July

Something about summer and thrillers goes really well together.

1. The Accused (1988)
• Even knowing how it will end, it still felt incredibly momentous when the verdict was read and the three defendants found guilty.
2. Lion (2016)
• In. Tears. These movies based on true stories are really good! I love that we actually get to see the real Saroo and his mothers meeting at the end.
3. The Weather Detective: Rediscovering Nature's Secret Signs by Peter Wohlleben
• It was alright. I mean, I didn't retain too much of this, but I also don't garden. And everything was pretty much geared towards the European landscape, so I'd have to do a bit of research to see what translates to North America.
4. Raw (2017)
• Disturbing, but somehow it almost gained a somewhat supernatural feel at the end, when the father reveals the reason behind the sisters' need for flesh. (There was something so very creepy about that last scene, where the father looks so very unnatural.) The way I'm reading it is that Adrien could've been Justine's solution, if her sister hadn't got to him first.
• Coming of age in an environment where everything almost seems to have been turned upside-down, the order of things disturbed with freshmen hazing rituals.
5. The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos by Anne Carson
• To tell the truth, I probably missed a hundred allusions throughout all the tangos, as I'm entirely unfamiliar with Keats, and poetry is generally beyond me, but this was beautiful.
6. One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
• McManus keeps you on your toes till the end! It spiraled really quickly, so I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced about the accomplice, but overall, it was a very compelling read.
7. Neon Bull (2015)
• I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to view this as a kind of slice-of-life film? It didn't really feel as though there was much of a straightforward story to be told, in that Iremar's journey never really took off, but it's not that he tried to make it happen and it failed so much as improvement was hinted at, but that simply wasn't the main narrative, I guess. I'm not sure how to put it. It's like we simply got a small window to see his life and the lives of those around him, and that there's not a particular goal or end that had to be reached.
8. Read Bottom Up by Neel Shah and Skye Chatham
• Quick, cute read.
9. The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani
• I've been waiting to read this basically since it came out, but while it hooked me in and was an alright read, I didn't love it.
• Things this novel did that I really liked though:
• The tension throughout the book dealing with race and class, the distinction between "us" and "them" and how the Massé's entrusted their children to someone they increasingly did not trust and in fact grew to become disgusted with in an unsettling manner as the silent war was waged between Louise & Myriam. Paul thrust himself into the situation to begin with and basically refused to acknowledge how privileged he was in his thinking about Louise and the whole nanny business to begin with.
• Relationships between nannies and the difficulties they face, both personally as well as in their jobs - the expectation that they will also be cleaning ladies, cooks, basically take care of the entire family rather than just babysit. And then with mounting expectations, no increased compensation was ever discussed in the novel, with Louise's descent into further and further destitution taking focus as the novel progresses. This in parallel with the Massé's' success in their work & social lives.
10. The Wonder Down Under: The Insider's Guide to the Anatomy, Biology, and Reality of the Vagina by Nina Brochmann and Støkken Dahl
• Why are sex ed classes not this useful and open? It would probably make the whole subject easier to discuss, with less of the nervous laughter that arose of the class (back in grade... 5, was it? Then again in grade 9, but all I remember from that is the video of the C-section), and taken away the taboo associated with speaking openly about sex and our bodies. The Wonder Down Under is engaging, easy to read, and well written for the average reader. I love how they reference pop culture - at some point they say something to the effect of "if your menstrual cycle has gotten as unpredictable as the plot of Gone Girl" - but how they also don't overdo it. Brochmann and Dahl readily admit when something they're presenting has yet to be confirmed by studies, or if studies have been inconclusive, as well as when they're frustrated they can't offer conclusive information because science hasn't gotten that far yet as far as the female body is concerned. Bravo!
• There's another book on the penis that the library just received and I'm curious as to why there's this seemingly sudden influx of books about genitalia? Is it a coming trend? Well it's really just the two, but still.
• On the topic though: why are there 3 other holds on the penis book (Happy Down Below by Oliver Gralla), of which we have purchased 2 copies v.s. no other holds on The Wonder Down Under, of which we have just 1 copy?
11. This is How You Lose Her by Junot Dïaz
• Short stories make up the vignettes that form Yunior's life, told through mostly his experiences with women.
12. Madame Satã (2002)
13. Act of God by Jill Clement
• When a mysterious (and unexplained) supermold calls for the total destruction of an entire tenement, leaving its occupants with no to few possessions, what are they left with? How do we move on beyond our possessions and realize our potential for real human interaction once we're given the chance (nevermind that the characters are forced to do so by the supermold that was entirely out of their control)?
14. They Didn't Teach THIS in Worm School! by Simone Lia
• So cute! I love the illustrations, and the story was funny and adorable. The last two pages or so where Marcus reflects on the journey and his newfound friendship with Laurence was a bit stiff in comparison with the rest of the novel, but overall it was a great story about a misadventure and friendship, growth, and the importance of perseverance.
15. A bunch of picture books:
• Drawn Together by Minh Le, illustrated by Dan Santat
• SO GOOD.
• Fruit Bowl by Mark Hoffmann
• The puns are amazing. AH-MAZING.
• What If... by Samantha Berger, illustrated by Mike Curato
• So good! I wasn't totally sold by the cover, but couldn't wait to put my staff picks sticker on it after I was done.
• Don't Tell by Tom Booth
• Author of Don't Blink. I think I enjoyed Don't Blink more, but the illustrations are still so good!
• Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones & Roman Muradov, illustrated by Leo Espinosa
• I love that it's based on a true story, and the author's kind of cheeky in addressing the "who cares" aspect of which goldfish is which when the children go to pick their goldfish children back at the end of summer.
• Bubbles by Kit Chase
• Off & Away by Cale Atkinson
• I loved this! The illustrations and the story! And that seafaring cold, with all its symptoms, was hilarious. Great book about conquering your fears and all the things you'll learn by doing so.
• Neck & Neck by Elise Parsley
• Ha! It's great that the giraffe decides to not help the boy out at first, which I think is pretty #relatable.
• I'm Sad by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
• Would go well with Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang, illustrated by Max Lang, in a themed negative feelings storytime.
• Niblet & Ralph by Zacharia OHara
• Cats! Mirrored markings almost-twin cats! What's not to love?
• The Day I Lost My Superpowers by Michaël Escoffier, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
• I usually don't address this, but I loved the heft of the pages as I was reading it. The illustrations are delightful also, and the story both sweet and funny. A winner in my books!
16. Jacky Ha-Ha by James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein, illustrated by Kerascoët
• A child recommended this to me very highly as they were reporting in for the Summer Reading Club that week, so I went and borrowed it; they were right! It's hilarious, but it's also very real in dealing with all the emotional ups and downs, especially of being that middle child.
17. Queen of the Sun (2010)
• This sort of makes me want to be a beekeeper, but I don't think I've been chosen by the bees.
18. Vazante (2017)
• It feels as though a lot of Brazilian films touch upon or outright focus on Brazil's history of slavery and the racism that endures even after the abolishment of the practice.
• Vazante was quite slow, and I'm sure much of it was lost on me because I don't have the full meaning of the title (in the sense that I don't know it as intimately as I could if I actually spoke Brazilian Portuguese). Somewhat predictable towards the end, though Antonio's cry of anger and frustration at the end was quite powerful, especially in the frustration of knowing that his child was not begot by his wife, though Beatriz takes on the role of its mother. Either way, the inescapable truth of miscegenation remains, a constant reminder of the abuse - sexual and otherwise - of the black slaves.
19. Many Love: A Memoir of Polyamory and Finding Love by Sophie Lucido Johnson
• I adore how the table of contents is laid out and illustrated, along with the illustrations spread throughout the text that continue the line of thought and supplement the text rather than simply reiterating whatever was written (though sometimes it does that too and that's also fine). I found that Lucido Johnson (or is it just Johnson? Goodreads, you're not helping me figure out which part of the name is the last name!) put into words a lot of what I've been thinking through the years in her portrayal of polyamory, as well as clears up the difference between polyamory and nonmonogamy, which I thought were the same thing.
• All in all, I really enjoyed this personal account of how the author came into polyamory and some of the questions that she addressed - such as with jealousy and how that can be both a positive experience in the sense that you might be able to work your way past it and become genuinely capable of being happy for your partner, as compared to maybe having it as a self-destructive process. One of the main take-home messages for me was that a relationship is really what you make of it: you make the rules with your partner(s), and there's no "right" way to be polyamorous.
• Also really love that one cell in the chart Lucido Johnson drew for the 5 types of jealousy, where under "Possessive Jealousy", for "Try", she says: "breaking up". Amazing.

Working On:

1. Rome: A History in Seven Sackings by Matthew Kneale
• Umm... "seven seemed like a good number"? Here's to hoping more thought went into that than this randomly generated feel-good number.
• I'm making my way along, on the 5th sacking so far, and I'm really enjoying Kneale's writing. He makes this select history of Rome very accessible and fun to read for someone who has very little interest in history (me!) and who also has precious little background in classical Roman history (me too! though you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise, given that I went through an "I want to learn everything about Sparta" phase, which, though is more ancient Greece than Rome, still kind of makes it seem like I'd know more about ancient Roman history than I actually do), which, though Rome's history has been at times colourful and very exciting, I still think is quite a feat.