Buried by Books #2

 

It's time to once again evaluate my bad habit of putting things on hold on Libby for all kinds of reasons.  Hope you enjoyed last week's post and if you didn't catch it, you can find it HERE.

The Cats of Silver Crescent: Kaela Noel - So the only thing better than talking cats is talking dogs.  Still interested in reading this one although I know I've pushed it back twice so far.

Middle of the Night: Riley Sager - So I've only read one book by this author, and I didn't really like it. Yes, I'm talking about you Final Girl with all your grape soda and Xanax glory.  I'm convinced I want to love this author like so many other people.  Maybe this book will be the one to convince me one way or another.

Love Letters to a Serial Killer: Tasha Coryell- This is my most recent hold and honestly, I think it was the tagline on the cover "P.S. Please don't kill me."

Feed Your TBR - The Haunting of Room 904

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

March 18, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: Olivia Becente was never supposed to have the gift. The ability to commune with the dead was the specialty of her sister, Naiche. But when Naiche dies unexpectedly and under strange circumstances, somehow Olivia suddenly can’t stop seeing and hearing from spirits.

A few years later, she’s the most in-demand paranormal investigator in Denver. She’s good at her job, but the loss of Naiche haunts her. That’s when she hears from the Brown Palace, a landmark Denver hotel. The owner can’t explain it, but every few years, a girl is found dead in room 904, no matter what room she checked into the night before. As Olivia tries to understand these disturbing deaths, the past and the present collide as Olivia’s investigation forces her to confront a mysterious and possibly dangerous cult, a vindictive journalist, betrayal by her friends, and shocking revelations about her sister’s secret life.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I admit I sort of soft DNF'ed Wurth's first book.  I do plan on going back to it and think it was the wrong book at the wrong time when I did pick it up.  I love the paranormal investigator element and want to find out the mystery behind room 904.

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

This Book Was So Much Yet Not Enough

 

TITLE: Murder Road

AUTHOR: Simone St. James

PUBLISHER: Berkley

PUBLISHING DATE: March 5, 2024

PAGES: 352   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases. 

July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them. 

When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.

MY THOUGHTS: I was really excited to read this book.  I read The Book of Cold Cases and thought it was an okay read, and really wanted to give the author another chance. Plus, a thriller with paranormal aspects sounds right up my alley.  However, I am sad to say this book just didn't work for me. 

April and Eddie are on their honeymoon.  While on their way, they mysteriously end up in Coldlake Falls, where they pick up a hitchhiker bleeding out and desperately needing help.  When they get her to the hospital, the hitchhiker quickly dies leaving Eddie and April as the prime suspects. It seems there have been a string of unsolved murders over the years on Atticus Lane.  In order to help clear their names, the two start an investigation of their own.  But are they ready for the mysteries and the ghosts that away them. 

This book has too many people and too much going on for me.  Our two main characters both have questionable backgrounds and are clearly hiding some things from each other.  The reader is led to believe that April's secret is horrible but honestly, I think when it was finally revealed it missed the mark.  Also, there were so many other characters in the book - a local cop, two detectives, the woman that runs the B&B, two teenagers obsessed with true crime and who did more to solve the murders than any of law enforcement if you ask me, a long-lost friend, several ghosts, several alleged perps, a ghost completely independent of the murders and mysteries and a hippie commune.  There is also someone who owns the land of the commune that keeps being mentioned, never appears, and really had nothing to do with the story at all (unless I missed something and maybe I did). Also, we have April's mom who is in prison and who pushed the plot along a bit but could have easily been left out. And also, since when can someone just dial someone up and speak to them in prison?

I also found the book pretty predictable.  I saw where it was headed for the most part and wasn't really invested in the outcome at all.  My favorite character was probably a ghost who has such a small role that if you blinked, you might miss him.  I am sure there are tons of people who have enjoyed this book because I know St. James is a well-loved author.  However, I'm now questioning going back and reading some of her backlist, which honestly interested me more than this one.  

MY RATING: 2 Paws

Farm News - May 26, 2024

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  Hope everyone has something fun planned, even if it's just a bit of peace and quiet.  Mr. Barb works Saturday and Sunday, but we have off together on Monday, but they are calling for storms.  The weather is so weird this spring and I think a lot of the US is tired of storms.  I know I am.

This has to be the strangest work week I've had since I started the job three months ago. On Wednesday, our director quit.  She only gave two weeks' notice and there is no explanation on why she chose to leave.  And she told us in an email!  She pretty much created this unit and always said it was her passion.  Our Deputy Director, who I love, was so blindsided.  She is spending every working hour trying to figure out everything our director was doing.  On Thursday, she was named Interim Acting Director.  A lot of us are hoping it turns into a permanent position for her.  On the plus side, I received notice that I passed my training I went to a few weeks ago.  Now I can participate in the stage 2 of the certification process which is the online portion.

It's been a while since I shared some Netgalley acquisitions.  As always, I'm very grateful for receiving them and am excited for them all.

Good Dogs: Brian Asman

Fang Fiction: Kate Stayman-London

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng: Kylie Lee Baker

I'll Be Home for Mischief: Jacqueline Frost

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places: Clair Kann

Mistress of Lies: K.M. Enright

We've continued our spring movie watch with Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire and LOVED it.  Kong always makes me tear up and this one was no different.  We also watched Civil War and honestly, other than the zombie aspect, it was a lot like the book I just finished, Feed by Mira Grant.  It was okay but not at all what I expected. You can tell it's an a24 movie though. There's only one more episode of Under the Bridge which will drop on Wednesday, and I can't wait to see what happens next.  We also watched Sting which was good but if you have a fear of spiders, this might not be the one for you.

That's about all I have.  Thanks for stopping by Booker T's Farm and I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Buried by Books #1

Guess what?  I have a bad habit and it's time I come clean.  Late at night, I like to browse all the libraries that I have cards attached to Libby and see what they are adding.  Then I just randomly start putting saves on them.  This can happen for many reasons - I like the covers, I've seen them on other sites, I love the author, or even simply why not?  

Then before I know it, I have 75 books on hold, on top of my own books, arcs and even physical library books and they all arrived at once and I keep pushing back actually borrowing them, sometimes over and over again. I know I'm not the only one who does this am I?  So, I wanted to start a new feature where every week or two, I showcase three books which have landed on that hold list and some potential reasons why.  So welcome to the first edition!  Also, you can click on the titles to go to the Goodreads page in case you really want to know more about them and possibly add them to your Libby too!

The Bittlemores: Jann Arden - I requested this for two reasons actually.  I remember Arden as a 90's chart singer and the cow.  What's it about?  I think there's a farm and a quirky family.  I could have told you more if I had actually read it instead of pushing my hold back at least three separate times.  Oh well, I'm sure it will circle around again.

The Twilight Garden: Sara Nisha Adams - Pretty sure this is purely on my hold list because I liked the wolf on the cover, which seriously has to be a fox in all reality now that I'm REALLY looking at it, and because I saw it on Tammy's site over at Books, Bones & Buffy.  Hey, if Tammy wants to read it, I usually do too.

Polly Parker Meets Her Shadow: Victoria Lowery - No clue but it's still on hold.

So come on, spill it.  Do any of you do the same thing? And have you read any of these?  I apparently need more motivation to stop pushing them back.

Feed Your TBR - Flirting With Disaster

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

January 14, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: It's been years since Meena has seen her husband, Nikhil . . . years since they first laid eyes on each other back home in Texas, years since they eloped in Las Vegas and she felt true happiness. A high-powered lawyer on Capitol Hill, ready to move on (or at least, she thinks so) with another successful lawyer, Shake, Meena has returned home. This time, finally, to obtain a divorce.

But there's one thing Meena couldn't have accounted for: a hurricane forming in the Gulf, veering right toward them, giving them no choice but to hunker down in the home they had built together. Suddenly, she finds herself trapped amid gale-force winds and pelting rain with the man she once loved.

As they spend more time together, Meena begins to remember everything that drew her to Nikhil: His small-town charm, his thoughtful nature. . . his absurdly good looks. But things make sense with Shake. He’s steady and ambitious and wants exactly what she wants. She’ll stick to her plan, come hell or high water. But will her windswept heart make the right choice, when the storm settles and the eye passes over?

With sharp observations about second chances at love, ambition and Indian American identity, and with characters who share an undeniable chemistry, Flirting with Disaster is a modern romance with the sensibility of a classic.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I don't know exactly why I'm drawn to this book and I added it to my wish list on impulse.  I really am intrigued by a forced proximity during a storm and a possible rekindling of a marriage gone bad.  Maybe it's the hopeless romantic in me that usually hides behind monsters and serial killers 🤣🤣🤣

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK????

A New Favorite Character Has Been Solidifed!

 

TITLE: White Trash Zombie Gone Wild

AUTHOR: Diana Rowland

PUBLISHER: DAW

PUBLISHING DATE: October 6, 2015

PAGES: 336   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: Angel Crawford has buried her loser past and is cruising along in undead high gear--that is, until a murder-by-decapitation sends her on a hazardous detour. As Angel hunts for the killer, she uncovers a scheme that would expose zombies to the public and destroy the life she's built, and she's determined not to rest until she finds out who's behind it. 

Soon she's neck-deep in lies, redneck intrigue, zombie hunters, and rot-sniffing cadaver dogs. It's up to her to unravel the truth and snuff out the conspiracy before the existence of zombies makes headline news and she's outed as a monster. 

But Angel hasn't quite escaped the pill-popping ghosts of her past--not with an illicit zombie pharmaceutical at her fingertips. Good thing she's absolutely sure she can handle the drug's unpredictable side effects and still take down the bad guys...or maybe she's only one bad choice away from being dead meat--for real this time. 

Angel knows a thing or two about kicking ass, but now the ass she needs to kick might be her own.

MY THOUGHTS: This is the fifth book out of six in this series so I will try to keep my thoughts as spoiler-free as possible.  Angel and the crew have returned home from the big showdown in the last book which definitely created a massive shift in this zombie-verse.  Angel had to rely on a new pumped-up medication to enhance her zombie abilities in order to escape alive and save her team.  In this book we see how the use of that medication has once again fueled Angel's past substance abuse issues, and it's an extra boost that one of the side effects is that it helps with her dyslexia, which has become a big barrier now that she has started college classes.

The town is celebrating the release of the new zombie movie which was filmed in the last book with a week of festival activities, and there is also a concern that the FBI has been sniffing around the morgues and funeral homes investigating issues with disappearing organs - mainly brains.  It is feared that the zombie population may have to go into hiding which means Angel will be leaving her father and some new friends behind.  Who knows what will happen (so read the book and find out) but with Angel involved, it's bound to be a hell of a ride.

This series just keeps getting better and better.  This book introduces some new characters, such a Bear the Survivalist and we learn that more people actually know what Angel is hiding than she initially thought.  I will also say this book is VERY Angel-centric and it worked so well.  Because most of the team is off dealing with the FBI stuff, it is mainly up to Angel to figure out the newest chaotic catastrophe and fix it before it blows.  Angel's ex-boyfriend Marcus if away on business and I enjoyed him not being a constant presence.  This allowed the author to showcase Angel's coworker Nick more and I loved seeing his character development and seeing what he could add to this universe.

This series has yet to disappoint and reading book six next month will be bitter sweet.  Angel is a highly flawed, highly likable character and my only regret it that I didn't "meet" her sooner.  She will forever be an all-time fave!

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

Everyone Loves an Underdog Right?

 

TITLE: Becky Lynch: The Man - Not Your Average Average Girl

AUTHOR: Rebecca Quin

PUBLISHER: Gallery Books

PUBLISHING DATE: March 26, 2024

PAGES: 384   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: By age seven, Rebecca Quin, now known in the ring as Becky Lynch, was already defying what the world expected of her. Raised in Dublin, Ireland in a devoutly Catholic family, Rebecca constantly invented new ways to make her mother worry—roughhousing with the neighborhood kids, hosting secret parties while her parents were away, enrolling in a warehouse wrestling school, nearly breaking her neck and almost kneecapping a WWE star before her own wrestling career even began—and she was always in search of a thrilling escape from the ordinary. 

Rebecca’s deep love of wrestling as a child set her on an unlikely path. With few female wrestlers to look to for guidance, Rebecca pursued a wrestling career hoping to change the culture and move away from the antiquated disrespect so often directed at the elite female athletes that grace the ring. Even as a teenager, she knew that she would stop at nothing to earn a space among the greatest wrestlers of our time, and to pave a new path for female fighters. 

Culled from decades of journal entries, Rebecca’s memoir offers a raw, personal, and honest depiction of the complex woman behind the character Rebecca Quin plays on TV.

MY THOUGHTS: I remember being a young kid and going to visit my grandmother during the summer.  She used to be obsessed with wrestling, though I don't know why because I was 8 or so and didn't think to ask.  We would gather on the couch on Saturday evening with plenty of snacks and drinks and watch wrestling.  Back then I wasn't aware of the fake/real debates on much of anything else except what lived in my grandma's attic and did there really need to be blood red carpet in the upstairs hallway.  

I know recognize wrestling for what it is - scripted sports entertainment.  However, the individuals who do it still have to be superb athletes as well as actors.  I only watch it from time to time now, but I always gets excited when the women step into the ring, and of course, one of my faves has to be the wrestler who goes against the norm.  This book tells all about the rise of Becky Lynch, including how a non-athletic kid turned into an athletic superstar.  It details family drama, her confusion on her place in life, her struggles with an eating disorder and finally finding true love and marrying her best friend.  

I loved every minute of reading this book.  I am really drawn to memoirs, and this is one I'm so glad I picked up.  If you liked tales of the underdog and how they come out on top, then consider it a go.  I will say there is a lot of information about years and years of the wrestling scene so if you aren't familiar with it, you might not get as much out of reading it.

MY RATING: 5 Paws

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Hope's Crossing

 Stormi and I are on a never-ending quest to find a series to replace our Virgin River readalongs.  We've come close and actually read a Haven Point book at the end of last year.  Realizing then that we probably needed to read the original series first, we committed to giving Hope's Crossing a go.  I'm glad we did.  Read on for my thoughts in the first installment and then hop over to Stormi's for hers.

 

TITLE: Blackberry Summer (Hope's Crossing #1)

AUTHOR: RaeAnne Thayne

PUBLISHER: HQN Books

PUBLISHING DATE: May 31, 2011

PAGES: 377   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Claire Bradford needed a wake-up call. What she didn’t need was a tragic car accident. As a single mom and the owner of a successful bead shop, Claire leads a predictable life in Hope’s Crossing, Colorado. So what if she has no time for romance? At least, that’s what she tells herself, especially when her best friend’s sexy younger brother comes back to town as the new chief of police. 

But when the accident forces Claire to slow down and lean on others—especially Riley McKnight—she realizes, for the first time, that things need to change. And not just in her own life. The accident—and the string of robberies committed by teenagers that led up to it—is a message to the people of Hope’s Crossing. The sense of community and togetherness had been lost during those tough years. But with a mysterious “Angel of Hope” working to inspire the town, Riley and Claire will find themselves opening up to love and other possibilities by the end of an extraordinary summer…

MY THOUGHTS: Claire Bradford lives in Hope's Cross with her ex-husband and his new, younger wife, running her bead shop and trying to coexist for the sake of her two children.  She has a strong group of friends and support which add some great side stories and I'm sure who will appear in books to come.  Riley McKnight has moved back to town after working as a detective undercover for several years.  He happens to be the younger brother of one of Hope's best friends and the two basically grew up tormenting each other.  When Hope's shop is burgled and Riley has to start figure out who is breaking into several local shops, their paths cross and sparks fly.  And it doesn't hurt that Claire is injured during a incident where Riley is chasing a suspect, meaning she has to depend on him and others in her life more than usual.

I really liked all of the characters in this book.  It really does have that small-town, close-knit community vibe I loved so much with the Virgin River books.  Claire is extremely likable, and Riley is a pretty much a playboy.  I enjoyed the slow burn of the two which was juxtaposed into a book that also focuses on day-to-day happening and tragedies in the Colorado town of Hope's Crossing.  In addition, Claire also has the cutest dog which you know in my book, never hurts.  My only complaint is that because of Riley's baggage, he does and says some things while fighting his attraction to Clair that seemed like too much.  I mean, I could understand it, but it happened more than once, and I don't know how Claire could overlook some of it.

If you like small town romances which also have a strong plot featuring other stories beside it, then I would suggest you check out this book.  Thayne's writing was extremely well-done and I flew through this novel.  Bring on the second one!

MY RATING: 4 Paws

Feed Your TBR - Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

\

January 28, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.

Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.

So, the bloody messes don’t really bother Cora—she’s more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bites marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can’t be sure what's real and what’s in her head.

She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can't ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women.

As Cora will soon learn, you can’t just ignore hungry ghosts.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I will admit I am a bit tired of pandemic tales, but for some reason, this one still speaks to me.  I love the cover and I love the East Asian aspect.  

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

2 Bloggers 1 Book - Nightwing

 

Last month Stormi was participating in an Old School April Readathon on Booktube.  She asked if I would be interested in reading an older horror classic with her.  I agreed right away and thought it was a creature feature.  It wasn't quite what I expected though.  So read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's @ StormReads and see what she thought. 

 

TITLE: Nightwing

AUTHOR: Martin Cruz Smith

PUBLISHER: Simon and Schuster

PUBLISHING DATE: January 1, 1977

PAGES: 257   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: As darkness gathers, the sky is filled with frantic motion and maddening murmurs. In an effort to end the world, an unhappy, aging Native American shaman invokes the Hopi god of death. Those around him remain skeptical, dismissing him as crazy old man. Then they discover his mutilated, bloody body and soon other similarly disfigured bodies begin to appear. Horses, sheep, cattle—no living thing is safe. But what is causing the horrible deaths? Deputy Sheriff Duran is called back to the reservation to investigate. Immediately, Duran recognizes the significance of the shaman’s spell and, with the help of two scientists, he works to combat the supernatural scourge—before there’s nothing left to save.

MY THOUGHTS: I went into this book thinking horror and I am sure that kind of set my expectations up to high.  Sure, there are some gruesome scenes but there is just as much, if not more, reservation politics between the Hopi and the Navajo with a side of revenge thrown in.

Youngman Duran is the MC of the book. He was in the service for a while and then returned to the reservation.  He now works in law enforcement and is not sure exactly where he fits in.  He is semi-dating a humanitarian nurse who has been there for two years to help improve the medical services the natives are able to access.  One day Duran's good friend, 90 some year-old Abner, creates a mysterious ritual and is found dead the next day, appearing to be savaged by some animal.  You also have Chee, who wants the Hopi land to make it "whiter" and mine the minerals located beneath the land. And finally, you have Paine, a scientist.  His father was killed in a cave while trying to exterminate some bats and since he has become a loner obsessed with eradicating them.  And then finally, last (and actually least) you have the bats themselves.

This book didn't actually create a reading slump, but it did contribute to me starting four other books.  I think I was doing what I could to avoid finishing it. The few scenes which featured the bats were very gruesome, but there weren't enough of them for my tastes.  I did enjoy reading a lot about the indigenous customs and history, but the writing style was very heavy-handed, if that makes sense.

I finally forced myself to finish this book on Saturday and was I ever glad to be done.  It wasn't a total bust, but if you ever decide to pick it up for whatever reason, just know it's more of a suspense thriller than an actual horror or creature feature.

MY RATING: 3 PAWS

Farm News - May 12, 2024

 

Well, I survived my training, but it took me almost all of last week to feel normal again.  And now I have to wait three weeks to see if I pass. If so, then I can move onto the next part of it which is all online - thank Heavens!  

The boys enjoyed spending the week with Daddy all day, but it really threw off their schedules.  I think Apollo missed Mommy more that Zeke did.  Daddy is a little laxer with them than Mommy so needless to say, some evenings when I got home things were super chaotic.  

I managed to catch up some on blog posts last week but still have two buddy reads with Stormi to review this week.  One took me FOREVER to read and it the reason I have three other books on the go right now.  I was looking for any excuse not to finish it but did buckle down yesterday and knocked out the last 120 pages or so.  I ended up grabbing some Kindle books from Amazon this past week.  They were either books that were on sale which I had borrowed from the library several times without getting to them, so I decided to just go ahead and grab them, or books I had my eyes on for quite some time.  

Faebound: Saraa El-Arifi

Patricia Wants to Cuddle: Samantha Allen

The Manor House: Gilly Macmillan

Undead Folk: Katherine Silva

Buster: A Dog: George Pelecanos

White Trash Zombie Gone Wild: Diana Rowland

We've also streamed some really good movies lately.  First up was Dogman.  It was so sad, and I can assure you no dogs died but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the bond between an abused young man and his connection with his canine family.  Next was the new Ghostbusters Frozen Empire.  It was great but I feel like I did enjoy the previous one a tad more.  And finally, last night we watched Abigail, the new vampire movie.  Definitely a hit and one I would recommend to horror and vampire lovers everywhere.  I also started watching Under the Bridge on Hulu but am not that far in yet. So far, so good.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Mother's Day, especially those celebrating with their fur-children.  It's kind of a low-key one here since Mr. Barb recently lost his mother, and that loss is still fresh, but I will be grabbing extra doggy cuddles for sure.

Better Late Than Never

 

TITLE: Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods

AUTHOR: Scott Woodsy

PUBLISHER: Brick Cave Books

PUBLISHING DATE: August 4, 2017

PAGES: 141   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: This collection of essays, what-ifs and tidbits contains everything writer and critic Scott Woods has publicly written and published about Prince, as well as a stack of new material written specifically for this edition. A fun, sometimes biting history with Prince from a super-fan’s perspective, Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods is not so much a reference as a unique look at his career, the meaning of his music, and an official weighing in on numerous long-standing Prince debates, such as who was greater between Prince or Michael Jackson, how many times did Prince launch a successful comeback, and which song off of every album you should listen to.

MY THOUGHTS: Every year since Prince passed, I always try to read some book featuring him or his music in some way every April in memory of him.  This year I read two - one I refuse to even review and this one, which I absolutely loved.  It's hard for me to find books with info I haven't encountered in one way or another, but this book featured various essays from a huge fan, author and poet.  It was a wonderful way to see how much Prince met to someone else and I have to admit, Woods has an endearing quality and his love for the Purple One really shines through his words.

As I mentioned, this book contains 18 essays varying in length, subject matter and seriousness.  In fact, the first one, "Things I Am Reasonable Sure Prince Has Never Done" is simply a list of 100 things Prince probably never had to do for himself during his royal life such as pledged a frat or shushed someone at a library.  And the last entry was super sad as it was simply "grow old."  Another essay spends 20 pages explaining ten ways Kanye West is not Prince which the author wrote as a dare from friends and colleagues after L.A. Reid made a comment comparing the two artists.  

I enjoyed picking this book up throughout the month of April and it was a perfect reason to reflect on why Prince means so much to me.  I shocked many classmates in my smalltown when they learned the cowboy wearing, truck driving teen's favorite artist was Prince.  What can I say, I was breaking the stereotypes even back then.  I'm so glad I read this, and it will sit on a treasured shelf in my library for years to come. 

MY RATING: 5 Paws

Feed Your TBR - A Cruel Thirst

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

DECEMBER 31, 2024

FROM GOODREADS: Carolina Fuentes has always wanted to join her family in hunting down the bloodthirsty monsters that plague her pueblo. But these days, her father wants her out of town with a husband of his choosing. That’s not happening. Carolina plans to show everyone that she’d make a better vampire slayer than wife. But when she runs into a sediento that is not only handsome but kind, she questions everything.

Lalo Villalobos doesn’t act on impulses. As the eldest of two, his duties were to carry on the family business, marry, and have children. But then he is turned into a sediento and must flee the city, taking lives as he goes north, where he believes the first vampire was made. Surely, the pueblo there will have the answers to reverse this curse or end sedientos altogether. Another unexpected turn? Lalo runs right into a beautiful young woman who’d gladly stake him.

Fortunately, mostly for him, they share a common enemy. They can stop these evil beasts. Together. And if along the way, Lalo and Fernanda discover what it is to truly live and love, then they’ll have won anyway.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  Vampires!  Need I say more???

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK?

April 2024 Wrap Up

 April started out strong and then because of my work training, fell off at the end.  I still managed to finish ten books though and looking at my ratings, they were either really good or really bad.

Prince and Dirty Little Black Boy Gods

The Happiness Blueprint

Rats

One Of Us Knows

DNF

Their Hearses

How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back

Mistlefoe

Prince: An Analysis of Ten Most Played Songs

Bless Your Heart

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human

As you can see, I'm still loving the Mead Mishaps series by Kimberly Lemming, but I only have one short novella left and then I'm done.  I sure hope she plans to write more.  The Prince Analysis was just pathetic and took the songs apart line by line and interpreted as so literal.  Anyone could have done it and I know Prince was never that simplistic.  

How was your reading month?  Did you read anything I should add to the TBR.