A hint of sunshine through the fog

Take a look at what I read last month and my hopes for the coming months!

The world is a fog

heavy on my mind and eyes

swirling and spreading.

It creeps up my feet

crawls its way up to my heart

trying to smother.

But a ray of light

peeks slowly, then breaks through, light

brings forth freeing breath.

Well, hello there!

It’s been a minute since I’ve written a newsletter, but I hope you’re still finding joy in the small things. As my poem above shows, it’s been a bit heavy here and now that we are coming up on the anniversary of my father-in-law’s passing, it’s getting darker. Seasonal depression is also really real for me… so it’s a bit of a struggle!

However, there have been rays of light bringing joys!

Recent joys:

• We got tickets to see the Wicked play! It’s next spring, but I’m so excited. We are also planning on seeing Wicked: For Good next weekend.

• We have a new 3D printer and it’s amazing. My husband has been making me earrings and I am having such a fun time. He’s made 6-7 earrings (if you know, you know), Labubus, raccoons, tons of ghosts and Halloween ones, and even a slice of pumpkin pie!

I am the weird earring teacher!

• Two of my writing friends self-published their middle grade books! They are such amazing women and it’s been cool being part of this journey.

Taylor Swift. Yes…I am a Swiftie. I have not been this obsessed with a musician since I was in 6th grade with the Backstreet Boys. Or maybe Three Days Grace in High School. But man, her songs bring me joy and release stress.

• And of course cat cuddles!

  

  Reeses on my book cozy

Reading Life

The fog I feel like I’m walking through has impacted my reading life quite a bit. I am mostly struggling with focusing on the books (and falling asleep as soon as I open the book).

Here are my stats from October, brace yourself. They are lower than usual! But ya know, it’s okay! This is what my life looks like right now and it’s okay. Right?

I honestly can’t believe it says the average time to finish a book is 23 days! 23 DAYS! That’s wild!

I will note two things: one, I don’t really give star ratings anymore, so disregard that and two, I have not updated my reading daily so these numbers by day are most likely not very accurate.

I have been reading a lot more on my kindle and am definitely leaning towards YA as well as darker books. I think I need to feel a lot…I need to be scared or sad or tense. Romance is just not hitting right now…unless it’s heavy and sad!

And now for the best part… what I read! Here are my short and sweet thoughts.

• The House Without Keys by Lindsay Currie: This was the sequel to Mystery of Locked Rooms and I read it for my podcast, Read to Write Kidlit. You can listen to the episode here. It’s a fun mystery set in an escape room and I can see many middle graders enjoying it. (Audiobook and e-ARC)

• Make Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron: I love Kalynn Bayron and she is an auto-read author for me. I think I’ve read all of her novels and I really liked this one. The concept was so unique and with the Frankenstein movie releasing this year, it was perfect. The setting is in a funeral home! Now, it got creepy and there was some body stuff happening, so he warned. But I really loved it. It was also really sad, which again, I need right now. (Audiobook and e-ARC)

• If We Survive This by Racquel Marie: This was an interesting zombie apocalypse book that follows a brother and sister as they move to a new location in the hopes of finding their father. I really liked the main character and the portrayal of her anxiety and how that actually helps her in this dangerous world. This had quite a bit of violence and gore, but I enjoyed it a lot. (Audiobook)

• It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei: What a book. The more I learn about George Takei, the more my heart hurts for him but also the more I love him. He starred in Star Trek and didn’t come out as gay until his sixties I believe. He lived through many important and huge moments in history and reading his books are a must. This one is more adult as it covers his life while filming and after. Highly recommend. (Ebook)

• They Called Us Enemy by George Takei: This was a reread and I have to tell you a little of my why for reading it again. I was at my local library looking for graphic novels in the adult section when I came across a copy of this book and was… shocked. It is a middle grade book! Why would it be in the adult section? I battled with what to do, if I should say anything…I decided to read it again to see if there is mature content (even though I was pretty sure there wasn’t). So, I got an ebook copy and dove in. This story is a must read. MUST READ. It covered George’s early years in the Japanese Internment camps that he and his family were placed in during WWII. This is a part of history that isn’t talked about or taught enough about and that is why I think this is a must read. I hope the reason it was in the adult section was due to an error because there is nothing inappropriate in this book. (Ebook)

• Shady Hollow by Juneau Black: I heard about this series through the Reading Glasses podcast (if you don’t listen, I recommend!) and it was a great, short, fun read. It is adult but I think accessible to younger ages, but I don’t know if it gets more mature later. There are animal creatures and I really loved the setting. It has some Gilmore Girls vibes (maybe that’s why it’s named Shady Hollow-Stars Hollow?) with the small town vibe and the coffee shop as a central location.

• Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi: This was a reread and I honestly did not remember much of it, so it was a good time! I love books that are written in unique ways, like physically. The pages are different or the author plays with words on the page. There are redacted parts and sometimes Mafi plays with punctuation and the page in really unique ways. I started the novella that comes after, but wasn’t feeling it. The storyline is really good, but there were some really cheesy romance parts that I just couldn’t get past. It’s also more on the mature side of YA in terms of romance. I do think I will keep reading to see where the story goes!

Goals

I hope November is a better reading month. As I write this, it is the middle of November and although I am struggling with finding a book to hold my attention, I am making a more conscious effort in improving my reading life.

• Quitting books I find boring or that are not making me want to come back soon.

• Reading horror and more intense books.

• Starting my reading journal again.

• Writing this newsletter!

• Switching to reading on my Kindle App whenever I pick up my phone to scroll. (It kind of works)

• Audiobooks so I can focus on crochet Christmas gifts!

• Being okay with where I am.

Thanks for reading book nerds!