My Monday Musings

Oh heyyyyyy!! Look at me – blogging about books! Don’t get used to it lol I’m reading about 1 book a month right now. 

I’m just going to do a mini review round-up of the books I’ve read since October because there were several good ones!

His & Hers by Alice Feeney ~Goodreads (The bookpusher – Jen): I’m not a fan of thrillers/mysteries but Jen rec’d this one and I thought I would give it a go on audio. A divorced couple – BBC presenter, Anna (Her) & DCI investigator, Jack (His) & the killer having alternate pov’s after the body of a young woman is discovered.

This was actually quite interesting as the case unravels and you find out everyone’s connection to the victim. The audio was excellent and I found the interpersonal issues with Anna and Jack really interesting. The ending, while not entirely satisfying, was a bit twisty and not tied in a neat bow – yet conclusive.

What I liked less, is how much this book relies on cliches – SPOILER –> Everyone wants to sleep with, or has slept with, Jack. A woman’s traumatic pain is exploited and ignored in favor of the mystery, there’s a very rushed ending when all of a sudden everyone is being murdered.

CW -> Sexual assault, bullying, animal abuse - these are the ones I could recall - you might want to check online for more. 

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert ~Goodreads (The bookpushers Jen & Amber)I love Talia Hibbert’s writing but for some reason Get a Life, Chloe Brown didn’t wow me. Book #2, Take a Hint, Dani Brown utterly charmed me though. Competent but relationship averse Dani and grumpy on the outside but soft on the inside, Zaf were just the right amount of quirky, stubborn and sweet. 

Grown by Tiffany Jackson, Narrator Joniece Abbott-Pratt ~ Goodreads (The bookpushers Jen & Amber) WOW. Just WOW. Inspired by the R. Kelly case – Grown follows Enchanted Jones, an aspiring singer, who gets noticed & groomed by mega R&B star Korey Fields.

She’s charmed by Korey and all you can see and internally scream is RED FLAG, RED FLAG!!!!

Grown is a terrifying, relevant, important and just plain wonderful. It definitely makes my Best of 2020 list.

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, Narrator Christopher Myers ~ Goodreads 

Pet is about beings that look like monsters who might be angels and beings that look like angels who might be monsters – and being brave enough to confront evil and speak up – even when it’s hard.

While the book is not specifically about sex or gender, Jam is a black transgender girl and has a lovely relationship with her parents, best friend and his family. There is a polyamorous relationship as well as disability rep – a character in a wheelchair - and Jam is selectively mute and uses sign language.

This is YA but often feels more like MG with the sense of (dark) whimsy and prose – especially with names like Jam, Hibiscus, Bitter. Pet speaks in a way that makes the story have a fairytale vibe. But the subject matter is very dark (child abuse) and if a younger child is reading it - it should be read together with an adult.

The audio of this was fantastic with Christopher Myers giving Pet a creepy cool voice that left you wondering if he was the monster or the savior.

CW –> Child sexual and physical abuse – not on page but it is the central plotline & the monster aspect can be quite scary at times. 

Have you read any of these? Any recommendations for more books I should buy but not read?? lol

Tell Me Something Tuesday

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general.

Join in by answering this weeks question in the comments or on your own blog.

If you would like to join TMST and receive periodic emails of upcoming topics, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM. TMST is a laid back meme – join in or opt out depending on your interest in topics or schedule.

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In what will be a surprise to no one – I’ve missed the past few weeks of TMST because I seem to have gone into blogger hibernation mode.

I’m thinking of maybe posting once a month wrap-up style until I get my groove back – a monthly book post, life post and TMST.

So, I’m going to do a little catching up today with a few past TMST topics. I had really wanted to do the Thanksgiving one especially because even if I’m being a slacker lately, the blogging community is one of the things that always keeps me going.

11/24 topic: Gratitude. What books/authors/narrators/bloggers are you most thankful for this year?

Answer: Easy answer (& it’s true!) ALL of you! But a few specific shout outs to…

Roberta from OffbeatYA for being my #1 cheer leader

Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag & Blodeuedd from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell for still existing lol There are only a few of us *original* bloggers left.

Jen Ryland Reviews for…everything. She’s my go to for venting, advice and recommendations.

Amber from DuLivre because she’s just an awesome person & blogger. And have you seen her baby??!! Baby Aria pictures have gotten me through 2020. No, seriously. Special thanks to Amber for DM’ing bonus pictures when I need them most lol

Lindsi from Do You Dog Ear for being a great friend & texting buddy.

Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About – there are several of us now co-hosting TMST but really it’s Jen who has taken on most of the work coordinating and keeping track of topics so THANK YOU. She also won my pay it forward giveaway earlier this year and used her $25 to make a donation to the New Hampshire Humane Society in memory of Fonzi & it was such a thoughtful gesture and kind thing to do.

Authors/narrators – I’ve loved all of Elizabeth Acevedo’s books and especially her narration. And a new favorite is Joniece Abbot-Pratt. She narrated both Raybearer and Grown and is fabulous!

12/1 topic: Share a book centric childhood memory.

Answer: I was not a big reader as a child. My only memory of specific books was a dinosaur fossil book that I had. I carried it everywhere! I guess I thought I was going to discover dinosaur tracks or bones?? lol

My parents also collected National Geographic magazines so I read those a lot. And at a later stage (I think I was around 10) I snuck a copy of Helter Skeltor. It had pictures of the crime scene and I became both obsessed and scared the shit out of myself. 

12/8 topic: How do you organize your Goodreads shelf?

via GIPHY

Answer: I always have the best intentions of re-organizing my Goodreads shelves but yeah – they’re a hot mess. There are some random shelves still there from years ago when I thought I would go by genres etc. Basically, I use – month read, year, YA (why no other genre?? I don’t know my logic there lol) ARC, and now library, Kindle Unlimited shelves for each year so I can keep track of where I’m getting my books from.

I am surrounded by next level planners and organizers and always feel weird that I’m not like that but I don’t care?? I just read and mostly keep track of the total number for the year/each month. I don’t have shelves for what I want to read either.

Now I’m up to date on my topics! feel free to chime in on any of my answers & I’ll be back on the 29th (I hope lol) for favorite audiobooks because I DO have several! 2020 was the year I embraced the audiobook.