Another month of lots of quick reads! Here's everything I read in the past month.
The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood: In this penultimate volume of the series, secrets are revealed (that the reader has likely already guessed at this point) and additional details are uncovered that explained some of the inexplicable aspects of prior books.
The Celery Stalks at Midnight by James Howe: Unlike the creepy-yet-funny aspects that worked in Bunnicula, in this third book Chester leads the faithful Harold and their new sidekick Howie on a wild goose chase where they cause mayhem without any real payoff.
Nemesis by Agatha Christie: It's amazing to me that after so many books, Christie could still come up with a novel premise, but this one worked well overall. Unfortunately, Christie's prejudices were on full display in this one, and some plot points didn't make sense.
Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home by Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen: The authors say they intended to write about best practices for remote work, but the book they ended up writing is really about the place of work in our life more broadly. As they go through each of the problems with today's workplaces, they don't offer solutions so much as they try to dig to the very root of each problem: where and how it originated, why it remains, and why it's so bad.
The Natural Mother of the Child by Krys Malcolm Belc: This book would have been better subtitled as a collection of essays than as a memoir, but as an essay collection it works really well. Belc's experience carrying and giving birth to one of his three sons was intricately connected with his own gender journey — which was what I expected from the title — but there's a lot in here that's just about his experience being trans generally, and a lot more that's just snippets of memories from his childhood and his relationship with his wife. (I'd recommend the text version over the audiobook.)
Nighty-Nightmare by James Howe: This book, in which the Monroes and their pets go camping, was definitely more in the spirit of the original book than the first two sequels, silly and pun-filled with just enough spookiness.
The Long-Lost Home by Maryrose Wood: This was a fun if somewhat ridiculous end to this delightful middle grade series. Be prepared to fully suspend your disbelief, as there are multiple unlikely coincidences and many slapdash disguises that nonetheless fool others, but if you're along for the ride, it's enjoyable to see everything wrap up at last in a charming and heartwarming conclusion.
The Great Good Thing by Roderick Towley: This contemporary novel with the feel of an old-timey children's classic is about what happens to book characters when they live inside a book that isn't being read and then come to inhabit the mind of someone who reads and falls in love with the story. It was a cute celebration of the power of books and stories, but the uneven world-building left me with too many questions to fully enjoy it.
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel: This book has a transgender child, but it's not a book for transgender representation so much as it is a book about parenting, where this just happens to be the parents' central complication. If you want to better understand the transgender experience, read a book by a trans person. But if you want a literary novel about the trials and tribulations of being a parent, this one is definitely that.
Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott: This was a fun fantasy adventure story to read aloud to my 7-year-old. The plot had enough twists and turns to keep it interesting while also giving the book a heart with the relationships between the characters.
Can I Recycle This?: A Guide to Better Recycling and How to Reduce Single-Use Plastics by Jennie Romer: This was a very helpful little book! I'd encourage you to look at your own local guidelines for what can be recycled in your area, but this provides a lot of additional context for why certain things are more easily recycled than others, why following the rules about what can and cannot be recycled is important, and what exactly the deal is with China buying (or not buying) our recyclables. If everyone read this book, it could make a huge difference!
Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman: I loved this totally sweet graphic novel of two British teenage boys falling for each other!
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein: This was a fun middle grade read. It's basically watching a group of kids solve an escape room that is also intended to teach them about the library. The moral may be a bit heavy-handed, but it's still an enjoyable read for anyone who loves games, puzzles, or books.
Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: I Shall Be Near to You, Freddie Ramos Takes Off, and The Body Keeps the Score
Five years ago I was reading: The Brothers Karamazov, Gang Leader for a Day, and If on a winter's night a traveler
Ten years ago I was reading: Two-Part Invention
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