These are the books I read in April 2021 with a rating reflecting my opinion on them. I am leaving books not available in English out for your convenience. At the bottom, I will be sharing some recommendations that fall under the category fiction, non-fiction, or non-fiction political. These recommendations are books I have not read myself, so proceed with caution as I cannot speak to their actual quality.
Read
The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
Read this one for VC book club and man, was it a struggle. While this book is strongly fashioned after classic philosophy books featuring dialogues between philosophers and ordinary people, this dialogue was decidedly more grating. Beyond the youth’s lacking counter arguments and the philosopher’s rather condescending manner, what really bothered me was a lot of the actual content. While I appreciated several points, I had issues with the argumentation, from the black and white maxim-esque structure that oversimplifies and reduces issues, not accounting for the variety of situations and people, to the exclusion or ignorance of contrary arguments and facts regarding mental health, neuroscience, and sociology, and the narrow, even privileged view of humanity and the world in general. Simply put, I do not understand how any self-help book, especially a philosophical one, can propose universal truths or anything like them.
Percy Jackson: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan
A fun little collection of short stories, games, and tidbits about the Percy Jackson series. The puzzles were legitimately hard and the stories suspenseful. Nothing too difficult to digest, but definitely a nice in-between read!
Love, Creekwood by Becky Albertalli
What can I say, I’m a sucker for email/texting stories. They are fun! This little book continues the story started in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat. Sure, this isn’t the deepest story telling, just some starting college and trying to figure out relationships and friendships in the new situation. Still, it’s quick and joyful read with a big cast and multiple queer characters!
Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
This is yet another cute, beautifully illustrated story by Alice Oseman. Focused on the relationship between Nick and Charlie as Nick prepares to go to university, I just love how casual and contemporary this story is. This is not the most plot heavy book, more a feeling or a moment captured, very much slice-of-life. Definitely a romantic and quick read!
Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo by Rick Riordan
A short story about a golden singer that needs to be caught by Percy and Grover in New York City. It’s funny and definitely a quick read, but there isn’t much to it plot-wise.
Jane and Julio by Alice Oseman
Julio is spending the summer at his parent’s house in Spain, reading books. Jane is on the run and ends up in the same town as Julio even though she doesn’t speak Spanish. Cue the summer romance! For such a short story it’s remarkably good at creating an atmosphere that really makes you want to wander. The characters are simple and the exposition a bit overly direct, but man. The emotions! Very sweet and charming read! Available to read for free here: https://www.aliceoseman.com/jane-and-julio
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Man, what a start! I really liked the three narrator build of this book, a nice shift from the single narrator in the Percy Jackson series. There are all the great parts from those books – grand prophecies, epic battles, friendships, love, and mystery – now with an even larger world and more characters. I highly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the rest of this series!
Case Closed Vol. 2 by Gosho Aoyama
The ghost house was pretty cool, the rest sorta meh. I like it much more to have Conan solve cases with kids instead of adults. The art style is cool, yet a bit overdramatized.
Case Closed Vol. 3 by Gosho Aoyama
The cases were pretty dull and the exposition contrived, best part was the chibi parts of the art style.
Case Closed Vol. 4 by Gosho Aoyama
The first and second cases were pretty bland, but the third was really fun and had some good tension.
Case Closed Vol. 5 by Gosho Aoyama
A bit overdramatic and the pacing was off a few times as well, but definitely a lot of tension here.
Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman
Gosh, this is just too adorable. This graphic novel focuses on Nick and Charlie, known from the fore- and background of several of Alice Oseman’s books. This is how they became friends and started to fall in love. The art is gorgeous, the characters lively, and the story sweet as hell. Just a delightful read and a great way to start with Oseman’s work.
Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg
I actually consumed about 3/4s of this book as an audiobook read by the author, and finished the last bit with my physical copy. Following the mayor’s life was interesting as I expected, with many anecdotes familiar to me already from the 2020 election cycle. Written in a sometimes too detailed, but generally atmospheric style, I really appreciated the experiences and musings described in this book. One really gets a vivid image of the city of South Bend as well as an enthralling, sometimes funny, sometimes endearing, view of one man’s life. Especially Chapter 17, in which the mayor recounts his relationship to his husband, did bring a tear to my eye. Those who followed Pete Buttigieg in the 2020 Democratic Primary are sure to enjoy this book, but even those who are unfamiliar with him may appreciate this look at small town life, local governance, and millennial coming of age.
Why She Wrote by Lauren Burke, Hannah K. Chapman & Kaley Bales
This is an educational and accessible blend of a graphic novel and a biographical book focused on female writers mostly of the 18th and 19th century. With beautiful art, an enthralling structure, and filled with many facts and figures, this book is an excellent introduction to these writers. While some chapters were choppy and disjointed, I still appreciated the love and care put into this work!
We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
I have mixed feelings about this book. Part sci-fi story complete with aliens and doomsday scenarios, part grief and mental health, part family drama, part romance, there is a lot within these pages. The thoughtfulness throughout this novel was quite enthralling and I definitely appreciated the different angles presented. However, I was also intensely frustrated by the cynical tone, the repetitiveness, and the often flat characters. While in real life things like grief, depression, parental abandonment, violence, and trauma are often impactful for long periods of times, reading again and again and again about them in this book just wore me down. The bullying, abuse, and outright assault Henry endured were also hard to stomach, as were the scenes were he sympathized with his abuser. In the end, I don’t know how to really feel about this book.
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
This was just amazing! Percy returning as a narrator, learning more about the Romans, Frank and Hazel being delightful new characters, lots of travel and action, the cameos of known characters? *Chef’s Kiss*
Goldfisch Volume 1 by Nana Yaa
Cute art style and some interesting ideas, but the often crowded panels, trite world building, and so far only average plot definitely weight this down. Also having the manga in classic black and white massively takes away from the gold transformations.
The Language We Were Never Taught To Speak by Grace Lau
This was a delightful collection of poems! With themes of immigration, queerness, Chinese heritage, and life as a twenty-something, I found a lot of the poems very impactful and stunning. While at times a bit all over the place, I very much enjoyed the journey the author took me on.
Goldfisch Volume 2 by Nana Yaa
Surprisingly I liked this one much more than the first part! More solid world building, better character relationships, and overall better vibes. Some things were very unrealistic and overdramatic again, but I actually want to finish out this series now!
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
There is something very unnerving about this short story about a party and “The Red Death”. I like the atmosphere produced by the choice of words. Still, not a lot happens and the ending is somewhat underwhelming.
It by Stephen King
Man oh man, this was certainly an experience. An intertwined narrative of two times, a group of seven, an otherworldly horror, and an intricate world between it all! Besides some incredible character moments, good story payoff, and some genuinely terrifying spooks, this is also a mildy outdated, at times uncomfortable, and definitely intense read. The build up is slow (it takes about 300 pages to get all the adult Losers back to Derry), but somehow it’s worth it. Definitely an unforgettable book!
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
This story really sucked me in. It was mythical, thoughtful, and really sad. I got so annoyed at pretty much every secondary character, but I can also understand a lot of them. The focus on adversity in childhood, grief, and complicated family dynamics is really well done. Not the most complex story ever told, but a good one nonetheless.
Lucinda’s Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black
The elves and Aunt Lucy are so cool! I love the further unraveling of the mystery in this part as well as the adventurous atmosphere.
The Ironwood Tree by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black
Things are getting more serious! I loved the metal creatures and the underground world a lot, excited for the fifth book.
Passenger 23 by Sebastian Fitzek
Set almost entirely on a cruise ship, this thriller centered around missing and reappearing persons is another compelling work by Sebastian Fitzek. I loved the characters, their connections, the simple yet evocative setting, and of course the plot twists. The tension was high and I didn’t see a lot of the twists coming at all! The only thing that bothered me was the last few chapters that went a bit too extreme in terms of twisting a story that was reasonably closed already. Still, a great read if you are in for a wild ride and don’t mind a few imperfections and the ending.
Note: I listened to most of this book (75%) as an audio drama (Audible Original) and it was incredible! Really amazing sound design and voice acting, just bravo! Another incredible German production after having listened to Das Kind as well.
Startup by Doree Shafrir
This twisty story set around startups and social media definitely surprised me. The entangled storylines, the fallacies of humans, and the writing style especially were great! It takes a lot of skill to write characters who make bad decisions or are even unsympathetic and still make you want to read more. Some elements were a little uncomfortable to me, such as the sexual content and the “he or she” usage. Still, a compelling and topical read!
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde, adapted by TIm Kelly
Nothing that special about this story, especially in this edition. A ghost whose soul needs to be laid to rest, a castle setting, and very simple prose.
Recommendations
Fiction
All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis
“Author of THE ORPHANS OF RACE POINT Patry Francis’s ALL THE CHILDREN ARE HOME, about a family of foster children who learn from their complicated matriarch to find courage and the resiliency to save themselves and each other.”
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
“In a poor, remote section of Southern Mexico, the paramilitary group, The Red Shirts have taken control. God has been outlawed, and the priests have been systematically hunted down and killed. Now, the last priest is on the run. Too human for heroism, too humble for martyrdom, the nameless little worldly “whiskey priest” is nevertheless impelled toward his squalid Calvary as much by his own compassion for humanity as by the efforts of his pursuers.”
Political
The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans–And How We Can Fix It by Dorothy A. Brown
“Dorothy A. Brown became a tax lawyer to get away from race. As a young black girl growing up in the South Bronx, she’d seen how racism limited the lives of her family and neighbors. Her law school classes offered a refreshing contrast: Tax law was about numbers, and the only color that mattered was green. But when Brown sat down to prepare tax returns for her parents, she found something strange: James and Dottie Brown, a plumber and a nurse, seemed to be paying an unusually high percentage of their income in taxes. When Brown became a law professor, she set out to understand why.”
The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American by Andrew L. Seidel
“In today’s contentious political climate, understanding religion’s role in American government is more important than ever. Christian nationalists assert that our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and advocate an agenda based on this popular historical claim. But is this belief true? The Founding Myth answers the question once and for all.”
Nonfiction
How to Come Alive Again : A guide to killing your monsters by Beth McColl
“It doesn’t matter that you’ve lived in shadows, that you’ve slept through years of your life, that you’ve done things you’re ashamed to admit even to yourself. It doesn’t matter that you’re an anxious, depressed, spaghetti-brained mess with a shouty monster brain that keeps you from conforming to society’s definition of normal. Beth McColl has been there – sometimes she still is there – but in this book she shares what’s worked for her and what hasn’t, what’s gotten her into trouble and then back out of it again, and what she wishes she’d known from the start.”
A Little Book of Language by David Crystal
“With a language disappearing every two weeks and neologisms springing up almost daily, an understanding of the origins and currency of language has never seemed more relevant. In this charming volume, a narrative history written explicitly for a young audience, expert linguist David Crystal proves why the story of language deserves retelling.”
The Congressional Report 