Reviewing 11 Recent Reads | Including some brilliant non-fiction and lots of new releases
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
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Just a note, I’m an adoptive parent in the US and I definitely was never paid to adopt, we actually had to pay around $65,000 to the adoption agency, and for background checks and legal fees. Foster care, yes, and there are huge issues in the foster care system and obviously with these foster parents, such a horrific story, but adoptions (for which many need to take out loans) are done from a place of love.
Thanks for the comment. The women who killed the children had adopted them. Someone else commented that sometimes you're paid to adopt in the US if you adopt multiple siblings (which was the case with the situation in the book). I think its because they can be quite hard to place. I agree that the majority of adoptions are from a place of love but in this awful case they weren't and the children would have been much safer with their birth families.
The payments that continue for adopting in the US are typically for sibling units, medically fragile children, and others with special needs. It’s primarily seen as a way to help keep siblings together, when it might be difficult for most couples to afford multiple children.
Thanks so much for this comment. That makes complete sense! In this case the siblings were adopted in sets of 3.
In the same spirit of Like Happiness, I strongly recommend My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, especially if you love a book that challenges the ideas of the "right" kind of victim. The protagonist in that novel is an adult woman who believes she had a romantic relationship with her teacher when she was a teenager, and in the present day she's kept up her friendship with him and is trying to support him through allegations from other former students. It also goes back and forth between the timelines so you see the reality of their "relationship" contrasted with what she tells herself about it.
I read My Dark Vanessa and really enjoyed it. The writing style didn't always work for me but I thought the themes were brilliantly handled.
I've said exactly the same thing about David Nicholls. His book Us was long listed for the Booker, if that had been written by a woman it never would have got near the Booker.
I can’t thank you enough for recommending The House of Broken Bricks . Its evocation of rural life is just delicious. I share your penchant for women living alone on islands even though I don’t think I could hack it myself. If you know Louise Kennedy Trespasses you may also know Audrey Magee’s The Colony which confronts interesting attitudes to primitive life and also tells a good story even though there are too many plot lines. Kathy Sweeney does a less romantic version of it in Breakdown which follows a woman leaving home and setting up a new life in the country without any Laura Ashley illusions. But best of all is Sue Gee in Earth and Heaven which still haunts me after twenty years. Don’t know why she’s not more famous. Wolf Border by Sarah Hall is another gem. Forgive me if I’m repeating myself. You never do. When I’m watching I spend ages trying to read the names of the spines in your bookshelf behind you. Maybe you could do a video of it sometime. Thanks for all the great recommendations. Really appreciate your lucid delivery.
I'm so glad to hear how much you enjoyed it. It's always so lovely to know that a recommendation was worth it :) I'm waiting for Breakdown from the library - can't wait to read it! I've read Trio by Sue Gee and enjoyed it so I definitely need to get to her other books. I read and enjoyed The Colony :)
Im listening to We Once were a family, and it's disturbing, but I agree that the author took great care centering the story around the children who were killed. Thank you for recommending it.
Oh dear! I’ve just started Enlightenment.
Hagstone is in my TBR.
Its really interesting what you say about narrative non fiction. I've just realised that's something I don't like either, but couldn't figure what it was. As in general I love non fiction!
Good to hear you’re feeling more in the groove with your reading! 👏
Although seems like some of the new fiction hasn’t been doing it for you. Hope some 5-star fiction pops up for you soon!
Some great options here. A few added to my tbr
I had the same thought in Brotherless Night and DNF-ed after 20% or so. Nayomi Munaweera’s book on the Sri Lankan war is much better, if you haven’t read it.
14:29 I had no idea about this in Crownsville. I live very close to there. Will definitely be picking this up to learn more about this. 25:05 also, I’m so happy the story of those children is being told. I remember hearing the news and feeling so angry.
I think it's been made into a memorial park now so would be an interesting place to visit.
Exercising while watching so not a long comment, but it's lovely to see your face!!!! 🥰🥰
Hiya 😊It's always lovely to see a comment from you!
I also read Hagstone this month and had similar feelings! I've read Constellations by Gleeson too, and I do think her writing style works better for me in non-fiction. I really liked the vibes of Hagstone but as soon as I sensed where the ending was going I stopped enjoying the book sadly.. hopefully she'll write more non-fiction in the future, and I really do recommend Constellations in the meantime! She writes about themes you would like too, I think!
Glad to hear that you still think Constellations is worth reading!
I totally agree with you on the pacing of Brotherless Night.
Hello, did I miss your final review/rating of We Are Together Because? You mentioned you were in the middle of reading it a few videos ago and I wanted to know what you thought overall! It sounded really intriguing so I was debating whether to seek it out or not. 🙂
No, I still need to finish it. I put it down at the end of part one and let other books distract me!
In the UK, we can access a means-tested adoption allowance (depending on a number of factors) and a settling in grant, alongside a period of paid adoption leave similar to SSP when you first adopt, but not everyone will be entitled to all of those. The book sounds like an excellent and necessary read, though.
Wow, I hadn't appreciated that you had such a rocky relationship with Sarah Perry books. It's funny how easily we can get stuck on the idea of loving an author's books even when experience doesn't bear that out. For example, I've read five Helen Oyeyemi books now, and I've just recently had to admit that - while I love the sound of them - I just don't get on with those books. I guess that will be even tougher since you absolutely loved one Sarah Perry, but there are so many books to read that it doesn't make much sense to keep going back to something that doesn't work for you... although I get that it's hard, and it's clearly taken me a while to accept!
Thanks so much for the comment! I knew about paid parental leave when you first adopt but wasn't aware there were other options. It's definitely something I'd like to know more about so I'll be looking into more books on it.
I know what you mean about Helen Oyeyemi's books. They do sound so good! Ive tried a few of them a few the only one I liked was White is for Witching. It was years ago I read it though so I'm not sure I'd like it on a reread. It's hard to stop yourself keep being tempted to read them when you like thr sound of the blurb, isn't it 🤣
Oh I’m with books that are popular no literary fiction.I get stuck in reading slump because the books I can read easily are never ones I enjoy the most don’t feel fulfilling yet lit fic is rarely the page turner I need it to be get out of a slump that I’m always d looking for keyword ‘literary thrillers” or ‘ literary page turner’
Same here! I'm actually planning a recommendations video on books that fit that and it has so many of my fav books in :)