WHAT I READ IN JULY 2022

I read some incredible books this month. So many good ones to share. But first I just want to reiterate how much I love the Kindle. I have found myself reading so much more throughout the day and especially at night. I always have a book with me and I love being able to read in the dark, without having to turn the lights on and disturbing Mike!

Okay I hope you guys get a recommendation or two to add to your TBR list from this post!

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

4.5/5 Stars

This is such a beautiful book. It was recommended to me via Scribd and I immediately got swept up into the character’s intertwined lives. It’s about friendship and lost and found family. Sounds a little silly, but one of the main characters is an octopus named Marcellus. This would usually be a personal book-preference red flag for me, but I found it endearing in Remarkably Bright Creatures.

THE HOTEL NANTUCKET by Elin Hilderbrand

5/5 Stars

I’m a bonafide Elin Hilderbrand fan girl. I love her and I love her books. They’re the epitome of beach reads (she is “The Queen of Beach Reads,” officially). I know people usually equate beach reads with fluff, but I absolutely love Elin’s storytelling style. The complicated relationships, the touch of satire, and food descriptions so delicious that you want to book a flight to ACK immediately just to eat a lobster roll. The Hotel Nantucket might just be my most favorite book of hers to date. It’s a little different than her usual– it’s a modern day “ghost” story featuring a haunted hotel. The book also features a very thorough and in depth Nantucket guide with all of Elin’s personal recommendations. It’s worth purchasing the book solely for her guide. It’s perfect!

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING by Julia Whelan

3.5/5 Stars

If you’re a big audiobook person, you are very likely familiar with Julia Whelan’s voice. She is a super popular narrator! When I first downloaded this book, I actually thought it was her memoir! It’s actually a novel about a popular audiobook narrator. It’s a little bit meta in that sense! I thought it was good, but not great, though I think that might just be my personal preference to not love rom-coms.

TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin

4.5/5 Stars

I have been seeing this book everywhere and with good reason. It’s a fantastic novel with some of the best character development. I went into it “blind” and I’m glad I did. The two main characters are “often in love, but never lovers” as they move through a complicated childhood friendship to an even more complicated adult friendship as business partners behind a popular video game franchise. I have to admit that I have very little (read: no) interest in video games, so I’m glad I went into this blind– I never would have read it and I’m so glad I did! I don’t know that I’ve ever read a book that so beautifully captures the delicacies and complications of friendship– particularly between men and women. READ IT!

ACCEPTANCE by Emi Nietfeld

5/5 Stars

Wooooow. This is an intense memoir. Emi Nietfeld was a homeless teenager in and out of her car, shelters, institutions, speciality boarding schools, and various friends’ homes trying to beat the odds and get out into the Ivy League. Her memoir is gut-wrenching and quite difficult to read at times as she had so many circumstances, systems, and people working against her, but I also couldn’t put it down. Emi Nietfeld writes with such conviction and self-awareness.

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