Thoughts on MURDER AMONG THE STACKS

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Are those who celebrate ready for Turkey Day? We are. Well, it’s the last Wednesday of November, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I went with a hybrid cozy mystery/word search puzzle. It was certainly something different. Murder Among the Stacks by Rosie A. Point was released from Adams Media yesterday (the 25th). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Murder Among the Stacks follows Abby Jones and her cat Reggie as they try to make a go it by opening a bookstore in a small town. Abby’s fresh off a bad break up and looking for distractions. When a hot author is murdered at a book signing in her bookstore, Abby gets all the distractions she wants and more. She’s an avid word search solver, so at the end of each chapter is a puzzle for the reader, so they can help collect clues and solve the murder alongside Abby.

The story: surprisingly cute. Each chapter is only one page, so it’s basically just an outline of a story. No flesh, nowhere to really hide anything. But it hits all the cozy mystery tropes all the same. The characters are all stereotypes with no real room to grow. It’s not bad, but avid cozy mystery fans will not be buying this for the story.

The puzzles: standard word searches for the most part. I honestly stopped doing the puzzles about halfway through because there was no way for me to circle the words. It would’ve been a lot more fun if I had a hardcopy or if they created a way to highlight the words in the ebook. Not sure how the final version will work, if they even release an ebook version. But the paperback version should be lovely.

The layout: super cute. There are lots of illustrations to keep the book interesting. The puzzle that reveals the killer has an added trick to it. There’s an answer key at the end. It’s very nicely designed.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Murder Among the Stacks for what it is. It’s definitely more of a puzzle book with a twist of cozy mystery. I would probably have preferred a crossword or something, but to each their own.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It’s a cute concept and if you enjoy word searches with a little story, I do recommend it. But it’s not something to pick up if you’re looking for a regular cozy mystery.

Accessible, But Not

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are about normal. We have reservations at Texas de Brazil for Thanksgiving this year. Dad hasn’t felt like cooking lately and no one ever invites us anywhere, so we made our own plans. Do you have plans for Turkey Day? Anyway, I don’t have much to ramble about lately, but while making the reservations, I started thinking about the Dallas location and how it was “accessible.” I usually try to stick with stories about cripple privilege and the good things that come with being disabled, but I see a lot of people talk about their experiences with accessibility that really isn’t accessible. Things that don’t really bother me, but apparently make other people uncomfortable. I don’t want people who read my blog to think I’ve never run into these issues, because I have. So, here are a few examples of accessibility that isn’t really accessible that I’ve encountered in daily life.

When they say “It was accessible…”

1. At Texas de Brazil in Dallas, their accessible entrance was a ramp in the back by the dumpsters that led to a hallway by the kitchen which led up front. We haven’t been to this location in years, so I don’t know if they’ve renovated or something. Anyway, I never thought much about it, but apparently entrances like this make people feel like they’re something to be ashamed of, trash smuggled in through a back door. I can see where they’re coming from. I never really cared as long as the service was good and the staff didn’t get annoyed. But the real reason this kind of entrance isn’t actually accessible is because someone has to go to the front entrance to let them know I needed to use the ramp. There are disabled people who go out alone. If they can’t get in the front entrance to let someone know they need the ramp at the back entrance, it’s not really accessible, is it? I’m always with someone, so it’s not a big deal for me, but it’s still weird. Anyway, there are other locations that are far more accessible, but we actually stopped going to the Dallas location because our van bottomed out getting in and out of the parking lot.

2. The Mansion at Turtle Creek’s accessibility was kind of wild. It’s been just about 10 years since we went. My 30th birthday. So I really hope they’ve renovated, but I doubt it. Anyway, we get there and the initial entrance is perfect. No steps. Nice people to get the door. Inside, there are two or three steps up to the dining area. No built in ramp. They bring over these two little ramps that fit the steps perfectly that they can line up with my wheels. Okay, cool. But it’s so steep that Dad and one of the waiters has to assist me just so I don’t flip over. Technically accessible I guess, but it’s actually pretty dangerous for me and whoever has to assist me. Plus, it was kind of embarrassing to require so much of a todo just to get up a couple of steps. Overall, it got the job done, but it wasn’t really all that accessible.

3. This is really the only one that ever pissed me off. SMU. The accessibility at that school is so hit or miss. In some of the older buildings, they have elevators that barely fit a skinny person standing up. Yes, I graduated forever ago, but those elevators still exist. Still. I’ve asked. The accessibility answer was to move my classes to other buildings. The excuse for not installing larger elevators? They can’t afford it. Meanwhile, all the sports crap was constantly being upgraded. There was also a running joke when I was there that SMU didn’t care about anything needing repairs/upgrades as long as all the fountains worked. Other accessibility features that weren’t accessible were the door openers. Even on the new buildings, they were either too high, set off to the side where they weren’t even reachable, or they were tiny little things you had to stick your finger in a hole to get to. There were only like 3 that I could actually use myself. It was so annoying.

But yeah. Accessible things that aren’t actually accessible are an ever-present issue. I just try to ignore them as much as I can. I’m lucky I don’t go out by myself or it would be a much bigger problem. What kind of accessibility issues have you encountered where accessible wasn’t actually accessible? Feel free to share your thoughts or questions here or on my social media pages!

A Look Inside Black Bear Diner

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Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are okay. Apparently, I’m anemic and have a severe vitamin D deficiency. That’s about it. Otherwise, things are normal. After the doctor’s appointment, we went for a late lunch at Black Bear Diner in Mesquite. Check the website for locations and hours. We’ve been there twice now. For the people who are familiar with the area, it’s where the Chinese buffet was on restaurant row. So, I decided to do a review. Any pictures are borrowed from Google because I didn’t think about taking any.

First, a reminder of my rating system:

MMMMM = Everything is magnificent!
MMMM = Great, but something is off.
MMM = Pretty good, but a couple of things could be better.
MM = The bad’s starting to outweigh the good.
M = Definitely more cons than pros.
… = I couldn’t find anything nice to say.

Accessibility: There’s a nice ramp out front and plenty of room to get in easily. The handicap parking spaces are directly across from the ramp, so it’s easy access. The tables are a little high, which is great for me since my chair is on the tall side. You have to check out at the front. There’s a tall counter, so it would probably be annoying if you’re there on your own, but the staff is nice, so I have no doubt they would figure out a way to help.

Service: It was great. Our waiter was Hunter both times. He didn’t hesitate to talk to me directly, so he gets bonus points. He gave us plenty of time to look over the menu and made sure we were taken care of. He made the experience pleasant overall.

Food: The breakfast items were delicious. I especially liked the Bacon Avocado Benedict. Dad enjoyed his “The Grizz” with a waffle instead of pancakes. Dinner items weren’t as good. The chicken fried steak was the “pre-chewed” kind. That ultra processed patty that is basically just steak crumbles, so not very good unless that’s what you like. The chicken and waffle was good. The chili was not chili, but it was an okay bean stew.

Dessert: They have a nice selection. We only had the berry cobbler, but it was yummy. Everything else looks good too.

Price: Good sized portions at a relatively cheap price. It’s worth it.

My rating:
MMMM

Thoughts on THE BOOK OF AUTUMN

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Dad got a new phone because he decided it would be fun to tumble into the pond with his old one in his pocket. That damn water hose just snaked out and grabbed him by the ankle. Splash. He’s fine. Fish are fine. Dogs just sat there and laughed at him. Lost about 4 years worth of pictures, but apparently everything else was backed up. Otherwise, life is still going. Today is the last Wednesday of October, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I went with a dark fantasy in the hopes of getting some spooky vibes. The Book of Autumn by Molly O’Sullivan was released yesterday (the 28th) by Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

The Book of Autumn follows Marcella Gibbons as she returns to her alma mater, a school of magic deep in the New Mexico deserts, to help solve a brutal murder and eerie magical plight. She must delve into her troubled past to save the life of another troubled young woman and perhaps the entire school. But can she get out of the shadow of her dimidium, the other half of her magical soul, long enough to shine on her own?

Plot and pacing. The plot has a lot of potential, but in actuality, it’s super muddy and makes very little sense. There’s no real reason why Cella and Max are even needed. No one cooperates with them. They both blatantly ignore obvious clues for no reason other than to drag the story out. There’s this whole thing with mushrooms that never really comes to anything. It’s just a confusing mess and everything is crammed into the last 20% of the book, which makes the first 80% of the book useless. It’s far too drawn out and the ending ends up being confusing and jarring. It’s just not executed well at all.

The characters. They’re all selfish and deliberately ignorant. The only one with any sense is Luce and that’s not saying much. None of them know how to have a conversation, which would solve so many issues right up front. These are supposed to be adults, but they all act like they’re 12. I just really hate stupid people. I really wanted to DNF this one because of them, but I pushed through.

The writing. So, this book was supposed to mimic an academic paper with footnotes and references and everything, but it didn’t work for me. Most of the footnotes just felt like stuff the author was told to cut and decided to sneak it back in under the guise of academia. It should’ve stayed cut or been blended back into the story itself. Beyond that, pretty much the only redeeming feature of this book was the descriptions. The New Mexico setting sounded beautiful.

Ultimately, I really didn’t like The Book of Autumn. It sounds like a great story, but missed every mark. I’m trying really hard to think of nice or at least constructive things to say. Nothing is coming, so this review will have to stay short.

Overall, I gave it 1 out of 5 stars. I struggled really hard to get through this one and just can’t bring myself to recommend it.

Cripple Life in Modern Times: Medicaid

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Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here were annoying this past week. The good: Dad’s colonoscopy was fine and we got food afterwards. In case you don’t know, you do NOT have to be sedated to get one, so don’t let that stop you. You have to be adamant about it and remind them every time they call and day of, but yeah. It’s fine. The bad: on Friday, I got a letter saying my Medicaid was rejected because I didn’t turn in my renewal paperwork. That was a blatant lie. I turned it in 5 days after I got the initial letter saying that I needed to do it. I later found out some stuff was missing, but all they said I needed to turn in was the signature page. I did that on the same day I got the letter telling me stuff was missing. Ugh. Anyway. I have nothing to blog about, so here are the details of the Medicaid clusterfuck if you’re interested.

October 17th: Got a letter canceling my Medicaid because they didn’t receive my renewal paperwork.
Uh, what? That is completely untrue. Here’s the original timeline:
July 12th: Received an email saying I have a letter in my YourTexasBenefits account. The letter informs me it’s time to renew my benefits and I have 30 days to do it.
July 17th: I submit the paperwork via my CLASS case manager who faxes it in.
August 4th: I haven’t heard anything, so I call to make sure my paperwork was received. I’m assured it was and told it could take 30 to 90 days for a response.
August 29th: Received a letter via snail mail saying that my paperwork wasn’t received and I had 5 days to submit any missing items. Called the same day (recorded every call from here on) and was told they just needed the signature page. Sent the page that day.
September 2nd: It was a holiday weekend, so this was the earliest I could call to confirm they received it. They did.
September 11th: Got an email saying that my paperwork wasn’t received. Called and was told everything was received and under review. All I could do was wait.
October 17th. Denied. Called and was initially told that my paperwork was not processed. After she spoke to her supervisor, I was suddenly at fault for not sending the signature page in within 5 days of the letter even though I sent it the day I received the letter.
October 20th: My CLASS caseworker came over and we called together. Got swapped around to three different people. One had to dig around to find my paperwork, the second swore it hadn’t been submitted in a timely manner until she actually looked at the dates, and the third one took one look and said I submitted everything when I was supposed to, so she reopened my case and input all my stuff, only asking me to verify that I only have one bank account. She approved it and said there shouldn’t be any gaps in my coverage.
October 21st: Received a letter via my YourTexasBenefits account with the approval letter.

I really don’t know why they have to make everything so difficult. Why can’t they assign a case worker to be on your renewal or application or whatever from the beginning of the process to the end? It doesn’t have to be the same person every year, but it would be so much easier than cold calling 2-1-1 and hoping you get in touch with someone who knows what they’re doing. It would also be better for them because they wouldn’t have to research every call they get and hope everyone else took notes. The way they handle Medicaid in Texas doesn’t make sense to me. But I’m good for another year (maybe, who knows with all the cuts the Nazis… oops, I meant Republicans… are trying to push through), so I’m going to stop thinking about it now.

New TV

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely Wednesday? Our new TV finally arrived. Got it from Best Buy and let them do all the work. It was a bit expensive to have them take down the old one and install the new one, but I think it was worth it. Dad wanted to be macho and do it himself, but our old one was a plasma (so, 150ish lbs) and the wall mount was being stupid, so I didn’t really want him finagling it out by himself even though I know he would’ve figured out a way. The Geek Squad guys (Michael and Jonathan, I believe) got it out pretty quick, installed a new mount Dad bought that should make life easier (it lets you pull the TV out about 26″ and swivels), then put up the new TV. They even did the initial setup of the Roku stick, so we didn’t have to worry about pairing the remote. I made sure we got signed in to all our stuff and we spent the rest of the day (Tuesday) watching TV. Anyway, here’s a stock photo of the LG G5 because I’m too lazy to have Dad take a picture of our stuff. The image quality is great so far and the white is certainly bright. I’m going to watch some more now.

Question: Best TVs?

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things are still in the wait and see part regarding Medicaid. I have to say, this is a ridiculously long wait, even for them. But yeah, the current administration isn’t ruining anything by firing everyone willy nilly. It’s all perfect. Anyway, other than that, our week has been interesting. Our TV finally died after 18ish years. It was a great TV. Panasonic. Now, Dad’s looking for a new one. He’s looking at the 65″ range because it’ll fit in the entertainment center he built. All we’re really wanting is the best screen quality. We’ll stick with a Roku device for streaming and our sound system is great, so speaker quality isn’t important. We just want a TV with the best picture. Dad’s looking at an LG, but we’ve never had a good experience with them in other devices, so he’s a little wary of them. There’s also a Sony he’s looking at, but it’s a bit pricy without any reason we can see for being so. What are your favorite TVs? Recommendations? Feel free to leave a comment here or on my social media pages!

From 2016. Entertainment center in the background. Can’t find a better picture.

Thoughts on R.A.T.S: REVOLUTIONARY ARMY OF TEENS

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this first day of October? Things here are the same. Just waiting to find out if I’m still cripple enough for Medicaid if they ever do anything. Anyway, as you can see from the post’s title, this is going to be a book review! That book that was supposed to come out in June was finally released, so I’m going to go ahead and review it. R.A.T.S: Revolutionary Army of Teens by Claudia Daher was released on September 25th from Vanguard Press (an imprint of Pegasus Publishers). Rachel Lachney from Books Forward reached out to me about reviewing it. As usual, this is an honest and unbiased review. I will say that the ARC I received was from way back in March and I have no idea if any major edits have taken place since then or not. So, take this review with a grain of salt just in case I didn’t have the most recent version. Here we go.

R.A.T.S: Revolutionary Army of Teens follows a number of young people from all over the world, mainly David, as they become immersed in a video game about saving the world from climate change and an alien threat. When they find out the game isn’t just a game, but based on a real and imminent disaster, they take it upon themselves to use the training provided in the game to go save the world.

The age range of the kids has this book straddling middle grade and young adult, but it definitely reads on the younger end of middle grade. It’s an over-simplification of climate change and some other complicated issues that encourages kids to think about these things and try to work together on potential solutions. I like that part. In today’s world, adults (at least where I’m from) can’t even agree that basic access to affordable food and healthcare are rights, not luxuries. They certainly aren’t going to fix anything as complex as climate change. So, the premise of this book is great.

The actual plot, though. Meh. A lot of it reads like a C.S. Lewis book. Thinly veiled Christianity. The good aliens are beings of light and warmth who never interfere with a human’s free will, etc. While the bad aliens are beings of darkness and greed who destroy everything they touch, but they happen to be descendants of evil, lying, sinning humans. There’s also a random scene with a lion and a lamb, just in case everything else was too subtle. Oh, and David’s basically Jesus for reasons I won’t spoil, but which are glaringly obvious. Now, I’m not saying this is an inherently bad thing. I do think it will confuse the crap out of Republicans. “Must ban because climate change doesn’t exist, but it’s thinly veiled Christian stuff…” -internal meltdown-. I find that hilarious. I’m just saying, I’m not into books that try so hard to be religious and cover it up at the same time. So, it ruined an otherwise decent plot for me.

The characters are all pretty much perfect, except for the bad aliens and random young Texans. This is not a good thing, especially in a middle grade book. There are no flaws for young readers to relate to, no room for growth. Literally the only character growth in this book is when one of the Texans decides not to be a dick any more. Otherwise, everyone makes all the right choices at all the right times. There’s no tension. No internal conflict. Everyone is just perfect and it’s boring.

Side note: the dialogue is pretty standard if somewhat stilted, except for the Texans. They talk like some combination of the Beverly Hillbillies and every cliché Western movie. I’m not entirely sure if it was supposed to be insulting (if so, fair) or if that’s how the author actually thinks people talk here. It’s just weird that they’re the only ones who get lines that sound like “I done jumped ’bout as high as an armadilly what got it’s tail-end tickled with a feather” (not a quote, just my own example). I mean… why?

The writing was fairly unobtrusive. It flowed and made for a quick read. There are also pictures drawn by the author throughout the book, which was lovely.

Ultimately, I thought the premise of R.A.T.S: Revolutionary Army of Teens was great, but I was not a fan of the execution. Most of my dislike was a me problem. Personally, I just felt it could’ve been better.

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One because it was written and published and one because I know other people will like it more than I did. If you’re a fan of thinly veiled Bible retellings, you’ll probably like it a lot more than I did. If you’re a fan of middle grade sci-fi or have kids who are, check it out.

Thoughts on EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS FOR AMATEUR WITCHES

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are about the same. Still waiting. Still tired. Anyway, it’s not time for random complaints. It’s the last Wednesday of September, so it’s book review time! This month, I went for some fluffy, gay fantasy. I didn’t realize it was actually the second book in a loosely connected series when I requested it, but it stands fairly well on it’s own. I just hate reading things out of order because if I do go back to the first book, it’s spoiled. But I digress. Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches by Kayla Cottingham was released by Delacorte Press on the 23rd (yesterday). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches follows Kieran, who is currently reeling from a series of unfortunate events, as he accidentally curses his (on a break) boyfriend and sets off on an impossible task to fix it. The task? Finding a panacea (cure all) which may or may not exist. To make matters worse, this quest is also his Calling, the test of his own choosing that the Witch’s Council will use to determine whether or not he keeps his magic. Why did he choose something so difficult? But at least he gets to go adventuring with old friends and even a new one. Why does the new one have to be so attractive, though? Kieran has no idea what he’s doing. Hopefully, he can figure it out before everything falls apart.

The plot. It’s cute and predictable. The romance is a little too slow burn for me, but it’s adorable. The main part of the story is broken down into three tasks, then the culmination and climax. I went right through the first two tasks, but by the third one, I had a little trouble continuing. It was just so clear what was going to happen that I lost a little interest. The climax was also super disappointing. This is supposed to be all about Kieran growing and becoming the hero, but when it comes to the final boss (if you’ll excuse the video game reference), someone else takes care of everything while he cries over his inability to save someone. It felt lazy.

The characters. I loved most of the characters. Especially Kieran and Sebastian. Seaweed was my favorite, of course. I thought Ash was an asshole and not worth all the angst, but maybe if I had read the first book, I’d feel different. If he was even in it. There was also a baddie who shows up for like five pages that was useless. They were supposed to be this formidable opponent, but the way they showed up and disappeared was weak. They were literally used to make Kieran freak out about the fact that Sebastian had dated before, then thrown back into the ether like they had never existed. They could’ve been a much larger part of the story. Adelaide also feels completely random, but I’m almost positive that’s because I didn’t read the first book where she seems to play a big role.

The writing was good. There was nothing mind blowing about it, but it flowed nicely and made for an easy read.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the first half or so of Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches, then got bored with it. I seriously thought about going back and reading the first book, but this book basically spoils the whole thing, so I probably won’t.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It wasn’t bad per se, it just wasn’t for me. If you enjoy super light gay fluff fantasy, check it out. But there are a lot of better ones out there.