oh hey, six month round up. Summer & fall is busy season, folks, which leaves not nearly enough time to read (which is, unfortunately, kind of the opposite of what summer should be,) so this list is not very long:
- Lit
by Mary Karr. I love a good addiction memoir, so I have no idea why I hadn’t read this until now – the genre at it’s very, very finest – Karr is a beautiful writer.
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Cheryl Strayed.* My book club picked this before Oprah’s did, and as I said in discussion – any woman who can make me adore a book about backpacking, which is an activity I could not possibly find less appealing, is an incredible writer. (hint: it’s not really about backpacking. Read it.)
- You Take It From Here
by Pamela Ribon. Super fun & engaging summer read. Except for the last two chapters which I actively cried through in their entirety, so consider finishing it in private.
- The Marriage Plot
by Jeffery Eugenides. Loved this, although some parts were a little on the slow side, one of the rare books whose last quarter is the strongest.
- I’m with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie
by Pamela Des Barres. Meh. I got about 1/3 through it before I was bored with the name dropping and (sorry to say) really poor writing and put it down. If you’re big on retro-celebrity gossip you’ll be into it.
- I Love You and I’m Leaving You Anyway
by Tracy McMillan. Smart, painful, surprisingly funny memoir. McMillan’s journey through her relationship issues is something I bet most people will be able to relate to.
- Things I Learned About My Dad in Therapy
edited by Heather B Armstrong. Some of these essays were very strong, others less so. Overall a pretty engaging & quick read.
- Getting a Life: Stories
by Helen Simpson. Lovely in a sort of melancholy way, Simpson writes women then way that only a woman can (sorry male authors, but it’s true.)
- This Is How You Lose Her
by Junot Diaz. Brilliant and gorgeous. Diaz proves again that he’s one of our best contemporary writers.
*not pictured, which means I must have lent it to somebody. Also, the photo was taken on my iPhone as I seem to have misplaced my camera in the move. sigh!
