What We’re Reading This Week

There There by Tommy Orange

It’s hard to say you love a book like There There by Tommy Orange — It’s more accurate to say that the book is a brilliantly woven tapestry — of people and place, of history and present day, of violence and community — that will make you cry and leave you altered; a book that will make you underline and highlight the words and pages that will seep under your skin. Written from a dozen perspectives that circle Oakland and the Oakland Coliseum like spirits, There There is connection and story — to and for people needing to feel less alone, to and for history and it’s insidious influence on the present, to and for a culture that has been stripped time and again. There There is a literary feat — an incredible debut from a voice I look forward to hearing from again.”

-Tomoko

The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

Wow,  this story is tough, horrible, and important. I’m so thankful for the serendipitous occurrence that I would be reading this book when it has officially been announced a winner of a LAMBDA award for best Lesbian memoir, and during pride month no less! This true-crime memoir has  a lot going on, and it’s nice to read a story featuring a queer narrator where the story isn’t solely focused on a coming out narrative — Instead it openly sits around the periphery, as a simple fact of life. That being said, the main focus of this novel is on past trauma Alexandria has endured and a court case featuring a man on death row for killing a young boy. This book requires all the trigger warnings for abuse, sexual violence, eating disorders, murder, and pedophilia. Please take care of yourself, but if you can stomach it, this is an absolutely wild and important work of nonfiction.

-Hanna

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I’m rereading The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and hoisting it upon my husband, who’s experiencing Adams’ deadpan humor and near-irrelevant tangents for the first time. Honestly, the book is just a lot of fun and I’m loving understanding it with an adult brain.

-Willow