May Wrap Up
Welcome back, dear readers
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| From left to right: Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall, This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, Sorry I'm Late I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan, White Tears/Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, The Silence of Bones by June Hur |
The first book I finished in May was Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall, which talks about the issues that disproportionately affect women of color but which are not often discussed in mainstream white feminist circles. She talks about issues like gun violence, trauma, poverty, and structural racism, cutting to the heart of these issues. She also didn't leave out trans women of color which I appreciated. I would suggest reading this book alongside Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins since they both tackle the same subject but focus on different things. Kendall also has a very engaging voice. My copy is full of highlighter now. I don't usually rate the books I read to further my own education since I'm reading them for informational content and not pure enjoyment. I'm uncomfortable rating books like this one because even if Kendall's writing style wasn't engaging it would still be an important read. I am about to undercut all of this to give it a five out of five, reader. She had me when she described poverty as an apocalypse.
5/5 pumpkins
The second book I read was one I've been meaning to get to for a while now, reader. It's This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. This is a sci-fi love story about two women who are on opposing sides of a time war, as the title might suggest. It's told via short chapters and letters exchanged in unconventional ways. It's the kind of timeline shenanigans that I enjoy greatly, reader. The women, Red and Blue, are also very skilled and very gay. The perfect combination. I loved the way they sent each other secret letters and watching their affection for one another grow despite them being enemies. The ending is open but hopeful. The writing was highly lyrical. I do so enjoy this sort of writing, reader. It doesn't go out of its way to explain what's going on in great detail. The rules of the world Red and Blue live in aren't laid out for the reader. I find that interesting because it leaves room for speculation. I could see it as a little frustrating to readers who aren't used to that kind of sci-fi writing. It's very similar to reading a sci-fi short story in that way. I should mention that this was the first book on my Asian Readathon list, hosted by the illustrious Cindy of WithCindy fame.
5/5 pumpkins
The next book was a suggestion from my father. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is the first of Faulkner's works that I've read. It's a short book told from multiple perspectives with a stream of consciousness style and vernacular Southern English. Simply put reader, the story is about a rural family trying to bury their mother. Less simply it's like a corpse farce and a Southern Gothic horror decided to raise a very strange little family together. It unsettled me, reader. This book has so much atmosphere I had to read it in one sitting. I didn't want to go to bed with this book half-finished. Without going into too much detail, a character is committed at the end of the story, so a note of warning if that is something you don't want to read about, reader. Spooky as it was, I enjoyed myself. I'm always on the lookout for spooky and atmospheric books and this certainly fits the bill.
4/5 pumpkins
This was the second book I picked up for the Asian Readathon. It's a memoir called Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan about Pan's year of living like an extrovert. I am also a shy introvert like Pan and I related to her struggles to put herself out there and try to make meaningful friendships as an adult. I'm also terrified of public speaking but love improv. I felt a lot of parasocial joy when she succeeded. It was a cathartic book to read. Pan is also a very amusing writer, I had a wonderful time reading about her adventures. This book might also help as a guide for people like me and Pan who want to put themselves out there more but are very shy and introverted. I've never done standup to help with my public speaking anxiety, but the process of making new friends in a new city is one that I've been through as well. I always enjoyed picked this book back up and was sad when I had to put it down.
5/5 pumpkins
The next book I finished was White Tears/Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad. This is another book I picked up to expand my understanding of structural racism. I can't recommend this book enough, reader. Hamad focuses on how the legacy of settler-colonialism affects BIPOC in today's world. The scholarship, reader, is impeccable. Hamad is absolutely masterful in her writing. One of my highlighters is out of ink now because there were so many passages I needed to mark. Hamad doesn't just focus on racism as it looks in America, which makes sense since she is Australian. This book is one of the most informative pieces I've read so far. If you are looking for the historical roots of racism this book and White Rage by Carol Anderson are excellent places to start. I would also read this book in concert with Hood Feminism. They compliment each other very well, I think.
I will forgo a rating on this one since I did read it academically. Just know reader that it gets full marks from me.
Next is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, a book I picked up on a whim and then could not set down. While this did ruin my reading plans it certainly didn't ruin my day. I heartily enjoyed myself. Six of Crows, provided you haven't already picked this one up reader, is a heist novel set in the Grishaverse. It follows six characters with POV switches in each chapter. I do enjoy a well-done POV switch, reader. I'm also very fond of heist stories. You need a strong plot and strong characters to pull off a heist novel and Six of Crows has both. I love all of them dearly. If anything bad happens to any of them I will scream. Especially Wylan. You don't need to read Shadow and Bone before you pick up this one. There are references to events that happen in that trilogy and they both take place in the same universe. But beyond that, I didn't feel unduly confused.
5/5 pumpkins
Speaking of, next is Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Full disclosure reader, I finished this book in June. I'm putting it here because it was technically on my May TBR. This is the first book in a trilogy and follows young Alina Starkov. She finds out she has very powerful Grisha abilities and is thrust into more intrigue than she knows what to do with. I felt like there were some pacing issues, but overall it was a strong start. First-person narratives are always an uphill battle for me. I much prefer Bardugo's writing in Six of Crows. However, Alina is a highly amusing protagonist to follow. She made sense, her choices, her inner life, it felt authentic. I also loved the relationship between her and Mal. Sometimes authors will tell you that two characters are childhood friends but they don't make you feel it. Bardugo writes Mal and Alina perfectly. You can feel the history between them, even when they're upset at one another. My favorite parts of the book were when they were talking to each other. All in all, it was a pretty solid intro to Ravka and the broader issues. I do want to know why the royals were eating sandpipers like they were a delicacy. It was one line, but it haunts me, reader.
4/5 pumpkins
The last book for May is The Silence of Bones by June Hur. This is Hur's debut novel, reader. It's a historical murder mystery set in Korea and another first-person story. I wanted to like this book more than I did. There were pacing issues that, while minor, added up over time. One thing that felt jarring were the time skips between scenes. Each scene was very contained and then jumped to the next with little to no transition. I don't know if that was a choice, but it was one that didn't work for me. It was also had a slow start. Once the story got going I had a wonderful time watching the story unfold. Mysteries are very well served by first person, I think. It keeps the reader locked to one perspective so they have limited opportunity to solve the mystery too early. Potentially controversial opinion, reader, but I hate guessing the criminal in the first act. If your plot is that simple there has to be something else going for it, like characters. Hur has created a plot that's complex enough that I couldn't guess the ending and that had a satisfying conclusion. It was also a fascinating setting and a great historical novel. I shan't talk about the story in too much detail for fear of spoiling it, reader. Suffice it to say that our protagonist Seol is absolutely driven by curiosity. She wants two things, to find her brother and to figure out what's going on. Even if it means she'll get in trouble. As a terribly nosy person, I can relate.
3/5 pumpkins
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