Strange Houses by Uketsu
Strange Houses was the first book I read this year, back in January, and it has taken me entirely too long to just sit down and jot down my thoughts about it. Part of it is because I was very disappointed with how promising the premise was and how it fully deflated by the time I got to the end, so much so that now six months later, I’m honestly struggling to remember how it ended. The other reason why it took so long is […]
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
The first thing I noticed about Intermezzo is there are no quotation marks. So the reader is just plunged into an almost stream-of-consciousness-like trance that could work as either inner dialogue or actual dialogue. It was so bewildering to me in the beginning that I had to reread the first few pages to understand what was happening. After about 10 pages in, my brain got used to it, accepted it, and embraced that stylistic choice — allowing me to tumble headlong into the minds of […]
Tough Guy by Rachel Reid
Common Goal by Rachel Reid
Role Model by Rachel Reid
The Long Game by Rachel Reid
Heated Rivalry (the TV show) has become an absolute obsession for me. Between the fourth and fifth episode, I finished Game Changer and Heated Rivalry because I wanted to know what’s up. And then I realized The Long Game was book six in the series… and because I’m a completionist, I couldn’t just jump to that. I had to — had to! — read the entire series in order. If only I was that dedicated to other aspects of my life, perhaps I’d be able […]
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
It took me a while to finish reading “Black Cake”, not because it wasn’t good, but because my life feels — as always — like it’s in flux. I feel like I’m always playing catch-up, always trying to check the to-do boxes on my list, always trying to wait until I’m calm enough to sit down with a book. Here’s a (not well-kept) secret: I’m not sure I know what calm means. My mind is always running. But Black Cake is extremely readable. The chapters […]
Game Changer by Rachel Reid
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
I watched the first four episodes of “Heated Rivalry” on HBO and got so invested in Scott Hunter and Kip’s arc that I downloaded Game Changer. Call me a walking cliche, fine — or am I someone who just really want to see folks end up with a happy ending? And did I zoom through Game Changer like a closeted hockey star zoned in on hitting the fuck? Sorry, I mean the puck! And did I say, “Hey you know, what’s going on with Shane […]
The Persistence of Memory by Urvashi Butalia
In my search to learn more about the partition of India after it gained independence from the British, Urvashi Butalia was a writer recommended by a Pakistani journalist friend who had done some reporting on this issue. Ten minutes of Google and I was able to find The Persistence of Memory, which ended up being a quick and satisfying read. Butalia follows Bir Bahadur Singh as he travels to Pakistan in his 70s, eager to return to his home village Thoa Khalsa for a visit […]
