A brief reading report: April through June
Featuring the return of Patrick Radden Keefe, or as I like to call him, Lisan al-Gaib
When I haven’t been spying on what other people have been watching on the train, I have been getting through a bit of my own reading.
For the past three months, I feel like a lot of my reads have been middle of the table—the almost but not quite five-stars that have nonetheless provoked some very interesting and specific streams of thought.
But for the rest of summer, I’m hoping to lean into more variety and more excellence. Sadly, I won’t be able to go home and to the beach this year, where I usually sit in the sand, freckle, and read about ten books in the row. But we have the beach at home (and by at home, I mean in a London park).
I’ve got Fever Dream as my current read for a little zest, and up next I have Taiwan Travelogue as the first read for my new London based book club (EEE!) that’s meeting towards the end of next month.
To see my first few reads of the year, see my January through March reading report. And as always, if you want to stay up to date with what I’m reading, you can follow me on Goodreads.
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe | 5 F*CKING STARS
As stated, I basically consider PRK the Americana Lisan al-Gaib. He’s just that guy.
Like with all of his works, London Falling is seizing from the onset: Zac Brettler, a well-loved kid from a normal London family, goes over the balcony of a luxury apartment and into the Thames. It is only after his body is found that his parents discovered he had been pretending to be the son of a Russian oligarch, set to inherit billions, and had fallen in with a crook and a gangster.
PRK paints a portrait of a gilded city with dirt, decay, and blood seeping through its cracks. If you have any interest in nonfiction at all, and especially if you are a Londoner past or present, I highly recommend.
One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig | 4.5 stars and 3.5 stars
Early in the spring, I needed a strong dose of magic and romantasy to soften the corporate creepies. Rachel Gillig’s unique worlds always deliver, so I was thrilled to dive into this duology as a reread.
The magic system in this one is particularly good and unique, but overall—story, romances, conflict, etc.—there are no weak points. I can’t wait for her newest book, The Knave and the Moon, to come out at summer’s end.
Heart the Lover by Lily King | 4 stars
Lily King absolutely knows how to write a gut ripper. It is difficult to write a love story that is serious and takes itself seriously, but Heart the Lover does just that. Something I love about the way Lily King writes is that she truly writes the way people think. Thoughts drift through memories and reminders and how one song will make you think of one thing, then another.
The moments in college brought me back to that time, when the thing that mattered most was each other and being brilliant. The middle and end sections were not quite as effervescent for me, but maybe that is life, but they were still warm chapters with lovely prose and feeling.
After finishing this book and having the opportunity to hear King speak in person, I wrote this essay:
Over the Water: Essays on Islands | 4 stars
I think there’s something about an island, near or far, warm or cold, that tempts every kind of imagination. After all, Odysseus took his sweet time getting home for a reason.
This was a brilliant little collection around a compelling central theme. Broken into three categories - island as escape, island as metaphor, and island home, the essays are as diverse and strong as the excellent writers they’ve asked to contribute. The writing was in turns poignant, and thought-provoking. It’s hard not to reflect on your own connections to islands, real or imagined.
The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono | 4 stars
Perfect for a short afternoon when life feels a smidge gray, as how could anyone dislike this gentle book?
Following the life of a shepherd who seeks to restore life around him by planting trees, it shows the power of goodness, how nature reveals and conceals our private lives, and how actions reverberate across the bad (world wars) and the good (rejuvenation). Plus, it’s brilliant that this non-fictional fiction inspired copy cats around the globe.
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman | 3.5 stars
One of the few murder mystery series I will continue to buy and buy and read and read. It feels like visiting with old friends—emphasis on the old.
This book (number five, which I can hardly believe) felt like a very classic installment in terms of plot, reveals, and devices. However, I think with the cast expanding, while it makes sense not everyone can show up everywhere, I still missed Bogdan, Donna and Chris as larger presences. At the same time, I love that Joanna got to shine a bit more. Overall, the mystery was not as tight or compelling as past ones by a long shot, but most of the time, I was just happy to be back in this world.
The Dry Heart by Natalia Ginzburg | 3.5 stars
Beginning this story as it does, “I shot him between the eyes,” then meandering us through the relationship that leads to that truth, is as punchy as you imagine. Very satisfying, and although I didn’t do it in a sitting, you certainly could.
As the narration takes us through the back story of this failed marriage, you cannot help but track the unravelling of this woman and her marriage with an extra careful, watchful lens. By the end, you just about understand her.
After finishing this book and while in a man-hating mood, I wrote this essay:
The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan | 3.5 stars
After starting my reread of the Kane Chronicles earlier this year, I finished it with The Serpent’s Shadow at the start of March.
While I adore the Kane Chronicles and think they’re horrifically underrated in the Riordan-verse (please, please, get these lunatic children on screen), I’ve always maintained that this series deserved five books rather than a rushed three.
Thee is nothing inherently wrong with the storytelling here, but pacing is a major issue all the way through. But perhaps I just always want more time with this lovely bunch.
The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake | 2.5 stars
This book irritated me so much. Ugh. Atlas Six was by no stretch a perfect read, but it had stakes and drama and characterization, so I wanted to give the sequel a chance. Alas. (Slight spoilers, below).
Everyone basically spent the year wasting away and being horridly predictable. At least Callum had the good sense to admit it and be funny once in a blue moon. Parisa lost her bite, Nico is very uncleverly in denial, Tristan’s very cool magic was explained in a very boring way, even with a god complex Reina doesn’t develop much, and poor Libby is stuck in the past individually trying to give this book some intrigue in her Back to the Future scenes.
There are no stakes, there is no plot, and there is no way you could convince me to read the third one. Onwards and upwards in July!
looking forward to a couple Jean Giono books I have on my shelf rn! glad you liked The Man Who Planted Trees
PRK king of nonfic