Current Book Favorites

08 May 2018

Short Stories/Poetry

All The Names They Used For God- Anjali Sachdeva
I usually hate short stories because first off, I think they either pack way too much story into 20 pages, or tend to be super boring with abrupt endings. I know, Hemingway is rolling over in his grave, but I just prefer novels. However, this is probably one of the very few collections of short stories that I approve of. Every story is unique and concise and thoughtfully written. There aren't any stories thrown in to be page fillers and each one is creative and could stand alone.


Depression & Other Magic Tricks- Sabrina Benaim
I first heard about this author through her spoken word. For those who aren't into poetry or spoken word, there's this pretty renown organization called Button Poetry. They produce spoken word videos and put them on various platforms, including Youtube. One of my favorite poets on their channel is Sabrina Benaim so when I saw she came out with a poetry collection, I wanted to give it a read. Think Milk & Honey but way better. I love her poems, they remind me of my own writing style... if I was super talented and put my minor in poetry to any actual use.
I plucked a daisy in Kentucky. It told me that you loved me, so I left your love there. There in the dancing around, dancing through, dancing on the spot, where I buried my expectations and the wanting of it all. You know, the truth hurts less when it's not parading around in front of us. I only doused myself in gasoline when you handed me that match because I was tired of being a metaphor. I mean, why is it always about burning? 


Oldie but Goodie
Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
I am ashamed of myself for not reading this book until my 26th year of life. How have I waited this long?! I'll blame my school system for this one because I feel like I definitely should have read it in 10th grade or something. Ray Bradbury's futuristic world where firefighters start fires instead of putting them out is reminiscent of Orwell's 1984 and had me intrigued from the first sentence. 
It was a pleasure to burn. It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. 
I mean, dang, what a way to start off a story! This is a short book, only 119 pages, so I really don't want to discuss it much for fear of giving something away, but seriously just read it. If the awards, the acclaim, and my fabulous recommendation don't persuade you, read it because HBO is releasing it as a movie starring Michael B. Jordan next month. Yes, Black Panther's enemy will be playing the protagonist Guy Montag, I cannot wait.

Suspense/Mystery 
  
The Woman in the Window- A.J. Finn
I was on the waitlist at the library for this book for 3 months so to say I had high expectations would be an understatement. The story centers around a woman scared of going outside her home (she has PTSD from an event the reader doesn't know the source of). The woman watches the neighbors from her window and witnesses what she believes to be a murder occur in their home. However, she is unreliable, a drunk, mixing various psychotics, basically The Girl on Train x 10 in terms of narrator credibility. It intrigued me but I wasn't entirely sold since the story seemed like something that had been done before. But then, it did what I love in a good mystery and completely blindsided me, not once, but twice. I read a lot, so for me not to intuit something coming, says a lot about the author's excellent writing style.

Hidden Bodies- Caroline Kepnes
I included Caroline's first novel, You, in my 2017 book favorites and the follow up sequel is no different. I just love this author's writing style, it's so easy and quick to read, I finish her books in maximum 2 days. There's murder, suspense, love, a criminal trial, basically all my favorite Criminal Minds episodes rolled into one. Start by reading You, and if you like it, definitely follow up with Hidden Bodies. 

All The Ugly and Wonderful Things- Bryn Greenwood
Ok so this book is weird and slightly disturbing and pretty dark. It's very Lolita and I'm just going to throw it out there that it's about a relationship between a 25 year old man and a 13 year old girl....yeah it's gross. BUT it's written so beautifully and is set in a Midwestern methlab and trailer park so compared to everything else going on around the two main characters, their feelings for one another seems like the least illegal thing happening. The two characters are emotionally "in love" but not physically loving one another so that also makes you feel slightly better when you realize that out of all the other awful characters in the book, these two are your favorites. In the brutal surroundings and environment, their affection towards one another emerges as the only delicate thing and something you find yourself as the reader hoping doesn't break. I painted a weird picture of this book but there's also murder, police, foster homes, and motorcycles involved so the book isn't completely about an illegal relationship, I promise.
Feeling dead was better than when my head hurt. Sometimes I thought it might burn through my ribs while I was asleep, and smolder in the sheets until the whole house caught fire.
Historical Fiction

America's First Daughter- Stephanie Dray
Oh how I love me some historical fiction. I was reading this while getting my hair cut and couldn't help daydreaming about wanting to go back to this time period and marry a dashing General who served in the American Revolution. We would live in the rolling hills of the blue ridge mountains and have southern drawls and as my husband wrote important letters in his study I would play harpsichord as the children played by the fire. Then I remembered I definitely would have died 5 years ago from childbirth at the ripe old age of 22 or would've passed from one of the many cases of strep throat I seem to catch every winter...so yeah, I guess the present time period and its antibiotics are cool. Daydreaming aside, these two authors are fantastic. They are widely acclaimed for being historically accurate (they write other historical fictions novels together) and jammed this book full of so many historical facts and nuances that it should be a boring history book but instead flows like a beautiful narrative from Thomas Jefferson's daughter's diary. I am a Virginian so of course I loved that the book focused on Virginia and on her greatest residents but genuinely I think even guys would like this book if they're into history. It's not romanticized, and instead gives a raw and real account of the hardship and eventual poverty that followed the Jefferson family. If you're a Virginian, read it to learn your history, if you're an American, read it to see how far we've grown as a nation (shockingly, it actually is better in America now), and if you're anyone else, read it simply because it's a beautifully written and intelligent piece of literature.

1 comment

  1. Great round up! I need to add America's First Daughter to my list, will be great for beach days this summer <3
    Green Fashionista

    ReplyDelete