May, June & July Reads

Hello friends! It’s been a minute hasn’t it? Totally unplanned, last week I decided to take a week off from blogging. We had to make final decisions about school and extra-curricular activities for our teenagers for the upcoming fall semester, and I just felt like I needed to take a break and allow myself some time to think, research and process all of our options. But I’m back today with my long overdue book report. Long overdue, I realize, is a bit of an understatement as I usually do these monthly. But better late than never, right? 😉

As you might recall I set a personal reading goal for myself at the start of the year to read four books a month. And I’ve been chugging right along, hitting that goal pretty consistently, that is until June rolled in and I fell into a bit of a reading slump. It happens to the best of us. 😉 I did manage to get in one book in June though, and that’s better than zero. So I’m giving myself some grace and am hoping to make up for the slump over the next few moths!

Okay now, with our further ado, I read nine books over the past three months. Two of which I give 5 stars and highly recommend!

• Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read in a really long time. Written in the form of a letter to his son, Coates writes about his personal journey and awakening to the truth about what it means to be a black man in America. Sharing his experience of what it’s like to, as he says in the book, inhabit a black body, his words are emotional, powerful and redemptive. Through his words as a reader you can feel his love for his son. – I give it 5 stars!
• Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey is based on a true story and has all the makings of a great, dark, mystery-suspense-thriller ~ small town, family secrets, creepy characters ~ but it ultimately fell flat for me. The plot holes and weak ending ruined it for me, and I really wanted to like this story because the thirteen year old narrator, Cassie, was such a likable, quirky character. – I don’t like giving negative reviews, but for me this was 2 1/2 stars.
• My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russel is unlike any book I’ve ever read about sexual abuse. (I think this book could be very triggering, so please be warned.) The story flips back and forth between 2000 and 2017, and it centers on the predatory, manipulative relationship between the main character, Vanessa, and her high school English teacher. I don’t want to give too much of the story away as this was such a thought-provoking, intense read as you see the abuse interpreted through Vanessa’s viewpoint, from naive, anxious, insecure 15 year old to emotionally distraught 32 year old. I found this exploration into the psychological complexities and emotional repercussions of sexual abuse to be dark and disturbing yet so powerful. This story brings up a lot of questions. Questions we really need to be openly discussing. – 4 stars
• I’m Still Here – Black Dignity In A World Made For Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown is a memoir that explores race relations. As a Christian woman, Brown writes a good bit about the church’s role in rising racial tension, both confronting apathy and microagressions. And as a believer myself I found her words to be both inspiring and convicting. How can we claim to “love our neighbor” when our actions fall short of our words or even worse prove otherwise. This book is a mix of truth telling and tough love from the heart of a sister in Christ. – 4 stars
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides was my instagram book club’s (@4readingwomen) July pick, and all four of us moderators gave it 5 stars! It was THAT GOOD! If you’re down for a good mystery-thriller, you’re going to want to add this book to your list! The story is basically about an artist, Alicia, who is accused of killing her husband and admitted to a mental care facility. A criminal psychotherapist, Theo, gets involved in her treatment and the story starts to unfold from there. Through Theo’s perspective, his own personal investigation, and Alicia’s personal diary entries, the reader is brought along as this twisty-turn-y mystery unfolds. I loved this book! And I can’t wait to read whatever Alex Michaelides writes next! – 5 stars
• Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey was another instagram book club pick. It’s a great reset book if you’ve been reading a lot of books with heavy content as it’s light and heartwarming. Truly a perfect beach read! It reminded me a lot of the new Netflix series Sweet Magnolias with its distinctly southern vibe and emphasis on friendship. – 3 1/2 stars
• Still Me by Jojo Moyes was exactly what I needed in the middle of 2020. Revisiting one of my favorite fictional characters, Louisa Clark, brought me so much joy! This book has been sitting on my nightstand for years. I’d been reluctant to dive in to the final book in the Me Before You series mostly because I just didn’t want Louisa’s story to end. And as it turns out, I’m glad I waited, because this was just the smile-inducing, happy-tears crying book I needed to read at this specific moment in time. I’ve read a lot of critical reviews from those that think Jojo Moyes shouldn’t have made this a series. And in some regard, I get it. Me Before You was the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful love story. How can the other two books possibly compare? They can’t. Truly, it’s impossible. But I do think these books were necessary. And this third and final book felt good and right. Me Before You may have been a love story, but it was also a story about a girl, lovable, quirky Louisa Clark, on the brink of discovering herself. In After You we follow Louisa as she works to pick up the pieces, put herself back together and keep trudging forward. Still Me is Louisa’s story of becoming herself. And I loved every bit of it. Especially this part.

Thank you for Louisa, Jojo Moyes. – 4 1/2 stars

• Normal People by Sally Rooney wasn’t a hit for me. I found it depressing and slow. Maybe I’m just too old to appreciate a coming of age toxic love story? It was a struggle for me to finish, and I only kept reading because I was hoping for a turnaround. I kept thinking that maybe there would be some kind of big aha moment where all of the depressing puzzle pieces would come together to create some kind of tragic but thought-provoking statement. But that never came. So I was left wondering if maybe I missed the author’s point with this story. I came away thinking the same thing I thought going in ~ there’s no such thing as “normal” people. It’s apparently been turned into a Hulu series, so my opinion is clearly in the minority. – 2 1/2 stars
• The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch is a parenting guide for the digital age. It’s written from a Christian perspective but I think any parent regardless of religious beliefs will find this book to be helpful in navigating technology. In this book Andy provides statistics as well practical tips. He humbly shares his own family’s “ten commandments” with regard to how they’ve decided to use technology in their home. And I found his honest, non-judgmental approach to be helpful. I wish I’d read this book when my kids were in preschool! It’s a quick read, and if you’re a parent looking for some guidance with regard to screen time, computers, phones and social media, I’d definitely recommend giving this a read. Some of his rules are pretty strict, but I still appreciated the general ideas he presented. – 3 1/2 stars