Please let me know what you’re reading in the comments and/or share your blog link! (If you can’t see where to comment, try clicking/tapping on the title of this post to open it in full.)
Currently Reading
Rhodesian Doll Hunt by C.L. Manning
A Rhodesian Colonel, the leader of an American revolutionary group, a renowned scientist, and a Bushman Elder in the Okavango, all want possession of a set of African nesting dolls?
Currently Not Reading
I am partway through all three of these books, but have set them aside to finish others first!
The Book of Love by Kelly Link
I borrowed the ebook of The Book of Love from the library, not realizing it was 640 pages long! I didn’t have time to finish it before vacation, but I have the hardcover on loan from the library now, so I hope to get back to it soon.
In the long-awaited first novel from short story virtuoso and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, three teenagers become pawns in a supernatural power struggle.
Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith
Winner of the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism
A New York Times Notable Book
How to Love a Jamaican: Stories by Alexia Arthurs
Filled with both tenderness and cruelty, ambition and regret, How to Love a Jamaican is a compelling examination of identity, culture, and the nuances of human disposition.
How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs was blurbed by Zadie Smith. I picked it up thinking it was a novel, but am enjoying the short stories.
Recently Read
Cruise Confidential by Brian David Bruns
In Cruise Confidential, Brian David Bruns spills the dirt — or in this case, the dirty water — on those romantic, fun-filled vacations at sea.
The subtitle of Cruise Confidential says it all: “A Hit Below the Waterline: Where the Crew Lives, Eats, Wars, and Parties — One Crazy Year Working on Cruise Ships”.
A decent cruise read, but not five-star writing for me.
Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
[A] fizzy series debut . . . Mack, a pseudonym for the veteran Canadian author Catherine McKenzie, gleefully pokes fun at genre tropes while evoking Eleanor’s zany world . . . hilarious.”—The New York Times
I bought Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies at the Bermuda Bookstore, but I had packed over half a dozen books and ebooks for vacation, so I didn’t read it till I was home! I think I first saw this popular book mentioned by Mark on the Carstairs Considers blog.
The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton
A pulse-pounding domestic thriller set against a lush, tropical backdrop as a woman fleeing her past as a con artist finds herself trapped aboard a cruise ship with someone who not only knows about that past, but will stop at nothing to get revenge...
The cruise ship and the Caribbean/Bermuda setting was why I picked this up — more vacation reading that I didn’t have time to read till after vacation. It wasn’t great, but I did finish it. If you like domestic thrillers, you probably won’t find a lot of surprises here, but there are probably enough twists and turns to satisfy.
Currently Listening To
Family Meal by Bryan Washington
From the bestselling, award-winning author of Memorial and Lot, an irresistible, intimate novel about two young men, once best friends, whose lives collide again after a loss.
Pride Month listening, but I picked up a copy of the print book at the library, too, because it some of the chapters are only one sentence long, and the white space on the page doesn’t come across as well on audio.
Recently Listened To
Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
“Neely’s deftly written first novel pays tribute to the community and culture of a working-class African American woman who becomes both a sleuth and a fugitive from the law.” —Publishers Weekly
Blanche on the Lam wasn’t the cozy mystery I was expecting. It’s been on my TBR for a while, as an Agatha Award-winning mystery written by a woman of color. Blanche is the narrator of the story, and the audiobook narration is excellent!
Device Free Weekend by Sean Doolittle
Seven friends, one eccentric billionaire, and an all-expenses-paid reunion on a private island: with no technology allowed, it’ll be a weekend to remember—for those who make it out alive.
Device Free Weekend was better than The Ex-Husband, and it kept me wanting to listen.
Unfinished Listening
Muscles & Monsters by Ashley Bennett
Leviathan Fitness is known for monsters, muscles, and wolven who rescue damsels in distress. Primal desires emerge as Atlas and Tegan test just how much their new love can lift—and if there are any limits to what monsters and humans can do.
Muscles & Monsters was going to be Pride Month listening for me, but several chapters in, I returned it to the library so the next person waiting could have it. Lots of graphic sex talk, Penthouse-style, and I think I’m probably just too old for this kind of fantasy romance novel!
This post is linked up to “It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?”, hosted by The Book Date. It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is a place to meet up and share what you have been and are currently reading each week. Visit the link-up for more books to your groaning TBR pile.
Feel Free was my introduction to Zadie Smith. I became an instant fan.
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies sounds hilarious. Thanks for the heads up! I’m also interested in Blanche on the Lam, but alas none of my libraries have a copy.
Great book titles. I also wonder how we are already at half a year into 2024.
I’m reading a YA novel called The Beckoning Shadow. It’s OK, not what I was expecting (because I didn’t read the blurb on the inside cover closely enough) but enjoyable. Can I borrow your copy of the Zadie Smith essays and How to Love a Jamaican when you’re done with them, if they’re ones you own? <3