the desert of California in a week and a half? 

So, the "Top Ten Tuesday" comes a little later, as my mind tries to grapple between the seasonality outside my window with dreams of California. At least I can try and instate a little structure into the TBR I will inevitably blow off for whatever I feel like reading!

Here's what I'm planning on tackling this Fall: 

end of September: easing back into regular reading

1. Alex Trebek's The Answer Is...

I can't have been the only one who choked up hearing Alex's voice playing during the "In Memorium" segment of last weekend's Emmys. Our family is made up of voracious Jeopardy! players, complete with carefully-adhered-to house rules on how we play, and losing his voice on our television screens every night was a massive blow. It would be nice to revisit his sense of humor and easy presence through his autobiography.

2. Jia Tolentino's Trick Mirror

This was a major player on my stack for the summer, but I never got around to this critically-lauded memoir... maybe because the colors of the cover are just so much more Fall to me? Regardless, I'm looking forward to reading. 

October: spooky time and what pairs well with tea?

3. Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire 

I got halfway through this atmospheric modern gothic last year, before the calendar switched over to November and NaNo started and it no longer felt as seasonal to be spending so much time with angst-ridden vamps. I'm glad I saved the rest for this year so I can enjoy it with an appropriate accompanying environment!

4. Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle

This has turned into somewhat of a repeat read for me. So spooky and off-putting, so wonderfully right for the Halloween season, especially if you're somewhat of a coward like me... not only is this a great read for October, but it's one I frequently recommend. 

5. Libba Bray's Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3)

The only thing scarier than the Halloween season, is having a younger brother who gladly takes your book recommendations, and then quickly outruns you in completing an entire series. As someone who likes taking their time working through a collection - matched with someone who has steam-rolled his way through multiple titles in the Wheel of Time series, one after the other, in a row, without breaks - I've been known to enjoy drawing out a series far after it ends. As The Diviners is one of my favorite YA series, I've never gotten around to the third installment... until now! (Hopefully.)

6. Stuart Turton's The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I know, I know... if I had a dollar for every time I listed this book on one of my TBRs, speed-dating rounds, etc., I would still have less than ten, but more than a comfortable amount of dollars, about it. I'm willing to blame it on the fact that my copy has some of the most aggressive deckled edges I've ever encountered... but maybe if I try it on Kindle, it will go better?

7. Grady Hendrix's The Final Girl Support Group

A recommendation from my younger sister (the one I'm visiting in California), I've been given strict instructions to pass this title along to my other family members once I'm finished. I've been pretty reticent to pick it up, mainly because I read Riley Sager's Final Girls a couple of years ago, and not only completely hated it, but immediately felt pretty damn broadsided by the fact that so many others I knew enjoyed it. It's a book I finished and immediately thought, "I could probably have written that better"... but now there's a relatively similar concept with a (hopefully) better ending, maybe it will be okay?

November: the bridge between holidays, managed by extra-toasty tomes

8. Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy

I've had so many people in my various social feeds losing themselves over Lawson's latest memoir, Broken, that I was fully stoked to find a relatively un-marred hardback copy of this earlier title while perusing a Goodwill this Summer. What I've heard about her is that she's deeply funny while still maintaining a lot of candor, and I can't wait to get around to reading it. 

9. Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart

Purchased from a favorite independent bookstore this past August, technically this copy has already been read: my mom, who didn't come equipped for vacation with an appropriate amount of reading material, was clamoring for something to look at poolside, so I handed her mine. Not only did she love it, but she's been anxiously waiting for me to "catch up" and read it, too. This is exactly why I can't buddy read anything, people! 

10. Christopher Buelman's The Blacktongue Thief

Technically, I bought this, and gave it to my brother as a birthday present this past August. But the little tornado ripped through his stacks of vacation reads faster than you could say "library ebook checkout," and we only made it a few days into vacation before he propped it up on the chair in my room and told me I needed to pick it up, too. 

11. Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal

A favorite of mine, and one that represents a genre I haven't given a lot of thought this year: for some reason, Culinary Memoirs - aka, one of my favorite niche subgenres - haven't been prompting me to pick them up as frequently as I've been doing for the past couple of years. I think it's well due time for a revisit, especially because this book is such a comfort fave for me. Plus, it would give me a great reason to finally get to reading one of her other titles in my collection, too! Nothing's more appropriate for the turkey season, than a book about food. 

and all of the rest

I've got only a couple of months left in the year, and quite a few books still left in my Big Box of Romance Novels that I need to tackle before the year is out. So, I'll be making those a priority in the coming months... and hopefully catching up on all of the blogging that I haven't been doing about it this summer, too! 

Is this all more than 10 reads? Technically yes. Also, technically, this list doesn't even encompass all of the titles I've still got stacked and ready to access on the coffee table next to my bed, which numbers into the twenties. Am I planning on jamming my Fall to the brim with an afternoon pot of tea, a warm blanket by the fireplace, and minimal interruptions from family members? Yes. Am I also currently multiple titles behind my pace to complete my 2021 Goodreads Challenge? Also yes. 

Am I going to actually get around to reading literally any of these titles? Good gracious, I hope so. 

Then again, I am going to California in two weeks. Who knows how I'll feel then? 

What's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

A Bloggoversary, and Books in a Basket: a Thrift Shopping Haul

Alright, so this post has been a couple of weeks in the making. But between soaking up the last bits of summer, helping faciliate not one, but TWO sibling moves - one out of state, the other to the other side of the state - blogging hasn't been taking up the brainspace it deserves. 

That doesn't change the fact that everyone loves a good haul, right? 

So, let's flash back to Tuesday, July 27th: where, in order to celebrate my Bloggoversary in high style, I enlisted my brother to join me on a parade through some of my favorite area thrift stores. It's an errand he's no stranger to... only this time, instead of languishing next to the dressing rooms, holding a cumbersome stack of clothing, we'd be devoting our time and attention pretty specifically to the book section. 

Of course, we couldn't content ourselves to just that. But more on that later... 

All told, the day was exactly the kind of exercise in thrifty shopping that I needed, and yet another reminder of how simple and effective it is to find yourself plenty of good reads for cheap. Was this lesson strictly necessary, in a year defined by the realization that I have over 435 unfinished books on my TBR shelves and Kindle? I mean... moving on. 

location #1: Value Village

The location I go to has a pretty decent, typically well-organized assortment of reads in their book section. Unfortunately, because we got there shortly after opening on a Tuesday morning, it seems like everyone else in the area was looking for good reads there, too... and pretty much everything else. I'm not used to having to share elbow room while shopping, but we chocked up the additional presence to the fact that it's summer, they had recently restocked the shelves, and who knows, maybe people just happen to really love spending sunny days in July stuffed inside a large store that smells like mothballs?

Because there were so many people there, I felt a little scrambled for time, and didn't expend a lot of effort in trying to find anything picture-worthy. Though I did find a definitely unofficial Harry Styles biography that made me giggle. 

All told, I grabbed six new-to-me, gently-used titles, and the kid brother managed to make off with a few as well! 

As You Like It, Shakespeare

One of my favorite things to search for while thrifting, is Folger Library copies of Shakespeare. You're almost guaranteed to see a surplus of titles on the shelf; unfortunately, the question then becomes whether you'll be able to actually read them or not, as many of them are marked up and scarred, having been used as study copies. Finding an edition that has no annotations is trickier stuff... but I found one, for a play I haven't read since college! 

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin

Another great option to look for in a thrift store, are older copies of long-faved Fantasy. Besides sorting through editions of the Wheel of Time and Eragon series, we found both of these perennial classics. I've been dying for more Ursula K. LeGuin in my life, and I was excited to pick up a title I'd heard so much about. The funnier pick, was Mists of Avalon: while my brother and I had both heard of it before, we didn't have enough understanding to determine whether it was worth picking up. I took the chance, and lo and behold, upon traveling to Barnes and Noble later on in the day, we found an almost identical copy for sale for almost $18 more expensive than what we'd nabbed at the thrift store! 

The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison

If you haven't gotten the theme so far, thrift stores are a great place to pick up copies of the classics, but what's especially true, is if you're looking for classics that aren't among the expected: while odds would not be high that I'd find a copy of House of Mirth, The Buccaneers makes for an intriguing Wharton selection that hits just left of center. Similarly, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is a modern classic, rather than some stuffy, old 19th century pick. The copy I picked up had never so much been opened before! 

The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

Okay, so it's not all classics; thrift store bookshelves carry quite a bit of contemporary fiction, too. This particular title was much-recommended on bookstagram a couple of years ago, when it was first published in 2018. It's pretty incredible, to be able to find a completely unread copy of a recent release, but I'm very happy I got it! 

(Originally, the plan was then to move over to Goodwill immediately after Value Village, but because of numerous factors, including a much-needed bathroom break, we went for Barnes and Noble first, which is where I picked up the titles I included in my bloggoversary post. Did I briefly consider giving up Goodwill after dropping entirely too much change at the big store? You bet I did... but I'm so, so glad I didn't end up bailing off for home. Not only did I find some of my favorite material of the day at GW, but it served as a nice sort of sandwich comparison to see how cheap you can pick up certain material, if you're only willing to 1. manage your expectations and 2. stick to a budget.) 

location #2: Goodwill

I feel like I always rely on this location to have a really solid assortment of books: they have nice, built-in shelves that take up a full corner of the store, and the location is one of the prime donation spots in our area. However, I was really sad to see that the Books had been severely reduced in shelf space, with more than a few of them standing completely empty! I don't know if this is due to a deliberate attempt at limiting that kind of stock, or if there just haven't been a lot of people donating their books in the past year, but either way, I was pretty sad to see it brought so low.

That is not to say, however, that I didn't make away with a fair amount of reading material.

Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie

A much-celebrated entry into the Romance genre in the past few years, I've been hearing nothing but good things about this novel in the time I've started reading Romance (which, it's hard to believe, was only a couple of summers ago!). 

The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah

Another frequent find among thrift store book shelves? Anything with a Book of the Month tab on the side. Hey, I'm not knocking anyone else's subscription habits, but it seems like BOTM users happen to give away just as many books as they keep, if not more. 

The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown

The Corrections, Johnathan Franzen

Don't make fun: yes, I know that Jonathan Franzen is a pretty contentious topic in the book world, and yes, I'm aware that everyone's dad owns a copy of the DaVinci Code. But remember that golden scratch-off poster I got a couple of years ago, the one with all of those "contemporary classic" titles? I've been trying to make a more concentrated effort to pay attention to that poster recently. I'm hoping that this Fall will see me able to tackle a few more of those boxes to check off... especially once I'm done with my Summer Book Bingo TBR, too. 

Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen

Out of all of the books I've purchased today, this was the only one I've actually read before: Garden Spells, a random library check-out that came my way in the last few weeks of December, was also one of the only reasons I was able to end my catastrophic reading year on anything resembling a high note. When I saw a hardcover copy on Goodwill's shelves - completely unread - I practically snatched it out right in front of my brother's face. Couldn't be more pleased to add this magical, intensely atmospheric read to my collection. 

Not pictured: two cookbooks - which, while I will absolutely be reading them soon, I do not classify in with my "reading" books - and a very lovely little basket I'm using, at the moment, to store more cookbooks.

The Goofy Goodies

Let's be real: we love thrift stores not just because of the treasures they hold... but because some people's versions of "treasures" vary quite significantly. Here are just a few of the best things my brother and I found in Goodwill, that didn't necessarily make it into the basket to take home.

This complete DVD anniversary collection of the classic Pride and Prejudice - aka, the "wet Colin Firth" edition - contained not only two discs, but also a bonus, filled with special features. 

Also didn't pick up, though I desperately wanted to, a World Wrestling Federation Superstars cookbook; a book of "Real Alchemy" that contained, wouldn't you know it, instructions on how to perform alchemy. Try it at home, kids! 

Do you like to go thrifting? What's the best thing you've found hidden in the bookshelves of a thrift store? Let me know, in the comments below!

What I Read While I Was Camping: The Reviews!

You've been listening to me talk about it for literal months now: our family's big summer of camping, taking place across four weekends through July and August this year. Now that our tents and tarps are packed away for good, I wanted to take a little time to expound upon those reads I dragged through the dirt and mud with me. 

(Well, maybe not that. I do take care of my books, after all. Any damage they may have accrued in this time is more likely in the vein of residual love from the Reese's Peanut Butter cups we use when we make s'mores.)  

From Camano Island to Deception Pass, to Kanaskat-Palmer to the Dungeness Spit, here are all of the books I read while camping this summer! 

Weekend #1: Camano Island State Park

(it was a million degrees, we spent a day at the beach, and took sunset shots at the pier)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce #1), Alan Bradley

This book is a little perplexing to consider, especially when attempting to gauge whether I really liked it or not. On one hand, the first 50 pages required three separate attempts to get interested; on the other, I finished the remaining 320 in almost one sitting. 

I found the exploits of the young Flavia - brash and brilliant - to be a lot of fun; on the flip side, the story was unmistakably constructed by an older man, one who rejoiced in obscure references, far beyond even what the most precocious of 11-year-olds could have declared. It really did remind me a lot of a classic Agatha Christie novel, in its lovingly-crafted perspective of small, rural British country villages, and the various people that inhabit them. 

It also had, like Agatha, some stunningly racist depictions that really didn't need to be there. The difference is that Christie wrote back in previous century: while this novel is set in the summer of 1950, it was published in 2009, at a time when such things as a blatantly racist "Chinese" magic trick should be recognized for what they are. 

That being said, the rest of the story - other than that glaring blemish, one that turned this title from a "must recommend" to a "hmm, maybe not"  - was pretty fun. At a certain point, the outcome gets a little obvious, but it's still enjoyable to follow along with Flavia's various hijinks. At some other point, I might consider picking up another in the series, but honestly, I'd rather do a Christie sometime soon instead. 

Dangerous Tides (Drake Sisters #4), Christine Feehan 

You don't get to hear about this one just yet... wait until my next batch of Paranormal Romance reviews! (You can read the last batch here!) 

Weekend #2: Deception Pass State Park, on Whidbey Island

(more beach time, camping hummus plates, lots of crosswords)

Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America, R. Eric Thomas

I can already tell you right now, that this is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. Not only did its words mean so much to me - especially in my current season of life - but they've lead me to others, too (poems, song lyrics), that honestly meant a lot to read, as well.

I appreciated R. Eric Thomas' perspectives on a myriad of topics - Blackness, especially in white spaces; gayness, especially in religious spaces - and I really credit his humorous, honest voice and style for serving as such a positive, engaging communicative tool. Even when discussing points of difficulty or vulnerability, he was sharp and conversational; even when detailing times of extreme sadness, he was clear and earnest. Memoirs are really at their best when they bring the reader into arenas of life they would never otherwise be able to experience, and Thomas was generous and welcoming when sharing his past.

In the end, it was actually the points in his life that connected us - generating an intense, close friendship at 17, and losing that person to suicide; recognizing that college carries with it opportunities that seem overwhelming, in part due to an unwillingness to give up the safely guarded labels that keep you protected - that really hit me at my core. He writes in such a way that feels personal and intimately friendly, and hearing similar circumstances I recognized communicated so frankly felt like talking with a friend. 

What an absolutely enjoyable experience. 

Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the 21st Century, ed. Alice Wong

To be completely honest, I finished this book several days before I could even begin to consider how I felt about it. I think I avoided writing down my own personal thoughts on what was an engrossing, enthralling collection of first-person writing and anecdotes, because of how overwhelmingly difficult its subject matter is, and how much personal reflection was necessary in processing it completely. 

Granted, this book knows what its about. It doesn't mess around with palatizing difficult subject matter, and lists various topics such as eugenics, racism, bullying, suicide, and more in a rolling line of ticker tape that serves as a banner at the top of each story, as a kind of introduction. The discomfort is the point: a minority group of people used to binding themselves up, making themselves small, tucking the uncomfortable parts of themselves away as both a personal means of survival, as well as - at various points throughout history - a legal and public image legislative action, finally given the chance to voice their pain in a publicly consumed message, directed at both their fellow lonely, silenced group, as well as the public at large who has rendered them invisible. Its powerful, difficult stuff, and incredibly intersectional, as well. 

When I first decided to pick up this book, it had been at the recommendation of a handful of people who had called it "empowering" and "uplifting"; after reading it, I am forced to reconsider some of my perspectives of those people. It HURTS. It is draining, and upsetting, and overwhelmingly hard to process, especially for someone who doesn't have a large extent of experience in disability activist circles. It highlights problems and pain for which there is no current solution or means of rectification, and that absolutely sucks. But hopefully with the accessibility afforded through these pages, bringing firsthand perspectives to people who would otherwise never have seen the struggles, one can be generated. Maybe with more stories like this, some justice can be found. 

Weekend #3: Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, near the Green River

(the YURTS, hiking along the river, and did I mention the YURTS)

The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi

You don't get to hear about this one just yet, either... after a pretty difficult reading experience that already yielded quite a bit of conversation with various family members, I decided to give this one a little more space and give myself a little more room to breathe. A longer review will be coming soon!

I Miss You When I Blink: Essays, Mary Laura Philpott

I am experiencing conflicting emotions about this book, and unfortunately I feel like it also has to do with conflicting emotions about my taste levels as a person.

I was drawn to this book, originally, because of the premise: a nonfiction account of a woman who, upon achieving the suburbanite dream list of husband, kids, house, etc, finds herself wanting to burn it all down and strike off fresh. THAT sounds appealing to me. The experiences she describes - depression, anxiety, hopelessness, resentment - are highly familiar, and I figured that her unspoken achievement in having been deemed important enough to write a memoir might give me some insight, in terms of potential solutions. 

Here's how she fixes it: she goes to a therapist, and is prescribed Zoloft. She leans on an understanding and kind husband for support. She stops signing up for the volunteering jobs she dislikes that keep her so busy, and instead, starts writing newsletters for a famous bookstore as a part of her freelancing career. She uses the three weeks her kids are at sleepaway camp to house-sit for a friend of a friend, and enjoys the quiet, as well as a ton of books, but realizes that she still misses her children and husband. Her family moves from Atlanta to Nashville, where she feels less encumbered by ambient stress, and the traffic is not so crippling. 

It all seems so... mundane. Expected. In a lot of ways, not exactly accessible. These modern problems she's describing feel so extreme, but the answers are also so completely upper-middle-class suburban. 

And it kind of felt like the book was just... a lot of those feelings. Mary Laura Philpott - who at other times in the memoir-slash-essays, is also deeply resonant and relatable - just struck me as a little bit out-of-touch, or basic. For instance, at a dinner with friends, she gets angry when small talk turns to preferred methods of making chicken salad, and name checks Bill Gates, Beyonce, and J. K. Rowling as being people she'd rather talk to, instead. Could there be a more generic answer to a question that could have pushed a lot deeper? But also, some people enjoy talking about chicken salad, so why can't you let them (/me) live? 

In total, there WERE passages in the book that did speak to me, but it also kind of felt like if one of the most surface-level people in your sorority grew up and started a well-written, occasionally-deep mommy blog. 

Weekend #4: Dungeness Spit Recreation Area

(mediocre weather, a nature hike along the water, bailing early)

Professional Troublemaker: the Fear-Fighter's Manual, Luvvie Ajayi-Jones 

This book is about how sometimes, humans let fear get in the way of enjoying the surplus of LIFE that is available to us every single day. Kind of like how sometimes a Savannah might let the required return date of a library book get in the way of enjoying what might otherwise have been an easy, reflective funny memoir-slash-self-help guide, instead of leaving it for the last twelve hours of its check-out period. 

(It's fine. Based on the advice of a friend, I switched my Kindle to airplane mode, and sped-read my way through the remaining 60% of the book. Is it a perfect system? Hell no. But what else is a woman supposed to do when she's still got a lot of Seattle Public LIbrary boxes to check off, and it's AUGUST?) 

This book was funny, and inspirational. It was also chock full of references to Ajayi-Jones' other work, which occasionally felt like I was missing pieces of valuable context, and that I needed to go look elsewhere: her numerous chart-topping TED talks, her blog and Twitter account, her previous book, etc. Like, we get it, you're prolific! But after a while, it kind of does feel like it's simply a networking/marketing tool for your previous material. 

Other quick notes: 

• This is the second book this year I've read that was written during Covid, and has felt the need to discuss it, which I am both for and against as a general practice. 
• Ajayi-Jones turns Blackness - especially Nigerian-ness, which I would say gets its own chapter, if it didn't already have prominent placement throughout the entire book - into a total superpower, and I was fully here for it 
• Out of everything else in this book, what I really, really loved, and what felt the most inspiring, was how she makes professional success sound inevitable. Like, if you're working, and working hard and fearlessly and especially working to lift other people up along with you, great things will happen for you. And I love that. 

What have been your favorite vacation reads so far this summer? How many books are still left on your Summer TBR for August? Let me know, in the comments below!