Book Tag: What’s On My Bookshelf?

I didn’t really get many things posted last week, and if you care at all, one way or the other (hopefully you weren’t happy I was gone) I’m truly sorry (but also not really.)

Sometimes that’s how it’s going to go around here – little mini breaks because I’m an adult and I can do what I want! Maybe next time I’ll post a Gone Fishin’ sign, though.

I don’t really have a good excuse for my inactivity other than I am really trying to get a few books read quickly so I can queue up some more reviews for this month. But also, I binged The Staircase on Netflix really hard.

Like, it was kind of pathetic how hard of a binge I did. I barely moved. My Fitbit thought I was sleeping for 14 hours. No joke.

But I’m back on it for this week! And the lovely Emily over at Wicked Good Reads is even helping me out with some content by tagging me in for this bookish questionnaire.

Is it good? Define ‘good.’ Is it content? You’re damn right it’s content!

Image result for new light john mayer gif

Continue reading “Book Tag: What’s On My Bookshelf?” →

Booknerd Wednesday: This Is Not A Safe Space

Hey Nerdos! How’s the mildly inflammatory post title hitting you?

Right in the nads, I hope.

But, seriously, how’s life? I’m honestly interested. I need to know. Tell me about yourselves, tell me what’s going on. Because I’m always telling you about my life, like maybe to an overtly personal degree, as if this isn’t a book blog at all.

So, let’s make this uncomfortableness a two-way street.

awkward andy samberg GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine

This week is crazy busy for me. There’s so much going on at home, from preparing for a 15th birthday party for the stepkid, to cleaning out the other stepkid’s room because he moved out and I want my goddamn office space, to trying to build and stain our Adirondack chairs because it was cheaper to DIY-it than to buy them ready-to-sit and I’m all about DIY where I can if it saves me more money for books.

PS. whoever decided that Willy Wonka Funko dolls are worth $50 can get bent. You’ve ruined a teen’s birthday wish!

Anyway, through it all, I’m super dedicated to getting some books read and putting some half-assed content up on this clearly amateur blog.

Today’s BW post is going to be a personal book blogging existential crisis experience. That sounds like a blasty-blast, right?

I’m going to be working through a thing, so just bear with me and feel free to let me know your opinions in the comments.

Continue reading “Booknerd Wednesday: This Is Not A Safe Space” →

True Crime Tuesday: A Graphic Novel Murder

Gooooood morning friends, lovers, Vietnam and strangers! It’s my favourite day of the blogging week once again, True Crime Tuesday! *crowd goes wild*

Today I’ve got a cracker of a case to share. I’ve been obsessing over it all weekend as the trial just started so there’s lots of new information spilling out.

…but first, a joke:

Image may contain: text

This might actually be my new favourite serial killer joke. Yes, that’s a thing I’m allowed to have a favourite of. My previous favourite was:

Q: What does Jeffrey Dahmer sing while he’s making his lunch?

A: My bologna has a first name…

Classic.

And now that’s you’re in a good mood, let’s completely ruin that, shall we?

Continue reading “True Crime Tuesday: A Graphic Novel Murder” →

Review: Missing, Presumed (DS Manon, #1) by Susan Steiner

★★

If you’ve ever thought to yourself “what would Bridget Jones be like as a homicide detective?” …then I think you’ll want to read this book.

I myself have never wandered about Bridget Jones taking on different career paths, (really she does enough of that in her own stories,) but now that I have some idea of what a DS Jones would look like, I’ll tell you, it doesn’t work.

Missing, Presumed in the first book in the DS Manon Bradshow series – a UK police procedural revolving around the disappearance of the twenty-something daughter of a prominent doctor.

Overall I found this to be severely lacking on the police procedural part and overwrought on the personal “character-study” side, like to such annoying degree that I’m physically disappointed by this book. It’s certainly not what it was presented to be on the jacket or in the blurbs.

Continue reading “Review: Missing, Presumed (DS Manon, #1) by Susan Steiner” →

Book Tag: Unique Blogger Award

You know what, it’s so nice to be thought of with these things. Sometimes I feel like I’m a little bit on the outskirts of the book blogger community because I’m new and slow and old. So, thanks, G!

If you haven’t stumbled across her blog yet, Greyson @ GreysonReads does lots of fun and interesting posts, including book reviews, discussions on mental health and personal posts about her family that might give you some feels, or help you feel less alone in your struggles. She’s special, and you’ll like her. Because I like her, and I don’t like a lot of people.

So this is the deal:

Unique Blogger Award.png

And these are my questions from Greyson:

Continue reading “Book Tag: Unique Blogger Award” →

Review: The Fifth To Die (A 4MK Thriller, #2) by J.D. Barker

★★★★½

This is what you have to know going into the 4MK series:

This story is a marathon, not a sprint.

And I’m not just talking about this particular book, number two in the series.

J.D. Barker has crafted a rich, intricate world full of robust, personality-driven characters, and advanced story telling technique. And he is presenting it to us, the reader, one giant novel at a time.

You don’t get conclusions around here. There is no end until it ends.

It’s a train that never stops. It is always moving towards the next destination in this 4MK world where you’ll be given new threads and new clues and new revelations that puts one more puzzle piece into the jumbled picture that is Anson Bishop and Detective Porter.

This series is detailed, not so much in visual description, but in depth of narrative and connections. They are flying all over the place, from past to present, from case to case. It could be too much maybe for some readers, but for me, it filled me with joy at how vast this puzzle really is.

And I don’t want to oversell this, but HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS, IT’S THE GREATEST THING OUT THERE RIGHT NOW ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

…yeah, that feels like the right amount of cap locks.

Continue reading “Review: The Fifth To Die (A 4MK Thriller, #2) by J.D. Barker” →

True Crime Tuesday: The Yogourt Shop Murders

I wasn’t old enough in the early 90s to full enjoy it. The big bangs and long hair and neon spandex. Saved by the Bell, 90210 and Nirvana and Chris Farley SNL days. I was aware, but I wasn’t. I remember being in my cousin Bill’s room one day after school – he’s 10 years old than me – and he had the Nirvana smiley face on everything. I asked him “what’s this?” and he said, “it’s a thing for a band.” That might have been the first time I took in the concept of a band.

I was a teenager in the early 2000s. Things like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake in full jean outfits, Blink-182 and “flared” jeans, trucker hats and unnecessary scarves were really what was going on when I fully came online as a person, for better or for worse. Early 2000s fashion is truly some of the very, very worst.

There are things about being a little girl in the 90s that have stuck with me and shaped me as a person, though. Clueless is still one of my favourite movies. I always wanted to grow up and own a white Jeep. Maybe some day still. Scream inspired my love of horror. And Silence of the Lambs inspired my love of crime fiction.

My love of true crime didn’t start until later when I turned on an episode of Dateline for the first time. Oh, you mean this is like the murder-mysteries I read except for real life?! Count me in!

Maybe that’s why I find myself drawn towards 90s true crime. It was happening, and I didn’t know it. My access to information was so much more limited. But now I can learn all about these things that were going on in the world while I was growing up. Plus the fashion, the pop culture – I feel connected to it.

So, for this week’s True Crime Tuesday, we’re going to go back to 1991. To a yogourt shop in Austin, Texas, where four girls died in a fire.

Yogurt Shop Murders

Continue reading “True Crime Tuesday: The Yogourt Shop Murders” →

Booknook Sunday: 05.27.18

Happy Sunday, nerdos!

This is Booknook Sunday – my one day to talk about home design as it relates to books and my own life.

I’ve had a long past couple of weekends with some reno projects, so I haven’t been able to post booknook decor as much as I intended to, but the good news is, we finally finished renovating our foyer/front hall closet (it only took six weeks!) and even painted the upstairs hallway. I took a queue from Dita Von Teese and went with a deep purple just like her personal library. My husband hates it but I don’t give a shit…

*bats eyelashes*

Continue reading “Booknook Sunday: 05.27.18” →

Book Tag: Emotions in Colours

My girl Greyson, over at Greyson Reads, tagged me to do this original gem created by Cait @ Paper Fury, which was inspired by a couple of G’s other blog posts. It’s colours as emotions as related to books.

It’s like our very own booknerd version of Emotion-evoked Synesthesia. (Google it, it’s pretty cool.)

Of course, I will never experience Synesthesia because, I’ll be honest, I’m pretty dead on the inside. This tag could end up being exceptionally difficult for me, but I’ll usually try anything once – even emotions.

Once.

empty kate mckinnon GIF by Saturday Night Live

Continue reading “Book Tag: Emotions in Colours” →

Review: Dark Game (DI Kelly Porter, #1) by Rachel Lynch

★★★

Welcome to another edition of Krystin Struggles To Write A Review For A Book That Was Just Okay!

These are my least favourite reviews to write. I think I’m a person who creatively operates best under strong swings on the emotional spectrum. Writing a review for a book that didn’t get me fired up either way is kind of like being asked “how was your weekend?” by an expectant colleague and struggling to come up with an answer because all you did was lay around in your PJs mindlessly watching repeats of Live PD.

That Dan Abrams sure does like him some tightly fit sweaters. And I am not complaining.

I don’t know, guys… Do you want to talk about this book or do you want to talk about Dan Abrams’ wardrobe? I’m leaning more towards wardrobe. Blue is really his colour.

Alright, alright! I’ll stop.

yas checking out GIF by Vanessa Marie Carter

Continue reading “Review: Dark Game (DI Kelly Porter, #1) by Rachel Lynch” →