I Read: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Who doesn't love the story of Charlie, Mr. Wonka with Oompa-Loompa's and, of course, lots of CHOCOLATE! I'm not sure this was ever a real favourite of mine, but I definitely enjoy it every time I read it. Or watch it in one of its several incarnations on film. 

The fact that the downtrodden in fact do win at the end gets overlooked so often in this story in favour of the silliness of the story as a whole. Charlie is gifted the chocolate factory at the end - solely for the reason that he is still standing at the end of the tour, and that Mr. Wonka is old and must leave it to someone. 

Really, how could anyone turn down ownership of a chocolate factory!? I know I wouldn't. I know the continued story of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is still upcoming in the Roald Dahl set that I am reading, so I'll look forward to that in the not-distant future. 

#58-2020

I Read: Three Women

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

I picked this book up because I read a description of it by someone hosting an online book club. I have no intention of joining an online book club, but the passion with which she wrote about the book was inspiring so I did a little research and decided it was something I would be interested in. I'd never heard of it previously, but she had apparently read it several times. 

I'm not sure what I was expecting going on, but there were a lot of reviews that through around the words empowering, and strong. And while I agree that the women featured in this book are strong, I'm not sure that I'd say their stories are empowering, except in the telling of them. They definitely didn't feel empowered within their stories to me.

I Read: James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

This will be short. I purchased a Roald Dahl box set a few months ago, and have decided to work my way through it in chronological order as filler between some of the heavier reads that I'm working on. Dahl has a way of working important messages into amazingly silly stories that is impressive. And James and the Giant Peach is no surprise there. 

The story is fantastical and whimsical and yet somehow a teeny, tiny part of you wonders if somewhere, somehow it isn't possible. That maybe it happened. The reader gets lost in the story, the details and almost hopes that it could be real. 

Of course, Dahl is respected and well-read for a reason - if you haven't read it lately, go try it. It's a great break from the real world. 

#56-2020

I Read: Slay

Slay by Brittany Morris

I really, really enjoyed this book. I'm not even sure what made me pick it up, but it's a really well thought out story, with lessons and realizations peppered seamlessly in. 

The first couple of chapters took me a little bit to get into. I wasn't sure where it was going, and I felt out of place which made my reading a little slow. I'm not a gamer; I don't know that world at all. But there was something about the character of Kiera that made me want to know what story she was telling.

I Read: Every Step She Takes

Every Step She Takes by K.L. Armstrong

Though it's listed as K.L. Armstrong, this is yet another from my favourite author Kelley Armstrong. Adult mystery-ish fiction. 

I'm always amazed that no matter what genre Armstrong seems to go for, she does it just as well. Likely because her strength lies in creating characters the reader can believe in and has them doing things that you can believe they'd do. In this style, they do tend to get caught up in crazily dramatic situations but that's part of the fun, really. 

I Read: Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Full disclosure, this is a bit hard to write. Fangirl has been on my TBR for a while, and I've been looking forward to read it, having read several of Rowell's other novels previously. I'd finally started it and was about halfway through when some uncomfortable issues were made clear to me about Rowell's novel Eleanor & Park, which I initially enjoyed. It made me rethink finishing Fangirl. But I had so far enjoyed it, so I kept reading. 

I'm going to say very clearly right here that I don't choose every book I read based on what it can teach me about the world. Sometimes I just want a book that's going to give me warm fuzzies, or that I can read as if I'm binge-watching a ridiculous TV show. Sometimes it's just pure entertainment and I don't have big expectations. To me, that's what Rainbow Rowell writes. Her stories have potentially real-world situations in them, but I don't read them thinking I need to learn something. I'm just reading, and I don't have to put a lot of thought into it. So on that score, Fangirl is a winner.

I Read: The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Reading Toni Morrison has been on my list of things to accomplish for quite a while. I'll admit that I picked this up because I was prompted by the various calls to diversify the voices of those we read. I didn't know why Morrison to read so I actually have three, including this one, which was the earliest of the three I picked up.

I was intrigued by the synopsis description of this one and had heard it touted as highly influential by a lot of those who spoke of it. I tend not to rely too heavily on other people's opinions because writing/reading is so subjective, but given the number of people saying it was a great novel, I decided to pick it up.