Let Me Sum Up: October Reads
Eight reads in 31 days
Halloween is over, and I am ready and excited to head into the holiday season.
I have had a silly, very minor, very annoying problem for my entire life up to this point. It has to do with my fingernails.
I started biting and tearing my fingernails off probably when I was a tween, and I still have that habit to a large extent. I rip the skin off around my nails, I tear my nails off when they get even a fraction of long, and I pick generally at my hands, especially when I am anxious or bored.
One solution that helps a lot is for me to paint my nails. I have gotten pretty good at applying simple nail polish on my own, and it tends to help me leave my nails and fingers alone for several days. Until the paint starts chipping. Which it does, way, way too soon. I don’t know how people have nail polish that lasts more than 2, maybe 3 days—mine never has. Once it starts chipping, I either have to repaint or I start tearing my nails apart again. It is a super frustrating cycle and it actually does really bother me.
I was outlining the extent of this silly little problem to my husband the other day. I acknowledged that there is another solution—gel nails. I like getting gel nails done because they last for one or two weeks. I don’t like that in order to remove the gel, you have to go in again to a professional salon. I never take the time to do that, and end up pulling the gels off myself, which is another form of nail damage to content with. And the obvious solution that I have never once tried, is to just go get them taken off. Nail appointments don’t even take long—20, maybe 30 minutes? Yet I don’t do it. It costs money. It’s time away from home. It feels like a huge luxury and pampering and I’m not great at doing that for myself.
My wonderful husband’s response was, “We have to live our lives.” And he means so much more than just nails, but it is a small and easy representation of this idea—we have to live our lives! We are lucky enough to be in a position where this issue that has bothered me my whole life can be remedied, if I simply take the time to do it.
He scheduled a nail appointment for me yesterday. I got gels.
We have to live our lives.
October Reads
This month, I was able to start reading a new-to-me series and author, listen to 3 audiobooks, and enjoy a few others that were for book clubs and my own personal enjoyment. Here they are, with brief reviews.
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus is the story of a young man searching for his father’s remains at sea after his dad has died by suicide. Jay Gardinier’s dad Mitt is famous in the scuba diving community, but Jay has a very volatile and complicated relationship with him. After his death, Jay wants to redeem himself for his family and his own sake by retrieving any part of Mitt’s body. While diving, Jay sees a giant squid, and is mesmerized until he remember that giant squid only have one predator—sperm whales, the second largest whales alive. As a sperm whale goes in for a meal, Jay is caught in the crosshairs and swallowed. He has about 90 minutes of oxygen left to figure out how to get out of the literal belly of a whale—and only his own thoughts, and maybe the whale or his dad’s spirit, to help him. It is intense, gross, and pretty incredible. Read my full review here.
The Divine Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova has a great magical premise. Orquidea, the matriarch of a large family resulting from her 5 marriages, is dying. She sends a message to her family to gather and say goodbye. Three of her grandkids in particular are singled out as she passes, and marked with her magic. But as time passes, something sinister is coming for them and the family, and they have to revisit Orquidea’s past in order to save themselves. The story alternates between chapters of Orquidea’s young life, which were my favorite parts of the whole thing, and then the current struggle of her family. The premise is strong, but fell flat overall and was a bit of a disappointment. Read my full review here.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten is a memoir of her life. She has lived long and done many things, and mostly shares the highlights and the path forward through her career and choices. Her relationship with Jeffrey is significant, and I appreciated her vulnerability in sharing some of their struggles. There are fun stories, and she does have and interesting and quite unique life, but it was still sometimes boring. I listened to the audio read by her, and liked hearing it in her voice. Read my full review here.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is a historical fantasy that is heavy on the historical and metaphorical in the fantasy. It was a book club read this month, which I already talked about before—overall, the book was even better after the discussion, and I’d recommend reading it with a friend. Read my full review here.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, who I do think is a great writer even if this isn’t her best work. This was the first written in the series, but chronologically is third, so I read the other two first. Both of those were 5 star reads for me, and this one fell short. I just wasn’t as invested in the characters this time—Gillian is so selfish, it was hard to root for her. The daughters’ lives were quite angsty and not that interesting. Sally didn’t feature enough, and throughout the whole thing, I wished there was more magic. Read my full review here.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas was a great start to a series. I really enjoyed the main character’s energy and badass abilities. It was definitely enough of a good start for me to want to continue the series, though it will always bother me that the title MAKES NO SENSE. Read my full review here.
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, the second in the Throne of Glass series that also has a title that MAKES NO SENSE (why is everyone okay with this who are the editors who picked this title I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!), is a good sequel with lots of action. I enjoyed learning more about the characters, will always be team Chaol, and am excited to see what happens next. Read my full review here.
The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas (this title DOES make sense, praise Zeus) is technically the 8th written in the series, but since it is a prequel with 5 short stories that all take place before the events in Throne of Glass and gives the backstory for several things that have already been mentioned/I’ve heard will be mentioned in the future, it was advised to read it here and then continue on to the third. It was okay—Celaena, the main character, is a bit annoying and a lot egotistical in the stories, but I was still entertained and look forward to seeing how they all tie in to future stories. Read my full review here.
TL;DR: If you only read one of the books from this month, I’d go with Whalefall on audio, and The Warm Hands of Ghosts in print.
If nothing else, I hope you find the time to get your nails done (or some other thing that would make your life simpler and maybe even a tiny bit better.)
Thanks for reading, see you soon!
Such a good anecdote