I read two books during February. I’m a little behind schedule, but I guess I’m at least two books closer to my goal of 50 for the year!
To be fair… it was a busier-than-expected month. With weekend trips both to Durango, Colo., and to the Superstition Mountains of southern Arizona, I spent more time hiking than reading.
But, two books is better than no books!
You may notice… I’ve stopped including X/5 star ratings for books. I stole this idea from my friend Caitlin, who noted that forcing herself to assign a number value to how much she liked a book was just a little to confining… and how it’s OK to just enjoy a book for what it is without comparing it to other books, which makes PERFECT sense. I’ve spent WAY too long antagonizing over whether to rank a book 3.5 or 4 stars, and scrambling to justify why I think a book deserves 5 stars, and honestly? Not worth the mental anguish!
If I highly recommend a book or don’t recommend it at I’ll note that, but otherwise, zero star-ratings from me!
(As a reminder: I always track my reading both on Goodreads and via Instagram stories.)
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“NOTHING TO SEE HERE” BY KEVIN WILSON
Lillian is spending her adult life working two dead-end jobs and smoking weed out of her mom’s attic. When her childhood friend Madison, who Lillian roomed with at private school before getting kicked out, offers Lillian a nanny job, Lillian accepts. Of course, there’s a catch. The kids are Madison’s 10-year-old stepchildren, twins who catch on fire when they get upset.
I read my first Kevin Wilson book last month and loved it, and I felt similarly about this one. Wilson doesn’t suck at writing female characters, and he did such a great job making ordinary and mundane moments seem notable. The only issue I had with this book was that it required me to suspend my sense of disbelief to accept the idea of human children who spontaneously combust.
“WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT” BY SANDRA BLOCK
TRIGGER WARNING — sexual assault
Dahlia was a successful Harvard student. Until she was drugged and gang raped at a party with no recollection of what actually happened. Years later, after attempting suicide, Dahlia is struggling with PTSD and working her day job as a paralegal when a video of what happened that night surfaces online. Dahlia can finally fill the gaps in her memory… and she’s mad. Mad, and ready for revenge.
SPOILER ALERT
Oh my god this book kept me on the edge of my seat. We love a badass revenge queen! I loved everything about Dahlia, and I loved watching every single shitty entitled man who violated Dahlia get what they absolutely deserved, one-by-one. I also loved her cute romance with James, and how there did seem to be some good guys throughout the book (including James) that helped Dahlia out without any ulterior motives.
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So, hopefully next month is a little more productive in terms of reading. We’ll see!
