10 Books Read in My 28th Year:
And my personal review. These are not "intellectual" reviews. These are just my personal thoughts on each read. Take it with a grain of salt.
1.) 'The Wood at Midwinter' by Susanna Clarke
6/10 stars
Super short and sweet, very poetic and it really made me reflect. My favorite line was,
"'You have visions. You can't see any difference between animals and people. . . And you're really only happy when you're in church. Or in a wood.'
'A church is a sort of wood', said Merowdis, musingly. 'A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really'".
Merowdis knows what the fuck is up with her love for all animals and the natural world from whence we all came.
2.) 'Sugar Run' by Mesha Maren
1/10 stars
Sometimes I think it would be fun to write a novel and then I think I could never get something published. When I read something like this, though, I realize anyone can publish anything.
From beginning to end, this book read like a US American 9th grader wrote it for their creative writing course. This book was written at an 8th grade reading level, and there is no doubt in my mind that part of reason for that was because our main character did not graduate from high school—but, because this book was not written from a first person POV, I can't give our narrator a pass for the sheer number of simple sentences contained in this book.
There was no plot, this was just 280 some-odd pages of a story that goes nowhere. Perhaps this was the author's goal, but there is no character growth, there's no climax, there's no resolution. Everything hinted at the readers eventually learning some awful secret memory that Jodi, our protagonist, carries with her and when we get to that memory it's recollection is lackluster and flat.
If I was their high school creative writing teacher, I'd give this a D.
3.) 'The Dead Zone' by Stephen King
9/10 stars
I know he gets a lot of flack for his descriptions of women and children, and I won't defend what he's written on his coke-fueled binges of yesteryear; but, I do genuinely think King is a great author overall.
This was a really interesting story of the maddening descent of Johnny Smith from average school teacher to prophetic martyr and I couldn't help but to pity him more and more as the book progressed. A discordant chord was struck when it came to the political subplot that was being set up, especially when John assumed Americans could never vote a convicted felon into a high-ranking political office. Well...Johnny...you'd be surprised.
The ending was not to my satisfaction, but that's reminiscent of life. I do think we need more John Smiths in our society at the moment though, instead of brainless worshippers who idolize and prop up grifters like Greg Stillson. *cough cough*
4.) 'The Water Dancer' by Ta-Nehisi Coates
10/10 stars
Wow. Ta-Nehisi is a WRITER!! This was such a beautifully written work and so heartbreaking, too.
We follow Hiram Walker, an enslaved boy in pre-Civil War Virginia in his journey of growth in not only life and manhood, but also in the preternatural gifts he possesses. This is a story about multiple people's stories and how they have experienced "the muck" that was freedom, slavery, love, and loss.
5.) 'Feeding the Ghosts' by Rahul Mehta
5/10 stars
I love a book of poems. I feel as though poetry really is a window into another's soul. Poetry is a genuine point of view from someone else's life, and it's even better when you find a poem that connects with your own soul and lived experience.
This book of poems was pretty down the middle for me. I appreciate Raul's life experiences however different from my own they are.
6.) 'You Are Having a Good Time' by Amie Barrodale
3/10 stars
I did not have a good time.
I suppose this just was not a genre that I enjoy. It's a book composed of multiple short stories that all teeter on weird/absurd. Maybe that's why I didn't like it? There's no explanation for why the characters in each story are so bizarre. It feels so unrealistic and that's probably why I wasn't a fan.
It's supposed to be funny. I didn't laugh, just got frustrated with how it was absurd for the sake of being absurd.
7.) 'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings' by Maya Angelou
10/10 stars
Maya Angelou is one of the greatest poets and authors of our time and it is so easy to see why. She pours her soul out into this memoir and shows how the tapestry of life is woven with threads of love and tragedy.
This book is written through the lens of her childhood and I appreciate that, because when you're a child learning about how to live, there are a lot of things you just don't understand and won't be able to understand until you've got some living under your own belt.
8.) 'The Berry Pickers' by Amanda Peters
10/10 stars
I am cryiiinnngggg this book is so heart-wrenchingly good! In 1962 a little girl named Ruthie goes missing and her family ends up facing what seems like a curse of bad luck, especially her brother, Joe, who was the last to see her. We follow the lives of Joe and a woman named Norma, who grew up feeling like she didn't quite fit into the world she was raised in with a neurotic mother and stoic father. The threads of their lives connect in ways they would not have imagined and the ending is a beautiful kind of pain.
9.) 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie
8/10 stars
Okay, first of all, I would like to say this is a book I rated very highly because the mystery, suspension, and drama scratches a deep part of my psyche. I finished this book in like 4 days, it was that good.
Deducted a couple of points because I thought the book was originally named after a racist song about Native Americans, and was like "What the fuck? Why is this British woman writing a book based around a racist song about indigenous North Americans?" Bro...it's so much worse. The original original was actually based on a racist song about Black Americans. A white British woman wrote a book that she based off a racist minstrel song...not surprising, I guess, but damn.
10.) 'Tender is the Flesh' by Augustina Bazterrica
1/10 stars
I don't know if it's because I'm a dirty, nasty vegan or if it's just poor writing, but I struggled to get through this. I genuinely thought it would be a good horror book to get into spooky season based on what people on Reddit have said. Disappointed, to say the least.
It felt like it was written just for shock value, but it wasn't that shocking, to be honest. Imagine a world where non-human animals die off from some mystery virus, but humans are also either immune from the virus or have just done a superb job at avoiding contracting it?? Did y'all see how many HUMANS died from COVID-19? A zoonotic disease that HUMANS were able to contract because we are ANIMALS?
So, anyway, in order to get "protein", now humans are bred and raised to be slaughtered as meat. Because you couldn't possibly get protein from any plant source. I think the worst part is, this takes place in Latin America...a place that is famously known for eating rice and BEANS as a staple dish. There was zero mention of any type of plant protein, just, "What can we do other than resort to cannibalism? What are we? Vegans? Ew."
Grow the fuck up. You have moral qualms about killing and eating humans? Then stop fucking killing and eating humans.
Maybe this is scary for non-vegans who've not ever looked into how humans commodify and exploit non-human animals for personal gain and pleasure. Oh no, what if we treated humans as badly as we treat cows and pigs and chickens? How horrible! It doesn't even touch on the TIP of the iceberg of what real-life horrors humans have managed to cook up to ultimately harm non-human animals. If you really want a gut-wrenching and horrifying book to read, read 'Animal Liberation Now' by Peter Singer. That book will having you crying and vomiting and curled up in a fetal position, and that's nonfiction.
Also, the writing was just bad. It gave 'I am 14 and this is deep' throughout the whole thing. And the ending? Dumb.
Anyway! Those are my reviews! The long-winded reviews for the poorly written books are just because I'm a haterrrr. The really good books had short reviews because I don't want to give out spoilers! I want everyone to read the highly rated books on my list!
3 More Books Read in my 28th Year:
11.) 'Slewfoot' by Brom
10/10 stars
This is it. This is the book for horror-lovers and feminists alike. Abitha is THAT bitch, BEEN that bitch, forever WILL BE that bitch.
I think this book dances on the delicate line that is what it means to be a woman and how that experience is closely tied to Mother Nature. There is the side of beauty, freedom, nourishment, and healing; and there is the side of carnality, darkness, raw rage, and violence. It's poetic.
12.) 'My Best Friend's Exorcism' by Grady Hendrix
9/10 stars
Grady Hendrix knows how to write deliciously campy horror novels. How far will teenaged girls go to save their best friend? To the end of the world and back!! Very much a grrl power book and makes me think of and cherish the types of close friendships you have with other girls as teenagers that are a whirlwind of emotions and crazy ass drama that you look back on fondly as grown adult women.
13.) 'Bear' by Julia Phillips
8/10 stars
Okay. So, this was a weird book. It was kinda slow-going and nothing SUPER interesting happened in it, but when a bear shows up on San Juan island two sisters view the bear a sign, each viewing the sign in a different light. Elena sees the bear as a good omen and is something beautiful and magical. Sam sees the bear as a bad omen.
I think I would be a healthy mixture of both Sam and Elena. To experience seeing a bear in real life is magical, it's this connection to nature and to a past life. But also, don't fucking feed wild animals!
2 pts deducted because Sam's attitude annoyed the fuck out of me, and also, the ending is very 'what the actual fuck?'.
