Four and Five Star Reads from January and February

It has only been 2 full months (and a couple of days into March at the time of writing) and my reading year is already looking up from my dismal reading experiences of 2020. 

Currently I have completed 39 books this year, hitting my conservative reading goal of 25 books this year in the second week of February. Among these thirty odd books, I have several four and five star reads, some of which already making my favourite list for this year.

I gave 18 (!!) books a 4 or 5 star rating in these past two months, and these are all listed below with brief explanations as to why I enjoyed them. This is a lengthy blog post, but I hope this inspires someone to pick up one of these incredible books and hopefully you enjoy them as much as I did!

★★★★

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi was beautifully written, heartbreaking, and completely broke me. I read this via audiobook as I expected it to be a hard book to read physically, and I am so glad I went with that decision. The narrator for the audiobook was Dominic Hoffman and he did an incredible job. The reading experience was relatively quick considering this was around 12 hours of audio but that did not diminish the effect this novel had on me. The tears shed during this read were not insignificant!

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana del Rey & If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird: two short but beautiful and impactful poetry collections. I will have a full review for If My Body Could Speak written up soon, alongside some of my recent poetry reads. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune was whimsical and wonderful and it felt like a hug. I listened to this via audio, however I do feel I would have preferred reading it physically, but this did not massively detract from my enjoyment of the book. 

The Suitcase Kid by Jaqueline Wilson, a nostalgic and short childhood read! I fully recommend readers to pick back up their old childhood favourites, they often hold up the test of time. 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab was not something I was expecting to love; it is not in a genre I enjoy often (crime and thriller mixed with urban fantasy?) but the story sucked me in. It was fast paced, action packed, and full of interesting, flawed characters. The chapters were short and therefore easy to fly through, especially with Schwab's writing skill. Despite me not being that interested in picking up the sequel when I first began reading, I'm definitely going to continue with this world.  

Don't Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri: this was a relatively short non-fiction piece of work about black (women, primarily) and our hair's story within historical and cultural contexts. I thought this was a brief yet still highly informative and I did learn some new things from this read. 

Beloved by Toni Morrison was heartbreaking, horrific, confusing, and a maelstrom of other emotions. This is definitely a challenging read, both in terms of the graphic content, subject matter, and writing style. Toni Morrison is truly a talented writer, and it shines through in this novel. This read requires one's full concentration and it was a dense, lengthy but I 1000% think I came out a changed person after reading this. 

The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman & Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson: this reading year so far has been full of fantastic middle grade reads. Both of these books were similar in how they followed two young black girls, had themes of exploring family history and identity, and were also both primarily set in New York. Weissman's novel followed a young adopted Jewish girl, Imani, wanting to learn more about her own background whilst simultaneously learning more about the history of her Great-Grandma who recently passed. Watson's story was similar in that the protagonist, Amara, was curious about her father's Harlem heritage and reconnecting with her father's side of the family. Both of these books were wonderfully written and I would have loved to have more books like these when I was a child. 

★★★★1/2

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin: this short collection of two essays was incredible. I felt as though James Baldwin himself rummaged through my mind to write all of this down. My soul was singing as I read through this; I felt deeply deeply connected to this body of work. Despite not going in ignorant into this (regarding the subject matter and topics discussed), I felt as though I came out learning so much. 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo was the first book that I completed in 2021, and what a book to bring in the New Year. This was my first Acevedo book, and I will be for sure picking up everything else she has ever written if this is the standard of work each time. 

Heartstopper: Volume 2 by Alice Oseman is delightfully fluffy and queer and I wish something like this was around for me as a young teen. I enjoyed this read much for the same reasons as volumes one and three detailed below. 

★★★★★

Heartstopper: Volume 1 & Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman is a fluffy contemporary YA graphic novel about queer teens and their love. Oseman's art style is wonderful and the story is simple, but something I'm definitely invested in and I can't wait to see how Nick, Charlie, and the gangs' stories progresses.  yes I have already preordered the 4th volume shhh 

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi should be required reading for everyone. I read this both physically and through the audiobook format (protip: the audiobook of this is available on Spotify for free!). This is such a dense and difficult read that having a narrator read it out definitely helped consolidate understanding - I highly highly recommend the audiobook. 

Matilda by Roald Dahl: another childhood favourite read that truly held the test of time. This high rating may be a product of nostalgia but I consider this to be one of the books that made me a voracious reader as a child and as an adult, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde is currently my favourite book of the year (so far) and this book firmly cemented Audre Lorde as one of my favourite writers. This piece of work was illuminating, thought provoking, and I genuinely believe that this should be required reading for anywhere in the Western and English speaking world. Much like after reading Beloved, I feel as though I came out of this read a totally different person than I was when entering the book. 

🎶 song of the day → ghosting by mother mother