Talking to Strangers is not about *exactly* what I thought it was about. I thought this book would be about human psychology and sociology with the goal of making it easier for me to actually talk to strangers. Or even other humans in general. Instead, it pointed out all the ways we miscommunicate with each other, often disastrously, in an attempt to encourage us to be more mindful??? I am now even less sure of how to talk to stangers…
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That’s not to say that I didn’t like this book. I heart Malcolm Gladwell. His books are always thought provoking and intended to better the individual and society. Love, Love, Love! 

The aptly named Oona Out of Order is about a woman who is living her life out of order. One day she is 19, the next she is 51. She jumps through time on her birthday every year and spends 365 days as an older or younger version of herself. She is often surrounded by people she doesn’t know, in a time she doesn’t understand, in a body she barely recognizes.

The story starts in 1982 and spans 35 years. One year she is ordering an Uber from her IPhone, the next she is posing for a Polaroid. One year she’s going to a funeral, the next she is making the most of every moment with that person.

Montimore illustrates the difficulties of life out of order, but also acknowledges that there would be benefits. Oona has advance knowledge of the stock market, which provides her with a more than comfortable lifestyle. She is often devastated by events and circumstances, but finds she gets second chances. Just like every life, there is good and bad.
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To say this book is complicated is a massive understatement. Paperback mysteries are complicated. This is Agatha Christie on Groundhog Day with body-swapping.

It made my brains fall out.

7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is set at a crumbling, remote estate in 1920s England. The house is full of guests and servants that would rather be anywhere else, with anyone else. The story takes place on an eight-day, eight-body loop that has repeated an indeterminate number of times.
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Breaking the Lore is a snarky urban fantasy novel. It starts with one dead fairy and before you know it, you are up to your eyeballs in magical creatures. One quirky and clever detective, an elf, a troll, a witch, at least seven dwarfs, centaurs, and the rest. All introduced with a tone of hilariously disbelieving sarcasm.

The characters are thrown together when a war in the magical world spills over into the gardens of Manchester. Let’s just say, the gardens of Manchester are ill-prepared to handle a magical skirmish. Luckily, the quirky and clever detective, Nick Paris, is on the case!

While the plot of this book is entertaining and the characters are fun, what I really love is the writing! This book is packed full of that dry British humor that tickles your brain. I laughed the whole way through this book. 
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Release Date: October 06, 2020

Tara Teaspoon is an experienced chef with a passion for her craft. She has worked with Martha Stewart and was the food director of Ladies Home Journal Magazine.

She credits her mother with her creativity and enthusiasm in the kitchen. Tara worked alongside her mom in the kitchen since she was old enough to reach the counters.

Through her work Tara has access to the best equipment and ingredients, but she understands that home chefs often have to make-do with what they have.

Carry On begins in Simon Snow’s final year at Hogwarts, errrr I mean Watford. Simon is just trying to make it through his last year without being obliterated by Voldemort, Dammit! The Insidious Humdrum! He’s faced Dragons, Ghosts, Foster Care, and his *suspected* blood sucking, vampire roommate. What will this final year bring? What will he do when he leaves Watford? Assuming he lives that long…

Carry On is Harry Potter Fan Fiction. I don’t have a lot of experience with fanfic, but Carry On was inspired by and will be loved by fans of Harry Potter. 
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Willowdean Dickson, aka Will, aka Dumplin’, is the plus-size daughter of a former Texas Bluebonnet Beauty Queen. She has always been confident and always had strong relationships with her friends and family.
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Willowdean’s mother remains an important part of the local pageant planning team and committees. For a few months every year, the pageant takes-over life at the Dickson household. Will has never had an interest in the pageant and seems to just stay out of her mother’s way, when it’s pageant season. After a few interactions rub her the wrong way, Will decides to enter the pageant to prove a point. 
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I’m 98% sure that this book was based off of one of my past lives. I was definitely an independent, book pushing, pack horse librarian. Or at least, I hope I was. 
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The Giver of Stars, is a historical fiction book based on the real life American Pack Horse Library Project. The project began in the mid-1930s in rural Appalachia and was meant to bring books to remote residents. While this project only lasted for eight years, the idea of ensuring access to books and educational materials has always been, and will always be a primary driver for librarians. For this reason, there are almost 700 bookmobiles in operation within the United States to this day. Same idea. 

The Family Upstairs is a psychological thriller about growing up in a cult-like environment. A previously rich family opens their doors to a con-man and his family. They slowly infiltrate every aspect of their lives, implementing bizarre rules and demanding complete submission. Before long they are all barefoot, wearing homemade tunics, and worst of all, VEGAN… Just kidding, things get way worse.
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Jewell’s writing of this book can only be described as “crafted”, everything is done on purpose. Some of the book is first person, while other sections are third person narratives. The narrative shift, added an interesting layer of complexity to the story. As if that weren’t enough to keep you guessing, the story is told through multiple perspectives with alternating timelines. This book is complex and thought provoking. 

Orla is fresh out of college and eager to prove herself as a reporter. She wouldn’t mind finding a boyfriend, but is determined to put her career first. So, of course she literally falls head over heels for Aiden.

Aiden is a wildlife photographer and won’t be in England for long. He lives in a tent and goes where the animals are. No serious girlfriends. He is not sticking around.

This book was the Goodreads Choice Winner for 2019 Memoirs. While I have been reading more memoirs, I don’t typically watch reality TV, so I didn’t know who Jonathan Van Ness was. I didn’t even know that they had rebooted Queer Eye! I was looking for something light and funny and this seemed to fit the bill. Plus it was available on audio from my library, score!

What I love about this book is that Jonathan Van Ness (JVN) is so positive! This book is crammed full of inspirational and body positivity quotes. I love how JVN is unapologetically original and completely himself. If you are looking for a positivity boost, this is for you!  

I never really knew a lot about Greek Mythology. I like the stories, but I always feel bogged down by the details and those impossible Greek names. I love pondering the religious aspect of Greek mythology, how all the Gods had different jobs and were tangible forces in the world. Their religion was so colorful, so awe and fear inspiring. Just don’t ask me to tell you which God had which job…    

What I like about Circe is that it takes a handful of Greek myths and connects them through one central character. You see everything from the point of view of one of the lesser goddesses. You learn about Prometheus, the River Styx, Helios, and the Trojan Horse from someone who was there at the time. It makes the stories more understandable and approachable. It’s not a collection of fairy tales, it is one story with a relatable main character.  

The Girl from Widow Hills is a “Baby Jessica” story. The details are a little different, there is an underground drainage system instead of a well and there is sleepwalking involved, but you get the gist.

Arden/Olivia is six years old when she sleepwalks into an open grate on a stormy night and is lost for days in the drainage system. She unwillingly becomes a media darling and symbol of hope for the nation when she is miraculously rescued. The Girl from Widow Hills begins twenty years later.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader’s copy of this book and I was excited to get approved. I love the concept, who doesn’t love a good rescue story? Plus, anything about sleepwalking is so interesting!

This book feels impossible to review. I always feel like, the better the book, the harder it is to review, and this was a great book! I am going to attempt a review, but you should just skip this trashy blog post and read the book!

There are hundreds of books that revolve around doors to other worlds. Ten Thousand Doors of January is one of the best that I have read, it’s so creative and well written. Every door that is opened in this book leads someplace completely new, with unique lands, interesting people and terrifying, sometimes magical creatures. The writing is so immersive that you will feel like you can open a door to “The Written” and purchase a blessing. Or build a boat on a mountaintop and sail into an ocean. Ten Thousand Doors of January is a magical new take on an old concept.

Let’s go back to Valentine’s Day for a minute.

After doing my best to just ignore Valentine’s Day this year, I reluctantly got into the spirit. I was not planning on doing any Valentine’s posts at all. Then I ended up doing a guest post for UpcycledAdulting.com, entitled Romance Books to Make You Believe in True Love. The post was meant to get other people excited to read romance, but ended up back firing! Honestly, how could anyone resist those charming book summaries? Especially Flatshare!

You know how everyone gives new grads a copy of, Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr Seuss? It’s hopeful and sweet, and everyone cries (in a good way). After the Fall by Dan Santat is what you give to someone who just got laid-off for the first time, or is getting a divorce, or recovering from a serious illness. It’s understanding and accepting, and everyone cries (in a good way).

After the Fall, is a children’s picture book that takes maybe three minutes to read. It will probably take you more time to read this post, than to read the book. The pictures are charming and the story is exactly what you need if you are going through a rough patch. Let's be honest, we're all going through a rough patch.

Do you have Perfection?

This is the question asked again and again in this speculative fiction. Do you have Perfection? A life changing app that seeks to control who you are from the outside-in. How many people do you know that seek magazine beauty and social admiration? It’s not zero. Don’t we all covet perfection at least sometimes?

Speculative fiction is one of my favorite genres. I love pondering big “what if” questions. Not only does Sudden Appearance of Hope tackle sinister technology, but it also poses a lot of important questions. The main character, Hope, is utterly and literally forgettable. She is the embodiment of “out of sight, out of mind”, as soon as you are not with her, you forget her. She can’t form relationships, and she certainly can’t get a job. How does someone with that condition survive? What is justifiable when you are forced to live outside of society? What would you do to overcome?

Apparently, my book club and I need to up our game! We’ve been meeting for over six months and we haven’t slain one vampire. We’re a disappointment!

I requested this book, based on nothing more than the cover and the title. I knew that I just couldn’t go wrong. This book could have been tongue-in-cheek or seriously scary and I would have been happy.

As it turns out the “Guide” is traditional horror. There were parts that were disgustingly graphic and cringe worthy. I was constantly pulling up the blankets in a subconscious attempt to hide from this book. I kept telling myself I wasn’t scared and then I kept having nightmares, so one of us was wrong. 

The “Book Club” is set in the ‘90s and features a small group of stay-at-home-moms. They are all looking for a break and a chance to connect to other women in their town. So when it comes to selecting novels they opt for paperback true-crimes with lots of pictures. They may not be traditional book club selections, but they keep the Book Club turning pages and talking about books! 

When children start dying and disappearing, one of the book club members suspects her new neighbor. He certainly fits the bill of the murderers in the books they read. As the situation deteriorates, you start to question if the real villain is the vampire or the condescending and contemptuous husbands. They all dismiss and demean their wives, blaming book club for their “overactive imaginations”. Meanwhile, the Vampire gains trust by showering the families with opportunities, endearing himself to the husbands. This book is full of disturbing domestic and supernatural horror.

Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is a good choice for most fans of vampire fiction. The only vamp fans that won’t like this are readers that stick to vampire romance. To be clear, there is nothing romantic about this book. The story is dark and disturbing and would be a great option for readers of horror and paranormal mystery. If you like Stephen King you will like Grady Hendrix.    

If you need me, I’ll be reading a romance and trying to re-convince myself that vampires are sparkling gentlemanly creatures.

You may also like this list of Scientifically Proven Absolute Best Novels by Stephen King.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of this book for allowing me advance access in exchange for this honest review.

My feelings for Miracle Creek are complicated. This is an unquestionably good book. The story is complex and interesting. The characters have well developed psychology. It asks big and important questions. However, it may have been too real for me to enjoy. Not enough of an escape.

Miracle Creek is by debut author, Angie Kim. The book is loosely based on many of her personal experiences. Moving to the US as a young teen from Korea. Later, becoming a lawyer. Having special needs children that have benefited from non-traditional, borderline experimental treatments. Including the H-Bot treatment that is central to the story. Angie Kim’s passion and experience shows in the character relationships, treatment descriptions, and the courtroom drama.

I liked a lot about this book. I liked the way that she portrayed the same event from multiple points of view, without being repetitive. You really get to understand the complicated rationale for why characters did what they did. You see that sometimes terrible things happen because we excuse and accept small transgressions. I love how Kim made you question the line between good and bad. When does treatment become abuse? When does a consensual act become assault? When is “doing the right thing” too little, too late? It’s a thought-provoking book.

Fans of courtroom, medical and family drama will enjoy this book. Parents of special needs kids and adult-children of immigrants will feel seen. This might be a good choice for readers of contemporary, popular and general fiction. I would recommend reading a few pages to see if you think this might be a good fit for you.

You may also like this list of Best e-books Available for Check-Out Right Now!

I know I am a little behind on Kristin Hannah. Costco is selling value packs of her books, for god’s sake. I avoided her for a long time because, I don’t like sad books. I know it’s limiting, but it’s true. I finally read Nightingale about two years ago and now, Great Alone. I will never avoid Hannah again. She has earned my trust, and apparently Costco’s.

The Great Alone features a family that decides to live off the land in 1970s Alaska. It does not go well. Basically, if it can go wrong, it does. Which is probably pretty realistic for people trying to survive in Alaska. Somehow, even with all the devastating things that happen there is always the exact right amount of hope to keep you reading. Kristin Hannah is the master of manipulating my emotions.    
 
I don’t usually like books or movies set in the ‘70s. They focus too heavily on the nightclub and drug scene, which is completely uninteresting to me. While this book is set in the 70s, there are none of the typical elements that I avoid. The setting is perfect for this story, post-Vietnam War and limited technology. People living in rural Alaska at the time might not even have electricity, let alone a telephone. Lots of political tension and dangerous isolation. Perfect.

This is my first ever Bossy Book Club selection. The Great Alone would be a great choice for most book clubs. Discussion questions are available from Kristin Hannah’s website. This book will appeal to readers of historical fiction, family drama, general fiction, popular fiction and literary fiction. People who are interested in life in Alaska and living off the grid, might be interested in this fictional rendition of that lifestyle. Read this when you are in the mood for a devastating yet hopeful cry.

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