pickThis really lovely book is by a woman who has been a shepherdess for over 20 years focusing on pastoralism in Vermont. It‘s meditative and delves into her deep connection with the land. It reminds me totally of Raising Hare. I loved it.
#NBAlonglist, nonfiction
pickThis starts on a sad note, with a young boy losing his father, then follows him through life to see his relationship with his own son. It‘s quite funny in places and a perfectly fine book overall, but ultimately forgettable. I‘m surprised to find it on the #NBAlonglist for fiction, as it‘s a bit thin. A low pick for me.
pickThis book on female friendship follows 4 women across decades in non-linear fashion as they deal with life and their relationships with on another. I found the pacing a little uneven but overall really liked the book. Pictured with our pretty sunset the other night.
#NBAlonglist, fiction
pickThis #NBAlonglist book (nonfiction) was a mixed bag for me. The content, about a genderqueer Asian couple, their life together, and lives before meeting, is great. But the construction of one partner writing as the other felt gimmicky to me. The best section is Lam‘s childhood in Vietnam and escape from that country at 12.
pickPalaver is a quiet, spare, intimate story of a man‘s relationship with his mother. He now lives in Tokyo (a character in the book well explored in the interspersed photos) and his mother arrives in an attempt to reconnect. Their past is tempestuous, and the novel says as much with what it leaves out as what is on the page. It‘s well crafted and I think it‘ll stick with me for a while.
#NBAlonglist, fiction
pickI wasn‘t a Swamplandia fan and thus initially passed this one up, so I‘m glad the #NBAlonglist for fiction got me to read it. I found this unique Dust Bowl historical fiction with some fantastical components to be fully engrossing. The characters are great and I like that we hear rotating perspectives from them, which helps keep the book moving. I really liked it!
pickThis book I didn‘t want to pick up quickly became a book I could not put down, as Neige details her 7 years of sexual abuse and rape and the hands of her stepfather. The writing it superb and the balance is excellent, as she pulls in the aftermath, the trial, and evaluations of literary works dealing with child rape. I‘m halfway through the #NBAlonglist for translated lit and this is my clear winner thus far as well as on my best of the year list.
Yahooooooooo!!!!!!!! Look what they let me have! When I requested it I just frankly expected a rejection and I‘m totally delighted to actually have this. More #NBAlonglist reading for me!
pickRaja is a 60-something teacher in Beirut and his 80-something mom has just moved in with him. Their relationship is absolutely hilarious, and through it we see a bit of Lebanon, especially as we get the backstory of Raja‘s gay awakening during their civil war. The tone is masterful, maintaining humor while never diminishing serious events. I absolutely loved this.
#NBAlonglist, fiction
pickI‘m so glad I got over my hate of Trust Exercise to read this one, as I really liked it! Exploring themes of belonging and nationalism by zooming in on a single small family, the reader gains greater understanding of Japan and Korea. I‘m glad I had already read Pachinko so I had some background with Korea/Japan. I do think this could have used a bit of editing, but it‘s quite good.
#NBAlonglist, fiction
