Mount TBR 2022 discussion

I took a break from this challenge because I decided I lacked a desire for commitment to specific titles. I am now out of that phase in my life and am looking to jump into committing again. I guess I'll see how it goes...

1. Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner (Finished April)
2. The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen (Finished February)
3. From A Certain Point of View by many (Finished July)
4. Slayer by Kiersten White (Finished September)
5. Home Work by Julie Andrews (Finished May)
6. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella (Finished November)
7. Ghost Moon by Heather Graham (Finished November)
8. Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts (Finished June)
9. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (Finished December)
10. Hunger by Roxane Gay (Finished March)
11. The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway by Una McCormack
12. The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James (Finished October)
13. Eat Cake. Be Brave. by Melissa Radke (Finished October)
14. Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
15. Danger In Numbers by Heather Graham (Finished October)
16. Blackout by Candace Owens (Finished November)
17. Snape: A Definitive Reading by Lorrie Kim (Finished July)
18. Weekend Warriors by Fern Michaels (Finished February)
19. Life and Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagan
20. The Case For Christmas by Lee Strobel (Finished November)
21. Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick (Finished June)
22. The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
23. The Book of General Ignorance by John Mitchinson (Finished November)
24. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida (Finished August)

Welcome back--glad you're climbing with us this year!

Thank you!

I really enjoyed "Hunger." I found the author to be vulnerable, likable, and relatable. I will most definitely go on to read more of her books.

I absolutely hated "Weekend Warriors." Terrible writing, unlikable characters, and a premise that showed promise, but was so unsatisfyingly realized that I couldn't help but roll my eyes and wish the book to be over. The only true satisfaction I had in reading it was the moment I closed it at the end and thought about how I'd never have to open it again. The only thing I hated more than the book itself while I was reading it was that little piece of myself that finds it impossible to abandon books.

"The Bone Garden" was okay.

"Fan Fiction" by Brent Spiner was either geniously written, poorly written, or a blending of the two... I couldn't decide. I hope this isn't what Brent Spiner is really like. I'm hoping it's just due to the fact that he wrote the story as a "Noir" that it came out this cheesy. The only real saving grace for the story was the look into the personalities and relationships he has with the other Star Trek actors (which could be either real or completely fictionalized themselves). It's a clever idea, but it felt cringy about a third of the time.

I love Julie Andrews, but "Homework" was BORING! 'Nuff said.

I enjoyed "Blue Dahlia" quite a bit until the last few chapters. I feel like what was building slowly kind of rushed to conclusion--the relationship, the mystery of the ghost, the secondary romance plotline-- almost as if she looked at her page count and thought, "Oh, crap! I'd better wrap this up!" The ending just kind of lands kerplunk right into your lap. I didn't hate the ending, it just didn't exactly satisfy.

"Freak the Mighty" has been on my TBR for YEARS. I don't know why I never read it. I never saw the movie, either, becuase I was waiting to read the book first. I thought it was a really good book. I didn't give it 5 stars because it didn't surprise me (which is a requirement for a 5 start review). Though it was predictable, I enjoyed getting to know Kevin and Max. I thought they were a great team. I also thought the author took time to develop side characters, too. Grim and Gram had room to grow, and the author allowed that to happen, which is a nice change of pace from other YA books I've read. I can see why the book has been so popular over the years, and why it has had the stay-it power to remain relevant.

I really enjoyed some stories in "From A Certain Point of View," and others were really hard to push through. I don't typically like to read anthologies, but I was willing to make an exception here. There were only a couple of author names in this title I recognized, so it truly was an adventure into the unknown. I was surprised to find the stories fairly up-to-date with current canon. A couple of the tales could no longer exist within the canon universe if The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi series were taken into account. Still, the characters spanned the entirety of the Star Wars universe, and spun characters both seen and unseen in the movies to have a life outside their 2 seconds of screen time. The highs in the storytelling were really high, and the lows were really low... so I averaged the rating out to a 3 star showing.

"Snape: A Definitive Reading" sat on my "To Read" shelf for a long time because I didn't want anyone messing with the image of that character I embrace in my own head. This author didn't mess with that image at all, and even added some intriguing thoughts to ponder-- however-- the writing was pretty rough. It wandered off-topic quite often, was redundant in many places, and failed to hang on to a common thread to tie ideas together within most chapters. So, I continue to give the character Snape 5 stars, and this book a mere 3 stars. I guess that averages out to 4.

I really wanted to like "The Reason I Jump," but whoever translated it took too many liberties, I think. It didn't feel like a tween wrote it. There were too many old colloquial terms used... too many sophisticated turns of phrase. Also, I didn't see the point of including a short story. The whole thing just felt disjointed.

I love Buffy, and really wanted to love the next generation of slayers and watchers found in the book, "Slayer." Unfortunately, I trudged through the story and found myself grateful when it was over. I didn't really like any of the characters, the plot was slow and predictable, and I didn't really see why any of them needed to exist. In a world of so many slayer possibilities, the book simply didn't deliver. I think at the bones of it, there is an expectation that Buffyverse writing needs to embrace a Whedonesque flavor. Other authors have managed that. This one did not.

I recently discovered Simone St. James. I'm not someone who enjoys horror, movies, so I've never considered reading books in that genre aside from an attempt at liking Stephen King (It took two books to tell me he just wasn't for me.). "The Book of Cold Cases" is my second book by this author, and it was even better than the first. I loved the characters, the slow burn of the plot, and the total creepiness factor in the chapters that were meant to create the chill down the spine (it worked). I will probably now seek out all of her books and read them gleefully in my room late at night... as long as there's someone else home at the time. I tried reading one chapter in the house alone, and put the book down the second it started wigging me out- which doesn't take much. I loved, loved, loved this book. It surprised me in a way that books that live within genres I read all the time couldn't. So much fun!

"Eat Cake. Be Brave," was not at all what I thought it was going to be. I'm guilty, as the author psychically told me had happened, of choosing the book because it had the word "cake" in the title. I didn't read the info, I didn't research the author. I just bought it, thinking it would be a book about body positivity and releasing diet culture. It turned out to not be that at all. What I found in this book was beautiful, witty, endearing, moving, heart-breaking, relatable, honest, faith-affirming, life-choice-affirming, and oh so uplifting. I connected to this author and her life in ways I have never connected to an author before. Hand to heart, words from my lips to God's ears. I laughed with her. I cried with her. I prayed with her. I wish I knew her. I didn't want it to end. Five stars.

"Danger In Numbers" was okay. It wasn't particularly good. Wasn't particularly bad. Pretty much what you expect from mass market crime romance. Predictable, characters that are sometimes fun, mindless fluff best enjoyed when you're brain-tired. I may revisit the series. I may not. Time will tell.