A Month in Reading: April 2022

 

April was a great month for reading for me. I was writing finals for the majority of it, so I didn't get a ton of reading time for the first three weeks and for the last part of the month I was moving. Needless to say, this has been the busiest month thus far this year. As such, it was also the first month I didn't reach my self appointed reading goal. Usually, I aim for between 5-7 books for each month, and this month (since I was expecting to have the last couple of weeks to just relax), I aimed to read seven. Although, I only read 6 of my goal of 7 books for this month, I also read a couple of my favorite books of the year (so far) this month. 

1. Near the Bone- Christina Henry.

Read for my women in horror month selections. 

2. The Deep- Nick Cutter.                                         ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

The only thing stopping this book from a 5-star rating is the ending. I loved this novel for the vast majority of it, I liked that the world felt developed and there was a bunch happening. However, I felt some of the information could've been wrapped up a bit better. As I've said before and I'll say again, I really prefer a non-supernatural ending. It's so much scarier to me to have a physical, real-life scenario or person that's the threat in a horror novel. The more realistic the threat, the more I enjoy the horror novel. I guess the supernatural twist can seem a little too easy, almost like a cheap way to explain your plot. Like why plot out a well structured plan executed by a very manipulative person when it could suddenly be a spooky all-powerful random being we've never encountered before. Additionally, I wish that the original draw of the book (the mysterious memory wiping disease taking over the world called the 'gets') had been. more incorporated into the plot and had a more active role in the story. Other than those couple of things, I really, really enjoyed this novel and I'll definitely be reading more of Cutter's work. Namely, I want to read The Troop soon. 

3. The Elementals- Micheal McDowell.                     ⭐⭐⭐.75

I read this 90% because of my love for Beetlejuice-- A.K.A: the only halloween movie I watch at least twice every. single. year. However, not only was this novel written by mr. Beetlegeuse, it was also a Southern gothic horror. I will read, watch, listen to, anything set in the American South. My three immediate read categories are the South; cannibalism; and cults.

Overall, I was constantly aware that this was written by a movie writer. The way I read and experienced each scene played out in my head more like a movie does than like a book does. It's hard to explain, and I'm not even sure I know what the exact difference is, but there is definitely a difference in the structure and flow of a text and a film. I think the best example is my enemy, Roberto Acuirre-Sacasa, who wrote some beautiful comics but produced some terrible TV shows (like Riverdale, like CAOS), where he tried to shoot them like a comic and in the case of CAOS, it was beautiful to watch, but the rest of the writing really lacked. 

That being said, I definitely will be reading more of McDowell. I think having adjusted my expectations of him will allow me to better enjoy other novels of his. I already have a collection of his Blackwater series and a copy of Bold Moon Over Babylon that I hope to read soon. 

4. The Children of Red Peak- Craig DiLouie                 ⭐⭐⭐

This book was pretty underwhelming. You had me with the cults, but lost me with the characters. I didn't like any of these character, and the one I could've liked was a very minor side-character, but everyone else was so boring, and no one ever developed. Not even to mention the sudden supernatural ending. Not a fan. 

5. Dowry of Blood- S.T Gibson

Read for women in horror month selections. 

6. Day Trading 101- David Borman

I really didn't like this one, it wasn't written very well and the information it gave either felt super repetitive or didn't really make sense. I think I'll try another book on day trading, but I grabbed this one because I read Stock Market 101 by Cagan, with the same publisher, which was way better written.

Overall, the best was Nick Cutter's The Deep was the best and the worst was Day Trading 101. However, if I wasn't including that one, it would've been The Children of Red Peak. Writing this now, after having been away from the book, I even decided to take a star off of my rating of DiLouie's novel. Hopefully, I'll have some more reading time in May.