Tag: Politics

ARC, Books

Book 856: The Last Chance Library – Freya Sampson

Geoff W

Book cover of "The Last Chance Library" with Amazon Affiliate linkWhen I saw the title of this one, it was a no brainer I was going to request a copy of it from the publisher.* I’m sure I read the blurb and thought it was a great premise, but by time I got around to reading it (months after I was approved) I had forgotten the premise of the novel.

The Last Chance Library is the story of June Jones. It’s ostensibly the story of her trying to save her local library which is threatened with closing because of council cuts, but it’s really the story of her finally getting over her mother’s death and the processing of the grief, while finding a community. There were also SOOO many books mentioned (I think I got them all in my list at the end of my post).

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Books

Book 846: The Lavender Menace – Tom Cardamone (Ed.)

Geoff W

Book cover of UGH. I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I remember the excitement when I stumbled across it seven years ago at PAX East in the LGBT lounge. I guess I either forgot the premise or didn’t really read the full premise of the book so ended up slightly disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong there were definitely a few stories I very much enjoyed (more the redemptive ones) and there was some great writing throughout the novel, but there were some larger issues with the collection that may reflect when it was originally published (2013) and how far we’ve come as a society, and also the background of the editor (cis white gay man).

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ARC, Books

Book 819: Kill Switch – Adam Jentleson

Geoff W

Book cover of I heard about this book on NPR’s Fresh Air, and didn’t know quite a few of the facts they shared so immediately reached out to the publisher.*

Jentleson was very open that he had a bias, being a former aide to Democratic majority leader Harry Reid, but I felt he presented all the facts and stories without too much bias. Honestly, I was impressed with how balanced Jentleson was able to talk about everything and ultimately explain Democrats were forced to play the game the southern white supremacist senators have created just to get things done. And it’s irrefutable the line he’s drawn from the slave holders to the January 6th insurrection.

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ARC, Books

Book 812: The Step Back – J.T. Bushnell

Geoff W

Book cover of "The Step Back" with Amazon Affiliate linkI wasn’t sure what to expect with this. I saw a meh review (that was still four stars) on Goodreads so that definitely made me hesitant to start. But, I’d already told the publisher I’d take a look at it, so I did.*

The Step Back is the story of Ed Garrison. There’s not a lot that happens other than he grows the f*ck up. It sounds weird saying it’s that simple—sure it’s a two-year period in his life is full of upheaval and maturing faster than he want—but in essence that’s what it is.

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Books

Book 790: The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy

Geoff W

Book cover of "The God of Small Things" with Amazon Affiliate linkOMG ya’ll, clearly, I should be judging the next Booker Prize. First Wolf Hall and now this, I get why they choose these beautiful books as winners. I’m only partially serious. I still think so many of the books are boring old stuffy books that are specifically chosen because of the inability of large swaths of the population to comprehend or appreciate them. So, boo on that.

All kidding aside, this was an incredibly beautifully written DEBUT novel. I was floored when I found that out. The way she wrote and the way time flowed eerily (and seamlessly) backward and forward in this novel it truly felt like a master class in novels. No wonder she won the prize—I’m definitely going to have to read her only other fictional work, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, at some point because everything else she’s written is nonfiction (what?!).

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