Quick Lit October 2022 Archives

Counterfeit

by Kirstin Chen

Now THIS was a great reading experience. I needed a good listen for my drive home from Bookmarks NC and queued up this one on a whim. (I had been listening to a broody literary novel but it was NOT the right vibe for a sleepy solo drive!) By the time I got to Louisville, I was DONE—and the journey was fabulous. On the surface this almost has a heist kind of vibe. The clever structure elevates the story, but what really wowed me was the initially surreptitious and then all at once interrogation of the American Dream. I relished the details of the fashion industry and handbags in particular. This was good, smart fun that made the miles fly by.

The Woman in the Library

by Sulari Gentill

From the publisher: "The tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer. Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with The Woman in the Library, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all."

Three

by Valérie Perrin

From the publisher: "1986: Adrien, Etienne and Nina are 10 years old when they meet at school and quickly become inseparable. They promise each other they will one day leave their provincial backwater, move to Paris, and never part. 2017: A car is pulled up from the bottom of the lake, a body inside. Virginie, a local journalist with an enigmatic past reports on the case while also reflecting on the relationship between the three friends, who were unusually close when younger but now no longer speak. As Virginie moves closer to the surprising truth, relationships fray and others are formed."

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

by R. F Kuang

When MMD Book Club hosted Peng Shepherd in August to discuss The Cartographers, Peng raved about this new fantasy release from the author of The Poppy War trilogy. It's a cool 545 pages in hardcover, and WOW does she put every one to good use. The publisher calls it “a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal response to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell”—if that sounds a little cerebral for you, don’t worry, it’s easy to get swept up in the story. I've found myself talking about it ALL THE TIME to all sorts of readers. Kuang's historical fantasy takes place primarily in 1830s Oxford, where the workers at the translation institute Babel literally fuel the British Empire by combining their language skills with precious silver bars. While I loved the academic setting and band of four fast friends, her engagement with the complexities of race, power, and privilege are what really ground the novel. There's also a lot of philosophizing about the art of translation and discussion of what the practice actually involves, which I found insightful and fascinating.

Rethinking Sex

by Christine Emba

From the publisher: "Part searing examination, part call to arms—a bold case against modern sexual ethics, from young Washington Post columnist Christine Emba. For years now, modern-day sexual ethics has held that 'anything goes' when it comes to sex—as long as everyone says yes, and does so enthusiastically. So why, even when consent has been ascertained, are so many of our sexual experiences filled with frustration, and disappointment, even shame? The truth is that the rules that make up today’s consent-only sexual code may actually be the cause of our sexual malaise—not the solution. In Rethinking Sex, reporter Christine Emba shows how consent is a good ethical floor but a terrible ceiling. Reaching back to the wisdom of thinkers like Thomas Aquinas and Andrea Dworkin, and drawing from sociological studies, interviews with college students, and poignant examples from her own life, Emba calls for a more humane philosophy, one that starts with consent but accounts for the very real emotional, mental, social, and political implications of sex—even, she argues, if it means saying no to certain sexual practices or challenging societal expectations altogether."

Quick Lit October 2022

Counterfeit

The Woman in the Library

Three

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

Rethinking Sex

Buckle Up!

summer reading starts May 16th