Mine was a re-read, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. My favorite new read was The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, which surprised me since I didn't enjoy Long Bright River.
Long Bright River was very well written, but I didn't like the main character at all, and that, for me, is one of those things that's pretty close to a deal-breaker. If you don't have that issue, you'll probably like it more than I did!
My favorites this month were The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances, which I described as "The Brave Little Toaster x There Will Come Soft Rains x Fahrenheit 451 = a sweet warm story about hope in an ever-mechanical future", and Stay for a Spell, a fantasy about a princess cursed to stay in a bookshop until she finds her heart's desire. I'm not a huge fantasy reader, but I really enjoyed the characters and the positivity abounding in this book. I also read Yesteryear in May and was intrigued and uncomfortable the entire time. I didn't love it, but it was fascinating.
I love Katherine Applegate and otters, so I added Odder to my list at the library!
May was definitely a mixed bag for me but the standout was The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Great story with an interesting array of characters, black and white, enduring bigotry and prejudice yet still managing to find humanity in each other. The ending is surprising but not. The author sums up our continued struggles with poverty and bigotry and sadly, it’s still extremely relevant.
I read four books this month and three of them were really good.
1. The only non-fiction was Everything is tuberculosis by John Green, which brings together history and politics related to tuberculosis.
2. I read a play, which I normally rarely do: A doll's house by Henrik Ibsen, written in 1879. It surprised me because of the feminist protagonist who left her conservative and demanding husband to live on her own. Very refreshing, because most older books are extremely misogynistic and consider women to be not much more interesting than pets.
3. Mockingbird by Walter Tevis was a cool scifi classic about a suicidal robot who tries to destroy humanity because he can't die as long as there are people to serve. Ending was a bit underwhelming but most of the story was enjoyable. Would recommend it to lovers of Station Eleven.
4. The Children Act by Ian McEwan was a slow read, initially very interesting, but the ending was very disappointing and kind of ruined it for me.
Two books: Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman. Wonderful read on Darwin’s work and his marriage. Truly a great man. Although a work of fiction, the material was taken from their letters and journals of the couple.
Also, Michelangelo and Titian by William Wallace. The book discusses the rivalry between the pair and how it shows up in their works.
Also, a shoutout to Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. 🧠
I'm fascinated by the discourse around Yesteryear. I simultaneously have no desire to read it (I know the twist) and want to read it because so many people gulped it down.
Lady Tan's Circle of women. It started out a little slow for me. However, I learned that it is based on real person in Chinese History. Very interesting in the end. it is great the women were able to stand up for each other.
Did Jane find that “Yesteryear” was as political as the discussion has been?
Read Frankenstein which I really enjoyed, and then “The Robots of Dawn” by Asimov. He wrote it decades after the original books and it was interesting to see what had changed and wha hadn’t in his style.
Frankenstein is one of my very favorites. The only Asimov I’ve read is the first Foundation, which I enjoyed, but I wasn’t too inspired to read the others in the series. The Robot books have been high on my list though.
Re: Yesteryear. She said it definitely skewers the MAHA movement, but also influencer culture as a whole — and it’s not actually explicitly political (in the way of mentioning politicians or whatever). She’s not one for political stuff in general.
TTT is my favorite part of LOTR. My favorite read this month was a new release in nonfiction: "Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe" by Katja Hoyer.
Mine was a re-read, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. My favorite new read was The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, which surprised me since I didn't enjoy Long Bright River.
I've read and enjoyed both of those! Interesting to hear about Long Bright River — I have it on Kindle...
Long Bright River was very well written, but I didn't like the main character at all, and that, for me, is one of those things that's pretty close to a deal-breaker. If you don't have that issue, you'll probably like it more than I did!
Good to know, appreciate the context!
I enjoyed Liz Moore's God of the Woods and particularly liked her book The Unseen World. Long Bright River was not for me!
Good to know I'm not alone on Long Bright River! I haven't read The Unseen World but I will have to check it out.
My favorites this month were The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances, which I described as "The Brave Little Toaster x There Will Come Soft Rains x Fahrenheit 451 = a sweet warm story about hope in an ever-mechanical future", and Stay for a Spell, a fantasy about a princess cursed to stay in a bookshop until she finds her heart's desire. I'm not a huge fantasy reader, but I really enjoyed the characters and the positivity abounding in this book. I also read Yesteryear in May and was intrigued and uncomfortable the entire time. I didn't love it, but it was fascinating.
I love Katherine Applegate and otters, so I added Odder to my list at the library!
You'll love Odder. Just a creative delight. And glad for the rec re: Small Appliances. I've heard of it and it sure seems interesting.
Psychology of humour
Rod Martin and Thomas Ford
Why we laugh ,from origins to now
Sounds interesting!
Fiction: Shirley Jackson's characteristically macabre We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
Non-fiction: Serhii Plokhy's The Gates of Europe, your one-stop shop for knowing more about Ukraine (spoiler alert: it's complicated).
I love Shirley Jackson. Truly one of the pillars of American suspense/horror.
May was definitely a mixed bag for me but the standout was The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Great story with an interesting array of characters, black and white, enduring bigotry and prejudice yet still managing to find humanity in each other. The ending is surprising but not. The author sums up our continued struggles with poverty and bigotry and sadly, it’s still extremely relevant.
I love that book! It was among my favorites when I first read it a few years back. I haven't read any of his other books, but have been meaning to.
Gray Fox - Robert E. Lee and the Civil War by Burke Davis.
Outstanding book on Lee. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Awesome, I’ll add it to my list. Thanks!
I have two. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett and The Land And It’s People by David Sedaris.
My wife is reading Calamity Club right now and really enjoying it.
I read four books this month and three of them were really good.
1. The only non-fiction was Everything is tuberculosis by John Green, which brings together history and politics related to tuberculosis.
2. I read a play, which I normally rarely do: A doll's house by Henrik Ibsen, written in 1879. It surprised me because of the feminist protagonist who left her conservative and demanding husband to live on her own. Very refreshing, because most older books are extremely misogynistic and consider women to be not much more interesting than pets.
3. Mockingbird by Walter Tevis was a cool scifi classic about a suicidal robot who tries to destroy humanity because he can't die as long as there are people to serve. Ending was a bit underwhelming but most of the story was enjoyable. Would recommend it to lovers of Station Eleven.
4. The Children Act by Ian McEwan was a slow read, initially very interesting, but the ending was very disappointing and kind of ruined it for me.
Never heard of Mockingbird, but I'm kinda intrigued!
Seconding the recommendation - it’s a great post-apocalyptic tale written by Tevis, author of the Queen’s Gambit and The Color of Money, among others. I heard about it first from https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/06/23/book-review-mockingbird-walter-tevis-1980/
Oh awesome, now it's going to be extra high on my list! Thanks John.
Two books: Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman. Wonderful read on Darwin’s work and his marriage. Truly a great man. Although a work of fiction, the material was taken from their letters and journals of the couple.
Also, Michelangelo and Titian by William Wallace. The book discusses the rivalry between the pair and how it shows up in their works.
Also, a shoutout to Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. 🧠
These all sound great! I love reading about Charles Darwin - he was such an interesting human.
I'm fascinated by the discourse around Yesteryear. I simultaneously have no desire to read it (I know the twist) and want to read it because so many people gulped it down.
I love hearing your kids' favorites! How cute.
There are definitely books that I enjoy consuming via the discourse only!
Lady Tan's Circle of women. It started out a little slow for me. However, I learned that it is based on real person in Chinese History. Very interesting in the end. it is great the women were able to stand up for each other.
Did Jane find that “Yesteryear” was as political as the discussion has been?
Read Frankenstein which I really enjoyed, and then “The Robots of Dawn” by Asimov. He wrote it decades after the original books and it was interesting to see what had changed and wha hadn’t in his style.
Frankenstein is one of my very favorites. The only Asimov I’ve read is the first Foundation, which I enjoyed, but I wasn’t too inspired to read the others in the series. The Robot books have been high on my list though.
Re: Yesteryear. She said it definitely skewers the MAHA movement, but also influencer culture as a whole — and it’s not actually explicitly political (in the way of mentioning politicians or whatever). She’s not one for political stuff in general.
Makes sense! I’ve been very intrigued! But was wary with the large discussion around it haha.
Asimov is unique, he thinks like a scientist. Thats not pejorative, but he’s very different from your typical author.
Nonfiction - I only read one, but it was still good: Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin
Science Fiction: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. I think this displaced Hyperion as my favorite scifi ever.
Ficton: it was close, but I’ll go with James by Percival Everett.
Oh that's so great to hear — Dispossessed is really high on my list. And James is great, isn't it. Good reading month!
My tops books of May were:
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - phenomenal literary fiction!
and
Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn - really well done narrative nonfiction!
I've heard of them both, but haven't read 'em. Thanks for the recs!
The Great Monster Hunt by David and Yvonne Cooke. It was a fun little book about searches for the Loch Ness monster in the 1960s
Sounds fun! Never heard of it.
TTT is my favorite part of LOTR. My favorite read this month was a new release in nonfiction: "Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe" by Katja Hoyer.
I think TTT is my fave too. Perhaps the most re-readable, at least. I don't quite know why!