Hi guys, it's Laurel Ann. You may have
noticed that I didn't do a wrap-up in
May, so today I am doing a wrap-up for
May and June. There are quite a few books,
so I'm going to try and keep it a little
snappier than usual. I'm also gonna do
something a little bit different. Usually
I go in chronological order, but today
I'm going to kind of roughly order it
from the book I enjoyed the least to the
book I enjoyed the most. But first there
are two books that for two very
different reasons I don't feel like
including in the rankings. We'll start
with those. First one is Are Prisons
Obsolete by Angela Davis. I talked about
this a bit in my spring favorites video.
This is Angela Davis's seminal text in
which she lays out her arguments in
favor of prison abolition. She sort of
gives a rundown of other abolition
movements and compares them to this
concept, saying that even though this may
seem totally radical now--or at the time
of writing, and still now--these other
things that we take for granted, like
abolition of slavery, abolition of Jim
Crow, were totally radical in their time.
She touches on the prison industrial
complex and discusses how prisons are
basically legalized slavery.
I think Are Prisons Obsolete is an
absolutely essential text for this
moment. Even if you're not sure about
prison abolition, she does a really good
job of presenting the information and
allowing you to draw your own
conclusions. I think it offers some new
ways to think about police abolition as
well because, you know, we've been hearing
a lot about that over the last couple of
months. It's also very short and written
in an accessible way. So if you're not
reading it, what are you doing? I will
link a PDF down below and you can click
on it and read it right away. It's only
about, I don't know, 200 pages. It's really
quick. The other book I just want to
touch on briefly is Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets. I had turned to the
Harry Potter series for like comfort in
this weird time in my life,
and it's just kind of a weird time to
start rereading Harry Potter. Honestly, it
did not come as a surprise to me that JK
Rowling is a TERF. I've had this idea for
a long time. But the way she has doubled
down on it and insisted on disseminating
really harmful rhetoric is just
something that I can't support, and I
really just kind of wanted to rethink
how and if I'm going to talk about the
Harry Potter books on my channel going
forward. You know, they are always going
to be books that are special to me. The
stories will always be, you know, personal,
but I have to say, like, when I was
reading the last couple of chapters
after she made those original tweets, I
kept seeing her stupid smug face
leering out of the pages at me. It just
uh, wasn't that pleasant. But also, you
know I've been seeing a lot of
conversation about, "well let's pretend
that she just didn't write the book." I
think that it's not really constructive
in this case, at least, to totally
separate art and artist because, let's
be honest, like her harmful views do
inform the text, so I think it's much
more beneficial to just call attention
to these things when you see them in
Harry Potter. I really wanted to do
something to sort of like push back
against the things that she has been
saying, so if you donate to any
organization that supports trans or
non-binary folks, go ahead and just send
me proof of that either through my email
or any of my socials, which are linked
below, and I will mail you a hand-painted,
water colored bookmark. If you are
looking for some organizations to
support, I'm not an expert, but I will
leave a few ideas down in the
description. I don't know if anybody will
actually be interested in that, but if
you want a cute bookmark from me, you
might as well spite JK Rowling, even
though she won't find out about it.
That's all. Okay. On to the ranked books.
So the first one I'm going to talk about,
the one I enjoyed the least, was Black-Eyed Susans by
Julia Heaberlin. This is a thriller about a woman
who was the only surviving victim of a
serial killer when she was a teenager,
and we meet her years after this event,
just weeks before the man who was
convicted of the crime is set to be
executed, and she, after years of
consideration, has finally decided to
help the lawyers and investigators who
are trying to set this man free because
they believe that he is innocent. And she
does too, which is kind of weird, because
she just sat on her hands and did
nothing about it for all these years, but
okay. For dramatic effect, it's just a few
weeks before he's going to be killed. She
doesn't actually remember any of the
events when she was held in captivity or
dumped at this in this field, but she
does have reason to believe that the
actual perpetrator may still be out
there. So finally she decides she can't
sit idly any longer. She has to intervene
before this man is murdered by the state.
I was kind of excited about this. I
thought it was kind of a promising
premise, but it just it was not it. I
think that the author was trying to
elevate the work by trying to do a bit
more with the prose than what you often
see in thrillers, but it ended up having
all these sentences that were really
just like overwrought and exhausting and
not good. Here is a passage that I feel
like kind of exemplifies the level of
writing we're talking about. "She's
texting, I'm sure." This is about the
protagonist's teen daughter. "She's texting,
I'm sure. I pull out from the curb and
decide to let her decompress from the
eight fluorescent lighted hours she has
spent constructing triangular prisms
and deconstructing Charlotte Brontë." And
I guess like, as a turn of phrase it's
kind of clever, but as a sentence in a
book, it is just obtuse. And the book is
just overloaded with passages like this.
I also don't think that was the only
issue with the book. The characters are
really inconsistent. I never understood
their motivations at all, and there were
lots of other tiny things that
bugged me--kind of cliche kind of things.
Like, for example, one of the characters
has eyes that change color with her mood
and like...
"What white nonsense is this?"
Yeah, overall a pretty big disappointment
and one that I really wish I had passed
on. Next is Death Note volume three bytes
of Gumi Oba and Takeshi Obata this is
the third volume in the Death Note
series which I have explained twice I
don't feel like explaining it again
you've probably heard of it it doesn't
matter there was definitely some really
interesting stuff in this particular
volume but the series is just really not
holding my interests I don't like the
way it deals with women sorry I keep I
every time I hold a book I'm like doing
this with it but just that's not good
that's not good filmmaking filmmaking
Who am I I do think I'm going to read
the next couple of volumes give them a
try because my sister says that I should
read at least the first five if I've
read the first three but after that like
barring some mind-blowing twist I just
don't think I'm going to continue next
is a pail of view of hills by Kazuo
Ishiguro
I wanted to read something by Ike has a
bit of sugar oh I've only read what's it
called I wanted to say as I Lay Dying
but that is definitely not it oh yeah of
course never let me go I've only read
never let me go and I loved it and I was
just like I should read more of him so I
picked this one at random
it's about Atsuko a Japanese woman
living in England whose oldest daughter
has recently killed herself and this
tragic event prompts her to sort of look
back on the period when she was pregnant
with her daughter back in Japan and
reflect on a strange and intense
friendship she had with another woman
this book was very strong on atmosphere
it's set in post-world War two Nagasaki
and that was just a really interesting
time a place to read about I sort of see
this whole culture on some kind of cusp
of something different and also to see
the ways in which these people have this
like huge collective tragedy that
they're sort of living around and trying
not to look directly at as they try and
build a new normal this story really did
keep me compelled and I was really
interested in all the characters but
like at the end of the day I just didn't
really
it since I finished it I have read some
other people's analyses and I think I
understand what he was going for but I
do kind of think that a book should be
able to stand on some two feet
the matically so that just kind of took
took something away from this book for
me um
I don't hate that I read it but I'd also
I don't know I'm not gonna remember it
probably next we have on earth were
briefly gorgeous by ocean vlog this is
about a Vietnamese American man named
little dog who is coming to terms with
himself and his family history it's told
the form of a letter to his mother who
was quite abusive to him emotionally and
physically that was an interesting
storytelling device I thought it was
very effective um I was really excited
for this I really like ocean phonics
poetry but this book I don't know I just
didn't love it as much as I really
thought I was going to there can be no
doubt that the writing in this book is
really beautiful there are some gorgeous
sentences and images but there is just
something missing I almost felt like
that beautiful prose almost got in the
way I just felt so emotionally distant
from the characters which is weird
because there are a lot of really like
powerful emotional things happening some
really heavy stuff and I just never
really connected with anybody even even
the protagonist Hey Jude thanks this
book does a good job of portraying
trauma and inherited family trauma in
particular and I think that the last
part of the book was stronger than the
rest
I enjoyed it more and it tied everything
together quite nicely I do think that
this is a pretty special book and it's
worth the read I really don't want to
put anybody off of reading this it just
wasn't quite there for me next we have
postcards from the edge by Carrie Fisher
which I listen to totally on a whim the
audiobook is narrated by Carrie Fisher
of course it's about an actress named
Suzanne who is keeping a diary while she
is in rehab following an overdose we get
to meet a lot of these really fun and
peculiar characters in the clinic and
observe the interpersonal dynamics
between them and then
continue to follow Suzanne in the like
year of her life following rehab as she
goes back to work she starts dating
again and just kind of tries to build
herself a new normal this is very funny
but it still has a very strong emotional
core kind of like has the vibe of like
an older Woody Allen movie except that
he would never make a movie about women
I loved hearing her voice she of course
was phenomenal she's so funny but it was
a bit of a bummer if I'm being honest
apparently the book is semi
autobiographical and we all know how
Carrie died um there are a lot of scenes
where she's just playing really clear
signs of mental illness and nobody in
the book seems to recognize them as such
they're just like oh that kooky Suzanne
refusing to get out of bed for two weeks
what what are you gonna do what does she
like and um you know it's just kind of
made me think like if if Carrie Fisher
had had better support sooner for her
mental illness like maybe she would
still be with us I don't know I'd
obviously don't want to conjecture but
it was a little bit of a bittersweet
experience reading that um I didn't know
this but there is a movie with Meryl
Streep and it looks incredible and I
need to watch it very soon okay moving
right along to the guest list by Lucy
Foley this is a murder mystery set on a
very remote island off of the west coast
of Ireland where our cast of characters
have gathered for a wedding from the
beginning we know that somebody has died
but we don't know who and we jump back
and forth between like the start of the
weekend and the moments after the body
is first discovered it definitely feels
like a bit of an homage to Agatha
Christie and the way we slowly discover
all of these secrets and connections
between these characters Lucy Foley's
last book the hunting party was one of
my biggest surprises of the year and
when I saw that this woman was coming
out I kind of laughed myself a little
bit because it's almost comically
similar to that one in terms
of premise but it actually was was
really different um I guess that's not
that wild of a surprise writers can
write things differently I mean like
let's be honest like ever Sherlock
Holmes book is the same but different
it's wonderfully atmospheric it's
solidly entertaining and it's very
impressive in that there are a lot of
perspectives but they're all very
distinct in terms of characterization
and I never really got anybody mixed up
at all I was also thoroughly surprised
by the ending so yeah if you like
thrillers if you like mysteries I think
I think it's good if you like
character-driven stuff go for it
next I want to talk about if I never met
you by fari McFarlane I first discovered
very MacFarlane last year she writes
these really sweet rom-coms about people
in their 30s romance is not something I
am particularly drawn to most of the
time but honestly like I will read
anything that this woman puts out her
characters are so loveable and real and
her writing is truly characterized by
that classic Scottish wit that obviously
have a thing for if I never met you is
her latest release and it begins when
our protagonist Laurie is unexpectedly
dumped by her partner of 18 years and a
couple of days a week or so after the
breakup she finds herself trapped in an
elevator with the office hottie then
they of course hatch a fake dating plan
because what else do you do in a rom-com
right I personally like love fake dating
I think it's so delightful because
nobody does this in real life you know
it's just like absol that's a layer of
fantasy to an otherwise like regular
type of book the romance was really nice
I was really rooting for this couple it
also really well explores the evolving
nature of long-term female friendships
and it also examines two really
different types of complicated
relationship so that kind of thing
really works for me like if you're going
to really hook me into a contemporary
you need to just give me a little bit
more as well you know what I'm saying
the only thing I'm not sure about what
this book is that Lori is mixed-race and
Mari McFarland is white I do think that
she took a lot of care with this she
clearly like like read about
microaggressions and she as far as I can
tell did did an okay job of portraying
that kind of experience it's in a way
that I feel like this sort of I don't
see color crowd could digest and maybe
could lead that type of person to kind
of reexamine their own actions and the
way they interact with people of color
but like you know at the end of the day
it's not own voices and she obviously
can't communicate that experience as
well as a black British woman would be
able to the next book is a thousand
ships pay Natalie Haynes a couple months
ago I got it into my head that I wanted
to read the entire women's price
shortlist because my women's prize is my
favorite literary prize now that we're
in July I feel like I'm definitely not
going to be able to read all three of
the Thomas Cromwell books is it Tom
Stern Oliver wolf all books that's
really embarrassing shit but I'm gonna
do my best I'm gonna read as many as I
can so this was the first in that
project was the first one that came
available for my library this is the
story of the Trojan War told through the
eyes of the women so quite a lot of this
book is just made up really of short
stories about things that happened
before during and after the war here
from all sorts of characters like
Penelope some of the goddesses that
played a role in Thessaly a-- who was
the queen of the Amazons who was killed
by Achilles but between all these
stories we continually return to the
Trojan woman in the mediate aftermath of
the war see them dealing with the loss
of their homes and their fathers and
their has
and their sons and sort of um you know
dealing with the knowledge that they are
going to be enslaved for the rest of
their lives it's some pretty heavy stuff
but it was really compelling I I really
loved it so I just realized that the
last ten minutes of my video did not
record so um now my battery is low it's
a race against the clock
so penultimate book for today is how do
we both by Ali Smith this is a book in
two halves we have George who is a 15
year old girl in like present-day who is
dealing with as a recent loss of her
mother and in the other half we have
Francesco who is a Renaissance painting
who died its 15th century and these two
people are connected through mystical
thematic means as I said before in
relation to LA Smith the plot is not the
thing it's all about what's underneath
this particular novel is about dualities
and nuance it's about art it's about
grief and political activism and I think
the most central themes are sexuality
and gender identity and expression
something about this book that I'm just
like obsessed with is that each copy is
randomly printed with either George or
Francesco first so half people have a
different experience from the other half
personally I had George first and I do
think it would really change your
reading of the book if you had it the
other way around and a few years down
the line I definitely plan to read it
the other way I feel like I've sung Ali
Smith's praises enough already but once
again I just have to say that I'm
totally in awe of what she can do she
has such a masterful grasp on the
English language she has a great sense
of humor
and all of her books make me think a lot
and this has got to be my favorite of
hers so far and finally I've got to tell
you about girl woman other my Bernardin
Evaristo this husband everywhere you've
probably seen it reviewed already Co won
the Booker it's shortlisted for the
women's
and the praise and the awards they're
all well-earned in in my humble opinion
if you've not heard by now this is about
12 people mostly women all British all
black or mixed-race and living in
different parts of England no they're
not all living it some one is actually
living in America so this is kind of
really like a collection of short
stories but all of the people are
connected some really closely some our
best friends some are mothers and
daughters and some in ways that may seem
a bit more tenuous but as the novel
comes to a conclusion we see that a lot
of these connections are stronger than
than expected the way all of these
stories came together at the end was so
satisfying and even moving characters
are also strong and fully formed they're
not all likable one or two I would even
say are pretty detestable but I still
felt connected to each one of them I
think that's such a difficult balance to
strike and for me at least
Bernadine have succeeded there is a
moment in the epilogue of this book when
one of the characters thinks something
along the lines of it's so easy to
forget that there are so many different
England's and that sort of for me is the
crux of this book you know sometimes we
talk about like the black experience or
the female experience or the American or
British experience as if these things
are sort of somehow one kind of
homologous reality and of course that's
so flawed and I think Everest Oh has
really skillfully used these characters
to show that being black
being born female being British are all
you know so many different things just
so many different people you know I
would say that this is a must-read for
2020 and that's my hot take of the day
right so that's it thanks so much for
bearing with me I feel like this is kind
of a long one hopefully next month I'll
be back to wrapping up just one month at
a time once again I will link some
petitions down in the description that
you can take a look at and sign
if you haven't already know it's really
it I love you guys thanks so much for
being here if I eat very evil look from
the cat and he's like playing with
plastic bags so you made your a crinkle
it's a cat if you do by Takeshi oppa
they'll be continuously returned
continually continuously continually off
the west coast of Thailand Ireland
Ireland
