May Discussion Post

[siberian_angel]

It's time for our monthly discussion post! This post will remain open for you to contribute at any time, so no pressure. Even if you didn't get around to reading any of your selected books or opted out of participating for the month, you're still more than welcome to take part in the discussion.

Please copy and paste this in the comments!
<b>Who was your buddy this month?</b><br /><b>What books were chosen for you?</b><br /><b>Did you manage to read your books? Which ones?</b><br /><b>If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite?</b><br /><b>Would you recommend your chosen book(s)?</b><br /><b>Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books?</b>

Comments

[fred_mouse]

I'm partway through two of mine! I have hopes of finishing them by the end of May; hopefully I'll remember to come back and comment if I do.

[einhornmaedchen]

Who was your buddy this month?einhornmaedchen
What books were chosen for you?
Choice 1: Body politics by Melodie Michelberger (Nonfiction/Female author)
Choice 2: Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm (Thriller/Female author)
Choice 3: Amelia unabridged by Ashley Schumacher (Female author)
Did you manage to read your books? Which ones?I read "Body Politics" and started reading "Strega" yesterday.
If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite?I enjoyed "Body Politics" a lot, it was empowering and I even learned some new things about the origins of body positivity, among other stuff. "Strega" is okay so far, I just need to get used to the writing style. A review on the back blurb said it felt more like watching a movie than reading a book and I am inclined to agree with that.
Would you recommend your chosen book(s)?With "Body Politics", for sure. I don't know about "Strega" yet, but I assume it's not for everyone.
Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books?
I did! It was a good reading month, I read ten other books, woo-hoo! :)

-> "The Burning Girls" by C.J. Tudor (which had actually be one of my assignments for April, lol. I can recommend it if you like a dash of the supernatural in your psycho thriller)
-> "Das Leben ist eins der Härtesten" by Giulia Becker (I guess it's what you would call "slice of life"? The story of four rather...eh, I guess, excentric characters, each carrying their own baggage, who come together and try to master life together. I have followed the author's work for a while, she is a comedian/comedy author & has a podcast with her partner. Seeing as I think she's very funny, I had high expectations for this book, which unfortunately fell short. With some of the characters, I felt she was painting them as overly "shrill" so they felt more like very hyperbolic stereotypes. So I guess I can't really recommend it unless you like that kind of stuff.)
-> "The Assistant" by S.K. Tremayne
-> "Locked In" by Jussi Adler-Olsen (recommended)
-> "Gestohlene Vergangenheit (Die Wikinger von Vinland, vol. 2)" by Smilla Johansson. (I read the first volume in this series about a Viking girl called Linea who fights for the throne of the "village leader" and sails out to discover new shores earlier this year and was absolutely swept away. I cannot wait to read the third volume as soon as my library gets it. Recommended if you can read German)
-> "Briefe einer verhinderten Emanze" by Claudia Keller (A collection of three novellas, written in letter form, by a frustrated housewife about her negligent husband and wanting to become more independent. It's from the 80s/early 90s and that definitely shows. I didn't find it very funny, more depressing and sad how this woman was treated and that she couldn't get out of there. I am glad I got it from the "free little library" here and didn't spend money on it)
-> "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy (recommended, although I didn't quite get the "hype", either)
-> "The Lies I Tell" by Julie Clark
-> "Die Zukunft ist nicht binär" by Lydia Meyer (A non-fiction book about non-binary people, the concept of non-binarity (is that a word?), its history etc. it was very well-written, informative and thought-provoking. Definitely recommended)
-> "Berts jungfräuliche Katastrophen" by Sören Olsson & Anders Jacobsson (this is a volume from a Swedish children's/teenager book series about a boy called Bert. It's told in the form of Bert's diary entries about his daily life, a lot of it centering around sex. When I was younger, I loved this series and found it very funny. The other day, I found the book and decided to read it again...well, let's just say, it didn't age well. A lot of it I just found immature, sexist and there was some casual racism too. I guess when I was younger, I didn't have the same awareness for these contents that I have now...)