Review: Simmer Down

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nikki relocates to Maui after her father's death to help her mother run a food truck serving Filipino food, and has an encounter with the new (hot, English) food truck owner who parks in her space.

I like the foodie elements and the location, the tension between the characters, but sometimes it's like the author gets sidetracked (random trip to London! Luxury resort!) and adds elements to the story that actually detract from the central romance. I also do not like epilogues especially in romance. Give me my happy ending and walk away!

Still when I needed something to read during election week insomnia, this was a fair distraction.

I had a copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley; it came out October 13, 2020.

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Review: Migrations

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a near future where entire species have gone extinct and the numbers of birds and fish are catastrophically low, Franny convinces a fishing boat captain to bring her aboard to follow the Arctic Tern (which she thinks will also follow the fish.) As the story goes on, more of her past is revealed. It sometimes feels like a story churning in its own destruction because obviously Fanny knows everything that has happened and the reader doesn't, but I liked the premise and the landscape. The crew is interesting as is the people they encounter, usually in cold and remote places, my favorite.

I had a copy of this from Flatiron Books through Netgalley although it came out August 4th so I'm obviously in catch-up mode with eARCs.

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Reading Envy 205: Life and Time with author Bryan Washington

Jenny speaks with author Bryan Washington about his new novel, Memorial, and also gets to know more about him as a reader. This bonus episode also contains information about a last-minute readalong, how to contribute to the best of the year episode, and what to expect for the rest of 2020.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 205: Life and Time

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
Or listen via Stitcher
Or listen through Spotify 
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Books discussed:

Memorial by Bryan Washington
Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington

Other mentions:

Nights when Nothing Happened by Simon Han
Luster by Raven Leilani
Pieces by Helen Oyeyemi
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
Bestiary by K-Ming Chang
My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame
Breasts & Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
Dubliners by James Joyce
Daily Beast: Bryan Washington recommends 5 Books
Polar Vortex by Shani Mootoo
Book Cougars
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
Reading Envy Readers on Goodreads - Readalong discussion

Related episodes:

Episode 145 - Things Get Dark with Bianca Escalante
Episode 175 - Reading on Impulse with Marion Hill
Episode 196 - Miscommunication with Lindy

 
Stalk us online:

Bryan Washington website
Bryan on Twitter
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy

All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors, and less to Jeff Bezos. I only link to Amazon in cases where Bookshop.org does not carry a backlist title, which took place a few times for this list.

Review: Together in a Sudden Strangeness: America's Poets Respond to the Pandemic

Together in a Sudden Strangeness: America's Poets Respond to the Pandemic by Alice Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This collection of poetry comes from poets coping with the pandemic and all its associated issues - loss (of loved ones or work), disconnect, loneliness, isolation; but also discoveries - creativity, quiet, nature. As always it is hard to give an overall rating but as I read and listened to these during Election Week and reflected on how this has been a very hard and long year, I found them to be a balm.

Favorites:

Haunt by April Bernard
"...This is her kind
of catastrophe, rife with irony and fear
and small domestic refinements...."

Say Thank You Say I'm Sorry by Jericho Brown
(about the people who have to work during the pandemic)

The End of Poetry by Ada Limón (read at The New Yorker by the poet)
"...enough of the brutal and the border,
enough of can you see me, can you hear me..."

I Hear the Wild Birds Singing Tangled Roads by Shane McCrae
(of noticing more, hearing more, when people are doing less, out less)

Corona by Dante Micheaux
(similar theme)

Because We Want to Imagine by Laura Mullen
"...didn't we think mostly
About dead bodies and what
We would do with a whole
Lot of money..."

Poem for My Students by Sharon Olds
(like it sounds)

Aftermaths by Tommy Orange
"...Quarantine comes from the Latin meaning forty days. How
long has it been and how long will it be and is it the same kind of forty as from
the ark and the flood, the devil in the desert and the forty-hour workweek?
How we will our lives into something more?"

Weather by Claudia Rankine (listen to the poet read the poem)
"...I say weather but I mean
a November that won’t be held off. This time
nothing, no one forgotten. We are here for the storm
that’s storming because what’s taken matters."

Canal Nocturne by Rex Wilder
"...We are stranded, too near each other to breathe."

I had a copy of the extended edition of the eBook from the publisher, and listened to the original version of the audio, where the poems are read by a host of audiobook narrators, but not necessarily the poets themselves. The Jericho Brown and Claudia Rankine are just a few of the newly added titles, so I would definitely go for the expanded edition which comes out November 17.

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Reading Envy 204: BookTube Season with Scott

While a lot of readers have struggled during the pandemic, Scott had a reading breakthrough this past year. We talk about BookTube, places for readalongs, and books we've read and liked recently.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 204: BookTube Season

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
Or listen via Stitcher
Or listen through Spotify 
New! Listen through Google Podcasts


Books discussed:

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
How Long 'Til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
Last Call by Tim Powers

Other mentions:

The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
Coode St. Podcast with Arkady Martine
Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
Sistah Scifi
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
The Great & Secret Show by Clive Barker
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Get Booked Podcast
Hugos There Podcast
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Everyone who Reads Must Converse (YouTube)
Endymion by Dan Simmons
A Case of Conscience by James Blish
Welcome Home: An Anthology of Love and Adoption edited by Eric Smith

Related episodes:

Episode 009 - Pirates and Noonday Demons
Episode 039 - Paranoid Squint with Fred
Episode 058 - Wishing for a Sequel with Scott D. Danielson
Episode 123 - Godlets and Forests with Lauren Weinhold
Episode 202 - Jacket Flap with Chris and Emily

Shelf Wear - Book 3 - The Only Good Indians
 

Stalk us online:

Scott on A Good Story is Hard to Find (podcast)
Scott on Shelf Wear (blog and podcast)
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy

All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors, and less to Jeff Bezos. I only link to Amazon in cases where Bookshop.org does not carry a backlist title, which took place a few times for this list.

Books Read October 2020 - 258-295

In October, a few unique situations occurred which had an impact on my reading for the month. I know it looks like I read 5-7 more books than normal, but that can entirely be chalked up to the seven very short Amazon Prime/Audible Originals I listened to - six from Mindy Kaling, one from Kate Atkinson. I was also a guest commentator for a round of the Super Rooster from The Morning News' Tournament of Books - that was a lot of fun but meant I reread two books - the Rooney and the Whitehead. I also got a chance to interview author Bryan Washington, coming soon to the podcast, so I prioritized reading his book as well (which, as is pictured in my 5-star reads, was great.) Oh and then Tropical Storm Zeta blew through and left us without power for 2 days, so all I could DO was read.

 
Pictured: October's 5-star reads, with Amazon affiliate links (Bookshop doesn't provide direct image links, sorry!)

258. Just Like You by Nick Hornby ⭐️⭐️⭐️  (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
259. Sisters by Daisy Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
260. Just Us by Claudia Rankine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Graywolf Galley Club; my review)
261. This Mournable Body by  Tsitsi Dangarembga ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library copy; my review)
262. I Have Something to Tell You by  Chasten Buttigieg ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from publisher; my review)
263. Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library copy; my review)
264. Kind of Hindu by Mindy Kaling, narrated by Mindy Kaling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible original; my review)
265. Help is on the Way by Mindy Kaling, narrated by Mindy Kaling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible original; my review)
266. Please Like Me by Mindy Kaling, narrated by Mindy Kaling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible original; my review)
267. Searching for Coach Taylor by Mindy Kaling, narrated by Mindy Kaling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible original; my review)
268. Once Upon a Time in Silver Lake by Mindy Kaling, narrated by Mindy Kaling ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible original; my review)
269. Big Shot by Mindy Kaling, narrated by Mindy Kaling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible original; my review)
270. Shine, Pamela, Shine! by Kate Atkinson, narrated by Gwendoline Christie ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Audible original; my review)
271. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library eBook; my review)
272. Wake Up Grateful by Kristi Nelson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
273. Welcome Home edited by Eric Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal copy; my review)
274. Fardwor, Russia! by Oleg Kashin, translated by Will Evans ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal copy; my review)
275. Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
276. Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (print galley; my review)
277. Summer of the Cicadas by  Chelsea Catherine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (print galley; my review)
278. The Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
279. The Kill Club by Wendy Heard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (print galley; my review)
280. Normal People by Sally Rooney ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library eBook; my review)
281. This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett, read by Ann Patchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
282. All My Mother's Lovers Ilana Masad ⭐️⭐️⭐️  (print galley; my review)
283. The Shadow King Maaza Mengiste ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library copy; my review)
284. Silences So Deep by John Luther Adams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
285. Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal copy; my review)
286. Memorial by Bryan Washington ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
287. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
288. Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal eBook copy; my review)
289. Travels with a Tangerine by Tim Mackintosh-Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (interlibrary loan; my review)
290. Burning Roses by S.L. Huang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (print galley; my review)
291. Suicide Woods by Benjamin Perry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Graywolf Galley Club; my review)
292. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (library eBook; my review)
293. Galileo by Ann McMan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (print galley; my review)
294. Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (print galley; my review)
295. How Long 'Til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (personal copy; my review)

Total Books Read: 38

audio: 8
eBook: 13
print: 17

library: 8
personal or borrowed from Amazon: 12
review: 18

Around the World: 6
Booker Prize: 2
Crime/mystery: 3
Indigenous reads: 1
Memoir/biography/personal essay: 11
MiddleEast2020: 1
ReadtheWorld21: 1
Scifi/fantasy: 8
Spooktober (horror and dark fantasy, gothic too):6
Tournament of Books Super Rooster: 2

Review: Plain Bad Heroines

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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