May and June 2018 mini-reviews

Posting and reading seems to ebb and flow but I am trying to work out a rhythm. I mean, life keeps trying to throw me off said rhythm but still. Rhythm is attempted.

I'm still making my way through mini-reviews from last year, so hey, let's see how that's going

May Reads

And a Bottle of Rum: The History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis

This was an impulse buy while looking through rum related cookbooks and then I brought it on vacation when we went to Hawaii last summer because it seemed like a good beach read. I mean, it's a history book, sure, but the focus is on rum, so that's a fun way in. And hey, there's a section all about tiki drinks and yeah, they aren't actually from Hawaii but they pretended to be so it was somewhat environmentally relevant. If you need a gimmick to get you to read about history (I tend to need a gimmick) then this was entertaining. And an older gentleman staying at our hotel had read the same book so there. Building bridges.
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June Reads

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

This was so scary. But it's not a horror novel. It's a memoir. Not even a true crime memoir. No crime, just the human body deciding to go nuts in the weirdest way. It's never good when you hear doctors going "Huh. That's...interesting." Though I suppose it's an improvement over doctors not believing you. Fascinating read and while it does go into medical terminology, it was still easy enough for a layman (aka, me) to understand.
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Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Dystopian? Science Fiction? Lit fic? See, this is why I hate trying to categorize what genre a book falls into because what if it falls into so many? Like this one, about an unnamed middle eastern country that people are desperate to leave. There are people who can get you out but there's a cost and of course risks. And doors that will lead you...somewhere. There's a love story, two people who find each other right as things reach a crescendo and fleeing is the best option.
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Hope Never Dies by Andrew Schaffer

Biden and Obama, detective duo. Listen, if you aren't sold on that description, I don't know what to tell you. Is it the best detective novel? It is not? Is it entertaining as hell? Yes of course it is. And it makes people stop on the train to laugh at the cover. Plus the story stays juuuuuuuuuust this side of ridiculous, so you could almost believe this is what Biden and Obama are doing now that they're "retired".
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So there you go. Pretty good couple of months.

Full May & June reading lists
May
And a Bottle of Rum: The History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
The Glitch by Elisabeth Cohen
June
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer
People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jen Mann