Reading brings me joy even when I don’t particularly care for a book. In the past, I would not give myself credit for a book that I did not finish. However, if I’ve put time into making the attempt to read a book, then I deserve credit for that attempt. In this month’s choices, there was only one book that I did not finish.
The Indifferent Stars Above
I read this book for one of my book clubs and I was excited to read it because I loved another book by this author, The Boys in the Boat. The book is about the saga of the Donner Party and part of the interest is because it takes place locally to me. Many of the locations mentioned I have heard of and have even visited.
However, the narration of this audio book was awful and there was no joy to be found. The reader was dry and monotone and I found myself often blanking out when listening. I, of course, tried speeding up the narration to 1.40 but that did not help at all. Even people in my bookclub who read the entire book found it really dry and hard to get through. In case it’s not clear, this is the book I did not finish this month.
Lulu Deans Little Library of Banned Books
I had no idea what to expect based on the title of this book. I read this book for another bookclub and I absolutely loved it. While the title seems sort of light weight, the book deals with some pretty heavy subjects including racism, homophobia, sexism, and sexual assault. However, the author finds a very creative way to deal with these topics in a very human and sometimes light hearted way that includes a lot of laughter and joy. The narrator’s performance is really top notch.
Good Dirt
I listened to the book as soon as I found out about it! This author also wrote the book, Black Cake, which I loved. This book is so good and I enjoyed it a lot. The book deals with many of the same issues as Black Cake including identity, artifact ownership, family stories and legacies. A great listen with the same reader as the Lulu Dean book. Having the same narrator was simply a joyful accident.
The Lost Apothecary
This was a really great read. It’s about a shop run by a woman in the 1700’s and how women have always found a way to deal with difficult situations and circumstances in their lives. The story from the 1700’s runs back and forth with a story from current times. I loved following along with both stories and really enjoyed the parallels. I have recently come to realize that I enjoy books that have a back and forth with the past and with current times. I enjoy seeing how what transpired in the past affects current lives.
Black Girls Must Be Magic
This is the 2nd book in the black girl series-there are 3 books total. While I enjoyed the book, it took me a long time to finish it (I read it). The 1st book is Black Girls Must Die Exhausted and the 3rd book is Black Girls Must Have It All. I’m not sure if I’m going to read the 3rd book. Part of me wants to just to finish off the series but the 2nd book wasn’t really that interesting. The issues were the same female friendships, relationships, work issues, identity, etc…but they weren’t really addressed in a new way.
Reading Journey-Goal is 70 books
April total: 5 books read; 22 books read so far; 48 books remaining
If you have any book recommendations, please share them in the comments.
