Show Us Your Books – October Edition
Happy Show Us Your Books link-up day! Here’s what I’ve been reading recently!
(Apologies for the tight spacing on this post. The latest WordPress update made things funky and no matter how much extra space I try to insert between paragraphs/photos, it keeps crowding it all together!)
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Toil & Trouble by Augusten Burroughs
*This book was released on October 1. I received a complimentary review copy via Netgalley.*
I came across this at random while browsing NetGalley and recognized the author’s name but couldn’t think of what I knew him from. He’s written a bunch of best seller memoirs (I think “Running with Scissors” is the best known.) This one is woven around the phenomenon he’s experienced his whole life. His mother told him he was a witch, but to be honest it mostly sounds like what we know as intuition and the law of attraction. Whatever you want to label it, the book is filled with interesting stories of knowing things he couldn’t have known, willing things into happening, etc. Even more than that, it’s a memoir of he and his husband moving from NYC to an old house in Connecticut. Whether you buy into the magical aspect or not, it’s a fun read with good storytelling.
Next Level Basic by Stassi Schroeder
You guys… I have no idea why I requested this book. I heard the author on a podcast and they were talking about her book, and I guess that it sounded interesting enough that I decided to check it out? What was I thinking? I’ve never seen the reality show she’s on, and it’s just not my kind of book. The writing is vapid and just… bad. (She frequently tacks “AF” onto things for emphasis, for example.) Most of the content would have been better as blog posts than a book. For example, there’s a whole multi-page thing about what kind of person you are based on what percentage of cell phone charge you have. No, really. It would be cute as a Buzzfeed-style post, but not in a book. Would I have maybe liked it better as an audiobook? I downloaded an episode of the author’s podcast just to see if I was missing something, but… nope. Definitely not for me.
I always try to find something positive to say about books, and in this case the underlying message of the book is a good one – to like what you like no matter if it’s considered cliche or silly.
Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott
I loved Anne’s “Bird by Bird” so much that I had to request this when I saw it on my library’s website. I got the audiobook because I love how this author reads her books, then was totally disappointed to discover it’s a different person reading it. Then a few minutes in I figured out that it was a novel, not another memoir. Oops. That’s what I get for requesting a book just based on the author! I listened for almost an hour but it’s like 12 hours long and just not my kind of book, so I went ahead and returned it. Lesson learned!
Currently Reading:
I got an ARC of Rachel Maddow’s new book and I AM SO EXCITED. She’s one of my favorite humans and an awesome author.
Linking up with Life According to Steph and Jana Says. They’re hosting a giveaway in honor of the five-year anniversary of the link-up, so be sure to check it out!