Reading In/Out 11/26/25

So okay. I didn't do a Friday Reads on Friday. I didn't even know it WAS Friday on Friday. The last week has been a little much. Even this post is a day late. After missing almost a week of work, I was playing catch up in a big way. My email inbox was aggressively full. But here we are now. You didn't miss much.

OUT

My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich - I finished listening to this on Saturday. For several days, it was literally the only reading I was doing. I was sort of hanging on by my fingernails already, and then things took a turn and I had to really prioritize my time. Thank god for audiobooks. ANYWAY, this is about Owen, who is starting his Freshman year of college many miles away from home. When he gets to his room, he finds out that his original roommate plan has changed and now he is rooming with Zarmenus. Zarmenus is the first demon from Hell attending college on Earth. It is an exercise in ambassadorship. His job is to prove that humans and demons can coexist. At first, their relationship is rocky. Zarmenus is a terrible and inconsiderate roommate. He brings home boys to hook up with when Owen is in the room. He leaves trash and crumbs and clothes everywhere. Owen is about to ask to switch rooms when the dean tells him that if he can make it through the semester with Zarmenus, she will set him up with a friend of hers who is looking for an intern. At Google. Owen really wants to do that so he bites his tongue and tries to work it out with Zarmenus. The problem is he isn't ready for the media coverage and papparazzi and just general attention living with the only demon brings him. Not to mention the bizarre beings and events that come along with a demon from hell: Belle the disappearing hell cat who will try to eat your soul if you look into her eyes, the ghoul that lives in the bathroom and can only be seen in the mirror, the creepy voodoo looking doll that shows up randomly and moves about the room, the fire that tries to engulf the room when Zarmenus was having a nightmare. Then there are the cult members who consider themselves demon hunters tasked with killing Zarmenus to save humanity. It was fun and perfect for not thinking about reality for a little while.

Piranesi by Susanah Clarke - After I finished the Belle Starr book late on a Monday, I didn't have time to choose my new book. I worked late on Tuesday and still didn't have time. Occasionally, I would wander past my shelves and see if anything jumped out at me. Nothing did. On Thursday night, just before bed, I took this one off the shelf and decided it was the one. It has followed me around to all my various pursuits, but even though it is a short book, I am only 60% through it. If I thought I was going to have any reading time this weekend, I would say I could finish it, but alas. It doesn't look good. I work Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday. Saturday evening we are going to play board games. Sunday I work and then have dance rehearsal. Monday is my first bell concert at 10:00 in the morning. I am enjoying it when I do get to read it. I'm not really sure who this is on the cover, so of course I will keep going.

Sense and Suitability by Pepper Basham - I chose this as my next audiobook after I finished the demon roommate book. It is set in a fictional English village in 1813. Emmeline was on the verge of being engaged to the love of her life, when he sent her a note that said only "Everything has changed. I'm sorry." That was two years ago and he has spent that time gallivanting around Europe. That man is Simon. What actually happened is that he received a letter telling him that his father and his cousin, the Viscount of Ravenscross, have died in a shipwreck. He is now the Viscount of Ravencross and the head of his household with 5 younger siblings and a grieving mother. The oldest sister promptly runs off with her lover. His mother sickens from all the loss and dies. He has been left with horrific debts racked up by both his father and his cousin and the estate has been nearly run into the ground by the cousin and the uncle before him. He was not gallivanting around Europe, he was looking for his runaway sister. Now he has to tend to his three youngest siblings who are practically feral, and try to pay off all the debts and get Ravenscross up and running and making money. What he needs is a wife with a wealthy woman. Emmie is not that woman. She is the daughter of a gentleman farmer with a small dowry and a secret employment writing novels of adventure and piracy. Very scandalous. That's the setup. Away we go.

So there we are. My current self-affirming mantra is: Keep Calm And Read On.