Unruly: A History of England’s Kings and Queens by David Mitchell

Read by the author. This is a history book or rather a pop history book by a comedian. I do prefer history written by historians but this was fun. It had the right level of comedy to reflect on English history. I also like that it’s a micro history. Most of the book was the medieval ages which is an era that is often less featured in mainstream royalty culture. It only went to the end of the Tudor era so it’s not a complete history. I generally listen to most of my audiobooks at 1.25 or higher speed but that was too fast for this book. Mitchell went his usual speaking speed so 1.0 was fine. It was fun albeit took me longer than most audiobooks.

1.0x. May 5-13, 2024.

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo

Lovely middle grade novel about a set of puppets and their adventures. Nicely illustrated and has a classic and older quality. This was my second DiCamillo after The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I liked this one more and reminded me to explore more from her.

May 15, 2024.

Have You Eaten Yet?: Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World by Cheuk Kwan

Narrated by Brian Nishii. This was part travelogue, part food memoir, and part history of the Chinese diaspora and identity. The stories are from the author’s time shooting a documentary over twenty years ago. Most of the the stories were set in places that are not often told from the Chinese migrant experience e.g. Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and the Middle East. It was a great nonfiction book for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. There was even one story that mirrored my parents own migration story. I had the ebook which was useful for the photos, but I listened to 90% of it on audiobook.

1.5-1.75x. May 14-17, 2024.