We Used to Live Here

We Used to Live Here

by Marcus Kliewer

Blurb:

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

My Reaction:

This is yet another horror book I've seen highly recommended, so I thought I'd give it a try.  So many other readers apparently found it terrifying and loved it, but for me it was just "okay".  The premise is great, but once you start to figure out what's going on (well, figure it out as much as anyone can, given that there are no definite answers), I found it a little disappointing.  That particular trope or style of horror has never been my favorite, and I can't reveal what it is without spoilers, so I'll leave it for now.  

The frequency of "oh no, religion" had me rolling my eyes, and apart from a few genuinely scary moments, I just wasn't feeling the terror.  Definitely not the scariest book I've ever read.  I think this might be one of those stories that works better as a movie than a novel—though I did enjoy the idea of the documents and the "hidden messages" doled out through the book.  (More about them in the spoilers section.) 

All in all, I enjoyed this novel well enough, but I also don't think it's as amazing as many others evidently do. I simply have too many unanswered questions. 

I struggle with rating this one, so I'm going straight down the middle of the road with 3 stars.

SPOILERS:

Okay, are the anti-spoilerites gone? 

Good.  

There are so many terrifying possibilities available, when the book starts with a family of strangers at the door—possibilities both paranormal in nature and completely within the realm of brutal reality.  What I wasn't expecting was a tale of "the old gods" toying with and mentally torturing hapless humans for no apparent reason except possibly their entertainment.  (Well, either that or Eve has lost her mind, and I don't think that's the conclusion we're supposed to settle on.)  

I think the paranormal can be incredibly frightening, when done right, but Lovecraftian horror generally isn't as effective for me as it seems to be for many other readers.  Maybe I just haven't found the right book, yet.  Yes, there are moments of this book that are scary, and the uncertainty is unsettling—but nothing in here kept me up at night or made me hesitate to walk down the hallway at night without switching on the light (as has been known to happen on occasion, with other books). 

Regarding the "hidden messages":  Maybe it's not exactly a hidden message when it's in the form of Morse code clearly visible at the end of chapters and random capitalized letters, but I'm not sure how else to describe them. I missed the wingdings messages completely and only read about them in another review.

Painting Cats: Curious, Mindful & Free-Spirited Watercolors

Painting Cats: Curious, Mindful & Free-Spirited Watercolors

by Terry Runyan

Blurb:

In this follow-up to her hit Painting Happiness, Instagram sensation Terry Runyan shows you how to play with watercolor to create quirky cat portraits--and let go of stress.

Perfect for cat lovers and watercolor artists of all skill levels, from absolute beginner to more experienced, Painting Cats teaches you how to go from blob of paint to a beautiful portrait of your fluffy friends. Drawing on art therapy techniques that emphasize fun and freedom in creativity over technical perfection, Runyan guides you step by step through the process of adding details to loosely painted shapes to create your own unique and distinct cats.

My Reaction:

Love it!  Even if you're more of a dog person, the cats are adorable and the book itself is fun and inspiring.  If you enjoyed Terry Runyan's previous watercolor book, Painting Happiness, you'll probably like this one, too.  I found Painting Happiness very helpful.  It opened me up to more possibilities and helped me learn to ignore my harsh inner critic.  (The author certainly lives up to her self-description as a "creative encourager"!)  I'm thrilled to have another book of watercolor happiness to flip through when I'm in need of inspiration.  

Keeping a Creative Sketchbook

Keeping a Creative Sketchbook: Build Your Artistic Practice for a Joyfully Inspired Life

by Emma Block

Blurb:

Keeping a sketchbook is a wonderfully rewarding pursuit for artists and hobbyists alike. Your sketchbook is a safe place to explore, experiment, try new things, record your progress, and sometimes mess up, and working in a sketchbook, particularly on location, is an innately mindful practice. You become completely focused on the things you are sketching or painting and completely immersed in the atmosphere of the place.

In  Keeping a Creative Sketchbook , Emma Block shares her own sketchbook practice and offers inspiring artist interviews and numerous techniques and practices for beginning or transforming your own. Packed with ideas and prompts to get started, this book helps overcome overwhelm and open a world of joyful creativity. With your sketchbook by your side, you can slow down, be present, notice the little things, enjoy the process, let go of perfectionism, and embrace the blank page, discovering rich new depths to your creativity and finding your artist mindset for inner peace.

My Reaction:

"On-location" art creation isn't really something I do much of, at the moment, but I still found the book interesting and inspiring, with plenty of useful information for anyone considering keeping a sketchbook and uncertain of where to start.  Much of this info is perfectly relevant beyond the sketchbook, too.  If you don't like working in a bound sketchbook, you can just as easily do the same type of work on loose sheets or a pad or block of paper, then put them together in a binder, scrapbook, keepsake box, etc. 

I particularly enjoyed the interviews sprinkled throughout the book, with other artists sharing how they use their own sketchbooks, tips, etc. and photos of their work. There are a variety of different styles to spark new ideas. 

How to Attract the Wombat

How to Attract the Wombat

by Will Cuppy

Blurb:

A survey of the animal kingdom in which the nocturnal and tunneling wombat is awarded the greatest praise.

Will Cuppy was something like the Larry David of the mid-20th century. From his perch as a staff writer at The New Yorker , Cuppy observed the world and found a great deal that annoyed him. This collection of essays on animals includes “Birds Who Can’t Even Fly,” “Optional Insects,” “Octopuses and Those Things”, and “How to Swat a Fly,” which codifies the essentials in ten hilarious principles. And three essays on wombats. Perfect reading for the perplexed, befuddled, and perpetually irritated.

My Reaction:

I found these humorous essays better than Cuppy's book about historical figures (The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody)—but less enjoyable than How to Be a Hermit.  Good for light reading, especially if you want something that can mostly be consumed in short bites.  

If you're the type who reads P.G. Wodehouse, I'd give this author a try.  

Deception Point

Deception Point

by Dan Brown

Blurb:

When a new NASA satellite spots evidence of an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory… a victory that has profound implications for U.S. space policy and the impending presidential election.

With the Oval Office in the balance, the President dispatches White House Intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton to the Milne Ice Shelf to verify the authenticity of the find. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic academic Michael Tolland, Rachel uncovers the unthinkable—evidence of scientific trickery—a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy.

But before Rachel can contact the President, she and Michael are attacked by a deadly task force…a private team of assassins controlled by a mysterious powerbroker who will stop at nothing to hide the truth. Fleeing for their lives in an environment as desolate as it is lethal, they possess only one hope, to find out who is behind this masterful ploy. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all…

My Reaction:
Read with Donald for the 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back podcast/book club.  

It's silly and formulaic, crammed with inaccurate information, much longer than it needs to be, and set at an often agonizingly slow pace, but I still found it more enjoyable to read than some of the other things we've read along with 372 Pages.  

(We've also read Digital Fortress, by the same author—and along with the same podcast—and were amused by some parallels between the two.)