Summer reading list
Readers and friends ✨ I have been soooo behind on my book reviews, and they’ve really piled up. Here’s me sifting through the pile, and sharing some short snippets of wonderful things I’ve read recently:
(Not pictured) Knife, by Salman Rushdie salman.rushdie - OMG! Memoir of his survival from an attempted murder in 2022. Incredible and compelling. Made me want to read The Satanic Verses, which started all this nonsense and the “fatwa” on his life. Salman survived being stabbed 15 times at a public event in 2022 and lived to tell the tale. If that doesn’t make you want to read, I don’t know what will.
Master Slave Husband Wife, by Ilyon Woo - I’ve been into nonfiction recently (see above); this delivered. A true account of a husband and wife couple, both slaves, who escaped slavery by disguising as a wealthy white male (the wife) and her slave (her husband.) Ilyon leaves no detail unturned. A wealth of information on this historical tragedy, the Civil War, and its social and cultural underpinnings.
There There, by Tommy Orange - Dark but beautiful and poignant; important. Conflates Native Americana with American gun culture like the old movie “Crash”, where everyone is connected. Stellar debut and complicated read; take note of characters. Worthy of another reading, to be honest.
I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman - Holy smokes, this book is mind blowing, disturbing, and incredible. Very dark and otherworldly, but also a huge commentary on humanity. Reads well but you can tell it’s an older book, translated from French. Don’t read seeking answers; just focus on the page you’re on, and enjoy the ambiguity.
Carrie Soto is Back, by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Fun! Good beach read (unlike all above😆) Truly enjoyed reading this fun book about playing tennis (my obsession), and specifically playing tennis as an older person (which also really hits home, haha!)
On The Road, by Jack Kerouac - Every year I challenge myself to read one or two literary classics; hence, this gem from 1957. A wild ride. If you think society was all prim and proper in the “Days of Yore”, you should consider the reading of this manuscript, which I am pretty sure was typed on a scroll while doing immense amounts of cocaine. 😂
The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain - LOVE! Ya’ll know I love novels about France, Paris, French food, culture, etc etc. This inspiring historical fiction was just the fix in the absence of Emily in Paris (which, btw, is coming back on in August!!!) Details the life of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife and the dissolution of their marriage against the backdrop of the excesses of European living in the 1920s: writing in cafes and bullfighting, and heavy drinking, and “summering” in the south of France, and affairs, and all the things.
The Medicine Woman of Galveston, by Amanda Skenandore - Again, loved this historical fiction novel that beautifully intertwines the history of traveling medicine shows (who knew this was a thing?!) and the Galveston hurricane of 1900, which was the largest natural disaster in American history.