July Reads and Favorites: 2024

The year is more than halfway over with and I somehow managed to surpass the original reading goal I set back in January. Hooray I guess.

I almost forgot to put this together. The two of you who read these updates would have been devastated had I not sent out my last month reads, I know. I am here for you.

Oddly enough, I thought the past month was a slow book month. I did not feel as if I was in my normal rhythm of reading. The book I am reading now, American Dirt, is fantastic so far, but I feel as if it is taking me forever to finish it. Can you be reading but still be in a reading slump?

Cut to the Chase:

1. Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in U.S. History by Peter McIndoe

2. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

3. The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry

4. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

5. We Carry Their Bones: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys by Erin Kimmerle

6. Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter

7. The Groomer by Jon Athan

8. And Yet: Poems by Kate Baer

9. The Man Who Couldn’t Stop by David Adam

You Need to Read These, Or Not

Let’s get this one out of the way first, shall we?

If you belong to any reading group on Facebook, this book appears and someone read 15 pages of it and then decided to burn it in their front yard in protest. “How could someone be so sick and twisted? This is garbage and nobody should ever read it!”

Comments like that mean the book gets added to my TBR. Most that have read this one claim it is more graphic and even more twisted than Tampa by Alissa Nutting. This is just an indication that I must find out for myself.

The Groomer is very graphic. It is very twisted. However, this book exists in a different realm than that of Tampa. The Groomer could fall under the splatterpunk and extreme horror genre, as it contains enough graphic gore and twisted scenarios to qualify for such labeling. The story follows a family who has a strange encounter in the park with a suspicious person. We later discover this suspicious person is part of a grooming and predator network who is responsible for the kidnap and torture of children. All of this is done for the purpose of recording and profiting off the sale of the videos.

Yea, it’s a tough read.

But is the book bad, though? I would have to give this one 3-stars and I struggled with the rating. I hated the story. As a father, I can’t imagine this happening. I am also aware that there are perverse people out there, the depths of their sickness being beyond my comprehension. The details of this book were a lot to handle, though not quite enough to match that of Cows by Matthew Stokoe. I just don’t see any book being more graphic and depraved than that.

While Tampa was graphic and twisted, the writing was so powerful. I have to give credit to the author of The Groomer for attempting to make the book more than just torture porn. He wants to extend the book into a real novel and I believe he does a great job. As much as I hate to say something entirely negative about a book, the write here does not compare to the likes of Tampa. For me, that is where this fell short. I can handle dark topics as long as the writing holds up. This one was flat. Still, those who are curious enough should find it interesting. If you are brave enough to read it, let me know what you think of the ending.

Just about everyone that recommended this to me claimed it was a 5-star read and I was pleased to share that same sentiment when I was done with this one.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt points out details surrounding the epidemic of teen mental illness and how it relates to the release of the smartphone and social media. We all know social media is terrible, but this book gives very specific and horrifying examples of why that is the case and what we can do about it.

I have read very little poetry, however, after The Groomer, I needed something to read that didn’t make me feel like I should be sprayed with a power-washer. I had stumbled across some poetry on Pinterest, though I must admit, I really have no idea what I am looking for.

I found that beautiful and creative, and immediately placed an order for And Yet: Poems by Kate Baer. Superb writing and a great way for me to dip my toe into the shallow end of the poetry pool. That reference not meaning Baer’s work is shallow or meant for beginners. I am merely doing my best to point out that I thought the book was great for my first time making a point to read poetry. If you find yourself in a similar position, I believe you will like that one, too.

---