This Week in Books – 21-02-24

This Week in Books is a feature hosted by Lipsy at Lipsyy Lost and Found that allows bloggers to share:

What they’ve recently finished reading
What they are currently reading
What they are planning to read next

A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words.

Things remain busy, particularly at work, and so my reading pace has slowed down from January. The last book I finished reading was Bitch by Lucy Cooke which I reviewed yesterday.

What does it mean to be female? Mother, carer, the weaker sex? Think again.

In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology. Lucy Cooke introduces us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species.

Meet the female lemurs of Madagascar, our ancient primate cousins that dominate the males of their species physically and politically.

Or female albatross couples, hooking up together to raise their chicks in Hawaii.

Or the meerkat mothers of the Kalahari Desert – the most murderous mammals on the planet.

The bitches in BITCH overturn outdated binary expectations of bodies, brains, biology and behaviour. Lucy Cooke’s brilliant new book will change how you think – about sex, sexual identity and sexuality in animals and also the very forces that shape evolution.

I’m currently reading, and have nearly finished, Tangerine by Christine Mangan which I’m really enjoying.

Cover image of Tangerine by Christine Mangan

The last person Alice Shipley expected to see since arriving in Tangier with her new husband was Lucy Mason. After the horrific accident at Bennington, the two friends – once inseparable roommates – haven’t spoken in over a year. But Lucy is standing there, trying to make things right.

Perhaps Alice should be happy. She has not adjusted to life in Morocco, too afraid to venture out into the bustling medinas and oppressive heat. Lucy, always fearless and independent, helps Alice emerge from her flat and explore the country.

But soon a familiar feeling starts to overtake Alice – she feels controlled and stifled by Lucy at every turn. Then Alice’s husband, John, goes missing, and Alice starts to question everything around her: her relationship with her enigmatic friend, her decision to ever come to Tangier, and her very own state of mind.

Tangerine is an extraordinary debut, so tightly wound, so evocative of 1950s Tangier, and so cleverly plotted that it will leave you absolutely breathless.

My next book will be a reread of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut for my book group.

Cover image of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Billy Pilgrim – hapless barber’s assistant, successful optometrist, alien abductee, senile widower and soldier – has become unstuck in time.

Hiding in the basement of a slaughterhouse in Dresden, with the city and its inhabitants burning above him, Billy finds himself a survivor of one of the most deadly and destructive battles of the Second World War. But when, exactly? How did he get here? And how does he get out?

Travel through time and space on the shoulders of Vonnegut himself. This is a book about war. Listen to what he has to say: it is of the utmost urgency.

And that’s my week in books! What are you reading this week? Let me know in the comments! 😎