Oh, hallelujah, this year is almost over. It’s not that it was the worst year but it certainly wasn’t great. And as for 2022, I’m really just hoping for adequate because I like to have high standards.

I did manage to meet my Goodreads goal, which in actuality means nothing since it’s a completely arbitrary number I pick but still, good for me I guess. As for next year, I’m thinking I want to take a break from tracking on Goodreads but I’m not sure what else to do except with pen and paper. Maybe a list on my Notes app? That might work. Any other suggestions?

Anyway, while we’re all pondering how to break my dependency on Goodreads, let’s use it to remember what I read last month (I realize this is not making a good case to stop using it). I think there were seven books. Some were good, some were fine, none were awful, and one I paused because of a library avalanche I am still sorting through.

Godspeed by Nickolas Butler. Well. This book started off REALLY strong and then took a sharp turn into what the fuck am I reading. I didn’t so much hate where it went as I was utterly confused and while I rolled with it, it still wasn’t as good as I had hoped. He is a great writer, though, even if his stories are somewhat questionable.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth. Read most of this on a plane to and from Denver and that’s precisely the kind of book this is. Great travel companion. I’m still a little puzzled by the ending but I didn’t mind reading this murdery family drama. I think it might have been a NetGalley book but I’m starting to think that’s another habit I should just quit in 2022.

We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops and Corruption in an American City by Justin Fenton. If you liked The Wire, read this book because it reads like a season of that show brought to life. Which is appropriate as they’re both set in Baltimore. I digress. It was actually a fascinating read but not shocking, especially if you’re familiar with the corrupt history of Baltimore and the fact that cops can be criminals. Parts of this story are set against what happened to Freddie Gray, so be aware of that if you choose to read it.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Read. This. Book. It is so touching and fantastic and sad and if you are part of a culture that places a lot (and I mean A LOT) of emphasis on food, you’ll appreciate this tribute to her mom and her Korean heritage even more.

The First 21 – How I Became Nikki Sixx by Nikki Sixx. This was my third nonfiction in a row, but so worth it. Even if you don’t like Motley Crue or Sixx A.M.’s music, you have to be intrigued by Nikki Sixx (and the title is pretty self-explanatory). And if you are, read this one as well as The Heroin Diaries, which remains to this day one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read.

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena. Put this in the same camp as The Younger Wife, except I didn’t read it on a plane. A simply written, straightforward, family murder drama. It was a nice change from the nonfiction, a quick read, and good for a vacation or a nice long at-home break like the two-week one I have coming up.

The First Husband by Laura Dave. Meh. It was fine. Fluffy rom-com type book, good for a cold weekend, but without a lot of com and a lot more of drama. It reminded me of some of TJR’s earlier books and like TJR, Dave’s books seem to get better the more she writes because The Last Thing He Told Me, which I read earlier this year, was excellent. Still haven’t read Eight Hundred Grapes yet. I think it’s been on my TBR for about five years so I should probably get on that.

Currently reading: The Promise by Damon Galgut and Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo.

And now, it’s time to link up and show us your books! Don’t forget to visit my co-host Steph and some other bloggers (I commit to doing this this month) and also mark your calendars twice. Once for December 29 for our yearly favorites bonus linkup and once for January 11, the first of our 2022 linkups.

I recently finished Matt Haig’s book Reasons to Stay Alive (more about that on Tuesday during Show Us Your Books). It wound up being more timely than I’d planned given some circumstances that are ramping up my anxiety which then in turn ramps up my depression.

Fun.

So, in the spirit of that book, and the spirit of my dog, Barkley, who is quite ill but fights every day to stay alive because life is so worth living, I thought it’d be a good time to pause and list all the things that complete my life. What helps keeps a small light burning in the darkest of times. The things that, even in the thickest of the fog, I can stop and appreciate. The things that make me smile, cry, laugh, and just…feel.

All the things that make it possible to live another day.

Sunsets

The ocean. Any water that sits near sand, really

Dogs

My daughter’s laugh. My daughter in general

Iced tea (unsweetened, of course)

Good movies

Bad movies

Music

Books. All the books.

When democracy works

New friends

Old friends

Family

Hugs

Blankets

Naps

Clean sheets

Opening Day

Scented candles

Laughing at nothing in particular

Writing

Bagels, pizza, black and white cookies, egg rolls, Doritos

Fresh manicure and pedicure

Justice

Finally getting that text, email, news you’ve been waiting for

Love

P.S. I don’t think I’ve ever quoted a disco song ever in my life that wasn’t ABBA or a joke but there is a first for everything and I have #noregrets

This is a political rant. If that’s not your thing, I totally understand. And sorry for the intensity on a Monday. I recognize that it’s a bit much. 

I know I’ve been awfully quiet around here the last few months. I could go into the reasons for it but really, they’re not important. With all the shit that’s swirling around thanks to the Orange Regime, I’d have almost nothing nice to say about anything, ever. I try to maintain a sense of humor when I can but quite frankly, it’s getting harder and harder to do.

Because I swear to god, if things keep going the way they have been, I’m pretty sure we’re a month away from tattooing numbers on people’s arms.

I don’t say that lightly, either.

For those who don’t know, I’m Jewish.

I grew up learning, in VERY GRAPHIC DETAIL, about the horrors inflicted on Jews at the concentration camps. I won’t and can’t even relay some of the stories to you guys. It’s too horrific. It’s one of the reasons I generally do not read books set in World War II. Anything written against the backdrop of the Holocaust is not entertainment to me. I don’t care how “inspirational” or whatever it might be, I’m not doing it.

I grew up learning, in VERY GRAPHIC DETAIL, about the raging anti-Semitism (yes, WordPress, it’s a real fucking word) in Russia (the USSR back then) and around the world. It never made any sense to me how people could hate just because they’re told to and it never made sense to me to harm and oppress people because they’re different.

It still doesn’t.

If I listed for you the ignorant comments made to me because people have never taken the time to learn about Judaism, your head would explode. In fact, just recently, a stranger told me I’m a unicorn (yup, that’s the word she used) because I’m Jewish. I get that she was trying to be funny and nice but NO. Don’t fucking say things like that. Do you know why I’m so hard to find? BECAUSE SOMEONE HAD 6 MILLION OF US MURDERED. That’s why.

If I seem angry, I am. Because how can I not be when I see history repeating itself in my own backyard? The travel ban, the separation policy, the KKK having free reign in our government and in our media, party over country, our “leader” forming alliances with dictators and shitting on our allies and calling for military parades in his honor, state-run TV and newspapers spreading his vicious hate policies and lies like they’re gospel, it’s the rise of Nazism all over again. And more and more people becoming so exhausted from the daily outrage caused by this administration that it’s hard not to become numb.

But now is not the time to be numb.

In 2016, when this fucking asshole was running for president, I remember people sharing posts about the warning signs of fascism. Well, guess what, folks? IT’S FUCKING HERE. It’s impossible to ignore now. And it has to go.

We, as a country, are better than this. The fact that hate has been allowed to rise up in this manner, that children are being ripped from their parents and punished for their parents’ choices (and OMG, is that another topic ripe for a rant), that domestic violence victims will not be granted asylum, that gay people can be denied a motherfucking cake…WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS HAPPENING? How have we gotten here?

I’ll tell you.

It’s the rotten stinking turd sitting in the White House and everyone around him who doesn’t tell him he stinks. It’s everyone who tells him he, in fact, smells like a delightful bouquet of flowers.

Like it or not, the man occupying that seat sets a tone for the country and the one he’s set is anger and racism and misogyny and hatred and lies and scapegoating. And anyone who feels even a fraction of that now feels empowered to say and do whatever they want, regardless of how repugnant it may be. Because that’s what the president does.

It’s their justification.

FUCK. THAT. SHIT.

It’s time to vote these hateful, spiteful motherfuckers out of office. If you want, you can even say like Roger Dorn in Major League (you know, “Strike this motherfucker out!”). Give it some emphasis.

Strip their powers, tarnish their egos, and for the love of whatever you believe in, stop giving hate a platform. Removing them from office puts them back into private life and while they might have some influence, it’s nothing compared to what they can do when they cast a vote in an elected position.

So, please. Vote.

We need to make this administration a horrible footnote in our country’s history (I mean, even more than it’s doing for itself). Send a message that the separation policy is bullshit, their justifications are bullshit, and people are more important than party.

I guess if I’m going to say anything positive it’s that eventually, the Nazis were defeated. Right did defeat wrong, morality did defeat the immoral, and I cannot wait to see 45 go down in fucking flames.