Raimundo is 71 and learning to read and write. He has kept a letter from his forbidden love, Cicero, for 52 years and wants to finally read it. We see his current story laced through with moments from his past showing the horrific homophobia he faced. This is terrific, fully engrossing, and tugged on my heart.

NBA longlist, translated literature

Jessica, Norah and Alicia are as close as ever as adults after growing up in foster care together. Each one struggles to navigate their past traumas, which are stirred up when something is found at their former foster home, forcing their return there. I thought this was great, with some plot twists I wasn‘t expecting. It‘s darker than her prior books, so be aware of child abuse content. Coming next April.

This short story collection about black Muslim life didn‘t quite work for me. Some of the stories I found quite interesting, but others didn‘t really gel for me.

NBA longlist, fiction

A wealthy American woman finds herself settling into life in #StVincentandtheGrenadines, hobnobbing with royalty. I‘m glad to check off the country, but I felt the story was a bit thin. I also didn‘t like what felt like a checkmark in the author noting in 3 sentences the disparities between black and white people and their circumstances on the island, then basically shrugging to off. Better not to mention it at all.

#ReadingAmericas2023

In this Hamlet sort of retelling it is 2048 and Hayden (Hamlet) works for his dad in Elsinore Labs, trying to unlock immortality. Taking place primarily over one night, I was initially drawn in (though spent a lot of time trying to compare the 2 stories), but it should have been propulsive and exciting but wasn‘t. It‘s not a bad book, just kinda ok.

This book is a master class in popular science writing. Chock full of fascinating facts, accessible, and with such an engaging writing style, I was fully engrossed. And I think mushrooms are nasty! But now I know that fungi have extraordinary potential and could make our lives better in the future if we‘re smart enough to let them. #NaturaLitsy

In a world in which colonialism never occurred, Chibenashi is a peacekeeper (cop) in his small town in the Anishinaabe nation, caring for his traumatized sister after their painful past. Then a murder happens in their community, ultimately turning everything upside down. Super interesting concept and I enjoyed the story, but it‘s a little uneven, so a low pick for me.

I‘m glad to see I‘m in good company with my thoughts about this one. What a great premise, but I felt held at arm‘s length and couldn‘t get invested in the characters or story. This felt like a missed opportunity to me and I‘m perplexed that this book is on both the Booker and NBA longlists.

This book is terrific. It looks back at the history of climate science and how we got to so much denialism in our day and age. There are some awkward transitions here and there and some of it is a little long-winded, but the content is absolute gold. Everyone should read this.

A camper van is found with signs of a struggle and a missing occupant, but no one knows who to be looking for. This event sets this book in motion, with true crime podcaster getting involved through an interesting route. I really enjoyed this one. However, I wish Goldin or her editorial team would do a little more research. Americans don‘t say “aircon” or “flat white” (the second is in a previous book from her).

Born in 1930 into a horrifically abusive home, identical quadruplets Helen, Sarah, Edna, and Wilma were all eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. This book tells the story of their lives, ending by showing how their story contributed to our understanding of schizophrenia. Really interesting, harrowing read.

Weaving in stories from her own and her family‘s lives while also focusing on art, Sharpe explores the realities of living while Black in the US and how we sometimes get good intentioned things wrong. Much of this book is searing and sobering. There‘s one section that didn‘t work as well for me, as it‘s mainly quotes from other writers and finally different.

NBA longlist, nonfiction

I‘m sorry to say that I found the latest book in the Millennium series to be the weakest. It takes too long to get going and Lizbeth Salander is almost muted in this book, which is not at all consistent with the character. It‘s also not helped by the audio which actually has her being a bit chirpy in one spot. I‘m willing to give Smirnoff another try if she writes another, but this is utterly skipable.

I loved this one! I was sucked in immediately and did not want to put it down (I had to force myself to go to bed in the middle). The story, the voice, the characters, all fabulous. I‘d be hard pressed to say if this or Miracle Creek is better. I‘m a true believer in Angie Kim!

Palestinian-American Yara yearns to stretch her wings but is held back by a husband who is more traditional than he claims to be and a racist world that dismisses her. And frankly, she‘s pissed. I love an exploration of women‘s anger (we need more of those!), and this wraps into inherited trauma and mental illness. Really good read.

This book follows 3 generations of Lakota/Dakota women and the traumas experienced by each, layered into their multigenerational trauma. Each has a doll, which play meaningful parts in the story. I‘m not usually a fan of child narrators, but this really works. My only complaint is that I wanted a little more exploration of one of the characters, but it is nonetheless very good.

NBA longlist, fiction

Lana finds herself living with daughter Beth and granddaughter Jack in a way that seriously cramps her style when Jack is part of a group that finds a body on the mudflats. Lana decides to investigate, throwing the family into further chaos. I really enjoyed this! It‘s a lot of fun with good characters, though I wish Beth had been a little more fleshed out.

This bittersweet, coming of age sapphic romance between Eliza Raine and a young Anne Lister is so well done. The tone of the book follows the story arc, buoyantly dancing along at the start and getting heavier as the book moves along. I really enjoyed it, which doesn‘t surprise me—Donoghue is so good.

The NBA fiction longlist is here! Like last year, they seem to have opted for lesser known or less celebrated authors (no Ann Patchett or Jesmyn Ward here). I am THRILLED to see the tagged here, as I was floored by it. Should be interesting getting into this list!

I gave this a good go, but I just can‘t get into it at all, so moving right along!

After taking a fisheries job in Massachusetts, Greg Skomal was able to set up a shark research program in the state. This put him in the perfect position to study the white sharks that started arriving in greater numbers starting in 2009. The writing is a little pedestrian, but the story is terrific and his enthusiasm for these animals shines through.

Here they are, the National Book Awards nonfiction longlist books! I‘ve read the tagged and can attest it is indeed fantastic. I have 2 others and just picked up 2 more from my library. I can‘t wait to read this whole list!

https://www.nationalbook.org/2023-national-book-awards-longlist-for-nonfiction/

This didn‘t work for me at all. Frankly, I should have bailed.

After reading Fabric last year, I knew I wanted to spend more time with Finlay. Here, she explores the world of color, primarily the color used for paint, from ochre used by Australian Aboriginal artists to cochineal bugs in Chile to lapis lazuli in Afghanistan. This book is super interesting, combining art, history, and science.

Abby doesn‘t know what to do with her life which, at 33, is a bit of a problem. Plus, her great on paper bf Mark wants them to move in. But then Abby grabs the chance to lead a 2 week bike trip through NY in the hopes of sorting things out. However, a hot one night stand from her last just happens to be on the trip, along with…her mother. I really liked this! It felt like a return to Weiner‘s early books in a good way.

It‘s the most wonderful week of the year: the release of the National Book Award longlists! 🥳🎉🎊 Above is translated lit, which you can read more about here: https://www.nationalbook.org/2023-national-book-awards-longlist-for-translated-l...

Plus, the tagged is set in Suriname, which I need for #ReadingAmericas2023. Bonus! Tomorrow, the nonfiction list (probably my favorite)!

Gasp! How did I not know about this?!? Coming October 1! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Book 2 of The Rift Uprising trilogy is just as good as book 1! There is a bit of a plot hole in it, but I was absorbed enough by the story that I‘m willing to ignore that. I‘ve already nabbed book 3 from Libro and will get it into my audio queue shortly. These should definitely be read in order, and I recommend them for those who like sci-fi/dystopian YA.

This is a fun, very funny history book about stupid things humans have done through history. With chapter titles like, “Why Your Brain is an Idiot,” and stories including a German Uboat in WWII undone by a toilet malfunction, I snort-laughed all the way through this one.

This is a very good short story collection. With each story, which focuses on biracial women and often new motherhood, Senna manages to leave me feeling slightly unsettled. I really enjoyed this.

I wasn‘t really expecting much from this YA multiverse story in which a series of portals or “rifts” have opened between all the various iterations of Earth and who knows what might come through, but turns out I loved it! Great main character and a really interesting plot. I‘ve already gone over to Libro to snatch up book 2 of the trilogy.

From The Fresh Prince of Bel Air through Glee, Glassman looks at 7 teen shows that were different from what was already on tv and how each one paved the way for change and innovation. I watched some of these shows and was aware of all of them. I really enjoyed this!

This book gets a promising start, following Damani as she drives for an Uber-like service, trying to make ends meet for herself and her mom after her father has died. But it end up going off the rails with multiple characters making choices inconsistent with who they are and their prior choices and ends with a thud.

Two disappearances kick off this mystery, with Holly Winter trying to put together clues with her trusty malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi, along for the ride. The story is fine and the writing style is actually a tad annoying in places, but this book is so filled with adorable dogginess that I will be fetching more from this series.

I loved The Good Lord Bird and Deacon King Kong, but this one didn‘t quite come together for me. I don‘t know if it was too many characters or the format I chose (audio; it‘s not the narrator, who does a fine job), and I know lots of people are loving this, so I would say stick with print just in case.

Following Odette and her light-skinned granddaughter Sissy, The White Girl looks at life on a mission in the 1960s where Aboriginal people were treated like enslaved children (more or less). I really enjoyed this and learned a lot about the legal situation in Australia at that time.

I just spotted this on Scribd and thought I‘d post it because it looks super interesting, plus it could be a great way to check off a whole bunch of countries for #ReadingAmerica2023!

A teen Syrian refuge is murdered and posed in her mosque in a town beset by racial tension. Inaya, a Muslim-Americans, is part of a special police unit on the case. I really enjoyed the exploration of different facets of this community as well as getting to know Inaya and her family a bit. I definitely look forward to future installments!

Good but bloated storytelling, but I found the idea of a clown in the sewers a bit ridiculous from word one, so I never found this scary. And then in the last 60 pages of this 1153 page book is an abhorrent scene, exploiting all the kids and adultifying an 11 year old girl. It‘s disgusting and had I known about it in advance, I would not have read this.

On a night in 1896, aboard a ship carrying 9 people, someone took an ax and brutally murdered 3 of them. When the ship came back to dock, the mixed race man on board was charged with the crime despite the VERY fishy testimony of a white man. Interesting story and interesting bit of history showing racial injustice.

In this collection of personal essays, McInerny explores topics from grief to obsessive chronicling on social media. While many of the topics are heavy, she covers them with a lightness of tone, which I think contributes to making this enjoyable and entertaining but ultimately forgettable. A low pick for me.

Comprised of extensive interviews from people present at the time, Neus constructs an oral history of the events in Charlottesville, August 2017, when a white nationalist gathering erupted into violence. She covers a 24 hour period and makes you feel like you‘re in the thick of it, including the deliberate ramming of a crowd that injured many and killed one. Difficult read, superbly done.

Louise and 4 other women are actually clones of women killed by a serial killer. They meet together for support in navigating this strange reality. I was enjoying it but it was getting a little bland until about halfway through when a plot point seriously got my attention. I love some of the choices Williams makes in this and suspect the ending will anger some readers, though I really liked it.

I packed my #aardvark box this month! I‘ve seen some promising reviews of MM from the august picks, so I threw that in, too. I know I‘ll be reading the new Emma Donoghue, but I‘ll get that from my library. And the Beukes looked interesting but just a touch too weird for me.

I really wanted to love this book about the abuse of workers on banana plantations in #CostaRica and the subsequent impacts through the years, but it‘s just not good. It‘s hard to follow and has too many characters that blend together and are indistinct. The author interview on the Poured Over podcast is so much better than the book. Disappointing.

#ReadingAmericas2023

Lizzie Burns was the longtime lover of Frederick Engels. An illiterate Irishwoman, little is know of her, but here McCrea brings her to life. This was a little hard to get into and the language is difficult, just because it‘s quite different from modern American English, but once I got settled in, I really enjoyed it. She‘s a great character and there‘s some good sly humor in this book, though it‘s not as light as the cover suggests.

Mr Bennet has died and Mr Collins comes to claim the house, displacing Mrs Bennet, Kitty, and Mary. During the funeral process, a mysterious distant relation appears and offers Mary an opportunity. This leads into a mystery after a body is found washed up. I really enjoyed this! I found it charming and have discovered there are two more books in the series that I very much look forward to reading.

Cool cover plus some raves, so maybe I‘m missing something because I‘m deeply unimpressed. Bailing out almost halfway through, as this reads like bad YA to me and I just don‘t care to find out where it‘s going. I‘m guessing she‘s not an author for me.

I‘m not sure what to say about this one. I feel like it had too many disparate elements put together that didn‘t all belong in the same book. And there are things in it I could absolutely tear down. But, I enjoyed reading it. And that‘s really the bottom line for me, so I‘m giving it a soft pick. (Bindi *really* wanted to go for a walk when I took the pic, hence the intense attention. 😆)

Wes and Ivy have been on and off for years. They‘re dreadful people who get off on playing games with each other. But turns out something in their past is about to come back and haunt them in a big way. This seemed like it would be fun but turned out a bit flat. I finished it yesterday and already can‘t remember the ending. Drowning‘s debut was fantastic, but nothing has held a candle to it since.