Best of the Bunch (October 2024)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in October.

Of the 10 books I read this month, I had just one 5-star read, so that's my Best of the Bunch!

A Man Called Ove has sold me on Backman. He is a master of the craft. Ove seems supremely unlikable as a character when the book opens, but as you slowly get his backstory amid his current plans to take his own life, it's clear that he's a good-hearted man with a strict set of principles who has become increasingly overwhelmed by the world and the life circumstances in which he finds himself. Past incidents are sometimes referenced multiple times throughout the book with slightly more context each time, so what seems to be an absurd feud over a car turns out to be a manifestation of grief from a man whose generation wasn't taught to talk about their feelings. Sparked by the incessant meddling of Ove's new neighbors, a kind of found family forms in the community where Ove lives, with Ove in the center against his grumpy will. (Be aware that Ove's internal judgments of others, especially near the beginning, can be quite harsh and based in ugly stereotypes.)

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Hazeldine: Volume One and Cultish
Five years ago I was reading: King of the Murgos, More Than Two, and Whistling Vivaldi
Ten years ago I was reading: Breath, Eyes, Memory, Cordelia's Honor, and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

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What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

It's been another good reading month! Not only am I back to my regular reading cadence, but I also read a number of excellent and thought-provoking books, both fiction and nonfiction. Here's what I've been reading!

The Feather Thief by Kirk W. Johnson: This was a well-constructed work of nonfiction about a topic I knew nothing about. Johnson does a masterful job of concisely laying out the history leading up to the theft; since the thief had already been identified and confessed at the time he learned about the theft, the suspense comes from his efforts to find and recover the stolen feathers.

I'll Have What He's Having by Adib Khorram: This was my September Best of the Bunch. I really enjoyed this adult romance with two men trying to navigate real-life challenges and figure out what they each want and deserve.

The Mandalorian: The Rescue by the Walt Disney Company: This book my 9-year-old and I read was basically one story line from The Mandalorian told through freeze frames of the show with some sound effects and speech bubbles. Whole pages just had closeup shots of people's faces or various details in the scene, and you were apparently supposed to be able to figure out what was happening just from that. I wasn't impressed.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty: This was undoubtedly longer than it needed to be, but I enjoyed it. Moriarty uses the stories of multiple passengers (and one flight attendant) receiving predictions of their age and cause of death to explore a range of ideas, from the credibility of fortune tellers to the ways that single events can change one's life trajectory. I liked this much better than Moriarty's last couple books and am very glad I picked this up.

Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine: Fine is thorough in showing the issues with just about every type of research purportedly finding differences between women and men in skills, abilities, interests, and even brain structure. You don't have to know how to read academic research; she's compiled work from a variety of sources and made it accessible with the clearest examples and analogies. Published in 2010, it does feel a bit outdated and is not inclusive of trans and non-binary individuals, though it's well done within its narrow focus.

Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson: This was an exhaustive look at the many areas of life — work, relationships, politics, and more — where the impulse for self-justification has major effects. Their plentiful examples were a good balance of research studies, real-life events, and imagined scenarios that clearly demonstrated their points. I only wish the chapter on psychology (and its sarcastic jabs at clinical psychologists who aren't researchers) hadn't so clearly revealed the authors' own self-justification bias.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers: I can definitely see why this is a modern classic and an award winner, though personally I found the reading experience just OK. The same formatting choices and ambiguity that makes this perfect for a young adult classroom kept me feeling distant from the protagonist and his story.

Jessica by Bryce Courtenay: The writing kept me engaged in this long story of a young Australian woman's life, though the bleakness got to be too much. I don't regret reading this, but it was a bit too much of a soap opera for me to recommend widely.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Project Hail Mary, A Place to Hang the Moon, The Bad Guys in the Baddest Day Ever, and The Residue Years
Five years ago I was reading: Possession, An Untamed State, More Than Two, and Whistling Vivaldi
Ten years ago I was reading: Sister Outsider and Walk Two Moons

Best of the Bunch (September 2024)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in September.

Of the eight books I read this month, I had two 5-star reads:

Nimona by N.D. Stevenson

I'll Have What He's Having by Adib Khorram

These were both very good for different reasons! Because my 9-year-old and I read the graphic novel Nimona over the span of a few weeks, I feel less confident in my 5-star rating (though very interested in rereading it on my own now). And I'm always happy to hype Adib Khorram, one of my favorite authors who is not well known enough!

At this point I will read anything Adib Khorram writes, and I'm not surprised that his first adult romance novel, I'll Have What He's Having, was as good or better than his young adult books. While he draws on some romance tropes to structure his novel, everything in between was authentic (and spicy!). Although there were a few too many sex scenes for my personal taste, I greatly appreciated how Khorram showed two men navigating real-life conversations about sex, including testing and protection, consent, and preparation and supplies for anal sex. It was lovely to see Farzan and David's romance add depth to the already full lives they each had, including close familial relationships and lifelong friendships. I love a book where there are no villains, just a lot of people doing their best in their own way. I will continue to look forward to reading whatever Khorram writes next!

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Project Hail Mary, Clap When You Land, and Wherever Is Your Heart
Five years ago I was reading: Possession, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages, God Land, and Whistling Vivaldi
Ten years ago I was reading: I Am Malala, Family Matters, and The Road

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Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

It's time for planning another season of reading! I read everything on my Summer TBR list. Here are ten books I plan to read this fall. After going hard on queer love stories in the summer, I need a different mix of books in my life, so I have a split of fiction and nonfiction.

1. Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
This is what my online book club is discussing in October. I am... not really a fan of satire, so I don't have super high hopes for this one, but maybe it will surprise me, and I'm sure it will be interesting to discuss!

2. Excuse Me, Sir! by Shaley Howard
Earlier this year I read an article by Howard and was reminded I'd seen her memoir around, as she's a local author. Not too long ago I had a lovely conversation with a friend who's also a more masc queer woman about our experiences getting comfortable with our preferred gender expressions, and I'm excited to see what Howard has to say about her own experience.

3. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Y'all, I still haven't read this book, despite it being on every list ever and being a movie and everything. This season is the time to finally check it out.

4. Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson
I love a good psychological deep dive! Yes, please explain to me all the weird ways my brain works and what I can do to be a better human in the world.

5. Monster by Walter Dean Myers
At this point I think this young adult book from 1999 can be considered a modern classic. I did not read it in school, but I'd like to read it now.

6. My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
My own year has been kind of a mess, so I definitely chose the next few reads from the "sounds uplifting" tag on my might-want-to-read list. The other tags on this book inform me I may have chosen yet another queer romance, but at least I gave myself some variety this season!

7. Nothing to Fear by Julie McFadden
Here's another kind of nonfiction I love! I have a feeling that I probably heard McFadden on a podcast and that's how I got interested in her book on demystifying death. I think hospice is awesome and that the folks who work in it have a lot to share with the rest of us, so I'm excited to pick this one up.

8. Only Love Today by Rachel Mary Stafford
It appears this book of daily inspiration may be more heavily Christian than I realized when several Goodreads friends recommended it, but I'm cool with occasionally dipping my toe back into the world of Christian books as long as they don't come with a lot of cringy, narrow-minded assumptions. We shall see where this one falls!

9. Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune
I'm pretty sure I first heard about this from a Goodreads ad, but I immediately knew from the title and cover that it was a sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea and went and put a hold on it. I don't plan to reread the first book, so hopefully it's the kind of sequel that gives you some time to get re-oriented to the world.

10. Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD
This book pops back up on my radar on a regular basis, and I've now had it on my "priority read" shelf for quite a while, so I'm finally going to read it this fall!

What do you plan to read this fall?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Project Hail Mary, The Sittaford Mystery, and Our Favorite Songs
Five years ago I was reading: Possession, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, and Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
Ten years ago I was reading: The Souls of Black Folk, Family Matters, and More Than Serving Tea

What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

After my reading got kickstarted again last month from a bout of COVID, I've been back to my regular reading rhythm. Here's what I've finished in the past month!

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour: This was an excellent depiction of shock and grief following a trauma that's not revealed until later in the book. The alternating past and present timelines kept me reading, and the plot twist was well earned.

How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly: This was my Best of the Bunch for August. I adore Anita Kelly's writing, and this was no exception. This was a solid romance between two characters with realistic chemistry, a great depiction of an aroace spectrum character, and excellent side plots as well.

Ace Voices: What it Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-Ace by Eris Young: Young could have compiled a book of full interviews, one for each chapter, but they decided to cut them up into quotations and organize them by theme. This could have been fine, but they didn't do nearly enough to narratively synthesize the interview parts with research and their own experience to do each theme justice. I liked some of what they had to say, but overall it was too stream-of-consciousness and the editing too sloppy for my taste.

Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw: This was a great deep dive on the topic of bisexuality, covering a broad range of areas. It's well researched and includes both reasons for despair and reasons for hope, the combination of which will hopefully spur readers to fighting for a more just world.

The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes: This was fine, a graphic memoir I read in under an hour. I think I went in expecting something different, like "Here are the experiences that solidified my gay identity for me," with some being serious and some being funny. Instead it was more like, "Here is a series of times that I came out as gay and then immediately went back to dating guys," with some unexpected mental health elements (eating disorder, panic attacks) interspersed.

The Little Book of Living Small by Laura Fenton: This was a practical guide to living in small spaces, with a collection of case studies (complete with photographs) followed by tips and tricks for every area of the house. It leans a little too hard on the assumption that you could live in a bigger place but are living in a smaller space and can use the extra money to have everything customized for your space, but the variety of options showcased in this book will likely give you at least a few ideas even if you don't have a lot to spare.

You Don't Have a Shot by Racquel Marie: This was a great enemies-to-lovers queer YA romance. What I especially loved was that it's our first-person narrator who's the self-centered, arrogant one when the book opens, and we get to see her transformation alongside getting a better understanding of why she is the way she is. Oh, and yes to alloromantic ace rep!

Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie: Christie's thrillers are never her best work; this is a middle-of-the-pack one, all things considered. The premise is pretty great and there were several satisfying twists, but the middle part of the book has the main character doing basically nothing but hanging around and occasionally having some conversations. So it was rather uneven and not something I'd particularly recommend.

Nimona by N.D. Stevenson: It's hard to put into words what made this book so good, but my kiddo and I both loved it. It's funny and devastating and action-packed and symbolic and queer and beautifully illustrated as well as being well paced. I would definitely read this again to dig into everything I missed the first time around.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Codependent No More and How the Word Is Passed
Five years ago I was reading: Possession, Everyday Bias, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, and Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
Ten years ago I was reading: The Fire Next Time, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, and Sister Citizen

Best of the Bunch (August 2024)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in August.

Of the 10 books I read this month, I had one 5-star read, so that's my Best of the Bunch!

I adore Anita Kelly's writing. How You Get the Girl is probably my favorite of their three full-length novels set in the same universe. As with all of their books, we get the perspectives of both people, so we see how they interpret and misinterpret and second-guess each other's words and actions, both worried about being too vulnerable and leaning in too hard. Julie was my favorite character, not surprisingly; Kelly spoke to my heart through giving us a character who has no idea what identity label to claim because she so rarely gets crushes on anyone and has even less experience acting on them. Unlike the romances I want to chuck against a wall where we're just supposed to root for two characters to get together because they're the main characters, Kelly gives us solid dialogue, with flirting, inside jokes, vulnerability, and sweetness. We actually get to see Julie and Elle develop a friendship over time in a realistic way. All of the side plots are great as well, which isn't always the case. I highly recommend this on audio and kind of wish I'd read the first two this way; maybe I'll go back and revisit them one of these days.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Detransition, Baby and How the Word Is Passed
Five years ago I was reading: How to Be a Perfect Stranger, The Smart Girl's Guide to Polyamory, and The Book of Unknown Americans
Ten years ago I was reading: Totto-Chan, White Teeth, and Someone Knows My Name

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What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

Well, it took getting COVID for the first time in four and a half years to finally tick up my reading count and get me back on track toward my Goodreads goal! Plus before that, I was spending a good amount of time in the car and got through some shorter audiobooks in that time. Here's everything I've read in the past month.

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey: This quiet, lyrical book about the world of snails was a nice meditation on life, with the information on snails told alongside the author's own experiences with debilitating illness that led her to have occasion to observe a snail at close quarters over a long period of time. It wasn't exactly life-changing to read, but it was a nice chance to slow down and focus on one topic minutely, gaining a greater appreciation for this particular creature.

Crooked House by Agatha Christie: This one had an unexpected but satisfying ending. I can't say I liked the experience of reading it, only because Christie did such a good job of creating a tense, stifled atmosphere in the house where the story takes place that it was almost stressful to read. But well done on Christie's part, indeed!

Endless Night by Agatha Christie: While I will give Christie credit for writing something a bit different than her usual fare (kind of), there was a lot to put this low down on my list of Christie reads: The plot was predictable, there were clues shoehorned in that didn't make sense, the book relies heavily on the use of an ethnic slur, and the ending seemed out of character with the rest of the plot. Some people love this, but it wasn't for me.

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar: This was about average as far as the romance, but I liked the side plots about cultural appropriation, coming out to family, and bullying at school, as well as the sister and friend relationships. Bonus points for being the first YA romance I've read set in Ireland between two queer girls of color. Come for the romance but stay for the bigger themes about belonging, identity, and culture.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: I found this engaging despite the elements of magical realism, which aren't usually my jam. There were a number of powerful themes throughout the book, like the way that someone's life narrative can influence other people's lives, even if that narrative isn't entirely accurate. While a little too philosophical and fantastical to be a favorite for me, I did enjoy this read.

Loving Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder: How to Keep Out-of-Control Emotions from Destroying Your Relationship by Shari Y. Manning: This was a reread, and this remains an incredibly helpful book. My caveats from my prior read still stand, but I'm glad to have this resource to return to.

They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie: Thrillers are definitely not Christie's strong suit, but this one was enjoyable nonetheless, especially with Emilia Fox's always excellent audiobook narration. Although it wasn't a puzzle mystery, Christie brings that same cleverness to inventing ingenuous ways for her characters to get out of seemingly impossible scrapes. Unfortunately, there were aspects of the plot that didn't hang together, but it wasn't the worst of Christie's thriller/spy books.

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker and Jules Scheele: This is, actually, not a graphic history of anything. This is an introduction to queer theory where every section is a couple of paragraphs and an illustration. I think the goal was to make it fun and easy to read, but the end result is both dry and oversimplified. It's a shame, because I think a graphic format could have worked for an intro to queer theory.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: What the Fireflies Knew, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, The Bad Guys in Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?!, and McDonald's
Five years ago I was reading: Severance, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, and Guardians of the West
Ten years ago I was reading: The Cross in the Closet, Geek Love, and Someone Knows My Name