Books on the Bus

Hey Friends,

So I’m not if there is anybody out there who actually follows my blog posts, but if you do then you’ll know that I have been a little radio silent over November. Sorry about that, November was most likely the busiest month in my recent life and I swear it went by in about two days.

Anyway, I’ll be a lot more present now, as I only have one final left before Christmas break. To get back into the swing of blogging I thought it would be nice to just make a simple post this week.

Whenever I did have a little bit of time this semester that wasn’t spent stressing about an essay or having multiple mid-terms on one day, I could be found reading. Generally this was only when riding the bus to and from campus, but hey, I would take what I could get.

I like to think that I read a lot, but the last few months has been hard, there was just no time, so my listing since around October is a whopping six books (wow don’t go too crazy there). I know for some people six may be quite a few, if you don’t tend to read all that much, but to me, the pile of my book shelf looks a little sad right now.

Either way, I’ve decided to go through some of the latest books that I have loved, just in case you are looking for something to read with all the free time you are about to have over break.

1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Okay so I have never cried while reading a book. I don’t really like to think of myself who cries overly often, but I was full on ugly crying reading the last few chapters of this.

I believe that A Monster Calls may actually be considered a Young Adult book, but PLEASE don’t let that deter you. A friend recommended it to me months ago, and it took me a long time to get around to reading it, but thank goodness I finally did.

It is such a beautiful book, with such simple writing, but trust me, the end really gets you. Also, it has recently been made into a movie, so you can see it come to life after you read it. Here’s the little back cover piece,

“The monster has come calling for Conor, and it wants the most dangerous thing of all:
It wants the truth.”

2. Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw

This is one of the more recent books that I have read, and it was literally everything that I am usually drawn towards when it comes to books.

I originally picked it up because it has a red, black, and white cover, which is a colour scheme that I seem to be buying a lot recently, but looking past that, I also love the storyline obviously.

It just sounded so ridiculous, but it actually turned out to be a really fun read. Please hold for the back excerpt.

“Dr. Greta Helsing has inherited the family’s highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. She treats the undead for a host of ills – vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. It’s a quiet supernatural-adjacent life, until a sect of murderous monks emerges. As terror takes hold of London, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice.”

3. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

This book just came out, and I had to borrow it from a friend who had it because I love the psychedelic colours of the cover. When you read the inside cover if sounds VERY reminiscent of the old Scooby Doo cartoons, but in a grown up way.

This book is like Scooby Doo for adults, much darker undertone, but still a great story. The back piece is really long, so I’m not going to write out the whole thing, but here’s a little bit,

“The summer of 1977. The Blyton Summer Detective Club solved their final mystery and unmasked the elusive Sleepy Lake monster — another low life fortune hunter trying to get his dirty hands on the legendary riches hidden in Deboen Mansion. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids. 

1990. The former detectives have grown up and apart, each haunted by disturbing memories of their final night in the old haunted house.”

4. Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

Okay last book. I’m still reading this one, so I can’t really say if I am going to love it at the end, but so far so good.

It’s actually a collection of ten short stories all by the same author. The stories aren’t super long, each is about forty pages, but long enough that it actually feels like you’re reading a mini book, not just a little piece on a single page.

Each story has an element of something strange and you are always kind of wondering what is going to happen until the last minute. They’re fabulous. Because it is a collection of short stories there is no story excerpt on the back, instead, it says this,

“This book contains: A phone booth in Las Vegas, Aliens, Unhelpful wizards, Possibly carnivorous sofas, A handbag with a village inside it, Tennessee Fainting Goats, Dueling librarians, A statue of George Washington, A boy named Onion, Pirates, An undead babysitter, A nationally ranked soccer player, Evil Cinderella, Shapeshifters, An unexpected campfire guest.”

I find that because the books and journals I read for school are so stoic and serious, when I get to choose what I read, I always go for something a little more fantastic, compared to realistic. If that sounds like you, give these a shot, if it doesn’t, then comment below and give me a recommendation!

Also all photos are from Goodreads.