I’m currently in a headspace of transition which has made it a little difficult for me to focus on reading. Because I’m now using my evenings to brain dump and work on some new business ideas that I’ve been putting on the back burner (more on that in a later post), by the time I’m ready to wind down for the evening, I realize it’s time for bed or sometimes past my bedtime. This means, my tbr pile continues to grow while also reading less. The good news is I’m well ahead of schedule regarding my reading goal for the year. When I decided on this goal, I factored in that I would be reading less by summer cause I would be going out more. Either way, I will stop stressing about how much I read and focus on reading when I want to. I got through two books in June bringing my year total to 31 books. One that I loved and the other was just meh.
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NOTES ON AN EXECUTION BY DANYA KUKAFA
I got about halfway through this book and still didn’t know how I felt about it. And usually, when I get to that point, I have a good idea of whether or not I like the book. I thought it would be more interesting based on the title but it’s not. It’s more tragic than anything. Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he’s done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn’t want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. He hoped it wouldn’t end like this, not for him. Through a kaleidoscope of women—a mother, a sister, a homicide detective—we learn the story of Ansel’s life. We meet his mother, Lavender, a seventeen-year-old girl pushed to desperation; Hazel, twin sister to Ansel’s wife, inseparable since birth, forced to watch helplessly as her sister’s relationship threatens to devour them all; and finally, Saffy, the homicide detective hot on his trail, who has devoted herself to bringing bad men to justice but struggles to see her own life clearly. As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy, exploring the rippling fissures that such destruction inevitably leaves in its wake.
I didn’t love this book but also didn’t hate it. It raises the question of whether people are all good or bad and how one decision creates many outcomes. Ansel postulates that there’s a multiverse where different outcomes occur from the one decision that makes. In my opinion, it was just another excuse to avoid the consequences of his actions. However, this theme is raised in each of the perspectives of the other three women entangled with his story. I’m not sure how I was supposed to feel about this book but I imagine my questioning humanity was an effect the author was looking for.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
MURDER YOUR EMPLOYER: THE MCMASTERS GUIDE TO HOMICIDE BY RUPERT HOLMES
I love a book with a striking title. The book drew me in with the title and kept me with the witty repartee and interesting storyline. A devilish thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder where earnest students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim. Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live.
The story follows three students who entered McMasters to gain the skills necessary to complete their thesis which involves ‘deleting’ their employers. The book’s narrator is the dean of McMasters while interweaving the perspectives of the three students. It was interesting to watch the students learn how skills of how to kill, their thoughts about murder, and executing their thesis. The book raises morality questions about people who are “deserving” of death and whether we can make that decision. Despite the overarching theme of murder, it keep me on my toes about whether the students would be successful at their thesis and if they would get caught should they be successful.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WHAT BOOKS DID YOU READ IN JUNE?
