Mallory Kellogg, Chubbygirlreads

And here we see the older "Boomers" interacting with the younger "Millennial". Note the disgust for technology and hatred for how the Millennial has an easier time because they utilize machines well. 

Yeah, that's what this Farmers vs Starfleet plot is. Farmers resent technology yet have to rely on it for travel, and scorn Picard and the others for giving them said ride. Okay, Boomer.

Why all the Data hate, Riker? I guess because I have known these characters for decades, I have a hard time ever thinking the Enterprise  was anything but a family with Poppa Picard at the head of the table.

Also, Data. Always adorable.

I'm going to make this short.

Love:

Okay Alex and Henry are adorable and I totally love them. They go back and forth just like me and the hubs.

Hate:

The story just. Keeps. Going. Ffs it could have been wrapped up neatly well before it was. And the whole Richardson background story was way too cliche and easy to figure out. Because the book dragged on forever, I started to lose interest. 

So, a good book but a bit slow and dull.

I really like Nemesis but I can't continue with the huge plot holes. I have way too many questions about the basic world building and technology. If science and learning are outlawed, then how were Diabolics created? It makes them seem like a new creation, but isn't new science outlawed? And where do you draw the line on blasphemy? Is learning to sew a crime? What is considered BAD learning? 

Again, Nemesis is cool. But I take too many issues with the plot.

And just like that, this book sucks too.

Can people never come up with original ideas anymore? Spoilers below:

[spoiler] So Mare has Silver powers. Figured that out in seconds of reading the first chapter. And so I figured they would rope her into the royal families somehow. And yes, I'm right. They're going to marry this complete commoner off to a prince because....why exactly? Instead of, I dunno, being a king and queen and executing the prisoner? They're ROYALTY! THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT.

[/spoiler]

Anyway, this just imploded. Next.

I'm trying to knock out some of my oldest books, meaning books I have had the longest without reading. I have this one and The Diabolic left. After that, I'm not sure where to go. So many options.

This is boring me so badly. I feel nothing for either enchanter, and while the game idea was sort of cool, the whole thing felt flat. I couldn't connect with anyone. 

If this turns into a love triangle, I'm out. I hate those with a passion.

In my previous post I said I had shelves to hang. Well, here they are. I made them myself, and my husband hung them up. We buy mugs whenever we travel, so I have some from all over the planet. 

This was a quick read, and well paced.

But. But...

The whole premise of the book is pretty absurd. Let me break it down. First, this girl runs away to join the circus in 2016. Most circuses by that point had gone belly-up, but this girl seems to just stumble over more than one in a tiny UK coastal town. Very unlikely. 

And that leads us to Willow, our main character. She is flawed, but not in a relatable way. She has a rich daddy who owns her off on others and can't be bothered to take care of her because "she looks too much like her", his ex and mother of Willow. So Willow spends the whole book as a runaway, while recounting other escape attempts. Some seemed understandable while most seemed straight up spoiled brat moves. And that's where being flawed too much comes into play. How can I feel sympathy for a character when she is clearly in the wrong? The book opens with her ruining her step-mother's wedding dress. And by the end of the book, we still don't have an excuse for why she did it and why she hates her stepmom. Because she's young? Pregnant? We are never given a good reason, so most of Willow's behavior comes off as ridiculous and petty. 

And I would like to note that for a girl so "prepared" for this runaway episode, she didn't know squat about street life. She had a list of rules to follow but not one said anything about going anywhere with strangers. She kept putting herself in incredibly dangerous situations because she was too stupid to think "hey, maybe I shouldn't tease the creepy smelly ticket seller" or "don't go into a stranger's house". 

In the end, we get closure with a neat bow on top, but seriously? Nobody learned a lesson. Daddy still admitted to not really loving Willow, but he cries big fat tears of joy when she returns home to him. And let's not forget there are 17 years of distant "throw money at it until it goes away" parenting and never really even remembering she exists. You never learn why Willow hates her stepmom. You never learn why any of this had to happen. She ran away so many times she had a detective on her case all day every day, and nobody once thought to send this poor girl to therapy?! Why does a 6/8/11 year old keep running away from boarding school/home? Nobody ever seems to suggest this child might need help. 

All in all, don't bother. The whole thing is stupid. And if I'm going to be technical, as the book went along, the editing mistakes got worse and worse. So, I felt no sympathy for the main character, nobody learned anything, and everyone lives happily ever after. Gag me.

Everyone is this book seems pretty awful, but Willow is awful for understandable reasons. Her father is so absent I just don't understand how the govt allows it. His kid keeps running away and he can't be bothered to show up. Wow.

It's pretty sad because I really get that feeling. Where you parents just either don't care or don't understand. 

Well, my online brand isn't exactly accurate anymore. I'm down 90 pounds so this is the new me: 

Not my prettiest moment, but oh well. It's quarantine. I'm now a size medium and I've even dropped at least one cup size in my bra. Now everyone is calling me Thinner, like the Steph . King novel.

Anyway, so here's what's happened. I love my job on March 17th. Filed for unemployment and was only entitled to $39 a week, which comes out to $35 after taxes. That's some bullshit right? Thank god for the Federal stimulus. And my son had been out of school since February. I wish I could make him understand this hasn't ever happened before and he really needs to appreciate this break. He doesn't care. Oh well.

But I've been spending my time redoing my house. Painting, cleaning, organizing. New furniture and such. 

This picture shows you the old, cookie dough color our house has been since it was built. I repainted the living area and kitchen with a light green.

That's the finished living room. Now the kitchen was a beast, with 12 foot ceilings and beams and dust everywhere. I really have to deep clean on top of cabinets a lot more, having a million pets to shed all over the place.

Bryan wants me to repaint the birds on the wall when I'm all finished with this. He really likes my art, and that's why I love him.

There you have that. Small but more than enough.

But apparently I wasn't done. Because one week later I hung a new light fixture in the dining area, a "fandelier" which is a fan and chandelier combo.

The blades stay folded up unless the fan is on. Neat right?

And then today I repainted the fireplace. 

I'm still waiting to hang new shelves in the dining area, which should get done Wednesday. And my new kitchen table and chairs is on the way. Then I should be 100% done.

Who am I kidding? I'm manic and trying to burn energy.

It seems like we may not have Booklikes for much longer. So if you need me, I'm on Insta as @chubbygirlreads. Also find me on Goodreads, but I'm not very active.

I hope all of you are staying safe. Be careful out there.

I hated Malabar the whole book. And for a while I hated her daughter too. But then I had to remind myself she was just a child and was pretty much brainwashed into all this drama. My own mother was like this. She would rope me into schemes to torment my stepdad's ex and think it was perfectly fine to include a 12-year-old in adult problems. That is why I hate Malabar so so much. She never learns anything. She keeps being selfish. And all she fucking cares about his her boyfriend and her stupid necklace. It was of some comfort that her daughter finally broke the cycle, but for a while I felt like she was just continuing the cycle. Some people just shouldn't be parents. What an exhausting read.

Okay, so I'm "medicated" right now and hormonal as Hell. This should be fun.

Pros: well paced and in a unique town

Cons: I. Hate. Everyone. In. This. Book.

Every character was a cookie cutter walking stereotype. And the plot was so damn obvious I had it figured out about a quarter of the way thru. The only character I felt really bad for was the baby. My god. Insufferable petty white-people bullshit. And I'm white. I felt second-hand shame for these people. What was supposed to be political statements came off as just plain racist because of the blatant cliche of it all. 

But I had to finish this shit because I wanted to see how many things I had guessed right. The tally? All of them. Lord help me.

I had to relisten to a chapter or two because I was trying to grocery shop while listening. It didn't go well. With everything going on, I'm having to be hyper-aware of my surroundings so I was overly paranoid. Didn't hear much of the first 2 chapters. But now I'm in the swing of it. 

I paused my read of The Buried because this came up available on Libby. It took 2 weeks to roll around to me, so I figured I would do this while I have it. So far, yay Memphis. My hometown. Birthplace of the Blues. Home of the ridiculously stupid.