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

Another decent reading week for me! I’m feeling proud of myself for finally getting to a few books that have been on my TBR since last year (or longer) and for tackling a couple that were a bit more difficult. I hit some light fiction, heavy memoir, dark fiction. And three of the four (true to form) I hadn’t set out planning to read at the beginning of the week!

 

Just Shelved

 

               

I read The Bookshop on the Shore because I’d just finished The Bookshop on the Corner and I was curious to see if it was an actual continuation of the same story. It is and it isn’t. It has the characters from the first book, and they’re connected to the characters from this one, but it’s not really about them. It was okay, but not great. Not sure if I’ll continue on with the series. I’ve been meaning to read The End of Your Life Book Club for years, and when I saw it available from my digital library, I thought I’d give it a try. It was good – it’s a memoir about Schwalbe’s mother’s cancer, and the books they read throughout her illness. The books are a way to explore what was happening and to look back over their shared history and share some of the experiences they’ve had – particularly his mom. It’s an interesting book, and definitely affecting. Razorblade Tears is kind of a thriller, but also not exactly. It’s about two fathers – one white, one Black – who are out for vengeance on the people who murdered their sons, who were married to one another. After not having accepted their sons in life, they’re trying to make up for that now that they’re dead. There are some good conversations about homophobia and racism, and some decent character development. The story itself didn’t pack that many surprises though, and it’s a lot of chasing people, then being chased, then something violent happens, pretty much on a loop. Not bad, but not mindblowing either. Crying in H Mart is one of the biggest titles in memoir from the past year. Like The End of Your Life Book Club, this is the story of a child and their mother who is dying of cancer. In Zauner’s case, instead of books, there’s more focus on culture and food. Zauner’s mother was South Korean, but married an American white man and moved to America before having Michelle. Through telling the story of her mother’s illness, Zauner explores their history, the interactions she didn’t understand at the time but now does, and the culture she felt excluded from but desperately wants to reclaim. It’s a pretty difficult book, full of a lot of pain, but it’s also a very genuine and real account of growing up, of a mother-daughter relationship, and of grief. It was the best book I read this week.

 

Currently Reading

 

          

I’m enjoying Bombs on Aunt Daisy, which is the sequel to When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit which I read last week. It’s easy to read, has a lot of interesting bits in it, and is definitely engaging and has sympathetic characters. It’s set largely in London during the Blitz, which is a piece of history my family was part of, so it’s always a historical period I feel more of a connection to. I’m reading The Appeal split between audio and digital, but I really think it’s one that would be better read in print as it’s mostly emails. It’s interesting, but I’m about a quarter of the way through and it still hasn’t really gotten into the main thrust of the story. We’ll see how it goes. I haven’t picked up The Enchanted Hour in a bit, but I’m leaving it on my currently reading and we’ll see if I get back to it.

 

Up Next

 

    .          

           

As always, I’ll likely read something completely different!

That was my week! What about you guys? Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? Are you planning to read any of them? Any I’ve intrigued you with enough to add them to your TBR? And which was the best book you read this week?

---

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.