Hi everyone! I’m back!!!

First off, I’m really thankful for saved passwords. I realized today that I haven’t written in over two years. Admittedly, it’s been a busy two years; life sometimes gets in the way, and, until recently, I been neglecting my library (both public and person). But that’s for another day…. the point is, after a long furlough, I’ve managed to cannonball myself back into my favorite hobby just in time for No Tele August, my yearly television fast.

No Tele August started last summer when I found myself in a rut with television shows. I just kept watching the same things over and over again. Feeling in a funk, I made the decision to turn off the tele and have a month of doing other things: reading, yarn crafts, maybe even a jigsaw puzzle (spoiler alert, I never finished – puzzles + cats = “where’d that piece go?”). I think I knocked out three chucky Steven King books then (Under the Dome, 11/22/63, and most of It). It was a good month, and when August 2019 rolled around, I decided to try it again.

And this time was even better…

The month began with Dewey’s Reverse Readathon, which was an absolutely perfect way to jumpstart No Tele August. I managed to finish Bee Season, which I’d been working on here and there for a while, started Neverwhere on audio, and got in Race Me in a Lobster Suit at the end for a quick finisher. I still have a lot of thoughts about Bee Season, which may warrant a separate post, but Gaiman was delightfully dark per usual and Race Me gave me some hearty chuckles. But that was just the beginning.

Here’s a rundown of the severn remaining #noteleaug reads in micro reviews:

The Magicians/The Magician King. This was a pseudo recommendation from the BF, who loves the show but hasn’t read the books. The best way to describe this trilogy thus far is a overt ripoff of The Chronicles of Narnia with sex, drugs, and pretentious young adults. I had difficulty sympathizing with any of the characters, and mainly I plugged through (and continue to do so in the last installation) because I wanted all my questions answered. Here’s hoping Syfy’s interpretations morphs the characters into likable subjects.

Harry Potter and the Prison of Azkaban (read by Stephen Fry). This was an “I’m too sick to listen to something new” pick during the part of August where I thought I was going to die (yay for summer colds and hyperbole!). I love love love this book, and I love having Stephen Fry read me to sleep.

Hope Never Dies. This is the first installation in Andrew Shaffer’s Obama Biden Mysteries. The tale is told from the point of view of Joe Biden, and it does not disappoint. There was a nice combo of silly bromance moments, heartfelt moments, a few damned good stabs at elected officials on both sides of the isle, and even reference to the lizard people (SN: I happen to know someone who truly believes in that theory…).

Hope Never Dies probably ranks as my favorite read of the month, and I will pick up the latest installation, Hope Rides On.

Whittington. This is a cute middle grade novel that randomly showed up in my house. None of the kids laid claim, so I’m guessing God blessed this crazy cat lady with a story about a cat and his barnyard friends. It was adorable and sweet, with positive messages and little sad moments that stories such as these cannot avoid. Very cute random read. Yay for kitties all around.

The Bookshop of Yesterdays. This was my least favorite, hands down. I bought this book on a whim because I liked the cover and I like books about books. It, however, turned out to be more of a family drama co-starring a bookstore. Once again I was bored and irritated with the pretentious characters who were all selfish and “woe is me” types. If I hadn’t paid money to purchase this one, I would have DNF’d.

The Rules of Lying. This book was written by a local author. I picked up the first two parts of the series last year at Pensacon. I hate to admit I’m always a little leery when it comes to local, self-published books, but I was pleasantly surprised, and it definitely ranked high in this month’s selections. My biggest critique was that, at times, I lost the sense of the time period; the language and character interactions felt out of place for the 1930s. Otherwise, a fun read. I have Book 2 on my TBR.

No Tele August was a fantastic success and a wonderful retreat into reading. Without a doubt I plan to make this a tradition (y’all are always welcome to join). Truth be told I haven’t really resuming any viewing habits. I just don’t miss it… and there’s this little thing called RIP XIV to keep me armpit deep in my TBR pile.

Any takers for next year?????