October Book Chat|| Thrill Me

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately. I’ve read lots of ok books but nothing that really wowed me. October is spooky season and there’s something about the fall that makes me want to light candles, make a giant cup of coffee, and settle in with a fantastic thriller!

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Last winter I discovered Samantha Downing by reading her first book, My Lovely Wife. That book shook me like Gone Girl and Sharp Objects. Gillian Flynn walked so that Samantha Downing could run! Her second book He Started It was just as twisty as the first. She has a thing for sinister family dynamics, unreliable narrators, and unlikeable characters that are very compelling. I just finished her latest novel, For Your Own Good. It’s a thriller set at a prestigious private school where people suddenly start dying. It’s very heavy on the unlikeable characters. You’ve been warned! As a graduate of a prestigious private school, I’m not saying that I wished death on a classmate but I wouldn’t have been upset if a wicked bout of Mono rendered a few of them unable to attend school for the rest of the year…I’m just sayin’


I have a few more thrillers on my TBR for the rest of the year. Have you read anything good lately?


Nonfiction November

One of my favorite booktubers, ABOOKOLIVE, is the host of Nonfiction November. Let’s ignore the fact that we’re into the first week of the month already…mkay?! The goal is to simply get people to read more nonfiction. If you typically read none and you read one, you win! And, if you like nonfiction and read it regularly, add a few more to your TBR. It is one of my favorite reading challenges. Whenever I’m in a reading slump I gravitate towards nonfiction. Before Google and Reddit rabbit holes to follow, there was the library filled with books on everything to memoirs to essay collections to true crime and those are the books that comforted me!

There are no real rules but she does offer a few one-word prompts that may be interpreted in any way you want. I’ve added a bunch of amazing recs to my Goodreads list and since I’m also doing NaNoWriMo this month(!) I’m only going to attempt to one book for each prompt.

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Design: Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC by Reed Tucker This was a recommendation from Olive. I chose it for design not only because I love the comic book designed cover but also because the creators of both Marvel and DC have meticulously designed the worlds their characters inhabit. I’m a fairly new fan to the MCU and I’m excited to learn more about the history of these two giants of the industry.

Sport: Unnecessary Roughness: Inside the Trial and Final Days of Aaron Hernandez by Jose Baez I had only marginally been keeping track of the Aaron Hernandez saga. Hernandez was a star athlete and professional football player who was charged and convicted of murder. This book is written by the famed defense attorney, Jose Baez who not only defended him in a second double-murder trial but ultimately got him acquitted. It is an in-depth dive into the last year of the life of Hernandez and details only Baez had access to. I’m interested in reading more about what makes a man who seemingly had everything fall, how CTE may have played a part in his crimes and a closer look at the justice system.

True: A Deal with the Devil: The Dark and Twisted True Story of One of the Biggest Cons in History by Blake Ellis Because real life is always stranger and more interesting than fiction! My interest in true crime has changed a lot in the past few years. But, I find fraud and the people that perpetuate them endlessly interesting. This book is an investigation into a criminal enterprise that defrauded people to the tune of $200 million dollars through various mail-order schemes.

Voice: Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America by Nefertiti Austin When I started my journey of new motherhood over again I noticed immediately that finding resources and stories about what parenting is like for black mothers in the 21st century were virtually nonexistent. I am a black stay at home mom of a young child and while I don’t find my circumstance particularly extraordinary, seeing my journey reflected in fiction or nonfiction is relatively rare. I chose this story about a single black woman’s choice to become a mother through adoption because these voices and stories need to be told.

February. And, it's lit!

This year I’ve set 45 books as my reading challenge. Last month I managed to read two books. Not as many as I hoped to finish but I enjoyed both of them!

That being said, I’m ready to dive into my February TBR(to be read)stack! Because this is black history month I’m focusing solely on reading black authors. I’m also broadening my horizon in terms of the kinds of books I’m reading. I tend to favor mysteries, non-fiction and as of late, historical fiction. This month I’ve added two YA novels to my list and one, while not technically science fiction-something I never read- per se, is set in the not so distant future with some sci-fi elements.

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The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead This novel won a Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, was selected for Oprah’s Book Club and was on the NYT best seller list for weeks! It’s also been on my TBR since it debuted in 2016. It twlls the story of Cora, a run away slave from Georgia and reimagines the Underground Railroad as more than a metaphor. It is an actual network of tracks and tunnels where engineers and conductors operate beneath the country’s soil.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi This is a Pride and Prejudice remix! The author balances “cultural identity, class and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic”

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo This one has received much critical praise and is a favorite new release among a lot of my favorite booktubers. A young girl discovers slam poetry as way to understand her mother’s deeply held religious beliefs and as a way to make sense of her own relationship to the world around her.

The Red Queen Dies By Frankie Y Bailey This is set in 2019 and there are pharmacutical advances that offer soldiers the ability to take a pill and erase PTSD. Murder and mayhem ensue as a detective races to make sense of clues linked to Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and the assassination of President Lincoln in order to stop a serial killer.

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke A thriller set in Houston during the 1980. Big oil, racism, politics and of course, murder. I can’t wait to dive into this one!

I’m currently on the wait list at the library for a few more novels authored by black writers and I’m not sure how soon I’ll move up the list. I’m excited to check out some new to me authors!

What are you reading this month? Have you read anything lately that I should add to my list?



Psstttt….join me over at Goodreads



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october reading #SoGothtober

hello, october! the season of ghosts and ghouls is upon us! here's a small confession-i'm not a fan of horror or halloween. it ranks as one of my least favorite holidays. i may have felt a little relief when my kids outgrew the need for costumes and what not. 

all of my favorite booktubers have started posting their TBRs for the month and i'm finding there are so many great challenges on booktube for october! but, i wanted something that would encourage me to read, especially now that fall tv has occupied lots of my time! so, i decided to create my own challenge for the month!

i'm declaring this month southern gothic october or #SoGothtober. i've always loved books about the south and southern culture and this seemed perfect! southern gothic literature often has supernatural, magical or mystical elements. authors use these elements to shine light on or explore social issues. decay and the grotesque provide a vehicle for writers to reveal the unpleasantness that lies in the underbelly of southern gentility. this challenge is also giving me the opportunity reread some favorites and to read for the first time some of the genre defining classics. 

here's what i'm reading this month!

the classics:
the heart is a lonely hunter by carson mccullers
wise blood by flannery o'conner

favorites that i'm rereading:
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee
the little friend by donna tartt 

new southern gothic:
galveston by nic pizzolatto
my sunshine away by m.o. walsh
miss jane by brad watson

southern gothic true crime:
in cold blood by truman capote
 

bookshelf{may edition}

in january, i set a reading goal. at the time it seemed perfectly reasonable to read a book a week for the year, however, i've fallen so far behind. 

now is the perfect time to play catch up. there is nothing better than sitting on the porch on a gorgeous spring evening with a glass of wine and a good book. 

these are my latest library picks.

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not gonna lie, i noped out of ELIGIBLE after about 75 pages. i'm totally bummed because i love curtis sittenfeld! but, if it's not doing it for after 75 pages then i sadly have to admit defeat! i've replaced it with the nest by cynthia d'aprix sweeney. i'm cautiously optimistic.

my kids gifted me with a barnes and noble gift card for mother's day. it was an unexpected and sweet surprise. i've been a faithful library book reader for several years now. it felt so indulgent to actually buy a book. particularly these two gorgeous coffee table books! 

i'm always looking to add to my TBR list so if you have any great book recommendations please leave them for me! 

the weekly{vol 2.}

the podcast that ignited a frenzy is back for season 2. to listen week by week or to save a few episodes and binge listen. decisions. decisions. 

another week, another mass shooting(or two). sunday is the anniversary of sandy hook. moms demand action for gun safety in america are hosting orange walks across the country. we'll be at the cincinnati walk. you can find one in your community here

binge watching jessica jones and master of none (netflix is killing it this year!)

like every other person on the planet listening to adele

reading the heart-breaking, brutal and very necessary the new jim crow:mass incarceration in age of colorblindness

this viral video that every instagrammer/blogger husband can relate to gave me much needed LOLZ