Is anyone else writing 2002 on their paperwork or is that just me?

ANYWAY–here’s what I read this month and what I thought of it! As always, any links to purchase books go to benefit my bookstore, Twice Told Tales!

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Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Download the audiobook here. Or order the physical copy here.

I started off 2022 on an emotional note, huh? I have to tell you that reading the memoir of a person who, at this point, is mostly known for being the victim of an infamous rape–I was expecting this book to be really depressing. But I didn’t find that to be the case at all. It felt real, to me. It felt honest. It didn’t feel like Chanel was trying to gloss over anything at all–in fact her writing style is such that she really stays with a subjects and turns it over in her hands until it’s completely known. But this wasn’t a sad book–it was power-filled. Even in the weak, vulnerable, tender moments–it was her power that shines out of every single word.

I would love for every man that I know to read this book.

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Download the audiobook here. Order the physical copy here.

If you’re the kind of person who likes to unwind with a murder documentary at the end of the day, I feel like Hendricks and Pekkanen are the authors for you. They’re the masters of the plot-twist.
What I like about this particular thriller is the way that as it starts out, you think THIS is what the book is about but at about the halfway point you realize, no no my friend! There was allllllll of THIS going on off to the side that you weren’t even paying attention to–and that’s where the story lies.

I like a book that keeps me guessing and this did it for me.

Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
Download the audiobook here. Order the physical copy here.

After all that heaviness, I needed some levity. I picked up Love & Other Disasters because I was ready for a fun romance but also because one of the main characters is nonbinary! That excited me because I haven’t read a book where such a prominent character was nonbinary and I wanted to hear “they” over and over again. In fact, I shared on our store’s instagram stories that if you’re a person who wants to get better at using They/ Them pronouns in your speech–read a book with a they/ them character! It normalizes it in your mind quickly.
ANYWAY I loved every bit of this book. I feel like it’s a perfect romance. It follows The Formula well enough that you know what track you’re on but it deviates enough that you really aren’t sure where this is going or how it will end. The steamy parts are super steamy AND they’re chock full of incredible ways to weave consent into your sexual experiences. I loved this book so much and I recommend it to a lot of people.

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
Download the audiobook here. Order the physical copy here.

I picked up Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson after I noticed that the vast majority of Antebellum-era Historical Fiction is written by white authors. That doesn’t feel super comfy to me, so I wanted to read something from the Black perspective.
Yellow Wife tells a heart wrenching and harrowing story of Pheby Delores Brown (based on the real life Mary Lumpkin) who was born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia. She was promised freedom on her 18th birthday but instead, she finds herself leaving the only home she’s ever known for the infamous “Devil’s Half Acre”, a jail where the enslaved folks are broken and sold every day. There, Pheby uses her ingenuity and countless sacrifices to secure freedom and safety for the people that she loves.

If you want more books from Black authors about this era, check out Jubilee by Margaret Walker or Kindred by Octavia Butler.

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Are you interested in the books I did not finish this month? I was thinking about adding them to my blog posts but I don’t want anyone to think these books aren’t good. I do not finish excellent books all of the time. With the nature of my job, I just can’t finish every single book I pick up. Sometimes I need to just sample and move along.

With that said, here are the books that I did not finish:

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron (I’m so excited about this sequel to This Poison Heart but series are so hard for me. This book picks up exactly where the last one left off–which I read over a year ago. So… I don’t remember exactly what happens. I need a refresher first.)

Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson (I’m not saying this book is bad. I’m just saying that there’s a reason that I don’t read the works of white men that often anymore and this book is a prime example. Excellent for people who know good and well that they love a snobby, literary novel.)