Shelf #26 Complete (FINALLY), On to Shelf #27

This project completely derailed, and I didn’t start Who Fears Death until January 1st. Like I wrote earlier, 2024 never gave me a break, and I’ll own that I didn’t manage the stress well. I’m working on setting things right, because 2025 has been giving me signs that I need to make major changes. It’s scary, but exciting.

Who Fears Death is brutal and brilliant. There’s so much going on in this novel, and since I treat my bookshelf exploration as reading for fun, I didn’t take notes to do a true review. Nnedi Okorafor’s worldbuilding is brilliant, and I appreciate how she distinguishes her work as Africanfuturism. I learn so much from reading her writing.

Now for shelf #27!

I’ll probably read something by Chaim Potok or The Shipping News depending on my mood and when I have time. I went a little overboard with requesting ARCs, and I have some book club deadlines. I’m definitely more motivated to read when I have due dates or reviews to write in advance of a book’s publication. The downside is that it cuts into my goal of reading the books I already own. I need to figure out how to stop time!

Books I’ve read:

  • George Orwell 1984
  • Amos Oz To Know a Woman
  • Sheena Patel I’m a Fan
  • Alan Paton Cry, the Beloved Country
  • Alan Paton Tales from a Troubled Land
  • David Payne Ruin Creek
  • Iain Pears The Dream of Scipio
  • Nichole Perkins Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be
  • Torrey Peters Detransition, Baby
  • Harold Pinter Homecoming
  • Regina Porter The Rich People Have Gone Away
  • Chaim Potok The Chosen
  • Chaim Potok The Promise

Shelf #9 Complete, On to Shelf #10

Disgrace was a lot. It had everything that usually makes me love a book: masterful writing, a messy main character (who I wanted to punch in the face), and many angles for critical analysis. I wish I had more time to sit with it and dig deeper into the characters and the social commentary, especially the significance of the title, but I wanted to finish it before the year ended. (One of my goals for next year is to read slowly and deliberately instead of rushing to see how many books I can finish.)

Now for shelf #10!

I haven’t read many of the books on this shelf, but my choice will be Sweet Land Stories by E. L. Doctorow because it meets at least one of the categories in the book challenges I’m hoping to complete in 2024. More on that later (tonight maybe).

Books I’ve read:

  • Day After Night by Anita Diamant
  • Good Harbor by Anita Diamant
  • Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky