Whatcha readin’?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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What’s keeping you up late, and gaining you member points in the Bad Decisions Book Club?<\/a><\/p>\n My non-YA\/kidlit reading is all over the place genre-wise. Lately I’m stress-reading a lot, which is when I’m most apt to pick up things I’d never select otherwise and just cram them into my head Just Because. Partially I have to do that sometimes when I’m working through a knotty problem in my writing, but I’ve finished a deadline\/manuscript, so I’m just stress-reading because I’m… stressed. My mother called it escapist reading, and – heck yeah, I’m all about escaping right now. For some people, that would mean a lot of binge screentime. For me, ti’s books.<\/p>\n Re-Visits<\/b>: I’ve passed along a LOT of books this year, and these are books I’m popping in to see again – to make sure they should stay on my shelf. Sometimes, when you’re in an escape reading mode, books you’ve read before feel the very safest — no risk reading, because you already know how it turns out, right? So, here are my revisits for this month so far:<\/p>\n THE HOBBIT – Ah, a true, TRUE classic. This is my story-before-bed, and admittedly, I’m dozing off on it pretty quickly. I am reading it more critically, and …it’s got some flaws I didn’t see the first three times I read or heard it… I can see some of the issues with depictions of lesser races that show up in the LOTR cycle, and I don’t quite know how to feel about them… but I think this is just one of those books I’ll read from time to time just because.<\/p>\n SUNSHINE<\/a> by Robin McKinley – man<\/i> I liked this book, and had a big argument with myself back in the day as to whether or not it was YA. I’m going to say… no, not really. Robin promised us a someday sequel, and I think it’ll go toward New Adult or something in its next incarnation.<\/p>\n MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO<\/a> by DM Cornish – here’s another book I loved; so, so, SO many “new things per page!” I read this book in expectation that someday the writer will finish the whole series. He will. Someday.<\/p>\n STRANGE PRACTICE<\/a>, by Vivian Shaw was a book I picked up because the cover looked Edward Gorey-ish. That was a GREAT CHOICE, one I knew was correct because the dedication was to Laura Ruby – she of odd books I enjoy. Dr. Greta Helsing… her family dropped the van<\/i> from their name in the difficult 1930’s – is in the family business… as a doctor to the …erm, differently alive. Detecting and the odd ghoul or vampire (vampyre?) – yes, please; sign me up. This one was a surprise banger, as the kids say, and made me eager for more of Shaw’s work.<\/p>\n Short Stories<\/b>: Black Matter<\/a><\/i> by Vivian Shaw. Creeeeeeeepy, AND a read aloud: good times.<\/p>\n