My internal monologue for this week was just distant screaming. Let’s go!
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – 5/3/20
4 stars
This is the first book in a two part series (I read the second one at the end of this week). In it, the U.S. is feeling the repercussions of a climate crisis. Food, water, jobs, and housing are scarce. A young girl, Lauren Olamina, begins collecting verses that she believes to be universal truths, like “God is change” and that humanity’s destiny is to populate among the stars. When her family’s neighborhood is attacked, she takes to the road to find a safe place to live, collecting followers of her beliefs that she calls Earthseed. Although I hope the actual, real-life climate crisis doesn’t come to this, it feels like a reminder to take care of the Earth we have. Though I do believe humans will eventually live on other planets, I hope we don’t do so just to flee the Earth we destroyed. I think this book would appeal to even non sci-fi readers, so give it a try!
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami – 5/3/20
5 stars
I’m struggling to come up with a summary of this book, since the plot is kind of mundane. Basically, Hajime and Shimamoto bonded over being only children and were very close friends until Hajime moved away and they lost touch. Hajime thinks about her often, but he finally settles down with a wife and two children. Enter Shimamoto, mysterious and surreal in Hajime’s otherwise normal life. This book made me completely rethink narrative arcs. Nothing wild or outlandish happens like in other plots. It made real life feel so much more interesting, since our lives are rarely ever as exciting as the adventures we read about. That, coupled with the fact that after reading it I felt like I was being crushed by every emotion I ever felt (in a good way, like a weighted blanket) makes this book one of my favorite books I have ever read.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – 5/4/20
5 stars
Alternating between past and present, from different characters perspectives, this novel tells the story of a pandemic that wipes out most of the population, and what comes after. I know you’re thinking, “Is this really the best time to be reading a book like this?” and I would answer with an emphatic “Yes!” It is, of course, timely, but I think it offers hope for right now and also for the future. “It’s not enough just to survive” is something I need to work on after years of just getting by.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – 5/6/20
5 stars
This book follows Kathy, a student at a boarding school called Hailsham, where they are cared for and trained in art and literature. The students are not permitted to leave the grounds of the school until they graduate. Kathy and her friends slowly find out their place in the world at large and who they are meant to be. Equal parts coming-of age story, love story, and mystery, this book was pretty impossible to put down. Give it a try if you don’t mind big feelings.
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler – 5/9/20
4 stars
This is the aforementioned second book in the Earthseed series. I can’t say too much about the plot without spoiling the first one, but this book explores the future of Lauren Olamina and her group of followers. It was a really good conclusion to the story and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the way things turn out, even if not everything ends perfectly. Life is mean like that sometimes, but we persist.
Be sure to check my 2019-in-2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge and 2020 Books posts for updates on how I’m doing on those fronts! Feel free to subscribe below to get email notifications for new posts!
Blind Bookworm 