Bad Monkey

Phil Cunningham was the first to mention the book Bad Monkey to me recently. It jogged my memory about the author Carl Hiaasen whose writing I’ve been a fan of for quite a while. Then Wayne sent me these photos and said he was enjoying the book for its many uses of the word cunt. 

Years ago, prior to Bonnie’s Book Blog, I read either Skinny Dip or Sick Puppy. I can’t remember which, which kind of goes with the territory. This author’s writing is a tad formulaic but funny as hell. As a teacher I loved Hoot and enjoyed sharing Hiaasen’s other young adult books with my students.

Turns out Bad Monkey is also an Apple TV series now starring Vince Vaughan. Might be time for another free trial ;)

I’m not going to lie, about halfway through, I lost interest in the book’s trajectory. The location in the Bahamas and the island dialect got tedious for me. I didn’t care for the Voodoo Queen character, and I even began to worry about the fate of the bad-tempered monkey. Also, the constant introduction of new characters and shifts between different locations became dizzying!

I found myself laughing more at the beginning of the story and then the quirky bits got old. An unexpected twist energized me toward the end, and of course, I needed to know how it all wrapped up. A quick two-week read that I ultimately enjoyed. 

Fun fact: there’s a character named Bonnie who’s a sexual felon, but not the cunt.

The Dog Who Followed the Moon

It’s apropos that I listened to the audiobook version of The Dog Who Followed the Moon by James Norbury, the day Uncle Ron died, on his birthday, at age 87. It is a sweet story about a lost dog named Amaya who is rescued by an old Wolf who joins her on a quest to find her parents.

As one review states, “Eerie woods, forgotten cities, and other obstacles await Amaya and the Wolf on their adventure. As they make their way through the wilderness, the two learn profound lessons about love, sacrifice, and the importance of embracing change.”

I was moved to tears by the story’s gentle commentary on life’s journey, loss, grief, and death. This quote especially spoke to me and my particular search for meaning:

“Somewhere inside you is a poem that you alone can write—a unique blend of what you love, what you fear, and all the things that only you’ve experienced.”

Here is more of the Wolf’s Zen advice:

“Most of our lives are spent doing the traveling, and the arrival is only a tiny part of that journey. We should do our best to enjoy every part of the adventure. Maybe we will never get to where we want to be, and wouldn’t it be sad if we had not even enjoyed the ride?”

“How do I do that?” asked Amaya. 

“Slow down, look around, breathe, take in the sounds and colors. Imagine you’d chosen this moment as your destination, not just a point along your journey.”

Finally, the Wolf reflects on his circumstances: “He’d led the pack to great victories and bitter defeats. His life was a tapestry of successes and failures, and he wondered what different choices he could have made that would have saved him from dying on this mountaintop exiled from his pack.”

The Wolf’s contemplation of his life is not so different from that of most humans in the end. As it turns out, the wolf was exactly where he needed to be, in a moment that would forever impact his new friend Amaya and countless other lives moving forward. It’s reassuring to know that a life well lived will lead each of us to the same place.

At first, it was disappointing listening to the audiobook because I missed flipping the pages and seeing the stunning illustrations. By the end of the hour-long reading, my weeping eyes would not have been able to focus on the beautiful pictures. I plan to treat myself to a hardcover copy of the book.

 

 

Here One Moment

Here One Moment by Australian author Liane Moriarty is unnerving. It poses a lot of questions about how we live our lives and think about death—the choices we make, coincidences, and how we react to challenges. It’s a mind-fuck of a book.

It delves into personality disorders like sleepwalking, OCD, depression, and introversion. It documents  relationships between spouses, parents and  children, roommates, coworkers and bosses. As SNL’s Stefon would say, “This place has everything!“

During an unexpected delay, an airplane full if people are trapped as an older woman systematically predicts the how and when of their deaths. That in itself is terrifying— being trapped for hours on an airplane with kids puking and babies crying—then some random crazy lady in a trance starts predicting when and how every passenger will die. Her mantra, “Fate can’t be fought.”

I love this reviewer’s perspective: “A riveting story so wild you don’t know how she’ll land it, and then she does, on a dime.”—Anne Lamott

The Full Moon Coffee Shop

 

The Full Moon Coffee Shop: A Novel by Mai Mochizuki is a seriously strange story which is the genre I seem to be migrating towards lately. I ended up finishing it rather quickly, despite its quirkiness and the awkwardness of the translation from Japanese.

I feel like I had a hard time connecting with the characters, except for the astrology-spouting cats who were the proprietors of the mysterious Full Moon Coffee Shop. The premise of the story is that the coffee shop would appear out of the blue throughout the book allowing the human characters insight into  their inner feelings, based on the astrological advice from the cats.

The wisdom of the cats who projected horoscopes into the night sky and referenced the zodiac signs, planets, and natal charts of the visitors to the shop, was responsible for putting in motion the novel’s happy ending. The story’s structure was a bit jarring because some key information wasn’t revealed until very near the end. 

The resolution seemed somewhat quick and contrived, and I’m actually left wondering if I missed something. Overall a unique read that has me wanting to revisit my own natal chart and review what planets reside in my celestial houses.

I finished reading this book on the plane to Sarasota, Christmas 2024!

North Woods: A Novel

Weird. Just plain weird is how I describe North Woods: A Novel by Daniel Mason. But, I really liked it, so much so that I want to read another of his books, maybe The Winter Soldier or The Piano Tuner.

Although I was baffled and confused through much of North Woods, I found the writing flowed well and was easy to read. I just kept plowing ahead and usually could figure out what weird, creepy thing had happened. 

Basically the story follows the lives of characters who inhabit a piece of property in Western Massachusetts over the course of time, starting in pre-colonial days and continuing to the present. The author’s extensive knowledge about and obvious enthusiasm for the natural environment of the area make the setting come to life. The unusual characters are all deeply, physically and spiritually, connected to the yellow house and acres of forest surrounding it.

The rich vocabulary stimulated my brain, as I time-traveled through 400+ years of the transforming landscape. I learned what a catamount is and why a picture of one features prominently on the book’s cover. This quote from the last chapter demonstrates the underlying theme. “…the only way to understand the world as something other than a tale of loss is to see it as a tale of change.”

I finished reading last night, and ‘the what in the … WTF’ ending brought everything together in a strange and thought-provoking way. I didn’t want it to end, and I immediately went back to reread the beginning. Here is a bit of foreshadowing from an early chapter. “I have come to the opinion, generally, that he who does good to the land shall be protected, while he who trespasses upon her will be met with most violent return.”

The Body Keeps The Score

Does reading two chapters for upcoming school professional development count? I was dreading reading The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van Der Kolk. MD because I was warned that it was tough to read. 

It is a a tough topic and a very dense read, made all the more so because it was really just assigned to us as busywork which I resent is preventing me from grading papers and planning lessons. In silent protest, I’m reading only the required chapters, by candlelight as the power is out, whilst stuffing my face with Cheez-Its. (Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 5:57 PM)

EDIT to add that this book is currently (December 2024) being read by my dear friend from high school, Sue. After having a discussion with her about the book, I came home to search for my copy, only to discover that it was unfortunately a tragic victim of the Summer of 2024 Dumpster. 

😱

It Starts With Us

I had to read It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover because Kt gave me both books in the series and I read the first one. Gag! I wanted to be happy for the love struck Lily and Atlas, but I really do not like the author’s writing style or way of developing characters. Bleeck! While I appreciate a good romance as much as anyone, I was pretty grossed out by how much these main characters fawn all over each other. So, I plowed through this quick read just to say I finished it. 

Maybe this book will be made into a movie like the first one!