so hot in herre and out therre and all around

It's been so hot recently that one can barely concentrate.  I don't always appreciate my job (because it's stressful and the customers suck) but I do appreciate that the building itself is air conditioned, unlike my house.  I worry when I'm out though, locking the house up... so hot for my pets.  What I'd really love to do is just... get out of here for a few days, go to like the beach or something, lol.  But no one would be here to take care of my animals.  And there's also the job thing.  Sigh... well, Summer won't last forever, I guess.

changes

One more book and then I'll be caught up!  And I'm actually like... on track to finish, I think, before the month ends.  Excited about that... this could potentially be the first time I finish both books for the month on time like all year, lol.  In other news, I'm no longer going to be doing the book log posts I had been doing for a while there.  I'm simply not reading anywhere near as much as I was when I started those, and I don't have the time to keep up with one more thing.  If those were actually of any interest to you, I'd encourage you (once again lol) to follow my Goodreads.  I'm pretty good about keeping track of what I'm reading on there.  Sometimes I post reviews too... different than just what I post here, lol.  I do want to do more non-book related posts, since this blog is meant to be about my life in general.  I don't know if anyone is reading this, but I do want to make this blog a cool space to read but still a good outlet for me.

DYRC 19 July: Crazy Cat Lady by Agnes Loonstra and Ester Scholten

The theme for July was humor.  I wanted something quick (since I've been so dreadfully behind in this challenge) and fun (since that fits the theme, lol, but also just fits what my stressed out ass needs).  I looked through the humor section of Goodreads and eventually settled on Crazy Cat Lady.

So this book honestly is kind of cheating for a reading challenge, because it's mostly pictures.  I'm counting it though because it IS in the humor category, and I did really enjoy it.  But it's full of fun art, cute trivia and relatable cat facts, and it has stickers in the back.  It's kind of like the type of book you'd get someone as a gift if you knew they liked cats but didn't know much else about them, lol, but it was still fun and enjoyable.

Here is my Goodreads review.  It doesn't say much because there isn't much to say.

I read this book on July 24th while I was at jury duty.  Lucky it was so short, because I ended up getting called into court with the first group of people and didn't have all day to sit and read, like I'd hoped, lol.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but only to other crazy cat ladies, lol.

DYRC19/Merry Misfits Book Club June: Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson

This post is late too, I know.  I'm doing my best though!  June was a month where my two book challenge themes worked well together.  The theme for DYRC was a children's book. The theme for the Misfits was perfect Summer read.  Since I (and the rest of the tumblr) have been obsessed with the Moomins of late, I decided to go ahead and grab Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson.

So I wanted to start with the beginning of the Moomins, but this is actually the second book.  The first book, The Moomins and the Great Flood, was actually out of print in English for decades.  It is available now, but hasn't been for long... and the library didn't have a copy and I couldn't find a cheap used copy (or even a Kindle version).  A lot of more knowledgeable Moomin fans have said it's not the best introduction to the series and really more for the completionist fan anyways, so I just skipped on to the second book.  If I do go back and read this first one, however, I'll try and get a post up!

Anyways, I really enjoyed this book!  It was cute but it also had a lot of adventure and genuinely high stakes.  It was a good introduction to all of these characters.  The English translation doesn't feel weird or unnatural, as translations sometimes can.  The art is really cute and stylized.  It was just a really cozy book that made me feel warm all over.  Cute but not cutesy.

Here is my Goodreads review.  It's bare bones, to say the least, but it's there.

I read this book between June 18th and July 24th.  Yes, that is a long time.

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

DYRC 19 May: Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

Addressing the elephant in the room, yes.  This is my May book and yes I'm making this post in July.  It be like that sometimes.  May's theme was history and biography, and that's a theme I typically enjoy.  History major, biography fan... and it didn't take long for me to pick a title.  Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley was a given.

This was a book I had wanted, and needed, to read for a while.  I like Lucy Worsley, and Jane Austen  is incredibly important to me, so I was very much looking forward to it.  I'm pleased to say it lived up to my excitement!  I learned a lot about an author I love... I feel like I know her better, understand her work better, and overall feel closer (so to speak) to Jane than ever.

Here is my Goodreads review.  It isn't much, and neither is this, but I think my enjoyment is evident.  Follow me on Goodreads, lol.

I read this book between May 19 and June 28.  Yes, that is over a month.  Yes, I finished quite late and it took a long time.  That wasn't due to the quality of the book.  Work keeps me busy and I don't have time to read much anymore... and I'm not happy about it.  But anyways, we made it.

Would I recommend this book?  Yes, especially if you're a history nerd or a big Austenite.

Merry Misfit's Book Club May: The Cowboy's Second Chance by Riley Knight

May's theme for the Merry Misfits Book Club was a niche genre, or one you don't usually go for.  I mentioned last year that I struggle with picking a genre I haven't really read, because my interests are very broad.  I thought I'd go ahead and read a western, but then I realized that that sounded less than fun.  Sooo... I put "gay western" into amazon and this was something that came up. #noragrets

I ripped through this book so fast... I enjoyed it a lot!  It was just super cute.  Parts of  it were rushed and predictable, but I never minded.  It was just a sweet little book... there was a lot of mutual pining and other fanfic-y tropes (I say that without a hint of derision because I love fanfic; I write fanfic so these trope get me right lol).  The characters were what I would call loveable idiots, and honestly I almost immediately went back and purchased the other book in this series after finishing this one.  You could call a book like this a guilty pleasure, but I'm not even that guilty, lol.  I enjoyed it, and there's nothing to feel guilty about with that!

Here's my goodreads review.  Not a lot of thoughts there, but I was the first review on this title... so that's something, lol.

I read this book between May 7th and May 9th.  Quick read, fun read I was eager to continue and finish.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  I mean... if you're into smutty gay romance novels that have some very fanfic-y tropes, then yes.  If not, no.

DYRC19/Merry Misfits Book Club April: The Return of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Finally added up and worked out in my favor, lads.  I could use one book to satisfy both themes of my reading challenges!  The DYRC theme was comic/graphic novel and the Merry Misfits theme was a book that has been on your TBR pile too long.  Obviously this is a comic, and it's been on my TBR since before it came out in the states.

I really really enjoyed this.  The story behind this one is that these comics were released in the 1940s in Italy (two things I like) and just within the last year or two became available stateside in English. The art, by Romano Scarpa, is gorgeous.  It looks very true to the Disney movie but also very Golden Age kids' comics.  The stories themselves were simple and fun, and it was an overall fun read.  Nothing about this was dumbed down, but it was still a nice easy read.

Here's my goodreads review.  I produced actual thoughts... different than the ones here!  So follow me on goodreads.

I started reading this April 26th and finished it May 6th.  Yes, I am aware May 6th is not a part of April.  But I did finish!  I was just really busy.

Would I recommend this to a friend?  Definitely, if you're a Disney fan or you love Snow White.