The Nix by Nathan Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whew. Have you read this book yet? It's epic. It's Americana. It's really, really, long. It's really, really, good. It's 600+ pages long. I listened to it as an audiobook which took 22 hours. When I tell you that I did not set the time to 1.5 to get through it faster I hope you can understand why I sat through 22 hours of this novel.

The story is broken into multiple pieces. The majority of it surrounds the lives of Faye Andreson and Samuel Andreson-Andreson. Faye abandons Samuel when he is a child and he hasn't heard from her in twenty years when he is approached by a lawyer telling him that his mother has been arrested for assaulting a public official. This leads Samuel and the reader down the rabbit hole of his youth and his mother's youth. Set between the 1960s until what is more or less the present day, the book covers a lot of ground. You'll travel from rural Iowa, to Chicago, to New York, to Norway.

You're taken through Samuel's youth when he makes a new friend, falls in love with a girl, and his mother leaves him in the middle of the night. You go through Faye's high school years and into her tumultuous time at college. You time hop through their lives as told by them and as told by others. The ancillary characters you meet don't just pop in to tell a portion of the story, they end up having stories of their own to tell. Everyone has a distinct and unique voice. You'll be thrust into the minds of a diverse cast including a 20-something lazy entitled and lazy college student, a high powered publisher, a lesbian hippie, a Chicago cop, a MMORPG addict, a solider in Iraq, and many more. In browsing other reviews it seems as though some people actually hated this style of writing. I loved it. I felt it made the landscape of the world the author was building richer.

This novel showcases the interconnectivity of life itself while also serving as an astute political commentary. It mixes old world mythos with new world realism. It reminds us that life is about the journey and not the destination. I say this primarily because I was not happy with the ending for some of the characters. There are some truly atrocious humans in the story that end up having little to no consequences for their actions. I can understand the complaints of loose ends after the story has been finished, but I would argue that life is also like that. Bad people don't always get what they deserve and sometimes people fall out of our lives and we never find out what happened to them.

I sat through 22 hours of audiobook for this one and I'm not sorry I did. The narrator had a unique voice for everyone and it was a testament to the author's ability to make each character detailed and rich. The novel has a Dean Koontz level of detail (you know what I mean), but unlike Koontz? Every detail feels important. Every description is purposeful and doesn't feel superfluous.

From what I've read, it appears that this will become a miniseries. I can't wait to watch.


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Triple Threat by Gwenda Bond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Why are these books never long enough? Seriously Ms. Bond, we want them to be longer.

Lois and the team are back for another installment of weirdness in Triple Threat. This time they are being stalked by kids with superpowers. One of them sounds remarkably like the Flash which is a little strange but it works within the story. Lois still hasn't met SmallvilleGuy and is still distrusting of theInventor and through Devin discovers that the distrust is well placed.

I tried to pace myself with this one because I knew I'd read it all in one sitting if I didn't.

Don't read any further if you don't want spoilers…





I get that with a title like Triple Threat, I should have seen the grouping of Jenkins, Donovan, and Boss Moxie as the perpetrators coming. When that was revealed, I was kind of disappointed. There was a definite opportunity to run with the new character of the Contessa and create a more vibrant landscape of villains. Instead we found a rehashing of the old ones. They somehow thought that if they turned Lois into one of their "super" kids that she would somehow fall in line with what they wanted. It didn't make much sense to me.

Lois and Clark finally meeting was incredibly adorable. Part of what I loved about it was that even though it mentions that he is attractive, it didn't become all she saw like it does in so many other young adult novels. So many others have the heroine marveling over how beautiful the guy is and lead themselves into insecurity. It's annoying and obnoxious. I love that Lois knows who she is enough to not behave this way.

Lastly, and this is the big spoiler so seriously…stop now. TheInventor is LEX? Of course he is. I don't know why or how I failed to see that coming, but I did. I actually hollered out loud when I read that. It was actually a better twist than the reveal of who was behind the main mystery of the book.

This was an excellent edition to the series and I cannot wait to read the next set of adventures for these characters.

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Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The last book in the Mercy Falls Wolf series was simultaneous epic and mundane. Much of the book is spent trying to find Grace who has now turned into a wolf. She's changing constantly and it's an unstable process so each time they do find her, she ends up changing back quickly.

Also happening? Cole is trying to science his way to a cure. This storyline for me is also moderately problematic since Cole barely graduated high school, yet somehow he's able to make what are essentially chemical vaccination cocktails in the basement of the home they are all staying in. Sure…makes loads of sense.

Then when it comes to him and Isabel, maybe I missed it, but I still never really understood why she was ignoring him in the first place. Either way, the will they/won't they at this point in the storyline seemed kind of pointless. Especially when Isabel's father is working so hard to get all the wolves killed.

I really enjoyed the high stakes portion of the ending. It's literally a race to the finish line and not everyone survives. My only real criticism of the book in general is the same one I've had for each of the books in the series. The ancillary characters, Olivia, John, Rachel, Karen, Shelby…? They all seem to only pop up when the story seems to be dragging a bit. The novels are so full of the main four characters that when the side characters pop up it's a bit jarring. Why does Shelby get an entire "chapter" at the beginning of the book if you're only going to mention her once or twice and mostly in passing? The character keeps being alluded to as having this crazy and awful past, why not take the time to make us care a little more about finding out what that is?

Is it just me who felt this way? I have no idea, I haven't read any of the other reviews online. I would think that I'm likely not alone. Overall I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed its counterparts. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who enjoys the genre.

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Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Big Little Lies is quite possibly one of the most infuriating books I’ve ever read. If you would like to stay sane, don’t go through this one as an audiobook.



Overall the book had an excellent premise. It did, however, solidify my disdain of women in general. The general hatred and mean spiritedness that the ancillary characters have for the main characters is flat out horrifying. Scarier to know that it’s not an exaggerated version of how certain types of women behave. The extent to which I became angry at some of the characters is a testament to how well the author had described them.



It was well written in that the abuse and shaming of some of the characters was written as though the author had intimate knowledge of the mental games victims play in their own minds to justify the treatment they have received.




A big part of my frustration involved the fact that we do not know who gets killed until nearly the end of the book. Like, the last 75 or so pages. Or, if you’re listening…the last 1.5 hours. Because I couldn’t take it anymore and it’s too hard to skip ahead on an Audiobook, I tried to Google spoilers. THERE ARE NONE. That also became ridiculously frustrating.



Some of my issue also had to do with some of the extra characters. Not really sure what was the point of starting the book detailing out Mrs. Ponder’s life. Gwen. Shows up more than half way through the book as the twins babysitter. Why? To give Celeste a “knowing look”? The woman who told Madeline about Jeff’s affair. Did we need to know her life story? Probably not. Don’t really even remember her name.




With that said, here are some MAJOR spoilers. If I missed anything or you want more, just let me know. If you don’t want to know…stop reading NOW








· Ziggy is not the bully
· Max is the bully
· Celeste is abused by Perry
· Tom is NOT gay
· Perry is Saxon Banks
· Perry is the one who dies
· Renatta apologizes to Jane and Ziggy directly

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Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Now THAT is how you end a book. The ending was vaguely reminiscent of another YA novel where you know the thing is coming but you’re not prepared for the abrupt cut off. Or maybe you were, maybe you like to read the last line before the first line or something odd like that. I read Shiver as part of a three book series set on my Kindle, which means I had no idea when this particular book would end and the next book would begin.
 
It’s an interesting way to read a book, not being able to see the end in sight. You get to feel the swell of the climax a little more. You go along with the ebb and flow and it connects that much deeper. At least it did with me.
 
Now, Shiver isn’t reinventing the wheel here. Grace and Sam have fallen in love under strange circumstances. There are werewolves involved and in this iteration, their changing is dependent on the cold weather and not the moon. It’s a different twist obviously, and it definitely adds to part of the setting of the novel. I actually missed that they were in Minnesota somehow, my southern brain saw Duluth and thought of Georgia.
 
What I liked most about this book was that there wasn’t a ton of worrying involved. A lot of the time with YA novels, the authors go for the overly anxious overthinking teenage brain. This one was a nice change of pace in that regard. That’s not to say there is no worrying at all, but there isn’t an overly manic sensation to what is portrayed.
 
Despite the predictability of the plot, the story was still enjoyable. I still found myself caring about the characters and what was going to happen to them. I wasn’t sure what the point of some of the ancillary characters were, it was almost as though the author started out thinking they would be a bigger part of the story and then let them drop off when nothing dynamic was found within the character. It wasn’t detrimental to the story though.

The only real complaint is that they bothered to attempt to involve any science. Injecting the human form with meningitis-tainted blood from a random stranger was a huge stretch. Also, if the pack leader has been able to hold off turning permanently for twenty years, why does Sam only get eleven? They kind of explain it away as "no one knows why", but I feel like it's a cop-out and a half finished idea.
 
I’m moving on to the second book, I do enjoy a quick brain candy read so I’ll likely have that review ready soon.

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It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can't remember who it was that initially recommended this book to me. I can't even recall if I even knew who Sinclair Lewis was prior to picking up this novel. One thing is for certain…

In today's political climate this book is downright terrifying. The entire idea that America should find itself in the grasp of a would-be dictator seemed so far-fetched. There are entire passages in which the author appears to be describing Trump directly. I know, I know. You just read that sentence and decided that I'm nuts. Here's an excerpt describing Windrip:


"Doremus Jessup, so inconspicuous an observer, watching Senator Windrip from so humble a Boetia, could not explain his power of bewitching large audiences. The Senator was vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his 'ideas' almost idiotic, while his celebrated piety was that of a traveling salesman for church furniture, and his yet more celebrated humor the sly cynicism of a country store.

Certainly there was nothing exhilarating in the actual words of his speeches nor anything convincing in his philosophy…

…had advocated nothing more revolutionary than better beef stew in the county poor-farms, and plenty of graft for loyal machine politicians, with jobs for their brothers-in-law, nephews, law partners and creditors.

Doremus had never heard Windrip during one of his orgasms of oratory, but he had been told by political reporters that under the spell you thought Windrip was Plato, but that on the way home you could not remember anything he had said."


The novel follows the rise of the President/Dictator Buzz Windrip and the journalist Doremus Jessup. The moment Windrip is elected he arrests pretty much everyone who ever opposed him and puts them in jail. As time goes on anyone who needs work ends up in labor camps, anyone who opposes him ends up in a concentration camp.

The author lays out, in vivid detail exactly how this could happen in America. He essentially posits that one our democracy is gone, it's not coming back and we become yet another nation living through dictator after dictator. Bouncing from one tumultuous existence to another. It is a bleak and terrifying portrayal of one potential future.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classic literature as well as dystopian literature. It's an interesting take on both.


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Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On Friday I finished this audiobook rather quickly. As audiobooks go, it was short; a little less than five hours. I've been a fan of Gilmore Girls since the beginning. I've watched the show all the way through multiple times. I have no regrets or shame with that. I geeked out over the revival like the rest of the "Gillies" (thanks Gilmore Guys). When I saw that Lauren Graham was writing another book, but this time a memoir of sorts, I was ecstatic. Finally! A little behind the scenes inside scoop on what it was like filming the show.

Graham doesn't disappoint. She takes you through her life one step at a time, as memoirs do. As a narrator and as an authoritative voice, listening to Graham is like listening to Lorelai Gilmore herself. I realize of course that just because of her voice it would sound like Lorelai, however, the stories she tells and the manner and inflection with which she tells them? It really feels like the line between Lauren and Lorelai is blurred.

After discussing her childhood and time spent in school, she tells you the standard stories about trying to make it in Hollywood/New York. From there she re-watches the show and season by season gives tiny bits of insight as to what went on or her feelings on the subject. She kept a journal of her time during the revival and listening to those stories got me choked up. Especially the part with Carole King. Honest tears.

I adore Ms. Graham and I enjoy her style of writing. If this book isn't enough for you, you should check out her novel Someday, Someday, Maybe. Another delightful read. I hope that she writes more in the future, because where she leads, I will follow.


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May I Have Your Attention, Please?: The Autobiography by James Corden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve just finished listening to this book and I loved it. Written and released in 2011, it takes you through Corden’s life up until the birth of his son.

My personal discovery of him was through Doctor Who in which he had a couple of episodes in which he was the guest. I loved his humility and charm. Later, when I saw the Wrong Mans available on Hulu I had that moment of…”Hey! It’s that guy! I liked him, what’s this one about?”. Wrong Mans is fantastic and I was hooked from there.

Corden is open and honest about his faults and issues throughout the book. He will tell a story and occasionally thank or apologize (as needed) to the people involved in the story. Part of what I loved about the book is that he made a point to attempt to make it different. Each chapter begins with suggestions to help you best enjoy the chapter:

Best Musical Accompaniment
Best Film to Watch Alongside
Best Enjoyed with (type of food)

I really enjoyed this book and if you like James Corden and his work, I think you’ll like it too. I highly recommend listening to it as an audiobook (as I do with all memoirs) because Corden is a storyteller at heart. Plus he’ll sing for you a little.


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A Passage to Shambhala by Jon Baird
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Full disclosure, I did not finish the book. Am I counting it towards my Goodreads Challenge? Yes I am. I managed to get through about 400 pages of this 770 page book. I count that as having read the equivalent of a regular book.

If you read the description of the plot, you’ll be told that the book is about a secret group of adventurers travelling around the world. Honestly? I’m not entirely certain what it was about. I picked it up again for the first time in a while the other day and while I kind of remembered where I was in the story-line, I just couldn’t get back into it.

I think the book suffers from too much of a good idea. It’s broken up into part novel, part graphic novel. I loved the idea. It’s why I picked up the book in the first place. It provides something dynamic to look at, but unfortunately in this case I was unable to find anything redeeming about the fusion of these two genres together. Honestly, I think it may have distracted from the story for me. I keep losing track of the plot and who was speaking to who.

I’ve had a bad string of books lately and I rarely just give up on them. I just couldn’t see myself slogging through the last 300 pages when I didn’t really care about what was going on. Perhaps you’ll have better luck?


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Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Perhaps I should have read the reviews before I picked up this book. I had heard through word of mouth how amazing it was. How it truly captured the feel of the Old South and what it must have been like to be a slave during that time. How it was this amazing mashup of science fiction and literature. I heard these things from multiple sources from which I generally get excellent recommendations. I think you know where this is going.

Kindred is the story of a “modern” (1970s) African American woman and her husband who live in California. Her husband is white, but I can’t remember the author letting you know this until a quarter of the way through the book. One day, without explanation, she is magically transported to the 1820s on a Maryland plantation where she is immediately finds herself saving the life of a young white boy. Shortly after this, she is transported back to her home and her time to deal with a confused husband. She pops back and forth several times throughout the novel, each time for a longer period of time and each time so that she can save the boy’s life.

I found this book to be completely devoid of human emotion. Everything from the dialogue to the descriptions was presented in a matter of fact tonality. I cannot understand why none of the characters aren’t freaking out about her jumping back and forth in time. At one point she and her husband are separated. For her it’s two months, for him it’s five years. Neither of them portrays any emotion or sense of urgency about the matter at all. When they arrive home after he’s been gone for five years, he acclimates back into real life with no identifiable emotional issues after two weeks.

I do, of course, understand the idea that to a certain extent, Dana would have to curb her emotions being a black woman suddenly thrust into this world. She would have to watch how she behaved and how she spoke. The author did nothing to give any meat to the emotions that should have been involved in something of this magnitude happening in these people’s lives. Where’s the PTSD? Why isn't anyone crying or shrieking or curled up in the corner? Seriously. I can live without a scientific answer as to why this was happening, but the lack of interest the characters showed in finding out was infuriating. No one ever wanted to talk it out, instead all discussions had to wait until after they slept. As though anyone could possibly sleep after an experience like that.

I was beyond disappointed in this novel. Google lists it as “Butler’s bestselling literary science fiction masterpiece”. I’m agog. Maybe the graphic novel is better. It certainly can’t be worse. I suppose I’ll never know.

I’ll tell you to save yourself the trouble on this one. But if you’re like me? You aren’t reading this before you read the book anyway.


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