Book Square

 I've been meaning to do an update on my 2026 bingo card but you know, things have been happening.

One of the squares are "Read one book a month" which would have been a breeze a few years ago.  Now, it takes more of an effort.

In April, maybe, I read and enjoyed Mind Games, it was a good blend of storytelling, feel good and tiny bit scary drama. It took a couple of weeks, not bad considering.  But I felt like I had made progress on filling that bingo square, even if it was a late start.

The next book, not so much.  After at least a month, I finally finished reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.  It's been on the to-be-read shelf for a very long time.  I remember seeing it recommended on the social media then I read the description and found myself interested so I ordered it.

I was so disappointed in the first third of the book. At first I wondered if it was me, with everything going on that maybe my attention span just wasn't ready for the book/reading in general.  But it wasn't...it just beat the plot point into the ground, dug it back up, and kept hammering.

I mean, we get it.  The life she was living was difficult.  WE GET IT.  (trying not to do spoilers, even though it's an "older" book now)  I was hoping more for the historical detail and events instead of bad things that can happen during historical events.

Then mid-way, it got interesting with the addition of other characters then I enjoyed it.  The ending was kind of satisfying; although it was clearly written in a way that a sequel could be written.  Was it the best writing ever? No.  Did it remind me of the movie The Age of Adeline?  Absolutely.  #tinyspoiler

I keep a lot of my books because I know someday I'll want to reread them or I'll be housebound or on a fixed income and won't have access to new books.  Also, they're a comfort item for me.  However, this one went directly into the closet where I store things going to be donated.

So, then while trying to choose my next read from the TBR pile,  my alphabet brain said "Oh, look, you have another book by that author!"  I don't see a single thing that can wrong!

Now, with this one (Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil)   I remember ordering it but I couldn't remember what the plot was.  Instead of reading the description, I just started reading.   In this case, the first third was good.  Multiple characters and timelines (even though naming a Latina character Maria felt lazy) it held my interest.

Until...

Until mther-effing vampires.  I admit, this is not my usual genre but I was going to give it a try.  I liked the Discovery of Witches on netflix enough that I want to try the books. I'm saying that I enjoy some fantasy, but it's not my go-to.  

With this book,  the second third of the book was like the first third of Addie LaRue.  Just repetitive, predictable, ugh.  Plus violence. Finally, I skipped ahead to the last few pages and finished reading. It was easy enough to pick up the gist of what I had skipped and was left feeling meh.

While writing this post, I searched about the Addie LaRue book and reddit had the perfect review (click here) Then I did the same for Bury Our Bones and SAME.  So, it's an author thing, clearly.  Also: where are the editors for this writer?

It now joins the other book, waiting to get gifted to someone else.  There is a little library not far from here that I was going to drop it off but it seems like the people who made the library have moved away.  There hasn't been good books and it's looking worn down and that makes me sad.

I accidentally found another little library nearer my house, on a road I don't usually take during a detour.  I stopped there today to see what it was like and it had good books in there.  So...do I drop these disliked books in the old little library or the new?  The old one occasionally has religious texts and books so I'm tempted to leave them there just to be, well, me.  

Or maybe I will donate to the new-to-me library with a little note of...apology?  warning?  regret?  Something like "I bought this because social media said it was good. *sad clown music*"

Now I'm reading Lessons in Chemistry which has caught my attention from page one.  This was also a social media recommendation and it had been long enough since purchase that, again, I had zero idea what it was about.  So far, it's enjoyable. It reminds me a little of Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory.  (one of my all-time favorite shows)  In a good way though.

So, that's progress I guess.  Here's hoping for success the rest of the year.