Can you believe that reading wasn't my jam growing up?! Clif Notes were my best friends in high school - I'd "read enough" to get by, but other than that I did not enjoy the act of reading so never did it... like ever. Maybe I wasn't reading things that held my interest or maybe it was because it was "required" so I didn't find it enjoyable, but whatever the reason, I'm glad I challenged myself to add the goal of reading 17 books in 2017 (which turned into 88 books in 2017, 77 books in 2018, 67 books in 2019, 66 books in 2020, 67 books in 2021, 41 books in 2022 and 98 books in 2023). The majority of my "reading" has been listening to audiobooks since I don't have as much time to sit and read physical books once I started working full time (not to mention I walk to work and walk on my lunch break so have two-ish hours a day I can listen to something). Even still, holding a physical book is the bomb dot com and I hope to get back to adding more reading vs listening. Just like in years past, writing a monthly recap of the books I get through is a great way for me to both record what I'm reading and to stay accountable. So, here are the books I finished in the month of July:
- The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande - I had seen this memoir on a few "must read" lists, so once it became available on my Libby app (after maybe two or three weeks), I took my turn and downloaded it. Reyna tells the story of her childhood - including experiences of her parents going from their Mexico home to the United States to earn money, her border crossing, her attending school in the US while not being able to speak a word of English, etc. This book was written a few years back (maybe 11 now), but is just as relevant in today's political scene with so much attention being put on immigration and "the border". Besides living in San Diego (within about 50 miles of the US/Mexico border), I haven't had any personal experience with immigration so I think this gives a real and honest portrayal of what families go through. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- Happy Place by Emily Henry - I have heard great things about this author and since all of her books on my Hoopla app are in languages other than English, I've had to get in line and wait my turn on my Libby app for them to become available (I think I currently have maybe three or four more of her books in my 'for later' list). This is a story about a group of college friends who are returning to a summer getaway cabin for one last hurray since it will be sold shortly after the summer season. There are three couples, but the majority of the story focuses on one of them who had been engaged but broke off their relationship and had yet to tell their friends about it. I can see why so many people snag this author's books while going on vacation or hanging out at the pool. They are easy reads, but they sure do grab all of you and drag you, head over heels, into the story. There may have been some tears rolling down my face during the listening of this book. Another book that won't make it in my personal library but that was entertaining and worth the read. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - This is another book that I had seen mentioned time and time again, so as soon as I downloaded the Libby app I got in line for it. Let's just say it's super fun! The main characters (although, I will be honest, there are a ton of characters and it can be sort of difficult to try and keep them all straight) live in a retirement community. Four of the folks come together to make the Thursday Murder Club where they try to solve murder cases. I just kept picturing my grandmas in the mix and it made me smile. Part of the book is told in first person (in the form of journal entries from one of the four members) and part is told in third person. The book is a mystery book, but it is also super funny, cute and witty along the way. There are so few books with "retirees" as the main characters that it gets extra points solely on that front from me! It's a quick and easy read, even if at points it seemed like it could have been edited a bit shorter. At the end of the audiobook there was a quick interview with the author and I loved hearing that there are more books in the series - WHOO HOO! (And it picks up the following day, so a smooth transition.) I would give it a 9 out of 10.
- Nice Racism by Robin DiAngelo - After a couple novels, it was time to get back into the non-fiction section of my Libby app. I had read White Fragility, by this author, previously and felt it was very insightful, so snagged this one to keep my antiracist education growing. Similar to Dr. DiAngelo's previous works, this one was very impactful and eye opening. I've heard many talks, read many books, etc about the term "nice", but I guess I've never thought about it in the category of racism before. The main point that Dr. DiAngelo is trying to make (at least in my opinion) is the fact that white "progressives" can be doing more damage than the blatant racist. The reason is blatant racism can be confronted head on, but people who want to try to 'keep the peace', make sure everyone is being 'nice', etc, can actually be sitting by and perpetuating racism while thinking they are doing 'good'. The MLK quote (from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail) comes to mind "...I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice..." The only thing that 'nice' does is alleviates yourself of guilt, but doesn't disrupt racism. This book brought to light things in my own life since we are always growing and learning (everything from moving beyond feeling defensive to paying BIPOC peoples for their expertise). I would give it a 9 out of 10.
- A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske - I actually had this one on my "for later" list on Libby, but the wait time seemed too long and when I looked on my Hoopla app this and the second book in the series were available, so I used two of my downloads for the month to grab them. The opening music made me think it was going to be like Harry Potter, and it was a bit like it, but instead of wizards and muggles there were magicians and non-magical, "regular" people. (FYI: I tend to like YA books because there is less [or at least less graphic] sexy times, but apparently [which I learned when grabbing the link to it] this was not in the YA genre, which means it definitely has its fill of sex, so be warned if that turns you off.) The story was a little slow at parts, but overall the romance and character development had me hooked and kept me engaged. It's a mix of magic, murder and mystery. And I'm excited to see where the storyline(s) go from here. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- A Restless Truth by Freya Marske - As I mentioned in the previous book recap, I had nabbed the first two books in this series on my Hoopla app. This is a follow up to A Marvellous Light, but it focuses on different characters - Robin's sister and Harriette from Robin's visions. Now that I was aware this is NOT a young adult book, I was assuming this would be a little more adult (and that there would be some sex). I love that this series seems to focus on queer love and how it isn't a big deal. It's dealt with just like heterosexual love - mentioned and moved on from. Seeing as this book is in the same vein as the first, it is still about murder, mystery and magic, all wrapped up in a historical fantasy bow. The only thing that I'm bummed about is neither of my audiobook apps have the third and final book in the series available. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- Five Survive by Holly Jackson - Once I finished the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, I went on my Libby app to see if the author had any other books. This one pop up so I got in line to check it out. I will say that although I got caught up in the mystery, I didn't love it. I'm not sure what exactly the reason was, but there were multiple times where I thought to myself "do I really want to listen till the end?!". Maybe it was because it seemed extremely far fetched {six friends go on a road trip for spring break and a snipper finds them, potential mafia connections, etc}, but I did find the fact that the book really only spread out over the course of eight hours intriguing. With that said, I removed the other of this author's books from my "for later" list and think I'll look for some different mystery young adult books (or drop the genre for a while). I would give it a 5 out of 10.
- Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro - Since none of the books I was waiting on in my Libby app were available, I started scrolling through a list of "rainbow reads" (libraries pick their favorite books with LGBTQIA+ characters). I saw this one and the title grabbed my attention so I thought I'd give it a try. Although I knew this was a novel, it definitely reflects the reality of numerous similar tragedies, as well as the reality of heaps heroes who persist in the face of adversity (who we should be eternally grateful to!). This book has a very diverse cast of character - some of lesser known/ talked about sexual orientations, people with of different races and immigration statuses, folks with different beliefs (whether religious, political, etc), etc. As I mentioned, this is a fictional story, but I easily could have been reading something out of today's news. It is a story about police brutality, protests, turning schools into something that resembles prisons, different 'warfare' tactics that are employed, etc. It's not an easy read, but it's a super important one. I would give it a 9 out of 10.
- The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni - Like I mentioned for the previous book, since none of my Libby books were available, I decided to go over to my Hoopla app. This book popped up as a trending YA title. I noticed it was a series and that the app had all three books, so I downloaded the first one. This is not necessarily an "easy" read - there is a lot of violence, which may be triggering for some folks. As you may have guessed from the title, this story takes place in a prison. Not only is it a prison, it's a "work prison/ death prison". The main character, Kiva, is still a prisoner, but instead of an extremely strenuous job, she works in the infirmary healing the other prisoners (hence the title of "prison healer" ;). There are lots of twists and turns along the way, so it definitely kept me engaged. There was a HUGE cliffhanger at the end of this book (that I totally did not see coming which doesn't happen often), so I'm stoked to see where the story goes. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni - I was stoked that Hoopla had the entire series, so I grab the second book with my final check-out of the month (I'm crossing my fingers the hubby will share one/some of his with me so I can finish them one after another). I've gotta say, this one seemed to be more love focused (overall less violence than the first) and I got caught up in the blossoming relationships (whether friendships or more ;)). There were parts that I liked and made me say "awwwwww" and there were parts that weren't my favorite and made me cringe a bit, but overall I liked to see life OUTSIDE of prison for everyone. Definitely a lot more twists and turns in this one (I love not having enough time to try and guess what's happening next or being bored of a slow storyline) and I'm stoked to see how the series ends (lots of loose ends). I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni - I worked my magic (ok, I really just had to ask, hehe) and the hubby let me use one of his Hoopla downloads for the month so I could finish this series up. I've gotta say, I really enjoyed this series. I don't know which one was my favorite, but I do wish there was more... I looked at the time left in my audiobook at one point and I was like 10 hours in (with five to go) and we still weren't anywhere near the end of the story. If you've seen/ read the Hunger Games series, it's sort of like that. After all of the trials and tribulations, I want to see what happens next... I know, the authors like to leave it open ended so YOU can choose, but I'm always curious to know what happens to everyone one, five, ten years later. I would say that the section(s) with Kiva's sister could've been a bigger plot line, but the character development was great. Overall I would say this series gets two thumbs up for me (dare I say I would've liked even a little more focus on the romance portion ;)) and hope this author writes many, many more books. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry - After reading one of this author's books earlier in the month, I went through my Libby app and put some of her books that were already on my "for later" shelf onto my "hold" list. This one finally became available (I was probably on the waitlist for maybe eight or so weeks) so I grabbed it right away. I feel like these are great vacation books, so why not download and listen to them during my lunch walks and act like I'm not working 40 hours a week ;) This one felt like there was a lot of build up... It would switch between different summer trips these two friends took over their years of friendship, mentioning this one specific trip and how everything "changed", but it seemed like you different officially find out about it until way late in the book. Maybe it was meant for suspense, but I thought it could've been touched on earlier and then more of the 'after' could have been explored. Seeing as this is an adult book, there is some sexy time included, but I'd say it definitely wasn't as detailed as the first one I checked out. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston - This was in the recently added list on my Libby app (in the young adult section ;)). It caught my attention right away because we literally drive by this internment camp every time we visit Mammoth, Bishop, Yosemite, etc. The hubby always says "we should go and learn about the history", but usually we drive by at an 'off' time, we have Walt in the car (and can't leave him in the extreme heat of the Owens Valley), or we are just ready to get there or get home. Well, this book was perfect! It is a memoir of sorts from the time a family was interned at Manzanar to their 'release' and what they experienced afterward. I know that Japanese were sent to internment camps during World War II, but other than knowing it happened, I don't know think I was ever taught anything more (and, if I'm being honest with myself, I hadn't really thought about it before). I found this incredibly insightful. Jeanne is recalling her life before, during and after WWII and since she was a kiddo at that point, it's written in terms that kids can listen and learn from. She had so much eye-opening stuff in this book, not only a glimpse of the humiliation felt by the interned but also a response for people who use the excuse of that during other wars, people were held and she reminds us all that the majority of the Japanese sent to camps were AMERICAN BORN and NOT sympathizers of the "enemy". I know I was originally drawn to this book because of our familiarity of the location, but I think everyone can glean a lot from this personal telling of history. I would give it a 9 out of 10.
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - Okay, so this one is a little more "out there" (sci-fi) than the usual romantic comedy than I'm drawn to, but I've read one of the author's previous books (Red, White and Royal Blue, which has also recently been turned into a movie) and really enjoyed it, so figured this was worth a shot. I've gotta say, I really loved it. There are so many different reasons, but the top three I can think of are: a diverse cast of characters (a lesbian, gay men, a bisexual, a trans man, drag queens, a psychic, heterosexual cis people, etc), the fact that no matter your WHO you are, we all still go through very similar things (and it shouldn't be taboo to talk about) and QUEER JOY! Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way downplaying the discrimination, hatred and violence that has been perpetrated against the LGBTQIA+ community, but there's also so much more to the amazing folks (love, acceptance, badassery ;)) than only tragedy. There were mysteries (both big and small) needing to be solved which kept me intreguied. I would give it a 10 out of 10.
- I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston - Since I just listened to this author's previous book (AND LOVED IT), I figured I'd check out the last one of her's on either of my apps and hope that I liked it just as much. Well, unfortunately, I didn't... It was sort of a scavenger hunt type idea during the last few months of the kids' senior year of high school. It also turned into a little more of a romance and rivalry. I liked the diversity of characters, but the overall plot and 'mystery' didn't keep me engaged for some reason. Maybe this storyline would be a better movie than a book, but for some reason it didn't sit well with me. I would give it a 6 out of 10.
- The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama - I'll be honest, I think Michelle Obama is an AMAZING woman. Every time I've heard her speak, read an interview, listened to her book, etc, I always am in awe of how kind she is with such a level head about everything. This book was not like her memoir and it's not necessarily a self-help book, but she uses experiences that have shaped her into the woman/ mom/ friend/ wife she is and tries to extrapolate tidbits that she can pass along to the rest of us. I know she is probably not bright and sunshiny all the time, but sharing stories of how she has overcome uncertainty made me sit right alongside her and think "I CAN DO IT TOO!" I love that everything she shares is about doing something actionable. Getting up, doing the work, even if you don't think it is making an impact, do it anyway. I'd say overall this book comes across as hopeful, practical and powerful. I may not being adding it to my personal library, but I think it's definitely a book I can see myself coming back to multiple times. Let's celebrate our uniqueness, let's open our arms to others, let's embrace community, let's practice love (including loving ourselves). I would give it a 10 out of 10.
- Chloe Cates is Missing by Mandy McHugh - The book cover caught my eye when I was scrolling through some of the "thrillers" on my Libby app. Ryan and I have watched our fair share of true crime shows/ movies and this looked like it could be something similar. The story is told from four different characters' perspectives (on the audiobook each was read by different narrators), which I do tend to be partial to. I was really captivated by the story. The premise was a mom wanted something to give her life purpose after having her second child, so decided to start a mommy blog. Twelve years later the blog is still going (to say 'strong' may be an stretch) but whereas when it first started everyone in the family was onboard, now there seems to be trouble in the blogosphere (or, more specifically, IRL). When the daughter who the majority of the blog focuses on (even though the mom always tries to reiterate it is about her life and her experiences) goes missing, it's a race to find out what happened and where she is. There were lots of twists and turns (and I was actually going back and forth on which suspect I thought might have done it) and without giving anything away, there was a reveal at the end I thought was very clever. I could totally see this turned into a movie. I would give it an 8 out of 10.
- Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern - This popped up on my Libby app as a recommended book and I thought I'd check it out. If you've read Eleanor & Park, this is along the same vein (at some points I actually had to think whether I had read this one before because it was so similar). It's a coming of age story with characters who are not normally the focus of mainstream media (a high school senior who has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal and another student who has obsessive compulsive habits). Both Amy and Matthew seem to be in a place there they could both use a friend, and despite how the two got paired together, it's beautiful to see a friendship blossom. There were parts that made me go 'awwwww, that's so sweet' and there are other cringe worthy spots. I am not going to give it away, and I'm always going to say I would prefer to see more of the "after", but I do have to say that I appreciate everything wasn't "happily ever after" and tied up with a nice bow at the end. It is always interesting to see how people think they are showing love to others. I appreciated that the author focused on acceptance (or lack thereof) and individuality. I would give it a 9 out of 10.
- The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso - Apparently the police should hire teens to help solve mysteries/ murders/ cold cases (or at least that's what some of the recent books I've read would suggest). This was in the YA "page turner" list (mostly meaning the thriller genre). Two families vacation together year after year. One summer one of the high school daughters goes missing. The following year the case has gone cold but the two families return to try to bring light back around the situation. The daughter that is not missing and the older brother of the girl who is missing (which happen to have a romance blooming) spend the summer trying to track down the killer/ kidnapper and bring them to justice. I won't spoil the "big reveal", but I wasn't expecting the ending. Nothing amazing about this one, but it was entertaining. I would give it a 7 out of 10.
- In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune - Let me start off by saying I LOVE THIS AUTHOR! One of my favorite books is one he wrote (The House in the Cerulean Sea). As soon as I saw this pop up on my Hoopla app [under the hubby's account since I had already run out of downloads for the month, oopsy!] I grabbed it immediately. As expected, this one was just as awesome (might not be in my top 5, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it!). Not only was the story interesting (sort of a retelling of Pinocchio but with characters flipped and other tweaks), but the narrator of the audiobook was AMAZING! I think everytime Rambo spoke I either was chuckling or at least had a HUGE smile on my face. I'll be honest and say that I think some of the portion with the Coachman could've been shortened and the time with the Blue Fairy could've been extended, but overall a chef's kiss from me! If you like TJ's other books, I'm sure you'll love this one too! I would give it a 10 out of 10.
- Cafe con Lychee by Emery Lee - I had seen this on a few Pride Month 'must read' lists so when it finally showed up on my Hoopla app I snagged it right away. I think this one is a case of it was hyped up to be freakin' fantastic and I didn't think it lived up to expectations. It was sort of the reused plot of enemies become friends become partners. Don't get me wrong, I liked some of the nuances of the story, but overall I didn't find anything overly amazing. I did enjoy the fact that every other chapter was written from the perspective of one of the characters (and that there were two narrators doing the voices), but I don't think it'll end up in my forever library. This would be a great beach/ vacation read but I don't think it is a "must". I would give it a 7 out of 10.
- Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee - After I listened to Cafe con Lychee, I thought I'd see if the author had any other books. (I wouldn't say the last book was amazing, but I was still waiting on my "for later" books to become available and nothing I had access to caught my eye at the moment, so I figured, 'why not?'.) Well, similar to the previous book of theirs I listened to, this one was sweet, but nothing too amazing. Hopefully you know what "meet cute" means, but if not, it's the cute way two people meet (pretty self explanatory, hehe). The main character is trans and wrote a blog where he recorded different 'meet cutes' in the trans community (to give folks hope and as a reminder that they have every right to the "romance" other relationships have). Well, let's just say the blog is popular, but the posts Noah is sharing may be more stories than realities... As I'm sure you can guess, drama ensues and he finds/ loses/ forms/ strengthens/ ends relationships through the ups and downs. Again, cute (and fun beach read), but I won't add it to my personal library. I would give it a 7 out of 10.
With that, July is done-zo. If you have suggestions, let me know! I'm always looking to add to my "must read" list!
What's the best book you've read lately?
