March might almost be over but I promise I didn’t forget about my February reads. I’m honestly so impressed with my friend, Monika, who consistently writes a review of every book she reads and publishes the list at the end of the year. After doing this for three months, I have to say that it’s such a wonderful activity to truly synthesize what you’ve read with what you’ve learnt. As someone who reads really fast, I’m guilty of “reading and forgetting.”
Last month was a great mix of fun and challenging books. I can’t speak highly enough about Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall. Like, Homeland Elegies from January, I find myself reaching back from Kendall’s insights– particularly on questioning my own biases. Kendall disrupts the notion of feminism as inherently inclusive, and will challenge you to reflect deeper and question your own complicit-ness.
My other favorite book was Daisy & The Six. I absolutely loved Taylor Jenkin Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. So even though the idea of reading a book about a 1970s rock and roll band didn’t sound super appealing (just not my favorite genre), I again stayed up all night to finish this epic story.
I’d love to know what you’re reading and loving!
Warmly, A
February 2021 Reads
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The Searcher by Tana French // B
When retired Chicago cop, Cal, moves to a remote town in western Ireland, the last thing he expects is to fall into a mystery. Yet, 13 year old Trey, a poor, abandoned kid forces Cal to dig deeper into a mystery largely ignored by the small town. What Cal and Trey discover will forever change them.
This was an interesting read. I will always be a Tana French fan. her first novel, In the Woods, will forever haunt me in a good way. The Searcher has gotten a fair amount of bad reviews– and I can see why. It’s a slow and sometimes depressing burn of a read. That said, French’s novels are never happy — they are about murder. It’s certainly not has captivating as The Likeness, but not terrible either. If you go in with lowered expectations, this will be a good read.
This was an interesting read. I will always be a Tana French fan. her first novel, In the Woods, will forever haunt me in a good way. The Searcher has gotten a fair amount of bad reviews– and I can see why. It’s a slow and sometimes depressing burn of a read. That said, French’s novels are never happy — they are about murder. It’s certainly not has captivating as The Likeness, but not terrible either. If you go in with lowered expectations, this will be a good read.
All Adults Here by Emma Straub // B
All Adults Here is an interesting exploration of love, parental responsibility, infidelity, morality, mortality, friendship, sexuality and gender identity– nicely packaged in an easy to read Saturday afternoon book. When Astrid Strick witnesses her frenemy, Barbara, get hit by a bus, it makes her realize that life is too short. All Adults Here traces Astrid’s attempt to reconnect with her equally dysfunctional children, Elliot, Porter and Nicky. Its a messy potpourri of pressing social issues thrown into a book that don’t adequately go into because of the short length.
It’s a nice, simple read that wouldn’t make you feel like you’ve lost brain cells. It’s also not going to blow you away.
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid // A
Daisy Jones & the Six captures the seduction of 1970s American rock ’n’ roll- that time period when music was a cultural response to conservative 60s and Vietnam disaster. The story unfolds through a series of interviews for a fictional biography about the band The Six, later known as Daisy Jones & the Six, as they reflect on their rapid rise to fame and subsequently quick breakup.
Once again, Reid has created a story that I just couldn’t put down. I’ll admit I’m rarely interested in the 1970s rock and roll fanfare- so the initial storyline didn’t really appeal to me. Yet, this story will charm anyone. The core of Daisy Jones & The Six is the magnetic relationship of the two lead singers, Daisy and Billy juxtaposed over the intersecting story lines of addiction and love in all its forms—and how music provides a reflection for life.
Reid creates these complicated, complex, flawed, admirable, traditional gender roles-breaking characters. Her pacing is outstanding, given you know from the beginning that the group disbanded overnight under suspicious circumstances.
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall // A
It’s been a while since a book has actually changed my worldview. While feminism is often taunted as a “equality for all”- that when women win, the whole community (men, women and children) win- Kendall astutely points out that mainstream feminism is anything but inclusive.
If feminism is to truly represent all women, it must resist the “tendency to assume that all women are experiencing the same struggles [which] has led us to a place where reproductive health imagery centers on cisgender able-bodied women to the exclusion of those who are trans, intersex, or otherwise inhabiting bodies that don’t fit the narrow idea that genitalia dictates gender.”
While this book should be read by everyone, I especially think this is for people who consider themselves feminists, but need to flesh out what it truly means.
Born a Crime: Stores From A South African Childhood by Trevor // A
Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in world where he was not legally suppose to exist. Born to a white Swiss father that he barely knew and a strong Black Xhosa mother in Apartheid South Africa, No navigates poverty, racism, violence abuse, incredibly heavy topics, with wit and endless charm.
I’ve read the book many times before. It was our book club pick of the month, and a friend suggested listening to the audiobook – AMAZING. Noah narrates the story and hearing the Xhosa words, the various accents, the intonations just made the story incredible.
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