I’m a bit late with this one because I wanted to finish up the book I was reading so I actually had something to report! It’s been two weeks since my last update, but I’ve only finished one book. It’s been a really stressful couple of weeks, with lots on the home front, so reading has taken a back seat. I also found that the book I was reading, while good, didn’t leave me dying to pick it up whenever I had a spare moment, so that left me watching a lot of BookTube. Here’s where I’m at:
Just shelved:
Finally finished! The Power is a book I’m going to have to let sit for a while before I’m ready to review fully. It’s a very interesting book. It plays with upending gender roles by putting power (literally) in women’s hands. The concept of reversing male and female roles is one I’ve been fascinated by since high school, when I started re-imagining popular movies exactly the same but with women in the men’s parts and vice versa. It helped me identify the arbitrariness of some aspects of gender expression and re-assess my own assumptions of what makes male or female. So I loved the base concept of this book. I also enjoyed that while it’s a sci-fi idea, it’s written in a literary fiction style, so it focuses less on the power itself and more on the far-reaching effects it has on the socio-political structure of society. I had some issues with the book that I’ll go into when I review it, but I do see why it won this year’s Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, and I’m glad I gave it a go.
Currently reading:
I’ve been dipping in and out of The Good Immigrant since it is a series of short essays and allows for gaps in reading. I’m still loving it, and hoping to finish it this week.
The Recruit is a YA book I sorted into my get rid of pile in a recent book purge. I have a section of the books that I want to try before getting rid of, and this is one I picked up to read the first chapter. It’s pure escapism, and so far reminds me a lot of Boy Nobody and Agent 21 – children and teens recruited to be spies (or assassins) to use their assumed innocence to gain access to people and places adult agents couldn’t. I feel like it’ll be one I forget quickly, but that is an easy and entertaining romp, which is what I’m in the mood for after The Power.
Up next:
I cheated a bit and read the first few pages of Exit West already, so I can pretty confidently say I’m going to enjoy getting into it. It’s also a Man Booker nominee, and I’m trying to do a better job of reading at least a few of the nominees this year! I think it will have some similarities to The Power in that it is a literary fiction novel with an element of sci-fi in it. It’s the story of a young couple who meet in an unidentified city in the middle east, where conflict is rising and beginning to affect the lives of its citizens. But the twist comes with doors that, when walked through, lead them to another country. It’s been praised by many of the reviewers I trust, is written in a style I think I’ll find easy to get into and read, and is a unique study of immigration.
I’ve been trying to get into My Brilliant Friend (and the series it kicks off) for years. I’ve started and put it down at least twice, and though I’ve heard a lot about it, I still don’t really know what it’s going to be like. I feel like it might be like The Elegance of the Hedgehog – one I just have to push through to get through. I’ve heard that it’s a little slow, but that once you’ve read this one the rest of the series picks up the pace and will be worth it.
So that’s it for my last two weeks! What about you guys? What have you been reading, and have you read any of these?
My Week On Wednesday is a weekly post in which I share with you what I’ve been reading, what I’m reading next, and any other bookish stuff I enjoyed in the past week! If you’d like to write your own My Week On Wednesday post, or if you’d just like to share your recent reads, feel free to link or chat in the comments! (Click on cover image to visit Goodreads page and learn more about the book.)
