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The Grand Adventure
Books, questions, thoughts, adventures
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Slugs by Shaun Hutson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you pick up a book about overgrown carnivorous slugs, you expect a bit of campy fun and lots of gory horrible deaths for the characters. This book is exactly what you expect. It's well-paced, engaging, and goes beyond expectations.
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Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An intense horror novel of young people struggling in England following their harrowing experience in a haunted house. Every trigger warning applies for the less faint of heart and stomach. This is a brilliant but challenging read. Highly recommended for those interested.
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The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Xiomara Batista is growing up in Harlem in a largely Dominican neighborhood. As she develops curves, she is also finding her own voice, which is at odds with her mother's strict religious mandates. Told in verse, this is a powerful story of a young woman's growing up and finding herself.
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Lowdown Road by Scott Von Doviak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This novel is a blast. It’s the summer of 1974. Richard Nixon has resigned from office. Meanwhile, in Texas two cousins plan to steal $1 million worth of weed and take it to Idaho, where Evel Kneivel is going to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle. Full of memorable, dangerous characters, an outrageous scheme set in an outrageous time (full of great references) and great pacing and twists. Highly recommended.
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Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sadie Grace is a witch who, depending on your point of view, is a blessing or curse to the small Kansas town she has settled in. Those who believe she is a curse put up a bounty for her which draws many, including witch hunter Old Tom, his mute ward, Rabbit, two cowboys looking for adventure and a widowed school teacher with nothing left to lose. The novel follows their adventures on the way to the witch. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of this book as a fun, sometimes gory and gruesome adventure, but the final third felt really long and drawn out to me.
[I received an advanced galley from the publisher.]
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My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Korede is a nurse and her beautiful sister Ayoola live in Lagos, Nigeria. Ayoola has called on her sister many times to assist in the disposal of the bodies of the men she has killed. When Ayoola starts dating a handsome doctor Korede cares for, Korede struggles even more with her conscience. While the title and the set up may seem campy, this story is compelling and filled with strong characters and dark humor.
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How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by K.C. Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A lot of people need to read this book, to resist the shame and guilt that comes from not having a perfect, but rather functional, home. The author is neurodivergent and a mother of small children who works toward balance rather than perfection, toward recognizing that chores are just that, without any true moral underpinnings. Highly recommended who anyone who struggles with their household obligations.
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A Man with a Rake by Ted Kooser
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A new Ted Kooser book is always cause for celebration. This chapbook of eighteen prose poems finds Kooser in top form with his keen eye for the detail of rural midwestern life captured on the page. Highly recommended.
[I received an advanced review copy through Edelweiss.]
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Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A beautiful audiobook exclusive of interviews with people who knew, studied with, or simply loved Mary Oliver. The highlight is the poems themselves, many read through recordings of the poet herself. This book continues the legacy of this amazing poet. Highly recommended.
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The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Julie is a drugged-up mess who fights horrible monsters in NYC to get by. When her friend and crush Sarah arrives unannounced, Julie dreams of a better life and she attempts to summon something to help her. But that something could of course destroy the entire world. This novel, the first of a planned duology, mixes eldritch horror, the grittiness of NYC, and a LOT of gore. It's entertaining enough, but it felt a bit rushed and disorganized for me. Perhaps the sequel will fix these issues.
[I received an advanced e-galley through Netgalley.]
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Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Although he had considered a career in finance, Shetty was a monk for three years after college before deciding to leave the ashram to share the lessons of monk life with the larger world. This book includes details of his journey, but it is full of practical advice that people can put into their lives with a bit of thought and consideration. The author reads the audiobook. Recommended.
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All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive by Rainesford Stauffer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
How many of us are working ourselves to death, taking on too much, for the sake of feeling worthy? What brought us here - family, school, patriarchy, capitalism? These are the questions Stauffer (a self-confessed gold star seeker) asks in this provocative book. She also searches for solutions and ways to overcome and reframe our ambition. Highly recommended.
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Three Roads Back by Robert D. Richardson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A historian looks at how three great American thinkers - Emerson, Thoreau, and William James - recovered and found their way after devastating losses. A well-researched, deeply considered short essay.
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp46p50u-ZV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
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Lark Ascending by Silas House
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lark survives a harrowing journey away from a burning, fascist America to Ireland, the last country taking refugees. Along the way, he meets two more desperate souls and together they navigate a post-apocalyptic world of distrustful people and physical hazards. While the scenario is harrowing, House focuses on the people who must find their way through this horrible world and how love and trust are truly the core of what it means to be human.
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Ephemera by Sierra DeMulder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
DeMulder's latest contemplates many subjects other poets have tackled but her distinct voice shines through in this strong collection. Her personal experience of marriage, miscarriage, and motherhood bring her poetic voice into clearer focus. It is a pleasure to read a poet who finds happiness as they have often written of heartbreak.
[I received an advanced e-galley through Edelweiss. This book is to be published June 6, 2023.]
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