Finished Circe by Madeline Miller . I think I loved this one even more than Song of Achilles.

Finished Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor.

I'm halfway through The Witch Elm by Tana French. I love this author so I have high expectations on this one. Really interesting mystery, I'm just waiting for everything to come together in the end.

So I finally finished Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker. This one gets a 3/5 for me. It could have used way less Facebook drama from the families and more detail on forensics or the actual investigation.

Picking up Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor up from the post office today, can't wait to get started! I've been really looking forward to it even though I don't read much YA anymore.

And The Witch Elm by Tana French comes out tomorrow, I plan on not leaving my apartment and devouring it. She's actually my favorite author.

Managed to read some more of The Witch Elm, by Tana French. Still loving it. It finally got to the murder bit. It's really interesting seeing French explore the perspective of someone involved in the case that (as far as we know) isn't the murderer or the victim. She does a great job of showing the disconnect in information between detectives and suspects (even unlikely suspects) and how rumors can change the case or how people feel when detectives are trying to manipulate them in to giving them additional information but the person being questioned doesn't know what they already know or what they want to know or if they even know what the detectives want to know.

Nearing the end of the audiobook for A Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers. Still great. She's touching on some interesting points of immigration and emigration. She's specifically exploring what it's like to return to a culture your ancestors practiced and how you'll feel like an outsider and generally be viewed as a meddling tourist even if you actually want to be connected to your historic culture and live exactly like everyone else, sanitation duty and all.

The Witch Elm, by Tana French

French has become one of my favorite authors and her newest book continues her focus on how stressful or traumatic events impact the individuals involved. Her previous novels have focused on how cases can change detectives' lives or dig up their past while The Witch Elm focuses on a victim of a traumatic assault. The main character is your typical upper middle class white guy. He hasn't faced any particular hardships, he put his time in at school, is good at his job, has a wonderful girlfriend, and his parents helped him with the down payment on his first flat. Basically, he's extremely relateable for me. Then, he's attacked by robbers and suffers some moderate brain damage. Weakness in the left side of his body and occasional struggles with word recall. Nothing extreme. Still, we see how this completely alters his perspective on life, and the new challenges he is faced with. It's really helping me consider what I take for granted in every day life.

The Shinning Girls, by Lauren Beukes

My current audiobook. What a trip. There's a time traveling serial killer on the loose. I didn't love how quickly the serial killer came to grips with his new time traveling ability, but I've enjoyed most of the book so far. One victim barely survived and has started investigating her own attack (unaware of the time traveling danger she faces). Beuke manages to beautifully capture snapshots of the victim's lives making them the focus of their own deadly chapters, giving us a connection to each victim. It's a brutal tale of how death comes for even the most undeserving and I can't wait to see how it all wraps up.

The Witch Elm, by Tana French

I didn't make much progress on this book last week, but I enjoyed what I got through. It's still focusing on the upper middle class white dude coming to grips with his new physical and mental limitations which are extremely minor in comparison to other trauma victims. It's a great look at what I take for granted in life.

Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers

I'm starting this audiobook today and I can't wait. It's the third book in her wayfarers series and they have all been outstanding so far.

This week I finished The Witch Elm, by Tana French and Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou.

This week on the Drunk Guy Book Club Podcast is Pet Sematary, by Stephen King. Next week, A Game of Thrones, by George RR Martin!

About 100 pages into The Witch Elm by Tana French. It hasn't hooked me yet like some of her other books have this early in but I'm still holding out hope. I've heard mixed reviews on this one

Finished: The Witch Elm, by Tana French: first book read by this author. Interesting, claustrophobic mystery that includes an unreliable narrator, dark family secrets and a twist towards the end I didn’t see coming.

The Smoke Thieves, by Sally Green: I’m hooked! A tale of several neighboring countries and their tangled residents and includes romance, daring-do, false identities, loyalty tested and betrayal. The end totally leaves you dangling...

Transcription, by Kate Atkinson : set in three time periods, it tells the tale of a young woman who begins to work for the government’s espionage department in London during WWII. Has some inspiration from real life. Juliette, the protagonist, is funny/witty but gets caught up in the dangers that come with spying.

At the Water’s Edge, by Sara Gruen: a mad caper that begins with three young people fleeing the fishbowl of Philadelphia society during WWII to find the Loch Ness monster but turns into a domestic drama of abuse, lies and gaslighting. And some redemptive romance with one decent sex scene. The end was a little cheesy...but by that point the poor girl deserved it!

Started: King Rat, by James Clavell

Ongoing: A History of Crete, by Chris Moorey

Finished King of Scars, by Leigh Bardugo. I had high hopes but it was mostly filler. The only reason I managed to get through it was because I was attached to the characters.

Currently reading The Witch Elm, by Tana French. I'm more than halfway though and it's moving pretty slowly. It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, curious to see how Tana French will wrap this one up.

Finished:

The Kingdom, by Fuminori Nakamura

• A blackmailer becomes embroiled in a cat and mouse game in Tokyo's underworld.

• VERY quick read, I finished it in 2 days

• Interesting writing style, the themes/motifs are very well designed into the plot and narrative

• Quite existentialist, but had a happier ending than I expected. 9/10

The Witch Elm, by Tana French

• A man recovering from an attack at his family estate must confront his family's past when a skull is found in a tree

• Very readable, but the plot is also very slow. Nothing important really happens until 200 pages in

• First of French's books that I've read. I like her writing style and dialogue, but the ending should've come 50 pages earlier

• Despite the length I did become really invested in the story. It wasn't quite the book I imagined, but it was a solid read. 7/10

Finished: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

Loved this one!

Started: The Witch Elm, by Tana French

Ongoing: A History of Crete, by Chris Moorey

Finished This Is The Water by Yannick Murphy. Thought it was kind of meh. Thought that the murders that happen in the book would have more of an effect on the characters but it seems like it was just something that happened and didn't really effect them.

Started the Witch Elm by Tana French. French is 1 of my most favorite authors and I was really excited when she released a new book later year. Been wanting to read this for awhile now. Hopefully it's as good if not better than her previous books

About halfway through The Witch Elm by Tana French.

Finished The Witch Elm by Tana French. While I liked it I felt it wasn't as twisty and on the edge of my seat, gotta find out what happens next as some of her other books. I did like that it was part of her Dublin Murder Squad series and that the character wasn't a cop.

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Also finished Goodbye, Paper Doll by Anne Snyder. It wasn't to bad. I felt like I probably could have related to it more if I had read when I was 15 or so versus 30.

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Next up is Long Ride Home by Louis L'Amour. Chose it because it's 1 of the shorter 1's in by t.b.r. pile and I'm getting behind on my reading goal. I've never read a Western style book before. Should be fun!

Read The Witch Elm, by Tana French over Thanksgiving break. Enjoyed it! Love her writing.

Started Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty after. I'm just about halfway through and it's pretty much in Moriarty's style where nothing seems to happen until something does. So patiently reading!

Finished The Witch Elm, by Tana French. One word: SLOW. Another few words: extremely unlikable narrator. Wouldn't recommend.

Started Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty. I love this woman's books. Already about halfway through and it's fantastic.