Already August. Incredible, hows this keep happening? Time moving and so on. July tends to be a fun month. It's the lil monster's birthday. I suppose he's a less lil monster now. We had a fun birthday in the park for him, and he got, conservatively, every dinosaur toy that has every been sold. There's a definite theme in our house right now.
It's also our wedding anniversary. On the same day, no less. While we didn't celebrate on the actual day, we did have a chance to go back to the venue where we got married for a friend's wedding and have a little mini trip away. And I didn't burst into flames during the outdoor ceremony, so a win all around!
August however. I am starting August without the ability to talk, thanks to a sore throat exacerbated by lots of yelling while at the zoo and mini golf. I don't know if it's ever been this extreme before where I've had to reschedule work meetings because I literally couldn't talk on the call. (And the "calls" I did do, the other person spoke and I typed all of my answers or made exaggerated expressions while on camera.) Hopefully I'm not spending too much more time playing charades.
Anyway, stats? Stats.
Total books read
3
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp
I was more than a little excited when my library finally had a copy of this as an audiobook. I'd sporadically done searching on a couple different apps but it never showed up and then one day I was scanning available titles and look what popped up. This book is a linguistics look on how different groups, from Heaven's Gate to Cross Fit use language to create their us/them ideologies. It's an excellent look at how important language is and gives some indication about what to be aware of.
Rating: 5 stars
The Diviners by Libba Bray
This was a Libro.fm purchase when they were having a big sale on audiobooks. I didn't know much about this book but I loved Libba Bray's Beauty Queens and this seemed interesting enough, even if it is the first of a series which usually is something I avoid. But I love a sale and I really liked this. Set in 1920s NYC, where Eve has managed to escape to, getting away from her small-Ohio town. Sure, she has to stay with her Uncle who runs a museum of the occult but Evie has her own occult talents, even if they just seem to cause trouble. Though maybe they an help with a grisly murder scene turns up. The setting is fun, the mystery is a good one and the characters are interesting enough even if a lot of this book was clearly setting up the series for books to come. Other books I'll probably end up reading.
Rating: 4 stars
Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp
When I don't want to think to hard, which, let's be honest, is pretty often nowadays, I look for a mystery. I like a mystery. I don't often love them, but I like them. And I saw a list of top cozy mysteries and figured I'd give it a try. Daisy's pies all include a secret ingredient: magic. The ability to make people feel content or safe, want to come clean or pay more attention. Or even kill. Daisy uses her power to help avenge women who are in dangerous situations with her Pies Before Guys business. But someone discovers her abilities and blackmail her into baking some of her special pies or have her business revealed. Can Daisy figure out who's blackmailing her while continuing to help women? Also there's a bit of a love triangle going on. There's Noel, a cute farmboy and Melly, a purple-haired activist. AND a pie baking contest. Overall it was a fun if not necessarily the most memorable story and did cause a few eyerolls.
Rating: 3.25
Number of pages read
1,222
Fiction
67%
Female authors
100%
BIPOC authors
0%
US authors
0%
Book format
audiobook - 100%
Where'd I get the book
library - 67%
indie - 33%
Decade published
2010s: 33%
2020s: 67%
Resolution Reads
0% - pathetic
