I read about Pigeonhole, where you get a piece of a book - a Stave- per day for a limited amount of time. The idea is that everyone who is joining is reading at the same speed as you. Face of Glass was my first try with Pigeonhole, and it worked, but still, I don't really like reading from my phone as opposed to my eReader which reads great.

What I liked about Face of Glass, mainly the stories that were interwoven into the main narrative. The leader of the tribe outsmarted the volcano, the Sun and the Moon. The main story was mwah. It wasn't that it wasn't interesting, but it was all far too easy for the main character. He raises from slave to leader in the blink of an eye, and from that conquers all the remaining problems in a likewise quick fashion. There were 8 staves of this book and I felt that there was hardly any problem that couldn't be solved within one of those. Which was a shame.

~Read through Pigeonhole~

Another bunch of short stories about gamblers, gangsters, showgirls and various characters which are full of 1940s New York slang and silly situations. They are a lighthearted easy read which I’ve delved into between reading more serious stuff. Making a pleasant change, this book is enjoyable and worth a look for something a bit lighter.

Door 5: Bon Om Touk

Book: I read Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors #1) by Susan Beth Pfeffer. That is one big moon and it gets bigger with each additional book in the series.

Task #1: List of rainy day reads - I don't do much, if any, re-reading. Rainy day reads means to me reading something that gets me so invested I don't want to leave my blanket fort, so mysteries - either cozy or historical. Something quiet and soothing, but with a puzzle to solve to keep me turning the pages.

1. Guidebook to Murder (Tourist Trap Mystery#1) by Lynn Cahoon

2. Spying in High Heels (High Heels #1) by Gemma Halliday

3. A Death on the Way to Portsmouth by Christine Trent

4. Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope #1) by Susan Elia MacNeal

5. Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case (Jayne Frost #1) by Kristin Painter

Task #2: Skipping

Task #3: Did someone say dragons? Toothless from the How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell is of course my favorite literary dragon.

Task #4: Compile a list or stack – 4 books minimum – composed of books that either have opposing words in their titles

I had to search my current TBR pile as well as past reading (thank you BL reading challenge app!) to get these:

1. Living and Dying in Brick City by Dr. Sampson Davis

2. Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Dr. Damon Tweedy

3. Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry by Bill Jones

4. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

New York Firefighter Griffin has a problem, and its his best friend Dante. It's been ten years since 9/11 and it was almost losing Dante on that day that made him realize he felt something more than friendship, but he's been afraid to say anything because of the realities of prejudice in their profession and because having a die-hard, hopeless crush for ten years isn't totally awful. Urgh. I can't even.

Anyway, it turns out that Dante is having money problems and might lose his house unless he makes some money fast. Could Griff possibly do him a solid and do gay porn with him for some quick cash? It would be rude to say no....The straight fetish thing is a bit much for me. Being comfortable naked in a locker room is one thing, but having sex with each other for the internet for not that much money is a bit hard to, uh, swallow. Eh, but straight guys having straight sex together with no women involved is totally a thing (must...not...scare quote) and fits into the porn vibe.

Despite the plot, this is probably the best-written romance yet. I appreciated the time taken to explain Griff's situation with Dante. Dante's family essentially adopted Griff after his mother passed away when they were in school and left him with an emotionally distant father. It made sense that Griff would be afraid to confess his feelings, he could be losing his friend, but also his chosen family. He gets points for legitimately trying to talk Dante out of the whole porn thing too, and felt guilty about getting involved with it and having so much fun. The writing was snappy, with plenty of humor, the supporting cast well-drawn and realistic, except for the porn-peddler with a heart of gold of course, and, finally, I liked how Suede totally just owned the ridiculousness of everything involved. The guys just go to town on each other and at the end of the day that's what we're all here for.

I think we all know how this ends, and if it was convenient, I didn't care.

Hot Head

Next: 'Hard Head'

The end of Snakes and Ladders and BoB helped me push past my usual number of books read. COYER Summer starts tomorrow and BL-opoly is off to a good start, so I am looking at upping my BL/GR goal. I really need to write reviews at least once a week instead of writing all the reviews at the end of the month.

Goals:

BL/GR: 61/75 (80% completed)

Nixon Reading List: DNF the book this month

Challenges:

BoB Cycle 25 - 4 books finished and 3 IG photos

Snakes and Ladders - Finished

BL-opoly: earned $14.00

May Reading List

1. We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time by Jose Andres and Richard Wolffe - 5 stars

2. Better Off Wed (Annabelle Archer Wedding Planner Mystery #1) by Laura Durham - 3 stars

3. Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Dr. Damon Tweedy - 5 stars

4. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis - 4.5 stars

5. Are You There Coffee? It's Me, Mom by Kianna Alexander - 3 stars

6. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Olsen and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim - 5 stars

7. Bitch Planet, Volume 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine de Landro - 2.5 stars

8. Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine de Landro - 2.5 stars

9. Bombshells: United, Volume 1: American Soil by Marguerite Bennett and Marguerite Sauvage - 2 stars

10. Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton - 4 stars

11. American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson - 3.5 stars

12. The Making of the President 1972 by Theodore White - DNF

13. A Change of Fortune (Ladies of Distinction #1) by Jen Turano - 4 stars

14. On Distant Shores (Wings of the Nightingale #2) by Sarah Sundin - 5 stars

15. Summerset Abbey (Summerset Abbey #1) by T.J. Brown - DNF

16. Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction #0.5) by Jen Turano - 2 stars

17. Then Came You (Bradford Sisters #0.5) by Becky Wade - 0 stars

Stats

Non-Fiction: 6 (5 read, 1 attempted)

Fiction: 11 (10 read, 1 attempted)

Print: 7

Ebook: 9

Audio: 1

Male Authors: 5

Female Authors: 12

AoC/LGBT: 3 (all AoCs)