Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            So something I have for sure been doing while in quarantine is reading, not as much as I want to but still I’m reading. My goal is 36-40 books this year and I’m eleven in, I have a lot more reading to do this year. I have no specific genre that I read, I read mostly anything if we are being honest. A few years ago I read a lot of historical fiction and I burned myself out on that for a while, but other than that I actually really enjoy reading. 

            I read 32 books last year and 12 of t hose were read in December as I made a last ditch effort to reach my 35 book goal. I haven’t hit my book goal since 2017. My goal in 2018 was 35, I read 6. I have been tracking all the books I have read since 2016 and I wish I could say that I have read more than 116 in those four and a half years but here we are. In reality I would ideally be up around 50 books a year but life doesn’t work like that all the time.

            Okay getting away from the long winded introduction,  here are the books I have read so far in 2020:

Spending the Holidays with People I Want To Punch in The Throat by Jen Mann:

            I read this in one day, New Year’s Day actually, I do enjoy reading essays that people have written about events in their lives and bonus points if they are funny or something I can relate to. This book was hilarious to say the least and it makes me want to read her other collections of essays because I think they would be just as amusing.

Star Wars: Bloodlines by Claudia Gray:

            I am a relatively new Star Wars fan, I don’t read a lot of the novelizations, I read a lot of Doctor Who novelizations and even Marvel but Star Wars is still pretty new for me. I was in elementary school when the prequels came out and didn’t see any of them until I was in high school, I spent a weekend in 2018 watching all of the original trilogy and I have seen all of the new ones as well. I know that the new ones get a lot of hate, but I didn’t hate them but again; I’m new. The book was dense, I liked it; it was a pretty good lead up to the events that happen in The Force Awakens and it continues to reinforce the fact that Leia Organa is a certified bad ass. 

I’ve Got This Round by Mamrie Hart:

            Again, a book of essays. I like hearing people’s drunk stories because I don’t really have any of my own and I like it that way. Reading the things that other people get up to and are up to telling others about is amusing to me. Mamrie is a great story teller and she is a very funny entertainer, I used to watch her on YouTube when I was in college; not so much now but I still enjoyed reading the second one of her novels. If you like humor and alcohol fueled adventures this is for sure a good read for you. 

Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes by Cory O’Brien: 

            I saw and excerpt of this on Tumblr probably four years ago and I bought the book because of it, I really like myths and stories of the like so reading an almost satirical telling of all of these really heavy myths; it’s just a lot of fun to read. It gives a different perspectives of all of those myths and it makes them a lot more fun to read. 

It Gets Worse by Shane Dawson:

            Like I said, I really like essays and I read his first book I Hate Myselfie in one day in December, I have been a Shane Dawson fan since 2012-2013 somewhere around there and rediscovered him in 2018. It was good and very honest throughout. 

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt:

            This book is going to be the oddity in this list and you may be saying, this seems like an off choice between two autobiographical novels. Well this we read for One School One Book and I couldn’t put it down. I work with elementary school kids and this book was a really feel good novel, it is a great story about overcoming, about embracing what makes us all different and that it doesn’t matter how we learn as long as someone is willing to take the time and figure out that maybe we all learn a little different and that doesn’t make us any less. 

Girl Logic by Iliza Shlesinger:

            I love Iliza’s comedy specials and her podcast is hilarious, the book was fine. I think I would have liked it better as an audiobook but I did enjoy reading it. I know that sometimes my girl Logic gets the best of me.

Mortal Arts (Lady Darby Mystery #2) by Anna Lee Huber:

            This is book 2, book one is That Anatomist’s Wife, it’s based in the late 1800’s in The United Kingdom, this one was in Scotland and once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. I love mysteries, usually of the cozy variety but this one is a little more serious. It wove a vivid tale of how mental health care was drastically different in those times and how that affected the people who suffered with it. 

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing (Meg Langslow Mystery #24) by Donna Andrews:

            This is one of those cozy mysteries I was talking about. I have read every book in this series and I have loved every one. I am going to write a review on the first book for a post alter in the month, when I do I will link it here because this series was what inspired me to try my hand writing mystery. (it’ll happen one day but I think for now I will stick with fiction.) This is one of my favorite series by far though, I actually read the 19^th book first because I wanted a Halloween mystery and then I went back and painstakingly tried to buy the rest of the series.

Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and The Secret of The Grande Chateau by: Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills:

            If you want a mystery novel that has just a touch of satire and enjoys breaking the fourth wall between the characters and the author as well as the outside world do I have a book suggestion for you. It does start a little slow but as you get wrapped up in the mystery it becomes compelling and overarchingly funny. It actually had me guessing who the culprit was until it was revealed; I never saw it coming. So good.

Civil War by Stuart Moore:

            I love Marvel, I have the Civil War comic and I have read it so I knew what was coming but I like reading the novelizations because it allows for more detail and the ability for someone to visualize it without looking at pictures. It is nothing like Civil War the film which is one of my favorite Marvel movies, the only real similarity is the Registration Act, that’s about it. If you see them as completely separate entities they are both great. There are a lot more characters in the comic and novel but you know, studio licensing. 

            I hope to tell you more of the books that I read this year because, books. There isn’t much else I have to say in this post so I will see everyone in a few says with a new post.

            Stay safe, stay healthy,

            -MJ