I'm in a reading rut...

My goal is to post a book review every Monday. But the last week has been a tough one, reading wise. I am blaming it on the weather (cold, rainy, cloudy). March is the worst month - spring is around the corner and we are DONE with winter weather. But that winter weather hangs around and spring teases us with a day here or there of beautiful 60's or 70s's temperatures. Last week I was moody, uninspired, and indecisive - just 'meh'. And it translated into my book selections.

I had several hardcopy books in a stack that were about 200 pages so I thought I could plow through a few and certainly have one to discuss. Of the five I picked up (notice I didn't say 'finished'), three recommended to be by local booksellers, four had been on my TBR list and several were finalist for various book awards. I finished two, did not finish two and am currently plodding through one. It was a rough week because I wouldn't recommend any of these books. But I'll tell you why.

I started with When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut. A bookstore owner told me she had been "blown away" by the confluence of science and psychology in this series of related novellas. Sign me up! The science and scientists in the book are factual but Labatut takes license with the personal stories and the book gets increasingly fictional with each novella. For me, it got increasingly weird. I'm sure the literary folks love it, but it just wasn't for me.

Next up was Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke. Written entirely in slack channels (similar to text messages), it takes place in a PR firm where one of the employees gets 'uploaded' into slack and can't get out. I read it over two days in about 4 hours but again, was very disappointing. I think it is a clever premise and some of the exchanges are funny, and I imagine very on point for today's work environment. However, the story got old and even more absurd than the premise. The concept has a potential for hilarity and satire, but this book failed for me.

At this point, I'm very frustrated. The weather is worse, and I just want a book to take me away, so I thought 'what about a good love story'. I found Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny on my Goodreads list. I made to page 46 (15% of the book) and turned off my Kindle feeling so glad that I borrowed it from the library. And vowed to use start using the "Who recommended it to me" field in Goodreads. So, I can know why I put this on my list!?! Young woman moves to a small town and falls in love with the local man-about-town. Uninteresting characters and I couldn't see any reason to continue.

Next I figuratively threw a dart at my TBR list and it landed on No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. After about 30 minutes, I remembered that I'm a terrible dart throwing and this one most certainly landed in an outer ring. I may try it again when I'm not feeling like such a curmudgeon.

Currently, I am reading How High We Can Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagmatsu which I may end up reviewing. It matched my mood in that it is reflective but dark. It starts in 2030 when an Arctic Plague spreads across the world after it escapes from melting permafrost. Each chapter moves several years forward in the pandemic, telling different stories as society deals with massive illness & death. But I am finding love and empathy in each of these stories.

The sun has been out the last two days and my mood is improving. Hopefully, I'll find my way to a book that I just can't put down and one that I can't wait to share with you!

Happy Reading!