We All Float Down Here

I went to the movies and saw IT Chapter Two this weekend. I've been chewing over my thoughts and feels on this movie and have decided that Chapter One is much better. I'll be honest, I never liked the spider thing at the end. I think the movie tried to make it creepier and it just failed. I did appreciate how everyone, including Stephen King as the Shopkeeper, made sure to let Bill know his endings suck.

I love King, but sometimes his endings really suck. I really disliked how the Losers defeated IT in the movie. I also wanted more of Henry Bowers. He is such an excellent villian who really made their fight against IT so much harder and he wasn't given his due role in the movie.

Character/actor-wise, I think the casting was pretty damn good. Bill Hader as Ritchie was spot on...and who doesn't want to imagine Finn Wolfhard growing up to be Bill Hader???

The kids are back as well for the flashback scenes. I did appreciate how the adult losers faced down their adult fears separately (Ben, I feel ya on your fear of dying alone).

Overall, I'd say watch it. But for the love of god, just read the book!

I've read A LOT since we last spoke. Let's run them down:

Still Waters by Tami Hoag was pretty decent. I really like Hoag but this did annoy me some. It ended up being a good beach read and stayed in Florida.

The Titan's Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan were both consumed on my Kindle while in airports and airplanes. My tween seat mate on the way home heartily approved of the Percy Jackson series...and I agree. Good reads even if they are YA.

Blood Work by Michael Lister was a BookBub book deal. Jumped right into the middle of a series but the author let me know it was ok. Surprisingly good book with some nice twists.

Personal by Lee Child is a Jack Reacher book. I'm getting more and more hooked on Reacher IF I pretend that Tom Cruise never played Reacher in a movie. :) This was a really good and speedy read.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Gran was a IRL book club book. We had a pretty lively discussion but man, if this true account of the Osage Indians does not prove that Americans refuse to learn from history, I don't know what does.

The Third Secret by Steve Berry has been sitting in my stacks forever! It came from a library book sale and I've heard good things about Berry. In this one, the Catholic Church has a secret (NO, not that one - which isn't really a secret) and one of their own is trying to solve a mystery. Less chaotic and Hollywood-y than a Dan Brown book.

The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott was a postal book club book. Never heard of the author but I was intrigued by the premise of a church taking in a widow and her baby after the husband commits suicide. Two back to back church books!

Body Double by Tess Gerritsen was another one in my stacks forever. I do love Tess. This was a pretty good, weird, mystery that involves pregnant women and really creepy sickos.

Good Talk by Mira Jacobs was discovered by listening to episode 118 of So Many Damn Books. I instantly went to Powells online and got the book. READ THIS. It's important. You can never really step into someone else's shoes but this is a good start to trying.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was another good one. Why do people still need to be told not to judge other people? The Marsh Girl has more intelligence in her pinky than the entire town has collectively. 

So...wow. I've read a lot since June. According to GoodReads, I've read 30 of my 45 books this year. Not too shabby.