August started a little slow on the book front because my usual reading time was consumed with watching the Olympics. But I found my groove in the second half of the month, mostly by reading fiction. Because of that, I only finished one non-fiction book this month, so that’s where I’ll start.
Bauhaus Weaving Theory by T’ai Smith – The last few months, I’ve given myself a goal of reading one book about textile history or theory each month. This book was definitely more on the theory side, as well as very academic, but I absolutely loved it. It explored issues of gender and touch in textiles, two of my favorite subjects, and introduced me to weavers that I want to know more about. It’s certainly not a book for everyone, but if you’re a textile nerd like me, you should check it out!
Ok, now on to the fiction!
Like last month, I’m going to talk about the fiction books I read in the order that I liked them, not the order that I read them.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez – I read Gonzalez’s second book, Anita de Monte Laughs Last earlier this year and it blew my mind (in a good way), so I was excited when I found her first book at a library book sale. I’m finding this a little hard to believe, but I think I liked Olga Dies Dreaming more than Anita de Monte, even though this book has nothing to do with art. I was really drown in to the entire cast of characters, but I particularly loved Matteo and his “collecting.” (I refuse to call it hoarding.) I’d highly recommend this one.
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane – If there’s a theme this month, it’s apparently reading an author’s back catalog that I found at a library book sale. (Which is of course where I also found Sloane’s second book, Sourdough.) This was the book I used to get out of my post-Olympics reading slump. Like Sourdough, it’s a fascinating blend of technology and craft, as well as a quick and entertaining read.
Weyward by Emilia Hart – I read this book at the recommendation of a friend, and while I liked it, I didn’t love it. While the women in the book end up mostly triumphant, so many shitty things happen to them in their lives that it left me feeling kind of crummy when I was done.
The Power by Naomi Alderman – This was another library book sale find that had been on my radar for a little while, but I have to say I wouldn’t recommend it. It started out with a really intriguing presence, but as the book went on, I started to find it really lazy, because it basically shows that woman can only come to power by enacting violence the way that men historically have on women. Not only that, but there are some graphic depictions of sexual violence that just seemed gratuitous. I’m all for fiction (or, you know, real life) where women are in power, but not by repeating the same violent patterns of men.
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