August was something, and it's crazy to think and the summer are over. School has even begun again (something that still takes me some time to get used to as someone who always went to school after Labor Day) and as much as I love autumn, I am going to miss the freedom and relaxation that summer gives you. Sure, I won't miss the 100+ degree days and am really enjoying being able to have the windows and blinds open again, but still.
By the end of the month I was sort of swirling on a book to read. I started a Backman novella, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, which seems good but also sort of depressing and not what I was in the mood for. Then a library hold came in for A Well-Trained Wife and I started it and it was fine but I realized not really what I wanted. So I ended the month listening (and re-listening) to a lot of podcast episodes instead, while debating if I should just BUY the audiobook for The Bullet That Missed (the third Thursday Murder Club book) even though I own a physical copy. Not that that has stopped me in the past.
Also, and then we'll get to the stats, but my work has suddenly blocked my access to my blog because it was marked as "gambling". If there is some way for me to make money on this via games of chance, please let me know. Maybe there are a lot of bets being made on my reading trends.
Number of books read
7
The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
Matilda by Roald Dahl
I Want To Burn This Place Down by Maris Kreizman
The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
Silly shenanigans and murder for hire. Four women have been best friends through decades, through ups and downs. Most recently downs, given some bad financial decisions their husbands made. But when one dies suddenly and the window gets a big life insurance payout, the others wonder if maybe that's the answer to their retirement plan (see what I did there?) It's a ridiculous story with a silly premise that builds and builds. I won't say much to keep from spoiling but there are twists and turns and misunderstandings and it never takes itself seriously (neither should you). It was silly and entertaining and multiple times I turned to my husband to say I promise never to hire a hit man on him if he promises to never hire one to take me out. #marriage
Rating: 3.75 stars
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
I really liked The House in the Cerulean Sea about an orphanage for magical children, so when I was flipping through available audiobooks from the library and saw this described as something for fans of The Good Place and that it won a Goodreads Choice Award for Favorite Fantasy I thought why not. It's the story of a man name Wallace, who kinda sucked when he was alive. Uncaring, inconsiderate, workaholic, etc. But he's not alive long and instead finds himself being led by a Reaper to a teashop in the middle of no where to see the ferryman Hugo, who will help him move on to the next part of his journey. But Wallace doesn't want to be dead and he doesn't want to go. Hugo tells him there is no rush, he can stay as long as he likes but he can't leave the teashop. Wallace takes this time to process what it means that he's dead, what could be on the other side, and also what are these feelings he's developing for Hugo the ferryman (and what can they do about it considering the whole "dead" thing?). I liked the premise, I liked the idea, but in the end it all fell a bit flat for me and the love story seemed a bit shoehorned in (it felt more natural in Cerulean Sea). It was OK, but didn't quite live up to the hope I had for it, especially after the first part.
Rating: 3.25 stars
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
A million stars. These books are perfection. I love them all (the books as well as the characters). I was looking at my review from the last time I read this and I made a comment how I should just buy the book. Well reader, I did. Because why would I deny myself something so wonderful that of course I will be reading again. Characters are great, the mystery is intriguing, it is touching and moving and did I mention how much I love the characters? Will I just buy the third book as an audiobook (because I already own it in hardback, but I have 2 copies of the first book so why not?) We'll see!
Rating: 5 stars
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Typically, I don't include books I'm reading to Matthew in my reading. I don't want to be tracking and reviewing 100 picture books and things would get very repetitive. Even though I def have thoughts about his books. Perhaps I'll write something up about that. But ANYWAY, we have started expanding bedtime stories into more than picture books (though they're still there) and have moved into longer stories we don't finish in one sitting and have far fewer pictures. I remembered reading this one in 2nd grade and so figured this could be a good one for him. He already liked The Fantastic Mr. Fox (and he's a fan of the Wes Anderson movie). First for review I will tell you Matthew LOVED this. His eyes lit up at the mention of a lifetime supply of chocolate, he felt bad for Charlie, he was mad at the kids (mostly Veruca Salt, but we'll get to that in a second) and he is excited for The Great Glass Elevator*.
Now some parts did make me cringe and bit and reading it I kept thinking how, maybe with the exception of Veruca, the other kids are not that bad. If anything their "crimes" were mostly "not listening when told not to do something dangerous" but of course that's never what they're scolded for. Augustus Gloop's crime is just being fat, Violet just chews a lot of gum, Mike Teavee watches TV (yes, he watches a lot of it, but the book is clear the sin is watching it at all). Veruca is the biggest pain, a clearly spoiled brat, though the book does place some blame on the parents and in the end, she's the one who ends up with the lightest punishment, or at least the one with the least long-lasting effects. (Augustus is squeezed in the pipe till skinny, Violet is back to her normal size but now permanently purple, Mike is stretched until he's 10 ft tall and Veruca and her parents...get some garbage on them they can wash off later and be exactly as they were before.)
Rating: 4.25 stars
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
I can't remember where I first heard about this but it's been on my radar for awhile. Alas the library didn't have a digital copy of it so I mostly forgot about it until we were visiting Boston (or in this case Brookline) and we stopped by my old local bookstore The Brookline Booksmith (check them out if you're in Coolidge Corner) and there was a copy of it sitting on the discount table. Naturally I had to pick it up and then I read it in about 2 days.
A graphic memoir about Roz dealing with her aging parents and all of the end of life stress that comes with it. It was funny and sad and touching, dealing with all of the hard feelings and anxieties that come from having all of those unpleasant conversations and decisions that happen. Chast is honest about her worries, her guilt and the complicated relationships she had with her parents. This isn't an easy read but there is humor throughout, even during the difficult times, and it was a book I flew through and I'm sure will read again.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Another "hey I read this for Matthew but I'm gonna count it anyway." Not much to say here except that I had remembered a lot more happening at the school, and I suppose it was about half the book, but it seemed to be over quickly. Including how the Trunchbull was dealt with, though it's possible I'm remembering more of the movie and things are different there? Who knows. He liked it though he never seemed quite as excited as he was with Charlie. I still liked it cos hey, girl who reads a lot and is way smarter than her family and pulls pranks on them (he did appreciate the pranks and REALLY did not like Matilda's dad) what's not to like?
Rating: 4.5 stars
I Want To Burn This Place Down by Maris Kreizman
A quick collection of essays where Kreizman grapples with her disappointment in various institutions, primarily healthcare and the general "American Dream" apparatus (or lack thereof). Many of the essays (all, really) are personal in nature, dealing with her diabetes and a failing system around her, or with her reckoning with the portrayal of cops as heroes on various shows, her brothers becoming cops and what that means in the wake of things like George Floyd. They were mostly...fine. I didn't have too many strong feelings in either direction while listening. Honestly the most excited I got was when she mentioned the podcast Maintenance Phase and I thought "hey I listen to that one!". Then, I turned off the audiobook and
relistened to an old episode of that.
Rating: 3 stars
Total pages read
1,958
Fiction
71%
Female authors
43%
US authors
43%
BIPOC authors
0%
Rereads
43%
Format
audiobook: 57%
ebook: 29%
paperback: 14%
Where'd I get the book
library: 86%
indie bookstore: 14%
Decade published
1960s: 14%
1980s: 14%
2010s: 14%
2020s: 57%
Resolution books
43%
The Retirement Plan is by a Canadian author
The Man Who Died Twice is by an English author
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and Matilda are by a Welsh author
*So while my husband started reading him The Great Glass Elevator there were some...not great things in there, so we quietly returned that book to the library and he never asked about it. Probably because in between I took a trip to my mom's and dug through boxes of old kids books I brought up about 100 new (to him) books including many Calvin & Hobbes, which OK those aren't really new even to him but he's been enjoying those enough. I also left my copy of Great Glass Elevator in those boxes in the basement.
