I sewed and appliqued an advent calendar for my mom for Christmas. I had so much fun finding things to fill it with. This was my major craft over October and November. She loves it.
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So, I'm not going to get to writing up my reviews for what I read in October. I decided to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and all my free time is going towards writing 50,000 words. (I don't think I'll achieve that, but if I write everyday that is an achievement in itself!) October reviews will go up with November early in December. Light Years From Home, by Mike Chen
Fifteen years after disappearing, Kass and Evie’s ne’er-do-well brother returns with a nonchalant excuse about traveling the world. Evie has long been convinced that he was taken by aliens, while Kass doesn’t care anymore in the detritus of her own life. Jakob was abducted by aliens and is a soldier in a war against an enemy trying to take over the universe. He needs help to get back, but can he and his sisters get along long enough to make it happen? I liked this book. It’s more of an examination of sibling relationships than truly sci-fi, but it is well done. Some of the chapters were a bit too long and delved into repetitive thinking, but a good story still. Forest Hills Bootleg Society, by Dave Baker Four teens try to make enough money to buy matching jackets by selling bootleg hentai anime DVDs. They are four very different girls joined together by circumstance through their ultra religious boarding school. As the money they make brings them closer to the jackets, their growing pains and conflicting personalities might just break them apart. This is a well-done story with excellent illustrations. It was good, but hard to recommend because it leaves you with a real world ending, which, like life, is not very satisfying. The characters struggles felt very real, so when things don’t work out, it is sad. Long Live the Post Horn! By Vigdis Hjorth A short, odd, existential tale about a woman finding new interest in life through the struggles of postal workers who are fighting for their jobs. I liked bits of this. The early parts were super tedious, but as the main character begins to expand her worldview, so the story opens up as well. If you like Nordic existentialism, this is for you. All I Want, by Darcey Bell Pregnant Emma and her husband Ben buy a dilapidated house in upstate New York and get to work on fixing it up. Ben spends his weekdays in the city, so Emma is left alone to manage the workers, but she soon finds evidence that their new dream house has dark secrets, which drives a wedge into her marriage. As with so many psychological thrillers, I found this book disappointing. Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki I rewrote the book’s tagline to better reflect this story: A blend of fantasy and scifi set in the San Gabriel Valley, with a violin prodigy, a trans girl with an abusive past, Faustian bargains, queer alien courtship over some of the finest foods in the valley, and fresh-made donuts. There is a lot going on in this book and all of it is wonderful, with just the right amount of tension and hardship, and wonderfully wound up. Highly recommend. The Book Haters Book Club, by Gretchen Anthony A nice story. After the sudden death of Elliot, the co-owner of Over the Rainbow Bookstore, his partner wants to sell, but her daughters and his grieving widower want to hold on to the store. Family bonds, blood-related or not, is the thing that binds this story together. A quick, cozy read. Comeuppance Served Cold, by Marion Deeds In a 1920s Seattle where wealth is combined with magic, newcomer Dolly White is hired to be companion to socialite Fiona Earnshaw. But Dolly’s real motive is to gain access to Earnshaw’s vault, and if she helps several down-and-out magickers along the way, well, that’s a bonus. A really fun novella. Excellent world-building and magic system, all tied up in an action-packed story. Definitely recommend and I hope there are more. Africa Is Not a Country, by Dipo Faloyin This is one of the best books I have ever read, of any type or genre. It’s a nonfiction dive into what has made Africa’s countries they way they are—colonialism, imperialism, exploitation, power-grabs. But more importantly, it is a celebration of the people who inhabit the countries on the continent, with some special love given to Faloyin’s own Nigeria and Lagos. Faloyin’s gorgeous writing, his wit and charm, make even the most horrific practices of colonialism absolutely readable. At times enraging and frustrating, the narrative is balanced with the love and respect for the billions of people who live on the continent. I cannot recommend this book enough. Chronic Pain Couple, by Karra Eloff Second nonfiction book in a month! Look at me go. This book is due to come out in the U.S. in March and is being published by the company I work for. It is a really great look at intimacy and relationship issues that come with one partner in constant pain. Eloff is a health professional dealing with chronic pain herself and offers lessons she has learned while keeping her relationship with her husband a priority. Solid advice offered by someone who writes like a friend. Recommend for those it could help. Salt Magic, by Hope Larsen A gorgeous, fairy tale-like graphic novel about a girl in rural Oklahoma who takes on the beautiful witch that has doomed her family’s farm all because her brother didn’t want to marry her. Vonceil travels to a land where a sugar witch tries to steal her youth, then finds the salt witch’s lair—a gorgeous mansion and gardens amidst the driest part of the desert—and strikes a deal that could leave her enslaved to the angry witch. This book is lovingly written and wonderfully illustrated. Unlike many graphic novels, I took my time to read it, savoring the story. I have finally had some time to get back into crafting and hat making. I've had this one in my head for awhile and am happy with the results. I am currently working on some sewing projects, including a fabric baseball-type hat.
August 2022 Reads
Indecent Hours, by James Fujinuri Moore This is the first full-length book of poetry I’ve read in years and I loved it. The author is a Southern California native and his work reflects his Los Angeles-area upbringing. Themes of family history and trauma, racism and Japanese internment, and contemporary living, the book has a lot to say and does so with quite lovely language. For example: “I am the sing of air between nock & nock,” and “There’s no smog in Los Angeles, just those spectacular coughs of sunset.” I highly recommend this book. The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill I was really ready to like this book. It was a listen and I enjoyed it up until I didn’t. It contains two stories: one is the murder mystery that surrounds the title—four people meet over a scream at the Boston Public Library becoming fast friends, maybe; the second is an email correspondence between the writer of the first story and a big fan who may have turned murderous. I kept expecting that the two stories would somehow intertwine, [spoiler alert] but they didn’t. And the murder mystery part had major plot holes. Major. So, can’t really recommend this one. Juniper & Thorn, by Ava Reid This is a retelling of a Grimm’s fairy tale that I had never heard of, The Juniper Tree. In a Russian-like city that is burgeoning under new industry, Marlinchen lives with her sorcerer father and her sisters. All three girls have some type of magic which their father uses to his benefit. When Marlinchen begins to test the limits of her father’s rule, she falls in love and gets tangled up in the mysterious murders happening around town. The novel is beautifully written, with a lot of reverence to fairy tale-like language, but it is a bit slow. Overall, it was a nice change, but I’m not too enthusiastic about it. Also, kudos for the great cover. The It Girl, by Ruth Ware I was excited to read this new Ware novel, especially as the MC is a bookseller. It was fine. Ten years after her friend and roommate was murdered, Hannah is still reeling from the death and the events during her first year at school. The person convicted for April’s murder has died in prison and Hannah can’t help thinking that the testimony she gave put an innocent person in jail. As she does her own research into the murder, she realizes so many people wanted April dead. Finding out who did may kill her too. Friend of the Devil, by Stephen Lloyd An odd, short novel about a remote boarding school, a missing manuscript, an investigative student, an underground drug ring, sinister happenings, a possible demon, and a PI with nothing to lose. That’s about the only way to sum it up without telling you the whole story. It was a fun, quick read and I didn’t see the twist ending coming at all. Himawari House, by Harmony Becker Following three non-Japanese girls living together in Tokyo, this graphic novel is funny, full of grace, heartbreak, love, and warmth. I absolutely fell in love with these friends as they go about their lives attending Japanese language school, getting part-time jobs, having crushes, and eating so much good food. To make it even better, the illustrations were gorgeous too. Loved this book! Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, by Caitlin Doughty This book is SO good. Caitlin Doughty has made herself famous as a mortician and explainer of everything regarding dead people. Her previous books have to do with funerary practices and this one is based on questions she received from kids at speaking engagements. Because, kids aren’t afraid to ask the hard questions. Hence, the title. I learned a lot from this book and laughed a lot too. Doughty clearly likes her subject and does not squirm away from the icky parts. And now I know what my dogs will do to my body if I die in the house with no one else there. Yay? The Restless Dark, by Erica Waters I really enjoyed Waters’s book Ghost Wood Song, and this one seemed like it would be right up my alley. It was okay. I think it would have read better if it were a psychological thriller, but it relied too heavily on a feeling of the supernatural feeling that the story never quite conveyed. Lucy attends a week-long camp, hosted by a true crime podcast, to find the bones of a serial killer. Lucy was supposed to be the killer’s last victim but survived and lives in terror that he is not dead. At the camp, she meets two other women who are there for their own issues. The camp is on a steep mountain that is often encased in fog where it’s easy to get lost. And the people who are there to search for the bones all seem to have their own agendas. Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine, by Jo Rioux The first in a series, this graphic novel was so different and fun. It has monsters I’ve never heard of and magic that brings something new. Suri is an orphan raised by a merchant caravan. Rather than work to earn her way, she tells monster stories. She’d also like to be monster hunter one day. Her wish sort of comes true, when she finds the “monster” living in the woods. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series! For You & No One Else, by Roni Loren This is the last book in a trilogy, and it felt like it. Just like the first two in the Say Everything series, I listened to this one. I really liked the first two and highly recommend them. This felt like the story was not quite all there. That the obstacles weren’t all that big a deal. Eliza seems like she has it all, but she wants to find ‘the one,’ and have a relationship like her parents did. Enter Beck, gorgeous, smart, and too young for her. After the video of a disaster of a date goes viral, Eliza decides to have a social media detox, inspired by Beck. And you know where it goes. Network Effect, by Martha Wells The end of August was rough, I needed a comfort read. Funny how a Murderbot book is my comfort read. |
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Thanks for visiting. Here you’ll find my book blog, posts about my crafts and hats, short stories and other works by me. Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy.
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