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The Book Bit: January 2021 Ed.

 


Welcome to 2021! This month really flew by! We had lots of inconvenient weather, back to school, and stress cleaning over here. I have two moods when it comes to the house. Either I don't care at all if it's clean and tidy or it must ALL be clean and tidy. There's no in between. I don't understand, but it's caused me a lot of stress this month for some reason. I managed to read three wonderful books this month. I really wanted to push for four, but I got a freelance contract that needed a lot of my attention and then all the stress cleaning, so I decided not to add to it by pushing for another book. Maybe in February! Let's get started.

"The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires"- Grady Hendrix

Set in the 90s, a woman's book club must defend their suburban community from a supernatural threat. Laced with tons of jokes, egotistical men, 90s nostalgia, gore, and mystery, this was really hard for me to put down! A stranger moves to town just as our main character, Patricia, gets viscously attacked by a neighbor and soon after, children from a nearby community begin to go missing. Can these women push past social norms and their idiotic and "well-meaning" husbands to save their community and themselves? 

This is the second Hendrix book I've read and I absolutely loved it. The nostalgia was perfect. This was just around the time when women were breaking the mold of "housewife" and beginning to do their own things. You have to remember, the southern states were behind the norm in this respect, and the men in this story testify to it! This book comes off as light and entertaining at the beginning and takes a hard right into horrifying that I can't stop raving about! I really enjoyed this one. 


"Us Against You"- Fredrik Backman

This is the sequel to "Beartown". To read my review of the first book, you can find that here. Once the dust around "the scandal" officially settles, Beartown is left with one question, "Will there be a hockey team or not?" The problem is, the answer isn't so simple. Our favorite characters make return appearances as the town scrapes to stay together. We meet new characters that we'll begin to love and hate. Can this town survive more trauma, more change, more pushback? It's Beartown. Us against the rest. 

When I tell you I was not prepared for this book... The first book was challenging for me, but I loved it. This book was difficult on several levels. I didn't love the writing style in this one as much as I did the first book, so that was one thing that tripped me up. The first 100 pages of the book was a lot of political stuff that I didn't enjoy reading and it made it hard for me to remain interested. The rest of the book was just plain heartbreaking in a way that only Backman can make beautiful. And I absolutely hate him for it! I hate how invested he got me in these characters and how harsh the world is to them. There's a third book in the Beartown series slated for this year. I'm trying to prepare myself for some more emotional damage. 


"Daisy Jones and The Six"- Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Six was a rock n' roll band that was popular in the 70s. And when they ask Daisy Jones to do an album with them, they swiftly became the biggest band in the world. This book is an interview of the members of the band in present day as they recall what it was like to be that famous in the 70s. The drugs, sex, and rock n' roll lifestyle hit some harder than others, secrets are relived, heartbreaks revealed, and the real reason behind why the band broke up. 

I really enjoyed this book and the format in which it was written. I felt like I was watching an docuseries about a 70s rock band. A lot of people have said this novel is a parallel to Stevie Nicks' early career and her involvement in the Fleetwood Mac album. I can see some references that could support that theory, but I didn't read it thinking it was about her. I think this was a really accurate portrayal of what a lot of rock bands went through in the 70s (and still some today!) with band drama, song writing, touring, drugs, infidelity, you name it. It's an inside glimpse to that glamorous world. And maybe it's not as glamorous as we all thought. I highly recommend this book.


I've already got some great books lined up for February! What did you read this month? Do you have any suggestions for me? I would love to know what you're reading! Remember to subscribe and share; happy reading!


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