Misty's "Clear the Shelves" ATY-24 challenge

[Misty]

I read The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie today. It was okay, but it is definitely my least favorite book or hers so far. it is a collection of short stories.

[Misty]

I finished the second book from Hades perspective in the Persephone and Hades story by Scarlett St. Clair - A Game of Retribution. I would love to say it was great, but honestly - ick. She is over the top with the sex. It is too much - FAR too much, and it's not even really good sex. The storyline is interesting enough, but I am not sure I will even finish the series, but it is so damn annoying. I listened to the book on Audible, and the narrator is absolutely horrible.

[Misty]

I am in the middle of Wild Seed, but I just can't seem to find much about it to like. I had to step away for a bit, so I read A Nun in the Closet by Dorothy Gilman. It was just what my spirit needed - funny, almost slapstick, great characters, good dialogue, an intriguing mystery. I really enjoyed it. I'm getting close to the end of Dorothy Gilman's ouevre, and it makes me a little sad.

[Misty]

I finished Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse today, and it was so good. I loved the characters - although it was a bit gruesome at times. It definitely could be triggering for some people, so I would caution people to read with caution, but I loved it. It is a duology, and I am really looking forward to the next installment.

[Misty]

I have had Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar for a while, but I had just never gotten around to reading it. It's been a tough week, and Stephen King is always a "comfort read" for me, so I started listening to it last night. I was so hooked that I had to stay up late to finish it. Luckily, it is a small book! It is very good.

[Misty]

I needed something fun and lighthearted and Dorothy Gilman never fails to deliver. I finished Thale's Folly today, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was absolutely delightful. I am so glad that I have rediscovered this lovely author.

[Misty]

I read Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami. It was a sweet love story, and I enjoyed it.

[Misty]

I finished Saving My Assassin: A Memoir by Virginia Prodan today, and I'm still processing it. Her story is fraught with the dangers of living in a communist regime under a despotic dictator. Then she came to the US and voted for a despotic dictator. Her faith is weak and superficial. She also has publicly supported Bela Karolyi, you know - like a "good Christian." I'm disgusted, and I am still glad that I read the book to see what some things were like in Romania.

[Pam]

I loved Strange Weather in Tokyo!

[Misty]

I have been looking forward to reading Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel for a really long time. Audible had a big sale, so I bought it and listened to it for my #20BooksByLatinaAuthors challenge, and meh. The book wasn't terrible, but I had heard so many good things about it that it was pretty disappointing. I mean, it was fine, but it was just - fine.

[Misty]

Wild Seed is the third Octavia E. Butler book that I have read. I am so glad it was not the first because I never would have read any others. I rounded it up to three stars, but I honestly have nothing good to say about this book. I will not be reading the sequels.

[Misty]

Pam wrote: "I loved Strange Weather in Tokyo!"

It was sweet and cute and sad all wrapped up into one. I'm really glad I read it.

[Misty]

I found The Spy Wore Red by Aline, Countess of Romanones in the Audible included catalog, and I thought it sounded interesting. It was! It was fascinating actually. There really should be a movie made from this book. This book is a true story of this woman Aline who became a spy in Spain at the end of World War II. I definitely recommend this book.

[Misty]

I finished my fourth Julia Alvarez book: The Cemetery of Untold Stories. This book is pretty weird - which might be part of why I like it! :) It's basically the weaving together of all these different stories.

[Misty]

I read Marcie R. Rendon's Where They Last Saw Her, and it was fabulous. I have really enjoyed her Cash Blackbear series (and I am thrilled that book 4 will be out next year), but this book is something different. It deals with the issue of murdered, missing, and exploited Indigenous women. It is powerful.

[Misty]

I read Dorothy Gilman's Uncertain Voyage, and I was a little underwhelmed. It was a good story, but the gooey romance stuff was just over the top and hard to read.

[Misty]

I listened to Freida McFadden's Do Not Disturb, and I really enjoyed it. It was very twisty and had a very satisfying ending. Glad I have discovered McFadden.

[Misty]

Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse is the second in the duology - although she left the ending like she might be planning another book one day. I really enjoyed it. It would have been a five star read if she hadn't tried to make this post-apocalyptic world realistic but then decided science didn't exist. Ugh. There is not enough water on the planet to flood it the way she says it will be flooded. There were other issues, and me being the earth science nerd that I am just couldn't overlook them. I've turned into my earth science professor who wrote a letter to the producers of Waterworld to tell them how stupid they were for trying to say the earth would be flooded to the extent it is in the movie. LOL. Oh well. it was still a good book.

[Misty]

I am very happy to have found Freida McFadden's work. The Perfect Son is the third book by her that I have read this year, and I am really enjoying her books. This one didn't have a huge mystery, but it was still a really good thriller.

[Misty]

Leslie Marmon Silko's book Ceremony follows the life of a World War II Indigenous veteran after he returns home. The book was very deep and often sad. it was a little hard to follow sometimes, but overall, I really enjoyed the book.

[Misty]

I just finished The Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman, and it was just what I needed in all this craziness. It was a fun book about a clairvoyant who begins helping the, at first, skeptical police. There is a second book, but it is not on audio. I am putting it on my Christmas list.

[Misty]

I needed some comfort reading, so I read Elizabeth Peter's book The Locked Tomb Mystery: and Other Stories. The stories were great, and I loved the introductions to all the stories. I'm so glad I read this book.

[Misty]

Bebe Moore Campbell was a heckuva writer who passed far too soon. I just finished Your Blues Ain't Like Mine and it was very good. It was very sad, but she did such a good job of showing many aspects to one horrible situation.

[Misty]

I finished another Dorothy Gilman book, but honestly, this was my least favorite of the 19 of hers that I read. It was just too much, and I didn't enjoy the story. A solid "meh" from me for Caravan.

[Misty]

I listened to the second book in the Gwendy trilogy: Gwendy's Magic Feather. This one is written by just Richard Chizmar. I thought it was a fantastic novella. I would like to read more of his work. I like his writing. It is kind of fun reading a book set in Stephen King's world by someone other than Stephen King.

[Misty]

I read The Girl on the Porch by Richard Chizmar yesterday. I am enjoying his work. It was a good story and kept my mind engaged. I drove by a fatal motorcycle/automobile crash on the way home yesterday, and I had to pull over to have a crying panic attack. I don't think I will ever been able to deal with that after my nephew's death. This book was a good escape for the evening. I would like to read more of his work.

[Misty]

I read two Caroline Overington books before, and I really enjoyed them. I found several free on Audible, and I thought it would be great to read them. Then I read One Chance and holy crap. That book was so bad, that I returned all the others I had gotten. I don't feel like wasting my time. This book was not only poorly written, but she had a real agenda against people. I am guessing that someone made her feel bad about her own parenting one day, so she decided to take out a vendetta against every caring parent out there. Geesh. It was just awful. I can never again recommend her work to anyone. What an idiot.

ETA - I just looked her up, and it looks like she has never had children, so I guess she's just an idiot who THINKS she know parenting. There are way too many good authors out there to waste my time with this woman's work.

[Misty]

Russka by Edward Rutherfurd has been on my TBR for literally 20 years. I really enjoyed it. If it hadn't been for the misogyny, it would have been a five star read. I have been fascinated by Russia for years, so it was a real joy to read through this book. It was so well researched. I would be very curious to know what Russians think of the book.

[Misty]

I have read a lot of Charlaine Harris books this year, and I have really enjoyed them. An Easy Death is very different from the other stuff of hers that I have read. It is kind of an alternate history/historical dystopian fiction. I really enjoyed it. I was hooked very quickly. Gunnie Rose is a very interesting character, and this world that she built is captivating.

[Misty]

I read Someone in the House by Barbara Michaels, and I really enjoyed it. I have read most of her books under the pseudonym Elizabeth Peters, but this is only my third Barbara Michaels book. These books have much more supernatural content, and I dig it.

[Misty]

I finished my last book of the year: Black Rainbow by Barbara Michaels. Rarely do I hate a book character not written by Stephen King as strongly as I hated Edmund! I did enjoy the book though.