My July Reading Wrap-Up

How is your summer going? I went to my niece’s wedding in Wisconsin and I’m visiting family in California in August, and then in September we’re taking our first Rick Steve’s tour that covers parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Otherwise, I’ve been walking a lot (when the weather permits), gardening, and visiting my dad. 

I’ve been using Mastodon and Instagram more, now that WordPress is no longer able to post directly to Twitter. I’m liking Bookstadon, which feels a lot more thoughtful and book-focused than Twitter. Come find me (@curlygeek04@bookstadon.com) – I’m looking for people to follow!

Here’s what I read in July:

• The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar (audio)
• The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
• Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (audio)
• Dreams of Arcadia by Brian Porter
• The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
• Wool (Silo #1) by Hugh Howey (audio)
• The Choice by Edith Eva Eger

My favorite reads: 

I was a little nervous about reading Warrior Girl Unearthed, because I loved Boulley’s first book so much. I didn’t need to worry, in fact this one was maybe even better.  These books are action-packed page turners that also have complex characters and a deep look at Ojibwe culture, language and history. 

Similarly, The World Record Book of Racist Stories was just as good as Ruffin and Lamar’s first book, You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey. Both books bring a lot of humor to a difficult subject, and in the process they really show just how prevalent racism is.

The Choice is an incredibly powerful book about psychology, trauma, and healing, written by a woman who survived Auschwitz and became a psychologist and therapist. This was another recommendation from Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle, who also recommended The Body Keeps the Score and What My Bones Know.

On the blog:

This month I reviewed Dreams of Arcadia and The Deep Sky. I also wrote about my favorite audiobooks of the year so far, and ten books I’d like to re-read.

Books for challenges:

• TBR Pile/Backlist Reader: The Choice
• Nonfiction: The World Record Book of Racist Stories, The Choice
• Reading Around the World: The Choice
• 20 Books of Summer: Monsters We Defy, Warrior Girl Unearthed, Dreams of Arcadia, The Deep Sky, The Choice

What’s coming up:

I’m reading Butter Honey Pig Bread for the TBR Pile Challenge, and I have four ARCs to read in August, which is a lot: Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, The Blue Beautiful World by Karen Lord, and Happiness Falls by Angie Kim. I also picked up a memoir written by a doctor who has multiple sclerosis; she’s the daughter of a mentor and former boss of mine.

Things that made me happy this month:

This weekend we saw Barbie and I loved it.  I laughed so hard, and yet came away with lots of thoughts and new ideas about a doll I always felt conflicted about.  As a girl I thought they were terrible, just tools to make us all feel inadequate and ugly. I refused to wear anything pink, ever. And yet a part of me absolutely loved my younger sister’s Barbies. So are they the propaganda of the patriarchy, or is it the world that’s messed up and not the dolls? 

And I enjoyed the TV version of Wool so much, I re-read the book after about 10 years, and it was as good as I remembered it (and a great audiobook). I highly recommend both book and TV versions.

That’s my July wrap-up. Hope your summer is going well, you’re staying cool, and you’re reading something good!