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This month I only finished one book, bringing my YTD to 28. I hate to say it, but I was in a reading slump, hard. I wasn’t even that busy overall in July, but most of my time was spent focusing on my podcast The Paranoid Perspective, starting a couple mini-series on my personal TikTok, and selling things online.
Unfortunately, this means I’m behind on my yearly goal, but there’s plenty of time left in the year to catch up. August is really busy for me, but I still want to work on getting out of my reading slump during August.
What I Read
The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
295 pages |Horror | 3 stars
Buy: Bookshop.org
I did enjoy this book, but I was a bit disappointed it didn’t have any clues to decipher. It was very different from We Used to Live Here, which is not what I expected, so I think I set myself up to be a bit disappointed.
I was also confused the whole time on if the main character was having a mental breakdown or if what she saw and experienced was real, and the ending is ambiguous enough that there’s no clear answer, leaving it up to the reader to decide. That does seem to be Kliewer’s style, but this time I just wish there was a bit more of a definitive answer if there was actually something supernatural going on.
Favorite Read
Unfortunately, since I only read one book, that is by default going to be my favorite book of the month, even though I only gave The Caretaker 3 stars.
I’ll be working on catching up in August and getting out of my reading slump! More on that to come.
Catch Up on Past 2026 Monthly Wrap-Ups
What was your favorite book you read in July?
I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading so far this year, so leave them in the comments!
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