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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post #325

On The Blog Recently

• 2022 Reading Statistics
• Best New Book Releases 2023
• Best New Young Adult Book Releases 2023
• Best New Middle Grade Book Releases 2023
• I Read 200+ "Best Books Of 2022" Lists

In My Reading Life

I finally read Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. I now understand what all the award committees are raving about. This itty-bitty horror novella is freakin' terrifying! I may never sleep again.

Ring Shout is historical horror set in the early 1900s American South. It follows a team of monster hunters as they search for Ku Kluxes—monsters that disguise themselves as Klan members so they can kill humans. As the characters hunt for monsters, they get pulled deeper and deeper into a supernatural world.

The imagery will stay with me for a long time. It's vivid and graphic. A woman gets dissected alive! Then there's a butcher demon with tiny mouths all over his body. It's gross! I loved it, but its gross!

I like that the author takes real historical events and twists them into something paranormal. I also like that he finds the hopeful moments in tragedy. This is a horror story, but it's not a depressing story.

I think there are too many different types of supernatural creatures in the novella. The book is less than 200 pages. There's not a lot of space for worldbuilding. I sometimes got confused by all the different critters.

Read this book and meet your next nightmare.

Then I read Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys. I think Ruta Sepetys is a queen of historical fiction. How does she consistently find such interesting subjects to write about? She's amazing at immersing the reader in historical settings. I'm impressed.

Out Of The Easy is set in 1950s New Orleans (which you could probably tell by the title). It stars Josie, the 17-year-old daughter of a prostitute who is desperate to attend college. In her quest to get money and recommendation letters, she crosses paths with brothel owners and sleezy businessmen, mobsters and cops, cab drivers and booksellers, and a boy who has the potential to be more than a friend. She even becomes a suspect in a murder case.

I like how compassionate the author is toward the characters she writes about. When you're examining the underbelly of a city, you're going to uncover some dark things. The author shows the good and the bad side of her characters, especially the prostitutes. The women at the brothel are a family to Josie. They're just as dysfunctional as any family. The women don't love being prostitutes, but they're strong and funny and are doing whatever it takes to survive.

The characters are where this book shines. I was completely invested in their lives. If you like character-driven historical fiction, then I think you should pick up this book and meet Josie.

Then I read The Death Of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi. It's a literary murder mystery set in Nigeria. Two parents hear a noise outside their house. When they open the door, they discover the dead body of their adult son. He has a head wound, and his clothes and jewelry are missing. The parents suspect that their son's friends may be keeping secrets about his murder.

Since this is literary fiction, it's slower paced than most murder mysteries, but that didn't bother me. I love a character-driven story. It's about parenthood and how it's impossible to completely know somebody, even if that somebody is your own son. Vivek had a whole life that his parents didn't know about until after his death. This is a book about grief and accepting your child's choices.

The Death Of Vivek Oji isn't very long, but it has a lot of characters. On one hand, that's awesome because the reader gets a sense of the community and their culture and values. On the other hand, I couldn't remember how the characters are connected. I think that's my only complaint.

No, wait, I have another one. There's a scene where a ghost watches people having sex. That's nasty.

Okay, aside from the ghost inviting itself to sexy times, I liked the book. I think it has a good message about how love and acceptance can prevent tragedy.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy last week:

1. I hope everybody enjoys the Super Bowl. I don't care about football. I'm here for the snacks.
2. Thank you for looking at my post about reading 200 "Best Books Of 2022" lists. That one took a lot of research.
3. The new season of YOU is on Netflix! I haven't watched it yet, but I'm a bit obsessed with the series. I even made a blog post about it last year. I need everybody to leave me alone so I can watch it.
4. The new season of South Park started too. When am I going to have time to watch all this TV?
5. Remember last Sunday when I was proud of myself for not buying any books in the past 6 months? Well, I messed it up. I bought a book last week. It was for a good reason! There's a new book club in my town, and I want to join. I sacrificed my book buying ban so I can have friends.

My Mom Thinks I'm Cool

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Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!