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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 #336

On The Blog Recently

• Books I Recommended (And People Actually Bought)
• Gateway Books
• What Makes Me Read A Book?
• What Makes Me Avoid A Book?
• June 2023 Book Releases

In My Reading Life

I finished two books recently and didn't love either of them, so that's a bit disappointing.

I read Tales Of The City by Armistead Maupin. It's a modern classic that was first published as serialized stories in The San Francisco Chronicle in the 1970s. The interconnected stories follow a large group of friends, many of whom are LGBTQ.

I understand why this book is a modern classic. It's funny, quirky, and quick to read. It's also one of the first super-popular books that follow the adventures of young queer characters. These characters are all trying to build lives for themselves in San Francisco.

I think I read the book incorrectly. When I picked it up, I didn't know that it was originally written as a serial novel. Each chapter is only a page or two long, and the cast is massive. The author bounces around between a bunch of different characters and storylines. It's actually a lot like a soap opera because many of the chapters end with a big plot twist or reveal.

Maybe I would have liked the book better if I'd read it like a serial. Reading a chapter a day would have given me more time to digest each part. Instead, I plowed through it like a regular novel and found the quick pacing and constant plot twists tedious. It felt like I'd just spent days binge watching a complicated soap opera. Everything happens too quickly. Big problems are glossed over. I think this book melted my brain because I couldn't keep up.

Then I read The Price Guide To The Occult by Leslye Walton. I had high hopes for this one because I loved the author's first book. It was weird and magical. This book is also weird and magical, but I couldn't connect to the characters.

The Price Guide To The Occult is young adult fantasy and follows Nor, a teenage witch who lives on a bizarre island. Nor just wants a normal teenage life, but her mother is standing in her way. Her mother is power-hungry and practices dangerous black magic that could destroy the island. Can Nor learn to accept her own magical abilities and become powerful enough to stop her mother?

I love the atmosphere and setting. This is an eerie little book. It's like a dark fairytale full of whimsical characters.

I wish we had gotten to know those characters better. They have so much potential, but they're all so flat! I was never motivated to pick up the book because the characters don't feel real. I didn't care about their friendships or teenage love triangles. Then there's a weird epilogue that kills the magical vibes and seems to be setting up a sequel. We don't need a sequel! We need characters with unique personalities.

I wasn't a huge fan of this one. It's a typical YA paranormal fantasy. I guess I was hoping for more.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy recently:

1. If you're like me and enjoy watching the whole world's trashy reality TV, check out Siren: Survive The Island on Netflix. It's from Korea. If you played capture the flag as a kid, you'll probably like this extreme version of the game.
2. Speaking of survival, I survived Memorial Day weekend at the park. It was massively stressful, but nobody died. Working holidays is not for the weak.
3. Speaking of Memorial Day, my butt was on the news. My ass is famous! The line to get into the park was so long that a news truck showed up to film it. The news was filming me walking along that line, selling passes and directing traffic. The only shot of me that actually made the news was a split-second view of my butt in a neon green traffic vest. That's . . . wonderful.
4. I bought festive summer scrunchies for me and Baby Brooklyn.
5. If you want to participate in the Christmas in July gift exchange, sign-ups are now open. I always have way too much fun with these events. Please sign up.

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