I Read: Weird things Customers Say in Bookstores

 Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell

This book is a collection of weird things that booksellers have heard from their customers - just as the title would suggest. 

Some things you can't imagine someone would even think, never mind actually saying it out loud. But there is the occasional thing that I shook my head and thought to myself (never out loud!) that I might have said in a particularly blonde moment. 

Others are just examples of people being people. Typical, self-centred people. It's a quick read if you're just in it for a laugh, or two. 

#81-2020

I Write: Virtual Trip

The assignment for Writing Mysteries and Thrillers this week was to take your reader on a virtual trip to a place that is not your hometown. It could be somewhere you've been, or somewhere that you've just researched.  The second part was to guess whether we'd been there or not. 

My piece is below - of course, I talked about a bookstore - El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires. If you haven't heard of it, please google it. It's beautiful. 

I Read: Let it Snow!

Let It Snow! by Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle

No secrets here - I enjoy young adult books. One of the authors I especially like is John Green. I hadn't read any Maureen Johnson until this past year, but I've very much enjoyed her online presence for several years already. 

I picked this up solely because John Green was included in it. And I had aspirations of actually reading Maureen Johnson, so I thought a short story might be the way to start. Thankfully I had read a couple of novels before I read this. 

I Read: Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: And Other Questions About Dead Bodies

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: And Other Questions About Dead Bodies by Caitlin Doughty

I literally picked this book up because I thought the title was funny. I didn't even really pay attention to what the content was going to be. I only knew that it was in the non-fiction section. 

As I started paying more attention, I had a few misgivings - did I actually want to read this book? Am I too close to a significant death in my life to be able to read this and take anything interesting or fun out of it?

I Read: The Plant Paradox

The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain by Steven R. Gundry, MD

I picked this up and actually started reading it a couple of years ago when several celebrities were touting Dr. Gundry's techniques. I'm interested in different perspectives on how food affects the body so it was a natural fit for my reading list. 

I am definitely not a biology person, but I know that different foods affect different people differently and that no one "diet" will work for everyone because of that. 

I Read: Notorious RBG

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhick

Sadly, I wasn't motivated to read this book until after Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death this year, but I'm still amazed at how influential and inspiring her life was. She didn't go out there intending to change the world or to blaze a trail, but just in the very things, she was interested and capable of doing she did. 

Anyone who's interested in reading about strong, capable women who make life easier for other women should take an interest in Ginsburg's story. This telling is very personable and applies the activities of her life to the things she was able to accomplish. 

I also have a book written by Ginsburg on my shelf waiting for me to read it, but I wanted to read someone else's perspective of her life before reading her own. I feel that she will not be as proud of her accomplishments as someone else will be. 

#77-2020

I Read: Clanlands

Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish

When talk first started swirling about Sam & Graham having gone on a road trip and filmed it for a TV series a lot of people were pretty excited. When we found out the release of said TV series was going to be longer than we'd hoped we were disappointed - until we learned there was going to be a book!

There was no doubt that I was going to read this from the minute I found out about it. I was intrigued by the characters they'd played on Outlander, and have become even more interested in their other appearances and ventures. Both are very interesting people. And in this book, they're also talking about a country with a really interesting history - part of which is my history. 

I Read: Fantastic Mr. Fox

 Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Another quick but amusing read from Dahl. This one also has a great story to it, about humans not respecting the world we live in. And how the animals will get us in the end. 

I like that there's a sense of justice to Dahl's work.  It teaches a lesson in a way that we can't imagine actually happening, but that we know is actually just. It's not just silliness, there's truth buried in it. 

Another recommendation - and a wish that I'd read some of these much, much sooner.

#74-2020

I Read: The Magic Finger

The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl

Okay, so I just have to say that this title is a little problematic. It brings to mind a lot of things that should never be associated with a book for kids. 

HOWEVER, the book is actually a really great learning tool about the way we should treat the world and all the creatures in it. It's a super simple read, and I'm glad that I picked it up as a palate cleanser this morning. 

Roald Dahl definitely has a way with words, and I don't think I will ever regret reading anything of his. 

#73-2020

I Read: High Heat

High Heat by Richard Castle

(part of the Nikki Heat series - based from the ABC series Castle)

This will be short - I'm still missing the show Castle, and I'm still trying to finish the series of books that went along with it. It's been far too long that these books have been sitting on my shelf, and as I read them I remember how they weren't quite as satisfying as watching the show, even if I can imagine the actors from the show playing the characters in the book that they're supposedly based on. 

The story behind this book is good - I enjoy the angle, but like all the Richard Castle novels, I feel like the writing is somewhat lacking. That could be because Castle was supposed to be a pulpy, super popular writer, or it could just be the invisible writer behind the fictional character's style. I choose to think it's a choice by the invisible writer to make the writing not as good. I haven't picked up the invisible author's actual work, and I don't intend to. I want to imagine that he's actually better than Richard Castle. 

I Write: Mysteries & Thrillers (NaNoWriMo & continuing education)

It is of course November 1, and that means NaNoWriMo starts today.  Coincidentally and very fortunately, I am also taking another continuing education course in pursuit of my Creative Writing certificate titled Mysteries & Thrillers. 

Mysteries and Thrillers have never been a genre that I thought I was interested in writing about, but only one week in I have all of these ideas bustling around in my head and I'm very, very excited about it. I'm including my first assignment below as it also pertains to my NaNoWriMo project because really, if I have ideas for class, and it's Nov. 1 why shouldn't I use the ideas for both things!?  Right?  RIGHT?!?