My streak of reading an unusually high (for me) number of books seems to be at an end. I suppose I couldn't keep it up especially when I didn't know what I was doing to make it happen in the first place. This month was especially low on reading time because of vacation which in past times meant extra time for reading but turns out entertaining a 4 year old means there isn't a lot of time to read. But between time at Disney World and a Disney Cruise, we did have plenty of time to meet Mickey
Many Mickey encounters. And zero interest meeting anyone else.
Let's see those stats
Total books read
4
Now Is Not The Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Now Is Not The Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson
One summer in the mid-90s two misfit teenagers in a small Tennessee town meet and create a poster with the words "The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives and the law is skinny with hunger for us." With the use of a stolen photocopier, they paper the town with this poster. And people go nuts. It's a town-wide mystery that expands to the whole country. Are Satanists behind it? Some sort of cult? What does it mean? The reaction seems outsized given what it was but panics can be started over dumber things. Now 20 years later, a reporter has reached out to the now-adult Frankie to confirm if she is behind the poster and the panic. A coming of age story, the role of art and how the intended meaning might get distorted. The story is a bit tedious and as I said, the panic seems overblown, especially as it expands beyond the small town.
Rating: 3 stars
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
This has a great opening. A young girl, Wen, is playing in the yard of a cabin in the middle of nowhere New Hampshire when a big man comes up. He's friendly, helping her catch grasshoppers until he stops and tells her that none of what is about to happen is her fault. Then 3 other strangers show up, wielding strange weapons as this big man Leonard yells that her dads won't want to let them in, but they have to help them save the world. What follows is horror and suspense and some very hard moments. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but even when I was (metaphorically) watching it from between my fingers, I wanted to know more.
Rating: 4 stars
Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
First there was Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Then, I came across Iona. And Listen, I'm going to need 100 more books that center on force-of-nature women who meddle in the lives of strangers around them because I loved that book and I loved this one. Iona Iverson has strict rules for her daily commute, such as never talk to those around you. Sure, you can have fun nicknames for them but you don't get involved. Everyone is just trying to get to work. But one day Sexist Manspreader starts to choke and is saved by a nurse, leading to a chain reaction between a number of regular commuters. The book is funny and light and I need more books like this, please and thank you.
Rating: 5 stars
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Following Iona (and being on vacation) meant I was looking for something that was similar in tone. Lighthearted, funny, sweet. I also had the added requirement of something that I already had since I had failed to download a book before my vacation and since we were on a cruise, internet access was spotty at best. Seemed like a good time to re-read The Rosie Project, a sweet rom-com about a genetics professor Don who has trouble with social interactions. In an effort to find love, he embarks on The Wife Project, a detailed questionnaire to help him find the right partner. When his friend sends over a grad student Rosie, he finds she fails key questions. But she also has her own project, trying to find who her real father is. As a genetics professor, Don can help her here and more than that, finds he wants to spend time with Rosie, even when logically it doesn't make sense. I've re-read this a number of times and I love it each time
Rating: 5 stars
Number of pages read
1,175
Fiction
100%
Female authors
25%
BIPOC authors
0%
US authors
50%
Book format
audiobook: 50%
ebook: 50%
Where'd I get the book
Kindle/Audible: 50%
Library: 50%
Rereads
25%
Decade published
2010s: 50%
2020s: 50%
Resolution books
50%
Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting is by a UK author
The Rosie Project is by an Australian author
