a bookish blog by twins Anna & Alexis
Anna: I’m so excited for this chill weekend! Have you read My Sister, the Serial Killer? My library hold FINALLY came in, and I’m really enjoying the to-the-point writing style and intriguing story/mystery so far! I love stories about sisters, even murderous ones!
I hope you have fun (or chill!) weekend plans?
Here’s my current read, Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward, and my new couch! My apartment truly feels like a home now. You guys chose this book as my next memoir in the beginning of the month, and I cheated a bit. I loved Sing, Unburied, Sing and Salvage the Bones, so I’m excited to learn more about Jesmyn Ward’s life!
It was super tough going to back to work after that long weekend, wasn’t it? What book is helping you get through this week back?
Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Here are some of our favorite books by Asian American authors.
What are you doing for Memorial Day weekend? It’s Alexis’ busy season, but Anna is off on Monday!
You decide: which of these memoirs should I read in May? I’m continuing my 2019 goal of reading at least one memoir a month!
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs
My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul
Happy reading!
Anna: I’m excited to share my April wrap up! This month included not one, but TWO five star books for me! Im currently finishing up three books that didn’t make it into this wrap up (classic). I’m also still loving memoir and middle grade!
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren: 4 books
George by Alex Gino: 3.5 books
The Goldfinch by Donna Tart: 5 books
Normal People by Sally Rooney: 5 books
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker: 3 books
What books did you love this month?
Alexis: Happy World Book Day, everyone! Unfortunately, I think I jinxed myself, because I had to DNF Gingerbread.
The first couple of pages were wonderful. I loved the descriptions of the gingerbread, and Oyeyemi’s imagery and writing is fresh and lyrical.
Unfortunately, even though I love magical realism, Gingerbread is just too abstract. This book doesn’t have a clear plot, which I know is on purpose, but it’s just too atmospheric and all over the place for me. I wasn’t super invested in the characters, and talking dolls never fail to creep me out, even if they’re not supposed to be creepy! The real story begins around page 50, but by 10 pages into it, I didn’t have the energy to continue reading.
I hesitate to give this book too bad of a rating, though. Oyeyemi is clearly a talented writer, and this is a niche book that I can see certain people loving.
VERDICT:
Plot and style: 1 star
Characters: 2 stars
Writing and voice: 5 stars
Alexis: Happy Earth Day, everyone! But good luck avoiding all the pollen.
I’m currently reading Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi (while Indy searches for bunnies) and thinking about summer. I can’t wait to go to the beach!
I’m horrible at continuing series, when when I really love the first book! Here’s an example of one I’ve neglected far too long, even though I read and loved My Brilliant Friend in 2017, I’m just getting around to reading book two, The Story of a New Name.
I love Elena Ferrante’s writing. Her characters are wonderfully complex, as are their relationships with each other. I’m about halfway through and can’t wait to (hopefully) pick up the next two soon.
What’s your favorite series?
Anna: I’m DNFing Milkman by Anna Burns. I read 100 pages and I just can’t keep going. I’m finding the writing too lofty. I don’t like how the characters are just called “sister in law” and “maybe boyfriend” seemingly for the sake of sounding literary. And I’m getting slogged down by all the detail. Maybe I would keep reading if I were in a different mood, but I need something more straightforward right now.
I would love to hear your thoughts on Milkman!
🌺Alexis’ April #tbr stack🌺
Did March fly by for anyone else? I kind of wanted winter to be longer; I’m not ready for all this pollen.
FYI: All of these books are secondhand!
takes two to book review 