One of the reading adventures I took this year was trying out Aardvark, the book subscription service that offered rather more offbeat titles than the average book boxes out there.
As much as I enjoyed gathering up some new to me books and authors to engage with, my time with Aardvark had to come to an end due to the limits of my entertainment budget (we all know how the economy is these days..).
So, I was fine with that for the most part as I still had plenty of other affordable book buying options to work with. Yet, I did look in on their latest offerings every now and then, sighing longingly at times. It was nice while it lasted or so I thought!
Thanks to a very tiny windfall that covered the price of a one month gift subscription to Aardvark , my new box of September/October books are on the way!
My must-have title was Chuck Tingle’s Lucky Day, which happens to be a special edition, which looks at the seemingly randomness of the universe and just how random is it? When former statistics professor Vera is recruited by a special government agent to investigate the against the odds success of a certain casino, the stakes for her are quite personal.
The source of the casino’s luck can be traced to a bizarre event four years prior that caused multiple deaths in rather improbable ways(being attacked by a monkey using a typewriter for example and Vera’s mother was one of those casualties.
Her faith in her field of interest shattered, Vera was feeling useless until Special Agent Layne arrived. Given the chance to find out what really happened , along with possibly preventing another such occurrence from destroying more lives, she’s ready to resharpen her skills but can she truly play the game to win?
Tingle’s take on story telling is engagingly strange and emotionally touching, quite the fictional combination to be sure. However, like a top chef, Tingle blends those offbeat flavors into a satisfying plate of page turning delight:
I paired that with Mate, Ali Hazelwood’s follow-up to Bride, that has another paranormal romance in store for some supporting players from the previous novel.
Serena Paris is the first of her kind, a hybrid of human and were. With one foot in each realm and yet not being accepted by either side, her safety is at risk from more than one quarter.
Her best chance for survival is Koen Alexander, a powerful Alpha leader amongst the Weres whose authority is never questioned. Being his mate is an instant guarantee of protection yet the real risks here may be if the heart for them both.
I did like Bride, which I read earlier this year, and while my story telling tastes tend to favor vampires in this category, some heartfelt howling at the moon just feels so right to me these days:
To round things up, my choice was a magical romcom, Witch You Would by Lia Amador.
Penelope is hoping to make her dreams come true by taking part in a spell casting competition show with a huge cash prize at stake and a celebrity partner to boot,
Said partner is Leandro, a viral video magician whose gimmicky tricks may not be enough to get the win. As it happens, Leandro is actually Gil, Penelope’s secret pen pal who took on this goofy online persona in order to raise money to save the charity his grandfather created. Can the two of them cast the ultimate spell for love and victory in more ways than one?
This sounds like fabulous fun and I might even add this magical treat to my Cozy November challenge, we shall see:
With any luck, the Aardvark box should be here by Halloween, giving me the best grown up treat in time for the holiday. Believe you me, I could a little pick me up right about now.
Look, I do know that there are more pressing concerns when it comes to money at the moment and I seriously want to see those we put in charge of such things get their act together and work together to make life better for all concerned.
I do consider myself to be very fortunate in my situation with my loved ones that getting some new books is still a viable option yet it’s also important to realize that this is not even a practical concern for most people here. I want so much for folks to feel safe and secure in their lives when it comes to basic needs and rights and shame on those who are eager to rob them of that.
Taking this opportunity for some extra literary bliss is emotionally healthy for me as the state of the world is scarier than any horror movie marathon playing this Halloween week. Mental health refreshers are important to keep our spirits up and give us the fortitude to fight the good fight as best we can.
So, if you have a moment to yourself (or just make one a priority), eat that treat, watch that silly show or grab a hold of a good book to put your worries away for just a little while. Do what you are able to do for others but don’t neglect yourself in the process.
Also, as a fan of autumn vibes, this book box couldn’t arrive at a more perfect time. With the weather finally getting colder and the leaves on the verge of bursting into seasonal colors, curling up under warm blanket with one or two these Aardvark reads while rewatching Gilmore Girls is a simple joy to be sipped and savored as a cup of hot cocoa indeed:
I know that Halloween is only a couple of weeks away and my current holiday themed readathon is going pretty good at the moment-finished one book, in the middle of another and might swap out the third-yet, it doesn’t feel too soon to make bookish plans for next month.
So, I decided to challenge myself to Cozy November , in which I pick a trio of books off my TBR that are definitely on the lighter side of their respective genres to indulge in. A perfect excuse to settle down under a warm blanket and sip an equally warm drink as the pages turn.
To start this off right, A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna is my first pick. Our leading lady is Sera Swan, who has lost most of her powers due to a spell that brought her great Aunt Jasmine back from the beyond.
Having been shut out of her guild, Sera now runs an inn with her aunt and a talking fox with dubious motives. When moody magical historian Luke Larsen arrives in town in need of a room, Sera’s inn is not only available but in need of his vast knowledge that could restore her powers completely.
Will Luke help her or is Sera simply stuck between the realms of mortals and magicians for all time? Plus, can a little love make things right for them both?
I did enjoy Mandanna’s earlier novel(The Secret Society of Irregular Witches) very much and this new book promises to be as enchanting as that one, perhaps even more. At the very least, this should be a spell binding slow burn of a story fit for the fall season:
Speaking of stories, my next choice for this challenge is Poppy Alexander’s The Battle of the Bookshops, set in a quaint seaside village in England, where Jules Capelthorne returns home to in order save her family’s nearly century old bookshop.
Competition has arrived in the form of Roman Montbeaus, who has opened a rival bookstore right across from Capelthorne’s Books and is determined to keep the long tradition of their mutual families’ rivalry going strong. With sales down and the lease about to be called up, can Jules save the beloved business and maybe find some true love in the bargain?
The Romeo and Juliet vibes mixed in with small town sweetness are very appealing here, plus a bookseller themed showdown is true catnip to a fan of You’ve Got Mail like me:
Last yet far from least, Every Time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies, the first in a new series by Catherine Mack, seems like a fitting finale read to me.
When Eleanor Dash reaches Italy on her latest book tour for her successful murder mystery novels, she finds herself in the midst of a perilous plot against her former collaborator Connor, whose claims of someone out to kill him may be all too true.
Granted, she was planning to do away with his fictional counterpart in her books but killing him off outside of that seems a bit too much! With numerous suspects on hand and among her friends and fans as well, will Eleanor be able to keep the real life version of her popular hero safe and sound for the next chapter of their lives?
The concept sounds fun and I have heard good word of mouth about this quirky mystery machine. Plus, I could use a fresh take on this particular genre , which feels so fall friendly indeed:
With my reading stack at the ready, my Cozy November will begin on the first of the month and hopefully get me through Thanksgiving as well as Black Friday to boot. If anyone out there likes this idea and wants to take it up on their own or with other reading buddies, please feel free to do so.
Part of my reason for doing this is to celebrate what I consider the apex of autumn; the Thanksgiving season that, despite its problematic origins, still holds a special charm for me.
Call it nostalgia if you will but the general notion of people gathering together for a nice meal with friends and family of all sorts to celebrate what good things in life they do have to share to me is just a sweet and simple tradition that is worth upholding. Especially during these chaotic times that we’re collectively dealing with, perhaps a time out such as this might be helpful towards figuring out how best to face what lies ahead and figure out what to do next.
Also, I’m on a bit of a Gilmore Girls kick at the moment and we can all agree that that show has a serious pop culture lockdown on those fabulous fall feelings there. Not to mention that Luke and Lorelai are the OG of the Grumpy/Sunshine sub genre of romance for sure! All good reasons to read some cozy goodness, if you ask me:
One pop culture crop that always is ready for harvest this time of year are literary adaptations at the movies. Particularly since award season is not too far off there…
Yet my film focus for today is on those current and upcoming movies that take some creative chances with the source material.
To start, let’s look at Frankenstein , Guillermo Del Toro’s latest movie that will be available for streaming this No and is arriving in theaters this very week. Oscar Issac plays the well known creator of the creature (Jacob Elordi), shunned by society and rejected by the one that made him even before the death toll begins.
Critical praise for the film has been strong and given not only the magnificent visuals that Del Toro is renowned for but the screenplay that he also wrote showcases the creature in a more sympathetic light(another hallmark of his work), this new production of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel should be a fresh vision that honors the original story beautifully:
Also in November is The Running Man , based on one of Stephen King’s Richard Bachman books, which is technically a remake yet not at all.
Instead of following the formula of the earlier Arnold Schwarzenegger action film version, director/co-screenwriter Edgar Wright takes the story straight from the book itself.
Here, Ben Richards(Glen Powell) signs up for the futuristic reality show that hunts him down within the larger population in order to pay for his child’s medical bills.
The popular show, gleefully run by producer Dan Killian(Josh Brolin) and hosted by Bobby Thompson (Coleman Domingo), encourages regular people to assist the Hunters and claim some rewards of their own but as Ben continues to defy the odds, more and more folks are betting against the house and rooting for a potentially ground shifting winner this time around.
As entertaining as the 1987 movie adaptation was, this one should blow the roof off of that film in more ways than one. Seeing this as well as The Long Walk(which had it’s first adaptation released over the summer) be made available to wider audiences promises to widen the circle of Richard Bachman readers as well:
However, if you want to see a movie right now that takes it’s cues from the literary realm, then I highly recommend One Battle After Another.
This latest work by Paul Thomas Anderson is said to be inspired by iconoclastic writer Thomas Pynchon’s book Vineland and granted, this is an author whose works I find much too daunting to dive into yet PTA does capture the flavor of that style of writing quite nicely.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob aka Pat Calhoun, a former revolutionary turned stoner slacker dad to daughter Willa(Chase Infiniti), who have been on their own since the disappearance of his romantic partner and Willa’s mother Perfidia Beverley Hills(Teyana Taylor).
When a past enemy, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), decides to use what powers are available to him to track Bob and Willa down for his own personal purposes, that awkward existence quickly changes for parent and child, taking them and anyone who joins them along the way on a long, strange journey that’s hard to predict how it ends.
I saw this movie over the past weekend and it is quite the wild ride indeed. Yes, it’s long(about two and an half hours) but never boring. Instead, this story is a heady mix of humor, tension and emotional drama blended with some sharp edged social satire that strongly resonates with today’s headlines. I don’t want to get into too much detail here but this is a movie that very much ,like a good book, sucks you into the world it’s created and doesn’t let go for a second.
While OBAA is more of an “inspired by” than a direct adaptation of Vineland, PTA is a major fan of Thomas Pynchon and has made a movie based on that writer’s work before(Inherent Vice in 2014) yet it received a mixed reception at best. Perhaps it was by being a bit more free and easy with this particular story that helped him showcase why Pynchon is one of his all time favorites.
The performances are amazingly great, the look of the film(made in old school Vista Vision) is captivating and even if you haven’t read or heard of Pynchon, director/co-writer PTA gives you a very good idea of what that author’s writing is like and why it’s one of his artistic inspirations to this day:
Interesting how all three of these adaptations have their directors take part in writing the screenplays as well. Guess it really can be a bonus to have a visual creator be able to see and feel the depths of the tale he or she is translating from one medium to another there.
That trend seems to be continuing into next year as actress Maggie Gyllenhaal gives us The Bride! in March of 2026. This new twist on The Bride of Frankenstein is set in Chicago during the 1930s with Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale as an undead Bonnie and Clyde.
This is Gyllenhaal’s second film as a writer/director and certainly one to watch out for. Whether it makes its mark as a new cult classic or simply inspires an eyebrow raise or two, such chances taken are what the best movies and books are all about. At the very least, all roads here will lead back to the book, the truly desired result of them all:
I know that October is supposed to be all about scary books(enjoying my current readathon read as we speak) for Halloween but my grown-up version of trick or treat this month includes getting my Book Boss prize from Book of the Month Club(it’s a book sleeve, my very first one!) and a couple of books with blue tinged covers to match.
For my main selection, The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss , her debut novel,seemed like the perfect ticket.
Engaged couple Ellie and Drake feel as if their new life together is getting off to a great start yet that notion is challenged by an unusual film festival. Upon discovering the movie theater of the title, they are given 10 passes to a ten part film series called The Story of You, which is literally about their past memories.
Drake is rather freaked out by this but Ellie is not as much ,despite having a tragic time in her past that she hasn’t yet shared with him. Can they face their mutual fears in this unique movie viewing experience and be willing to step into the sequel of the rest of their lives together? Or is this cinematic adventure a one and done deal?
I do love a story with a movie themed plot and this story does sound charmingly refreshing. Plus, debut novels do have that inviting flavor of buttery newness like a fresh bucket of popcorn at a weekend matinee so this was a hard to resist choice for me:
For my add on , I went with Hayley Gelfuso’s The Book of Lost Hours that has more that one point in time for it’s characters to explore.
We start with Lisavet, who has been living in a special time space library since 1938 , making it her duty to protect the books that store precious memories of those departed within them from those seeking to rewrite history.
When an American agent named Ernest enters the library in 1949, at first Lisavet is curious about the world she had to leave behind. Yet, once she learns the true nature of his mission, hard choices that could change more than just the time line must be made.
Ernest’s quest is then followed up by his niece Amelia in 1965, with the assistance of a CIA operative with mysterious motives. While Amelia has an innate ability to travel between worlds, her special skills can’t fully prepare for what’s to come.
This novel is also a debut and a Good Morning America book pick to boot. Word of mouth has been good for this heartfelt tale of time , love and what our connections to the world are through each of those doors:
As it turns out, one of my recent library loans also has a blue hued cover and a story line with magical elements as well. Blue is not usually my go-to on the color wheel (that would be purple) but something about that shade is drawing me to certain books right now.
One of the big differences here is that my library book is not a debut; The Glass Maker is Tracy Chevalier’s eleventh novel and while it begins in the fifteenth century, it’s leading lady thrives all the way into our present day world.
Orsola grew up in a family of glass makers from the island village of Milano near Venice, Italy, wanting nothing than to be one of the best in that practical art. Such a dream was not encouraged for a woman in those days yet she still persisted in achieving it.
Through leaps in time, we see Orsola guide her family through the struggles of historical events such as world wars, technological innovations and plagues , all the while pursuing the wonders of glassworks even when such creativity is not as valued as it once was.
Chevalier is quite the literary maestra when it comes to historical fiction and thus touch of magical realism into this well crafted book seems to give it that extra special sparkle that many a glass blown creation encases in abundance:
So, in a weird way I’m feeling a bit blue about my new reads but in this case, that is not a bad thing. With all of the chaos swirling around us these days, finding a safe harbor in some good books is a great place to start clearing our hearts and minds of the distracting clutter out there.
Plus, sometimes, it’s fun to be “blue”, particularly when books are the reason for keeping a good thought or song in your head:
