Currently Reading

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Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson - Christine wakes up every morning not knowing her age, her occupation, the accident that befell her.  Every day, she must start over, re-learning her life.  Her husband has posted photos on the bathroom mirror to remind her.  Every day is the same.  She can make no new memories and cannot remember much of anything past her childhood.  A psychiatrist reaches out to her, tells her they've been working together, and to look in her closet for the journal she's been keeping.  This is the beginning of the secret life she starts, away from her husband.  Each day, she reads the journal to understand who she is and what is happening to her.  I'm bored just writing this.  The story had a good premise, but dragged on and on.  Christine's amnesia seemed like a convenient plot point, one that became increasingly frustrating.  Don't bother with this one.

Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer - In the third and final book of the Southern Reach trilogy, Ghost Bird and Control have made their way back to Area X.  I'm not sure what else to say about this other than it perfectly wrapped up the series for me.  The flashbacks to the land pre-Area X were wonderfully written and while the mystery was somewhat solved, there still remain questions that I'm perfectly happy were left ambiguous.  This trilogy was unlike anything else I've read and that is a very good thing.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe - Will's mother, Mary Anne, is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only has a short amount of time left to live.  A strong, fierce personality, Mary Anne wants to live out her remaining days as she always has lived - helping people, traveling, and reading.  Will and Mary Anne start a book club of sorts, which becomes a topic they can always turn to even when things begin to deteriorate.  It's a beautiful concept (and story) and something that made me both happy and sad because I wished that my dad and I could have done something similar.  

We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory - Five survivors of some sort join a support group at the urging of a psychotherapist.  What are they survivors of?  Monsters, beasts, and other unthinkable, unspeakable things.  The rest of the world hasn't believed their stories, but when they come together, a type of healing begins.  They learn from each other, share their individuals horrors, and eventually work together to save one of their own.  A fun, well-paced, smartly-written story.