Fills in Pumpkin Square

A quick read that was more food porn than scary/spooky story. I really don't have much to say other than I was bored reading about Ichabod Crane, freeloader expert. Endless descriptions of NY came at the expense of a plot. Once the Headless Horseman showed, things got interesting and intense for about three pages. 2 stars.

Bottom line: Way too soap opera-ish/overly dramatic, even for a Shakespearean tragedy.
While Iago was a decent, if paint by the numbers, villain, his work wasn't that hard since Othello and Roderigo were so easily taken in with Iago's thin lies. I like Othello in the beginning, but I quickly lost that feeling when he went into overdrive on the dramatics and "woe is me, I have a cheating wife" hysterics. Desdemona from the beginning seemed to be nothing more than a doormat for any other character to use whenever the plot called for it. The true hero in this story isn't Othello, it is Emilia who told the truth and called out her husband for his schemes and lies.

I did like that the play involved malicious gossip, racism, and misogyny to showcase how human the idols and leaders of a society could be ruined. But it was boring to read scene after scene of Othello's, Cassius', and Roderigo's hysterics.

This play could have been set in modern times with its politics and human machinations. I could see so many parallels to American politics in particular.  I am so digging each character except Desdemona - she is a walking doormat. Her and Othello's lovey-dovey crap is a little eye-rolling. This is the last book I need for Summer Bingo black out and keeps me on schedule for my classics challenge.

July is here and I am ready to hit up a new month of reads.

Courtney Milan Challenge

1. The Countess Conspiracy (Brothers Sinister #3)

Regency Box Set

2. His Jilted Bride (Banks Brothers Brides #3) by Rose Gordon (left over from June)

3. Next book

Classics Challenge/John Steinbeck Reader

4. Tortilla Flat

Non-Fiction Challenge

4. Sisters in Law by Linda Hirschman

5. Bourbon: An American Spirit by Dane Huckelbridge

6. Tomorrow-Land by Joseph Tirella

7. Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss

8. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

TBR Pile Down

9. Killer Run (Tourist Trap Mystery #5) by Lynn Cahoon

10. Hearts of Gold by Phoebe Conn

11. The American Bride by Karla Darcy

12. Emily's Vow (A More Perfect Union #1) by Betty Bolte

13. The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

14. Gold Rush Brides: Beginnings by Cassie Hayes

15. Easter 1916 by Charles Townsend (Finish)

16. At the Duke's Wedding (Anthology) (Finish)

Happy Reading.

This is a short book, but it took me a while to return to the book after I finished the first story and basically today I just powered through it. There are four short stories within this book, and none of them work off the others, but they use the same people in all stories.

The Gift - young boy (Jody) receives his first horse, a red pony. Boy takes to the horse immediately, and pony is equally enthralled with his new owner. Pony dies from what was essentially equine flu. Boy loses his trust in any of the adults on the ranch for not helping him save his pony from dying. 

The Great Mountains - an old man who was born and raised on a piece of land that is now Jody's parents ranch comes back so he can die in the same area he was born in. Old man steals the ranch's oldest horse who is also dying. They ride off into the mountains.

The Promise - Jody sees how horses mate/breed and almost gets killed for being too close to the action. Jody's mare gets pregnant but problems with the delivery caused her death in order for the foal to live.

The Leader of the People - Jody's maternal grandfather visits the ranch. The two of them bond over lemonade and grandpa's old stories about leading a wagon train west across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to California.

Steinbeck's writing, when it came to invoking a specific time and place, was beautiful. His characters in this sucked. The adults are dysfunctional, which leaves the reader sympathizing with Jody for being stuck on that ranch with these idiots. There wasn't much meat in these stories, and many of the scenes were gruesome (buzzards poking at the dead pony's eyes, details about an equine C-section performed). 2 stars for the writing of a time and place.