Hello bookish friends!
Since I'm just getting this blog set up, I wanted to do a quick roundup of the books I've read so far this year.
My 2020 reading goal is 30 books - I finished 32 books in 2019 so it seemed reasonable. I'm already on 23/30 books, which puts me 8 books ahead of schedule!
I'm sure you can guess why I've had more time to read lately. If your guess is that I've been working from home since English schools were closed, you're absolutely right. My commute means I get through a lot of audiobooks normally, but lockdown has meant catching up on a lot of my physical books too.
Anyway, onto the reviews!
I've arranged the books below by the month I read them, and then by my star rating (highest to lowest). These ratings are from the time I read them for the most part - a couple were rounded up/down on Goodreads since you can't give half stars on there.
Please note that I've included any content warnings (CW) that I remember under each title, but since I'm writing this several months after reading these books I might have left some out. Please feel free to let me know if I've missed any in the comments!
January: 5 books
Most of these were quick to read, but not great quality.
The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 | Goodreads)
A very well written biography of Sandra Parkhurst, a trans woman who has worked as a trauma cleaner in Australia for over 20 years. Sandra has also worked as a funeral director and a sex worker.
I listened to the audiobook, after having it on my wishlist for literally years and never getting around to it!
CW: child abuse, sexual & non-sexual assault, hate crime, drug use.
Northern Lights (a.k.a. The Golden Compass) by Philip Pullman (⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5 | Goodreads)
The first book in the His Dark Materials series.
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author and has a full cast for the characters. Heads up that the audiobook is either abridged or read from the US copy of the book - I compared it to my friend's physical copy and whole paragraphs were missing from the audio version!
Let Me Show You by Becca Seymour (⭐⭐ 2.5/5 | Goodreads)
A lighthearted M/M romance between a vet and a construction worker.
Not own voices - the author is a woman who has a husband. (You'll notice from more recent reviews that I very rarely read LGBT books that aren't #ownvoices anymore!)
I got this ebook for free when it popped up on my Bookbub list.
Unexpected Gifts by Elena Aitken (⭐⭐ 2/5 | Goodreads)
The book equivalent of a Hallmark movie.
Another ebook I picked up for free after seeing it on Bookbub - I started it in December but didn't quite finish it until after New Year's.
I... Honestly don't remember anything else, but according to Goodreads I gave it 2 stars.
Make Me Stay by Amarie Avant (⭐ 1/5 | Goodreads)
I downloaded this ebook when I saw it was free (via Bookbub) because I the MC was deaf.
I am very glad I didn't pay for this book.
I really didn't like Donovan at all. Far too "alpha male obsessed with violence" for me.
The main relationship felt unhealthy to me.
February: 2 books
A slow month for reading, but at least the quality somewhat made up for quantity.
The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 | Goodreads)
I listened to the audiobook, which has two narrators (one for each MC).
#ownvoices - the author is a gay man, both MCs are gay.
I really liked the character and relationship development in this book.
CW: rape, gambling addiction.
Trumpet by Jackie Kay (⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5 | Goodreads)
I was sent a paperback copy of Trumpet through my Queer Book Box subscription.
Inspired by the true story of Billy Tipton, a jazz musician who was outed as trans after his death.
Told from multiple perspectives - not all of which are from lovable characters. All characters' flaws are definitely front-and-centre in this book!
CW: misgendering & transphobia.
March: 3 books
A very rare month where I loved 100% of the books I finished reading!
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 | Goodreads) - definitely one of the best books I've read so far this year!
#ownvoices - this is an autobiographical novel so the main character (Ada) is reflective of the author's identities and experiences, including the LGBT and mental health rep. Some of the chapters were actually copied directly from Akwaeke's journal.
Please note that while this book was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, the author is not a woman. Akwaeke (they/them) is trans & non-binary.
Ada's (& Akwaeke's) experiences as ọgbanje may resonate with readers who have DID/OSDD.
Akwaeke Emezi has a unique, beautiful writing style. I read this book in paperback (it was one of the books I received through Queer Book Box) but I'm planning to listen to the audiobook too at some point, which is narrated by the author.
CW: self-harm, rape, suicidal ideation, disordered eating.
A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #1) by Marie Brennan (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 | Goodreads)
This book was on my Audible wishlist for years. One of my best friends kept recommending it to me. And I'm so glad I finally got around to listening to it!
By the time I'm writing this (mid July) I've actually listened to the whole series of 5 books. I got super hooked on this historical fantasy world full of dragons and a kickass lady scientist, right from this first book.
Kate Reading narrates all of the audiobooks for this series, and she does a spectacular job acting as Lady Trent.
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5 | Goodreads)
It took me 5 years of "on again off again" reading to finish this book. I refused to skip any of it, no matter how irrelevant Hugo's ramblings about Waterloo or the sewers seemed. Schools being closed & me starting to work from home was the push I needed to finish it, apparently!
I read this brick through a mix of ebook and audiobook. My progress was a lot faster with the audiobook and it was performed very well by Bill Homewood, but the ebook has lots of handy footnotes to translate phrases that were left in French, explain cultural things, or explain jokes that might have been lost in translation.
I think Les Mis definitely deserves its status as a classic, but alas, it does lack diversity in many senses of the word.
That's it for my January-March roundup!
Have you read any of these books? Are any of them on your TBR? I would love to hear your opinions on them in the comments!
My next post will be a similar roundup of the 10 books I read in April-June.
Happy reading!
Maisie Rose x