Another month, another four books down. I read another two books off my overall reading list and I’m feeling excited about achieving my goals this year.
This is one of my friend’s favorite books. I watched him read it more than once and I knew I had to see what it was all about. I put it on my reading list this year to make sure I made time for it. The icing on the cake was when he gifted me a copy. After reading it, all I can say is—wow, how have I gone this long without reading this glorious adventure.
The world building in this book was phenomenal. About halfway through, I was so grateful to not have to experience life on Arrakis. I enjoy showering and drinking cold water. Reading about Jessica and Paul’s trek through the desert made me feel gritty.
Next, the character types were so individual. The fremen were my favorite. With all their secrets and toughness, I would want to be on their side in any fight. And the evil Harkonnens as the opposition were unbelievable. How easily they could turn on anyone—even each other—to meet their goals. So much deceit!
Paul’s journey gave me so many feels. He was just an adolescent boy in training at the beginning. He goes through so many hardships, has revelations about all of life has to offer and comes out the other side of the battle as an (almost) all-knowing ruler. If you haven’t read it, you should.
I loved this book. The story was entertaining and informative. Shadow was a lovable character and Wednesday made me laugh. Gaiman has definitely become one of my favorite authors.
There were so many story lines and sidetracks introduced throughout the book and I’m so happy they were all tied to the ending. It also made me feel good about some of what I’ve written before because I’ve wondered if that kind of jumping around was even allowed, let alone liked.
Poor Shadow went through so much in this book. I honestly don’t know how he had the strength to go on and continue doing the right thing. But he did, and then he did again, and again. He made it through the war and saved the day and set himself free.
I definitely have to read this a second time to follow those underlying threads a little closer now that I know how it all fits together.
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis did a brilliant job showing Bateman’s character. His OCD tendencies to notice everyone’s clothes and the food they ate. He was a perfectionist. We saw all this before we saw his actual crazy side. So, I can say this was a well-written book.
However, I did not like it. I knew Bateman was a serial killer before I read it. I like horror. I thought I’d like this book. I haven’t seen the movie, and now I probably won’t. I don’t like torture. If it’s hinted or implied, that’s fine. But as explicit as this book got, I couldn’t handle it. I skimmed most of it. I had an anxiety attack reading the part with the jumper cables and didn’t even get through the section with the rat.
This book was just not for me. I should have put it down around the 250-page mark and called it quits, but I wanted to see how it ended. Which was a little disappointing, honestly. Good luck—and tough stomach—to anyone who tries to get through this one.
Perfect Pages by Aaron Shepard
I picked my craft book this month because I’m about to publish my first book on amazon. I needed all the tips I could get on formatting my novel for e-books and print. This was the one. He broke down every step of the way. I feel very confident with my end product with the help of this book. Anyone working towards self-publishing should pick it up.
**My first book, In Spite of it All, will be out on July 31st**