To All the Books I've Read This Year

and have yet to review 😩...Part I: January

Hi there. Hello.

How are you doing? That feels like a loaded question to ask given the state of the world currently. Please know in this email I am sending all the warmest wishes. I dunno about you but I constantly battle trying not to feel overwhelmed by things happening around the world, asking myself “what can I do to help?” while ignoring signs to breathe. If that is you too you aren’t alone. Take a moment to breathe. Once you’ve taken several breaths, act if you can by donating or informing yourself of ways you can help. If that all feels too daunting - take that as a sign that you still need time to breathe.

I know it’s been a bit over two weeks since the last Nuevas Paginas interview and while I deeply appreciate your patience, I am happy to report that next week your inbox will have a brand new interview! In the meantime, I wanted to slide into your inbox with something sort of different because it seems that after I started reading for a literary prize last year (and had to keep the majority of my reading secret), I gave up on writing book reviews on Instagram.

I seem to have forgiven myself for them and have since kept on reading book after book as if book reviews don’t exist. Which has been great, don’t get me wrong but I do miss sitting down and writing about all the books I’ve read and any feelings they filled me with. I also think (hope) those that follow me, miss getting my frequent thoughts on the books I’ve read.

So I have decided to do a brief unfiltered mini-review for all the books I’ve read this year. At the bottom, I’ll list out my OMG YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK RN selection so if you want to skip the rest of the reviews and get to the “good” stuff, you can scroll right down LOL.

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Here we go…

I am going to tackle this by month but not in order because I am definitely not that organized. Let me know in the comments if you like this and I’ll do monthly updates of what I am reading in this style :)

Also, if you need a full review on any of these - comment that as well and I might consider writing one! I am naturally motivated by potential external validation (I know that’s a problem! I’m working on it) lol.

Woman of Light: A Novel by Kali Fajardo-Anstine: This is the second time I read a book by Kali Fajardo-Anstine way in advance. I mean it’s basically - drop what you are reading to read her book as soon as you get it - type of vibes. This second time around, it again did not disappoint. I am only disappointed that I don’t get to experience it for the first time when everyone else does (yeah that was a galley brag, my bad lol). Fajardo-Anstine is quickly showing us that she’s a contemporary writer interested in writing us Latinx folks into the lands we have always known. This novel that centers an Indigenous Chicano family has the mood of a classic legendary Latinx story and a punch that says she can square up with any contemporary writer. Quite literally - Fajardo-Anstine can do both, she can do it all.

High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir by Edgar Gomez: This just made me want to tell any queer person I encounter or know that they must write their story or at least write it for me. Because there really is so much community building that happens within a person when they are able to share their story with others in their community. Gomez’s coming out story and coming-of-age-into-self feels like something our queer youth needs to read in order to know that things do indeed get better. Not in the sense that everything is perfect but in the sense that there is peace to be found within living your most authentic life. I got to interview Gomez for Nuevas Pagina’s - check it out, in case you missed it!

Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed Edited by Saraciea J. Fennell: This is one of those books I missed reading last year and right after finishing it I was really upset at myself for not finding the time to read it sooner!! That said, I am glad I finally got to it. It’s such an expansive and diverse collection of Latinx/e voices covering topics of colorism, coming-of-age, imposter syndrome and so much more. I do think because each essay jumped to covering different topics and themes, the over all collection felt a bit disjointed. I still plan to recommend this collection to everyone.

I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home by Jami Attenberg: Uff. I normally do not gravitate towards reading books on the “craft” of writing which is what I assumed this book was. However, I am a fan of Jami Attenberg’s fiction so I said why not try this out? I am so glad I did. This collection of essays felt so refreshing. Learning more about what it takes for someone who devotes their life to telling stories and sharing their own in such an honest and vulnerable way - had me in tears and it also had me appreciating books even more.

Violeta: A Novel by Isabel Allende: I was really excited about this because the book proposed following the main character across 100 years of life. Starting from the Spanish Flu pandemic to our current pandemic and while Allende never falters in the strength of her storytelling, I was reminded that some writers simply don’t evolve much with time….and why would they when each time they tell a story a different way, it’s successful! I’d still recommend this to Allende fans and anyone interested in reading something by this living legend.

Quit Like A Woman: The Radical Choice To Not Drink In A Culture Obsessed With Alcohol by Holly Whitaker: I wrote extensively about this one not too long ago here. But in summary - it had its moments however overall it just felt too WHITE for me.

Wahala: A Novel by Nikki May: Tell me why it took reading this whole book and getting to the end before I realized it is sort of like a thriller/crime novel!!!! It is listed as “domestic” fiction and I have to admit that I went in not reading the synopsis of the book and simply picked it up based on vibes because one of my favorite local booksellers (@angieisreading) said she loved it. Well, I almost walked myself to the bookstore to demand an explanation from Angie (JK I really just wanted a reason to go say hi) when I hit the ending and was stopped in my tracks. I YELLED reading through the ending and whew did this book deliver a punch. It’s one of those that might bore you in the beginning but turn the page and suddenly you are hooked. Shout out to Angie - she never steers me wrong.

I’ll be back next week with the month of February! Please let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this and I will continue to do it each month :) Also, share this newsletter with a friend that loves to read but isn’t sure about what to read next!

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OMG YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK RN

Of all the books I read in January the ones I’d urge you to read ASAP are:

Woman of Light: A Novel by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (This one isn’t out until June of this year but pre-orders are incredibly important so do that here!)

High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir by Edgar Gomez