City of Saints and Madmen

With giant sentient squid, "mushroom dwellers," (whatever those are) and general weirdos this is a nutty book. I'm not complaining....no not at all.  Like Perdido Street Station, City of Saints and Madmen is set in a crazy world where anything is possible and possibly dangerous...very dangerous. In fact, if Ambergris was a real City-State the State Department would put it on the list of places with a travel warning like this: The State Department warns travelers that violent crime is pervasive during the Festival of the Freshwater Squid.  Also, you should be aware if you see red flags...no we literally mean red flags....these are signs that the elusive but possibly violent mushroom dwellers are sleeping nearby. Travelers should be wary of spontaneous mushroom growth, because the State Department believes that just can't be good.  

This book is a collection of interconnected (kind of connected) short stories about the city of Ambergris, the city is actually a squid port unlike what my husband calls the waterfront in Toledo. It's very well written and contains a super cool world Jeff Vandermeer creates but dang it.... short stories... just when I'm trying to get into a plot and it either gets resolved real fast, story's over, or it's like, what's happening (squints eyes)? That's the only negative to this book. It has humor, weird stuff, a little gore and violence. Good stuff.

OMG is is super hot right now.  I've been drinking my weight in Dark and Stormys (Stormy in not normally plural--except it in this case-- it totally is).   Anyway, read this with...a Frozen Dark and Stormy: Blend 2 cups ice in a blender with a juice of one lime, a tablespoon of fresh ginger, and one can or bottle of ginger beer. Blend until smooth and pour into two glasses.  Top with two ounces of rum (the darkish kind) it will make this pretty ombre effect. Enjoy the goodness.