Friday Reads: Ready for the Weekend

It was an interesting reading week. I finished one book and have two others in progress. Expand for more information. 👇

Links 💻

Further Viewing 🎥

Titles Mentioned 📚
Trespasses, Louise Kennedy
A Room With a View, E.M. Forster
Fire Island: Love, Loss and Liberation in an American Paradise, Jack Parlett

My husband made a cookbook! Check it out here:

But wait, there's more!

[sage]

I was in public in a cafe finishing Trespassing and couldnt stop crying. Top shelf writing. I thought it was incredible.

[readandre-read]

Usually when people are really divided on a book I can clearly see why but I was puzzled about all the low reviews of Trespasses. I thought it was terrific and beautifully written. Cushla was compelling and memorable.

[spexi]

I’d 💚 to see DC win the WP too, but agree w you . Glad to hear about Jameson 📖🪱💚

[Phillybookfairy]

I enjoyed Trespasses. I specifically enjoyed the mother daughter relationship with Cushla & her mom.

[lauragabbard]

I also read Trespasses at the end of May and it ended up being my favorite read of the month. I thought it was really well written and I felt myself transported to Cushla’s world and felt her pain.

[mradcaqbdb]

So glad you loved Trespasses too! I thought it was so beautiful, even if it contained one of my least favorite tropes: intelligent woman gets involved with married man expecting that he will leave his wife. They never leave their wives!!! (Dismounts high horse) I also listened to the audiobook and wanted a copy of the HB. I haven’t bought it yet, but you’ve inspired me to get it. I may use some of my PangoBooks dollars and pick up a used copy.

I still haven’t read The Marriage Portrait, but I did get it from the library this week. Sort of. It was on the shelf at the library two miles away, but for some reason my copy is coming from another library in the state and it’s still in transit. I have a super fancy edition from Waterstones that I decided I didn’t want to read because the binding is very tight. Anyway….. I’m going to try to read it before the winner is announced. I would be super happy if either Trespasses or Black Butterflies wins. They are both stellar five star books for me. I haven’t read any of the other shortlist books.

I did finish one of the other longlist books on audiobook, Stone Blind, and unexpectedly loved it! Yes, I am predisposed to love books about mythology, but I was wary of this one as I had heard it treats Perseus (think Harry Hamlin) poorly. I dinged it half a star for that, but I thought the rest of the book was spectacular. I’ve always loved the Medusa story and this goes into her past life and gives a much fuller picture of her. It’s such an engaging book. I loved it much more than her previous book which had made the Women’s Prize shortlist. Again leaves me thinking Pod??

I’m a bit under-motivated with my reading too. I keep sneaking off to easier audiobooks. But I am putting together some books for Pride. My local indie posted their small but pretty well curated shelf of Pride books. I saw Giovanni’s Room in the picture and got them to hold a copy for me. It also reminded me that I have The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr here, which reminded me of other LGBTQ books/authors I have and can add to my list, including Maurice and Mr Loverman. So, I’ve got a nice pile of possibilities too! Happy Pride to you and Joel! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[a_bookish_gemini]

The four books I’m planning on reading in 🌈 June 🌈:

Bernardine Evaristo - Mr Loverman (almost done and absolutely loving it)
Becky Chambers - A Psalm for the Wild-Built
T.J. Klune - Under the Whispering Door
Julia Armfield - Our Wives Under the Sea

[katherineshelton]

I can't exactly explain why I didn't like Trespasses. I will say that I think the ending was great, it wrapped up really well at the very very end. And I have no complaints about the writing itself. It touched on really fascinating things, but seemed to kind of brush past them to focus on a relationship I wasn't at all invested in. I didn't really "get" Cushla's relationship with this dude. (*Spoiler adjacent material ahead*). They didn't even seem to like each other. I will say that I don't read romances and I rolled my eyes when he came to her defense in the bar, it felt like a bad romance trope. "Is there no man with honor in this world? Hark! A savior! Here are my panties." But that's just a personal pet peeve.
To offer a comparison; I absolutely loved Milkman by Anna Burns, which won the Man Booker Prize a few years ago. I listened to it in audio and I loved the language and wry humor and the way it kind of subtly mocks the young Irish nationalists. It really gives life to the culture of paranoia that was going on at the time, the fear, the oppressive atmosphere, the nosy neighbors, and also the dark humor. I felt invested. But I noticed that book was highly unpopular with a lot of people. So...? I dunno. I found myself comparing Trespasses to other books the entire time and thinking "that book did it better, " or wondering what was going on with Cushla's neighbor who was checking under his car for a bomb. "What's his story? Never mind your affair, Cushla."

[cindyfreese]

I liked Trespasses for some of the same reasons you mentioned. I listened to it on audio as well, so for me I felt a little lost with the transitions in the story. I thought the author truly transports the reader to the time of the troubles.

[janethansen]

I enjoyed Trespasses but I’m picking Black Butterflies to win the WP. Happy Pride Month!

[amylynnm]

Fire Island sounds fascinating and the day after I watched your Pride tbr video Kobo had it on sale for $2 for the day-so I totally scored! Thanks for bringing it to my attention-cheers!

[KierTheScrivener]

I liked Trespasses but I didn't have the momentum of it. I loved the social commentary and the even the discussion of her mother but it felt like it dragged so much for me. But I am excited for what Louise Kennedy writes next and her journey to writing is super interesting.

[bobbykeniston]

I'm glad ou liked "Trespasses". One thing I thought was clever about the title, among many things like you mentioned, was how it can harken to how Catholics recite the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us", as that is a major theme in the book, and really, an interesting look at the religous component of The Troubles, with the divide between Catholics and Protestants, etc. An interesting look at how Cushla trespasses and those who trespass against her, and how it plays out...

[cmleidi]

I thought Trespasses was extraordinary: the small details, the realistic relationships, the care given to all the other characters, etc. It seems to me a lot of people were judging Cushla's behavior rather than the book itself. It was odd to me that some readers wanted to be the moral police.

[AvAlanchian]

Ok I can be the guy who liked but not loved Trespasses, whose title I thought was from the Lord’s Prayer: …and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive…. But also with the meanings you ascribe to it . The characters were the best part of it for sure. Also just finished The Wedding Portrait and thought it was great now I’m finally starting the Netanyahus

[myreadinglife]

I thought Trespasses was just ok. I am one of the rare few who didn’t feel strongly about it.

[karenmoore]

I loved Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, I would love it to win, but it won’t. Just got Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris from the library another shortlisted Women’s Prize book. Have you read this one Greg? Love your videos.😊

[ameliabarlowbooks]

I don’t think Demon Copperhead is going to win either. I really enjoyed Trespasses - either will be a worthy winner, I think. I’m not sure if you can access BBC online streaming services in the US, but I paired Trespasses with a fantastic documentary series about the Troubles which helped with the contextual reading experience so much. it’s harrowing, but let me know if you’d like me to send a link 💖

[merlinfive]

Greg, where can I get that shirt? I searched immediately after watching but wasn't able to find that exact one. Great video. Looking forward to an monthly wrap with you and Joel, whenever you both have time. Love your channel. Thanks.

[katie.is.dreaming]

Happy Pride Month, Greg and Joel! I hope it's an amazing month in all ways for you both. Of course, it should be Pride all year round 😊 I've not read Trespasses (yet - that will probably change with your glowing review, Greg), but it is proving really popular here in Ireland, and in the UK (though I like the US cover better). I'm puzzled by the jadedness towards 'Troubles' novels you suggest. To my mind, the Troubles and their aftermath are still something very immediate here in Ireland, and the UK. We're still dealing with a lot of that upheaval, and the political implications are still very much ongoing. So, I suppose I don't see why people are reacting so badly to a writer wanting to explore that. I don't remember that kind of attitude to Anna Burns' Milkman a few years back. I really enjoyed Milkman. It's dense to read in print, but the audio is very good, if you'd like to try another Troubles novel. And I see another commenter has mentioned the 'Forgive us our trespasses' reference in relation to the title. I was thinking about that too as you were discussing the layers to the title. I hope you're having a relaxing weekend, and lovely to hear that Jamie is doing well ❤🧡💛💚💙💜