Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes

I was going to say this was a first for me in terms of genre: space horror. But now that I think about it, I was introduced to space horror in the 90's when I went in cold to see Event Horizon and walked out of the theater in horrified silence. THAT shit was space horror. 

But we'll take it down a notch and talk about Ghost Station, which is set on an alien planet with a long lost civilization. We follow a team of explorers to this planet which includes psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray, who is there to help them deal with the recent loss of a team member. But she is also there to screen them for signs of ERS, a debilitating space disease that results in psychosis.

While it can be assumed Dr. Bray won't immediately be accepted as a part of this already established team, she can't help but feel like there is more they aren't telling her. The leader of the team doesn't support her presence and the others' treatment of her range from indifference to outright resentment.

As they explore this long abandoned planet, the team's grief over their lost teammate, coupled with disturbing discoveries, make it difficult for Dr. Bray to discern if someone's behavior is due to grief, deception, or emerging signs of ERS. 

Of course, Dr. Bray isn't immune to developing ERS either, and her past, which slowly unfolds for us, makes her wonder if she might have a predisposition for it, because her team aren't the only ones acting strange at times...

While this wasn't Event Horizon level space horror (and let's be real, thank God for that), it was a solid read. I'd pick up another one by this author, who apparently writes a variety of genres, from YA and Romance (as Stacy Kade) to horror (as S.A. Barnes).

  

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

I'm not a memoir reader. But this was gifted to me during a happy hour, when my defenses were down and I was probably more excited than normal to receive a gift. All jokes aside, I will admit that one of my favorite books, The Glass Castle, is a memoir, so when Greenlights arrived in my audible account, I decided to waive judgment. But I felt like, of all the memoirs out there, is McConaughey's really going to be the one to change my life (as promised during said happy hour)?

I'll admit, having McConaughey narrate his book makes it ten times better. You literally hear his drawl and get all the nuances, jokes, and emotions he conveys on the written page. His penchant for writing is clear, as his stories, anecdotes, and poems roll off the tongue with ease. He has the voice of a spoken word performer, and given that his upcoming book is a collection of his poems, that doesn't surprise me.

His stories show his free spirit and big heart. His entrance into acting and later success seem oddly coincidental, as he got into acting in his 20s and might have just been in the right place at the right time. His overall theme of recognizing the green lights in your life and turning red and yellow lights into green was a great metaphor for life's ups and downs. And it was fun to hear him tell a story and then proudly declare, "green light!".

But at the end of the day, will this book change my life? No. Was I entertained while reading it? Yes. I'd definitely recommend the audio version though to get the full effect.