I didn’t get much reading done in the past weeks because July was a busy month. Additionally, I didn’t like two of the three books I read, which explains my lack of motivation as well. I’m one of those people that needs to finish a book even if I hate it, which I realize is a fairly silly and pointless compulsion. Oh well, let’s get this over with.
24. Salve Roma! – Akif Pirinçci
Vile political opinions aside, I just don’t enjoy Pirinçci’s writing style. The never-ending sarcasm gets tired quickly, and made me wish a good editor had revised and shortened it to a tolerable level. I’ve read the first two novels of his Felidae series a few years ago and thought the idea of a cat detective in a noir setting was entertaining. However, Salve Roma! (the fifth instalment) basically recycles the plot of the prior novels, except now the book is set in Rome.
25. Dear White America – Tim Wise
I’d recommend this book to everyone who wants to be an anti-racist ally, even if it’s (obviously) US-centric. Tim Wise delineates incisively how to argue against commonly held racist beliefs, fears and conspiracy theories. I read this book at the right time. Recently I’ve been thinking about how many people feel violently threatened by migrant communities increasingly demanding a voice and a seat at the table, and how I myself am less and less willing to be treated as a second-class human.
26. Takeover – Jussi Adler-Olsen
The plot of this thriller was rather silly. It’s half corporate thriller, half magical love story. The cynical, hardened protagonists have no morals, yet they get all mushy thinking about their May December romance. As a bonus, the author throws in several real-life global events from the early 1990s like the Gulf War to make the plot extra spicy. It’s a lot, and none of it feels organic, mostly because the reader is told a lot and shown little.
