Wednesday Reading Meme
I promise I'll get back to journaling eventually.
What I Just Finished Reading: Since last week I read 4 books, 2 of which were outstanding and 1 which was really good. They were: In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat, Women Talking by Miriam Toews, and Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. And if you are thinking it's the Queen Victoria book that didn't make the cut, you are sadly mistaken. LOL Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: Just finished the last book last night, so I haven't started my next one yet.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: Just got two more books from the library today. The first one I'll be reading is Contagion by Erin Bowman. (When I write down books on my Want To Read list in my journal I put a quick bullet point to remind myself what it's about. For example, the bullet point for Wrong Place Wrong Time says "Groundhog Day-esque murder." The bullet point for Contagion says "space zombies" so I hope that's what it is. LOL)
65. In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Delightful, enchanting, engaging, heartwarming. Pick any word you want, they all describe this incredible new story from the creative mind of TJ Klune. In the future, android creator Gio has escaped the city. He lives in the forest with his human son, Victor, and the robots they have salvaged. There’s Rambo, a child-like roomba-ish vacuum whose enthusiasm and friendliness towards everyone and everything is only eclipsed by his loyalty to his friends and his determination to be brave. There’s Nurse Ratched, a boxy and sarcastic medical bot. And there’s Hap, formerly a killing machine, now struggling to come to terms with the fact that he can choose his own destiny.
I cannot begin to describe how amazing this book is. This little found family made my heart sing. The writing and world building is on point. In fact, the writing here does everything good writing should: it made me smile, worry, ache, rejoice, and hope. Nurse Ratched’s barbs made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion and Rambo owns my heart, previously held by Chauncey in Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea. Drop everything you’re reading and pick up this book right now. You won’t regret it.
Dates Read: June 07 to 08, 2023
Page Count: 418
5 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 19 - read 19 books with an outdoor cover (03/19)
Challenge Factory Genre Challenge - Tier 3 - read 3 books tagged ‘romance’ (02/03) (12/15 total)
Around the Year in 52 Books Summer Reading Challenge - June 4A - book with a LGBTQ+ author (05/12)
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 09 - book with a protective character (14/52)
66. Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat
Found this in a little free library in my neighborhood and as soon as I saw the title I knew I had to snatch it up. And here’s the opening sentence:
"Much later, as he watched his manservant, Perkins, eating the dog, Quimby gloomily reflected on the unusual events of the evening.”
Yup, this was a fun one. Taking place when Victoria is aged 18 to 23, her ascent to the throne of England is marked by two big events: falling in love with Albert, her soon-to-be husband, and discovering that demons, vampires, werewolves and other assorted nasty creatures are not only real, but are actively plotting against the throne. Add into that the aforementioned Quimby and Perkins, whose relationship makes the book shine and who are up to some nefarious machinations of their own, and you’ve got a rollicking fun book. Sure, it’s a little uneven and some of the plot points probably could have used another pass to make them more coherent, but I had a great time with this one.
Dates Read: June 10 to 11, 2023
Page Count: 374
4 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 17 - read 17 books that have an E in the title (12/17)
Challenge Factory Dusty Bookshelf - June pick
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 14 - character who is an archer or tracker (15/52)
67. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Based on the true story of a Mennonite colony in Bolivia in which the women were systematically drugged and raped and then told that it was demons coming in the night to punish them for their sins. When they finally found out - after four years - that it was some men in the colony who were responsible, a group of them gathered to decide whether they should stay, leave or fight.
This was heartbreaking to read. While this is a fictionalized account, in both the real life case and in this book the youngest victim of these men was only 3 years old. Her mother, Salome, was the one I related to most - when she discovered the truth, she attacked the men. She is the strongest advocate for either fighting or getting the hell out of Dodge, even though the women cannot speak the language, are kept illiterate by the men, and have zero knowledge of the outside world. It was so hard for me to connect with most of the others because, while I know that they’re brainwashed and afraid, I simply cannot relate to continuing to be a victim.
This story, I feel, could have been so powerful if it was told in a different fashion. It’s supposed to be told in the form of minutes of a meeting, which doesn’t work IMO, and the fact that this construct was used so that a man could be included was so off-putting. This is the women’s story, and yet it’s constantly interrupted by male musing, a lot of which is his starry-eyed romantic gaze at one of the women, which is so ridiculously out of bounds in a story about male domination and oppression. In the end, this was a powerful story that was hindered by the writing.
Date Read: June 11, 2023
Page Count: 227
3 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenge Pyramid of Books - Task 17 - read 17 books with an E in the title (13/17)
ATY Summer Reading Challenge - June 3c - set in southern hemisphere [Bolivia] (06/12)
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 26 - character who doesn’t want to fight (16/52)
68. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
In this twisty turny amazement of a novel, 40-something Jen witnesses her son commit a murder. But when she wakes up the next morning, it’s the day before the murder. Throughout the course of the book she jumps back days in her life, reliving them as she picks up clues as to what led to her son’s action. There’s mysteries upon mysteries, none of which I can really mention without spoiling the book. I loved trying to figure it all out, and was proud of myself when I solved at least one small thing before Jen did! I can’t imagine how much skill it takes to weave a story like this one. Highly recommended!
Dates Read: June 12 to 13, 2023
Page Count: 368
5 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 10 - read 10 books that take place in a city [Liverpool] (01/10)
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 36 - a book where someone wakes up (17/52)
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What I Just Finished Reading: Since last week I read 4 books, 2 of which were outstanding and 1 which was really good. They were: In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat, Women Talking by Miriam Toews, and Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. And if you are thinking it's the Queen Victoria book that didn't make the cut, you are sadly mistaken. LOL Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: Just finished the last book last night, so I haven't started my next one yet.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: Just got two more books from the library today. The first one I'll be reading is Contagion by Erin Bowman. (When I write down books on my Want To Read list in my journal I put a quick bullet point to remind myself what it's about. For example, the bullet point for Wrong Place Wrong Time says "Groundhog Day-esque murder." The bullet point for Contagion says "space zombies" so I hope that's what it is. LOL)
65. In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Delightful, enchanting, engaging, heartwarming. Pick any word you want, they all describe this incredible new story from the creative mind of TJ Klune. In the future, android creator Gio has escaped the city. He lives in the forest with his human son, Victor, and the robots they have salvaged. There’s Rambo, a child-like roomba-ish vacuum whose enthusiasm and friendliness towards everyone and everything is only eclipsed by his loyalty to his friends and his determination to be brave. There’s Nurse Ratched, a boxy and sarcastic medical bot. And there’s Hap, formerly a killing machine, now struggling to come to terms with the fact that he can choose his own destiny.
I cannot begin to describe how amazing this book is. This little found family made my heart sing. The writing and world building is on point. In fact, the writing here does everything good writing should: it made me smile, worry, ache, rejoice, and hope. Nurse Ratched’s barbs made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion and Rambo owns my heart, previously held by Chauncey in Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea. Drop everything you’re reading and pick up this book right now. You won’t regret it.
Dates Read: June 07 to 08, 2023
Page Count: 418
5 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 19 - read 19 books with an outdoor cover (03/19)
Challenge Factory Genre Challenge - Tier 3 - read 3 books tagged ‘romance’ (02/03) (12/15 total)
Around the Year in 52 Books Summer Reading Challenge - June 4A - book with a LGBTQ+ author (05/12)
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 09 - book with a protective character (14/52)
66. Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat
Found this in a little free library in my neighborhood and as soon as I saw the title I knew I had to snatch it up. And here’s the opening sentence:
"Much later, as he watched his manservant, Perkins, eating the dog, Quimby gloomily reflected on the unusual events of the evening.”
Yup, this was a fun one. Taking place when Victoria is aged 18 to 23, her ascent to the throne of England is marked by two big events: falling in love with Albert, her soon-to-be husband, and discovering that demons, vampires, werewolves and other assorted nasty creatures are not only real, but are actively plotting against the throne. Add into that the aforementioned Quimby and Perkins, whose relationship makes the book shine and who are up to some nefarious machinations of their own, and you’ve got a rollicking fun book. Sure, it’s a little uneven and some of the plot points probably could have used another pass to make them more coherent, but I had a great time with this one.
Dates Read: June 10 to 11, 2023
Page Count: 374
4 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 17 - read 17 books that have an E in the title (12/17)
Challenge Factory Dusty Bookshelf - June pick
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 14 - character who is an archer or tracker (15/52)
67. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Based on the true story of a Mennonite colony in Bolivia in which the women were systematically drugged and raped and then told that it was demons coming in the night to punish them for their sins. When they finally found out - after four years - that it was some men in the colony who were responsible, a group of them gathered to decide whether they should stay, leave or fight.
This was heartbreaking to read. While this is a fictionalized account, in both the real life case and in this book the youngest victim of these men was only 3 years old. Her mother, Salome, was the one I related to most - when she discovered the truth, she attacked the men. She is the strongest advocate for either fighting or getting the hell out of Dodge, even though the women cannot speak the language, are kept illiterate by the men, and have zero knowledge of the outside world. It was so hard for me to connect with most of the others because, while I know that they’re brainwashed and afraid, I simply cannot relate to continuing to be a victim.
This story, I feel, could have been so powerful if it was told in a different fashion. It’s supposed to be told in the form of minutes of a meeting, which doesn’t work IMO, and the fact that this construct was used so that a man could be included was so off-putting. This is the women’s story, and yet it’s constantly interrupted by male musing, a lot of which is his starry-eyed romantic gaze at one of the women, which is so ridiculously out of bounds in a story about male domination and oppression. In the end, this was a powerful story that was hindered by the writing.
Date Read: June 11, 2023
Page Count: 227
3 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenge Pyramid of Books - Task 17 - read 17 books with an E in the title (13/17)
ATY Summer Reading Challenge - June 3c - set in southern hemisphere [Bolivia] (06/12)
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 26 - character who doesn’t want to fight (16/52)
68. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
In this twisty turny amazement of a novel, 40-something Jen witnesses her son commit a murder. But when she wakes up the next morning, it’s the day before the murder. Throughout the course of the book she jumps back days in her life, reliving them as she picks up clues as to what led to her son’s action. There’s mysteries upon mysteries, none of which I can really mention without spoiling the book. I loved trying to figure it all out, and was proud of myself when I solved at least one small thing before Jen did! I can’t imagine how much skill it takes to weave a story like this one. Highly recommended!
Dates Read: June 12 to 13, 2023
Page Count: 368
5 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 10 - read 10 books that take place in a city [Liverpool] (01/10)
Crazy Challenge Connection Aah Walkers - Prompt 36 - a book where someone wakes up (17/52)
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