What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? Please share! We’d love to know.
I’m running long today but these are such important and interesting books/topics that I added a bit more detail in the descriptions.
FINISHED:
MOTHER EMANUEL: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church by Kevin Sack
“The doors of the church are no longer always open.”
June 17 was the eleventh anniversary of one of the most racist mass murders in American history. The killing of nine African American worshippers in Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
Sack’s Pulitzer Prize finalist has voluminous facts of southern history, Civil War and reconstruction, AME history, and the history of one church and its people. Mother Emanuel was organized in 1817 by breaking from white churches in Charleston. Through the years notable guests have included Booker T Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr, President Barack Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden. This storied church has withstood and overcome coastal storms and racial attacks before it became a crime scene. The book’s epilogue is both fitting and incredibly touching—On Forgiveness and Grace.
ESCAPE FROM KABUL: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind by Karen Bartlett, read by Jayne Entwistle—told from the perspectives of female judges after the return of the Taliban in 2021 this is an account of how many of them managed to escape Afghanistan and reestablish lives in new countries. The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) stepped in to assist in myriad ways from getting passports for the judges and family members to securing flights then housing and so much more. There are still women judges trapped in Afghanistan but they hide their professional status and avoid every possible encounter with Taliban. An incredibly moving but factual account. 
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad—the book’s title references the bombing of Gaza and in it the author uses a series of vignettes from his travels as a journalist, illustrating the need for affirmative action in the face of power gone wrong. The promises of the western world have been perverted into a truth that offers nothing to groups of individuals “outside the boundary of privilege.” His words are incisive and call for us to take a stand against the actions of those who perpetrate injustices. His hopes for a better world start with each of us doing the next right thing.
NOW READING:
A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang—LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION this is a tale of family, folklore, and fantasy that is giving me wonderful debut vibes.
The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline—a fictional account of the wives and families of Chang and Eng Bunker, the famous conjoined twins. I’ve been fascinated by these guys since I heard of them many years ago. The author claims a distant familial relationship to the men.
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I read The Top of the World for review. It was well-written and it kept me involved, but at the same time it was a bit artificial - more about the message than the story. It kind of reminded me in some ways of Theo of Golden, except there was even less plot/less backstory in this one. I gave it a generous 4.
I also finished a book for our indie program - Inspiration from 9,000 Miles Away - and I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s kind of a cookbook memoir/philosophy/tribute… There are a dozen recipes from Macau, and the author assigns a characteristic to each (e.g., she ties the dish capela - a type of Macanese meatloaf - to compassion). She ties this trait to her own life, or to the life of her granddaughter - how her granddaughter projects her own personality on things, for example. It’s well-written and I see what she’s trying to do, but I’m not sure it works.
Starting Returns and Exchanges today in prep for a Q&A with the author next week, after which it’ll be The Cloak and Dagger Club for our book club discussion here.
In audiobook, my answer will be the same for the next many weeks…War and Peace! I am enjoying it - very much so - but it’s definitely long.
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I liked The Top of the World (4 stars for me) and The Clock and Dagger Club (5 stars). I just finished Life on an Octopus Farm about farming octopuses - a rather controversial topic which I had never heard of before. That’s what I like about reading = being exposed to new ideas and thoughts
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I finished “Endling” by Maria Reva last week and enjoyed it even though there were so many subplots in the third quarter of the novel that my comprehension started to slip. The ending brought everything together nicely and the cultural/political themes were strong and deep.
I started White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum yesterday. Since I know so many reenactors here in Maryland, I know that many are going to have strong opinions and Bausum is not afraid of ruffling a few feathers. I cannot believe that she writes YA this way.
I finished a dystopian trilogy by Patrick Ness. The three titles are *The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and The Answer, and finally, Monsters of Men. I’ve started Captain Blood for the 1,000 books to read group. At the top of the desk pile is How to Kill a Crime Writer.
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@Anthony_Conty if you haven’t already done so you might find it interesting to read the discussion we had with Maria Reva here at Book Browse. I found some of her answers very interesting.
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I’m nearly finished with “The Cloak & Dagger Club” by Jackie McMahon (I got a free copy for next week’s discussion) and have enjoyed the author’s debut work. Some of the dialogue doesn’t ring true for 1930’s London, but the plot was engaging and not super serious, which I don’t want during a heat wave so all was good. I’ll be spending the holiday reading “Mad Mabel” by Sally Hepworth which came highly recommended by three ladies in my discussion group. I hope my expectations aren’t too high!
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I finished The Dragon from Chicago by Pamela D. Toler.
Glad I read it; I gave it 4/5 stars which is a high rating for me. The subject, Sigrid Schultz, should be more well-known!
(I wish my brain weren’t so rubbish so I could write a proper review, sorry. I would give this book a try if you’re interested in history; it lags a bit around 20-35% [I almost gave up], but becomes more interesting after that.)
I’m perusing Cats of the World by Hannah Shaw as a pick-me-up.
I’m sampling Toxic Exposure by Dr. Chadi Nabhan as a contender for my next read (published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023). “Sampling” because I’m not sure I’m feeling up to reading it. I learned of Dr. Nabhan when he was interviewed on PBS Newshour in regards to last week’s (or week before, I can’t recall) Supreme Court ruling in favor of the manufacturer of Roundup. As a medical oncologist, he was an expert witness in earlier trials of Monsanto. I was shocked by the ruling so am trying to learn more about it.
(Here’s the link to the interview: What science tells us about the health risks of Roundup | PBS News )
Hope everyone is staying cool and safe!
I’m reading (and loving) Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Last week it was
Meeting New People by Daniel M. Lavery. Both books feature ‘older’ women protagonists. Kind of a theme with me lately (on purpose?) as I try to make a graceful slide to my next birthday which will be the last in this decade! 
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Based on your lovely profile photo, I’m saying this… “Youngster!” Early HB. 
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I finished Song of the Blue Bottle Tree (Hayford). Lots of abuse going on, all kinds. Too much for me. I’m reading Mad Mabel now and actually laughing out loud once in a while. A fun weekend book. Rereading My Friends (Backman) for book club. I don’t mind reading it again since I blasted through it the first time without giving it much thought.
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What a beautiful cover! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of farming octopodes either – sounds horrible to me. 
I’m wondering who the main consumers are (I’ve never been exposed to these animals as a food option)? I’ll keep a lookout for this, thanks for posting about it here.
Oh, and I heartily agree with you re: reading!
Reading a book that has been on my shelf for years - John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Oh, and I continue working my way through War & Peace. This will continue to be in my reading rotation for awhile…a long while.
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As with @Gabi I am trying to accomplish reading War and Peace. Yesterday after reading the first two chapters of Book 2 Part 1, I felt the exhaustion of the Russian army. I began to read another book I started last spring; The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. I read the first chapters and decided to download the audio version. I shortly realized this may also be a long and multilayered read. Maybe too much for me during this hot weather. I will probably go back, wade through War and Peace, and find another quiet read.
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I’m continuing to work my way through War and Peace and am happily surprised at how accessible Tolstoy’s writing is. I’m also working on Days of Sun and Shadow for the BookBrowse Book Club Discussion and am loving it. It’s absolutely my favorite genre. Audiobook wise, I’m listening to Captain Blood. I would have preferred the printed version, but this was all that was available via library services. I finished Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover for my book club. I’ll sum it up by saying I won’t be adding her to my must read author list. I also finished listening to Force of Nature by Jane Harper and although not a mystery fan, I enjoy her books which are set in Australia. The most impactful book I read was Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s novella. I love his descriptions of landscape and his insights into the poor and downtrodden are better than any other writer, in my opinion. Every American should read him. Maybe we would be a kinder nation.
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After sampling a bit of it, I decided to stick with reading Toxic Exposure by Dr. Chadi Nabhan. I’m at about 40% and finding it compelling (and it’s easy to read, not as technical as I feared)!
I finished Cats of The World. The photos were difficult to examine as an e-book (troublesome even when using the laptop; some were quite small and it was frustrating to zoom in), plus, hardly any of them were captioned. The author would start mentioning a certain cat, but the nearby photos were of different cats.
Also, although I was happy to learn of people taking care of stray cats around the world, the author seemed oblivious to the harm cats do to other animals (e.g., birds), and the many harms that befall cats, too, when allowed to live or roam freely outside (for which she seems to advocate by the things she says in the book).
As I mentioned earlier I’m reading Captain Blood for the 1000 Community Book Club. The character and story seems so real that I had to explore some background. This book was written in 1922, has some sequels, and was made into a movie in the 30s starring Errol Flynn! The swashbuckler character of Dr. Peter Blood lives!
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You know, I’m kind of thinking about proposing a movie night for our 1000 Books group to watch Captain Blood… 
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I’ve been catching up on some backlist reading: I read Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson last week and just started Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland. Over the weekend, I read my local library’s book discussion pick - Oogy by Larry Levin. The dog doesn’t die, but you do need tissues nearby!