Anna’s January Wrap Up

Between continuing to distance from others and the wintery weather, my reading was a major comfort and escape this month. I’m also happy with the diverse genres and authors I was able to read this month. I read two nonfiction books (one memoir and one cookbook), and two books by Indigenous authors, both of which work in favor of my 2021 reading goals. Here’s what I read: 

The Woman in White: Started off the year with an atmospheric, satisfying classic mystery. 

Elatsoe: Spooky magical YA by an Indigenious author. My only criticism is that this read VERY young to me. 

Moon of the Crusted Snow: actually a literary dystopian as promised (unlike Migrations) Written by an Indigenous author.

Migrations: The low point of my reading month. Do not recommend this one. Read my review.

Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking: This made-to-be-read cookbook changes the food game! Check out my review.   

After the Eclipse: A Mother’s Murder, a Daughter’s Search (audiobook; not pictured); A heartbreaking memoir about the author’s mother’s murder. Also a criticism of the explorative nature of true crime as a genre. 

Review: The Terrible by Yrsa Daley-Ward

Trigger warnings for sexual assault, drug and alcohol addiction, and domestic and physical abuse

“They are not ours, the stars/and have never been.”

Anna: Let me just say that when I bought this in the $1 section of Strand, I didn’t know that it was a memoir told through poetry. I am not a huge fan of poetry, but The Terrible blew me away. Most of it is told through narrative style poems, which helped make it less scary for newbies like me. But there were some really beautiful poems in here that were much more experimental in form than I was not expecting to enjoy. 

Yrsa grew up with her ultra religious grandparents in Northwest England. We follow Yrsa’s childhood, her troubled relationship with her mother, her love for little brother, and her journey into adulthood and ultimately finding herself as a poet and a person. Be warned–this is extremely dark and in some ways is largely the story of Yrs’s struggle with drug addiction. I could not stop reading and flew through it. I especially loved her relationship with her little brother. My only complaint is that I think the final poem tied everything together a little too nicely.

Maybe I’ll read more poetry now?

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

Our Favorite Books of 2019

Happy New Year’s Eve! And what a year it’s been! Anna’s highlights were starting work full time, getting married, and adopting her dog! Alexis started her MFA program, got a short story accepted for publication, and adopted her cat! 

Here are some of our favorite books of 2019:

Anna:

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Normal People by Sally Rooney

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden

The Witch Elm by Tana French

In the Woods by Tana French

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab 

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

The Goldfinch by Donna Tart

 

Alexis:

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 

The Wildlands by Abby Geni 

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

The Book of Dreams by Nina George

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister 

Grim Lovelies by Meghan Shepherd

Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper

Gods of Jade & Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Florida by Lauren Groff

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

 

Here’s to a great 2020!

 

Review: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Anna: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls is the best memoir I’ve read since Educated. If you haven’t read it yet, you should stop everything you’re doing and read it right now.

Jeanette grows up in extreme poverty in Appalachia with an alcoholic father and neglectful mother. Jeanette and her siblings were horribly abused, but the book also details glimpses of beauty and love throughout her life. The book shows how her past and her family continually follow her even when she leaves West Virginia for New York. Most astonishing is Walls’s power of forgiveness. 

I also watched the movie, which I’m happy to report is just as good as the book!

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Anna’s September Reading Wrap up

Anna: It’s the end of September! The leaves are officially starting to change, and it was cool enough today to break out my boots! It’s supposed to be 90 degrees on Wednesday, but I’m still embracing fall to its fullest! Here’s what I read this month:

5 stars:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

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4 stars:

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

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Bloomland by John Enlehardt

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3.5 stars

California by Edan Lepucki 

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3 stars:

Eden by Andrea Kleine

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The take away from this month’s wrap up is that if you haven’t read The Glass Castle, you need to. There will be a review coming soon! What did you read this month?

Library/Library Sale Haul

Anna: Happy Saturday, bookish friends! Here’s my library/library sale haul from this morning. My currently reading pile is about to get a whole lot bigger!

Disappearing Earth and Mostly Dead Things are long-awaited, very-anticipated holds. I have high expectations!

I’m stocking up for My Harry Potter re-read. I grew up reading my family’s copy of Order of the Pheonix which is completely falling apart and now bound together by tape. I snagged this copy for 50 cents! 

One of my current reads is The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, so when I saw another book by her I couldn’t resist. I’m captivated by her writing and excited to try some of her fiction!

Have you read any of these? Check them out!

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How Many Books is Too Many Books?

Anna: How many books do you read at once? I’m always going between two or three–one audiobook and one or two physical books!

Though I prefer physical books, audiobooks are an easy and enjoyable way for me to read while I’m at work, working out, or doing chores. I often listen to crime fiction, nonfiction, and long books that I find difficult to read in their physical form. I’m actually listening to a fiction book now, though, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray.

At home I’m currently switching between a memoir, My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul, and Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, which I’ve almost finished and I’m loving!

Check out what I’m currently reading:
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What I read in July

Anna: July was a crazy month for me! Work was super busy, but I also took a mini-vacation to the beach! My wedding is only three months away now and it’s starting to feel so real!

Reading always helps me stay calm when there’s so much going on in my life. I also read a wonderful mix of genres this month!

5 stars:

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

4 stars:

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Hunger by Roxanne Gay

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Severance by Ling Ma

3 stars:

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (not pictured)

The Dry by Jane Harper

What were your July highlights, reading wise or otherwise?

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Hunger by Roxanne Gay

Anna: Hunger was my memoir of the month, and I’m so glad I chose this one. I loved Gay’s writing style and can’t wait to read more by her! I also listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Roxanne Gay herself, and this made it a really emotional read.

Hunger is an intense account of Gay’s complicated relationship with her body interlaced with critique on the ways that society and the media view obesity. This is a raw account of some of the most personal parts of Gay’s life, and it was often difficult to read. It will make you angry and force you to think about how you might view people who are different than you. Trigger warnings for sexual assault and abuse. 

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What Roxanne Gay book should I read next?

Choosing a Book to Read Tomorrow

Alexis: Hi, everyone!

I’m trying to choose between these three books to read tomorrow. I’m just not sure what I’m in the mood for.

If anyone’s wondering, I’m thankful that Anna left most of the books she accumulated while living in NYC at home, so I have a lot of books to choose from!

I hope you all have had a great and productive Monday. Goodnight!