Holy Shit, this is good. It’s a nonfiction account of the craziness that was Theranos but swear to God it reads like a fantastic thriller. #25wordreview (link)
Category: Reading
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Stephen Frey on audio is a dream but I’m done with HP. This is a series that’s great for kids, but it’s not for me. #25wordbookreview (link)
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Just as good as The Hate U Give. Audiobook bonus: narrator Bahni Turpin rapping. #25wordbookreviews (link)
Natural Causes
This started out great, blowing my mind with contrarian thoughts on health care — but it devolved into a bit on nonsense later on. Still interesting. #25wordbookreview (link)
Golden State
Fascinating idea — a world where lying is the ultimate crime and reality exists only when caught on camera. Slow sometimes, but a great read. #25wordbookreviews (Amazon link)
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
My third time trying this one; I finally finished it. Idyllic and horrifying at the same time. Reminds me thematically of Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine“. (Here’s a link.) #25wordbookreviews
Circe
Everyone loves this book but me. I feel left out! Circe is a fascinating character to be sure but the story just wasn’t my taste. #25wordbookreviews (link to Amazon)
Snow day
It’s Day 2 of a city-wide shutdown due to a measly 4 inches of snow. (I know this sounds ridiculous, but 1) it rarely ever snows here so we’re not well-prepared and 2) it’s very hilly in Seattle. Every time it snows, people put together hilarious montages like this from sitting on their decks and watching fools underestimate the danger.)
Anyway, I’ve been working from home the last two days and am absolutely stir-crazy. I walked to the library just so I could safely get some fresh air and a little exercise. I *love* my library. It was bustling in there, so clearly I wasn’t the only person that needed to get out. In addition to tons of kids running around and laying on the floor reading books, there were half a dozen people sitting in pairs practicing their English speaking skills, and a really funny older gentleman who came in to return a book that he very loudly shared with the librarian is the very best alphabet book ever — P is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever.
I sat at a table for a good while and looked through cookbooks. I’m having a dinner party in a few weeks for people that I love, which is one of my favorite things to do, but one of those people is a vegetarian, which always stumps me when it comes to deciding what to make. I checked one of those out (Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break, which I am admittedly going to cook from today and has nothing to do with said dinner party) and got my next book club book (Golden State, by the author of the wonderful Underground Airlines) and picked up a hold that had come in for me (Finding Mezcal: A Journey Into the Liquid Soul of Mexico). Then I walked home and had a giant cup of coffee underneath a blanket.
Darius the Great is Not Okay
The very best of YA; tells of a tender friendship between teen boys both dealing with Big Things in their lives, including depression and bullying. #25wordbookreviews (link to amazon)
Becoming
Michelle read this audiobook (at 1.5x speed — she’s pretty slow!) and while nothing all that controversial was revealed, she’s still an inspiration to me. #25wordbookreview
