Eleven Eleven

Maybe I'll set this post to publish at 11:11pm. You know what's weird? People post on the socials that it's 11:11 or 12:34 on the clock or whatever number combo makes them feel the woo-woo, and then of course when you read it, it's no longer that time. I'm like, OK, thanks for sharing that it was 4:44 today because otherwise I wouldn't have known that. Right? I mean, for all I know we could have skipped 4:44 when I wasn't paying attention, but now I know, yup, it was there.

Welp, there are all sorts of things I find confusing about other people, especially on social media. There are those who constantly link to news articles, as if we couldn't find CNN by ourselves. Others insist on regaling us with banalities, such as, "My dog is licking my foot." Then there are those who repost every random memory, as if anyone cares that a year ago they had a great Wordle score. Oh wait, that was me, my bad. 

The worst thing lately though is the constant moaning about the election. I get that people are upset ~ I am upset too ~ but I don't understand why we have to immerse ourselves in gloom and doom 24/7. How does that help anything? Perhaps it does help some people to share the memes and feel like they have support from their friends when they announce for the nth time that the world is going to end over this. It gets me too down though, so I have to step out of it. I have to find things to bring me joy, little things, reading a good book, doing a craft, eating a cupcake (actually, I haven't had a cupcake for quite a while ~ note to self: the gingerbread and coquito flash flavors will be available at Sprinkles in December). Just holding my kitty Gatsby, all warm and purring, when I know we have limited time left due to his CKD, is a small, good thing.

This weekend I read Listen for the Lie by Amy Tinterra. At first, I hated it and didn't want to finish, but it's one of the books I committed to for my new online book club, so I felt motivated to continue. LFTL did get better, so I was glad I persevered. I gave it three stars, which is not a bad review ~ it means I liked the book but didn't love it. I've never said this before (that I can recall), but I think this story would work better as a movie! 

So, we have the protagonist Lucy who can't remember if she murdered her best friend Savvy or not, plus a whole bunch of suspicious characters we can't trust, including Lucy's parents who aren't very nice to her. The narrative is first person, but it's broken up with a “true crime” podcast from Ben, who becomes a significant character. I initially hated the podcast because I couldn't keep track of all the characters, but the motif grew on me. Audiobook listeners report that the podcast is done very well there, which makes sense, though I prefer to read with my eyeballs until they fall out. Lucy is haunted by Savvy's voice (not supernaturally, just from her own head injury), which is another reason why the story is more suited to the screen. Instead of reading Savvy's lines in italics, it would be more impactful to hear them disembodied as Lucy is trying to navigate her life with amnesia. I disliked the ending, but I don't want to give it away. Suffice to say, endings in a mystery need to be earned, and this one was not.

I have two more books to read for this book club's November selection and one for my in-person book club for December, so I am ahead of schedule, woohoo! I also bought a series of four twisted fairy tales, which look like fun, so I want to gobble those up soon too.