Diverse reading promt January (handwriting on the cover) : Songs on endless repeat by Anthony Veasna So

What makes Anthony Veasna So’s essays so special to me is his unique viewpoint as a gay cambodian-american man. (He pokes fun at there being few known cambodians in one of the stories saying he has no other famous cambodian to look up to, other than Angelina Jolie’s adopted son Maddox. (He’s overlooking Francois Chau here, but I’ll let that slide.)) His humor disarms and coaxes us in.

He loses me in his “hot take” about crazy rich asians where he starts deconstructing and hating everything about it before ending with it accepting that the movie does the bare minimum for asians. From there it’s downhill for me, with negatively loaded commentary on Queer eye, and other reality shows. Rants that might work in conversation, but in a one way forum, are overbearing. But again, these commentaries are collected from old clippings, so they might not be right for this time, even if they were right for that time.

This collection of essays and other outtakes are published posthumously.. Based on his own commentary, I’m not sure he would have wanted this collection published, he might have viewed it as exploitative and without reason. ⭐⭐⭐

Diverse reading promt January (handwriting on the cover) : Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

A young mixed race vampire’s hunger is the center of this quiet little book, but I can’t help but wonder if the hunger is a metaphor for something else – belonging? Or maybe it’s just another added layer, because it all works together so seamlessly.

Lydia was turned shortly after she was born, perhaps to save her life, she learns, since she refused to eat. Her mother is now in a home, with what may or may not have been diagnosed as Alzheimer’s, but can vampires even get Alzheimer’s?

What struck me the most was Lydia’s extremely lonely existence (which can just as easily be due to her vampirism as the fact that she’s mixed race). The first person narrative is perfect as it highlights the Lydia against the world perspective and really lets us into her thoughts and emotions. The parts she describes about being mixed race and bringing her heritage into the narrative is flawless and beautiful.

If I’m going to go with the “belonging” theory I believe the only way to truly belong and feel satiated is to be yourself and be free.
This is a quiet book, but in the end it’s oh so satisfying! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Diverse reading promt January (handwriting on the cover) : The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

This is the type of book I really want to let in, but the door creaks so badly when I try to open it.
The book is narrated by two different women – Jasmine and Rebecca. Jasmine is a fresh off the boat Chinese woman on the search for her baby girl, while Rebecca is a wealthy career woman with the perfect husband and an adopted daughter from China. Described as an exploration of identity, belonging, motherhood and family, it feels like this should be right up my alley but I struggled.
The first thing I started noticing was the overuse of adjectives. Everything is overly descriptive; his rickety bicycle on the dusty narrow road, his bony back against the tan skin on my arm and the iridescent stone glimmering in the sunlight. It’s a little too much, but it was mostly noticeable in Jasmine’s chapters.
The author has really managed to create two very different voices here in Jasmine and Rebecca, the only problem for me is that I find Jasmine’s chapters absolutely tedious to read and Rebeccas are so much better!
There’s a whole lot of telling here and not much showing, which makes it an emotionless read. It’s just not effective when the character tells you “I feel like an outsider because my parents left me on the road when I was little!” And the mystery thriller genre does this book no favors. As a mystery it’s pretty tame, but as a fictional drama it can be exciting. So perhaps the expectation doesn’t match what the book really is here.
I lost interest pretty quickly, so I just quickly finished just to finish. The story is good, but the writing doesn’t back it up. ⭐⭐⭐

Reese’s book club: First lie wins by Ashley Elston

The book starts in medias res as the narrator lets us know that Evie is in fact lying about everything. Her name isn’t even Evie!
Just as she’s about to move in with her boyfriend (who has no idea who she is) a woman show up claiming to be Evie true identity.

I would say this is a wild ride, but you start wanting some answers about 150 pages in.
Instead, you’re given more questions, but the ride is not showing any signs of running out of gas.

We go back to several points in time as we get to know Evie and her personalities, but it doesn’t really give us any answers. It almost feels like watching a spy do spy things and never getting to “why” of it all. It’s hard to build tension when the reader is not let in on any information on who/what/why. We just sort of have to trust you that there is tension building, I guess? This part didn’t quite work for me and it became slightly anti-climactic.
I felt a little short changed towards the end because I already had a few reveals pegged from the beginning and the ending was a bit too “neat” for me.

I have to ask this question: if the protagonist has nothing they live for, nothing they stand for and no ties to anything – what is at stake here? Evie, or Lucca, or whatever her name is doesn’t seem to have anything driving her except money. She gets paid really well for her services, and then? That’s it? She wants her paycheck? There’s no motivation, there’s no heart, it’s all “I have to be the best spy!” but for what reason? This part was too empty for me.
I would say the first 150 pages were solid 4-5 stars because the start was so strong and you’re pulled into this exciting world of spy games. But the further out in the story we got, the less interesting it became. ⭐⭐⭐

GMA: The storm we made by Vanessa Chan

It’s interesting to read about Malaya – now Malaysia’s experiences during the Second World War, it’s not something I was ever taught in school and I would think is not a well known history.
I only learned of the rape of Nanking last year (! Yes I’m embarrassed about that!) and seeing how those events affected the ones in this book and how it developed afterwards, in a different region is just heart shattering. The inhumanity of it all.

Unfortunately I lost interest with this book due to the shifting of perspective between 4 different people chopping the story up and losing the focus and drive.
I also didn’t fully get a grasp of the characters because the narrative was only the most horrible things happening to them. I wish they had more depth to them, that I would get to know them properly before all the suffering.
I don’t know, I can’t really speak too much on it cause I found it too hard to pick up again. Made it about 100 pages. ⭐⭐⭐

Belletrist: Holding pattern by Jenny Xie

The book starts off strong, with a relatable moment between a woman who’s partner has left her, she’s quit school and she’s feeling like she’s lost her footing – enter pushy and overbearing mom who has seen the light. It’s a very relatable experience.

What kept pulling me out of the story was the overuse of rephrasing normal things. Random sentences like: “Brian started the blender, and it engulfed the kitchen with its demonic gargling.” or “I felt nausea unfurl in my throat like a flesh-colored flower.” Paired with a thesaurus of other words sprinkled throughout.

I want to say it’s very millennial, not knowing what you want to do in your life and trying alternate questionable (lazy) careers, questioning the relationship to your parents, making a pet rat an influencer on instagram and not really taking full responsibility for your own actions.
And holding pattern is a perfect title, because nothing really happens in this book, it’s just a slice of life where you’re spinning a bit around yourself. ⭐⭐⭐

The lost man by Jane Harper

In this stand alone book, Jane Harper has me inhaling the Australian outback dust on the first page! This is her forté, painting an ambience that pulls you into it and sets the mood for the story to unfold.

This is the story of three brothers, their families and a farm far away from any city or cell service. A story that we’ll unpeel after one of the brothers are found dead. 

Harper’s books are a ride and the characters grow on you. Some you’ll love and some you’ll hate, but they’re all complex in their own way. Their relationships to each other are tense and the killer can be anyone of them, even the victim himself. 

If you figure it out early, you’re quicker than me, I was shook at the very end when it was revealed to me, but at the same time it wasn’t a twist. It was brilliant plotting! It takes some real talent to set that up.

I want to compare it to the movie Mystic River by Clint Eastwood. Character development, human stories, flawed people and a death in the center of it. 

Jane Harper has become one of my favorite authors in this genre. I can’t wait to keep reading her books!

Tender is the flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Originally titled “Cadáver exquisito”, Tender is the flesh is an argentinian book translated to english by Sarah Moses.
This little book of your worst nightmare is absolutely horrifying and beastly.
While it is mind-blowing and stomach-churning in it’s descriptions of human slaughter, the world that the author has built seems incomplete.
Questions can be asked without any answers in sight, the author doesn’t even attempt to answer them. Questions like: is being vegetarian/vegan/pescetarian/fruitarian not an option?
How were humans divided into edible or not? Who got to decide that?
How did the scavengers come about?

I thought the author was going to flip the script (being as the author is from Argentina and the protagonist is an Argentinian man). I though maaaaybe the meat is the “white meat” sort of play, or the rich, or something! But there was nothing, no answer or even a hint.
All it leaves us with is a brutal description of slaughter with humans substituting what in our world is chicken, pic, cow, ox etc. Is that really it? Is that all the author is trying to say? What if it were humans we treated this way, and not just animals?
But then again, maybe that’s enough. Maybe it should be enough to make us think about just that. The humanity or inhumanity of slaughter. The excuses we make.
I’m not gonna lie, certain passages had me thinking about going vegetarian.

It’s a hard book to recommend because it’s so brutal and grotesque. But if you can stomach it and if you want to read something different and thought provoking, then definitely go for it. Thankfully, it’s a short read, so you’re not stuck in that nightmare for too long. But it will stay with you long after, I’m afraid.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

I cannot believe I missed this book when it first came out in 2018! I only discovered it now after reading a review of “Rabbit Hole” and it was compared to “Sadie» the stories both involve a girl looking for her sisters killer.

Sadie’s sister was murdered at 13, and Sadie sets off to get her revenge and becomes a missing person. 5 months later a true crime podcaster tries to find out what happened to Sadie.
And what we get is a phenomenal juxtaposed story of a highly emotional girl searching for her sister’s killer as she dreams of killing him, while the highly objective journalist searching for her. It’s interesting to see them both reaching discoveries and talking to the same people along the way, and yet 5 months apart.

Sadie’s journey was an emotional and heart wrenching one. She has an extreme stutter that makes communicating difficult, but her determination drives her forward as we root for her and beg her to be careful at the same time.
And while she is the protagonist of the story, I truly enjoy the podcaster West McCray. He slowly grew more and more attached and writing that was so expertly done! I am at awe of this author!
I loved the format on this one and a real bonus is the audiobook with a full cast! What a treat! If you can listen to this one – do it! It is so worth it! And take an extra look at the faceless girl on the cover, she is the perfect representation of a guardian and a missing girl.
Highly recommend! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

Seven people on an island and one is shot to death, leaves you with six suspects – or does it?

“𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥? 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

This book was so all over the place with the narration being a first person telling the reader directly what happened that night as he adds commentary and pulls you out of the story. He also has a habit of telling side stories, going back in time and off course quite a bit it almost feels like filler material.

The stories that go back in time set up the murder story on the island, so that’s fine, but the stories that lead nowhere are annoying. (Imagine someone telling you a long elaborate story and then going – kidding!)
Does it make it more twisty?
I don’t know, it makes it more messy, and it definitely is a roller coaster of a story, going up and down, making sharp turns. But I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoy a real roller coaster – not so much. ⭐⭐1/2

Me talk pretty one day by David Sedaris

I literally laughed out loud, at every story, no matter where I was. What an absolute treat this was.
I have seen some people reading it latent and commenting that it is clearly dated, but to me, it felt like a time capsule – and it was wonderful. We clearly see the generation gap here, and if you can view it from that vantage point you should be able to see the humor in it.

Sedaris has that observational humor that is not afraid to self deprecate or make fun of norms that we’ve grown accustomed to that if you look at it from a different angle – becomes funny.
He also has a great way of setting up a later joke or punchline, and he does it so incredibly well, I could hardly ever see it coming.
I absolutely loved this, excuse me while I run out to get everything he’s ever written! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rabbit hole by Kate Brody

Release date: january 2

Imagine your child disappears one night never to be heard from again. The police got nothing. No suspects. No closure. I’m pretty sure I’d be diving down the rabbit hole too! That’s what Mark did, and ten years later, with no real leads, he drives his car off a bridge, leaving his daughter to pick up where he left off. Theodora or “Teddy” who had just signed a lease and was ready to move out, is sucked back in, taking care of her mom and following her dads leads to figure out what happened to her sister Angelina.
The question that hangs in the air the whole book through – is she investigating or is she just grieving?
I read a review that said this book was more of a lesson in grief than it was a twisty thriller and I approached it from there and I’m so glad I did!
The investigation really takes a backseat to everything else that’s going on, which isn’t a lot on the surface, but the writing and the details are so rich in the internal dialogue that it sucks you in. You start caring for Teddy and the people she cares for. Even though these are all deeply flawed humans, we hang on to the ones we have for dear life. Perhaps especially when we know loss.

The rabbit hole here can be so much in my opinion. Yes – Reddit and the World Wide Web is one, and doom scrolling is a real thing to get lost in. But since Mark was an addict and Teddy seems to follow in his footsteps, that psychedelic drug trip is also a rabbit hole she is drawn towards.

I found this book compulsively readable, and it kept me up way past my bedtime. Did I agree with Teddy’s choices? Absolutely not. Can I relate? Not in the slightest. But there was just something about her, perhaps it’s curiosity in what drives her when absolutely everything about her life looks and feels like shit. As she takes over the life of the father who killed himself, what keeps her going? I don’t know. I don’t even know if I liked it. But I could not stop reading it, so that says something. It’s definitely a book about grief though, with mystery as a sub-genre since we don’t know what happened to her sister. I might place this in the company of “What happened to Ruthy Ramirez” (which was one of my favorites last year). ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A professional Lola by E.P.Tuazon

Release date: May 7

I absolutely love Filipino representation in literature. Filipino culture, traditions, superstitions, mannerisms, humor and love is so different from any other cultural group. In some way, you can categorize these stories as magical realism, but if you know Filipinos, you know that magic is part of their reality. We believe in the magical, otherworldly and supernatural and it is part of our everyday lives. These stories really manage to highlight that with a great sense of humor and a lot of heart.
At the same time, these stories live in between the Filipino and the American culture somewhere, it has the foreigners eye on the curiosities and explains it with the knowledge of the natives which makes them suitable and accessible to anyone.
The stories stay so lighthearted and tender even through heavy topics. Like in the last story “Carabao”, where a young child is trying to understand his grandfather’s transitioning to a woman. And then the parallels that are drawn between his understanding of this and the Discovery rocket launch.The journey that needs to be made before it can land, just like the journey the relationship needs to take before there can be acceptance. It’s absolutely beautiful and it’s so well done.
Several stories pick up parallels like that so you get to see things from different angles and the message really comes across, but leaves us open ended still and doesn’t force anything on us. I loved spending time with professional lola, and I savored every last bite, every story. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The eyes are the best part by Monika Kim

Release date: June 25

I was instantly drawn to this deliciously grotesque book by the cover and the description of it being a female serial killer from a korean-american perspective. The book gives all that is promised and then some!
I’m not sure I should be delighted or scared that I enjoyed every part of Ji-won’s mischievous nature (minus the eye-eating, you’re on your own on that one girl). Gaslighting everyone that crosses her was such a thrilling secret to be in on. I laughed out loud and I cheered for this villainous protagonist.
The only issue I had was that her ultimate big boss to defeat – her mothers boyfriend – was a bit too perfect as the antagonist. Not only was he a republican asian fetish serial dater – he fell for her every little trick, walked right into all her traps and had absolutely no redeeming qualities. It didn’t really feel like he was a challenge, just that she was biding her time, savoring him almost.

I also saw absolutely no connection with Crying in H mart and this book, I don’t know why they are trying to market it as that. It definitely has some things in common with my sister, the serial killer though. That is a much better comparison.
I’m also not really sure that it’s adult horror, it felt more like YA horror with the protagonist being at school and having issues with grades, friend groups etc.

All in all, it was easy to read, short chapters, the writing flows well, the story moves along nicely and there’s fun filled horror around every folded corner. I loved it.⭐⭐⭐⭐