3 Books That Defied My Reading Slump

My blogging absence has sort of felt like the elephant in the room - for me at least. Blogging was a big part of my life, so I admit that it does feel strange not to be doing it on a regular basis. The reality is that reading has been very difficult for me for almost a year now. Maybe I'll get into that more another time. While my reading has slowed to a mere fraction of what it was before, that doesn't mean that I've stopped reading entirely. Every once in a while there is a book that brings back that excitement about reading that I've missed. Here are three of those books that I've read in the past couple months.

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
Publisher: Riverhead Books. January 2017.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: Library
Pages: 192



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Holy shit, this is my kind of book. If you like your literature short, tense, and deeply unsettling, Fever Dream is an absolute must read. The whole (tiny) book is a conversation between main character, Amanda, and a mysterious little boy named David. She is in a hospital. It's not clear why. David asks her to recall what happened that got her there from the very beginning, fixating on small details here and there. Once I picked this book up, there was no chance that I was going to put it down. They talk about children, worms, motherhood, dying horses, pollution, fate, weird spirit stuff, etc. It is all the scariest. Nothing explicitly horror-y happens, but the dread throughout is so so real. And some seriously weird shit goes down... or does it?? This book feels like a dream for sure, and it will not disappoint you. Highly recommended for fans of Helen Phillips, Clarice Lispector (sort of, in her very close focus & claustrophobic writing), or Jesse Ball. So beautiful! So amazing! Read it and be astounded by Schweblin's clarity of voice and vision in her murky and hypnotizing story.

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel
Publisher: Del Rey. April 2017.
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Publisher
Pages: 325



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Last year I read a book called Sleeping Giants, which was a glorious combination of Ancient Aliens and Pacific Rim in a a super fun and easy to read interview style. I had some problems with flat characters in the first book, but the sequel, which came out this year, really blew me away. It was action packed, the characters felt less forced and more confidently written, and it was an incredibly quick read. We also got to learn more about the nameless narrator who I thought was kind of cheesy as an idea in the first book. He's just like your general nameless spy dude who seems to have his fingers in every governmental activity (classified or otherwise). Part of me sort of didn't want any actual background, but I ended up really enjoying what we got. This book did not pull any punches AT ALL and it kept surprising me throughout. It is a great read, and it's worth checking out the first book to get here.

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrea Burnet
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing. October 2016.
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Library
Pages: 300



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I've definitely been on a true crime kick these past couple months, and it was a delight to experience this fiction book that reads like bonafide true crime. His Bloody Project was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize in 2016, which I find to be a super interesting, and well deserved, pick. In it, we have a series of documents that all pertain to the case of Roderick Macrea killing a family in his village. There are neighbors' accounts, his own personal written account, and a transcript of the trial - all of which are biased. Roderick Macrae is such a fascinating guy to be in the head of - and to see from the outside after you know what's going on in his head. It's not a book where you come away knowing exactly what happened at the end of it. It's one that you'll keep thinking about, trying to puzzle out the details and decide who exactly to believe. Burnet places some amazing little hints throughout the book that close readers and true crime fans will be delighted by.

What books have helped you during a reading slump?

The Determined Heart by Antoinette May + Giveaway

The Determined Heart by Antoinette May
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing.
September 2015.
Pages: 410
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: TLC Book Tours



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The Determined Heart reveals the life of Mary Shelley in a story of love and obsession, betrayal and redemption.

The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love, and they elope with disastrous consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next several years, Mary struggles to write while she and Percy face ostracism, constant debt, and the heartbreaking deaths of three children. Ultimately, she achieves great acclaim for Frankenstein, but at what cost? - Goodreads

Mary Wollstonecraft is my GIRL. If you haven't read A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, you need to get on that immediately. Her daughter, Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein is also a badass. Which is why I really wanted to read this fictionalized account of Shelley's life, despite not normally being a historical fiction reader. Despite being a fan of her mom, I really didn't know much about Mary Jr.'s life apart from a little of her affair/marriage with Percy Shelley. But I learned a lot from this book.

Mary Shelley's is a tragic tale, rife with heartbreak and complicated relationships. Her homeboy/lover Percy was basically the biggest player of all time (if we ignore Lord Byron for a minute). He'd be writing her poetry one minute and the next he was knocking up her stepsister. RUDE. But he was really into free love, because he's a poet, so she sort of knew what she was signing up for when she ran away with him at age 16 (did I mention he was married to someone else at the time?). Throughout their crazy life and travels together, things keep getting worse for Mary. She has a horrible stepmother, most of her children die, etc. It was devastating to watch her go through all of this, but it was also fascinating to see what shaped her character and her writing.

All in all, this was an alright read, because I was interested in the subject at hand. But the book definitely felt longer than it needed to be. I thoroughly hated all of the characters (which is probably due to them being historically bad/annoying individuals). Sometimes the references to things that would influence Mary Shelley's idea for Frankenstein felt a little heavy handed, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Neither the writing nor the plot blew me away. Also, the gang kept finding chateaus to rent within a couple days of arriving in a new country despite being broke, improper poets, which made me furious on a very personal level. I guess I was born at the wrong time. I'll try not to take that out on the book.

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Thanks to TLC Book Tours for giving me a copy of The Determined Heart in exchange for an honest review. Check out the other stops on the tour for more opinions and chances to win a copy here!