Show Us Your Books: May Reads

Hey hey, it's my favorite day of the month! And remember last time when I mentioned that "I really need to write these reviews right after I read the books?" Well, it finally happened! At least with half of these, since they were from Netgalley. Speaking of which, Netgalley *finally* started giving me books again after my previous requests were not read or logged for several months err... years! I currently have 4 more on my Kindle with archive dates ranging from July-October, so I'm fairly certain I'll be able to get through those in a timely manner as well (I'm already halfway through one of them)- woot! (Question for those of you who also use Netgalley, are you supposed to post your review by the publish or the archive date? I've always wondered this.) Also, stay tuned because next Tuesday (6/18) I'll be sharing what's on my Summer TBR list! Anyway without further ado, here's what I read last month. 


Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows- Balli Kaur Jaswal: 5 Stars
library hardback

“Whoa! I was not expecting that. I thought these were going to be granny romance stories. These are all-out naughty.” 

As someone who is half Indian (of the red dot variety, not the Native American pow-wow kind), I'm always wary of reading stories about Indian-Americans. It's why I refuse to read When Dimple Met Rishi (like, why does the Indian protagonist *have* to be interested in web development?! And why is everyone's surname either Shah or Patel? Stop it. But I digress...). However the premise (and title, and fact that it was a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, if I'm being totally honest) drew me in, and I'm so glad it did! It took me a little while to get invested in the story, but I loved the fact that Nikki was a law school dropout (law school- NOT pre-med or technology- hurray!). I think I related to her because though I'm in a secure job, I still "don't know what I want to be when I grow up," if that makes sense. I was also happily surprised that it was her sister, and not the main character, following the arranged marriage trope that's so common in these novels. And I'm not very familiar with how strict they are in Sikh religion/culture, or in the UK, so both of those were points of interest for me. I admit I actually skipped all of the "erotic stories"-I just wasn't in the mood to read steamy erotica at the time and bookmarked them, but then the book was due back at the library. I don't think this detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story at all though. 

Spoiler (highlight): I kept waiting for them to get "caught" by the ultra-conservative men group, I thought for sure that would happen at the end, and I'm so glad it didn't! 

I'm a tough critic, but this is one of three that got 5 stars from me this year!

Dear Lily- Drew Davies: 3 Stars
Netgalley

The beginning was really, really drawn out. I didn't get pulled into the story until the 50% mark. I found Joy to be a spineless, whiny, self-indulgent jerk. I also just wish Davies had said about the sister earlier, and didn't drag on the bit about her being a lesbian and how hard it was for Joy to tell her mom; that whole bit seemed to make it more about Joy than Lily. I'd like to say Joy redeemed herself in the end, but I was so over her that it didn't quite work.

*I received this from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Thanks Netgalley!* 

I'll Be Gone In The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer- Michelle McNamara: 4 Stars
library e-book

"What is the lasting damage when you believe the warm spot you were just sleeping in will be your grave? Time sands the edges of the injuries, but they never lose their hold. A nameless syndrome circulates permanently through the body, sometimes long dormant, other times radiating powerful waves of pain and fear."

I'll admit that this is the first true-crime book I've ever read and apparently, this genre is just not for me. While the story was compelling and I enjoyed Michelle's writing style, there were many times where I had to put this down because it just had so.many.people and so.many.facts that trying to keep them all straight started hurting my head. While I understand why so many of these people and facts were included (to develop an emotional connection to the victims and investigators working on the case and the frustration of so many of the details leading to red herrings or dead ends), they stilted my reading rhythm and interest.  That being said, I did enjoy the book overall, but my favorite parts were the ones where she shared what was going on in her real-world life as she was writing (like typing a quick note on her phone while at a movie premiere for her husband), and the excerpts of direct conversations- the memoir parts. I think this quote best sums it up:

"Part memoir, part true-crime study, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark mined rich detail from interviews, police reports and newspaper clippings. The prose is concise yet elegant, the reporting meticulously researched."

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want To Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes- Jessica Pan: 2.5 Stars
Netgalley

This reminded me Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project, which I really disliked. I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. It had a catchy title, a fun cover, and it started out promising; Ms. Pan, though self-deprecating, came across as very relatable and engaging. Halfway through however, I had to force myself to finish. The experiments and feelings related to them (nausea and panic) became repetitive, there were too many character names thrown around, and I didn't find the ability to actually get in touch with the "experts" she was able to either talk to or meet realistic at all. Maybe she was able to reach them because she's a journalist? I'm not sure, but The "Real-Life Interlude" sections became the saving graces. 

Unrelated (ha), is "relatable" a word? Auto-correct is telling me it isn't, but I was sure it was/is? 

*I received this from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Thanks Netgalley!* 

Burn This: A Play- Lanford Wilson: 1.5 Stars
library hardback

I picked this up for two reasons: 1) To check off a category in some reading challenges "read a play," and 2) because it is currently a play on Broadway starring Keri Russell and Adam Driver, and I always try to read the book before seeing it on TV/movie/live. Basically a guy dies in a freak boating accident with his boyfriend, and his roommates are upset, particularly Anna who attended all the funeral services and stayed with his family. His family refused to believe that he was gay and a dancer, which is unfathomable to her, and deeply frustrating. I think the back cover described it being "tense with  sexual desire" or something to that effect, and it just... wasn't. It focuses on Anna (one of the roommates), but all she does is drink a LOT of vodka and cheat on her long-term boyfriend with the dead roommate's "coke-snorting, hyperactive" brother (and even those scenes weren't sexy or even described much). Oh, but now she's going to pursue choreography because the brother says she's really good and she was interested in it, so this makes her "independent and self-confident," as the GR description reads. No, what, hoowwww??! Maybe this is just one of those plays that has to be seen in order to appreciate it, but I definitely didn't like it, and only finished because it was only 99 pages. 

What are you reading? 

Linking up with Steph and Jana!