Monday, April 15, 2019

September 2018 Mini-Reviews

I am so close to being done with the mini-reviews for 2018. How exciting is that? Will I get to some actual, for real, full reviews sometime soon? It's always possible! Don't expect full reviews of all of these books I've done mini-reviews for. More likely I will pick and choose those I wish to write more about. Cos it's my blog and I get to do what I want.

Also, for those who are paying close attention to these posts, you may notice that the last time I did mini-reviews, it was for stuff I read in May and June. And then this post is for September. So it would seem I am missing a couple months. EXCEPT, July happens to be when the goblin showed up so my reading over that month and the following tended to be sparse and re-reads.*

Speaking of the goblin, he keeps trying to stand now and it is both exciting and terrifying all at once, which his basically how this whole baby thing has gone.
He's so proud and yeah, the mattress was lowered that night. 

Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
You know those books that you just see a lot and the cover is interesting and it sort of wears you down so you finally pick it up and read it? That's basically what happened here. So good job to the cover designer. The book itself was...fine. It was fine. It's a memoir, I like those. About a woman (yay) in what is often a man's world (chef) though she doesn't much address this. There's much talk about food and I like food so the ingredients are there, but it didn't really come together for me. She's not the most likable narrator which and sometimes it was hard to sympathize with her, when clearly that's what the story was looking for. She comes off as arrogant a number of times, but without the charisma to bring you to her side so even if she has the talent, you sort of get to the point where you don't want to admit it. But her writing is engaging, at least when she's focused on the kitchen and the food.
Gif rating:


Choose Your Own Disaster by Dana Schwartz
Another memoir! What can I say, when I'm looking for a comfort read, memoirs are the way I go, especially memoirs from funny ladies. This is written like a cross between a Buzzfeed quiz and a choose your own adventure book, which was fun but a little gimmicky and sort of a pain on Kindle. About being a white lady in NYC in your early twenties, covering mistakes from bad relationships to eating disorders. The book was funny but ultimately not that memorable. Or at least I can't remember a lot of it now but in Schwartz's defense, I read a lot of it during middle-of-the-night feedings and in general there was a lot of sleep deprivation going on, so this may not be the book's fault. Entertaining but not all that unique (format notwithstanding).
Gif rating:

*Full list of reads July - September 2018
July
Agorafabulous by Sara Benincasa
August
Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melineck
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
September
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
Choose Your Own Disaster by Dana Schwartz

Monday, April 1, 2019

March Reading Wrap Up

March is always a pretty neat month cos it's got my birthday and Tom's birthday in it. We spent my birthday hanging out in Central Park, since it was finally a nice day. We ate lots of food which is how I love celebrating things. And besides, I got to spend it with these two, so that was pretty much the best.
Reading-wise was sort of...it was fine. A lot of audiobooks and I find I have a hard time getting into fiction audiobooks so that caused some slow downs with reading but I did it and it all turned out good. Plus there was Kid Gloves which I'd been waiting for since at some point when I was pregnant and heard Knisley was doing a book about pregnancy and was VERY EXCITED. I might even write a real review for that one. Who knows. Spoiler alert: so good!

Let's get to those stats, shall we.

Books Read
5
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby
Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley
Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
Sakina’s Restaurant by Aasif Mandvi
A Mind of Her Own by Paula McLain

Number of Pages Read
979

Fiction
60%

POC authors
20%
Not great but not nothing so I’LL TAKE IT

Female authors
40%

US authors
40%

Rereads
0% - that’s been a while

Book Format
Audiobook: 60%
Paperback: 40%

Where’d I get the book
Chain bookstore: 20%
Indie: 20%
Kindle/Audible: 60%

Decades published
2000s: 20%
2010s: 80%

Resolution books
60%
How to Be Good and Early Riser are by UK authors (Nick Hornby is English and Jasper Fforde Welsh)
Sakina’s Restaurant is by a POC author