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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post #303

On The Blog Last Week

• On Tuesday, I wondered why books spend so long sitting on my TBR shelf.

On The Blog This Week

• On Tuesday, there's a book haul.

In My Reading Life

I read two books last week, and they were both winners. Yay!

I finished Orange World And Other Stories by Karen Russell. If you like fantasy but think you don't like short stories, you should give Karen Russell a try. You might change your mind. She's currently my favorite short story writer because I'm in awe of her creativity and how she sees connections between random things. Her stories always start out bizarre, and I'm not sure where they're going, but then everything snaps together in the end, and I suddenly understand. It's brilliant.

It's hard to pick favorite stories in this collection. I liked "The Prospectors," which is about two thieves who take the wrong ski lift and find themselves at a haunted lodge. "The Bad Graft" stars a woman whose body is taken hostage by a Joshua tree. (If you want to read "The Bad Graft," it's free on The New Yorker website.) "Bog Girl: A Romance" is about a teenage boy who falls in love with an ancient corpse that he yanks out of a bog. The title story, "Orange World," features a group of new mothers who band together to defeat a fox demon. If I was forced to choose a favorite story, it would probably be "Bog Girl." It's both funny and horrifying.

If you like vivid, unsettling fiction, then you need to read this collection.

Then I read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Why didn't books like this exist when I was a teenager? Where were all the books about chubby girls when I needed them? I spent the entire book highlighting lines that are relatable:

"When your body takes up more room than your voice, you are always the target of well-aimed rumors."

"And I think about all the things we could be if we were never told our bodies were not built for them."

"It happens when I’m at bodegas. It happens when I’m at school. It happens when I’m on the train. It happens when I’m standing on the platform. It happens when I’m sitting on the stoop. It happens when I’m turning the corner. It happens when I forget to be on guard. It happens all the time. I should be used to it. I shouldn’t get so angry when boys—and sometimes grown-ass men—talk to me however they want, think they can grab themselves or rub against me or make all kinds of offers. But I’m never used to it."

Anyway, The Poet X is a young adult contemporary novel about Xiomara, who is rebelling against pretty much everything. She has ultra-religious parents and a body that makes her stand out from the crowd. She's angry all the time. Then, she discovers her school's slam poetry club and learns how to make herself understood. She's more than just a curvy girl who attracts attention for all the wrong reasons.

This is a novel-in-verse, which means it's very quick to read. There's no extra fluff. The author strips the story down to its raw bones, which makes it powerful and straightforward. Xiomara is a Black Latina who lives in New York City. The reader gets to see bits of her culture and the diversity of the city. Xiomara just feels so real! She experiences realistic crushes, argues with her friends, is supported by her teachers, questions her religion, and constantly struggles with her self-esteem. I think a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to her.

This is a novel that I want to fling through the door of every high school. The kids need it.

Currently, I'm reading Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. It's a thick historical fiction brick about a female pilot during Prohibition. It's fine. It's not what I expected. The synopsis led me to believe that it was about a woman flying around the world. It's not. It's about a woman who wants to fly around the world, but she just has sex instead. The characters are well developed, but the plot isn't holding my attention. I'm hoping we eventually get to the flying around the world part.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy last week:

1. If you're celebrating, I hope you have a great Easter!
2. Baby Brooklyn has been waking up in the morning and using the toilet instead of her diaper. This is a major development. We're beyond ready for diapers to disappear forever. (Then the binky battle begins. We still have binkies.)
3. I finally did my taxes! Procrastination for the win. Also, shout out to my dad for answering all my stupid questions. If I knew stuff about money, I'd have a lot more of it.
4. Speaking of being a bad adult, I found a Netflix show called Old Enough. It's a Japanese show where children go on errands without their parents while a camera crew follows them. They have to get groceries or bring something to a family member's house. It's a funny show. Some of the kids are better at life than me. The kids can actually remember their grocery lists. That's more than I can do.
5. I've been watching a lot of hockey because the playoffs are coming. Like always, I'm cheering for the Avalanche.

I'll Share My Easter Basket With My Friends

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Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!