WHAT I READ IN AUGUST 2022

I’m not even sure what happened here but apparently I was just blowing through books?! And I’ve got some great ones to recommend this month! But, as always, I’m always on the hunt for more books to read. Would LOVE your recommendations, too…. Happy reading!

EASY BEAUTY by Chloe Cooper Jones

4/5 Stars

This was a beautiful memoir about physical beauty– specifically disability. It’s also about motherhood, too. I found myself checking my own thoughts about ability and disability and beauty and motherhood. It was very raw and also a good thought provoker. (The memoir opens with the author Chloe Cooper Jones in a bar with a couple of friends debating whether her life, as a disabled woman, is worth living or not.)

PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS by Eric Barker

4/5 Stars

I love reading Eric Barker’s blog “Barking Up the Wrong Tree” and I was excited to read his book. He has a knack for breaking down otherwise “boring” topics into an interesting and easy to digest way. I did find this interesting and learned a lot and yes, it was pretty easy to breeze through. It was an especially relevant time to read the book after all the pandemic lockdowns and periods of isolation. The book breaks down why it’s important to build connections with other people and how to do it in more meaningful ways.

CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid

3.75/5 Stars

If you’re a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid, you should definitely read this book. I will say that I tend to love TJR books that most people don’t love and then feel so-so about her most popular ones. I don’t know why! Personally I found this one to be a little forced and I couldn’t quite get into the meatier sections– though I was on the edge of my seat at the very end! It’s about a tennis player who is coming out of retirement in the 90s to reclaim her reining record.

BOOKISH PEOPLE by Susan Coll

2.5/5 Stars

A book about a bookstore and book lovers seemed right up my alley! But… I just didn’t love this one. I found the characters very annoying and difficult to like. It has a bit of an Amy Poeppel vibe with a cast of quirky characters all revolving around this bookstore. (Another weird critique but I listened to the audiobook of it and the bookstore is based in Virginia but was narrated by a Canadian narrator and, while that doesn’t sound like a big distinction, I couldn’t wrap my head around the Canadian accent and pronunciations with an American bookstore and very American issues, like the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville.)

EVERY SUMMER AFTER by Carley Fortune

3.5/5 Stars

I had high, high hopes about Every Summer After and I will admit I think I’m the only one of my friends who didn’t love it. (The genre just isn’t my cup of tea.) It’s very fun and very light– a page-turning romantic beach read. A woman returns to the small lake town where she vacationed with her family as a young teen for the funeral of her teenage boyfriend’s mother. It was a little predictable, but played out like a movie (in a good way). It’s a good balance of drama, young love, and reconnection.

I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy

5/5 Stars

This book has been so popular that it’s hard to even get your hands on a physical copy. I recommend the audiobook as Jennette narrates it herself. Jennette McCurdy is most known for her Nickelodeon role of Sam on iCarly and then the spin-off Sam & Cat. Wow, it’s a powerful memoir. While it’s written with a touch of humor at times, it is dark. It’s about her toxic, and even abusive, relationship with her mother while growing up in the spotlight as a child actor.

WHEN WE WERE BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL by Jillian Medoff

3/5 Stars

Okay… so I think my rating is not exactly about the book, but it also is? I personally found the topic so gross that I just didn’t like it. I wish I hadn’t read it and probably should have just DNF’d it. The main character’s brother is accused of rape and then the entire (extremely wealthy) family starts to fall apart as their secrets come to light.

BOMB SHELTER by Mary Laura Philpott

5/5 Stars

(Apparently I’m on a memoir kick this year!) This one by Mary Laura Philpott is so good. I have never read a memoir that I so personally connected with. It felt like she took some of my own thoughts and fears that I hadn’t been able to parse out completely and put them to paper. As a type-a new mom of a little boy, I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading. I particularly loved her articulation of the passing of time: the tragedy of it, but also the beauty of it.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? by Bruce D. Perry & Oprah Winfrey

4/5 Stars

A bunch of people have recommended What Happened to You? to me and I’m very glad I finally read it. It’s about trauma and how we shouldn’t be so concerned about “what’s wrong” with people and instead reframe the question as, “what happened to you?” It was very eye-opening and I had many, in the words of Oprah herself, “aha moments” while reading. Even if you haven’t specifically experienced any trauma, I would recommend reading it because trauma is part of the human experience and you know people and meet people who have experienced trauma every day.

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