Wednesday, February 10, 2021

More Teeny Reviews (May & June 2019)

Those mini-reviews went pretty well yesterday, right? I thought so. And hey, here I am again typing out some more.

One reason I'm more apt to write these seems silly but. I got a new computer. And it makes a difference in the sense that my last computer was getting on in age and it got slooooooooow. I know that is my fault and Tom has pointed out his desktop was even older and it's working fine and he's not wrong. But that didn't make using my old computer less frustrating. This new computer is snazzy and light and it's rose gold, which I have recently learned is a lame millennial color but I think you're just jealous of my pink computer.

Anyway, I digress. Let's see what I remember of books I read almost 2 years ago.

Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women & the Way Forward by Gemma Hartley
Read May 2019
That sounds good, right? Something I would be way into and would have lots of good insights. And I bet it did. Except I do not remember it at all. I believe she had an article about Emotional Labor which was probably where I first heard the term and I bet this was good and possible I even talk about points from it without remembering where I heard them. But I don't remember this.

Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
Read May 2019
It's Shakespeare by way of Bill Bryson. What's not to love?? Assuming, you love those two things already. If you don't already love them, well then I have no idea. It's great and also not that long cos we don't really know that much about Shakespeare and Bryson isn't about to do a ton of conjecture. Get that from Stephen Greenblatt. (Maybe I should reread Will in the World...)

Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered by Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff
Read June 2019
Are you a fan of My Favorite Murder? If so, then you already know about this book and don't need me to talk about it. If you haven't listened to MFM, give that a listen and decide if you want to read this. Already listened and decided you don't like it. Why are you thinking you'd read this? What do you think you're going to get out of it? 

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Read June 2019
More British murder mysteries. Those are fun just don't take them too seriously. Also I don't know that Ware knows exactly what time period she set this book in because while I only remember bits and pieces I remember for a while thinking this book was from the early half of the 1900s only for there to be a flashback to like 1993 and no ma'am, I'm sorry. Ignore that and it's entertaining.

Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett
Read June 2019
I was thinking about this book recently because I just finished Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo and her sports section talks about him a fair amount and I was reminded that I enjoyed his book. I mean, there's a lot of football in it, him being a football player and all and I only know so much about the sport (and only care so much about it to...sorry) but since the sport isn't the focus but instead systemic racism, it was a good read.

You Do You: Proud to be Fabulous ed by Tan France & Nikki Levy
Read June 2019
I remember this was a free Audible original (which I think...Audible stopped doing?) and I believe it was some short stories/essays but that's all I've got. I don't remember anything about it other than it was short.

Alright 6 more reviews done and I even almost remembered things about them. Good job, me.

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Even Minier Mini Reviews

I am so behind on reviews. So behind. It's ridiculous. It's embarrassing. But also it is what it is. I have a busy job. I have a toddler. There's also a pandemic but considering how far behind I am in reviews, I don't think I can blame that. I mean, I'm going to. Because this pandemic suuuuuucks.

anyway, to get through this backlog, I had been doing mini reviews. But here's the thing, I'm so far behind I don't think mini reviews are going to cut it. It will take too long. So let's go with even minier reviews. A couple lines and then BOOM move on. Plus, I can't say I remember a lot about some of these books so I can't write more than a few lines without a bunch of research or rereading which would take even more time.

So let's do this!
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Read April 2019
It's a murder mystery within a murder mystery and that format is less fun than it may seem. But it's still a murder mystery, something I'm a fan of, so not terrible. 

Strange Weather by Joe Hill
Read April 2019
A few short stories, which can be really hit or miss but his are mostly hit so that's nice. There's one about a camera that made me cry but was v good and I think Wil Wheaton narrated it (audiobook). There's one about glass raining from the sky killing people. There's one about a magic cloud. And then there's another but you're lucky I was able to remember the other three. I kinda want to go back and read it again so that's a good sign.

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
Read April 2019
Short story in a world where most of the time if you are murdered you just come back to life so there are people who's job is to "dispatch" people who are about to die otherwise and hopefully they'll be fine. I don't remember the plot but that's a pretty good set up.

Dark Water Bride by Marty Ross
Read May 2019
Murder and death and secrets and horror and the audiobook was done with a full cast which adds something fun. Pretty sure I didn't guess the ending but it still held together so good stuff.

My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places by Mary Roach
Read May 2019
I like Mary Roach. I do not remember any of this. At all. Which is odd cos I like and typically remember the other stuff. Not this one. Maybe it's good. Who knows? Not me.

The Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar
Read May 2019
Short story about a mom who is just looking out for her daughter and maybe it seems like she's overreacting but IS SHE? This one was very good and I definitely remember it and will probably listen to it again since I can probably finish it in an afternoon.

Pretty good for a first attempt. Let's see if I can keep up with this and WHO KNOWS, maybe I'll be able to get through all my 2019 books before the end of 2021.

Monday, February 1, 2021

January Reading Wrap Up

What a year January has been, right? Insurrection, inauguration, messing with the stock market. Also we've decided that the middle of this is a good time to transition the monster to a big boy bed (or rather it's his crib but with one side removed and a small railing installed). Because if there's one thing the past year has taught us, it's that there is never a good, non-stressful time to do things so whatever, just do it. We'll see how this goes.

...If you're wondering how it goes, I've had to interrupt writing this in order to go up and help get him back in bed. So it's going about how I'd expect it to go.
This picture features about half the stuffies that made it into the bed by bedtime

Reading-wise I've started the year, OK. I didn't quite finish everything I was hoping to but I also didn't do terribly. I suppose that means I'm continuing the trend from last year. At least I'm consistent. 

Books Read
3
The Body: An Occupant's Guide by Bill Bryson. Which was also a Jan 2020 read but I needed something like this to start the year
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
The Boys' Club by Erica Katz

Total Pages Read
1,424 - I've found if I managed at least 1,000 pages a month, I'm pretty happy
Fiction
67%

BIPOC author
33%

Female author
67%

US author
100%

Rereads
33%

Book club book
33%

Book format
audiobook - 100%

Where'd I get the book
Kindle/Audible - 67%
Library - 33%
I had been playing the equivalent of phone tag with my library hold for Children of Blood and Bone since roughly November. The book would come in when I was in the middle of something long and I figured I'd never get to it before it had to be returned. So then I'd go back on the waitlist, start something else, repeat. But finally, the stars lined up and I got to read this. Thank you, library.

Decade published
2010s - 67%
2020s - 33%

Resolution Reads
33% - Children of Blood and Bone is by a Black author