The Golden Spruce: A true story of Myth, Madness, and Greed - John Vaillant

 I don't even know how this book came into my possession to begin with, but being as I apparently own it, I thought I should read it. It's not my normal read, but I liked it overall. It was particularly useful in that you could pick it up and put it down without missing much of the plot. For people that like nature and non-fiction, this would be a great book. 

The Kill Society - Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim Novel, Bk. 9)

 I'm definitely in love with these books. Typically, I try to read books I like slowly so I can enjoy them over time, but I went through this one pretty fast, and I think I enjoyed it more that way. I'm not sure why. I also heard a rumor that it was going on screen, not sure if the plan is a movie or series. (I saw both mentioned.) Either way, I'm excited and hopeful about that. 

Unlovable - Darren Hayes

 I've been a massive fan of Darren's work since the first few seconds of seeing the I Want You American music video. I've followed all his ups and downs. I'm truly, madly, deeply in love with his work. Therefore, my emotional attachment to the book is certainly more significant that the typical reader. That being said, it's an intense ride from beginning to end. I loved it, and hated parts too. The details on the long road to making the songs was mesmerizing. The trips through his childhood were awful. The suicidal ideations were so hard to listen to because I wanted to yell back, "You're too wonderful to be dead!" I greatly appreciate the sincerity behind all of it. I will re-read this book in the future and take notes on all the details about the songs so I can go back and listen to them in real time. 

Hammered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk. 3) - Kevin Hearne

 Super fun fight scene! I highly recommend this series for people who enjoy a good fictional romp!

Healing through the Vagus Nerve: Improve your body's response to anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma through nervous system Regulation - Amanda Armstrong

 This book was so boring that I had a very hard time paying attention to it. Maybe if this was my problem, I would have felt more invested and been able to, but it just.... bleh.  Now, I DO think it's super relevant and important for people who do have these issues. And I could see it being highly useful for those people too, but that's not me. 

- "Thoughts: I must do this now! It must be done just right, or else! If I slow down everything will fall apart! Are they mad at me? There's not enough time! I have to fix this!"

- "If you're activated, insert a tool and then feel more settled or calm, even a tiny bit, it worked! Or if you're shut down, insert a tool and feel more connected or energized, it worked!" This is just..... wording people! Wording! This is NOT how to word this! hahahaha

Miraculous Abundance: One quarter acre, Two French farmers, and enough food to feed the world - Perrine and Charles Herve-Gruyer

 I was expecting this to be more of a permaculture book with ideas and how-to's, but instead it was more of a love story to micro-farming, which I guess is fine, but it wasn't what I came here for.  It was mildly interesting to hear about the rise of French micro-farming and permaculture and the resurgence of interest in small farms in the area.  The old-school garden farmers of Paris from 100+ years ago was also interesting. It had a few good recommendations on how-to books, but that's all this was really good for. 

- "Is it reasonable to let corporations forced into logic of profit in the short-term and competition for market share decide how our bodies are formed?"

- "Ingesting polluted industrial 'food' is a form of assault to our bodies, an assault to life. Giving these 'foods' to our children can be seen as slow assassination." 

- "No civilization can endue when it allows itself to waste 10 calories to produce one. Our system as evolved into a massive process of unstocking the oil resources that nature took hundreds of millions of years to form. We live in the heart of a fireworks display that can only be short-lived. A growing number of experts are sounding the alarm bell. If there were a sudden shortage of oil linked, for example, to a geo-political event, France would have only a few days of food reserves."

- "The foundations of peace cannot be laid by universal prosperity in the modern sense because such prosperity, if attainable at all, is attainable only by cultivating such strides of human nature as greed and envy, which destroy intelligence, happiness, serenity, and thereby, the peacefulness of man."

A Sky beyond the Storm - Sabaa Tahir (Ember in the Ashes, Bk. 4)

 The last of the series, I thought it did an excellent job of tying up all the lose ends. It was a good story, but probably not one I'd recommend to many people. It was fine, but not special. 

It did have one amazing quote: "I needed to prey on humanity's worst traits, tribalism, prejudice, greed."