I want to start out by saying that this was supposed to be a Reading Rush wrap up. There have been some questionable decisions made in the past and some other issues have come up, but the fact that the hosts didn’t bother reading the group read (Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, who is a Black author) and laughed about it doesn’t sit right with me. I read Such a Fun Age in January and I highly recommend it. It is so nuanced, highly readable, and I took a lot away from it.
Marines has a great review that is worth watching!
I absolutely love readathons and will be looking to participated in different ones in the future. Does anyone know of any good readathons going on in August?
Anyway, I still wanted to update you all on my reading this week because it’s not often that I read six books in a week!
My week began with a six hour car ride, so I was able to listen to the entirety of The Voting Booth on the drive. This book is so adorable, timely, and important. I plan to post a full review and share more of my thoughts in my July wrap up. Just know that I think this book should be part of the curriculum and that the audiobook was fantastic. It was a great read to start off the week!
As I listen to my audiobooks on 2X speed, I still had some time left during my drive to start another audiobook. I was so excited to finally get to Sadie, which has received so much hype over the years. Let me tell you- it deserves it! This is one of the best audiobooks that I have ever listened to. It was so captivating that I continued to listen to it that night and finished early the next morning.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I physically read World War Z. It was interesting to read this book having already watched the movie. They are so different that it is next to impossible to compare the two. I thought that the book was extremely interesting and that the way that it was told made it feel like I was reading about true events. I didn’t realize how relevant this story would actually be! I couldn’t help but to compare it to our current reality.
On the days I was reading World War Z, I was also listening to The Only Good Indians. I am not someone who reads a lot of horror, but this book has convinced me that I need to be more open to the genre. Stephen Graham Jones is a gifted writer and this story is told in an interesting and haunting way. The audiobook is excellent.
I read The Boy From the Woods for a buddy read on Instagram, and I ended up having mixed feelings about it. I became much more attached to the characters than I normally do in thrillers, but in many ways, this book didn’t feel like a thriller or a mystery. The actual mystery wasn’t nearly as compelling as the characters themselves. Also, I found the title of the book misleading, but I don’t want to say more than that!
Finally, I ended the week by reading one of my most anticipated novels of the year, and it did not disappoint! Emma Donoghue is one of my favourite authors- I really connect with her writing style. The events of the book take place over the course of three days and I found myself deeply invested. Fans of Call the Midwife will love this novel! Also, this is novel about the Spanish Flu, so once again it was interesting to compare it to our current pandemic.
So that’s it! I read some truly incredible books this week, and I also started the ebook of The Girl with the Louding Voice, but I was loving it so much that I ordered a physical copy, and I am waiting for that to get here.
I would love to know your thoughts on any of these books, and if you know of any upcoming readathons please let me know!
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Wow, Ariel and Raeleen didn’t read the group book? Ariel did a whole liveshow recently, interviewing two Black BookTubers on their respective experiences in the community, so I’m sure she or Raeleen didn’t do it on purpose. Still, I agree, it looks super bad on their part.
Yeah and it’s just ironic giving the nature of the book! There were also some questionable winners of the Instagram challenges. I don’t think that they intentional did these things, but obviously didn’t think things through and need to do better. I felt like the challenges this year were lackluster and there was such a focus on buying merch. I’m hoping they use this as an opportunity to grow!
Such a Fun Age is about a Black nanny being accused of kidnapping the white little girl she’s babysitting right? I didn’t pay too close attention to the Instagram challenges and whatnot. I meant to participate, but I wanted to keep looking for jobs. And you’re right about the challenges. They tried to get creative, but I think they were trying to get money to be able to still support the readathon financially.
You read so many! The new Emma Donoghue book looks really good.
I cannot put into words how good it was. It will most likely end up on my best ten books of the year list!
Congrats on reading all of these books! Yeah, I totally agree with you, I did not like some of the decisions made for The Reading Rush either… I will definitely add Such a Fun Age to my TBR! The Voting Booth and Sadie are both on my TBR too!
For sure! The Reading Rush had so much potential to do some good this year, but it was overall disappointing.
All three of those books are incredible!!
Ohh I’m currently listening to the audiobook of The Boys from the Woods and like you, I have so many mixed feelings. For me is more of a low suspense and I love some of the characters. I’m looking forward to see how it ends❤️ Also, this a great selection!!
Ah you have to message me when you finish it to discuss the ending!
I agree, a little weird they didn’t make more of an effort to read the group book. People deviate from their TBR all the time but they should’ve prioritized that one
Definitely! I am terrible at sticking to TBRs, but the fact that readers purchased this book and looked forward to the live chat and it didn’t happen is disappointing. Even if the couldn’t read the book for whatever reason, there were other ways to handle the live show. It could be as simple as bringing in cohosts who did read it!
The cohosts idea is a great suggestion. Strange!
Totally agree with the hosts being clueless when it comes to some of the decisions regarding the reading rush, I’m disappointed. But congrats on finishing so many books!!! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed them all (:
Hopefully they take some time to educated themselves and see where they went wrong! Thank you. I definitely read some new favourites!
Wow😱 can’t believe that you had read so many books…
Tell me your secret🥺
What a great reading week Kristin! I hope you continue to enjoy Louding Voice!
Thank you! I know that I will!
Looks like you had quite a good reading week!
(www.evelynreads.com)
I really did!
Definitely want to read The Only Good Indians! Thanks! x
It’s fantastic!!
Sadie is SO good!! And I’ll have to listen the audiobook for The Only Good Indians! Glad you had a good week💜
Oh! I also know the Trope-ical readathon is going on for the entire month of August, here’s the link if you’re interested: https://twitter.com/tropeicalreads/status/1273134285118214144?s=20
Ohhh thank you. That sounds amazing!
Thank you!
That’s really impressive. These books looks interesting. I hope your next week turns out as good as this. Happy reading.
Wow! I don’t know if I have ever read six books in a week! Your reading week turned out great – I’m so glad that you got to listen to Sadie and enjoyed it! It was the book that made me more open to fiction audiobooks. I also have the Indians book on my list – glad to see you enjoyed it
Great job. You killed it. I seriously need to listen to Sadie some time soon.
It’s so good!!