The Death of Vivek Oji

This is the 5th book of the Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist 2021 that I’ve gotten to. I’m a third of the way through the list now! This is one I definitely was planning to read anyways, having read and been so freaking impressive by both Freshwater and Pet, so it’s nice that it overlapped…

Shuggie Bain

I spent months watching @dsweet_library hype this book up. I am not sure I’ve ever seen a reader go so hard for a novel before. It was awesome. So anyways, of course I added it to my TBR. Since then, it also won the 2020 Booker and was a National Book Award Finalist, so other,…

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them

The title of this book put it solidly on my radar as soon as I heard about it (I mean, it’s a fantastic freaking title…so much imagery just from that single phrase!). And once I read the description, the deal was sealed. I had hoped to get to it during #ReadCaribbean (as hosted by @bookofciz…

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.

Irby’s collections have been on my radar since I started getting more into short story/essay collections. Everything I’d read about them was unanimous in commentary on how funny she was and honestly, if there was ever a year/time that needed more comedic relief, it’s this one. So, as you all know by now is normal…

All My Mother’s Lovers

I’m not sure what pulled me to this book. Perhaps the title? I think the idea of someone’s mother having lots of lovers was really fascinating to me, as generally once people become a mother, they sort of lose an individual personality and start to get characterized only in their relationship to someone else, their…

All Boys Aren’t Blue

This recently released YA memoir jumped onto my TBR because everyone seemed to be reading it! It was the Libro.fm audiobook club choice for June (hosted by @absorbedinpages) and really the hype for it was real! Also, that cover is just stunning. Luckily, I was a very early request on it at the library and…

Boyfriend Material

Alright this was my second ALC from Libro.fm that I have gotten to. There were so many great choices that I wasn’t sure where to go next, but @diaryofaclosetreader had recently reviewed this one and spoke so highly of it. Plus, her blog post interview with the author was super fun. So I figured those…

You Exist Too Much

I saw this recent release in a couple book stacks on #bookstagram over the past month or two, but haven’t seen many, if any, full reviews of it. I have to be honest, the title is what really pulled me in an made me want to see what it was about. Those four words, You…

A Memory Called Empire

After reading and LOVING The Long Way to a Small, Angry Plant (and the follow-up books set in the same world, A Closed and Common Orbit and Record of a Spaceborn Few), I realized that “space opera” was a new favorite sci-fi sub-genre for me. Oh, and of course, Binti is amazing, but I still…

You Should See Me in a Crown

From the moment I’d heard about this book, I’d added it to my TBR. That title, that (adorable) cover, the short description I’d read about small town prom and a queer love story…it was all right up my alley for a light, YA read (which I generally sprinkle into my reading throughout the year for…