What started as a slow month (I didn't start reading anything until the 8th) really picked up near the end. Which is surprising considering July felt like a very busy month. I mean, I didn't move or anything so I guess there's that but the monster turned 6 (what is time, even?) and we had our 10 year wedding anniversary (again, time, what?) so there were Things happening.
Hey look, I have actually kept up with my book bullet journal, even if I keep forgetting to post it here.
Anyway, let's get to those stats, shall we?
Number of books read
5
You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffian & Lacey Lamar
Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories
About Racism by Amber Ruffian & Lacey Lamar
This book is so much fun. I’ve read it at least 3 times now
and it’s just as funny each time. And yes, it’s a book about racism and what is
funny about that? Well, when recounted by comedian Amber Ruffian & her
sister Lacey Lamar about mostly the everyday nonsense Lacey runs into being a Black
woman in very white Omaha. While the audiobook lacks some of the visuals Amber
describes, the fact that it is read by Ruffian herself (with some interjections
from Lacey) more than makes up for it. Very funny and a quick read
Rating: 5 stars
Rating: 5 stars
Gilda is anxious. She’s constantly worried about death, can’t hold a job, can’t keep her apartment clean, ignores her sort of girlfriend and can’t talk to her family, who seem to rather hide problems rather than confront them. She finds herself at the local Catholic church and is mistaken for someone applying for the new receptionist job, she’s too embarrassed to correct the priest and instead pretends to be straight and Catholic to accept the job (that she admittedly needs). She even pretends to be the previous receptionist, Grace, when she starts seeing emails from Grace’s old friend start turning up in the church inbox and can’t bear to break the news. But when suspicions arise around Grace’s death, Gilda finds herself in a tricky position. See how interesting that premise sounds? There are moments here and there, but it felt like at least 80% of the novel was Gilda being anxious. Anxious in different locations but as a character, she was one-dimensional, hardly changing throughout the book. The set up and even the outline of the characters felt like there was so much potential that never really materialized.
Rating: 2.75 stars
Murder mystery around a Great British Bake Off-esque show? Yes, please! Or at least "yes, please" in theory. In execution, well. Six amateur bakers make their way to a Vermont estate for a 5-day Bake Week challenge, hosted and judged by estate owner and celebrity baker Betsy Martin. The book opens a few days into the contest with a body being found before we jump back to day one and meet the contestants who each narrate their own chapters, along with chapters from Betsy. Things seem to be going wrong from the start, odd things happening to the ingredients, and what is up with that wing of the house no one is allowed in? Lots of interesting things being set up, but, as I mentioned, the whole book takes place over a couple days so from the start, things felt rushed. Still a mostly fun book (I still wanted to know what happened) but fell a bit flat.
Rating: 3.25 stars
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
Oh look, another entry in the Hawthorne & Horowitz series. This time Anthony is telling the story of a past Hawthorne investigation, one that he is not directly part of because, let's face it, there are only so many intriguing murder mysteries that can happen "in real life" before belief has been suspended a bit too far. A grisly murder happens in what seems to be an idyllic cluster of homes in Riverside Close, when the new neighbor (who didn't really fit in with this tight-knit community) is found dead. Everyone had motive. Everyone had secrets. Who could have done it? And how can Anthony help tell the story of a case that's already closed? There's less of the dynamic between Hawthorne & Horowitz than in the other books, which is a shame because that is fun to see, but it's still an entertaining murder mystery and yes, I'll probably continue on should Horowitz keep writing them.
Rating: 4 stars
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
My first Stevenson book, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, was one of my favorite books of last year. But I was surprised to see it listed as the first in a series because it didn't seem to be the kind of story to lend itself to a sequel. But apparently it did and we once again join Ernest Cunningham as he writes about solving a murder complete with clues, both hidden and those called out to the reader, lots of twists, humor and in general a good time. I mean, it's five crime writers trying to solve a crime. That's a good time, isn't it?
Rating: 4.25 stars
Total pages read
1,523
Fiction
80%
Female authors
60%
BIPOC authors
20%
US authors
40%
Rereads
20%
Format
audiobook - 100%
Where'd I get the book
Library - 80%
Gift - 20%
Decade published
2020s - 100%
Resolution books
80%
You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey is by a Black author (or pair of them, really)
Everyone in This Room Will Be Dead Someday is by a Canadian author
Close to Death is by a UK author
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect is by an Australian author
