Mic Breaks Only discussion

My husband and I took a road trip with our trio of dogs to the Oregon Coast for the Fourth of July. We started the audio version of The Snowman. The narrator has a most excellent timbre to his voice. I haven't read any of the Harry Hole novels, so everything in this detective crime thriller is brand new for me. I struggled with some of the character names and places since my ear isn't used to the cadence and letter combinations of Norwegian words. I found myself working hard to catch up, or sometimes even rewinding the audio in order to keep plot lines and people straight. Despite my personal shortcomings in hearing Norwegian, I enjoy grizzled Harry thus far and the murders and subsequent crime scenes have my curiosity piqued.

On the return home from the coast my hubby took a nap and I started the audio version of A Discovery of Witches. Narrator Jennifer Ikeda is a rock star flipping between multiple accents and characters with precision and ease. The protagonist is scholar Diana Bishop who also happens to be a descendant of several generations of talented and powerful witches. At the beginning of the story Diana has eschewed her otherworldly powers in an effort to live a more mainstream lifestyle. Diana meets handsome vampire Matthew Clairmont in an Oxford library and they became entangled quite quickly as a slew of demons, vampires, and witches pursue Diana after she unwittingly summons an ancient magical text.

I continued Marko, Alana, and Hazel's space odyssey in Saga, Vol. 7. The book starts with some very adult content and you see a LOT of Sir Robot's nether regions right away. Petrichor is struggling to fit in with her shipmates and the ship has a mechanical problem that forces a landing on Phang in order to obtain fuel. New characters on Phang include Kurti and his massive family. What was meant to be a quick stop on Phang extends to several months as Hazel settles in and experiences childhood with a new bestie. Freelancer The March and his cute little pig assistant have an interaction with Izabel that tells me that this volume might not have a very happy ending. The Will, Sweet Boy, Sophie, Lying Cat, and Gwendolyn meet up and the result is not exactly what I was hoping for. I feel sad. Someone comes looking for The Will in order to exact revenge for a lost loved one and a sidekick is violently expended. The exit from Phang is riddled with loss and I'm going to need a break from these books because I'm so upset.

I also read Paper Girls, Vol. 2. The story begins with most of the Paper Girls landing in 2016. Young and older Erin Tieng are in direct contact and there is a bit of shock for both parties in processing the meeting. Doesn't this situation defy almost all sci-fi time-space continuum constructs? Unfortunately 2016 is not immune from massive alien insect monsters. A third Erin Tieng who speaks Cyborg Chrononaut makes an appearance and the plot sets a new bar for level of complexity. Grand Father and his underlings are continuing some creepy process of putting young people in new age capsules and their overall objective is not yet clear. The war between young and old people from the future continues and the Paper Girls are being pursued by a multitude of people and creatures. After a very brave jump into some kind of time rift, the three Paper Girls are reunited with their counterpart. I'm not sure where they have landed, but I'm interested in finding out.

I tore through Crimes Against a Book Club over the course of a weekend. It was a super speedy, funny, enjoyable read. Two long-time Mutt and Jeff type friends start a business together because they need a lot of fast cash for very different reasons. One friend makes some business decisions that foray into the criminal realm without full disclosure to their business partner. The story follows the subsequent ups and downs of the friendship and ultimately how far they are willing to venture down the road of criminality.