I am so looking forward to lots of summer reading over the next couple of months. (I imagine my reading time is going to be significantly affected come August once baby is here!) Here’s what I read over the past month:
WHAT I READ IN MAY 2021
ONE TWO THREE by Laurie Frankel
4.5/5 Stars
One Two Three is definitely one of the more interesting plots I’ve read in a while. It’s told from the perspective of triplet sisters Mab, Monday, and Mirabel. (If you have the chance to listen to the audiobook, it’s done in a really great way with three separate voice actresses!) The triplets couldn’t be more different and yet they have an unmistakable bond. Bringing all of their individual strengths to the table, they band together to help solve a problem with their water supply that plagued their town seventeen years ago… Somehow this book is as witty and charming as it is heartbreaking and beautiful. I really loved it!
SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER by Ashley C. Ford
4/5 Stars
If you’re a fan of Ashley C. Ford, you will definitely want to put her memoir on your reading list. It’s a relatively quick read with deep meaning and introspection. She recounts her life as she grows up with a complicated relationship with her mother and a father who has been incarcerated for most of her life. (Content warning: There are recurring themes of abuse and rape throughout.)
THE ANATOMY OF DESIRE by L. R. Dorn
3/5 Stars
This is a modern retelling of An American Tragedy and honestly? I kind of hated it. The audiobook is well done and I think the book lends itself to be listened to versus read as it’s written as an investigative docuseries with a full cast of voice characters (very similar to Daisy Jones and the Six)… but I couldn’t help but think what the point of this was. It wasn’t that interesting, especially if you’re familiar with An American Tragedy, and I think the idea of using influencers as main characters is already getting a little overdone?
ONE LAST STOP by Casey McQuiston
4.25/5 Stars
If you like romantic comedies and can suspend disbelief, this is also a fun novel to pick up! One Last Stop is about a young woman named August who feels a little lost in life and moves to NYC to finish up some college credits. In Brooklyn, she finds a cast of characters to room with and meets a mysterious, gorgeous woman on the train who she keeps running into every time she commutes to school. It turns out her subway crush is actually displayed from the 1970s. The book is filled with sweet romantic gestures, multiple unsolved mysteries, and quirky characters you can’t help but fall in love with.
THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
3.25/5 Stars
I got really into the first half of this book and struggled through the second half. The novel starts when Margot cannot get a hold of her mother Mina who lives in LA, so she drives down from Seattle to see her in person…. only to find out that she has died under mysterious conditions. The book flips between Mina’s life when she first moved to America and Margot’s current life as she tries to figure out what happened to her mother. The ending made sticking with the book “worth it” for me, but I do wish there had been a bit more depth throughout. It also fell a little flat at times and felt rushed.
Did you read anything great this month?
READ WITH ME
So many great recommendations!!!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Audiobooks and podcasts will be your best friends when the baby arrives. I kept airpods handy at all times so that I could listen while nursing and changing diapers in the middle of the night. Kept me awake and was something to focus on when baby would. not. sleep!
I have One Two Three on my list for this month. I absolutely loved her last book and her poetic, meaningful style of writing. I really enjoyed Jennifer Weiner’s new book That Summer last month. It was a 5 star read for me!
I started to read more once I had a baby! More down time while they’re sleeping or staying in on the weekends like I hadn’t before (pre-pandemic)! Loved listening to an audiobook when they were sleeping in the car too!