May Wrap-Up – The Very Musical Month of May
Ah, the dichotomy of this month’s books. Some were real tops, books I’d truly recommend to anyone, but there were also some real severe dives. Such is reading! Enjoy my exuberant praise and, conversely, my rage-fueled rants for this month’s wrap-up. 🤓
Supermarket - Bobby Hall (a.k.a. Logic)
⭑
I will now silence my internal screaming long enough to write about this book. First, the plot. Supermarket is about a twenty-something guy named Flynn, who, in aspiration of completing his novel about a supermarket, gets a job at a grocery store to truly immerse himself into his craft. The story quickly evolves when we discover Flynn is battling a plethora of mental health issues as he attempts to complete his novel.
I tend to have a vendetta against people who are famous in a field other than writing publishing books because it is so easy for them to get published. Subsequently, the books aren’t often great. I personally had a lot of problems with this book, not only because of the way it was written (poorly) but also because of the manner in which certain sensitive topics, such as mental health, were handled (also poorly).
I don’t want to take up too much of your time whining here, so if you’d like some of my more meticulous complaints, and perhaps a highlight or two on this novel, a longer review can be found here.
Daisy Jones & The Six
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
This book was so rad. Groovy. Insert more 70’s lingo here. For the entire first section I wasn’t even sure if this was fiction because it so closely resembled the documentaries you might watch about any huge rock band. I also DEFinitely highly recommend listening to the audiobook for this one. Each character had their own voice actor and it was incredible. Very rock and roll while actually being super emotional and touching in parts. An easy five stars, super sick and I would listen to it again, like, tomorrow.
The Short Stories - Langston Hughes
⭑⭑⭑⭑
I mean, how can I even properly review Langston Hughes? Prior to this book, I had only read his poetry, but these short stories were wonderful. Many of them were small, fictional snapshots into the lives of African Americans and other people of color all over the country, and sometimes abroad as well. They were very brief snapshots of history that could have easily been pulled from real people’s lives. Some were humorous, some were tragic, but they were all lovable and beautiful in a simple way that only a writer like Hughes could accomplish.
Talking to Strangers - Malcolm Gladwell
This is the second book for this month where I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook! Malcolm Gladwell discusses in depth the ways in which we misunderstand those around us, through the lens of several famous events. He answers questions such as, why was Amanda Knox convicted in her trial even though she was seemingly completely innocent? Why did American officials believe Adolf Hitler when he swore there would be no World War? How did Bernie Madoff head the largest Ponzi scheme in history? The audiobook was so interesting because it offered real clips from press conferences and court cases that made it a fascinatingly immersive listening experience.
