4 Books I’ve Read Recently
Clockwise: My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Daisy Jones & The Six, Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, The Vanishing Half book covers
Every year, I set a Goodreads goal with an open mind and faithful optimism around said goal, despite the fact that I didn’t hit the very same goal last year. Without a commute and minutes spent on various trains, subways and connections, I’ve been determined to set time aside to read. Reading makes me a better writer and better person - so why don’t I set aside that time to improve myself and my worldview?
Here are four books I’ve read recently to try and keep me honest with the process.
1) Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: An interesting look at the fictional band "Daisy Jones & The Six" told in the spoken interview style that's popular in many rock and roll biographies. Reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, the will-they-won't-they story of Billy and Daisy helps drive the tension and makes for great songs.
You want to root for the characters but at they rooting for themselves? Taylor Jenkins Reid offers a lot of depth and layers to the band members, each driven by different vices and goals. Doesn't shy away from the darker side of the era and bands in the 70s and leans into the dynamics between the characters.
Quote that made me go woah, I should listen to ‘Silver Spring’ by Fleetwood Mac
“I wish someone had told me that love isn’t torture. Because I thought love was this thing that was supposed to tear you in two and leave you heartbroken and make your heart race in the worst way. I thought love was bombs and tears and blood. I did not know that it was supposed to make you lighter, not heavier. I didn’t know it was supposed to take only the kind of work that makes you softer. I thought love was war. I didn’t know it was supposed to… I didn’t know it was supposed to be peace.”
2) The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: A beautifully written, interwoven family story that jumps generations and carries the reader through it like a river running. Two twin girls living the same life until one day they run away from their small town to take on the world together until a series of decisions tear them apart. It’s an interesting look at race, family dynamics, privilege, and how the stories we carry with us become who we are, and who we are haunted by. This story will stay with me for a while.
Quote that made me put the book down to let it wash over my skin
“Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.”
3) My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: The devil works hard but the power of friendship works harder.
Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since an unfortunate incident in the 5th grade involving a roller rink and a party scheduled at the same time. They do everything together, gossip, go to the movies, and scream-sing to 80s ballads in the car together. That is, until an incident in the woods before heading into 10th grade. Once Gretchen starts to act weird, Abby realizes that it's up to her, and only her, to save her friend from something more sinister than zits or else....
A campy, bubblegum piece of slow build fiction, My Best Friend's Exorcism is an interesting take on horror, the 1980s and the true power of friendship, and what it means to love someone, despite their demons.
Quote that made me want to laugh when I wasn’t hiding in my covers
“By the power of Phil Collins, I rebuke you!” she said. “By the power of Phil Collins, who knows that you coming back to me is against all odds, in his name I command you to leave this servant of Genesis alone.”
4) Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: This was my first time reading Pablo Neruda and it didn’t disappoint. These poems are so evocative and thought-provoking, dripping in brilliant imagery and leaving the body hallow. The collection includes both the original Spanish and the translated English and feels like a quick read at first but demands attention, re-reading lines until they settled into the skin.
Quote that made me stare out the bus window
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Write, for example, "The night is starry
and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance."
In Progress: (To hopefully be finished before I start new books)
Devotions by Mary Oliver
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Up Next:
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller