Book Haul Revisit for June 2022

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I've brought a lot of books into my library over the last three Junes. Let's see what I've read, what I still want to read, and determine if any of these books might be heading for an unhaul.

Further Viewing 🎥

The Stonewall Reader
You Will Be Safe Here, Damian Barr
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Ask Again, Yes, Mary Beth Keane
Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Circe, Madeline Miller
Dark Places, Gillian Flynn
The Harbor, Ernest Poole
His Family, Ernest Poole
The Magnificent Ambersons, Booth Tarkington
A Complicated Kindness, Miriam Toews
A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles

The Lauras, Sara Taylor
The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
Go Tell it On the Mountain, James Baldwin
Forced Out: A Detective's Story of Prejudice and Resilience, Kevin Maxwell
The Vanishing Half, Britt Bennett
A Burning, Megha Majumdar

Honeybee, Craig Silvey
Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg
Flames, Robbie Arnott
Bloom, Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
Terms of Endearment, Larry McMurtry
Red, White & Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston
The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker

My husband made a cookbook! Check it out here:

But wait, there's more!

[joangavrilik]

I think all 3 books by Amor Towles are marvelous -- each in its own way, (Love your videos!)

[browngirlreading]

Very eclectic list of books. Cierce was good but I didn't think it was great. Happy reading!

[CestKevvie]

A paperback with a dust jacket? How nice!! I Q history books, just finished one about Chuck Renslow, the father of Chicago's leather scene and founder of the Leather Archives & Museum. I haven't read that James Baldwin yet, but I recently got several of his books when they went on sale. Eager to read more of him! Honeybee is one of my friend's favorite books, so I'm really interested in it even if it's, like you said, torture-pr0n written by a cis. Bloom looks so great I really gotta pick it up!!

[myreadinglife]

I can highly recommend A Gentleman in Moscow, a super charming read.

[pdxleo]

One of these days I want to read Stone Butch Blues, but I guess I will also wait until I'm ready for a heavy read. Great video as usual!

[LaurieInTexas]

A Burning is worth reading so I'm glad you are not unhauling it yet. A Gentleman in Moscow may be chunky but it reads really quickly. You got some great books in those hauls.

[williamhcox]

I've read Dark Places and it was... fine. Also, it was turned into a movie. Sharp Objects was turned into a series. I only bring this up because I personally think it's one of the best things that's ever been aired on television. I know that's a *very* big opinion, but I love love love it. I've watched it from beginning to end more times than I'd like to admit. Haha
Sharp Objects is my favorite book of Gillian Flynn's and the series did not disappoint. The performances (my god), the cinematography, the music choices, etc etc etc. I highly recommend it. Okay, I'll stop gushing now. 🙃 Lol

[paulablazer]

Thanks for taking the time & sharing your reads with is. Your pacing, short analysis & especially showing us the book covers is perfect! I feel I’ve found my personal book club! Pets for Guinness!

[lynnwandering]

Please defer your reading of The Good Earth, as Chinese, I have to say not a good prize winning choice back then. It always puzzled Chinese readers why Buck was a renowned author.

[lisaedwards]

So many good books! I loved "Gentleman" by Amor Towles - his writing is so beautiful. I also really loved Flames by Robbie Arnott. I'm sorry Joel didn't care for it. I haven't read The Rain Herron but it is on my shelf. And lastly, Red White and Royal Blue is a fun book. It was my first ever romance book and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like it, I'd also recommend Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. 😊

[caleba]

I read Stone Butch Blues earlier this year and it is one of my all time favorite novels at this point. I do think it is wise to hold off on it until you are in a better mental state because some of it is extremely rough to get through.

[ygftiui]

A wouldn’t give up on A Burning just yet. The premise is very good and makes you think, I’m glad I had read it

[vickiepfost]

Just a suggestion, A Gentleman In Moscow is great on audio.

[loriroemer]

I encourage you to read A Gentleman in Moscow. I related to it very strongly, for reasons I won’t add— a little spoilery.

[qotzoev]

Absolutely loved Circe. Achilles not so much. Gentleman in Moscow is great. My book club loved Circe and Gentleman

[alldbooks]

I still have not managed to read You Will Be Safe Here. 😬 On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was on my best of for the year. 🤩 “This area of the alphabet is getting pretty packed.” 😂🤣 The Good Earth! Heidi and I found it surprisingly good, not surprisingly because it’s a Pulitzer. 😂🤣 Pride and Prejudice! This is a fabulous book haul! 🤩

[KCRReads]

I just got a copy of Magnificent Ambersons because the movie, even though it was badly edited after Welles lost control of it, is a favorite of mine. I had never read the book so I wanted to do that. I hope you will do a review at a later date. I didn't know it was part of a trilogy so I will look for those books as well. TY.

[readandre-read]

Love that "Ghost Darcy" edition! I'm a fan of Amor Towles. I hope you get around to A Gentleman in Moscow. I also love The Lincoln Highway although not everyone did.

[bobbykeniston]

I really responded to "A Burning, " though it is is pretty heavy subject matter. I thought it was an impressive debut.
I really liked "Circe"--- though I must confess, I liked "Song of Achilles" even more. This may be because I have been a huge Greek Mythology nut since middle school, and spent most of my senior year of high school translating Homer and Virgil.

[erinh]

I adored Circe (I listened to the audio) - the beginning took a while to get going, but then it was so good. I liked Achilles, but Circe I thought was just wonderful. Interestingly, everyone I know who's read The Silence of the Girls (another Greek myth retelling on your list) found it meh, so it's fallen way down my TBR.
I'm however not with the pack on A Gentleman in Moscow - I liked it okay, but didn't think it was all that like so many others did. I might have liked it better if it had just come up with a fictional location - I've read too much about the USSR during that time to think anyone on the gov'ts 'bad' list got to live out their lives in a luxury hotel in the middle of Moscow rather than being sent to a gulag or unceremoniously shot. It's a sweet, warm-hearted story that flat out ignores the reality of its historical setting, so if you can put that aside and suspend disbelief, it's well, sweet and warm-hearted. A cinnamon bun, as you say.
I found A Burning good but not great. The audio was well narrated, if you're thinking of going that route.
One of my book clubs just picked On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous for later this year - hope I like it better than you did. 😅