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just okay with the books I encountered...but more B's than C's so I can't complain :)

The A-List

Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail by Barney Scout Mann (A-). Fave read of the month. Scout tells the stories of the hikers he met on the PCT more than focusing on his own journey in 2007, which worked and gave a great picture of what hiking the trail is like.

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (A-) A re-read! I last read this in the mid 200s, and it was as good as I remembered it.

Extra Focus: The Quick Start Guide to Adult ADHD by Jesse J. Anderson (A-). A great guide on how to live with ADHD, what it is, and some life hacks for those of us who have it.

The B-List

Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis (B+) After seeing A Long Kiss Goodnight for the first time last month, I really wanted to learn more about Davis, so I read and enjoyed this book. All throughout the book I was thinking “I bet she’s neurodivergent”, and…come to find out, she mentions getting diagnosed for what was known as ADD in the late 90s (now ADHD).

You Had Me At Happy Hour by Timothy Janovsky (B+): A cute gay rom-com about two men who are forced to work together at a restaurant, one an influencer who was hired to save the restaurant, and the other studying to be a sommelier.

The Memoir: Part 1 by Cher (B). This…was probably written to be an audio book. It needed an editor. But I also enjoyed learning more about Cher, as I really had no idea about how she came to fame. It ends around 1980 when she is about to start acting and focuses on her childhood and life until then. I wonder when Part 2 will come out.

The Actor’s Guide to Murder/Adultery by Rick Copp (both B-). I wish I had read these 20 years ago, as so much has changed. A former child star is found involved in mysteries and has to solve them. I’m still burnt out on mysteries from this time, but it was an interesting time capsule at least.

En plena noche (B) and Entre los muertos (B-) by Mikel Santiago. The second and third part of a loosely connected trilogy taking place in the same fictional Basque village. Santiago sets the mood so well…the last book just wasn’t as good as the second though. The second was about a musician who doesn’t remember what happened the night of a murder, and the third had a very forgettable plot, and Santiago really can’t write women protagonists well, so it suffered.

The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani (B-) At this point it’s a tradition to read Trigiani at Christmas (2021 and 2023!) so I read this one about an elderly woman telling her mother’s love story to her children. Trigiani has written much better…

City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg (B-) No idea why this book was 900 pages long…less can be more…it’s the story of a family in 1970s New York City when someone is murdered, with tons of flashbacks and backstory. And…it wasn’t that memorable, so I really can’t even go into more details, but obviously it didn’t need to be 900 pages long. But…it was an effort on the writer’s part.

The C-List:

Growing Up Urkel by Jaleel White (C+). Not a great memoir at all…

An Ordinary Spy by Joseph Weisberg (C) So…The Americans was better in every way than this (redacted) book that (redacted) (redacated) and is by the (redacted) producer of the show. If you’ve read it, you understand. I was hoping to get back into a similar world as The Americans, but alas…couldn’t get into it at all as half the page was black ink to make it look like the CIA redacted everything before publishing (the CIA did read it, but I don’t think they redacted that much…)

The D-List:

Full Service by Scotty Bowers

Bowers supposedly found sex partners for men and women (both gay and straight) in classic Hollywood. It reads more as a fan fic of what he wished had happened though. I hear the documentary on Hulu is much better though.