Sunday, March 31, 2019

Books Read March 2019: 51-82



Pictured: Some of this month's 5-star reviews

51. Less by Andrew Sean Greer ** (personal copy; my review)
52. Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl ***** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
53. I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson *** (personal copy; my review)
54. Love Letters to Jane's World by Paige Braddock **** (personal copy; my review)
55. Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn **** (personal digital copy; my review)
56. A Duke By Default by Alyssa Cole *** (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
57. The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone **** (library eBook; my review)
58. After the Quake by Haruki Murakami **** (library book; my review)
59. Elevation by Steven King *** (library book; my review)
60. Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi **** (personal digital copy; my review)
61. Golden Child by Claire Adam *** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
62. The Lost Man by Jane Harper **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
63. The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
64. No Walls and the Recurring Dream by Ani DiFranco *** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
65. The Wrong End of the Table by Ayser Salman **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
66. Heavy Vinyl, Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin **** (Hoopla eBook; my review)
67. Backstagers, Vol. 1 by James Tinion IV **** (Hoopla eBook; my review)
68. Transcendent 3 by Bogi Takacs **** (digital review copy; my review)
69. Halal if You Hear Me edited by Safia Elhillo and Fatimah Asghar ***** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
70. Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James ** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
71. Lord by Noll Joao Gilberto, translated by Garbelotto Edgar **** (personal copy; my review)
72. Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid **** (personal digital copy; my review)
73. The Pisces by Melissa Broder **** (personal audiobook; my review)
74. Archive: South Poetry Since 2005 edited by Jeffrey Makala, Gil Allen, eds. ***** (interlibrary loan; my review)
75. Nothing is Okay by Rachel Wiley **** (personal copy; my review)
76. Immediate Song by Don Bogen **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
77. Library of Small Catastrophes by Alison C. Rollins ***** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
78. How to Love a Country by Richard Blanco **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
79. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite **** (personal audiobook; my review)
80. The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, S.L. Huang, Rivers Solomon ***** (digital review copy; my review)
81. The Deeper the Water, the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina ***** (review copy; my review)
82. Monsoon Mansion by Cinelle Barnes **** (personal eBook; my review)

Review: The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish

The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm finally back to this book after including it in a book speed dating episode of the podcast last November. It had been long enough that I started over from the beginning.

It is difficult to express how much this book will suck you in, and how good it is, and then to remember it is a debut! I can't wait to see what she does next.

Marianne is the single mother of two girls - Edie (16) and Mae (14.) After the older daughter saves her mother from a suicide attempt, both girls go live with the father they've never known in New York. The chapters rotate between characters, and at first that's just the daughters and mother. But as more characters come into the story, they start getting added to the mix, sometimes before you understand the role they play. I love alternating narratives, and enjoyed the spin the author took on them in this case. Most of those point-of-view chapters are in the time period of the suicide attempt but occasionally there will be artifacts from the past, like a letter, newspaper article, or psychiatrist notes from an earlier time (the 1960s when their parents met, or the 1980s when the mother had her first psychotic break.) And then an even more occasional chapter comes from someone in the present day rather than the 1990s where most of the novel takes place, adding some perspective as an adult.

I think part of what I liked about this novel is that I didn't always know where it was going. You think it's a story about one thing and one set of characters but it changes as it goes on, and the additional information you get as a reader adds a spin to what you thought you knew.

I appreciated how the daughters have had such different experiences with their mother, despite the very close age difference. This is an important and well-observed distinction that matters from the first page to the last. This gave them reasons to want different things and to act entirely different from one another.

Just excellent and scratches that itch I've had since Black Wave, although in subtler ways.

View all my reviews

Review: The Vela

The Vela The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When the people at Serial Box asked if I'd be interested in trying this story out, it was the authors that had me saying an immediate yes. Becky Chambers and Rivers Solomon were both authors I had read and loved; they collaborated on this serial project along with Yoon Ha Lee and S.L. Huang, authors I haven't read yet but will try now.

Serial Box releases chapters the way some tv shows release episodes - and you can pay for access to an episode or a season, or wait for them to be published as a standalone book.

The setting of this story is a dying star and the people on its planets trying to find a way to survive. The outer planets have been forced into refugee status and the inner planets are not feeling very generous. Asala travels to a far planet on a quest, somewhere with a history that is threatening. Her travel companion seems inexperienced and their motives are questionable. I enjoyed it but I was glad not to have to wait for each "episode." One thing I've learned is that when I'm into a story, I want to have access to all of it! So I would be more of a buy the complete project type of reader.

View all my reviews

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Review: Library of Small Catastrophes

Library of Small Catastrophes Library of Small Catastrophes by Alison C. Rollins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A librarian and a poet! I was drawn in to these poems and the way they address the body, with some library and archival references, I mean can you blame me? I probably read each poem three times because they are nuanced and I couldn't always get it the first time (but they are not inaccessible, just well crafted.)

Favorites:
Self-Portrait of Librarian with T.S. Eliot's Papers
"...Write a poem after me
before I’m gone, and please do not include rest in peace,
only those that are forgotten go undisturbed."

Library of Small Catastrophes
"...I've learned the science of classifying...
Dear Dewey Decimal System, How will I organize all the bodies?...."

For You
"...You manipulated my love handles in the dark...."

original [sin] (audio also available)

Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to this title via Edelweiss. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. This comes out 23 April 2019, so it can be your late-in-poetry-month purchase.

View all my reviews

Review: Lord

Lord Lord by Noll João Gilberto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished this book as unsettled as I felt when I finished Fever Dream, the same kind of surreal doom on every page, compounded by the characters not being able to navigate their own realities. The man wandering London makes attempts to grab hold at times through contact with others but his identity seems to be shifting out of his control.
.
I subscribed to Two Lines Press this year and this was the first book they sent me! I'm trying to be more quick to read selections sent my way. It looks like Lord has two other novels translated into English so I may need to check them out.

View all my reviews

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Reading Envy 146: Complicated, Crazy, and Loud with Karen

Karen comes for a visit and once our dogs get along, we run off to record a podcast episode about books!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 146: Complicated, Crazy, and Loud with Karen


Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify


Books discussed:



The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
The Customer is Always Wrong by Mimi Pond
The Word for Woman is Wilderness by Abi Andrews
Giant Days by John Allison et al
Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn


Other mentions:

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Pulitzer Prize - Fiction The Clan/ El Clan (film)
Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon
Best Graphic Novels of 2017
-Entertainment Weekly's List
-AV Club's List
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Time and Again by Jack Finney
Sword and Laser Book Club on Time and Again (Jenny mentioned SFF Audio but that was wrong)
From Time to Time by Jack Finney
Dakota Building
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone


Related Episodes:

Episode 004 - Home, Frightening and Banned with guest Karen Acosta
Episode 015 - The Time for Exclaiming Over Costumes with Jean and Karen
Episode 051 - Dreaming in Books with Karen Acosta
Episode 066 - When Time Stops with Karen Acosta
Episode 100 - 100 Reasons Why 
Episode 101 - A Different Kind of Time Travel with Karen Acosta
Episode 114 - Raised by Wolves with Karen Acosta 


Bonus Pictures:

 
June Bug meets Doyle and Winnie


Karen recommends this one!

Reading Date

 

Stalk us online:
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy

Monday, March 25, 2019

Review: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Black Leopard, Red Wolf Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This may be an unpopular opinion.

After reading glowing reviews of this book and listening to several passionate reviews with the author about his research and intentions, I was excited to read this book. It was quite a slog for me but I kept coming back to it to try to see what others were seeing.

Around halfway, the parts did coalesce and I felt I could finally sink into the story, but it also grew in violence at this point. So I take issue with two major components - this reads like a mind-dump first draft and I found there to be way too much detail even for an epic fantasy. Less is more! Revision is your friend! Along the same vein, the dialogue was often redundant and slowed the pacing down (I really noticed this at the end when I needed it to wrap up already.)

Part of the praise for the novel is that it has gay characters and is based in mythologies and folklore of the African continent, which is wonderful and I would like to see more of this. Diversity and representation matter. But the content also includes horrifying rape scenes and child abuse that are made more awful because the children are made to survive through magic. Am I just the wrong audience for epic fantasy? It's possible. But I did not feel my time was justified for pushing through to the end.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I really did read the entire thing before coming to this conclusion.
.

View all my reviews

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Review: Halal If You Hear Me: The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 3

Halal If You Hear Me: The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 3 Halal If You Hear Me: The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 3 by Fatimah Asghar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This collection is the third in the BreakBeat Poets series, all of which are highly recommends - The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop followed by The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic. There are some poets shared between this volume and the others, although this one focuses on poets of Muslim identities, often at the intersection of blackness and brownness, or claiming space inside/next to Muslim identity for varying gender and sexual identities. All through words, transcribed, proclaimed, and collected here.

Two poets I have previously appreciated edited the volume - Safia Elhillo (The January Children) and Fatimah Asghar (If They Come for Us.) Some of my previous favorites are represented here as well - Tarfia Faizullah Registers of Illuminated Villages: Poems and Warsan Shire (you may know her best from being the poet behind the spoken parts of Beyonce's Lemonade.) Many of the poets I have encountered previously in some of the new-generation African or African American poet chapbook sets from Akashic, but it felt like most of the poems in this collection were new.

Some of my favorite discoveries in this volume:

Nadra Mabrouk - Memory in Which We Are Not Singing But You Are Home
Sahar Romani - Burden of Proof (available at The Offing Magazine
H.H. - QM
Zaina Alsous - On Longing (available at Glass: A Journal of Poetry)

But it's all good. All recommended.

I did receive a review copy of this from the publisher through Edelweiss, but this was pretty much a sure thing for me to read regardless. It comes out April 23, 2019.

View all my reviews

Review: The Wrong End of the Table: A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit in

The Wrong End of the Table: A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit in The Wrong End of the Table: A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit in by Ayser Salman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this memoir from Ayser Salman - it is full of funny and relatable moments, magnified by occasional cultural misunderstandings. Ayser moved from Iraq to Ohio to Saudi Arabia, and experiences awkwardness everywhere. The memoir finishes up in the almost present day, with stories about dating in her 40s. I love the interactions with her parents in particular.

I received a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss, and it came out 5 March 2019.

View all my reviews

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Review: The Bird King

The Bird King The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, this novel tells the story of Fatima, the concubine to the sultan, and her friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker. With the enemy at the gate, Fa and Hassan attempt an escape with the help of a jinn.

Wilson blends fantasy and magic with history, morphing into an epic adventure, and I love that the story is told through two characters who have never been free until now.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy through Edelweiss. It came out March 12.

View all my reviews

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Reading Envy 145: Things Get Dark

Bianca joins Jenny for a late-night chat about books, and we follow all tangents to the end. We cover cults, manga and comics, and middle-grade reads. Bianca talks about her monthly themed reads in 2018 and how that has inspired her focused reading in 2019. Jenny begs your forgiveness for a few coughing spells; allergies have hit early in the south. (She edited everything out that she could.)

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 145: Things Get Dark

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify


Books discussed:



Breaking Free by Rachel Jeffs
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
My Brother's Husband Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein

Other mentions:

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole
Big Love (tv show)
Serafina and the Black Cloak book trailer
Biltmore Estate
Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty
Over the Rainbow Booklist final bibliographies for 2018
Heavy Vinyl (comic series)
Backstagers (comic series)
Boom Studios
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Phoenix ComiCon (formerly known as)
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

Related Episodes:

Episode 051 - Dreaming in Books with Karen
Episode 127 - The Sadness Between Books with Bianca Escalante

Stalk us online:
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Bianca is @bianca on Litsy

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Review: Bottled Goods (Fairlight Moderns): Longlisted for Women's Prize for Fiction 2019

Bottled Goods (Fairlight Moderns): Longlisted for Women's Prize for Fiction 2019 Bottled Goods (Fairlight Moderns): Longlisted for Women's Prize for Fiction 2019 by Sophie van Llewyn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had not heard of this book before it was announced as one of the Women's Prize long list. It is a short read told in flash style, like lists and little vignettes, set in Romania during the Ceaușescu era (1970s.)

Alina married a man in a lower class and really starts to regret it when his brother leaves the country without permission, making them a new target for the secret police. Mix that kind of oppression and intrigue with a folksy fantasy element and you end up with a unique read! I loved the ending, at least how I interpret it. If you read it, let me know so we can confer.

View all my reviews

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Review: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you have followed Ruth Reichl through her memoirs, this takes place between Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise and My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life, telling the story of her experience as the editor for Gourmet Magazine up until its shocking closure. I feel this memoir is for foodies first, but will also be of interest for anyone in publishing or the arts. The people working for Gourmet cultivated an environment of creative exploration and perfection that made the magazine what it is, and I loved reading about each person's contributions and how the magazine reflected the changing culture of food in the United States. There's an entire chapter, for instance, about the publication of "Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace, which I had no idea was first published in Gourmet!

In a different voice, I can see how this story could be obnoxious. So many famous people, so many fancy meals and expensive restaurants, so many trends in food and fashion. But Ruth Reichl is so direct, honest, and open that the story transforms into something more heartwarming than it feels it has the right to be.

Unlike My Kitchen Year which is sometimes referred to as a cookbook (although I personally still feel it is more memoir than recipe), this memoir only has 3-4 recipes. I have my eye on that chocolate cake that helped her establish kitchen credibility with her staff. If I make it, I'll come back to post a link here.

This book comes out April 2. I received an early copy from Random House through NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Thoughts on the Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist

I can't help myself, I pay attention to award lists, especially longlists. Tonight, the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist was announced, and I thought I'd write a short response. I've actually read 6 of these already!

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
I haven't read this one yet but I remember seeing it in the reshelving area at work so I might snag it. Myth retellings are not often a hit with me, but I am still interested in this one.

Remembered by Yvonne Battle-Felton
I had not heard of this book or author, but it doesn't even come out until August, so I'm not surprised. A historical novel set in Philadelphia.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
This is one book that's on the Tournament of Books shortlist that I haven't read yet. I've heard it's pulpy, comic, and short, but I can't find a copy in all my library options to save my life.

The Pisces by Melissa Broder
Gah, I can't believe I haven't read this one yet. Completely mean to, for sure.

Milkman by Anna Burns
Winner of the Man Booker Prize, this was not a five-star read for me. I've heard the audio really helps, but I always was left feeling like I'd missed the humor that others had seen. My longer review is here if you are interested.

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
This is a stand-out, unusual novel that I really loved. The author has said they do not identify as one gender, so I was taken back a little, but I'm not the only one. The Guardian picked up on that story immediately. It would align with feminist theory to be more inclusive, but I expect there will be discussion about this decision.

Ordinary People by Diana Evans
This one isn't on my radar although I see it came out in October, about marital strife in two South London couples. It sounds like my kind of thing, but perhaps too stereotypically "domestic" to be the winner of the Women's Prize?

Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
This doesn't come out until June, but looks to be about the six women surrounding Truman Capote. Hmm.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
I read this before it was an Oprah Book Club pick, but I'm happy to see it on this list. The storytelling technique of rotating narratives, the setting of Atlanta, the issue of black male incarceration - it leaves a lot to discuss.  My review discusses it a little more in depth and can be found here.

Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lilian Li
I could have sword I read this book! Maybe I've just seen the cover a bunch.

Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn
Ooh, a small-press book about spies. I might have to read this one next. Oh look I just bought the Kindle version.

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
I've swirled around this one - a road trip plus a border story should be good, but I didn't like her teeth novel so I've been dragging my feet.

Praise Songs for the Butterflies by Bernice L McFadden
Set in West Africa, about ritual sacrifice/slavery. It didn't immediately peak my interest when it came out but maybe more people will read it now.

Circe by Madeline Miller
This is one of two five-star reads on this list for me, and I also included it in my best reads of 2018. It's the story of Circe, a character in the Odyssey, from her perspective, and it is genius. A powerful woman, a compelling narrative, beautiful writing.  My review is here.

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
This is the only book I've read by this author despite meaning to read her work for a while, and it was one in a number of books with domineering father figures, too much for me. My review is here.

Normal People by Sally Rooney
I have been waiting forever for this book to come out in the United States and it still has a month and a half to go. I don't usually talk about books that aren't out yet on my podcast but when Anna Baillee-Karas was on, we talked around it because I had just finished it and knew she'd liked it too. It's mostly a relationship with tons of conversation and I loved it. I was so bummed it didn't make the Man Booker shortlist! My review is here, and the podcast episode where I kind of talked about it a bit is here

Friday, March 1, 2019

Books Read February 2019: 23-50


Pictured are 5-star reads for February

23. Outline by Rachel Cusk ***** (library book; my review)
24. The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara ***** (print galley; my review)
25. Fired Up by Andrew Johnston ***** (library book; my review)
26. Sugar Run by Mesha Maren **** (print galley; my review)
27. The Enchanted Hour by Meghan Cox Gurdon **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
28. My Brother's Husband Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame ***** (interlibrary loan; my review)
29. The Cloud Atlas by Liam Callanan *** (interlibrary loan; my review)
30. The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray **** (print galley; my review)
31. My Brother's Husband Vol. 2 by Gengoroh Tagame **** (print galley; my review)
32. After Dark by Haruki Murakami **** (personal copy; my review)
33. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal **** (Audible audiobook; my review)
34. The Cassandra by Sharma Shields *** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
35. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty **** (Prime Reads; my review)
36. Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire **** (print galley; my review)
37. The Lie and How We Told It by Tommi Parrish **** (print galley; my review)
38. Last Night in Nuuk by Niviaq Korneliussen **** (Hoopla eBook; my review)
39. Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader by Marc Lesser *** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
40. Nothing but the Night by John Williams **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
41. A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole **** (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
42. Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang **** (personal copy; my review)
43. More than Words by Jill Santopolo **** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
44. Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras **** (interlibrary loan; my review)
45. The Twenty-Ninth Year by Hala Alyan **** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
46. Roots Grew Wild by Erica Hoffmeister *** (eARC from publisher; my review)
47. Double Awesome Chinese Food by Margaret, Irene, and Andrew Li ***** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
48. Little Fish by Casey Plett **** (print galley; my review)
49. America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo **** (Audible audiobook; my review)
50. In at the Deep End by Kate Davies **** (eARC from publisher; my review)

Books Finished in February: 28

Audiobooks: 3
eBooks: 12
Print: 13

Library: 7
Personal: 5
Review: 16