This Is Why I Don't Make TBR's: Reading Update 10.15.19

So...I failed the Gilmore Girls Readathon. Oops.

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog! Today is the last day of the Gilmore Girls Readathon, and I only read one book on my TBR. ONE. ONE. Goddamn. And I didn't even like it all that much either! What a fail. Rory Gilmore would be so disappointed in me.

However, that doesn't mean that I haven't been reading for the past two weeks. I've actually read quite a few books in the past couple weeks, so I'm completely hopeless! I've read quite a few short stories this month, little horror stories by Shaun Horton. I was inspired to pick these up by Merphy Napier on YouTube, as she narrates his short cryptid story Cenote on audiobook. While I didn't actually listen to the audiobook, I still really enjoyed this little story. It's just the right amount of horror, perfect for the spooky season. After reading this I also picked up his short story collection Paths: Three Short Horror Stories. I didn't like these stories as much as Cenote, but I do definitely enjoy Horton's writing style. I've also bought his full length horror novel, Hannah, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. As you know, I'm a very big mood reader, and I just fell out of that adult horror reading mood pretty quickly, sadly.

I wanted something a little lighter, but still kind of spooky, so I picked up the graphic novel Sheets by Brenna Thummler, and it was soo cute!! I definitely want to own this book (I got it from the library). Sheets is all about a ghost that is haunting a laundromat, and the friendship he grows with the daughter of the laundromat's owner. It's so wholesome and adorable, while also being very hard-hitting on certain subjects.

And then something amazing happened. I got a package in the mail; it being a custom dustjacket for Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, one to match the art style of the sequel, Wayward Son! So, of course I had to go and buy a copy of the sequel, and then proceed to reread Carry On and read Wayward Son right afterward.

 

And...I didn't like the sequel. Big oof. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and I ended up giving it two stars. I just didn't feel the same magic as Carry On, and I really hated the ending, which is kind of surprising even to me. Even though Wayward Son is half the size of the first book, I still feel like it dragged on too much. I was hoping that we would just get a nice fluffy book of Simon and Baz's relationship, and that seemed to be put on the backburner of the rest of the plotlines in the book. And the scenes we did get of the two felt forced and fell flat for me. But, I'll still be buying and reading the third book, Any Way the Wind Blows, whenever it comes out. Since Rowell already gave us the title and teased the cover, I'm assuming it'll be coming out at some point next year. 

Currently I'm reading These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling, and even though I'm only 80 pages in, I have very mixed feelings about it. I've learned by now that there are very little witch books out in the world that actually present witchcraft realistically, and I knew right off the bat that this book wasn't one of them, so really I only have myself to blame for putting expectations on this book, but still. I don't like the magic presented?? I feel like the biggest peeve I have for this book is that the main character works in a witchcraft and Wiccan store (she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, so it makes sense that there are stores like this) and she rolls her eyes whenever someone comes in to buy ingredients for a spell. Like, I get it, you're a "real" witch with "real" magic, but for actual witches reading this book, I don't know, it feels like I'm being laughed at. The amount of times the MC has made fun of people that would actually be considered "real" witches in our society today (a.k.a. people like me, who practice witchcraft) in the first 80 pages is astronomical. I really want to make it through this book, but boy is it testing my patience. 

So yeah, that's all I have for today. Midterms came and went and now I'm in the second half of the semester, so naturally things are about to get a whole lot harder for me. I might not be as active for a while, so apologies in advance if that happens. 

Until next time!