Sunday, February 12, 2023

The Sunday Post #325

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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 ReviewerReaderbuzz, and Book Date.




The Sunday Post #325





On The Blog Recently






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










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






31 comments:

  1. I loved Out of the Easy. I have loved all of the books I have read by Septys although I haven't read any for a bit. The Death of Vivek Oji sounds really interesting as well, minus the ghost peeping tom.

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  2. I think it's okay to set aside a book buying ban in order to be part of a book club. Totally acceptable.

    Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys? I didn't realize Sepetys has books I haven't read. I think I need to see what else she has written.

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  3. I don't think I have ever heard a bad thing about a Sepetys book. Historicals are not my thing, but she does seem to find intriguing events to write about. Buying one book in six months is pretty amazing. I hope it's a good one and that book club makes it worth breaking your ban.

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  4. Out of the Easy made my list - I like historical fiction and am always happy to find one recommended that isn't in WWII. Good brief but complete reviews! Thanks for the visit.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

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  5. Ooh, enjoy the book club! Are you reading something fun? I enjoyed the one Sepetys book I read, I need to read more.

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  6. I adored Out of the Easy too! And I think many will indeed watch the Superbowl today!

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  7. I really need to get to Ruth Sepetys. All of her books sound intriguing and I have read such good things about them. I have not yet read your post about reading 200 Best Books of 2022 lists, but I'm heading there now. Have a great week!

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  8. "Out of the. Easy" sounds good. It is hard for a young adult to break out of such a life. "Ring Shout" doesn't sound like something I'd read, but I'm still intrigued. Enjoy the snacks.

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  9. 6 months without being a book, IMPRESSIVE! Breaking the ban to only buy one book, also very impressive!! I agree with Deb, buying a book for a book club is acceptable :) Enjoy it! And, I hope you make friends in the book club.

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  10. I do like scary books, but Ring Shout might even be too much for me. I'm not a football fan either but we usually have the game on while I'm on the computer not paying attention. I watched the first couple of episodes of You. I liked it, but never went back to it. I don't know why. I guess I just got caught up in watching too many things. Hope you have a great week!

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  11. I'm here for the snacks too. In fact I'm snacking now lol. And ooh a book club!

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  12. I'm also about the snacks. Maybe your book club will have snacks too. :)

    Anne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post

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  13. I don't pay attention to football either. I have a kid in little league, and that's enough sports for me!

    I loved Ring, Shout.

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  14. Ring Shout sounds intense. I'm here for the snacks too and the Puppybowl. I didn't know You was out with a new season! I have to watch that next.

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  15. I have seen so many great reviews of Ring Shout. I'm sure it deserves all the praise, but I just can't read it. I don't do horror, and I really don't do body horror. But I'm glad you liked the book.

    I used to be into football, but I grew disenchanted with it over the years for a lot of reasons. So I probably won't watch much of the Super Bowl this year.

    Joining a book club is a legitimate excuse for breaking your bookbuying ban. And I hope you make some wonderful bookish friends there!

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  16. Nice reviews!
    https://wordsandpeace.com/2023/02/12/sunday-post-78-02-12-2023/

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  17. No Super Bowl for us. My mom invited us over if we wanted to watch it or the commercials, but we opted to stay home and watch movies as we often do on Super Bowl Sunday. We don't follow football. I hadn't heard of Out of the Easy before and will have to check it out. The Death Of Vivek Oji is on my TBR shelf though and I hope to read it this year. I hope you have a great week!

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  18. The Death Of Vivek Oji is still on my tbr list, but your review made me chuckle! The Super Bowls is on here, but I'm not paying much attention...

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  19. Perfectly good reason to break your book buying ban. I am totally leaving that horror book off my shelf!!

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  20. Snacks and commercials are the best part of the super bowl! Have a great week.

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  21. I read The Death of Vivek Oji a few months ago for my book club a few months ago and enjoyed it, but I totally blacked out the ghostly sex-watching scene! Have a great week! - Melinda @ A Web of Stories

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  22. Six months without buying a book? You definitely deserve a new book as a reward.

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  23. Buying books for a book club is a good investment and doesn’t break any rules IMHO! I hope you enjoy book club and have a wonderful week ahead.

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  24. Breaking your ban for a good club is okay. I hope you enjoy the book and the club. Out of the Easy has been on my Kindle since 2016. Well, not this Kindle, but you know what I mean. I hope my life is long enough to read all the books on my Kindle. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  25. Life is about change, so ignoring your book ban is just fine with me. I'm off to check your 200 books post.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  26. That sounds like a good reason to abandon your book buying ban. Everyone needs friends! I'm only there for the snacks, too. And boy, did I snack. I need to not eat for a week. Ring Shout does sound pretty gruesome!

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  27. I haven't watched YOU yet, but you're the second person to mention it recently, so now I'm gonna have to.

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  28. I have Out of the Easy and The Death of Vivek Oji on my to read list. After reading your comments here I feel like I need to start them right now. The problem is that I already have books I must read first. Sigh.

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  29. I still need to read both Out of the Easy and Ring Shout. Great quick reviews on those! Love the Valentine's meme at the top. I did enjoy the Super Bowl this week since my team won, lol. Have a great week!

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  30. I think buying a book to gain friends is an excellent reason! Good on you!

    The Death of Vivek Oji and Out of the Easy are both fantastic books.

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  31. Now what was the book you bought? It sounds like it was for a good reason - I hope you enjoy the new book club in town.

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