LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I’ve had probably the most prolific reading week ever this week. I managed to get through seven books in as many days, something I don’t think I can claim to having managed in the past! I have no idea why or how. But I definitely enjoyed it! There were even some new favourites in the mix.

Just shelved:

              

The Window Seat was my first book of the week, finished within 24 hours because I loved it so much. It’s a series of essays on a massive range of topics, each with a whole lot of angles included. She covers everything from travel and culture to what it feels like to be of mixed race in different parts of the world, to what it means to inhabit a female body to her father’s imprisonment for opposing the government in Sierra Leone to the foxes she met in her neighbourhood in London and the coyotes she met while living in America to her mother’s search for ancestral heritage in the northernmost reaches of Scotland. No matter the topic, she writes with an insight and narrative brilliance that makes every piece thought-provoking. This book is definitely in the running as my favourite of the year. Project Hail Mary was everything I hoped it would be. It is a fast-paced and tense plot, but also has the scientific detail and explanation I loved in The Martian and the character development I enjoy. I can’t fault it; it was a great read. Thanks to all of you who recommended it to me, particularly Lydia! I mostly read Seven Days in June because it became available from my library and I was mildly interested. I’m not a huge fan of romance, but this one wasn’t bad. It had more depth and development than some I’ve read, and I enjoyed that it was all about Black characters and experiences. Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops was short and fun. It’s exactly what it says on the tin, with hilarious and undeniably accurate results.

         

I’ve been meaning to read Men Explain Things to Me for years and never got around to it. It’s a fast read, and covers the ways in which men’s micro-aggressions and outright aggressions towards women are overlooked, justified, or simply ignored. It’ll make you mad, but is an important look at how gender relations can be very problematic (but also acknowledges how men can and should be part of addressing these issues). The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a selection of short stories that are loosely connected by some mention of religious belief, usually either as a cause of judgment and pain, or exposed to be hypocritical. I liked how varied the stories are, and how raw and real the characters felt. The Argonauts is another book I’ve meant to get to for ages and am glad I finally did. It explores identity politics and personal experiences of queerness, both through academic and personal perspectives. The narrator is a woman who is experiencing pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood and the changes these bring to her body alongside her partner’s transition from female to male. The juxtaposition of the two sets physical changes and what they mean for identity and the societal gendered gaze is fascinating.

Currently reading:

         

I’m still working on The Sum of Us and Night Witches – the former I need to go back through in paper format to mark passages, and the latter I need to find time to sit and actually read as I only have it in paper format. I adored the Aminatta Forna book I read this week, and have Happiness on my shelves and audio from the library, so I’m excited to experience a new facet of her writing in fiction.

Up next:

         

I found Leave the World Behind available from my library, and as I’ve heard so much controversy over this book and it’s not very long, I think I might give it a try. If I don’t like it, I’ll just DNF and move on, but at least I’ll know what all the fuss is about. I came across The Best Most Awful Job after reading Katherine May’s book Wintering earlier in the year. I love reading books about motherhood, particularly those that don’t try to present it as if tidied and captured behind an Instagram filter, showing only its bright, camera-worthy moments. It’s such a mix of ups and downs, mess and beauty. I love finding books that openly present that. I’ve had Black Wave on my shelves for years and never got around to it. With Audible Canada’s recent introduction of Plus, I found this available in their free selections, so I’m going to finally give it a try.

Okay, that was my week! I doubt I’ll match that for some time to come (if ever), but hopefully I’ll keep going at a somewhat more moderate pace. Did you guys finish any great books this week? Have you read any of these?

A weekly post that encourages bloggers to share what they have read in the past week, what they’re currently reading and books they’ve recently added to their TBRs. Originally started by Sheila at Book Journey, it is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.