Fortunately, Unfortunately

Reading Wrap: May

Fortunately, I am halfway through my reading goal of 2024 (please hold all applause until the end). 2024 is the year of 52 books. One a week. Very reasonable.

Unfortunately, after cataloguing my reads here at the Kitchen Bench I have concluded that my ratings are a mess. I read a review on Goodreads last week that ended in a rating of 3.67 stars. Where does the .67 come from?? What is this mystery algorithm??

Funny Story, Emily Henry

Somehow, each new Emily Henry book welcomes you back into her cosy living room with a large glass of wine, while still being wonderfully unique. My wine tastes slightly more delicious when I’m reading an Emily Henry book.  

If you loved any of Henry’s previous novels then you’ll love this one too. Funny Story follows Daphne whose fiancé leaves her days before their wedding for his childhood best friend, Petra (ick). Daphne is kicked out of the home she and Peter shared together and finds solace in Petra’s ex-boyfriend Miles, who becomes her new roommate.

If Emily Henry released a book on garden gnomes, I would buy it, read it, and love it. She can do no wrong. I hope she never stops writing; we must protect her at all costs. If you’re a lover of Taylor Swift, Dolly Alderton, and Nora Ephron movies… then you have excellent taste, but you also need to acquaint yourself with Emily.

4 Stars

Psyche & Eros, Luna McNamara

Another month another Greek myth.  

McNamara is a great writer. The prose is lovely and the characters are well shaped from the beginning. It was the second half of the plot that left me a bit bored.   

3 Stars

Godkiller, Hannah Kaner

What a delight. This is a mature and uncomplicated fantasy book with an array of diverse characters (we love to see it!) and great world building in sub-300 pages. And as if all of that wasn’t impressive enough, it’s a debut! It’s not the kind of story I would normally reach for and I have to credit the sly Waterstones sales staff for upselling it to me at the counter (although I’m a pretty easy sell, see above comment re garden gnomes), they know easy prey when they see it.

This is the first in the series and I’m excited to see what Hannah does with the next few.

4 Stars

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein is an expert. I mentioned Doppelganger briefly a few weeks ago and after several laps of my local park and a light bit of rain (perhaps not light but definitely not torrential) I finally finished the last few hours of the audio book. Klein explores the concept of the doppelganger and shadow self throughout various topics; AI, new-age Instagram wellness, and anti-vaxxers. It’s clever, challenging, and full of fantastic resources. Klein sprinkles in her own opinion with great care and delivers both funny and poignant moments.

I loved it.

5 Stars

Good Material, Dolly Alderton

Oh Dolly, you miraculous goddess. That’s what you’ll say when you finish Good Material. It’s what I said when I finished the last page, eyes watering and heart full.

Good Material is the story of Andy, a 35-year-old struggling comedian who is left completely heartbroken and confused when his long-term girlfriend, Jen, breaks up with him. I’ll be honest with you… Andy is, for the first 60% of the book, insufferable. He’s lazy, whiney, and lacks all sorts of empathy. But what Dolly does so well is never portray Andy as a bad or toxic guy, he’s just emotionally immature.  

What is so beautiful about this book is that everything feels so real. Every social interaction, every painful memory of their relationship, every unhinged thing he does out of grief, all of it feels honest and true. I have so many passages that I love, some because they made me laugh and some because they made me cry. Here’s one that made me giggle….

I make a mental list of all things I’d be willing to do – actually, realistically willing – to have Jen break up with Seb and be in love with me again. I play out each of the following scenarios in my head several times and this is what I conclude:

• Give a man a handjob if I didn’t have to look at his face for the duration

• Lose a bit of hair at the front (not any more from the back)

• Go to her parents’ house every weekend for lunch for the rest of my life

• Give up alcohol for two years

• Never eat ham again

• (This one isn’t good) Have my only remaining grandparent die (peacefully)

• Live in Hammersmith

• Never buy another pair of sunglasses

• Lose a finger or toe under general anaesthetic (limbs too far) (could probably get a show out of it)

This book is special and the ending is perfect.

4.5 Stars

I’m currently listening to Babel, by R. F. Kuang and reading The Unmaking of June Farrow, by Adrienne Young

I’ve been listening to Babel on Audible for about two months now and I’m just not that engaged. The story is set at Oxford University’s Royal Institute of Translation (also known as Babel) in the 1830’s. It has elements of revolution, colonial resistance, language and translation, and magic; it’s a fascinating concept. Unfortunately, I’ve listened to 40% of it and very little has happened. Am I missing something? Because this book has bloody great reviews. It seems Babel will be my Everest in 2024 but rest assured I will be reaching that peak.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is the complete opposite. This book is like a mid-morning stroll on a sunny day. It’s beautifully written so far, I’m having the loveliest time with it. I’ve been a fan of Adrienne Young’s ever since I read her YA book Fable (a Reese’s Book Club pick from October 2020). It was one of the few books I finished and immediately wanted to read all over again. Young has since branched out into a more adult genre, but her signature style is still there and it’s glorious.

Ben’s Books

This is normally the part of the article where I transcribe my interview with my fiancé on the book he’s read this month. This segment, which I’m from now on calling Ben’s Books, has become a favourite of my friends and family because Ben’s reviews are famously unemphatic. He recently left a review of a book he finished as ‘good’. Not even a capital letter.

BUT, Ben is a great reader (he’d like it mentioned that he was in the top reading group in primary school but this is not quite what I mean). He has this wonderful ability to pluck a book of the shelf, sit down, and just read it. It could be anything… history, politics, science, crime, fantasy, fiction, myth. Where I pour over book reviews from the Guardian, New York Times, Goodreads and Booktok, Ben just reads because he feels like reading. There’s such a lovely simplicity to it.

So, here is his review…

The Will of the Many, James Islington

The Will of the Many was great. It had everything you want in a good fantasy. Good story, great characters, interesting world, and fun magic. My engineering side also enjoyed that the magic went into a bit more depth and that there was discovery and engineering within the magic system. Really loved the main character. Can’t wait for book two.

5 Stars.

Cheers,

Ben

That’s all for books this month, bye!