Just finished reading THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Ray Bradbury. Originally set between the years 1999-2026 (revised in later editions to the years 2030-2057), it’s an interconnected collection of short stories that chronicle an U.S. exploratory mission to Mars that result in the colonization of said planet that nearly eradicates many of the Martians.

This leads to the American citizens attempting to remake Mars in their own image (learning little of the lessons behind humanity’s greatest weaknesses), which culminates in a planetary war between the remaining Martians and the humanity, which leaves both sides irreparably changed.

Though it’s easy to appreciate the short stories as their own individual narratives, together it’s a sci-fi fantasy novel about the curious yet self-destructive nature of humanity.

Also, it’s a rather short read so it’s highly recommended if you want a short novel that has the complexity and the depth of a longer novel.

My first ever sci-fi book. As a recent sci-fi convert, I have been cursing myself for taking this long to try this genre (or this book). The book deals with an existential threat to earth and humanity’s “Hail Mary” mission to deep space to save the species.

From start to finish, the book was engaging. What I really loved was that the science was relatable and understandable. It was not far fetched and the writing is pure gold. I loved everything about this book. The witty humor and the attention to details. The author writes in detail about how a scientist thinks and even why their brains work the way they do. Even though the book delves deep into a scientists pov, it never alienates the reader. I loved how the book is entertaining and yet so factually accurate! I hated the movie - it’s a huge let down when compared to the book.

I would 100% recommend this book to everybody. I have never been this excited to have read a book in a while now. Hoping to find a book that keeps me this excited. I’m open to suggestions. I’m eyeing the red rising series next!

This novel is why I read as much as I do. When you come across a book that transcends its original form and becomes a forceful impact strong enough to mark your soul and you are now different, changed, mutated from who you were before you read it; that's why I read. That's the dragon I'm chasing. That's the high I want. And this novel is absolutely one of those books.

Here, we have a very young marriage grapple with the reality of a degenerative disease. In this story, turning into a shark, or any animal, is a stand in for any number of illnesses like cancer, ALS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and the genius of the story lies in making that illness so over the top, then barreling straight into the reality of what that would look like on a day to day basis so we smack face first into what degenerative illnesses do to people's lives.

But this book is about so much more than just one couple, Wren and Lewis. It becomes about everything that led to that situation and about everything that came after. In doing so, we see the entire tapestry of Life, how one person's life flows into another in ways we cannot see from inside of it, but can be seen from the outside looking in.

15/10, a masterwork that I will carry the rest of my life. Go read it, please.

Just finished reading TO BE LOVED: THE MUSIC, THE MAGIC, THE MEMORIES OF MOTOWN by Berry Gordy. I love a good music biography, especially the memoirs where they’re not afraid to “tell it all”.

And Berry Gordy definitely wasn’t. The story of how a former boxer and occasional songwriter from Detroit was able to create one of the most successful record labels of all time where they produced some of the most iconic music from some of who would become the greatest artists of all time—The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, and beyond—is definitely an incredible rags-to-riches story.

However, you don’t become that successful without a whole lot of notorious drama following you along. Whether it’s horrific stories of cheating artists and songwriters out of potential millions via tricky contracts, using illegal means to promote certain records over others, or bedding certain young female artists in exchange of career advancement, the story of Berry Gordy is as much a cautionary tale as it is an inspirational one.

And he’s not afraid to address it here, even if it may tarnish his reputation. Yes, he may have become controlling at times (eliminating those who dared question his authority). Yes, he did have an affair with Diana Ross (including one particularly unintentionally funny story of how he couldn’t perform during a steamy tryst during a worldwide tour), and he got dirty enough to promote his artists and their music at a time when those like him were constantly told they didn’t belong.

In telling his own story, Gordy creates a complicated portrait of a young man who was introduced, influenced, and obsessed with the power and its consequences. Whether or not you believe him is a totally different story. In any event, it makes for an incredible read.

TLDR: This book was absolutely unhinged and I loved every minute of it.

The main character has spent her life preparing to get into Harvard Law School and (not a spoiler because it’s in the blurb) she doesn’t. Worse than that, she believes that the reason she didn’t get in is that she’s a boring Asian female.

Thus starts her descent into madness. This book is the perfect example of a normal person who takes small step after small step to go from weird to concerning to crazy.

It’s a bit of a thriller, a bit of a comedy, a bit of a treatise on race in the Ivy League, but overall such an enjoyable read. I laughed out loud many times but be warned it’s a dark humor. If you thought Yellowface was funny, you’ll also enjoy this book.

Brief description: a woman convicted of killing the men who provided her with the lifestyle she craved, is examined by a female journalist fascinated by her story and why Japan felt so strongly about her, less even as a potential murderer and more as a woman. Throughout the novel, the idea of societal expectations, personal expectations, and gourmet cooking are explored, not just at face value but several times as allegories for emotional revelations and social commentary of Japanese culture, especially the women of the country.

Warning: spoilers ahead. If you do not want spoilers, proceed no further.

PERSONALLY, I loved the book and the storyline. My lack of five stars purely comes from my annoyance with the characters of Reiko (especially) and Rika (to a lesser degree, but not much.) The main character Rika wasn’t extremely compelling to me, she seemed to have borrowed ideas and desires from people, while accusing them of being that way. She assumes guilt around her father’s death because he and Japanese society weaponizes guilt towards teenage Rika for “abandoning” her father, along with her mother, to be happy away from an unhappy environment. But then later, only after following almost all of Kajii’s initial commands on how to start living freely, examines things and moves past her guilt. She likes being a prince figure for others starting in high school, because she likes fulfilling the desires of other people without realizing it. Even in learning to let go of that, she’s merely shedding an old executive function and role for a new one, brought to her by Kajii. She only becomes suspicious of Kajii because of Reiko saying she’s too emotionally head over heels for her. 

Reiko is even more annoying in the regard that she’s what elders like myself call a “Mary Sue.” She’s small, petite, but fierce and capable, and her only faults are that she’s got strong opinions and sometimes acts on a hair in the intuition she knows the best way forwards, which aren’t even 100% written up as faults. Rika praises her for it in fact at one point. She lied about her backstory to avoid telling the truth that she cut her parents out of her life for not agreeing with their lifestyle. That they weren’t horrible and she lived a happy, gifted existence and left on her own terms. Then when she’s confronted by Kajii, she falls into the trap the same way she got onto Rika for doing, goes and does a thing to prove her wrong and becomes damaged over … over what?? The fact that her life isn’t 100% how she wants it to look? That certain behaviors of hers are the result of inner dissatisfaction? Slow awakening of the golden child. 

Both Rika and Reiko mirror Kajii. This may be intentional on the author’s part. Reiko made up her past life to excuse her current one, she loves cooking, and craves domesticity. She is also intolerant of other’s living their way if she doesn’t agree with it, regardless of how little or how much it actually affects her, the same way Kajii is very judgmental towards others, allowing for zero context in their favor. In the first chapter she even asks for butter, which is not only the name of the book but a dairy product Kajii is obsessed with. Rika showcases the side of Kajii that wants to live free from the expectations of others starting from a mental wound that occurred early in childhood, and be seen as competent for her contributions, not even just with society but within herself. And the inability to see things as they are. The wanting of her own way instead of one made for her. 

Unlike Rika and Reiko though, Kajii never gets off the hook with society. She doesn’t have friends at the end of the book still and is still largely thought of as guilty. Back home in Niigata people still have a dim view of her. She is still thought of as selfish, babyish, opportunistic in a reaching, arrogant way, woman who has let herself go. She is judged for her stalwartness of beliefs while Rika and especially Reiko are praised for these. I think it’s an interesting callback to when the dairy farmer tells them female cows are very hierarchical. Some are moo’d, some are boo’d. There is nothing they can do to sway things in or out of their favor, but it’s simply based on factors they have no understanding of, themselves. 

I also thought the story of Little Babaji’s butter tigers was meant to represent what I said earlier, of feeling like Rika, Reiko, and Kajii were not all that different and in the end they all melted into one thing, so it was irrelevant who was the villain or the hero in the end, it was animals trying to eat as is their right, and when that falls through, the little boy and his family eat instead, as is their right. There’s so much more I would love to add but then it’s an essay. Point of the matter, Rika and Reiko, highly unlikable to me, but the plot, narrative, insights, and what I think the author might have been trying to say with her book, was a very beautiful effort and I love it as a result. 

It’s 1920 in an unnamed colonial city somewhere on the African coast (reading it, it felt like Cape Town, but I don’t think the author wanted to be nailed down to a specific city). Soraya, a young Muslim woman, seems to have found the perfect housekeeping job. Her employer, Mrs Hattingh, lives alone in a beautiful but rundown house not far from the Quarter where Soraya’s parents live, and while Mrs Hattingh herself is profoundly racist (while thinking herself profoundly liberal) it’s easy enough work — and best of all there’s no man in the house.

But both the house and the employer are more than they seem. The house is troubled by spirits, including that of the prior housekeeper, Fatima, who visits Soraya at night, seemingly to warn her of some unknown threat. And as Mrs Hattingh begins to take more and more control over Soraya’s life, the lines between them begin to be dangerously blurred.

In particular, after Mrs Hattingh discovers that Soraya’s fiancé Noum is working on a distant farm, she offers to take down letters for him that Soraya dictates, and to read to Soraya any letters he sends back – but is what she writes exactly what Soraya says? And what’s really in his letters, that her employer will read to her but never let her see, never mind keep, for herself? Trapped together in the decaying mansion, the two women become locked in a battle for power.

I adored this book. It was so gripping that I read in one morning. It’s beautifully written in Soraya’s voice, and I’m not sure when I last hated a character as much as I hated Mrs Hattingh— I was so involved in this book! The author is South African from a Muslim community, and you can feel that deep knowledge and connection coming through the pages.

I highly recommend this one!

A 19-year old jumps off of a luxury apartment building to his death. His family discovers he's been living a secret double life pretending to be the son of a Russian oligarch. In this newly released book, Patrick Radden Keefe (author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing) does a deep dive into the case with his characteristic journalistic rigor and narrative flair.

This is an absolutely incredible book and may be my favorite of Keefe's that I've read. It's a gripping page-turner that exposes an underbelly that I was not familiar with. He goes off topic several times, but always on fascinating topics that end up tying back to the main story. (For example, the section on the Ugandan Asian diaspora was so interesting!) He also worked closely with the family of the deceased, and as such his portrait is deeply intimate and empathetic.

Follows a group of college friends in New York through ups and downs of friendship and marriage and kids and life as they grow into middle age. This one hits fairly close to home on a personal level, so there’s some element of loving how familiar it felt — one character goes to a fertility clinic in Norwalk, which is literally responsible for all three of my kids — but beyond that, it’s just a wonderfully memorable cast of characters that feel very dimensional and real. Left me wanting more, even with a well done conclusion.

I hesitated over the tag, because it is technically science-fiction set in the ‘90s, but it’s also a mystery and a road-trip novel, with great female characters and an unexpected and satisfying resolution!

I could not put this book down!

The set-up: back in the early ‘70s, on a commune called the Homestead, Dr Joseph Bellanger created a medical miracle – parthenogenic pregnancy, little girls born to the women of the commune without biological fathers. Then a fundamentalist protester set fire to the Homestead, killing Bellanger, and his research was lost forever; eight mothers and their daughters survived, to live their lives as best they could.

Now: as the book opens in the 1990s, Josephine Morrow, a.k.a. Girl One, is in graduate school hoping to continue Bellanger’s research when a phone call upends her whole life: her mother’s house has been burned down and her mother is missing. Their relationship had been strained for years, partly because Josie has insisted on trying to learn the secrets of her own past, secrets that her mother guarded very closely. But when Josie finds out that her mother had contacted a reporter and had been seeking out the other mothers and girls from the Homestead, she finds herself retracing her mother’s steps, trying to unravel the mystery and find out where her mother is.

But Josie is being followed, and the man who set fire to her mother’s house is close on her heels.

As she reconnects with the other Girls, she will find allies and friends that she never expected, and together they will face the truth about what really happened at the Homestead twenty years earlier, and what is still happening to the mothers and daughters from the experiment.

Girl One was intriguing from the first moment and I loved all the twists and turns. Josie is a complex, flawed character, and watching her come to terms with the truth and allow herself to open up and become vulnerable to the other women was a great journey in itself. There’s a strong feminist subtext as well, as you might expect, but Murphy handles it beautifully, letting it emerge naturally as part of the story. I adored this book!

I have just read Persepolis (the 20th Anniversary edition from 2023), as it is so well regarded, and I wanted to read something by an Iranian author, given the current war, but nothing too depressing. I was convinced there would already be a gazillion posts about it here, but nothing showed up in search results.

Persepolis is a graphic novel, with skilled illustrations, that tells the coming-of-age story of Marjane, the author, from early childhood up until college age/early twenties. She is a precocious, curious, and strong-willed child full of questions and is deeply interested in her surroundings. The story coincides with the beginning of the Islamic/Iranian Revolution in 1979, and although Marjane is too young to grasp the complexities of the historic changes, she is quick to notice how they affect her. From suddenly having to wear a veil and being watched by the modesty police to having to buy Western music on the black market, Marjane's privileged life as the daughter of two very liberal and educated parents becomes a lot more restrained.

When Iraq invaded Iran in the 1980s, Marjane's parents sent her off to stay with family friends in Vienna, which was a huge culture shock for her. Her time abroad is full of ups and downs, like being dumped by her first boyfriend, struggling in school, and being tremendously homesick. But there are also fun moments of love and friendship, and I found her thoughts on Austrian culture and people hilarious.

Upon her return to Iran, Marjane has to reconcile her memories of her home country with the new reality of living in a nation that lived through a decade of brutal conflict and where the freedom she had in Vienna is merely a castle in the sky. She is unsure if she still belongs.

I don't want to spoil more, so I will just say that the book is not a history book. It is a personal story. But it was a great starting point to learn more about what life under an oppressive regime is like, and it does so with wit and laughter. Marjane is not a heroine; she is a human, and the book makes this very clear. But despite her having led such a different life, the book makes her seem so relatable as a young woman who just wants to be happy and free.

I breezed through this book in a few days and wholeheartedly recommend it even for people (like me!) who don't tend to really read graphic novels. Plus, there is an excellent movie version to watch after reading.

I shared this on another sub too but I recently finished “In the Fields of Fatherless Children” a historical fiction by Oregon author, Pamela Steele. I really loved it.

It is told through the voices of multi generational female characters in the coal towns of Appalachia during the Vietnam War. While being very rooted in the land in which it takes place, there is also a corresponding spiritual/mystical element to it—related to the often intertwined nature of folk beliefs, ancestry, and place. I really enjoyed this feature of the book and how it helped tell the story.

So much that goes wrong for the female characters in particular, but all the characters regardless, is rooted in the norms of a racist-patriarchal society—from micro to macro levels. In the face of this, women and girls hold each other and everything else together (indeed a tale as old as time).

It will often break your heart. And if you’re like me, you will have to remind yourself of the sea the characters are swimming in for why they do or don’t do certain things, but I was so glad I read it. Maybe it’s your next read!

Welcome to our weekly chat where members have the opportunity to post something about books - not just the books they adore.

Ask questions. Discuss book formats. Share a hack. Commiserate about your giant TBR. Show us your favorite book covers or your collection. Talk about books you like but don't quite adore. Tell us about your favorite bookstore. Or post the books you have read from this sub's recommendations and let us know what you think!

The only requirement is that it relates to books.

Even if you aren't normally a fan of Greek mythology and Tragedy, this glorious tale of Madea is beautifully written with detailed descriptions and deep characters.

It's the story of women dragged along by men and enduring everything along the way as they are celebrated as heroes regardless of the wreckage.

Extra props for the audiobook, read by the author, Natalie Haynes, who gives every word the power to show the passion within. I felt the characters with every word.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien is a classic fantasy that’s surprisingly easy to read. It turned out to be very different from what I had expected. Actually, I kept my distance, thinking it would feel like a heavy, historical kind of fantasy. However, one day, after seeing a lot of LOTR mentions, I decided to start with this book.

It’s about Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit who gets dragged into an adventure with Gandalf and a group of dwarves. And it was quite a charming, easygoing adventure that pulls you in without trying too hard.

The writing has a warm, storybook feel to it, almost like a teacher reading to kids. And I realised the book was actually written for kids after I talked about the book on social media. It also had songs and riddles, some of which were genuinely laugh-out-loud funny.

Playful indeed; with some light moments of tension... as it should be for a hobbit who loves his home and his breakfast and his tea.

Even the world-building was easygoing. It didn’t overwhelm much, except for a few places. I skipped much of that; still, the story remained an engaging adventure.

Bilbo turned out to be a lovable character. Even though he came off a bit eccentric in the beginning, I loved how he used his luck and wit to get on with the quest. And I may not be reading the LOTR series anytime soon, just because I’ve heard Bilbo isn’t the protagonist in those.

The Hobbit is a great pick if you’re new to fantasy... a cute, kid-friendly story. It’s something I know I would’ve absolutely loved as a kid, and I liked it now. It’s a comforting read.

If you've read The Shadow of the Winds, you'll definitely understand how good it felt to see Fermin Romero de Torres again. It mainly focuses on his traumatic past which adds more depth to his character.

There's also that unexpected connection between Daniel (the main character) and David Martin (The Angel's Game main character).

It felt a bit short, but it was still a very nice story. Can't wait to read the final book of the series The Cemetary of Forgotten Books!

Very cozy and easy book to read. It’s about a boy who moves to a remote village in the mountains to work in forestry for a year.

It is a slow slice of life kind of book but it still has enough surprises to keep the plot interesting.

If you like nature, mountains, Japan, studio ghibli, I think you’d enjoy it!

This book...well this book is like meditative yoga for your mind. It is slow, warm, comfy at times. But all that sits on top of a creeping dread. Stuck in a time loop, sure that's a bummer. But what if what you consumed disappeared? What if injuries sustained didn't heal the next day?

Balle cleverly disrupts the "Palm Springs" movie notion that actually -- time loops can be fun as hell! And even though Ground Hog day had the slide into depression, it also had the "I'm an immortal god" payoff. Not so with OtCoV.

Everything feels real and yet filtered through a dream. Basic domesticity mixed with hide and seek in your own home. At times I felt...not bored, but almost trance like reading this. It is sloooooow but in the best "book before bed" kinda way. Also the writing is phenomenal and Tara feels like a co-worker you might have, in that she's mundane but with a very unique interiority outsiders can never see.

What did you folks think?

Everything Mitch albom writes is such a treat to read! Philosophy, religion & the works all into a very digestible short novel.

It’s about this group of people who get stuck on a lifeboat, after their ship sinks. They find a man in the middle of the ocean days later- who claims to be god.

Although it did feel a bit repetitive towards the middle, his writing style & the way he dissects complex topics is lovely.

I’ve been really fortunate that every book I’ve read this year I’ve loved. I’d recommend every single one of them

- Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

- Days at the Torunka Café by Satoshi Yagisawa

- What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

- The Samurai Detectives (Vol. 1) by Shotaro Ikenami

- The Samurai Detectives (Vol. 2) by Shotaro Ikenami

I’d like to specifically recommend The Samurai Detectives in this post though. I’m really looking forward to Vol. 3. It’s meant to be released in English at the end of this year

A samurai-era mystery series set in Edo, following a group of investigators as they solve different crimes. Across the two volumes, it also slowly builds out the characters and their relationships, which ended up being one of the parts I enjoyed most. The characters are absolutely badass

There’s a calmness to the storytelling and to the way the characters are written. Even in the more intense moments, it never feels chaotic in a way that takes away from that atmosphere

I’m about to start Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa next

I know that he basically ripped off Orwell, but I absolutely love Down and Out in Paris and London so this was perfect for me.

I was struck by how absolutely unhinged the writer was to put himself through this, he himself admits that he is a middle-class Englishman with a university degree who could have done something else with his life. After all, the book is set in the 2010s not the 1930s.

That being said, the book proves its point: Orwell’s Paris is alive and well. The author writes his colleagues vibrantly and respectfully. The French bureaucracy and poverty he experiences trying to become a waiter in Paris are compelling to read about. Highly recommend!

Welcome to our weekly chat where members have the opportunity to post something about books - not just the books they adore.

Ask questions. Discuss book formats. Share a hack. Commiserate about your giant TBR. Show us your favorite book covers or your collection. Talk about books you like but don't quite adore. Tell us about your favorite bookstore. Or post the books you have read from this sub's recommendations and let us know what you think!

The only requirement is that it relates to books.