1. Dead First by Johnny Compton

I legitimately:

1. was not scared even a little
2. had no idea what was going on

2. This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman

I dunno, a “family drama,” I guess, but the drama was lame AF. Literally two sisters stop talking because one sister bakes a cake using the other sister’s recipe as the third sister is dying and everyone likes that cake better than when the sister whose recipe it is bakes it. Then we have to suffer through myriad chapters of extended family and they were all just very boring, unlikeable people. There was no point to this.

BUT DAMN THAT CAKE DOES LOOK GOOD.

3. All the Things They Said We Couldn’t Have: Stories of Trans Joy by T. C. Oakes-Monger

Beautiful. Powerful. I cried a lot. NORMALIZE TRANS JOY!!!

4. Molka by Monika Kim

As a self-proclaimed expert of Korean goings-on, I was already familiar with the insidiousness and very true reality of molka, which is the act of hiding cameras (most commonly in public restrooms) to film women. It’s a very real thing that happens in Korea. I loved the previous Monika Kim book I read and had high hopes for this one, but it kind of fell flat for me. I felt like this was time that could have been better spent watching a K-Drama about the same topic.

5. The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

I LIKED THIS ONE. First of all, it’s a coming-of-age story set in the 80s. Yes. This will always be for me, no matter how old I am, lol.

Second of all, written by Jason Rekulak. DOUBLE YES. I love this guy’s books. This is an older one of his (2017) so it was definitely interesting to see how far he’s come as a writer. It’s written from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy, before political correctness, so there are definitely some parts that are cringey (like the terrible way they describe one of the girls in the book). But if you can look past that, it’s just a really fun read with Phil Collins references, video games, a ton of Vanna White references (the whole plot revolves around the boys’ desperation to get their hands on the Vanna White Playboy which I never knew was a thing but then again, why would I? I was in elementary school in the 80s, playing with Sweet Secrets and My Little Pony).

6. Open Wide by Jessica Gross

I hated this so much. The audiobook definitely made it worse because the narrator’s baby voice / lilt was insufferable. I always disliked Erin from The Office (oh well, hate me) and that is exactly who I was picturing through this entire book. The text messages between her and her new BF were SO GAG-WORTHY.

The whole book was SO GAG-WORTHY.

And there are some seriously hideous parts with her dog that left me absolutely disgusted. Literally cannot stress enough how much I hated this fucking book.

7. Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu

Well, they got the “boring” part right.

8. Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror by Ashley Cullins

A really fun and interesting behind the scenes look into the Scream franchise that left me saying, “Hey, did you know—-” multiple times to Henry and Chooch while reading it (Chooch had the pleasure of being home for this). It inspired to watch the whole franchise starting at the first one and you know my attention span – I was all gung-ho through the first one and then never went back for more LOL.

But fun fact—when Scream came out, I was in high school and went to see it at the Denis—probs with Keri—and it was the first time I was ever CARDED AT THE MOVIES!! I didn’t have my license then so I don’t how I got in, I guess I just pouted and schmoozed. I was so good at that back then.

(Henry reading this like, “‘back then’????”).

9. Dearest by Jacquie Walters

I appreciate the 1970s aesthetic of the book cover but this was actually a let-down. I think I should know by now that I am not interested in horror involving new moms.

10. Brawler by Lauren Groff

Never mind the fact that the title of the book literally has “Stories” beneath it, I didn’t realize this was a short collection when I borrowed it from the library. Usually, I don’t like short stories but this collection was REALLY GOOD. There really wasn’t any weak links in this one. Lauren Groff knows how to do it.

11. Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter

Not only is this man a national treasure, but he’s also A LOCAL treasure. I loved reading about his time coming up (and out) in the local Pittsburgh theater scene. Billy Porter is a true talent. Bonus: the audiobook is narrated by Billy so it’s packed with flavor AND includes one of his original songs at the end. Amazing.

12. Strangers Behind Closed Doors by Catherine Adel West

I wanted to like this but it was kind of a snooze. :(

13. Afternoon Hours of a Hermit by Patrick Cottrell

Anticlimactic.

14. Break Room by Miye Lee

UGH this brought back memories of office life, from passive aggressive nasty grams being sent out when someone’s Mountain Dew gets stolen (“TO WHOMEVER TOOK MY MOUNTAIN DEW I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT”) to printed signs taped above the sink yelling about how I’M NOT YOUR MOTHER, WASH YOUR OWN DISHES.

Memories.

15. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

OK every once in a while I need a rom-com palate cleanser but I always go into it expecting to hate it. This one was SO GOOD AND CUTE without being gross. I loved the characters so much. I have another Katherine Center book on my TBR so fingers crossed this wasn’t a fluke!

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That’s all. Bye.

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