The books I read this month were, by and large, extremely … large. Three of them clocked in at more than 600 pages, which made the mere 368 pages of “The Book of Goose” feel like a sprint. So if you’re in the mood to be transported for a long stay in another world — or just to the streets of London for some romping detective work — this is the newsletter for you.
Books I loved:
“The Book of Love,” by Kelly Link: It’s time for a confession: I love a well-done book with fantastical elements. I’m not talking Harry Potter. I’m talking weirder. As a kid, I loved the “Redwall” series, about a whole world of anthropomorphic rodents. It’s basically a fantastical interpretation of the history of England, if that’s your cup of tea. When I got a little older, I was mesmerized by the “His Dark Materials” trilogy. These days, I don’t read much fantasy, but when I got an
newsletter in which the author raved about “The Book of Love,” I added myself to the library hold list immediately.It’s a doorstopper of a book. Don’t fall asleep while reading it; you’d be at risk of a facial bruise or even a concussion. And it’s weird. Kids back from the dead. A wolf-devil-man creature named Bogomil who’s described as being both hot and horrifying. But it’s also not weird at all; it’s a book about friendship and family and love (duh).
“The Book of Goose,” by Yiyun Li: “The Book of Love” was definitely about love. “The Book of Goose” is not at all about geese. It’s actually about love, too: between two adolescent best friends living in the French countryside in the years after World War II. I tore through this gem of a novel and was totally entranced by the narrative voice, which quietly explored what it looks like to take agency and to manipulate perceptions and stereotypes.
I am addicted to the Cormoran Strike Series
“Troubled Blood” and “The Ink Black Heart,” by Robert Galbraith: I love these mysteries. There’s not much more to say that I haven’t already said. They follow a bit of a formula, and that’s fine with me.
A really informative cookbook
“Seafood Simple,” by Eric Ripert: I spotted this cookbook when I visited Books Are Magic in Brooklyn in March, and after a few minutes paging through it, I realized how woefully uneducated I was about the basic principles of how to cook seafood. After buying it, I read the book cover-to-cover, and I’ve tried a few recipes already. All have tasted great — especially the salmon with herb-infused extra-virgin olive oil and the snapper with coconut-tomato sauce — and I’m slowly learning some fundamentals I should’ve mastered a long time ago.
