It’s been oh so very long since I last posted. Many discombobulating things have happened that, along with the seemingly gradual dismantling of democracy in this country, have made my distracted state of mind even worse. I’m not sure how this post will even turn out, but let’s talk about books, because that’s what this whole blog is supposed to be about!
Can anyone else relate to this Bookstagram post from Leisa @backporchpages?
Currently Reading
The two books I’m reading in print right now don’t actually look that stressful, but they’re emotionally heavier than the book covers might make them seem.
Enormous WIngs by Laurie Frankel
Enormous Wings is an urgent novel about female agency and bodily autonomy, morality and mortality. It’s about what happens when you don’t get to choose anymore. – Publisher
Laurie Frankel is one of my favorite authors, so I bought Enormous Wings without knowing much about it except that the main character was a woman entering a late stage of life.
Whistler by Ann Patchett
A moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time – Publisher
Ann Patchett is another favorite author, so I’m reading this one now before I get spoilers about it from everyone else reading it before me! Even though it doesn’t fit the criterion (400+ pages) for Big Book Summer which I was trying to start early this year.
Recently Read
An Ordinary Wonder by Buki Papillon
An extraordinary literary debut about a Nigerian boy’s secret intersex identity and his desire to live as a girl – Publisher
An Ordinary Wonder was a belated Christmas gift that I was saving for a time when I’d have plenty of time for leisurely reading a hardcover that didn’t need to be returned to the library. Then I gave up on that and read it, anyway, and it turned out to be an excellent choice for Pride Month!
Buki Papillon is a Massachusetts author, and this is her first book. An Ordinary Wonder was a Massachusetts Book Awards Honor Book for Fiction and the Maya Angelou Award. Highly recommended, but there are a lot of tough scenes, so be forewarned.
Currently Listening To
King Sorrow by Joe Hill
This is not going to be relaxing or soothing, but it will definitely count for Big Book Summer at 896 pages and 1,564 minutes on audio! (Couldn’t the publisher do the math for us? Over 26 hours, yikes!)
Recently Listened To
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface – Publisher
My first audiobook for Big Book Summer completed, even though I haven’t even announced that I’m joining the challenge yet! Katabasis (18.5 hours on audio) is a fantasy novel about two graduate students in the field of Magick literally going to hell.
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 today’s link-up for more books to add to your groaning TBR pile.
