I’ll be honest, reading has been slooooooow this week. I’m pretty stressed out about various life things. Reading is my safe space, but sometimes my brain just says, “nope”.
Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
After their 2021 entertaining/depressing book, You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, these amazing sisters are back with The World Record Book of Racist Stories. I bashed through the audiobook in a couple of days, and while the stories are eye-opening and important, the relationship between Ruffin and Lamar is gorgeous, and they are so playful. Ruffin is an amazing writer and entertainer (she has her own TV show, and a musical on Broadway right now!). Please let her awesomeness into your life.
How to Sell a Haunted House
I bought this audiobook of Grady Hendrix’s new novel to listen to “in the background” while I worked, and I have become actively obsessed. Siblings fighting over their parents’ estate, weird dolls and puppets, family secrets, it’s all here! I’m about halfway through, and I’m really hoping it doesn’t turn out to be a “you think it’s supernatural but it’s actually child abuse” novel.
Wayward Children
Yes, I’m still reading these! I finished In An Absent Dream, which was amazing but BRUTAL, and the novel’s companion short story, Juice Like Wounds. The short story was a relief, because I became convinced I’d missed an entire character being introduced and subsequently killed off. I often listen to audiobooks while doing something else, so it’s not uncommon for me to skip entire plot points. But Juice Like Wounds covers said character’s story, and my sanity is temporarily restored.
Chain-Gang All-Stars
I have about half an hour left in this book, and I don’t want the story to end. Adjei-Brenyah has created some wonderful characters, but their fates are clear from the start. This is such an incredible novel, and I’m very intimidated to write my review of it.
California Reading 