Weekend Reads: True Story

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If you are looking for a good book to curl up with this weekend, but you aren’t sure what to pick, Beth and I are here to help! This week we are bringing you suggestions of memoirs. Inspirational, moving, funny, heartbreaking, these are stories exploring the lived experiences of others.

Believe Me by Eddie Izzard

Eddie Izzard is a personal favorite comedian, and I know Beth also really enjoys her work. This 2017 memoir is a touching and honest exploration of Izzard’s life in which she discusses openly topics like loss, coming out, and how hard it can be to figure out your identity when you really don’t have the words for it.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Wild by Cheryl Strayed was an Oprah book club pick that became a 2014 movie starring Reese Witherspoon, so maybe you’ve already picked it up. But it you haven’t, this is a really moving story that deals with loss, the struggle to bear enormous grief, and how to come back to yourself in the end. I really enjoyed this when I read it, so much so that I assigned it to Beth as a Pop Culture Homework assignment. We both enjoyed this book, and if you’re looking for something moving, or even something to remind you that eventually all the snow will melt and the cold weather will pass, and you’ll be able to get outside again, we recommend this.

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

The second memoir by a comedian on this list! Outrageous! Hannah Gadsby is an Australian comedian who became an huge international success following the Netflix debut of her comedy show Nanette. Part of what got people buzzing about the show was its discussion of queer trauma and the use of humor to cope with bad things that have happened to us. Incredibly funny, but also incredibly heartbreaking, it made a lot of people feel very seen. This memoir, which discusses Gadsby’s life from her childhood up through her writing and performing the show Nanette is also incredibly funny and incredibly heartbreaking at times. So, if in these trying times, you think you might want to have a good cry but you also want to feel moved, uplifted, and maybe even a little bit seen, This might be the book for you.

Alright, assorted cryptids and fellow weirdos, go forth and enjoy your weekend! Sound off in the comments about what books you’re excited to pick up this weekend!

Review: How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr (Read by Luis Moreno)

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This is a history book written for a general audience and it is about the United States and its territories. It explores why we have expanded, when we have expanded, how we’ve viewed territories, and the consequences of the views for both the people in the territories and the people at home.

I learned a lot reading this. I was aware that the U.S. still holds territories and that it has held more and different territories in the past, but hearing about how different territories have been treated and its connection to things like race and immigration rules was eye-opening. Thinking about things like citizenship has consequences for things like voting in national elections, so even if we don’t currently hold the all the territories we’ve historical held, this part of our history is still important because it does still impact us today. (If you’ll recall from the previous Presidential election where some of our citizenry were surprised to find that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but they can only vote in the presidential election if they live on the mainland.)

So, this was good and I would recommend it. I also recommend getting it as an audiobook. Luis Moreno’s narration is engaging and it carried me through places where dates and details may have stopped me if I had been reading if off a page.

Weekend Reads: An Enemy is not so bad

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Hello! And welcome back to our new seires in which we suggest things you may want to pick up this weekend, if you’re looking for your next read! This week’s theme is Enermies!

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

The first in a series, Carry On the Fan Fiction that the Cath is writing in Fangirl. The tale is sort of Enemies to Lovers fan fiction for a novel series that is a little Harry Potter-esque. These books are fun!

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

Sydney is a covert operative and Winter is the biggest pop star in the world. After being invited to play at a birthday party for the daughter of a man the CIA has their eyes on. Sydney must play the role of Winter’s bodyguard in order to infiltrate and get the evidence she needs to take the bad guy down. Of course, Sydney and Winter don’t like each other. But can they work together to survive?

The Queer Principles of Kitt Webb by Cat Sebastian

Kit is a retried highwayman just trying to live his life. Percy is the son of a Duke who is up to some shit. Can Percy convince Kit to help him pull off a marvelous heist? Or will Percy just get both of them into a world of trouble and hurt? I loved this book and it’s follow up so much! There’s enemies-to-lovers vibes, there’s some spice, there are excellent supporting characters. It’s all so good.

Review: This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron (Read by Jordan Cobb)

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This was so good! While This Poison Heart, book 1 in the series, was a bit of a mystery, this one is more of an adventure. Leaving where the first book left off, they are on a race against time to restore all the pieces of the deadly Absyrtus Heart in order for Briseis to save her Mom. In order to do this, Briseis must rely on blood relatives she didn’t know she had.

These books weave myth in with the modern I absolutely loved them. Briseis is a smart and thoughtful hero and I cheered for her the entire way. I absolutely recommend these! They were so good!

Weekend Reads: Red, White, and Blue

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This is a day late because a cold has sidelined me, but it is a long weekend here in the US because Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is a federal holiday.

Monday is also Inauguration for the U.S. President. So, with that in mind, here are some “American themed” (very broadly speaking) suggestions for your next read.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is the story of Ifemelu, a Nigerian woman living in the US. The narrative moves between the past and the present and is interspersed with blog posts Ifemelu has written about life as a Non-American African in the U.S. This had me hooked immediately. The characters were real and vivid and it gave me so much to think about.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Beth and I both loved this book, a first in the series. It is an alternate history set immediately after the Civil War…but with zombies. It is written from the perspective of a Black woman who has to navigate both the terror of a zombie-filled world and the racism of the time period. Bonus, the audio book is read by one of my favorite narrators, Bahni Turpin.

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

Since he’s about to be our new vice president, you can take a whack at J.D. Vance’s memoir. The audiobook is read by the author and it is a well-written tale about his life growing up in Appalachia. Drug addiction, incarceration, lack of resources, broken families, grit, and perseverance all make an appearance. Honestly, I was lukewarm about the memoir when I read it first in 2018 and I’m still pretty meh about it now. But maybe you’ll like it better!

Ms. Marvel No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

Kamala Khan is such a wonderful character. I enjoy her so much. She is your typical American teenager, wanting to fit in but also stand out, wanting to make her parents happy but also follow her dreams. When she finds she has super powers, she does the only thing she can think to do, and that is help people. If you don’t know Kamala Khan, I highly recommend you give her comics a try.

Review: Heir by Sabaa Tahir

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I will admit that I didn’t realize that this was a companion series to Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series. I wasn’t made about it. I enjoyed that series. I also didn’t realize it was a duology. I guess I should be grateful it is only two books. Heir takes place twenty years after the end of the previous series. It is told from the perspective of three people. Quil, the Heir to the Martial throne and nephew to the Empress. Aiz, an orphan with some anger issues from a Keger and Sirsha, an outcast hired to track down a killer.

A Few Spoilers for both series ahead.

Laia, Elias and Helene from the An Ember in the Ashes series all appear but as minor roles. This story is about their children or nephews. Quil is the son of former Emperor Marcus and Livia Aquillius and he doesn’t want to be Emperor for fear he will become like his father. Laia and Elias’ son Sufiyan is one of Quil’s closest friends. In a neighboring country, Keger attacks the Martials and Quil must escape to find Tas, his friend and spy to fight back. On the way, he meets Sirsha, a tracker who has been hired to find a killer who is plaguing the Empire. Their objectives align. Aiz is an orphan from Keger, a small country in the south with little connection to the rest of the world but obviously will collide with the other two. I do appreciate an angsty hero and a witty protagonist. Quil and Sirsha are such a great couple. Good Chemistry. About halfway through the book, it is revealed that one of the POVs is not happening in the same timeline as the other two but in an earlier time frame. As soon as I realized that, I knew exactly where the story was going. I wasn’t completely right but I did figure out who the murderer was based on the reveal and clues about this character that I have already learned. I didn’t mind it because the writing made the journey to get to that destination fun. I wanted to know how they turned. My one critique would be that I thought It was a little too long. It kind of dragged on a bit for me but left enough of a cliffhanger that I am looking forward to the next one.

What I’m Reading Now for our TBR Project Book Club: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

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As you know we started a book club on Fable called the TBR project. Our first monthly theme is new beginnings. I am interrupting it has starting a new series. This book has been on my TBR list for years now. No better time to read it then now.

If you haven’t already, join us. Let’s attack our TBR piles. One month at a time.

Quick Review: The Ice Queen by Nele Neuhaus

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This one was a bit of a wild ride. So, our detective friends are called to a crime scene where a man, a longstanding pillar of the community and a Jewish Holocaust survivor, is found executed in his own home. Pia Kirchoff and Oliver von Bodenstein find out during the autopsy that the murder victim was not what he appeared. For one, he may not have been Jewish. They are left to ravel this mystery as more murders pile up.

What I liked about this one was that not only was the main narrative full of twists, but there were a number of interesting subplots that wove themselves around the main narrative. I was interested in the bigger picture question but also the interpersonal matters that arose in the narrative. However, the one thing that is stuck in my craw a bit is that these books don’t appear to be in their original order. This is listed as book 2 on audible and Snow White Must Die is listed as book 1. The narratives are mostly self-contained, but some of the character development and relationships are out of order. It was an annoyance, but overall it didn’t too badly impact my enjoyment of the story.

If you like detective stories and you are interested in tales about (fictional) international scandals, this was pretty good.