March Wrap-Up

March was a good mix of quality and quantity. I’m not finishing anything else today so here’s my wrap-up.

How Long ‘til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

Jemisin is a phenomenal writer. Some stories were perfectly contained. Others left me begging for more. All of them were incredibly well done. 5/5

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Dark sci-fi that focuses on two broken women and the cave from hell. I liked it but it dragged in places. Some parts were rough to read so not for the faint of heart. 4/5

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics, and Pesky Poltergeists by J. K. Rowling

Adds some fun color and history to various characters. 4/5

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

Definitely caught more problems on this read through than last time. Still good but not great. 4/5

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

A nonlinear story of people coping with the end of the world as we knew it. A beautiful story about connection. 5/5

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

One of the more palatable but factual Holocaust stories I’ve found. I talk more about it here. 5/5

Miss Me with That by Rachel Lindsay

The memoir you want when a reality star writes a memoir. I go into more detail here. 5/5

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies by J. K. Rowling

A fun and informative little addition to the cannon. 4/5

The Ridiculous Misadventures of a Single Girl by Gabrielle Stone

I was not a fan. I talk more about why here. 2.5/5

WolfWalkers by Tomm Moore and Samuel Sattin

I saw this at my library and thought “That looks fun.” The metaphors were a little heavy handed but they often are in kid lit. Very enjoyable. 4/5

I made it around 30% into The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore. It was a little dry and wasn’t really grabbing me so I shelved it for something else.

Mediocre Misadventures

I read Eat, Pray, Love in 2020. It was good but not good enough to merit the phenomenon it became. Elizabeth Gilbert spawned an entire sub genre rife with mediocrity. The ‘privileged white girl on an adventure to healing’ memoir. No one asked for them but the white women keep making them.

I read Gabrielle Stone’s first memoir and described it as EPL for the social media generation. As expected, it was much shallower than its inspiration. The writing wasn’t as good and the introspection was lacking. Stone replaced praying with drinking and clubbing. Not as conducive to emotional healing but it was entertaining read overall. I cannot say the same about her followup book.

Misadventures of a Single Girl is a misnomer since it’s just Gabrielle flip flopping between her Tyler and Javier. It’s not like she was going on bad tinder dates. She does to Tyler what Javier did to her. Since none of these people have heard of the phrase ‘clean break,’ it was messy AF and frustrating to read.

Additionally She reveals A LOT of intimate details about Javier. Knowing he didn’t give his consent for his portrayal in this book (she said as much on her socials) makes this feel a little icky. There was no good reason to waste 250 pages on bad relationship choices and intimate details we didn’t need. Where TF was the editor?

Another vexing part was how Gabrielle only hung out with other western tourists. I know the language barrier is real but it felt like a tourist experience. For all her ‘spiritual gangster’ talk, she didn’t seem to dive too deep into the places she was staying.

If the first 250 pages had been cut in half, this would have been a 3.5 star read. With the bad name and heavy focus on intimate personal details, this was definitely a 2.5 star read for me.

Stay Messy Big Rach

This memoir is almost everything I’ve wanted in a Bachelor Nation memoir. If you’re not in the fandom of this problematic show, the rest is not gonna make an abundance of sense. You’ve been warned.

I was genuinely shocked at how messy and dramatic Rachel’s dating history was before the show. As someone who didn’t have great dating patterns in my 20s, I can appreciate it. On the show she seemed so smart and together but was making some dumb decisions in love. We have all been there.

It says a lot of Rachel, her maturity, and her commitment to knowing herself that she was able to find her husband on this ridiculous show. She’s also owning her mistakes and questionable choices of her past with her honesty. I have a lot of respect toward her for it.

Quite a bit of piping hot tea was delivered in later chapters. I recently read Hannah Brown’s underwhelming tell-a-little. She just happened to omit Rachel during her explanation n-word aftermath. The hot mess express can miss me with her omission.

Rachel explicitly says she will not divulge the details of her falling out with Raven. During filming on The Bachelor, Raven told the other women her first impressions of them. “Rachel has black skin.”

Raven also donated money to Mitch McConnell. As a resident of Arkansas and Texas, he has never represented her as a constituent. Pairing these facts together and we can make an educated guess as to what happened.

Rachel doesn’t pull punches when going after the show in general but I was kind of hoping for some more details about production. Maybe she doesn’t have them, maybe she’s choosing not to share. She’s still not taking any shit from this show and I am here for it.

I have truly enjoyed hearing Rachel’s story. So few former leads and contestants are so honest. They want to stay in The Bachelor’s good graces and won’t tell the whole truth to do it. Rachel was done with the show so her honesty made this very much worth the read. 5/5

Read Banned Books: Maus

Anyone who tries to ban this book from high schools is a fool. This is a very real part of our history. Given the hate, violence, and bigotry still holding strong, it is not impossible for this to happen again. We need to remember and learn from this.

One aspect of Maus that was unique is that it’s an individual story. It’s not a grand history of everything or even one camp. The focus is on one man. It’s a very factual retelling and gives you a good picture of the various horrors and atrocities that took place. There were so many terrible things and Spiegelman’s father endured so much of it.

Focusing on the story of someone who lived, you never lose the human element. You don’t get lost diving into the depth of depravity like so many. The visual storytelling did a good job with the facts and history but the casualness of the horror. Walking to work and past the bodies of prisoners who were hanged. Regularly stepping over or moving dead bodies. It’s a crucial part of the story but never the point.

It also shows that surviving doesn’t elevate his father beyond what he was. Vladek was difficult to be around for long periods of time. He was stubborn, penny pinching, passive aggressive, and a little racist. People are flawed and people survived.

This is one of the more palatable works I’ve read on the subject. We can never forget our history because we are too close to repeating the worst it. Read, remember, learn from it. 5/5

Station Eleven Covers

This wonderful novel has been out for a while so there are several different covers.

Melting Candle

I don’t think the melting candle is an inaccurate representation but it misses so much else. It has an echo of darkness and despair. Yes, the lights are gone but the world isn’t totally desolate. The central point of the story is human connection.

This theme may have shifted or taken a backseat. I know the TV adaptation has some plotting differences. Another reason I’m rarely a fan of adaptation covers for books. At least this one is subtle.

Deer in Urban Decay

The deer in the urban decay is interesting but also loses a key part of the book. The central theme is human connection. This cover design could easily work for a variety of post-apocalyptic stories. It doesn’t embody what’s unique about this one.

I could easily see cover for a book about people surviving and searching for community in the apocalypse. That story would end with the arrival of The Travel Symphony. ‘Here is your community. Go forth and make sense of the world.’ That is very much not this story.

Tents and Stars

I love the tents and the stars. It’s much neater and more uniform than the Traveling Symphony would actually be but it has such a good grasp of the essence of this story.

The lit tents show the community and human connection. The stars and tents show how life has changed. We don’t gather in cities the way we used to. Life is simpler. You get a hit of decay with the crumbling wall but it’s not without hope or warmth.

I loved this cover before I even read the book because it’s beautiful. Now, it’s inarguably my favorite.

Mouse Indoctrination Has Begun

My son has his first Disney movie obsession.

My husband’s nephew was the right age for Cars when it first came out. For my son’s second birthday, my SIL sent us his old Cars toys. We showed him the movie and we’ve had to watch it at least once a day ever since.

Reasons I Like Cars

It’s not a musical

If we’re in the car or in his room and I put on music, I can listen to whatever. None of the music in Cars is integral to the plot so I can get away from the movie when it’s not on.

It has shorts

If I need the kid to chill for 15 minutes before dinner or bed and he’s hanging by a thread, he catch watch a couple of the short films.

Good messages

Be kind. Check your ego. Cheating is bad. Winning isn’t everything. Lots of positive, subtle messages.

Reasons I Don’t Like Cars

The plot is unoriginal

As an adult, I’ve seen this basic story so. Many. Times. It’s better than Frozen which is a 90 minute ad for family therapy but it’s not the best kid’s movie ever.

I have to watch it Every. Single. Day.

If you have to watch something daily, somewhat against your will, you’d be over it too.

35 Random Facts about Me

I’m turning 35 today so here’s 35 random facts about me.

1) I like to cut my corn off the cob

2) I’m originally from Maryland so Old Bay is life.

3) I basically named my son. I told my husband “I think this would be a cool middle name.” He agreed. “I really like this boys name.” He agreed. He doesn’t like my other favorites so if we have another boy, he’s getting more say.

4) Fall is my favorite season. Climate change is slowly killing it so write your Congress people to try and get it back.

5) I’m allergic to wool and acrylic sweaters are almost as itchy. Fleece is my friend.

6) Book Antiqua is my favorite font.

7) My favorite wild animals are sharks and wolves.

8) The Science Channel is our default cable channel.

9) I love Steven Rhodes designs. I think he’s hilarious.

10) A friend bought me a Fear Street book when I was 12. I read all of that series available at 2 library branches.

11) Warehouse 13, The Good Place, and Firefly are my favorite TV shows.

12) Golden delicious is my favorite kind of apple.

13) My husband and I met at a Doctor Who Happy Hour.

15) Since working with dogs in 2018, I’ve developed a big soft spot for chihuahuas. They’re a very underrated breed.

16) I love diners and little hole in the wall restaurants.

17) During my brief stint in publishing, we got new books in. At least 4 of us (including me) gathered around to enjoy the new book smell.

18) My favorite gemstones are fire opal, rainbow moonstone, and tanzanite.

19) I don’t eat pork. Partly because I don’t like it and partly because pigs are emotional and intelligent creatures.

20) I took Spanish in high school and German in college.

21) I wear a lot of black because you can’t really stain black.

22) I love milkshakes.

23) I’m left handed.

24) I’ve never been drunk.

25) When my toddler is acting his age/being difficult, I started play metal to calm my own nerves. He’s now into Sabaton.

26) Mac n cheese is my comfort food.

27) I don’t have any tattoos but there’s quite a few I want.

28) I’ve seen Elton John, Anberlin, Backstreet Boys, and Within Temptation in concert twice.

29) I can handle cold temperatures pretty well but will get overheated pretty easily.

30) I had an unmedicated childbirth. Not necessarily by choice. I was just too far along for the pain meds to kick in before my son was out.

31) I love memoirs of people thru-hiking and having adventures in nature.

32) I only like broccoli and spinach raw. Cooking it changes the flavor too much.

33) Alaska is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been.

34) My favorite color is purple. Teal and turquoise tie for second.

35) My favorite sound is howling wind.

March TBR

This month, my TBR is about finishing what I started.

How Long ‘til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

I’m mostly done this one but the stories are too good to binge. Writing this good needs to be savored.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

Continuing my reread of this series. I’ve made a good sized dent so I want to keep it going.

Maus by Art Spiegelman

I’m about halfway through but library books have proven to be a potent distraction. Work this important and relevant deserves my attention.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

I started this on audiobook and have been keeping up with the ebook for visual elements. It’s pretty interesting.

I’m going to try to make sure most of the other books I pick up this month are by women. A quick check of my library holds confirms this shouldn’t be a problem.

February Wrap-Up

I read a romance, newly single memoir of empowerment, and a memoir from someone on a reality dating show. Pretty solid selection for the romance month.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

It still holds up. It’s shorter than I remember for all the plot crammed into it. 4/5

The C Word by Mindy Klasky

A romance novel that deals with the pandemic. I liked until it fell into the problematic trope of ‘forgive your drunk father who was horrible to you. He magically became redeemable.’ 95% that isn’t reality so that knocked off a star for me. 3/5

Eat, Pray, #FML by Gabrielle Stone

She does a pretty good job of summarizing in this TikTok. This is Eat, Pray, Love for the social media generation. Not perfect but fun and with some good points 3.5/5

Victim F: From Crime Victims to Suspects to Survivors by Nicole Egan

Holy ACAB Batman. Lots of trigger warnings. The large number of police procedurals on TV does a great job of hiding how awful law enforcement can truly be. These victims had the means to fight the system. Imagine all the people who can’t. 5/5

God Bless This Mess by Hannah Brown

Strongly mediocre. Standard forgettable ghostwriting style in most Bachelor Nation memoirs. She says almost NOTHING about her time on the show. 3/5 and that’s a low 3

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity

A little bit gothic adventure, a little bit cosmic battle. 5/5

Not how I expected my reading to go but I’m happy with it.