July Reading Wrap Up | 2021

[@JasmineReads]

Assembly and Filthy Animals are two that I'm seeing EVERYWHERE right now, they sound very me x

[@whatpageareyouon]

Both very persuasive reads!

[@Ihearbooks]

Great review of Crying in H Mart. You certainly got me interested. I do love memoir and it sounds like a book that would increase my understanding. Thanks

[@user-iu4ws6vh5s]

It’s amazing how you nail analysis of several books in minutes. Haven’t seen many talk about Filthy Animals so I’ll comment on that one: it’s a puzzle to me still why the collection didn’t land. I was so eager to read it and rave about it but in the end it felt like a placeholder for Taylor’s next novel. For he is an amazing novelist and regardless of the thinness I felt with some of these stories he was gifted enough to leave me wanting more. Aside from “Potluck,” “Anne of Cleves” and the title story, the rest felt like chapters in a novel that I’d totally read. The dialogue was unnecessarily obscurant and, at times, foiled a better, deeper story under the surface of the one being told. Regardless, Taylor’s talent is still evident,

[@whatpageareyouon]

I agree! I wonder how many of these stories were before he evolved into what became Real Life as some sort of amalgamation of it all

[@ToBeBlackandLoved]

I really enjoyed Filthy Animals as opposed to Real Life, actually finding Taylor’s short stories to be more satisfying than the novel. Great video!

[@whatpageareyouon]

Thank you! And interesting! I think my order of having read Real Life then Filthy Animals may have distorted my reading experience a bit, I think if I read Filthy Animals before Real Life I would have liked it a lot more

[@AthynVixen]

I didn't enjoy Real Life and I am interested to see if I get on better with his writing in story form

[@camposmurilloalejandra3838]

I haven't heard from these books before so it's interesting listening to you talking about them

[@ririschannelx]

I’m from the UK and I just started Assembly today

[@AthynVixen]

Made in China seems very reminiscent of Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang which I just finished..

[@beatingaroundthebooks]

Such an interesting selection! I love how you reflect on your reading. Assembly is on my 'immediate' TBR and I'll have to pick up Crying in H Mart at some point.

[@hesterdunlop7948]

Assembly sounds like a nuanced version of the English country house party plot line ? Are their any echoes of past classics ...? Added it to my tbr .

[@whatpageareyouon]

This actually reminds me I hear people compare this a bit to Mrs Dalloway and I can see it!

[@rose_and_thorns]

I just Googled Domenico Starnone and my brain just nope'd the eff out. I refuse to acknowledge a shred of validity.

[@whatpageareyouon]

👀[looks the other way]😗🎶

[@AthynVixen]

I did the same.. holy crap...

[@1book1review]

I really enjoyed Crying at H Mart, made me want to eat all the time.

[@whatpageareyouon]

haha I was mostly reading this while eating/sipping in a coffee shop, too! Helped the ambiance definitely : )