These are my February leftovers, i.e. books that I read but didn’t give a full review either cuz I didn’t have time or didn’t have much to say. There are fewer than normal this month because Black Reconstruction by W.E.B. DuBois took up most of my time.
Trouble Is What I Do ****
Another good entry in the Leonid McGill series. It’s short and that streamlines the story more than its predecessors. I still read these as if Leonid is dead and NYC is his purgatory where he is atoning for his past crimes as a fixer. The beautiful end to this one gives the reader a mere glimpse at what paradise could be.
Sleeping With Strangers ****
This was quite the globetrotting assassin read. Every time I zigged with this book, it zagged. Fun, sexy, well-paced. It comes with the standard issue misogyny and gay panic, which sucks. Aside from that, it’s great. I’ll be checking out more of Eric Jerome Dickey’s work.
The Trees ****
It’s been almost a week since I finished it and I’m still trying to figure out what to make of Percival Everett’s The Trees. It probably deserves a full review but to describe it would basically spoil it. And I just haven’t been able to wrap my mind around all that Everett is trying to accomplish with it. Most of it lands, some of it doesn’t but it’s quite the book and it has one of the best endings of any novel I’ve ever read.
One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Democracy****
A good primer on the history and present of race-based voter suppression in the United States. Won’t be much new to those who are familiar with the broad strokes but still an essential work to understand where we are and the importance of moving forward.
