As per my post “Battle of the book clubs!” – I wanted to find the book club that best catered to my taste of variety, diversity and originality. I found about 8-10 book clubs I wanted to look into, and 6 january picks among them. (Pictured are all the books I read in january, but they were not all book club picks.) Now, I’m going to take my time with all the clubs (can I manage them all for an entire year? maybe…) before I start weeding them out. How many “bad” choices (and in bad I mean, not to my personal taste) before I cut them out? I don’t know, but the first month went like this:

Diverse Spines: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
โ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ, ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ค๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ.โ
Byron and Benny had just lost their mom and sheโs left them an 8 hour long video full of secrets and instructions, and a black cake in the freezer. From there itโs a rideโฆ
It has everything you would want from a novel, a bit of mystery and murder, family secrets, personal struggles, generational effects and beautiful storytelling. (It even has chapter names and not numbers! Love that!) It has a multicultural family at the center of the story, lgbtq+ characters, and nobody is simply used to push the story along. All the characters are well developed and returned to, and this shows the author has great respect for her characters.
If there was one thing I could pick at it would be the drawn out ending. Itโs a quite long book at over 400 pages. But nowhere in the first 300 pages was I bored. I devoured every sentence, and then the last 100 pages felt like they needed editing.
โโฆ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐; ๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐. ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐.โ
Specifically this story follows a family with Chinese heritage that moves from an undisclosed Caribbean island, to England under the commonwealth immigration rules of the time after the war. There are many interesting facts here and the author even gives book and movie suggestions in her afterword on the topic.
The book is also highly quotable! And it makes you think a lot! I enjoyed this immensely.
โ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐จ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐จ,โ from one multicultural to another – this was my favorite chapter, when one of the Charles gets speaks of the origins of culture and to whom what belongs. I can read that over and over and feel comforted that appropriation truly is bull and it makes life very difficult for the multicultural.
I actually started this one before I knew it was a book club pick. It was just screaming out to me for months until I caved. And I should ALWAYS follow my gut – because I absolutely LOVED IT! Five stars! โญโญโญโญโญ

Read with Jenna: Sam by Allegra Goodman
โ๐โ๐ข ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐๐๐ง.โ
โ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐๐.โ
โ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ง๐๐๐.โ
๐พ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฉ๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐จ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐. ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐ขโ๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ญ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ขโ๐จ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ก๐ค๐ฌ. โ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ง๐๐๐, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ.โ
โ๐๐๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฉ.โ
โ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ก๐๐ ๐?โ
โ๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐จ.โ
Right off the bat it seems Sam and I don’t have very much in common. haha
I was terrified when it first started because reading childrenโs perspectives for me, is a hit or a miss. I either love it or I hate it! But this one oddly enough, fell down the middle. The younger years had a fast, choppy and distracted type of writing, much like a child and it softened and got more stuctured as she aged and I though that was well done.
I also enjoyed the fact that Sam is just a regular kid, not a wiz or a wonder even though she has her hardships. She just tries to figure stuff out and it doesnโt always go in her favor. (Would it be fair to liken this to the child version of “Stoner”?)
Other than that, I got nothing.
It was okay in large parts, but I found myself zoning out and skimming parts I didnโt see going anywhere, which is never a good sign. I just couldnโt keep my interest present. Maybe itโs not the book, maybe itโs just not to my taste. Maybe this life is too mundane for me to be intrigued by anything. This was probably a 2,5 for me, but Iโm rounding up to three stars.โญโญโญ

Reese’s book club: The house in the pines by Ana Reyes
Maya is coming off Klonopin and is having withdrawals when she sees a video of a woman who falls over dead while sitting across from a man she recognizes. Her best friend was standing just across from the same man seven years earlier when she dropped dead too. She’s sure he’s behind both deaths so she starts to investigate, but it’s hard to tell what’s truth and what’s hallucination when you’re having withdrawal.
โ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ก๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐โ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ช๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ, ๐ฌ๐๐ค๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐จโ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐โ๐จ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐, ๐ฟ๐ง. ๐ฝ๐๐ง๐ง๐ฎ ๐จ๐๐๐, ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ก๐ค๐ช๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐จ๐จ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐๐จ. ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฃ๐. ๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃโ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง.โ
The typical unreliable narrator trope. I’ve read all those books already, the woman on the train, the woman in the window and now the house in the pines. If it’s going to use an old trope, it better deliver something new. And it does. Sort of. But it does it – badly? The bones of the story is good! Which is why I think it’s a Reese’s book club pick. It’s original enough, it had Guatemalan lore weaved in there, an old manuscript from her dead father, unsolved deaths and so and so on. The problem with it all is that it doesnโt use it for anything. Itโs just there.
Another issue I have is that the characters donโt feel fully developed except, kinda, for Frank – the mysterious guy. She does a deep dive on him, but everyone else are just pawns in this book. Her boyfriend is a sidenote, her supposed best friend has no backstory of her own, sheโs just used as the trigger for Maya (whom we also barely really know!). Her mom is just โBrendaโ who has changed careers and seems happier now. We only meet Brenda when itโs to be concerned about Maya. Other than that, nothing. Itโs flat. I wished I liked it more, I wish it expanded on the right things cause it could have been so good! In the end, I feel left on an anticlimax. Two stars. โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

GMA bookclub & Amarie bookclub: Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
How do I describe this book? Itโs like a negroni, sbagliato, with prosecco in it. A viral foreign mystery thatโs redundant and over the top.
โ๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช,โ ๐จ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐จ. โ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ก๐๐ ๐, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐. ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฎ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ก๐ค๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐.โ
Itโs divided into 5 parts, part 1 is by far, the superior part, thankfully! we follow Ajay as a child being sent off to work at a farm until the landowner dies and heโs left to find his own way. Which coincidentally and eventually crosses paths with the Wadia family where he becomes a faithful servant.
If not for the protagonist Ajay I donโt think I would have gotten though. He is a force! And his story is told in the most interesting way, without much understanding for whatโs going on around him. His is also the largest chunk of this book. And weโre rooting for him all the way!
Part two is much of the same story from a different perspective. The journalist Neda who is equally attracted and disgusted by the Wadia family – specifically Sunny Wadia. Parts of her story we have already seen from Ajayโs unknowing eyes, so she fills in the blanks for us. Itโs well done in one way, in another, it doesnโt really offer all that much. We already know the Wadia family is shit, she just confirms it.
Part three, four and five is a mess and itโs where the story starts to fall apart. This was a no brainer five star read for me up until that point.
It starts shifting perspectives around, jumps back and forth from paragraph to pages and looses its footing. Ajay, Neda, Sunny, his father, his uncle, some other dude, a journalist, a priest? I donโt know. I lost interest and I lost my way in it all. Whoโs talking? Whoโs who now? Whoโs on which side? Whatโs happening???
Thereโs articles, unsent letters and monologues that I felt could do with some editing. And then suddenly, it was over.
I landed on four stars because the beginning was so good! And there are characters here that will stay with me.โญโญโญโญ

Belletrist: All this could be different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
A debut contemporary novel about a queer indian woman who starts an entry-level position in Milwaukee. She comes off to me as a gen-Z with millennial angst. At first this struck me as “Shake” from love is blind. The douche nobody was rooting for with Deepti. But towards the end, it felt more like the JKR of books, or Kanye of books if you will. Always saying the wrong things. That’s the vibe it’s giving anyways, ignorant and cruel, but on purpose.
“๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ง. ๐ผ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ข๐, ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐. ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ก. ๐๐๐๐ฃ-๐ก๐๐ข๐๐๐, ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐ก๐ก ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐จ. ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐๐จ.”
Here we have a first generation immigrant from India and of course she happens to have some serious self-hatred. (I know this from my filipino community in Norway.) She’s startled by her own brown reflection as if she forgot her own brownness and she doesn’t like a woman she hasn’t even met yet because she thinks she might be “too fat”. If it was just this, I probably could have gotten through, but when she targets marginalized groups, it feels like hate speech and I’m out.
“๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐จ? ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ก๐. ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ค๐๐๐ฉ๐? ๐๐ค๐ช ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐ค๐ฃ.
๐๐๐ก๐ก, ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐๐จ๐๐ฉ, ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ , ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง. ๐๐ง ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ฉ. ๐’๐ข ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐.
– ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ฃ.
-๐๐๐๐ฉ?
๐ ๐๐๐ฉ, ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ ๐, ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ง ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐. ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ฎ. ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ผ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐, ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฎ.”
I’d rather read something uplifting and unifing, than something as politically divisive and hateful as this. More love, less hate please. Seriously, all this could be different, but it’s just one star, because I didn’t like it and I did not bother to finish. โญ

Books that matter: really good, actually by Monica Heisey
โ๐๐ฎ ๐ข๐๐ง๐ง๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ช๐๐ก. ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐. ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐จ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐. ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ. โ Or because of about a thousand other reasons that the author lists and then begins a narcissistic rant on how sheโs getting over it. (But in your 20โs youโre naturally kinda self-obsessed trying to figure life out right?)
Scenes are sometimes funny, tedious, cringy, naive and aimless.
The latter probably being its biggest flaw. It steers away from the natural fish buildup – beginning, middle and end – and it seems just like word vomit all the way through. Itโs like a setup for a sit-com, woman gets divorced, and go! Episode after episode without aim to end and with no real story.
Iโve seen several reviews mentioning that thereโs good stuff here – and there is! Itโs just floating around in the pool of everything else.
โ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ฉ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ข๐, ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ.โ
She nailed the reading experience towards the end though. But it was only an ok two stars for me. โญโญ
My favorite January book:

Diverse spines book club and their january pick, Black cake by Charmaine Wilkerson.
I could easily recommend this book to anyone! It’s a good story, with perfect pacing, solid writing that flows off the page, well developed characters and current issues as well as old ones. It ties it all perfectly together and it’s a treat to read!
I also like the fact that this book was not brand new. It came out last year, so it was easy to get a hold of. This is a bonus if you ask me.
Looking forward to seeing what the book clubs have in store for february!