Kiwiria's February Fables

[kiwiria]

Every Three Hours - Chris Mooney, 4/5, 390 pages
I bought this book not knowing it was the sixth in a series! Fortunately it turned out not to matter at all - sure, there were a few references to things that happened earlier, but anything you really needed to know to enjoy this book was suitably described, without having it feel too much like an info-dump (BSC, I'm looking at you!)

And enjoy it I did! It turned out to be a very captivating suspense novel, and I had a hard time putting it down. It's not high literature in any kind of way, but you kinda know that going into it. I'd guessed some of the events ahead of time, but definitely not all.

As unfortunately often happens with such books, the end was a bit of a let-down, but not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book as a whole.


How to Be a Normal Person - T.J. Klune, 5/5, Audiobook ~11hrs
An absolutely adorable story! I LOVED it, and lost count of the number of times I laughed out loud, or literally "Awwww!!!"'ed out loud while listening to it.

Very different from T.J. Klune's other books, but just as good. And as always, his characters are something out of the ordinary...
- a socially awkward (think Sheldon Cooper +) orphaned video clerk/landlord
- an asexual stoner hipster
- three elderly biker chicks who are either sisters or lesbian lovers
- three ironic amigos
and of course a ferret!

The best thing by far about this book was seeing Gus grow from being a determined loner to actually loving other people and allowing himself to be loved in return. Casey forced him out of his shell, by not even noticing that he HAD one, and it was just delightful to see. It was equally lovely to see Gus (and everybody else) just accept Casey for who he is, and not make a big deal out of him being asexual, or having it be something he needed to be "cured" of.

Very sweet and heartwarming book.


Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty, 5/5, Audiobook ~16hrs
5 stars for sheer totally-unable-to-put-down-this-book-ness! To give you an idea - I "read" this as an audiobook, and ended up listening to 16 hours in 8 days!!

Liane Moriarty is a bit hit-and-miss with me, but she hit it out of the park with this one! I had been warned that the beginning might feel a bit slow, but that wasn't my impression at all. I loved it right from the start, and was fascinated by how Liane Moriarty managed to write about a health retreat (starting with a 5-day "noble silence", even!) in such a way that I still found it interesting to read about. And then, of course, "stuff" happened, and suddenly I found myself with a chick-lit suspense novel, which definitely isn't the genre I've visited the most!

A great read all around.


A Ten-Year-Old Expat - ME!*, 157 pages
I realize it might be slightly self-glorifying to reread my own book :-P But it's a great comfort read, and I was going through a bit of a stressful time this month, so it fit the bill perfectly :-D


The Bullet-Journal Method - Ryder Carroll, 4/5, 336 pages
Interesting read. I finally started to get the difference between a bullet journal, a regular journal (=diary) and a calendar. It was easy to read, had very accessible ideas and concepts and a lot of examples to explain things. Some of the chapters (especially near the end, in the "The Practise" section) were a biiit too flighty and "self-improvement" minded for me, and I ended up skimming some of those, but the basics (the first two parts as well as the longer example in the end) were solid and well worth reading.


Claimed - fred Alvrez, 3.5/5, 300 pages
A 3.5 star review. Rounded up on Goodreads as it kept me fascinated enough to finish in a day!

Very different from Fred Alvrez' other books. I love that I've now read three books by him, and they literally couldn't be more different from one another! Just goes to show that no author needs to feel stuck in one genre.

The first few chapters made me google images of Vancouver Island... Oh, my goodness! I want to go there now! Definitely a new spot to add to my bucket list - it looks absolutely gorgeous!

The story itself is every bit as engaging as I have come to expect from Fred Alvrez. I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the journey (trying not to give too much away here) and absolutely adored Maya.


How to Be a Movie Star - T.J. Klune, 5/5, 350 pages
*Flail*
Okay, so this is not going to be a coherent review - instead I'm just going to squee here. Because this book? EVERY BIT as good as "How to Be a Normal Person". And so CUTE! So, so cute! I just about died of the cute!

I laughed out loud more times than I can remember, and closed the book with a sigh and a hitch in my voice. I didn't want it to end... EVER!

Somebody has to turn "Tales My Father Told Me" (working title) into a proper movie now!!! I want to be friends with Josy, I want to visit Abby. I want to drink a latte at Lottie's cafe. I want to ride on Vespas with the We 3 Queens.

Well done, T.J. Klune! I didn't think you could write characters I'd love as much as Sam, Gary, Tiggy and Ryan, but you managed - of course you managed.

Loved it!


The Happiness Project - Pippa James, 4/5, 343 pages
A quick and easy read.

Although officially the second in a series, it easily worked as a stand-alone novel as well (I haven't read the first, and didn't feel like I was missing out on anything) and turned out to be a really charming comfort read. It's real life - no big drama or high-stake risks - but just cozy friendship between the three main characters. I'd worried that some of them might be too caricatured, but that ended up not being an issue at all. I really enjoyed getting to know them, and to read about what was going on in their lives.

A low-key book - but sometimes that's exactly what I want and need.

Book of the Month: How to Be a Normal Person and How to Be a Movie Star. I loved them both so much, and can't pick one over the other!
Biggest Disappointment: None!!! With no books rated less than 3.5 stars, this was an AMAZING month reading-wise!!!

Comments

[kiwiria]

I agree. I loved "Big Little Lies" and "What Alice Forgot", but didn't care too much for "Truly Madly Guiltily" or "The Husband's Secret". I definitely thought this was closer in style to the former than the latter.

(Haven't read any others yet, but have several on my list).