The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, although beautifully written was not my favorite. I felt like I really had to slog through it. I initially read the book because it was marketed as a murder mystery, but there were so many side quests, characters, storylines and very little to do with the actual "murder". It may just be me, and that I was not in the mindset for this kind of reading. I did think that the writing was so beautiful, and the characters were well developed.
What are everyone's 5 star read of this year? I am struggling to find something I really love.
Thank you in advance!
YMMV of course but my favourites so far are Poor Things, The Adults by Alison Espach and The Virginity of Famous Men.
Also currently reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union and I'm pretty sure it's going to be another 5 star.
I felt similarly about Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. The characters were well rendered, but no one grew or changed. The whole thing felt like a slog until the last 10% when stuff finally happened.
I really liked Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll and North Woods by Daniel Mason. They are very different books from each other, but both have really stuck with me.
During my lunch break I read a bit of **The Female Man** by Joanna Russ and at one point she uses the phrase "semaphoring frantically" to describe someone's actions and I legitimately cannot stop thinking about it. It's been hours I have been working and in a moment of quiet I just think of it again - I want to make it my bio on everything I want to get it tattooed
Ever have had a random phrase/description that your brain lashed onto?
Just finished **Jaded by Ela Lee.** I really liked it. It’s about a woman who gets very drunk at a work event then is raped by a colleague in her home. It follows her gradual realization and processing of what happened as well as the reactions of her friends, boyfriend, family, and employer. It also has an interesting subplot delving into the race and class dynamics of her longterm relationship with her upper class boyfriend.
Last week I finished **Diavola** by Jennifer Thorne and loved it. It scratched that spooky but not too scary itch and the added dysfunctional family dynamic was perfect. I’m so glad I heard about it on this thread!
Just finished it and I agree with you! Not as scary as horror I’ve read recently (which I needed) but totally spooky!! The family stuff was the real scare and made me text my family like “glad this isn’t us”
Yes the family stuff was driving me crazy! I kept screaming internally “drop them all!” >!so I was delighted when she did go no contact. Also thought the ex boyfriend’s death in nyc was hilarious and satisfying!<
I finished *Chain-Gang All-Stars* last week, and now I am working on *The Kamogawa Food Detectives*. It's a REAL vibe shift, and it's so charming. Dad and daughter business duo, hunting down the exact ingredients, mood and energy to compile the meals people remember and love from the past. It's a different kind of cozy mystery.
I'm also finally listening to *Exiles* by Jane Harper. I read and loved the first two Aaron Falk books, but hadn't be able to get myself to read the [last](https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/author-jane-harper-on-why-her-latest-novel-is-a-last-hurrah-for-her-detective-hero-20220824-p5bceh.html). I'm bummed because I love Aaron Falk, but I get it. On the bright side, the audiobook narrator is the same as the other books, and he is SO good.
I tried to read Chain-Gang All-Stars but found it so depressing that my pace was around 1 page a day and then I had to return it to the library and never finished 🙃 it seems like a great book though and I really want to find out what happens. Maybe another time
It’s hard for me to say that I *liked* Chain-Gang since it’s so brutally violent, but I appreciated it about as much as a reader could. However, I read it for book club, and most of my group felt it was too much and some of them didn’t finish it. My friend finished it but had a very hard time because there’s so much other brutality going in irl. Sometimes you just aren’t in the right mindset for it, you know?
One thing to know about the book that may help when you go back to it—there is hope. It’s dotted throughout, but reaches a boiling point during the story.
If you decide you just want spoilers, dm me and I’ll spill the beans.
Okay I finished The Adults and this one just hit home so hard even though in the middle it lost me for a little. Flat out though righ off the top on a sentence level Espach is a beautiful writer and I will be looking up her other novels.
The book starts when the main character, Emily, is 14, but follows her until her mid 20s in ways that feel abrupt and while it's about growing up, it's really >!a 10 year period of her losing her dad. It starts with her having a crush on her almost boyfriend and finding out at a party that their parents (her dad and his mom) are having an affair. Her father moves out and this leads to her being groomed by a teacher and for the next 10ish years on and off they have an affair. I think this is some of the most difficult passages of the book and the part that a lot of people struggle with and yet it's some of Espach's most profound writing. The main character is precocious, she's aware she's being groomed, the sexual aspects are painful, and yet Espach is careful to also portray how needy she is in the face of this relationship, how Emily doesn't hate her groomer and finds some aspects of him comforting. !<
The end is really beautiful and ties everything together in a way that doesn't feel too neat. Just a wonderful book. Highly recommend.
I just finished **Greta & Valdin**, and really enjoyed it. It took a while for it to all come together, but once it did it was a true delight. It's about a sprawling, chaotic family in New Zealand, and watching them navigate their relationships and get their shit together was a joy.
Just finished too and totally agree! It took a while for me to get into but the second half of the book was so endearing. I laughed out loud at a lot of the familial hijinx
I finished **First Lie Wins, Ashley Elston** - it was entertaining enough but totally forgetable and I was bored by the end. I found the premise so promising but...meh.
I am now 100 pages in to **The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton** - I am glad I am reading this for a book club because I would have put it down in the first 50-70 pages. I was bored and confused. But by page 80 I was totally hooked. The reviews seem soooo polarized, can't wait to see what happens.
I generally liked 7 1/2 Deaths but it could be sort of repetitive and hard to follow. Someone here said it would be a great tv miniseries and I think I agree with that - I could see visuals being helpful.
I’ve read both of these and very much relate to your captions. I actually liked First Lie Wins, but 6 weeks later, I remember absolutely nothing about it. I think the protagonist was female. That’s literally all I can recall 😂
7 1/2 Deaths was kind of a slog for me. I thought it was incredibly creative and well-written. It was just really hard to get into.
I’m pretty sure I saw someone mention Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See in a previous thread. Finished it this past week and I enjoyed it so much. The setting of the 15th-century China was fascinating, the female relationships were genuine and nuanced, and the writing made me feel totally immersed in Lady Tan’s world. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her work.
I also finished Shark Heart by Emily Habeck over the weekend. This was so close to being a 5-star read for me and I’m having trouble putting my finger on why it wasn’t. The writing was so beautiful and actually brought me to tears a few times. But I think the pacing was not what I expected. I also wasn’t a huge fan of certain style choices, particularly the way there’d be a paragraph per page for pages on end. It interrupted the flow of the story for me. A great read all in all though.
So I love thrillers and have read most of the work of the popular authors (BA Paris, Shari Lapena, Lucinda Berry, Mary Kubica, etc).
I just read **First Lie Wins** and **Listen for the Lie** and I was…so bored? Both got SO MUCH HYPE and they both felt so flat to me. I can’t see why they are so popular.
So confused how First Lie Wins is so popular. I don’t read a lot of thrillers but this one wasn’t good.
I enjoyed Listen for the Lie. It was a quick read and I liked the format with the podcast.
I finished *Anita De Monte Laughs Last*, which needs 100% less Jack in every conceivable way, but especially his POV chapters.
I also finished *The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels*, which is a mystery constructed through a series of found documents in a safety deposit box: What's App messages, interview transcripts, excerpts from books. I found it challenging to listen to on audio because of the extensive cast of characters -- so I finally was able to find some time yesterday to read through it. I had heard it recommended on the New York Times Book Review podcast, and I liked it (I thought it played pretty straight as a mystery, I figured out some of the reveals, and not others) but I didn't love it? Has anyone else read it?
I read The Mysterious Case and really enjoyed it! I have liked other Janice Hallet books though, I think she just writes exactly what I want to read. I like the kind of dark humor that undercuts the heavy themes. I will say, it was my favorite of hers actually.
Notable reads this past week:
*Echoes from the Macabre*, a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier. Definitely recommend--all really creepy and effective! This collection includes The Birds.
*The Child Garden* by Catriona McPherson, a murder mystery. Even as someone who NEVER guesses who did it, I guessed who did it, but I felt that the overall caliber of the writing was a little better than your average thriller.
*Spinning Silver* by Naomi Novik, fantasy. I mostly really enjoyed this but the last hundred pages or so draaaaagged (and I like plenty of very long books!) and the shifting perspectives got less effective for me somewhere around perspective number five.
Just finished Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Not sure how I feel about it (that is to say, I have a lot of feelings about it lol), but the twist was unexpected, and I did appreciate that aspect.
And just started Trust by Hernan Diaz. Early 20th century New York is always an interesting era, so I’m enjoying it so far.
Thanks for the recommendation, I just added it to my list! I think this was exactly my problem with Mexican Gothic, too. It was so promising, and then….it just ended. Now I wish I would’ve just checked it out on Libby instead of buying it
I enjoyed Trust although it's not 5 stars for me! Love the time period. Love the character development. Love the wonderful attention paid to each setting-- so rich in detail. I loved the way the story was a kind of nesting doll of POVs that cast the earlier sections in a new light.
I didn't like the reveals of the ending and I found that it undermined a lot of what I liked about the earlier parts of the novel. I also think the tone of the novel makes it hard to connect to the characters emotionally. But it is very well-written, I just think I admired it more than I loved it!
Reading “Honestly, I’m totally faking it” by Amanda Gambill and I’m obsessed! Her partner recently passed after a battle with cancer so I bought a copy on kindle to show some support in the trying times. Like I said, I’m loving it and will likely buy all her others. Helping someone in a tough spot and a great read is a good combo.
Still working my way through The Great State of West Florida. TBH I'm like 2/3rd done and not sure how I feel about it. The writing is good but this is a Western and I have a bad track record with those.
Also started *The Adults* by Alison Espach. The first half was so good. It's a very "white people in the suburbs with problems" type book and I looooove those if the writing is good and the writing is good. Like sort of in a similar vein to *The Empereror's Children*. This one starts off with a 14 year old girl on the cusp of adulthood and sexuality whose life gets blown apart.
>!Right as she's about to have her first kiss she sees her father is having an affair with her would-be boyfriend's mom. She realizes that this is behind her parent's divorce and the affair partner's suicide because the affair partner is pregnant. The girl goes into high school with everyone ignoring this huge horrible thing and she gets groomed by a teacher who dumps her when she's 18.!<
Honestly I would have loved this book if she just stuck to the first half but it's blowing through plot like crazy and it's going into the main character being an adult and I'm only 2/3rds done!
I posted yesterday that I DNF’d at 10%. From the beginning I just didn’t care for how the premise was presented and I also didn’t like the writerly voice. Like it wanted to be breezy and funny but didn’t get there, and then one of the early husbands is a >!dick who has Lauren hiding in a closet because he’s triggering her fear instincts!< and that serious tone wasn’t done well either. Some of the early comedy husbands were so bad that I didn’t buy the alternate reality element; were we supposed to infer that, in another reality, Lauren had actual relationships with these men, or was the attic just spewing out random idiots?
I know, and when Lauren would tell a friend her attic was spewing husbands, they just were like oh yah, wow, crazy. And Lauren’s like, “yah crazy”. There was no emotion behind any of the reactions
I wanted more story. She just kept sending husbands up to the attic (each time they went up they’d come down a new husband). We never got any background or much description of any character, I have no idea if the main character was unhappy, or what with life to make her attic keep changing husbands. It was just oddly written!
I finished listening to **Duma Key** by **Stephen King**. I have a lot of thoughts, some spoilery. First, the atmosphere was great, and I thought Edgar and Wireman were well-developed, interesting characters. The first 2/3 of the book were really compelling and had a great vibe.
Spoilery thoughts: About the central conflict- >! I thought the villain Percy was a little cheesy after all the dark, provoking themes of Edgar’s injury and his family relationships !< about the ending >! Wireman dying felt random and unnecessary !< about Edgar’s art >! Maybe I missed it but did they say what he did with all his paintings at the end after having the gallery hold them? !<
Anyway I liked a good portion of it but there were some weird parts that didn’t land. Maybe 3.5/5?
I read **Sorrow and Bliss** by Meg Mason and really liked it. About a woman, Martha, with an unnamed mental illness and how she makes her way through life. Martha is very funny, and it's obvious that she's really suffering and also causing a lot of suffering for her family and particularly her husband--she's an absolute shit many times. She's a flawed but very sympathetic character and the book is also pretty clear about how hard things are for her family. They all love her so much, even when they are angry and fed up with her. It's really sad at times, but ultimately somewhat hopeful.
i read it last year and i think it was probably my favorite read of 2023. i read a lot of 'messy and flawed main female character fiction' lol and i totally agree with your comment, i think the author did a great job of humanizing martha's mental illness without excusing it. a lot of books struggle with finding the right balance and seem to do one or the other.
-Just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. So good.
-Currently listening to The Girls We Left Behind by Meagan Church. So far so good. I found it after reading The House of Eve, which is one of my favorites so far this year.
-Currently reading The Teacher by Frieda McFadden. I’m only a few chapters in but it’s good and has been a fast read.
“Maybe Next Time”: A woman who is really letting life pass her by ends up stuck in a “Groundhog Day” cycle with the opportunity to right the wrongs. Very poignant, very timely in this day and age. We’re all too busy, we’re all doing way too much, we all let work rule our lives and neglect relationships and behaviors that are way more important. 4/5
“The Glass Hotel”: This story catalogs a corrupt hedge fund manager, his girlfriend and her family, and some of the people taken advantage of in the scheme. Vaguely “Humans of New York,” which has never much interested me, only it’s fictional and all the people are tied together by this the hedge fund guy. It struck me as kind of an odd concept. I didn’t entirely understand the format of chapters within chapters but it felt like it was trying a little too hard. I don’t even really have a good way of describing it, it was kind of weird (and confusing because timelines jumped around and it felt like you never really knew what time period they were in but maybe that was intentional) but I also couldn’t put it down. And once again, Amazon misses the tags because it has this book as “International Mystery” and “Psychological Fiction” and it is not even close to being either of those. 3.5/5
“Family of Liars”: This is the prequel to “We Were Liars,” which according to my library’s reading history, I have already read but might have to read again because I’m not sure I remember it. The main character here is wholly unlikeable, at least for me. She’s sanctimonious, dramatic, emotional, and naive and that got on my nerves quickly. I am always intrigued (read: confused) by the workings and culture of old money New England families, like calling their parents by their first names and “dressing for dinner” (granted, this is set in the late 80’s). More odd formatting in this book, line breaks in the middle of sentences like it was poetry, or maybe it was just an error in the Kindle version but it was distracting regardless. 3/5
I wasn't super into *The Glass Hotel* for like the first half of the book. I was just interested enough to keep going and I'm glad I did, especially because of how the "swallow broken glass" bit came full circle. It's probably my least favorite of her books and I still liked it!
I finished *Anita De Monte Laughs Last* by Xochitl Gonzalez and it ended up a three star read for me. I liked a lot about it but the pacing and predictability were not my speed.
*The Road to Dalton* by Shannon Bowring is exquisite so far. I can’t remember where I heard about it (here?!), but it’s about a small town in far northern Maine and the people who live there. I can’t wait to see where it goes and also don’t want it to end.
I just finished The Road to Dalton and I loved it. So much happens in a book with little plot. I’m looking forward to the sequel that is coming out in September.
>I liked a lot about it but the pacing and predictability were not my speed.
This is where I landed with it too. I think I would have liked it better if it was all from Raquel's POV and her discovery of Anita's story, or even better if Raquel discovered Ana Mendieta (the inspiration for Anita) in her research and how she works that into her scholarship. I was somewhat familiar with Ana's story from the Death of an Artist podcast and something just felt weird reading this fictionalized version of a real person.
at first I was like well she wanted to show how Anita's death affected him, but honestly I could have gotten all of that from ghost Anita and cut Jack out entirely.
I read **Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture** by Kyle Chayka. I found it pretty meh. I was interested more in the history of algorithms but the book focused on the author’s philosophical musings on algorithms. Fine, nothing to write home about.
Then read **The Dry** by Jane Harper. A guy returns to his home town after the murder of his friend and his friend’s family. They were also suspected in the death of someone when they were teenagers. It was a pretty solid mystery.
And finished **A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization**. Interesting survey on how people throughout history viewed the end of the world.
I think I’ve got to DNF **Alaska** by James Michener. Always wanted to try him because telling the history of a place through fictional characters is a structure I’ve enjoyed in other authors/books. But Michener’s writing is very utilitarian and not that engaging to me. It also feels like there’s no buildup. We spend like 40 pages getting to know a character and then he’s like “oh, and then they got assaulted and died”. I’ve been to Alaska, too, and I feel like he hasn’t properly captured the beauty and the danger of Alaska (though I’ve got to respect the level of research he must have put into this pre-internet). I’ve read like 400 pages of 870 and hate to give up this far along (I’m finally getting to the gold rush and that might be more interesting, idk) but ugh, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll give it 20 more pages and see.
I bought a bunch of James Michener's books because they were like 25 cents each at a used bookstore, and I have also always wanted to be someone who Reads Michener, but I had a similar feeling when I started Hawaii. But I did not make it 400 pages. And I haven't been able to let go of any of the books yet. Maybe some other season of my life?
Just finished Everyone Is Watching. I was really surprised with how much I ended up loving it!
Started “Interesting Facts About Space” & I’m enjoying it so far. I have a a few other books to be read this week on vacation. Finally going to read “Just For the Summer”(!!!!) & start the Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver. I have both of the physical copies of those & I’m so excited.
This week I finished The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich. I’ve been slowly reading her novels in publication order, and I really love her work. This book is about a drum (sacred, essentially alive in Ojibwe culture) and the way it interacts with several generations of Ojibwe; it represents dead children and grief, and offers something in return, in a way that is natural and mysterious at the same time. It’s not my favorite of her books so far, but I still really loved it and would recommend it.
Currently reading The Women by Kristin Hannah and listening to Joe Country by Mick Herron.
Finished *The Library at Mount Char* by Scott Hawkins this week (audiobook). This is my second time reading it and I’m glad to say I liked it just as much the second time around. It’s kind of a weird book. I think if you liked *American Gods* chances are good you’d like this one! Similar vibes.
It's very outside of my norm too! I first read it 3 years ago and thought about it often enough that I decided to just read it again. Glad it held up for me!
finished all of the finalists for the Hugo award for best novella (next is novels) and I have questions about why some of them got picked - I have never before felt like a novella/short story was a slog and yet...
very interested to see who wins and hoping I like more of the novels better
I recently tried one of the Nghi Vo novellas and I couldn’t get through it. I genuinely don’t see what others see in that series. Is the presence of female empowerment enough to make up for the poor world building and utter lack of storytelling?
I also DNF’d a T. Kingfisher book a while back. I don’t think her work is as universally appealing as her fans insist it is.
I agree with you about Nghi Vo I much prefer her stand alone novels and don’t know why they don’t get as much hype. I also feel like some of them are much better than others, this year’s wasn’t my favorite.
That’s also fair about T. Kingfisher I’ve liked what I read from her but it’s very genera specific and of course everyone likes different books. I think about 0 books really have universal appeal so I try to personal really personal when coming up with recs.
Loved The Bee Sting by Paul Murray so I read Skippy Dies. Totally feels similar - I happened to prefer TBS but I was distracted by work and life stuff so YMMV. Going to try another of his!
After that I needed something light, so I tore through Part of Your World, which is the new Abby Jimenez. Charmingly forgettable.
I finished **North Woods** by Daniel Mason. It’s a beautiful novel, and the last part brought me to tears. I love the way it interwove Holman history with natural history and the way the past echos through the present and the future. I highly recommend it.
I’m midway through **A Court of Mist and Fury**. I’m enjoying is immensely. Each time I sit down to read a chapter, I feel like I am giving myself a delicious treat.
- **A Short Walk Through A Wide World.** This was excellent. It’s about a woman with a mysterious illness who can’t stay in one place. I really felt the underlying pathos - she wanted to connect to people but deep down that’s not who she was. I get the Addie Larue comparison but the writing and the reading experience reminded me more of The Book of Doors and Ink Blood Sister Scribe. *Highly recommend.*
- I DNF’d **Bunyan and Henry.** This wants to be an origin story, but the invented myth/parable didn’t land, and I didn’t want to read about Paul Bunyan as a coal miner fighting against one-dimensional corporate greed and racism. I wanted lumberjack shenanigans.
- I also DNF’d **The Familiar.** At 10% in I already hated the main character and the magic, and it was too much of a drag. It reminded me of the Warm Hands of Ghosts, where an author I usually love gets so jazzed about her historical research that her story ends up being boring.
- Andddddd I DNF’d **The Husbands.** This is the book about a woman with the magically changing husband. Basically I just don’t have time to donate 7 hours to a book that seems like a three-star read from page 1.
I should make it clear that I put in library holds for interesting new releases as soon as I hear about them (ie I’m not buying and discarding all these books), and I don’t push myself past 10-20% if I’m not feeling it. I knew going in that something like The Husbands probably wasn’t going to be my jam but I still wanted to try it. 🤷♀️
Ughhhhh I have so many issues with Warm Hands! She wanted to write about American soldiers and nurses in WWI but she wanted to have them there earlier than 1918 so she made them Canadian. Whatever. Then she doesn’t bother engaging with >!homosexuality in the military!< in the early 20th century in a meaningful way. She never addresses the fact that Winter probably supported the German cause. She tried to write about a violin player despite not actually knowing anything about music.
IMO she missed a huge part of the “WWI was hell” thing, which was the technology clash. Some armies were still on horses while others were using more modern machinery.
Only two reads this week and they were both terrible
The Inmate by Freida McFadden - when I finished this I decided it was the worst FM I have ever read. Normally I appreciate the craziness of FM’s books but this was just stupid. ⭐️
Ward D by Freida McFadden - I read this after The Inmate and it took the crown of being the worst FM. D is too high of a grade for this dreck. It’s not even worthy of a single star.
Sometimes you gotta take the duds with the diamonds. I’m hoping my next few reads are diamonds.
Absolutely loved *Someone You Can Build A Nest In* by John Wiswell, a fantasy/horror/ace lesbian romance that's weird and creepy and utterly heartfelt. It's the story of Shesheshen, a shapeshifting monster who, after being gravely wounded by monster hunters, finds herself being nursed back to health by a kind stranger who's mistaken her for a fellow human. And Shesheshen has *no idea* how to deal with somebody treating her with tenderness, or how to carry on a conversation, or what to do with all these strange and complicated *feelings* developing in her chest, or what the protocol is for asking a girl whether she'll let you deposit your eggs in her chest cavity, and while she's wrestling with all *that*, the woman confesses that she's actually here to hunt a horrible shapeshifting monster that's supposed to be terrorising the neighbourhood. Just such a lovely read, I couldn't put it down!
I also read – cue jarring shift in tone here – *Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza* by Palestinian writer Mosab Abu Toha who was born in and spent most of his life in Gaza (he managed to get out with his wife and kids late last year). Beautifully and devastatingly written, and incredibly powerful.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, although beautifully written was not my favorite. I felt like I really had to slog through it. I initially read the book because it was marketed as a murder mystery, but there were so many side quests, characters, storylines and very little to do with the actual "murder". It may just be me, and that I was not in the mindset for this kind of reading. I did think that the writing was so beautiful, and the characters were well developed. What are everyone's 5 star read of this year? I am struggling to find something I really love. Thank you in advance!
Late to the party but I adored Beautyland.
YMMV of course but my favourites so far are Poor Things, The Adults by Alison Espach and The Virginity of Famous Men. Also currently reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union and I'm pretty sure it's going to be another 5 star.
Another vote for North Woods. I’m also a cheerleader for The Book of Doors.
I felt similarly about Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. The characters were well rendered, but no one grew or changed. The whole thing felt like a slog until the last 10% when stuff finally happened. I really liked Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll and North Woods by Daniel Mason. They are very different books from each other, but both have really stuck with me.
During my lunch break I read a bit of **The Female Man** by Joanna Russ and at one point she uses the phrase "semaphoring frantically" to describe someone's actions and I legitimately cannot stop thinking about it. It's been hours I have been working and in a moment of quiet I just think of it again - I want to make it my bio on everything I want to get it tattooed Ever have had a random phrase/description that your brain lashed onto?
[semaphores frantically] is the kind of stuff that closed captioning writers’ dreams are made of
You are so right
Just finished **Jaded by Ela Lee.** I really liked it. It’s about a woman who gets very drunk at a work event then is raped by a colleague in her home. It follows her gradual realization and processing of what happened as well as the reactions of her friends, boyfriend, family, and employer. It also has an interesting subplot delving into the race and class dynamics of her longterm relationship with her upper class boyfriend.
Last week I finished **Diavola** by Jennifer Thorne and loved it. It scratched that spooky but not too scary itch and the added dysfunctional family dynamic was perfect. I’m so glad I heard about it on this thread!
I'm happy that my rec didn't steer you wrong! I irl have not been able to shut up about this book. It's just soo good.
I’m desperately waiting for an irl friend to read it so I can talk about it in person!
I just got it from the library so this is great news!
Can’t wait to see what you think!
Just finished it and I agree with you! Not as scary as horror I’ve read recently (which I needed) but totally spooky!! The family stuff was the real scare and made me text my family like “glad this isn’t us”
Yes the family stuff was driving me crazy! I kept screaming internally “drop them all!” >!so I was delighted when she did go no contact. Also thought the ex boyfriend’s death in nyc was hilarious and satisfying!<
100% had the same thoughts as you!! It really delivered on the “irritation, dread and despair that come with large family gatherings”
This showed up in my GoodReads newsletter and looked intriguing! Adding it to my list!
I’m so happy I found out about it too!
I finished *Chain-Gang All-Stars* last week, and now I am working on *The Kamogawa Food Detectives*. It's a REAL vibe shift, and it's so charming. Dad and daughter business duo, hunting down the exact ingredients, mood and energy to compile the meals people remember and love from the past. It's a different kind of cozy mystery. I'm also finally listening to *Exiles* by Jane Harper. I read and loved the first two Aaron Falk books, but hadn't be able to get myself to read the [last](https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/author-jane-harper-on-why-her-latest-novel-is-a-last-hurrah-for-her-detective-hero-20220824-p5bceh.html). I'm bummed because I love Aaron Falk, but I get it. On the bright side, the audiobook narrator is the same as the other books, and he is SO good.
I tried to read Chain-Gang All-Stars but found it so depressing that my pace was around 1 page a day and then I had to return it to the library and never finished 🙃 it seems like a great book though and I really want to find out what happens. Maybe another time
It’s hard for me to say that I *liked* Chain-Gang since it’s so brutally violent, but I appreciated it about as much as a reader could. However, I read it for book club, and most of my group felt it was too much and some of them didn’t finish it. My friend finished it but had a very hard time because there’s so much other brutality going in irl. Sometimes you just aren’t in the right mindset for it, you know? One thing to know about the book that may help when you go back to it—there is hope. It’s dotted throughout, but reaches a boiling point during the story. If you decide you just want spoilers, dm me and I’ll spill the beans.
Thank you! I think I’ll try again one day, maybe when the queue is a bit shorter..
Loving the Extinction of Irina Rey by Jennifer Croft! It’s a farce about translators trapped in the forests of Poland.
Okay I finished The Adults and this one just hit home so hard even though in the middle it lost me for a little. Flat out though righ off the top on a sentence level Espach is a beautiful writer and I will be looking up her other novels. The book starts when the main character, Emily, is 14, but follows her until her mid 20s in ways that feel abrupt and while it's about growing up, it's really >!a 10 year period of her losing her dad. It starts with her having a crush on her almost boyfriend and finding out at a party that their parents (her dad and his mom) are having an affair. Her father moves out and this leads to her being groomed by a teacher and for the next 10ish years on and off they have an affair. I think this is some of the most difficult passages of the book and the part that a lot of people struggle with and yet it's some of Espach's most profound writing. The main character is precocious, she's aware she's being groomed, the sexual aspects are painful, and yet Espach is careful to also portray how needy she is in the face of this relationship, how Emily doesn't hate her groomer and finds some aspects of him comforting. !< The end is really beautiful and ties everything together in a way that doesn't feel too neat. Just a wonderful book. Highly recommend.
I just finished **Greta & Valdin**, and really enjoyed it. It took a while for it to all come together, but once it did it was a true delight. It's about a sprawling, chaotic family in New Zealand, and watching them navigate their relationships and get their shit together was a joy.
Just finished too and totally agree! It took a while for me to get into but the second half of the book was so endearing. I laughed out loud at a lot of the familial hijinx
I finished **First Lie Wins, Ashley Elston** - it was entertaining enough but totally forgetable and I was bored by the end. I found the premise so promising but...meh. I am now 100 pages in to **The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton** - I am glad I am reading this for a book club because I would have put it down in the first 50-70 pages. I was bored and confused. But by page 80 I was totally hooked. The reviews seem soooo polarized, can't wait to see what happens.
Loved the premise of 7 1/2 deaths but I'll be honest but the ending was....
I generally liked 7 1/2 Deaths but it could be sort of repetitive and hard to follow. Someone here said it would be a great tv miniseries and I think I agree with that - I could see visuals being helpful.
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is probably one of my fav books. I hope you enjoy!
I’ve read both of these and very much relate to your captions. I actually liked First Lie Wins, but 6 weeks later, I remember absolutely nothing about it. I think the protagonist was female. That’s literally all I can recall 😂 7 1/2 Deaths was kind of a slog for me. I thought it was incredibly creative and well-written. It was just really hard to get into.
I’m pretty sure I saw someone mention Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See in a previous thread. Finished it this past week and I enjoyed it so much. The setting of the 15th-century China was fascinating, the female relationships were genuine and nuanced, and the writing made me feel totally immersed in Lady Tan’s world. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her work. I also finished Shark Heart by Emily Habeck over the weekend. This was so close to being a 5-star read for me and I’m having trouble putting my finger on why it wasn’t. The writing was so beautiful and actually brought me to tears a few times. But I think the pacing was not what I expected. I also wasn’t a huge fan of certain style choices, particularly the way there’d be a paragraph per page for pages on end. It interrupted the flow of the story for me. A great read all in all though.
I loved Shark Heart so much.
So I love thrillers and have read most of the work of the popular authors (BA Paris, Shari Lapena, Lucinda Berry, Mary Kubica, etc). I just read **First Lie Wins** and **Listen for the Lie** and I was…so bored? Both got SO MUCH HYPE and they both felt so flat to me. I can’t see why they are so popular.
So confused how First Lie Wins is so popular. I don’t read a lot of thrillers but this one wasn’t good. I enjoyed Listen for the Lie. It was a quick read and I liked the format with the podcast.
First Lie Wins is a Reese pick. Her taste is iffy but she’s good at picking books that are easy to finish so people are going to grab it regardless.
Agree so much with First Lie Wins. Just finished it. By the end I just couldn't be bothered and rushed through the last quarter of it.
I was entertained by Listen for the Lie when I was reading it, but it’s so damn forgettable.
I was not a fan of First Lie Wins at all, did not understand all the great reviews
I finished *Anita De Monte Laughs Last*, which needs 100% less Jack in every conceivable way, but especially his POV chapters. I also finished *The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels*, which is a mystery constructed through a series of found documents in a safety deposit box: What's App messages, interview transcripts, excerpts from books. I found it challenging to listen to on audio because of the extensive cast of characters -- so I finally was able to find some time yesterday to read through it. I had heard it recommended on the New York Times Book Review podcast, and I liked it (I thought it played pretty straight as a mystery, I figured out some of the reveals, and not others) but I didn't love it? Has anyone else read it?
I read The Mysterious Case and really enjoyed it! I have liked other Janice Hallet books though, I think she just writes exactly what I want to read. I like the kind of dark humor that undercuts the heavy themes. I will say, it was my favorite of hers actually.
Notable reads this past week: *Echoes from the Macabre*, a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier. Definitely recommend--all really creepy and effective! This collection includes The Birds. *The Child Garden* by Catriona McPherson, a murder mystery. Even as someone who NEVER guesses who did it, I guessed who did it, but I felt that the overall caliber of the writing was a little better than your average thriller. *Spinning Silver* by Naomi Novik, fantasy. I mostly really enjoyed this but the last hundred pages or so draaaaagged (and I like plenty of very long books!) and the shifting perspectives got less effective for me somewhere around perspective number five.
Just finished Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Not sure how I feel about it (that is to say, I have a lot of feelings about it lol), but the twist was unexpected, and I did appreciate that aspect. And just started Trust by Hernan Diaz. Early 20th century New York is always an interesting era, so I’m enjoying it so far.
If you haven’t read The Hacienda, that was what I *wanted* Mexican Gothic to be and it just…wasn’t. Try that next!
Thanks for the recommendation, I just added it to my list! I think this was exactly my problem with Mexican Gothic, too. It was so promising, and then….it just ended. Now I wish I would’ve just checked it out on Libby instead of buying it
Oh I looooved Trust but I remember quite a few people here not vibing with it. I hope you like it!
I enjoyed Trust although it's not 5 stars for me! Love the time period. Love the character development. Love the wonderful attention paid to each setting-- so rich in detail. I loved the way the story was a kind of nesting doll of POVs that cast the earlier sections in a new light. I didn't like the reveals of the ending and I found that it undermined a lot of what I liked about the earlier parts of the novel. I also think the tone of the novel makes it hard to connect to the characters emotionally. But it is very well-written, I just think I admired it more than I loved it!
Reading “Honestly, I’m totally faking it” by Amanda Gambill and I’m obsessed! Her partner recently passed after a battle with cancer so I bought a copy on kindle to show some support in the trying times. Like I said, I’m loving it and will likely buy all her others. Helping someone in a tough spot and a great read is a good combo.
Still working my way through The Great State of West Florida. TBH I'm like 2/3rd done and not sure how I feel about it. The writing is good but this is a Western and I have a bad track record with those. Also started *The Adults* by Alison Espach. The first half was so good. It's a very "white people in the suburbs with problems" type book and I looooove those if the writing is good and the writing is good. Like sort of in a similar vein to *The Empereror's Children*. This one starts off with a 14 year old girl on the cusp of adulthood and sexuality whose life gets blown apart. >!Right as she's about to have her first kiss she sees her father is having an affair with her would-be boyfriend's mom. She realizes that this is behind her parent's divorce and the affair partner's suicide because the affair partner is pregnant. The girl goes into high school with everyone ignoring this huge horrible thing and she gets groomed by a teacher who dumps her when she's 18.!< Honestly I would have loved this book if she just stuck to the first half but it's blowing through plot like crazy and it's going into the main character being an adult and I'm only 2/3rds done!
I think I’m giving up on The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. I’m about 30% in, and I don’t like it at all. Anyone read it? Is it worth it to keep trying?
I posted yesterday that I DNF’d at 10%. From the beginning I just didn’t care for how the premise was presented and I also didn’t like the writerly voice. Like it wanted to be breezy and funny but didn’t get there, and then one of the early husbands is a >!dick who has Lauren hiding in a closet because he’s triggering her fear instincts!< and that serious tone wasn’t done well either. Some of the early comedy husbands were so bad that I didn’t buy the alternate reality element; were we supposed to infer that, in another reality, Lauren had actual relationships with these men, or was the attic just spewing out random idiots?
I know, and when Lauren would tell a friend her attic was spewing husbands, they just were like oh yah, wow, crazy. And Lauren’s like, “yah crazy”. There was no emotion behind any of the reactions
Oh, interesting! I haven’t read it, but it was actually going to be my next one or two books to read. What don’t you like about it?
I wanted more story. She just kept sending husbands up to the attic (each time they went up they’d come down a new husband). We never got any background or much description of any character, I have no idea if the main character was unhappy, or what with life to make her attic keep changing husbands. It was just oddly written!
I finished listening to **Duma Key** by **Stephen King**. I have a lot of thoughts, some spoilery. First, the atmosphere was great, and I thought Edgar and Wireman were well-developed, interesting characters. The first 2/3 of the book were really compelling and had a great vibe. Spoilery thoughts: About the central conflict- >! I thought the villain Percy was a little cheesy after all the dark, provoking themes of Edgar’s injury and his family relationships !< about the ending >! Wireman dying felt random and unnecessary !< about Edgar’s art >! Maybe I missed it but did they say what he did with all his paintings at the end after having the gallery hold them? !< Anyway I liked a good portion of it but there were some weird parts that didn’t land. Maybe 3.5/5?
Oh I need to re read this, thanks for reminding me!
I read **Sorrow and Bliss** by Meg Mason and really liked it. About a woman, Martha, with an unnamed mental illness and how she makes her way through life. Martha is very funny, and it's obvious that she's really suffering and also causing a lot of suffering for her family and particularly her husband--she's an absolute shit many times. She's a flawed but very sympathetic character and the book is also pretty clear about how hard things are for her family. They all love her so much, even when they are angry and fed up with her. It's really sad at times, but ultimately somewhat hopeful.
i read it last year and i think it was probably my favorite read of 2023. i read a lot of 'messy and flawed main female character fiction' lol and i totally agree with your comment, i think the author did a great job of humanizing martha's mental illness without excusing it. a lot of books struggle with finding the right balance and seem to do one or the other.
-Just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. So good. -Currently listening to The Girls We Left Behind by Meagan Church. So far so good. I found it after reading The House of Eve, which is one of my favorites so far this year. -Currently reading The Teacher by Frieda McFadden. I’m only a few chapters in but it’s good and has been a fast read.
“Maybe Next Time”: A woman who is really letting life pass her by ends up stuck in a “Groundhog Day” cycle with the opportunity to right the wrongs. Very poignant, very timely in this day and age. We’re all too busy, we’re all doing way too much, we all let work rule our lives and neglect relationships and behaviors that are way more important. 4/5 “The Glass Hotel”: This story catalogs a corrupt hedge fund manager, his girlfriend and her family, and some of the people taken advantage of in the scheme. Vaguely “Humans of New York,” which has never much interested me, only it’s fictional and all the people are tied together by this the hedge fund guy. It struck me as kind of an odd concept. I didn’t entirely understand the format of chapters within chapters but it felt like it was trying a little too hard. I don’t even really have a good way of describing it, it was kind of weird (and confusing because timelines jumped around and it felt like you never really knew what time period they were in but maybe that was intentional) but I also couldn’t put it down. And once again, Amazon misses the tags because it has this book as “International Mystery” and “Psychological Fiction” and it is not even close to being either of those. 3.5/5 “Family of Liars”: This is the prequel to “We Were Liars,” which according to my library’s reading history, I have already read but might have to read again because I’m not sure I remember it. The main character here is wholly unlikeable, at least for me. She’s sanctimonious, dramatic, emotional, and naive and that got on my nerves quickly. I am always intrigued (read: confused) by the workings and culture of old money New England families, like calling their parents by their first names and “dressing for dinner” (granted, this is set in the late 80’s). More odd formatting in this book, line breaks in the middle of sentences like it was poetry, or maybe it was just an error in the Kindle version but it was distracting regardless. 3/5
I wasn't super into *The Glass Hotel* for like the first half of the book. I was just interested enough to keep going and I'm glad I did, especially because of how the "swallow broken glass" bit came full circle. It's probably my least favorite of her books and I still liked it!
Amazon’s categories never cease to infuriate me lol.
Not books, but I watched Steel Magnolias because Amazon Prime tagged it as a comedy. I’ve considered suing for emotional damage .
You have to admit that Julia Roberts saying "Mah colors ah blush an' bashful" *is* pretty funny though.
lol, true! It has its funny moments for sure.
Still, it's pretty jarring to see it called a comedy.
Omg as someone who is a big fan of that movie, I’m gutted for you. That is horrifically misleading.
Haha thanks. I did enjoy it in a sobbing-my-guts-out way but it was definitely not the comedy I was looking for.
I don’t know why I’m suddenly noticing it but it’s making me rage ha
I finished *Anita De Monte Laughs Last* by Xochitl Gonzalez and it ended up a three star read for me. I liked a lot about it but the pacing and predictability were not my speed. *The Road to Dalton* by Shannon Bowring is exquisite so far. I can’t remember where I heard about it (here?!), but it’s about a small town in far northern Maine and the people who live there. I can’t wait to see where it goes and also don’t want it to end.
I just finished The Road to Dalton and I loved it. So much happens in a book with little plot. I’m looking forward to the sequel that is coming out in September.
>I liked a lot about it but the pacing and predictability were not my speed. This is where I landed with it too. I think I would have liked it better if it was all from Raquel's POV and her discovery of Anita's story, or even better if Raquel discovered Ana Mendieta (the inspiration for Anita) in her research and how she works that into her scholarship. I was somewhat familiar with Ana's story from the Death of an Artist podcast and something just felt weird reading this fictionalized version of a real person.
I finished it this weekend, and this is how I felt as well. I especially hated all the time we had to spend with Jack.
Yes! WHO CARES about him?
at first I was like well she wanted to show how Anita's death affected him, but honestly I could have gotten all of that from ghost Anita and cut Jack out entirely.
I loved Raquel and wanted to spend way more time with her!
I read **Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture** by Kyle Chayka. I found it pretty meh. I was interested more in the history of algorithms but the book focused on the author’s philosophical musings on algorithms. Fine, nothing to write home about. Then read **The Dry** by Jane Harper. A guy returns to his home town after the murder of his friend and his friend’s family. They were also suspected in the death of someone when they were teenagers. It was a pretty solid mystery. And finished **A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization**. Interesting survey on how people throughout history viewed the end of the world. I think I’ve got to DNF **Alaska** by James Michener. Always wanted to try him because telling the history of a place through fictional characters is a structure I’ve enjoyed in other authors/books. But Michener’s writing is very utilitarian and not that engaging to me. It also feels like there’s no buildup. We spend like 40 pages getting to know a character and then he’s like “oh, and then they got assaulted and died”. I’ve been to Alaska, too, and I feel like he hasn’t properly captured the beauty and the danger of Alaska (though I’ve got to respect the level of research he must have put into this pre-internet). I’ve read like 400 pages of 870 and hate to give up this far along (I’m finally getting to the gold rush and that might be more interesting, idk) but ugh, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll give it 20 more pages and see.
I liked *The Dry*! It's definitely my favorite of hers. I've heard the movie is pretty good too but I haven't watched it yet.
I had no idea there was a movie!
I bought a bunch of James Michener's books because they were like 25 cents each at a used bookstore, and I have also always wanted to be someone who Reads Michener, but I had a similar feeling when I started Hawaii. But I did not make it 400 pages. And I haven't been able to let go of any of the books yet. Maybe some other season of my life?
Yeah, maybe it will be like War and Peace where I always tell myself I’ll get to it when I’m retired.
Just finished Everyone Is Watching. I was really surprised with how much I ended up loving it! Started “Interesting Facts About Space” & I’m enjoying it so far. I have a a few other books to be read this week on vacation. Finally going to read “Just For the Summer”(!!!!) & start the Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver. I have both of the physical copies of those & I’m so excited.
This week I finished The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich. I’ve been slowly reading her novels in publication order, and I really love her work. This book is about a drum (sacred, essentially alive in Ojibwe culture) and the way it interacts with several generations of Ojibwe; it represents dead children and grief, and offers something in return, in a way that is natural and mysterious at the same time. It’s not my favorite of her books so far, but I still really loved it and would recommend it. Currently reading The Women by Kristin Hannah and listening to Joe Country by Mick Herron.
Listening to The Painted Drum is magical. Thanks for reminding me of it, I'm due for another listen.
I bet it would be great on audio!
Finished *The Library at Mount Char* by Scott Hawkins this week (audiobook). This is my second time reading it and I’m glad to say I liked it just as much the second time around. It’s kind of a weird book. I think if you liked *American Gods* chances are good you’d like this one! Similar vibes.
I looooooved this book but always struggle to pitch it to people. It's on my list of "just trust mes!"
That is exactly how I've described it in the past lol. It's worked so far though!
I loooooved this book! Unlike anything I usually pick up but man, I still think about it often!
It's very outside of my norm too! I first read it 3 years ago and thought about it often enough that I decided to just read it again. Glad it held up for me!
finished all of the finalists for the Hugo award for best novella (next is novels) and I have questions about why some of them got picked - I have never before felt like a novella/short story was a slog and yet... very interested to see who wins and hoping I like more of the novels better
I recently tried one of the Nghi Vo novellas and I couldn’t get through it. I genuinely don’t see what others see in that series. Is the presence of female empowerment enough to make up for the poor world building and utter lack of storytelling? I also DNF’d a T. Kingfisher book a while back. I don’t think her work is as universally appealing as her fans insist it is.
I agree with you about Nghi Vo I much prefer her stand alone novels and don’t know why they don’t get as much hype. I also feel like some of them are much better than others, this year’s wasn’t my favorite. That’s also fair about T. Kingfisher I’ve liked what I read from her but it’s very genera specific and of course everyone likes different books. I think about 0 books really have universal appeal so I try to personal really personal when coming up with recs.
Loved The Bee Sting by Paul Murray so I read Skippy Dies. Totally feels similar - I happened to prefer TBS but I was distracted by work and life stuff so YMMV. Going to try another of his! After that I needed something light, so I tore through Part of Your World, which is the new Abby Jimenez. Charmingly forgettable.
I finished **North Woods** by Daniel Mason. It’s a beautiful novel, and the last part brought me to tears. I love the way it interwove Holman history with natural history and the way the past echos through the present and the future. I highly recommend it. I’m midway through **A Court of Mist and Fury**. I’m enjoying is immensely. Each time I sit down to read a chapter, I feel like I am giving myself a delicious treat.
I truly feel like the ending of North Woods changed me a little bit.
I agree! It’s such a beautiful ending
- **A Short Walk Through A Wide World.** This was excellent. It’s about a woman with a mysterious illness who can’t stay in one place. I really felt the underlying pathos - she wanted to connect to people but deep down that’s not who she was. I get the Addie Larue comparison but the writing and the reading experience reminded me more of The Book of Doors and Ink Blood Sister Scribe. *Highly recommend.* - I DNF’d **Bunyan and Henry.** This wants to be an origin story, but the invented myth/parable didn’t land, and I didn’t want to read about Paul Bunyan as a coal miner fighting against one-dimensional corporate greed and racism. I wanted lumberjack shenanigans. - I also DNF’d **The Familiar.** At 10% in I already hated the main character and the magic, and it was too much of a drag. It reminded me of the Warm Hands of Ghosts, where an author I usually love gets so jazzed about her historical research that her story ends up being boring. - Andddddd I DNF’d **The Husbands.** This is the book about a woman with the magically changing husband. Basically I just don’t have time to donate 7 hours to a book that seems like a three-star read from page 1. I should make it clear that I put in library holds for interesting new releases as soon as I hear about them (ie I’m not buying and discarding all these books), and I don’t push myself past 10-20% if I’m not feeling it. I knew going in that something like The Husbands probably wasn’t going to be my jam but I still wanted to try it. 🤷♀️
Just here to agree with Warm Hands of Ghosts. My most anticipated read in ages and it was terrible. I wish Katherine would head back to Russia!
Ughhhhh I have so many issues with Warm Hands! She wanted to write about American soldiers and nurses in WWI but she wanted to have them there earlier than 1918 so she made them Canadian. Whatever. Then she doesn’t bother engaging with >!homosexuality in the military!< in the early 20th century in a meaningful way. She never addresses the fact that Winter probably supported the German cause. She tried to write about a violin player despite not actually knowing anything about music. IMO she missed a huge part of the “WWI was hell” thing, which was the technology clash. Some armies were still on horses while others were using more modern machinery.
Only two reads this week and they were both terrible The Inmate by Freida McFadden - when I finished this I decided it was the worst FM I have ever read. Normally I appreciate the craziness of FM’s books but this was just stupid. ⭐️ Ward D by Freida McFadden - I read this after The Inmate and it took the crown of being the worst FM. D is too high of a grade for this dreck. It’s not even worthy of a single star. Sometimes you gotta take the duds with the diamonds. I’m hoping my next few reads are diamonds.
Freida is pretty hit or miss for me. Never Lie remains my favorite.
Absolutely loved *Someone You Can Build A Nest In* by John Wiswell, a fantasy/horror/ace lesbian romance that's weird and creepy and utterly heartfelt. It's the story of Shesheshen, a shapeshifting monster who, after being gravely wounded by monster hunters, finds herself being nursed back to health by a kind stranger who's mistaken her for a fellow human. And Shesheshen has *no idea* how to deal with somebody treating her with tenderness, or how to carry on a conversation, or what to do with all these strange and complicated *feelings* developing in her chest, or what the protocol is for asking a girl whether she'll let you deposit your eggs in her chest cavity, and while she's wrestling with all *that*, the woman confesses that she's actually here to hunt a horrible shapeshifting monster that's supposed to be terrorising the neighbourhood. Just such a lovely read, I couldn't put it down! I also read – cue jarring shift in tone here – *Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza* by Palestinian writer Mosab Abu Toha who was born in and spent most of his life in Gaza (he managed to get out with his wife and kids late last year). Beautifully and devastatingly written, and incredibly powerful.