Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? Here it does. Let’s discuss your favorite reads — or listens.
All in E-Book
DiMarco’s Hollywood experiences are secondary to the true intent of the book – the “love letter to a way of life” – which provide a fascinating entry point into learning about the intersectionality of Deafness and queerness, historical and ongoing biases and the resiliency and pride of this community.
I found Maia Kobabe’s exploration of gender, sexuality and pronouns to be informative and well done.
Maybe my expectations were too high, but “Mother” felt a bit too avant-garde for this casual reader of poetry and instead of being consumed by his words, I felt they created a wall.
Expectation: A whodunnit cashing in on COVID-19.
Reality: A surprisingly clever, sometimes shocking and utterly enjoyable mystery thriller that used COVID-19 as a logical plot point.
Overall, I’d rate this a solid effort. Each volume is good, and three are great, but it also felt like there was a lot of filler, which made the more emotional moments feel hidden. I say this fully recognizing that the length of the series – about 1,700-pages – is what allows the relationship between Charlie and Nick to unfold in a natural, unrushed way, however.
Expectation: To be wowed by this modern classic.
Reality: Even at its slim length, I found it to be an exercise in repetition and tedium.
Expectation: A gorgeously written astute commentary of mid-century American life.
Reality: All of the above, but incredibly depressing and a tad too long.
With “Devil,” Hanif Abdurraqib seamlessly weaves personal anecdotes with historical fact and cultural observation. It’s something that many nonfiction writers and essayists try to do, but I’ve yet to come across a writer that does it as brilliantly as Abdurraqib.
Expectation: A gorgeously written snapshot of life for Black people in the South during the early 1900s.
Reality: The unique format didn’t allow you to learn about all the characters equally, but it did make this a quick, engrossing read.
It feels strange to give an autobiographical story a negative review, especially when it takes courage to share your personal thoughts publicly, but after the first 25 percent, “Apple” was not as interesting as Eric Gansworth thought it to be.
Expectation: An Olive Kitteridge-like main character that has the gumption and resolve to weather all of life’s seasons.
Reality: A story that ended up being more depressing than life-affirming and overall a little pointless.
While “Good Talk” sound like a heavy, depressing read it is anything but. Jacob writes with humor and sharp clarity that roots the situations presented (even those that may not be universal) in shared pathos. It’s easily one of my favorite reads of the year.
From the blush inducing opening sentence to a first act that was equal parts “where is she going with this?” and “wow, that’s genius!” the story is a little all over the place, but Flynn mostly ties it all together. Mostly.
Mysterious worldwide gatherings devolve into the end of times in this short-story horrorfest.
Expectation: An LGBTQIA+ story about unrequited love and finding yourself.
Reality: An engrossing character study that gives you a front row seat to how easily it is destroy yourself in the name of saving others.
While I’m glad to have read a small portion of this very American collection, I wouldn’t recommend most readers start with this unabridged version of “Leaves” unless you’re prepared to seek out the must-read poems from the often confusing and repetitive filler.
Three standout essays show the potential of what this memoir-manifesto could’ve been if only Johnson showed more focus.
Expectation: A story about straddling two worlds.
Reality: One of the most beautifully written novels I’ve ever read.
Targeted to middle grade readers, “Brown Girl Dreaming” is an exceptional introduction to more mature books in verse and poetry, and an accessible conversation starter about the experiences of BIPOC people in the southern United States during the tail-end of the Civil Rights era.
If you’re a fan of Bukowski, this collection is likely a must read as it features many previously unpublished works. But if you’re a cat lover looking for saccharine sweet stories, you won’t find them here.
