Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? Here it does. Let’s discuss your favorite reads — or listens.
Expectation: A “city as the sole connection” collection that reads more like a wannabe novel.
Reality: A sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreak collection about the new American experience that succeeds thanks to its subtlety. There are no bad apples in the bunch.
While marketed as middle grade, this memoir transcends the young adult genre with its matter-of-fact honesty and subtle lessons about tolerance, faith and perseverance. Just like Scheherazade, Nayeri uses storytelling for survival.
Expectation: A powerful story about the human/nature connection and how an ever-accelerating eco-calamity will destroy us all.
Reality: Bloated and boring, there was far too much happening and very little of it was interesting. I’m struggling to see how this won the Pulitzer Prize.
Expectation: Another twisty supernatural thriller from a rather reliable author.
Reality: St. James delivered a lazy, convoluted plot that asked more from the reader than should’ve been allowed.
Expectation: A lighthearted break-up story with the usual rom-com tropes.
Reality: A surprisingly affecting exploration of self-discovery and navigating heartbreak from the perspective of a dumped male.
Expectation: Writers jumping from poetry to fiction often struggle with pacing and characterization, so I expected an ostentatious mess.
Reality: Akbar's poetic prose and captivating characters shine through the non-linear structure, making “Martyr!” an engaging read despite its occasional superfluousness.
Expectation: A different spin on the coming out story exploring it through two generations within the same family.
Reality: Mediocre execution that falls flat due to predictable characters and forced plot twists.
Expectation: A straight-forward mystery thriller framed around 90s nostalgia.
Reality: More literary fiction than traditional suspense, Makkai’s use of hindsight evaluation to move the plot forward had me hooked.
Expectation: A novel that subverts the typical motherhood story with a focus on trans and found families.
Reality: More theory than fiction, Torrey Peters presents interesting ideas, but with an air of pretentiousness that can test patience.
Expectation: A study in modern Indigenous life in California told through interwoven stories.
Reality: A powerful but uneven exploration of Native American identity that falters a bit as both a sequel/prequel to “There There” but shines with a stellar audiobook narration.
Making my way through this epic often felt like a slog. It was frustratingly repetitive but also enlightening, forcing me to re-examine my own biases against someone who, I think now, is largely misunderstood as an artist and person.
Expectation: An offbeat novel with commentary about misplaced outrage.
Reality: Elements that could’ve lifted this out of typical coming of age territory weren’t mined to completion by the author.
Expectation: The author branching out into different genres during his peak era of the early 1980s.
Reality: Given how famous two of the stories have become thanks to stellar film adaptations, I was left a bit disappointed in the source material.
For expecting this to be a frothy history, I was surprised by the detailed explorations of how the sausage was/is made – from studio system contracts to politicking and power grabs. People looking for an exhaustive recap of the awards themselves will be disappointed as Schulman presents more a chronicle of Hollywood in 11 eras, with the Oscars serving as a (sometimes loose) connective thread to introduce the films, actors and creators that defined each generation.
Expectation: An assortment of psychological thrillers buoyed by the author’s famous short story, “The Lottery.”
Reality: While each story has elements of intrigue, this was a rather boring outing. If you’re interested in “The Lottery,” skip the full collection and seek it out as a standalone.
Expectation: A heavy-handed young adult classic that prioritizes hijinks over meaningful character development and scenario exploration.
Reality: Thoughtful and engrossing, the story had me hooked from the first chapter. This is a fantastic historical fiction introduction to America’s racial injustices.
Expectation: Stories to chill-the-bones from a noted voice in the Black horror genre.
Reality: Interesting scenarios and characters are largely overshadowed by ancillary details and incomplete endings.
Expectation: A “Wednesday” meets “The Sixth Sense” gay horror-romance set in suburban Atlanta.
Reality: The subject matter was darker than expected – a plus – but the execution faltered near the end.
Expectation: A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story.
Reality: A religious-soaked, multi-layered family drama.
Expectation: A searing exploration of race and class told from the perspective of twin sisters who live on opposite ends of the color line.
Reality: Structured to be palatable for the masses, it’s entertaining enough but far from the powerful story I expected given the near universal acclaim it has received.
