My Week in Books 1/20/20 | More

Well the big snow predictions here turned out to be almost nothing. We had enough of a dusting on Tuesday morning to have a 2-hour late start, but that was it for the week. So far, my summer is still in tact. I know much of the rest of the country is buried in wild winter weather and feel for you. Hang in there! Whether in snow or sunshine I hope you’re able to enjoy a long weekend as we remember Martin Luther King today. I also hope this extra day gives you a little time to do more of what matters most to you, including reading.

Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Last Week’s Read

• I’d never read Sarah Pinborough prior to picking up Dead to Her, and to be honest I don’t think I’ll have any desire to ever read her again. I thought this book was awful, a train wreck. I only kept going because I was in such disbelief that it was a book written in 2020 by a woman. Every single character in the book (especially the women) was a caricature of some outdated “type.” I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this one. I might just make it a mini-review, or I might open up a discussion post when more people have read it. What do you think I should do?

Book I Could NOT Finish

• So many people love Jenny Offill, so even though I didn’t care for Dept. of Speculation I decided to give her another try with her new book, Weather. I gave it a good shot reading 40%, but just couldn’t do anymore. She’s one of those writers who writes in short vignettes that jump around all over the place and are only loosely connected. It requires a lot of work for the reader and just isn’t for me.

Currently Reading

• I’m currently listening to When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald and really enjoying it. For the first couple of hours I wasn’t quite sure, but the further I get into this book the more I like it. I have about four hours left and am looking forward to seeing how this story of a young woman with fetal alcohol syndrome winds up.
• The Cactus League by debut author Emily Nemens is really working for me and I’m a little surprised about that. It’s really more of a series of connected short stories all related in some way to people in the large world of preseason baseball in and around Scottsdale. I don’t usually like connected short stories, but I’m in the third of nine (like baseball innings) and have really liked all so far. Each has been a great mini-character study.

Likely to Read Next

• Like many others, I didn’t get an advanced copy of the much talked about novel releasing on Tuesday, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. Back in November and December the conversation around it was nothing but wonderful, leading me to do something I rarely do – order a print copy. Since then there has been some controversy surfacing around the book which has made me glad I’ve not read it sooner. I’m still very excited to read this one, but will also go into it with a more discerning eye. Should be interesting!

I hope you have a great week in books!