The last couple of months have been so busy around here, but I think we are finally (now that it's October) settling into our new rhythms with carpools, activities, school work and juggling two different schools. I read eleven books in August and seven in September, but they weren't all stellar.
Here are my very favorite books from the past two months:
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
A friend recently told me that she couldn't read this book because it was too sad and depressing. Jeannette Walls's family is absolutely dysfunctional, but I found this memoir full of hope and love despite the tough times and incredibly flawed characters. This was one of my favorite reads this summer.
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
I often say that I dislike books about dysfunctional families, but this summer, I realized that I like dysfunctional family stories as long as there is at least one character I can relate to and root for. I adored this debut novel about a marriage and a family. Heiny explores some complex issues (infidelity, raising a child on the spectrum) but the book is so darn funny that I was laughing out loud and reading bits to Gene. Graham and Audra are likable and charming and I just loved this book. (As an aside, Sarah Dunn's The Arrangement explores similar themes, but that was a book I could barely get through. Read this instead.)
Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson
After Hurricane Harvey hit, I picked up Isaac's Storm at one of our local indie bookstores. Larson tells the story of the 1900 hurricane that decimated Galveston, killing some 10,000 people. Both horrific and fascinating, it's a must-read for anyone who's lived through a hurricane.
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
I was on a hurricane kick, so I next picked up Salvage the Bones, which won the National Book Award for fiction in 2011. A hurricane is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, and Esch's father, an alcoholic, knows enough to start shoring up his property in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. The novel follows Esch and her brothers through the twelve days leading up to Hurricane Katrina in this impoverished rural community. The book is brutal but beautifully written.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
This book is so good! Set in the 1990s in the master-planned community of Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, everything from the color of the houses to the alleys running behind them is planned out in great detail. The story follows the Richardson family, who seem to have it all until Mia and Pearl arrive and turn everything upside down. If you like literary fiction, grab this book!
What have you been reading lately?
