It’s still 90+ degrees here in the Midwest, but I’m desperately manifesting fall by decorating the house, making an apple crisp, and FINALLY writing the book reviews of the last month and a half! *yikes* So, here’s part one of my latest reads… enjoy!
–Marissa
Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman was not what I was expecting – a romp of two people (Rebecca and Ben) sharing a hot desk, shooting back and forth post-it notes and falling into each other. Instead, this was MUCH more about 40 years earlier, when Rebecca’s mother worked for the same publishing house and it become a historical novel with the patriarchy, secrets, and not much romping and funniness. I ended up slogging through this litfic not chicklit, just not the book I wanted it to be.😕
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was a delightful audiobook listen (narrated with a full cast to great effect!). Sybil is in her twilight years, and has always, ALWAYS written letters, so the reader is taken along as Sybil maintains her habit, unpacks her life and secrets, and make amends when needed and friends even more. This was like a hug, a therapy session, and a love letter to the written word.
The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen was just want I expect from Pekkanen… a rodeo of a plot, breakneck pace, some good twists, and super easy and fast to read. Georgia is in an institution, accused of murder, when she reaches out to… her estranged twin sister to help her. I love a good, speedy psychological thriller!
If You Don’t Like This, I Will Die by Lee Tilghman is a memoir of Lee’s time as one of the original beauty influencers on Instagram. She does a good job of capturing the batshit crazy of it all, the breakneck pace of keeping up, and how damaging it can be… but I’m not sure I ever came to really like or root for Lee. I never followed her before so had no preconceived notions, but as always, I love a peek behind the curtain of something I will never have.
Pick-Up by Nora Dahlia was touted as a cute romance novel about enemies-to-lovers, but I just took *forever* to get through it, and it just didn’t zing for me. It felt predictive, had a weird side character, and just… wasn’t the romance I was feelin’. Not for me, I’m afraid.
The Most by Jessica Anthony was a brief (4 hours!) audiobook set in 1957 when housewife Kathleen… gets into the condo pool while her family goes to church… and then decides she’s not getting out. We then unpack her story during the duration of her pool stay with disappointments, loss, longing and what our quiet lives are like. I loved listening to this one.
She’s Under Here by Karen Palmer is another memoir that I thought had a great setup – she and her partner pack up her kids, slip away in the night and go into a type of DIY witness protection to evade Karen’s ex-husband. She’s a good writer, but I wasn’t pulled into the story the way I wanted, and would just pick it up here and there until I was done. Not bad, just not great, for me.
The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye was just the book I needed after a few duds… a warm, fuzzy, lovely book that mixes grumpy vs. sunshine, a bit of magical realism, a long lost love, and the power of positivity on the world around us. Chloe makes yellow origami roses with messages, leaving them around New York City for strangers to find, and a ripple effect begins. This is just… a lovely little read in these dark times.
Heart the Lover by Lily King is just… oh. Her writing, her evocation of a particular time and place in memory, her tumult of romance, I just love her storytelling so much. Our female narrator meets Sam and Yash during her senior year of college, and finds herself pulled into their circle, their love, their intellectual ambition, and their lives overall. The story then jumps to decades later and the tying of loose ends and decisions made in the past. I don’t want to say anything else for fear of spoilers (though the ending was *quite* stuck for me), except about how much I love King’s storytelling!
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams is perhaps better known as “the Facebook book”, the ultimate peek behind the curtain at the rise – and recklessness – of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. I had to read this a little at a time to simmer down at times. Fascinating, horrifying, just… wild. And sad. And icky. But fascinating!
Outer Space is Closer Than Antarctica by Michelle Ott is an “illustrated memoir” about Ott’s several stints working and living in Antarctica. An interesting medium that blends art, science, memoir and nature writing!
Upstanding Young Man by Sharon Doering took.me.forever to read, and that’s not complimentary. This 432-page book (which could have easily lost at least 100 pages) takes place in a Chicago suburb when McClane, the All-American son of the All-American family, goes missing right before high school graduation. I didn’t like the characters, the twists felt shoved in with no context, and it just seemed like this careened off the rails and no editor pulled it back. Not for me.
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman was an audiobook listen that left me elated, bereft, laughing, crying, all the things. Edi and Ash have been best friends for 40 years, but Edi is in hospice dying of terminal cancer, with Ash right by her side for every minute. This broke me, in the very best way. I stan Catherine Newman!
stubbornsunshine.com 