I have read a lot of 'ugh' books recently. UGH books. Books I did NOT like. It's been a struggle. 

I did read the newest Janet Evanovich and while it's not quite like the earlier books (and there's still an annoying love triangle), it seemed less phoned in. I'm still not rushing out to buy her books but I'll pick the next up from the library. 

I read this book a few weeks ago. It was a spur of the moment library book based totally on the cover. It's not my normal type of book to be fair, as it has some horror elements. It's really delightful. Well, horror infused delight? I read it all in one sitting because I was hooked. 
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Oh my gosh, what a week! It's been non-stop hasn't it? I had been at the doctors (migraines, yuck) and I had just finished filling out my Bumble BFF profile when all those nutters stormed the capitol. I guess backwards America invaded America so then America had to invade backwards America to get America back on target. The plague kept America at home! 

In all seriousness, it's pretty messed up. I read the capitol has not been invaded since 1814 when the British (technically, Canadian) troops torched it. I'm glad that so I don't know anyone who was part of the insurrection...although when I posted a meme from it (obviously against these people) my cousin liked it...until she saw that part where I called them treasonous scum. Then she unliked it. I don't talk to that side of my family anyways (mostly because of other reasons pre-Trump). The only thing they ever gave me for Christmas was whatever they couldn't sell from their various MLM schemes. It's not a loss. 

Whatever. Trump is gone in two days. Although I'm sure he'll seethe in south Florida. Lucky them. 

I picked this book up a long time ago. It's been sitting on my TBR shelf for awhile (because I'm slooooow) but with the "Great Reading" of 2020, I picked this up. It's based off a movie. The movie is based off the fairy tale. 

I think this week I'm doing a digital detox. Which will be a mystifying experience as I work online...but I'm staying off other than strictly work. I've told all my friends but I doubt it will last beyond a few days because of the election and other stuff. I'm going to give it a go though. 

Go vote if you haven't already! If you're in the USA. Or can vote. You know. 

On to the book! I feel this isn't quite fair because I adore Terry Pratchett so I'm really only going to say positive things here. It's not my favorite Pratchett book (that's Wyrd Sisters). I think there's several ways to read Terry Pratchett's discworld books, by publication or characters or themes. Here are two websites that give multiple options: Discworld Emporium and Terry Pratchett Books. I would suggest thematically but to be honest, I'm just picking a book up by random and reading it. 

Some of Pratchett's books have been turned into movies. I've only seen one (and thought it was fun) but Going Postal has been turned into a movie so it's on my list!

Something is a little wonky with my scheduling aspect of the website. I'm not sure if it's me (and something I can fix) or something that someone with more technical experience and back-end knowledge only can fix. So...this is supposed to show up on Wednesday...but we'll see how that goes. 

I received this book in a Muse Monthly box, which no longer exists. It was a fun box because I received books (and tea!) from authors that I wouldn't normally gravitate towards. I wouldn't say I enjoyed all of them but I think the box editor's taste was pretty good. It also helped me gather more of a taste of tea flavors. I thought I was going to prefer lighter tea, floral teas,etc...nope. Black tea. STRONG tea. Light me  up because I need my tea to be vicious. 

Well, it's still a mess out there. I'm starting my quarantine over (I had to go to the grocery store yesterday) to be on the safe side...so day one! It's still not widespread in my area but to be fair...there aren't many tests (and it takes a long time to get results back) so I suppose the information I'm receiving is from two or so weeks ago. 

I'm focusing on work (which has mostly collapsed) and cleaning my house. I haven't been able to sit still to watch new TV shows, although my friend has been pushing me to watch Tiger King on Netflix. Also, I still haven't seen Miss Fisher's new movie. I think I need to stop reading so much of the news, it's all anxiety-inducing for me. 

Reading has also been much slower, mostly because of the inability to sit still and relax. I'm in the process of reading three books, Emma (the annotated version) by Jane Austin, The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne (the first chapter isn't doing much for me but I have hope) and The Impersonator by Mary Miley. Maybe I can swing through those soon. 

I just finished Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade. I enjoy Ayoade's humor and he was promoting this on Graham Norton's show so I ordered it (from the UK) and it's adorable. Adorkable? Mostly, it's intelligently sarcastic, witty and has a grammatically correct triple apostrophe. Be still my heart. If you're trying to determine where you've seen Ayoade, he's been in several TV shows, directed some movies, written a few books, appeared on panel shows, is currently hosting a game show in the UK AND played Moss on the IT Crowd. 

I think because my anxiety is so high I haven't really sat down to make this week's posts. I'm all over the place on it. So, instead, I thought I would show some of the YA books I enjoyed (but passed on to teachers). I wouldn't normally go into a longer post about them but hey, maybe I should do shorter posts anyways. 

This is more nostalgic for me than any other book I bought recently. I ordered the complete Prydain pentalogy for a re-read. I actually first read them when I was younger (like elementary school) and I swear they were my Harry Potter before Harry Potter became a thing. They're much shorter than the Potter series, and meant for younger readers mostly. It's a children's high fantasy that's inspired by Welsh mythology, especially the Mabinogion. It's listed for ages 8-12. I think its better than the Potter series but that's just me. 

Even reading as an adult, I still loved them. I actually own a worn version of this book (the fourth, Taran Wanderer, was the only book I didn't own. The covers are different, with different art work and gilded Celtic motifs. ​

​I bought this on a whim at the bookstore because of the blurb on the front of the book ("Once. A pun. A time.") and I started reading it after a week full of crappy migraines. I can't even begin to explain how much I loved this book, I've seen people say it's like Terry Pratchett or The Princess Bride and I have to agree. I kept sending pictures to my friends because parts were too funny not to share.