Murderbot and Meal

Here are two completely unrelated books that I read this week. (Well, one thing they have in common is that they are both short.)

Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries (by Martha Wells) 

The second book in the delightful Murderbot series! I was actually halfway through the third one and then my library checkout expired, so it will take a bit for it to come back around. But I love Murderbot and am excited to keep reading the series. If you know, then you know. 

Meal (by Blue Delliquanti and Soleil Ho)

Allow me to take a moment to point out how annoying it is when Bookriot creates a category for the RHC and then recommends books that don't fit.  The category is "A food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before" and they suggest Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat? How does that make any sense? I hold myself to a higher standard.

It turns out I've tried a lot of cuisines so was stuck for a bit, until the Goodreads group recommended Meal, a graphic novel about entomophagy, aka eating insects. I once sat across from my husband as he ate crickets in a Oaxacan restaurant, and I had delicious chicken mole instead, because no. I enjoyed learning more about the tradition of entomophagy, even if I have a very typical White westerner reaction to the whole thing. The book was a quick read and the romance was cute.

I find it impossible to believe any restaurant would have a crowd outside excited to eat whole tarantulas, though.