Books I Read in October

Spooky Season! Only two of the books I finished were actually spooky, lol, but I do have some exciting news. An author reached out to me in September to ask me to review their book! When Love Sticks Around by Danielle Dayney is that book, and I hope you enjoy the review.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Beach Reads, Horror-Thriller

Review: I don't normally read these kinds of books, but the cover of this intrigued me from the moment I saw it. Finally getting around to it in October was perfect too, and it's an easy introduction to the horror/thriller genre without a lot of gore but still a healthy dose of weirdness and creep.

Things I liked about this book:

1. Strong female characters. Noemí and Catalina are bad ass heroines that I really enjoyed reading. They were written well. Noemí was the girl I wished I could be growing up: sassy, smart, personable, a fashionista, strong. She is a character I'll remember for a while after finishing this!

2. There was a real sense of uneasiness and growing distress as I got deeper into the book, and a few moments that I had to force myself to read through and not rush through. It felt dark and heavy, like how I hoped a book in this genre would feel.

3. By now, if you've read enough of my reviews, you know I'm a sucker for a good slow burn in a book. I don't mind a slower paced novel as long as I'm enjoying it, and that was the case with Mexican Gothic. It's a slow burn until the last four or so chapters, but I thought it was done well and I enjoyed reading it.

Things I didn't like:

1. For it being titled "Mexican Gothic," I was hoping for more things Mexican. Yes, it was set in Mexico, and our main character was Mexican, but that was about it. Mostly everything took place in an English-style mansion with an English family with the stereotypical gloom and mist that you'd find in, say, Wuthering Heights (which was mentioned a few times). I wanted more beauty, more sunlight, more Mexican folklore or something that made it a Mexican Gothic tale, not an English Gothic tale set in Mexico. I feel like there were good opportunities missed with the title being what it was versus the actual content.

2. I didn't believe the chemistry between Noemí and another character. I felt the friendship and the caring that a friendship has, but not the chemistry I believe the author intended.

3. I saw some of the twists coming. Not all the twists, but I felt like there was a pretty obvious clue given maybe around 1/3 to 1/2 way through the book, and so one of the big mysteries of the novel didn't have as big of an impact. Was it still creepy and weird as hell? Yes. So bizarre and gross and spooky ooky. Still worth reading if you're into that sort of thing!

So, overall, I liked this book! I'm glad I read this book! I don't know if I'd read it again, and I'm still not sure if I'll keep it. But it was perfect for Spooky Season!

Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Self-Help

Review: I went back and forth with this book. At times, I found helpful tips, and chapters that I'm glad to have as a reference for anything in the future I might have questions on. Other times, I read something and thought, "How in the world would this woman think this was possible to do?" One of her suggestions, when discussing overcoming student loan debt, was to move to a lower cost of living location and focus on building your career. The example she used was a woman who moved from NYC to Portland, Oregon. I'm sure this is possible for some people, but for a "broke Millennial," I don't see it as that realistic of an option? Also, where I live, higher paying jobs and lower cost of living locations aren't close, and cause a considerable amount of mental health and transportation sacrifices to obtain both. This is one example of a few where I thought the author was sometimes out of touch with her audience.

As it turns out, I have a little bit more financial knowledge than I initially thought! This book was fine. It didn't tell me too many things I didn't already know, but it was a good refresher on how basic financial systems work and, like I mentioned earlier, I'll be glad to have this on hand for reference should I have any questions about, say, investing in stock or hiring a financial planner. Now, the people who this book would really be good for (people graduating high school or entering college) aren't millennials, but the concepts in this book would probably be most beneficial to them!

The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success that Feeds - Not Crushes - Your Soul by Brad Stulberg

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Health, Self-Help

Review: Earlier this year, I read How to Sit by Thich Nhat Hanh, which I felt explored the concept of mindfulness and groundedness in simple, specific ways. This book takes the ideas from that work (whether referenced directly to that book or not, there are a lot of parallels and references to Hanh in the text) and expands on them. While I didn't find the information Stulberg offered to be new or groundbreaking, his book gives you specific, actionable ways to incorporate groundedness into your life through six main principles.

This book suffers mildly from a pattern I really dislike, which is: "here is an example (usually a person and their experience), and here is how it fits very specifically into my thesis." It happens in every chapter, sometimes once, sometimes three times. Some chapters were more annoying than others, but I feel like most adults don't need those kinds of examples to drive home a point. It feels like the author is just trying to take up page space. Don't get me wrong though, I did mostly enjoy this book!

I benefitted from reading The Practice of Groundedness, but I did skim through a majority of it and I feel like I got the points he was trying to make. If you're a person who likes step-by-step advice or suggestions, this book is pretty good at providing that!

Naturally Tan by Tan France

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Beach Reads, Memoir-Biography

Review: I love Queer Eye, and Tan is one of my favorites from the Fab Five. After reading JVN's book with my book club in June, I was excited to see Tan had a memoir too.

Right off the bat, I noticed that his writing style was very disjointed and lacking structure, and he cursed quite a bit. Both of those things I don't mind, but I know some people can be turned off by them. But, I think I have the same issue with this one that I've had with other memoirs. They were fine, Tan's was particularly fun to read with his personality and playful sass, but I didn't think it was a particularly powerful book from start to finish. It had some important messages on racism and stereotyping all from the voice of a Pakistani gay man, which is important. I just think it could have been better written with more time in between his rise to success and the publishing of his book. Tis all! I still love him though and glad I could support him through the purchase of this memoir. I will, however, be leaving it at the airbnb I'm currently staying in for someone else to hopefully enjoy!

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Beach Reads, Book Club, Horror-Thriller, Mystery

Review: ** POTENTIAL SPOILERS ** I don't really read thrillers but chose this as a book of the month pick and book club pick for that reason. I liked the idea of Greek mythology being interwoven with a story like this to make it a little more interesting.

The twist of an ending left me feeling unsatisfied. It wasn't what I saw coming, but the added layer of an underage affair upset me and then made me wonder how justified everything in the book was. It all began to feel like a huge stretch when I thought about it after I'd finished the book. I'm interested to hear what my book club thinks. This book definitely kept my interest the whole way through and kept me guessing until the end!

When Love Sticks Around by Danielle Dayney

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Memoir-Biography, Short Stories

Review: Before I get started, I want to say a thank you to Danielle, the author, for somehow finding me, reaching out, and offering to send me a copy of her memoir in exchange for my honest review.

Nowadays, with more attention being brought to the lack of voices from people of color, I tend to approach memoirs from us white folks a little more critically. I ask myself while reading: do we need to hear this story? Is it contributing something positive or new or relevant to the heartbeat of society today? Will others benefit from this? For this book, not everyone may feel that it answers yes to all of these questions, but it was definitely a story I needed to read, a positive contribution to the memoir genre, and I certainly benefitted from it. I also think there are other people in my life who would benefit from it as well.

While reading, I thought it was slightly overwritten at times - a little heavy on descriptive words - but it was filled with pure nostalgia. Dayney is an 80's and 90's child, somewhat like myself (born in '89), and I found myself being able to picture a lot of what she talked about just from my own experiences. Making Jello in a plastic container and checking the fridge impatiently for it to set. Stuffed cabbage and the way it smelled when it cooked, the way it tasted when it was eaten. Stealing chapstick from the store. A corner hutch filled with Avon perfumes at a grandparents' house. The smell of a freshly lit cigarette. I experienced it all in vivid detail. Dayney also touches on the relationships with her father and step-father throughout and I had to stop to ask if she knew me personally with how much I could relate to it.

The whole memoir really is an ode to the people in her life who showed her love and how that love ultimately shaped her into the woman she is now. It's a beautiful memoir that I think most people will relate to or find bits that reflect their own lives. I know I'll be purchasing this for my mother as I think it'll help her with the loss of her father. It was cathartic for me in many ways to read, and by the end, I was swept into Danielle's world. Her stories were heartfelt, and with the nature of the book being in short story format, it was easy to pick up and put down if you're a busy person or just like to read in small snippets.

This book surprised me in the good kind of way, and I'm so glad Danielle reached out to offer me an early peek at this memoir. I suggest pre-ordering it if you're a fan of touching memoirs like I am, or picking it up at your local bookstore when it's released on November 15!