The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

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I love me some family drama. I am absolutely fascinated by family dynamics, and the more the dysfunctional the dynamics, the better (do not worry, I prefer to read about fictional dysfunctional families and not focus on real dysfunctional families). I should have devoured The Dutch House and enjoyed every minute of it. And I did devour it; I was absolutely engrossed by it. But did I enjoy it? It is supposed to be a heartwarming family saga about making peace with the past and learning forgiveness, but after expanding my reading horizons this year and learning more about the experiences of Black and Indigenous people, I cannot say that I really enjoyed reading The Dutch House because its message gets diluted by the reek of white privilege.

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Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

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This is Harmony’s last appearance on my blog. She was the best furry reading companion I could have ever hoped for and she will forever be missed.

Ace of Spades is Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s debut novel. Her inspiration for the novel came from the TV show Gossip Girl (which I have never watched) and the Jordan Peele movie Get Out (which I have watched). The novel is about two Black teens, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, who are the only Black students at the private school that they attend, and who become the targets of anonymous text messages sent to the entire student body by someone called “Aces” who is exposing secrets about them that threatens to ruin their lives. If you have seen Get Out, you will have some idea of who “Aces” is and why they are targeting Devon and Chiamaka, but that does not make Ace of Spades any less thrilling to read.

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Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

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Jonny Appleseed is the first novel by Two-Spirit/Indigenous Queer writer Joshua Whitehead. Whitehead’s protagonist, Jonny, is also Two-Spirit/Indigenous Queer, and the novel is about Jonny ruminating on his upbringing on “the rez”. Jonny Appleseed is an introspective novel; if you prefer novels that are plot-focused, then you will probably not like it. However, if you enjoy immersing yourself in other people’s lives and experiences, then I think you should definitely give Jonny Appleseed a read.

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The Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith

The Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith

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The Archive of the Forgotten is book two in the Hell’s Library trilogy. WARNING: if you have not read The Library of the Unwritten (book one) yet, do not read any further. I know I was not very enthusiastic in my review of The Library of the Unwritten, but I think it would be worth reading just so you can get to The Archive of the Forgotten.

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Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA

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I am not the kind of person that reads “self-help” books. So how did I end up reading Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle? Well, I am working my way through the 2021 Indigo Reading Challenge and one of the categories is a “book to assist in self-discovery & self-care”. Burnout was one of the suggested reads for this category and since I battle stress, anxiety, and depression on a daily basis, I thought it would be a good read for me. I found this book to be very interesting. It reinforces my discussions with my psychologist and made me realize that there are other things in my life that cause stress and anxiety that I should address.

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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I have been hearing a lot about Taylor Jenkins Reid in the last couple of years. People really seem to like her novels, so I decided it was about time I read one. I was going to read Daisy Jones & the Six, but then I heard about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and the plot sounded more like it was up my alley. Based on this novel, I can understand why her novels are so popular. The story certainly has a tabloid quality that people like to devour, and she practically bludgeons the reader over the head with foreshadowing that will keep you reading instead of doing the prudent thing and going to bed at a decent hour. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is certainly an entertaining read, but am I blown away by it? No, not really. I was expecting it to be more original, more profound than it actually is.

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Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

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It has been a while since I last read a book that took me as long to read as it took me to read Stamped from the Beginning – over two weeks! You can tell that Kendi put a lot of effort into researching and writing this book, so it is only fair that I took my time to read it, to really absorb the information in this book. I ended up re-reading certain passages, and I have underlined and flagged a lot of pages. I could write an essay about this book, but I am going to keep my review succinct because I think that you should read Stamped from the Beginning for yourself. It focuses on racism in America, but really it explains the racist behaviour of white people on a global scale, because, let’s face it, racism is about people of white European descent thinking they are better than everyone else on this planet.

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The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs

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I have read every single Temperance Brennan novel written by Kathy Reichs, and I own most of them. I enjoy reading them; each novel ends up involving multiple, interesting mysteries and they are fast paced. Each chapter ends on a cliff-hanger to keep the momentum going, meaning I stay up way too late reading because it is hard to put these novels down. The character of Temperance Brennan has a dogged determination I cannot help but admire, and she is quick witted.

The Bone Code started out good; I was enjoying it as much as I have ever enjoyed a Temperance Brennan novel. Temperance is asked by a coroner in Charleston to examine two decomposing bodies found in a medical waste container that washed ashore after a hurricane. The bodies are wrapped in plastic sheeting and bound with electrical wire. This is similar to a case that Temperance was involved with 15 years earlier in Montreal. How likely is it that she would end up investigating in two similar cases in two different countries, and that the victims from both cases are related? Not likely, but buckle in for a wild ride and just go with it.

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Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

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Every time I read a memoir, you are going to hear me say how inspiring it is. But it is true! I enjoy reading true-life stories about overcoming adversity. They restore what little faith I have in humanity, and they encourage me to live my own best life. I cannot say that I heard of Suleika Jaouad before reading Between Two Kingdoms. She wrote a column for the New York Times called “Life, Interrupted” and is a motivational speaker. I decided to read her memoir because it is currently number one on Indigo’s Best Books of 2021 list. It is an engrossing read that I absolutely recommend.

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Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

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You are either going to really like Catherine House or be like me and wonder, WTF did I just read?? Catherine House is a strange, fever dream of a novel with no clear-cut resolution. I am not even sure that I fully understand what was going on in the novel and what the purpose of the novel is.

In the novel, Catherine House is a college located deep in the Pennsylvania woods with an unusual liberal arts curriculum that somehow has produced some of the world’s best minds as its graduates, such as inventors, prize-winning scientists, Supreme Court justices and at least two presidents. The college is best known for its mysterious “new materials concentration” and the study of “plasm”. The students that attend Catherine House get free tuition and room and board, but the catch is that they must give Catherine House three years of their lives completely removed from the outside world. During these three years, they cannot contact their family and friends, they cannot watch television to keep up with the news and they cannot bring any personal possessions, including clothing, with them (the novel is set in the 1990s, but if it were set in the present, they definitely would not be allowed smart phones either).

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