Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: My Week in Books

Why is it that we imagine we'll have so much free time during the holidays? I'm forever hopeful and forever wrong: between work, parties, cooking and baking, cleaning, shopping, wrapping, and more, there are really very few moments just to sit and relax.

Very little print reading was going on, but I finished two audiobooks, abandoned one, and started another, so that's not too bad. All the chores were so much better with a good story to keep me company.

We haven't watched too much on the screen this past week. We finally saw Green Book with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. If you haven't seen this movie, put it on your list. It was much more than I was expecting, and it's made all the stronger because it's based on a true story. On a lighter note, we're catching up with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I think we're almost done with season 2.

What I Read

I've written about Sebastien de Castell's delightful Spellslinger series and how much I absolutely love the audiobooks--all read by Joe Jameson (Hachette Audio). The fantasy series has a little bit of a Wild West feel and has characters you'll totally fall in love with (or totally hate--because they're evil). There are laugh-out-loud moments and plenty of danger and troubles as well. Crownbreaker (Orbit, Dec. 10) brings the series to a satisfying end, though the author left room for more adventures. The books star Kellen, a teen who leaves his powerful family for an outlaw's life. Kellen tries to right wrongs and to outsmart those would see him dead. The cast includes many strong women and a complex animal sidekick. In this final book, Kellen must find a way to defeat his father, one of the most powerful men on the continent. Will the confrontation end in a death, in a reconciliation, or in a stalemate? If you're looking for a fun series with great characters, give these books a try. If you're an audiobook fan, don't miss Jameson's brilliant performances. (audiobook copy provided by the publisher)

When I found out the follow up to Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying (Delacorte, 2017) is coming out in just a few weeks, I decided it was high time I read this closed-room mystery. Here's the premise: five high schoolers are given detention for having cellphones in class. Before the hour is up, one of the students is dead. Who killed him and why? The story is told from the view point of the four survivors. Each one claims innocence both for the death and for having a cellphone, claiming it was all a set up. Of course, they all have secrets, and the dead boy knew those secrets and was threatening to reveal all. A nicely plotted mystery with well done red herrings and a few twists. I'm so glad I gave this a chance. The audiobook (Listening Library; 10 hr, 43 min) is performed by Kim Mai Guest, MacLeod Andrews, Shannon McManus, Robbie Daymond, who each take the part of one of the surviving students. There were no weak links, and their characterizations blended well. Now I have to put book 2 (One of Us Is Next) on my list; it's about the same school but focuses on different students. (print copy provided by the publisher; audiobook in my personal collection)

1 Ditched and 1 Loving

I started Maaza Mengiste's The Shadow King (Recorded Books; 16 hr, 9 min) with high hopes. Everyone seems to love this book about Ethiopia during World War II and the strength of a peasant girl turned woman who inspired her country to continue to fight for freedom, even when Haile Selassie himself seemed have given up. Sadly, even Robin Miles's brilliant performance couldn't save this book for me, and I abandoned it after six hours. Maybe it's the time of year and I needed something lighter, I don't know. Anyway, I said good-bye.

I'm currently reading Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski (Ballantine, March 2019). I'm not really a self-help kind of person, but when Swapna Krishna recommended it, I decided to give it a try. Although I put a hold on the book over the summer, it took until this month before my turn at the library copy became available. I was hooked almost immediately. I'll have more to say about this book when I finish it, but may talk about it on Instagram and/or Litsy. The book is geared especially to woman and will have you saying YES before you're even five pages in. I see why Swapna was raving about this, and why April from Good Books & Good Wine also recommends it.