Date Read: May 5
Author: C.S. Lewis
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
I have always loved The Chronicles of Narnia, and so I decided to reread the series chronologically, rather than the order that they were published in. The Magician’s Nephew is one of my favorites of the series.
What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.
– The Magician’s Nephew
Date Read: May 4
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
When Nathan Price moves to the Congo in 1959, he brings his wife and four daughters with him. Over three decades, the family is broken down and reconstructed. I found it to be a remarkable novel.
There is a strange moment in time, after something horrible happens, when you know it’s true, but you haven’t told anyone yet.
– The Poisonwood Bible
Date Read: May 3
Author: Bernardine Evaristo
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3/5
The novel follows the lives and struggles of twelve characters, most of whom are black and British. While the stories were excellent, I found it hard to get past the format and writing style. It felt a lot closer to poetry than anything else.
Privilege is about context and circumstance.
– Girl, Woman, Other
Date Read: May 1
Author: Chan Ho-Kei
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4/5
When Siu-Man commits suicide, her older sister Nga-Yee knows that there’s more to the story. She recruits N, a hacker, to find out the truth, and stumbles across more than she bargained for in the process. The story is fast-paced once it gets started, although there are so many details that it can be difficult to keep track of all of them.
Human beings naturally love expressing their opinions more than they want to understand other people. We always talk too much and listen too little, which is why the world is so noisy. Only when we understand this will we finally see progress in the world.
– Second Sister
My favorite book of April was This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. To see my original post, check it out here!
Date Read: April 29
Author: Dante Alighieri
Genre: Classics
This is the third and final book of the Divine Comedy, preceded by Inferno and Purgatorio. I found Paradiso a little boring, particularly in comparison to the depictions of hell and purgatory in the other two parts of the Divine Comedy. In Paradiso everything is perfect, and there seems to be very little conflict.
Date Read: April 29
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Horror
Rating: 5/5
When an invisible dome appears around a small town in Maine, none of the residents are prepared for the fight to survive ahead of them. A dramatic, tension-filled novel.
Sorrow for a wrong was better than nothing…but no amount of after-the-fact sorrow could ever atone for joy taken in destruction.
– Under the Dome
Date Read: April 24
Author: Sarah M. Broom
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
Broom tells the story of her family and her life throughout the book, bringing together stories told by her siblings and other family members with beautiful narration.
When a person dies in a place they become the place and nothing is ever the same again.
– The Yellow House
Date Read: April 23
Author: NK Jemisin
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
The city of dreams is in danger once more, and its protectors must break their law of peace in order to save their city. In the sequel to The Killing Moon, familiar faces return, as well as new, equally dynamic characters.
Even the smallest act of peace is a blessing upon the world.
– The Shadowed Sun
Date Read: April 22
Author: NK Jemisin
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Gatherers are keepers of the peace, able to enter the dreams of the corrupt and painlessly kill them while collecting dreamblood, a magical substance which keeps their society running. When Ehiru, one of the Gatherers, discovers that there is corruption within the system, he must try and save his city before it’s too late. Jemisin’s worldbuilding is excellent, and while reading it often felt like a city out of a dream.
True peace requires the presence of justice, not just the absence of conflict.
– The Killing Moon
Zoey's Year in Books 2020