What I Read April - June 2022

APRIL:

Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid - This was a buddy read and I enjoyed the book more for the group chats, the discussion, and the conversation with book friends. The book itself is quite popular and fits the summer read. It has a great sense of summer in California, and tells the story of a family that deteriorates from two timelines, as the dad pursues fame and women while the mom tries to deal with, and also ignore, the reality in which she’s found herself. It’s captivating, the audio narration is well done, and would be great to read in a group or with friends or a book club.

Vladimir, by Julia May Jonas - I was so surprised, in a good way, by this one. I hate the cover because of how misleading it is, even though it is rather striking. This book is about a woman working in academia who has a small crush on one of the other professors, has a husband who is undergoing a bit or a morals issue because he’s slept with so many of his students, and is trying to figure out, as her life swirls around her, what has it meant, been for, and what remains? The actual plot of the story starts a little slowly, but the sentences throughout are lush and gorgeous. There’s a twist towards the end, in the last third of the book that I didn’t see coming at all and that I was captivated by. Loved this one but it won’t work for everyone.

Unraveling, by Brandon Leake - A lovely poetry collection. Listened to it on audio thanks to Libro.fm’s advanced listening copies and enjoyed it. Leake has a great lyrical sense to his work and it makes the poems impactful.

Weather, by Jenny Offill - If you like Jenny Offill’s other books, you’ll like this one. I read it in one day, nearly in one sitting, when things were slow at a very small library I was working. It’s a short book, and the way Offill structures her prose, it’s easy to make quick progress, but also lends itself to dipping into and out of, each chunk of text is well thought out, put together, and interesting. She takes care with her sentences and a lot of them felt like art to read. This story is about a woman living her life, picking up her son from school, contemplating her work as a university librarian, and thinking about her marriage and friendships. It’s contemplative in the best ways and a great example of what literary fiction can be. I loved it. Thank you to NetGalley for my digital e-galley.

The Space Trilogy, by C. S. Lewis - This was interesting and kinda poked at the literary history/look at how far sci-fi has come/C.S. Lewis thinking stuff part of my brain that I hadn’t activated in a while.

Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You: Poems, by Misha Collins - I wrote about this one on Instagram here.

Life on Mars, by Tracy K. Smith - I like Smith’s poetry and think she’s worth reading, but for me this collection was just ok.

Oddball, by Sarah Anderson - Anderson is a fun escape. Her illustrations are great and make me feel less like a trash bag of a human and that’s always a delight.

MAY:

Living with Viola, by Rosena Fung - Cute and useful graphic novel about a girl dealing with some anxiety and how she navigates that in middle school, at home, and with her friends. This is a cool thing I’m noticing - the middle grade graphic novels that describe anxious feelings and how to get through them. Useful, not didactic, compelling, and valuable, I wish these had been around when I was a kid.

Book Lovers, by Emily Henry - I feel like this has been talked about enough. I enjoyed it. It’s easy and a little spicy (not that hawt that frequently - but when you get to it it does sizzle).

The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage into Self-Mastery, by Brianna Wiest - I’m writing this months after reading these. I remember feeling helped and encouraged by this book but can’t remember much besides that. There is something to be said for engaging in your own self-sabotaging patterns as a familiar comfort zone and for illuminating that tendency that often shows up I think this was a valuable read for me.

Hollow Kingdom, by Kira Jane Buxton - Loved it. Snarky Crow narrates the apocalypse when all the humans become zombies and S.T. (the crow narrator) decides it is up to him to rescue and liberate all the other domesticated animals and hope for the best. Alternates with some chapters throughout of other animals around the world narrating the changes to their environment as humans disappear slowly and then all of a sudden. It requires some suspension of disbelief to enjoy this one so you gotta be in the mood for it, but if you are, my gawd are you in for a good time. There’s a sequel waiting for me on my shelves and I’m looking forward to it. Twist and cliff-hanger in the last chapter has me curious and, to be honest, a little worried about what is going to happen next.

The Swimmers, by Julie Otsuka - Nothing like what I expected. I was intrigued by this because it’s written in collective group speak and that, as a device, can be absolutely the worst or if in the hands of a brilliant person, a real treat. This book is narrated by a group of swimmers (aha!) who all share a community pool together. When a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, this crack fizzles into the lives of the group in unexpected ways. What I didn’t expect was for this book to end up following one character for the most part in the second half of the book, and for it to hit me in the feelings so damn hard. If you’ve lost a parent, been close to someone who is aging, please please take care while reading this. It is short, but omg Otsuka only used the necessary words to write it. It’s lovely and sharp.

The Atlas Six, by Olivie Blake - I wanted more from this. It felt like it was trying too hard and I had a hard time caring about the characters. Really popular on instagram and tiktok these days. Perhaps, if I was in my youth still, I would’ve been much more into it. Reminded me of The Magicians tv show.

Just Roll With It, by Veronica Agarwal - Another of those great middle grade graphic novels about anxiety and how to get through it. In this one the main character uses a very many sided dice to determine/help her make decisions. The book illustrates her accepting herself more fully and not feeling shame or as much fear surrounding her perceived inadequacies. Great addition to that category of middle grade real life graphic novels.

Real Friends, by Shannon Hale - I’d read Hale’s other graphic novels and missed this one, but they are kindof memoir, kindof middle grade, but interesting and I think a useful way to explore the way things used to be and to have another relatable tale of middle school and growing up. Cute.

Donut the Destroyer, by Sarah Graley - Another cute graphic novel. I don’t remember much about this one anymore, but there were donuts, I like Sarah Graley’s work, and I had a nice time reading this.

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, by Shannon Hale - This was fine. She’s a superhero princess of gemworld but I couldn’t get into it enough to care much.

Portrait of a Thief, by Grace D. Li - Really enjoyed this. Thinks about museums, what “belongs” to who from where and why. How ownership of cultural artifacts is kinda a strange thing. A great heist story too if you’re looking for that. Each character in the group is going through a lot, and they are fully developed people. I was impressed.

How to Do The Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self, by Nicole LePera - This was helpful, but again, I don’t remember a ton about it anymore. I found her words encouraging at the time and that the chapters helped me find some peace, clarify and simplify and eliminate some of the noise in my head when I read it and that is very valuable.

The Lost Heir, by Tui T. Southerland (Wings of Fire #2) - My daughter (12) has read this series so many times, I am listening to them slowly at her urging. I would’ve been as obsessed as she is if I’d also read them at 11 or 12, and so I can see why they are so popular but they definitely do read like middle grade fantasy. They’re dramatic and silly and twisty but also a lot of fun. Southerland (who is actually a lot of authors all together writing under that name sorry to spoil it) has created a full world of dragons and culture and lore and intrigue and the kids are devouring it. This series checks out constantly at the library in allllllll formats. Love to see it.

JUNE:

Funny You Should Ask, by Elissa Sussman - Loved this one. A clever rom com that I thought was rad because the connection is a slow burn done WELL, and the characters are older when they finally come together and that’s just nice to see. Loved it. Way better than a lot of the other contemporary romances coming out this year imo. Go get it. It’s cute and funny and smart and gives you that feeling of having a hardcore crush that then, turns out, likes you back. But it’s a book. Very fun if those are the types of feels you’re wanting.

The Gunslinger, by Stephen King - Ok, I read this because a boy (several boys actually over the course of a long time) told me to. Here’s the thing. I’ve only read On Writing by King before and loved that but obviously it’s nonfiction and has great content if you’re looking for writing help. Can’t recommend that one enough. But ok The Gunslinger. It feels like piece one of a massive puzzle so it’s at once intriguing and makes not a lot of sense to me at all. I haven’t seen the movie. I might read the rest of the series because it does itch at my brain a little but yeah. I think King is an interesting guy, don’t have much experience with his actual work but I might try some of his fiction later.

Unlikely Animals, by Annie Hartnett - This was excellent. Definitely going to be one of my favorites this year. I reviewed it more on Instagram here, but I loved it. It was original and weird and compelling and strange and so much fun. Loved it.

A Novel Obsession, by Caitlin Barasch - OMG this book is wild. I couldn’t put it down. And that’s what I was wanting so that was rad. It’s so strange and the whole time you’re like wanting to step in front of the main character and tell her to go do something else, not what she’s about to do. I loved it and don’t know that I’d recommend it to anyone unless you really WANT something that makes you pick your jaw up off the floor, maybe throw the book across the room, but need to be totally engaged in some pages.

Nora Goes Off Script, by Annabel Monaghan - Sorry, but I hated this one. I’m a single parent and the things Nora does just make no sense and are not relateable, her kids are not realistic, it just did not work. Maybe in some illusion or alternate universe there are scenarios like this that exist, sure, maybe. And while yes, I do like seeing the representation of a main character who has had to change course, who’s life does look a little more like mine, and who does end up with happiness, I just couldn’t stop thinking “red flag, red flag, that’s ridiculous, ew no thanks, that’s more ridiculous” and I hated it. So. Not for me. Might work for other people though and has had great success. I did not enjoy it. At all.

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, by Mac Barnett - Graphic novel. The cat wants pizza. Ends up in space. Still wants pizza. Brilliant.

Flying Solo, by Linda Holmes - I liked Holmes’ previous book a lot - it was the right time for me to read that one - and I thought this one was fine. Enjoyable but didn’t hit me as deep and good as the other one. It’s a rom com about a lady who is going through a family members house who has died and she comes across a duck that might or might not be worth something, and a handsome librarian (as an aside this guy was not good at his job and I have notes for him about patron privacy), but overall it’s cute and they make it out ok. It’s again nice to see an older set of main characters and something different in what they want their future to look like. I liked that part of the book a lot and thought their banter was fun. Low steam. I don’t remember much at all. Probably safe to give to your mom if you want.

The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi - I had high hopes for this but I think listening to it kinda popped the vibe for me. I don’t like the guy’s voice who narrates Scalzi’s books. At all. But I think Scalzi’s concepts are really interesting . This one is about a guy who has to change careers and goes from the equivalent of an uber eats delivery guy to inter-dimensional Kaiju project assistant. I didn’t know what a Kaiju was before this and if you’re in that boat too it’s like a Godzilla kindof a creature. Yeah, I think if I’d read this in print of electronically I would’ve liked it better.

Light Years from Home, by Mike Chen - This is another one that surprised me and mostly for good. I was expecting it to be mostly space action sci-fi type of things. A guy goes missing, shows up again at home claiming he was abducted by aliens and needs to do some things because there’s an intergalactic war happening. This book, oh boy, it uses sci-fi to get into the specificities of family dysfunction. The ways we hurt each other and try to move on and grieve each other and how we misunderstand and are fixed in one perspective of the same event, and it is very very good. This would be a great way for people who like family dramas to dip a toe into sci-fi and for folks who like sci-fi to dip their other toes into family dramas.

Counterfeit, by Kristin Chen - Very fun, also a complex story of belonging, who owns what, how people are expected to behave and how those expectations can be absolutely suffocating. Interesting and glitzy and well written it does kindof convey the anxiety the main character feels through the text so watch for that but I liked it. One part of this that I didn’t expect is the parenting subplot. It makes sense in context and is a really interesting way of thinking how pressures and family legacies and expectations are build into us often from the very start, but the main character and her son have a really hard time together and it can be taxing to read especially if you’re a parent or someone who’s been there for some of the difficult moments of handling younger children.

Down the Hatch, by M. C. Beaton - This is a light read. I like cozy mysteries. Sometimes. But M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin character is one of my favorites. Beaton passed away relatively recently, last year I think? So this wasn’t actually written by her if I’m remembering right but it’s just a fun way to turn off your brain, listen to Agatha snark about things and be amusing and solve a murder in the small countryside town where there is more death than bake sales almost. It’s fun. Fluffy. Easy. The narrator is good. Put this on and do a puzzle. Have some tea. There you go.

Well, I don’t expect the rest of the year to look like this at all, but it sure was an interesting few months of books!! Hope you found something fun to read too.