Hey! since it's the middle of June already, I figured it might be time to talk about travelling through the books I read in May. I only read seven books in May. It is getting nicer out and I am playing outside a lot, so I don't need the escapism quite as much, and also, my daughter got married at the end of May, so I was busy with MARRIAGE MADNESS all month.
Here are the trips I took through books last month:
1.) "Exit West", by Mohsin Hamid. I loved this book. It took me at first to an unidentified war torn Middle Eastern country, but then moved all over the world. The concept was that there were magic doors that you could walk through and end up in another part of the world. It was about immigration issues and how people calm down about it and just learn from each other when anyone can easily go anywhere. That was probably my favorite book trip in May.
2.) "Dawn (Xenogenesis #1), by Octavia Butler was the second book I read in May. She is an African American science fiction writer, so this book took place in the future after the people of earth had ruined their planet so badly they could no longer live on it. Humans were "rescued" by some aliens who wanted to hybrid themselves with humans and move back to earth once it had become habitable again. Got that? Anyway, it was kind of a sad trip, but it was a good reminder to continue to take better care of our planet. If only everyone would...
3.) "Lincoln in the Bardo", by George Saunders. I know I said that "Exit West" was my favorite book trip in May, but that's because I forgot I read this book that month too. This book would easily tie for the best book trip I took in May. I love George Saunders. He's weird and smart and he can make you look at life from a different angle. This book took place in a cemetery in Washington D.C. back when Abraham Lincoln was president and his son had just died. It was about love, basically and I will always want to travel toward love.
4.) The fourth book I read in May was "Jamrach's Menagerie" by Carol Birch. It wasn't probably the best destination, but it was entertaining. I certainly wouldn't want to be shipwrecked. It would be cool to travel to all of those exotic places, however.
5.) "Everybody's Fool", by Richard Russo was the fifth book I read. It takes place in a small Upstate New York town. It's a sequel to "Nobody's Fool" and it is a sweet character study. It was good place to go in the Summer.
6.) "Under the Udala Trees" by Chinelo Okparanta took place in Nigeria. It was about a lesbian living in a country where LBGQT people are persecuted. It was very sad, but it was well written and poignant.
7.) The last book I read last month was "Peter Pan" by J.M. Berrie. I'm sure I probably read some form of this book when I was a kid. I could have just seen a million TV and film adaptations, so I THOUGHT I read it. Anyway, it was weirder than I thought it would be. The fairies come back from an orgy at one point and this is a children's book. No, really. I thought I would love it, but I didn't. It wasn't awful and it was okay escapism, but not the best book trip I could have taken last month.
Here's to some new and fun book travel for this lovely month of June.
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