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Secret sauce coming up: there are some books (*cough* romance novels *cough*) that we try to start on Friday evenings because we know we’ll have an insufficient amount of respect for tomorrow when we do begin them.  I didn’t realize this month’s book club pick, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix was a book that needed to be read consumed quickly, but I went from haven’t opened the book on Friday, to … just woah … on Sunday afternoon.  I have SO MANY thoughts and I want to share them all with you THIS Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. CST.  Read the book, or don’t, we won’t judge, just beware of spoilers if you register here and join in the conversation! 

Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
• The Witches of New York by Ami McKay
• Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• The Clergyman’s Wife by Molly Greeley

Ashley FIN

• The Dare by Lauren Landish*
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe*
• Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat; The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple by David Greene*
• The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1) by Nancy Springer
• Dead of Night (Thorne Hill #1) by Emily Goodwin
• The Case of the Left-Handed Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery (Enola Holmes #2) by Nancy Springer
• Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove #2) by Shelby Mahurin
• The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (Enola Holmes #3) by Nancy Springer
• The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (Enola Holmes #4) by Nancy Springer
• The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (Enola Holmes #5) by Nancy Springer
• The Case of the Gypsy Good-Bye (Enola Holmes #6) by Nancy Springer
• How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started by Joshua Dorkin and Brandon Turner

Nikki FIN

• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
• The Case of the Left-Handed Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery (Enola Holmes #2) by Nancy Springer
• Dead of Night (Thorne Hill #1) by Emily Goodwin
• What if It’s True? A Storyteller’s Journey with Jesus by Charles Martin
• Someone to Romance (Westcott #7) by Mary Balogh
• Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) by Tessa Bailey
• Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove #2) by Shelby Mahurin
• The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (Enola Holmes #3) by Nancy Springer
• Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison
• The Witches of New York by Ami McKay
• The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky (Montague Siblings #1.5)
• The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
• The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (Enola Holmes #4) by Nancy Springer

*Completed in September.

It’s that time of the month again, where Nikki and I bring you the overview of what we have read this month and what from those titles really struck us in the feels. (What other time of the month did you think I meant, weirdos.) Besides the witchy reads and book club pick for this Friday (four days!), I have focused on listening to the entire Enola Holmes series of mysteries by Nancy Springer. I started The Case of the Missing Marquess on the drive to New Orleans to visit my family. Then I listened to The Case of the Left-Handed Lady  on the way back. This is the best way to just let the time pass, it’s like a movie playing in my head rather than trying to anticipate how long it will take me to reach the next mile marker, I can just set the cruise control and go.

I finished up the series during some of the evenings, because I wasn’t as deeply into the books I was reading with my eyes, I wanted to know what happened next, and also because I was feeling the lack of titles on my read list for the month. I ‘did me’ and it was so worth it. I think I am going to start incorporating more fiction audiobooks into my routine, probably for books I want to re-read, so that I have more time to visualize the story than wonder what will come next. I am a big fan of middle grade on audio. In the past I have listened to several Percy Jackson titles on my travels. I find middle grade to be more action-oriented rather than overly descriptive of place and people, which really gets that movie playing in your head.

It’s not that I’ve been disappointed in my reading material, I’ve been disappointed in my attention span for them. And that’s 1000% a me and my time management skillz issue. I’m going to try to get a little better in the coming months so that I can settle in with a book for relaxation without feeling the pull to do the seventy-bajillion other things that need to get done in my life. (Praise Be for getting my RealID and Voting handled on Thursday! And a kindle book to tag along with me!)

What do you do to settle down with your books and get comfortable enough to relax and READ?

~Ashley

For some reason it feels like an eternity has passed since I read some of the earlier titles on my list.  Like Ashley, I’ve been listening to the Enola Holmes books.  Travel is not my reason, a lack of access to the text versions (no thank you long list of holds) is why I opted for audio.  The experience of a middle grade book (200 ish pages or 4 ish hours) on audio has me wondering what other titles might be fun to listen to, particularly a couple of titles I’ve been pondering a reread of in recent months.  Also, I’m almost caught up on podcasts (just a couple of months of a few podcasts to go), so it’s a nice distraction, especially as my podcast selection tends to focus on real life and Enola’s life is a delightful escape.

I want to call attention to two books this month, one another delightful escape and the other quite eye-opening.  The first is Someone to Romance (Westcott #7) by Mary Balogh.  Dear readers, I adore a good regency romance!  I know it’s a strange time, especially when the ton dictates who can waltz and who must sit it out, and a ride in Hyde Park is just the thing for an afternoon outing, but it being a different world is part of what I adore about the romances of the time period.  Today when I live amongst love matches, the idea that they’re rare is quaint, but the idea that people must fight for them is familiar.  I specifically adore the Westcott series because the family is over the top ridiculous, but in the most adorable, endearing way.  The series opens in scandal and the subsequent books are about what cleaning that up looks like, how to follow your heart, and examples of why a loving family is the best, yet sometimes frustrating, thing a person could hope for in that time, or any time really.  I also adore that a romance series follows one family which makes for a fabulous continuing story, particularly as Avery (one of the leads from book 1) is always present with his quizzing glass to give a look and then sage instruction.  

The second book I want to discuss is Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison.  I hadn’t heard of this book and then a dear friend (you know the kind you haven’t seen in months and then see and hug and almost start crying just from the hug – and this was in February) said she was carrying it around and kept meaning to read it.  Like any good bookish person unfamiliar with a title of interest to a friend, I promptly looked it up, was interested, and checked it out.  She and I have been playing phone tag, but I’m excited to discuss it with her when this round of our game is over.  This is a memoir of a man looking back on 50 years of life growing up with Aspergers, but only knowing what that was for ten or so years.  His life, Aspergers aside, wasn’t a walk in the park (it was in fact rather dramatic at times – do not sleep on the forward by his brother or the author’s note), but he chased happiness and found it.  For him, happiness was a partner who understood him and a job that would provide and also meet his intellectual and interactive needs.  I won’t tell more of the story, but it was a fascinating tale and had me wondering how personality is, or perhaps isn’t, connected to the Autism Spectrum as well as how many people connect with some of what Robison describes from his experience.  There were so many times I saw myself in his reactions and his struggles, and many times that I didn’t.  It was a bit of a surreal experience for me, as someone who once worked a summer camp for children with Autism.  The weeks I spent working with those children opened my eyes in a great many ways, and I hope that through his works, Robison can help individuals with Aspergers and Autism feel seen and understood, and others will understand more how to relate with people who are on the Autism Spectrum.  

What have you read lately that’s left you with a greater understanding of something that seems familiar but you learn isn’t as clear cut as you thought?

~Nikki

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