I have been absolutely devouring books so far this year. It’s bound to slow down, but it’s nice to be ahead of my Goodreads goal. Week 5 covers January 30 – February 5. As always, feedback is encouraged.
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova – I borrowed this as an actual book from the Boston Public Library. It was a book club pick. I love this author. She has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard, so she is really great at explaining the medical conditions in her novels. She’s also a local, having grown up in MA. Her bio lists her as happily divorced, which I find pretty amusing. I feel like I learn something whenever I read one of her books. This one is about an autistic boy who died and the mother that is trying to grieve and also to understand life from her little boy’s perspective. All of this takes place on Nantucket. A full summary is here. I’m giving it 5 stars.
All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister – I borrowed this as an e-book from the BPL. This is nonfiction. It looks at the fact that women are waiting longer to marry if at all and the impact it is having on American society. She looks at a wide array of subjects from across the socioeconomic spectrum. This kept making all of the feminist book lists following the women’s marches, and it has a snappy title, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s well written and well researched. I’m giving it 4 stars.
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman – I borrowed this as an audiobook from the BPL. Neil Gaiman is the narrator. If you follow this blog, you’ll already know that I will listen to anything narrated by Neil Gaiman. In this one, Odd encounters Odin, Thor, and Loki in their animal forms. Odd has to help them get back to their world and take it back from the frost giants. This is better if you know Norse Mythology pretty well, but an entirely enjoyable story all on its own. I’m giving it 4 stars.
The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson – I borrowed this as an e-book from the BPL. This is Octavian Nothing #1. This is another one that kept popping up in lists. This was a little hard to read. Basically it’s about a boy from Africa (the son of a princess) who ends up in the hands of a scientific association and they study him and do experiments. The titled pox party is an experiment to find an inoculation for small pox, basically by infecting them all and keeping them quarantined. Octavian escapes and since he is considered property a reward for his capture is offered. It’s all kind of horrible, but sadly based on events that could have plausibly occurred at that time period. I guess it shows what it’s like to have no freedom and no autonomy (those are sort of the same thing I realize, but subtly different enough to compel me to list them both). I’m giving it 3 stars.
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund – I borrowed this as an e-book from the BPL. This is the first in a series. This is a retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen (which I haven’t read so don’t expect me to compare them). This is dystopian science fiction. In this, we are shown what happens after GMOs and other technology have caused a mutation in the DNA of the majority of the population. The Luddites, who have shunned technology, are now running things. I’m not going to explain it all. Obviously there’s a love story and it’s complicated (Hello. Jane Austen.). It’s actually a really cute story and it’s highly entertaining and a quick read. I’m giving it 3 stars.
Is 5 books enough for 1 week? I think so. It’s seems to be the current average. Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.
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