pickThis month‘s #under40bookclub pick is a story of college, privilege, obsession, religious fervor, and lies. I loved the technique and narrative style but was underwhelmed by the actual story. If you‘re going to give me a cult I want MORE of the details, not less! Still, at 210 pages I like a gut punch of a book, and this delivers. Definitely lots for a book club discussion.
pickFinished this one for #under40bookclub!
It is just as good as everyone says it is. The kind of YA story that could only be YA, and needs adults to shut up and listen.
I know this is going to be an emotionally draining read, so I think I‘ve been subconsciously putting it off. But book club is tomorrow, and Olive is here to keep an eye on me, so I‘m going in. #under40bookclub
Whoops, time for my monthly “book-club-is-tomorrow-and-I-haven‘t-started-the-book-yet” panic. Luckily this is a reread and it‘s still just as good as I remember. #under40bookclub #procrastination #reread #dogsoflitsy
pickFinished this one for #under40bookclub with an hour to spare! Maybe it‘s because I missed the hype machine when it first came out (seriously: how had I never heard of this book?), maybe it‘s because I‘ve been reading too much #kidlit and just appreciated a book with subtext, but I really enjoyed this literary look at several generations of a North Carolina black community. A somewhat flawed book made for a good discussion—lots to pick apart here.
pickI loved Greek mythology as a kid, but soured on it in my late teens when I realized all those stories of heroes sired by gods and cities sacked were, at their hearts, stories of violence against women. Miller‘s Circe acknowledges this and pushes back on it, hard. To say she overcomes the sexism that surrounds her at once over- and underplays what Miller does with the story. Suffice to say, she‘s brought me back to loving mythology. Easily 5⭐️
The clock was ticking this morning when, less than 12 hrs before #under40bookclub, I was only 45 pages into this book... & hating it.
The next 50 pages were better so I went to book club anyway & they graciously brought me up to speed. I‘m interested enough in what they said that I‘m still going to try to finish it, although I don‘t anticipate liking the main character any better...
If you‘ve read it, what did you think? Can you stand April May?
pickToday in close calls: I finished this book 15 minutes before #under40bookclub met 😂
I‘m not really interested in superheroes and villains, as a general rule, but I loved watching what Schwab did with the genre‘s conventions. None of it really surprised me, but it was fast-paced and compelling and fun to watch. I‘ll definitely check out the sequel.
pickThis book is beautiful and brutal, describing at once a very small story of a Chechen village and city hospital, and yet communicating the full extent of ongoing war in Chechnya. Marra gives us glimpses of the past and future of nearly every character we meet, folding the war into everyday life until it becomes everyday life. We‘ll have lots to discuss at #under40bookclub this week, but in the meantime I need to read the fluffiest book I can find.
#24in48 update: Started this ebook this morning for my #under40bookclub, but at 20% in I think this is a bit too heavy for me to read all at once. Which means I‘m starting a 3rd book to work on simultaneously during this readathon... 📚📚📚
