A Burning by Megha Majumdar (★★★★☆)

Audiobook • Libby • Contemporary Fiction • 2020

I think I’m still processing this book, as it was nothing like I expected. I went into it mostly blind, which isn’t my favorite way to start a book (I like having a general idea of what the plot is about), and it meant I was really surprised by what took place and how everything turned out in the end. The novel is about power and wealth, and the way both can be corrupted. It follows three people: Jivan, a young girl who has been accused of executing a terrorist attack; PT Sir, a gym teacher who begins to ascend in a right-wing political party; and Lovely, who aspires to fame and fortune and whose alibi could set Jivan free. It’s a mostly depressing story, although I found all of the characters to be super compelling and people I could root for (well, not so much PT Sir, but there was a humanness to him and his struggle that was fascinating to explore). Listening to it on audio was the way to go, I think, as each character was voiced by a different person and it really made the story come alive for me.

What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon (★★★★☆)

Print • Owned (Amazon) • Nonfiction • 2020

I have had Aubrey Gordon’s book on my list for a long, long time (probably since she announced it!) and I am so glad I finally picked it up last week. I love Aubrey’s podcast, Maintenance Phase, that she co-hosts with Michael Hobbes, and this book continues the work she is doing on that podcast to help people unlearn their fatphobic tendencies. Aubrey is honest, vulnerable, and forthright when she talks about the harassment and bullying she has experienced as a very fat person—from a doctor who told her to “lose weight” to help heal an ear infection to a stranger in the grocery store removing a canteloupe from Aubrey’s grocery cart because, as the stranger insisted, “it had too much sugar.” She argues about the justice and the real systemic change that is needed to stop the harms that occur to fat people on a daily basis. I was in the middle of reading this book when I had a very discouraging doctor’s visit where my own concerns weren’t taken seriously and instead, the doctor wanted to talk to me about weight loss. While I haven’t had to deal with nearly the amount of harassment as Aubrey (and have typically had very positive experiences with the medical community!), it reminded me that we have so far to go in our society. This is a book that I think would be especially beneficial for those that experience thin privilege. If you’ve never had to worry about asking for a seat extender on an airplane, or a doctor not taking you seriously because of your weight, or being harassed by strangers because of your size… I encourage you to pick up this book to better understand what it’s like to live in a fat body.

The work of straight-size people will need to be courageous, vulnerable, and uncomfortable. It will require them to get painfully honest with themselves, acknowledging that they have been trained to judge and marginalize fat people, and, whether they intend to or not, they are active participants in perpetuating and expanding anti-fatness. They will need to interrogate and jettison all the ways, big and small, that they’ve come to marginalize fat people, from posting triumphant before and after weight-loss photos to reassuring themselves that ‘they’re not that fat’ when they see a body like mine. And they will need to come to a deep understanding and belief that their body—their very own—is not necessarily an accomplishment, not a reward, not a reflection of a laudable work ethic or intense tenacity, but of a series of factors that are largely out of their own control.

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn (★★★★☆)

E-Book • Libby • Historical Romance • 2004

This might be my favorite book in the Bridgerton series! I have been very vocal about my “meh-ness” about this series and wishing Netflix had picked up a better historical romance series to make a show about, but I really loved Francesca’s story. She’s been pretty absent in the Netflix series so far, and even in the book series, as the last we heard about her was that she was recently widowed after her husband of just a few years died suddenly. This story starts with Francesca’s husband’s death as a prologue and then picks up four years afterward when she decides she’s ready to get married again because she’s desperate to become a mother. Then there’s Michael, who has loved Francesca from afar for years, even when she was married to his cousin. When his cousin died, he inherited the earldom and quickly fled to India, but now he’s back in London and he realizes his love for Francesca has not waned one bit. I love a good unrequited love trope, and this one was really sweet. I wish the author had given us more insight into Francesca’s desire for motherhood because it kind of disappeared after it was initially brought up. This story is spicy so prepare yourself for some very hot sexytimes! I thought they were *chef’s kiss*. All in all, a really delightful romance with characters I loved to root for and a propulsive plot that was fun to follow along with.

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