October Reads - Tim

When Women Played Hardball by Susan E. Johnson (320 pages)
An in-depth look at the All American Girls Baseball League at its teams, players, coaches, chaperones, etc. This book adds a lot of information to “A League of Their Own,” showing how women from all over the country (and Canada) came together to play baseball and what they did when the games were over.

The Maid and the Queen: The Secret History of Joan of Arc by Nancy Gladstone (320 pages)
A look at Joan of Arc and Yolande of Aragon, how these two women’s lives were intertwined even though they never met. While Yolande, the Queen of Sicily, championed the dauphine against his enemies in the 100 Years War, and used her money, powerful allies, and army (both soldiers and spies) to put him on the throne of France. However it took a peasant
girl, Joan, to bring the people together and complete the job.

1929 America Before the Crash by Warren Sloat (384 pages)
A look at all the highs and lows, though the biggest low was yet to come, that befell the United States on the eve of the Great Depression. Looking at the people and events that not only shaped the nation but set the ground to fall once the economy they helped to build up fell apart.

A Wicked War by Amy S. Greenberg (368 pages)
A deep dive into the Mexican-American War, a war forged probably on false pretenses for no real reason other than an expansionist government wanted to flex on a weaker neighbor. The title is a reference to a quote made following the war by U.S. Grant that was echoed before, during, and after by many critics. This book shows the action not only in Mexico but in Washington D.C. where the bullets were fewer but the battle no less destructive

Snow White with the Red Hair by Sorata Akiduki

Volume 1
In which we get the origins.
Shirayuki not wanting to have to rely on her connections to Zen

200 Pages

Volume 2
We meet precious 12 year old Ryu.
Shirayuki working to heal a fortress of people.
Side character development

208 Pages

Volume 3
The brief return of Raj
Big brother: "I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian cause I care"
The first balcony scene
Obi taking care of Shirayuki

192 Pages

Volume 4
The first kiss.
Obi being the ultimate....not wingman, but the "run I'll distract him" guy
The confessing feelings and fluff.
Mistuhide and Zen's first meeting. And lil Zen.

192 Pages

Volume 5
Zen being protective (surprise) hen people want to use or threaten Shirayuki
Big brother testing Shirayuki
It's the late night hug for me.
Obi being aware of his surroundings and being protective.
SECRET TUNNELS
The Ryu Obi side story. Chef's kiss
192 Pages

Volume 6
Zen and his big confession to his brother
Zen and Obi being protective
Kiki being a boss
192 Pages

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

....Just...the first sentence... like....that hit me.
Helen: "where's all the doubt and self-hatred?"
Me: on the inside and in their phone notes app. 
Guide: "man up"
Me: ...yeah because men are so goood at handling pain...
"The first time I saw Pickle, I thought she was a possum..." honestly....that's the perfect reason to adopt her.
...I can't believe Katherine had the audacity to make me cry...and attack me on a personal level.
That is capital T trauma
also I loved it. It's the fluff content for me. Jake's adorable. He's a puppy. Protect.
352 Pages

Manga

Blue Flag Volume 1 by KAITO
The bi and gay panic.
gahhh I don't know who to ship.

224 Pages

Blue Period Volume 2 by Tsubasa Yamaguchi

Trying to talk to parents about having a creative dream. That's just....waaaay too close to home.

The night courses to prepare for college exams...and they're art exams. boof.

192 Pages

Komi Can't Communicate by Tomohito Oda

Volume 1

Tadano noticing Komi's anxiety and just...being able to sense it... It's just like... Heart eyes

And like...he meets her where she's at and makes her comfortable... I can't.

The dreaded Starbucks order...especially if it's a custom order... God bless mobile ordering.

It's Tadano hiding behind a desk chair while she asks for friends' numbers for me.

192 Pages 

Volume 2

I love it when there are two characters that just know... Like..the ramen guy who knows what Komi wants.

Tadano continuing to show that he knows Komi and her sense of style and what would make her comfortable. Like...he's not trying to change her, and I can't.

....Ok but the whole hairstylist chapter...Same..like..so much.

Also Tadano noticed that she got a hair cut and that's just so life giving.

192 Pages

Volume 3

Summer vacation...aka sitting around the house waiting, trying to spend time with friends.

The anxiety of going to the library and going to the checkout desk...

Ok but the fact that Komi isn't anxious to go play on the swings...cause like...I can't do that

GRANDMAAAA

Tadano continuing to be a boss.

180 Pages

Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki

Volume 6

Nozaki can't wrtie spooky themed stories apparently...cause apparently you can't just do a one

off where the MC is a vampire.

Chiyo missing Nozaki cause it's the summer.

Nozaki is always clueless about his feelings

Everyone has crushes on someone.

Chiyo's reactions are just....iconic and dramatic.

160 Pages

Volume 7

When the characters comment on what the authors are supposed to do with a series that's gone on

for decades and technology has advanced, and the characters are still in high school....

what does one do about cell phones, we ask.

The basketball team and their quest to free themselves from the Seo's tormenting clutches...

by finding her a boyfriend...because apparently girls chill out when they get boyfriends

Nozaki experimenting with bullying...which isn't really bullying.

144 Pages

Volume 8

Mikoshiba is anxious and just wants a friend to be his emotional support buddy when he goes on

a group date...mood.

The basketball team trying to get Seo to stop picking on them by setting up a schedule and a

tally system

Kashima continuing in her attempts to impress Hori.....and Hori ate a whole brandy cake.....

144 Pages

The Promised Neverland: Volume 1 by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu

Me trying to figure out what's happening...cause everything looks sus.

Does this remind me of Annie + creating super children...yes

Yeah the neck tattoos totes don't give any bad vibes

...that...got dark quick...I don't know why I'm surprised.

Also like...if it's mature brains...shouldn't it be like...24 year olds...cause that's 

when brains complete development

Me trying to figure out what the numbers mean.

192 Pages

Sasaki and Miyano Volume 1 by Shou Harusono

Saski asks for manga from Miyano.. Miyano is embarrassed because it's queer. And they both like it.

Chaos.

128 Pages

The Way of the House Husband by Kousuke Oono

Volume 2

Yoga reminds him of the good old days...and the ladies are concerned.

Bro....teach me the ways of cleaning

When they try to decide on a new car, and my mind just goes to the Jade War and all of the car drama.

The way to settle a yakuza feud...volleyball.

160 Pages

Volume 3

The Christmas episode

One hit of [the citric] acid and you'll be flying as high as a kite.

The kitty latte art.

It's the pet terrier for me....cause they look like Pepper.

160 Pages

Volume 4

I love how our boy just like....talks about everyday thinks and everyone sees the connection,

and jumps to that conclusion....and he's just talking about cooking.

A day at a theme park and a beach.

Trying teach the wisdom and knowledge that comes in the form of dollar store items.

Also...the terrier in the bicycle basket....I would never be able to get Pepper to do that.

168 Pages

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita

Volume 1 and 2 Omnibus 

Ok but the line "I love you and I like seeing you do things that make you happy." ...I can't.

The boy has it baaaaaaaaaaaad.

Hey look. It's the rainy day trope.

"She's sadder than usual." "Oh it's cause a character died." ....bro don't just call me out like that.

256 Pages

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Ok but working in a library has like...actually given me opinions on like....making information accessible to all versus keeping it for the elite and the privileged... .like...
Once again I say, y'all gotta be careful with absinthe 
I'm re-reading the Atlas Six because the Atlas Paradox came out and like...
416 Pages

A Silent Voice Volume 1 by Yoshitoki Oima

Volume 1

Ok but bullying.

Do I want to strangle the teacher for like...not handling the bullying properly. Yes. Yes I do.

Also how bullying can drive a person to dark places.
Don't mind me while I go buy this entire series.
192 Pages

Noragami: Stray God Volume 1 by Adachitoka

We meet the warrior god Noragami who just wants to be worshipped and rich.

The concept of monsters bringing clouds of depression.

200 Pages

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

 Pages: 416

"When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation... Maddy did it. An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington. After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life. But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret... one that will cost them all their lives." 

This was a retelling of Stephen Kings Carrie with a twist that explores the racism still rooted in small communities. I really liked the podcast feel at the beginning of the chapters. I really fell for Maddy's character and kept hoping the ending would not come and everything would work out for her. Its a heartbreaking story and very well done.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Also....like.... cranberry vodka being the classic college girl drink.
All the Halloweentown vibes.
Also I really want to fight all these hipster witches for looking down on my girl....Cause like.... just because someone doesn't use a ton of magic or like...doesn't show that doesn't mean they're not....
The integration of popular culture into this-- like the ah you were a Harry Potter witch, not finding out until like....
bro I was going to throw hands if like....the last two chapters did the thing that it hinted it, but then there was the door.
talking kitty.
320 Pages

Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai

....don't @me. we all know I love illustrated covers...
Ok but like...*eye roll* cause he like...had money, ordered her a dessert she couldn't eat, broke up with her, and then made her pay for all of it....
Naveen trying to loosen the zip ties like a pleb....like....of course it's the man who doesn't know how to get out of zip-ties...
Me not understanding poker or any of it's variants....the extent of my knowledge is from Lindsay Lohan's The Parent Trap and the fact that a royal flush is boss...
Mira when Naveen says ok to a bonkers idea:

Didn't call the first twist, but I did call the second.
Also....the softness......
400 Pages

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

The sequel to Once Upon a Broken Heart, but oh boy, I wish I had waited until the 3rd book in the series is out!

403 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Summary: "How far would you go for happily ever after?

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another. Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing. But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy..."

well, well, well. The first in a SERIES, Laura, not a standalone, ya bonehead. And the series isn't fully published yet. AHHH. AHHHHHH!

408 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

I don't know As You Like It as well as...you know...Romeo and Juliet, so like..... fjkdsljklfda
but when you recognize an obvious Shakespeare quote
It's the demisexual rep for me....
It's also the "Beloved" and the "my wife" for me.
istg....don't just drop those initials and expect me to be calm....like...please don't be messing with me...my heart can't. Like....If it's who I want it to be.....I will not be functioning.... I won't be functioning if it's not, but like...please please please...it would confirm my theory.
528 Pages

In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn by Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger

In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn by Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger

The Tudor fan's guide to all the places Anne Boleyn would have traveled, from Hever Castle to the room in Windsor Castle where Anne was made Marquess of Pembroke, including maps and narrative information, unearthing hidden stories and artifacts pivotal to Anne's life. 

288 pages.

Longshadow by Olivia Atwater

ok. I was mostly here for Hugh, Elias, and Theodora. 
I loved the cameos.
Imma be honest I wasn't paying attention cause Midnights was coming....
288 Pages

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Pages: 688

"Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses. Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?"

I absolutely loved this book. The angst was a little drawn out for me, but the characters and plot made up for it. I was not expecting the neurodivergent representation and fell in love with Ty. I hope we get more of him in the next two books. I really liked the weaving in of the poem into the story and could not stop reading the last 200 pages. Everything was happening at once and so many reveals were made. I cannot wait to start the next book!

Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way

So it's like the first season, but different...
184 Pages

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

I'm sorry... the male MC's name is August... like.... already dead. and it's Dan Bittner and I love his voice. send help. Was Taylor Swift's August replaying in my head. Yes. 
fjkldssfjkdl Emery has heterochromia fjkldsajklfdssfjklda
The fall witchy vibes.
Me living in a tourist town, so like.... the love hate relationships with the tourists. 
I just like....want to sit with the characters and stare at them. Like.....Emery and August are just...chef's kiss.
368 Pages

Soul of the Deep by Natasha Bowen

So I probably should have physically read this book instead of listening to it....cause like..... I missed stuff and there were new characters....'

the ending was cool.
Me still only knowing vague bits of West African mythology, so I'm kind of clueless
304 Pages

Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater

So it's got some Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin vibes...so I kept expecting it to twist with a Rumpelstiltskin twist.
Also the magic of embroidery and using it as a coping mechanism and like....the magic. fjkld
288 Pages

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

 

Pages: 206

"Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom. Pecola's life does change- in painful, devastating ways.

What its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Toni Morrisons's most powerful, unforgettable novels."

Late Banned Books week read. I was able to get the audiobook version read by Toni Morrison and I always love it when authors record their own books. It adds a depth to the story and this one is already beautiful in its prose. Definitely would recomend.

Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer

The fox. Smirks.
Also like....I wish I had written down my crack theory from the first book because like....it might have helped with the second book.
The ending.. Me looking for the publication date of the next book and it's not even on GoodReads....also like....
I'm a HarriSTAN. haha. I'm funny. Also I totally called it... like....I knew it.
When you get the queer vibes and you were RIGHT.
Oh it's the dawn cause...yeah that makes sense...
The last three chapters....like.... at leas there was some comfort in the last chapter, but like....
448 Pages

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Summary: "Hannah Brooks is an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his stalker. When Jack's mom gets sick, he comes home to the family's Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn't want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. So Hannah finds herself pretending to be Jack's girlfriend as a cover. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it's very easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That's the hardest thing she's ever done."

!!!!!!!

309 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS

In a Garden Buring Gold by Rory Power

yeah I picked this for the cover. cause it's pretty
......when it's not tagged as romance, but I have a ship....istg.....


......when you think either a character is really good at lying and faking feelings, or they genuinely have feelings and they're going to die... I'm fine. I'm not anxious for one specific character.
The epilogue: ok ok ok....I can dig this.
448 Pages

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Yeah so I'm re-reading this so I can actually remember what's happening for the next book.
ok ok ok cool cool cool. 
All the mythology
336 Pages