Men in Green

For someone with little golf knowledge, this book was at times tedious. That being said, I still learned a lot about many different players, feuds, has beens, legends, caddies and more. It was like taking a peak into a boys club and discovering they're gossiping just as much as the women! At times it felt a little gossipy, who was flirty with women, who had the most sex appeal, who refused to let go of a grudge, who didn't take care of his ex-wife, who didn't like Tiger Woods (a lot more people than I thought). Sports author, Michael Bamberger made a list of the 18 greatest golf legends and set out to drive around and interview them all. The front nine were living legends (Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Mickey Wright, etc.) and the back nine were "secret" legends (caddies, writers, aficionados, no pros). He road-trips along with his good friend Mike Donald (a golf pro and one of the living legends on his list) and they hobnob with the old golf crowd. Lies, legends, humor, and memories are shared and pieced together throughout the book. Interesting read, but not my favorite golf book.

Potted and Pruned

I ADORED this book. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't exactly have a green thumb. I mean, hell, we have the world's smallest yard and by default the world's smallest garden. That being said, the past few years John and I have really enjoyed getting a vegetable garden going (cherry tomatoes are the best part of summer) and I even keep a few plants inside year round (not too many because cats are demons). Even if I didn't have a garden though, I think I would have enjoyed this book. It was quick and humorous and I read it in one sitting. Written as a collection of short vignettes, essays, thoughts, and letters; Potted and Pruned is a reaffirmation of the love, joy, frustration, and comedy that can be found in gardening. It made me laugh out loud on several occasions and it made me inspired to go out and start working on this summer's vegetable patch. A small enjoyable book that gardeners will keep coming back to. I can't wait to read the next two in the series!

The Future is Feminist

So I really enjoyed some aspects of this book and hated others. The main thing I hated..... was the damn font color! The neon orange was damn near impossible to read, it literally hurt my eyes. When the text was in pink it was "ok" to read, but it was mainly frustrating. Other than that, I really enjoyed the variety of feminist voices and stories shared in this compilation.Some feminist writers I had heard of but never read, others were brand new to me. This collection is empowering and superbly well written. I liked that it included a variety of formats (speeches, poems, essays, etc.), diversity, and feminist text from not just several decades, but from several centuries. They made sure that feminism included not just the middle class white women, but females from all of the world, in different financial circumstances, ages, and ethnicity.  The collection ranged from calls to action, empowerment, humor, and educational. A great read in a horribly formatted book.

Walking Dead: Book Fifteen

Dayum! A lo happens in this installment. Not only do we need a spunky new character, we meet a whole damn new community! Rick is still reeling from the loss of Andrea, Carl is still pining after his new little girlfriend leaving poor Sophia behind in the dust, Maggie may have a new fuck buddy, Jesus and Aaron are officially out and open, and Neegan is out on his own with permission from Rick. Hilltop is slowly rebuilding after the devastation from the last book and a small group of people from Alexandria ride out to meet the people that Eugene has been talking to on the radio for weeks. All in all, there are a lot of plot lines, a lot of action, and it's damn fun! I especially love Princess, the wild girl they encounter in the city. She reminds me a lot of Tank Girl. Another great installment and I feel like it may be leading us up to a conclusion? Probably not, but you never know!

Meal

A short quick graphic novel that explores a young foodie wanting share her love of insect based foods with the world. Yarrow moves to a new town where she hears a insect based restaurant will be opening soon. She interviews with the head chef, but the chef is wary that Yarrow doesn't fully appreciate their food traditions and just wants to exploit it or turn it into a fad. Not only does Yarrow have to win over the chef, she has to win over one of her new neighbors and friends. She's pretty sure sparks are flying between them but what if she's wrong? An interesting look at food, culture, and romance all told through the lens of a short, well illustrated graphic novel.

Blood Orange

So fast paced! I managed to read this in one day (while also working an 8 hour shift!) and I could not put it down. This managed to be just like all the other unreliable female thriller novels, while actually being it's own new thing. You have a female lead who, while reliable, is a major alcoholic. She's also a barrister in London bringing home the big bucks while her husband works part time as a sex psychiatrist and raises their six year old daughter. The wife starts an affair, drinks too much, and is an all around shit parent and spouse. She should care more about her home life but she's wrapped up in her new murder case and her affair with Patrick. Things slowly start to spiral out of control and before long the reader can barely keep up with the fast pace. It's tense, and although you don't really like any of the characters you want everything to be resolved and you want that happy ending. As the pace speeds up, so does the readers suspicions. It was great, and there was a twist at the end I should have seen coming.

Slayer

I didn't know what to expect out of this book. On one hand I was really excited that it was from the world of Buffy, but on the other hand it's been quite a few years since the show ended and I didn't want too much of it to get lost in translation when adapting it to a teen novel in 2019. I was disappointed at first that it didn't feature Buffy as the main character, but later I was glad for it. The novel centers on Athena, affectionately called Nina, and her twin sister Artemis. They are training to be Watchers in an isolated castle in Ireland. Their father had been Buffy's first watcher (before Giles) and had died young. Their mother wants to keep the Watcher tradition alive, but with only one of her daughters it would appear. Artemis is cunning, active, and fearless; Nina on the other hand has never been allowed to train so she studies to become a medic. She's everything her sister isn't; shy, weak, and defenseless. Even her mother has always preferred Artemis over her. One day, something happens that will change everything, she becomes the chosen one, the last slayer ever. Fun and unique, I can't wait to see where this story goes, it looks as if it will be a series.