Show Us Your Books – The October Edition
Hello, friends! I haven’t participated in a Show Us Your Books day in ages, but this is the 7th anniversary of the link-up so it seemed like the perfect time to catch up! Since it’s been so long, these aren’t all recent reads, we’re covering a good chunk of the year! Better late than never, though?
Amazon links are affiliate links because I just spent $15 on organic catnip so those 4 cents I get when you buy something will help me feel better. And buy more stuff to spoil my cats.
This popped up as available on my library home page and I felt like I’d heard good things so I grabbed it and wound up really liking it. I’ve always wanted to have a better understanding of mythology but have never been able to get all of the stories straight, and it turns out that having them in this kind of narrative helps a lot. It did drag a bit around the middle for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. I’ve also heard good things about The Song of Achilles by the same author, so I might pick that up soon.
Wish You Were Here
I find old cemeteries totally fascinating so I couldn’t resist requesting this on Netgalley. The author visits cemeteries around the world, and there’s a lot of interesting historical info blended with her personal experiences. Some are fascinating, some are a little dull. I’d say pick it up if the topic is something you’re super into, but if you’re not a big fan of cemeteries it’s probably not going to be an engrossing read for you.
The way our brain processes our senses is totally fascinating to me, so I had to request this when I saw it on Netgalley. It tells the story of a young man who lost his sight quite young and later had it restored surgically, and of a woman who lost her hearing as a child and had it restored as an adult. I think it’s easy to hear about that kind of thing and just think, “Oh, they can see/hear now!” but it turns out it’s way more complicated than that. For example, the boy who regained his vision had to learn how to navigate things we don’t even notice, like the way hallways appear to narrow in the distance and distinguishing between what’s an actual obstacle on the path in front of you and what’s just a shadow that you can walk over normally. I liked that the author actually has some experience in the matter – she had vision that made everything appear flat until undergoing surgery that allowed her to see “in stereo”, so she understands what it’s like to adjust to seeing the world in a whole new way.
This is a weird one for me to review because I didn’t like the writing style (felt like it was trying too hard to be quirky) and I didn’t like the main character, but I still enjoyed it. I read it over a month ago and not much about the story has stuck with me, which isn’t exactly what you want to hear in a book review, but it’s still an enjoyable read if you just want to relax with something fun.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Oof, be prepared going into this one. Chanel’s description of her interrogation after waking up in a hospital after being assaulted by Brock Turner, the examinations she had to go through afterwards, the strangeness of having no idea what happened to her… it’s a lot. She fantastically describes her whole journey, from trying to get back to a normal life to the way having to take breaks for the court case made that hard, to how strange it is to finally lay eyes on the person she knew did this to her. Not an easy read by any means, but certainly a worthwhile one. Be sure to also check out her artwork.
I checked out this ebook immediately after finishing Know My Name because I figured it would be the opposite – something I didn’t have to think about too much. I went into it expecting to do a lot of eye rolling, which definitely happened, but it actually wound up being a lot heavier than I expected. Like, expect addiction and abuse within the first couple of chapters. Still, as a person who was a teen in the 90s, it’s interesting to read about how little influence she had over the direction of her career, how she was marketed, etc.
Broken (In The Best Possible Way)
I’ve been familiar with Jenny (aka The Bloggess) since WAY back in the day… I think we were in the 20-Something Bloggers group together? As with any book of essays, some are laugh-out-loud funny, some are poignant, some aren’t particularly memorable. I enjoyed the mix of off-the-wall stories and more serious ones, like her experience getting a magnetic brain stimulation treatment for depression. Reading a few of her blog posts should give you a good idea of if you’ll enjoy the book or not, since it’s basically the same writing style.
Eleanor & Park
I listened to this as an audiobook and started out totally not into it but wound up liking it quite well. It’s told in chapters where the narrator alternates between the two main characters, and it’s basically a story of two teenage misfits finding each other. Looking at reviews, it seems like this tends to be a love it or hate it type of book (there’s a LOT of commentary of how the racial issues of the time period it’s set in are handled), but I find myself in the middle as a “That was entertaining to listen to for a couple of days.” – maybe because I had it playing entirely for “company” while I was house sitting for a friend and didn’t put real thought into it? (I don’t think I would have made it more than a few chapters if I’d picked it up as a regular book.) I’d be curious to hear what you guys thought.
Be sure to visit Life According to Steph and Jana Says to check out what everyone else has been reading lately and to enter the SUYB anniversary giveaway!