Hollow Kingdom

It was pretty cool to read this book as a Seattle resident who lives pretty close to the downtown area. So many spots in this book are spots I walk past or have been to which made the book fun to read. Not gonna lie, I fell into reading dry spell and it took me a really long time to read this book. In fact, I set it down for a while and picked it back up. What really helped was just reading for short increments everyday instead of getting overwhelmed by "needing" to finish the book. This book was hilarious and definitely a refresher from all the horror books I read. I mean, come one, the main character is a crow named Shit Turd who refers to humans as MoFos and even considers himself a Mofo. The cute little relationship with him and the bloodhound Dennis and his previous relationship with his owner (when he was alive) and comical, but actually kind of sentimental. I've heard this book described as a mix between The Walking Dead and Zootopia and they are not wrong! Humans are literally dying out in this book due to their obsession with technology. As the humans die out, more apex predators can overrule the animal kingdom and take over. This book did a great job with all the social classes that the animals belonged to. There were the domestics vs. the wild animals and them banding together to save all the trapped animals that the humans had left behind. They even got the Woodland Park Zoo animals and the Seattle Aquarium animals! This book was so cleverly written and I'm so glad to add this to my little collection of books. I know this is just one book out of the trilogy so after I read some other books, I'll be revisiting the series!

How Far the Light Reaches

I really resonated with this author. This author is not only BIPOC, but she lived (still lives?) in Seattle and is fascinated with ocean life. I loved this book because it not only was an autobiography about her experiences, but it also tied into different aquatic organisms and how they experience life. Not to mention, the author is queer and made me not feel so alone. I'm fortunate enough to live in a city where the gay agenda is very well accepted, but this current administration has brought on some dark times at a rapid pace. This book was perfect for someone like me who often reads fiction and non-fiction at the same time. Not that her life was non-fiction lol but it broke up just getting facts from a book. The best way to learn is by somehow relating what you are learning to your own life. Humans are quite self-involved. I wanted this book to be my first post because it was really one of the most memorable non-fic books I've read in a long time. I really understood some of the things the author struggled with growing up as someone who didn't feel white or Asian enough or had a hard time navigating through the queer community. I only have one other friend who has delt with be two races and getting judged for that. I think back to when my step-mom used to tell me I should only be proud of my white side. I remember exactly where we were in her laundry room where I was made to shed my clothes after visitation with my Filipino mother. I didn't realize the level of racism I had experienced until I moved out of Plainfield, IL. Finding this author and relating to her kind of filled that void of no one understanding what that was like. Of course, I also enjoyed all the animal facts as someone who worked with exotic animals for 10 years in zoos and aquariums.