Bi-Weekly Reading Wrap-up (February edition pt. 1)
Hi hello friends, how are you all doing? I am back, this time with a bi-weekly reading update. So, in the first half of February I read 4 books.
What am I planning on reading in the second half of February? I couldn't tell you. I find myself involved with 7 books at the same time and I genuinely have no idea how I got here. My subconscious mind trying to tell me something here? If so, please be louder because I cannot understand.
Anyways, back to the point at hand. The 4 books I have read so far this month:
1. Chéri by Colette
Colette was a French author and actress writing in the early 20th century. How did I come across Colette? Well she wrote this amazing quote: "You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm". So obviously, I had to read a novel by her.
The story starts off with this older woman Léa having a relationship with this younger man, Frank, but everyone calls him Chéri. Léa and Chéri have been secretly dating/not really for 6 years, but now Chéri is getting married to another, 'more suitable' girl who is young. After this, Léa and Chéri kind of individually discover that they had much stronger feelings for each other than either realized before.
This book started off great. Léa is a great character, Colette's writing is beautiful, and the storyline and dialogue between Chéri and Léa really drew me in. And then, Chéri gets married. And then, he becomes the literal worst. And then, the book became not great.
*Spoilers*
Chéri is so annoying. He is so mean to his wife because he misses Léa and then just leaves her at home and goes away to spend 3 months in debauchery with his friends. What a privilege to be a young man, whose mother just forgives him for yeeting himself away for 3 months with no contact doing all such debauchery, shirking all responsibilities, because "He's just trying to find himself". All this happens, right?
Then the man comes back to Léa, because he finally wants to tell her that he misses her and wants to be with her. So they spend one night together and Léa tells him she loves him and that she's ready to be with him. THEN, this man realizes that he actually doesn't love Léa and doesn't actually want to live with her. He basically just wants her to stay where she is so that he can stop by every once in a while. THEN he just leaves. He's just like bye, I'm going back to my wife now. The entire story was just this man pining over a woman he couldn't have after he got married, but then once he had her, he dropped her cause the chase is over. What an idiot. His wife should leave him.
*End of Spoilers*
2. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
So Chéri was a bust, but Red at the Bone was spectacular. If you know me, you know I love a good multi-generational family drama. This book was just that.
It's hard to explain what this book is about because there is a storyline for each family member. Melody is our pseudo main protagonist, since the book begins with all her relatives attending her coming of age ceremony. Each member of her family flashes back and talks about their life and how those moments influenced where they are now and how they are connected to Melody.
The book is relatively short and very readable. The chapters are short and the writing is sparse, yet very much impactful. A lot of people have described the writing like poetry, which I would agree with. It has a lyrical flow to it, which definitely enhances the reading experience. There was one part that made me super emotional, and since I have set that as a requirement for any book to get 5 stars from me, this book gets 5 stars. HIGHLY recommend.
3. The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Oh this book. First up I'm going to say, I didn't give this 5 stars, yet I would still recommend this author and this book.
The story follows three young people, Nadia, Luke and Aubrey, living in this seaside town in California. When they are in high school, Nadia and Luke start a relationship and then Nadia gets pregnant. Nadia hides this from everybody (except Luke), including her best friend Aubrey. The story follows Nadia, Luke and Aubrey as they become adults and explores how Nadia's pregnancy cover-up has implications in their adult life.
So the storyline really appealed to me. I was really invested in knowing what happened to the characters and I finished this book very quickly because of it. However, I felt the ending fell super flat. There was all this build up and drama and then pfth, nothing. I just wanted more! Regardless, it was a really engaging story and I would recommend you read it. Then maybe we can chat about that ending .
4. Lakewood by Megan Giddings
Now this was tension-building. I will say, I went into this thinking it would be a thriller. It's not.
This book follows a young woman named Lena, who suffers financially after her grandmother dies of cancer. In a moment of desperation to support her ailing mother, Lena decides to take up an opportunity to be a research subject for a study done by the U.S. Government in Lakewood, Michigan. When she reaches there, things seem to be not what they are and Lena finds herself among some questionable activity.
First of all, this book is wack. It is not a thriller, but WOW is the tension so real. The conversations about ethical research and exploitation of research participants and the discussions of race and class and everything else were just ON point. Lena as a character was great, however sometimes I just wanted to scream at her to run. I don't want to give too much away because I think it worth giving a try, even if you are not necessarily into suspense.
Some Sidenotes:
So, many people have expressed an interest in group themed reading, which YES. The themes I set for myself for February were:
1. Reading books by African American authors (since it is Black History Month)
2. Reading some love stories (because, Valentines Day)
If you're interested in a theme, go ahead and join in. If you're not, thats alright too.
The themes I'm tentatively setting for March (in case you want to plan ahead or something) are:
1. Reading books written by women (since it is Women's History Month)
2. Reading mystery/thriller novels (since March and Mystery both have M's - my creativity levels are through the roof)
