The Year of Projects - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency + Death On Tap

I do love a good list.  It gives a nice sense of order and focus and I love making lists about the books I want to read.  Last year I focused just on series I was behind on.  The project went great and I caught up on a ton of series but I felt like I was neglecting other books on my shelf and books at my library.  This year I have a few lists going - Series, Library, Clear Off My Shelves, and a random TBR Bingo where I pull books off my Goodreads TBR.  Here are a few of my most recent reads.

Goodreads:  Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

Project:  Clear Off My Shelves

Blurb:  What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over 200 years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common?
Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge).

To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) – or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

My Thoughts: This book was an absolutely bizarre but entertaining journey.  I spent the first little while wondering how it was all going to come together (especially the part about the electric monk whose job is to believe things) and the rest of the book completely pulled in but still wondering how it was all going to come together.  I kind of picture Douglas Adams' plotting this out with a white board filled with lots of pictures and random sentences and lots of string connecting everything.  It's nonsense yet weirdly logical and funny but with a layer of seriousness.  If you are new to Douglas Adams' bizarre sense of humor then Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy might be a better one to start with but if you've read that enjoyed it then this is a good one to pick up.  My Rating: Really Liked It! (4 Stars)

Goodreads: Death on Tap (Sloan Krause #1) by Ellie Alexander
Project:  Series

Blurb:  When Sloan Krause walks in on her husband, Mac, screwing the barmaid, she gives him the boot. Sloan has spent her life in Leavenworth, Washington becoming an expert in brewing craft beer, and she doesn’t have time to be held back by her soon-to-be ex-husband. She decides to strike out on her own, breaking away from the Krause family brewery, and goes to work for Nitro, the hip new nano-brewery in the Bavarian-themed town. Nitro’s owner, brewmaster Garrett Strong, has the brew-world abuzz with his newest recipe, “Pucker-Up IPA.” This place is the new cool place in town, and Mac can’t help but be green with envy at their success.
But just as Sloan is settling in to her new gig, she finds one of Nitro’s competitors dead in the fermenting tub, clutching the secret recipe for the IPA. When Mac, is arrested, Sloan knows that her ex might be a cheater, but a murderer? No way. Danger is brewing in Beervaria and suddenly Sloan is on the case.

My Thoughts:  I've been a long time fan of Alexander's Bakeshop Mystery series and based off this book I think I might enjoy the Sloan Krause series just as much.  Sloan is a likable capable main character with an interesting backstory that I hope gets explored in later books.  She's a bit unsure of herself but she makes a good team with new brewmaster Garrett as they try to get the new nano-brewery off the ground.  The mystery was an intriguing one though fairly straightforward but it did keep me guessing.  As well there's some good setup of interesting characters in the town of Leavenworth that I'm hoping we see lots more in future books.  I'm not much of a drinker and definitely not a beer drinker but the some of the descriptions of the beer in this book had me wishing Nitro was a real place!  I'm looking forward to continuing this series and spending more time with Sloan and company.  My Rating:  Really Liked It! (4 Stars)