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.
What are you reading?
We are definitely book opposites! I thought the characters in When He Was Wicked were flat, was irate by the disregard for the truth of women’s health, and just wanted Francesca to stop being so boring. So interesting that the plot made up for those faults in your mind! We’re just into different things in our romance novels, obviously!
Oh wow, we had completely different experiences reading When He Was Wicked! We truly are anti-book twins, hehehe.
I. am currently reading a thriller. Which happens about every two years or so. My go to author is Bernadette Calonego. I love her stories. It has much suspense but doesn’t go into ugly detail of describing a murder scene.
I have not heard of any of the books you mentioned above.
That’s so interesting that you only read a thriller every other year! That’s one of my fave genres; it’s a good slump buster for me, usually!
That is a solid week of reading! I have thought about reading the first book and it sounds like I need to read the 2nd one!
I just finished ‘All the Broken Places’ by John Boyne which is technically a sequel to boy in the striped pajamas but you don’t need to have read that to appreciate this book. I gave it 5 stars! I love Boyne’s writing! Next I will start ‘The Ingenue’ which Sarah of Sarah’s Bookshelves recommended. I had started ‘read dangerously’ which is a collection of letters that analyze literature and apply the lessons from those books to things happening in our world. But I abandoned it pretty quickly as I am not in the mind frame for a challenging/dense book like that.
I put All the Broken Places on my TBR list after they talked about it on Sarah’s Book Shelves Live. It sounds great! I’ve only read one John Boyne book, but I LOVED it and I need to read more from him.
“When He Was Wicked” was the first Julia Quinn that I ever read and I loved it so much. I, also, like a little bit of unrequited love pining in my books. (But not so much pining that it becomes obsessive. Like I want them to pine *and* get on with their lives.) I have to say that the rest of her books didn’t live up to the depth of this one for me.
I’ve just finished The Death of Vivek Oji, which was beautiful and sad and full of love of all kinds. Like your experience with A Burning, I started The Death of Vivek Oji without any idea what it was about and it felt like it took me a while to figure out how all the threads tied together.
I feel the same way about Julia Quinn novels! Most of them have been rather lackluster, so it was a surprise to enjoy this one so much!
I loved The Burning. I think Suzanne had recommended it to me and I just loved it!
I also read Aubrey Gordon’s book and I have her new one on hold at the library. I have found her books and her podcast to be very enlightening and thought-provoking. I was thinking about her specifically when I saw that you had such a bad experience at your doctor’s office. I had recently read a book – Weightless – in which the author talked about almost dying from a heart disease. The heart disease was NOT caused by her weight, but it was IGNORED by the doctor because of her weight. I had listened to this woman on a podcast and I was absolutely horrified by her experience. It is so much more common than I thought.
It really is so very common to be dismissed and dehumanized because of one’s weight, which is really sad. I was horrifed by Aubrey’s story of going to the urgent care for an ear infection and the doctor muttering, “Lose weight,” when she asked about the right treatment. FOR AN EAR INFECTION?! UGH. It’s so frustrating.
Just finished reading The Paris Library which had great characters and at the same time learned about the American Library in Paris during WWII. I also read Never Finished by David Goggins. Didn’t know much about him but after reading this book, he seems so extra and regretted spending $ on the book.
The Paris Library sounds amazing! Adding it to my TBR now. 🙂
It’s interesting to me that you prefer not to go into a book blind because I have been burned so many times by a synopsis telling me too much that I prefer to go in blind.
OMG A CANTALOUPE?! Mind blown. And I am sorry you had that experience at your dr. I don’t think people really get how ingrained fatphobia is in our culture. It’s disgusting.
I started the Tomorrow x3 book. It’s a bit verbose so far, whoa. And uses many fancy people words.
I think I am definitely in the minority when it comes to reading synopses. I think most people prefer not to know much about a book going in, but maybe this is just my anxiety talking and needing to know what I’m getting myself into, haha.
I’ll be curious to know how you end up feeling about Tomorrow x3!
These sound good! I just want to give my perspective as a “straight-size” person. I hate to admit it, but when I was younger I was VERY judgmental about other people’s bodies. I eventually realized it was coming from my own insecurity about how my body looked- being “thin” doesn’t automatically mean you love your body. When I stopped judging other people, I became much more comfortable with my own body. So, judgment is happening for all sorts of reasons, but it hurts everyone (people being judged most of all, of course.)
I think that insecurity is so, so common! You’re not alone at all. For me, when I hear about a straight-size person complaining about their body or how they want to lose weight, it really makes me wonder what they think about ME. (As in, “I would never want to be THAT big.”) I think a lot of that judgment DOES come for other’s insecurities, and I think it’s good to recognize that so you can make sure that judgment isn’t affecting the way you treat fat people. Kudos!
Oh, wow. Your comments on the book by Aubrey Gordon have really given me some food-for-thought. It sounds like something I should read. Despite my best efforts, when I was younger, I admit I was judgmental about peoples’ weight. Now, because I am self-conscious about my own body, I do not think in the same ways, but… it’s definitely there in my history. Thank you for bringing this up so honestly. I really, really appreciate it. And I hope you know that I am not trying to defend my younger self – just trying to recognize and admit that that is who I was. And knowing that I need to learn more, and that reading this book is probably a good place to start. Thank you. <3 (And please, please let me know if I have offended you in anyway – that was not my intent, at all…)
You have never, ever said anything to offend me! I, too, have been judgmental about other people’s bodies and said things like “I don’t EVER want to be X weight.” I have posts on THIS BLOG where I say very fatphobic things about other people, so you are not alone. We do better once we know, that’s the most important thing. <3