My August in reading

This was a great month for books, people. I read some stunners.

When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Diaz

Yes, I realize I’m 8 years late to the party on this one, but WOW, what a party! I enjoyed this whole collection—but her love/lust poems in later sections of the book destroyed me. A good love poem is hard to pull off, and Diaz does it with aplomb. My face quite literally flushed. I feel like I should probably say something about the importance of Native American voices, but I’m still stuck on the sheer level of desire in these pages.

Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce

The final volume in my Alanna series re-read! I’ve always liked this last book in the quartet, and it held up—a new quest for a powerful jewel that could save the kingdom of Tortall, the return of an old enemy, and a young woman knight deciding what she wants her future to look like, rather than having others decide it for her. I’m glad I took this nostalgic literary journey.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Would you like to read a book that’s a combination of Du Maurier’s Rebecca, Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos set in Mexico? Great! This is the novel for you. Wildly eerie, full of both body and nature horror, and a speedy read to boot. I loved it.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I was psyched when the Phoebe Reads a Mystery podcast announced this as their next book, as I hadn’t read it in years. I tried when I was maybe 11 or 12, and I don’t think that was the best age for it—not because I was afraid, but simply due to the gilded Victorian language. Some of it was laughably old-fashioned—definitely some “angel in the house” stuff going on with Mina and Lucy. But overall it was just as delightfully spooky as I expected. And parts of it were gross, even unnerving. It’s a classic for a reason, that’s for sure.

The Pisces by Melissa Broder

I’ve been meaning to read this one for a while, and I was not disappointed. Depressed, neurotic woman gets out of a long-term relationship and falls head over heels for the merman she meets at Venice Beach. What’s not to love? Broder doesn’t shy away from the fish sex, thankfully. But she also doesn’t shy away from her unlikable protagonist, which makes the book especially good. At the risk of spoilers: that horrible thing you think is going to happen does happen, and it’s awful. Also, this is the first in a series of books I read this month with really short chapters!

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

I read this entire novel by candlelight after a giant storm knocked out my power. Which is, perhaps, the best possible environment for reading this book? Funny and wicked, it tells the tale of diligent nurse Korede, who’s always cleaning up the messes of her beautiful sister Ayoola, who is almost certainly a serial killer. Such a fun dark comedy—I recommend it a million times over. Also, tiny chapters again! An emerging trend in literature?

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli

I’ve been wanting to read something by Luiselli for a while now, and this one is whimsical AF. Highway is an elderly storyteller and legendary auctioneer—at least, that’s the way he tells it. Divided into chapters based on the various auctioneering techniques devised by Highway throughout his illustrious career, the book details especially his later years, when he encounters his long-lost son. In real life, Luiselli wrote this novel in collaboration with workers from the Jumex factory outside Mexico City. It is truly unlike anything else I’ve ever read.

Luster by Raven Leilani

It’s the novel of the moment—how could I resist? We published one of Leilani’s stories in Split Lip a few years back, and I knew then she was going to be a literary star. Her debut is about a young 20-something, Edie, who enters a messy relationship with a married man—that becomes increasingly messy as she befriends his wife and adopted daughter. This book is funny—and the jokes come out of nowhere. It’s like you don’t realize there’s a joke until you’re laughing. Leilani writes about race, gender, and class divisions with a graceful bluntness. Also, the novel basically has three endings. It’s phenomenal.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

I have a few friends who have been begging me to read this novel for years, and I think they may have overhyped it. I was expecting something life-changing, when in reality it was generally enjoyable and very impressive in terms of craft. Somehow Gyasi manages to tell the tale of two branches of the same Ghanaian family—one half sister who was sold into slavery, one who married an Englishman that traded in slaves—over eight generations. I’m not sure how she managed to cram so much history into a single novel, but she made it look easy. She also made made that history painful, when warranted—and it was often warranted. I’m awed by her talent—I’m just not sure it was quite up my alley.

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

I loved the first book in this series, Dread Nation, so I was excited to read the sequel. And I wasn’t disappointed! Normally I’m not into zombie stories, but Ireland creates a zombie—or should I say shambler—mythology all her own set in the American West, and she highlights the racial politics of the period and setting, which is something we don’t always get in Westerns. It’s a page-turner with heart and guts.