Week(s) in Review: 5/24 – 6/6

It’s another double week post because I am still having a hard time… Also, during this time frame I was building my new computer (it’s so cute!) and teaching myself Braille, so definitely had more things to occupy my time.

Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan – 5/25/20
4 stars
This book is a murder mystery / family thriller that I actually really enjoyed. Melissa Byatt comes home to find her three children standing around their father as he lies on the floor bleeding from a stab wound. Though it’s clear one of the children is responsible, none of them are talking about it. While her husband is put in a coma to heal, Melissa must find out the truth before the police do. There are some serious twists and turns in this book and there was really never a dull moment. I’m recommending this to my mom, since she loves murder mysteries!

The Immortalists by Kyle Mills – 5/26/20
3 stars
I thought this looked right up my alley, as it seemed like a science fiction influenced thriller. It wasn’t a bad book, but it lost my attention in the middle. The premise is very interesting: a researcher receives the secret work of a peer who died under suspicious circumstances. This research has the potential to change the way people live. As the plot moves forward, the book turns into a chase, sort of like one you’d see in an action thriller movie. Not my thing, but that’s just a personal preference.

The Guineveres by Sarah Domet – 5/29/20
3 stars
A book about four girls, all named Guinevere, who, through various circumstances, have come to live in a convent. For the most part I enjoyed reading this. I feel like growing up sheltered stunts one’s emotional growth, and this book reflects that. Content warning for rape, though, so proceed with caution. Seeing who the girls became after they were allowed to leave was also a favorite part, since, though they all grew up in the same circumstances, they all turned out differently, reflecting their varied personalities.

The Immortalists by Claire Benjamin – 6/3/20
4 stars
Four siblings visit a psychic who tells them when they will die. We follow the siblings lives as they move closer and closer to their prophesied death dates. Is it fate that predetermined their ends, or the knowing that caused them to make the decisions they did, ultimately leading to those ends? An intriguing and thought-provoking book for sure, though it did not help my existential anxiety very much…

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke – 6/3/20
4 stars
Aliens come to Earth and take over, but they’re pretty benevolent and help end poverty and war, unifying the people. There is little rebellion, though pockets of people believe that humanity has stopped striving for something, slowing our growth. Why did the Overlords come to Earth and what does that really mean for humanity. It’s a classic science fiction novel exploring the big questions. Unsurprisingly (since I think y’all know my taste by now), I enjoyed it a lot.

Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage by William Rathje and Cullen Murphy – 6/5/20
3 stars
I wanted something a little less heavy after that last book, so I thought some zooming in would help. I think my aunt recommended this book! It was very interesting, but very science-y. Lots of tables, facts, and numbers. I learned a ton! (I’m not sure my boyfriend appreciated me telling him random facts about trash and recycling for like a week, though…) Check it out if you like learning a lot about very specific things.

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang and Nate Pederson – 6/6/20
4 stars
I believe they call these “microhistories!” I think my aunt also recommended this book, and I came across it on several lists as I was shopping for my sister, since she requested a “super specific book about the history or origin of a topic. Stuff like the history of Korean theater in the __ century.” I ended up getting her a book about the history of poisoning people, but I did consider this one! I had a great time with this book. You learn a lot, and it’s really funny sometimes, too. There’s lots of pictures in it as well. (I got little descriptions of them in my audio version.) I’m still trying to get my boyfriend to read it, but I’ll keep at it! Learn something new!

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!

Week(s) in Review: 5/10 – 5/23

As you may have noticed, I am kind of Going Through It, so I haven’t been reading as much as I would like. Therefore, I decided to combine two weeks into one for this post.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – 5/14/20
5 stars
So, I’m sure you don’t need my review for Deathly Hallows, so I won’t give it. What I will say is that my rating is probably influenced by my nostalgia for the book, since it reminds me of the quiet, calming respite of reading away the insomniac hours of my turbulent childhood. Though it still holds up for me, your results may vary depending on your attachment to the series and your willingness to put yourself back in the mindset of a (junior) high school reader.

Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff – 5/17/20
5 stars
I knew anything that was so highly recommended by Seanan McGuire would have to be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this good. In this urban fantasy novel, Keepers exist to “repair the holes in the fabric of the universe” caused by metaphysical phenomena. One such Keeper, Claire, is tasked with closing a literal hole to hell. Alongside that main plot line, there’s enough “Oh my god just KISS already!” romance to keep me clutching my Kindle to my chest in agony (in a good way?). Also, talking cat. Talking cat!

The Second Summoning by Tanya Huff – 5/22/20
5 stars
Who could have guessed that I would immediately want to read the next book in the series? Claire is still traveling wherever she’s summoned to repair those pesky tears in the universe and keep all us normal people oblivious. This entry also prominently features Claire’s super powerful teenage sister Diana who acts exactly like you’d expect a teenager with the power to affect reality would. It’s an all around good time! There’s a third book, which I will read when I won’t feel guilty for spending $9. (Unless someone wants to get it for me… *coughs* suzithesunshine [at] gmail [dot] com)

Lying Next to Me by Gregg Olsen – 5/22/20
3 stars
A thriller involving two intertwined couples, this book was really interesting, but started to unravel for me around the twists and reveals. Not that they felt unrealistic or unsatisfying per se, I just felt like all of the characters turned out to be kind of terrible people and I didn’t really care what happened to them anymore. You may like it more if you don’t mind that sort of thing, since I know my moral compass is pretty strong, to the point where bad people don’t really matter to me.

Love You To Death by Caroline Mitchell – 5/23/200
3 stars
A murder mystery / thriller of sorts, this book really had me thinking I had figured out what the ending would be! Then of course, the twist. I am a fan of a really good twist that seems unexpected but upon reflection, you realize was foreshadowed subtly all along. This one wasn’t that. This one left me going “Huh? That doesn’t even really make sense…” I gave it three stars, though, because before that, it was a really captivating book.

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!

Week in Review: 5/3 – 5/9

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!

Week in Review: 4/26 – 5/2

This past week (and this current one, since I’m writing this in the early hours of Saturday A.M.) have been rough. It’s a short list this time.

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood – 4/26/20
2 stars
Let me preface this by saying I don’t think this book was really for me, but that doesn’t make it bad. The premise of the book is that after the economy collapses, Stan and Charmaine sign up for a closed community in which they spend half their time in civilian jobs and half their time in prison with jobs there, too. They share a home with another couple that lives there when Stan and Charmaine are in prison. Charmaine starts having an affair with the husband of the other couple and things go downhill from there. It’s a really interesting premise and the plot is not that bad, but this book felt like a chore to get through because it was really horny all the time. I can’t listen to it out loud or else people will think I’m a perv, but if I listen with headphones I feel like a perv. Any book that includes the phrase “chicken pimp” is gonna make me uncomfortable. For anyone who isn’t weirded out by the sheer amount of lewdness that this book radiates, it was otherwise enjoyable.

Flame by Travis Bagwell – 4/28/20
4 stars
This is the second book in the Tarot series, which a sub-series in the larger Awaken Online series. I haven’t had the chance to talk about it here yet, but I’ve read and loved all eight of the previous books. Awaken Online is about various characters that play the VRMMORPG of the same name. The Tarot series centers around Finn. In the real world, he is an older computer programmer who lost his wife in the car accident that paralyzed his legs. In AO, he is a fire mage that has been chosen by the in-game deity of fire to be her champion. These books are of the “LitRPG” genre, so they read like someone playing a role playing game, complete with stats, skills, and spells. It’s really cool. Flame is mainly a dungeon crawl, so it wasn’t my favorite entry, but it set up the next book to be really exciting. I think Finn’s story would benefit from a sensitivity reader, though. I’m blind, so there were a few parts in this book that made me feel really alienated from a series that I adore. Other than that, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to give the genre a try! (But be sure to start with the first AO book, Catharsis!)

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris – 5/1/20
3 stars
This one is a psychological thriller, which means I finished it in one sitting, as the genre demands. Grace and Jack always go everywhere together, They have a beautiful house, host excellent dinner parties, and seem like they have the perfect marriage. So, something must be wrong. You’ll quickly learn that Grace is not allowed to leave the house without Jack. You learn the “why” in parts, as the chapters weave together present and past. I’m being deliberately vague, because if I told you all the twists, that would take the fun out of it. Give it a try if you’re a fan of the genre; it’s a really solid read.

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark – 5/2/20
4 stars
I’m pretty sure I got my mom this book for Christmas. Catching up with her now! I’ve listened to the My Favorite Murder podcast before and I think Karen and Georgia are really funny and endearing people. This book has some stories from both their lives that are (sort of) centered on similar topics. I really enjoyed listening to it, because it is, of course, narrated by the authors themselves. I laughed, I cried, I had a seriously great time seeing that you can get shit done while still trying to figure shit out. It’s what I needed to hear this week (and every week, let’s be real).

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!

Week in Review: 4/19 – 4/25

It was a little hard to concentrate this week. There’s always dishes to do, cats to take care of, floors to clean, and so on. The cats are mad that they don’t get as much alone time anymore and more people at home means more dishes and dust. But, on Sunday I made charro beans and that made everything a little easier.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman – 4/21/20
3 stars
I am a pretty big fan of Neil Gaiman so I was looking forward to this POPSUGAR challenge pick. The premise of the book is that all gods are real and anyone who immigrated to America believing in a god brought a version of that god with them. It was a really interesting idea but somewhere in the middle of the book I lost a lot of my interest in the actual plot (which deals with a war between the old gods and the new gods of technology, fame, etc.). I’m still glad I read it and might watch the show to see if it keeps my interest and attention better.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds – 4/21/20
4 stars
This is a really short book written in verse that takes place all in one day. After Will’s brother Shawn is shot and killed, Will knows that in order to follow the rules, he has to get revenge. In the elevator on the way there, he meets several people who have died from being shot. This was a really poignant reflection on generational violence and gun violence in general. It’s a book to reflect on and I think it would be a great introduction to free verse and it’s applications for strong, emotional storytelling. If I were, say, a high school English teacher, this would definitely be something I would assign.

Pivot Point by Kasie West – 4/22/20
4 stars
This book is about a teenager named Addison who lives in a secret community where everyone has a type of mental superpower. Her’s is that when she’s faced with a decision, she can see how the possible futures will play out. When her parents announce they’re getting a divorce and her father is moving out of the community and into the normal world, Addie must choose who to live with. In alternating chapters, we see Addie’s life inside the community with her mom and outside it with her dad. Now, you know I don’t mind a little YA cheese; it’s actually something I adore about the genre. I just seriously couldn’t get past the football star boyfriend saying “Hey, girlfriend!” to his literal girlfriend. “Hey, girlfriend!” is something you say to your girl friends. I know you’re thinking, “Why are you so hung up on this little detail?” and I get it, but it took me out. It made me feel like a modern teenager was not the base model for these kids even though it was published in 2013, when I was still in high school. That’s just one of my YA pet peeves, since I think it’s super important for YA to be for teens first. All that aside, I will probably read the second book.

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson – 4/22/20
4 stars
This is a middle grade book and I think those are really hard to do well, since the middle school years are really… volatile. With that being said, I think this was an excellent MG book. It’s a mystery novel in which a preteen boy named Matthew tries to figure out how a toddler disappeared from his street. Matthew, who is dealing with OCD, stays in his room and watches the street through his window, so he is in a perfect position to observe everyone. I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons, but mainly how cool it was about his psychiatric disability. He has a friend who sticks with him and encourages him, even if she doesn’t 100% understand why he does the things he does. It shows how his parents struggle without making it seem like their difficulties are worse than his in the situation. It also ends not with him being “cured” but his promise to work to get better and his parents promise to help how they can. Oh, also, the toddler is safe. 😉 Highly recommend for MG readers.

Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood – 4/22/20
4 stars
I’m not super into reading memoirs, but about two years ago i came across an article that was called something like “Memoirs For People Who Don’t Usually Read Them” and I thought Hey that’s me! So I put this on my to-read list and promptly forgot about it until now. I have many regrets. This book was amazing. The prose is so poetic (which makes sense because Lockwood is a poet) and it is effortlessly funny. I was literally laughing out loud brushing my teeth. I saw reflections of my own family in her’s, and it made me feel better about how eccentric my family feels. I recommended it to my mom already and I’m tacking it onto the ever growing list of books I’m desperately trying to get my boyfriend to read.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown – 4/24/20
4 stars
This book is about Darrow, a member of the lowest caste of the color coded society of the future, and his infiltration of the highest caste in order to start a revolution. This is a series, though, so the majority of this book takes place in a Battle Royale style competition. There is a lot of planning, strategizing, betrayal, and tactical sneakiness. It’s all stuff I’ve seen before in BR and its clones. It was well executed though and the world the competition is set in is unique and interesting. I haven’t decided if I’ll read the rest of the series yet, but I’m not opposed.

Beta by Rachel Cohn – 4/25/20
3 stars
CW for rape and violence. Teen dystopian romances had a moment for a bit and this is one of them. The plot revolves around Elysia, an experimental teen clone of a dead girl. She is supposed to have no soul, no feelings, and no wants. She, and all the other clones on the resort island where she resides, live to serve the rich humans of the island. She soon realizes she has emotions and falls in love with another clone. True to form, they decide they have to escape and destroy the system that keeps them enslaved. Elysia unironically refers to the boys she’s attracted to as the “surfer god” and “Prince Chocolate” or something, which was sort of disgusting. All that being said, the book ended on a cliffhanger, so I might just have to read the next one and see it through to the end.

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!

Week in Review: 4/12 – 4/18

I finally have exactly seven! Now the goal will be to get seven by actually reading one a day~

The First 7 by Laura Pohl – 4/12/20
4 stars
The sequel to The Last 8, a YA sci-fi book in which aliens destroy most of humanity and eight teenagers try and fight back. Spoilers for book one ahead! This sequel sees Clover and her friends return to Earth after receiving a distress call aboard the alien ship they’re space travelling on. Once there, they find out they are prevented from leaving by a barrier and some strange crystals are causing their alien friend’s personality to change. I’m pretty sure this series is just a duology, and if so, it’s a good end to the story. Finding community, moving forward, and trying to heal after the literal end of the world seems fitting.

Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle – 4/14/20
3 stars
This is the fourth book in the Time Quintet but takes place sometime between book two, A Wind in the Door, and book three, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. It centers on Sandy and Dennys, the Murry twins who are quite normal compared to the rest of their family. After accidentally messing with one of their father’s experiments, they are sent back to the time of Noah. While it was entertaining to finally see the twins not relegated to side characters, they spend almost half the book being ill from sunstroke and just being talked about by the other characters. There is also a lot of repetitive dialogue which is realistic but is kind of draining in a book. I’m going to finish the rest of the Kairos series, of which the Time Quintet is a part, since I find them fun, but I’d really only recommend them if you don’t mind reading middle grade books.

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages ed. Saundra Mitchell – 4/14/20
3 stars
This is a historical fiction anthology that features stories about queer teenagers set in various time periods. There were some I liked a lot. some I felt indifferent towards, and none I disliked. So, like many anthologies I read, lots of hits and near hits. I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next anthology that is going to be published this year: Out Now: Queer We Go Again. I kind of wish I had read one story a day for a little daily dose of queer romance, so I might try that with the new collection. Anyway, shout out for ace representation!

Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor – 4/15/20
3 stars
I’ve been meaning to read this ever since I heard one of the stories on the podcast LeVar Burton Reads. My favorites were the titular “Kabu Kabu,” “Spider the Artist,” and “The Palm Tree Bandit.” There were some I didn’t like as much, but, like I said before, that’s to be expected in collections like this. Overall, an exciting experience that I would recommend both as an introduction to Okorafor’s work and as a nice supplement to anyone already familiar.

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix – 4/16/20
3 stars
I read this for the “ghost story” prompt of my POPSUGAR challenge. I wanted something kind of scary but was finding it hard to get good suggestions (and to be honest I had been looking for books for about two hours at this point and was sort of done). Someone in the Goodreads group said this was both funny and a little scary (and it was available at my library) so I chose it. The book is about a knockoff IKEA that’s being haunted. The fake products they describe are often quite funny and the joys of retail are also entertaining. The actual horror elements leave a bit to be desired, though. It wasn’t particularly scary, since it was often over the top and sometimes just grisly and gory for gore’s sake. It also required a bit more suspension of disbelief than I was willing to give. A pilot episode for a series based on the book has been ordered and I feel like I would like the TV adaptation much better.

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire – 4/17/20
5 stars
The synopsis on Goodreads was so intriguing and yet I put this book off for so long. I really wish I hadn’t! The book is about two twins named Roger and Dodger who live across the country from each other and have masterful powers over language and math respectively. We follow them as they grow up and figure out why their lives are so entangled. If you can stand being sort of confused for a while, definitely give this book a try. It’s full of magic, sibling love, and a mystery that keeps the plot moving. One of my favorite books this year, for sure.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara – 4/17/20
4 stars
CW: rape and violence, since it’s a true crime book. I originally heard about this book on the My Favorite Murder podcast but wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it, but I should not have hesitated. McNamara chronicles not only the crimes of the Golden State Killer (a.k.a. the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker) but also her own quest to find him. She manages to keep the book from sounding like a Wikipedia article that just lists the crimes by weaving a narrative that involves the lives of the victims before and after the crimes. She also keeps the reader from being too overwhelmed by all the violence by telling us about her life and her dedication to seeing him brought to justice. McNamara died two years before the book was published, but I hope she can rest easily knowing that two months after the book’s publication, the GSK was caught using a familial DNA database, which she was certain held the answer to his identity. This book is a must-read for any true crime fan.

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!

Week in Review: 4/5 – 4/11

I read so few books this week! 😓 I need to find a balance between my reading and all the Animal Crossing I’ve been playing… Here’s this week’s (short) post:

Smoke by Dan Vyleta – 4/8/20
3 stars
This was a book I added to my to-read list about two years ago after someone posted about it on Patreon. The premise is that in an alternate Victorian England, people release smoke from their bodies when they sin. The aristocracy are sent to schools where they learn not to smoke, as being clean is a sign of good morals and all the high class men and women must keep up appearances. Thomas and his best friend Charlie, two boys enrolled at such a school, will learn that their world and the smoke that envelops it are not as they seem. My main issue was that the story moved really slowly. Things were always happening, but when the characters weren’t on the move, things dragged really heavily. However, there was a really interesting premise and, overall, it was very enjoyable story all throughout the book.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman – 4/9/20
5 stars
CW for rape. Set in a small forest town in Sweden, the novel tells the story of how a whole town rests its hopes on their junior hockey team winning a championship and how it falls apart when the star player rapes the daughter of the general manager. I honestly can’t believe I loved this book as much as I did. It surrounds a hockey team and I hate sports! I can’t even get into sports anime and I love anime. Even though hockey plays such a central role in the book, and there are even descriptions of practices and games, it’s about so much more. It’s about not fitting in in tight-knit communities. It’s about the privilege of having money, being skilled, and being a man. It’s about having the strength to go against the grain and the strength to stand up for what you believe in. It’s about surviving. I recommend this book to anyone who can deal with descriptions of rape.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman – 4/9/20
4 stars
This was a fun short read! Neil Gaiman puts the key stories of Norse mythology plus some extras into a narrative, making them easy to follow. I read this all in one day, but I think it would be cool to read one story every day or so. Heads up that the stories can be violent and sometimes involve death, so read with kids at your discretion.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood – 4/11/20
5 stars
I had to read this book back in high school for my summer reading. Unsurprisingly, I liked it a lot more this time around. The story is based on the real life murders of Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear in 1843. Servants of the Kinnear household Grace Marks and James McDermott were convicted for the crimes. Though some of the story is based on sources from the time, the main narrative of Grace being interviewed by a doctor named Simon Jordan is constructed by the author. I loved the way the story is patched together from different sources and the author’s imagination. The story of Grace itself is intriguing and kept my attention the whole way through. I am very disappointed in my 15 year old self for not appreciating this book more! There’s apparently a miniseries based on the book, so I’ll watch that soon (in between reading and playing AC).

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!

Week in Review: 3/29 – 4/4

I’m still catching up! I’ll get there eventually. This week had some terrible books, but also had some really great ones. I hadn’t read any booked I hated this year until now, so I guess it had to happen sometime.

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin – 4/1/20
5 stars
The final book in The Broken Earth trilogy. We learn of the past events that led to the Fifth Seasons as well as continuing to follow Essun and Nassun. I feel like the overall theme of the Earth wreaking havoc on us for wreaking havoc on it is really poignant, but also I just love powerful magic women and girls. It was a really satisfying end to the story, even though it might not be the “best” ending, it is the best one that could have happened after everything. This whole series was excellent and everyone should read it, please, and then talk to me about it.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence – 4/1/20
4 stars
This was short little book that is comprised of letters to various books from a passionate librarian. I had fun listening to the humorous ones and could relate to the dedication she expresses to her favorite books. A book for book lovers, of sorts, but my main takeaway is my now bloated to-read list because this book is packed full with recommendations.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld – 4/2/20
2 stars
This is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice and I was really excited by the premise. In the beginning, I was having fun seeing how the author adapted the characters and their personalities to be set in today’s world. Things started going downhill when Darcy and Elizabeth have “hate sex,” removing the feet-kicking pining tension that I loved in P&P. When Lydia’s scandal is that her partner is trans, I was pretty much over it. I thought I might be more generous with the stars if the ending was satisfying, but when it ends with Mary saying she doesn’t need anyone because she’s comfortable alone with her bowling, I just… couldn’t. I’m glad I got this from the library and therefore didn’t spend money on something that I “hate-quoted” to my roommates.

The Incarnations by Susan Barker – 4/3/20
4 stars
This book was really not what I expected it to be, but it was an extraordinary book nonetheless. A taxi driver named Wang finds a letter in his car that tells him he is a reincarnate and he and the author of the letter are “soulmates” of a sort, though their stories are full of betrayal and are never happy ones. Wang receives more letters that take him through history and his past lives. The letters are woven into the present day story of Wang’s current life. Major content warnings for rape, violence, self-harm, suicide… It is a very dark book that gripped me and had me desperately needing to see how Wang’s current life would parallel those of his past.

Campusland by Scott Johnston – 4/3/20
1 star
This book is marketed as satire, and maybe I’m just missing something, but I didn’t find it funny at all. It tells the story of Eph Russell, a well meaning English professor who gets caught up in a scandal when students protest his assigning Huckleberry Finn in class. He also gets accused of sexual assault by wannabe socialite Lulu, a first year at the university. Relying on stereotypes, this book seems to poke fun at content warnings, the #MeToo movement, feminism, trans issues, and the general movement towards progressive thought. I like satire when it punches up, but this book makes fun of real issues of marginalized people far more than it makes fun of the privileged elite. I guess I have just been cursed with bad books this week! My only salvation is that I was able to listen on 3x speed so I wasted only 3 and a half hours of my life instead of 11.

In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan – 4/3/20
4 stars
Though the world the book is set in is strange and fantastical, with the sun shining a different color every day and almost all objects being made from different colored watermelon sugar, it is narrated quite succinctly and matter-of-fact. There isn’t really a plot, just a small glimpse into the life of the narrator and his community known as iDEATH. I have many questions that I’ll never get the answers to, like “Why are there talking tigers that eat people and help children with their math?” but it was such a good read even if it isn’t really “about” anything that I can discern. I’m pretty much only recommending it to my boyfriend, and mainly so we can talk about all the questions I have, most notably “What just happened?”.

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!

Week in Review: 3/22 – 3/28

One of these weeks I’ll have exactly seven… Hopefully I’ll catch up soon!

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – 3/22/20
5 stars
(Trying to find a cover for this book that wasn’t tiny / compressed to heck / super pixelated was a CHORE.) Strange and excellently fun, The Hitchhiker’s Guide was exactly what I needed this week. It tells the story of one of the last of Earth’s humans and his journey across space with an eccentric group of people. I watched its surprisingly faithful film adaptation first and the book was still great to read. It’s a series, too, so maybe in time…

Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin – 3/24/20
4 stars
This collection of short stories reads like an exercise in worldbuilding. Though there is a frame in which all these tales are being told, it is not really that important. The main focus of the book are the stories; tales of other worlds that sometimes read like first hand accounts and other times read like an impartial cultural account. I love science fiction and worldbuilding, if I hadn’t made that obvious by now, and so I thought this was excellent. I think it would be fun to read one story a day, though in true Suzi fashion I read this in one sitting.

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin – 3/24/20
4 stars
This is the second book in The Broken Earth trilogy. I talked about the first book in another WIR post. This book continues the story of Essun and her daughter Nassun as they try and survive, battling both the harsh climate of the Season and people’s hatred of them as orogenes. I loved getting to know Nassun as a character in her own right, as she was only mentioned in the first book. This was an exciting sequel and again, highly recommended for science fantasy fans.

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan – 3/25/20
4 stars
A pick for a POPSUGAR challenge prompt, this book tells the story of two brothers who work on a cacao farm on the Ivory Coast. They were only supposed to work there for a bit, but they have been there for two years without seeing any pay and are treated brutally by the men who run the farm. When the first girl arrives at the farm, she and the two brothers become allies in trying to get home. This book was brutal and knowing that is inspired by true events makes it a lot more difficult to read, but also more important to read.

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson – 3/26/20
4 stars
An urban fantasy book with elements of magical realism, Brown Girl in the Ring is infused with Afro-Caribbean culture as it tells the story of Ti-Jeanne, who must use the power of spiritualism that her grandmother taught her to defeat the crime lord that effectively runs the abandoned city of Ontario. Afrofuturistic books have been a large part of my reading list this year and they have been some of my absolute favorites. I know I threw a lot of literary terms and genres at you in this paragraph, but I highly recommend you read this for a magical experience rooted in rich and interesting folklore.

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!

Week in Review: 3/15 – 3/21

Okay, I know this is way late, but everyone being home has really thrown off my schedule! I’m even falling behind in my reading challenges, which makes me very disappointed. Hopefully I can get back on track once online school starts up again. Anyway, here’s what I read last week! (I can’t believe it’s only been one week…)

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo – 3/15/20
5 stars
This book tells the individual and interlocking stories of 12 different characters, mainly black women, as they navigate the world. They all have different outlooks on race, gender, sexuality, and feminism, among other differences. The characters are of varying ages, so the differences reflect when and where they came from. I loved this book, as it is mainly about people on the margins in one way or another and the differences that arise even among people who are “on your side” so to speak. I plan to read this book again in the future, and would recommend highly. Content warning for rape.

Cut and Run by Ben Acker – 3/15/20
3 stars
This was a fun little story! A short listen about two friends who steal organs (for a good cause!) and the difficulties that ensue after one of the duo develops feelings for one of the unwilling donors. A weird, funny rom-com that is light and perfect for when you don’t want to think too hard.

Beezer by Brandon T. Snider – 3/10/20
3 stars
This is a middle grade-ish audio drama about Beelzebub, the teenage heir to the kingdom of Hell, coming to Earth and learning that there is good inside of him. It was as silly and Disney Channel-esque as it sounds, but I had a good time nonetheless.

Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple – 3/16/20
4 stars
I read this to fulfill the “book becoming a movie in 2019” prompt of the 2019 POPSUGAR challenge and, honestly, the blurb didn’t sell me, but I persevered and was pleasantly surprised. It is an epistolary novel, which is the word for a story told through letters / documents (I had to Google this.), and I am a big fan of the style. The story is about an eccentric mother named Bernadette who disappears before a family trip to Antarctica and her daughter Bee’s quest to find her. It was an absolute delight to read; it was funny and heartwarming, so. perfect movie fodder. A definite recommendation to my mom. (Let’s watch the movie together!)

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness – 3/16/20
4 stars
This is the first book in the Chaos Walking series and is also becoming a movie, though it won’t release until 2021. It is about a boy named Todd who has grown up on a newly colonized planet where every man can hear every other man and animals thoughts. In his town, there are no women left. It follows him as he flees his home, the Mayor and militia on his heels. This book honestly gave me anxiety! It also isn’t one of those introductions to a series that leaves off on a comfortable spot. I have many pressing questions that I will have to keep reading to find the answers to. I’ll get around to it when I can handle it!

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan – 3/17/20
4 stars
This is the sequel to Girls of Paper and Fire which I read in February. Spoilers ahead for events from the first book! It continues the story of Lei and Wren as they try to gather an army to fight against the Demon King. Trouble and angst ensues. It is a harsh and emotional YA fantasy with good LGBTQ+ romance, so you know I had a good time with all the heart-wrenching. It has a cliffhanger ending, too, so I am anxiously awaiting the third book.

The Red Threads of Fortune by J.Y. Yang – 3/20/20
4 stars
This is the second book in the Tensorate series that I talked about in last week’s “Week in Review” post. Spoilers ahead, as usual for sequels. Mokoya and Akeha are grown up now and Akeha has situated himself in the middle of a rebellion against his mother. Mokoya is haunted by the loss of her daughter and has decided to hunt naga (big flying serpent-lizard animals) while she tries to work through her grief. Though it is mainly a monster hunt, I really liked the character development and the portrayal of grief here. As you can see, I immediately went to read the next book in the series.

The Descent of Monsters by J.Y. Yang – 3/21/20
5 stars
This is the aforementioned third Tensorate book. It is an epistolary and tells the story of an investigation into a tragedy at a Tensor research facility in which everyone who worked there was killed and only Akeha and the mysterious Rider (from the previous book) were found hiding in the caves under the lab. The investigator feels like there has to be something more happening than the Protectorate is letting on, and she is determined to find out. I love a mystery and maybe that’s why, but this has been my favorite of all the Tensorate books. The world that Yang has created is so immersive and I think that really shines through in this book. There is a fourth book that I am waiting for my library to have. We’ll see if I can be that patient…

Be sure to check my NEW! POPSUGAR Reading Challenge and 2020 Books posts for updates on how I’m doing on those fronts! Click below to subscribe and get email notifications for new posts!