Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately.” I normally try to get this out mid-month, but I needed a couple of more days to wrap it up this time. I continue to move forward without a 2024 iteration of my yearly Scandinavian/Nordic reading challenge, but I aim to have something in place by the end of March.

In the meantime, I’m motivated by challenges I’ve already committed to, in particular the #DiversityAcrossGenres reading challenge, and reading off my own shelf which certainly includes Scandinavian books. This month, I also wrapped up the reading challenge that my elementary school hosts every winter in which students are encouraged to read certain books and vote for their favorite. Parents, faculty, and staff are invited to join. I participated with the 4th grade booklist this year and am very proud to add the 2024 4th grade button to my collection.

What have you been reading lately?

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan (2018) 📖

This young adult novel has been sitting on my shelf for a while and I am relieved to finally check it off my unread BOTM selections list. It’s about high school student Leigh, half Asian and half white, whose mother dies by suicide after struggles with depression. Leigh’s mother turns into a bird and Leigh travels to Taiwan to try to find the bird and to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. Unfortunately, the concept and execution did not land with me. I appreciated the trip to Taiwan which provided insight into sights, foods, and culture. However, the jumping back and forth in time and in and out of other people’s memories was a little disconcerting. And the writing was just too colorful for me.

• #DiversityAcrossGenres: Asian / Fiction
• Book Voyage: Read Around the World: Northern Asia or Island (Taiwan)
• Read My Own Shelf: Unread BOTM selection

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (2023) 🎧

I went into this one knowing there were mixed feelings about it among my reading friends at work. For me, it turned out to be one that I loved. It takes place during the summer of 2020. Mia, a biracial Korean-American college student forced back home due to the pandemic, narrates what happened when her dad went missing after having gone to a local park with her 14-year-old non-speaking autistic brother. She is intellectual and honest. She analyzes and scrutinizes all leads in the case and it goes in many directions. There’s a lot going on in the book, including a discussion of happiness, understanding neurodivergent people (brother had dual diagnosis of autism and Angelman Syndrome), insight into speech therapy, and more! It is thought-provoking and would make a great book club read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• #DiversityAcrossGenres: Asian / Mystery/Thriller
• Book Voyage: Read Around the World: North America (USA)

Jakthundene by Jørn Lier Horst (2012) 📖
(The Hunting Dogs translated by Anne Bruce)

This is my fifth William Wisting installment, not read in any particular order and all except one in Norwegian. I always enjoy returning to the duo of police detective William Wisting and his crime journalist daughter Line along the coast south of Oslo. They don’t work together but their work overlaps. He’s a trustworthy and respected detective; she’s an eager and independent reporter. I like them both. In this installment, Wisting’s reputation is questioned and he’s suspended due to new evidence in a 17-year old case about a murdered missing woman. Line is investigating a recent murder. Seeing how the two cases converged made for a fun and interesting read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Read My Own Shelf: A long ago purchase
• Nordic Lit Reading Challenge: Nordic Noir / Norway
• Book Voyage: Read Around the World: Europe (Norway)

4th Grade Reads for School Reading Challenge 🎧📖

My absolute favorite of the three 4th grade selections was The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan (audiobook was excellent). It was such a sweet and heartwarming story of a Turkish American girl whose mother had to return to Turkey for immigration reasons. During the mother’s long and difficult absence, the daughter formed a touching friendship with a grandfather figure, an unusual classmate, and an elephant. The other two books I read were Odder by Katherine Applegate, a very sweet novel-in-verse about a playful otter and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga (also a great listen), an entertaining story of a Mars rover with humanlike feelings which included letters to the rover from the daughter of the female scientist assembling it. I appreciated the Arabic heritage of the main human characters.

What have you been reading lately?

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