July Wrap-Up and August TBR

I let myself have a little fun in July and dabbled in some children’s books.

July Wrap-Up

Hey Dog by Tony Johnson

A boy wins the trust of an abused dog. 5/5

Dogs and Their People by Anne Lambelet

Fun story, fun art, and a fun twist at the end. 5/5

Get Me Out if This Book Kalli Dakos

A sweet story about being brave with your own copy of the main character. 5/5

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore

A fun horror novella that takes some unexpected turns. 4/5

Expecting Better by Emily Oster

A very helpful and informative book. I got the first edition from my library so an entire chapter was largely irrelevant for me. I’ll probably try to reread some of the later chapters about labor and delivery closer to my due date. 4.5/5

FKA USA by Reed King

It’s a dystopian future where an unremarkable nobody must take stalking goat across the country that used to be the United States. Funny, poignant, and full of action, this book was an excellent adventure. 5/5

Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul Tremblay

Previous post is a review with my average and rating of each story but I very much enjoyed this collection. It’s my first Tremblay but it harkens back to several of his other works so long time fans will really enjoy it. 4/5

August TBR

Commander in Cheat by Rick Reilly

I’m mostly done this nonfiction book about Twitler’s relationship with golf and how it helps explain him as a person. Funny, readable, and a little too true so far.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

The new Sager with a tribute to Rosemary’s Baby. I love me some summer creeps.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

I try to stay a month ahead or so of where I am.

Adventure memoir

A memoir of something doing something cool and outdoorsy.

Growing Things

One of the biggest horror releases this summer and I was first in line at my library to get it. As I do with anthologies, I’m going to rate the stories individually and see if my average matches my overall rating

• Growing Things – 3
• Swim Wants to Know if It’s as Bad as Swim Thinks – 3
• Something about Birds – 3.5
• The Getaway – 4
• Nineteen Snapshots of Dennisport – 5
• Where We All Will Be – 5
• The Teacher – 3
• Notes for the Barn in the Wild – 4
• ________ – 4
• Our Town’s Monster – 5
• A Haunted House Is a Wheel Upon which Some Are Broken – 4
• It Won’t Go Away – 4
• Notes from the Dog Walkers – 4
• Further Questions for the Somnambulist – 4
• The Ice Tower – 5
• The Society of the Monsterhood – 5
• Her Red Right Hand – 5
• It’s Against the Law to Feed the Ducks – 4.5
• The Thirteenth Temple – 4

Where We All Will Be felt like a beginning rather than a complete story. There’s more to tell and I’d love to hear it. I thought Haunted House and Dog Walkers dragged a little but were overall very good. A few stories called back to Tremblay’s other works. This is my first of his so I picked up on it but didn’t fully appreciate it.

The 3 star stories aren’t bad but weren’t my personal taste. My average for this anthology was a 4.1 and I clearly had more 5s than 3s. That’s about the rating I would give. I loved several stories and some didn’t speak to me. Definitely recommend if you want some creepy short fiction.