I’d like to start by saying that I honestly can’t believe I’ve kept up with this book-documenting habit! I said I’d do it for as long as it was still fun for me and I’m still going. I’ve only skipped a few months when I didn’t read anything. And I’ve never felt guilt about that. Man, I love living a shame-free life.

Onto the books!! As a reminder, anything purchased from the links in this post goes to help support our bookshop in McPherson KS: Twice Told Tales.

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You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
Pre-Order the hardcover copy here.
Pre-Order the audiobook here.

I did not know what this book was about when I picked it up. I didn’t care! Christine Pride and Jo Piazza teamed up for their last novel, We Are Not Like Them and it blew me out of the water–determined to read anything they write together from now on. I feel like they’re joining the ranks of Jodi Picoult when it comes to fiction that really explores ethical questions in a thorough and thoughtful way. That’s why I was so thrilled when the publisher sent me a copy to read in advance.

Simply put, this is the story of a Black woman who finds an abandoned white baby, sending her on a collision course with her past, her family, and a birth mother who doesn’t want to be found. The way the authors bring immeasurable nuance to this story–it becomes challenging to assign the label of “hero” and “villain” to any one character here. It presents us with the truth of humanity, which is that there’s always so, so much more to any story.

I will say that this book is going to be a very popular choice for book clubs not only because of the ethical dilemmas presented throughout but also for the (what I predict will be a) divisive ending.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
Order the hardcover copy here.
Download the audiobook here.

I started this audiobook on a whim after a long streak of “ugh… nothing is keeping my attention!” This book did but not necessarily because of a fast-paced plot or anything. I just really liked Clover from the beginning. I just understood her.

Clover has an unusual job as a death doula. She helps people to pass along from this world in a way that makes them feel held and safe. But despite the incredible grace and poise she has with her clients, she really struggles in her interpersonal life. She’s experienced her fair share of grief and being left behind, and besides that she carries immense guilt with her.

As we walk along this road with Clover, we understand where her fear of abandonment comes from and we root for her as she fumbles her way along. This one was a sleeper hit for me. I haven’t heard anyone talk about it in the book blogs but I really treasured it.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Order the paperback or hardcover copies here.

Gender Queer was selected as our book club discussion book in the Liberated Library–a group I host in The Empowerment Studio (an online and in-person community). A part of the Liberated Library is a virtual book club where we meet every other month to discuss a book that we’ve all read together!

This is the second Graphic Novel style book I’ve ever read in my life! The first one being almost 20 years ago when I read Craig Thompson’s Blankets. I loved it and it really lit a fire in me to read more and more Graphic Novels. Which should I read next???

I was really interested in Gender Queer because it is one of the most banned books in the US currently and I wanted to see what the big deal was. Now, I don’t want to give all of my thoughts away before we have our meeting. But I will say that I can see how if you only flipped through this book without reading it there might be some parts where you’d be shocked. And maybe it’s not appropriate reading for any child of any age and maturity level. But isn’t that true with any book? The purpose of a book isn’t to grab one or two pages and say “I get the gist.” A page exists within the context of the body of the whole book. Maia Kobabe wrote a powerful and poignant story and how anyone could walk away from eir story without empathy, compassion, and understanding is beyond me.

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby
Order the paperback here.
Download the audiobook here (if you dare).

Oh my god I love Samantha Irby. She’s such a delight. An honest, visceral, mildly-crotchety delight.

I… learned something about myself while listening to this audiobook and it’s that I can not listen to Sam’s works. I must read them with my eyeballs.
I can read about masturbating over a toilet seat. I could even have a conversation with you about it if that’s what you want to do. Obviously. But I absolutely can not listen to someone talk about it in my car when I’m trying to place my order with the sweet, 15 year-old, Mennonite barista who is trying to figure out what I mean by “a splash of vanilla.”

That being said, Samantha Irby’s voice is so similar to that of my friend Jess that it made me miss her and made me laugh that much harder. Now let’s take a hard right!

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Download the audiobook here.
Order the paperback book here.

Here’s a fun fact about me. I haven’t felt “allowed” to read not-new books ever since my bookstore started carrying new books. Not only are they very accessible to me but I also need to be familiar with my product, you know?

But ever since I finished Demon Copperhead, I’ve been craving to read more from Barbara Kingsolver. Ugh. She just gets people! Anyway–since I started a habit of reading in the morning before work, I decided that I will let myself read “old” books at home and start knocking out some of those backlist titles I’ve been wanting to get my hands on. The books I read at work and the audiobooks I listen to throughout the day will be new releases–books for work. (I know it sounds like champagne problems but this is actually something that’s been breeding resentment for a long time, now, and I’m thrilled to have come to a solution.)

ANYWAY The Bean Trees. Wow. It’s everything I’ve ever loved about Barbara Kingsolver. I love the way she can make her characters feel so real–down to their voice! It’s also obvious that she writes her characters with love. Not to say that they do no wrong, but that when they do wrong, there’s care and acceptance without judgment.
If someone were to ask me what this book was about, I’d tell them that it’s about found family (literally). And I’m not sure what else I’d be able to muster*. It’s just so good.

*Though there is an instance of “finding” a child–almost like what happened in You Were Always Mine and I thought it was wild the way that I read two books with that same plot point this month.

The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle
Order the hardcover copy here.
Download the audiobook here.

I’ll be honest, at the time of writing this I still have 1 hour left in the audiobook but I feel okay about writing my review.

I really enjoyed this one! OH what a warmhearted book. I mean, it’s got it’s conflict points but that’s how stories are told. This one feels like it could sit on the shelf right between A Man Called Ove and The Midnight Library. The Museum of Ordinary People is a poignant novel about memory and loss, the things we leave behind, and the future we create for ourselves.

As Jess is cleaning out her mother’s house before putting it up for sale, she doesn’t take much with her but she does take an old, tattered set of encyclopedias from the 1970’s home with her. Just something to remember her childhood by. But as you can guess, there’s not a lot of use for something like that nor do they take up a small amount of space. Eventually because of life, Jess realizes she needs to get rid of them. But she can’t bear the thought of tossing them. That’s when she hears about a place… a place that holds onto things for people. It’s not a dump. It’s not a charity shop. It’s a meticulously catalogued collection of items from the lives of ordinary people…

I feel like this book will especially appeal to the used book customers of my shop. You wouldn’t be able to guess how many times a day I hear someone say, “I just couldn’t stand the thought of throwing it away, so I hope you can use it.”