Did I tell you that reading is my favorite hobby? It’s hard to tell since I don’t read as much as I would like to. At the beginning of this year, I set a reading goal: read two books a month. Guess what? I’m about five books behind!!
I got off track because of my college courses, and I spent my free time job hunting. Ok, let me keep it real: I could have made time to read, but I didn’t feel like it. I found time to binge watch Youtube videos and doom scroll Twitter, so I could have found time to read, haha!
Anyway, I have four books on my TBR for June. I haven’t bought any books in the past few years because I told myself I would read the books I own first and purge my bookshelves of those I don’t care for. Despite not reading any new releases, I thought I would share what I will be ready for.
The Between by Tananarive Due
I want to read more science fiction novels, and in my search for Black science fiction authors, Tananarive’s name kept popping up. I have several of her books on my TBR and decided to pick one at random to purchase and start reading. The Between was the one I chose.
In the Palm of Darkness by Mayra Montero
Good Books is an online/pop-up bookstore here in Georgia that focuses on selling books by Black authors. The cool thing about them is they custom curate books for you based on what type of books you like to read. Last year, I asked for a mystery/thriller curation, and this was one of the books.
According to Goodreads, In the Palm of Darkness follows an American herpetologist (frog scientist) searching for a rare frog in Haiti. He enlists the help of a Haitian tour guide to help him in his search, and their adventure begins! The reviews are mixed, which always excites me. One reviewer called it “a darkly, creepingly beautiful book, which strangely combines herpetology with voodoo and Haitian paramilitary gangs.” I’m intrigued!
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
A classic that I’ve never read! It’s been on my bookshelf for years. I think it’s time to get into the mental breakdown of Esther Greenwood.
See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid
Don’t drag me, but I’ve never read a Kincaid novel before. I was told that this is not a good book to start with, but I’m gonna give it a shot. It’s short (182 pages), so I hope to get through it in a few days.
Jandra's Journal 