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It's the final countdown! We're in the last quarter of the year. How did the previous quarter go for you? Did you do anything fun? Did you get a lot of reading done?

Let's talk about the best and worst books I've read in the past few months.

Quarter Year Reading Check In

Best Book I Read Last Quarter?

You Like It Darker by Stephen King. It's a collection of horror stories. I love it because most of the stories are pretty traditional horror tales. There are monsters and murders and everything you'd expect from horror. It's straight up, no frills dark.

I love that King was inspired by other horror writers. As someone who has read a lot of spooky stuff, it was fun to read King's twist on older stories. I was especially excited for "On Slide Inn Road" because I quickly figured out it was inspired by Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," which is one of my favorite horror stories ever. It was cool to see Stephen King's reinterpretation of it.

Worst Book I Read Last Quarter?

I didn't read any bad books! I enjoyed everything. I guess I was underwhelmed by The Last Season by Eric Blehm. It's a biography of a park ranger named Randy Morgenson. Randy was a backcountry ranger for 28 years. Then, one morning, he didn't answer his radio. Nobody could find him. He had just vanished into the wilderness. This book is about his life and the search for him after he disappeared.

I skimmed parts of the book because Randy was a writer, and Eric Blehm seems to be enamored with Randy's nature writing. I am far less enamored. Randy was a person who can use a ton of words to say nothing at all. Honestly, I got irritated.

New Release I Want To Read?

Since I mostly quit social media, I'm really bad at knowing about new releases. I don't follow authors anymore. I know I want to read Victorious by V.E. Schwab. I liked the first two books in the series and need to know how everything ends. It's a science fiction trilogy about people with superpowers who are trying to destroy each other.

Genres I Read The Most?

I think it's either nonfiction or literary fiction. This is always a hard question because I like books that mix genres.

Book That Surprised Me?

What Was She Thinking?: Notes On A Scandal by Zoë Heller. People rave about this novel, but I was skeptical because the plot sounds gross. I was happy to discover that the hype is real!

It's about two former teachers, Barbara and Sheba. Barbara is writing a book about Sheba's affair with a teenage student. I wasn't sure I'd like a novel about a pedophile because yuck, but I think the author handled the subject brilliantly. Every character is an awful human. It's a story about obsession, desperation, control, and loneliness.

Barbara is a complicated narrator. She's lonely, which makes her relatable, but her reaction to loneliness is unusual. She worms her way into Sheba's life and tries to make herself a main character in Sheba's story. It's uncomfortable to read, but you can't look away. You know this story is going to end badly for everybody.

Read it if you like complex characters.

Am I Succeeding At My Reading Goals?

Yes? And no? I set my Goodreads goal for the year at 9 books, and I've read way more than that. I'm succeeding!

I'm also failing because I'm reading too slowly. Right now, it takes me about two weeks to finish a book. I used to be able to finish a book every 2 or 3 days. My attention is too scattered at the moment. It's hard to focus.

Do you want to answer these questions on your blog? Go for it!