It’s been a couple of months since we did one of these reading threads, and I’m in a book slump. I need recommendations, STAT.
Here are a few notable things I’ve read since February:
Biography of X, by Catherine Lacey. Wild. A wild ride. Bestseller, prize-winner, a novel within a novel that tells the life story of an enigmatic artist named X. I was all in on this one, wild as it was.
Wandering Stars, by Tommy Orange. The follow-up to his blockbuster novel There, There, this one is just as rich and immersive but without the jaw-breaking punch of violence (in There, There, the main character is shot in a mass shooting at a pow-wow. In Wandering Stars, he’s grappling with the ensuing trauma and addition).
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. Tommy Orange and several other writers I admire (Hanif Abdurraqib, Roxanne Gay, etc.) were hyping this one hard. The reviews (overwritten and overwrought) were not wrong, but I was quickly on the side of the protagonist, surprised by the plot twist, and cried during the next-to-last scene.
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas. I resisted this one for a long time because it’s romantasy (not my usual genre) and it’s all everybody talks about. But I finally gave in and was totally hooked before I got 1/4 of the way through. One friend told me she reads this series as a palate cleanser after heavier stuff, which makes a lot of sense. After a run of intense stories of addiction and colonialist violence, humans falling in love with faeries was a relief. Eagerly awaiting the second series to arrive from my library holds list.
What have YOU been reading lately?
Not recent reads, but On Living by Kerry Egan and Expecting Adam by Dr. Martha Beck. Also, I love comic books and have enjoyed new series in the Buffyverse.
Reading now: "Dominion" by Tom Holland. It's slow going, but I'm committed to finishing it someday; "Good Night, Mr. Tom" by Michelle Magorian, reading this to 2 of my granddaughters; "Reading Genesis" by Marilynn Robinson. "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
About to read: "There, There" by Tommy Orange