Nobody Cares

 Book 82 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from August 26 - 30

Nobody Cares

by Anne T. Donahue

Summary (via the book jacket)

As she shares her hard-won insights from screwing up, growing up, and trying to find her own path, Anne T. Donahue offers all the honesty, laughs, and reassurance of a late-night phone call with your best friend. Whether she's giving a signature pep talk, railing against summer, or describing her own mental health struggles, Anne reminds us that failure is normal, saying no to things is liberating, and that we're all a bunch of beautiful disasters - and she wouldn't have it any other way.

My Opinion

2 stars

It always feels weird rating and reviewing books of a personal nature.  For me, it's not a reflection of the author or her choices but the writing itself.  I can't say the material is completely irrelevant but judgement of her life is not why I didn't connect with this book.

I felt like she jumped in with little context or backstory and some pretty heavy topics or monumental life events were tossed out in one or two sentences on the way to something else (having to repeat the twelfth grade, for example).  Towards the end of the book she mentioned her newsletter so this disconnect could be partly mine - I had no familiarity with the author beforehand.  But I also probably won't seek out the newsletter based on the book.

I'm glad she's been able to reflect on some of the self-destruction and I hope she's happy and fulfilled now in whatever path she chooses.  

Murder at the Royal Ruby

 Book 81 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on August 28

Murder at the Royal Ruby

by Nita Prose

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the Obsession collection available through Prime Reading.  It was fine.  It progressed well with lots of potential motives (some a little more heavy-handed than others).

A Bad Day for Sunshine

Book 80 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from August 5 - 26

A Bad Day for Sunshine

by Darynda Jones

Summary (via Goodreads)

Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o' joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose. Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee - and, now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff - thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her--and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter's new school, plus and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny. 

But even clouds have their silver linings. This one's got Levi, Sunshine's sexy, almost-old-flame, and a fiery-hot US Marshall. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol's normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger. Can Sunshine face the call of duty - and find the kidnapper who's terrorizing her beloved hometown - without falling head over high heels in love . . . or worse? 

My Opinion

3 stars

I really like the Charley Davidson series so I picked this, the first in a new series by the author, as soon as I saw it at the library.  I like the characters and the writing was snappy and funny but I don't know...there are so many mysteries going on, each one more outlandish than the last, and I don't think the question of whether or not a child is a product of sexual assault is an appropriate cliffhanger.  And if there were people who had answers earlier, why the secret?

I'll continue the series because I want to know the answers but I'm shaking my head at the ridiculousness.  Maybe I should just reread Charley Davidson instead.

The Vanishing Triangle

Book 79 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from July 9 - August 19

The Vanishing Triangle: The Murdered Women Ireland Forgot

by Claire McGowan

Summary (via Goodreads)

Ireland in the 1990s seemed a safe place for women. With the news dominated by the Troubles, it was easy to ignore non-political murders and sexual violence, to trust that you weren’t going to be dragged into the shadows and killed. But beneath the surface, a far darker reality had taken hold.
In this candid investigation into the society and circumstances that allowed eight young women to vanish without a trace—no conclusion or conviction, no resolution for their loved ones—bestselling crime novelist Claire McGowan delivers a righteous polemic against the culture of secrecy, victim-blaming and shame that left these women’s bodies unfound, their fates unknown, their assailants unpunished.
McGowan reveals an Ireland not of leprechauns and craic but of outdated social and sexual mores, where women and their bodies were of secondary importance to perceived propriety and misguided politics—a place of well-buttoned lips and stony silence, inadequate police and paramilitary threat.
Was an unknown serial killer at large or was there something even more insidious at work? In this insightful, sensitively drawn account, McGowan exposes a system that failed these eight women—and continues to fail women to this day.

My Opinion

3 stars

Even though there aren't many answers provided in this book it was still an interesting read.  I'm not sure which would be more frustrating to experience, the cases with suspects they are fairly certain were involved but can't arrest or the cases with no leads at all.  Probably the former, when you feel like someone can give answers but just won't or can't.

I'm not surprised missing women didn't always get the top-notch investigations and things were missed but saying a woman committed suicide when there was no body and no indication she would've done so is just lazy and infuriating.

Gross Anatomy

 Book 78 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from August 5 - 14

Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front (and Back)

by Mara Altman

Summary (via the book jacket)

Mara Altman's volatile and apprehensive relationship with her body has led her to wonder about a lot of stuff over the years. Like who decided that women shouldn't have body hair? And how sweaty is too sweaty? Also, why is breast cleavage sexy but camel toe revolting? Isn't it all just cleavage? These questions and others like them have led to the comforting and sometimes smelly revelations that constitute Gross Anatomy, an essay collection about what it's like to operate the bags of meat we call our bodies.

Divided into two sections, "The Top Half" and "The Bottom Half", with cartoons scattered throughout, Altman's book takes the reader on a wild and relatable journey from head to toe - as she attempts to strike up a peace accord with our goody bits.

With a combination of personal anecdotes and fascinating research, Gross Anatomy holds up a magnifying glass to our beliefs, practices, biases, and body parts and shows us the naked truth: that there is greatness in our grossness.

My Opinion

3 stars

This book hit a good balance between personal story and research.  As always with these random sort of topics, I'm amazed there are experts devoting research to the most seemingly obscure things.

Heartstopper: Volume 4

 Book 77 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from August 6 - 7

Heartstopper: Volume 4

by Alice Oseman

Summary (via the book jacket)

Charlie and Nick's relationship has been going really well, and Charlie thinks he's ready to say those three little words: I love you.

Nick feels the same way, but he's got a lot on his mind - especially the thought of coming out to his dad and the fact that Charlie might have an eating disorder.

As a new school year begins, Charlie and Nick will have to learn what love really means.

My Opinion

3 stars

Although I'm glad Charlie and Nick had a few weeks apart while Nick was on vacation to spend time with others and realize they need more than just each other, it did make me enjoy the book less because their dynamic and interactions are my favorite parts.

It covered some pretty heavy topics and I'm also glad adults got involved so they weren't carrying the burden alone.

Now I'm caught up and have to wait for the next volume to come out! 

Quietly Hostile

 Book 76 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from July 23 - August 5

Quietly Hostile

by Samantha Irby

Summary (via Goodreads)

The success of Irby's career has taken her to new heights. She fields calls with job offers from Hollywood and walks the red carpet with the iconic ladies of Sex and the City. Finally, she has made it. But, behind all that new-found glam, Irby is just trying to keep her life together as she always had.
Her teeth are poisoning her from inside her mouth, and her diarrhea is back. She gets turned away from a restaurant for wearing ugly clothes, she goes to therapy and tries out Lexapro, gets healed with Reiki, explores the power of crystals, and becomes addicted to QVC. Making light of herself as she takes us on an outrageously funny tour of all the details that make up a true portrait of her life, Irby is once again the relatable, uproarious tonic we all need.

My Opinion

3 stars

She talks about bodily functions so well that I had a visceral reaction to some of the essays and felt embarrassment for her!  Stomach issues can humble someone very quickly.

The Remedy

 Book 75 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on August 1

The Remedy

by Adam Haslett

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the Dark Corners collection available through Prime Reading.  If you don't overthink how they're able to create the environment and experience it's a good ride.  I was completely caught off-guard by the ending but the clues were there the whole time.