Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

Blurb from Goodreads

Colson Whitehead continues his Harlem saga in a novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory.

It’s 1971. Trash piles up on the streets, crime is at an all-time high, the city is careening towards bankruptcy, and a shooting war has broken out between the NYPD and the Black Liberation Army. Amidst this collective nervous breakdown furniture store owner and ex-fence Ray Carney tries to keep his head down and his business thriving. His days moving stolen goods around the city are over. It’s strictly the straight-and-narrow for him — until he needs Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter May and he decides to hit up his old police contact Munson, fixer extraordinaire. But Munson has his own favors to ask of Carney and staying out of the game gets a lot more complicated – and deadly.

1973. The counter-culture has created a new generation, the old ways are being overthrown, but there is one constant, Pepper, Carney’s endearingly violent partner in crime. It’s getting harder to put together a reliable crew for hijackings, heists, and assorted felonies, so Pepper takes on a side gig doing security on a Blaxploitation shoot in Harlem. He finds himself in a freaky world of Hollywood stars, up-and-coming comedians, and celebrity drug dealers, in addition to the usual cast of hustlers, mobsters, and hit men. These adversaries underestimate the seasoned crook – to their regret.

1976. Harlem is burning, block by block, while the whole country is gearing up for Bicentennial celebrations. Carney is trying to come up with a July 4th ad he can live with. (“Two Hundred Years of Getting Away with It!”), while his wife Elizabeth is campaigning for her childhood friend, the former assistant D.A and rising politician Alexander Oakes. When a fire severely injures one of Carney’s tenants, he enlists Pepper to look into who may be behind it. Our crooked duo have to battle their way through a crumbling metropolis run by the shady, the violent, and the utterly corrupted.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Today is the first Monday of the last month of the year. Woah. Time flies fast! I can’t believe that we are already in the last month of the year. The air is indeed pregnant with signs of the holidays. Woah, I can’t believe that we are just a couple of days away from welcoming a new year. Anyway, how was your first day of the workweek? I am pretty sure most of you feel sluggish. How I wish the weekends were longer. Nevertheless, I hope everyone had a great start to the week. As we are really approaching the final stretch of the year. I hope that the remaining days of 2023 will be filled with nothing but good news and blessings. I hope you will be repaid for the hard work you poured in this year.

Reading-wise, 2023 has been a great year. First, I recorded my 1,000th novel. Second, I completed over 100 books for the second year in a row. I have also reset my personal record for most books read; I am currently reading my 120th book this year. I ended 2022 with 102 books. I have always dreamed of reading at least 100 books in a year. After years of coming close, I finally did it, not only once but twice. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to repeat the feat I achieved last year. The year is far from over so I have more opportunities to extend my personal record. Moreover, I am about to complete two of my ongoing reading challenges. This means that I can take it easy in the coming weeks. *Breathes a sigh of relief.*

Anyway, to open another blogging week is a Goodreads Monday update. This is my first for December. The book that I am featuring this week, however, is not part of any of my ongoing reading challenges although technically it is part of one of my goals. I resolved to read at least 15 new books this year. So far, I have read a measly five. One of the new books I am looking forward to is two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto, his latest novel. Crook Manifesto is a sequel to his 2021 novel, Harlem Shuffle, a vivid depiction of the kaleidoscopic life in New York City’s renowned historical district, Harlem. I hope that through the adventures and misadventures of the book’s main character, I will learn more about Harlem, its denizens, and what makes it tick.

How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!