The Library Strikes Back

Everything I read in April

I am trying to be ‘officially’ back. There will be a lot of lists over the next few weeks, because one of the answers to my question of why I started writing on Substack was to have fun. And to spout my bookish opinions into the Universe. Lists are the most fun way for me to do that, so that’s where we shall begin. I’ll hold off on the analytical essays for now, but hopefully they’ll be back.

Oh look, memes! I have to be feeling better.

I ‘only’ read 8 books in April, which is the number I need to read to stay on track to hit 100 by December. I had just been going above and beyond the previous months. (Surprise, surprise)

Unless otherwise noted, all books I read this month were physical. All links are to Bookshop, and all graphics are courtesy of The Storygraph.

Here’s what I read:

Fancy Cover Collage courtesy of The Storygraph

• The Way Forward, by Yung Pueblo

  A very big ‘Sorry to that man’ to Yung Pueblo, because I do not remember this book. At all. I read 100 books a year, so I think I’m allowed to forget a book every now and again, and while I could go get the book from my office and refresh, I am currently ensconced on my couch so that will not be happening. There were poems, I remember they were nice, but it was more motivational self-help words than narrative.

  

• La vie secrète des écrivains, par Guillaume Musso

  Oh boy. What to say. This book was…a lot. Most of it not in a good way. Most of it in a ‘yup the French are French and they’re going to do weird shit that defies all logic’ type of way. This book was good in the sense that I learned a lot of contemporary French slang, and that it made me angry about how insane it was. There was no discernible - logical - plot. The book did provoke an emotion, so it did do it’s job! This book included: murder in the present day, hermit writers being harassed, a hot French lady journalist, an isolated island, a cold case murder/suicide in the past, the Bosnian-Serbian conflict, and the author inserting himself as a character into the narrative. Oh and torture in a garage. This title translates to ‘The Secret Life of Writers’ and I can confirm nothing of the sort has ever happened in my life. Or most writers, for that fact. We’re all part introvert, and I’d wager a guess that we’re all too tired to deal with this level of drama. I have another book by Musso, and I’ll give that a try, but you’re on thin ice, Monsieur.

• Before we Forget Kindness, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
  The fifth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. I’m not sure who translated this from the Japanese as it’s not noted in the book listing, which is very rude. This is the fifth book in the series, and I thought the wheels started falling off in book 3. At this point, I’ve read the first 4 books so in the immortal words of Florence + The Machine: “I am committed, now, to the feeling.”¹ There was a little variation on the theme in this newest installment, but I mostly read this to say I’ve read all the books in the series. Read for free on Libby.

• Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
  The Haymitch book in The Hunger Games universe. I didn’t read the last Suzanne Collins prequel because I did not give one shit about President Snow’s origin story. No thank you. But a Haymitch book? Sure, I can get into that. I wasn’t chomping at the bit to read this book, but then I got a skip-the-line loan from my library, so all bets were off. This book was fun, as much fun as a book about killing children on reality TV can be. It was definitely fan service, but I didn’t mind it (most of the time.) If you look at TikTok, many creators are crying over this book and I…was not one of those people. Sure, it was sad at points, but nothing to cry about. (Don’t yell at me, Internet) If you like The Hunger Games, it’s worth your time. If not, you can safely pass. I read this on Libby. Back to back reads on Libby this month, shout out to the library.

• Human/Animal: A Bestiary in Essays, by Amie Souza Reilly
  Being a writer can be a lonely endeavor. I say this not as a desire for pity but more to state a fact. Amie Souza Reilly’s publicist reached out to me to ask if I wanted an ARC² of the book, because she thought that I’d like it based on a review I had written in The Harvard Review Online. All this to say: you never know who reads your work, and to keep putting your words out into the Universe. I won’t say much more for now, as I’m actively pitching this book review to a few literary publications, but I will say there were a few truly ingenious ways of thinking in these essays that I had never considered before, but seem wholly obvious now. Truly the sign of good analytical work. While I received an ARC, the book is now out.

  

• A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher
  I read my first T. Kingfisher last year (Nettle & Bone), and have only heard good things about her work, so I tried another. It was very good, if enraging at times. Enraging in a good way; in that I was upset at the injustices the characters were facing, not at the plot making little to no sense (looking at you La vie secrète des écrivains). This is technically a Goose Girl retelling, but I was not familiar with that fairy tale. I wouldn’t know, but per reviews, this book does not adhere too closely to the tale. There are similar elements, but you don’t need to know anything about the fairy tale to enjoy the book. There’s an interesting way of looking at magic as control, and one of our heroines is a 51 year old woman with a bum knee, something you don’t often see in fantasy literature. There’s also a deranged horse, meditations on loneliness, and beautiful themes of found family, finding yourself, and second chance love. T. Kingfisher’s work does veer towards horror, and while I didn’t think the horror elements were that bad in this book, just something to be mindful of if you’re not into that kind of thing.

• Kiki’s Delivery Service, by Eiko Kadono
  Another reason the Internet might yell at me today: I haven’t seen any of Miyazaki’s films. I know, I know. I need to fix this. We were a Disney household growing up. The good news is that now I can discover them as an adult with better memory and processing skills. I didn’t realize Kiki’s Delivery Service was a book, too, so like many snobbish readers, I can now say I read the book before watching the movie. Which I still need to do. Anyone got a Max subscription they want to lend me? This one was a FairyLoot special edition, and it was gorgeous. I won’t speak for all readers, but I do read my special editions - albeit carefully so I don’t hurt them. Definitely recommend special edition books for upgrading your sense of whimsy and wonder while reading.

• Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, by Bob the Drag Queen
  My one audiobook and Everand title of the month. Bob the Drag Queen won the 8th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, but don’t worry, you don’t need to know anything about Drag Race to read this book because it is fiction about Harriet Tubman, not RuPaul’s Drag Race. I normally don’t listen to fiction, but if you’re going to give this book a go, I’d recommend reading it with your ears not your eyes for two reasons: 1) Bob is a great performer and that makes the audio all the more entertaining and 2) there are two original songs at the end of the audio version. The premise is simple: what if historical figures suddenly started returning to life? And now Harriet Tubman has a band that wants to make a record? That’s all you need to know, and despite being truly delightful, it covers much of Tubman’s life story, as well as the various experiences that enslaved Black people endured under slavery.

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No New Books Challenge

Yay I made it a week! I’m so proud of me. The bar is literally on the ground with me and buying books, but we have so little and books make me happy. There’s more special edition sales later this month so this isn’t going to last long anyways.

• Longest streak: 38 days (January 1st - February 6th)

• Last streak: 10 days (April 27th - May 6th)

• Current streak: 7 days (May 7th - present)

Mug Moment of the Week

Remember when I said you’d see that mug from my last book haul? Well, behold:

I have been making a conscientious effort to drink all of the loose leaf tea in my house. Ipso facto, that’s a lot easier with mugs that have strainers included. I never need new mugs but if one were to present itself…

This one is from Brookline Booksmith, and I love the fan design. The dark blue and pink combination with the florals is really what made this stand out to me. And as you can see on her first outing, she bore a lot of looseleaf tea. I did actually finish a tin of looseleaf tea with this cuppa, so I give myself one small golf clap.

Until the next list!

1. From the song ‘Choreomania’ off of Florence + The Machine’s Dance Fever album.

2. ARC = advanced reader’s copy. You probably already know this but I don’t like to assume.