Life, reading, watching update...

Saw this on a walk through Portland a few weeks ago. Seemed like a good sentiment for these times.

HELLOOOOOO again!

I thought I was on a roll with reading and blogging but, of course, Murphy's Law lol

I'll start with a life update then switch over to reading/tv.

😴 Post COVID really knocked me down with fatigue for about 3 weeks. I could not stay awake once 10 am rolled around. Think I'm over that.

💻 Then my computer cable for my monitor died. I cannot blog on a small screen so that took me out for a week while waiting for a new cable. Now I'm so far behind I decided to just do a catch-up post and *hopefully* get back to regular posting next week.

💪 I finally got into my PT and I think it's helping. Six sessions in and I have much less pain when I reach my arm across but it will be a long time before it fully heals. I can't lift any weights in workouts other than my PT exercises. I'm going to switch to yoga style workouts because most of those are about opening and strengthening the chest/shoulder muscles and avoiding lifting with my shoulders which is what I need.

Most of you have seen this already but this is Ms. Penny - my constant companion during therapy. For some reason she is very attached to me and they can't get her to leave me alone when I'm there. I do not mind at all! lol

BOOKS/TV/MOVIES

Read:

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma ~Goodreads I listened to this on audio (loved the narration) and it was such a mindfuck of a book. I don't think *like* would be the phrase I would use but I also didn't mind it as much as other readers did. And I really liked the end - again other readers hated it. I really wanted to write a full review for this one but I'm several weeks away from finishing it (blasted computer cable!) and not sure I can do it justice at this point because it's a tricky book to review. I'll see if something magically comes to me lol

Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry ~ Goodreads I usually love Tamara Berry's (aka: Tamara Morgan) writing and twist on common tropes but this book drove me batty. It's a cozy mystery but a little more gruesome and update on the genre (which I expected from her). I was not expecting such a frustrating heroine though. Tess Harrow thinks because she's a thriller writer and has googled a few things about murder, that she's now an expert in all things and the cops are idiots. When in fact she's wrong about almost everything (& the cops are more than competent)  and puts her daughter in harms way constantly while thinking more about how she can fit real life murder an mayhem into her next book. I also thought the audio version did this book no favors. It made Tess sound even haughtier. On the plus side, the townspeople were great, her daughter was kind of cool, and there were some twists.

Reading:

Dim Sum of All Fears (A Noodle Shop Mystery #2) by Vivien Chien ~ Goodreads My light and fluffy (even though it's murder lol) cosy mystery bedtime Kindle read. The first two are on KU and I really enjoy this series so far.

Roxy by Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman ~ Goodreads (Recieved hardcover from the publisher in exchange for an honest review) I've started and stopped this book so many times. I was never in the right mood for it but I picked it up to read outside when the weather was nice and it finally matched my mood. It's a very strange book about two siblings who are very different but both get hooked on prescription drugs. What's strange is that the drugs (Roxy is Oxycontin, Addison - Adderall for example) also have POV's in the story. It's interesting reading how they choose *their mark* and go from helpful to potentially harmful. There's controversy surrounding this one and I know people on both sides of this issue. Those who have been addicted (I myself abused RX drugs when I was younger but not to this extent) and have friends that absolutely need and are alive today because of them. Weird, for sure, but I like it so far. 

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill~ Goodreads I'm listening to the audio of this thriller and it hooked me right away. It's about an author who is at the Boston Public Library when a murder occurs and befriends the group of strangers she was sitting with. It also follows her increasingly alarming correspondence with a man named Leo who is the beta reader for her current novel. I'm @ 50% in and I'm...

 

This appears to be a book within book, within a book? Or a thriller inside another thriller within a third thriller??? Thriller inception...a thriller turducken? I don't know how I feel about it right now but I feel like I have to finish it at this point lol

Watching:

Movies: Bob's Burger Movie - I love the show and this was surprisingly good and stayed true to the show and characters. Loved it! I believe it will be on Hulu next month.

Buzz Lightyear - the controversy (2 moms kissing- for like a second) over this movie was ridiculous. I didn't love the premise - Buzz (the toy) is based on this Buzz version - a sci-fi movie. I guess I thought it was based on a *real* astronaut which I thought would be more fun. I didn't love it as much as I thought I would (the secondary characters were kind of weak) but it was cute and fun. Loved the cat!

TV: We watched S2 of Picard. I thought it dragged on a little too long but we liked it! Picard is one of my all time favorite characters and I'll watch him until there are no more. 

We got a Paramount Plus trial to watch Picard so now we're watching Evil. It's a pretty good show with an X-Files vibe. A non believing forensic psychologist helps a future priest investigate unexplained mysteries. A typical procedural vibe but more graphic and violent than usual and I think it explores religion and other topics without being preachy and often with unexpected outcomes. 

We finished Obi-Wan and mostly liked it. Unpopular opinion but I LOVED little Princess Leia! 

I think that's it for now! What have you been doing/reading/watching?

I'll leave you with a Figgy pic. He'll be 17 this summer (or might already be) and he's not doing great but he's hanging in there! I left a bone out for the dogs and he took a liking it to it. He only has like 1 tooth left, so he's licking and gumming it to death lol but if it makes him happy 😻

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Bookish no-nos that make me want to hurl a book across the room

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. 

It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life  and me) 

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.

Question: What are book no-nos that make you figuratively want to toss a book across the room?

Answer: I'm sure I have a lot of no-nos that I can't think of right now, so I'll add them in if your comments remind me of any lol

CHEATING: No, nope, nada I don't like books with cheating

LOVE TRIANGLES: I  know they can happen but very rarely are they written well and they just piss me off and hurt my heart to read. 

CHARACHTERS THAT DON'T LEARN: We're only human and we're all flawed so I don't expect perfect characters but...I don't want to read 300+ pages of them screwing up, saying they learned and screwing up again. 

OVERLY CONFIDENT (without reason to be): I just finished a book like this. The MC thought they knew everything and the experts knew nothing - despite being wrong again and again. I really did want to throw the book in this case. 

VIOLENCE OR DEATH TO AN ANIMAL - I feel like that's self explanatory 

TORTURE OR BULLYING: I'm ok with violence and I know some characters are hurt at the beginning of a book and healing is part of the journey so I'm ok reading about that...but continued, gratuitous violence - nope. Even if it's not gratuitous, lately, my heart just can't take it. 

NOSY FAMILY: I know a lot of people love stories with big families, or small towns where everyone knows everything but it drives me nuts. I'm an only child so that's probably why but it drives me off the deep end when characters don't tell families/neighbors to back tf off already lol 

BAD EDITING: I don't run into this very often and I don't count arc's because they haven't gone through a final editing process but rampant typos, continuity issues and things like that.

MISCOMMUNICATION: (thanks for the reminder Tanya!) As a catalyst for the story, I'm ok with it. But when it comes down to a one minute conversation that could resolve everything and it doesn't happen until 300 pages in and is resolved in the last chapter...GRRRR

That's all I can think of atm...

What are book no-nos that make you want to throw the book across the room?

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. 

It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life  and me) 

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.

Question: Do you make use of Goodreads recommendations?

Answer: If you mean the ones on their site - based on your reading this you might like that - recommendations then no.

Just because I like one book doesn't mean I want to read a dozen more books just like it. Sometimes I read outside my genre, like a thriller, and all of a sudden they are recommending 80 thrillers to me and NO.

I also find a lot of the comparisons stupid. If I finish and love a romcom then they recommend a romance that ends in tragedy, missing why I loved the initial book. Or recommend a similar book based on a book I gave 1 star to. 

I really don't listen any *professional* book rec's. I don't care about PW, EW, NYT or any booklists. I only listen to my bookish friends recommendations. They know me. I know their tastes and I trust them so that's that! lol

Do you use Goodreads (or any professional) recommendations to choose your next read?

Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

 

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves. ~ Goodreads

Source: libro.fm ALC (advanced listening copy) in exchange for an honest review

Review: I seem to be hitting romance gold only about once a year these days (last year it was The Love Hypothesis) and I guess 2022 is Book Lovers. 

Books Lovers is like a Hallmark movie with a twist. A typical Hallmark movie is about a cut throat business guy who goes on a business trip to a small town, falls for the charming local girl and embarks on his true calling - an artisanal cheese maker, gets married in a barn with twinkle lights and has 10 kids. This story is about the cool, icy blonde city girlfriend who doesn't know how to love or have fun, who was left behind. More than once. 

Nora, a literary agent known as "The Shark" is forced to work with her nemesis (they had one bad business meeting years ago) Charlie, a book editor, on her star clients latest book. It's an uneasy truce at first but, over texts, they slowly reveal a softer, more vulnerable side of themselves and understand each other in ways no one else does.

There's another, maybe even bigger, relationship in Book Lovers though. The one between Nora and her younger sister Libby. Nora has been Libby's defacto mother since her death - and maybe even before. Nora's whole life revolves around making sure Libby is happy and well taken care of. Even though Libby is now a full grown adult, married, with another baby on the way - Nora makes her choices based on securing Libby's financial and emotional well-being. 

Libby begs Nora to finally take a break from work and take a vacation to the small town of Sunshine Falls, the location of Libby's favorite romance novel. She presents Nora with a check-list - because Nora can NEVER resist a check-list - of small town/Hallmark like things to do. Like save a small business, go out on a date with a local, get a makeover... Nora relents and off they go to Nora's idea of hell. 

The trip is supposed to bring the sisters closer together but Nora can feel the usually free-spirited and open Libby drifting away. Nora feels helpless not knowing what the problem she needs to fix is. 

And, of course, Charlie just happens to show up in Sunshine Falls with his own surprising connection to the place.   

Not quite a rom-com - although I laughed out loud many times, and not quite enemies to lovers - great witty banter but it's clear their irritation with each other is foreplay - Book Lovers was an absolute delight with a great balance of romance, tropey goodness (with a twist!) and meaningful relationships.

If I had one gripe (I always have at least one lol) was that Libby didn't want to be treated like a child but she acted like one. She also didn't like Nora coming in to fix everything - fair enough - but didn't open up the way she was trying force Nora to. It took me a while to empathize with Libby like I did Nora. She didn't have to accommodate or apologize in the way that Nora had to. But that's probably a POV thing. We only hear from Nora, so of course, that's who I rooted for. 

The romance is A+++ I adored the way Nora and Charlie really saw each & respected other - flaws and all. They had these beautiful, tender moments of solace with each other.

I really liked People We Meet on Vacation by Henry but I LOVED this one even more. I rarely like romance on audio but Julia Whelan's narration was sheer perfection. She got the voices and nuance of all the characters down perfectly. The heart and humor had me emotionally invested the whole time. 

Now Showing: COVID binge watch and life update

 

Both Kevin and I ended up with COVID last week. For him it started as congestion and mine started with headaches for 2 days. We both assumed allergies because we had been working in the yard and felt fine otherwise and tested negative. Day 3 he got full body, uncontrollable shaking. At first I thought he was exaggerating being cold and laughed because it was so over-the-top but he was FREEZING. Luckily that didn't last very long. I had the fever, body aches and felt like my skin was super tender. but only for one night. 

My biggest fear getting COVID was the cough and breathing issues since I already have problems with asthma and my esophagus. Luckily neither was bad for me. It was no more than a flu but it was weird. The symptoms (joint pain, things tasting weird, fatigue) & severity changed daily. We're mostly fine a week later but get tired easily.

So anyway...needless to say we were stuck home and watched a lot of television 😂

Obi-Wan - Disney+: not a huge Star Wars fan and a lot of the Easter egg/fan references/gripes go right over my head but I'm enjoying this one so far. Particularly, young Princess Leia. She's feisty and adorable. 

Stranger Things S4 - Netflix: This was a super bleak season. I'm not sure how many more times I can watch El (11) being bullied/tortured/hurt. I felt like we've seen most of it before anyway and it didn't have to drag out the way it did. Same with Hopper. BUT - the payoff and overall vibe of  the season was very good. This was a big love letter to 80's horror - especially Nightmare on Elm Street & Carrie and we finally got answers to several big questions. 

My tolerance of people (especially kids) being bullied in entertainment is low these days. It's just not what I feel like seeing but I did enjoy the season.

El better get a HEA though. And I'm pretty fearful for Steve...

Better Call Saul - Netflix/AMC: We watched S1 and part of S2 when it was on but somehow lost track over the years. The final season started airing on AMC a few months ago and I thought I would wiki what happened and watch just the last season. Then COVID and we had plenty of time on our hands so restarted at S2 and we're all caught up to S6. It's a really great show with brilliant acting and I'm loving how it's tying in to Breaking Bad.

Doctor Strange - theatre: I don't really like Doctor Strange or multiverse stories but I LOVE Wanda so we went to see it for her character. Worth it! She's complicated and while you can't condone anything she does, you get it and want to wrap her in a protective hug and give her something to live for. And the multiverse stuff wasn't all that bad either so - win.

Monster Hunter - Starz: This was a Kevin pick about the military (led by Mila Jovavich) falling through a portal in the universe to a world with monsters. It had a few decent moments but 👎 Even Kevin didn't like it and he likes almost all those kinds of movies lol

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - Starz: I have no idea why but I love this franchise. It's kind of balls to the wall ridiculous but it has heart and I like it.

More life news: AKA: I'm getting old

I also FINALLY started my physical therapy for my hurt shoulder. If you follow me on Twitter, you know all about the insurance approval paperwork saga. It's been 2 months now since I injured it. Good news is it doesn't seem like a tear (can't know for sure without an MRI) but the bad news is it seems like it's cartilage which never fully heals. Combined with my arthritis and bone spurs - any inflammation aggravates the area. We're taking a conservative approach since I still have full range of motion but I won't be able to work out (weights) or do things like throw/lift heavy objects for close to a year. And I have even worse arthritis on my other, non-injured shoulder. So yay lol

What have you all been up to? Reading? Watching? 

*Blogger commenting is the WORST right now. I am getting your comments (most of them anyway - I think) but they are going to spam so give me a day or two to notice and break them out of spam jail or just let me know you left a comment and I'll try to look sooner. I do check several days a week!

Review: August of the Zombies (A Small Zombie Problem #3) by K.G. Campbell

 

It started out as a small zombie problem. Then four more zombies tagged along. Now there are too many to count! From the acclaimed illustrator of Flora & Ulysses comes the exciting conclusion to the Zombie Problems trilogy.

After facing an alligator attack and a paddle boat accident in search of the zombie stone, August comes out unscathed…but empty-handed. At least Claudette is still by his side, along with a few more zombies. Of course, it isn’t long before a few zombies becomes a horde, and August has so many questions: What is he supposed to do with all of these zombies? What is his Aunt Orchid hiding? Will his life ever be like Stella Starz (in her own life)? And most importantly, will he ever find the zombie stone and get everything back to normal? ~ goodreads

Source: Finished hardcover copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Reviews for A Small Zombie Problem (book #2)  , The Zombie Stone (book #2)

A brief (non spoilery) series recap: Augustus is a sweet, lonely boy, with butterflies seemingly obsessed with flying around his head, which, as you can imagine, doesn't make him popular with other children. Although, I'd be all over that! lol He spends his time with his fearful Aunt Hydrangea, dreaming of his favorite show - In her Own Life, starring Stella Starz, and picking up a new friend (I use that term loosely - she follows him everywhere and they form a sort of alliance) Claudette. Who happens to be his great, great aunt, in the form of a child zombie.

From Goodreads A Small Zombie Problem (book #1) "In his fiction debut--and the start of a new series--celebrated illustrator K.G. Campbell brings a touch of Tim Burton to this singularly strange and wonderful story about a lonely boy whose life is about to get a whole lot more complicated when a zombie follows him home.

FYI: the series must be read in order, as each book builds upon the other

Review: August of the Zombies is the conclusion to this decidedly quirky and macabre mid-grade series about an ever growing band of zombies following a sweet but awkward boy named August.

For the entirety of the series, August has wished these zombies would just go away so he could be *normal* & fit in. None more than his great-great Aunt Claudette who, in in her decayed childlike form, relentlessly follows August everywhere.

I have a soft spot for Claudette and while I understood how she was cramping August's style and social life - I wished he could see the opportunity it presented. She was unrelentingly loyal and to be able to meet your family and learn from the past is a gift. 

I got my wish and then some with this final installment.

My one (minor) criticism of the series is that it often branched off into so many adventures. I couldn't see how the pieces would fit in the end or why they mattered but Campbell dovetailed it all together nicely.

There are gruesome zombie bits, wild adventures, plenty of laughs, a beautiful coming of age - found family story with a surprisingly touching exploration of grief leading to the resolution to August's "small zombie problem". 

What I was not prepared for was how emotional this story got. Especially the second half. I actually teared up reading the last page 😢 I'm getting a little verklempt again just thinking about it - but it also puts the biggest smile on my face. Perfect ending - for everyone!

Another thing I wanted to touch on, although I'm not a parent, is how the author never talked down to the (targeted MG) reader. The vocabulary and concepts are designed to provoke questions and further discussion and would make a wonderful group/bedtime read. 

It is also a bit gorey (zombies losing body parts and the like), there are natural disasters and discusses death and grief (beautifully IMHO) but may be a bit much for some children. Or like I mentioned above - read with your child and be ready to answer questions.

As always the illustrations (also by Campbell were lovely.