So I’m just going to go ahead and warn you – this is a long post. I read 33 books last month and I realize that sounds insane. I immediately feel like I need to defend myself, as if I’d just told you I ate 33 Big Macs in one sitting.
What can I say – I’m a fast reader. So on a summer Saturday when I don’t have plans and just sit by the pool and read for hours, I can get through three books. Also, I took a six night solo vacation to the beach this month and finished thirteen books on that trip.
For me, reading is like a muscle. The more I read, the faster I read, and the more it becomes my default way to spend my downtime at home instead of scrolling on my phone or watching TV. Speaking of scrolling on my phone, I deleted TikTok this month which massively cut down on my screen time. Anyway, I’ll probably never read that many books in one month again in my life, but it made for a fun moment in time!
Looking back at what I read this month, the new releases I was most excited to read weren’t necessarily my favorite things I read. Of the highly anticipated new releases I read this month, One Golden Summer and It’s a Love Story were my favorites. In terms of upcoming releases that I read advanced copies of, I think historical fiction fans will enjoy Dear Miss Lake and romance readers will likely go crazy for Well, Actually. And then I also loved Andre Agassi’s memoir Open and Notes on Infinity which was one of those rare books that met the very high expectations I had for it.
As always, I’ve sorted these reviews by genre so feel free to skip around and just check out the reviews in genres that interest you. For books that haven’t been released yet, I’ve noted the release dates. Bon appétit!
Fiction
Romance
Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings (out August 5th!)
In Well, Actually, six years ago Eva, host of a show much like Chicken Shop Date, and Rylie, a content creator known for teaching men how to be better partners, had a brief college fling. Cut to the present: Eva comes home drunk and mad one night and makes an impromptu takedown video about Rylie. It goes viral, so her bosses force her to make more content about him. But somewhere along the way, Rylie and Eva develop real feelings for each other.
The chemistry in this book was electric. At times, maybe a little too electric – Eva and Rylie’s banter was a bit too fast-paced. But I believed in them as a couple, and the reasons they both had for pulling away after their first encounter six years ago made sense and didn’t feel contrived.
Eva’s bosses felt a little like cartoon supervillains, so those parts didn’t feel believable to me. But I guess there had to be conflict somewhere. On the plus side, I loved the representation—not just gay, bi, and trans representation, but mental health representation, too.
This book is super duper steamy, so be mindful if that’s not your jam. But readers who were obsessed with the Amelia Dimoldenberg and Andrew Garfield Chicken Shop Date episode (or who watch fan edits of Jonathan Bailey and his ‘slutty little glasses’) are sure to enjoy this one.
Note: Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
Set Piece by Lana Schwartz
Set Piece, about a production designer and movie star who have a one-night stand then reconnect five years later, is my favorite 831 Stories novella to date.
It does suffer from the same affliction as Square Waves (another of their books): too much graphic sex, too fast. Call me a prude, but I think it should take more than 25 pages for a book to get hot and heavy! That said, the characters and their motivations are really fleshed out and feel real. They’re also likable—I found myself rooting for them. And my biggest pet peeve in romances is when made-up challenges keep couples apart just to serve the plot. This book has none of that.
Anyway, big fan. Totally recommend for anyone looking for a short and sweet romance (with plenty of spice). Great for fans of Nora Goes Off Script.
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
When it comes to Ashley Poston, I’m still searching for a book that recreates the magic of The Dead Romantics. Sounds Like Love is fine, but it doesn’t come close.
Joni is a songwriter living in LA, originally from the Outer Banks. The night before she’s set to return home for the summer to deal with family stuff, she meets and connects with Sebastian, a famous (and hot) ex-boy bander.
She hasn’t been able to write songs in a year, but when Sebastian follows her back to OBX, it seems like her luck might change. Of course, her inability to write isn’t the only challenge she’s facing.
The story (and its magical twist) was interesting enough. The plotline with Joni’s mom was handled well and wasn’t too heavy. But the pacing felt off, and the magical twist was confusing to me. It was so close to being great, but not quite there.
It was fine, though. Ashley Poston at her worst is still better than most romance authors. I loved the mother/daughter storyline, and it may be worth the read just for that.
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
I read Every Summer After the year it came out in one sitting, staying up late to finish it. It became my North Star of summer reading. Perfection. It takes place in the summer, in a summery setting, and has plenty of romance and conflict, but never so much that you worry there won’t be a happy ending.
I felt the same way on a re-read this year. I loved all the characters. It felt true to life. The sense of place was strong. The character development was great. The balance between flashbacks and present-day storytelling felt just right. And it had just the right amount of spice.
Really, 10/10. No notes. I’ll be re-reading this every few years for many years to come.
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
Every Summer After, Carley Fortune’s first book, is about your first great love. It’s about falling head over heels as a teenager when you don’t know any better. That energy made it feel fun and big-hearted and universal.
But One Golden Summer, the sequel? It’s about falling in love in your 30s when you do know better. When you’re toting around a luggage cart of baggage behind you. And it’s really for Type A oldest daughters who are always taking care of everyone else, planning birthday gifts months in advance, and never getting their own birthday celebrated. (Can you tell that part’s personal for me?)
I loved that Fortune brought back Percy and Sam from Every Summer After in small doses. And I’m so glad she gave us more Charlie as the main character here. It took me longer to warm up to Alice, the female lead. I often struggle with characters who are a little too similar to me. I can’t extend them grace. (To be unpacked in therapy later.) But I came to love her. And I really loved her relationship with her grandmother.
Also, Fortune once again nails the sense of place. She totally transports you to Barry’s Bay, the small Canadian lake town where this is set. You’ll want to hop on a plane and float around the lake on a boat or inflatable unicorn with Alice and Charlie.
So, was One Golden Summer as fun as Every Summer After? No. But was it relatable, sweet, and a deeply satisfying sequel? Absolutely.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Atmosphere is about a fictional group of NASA astronauts in the 80s, Astronaut Group 9 (but not the real members of Group 9). There are two timelines: present day, when an emergency is unfolding on a space shuttle and astronaut Joan Goodwin is the CAPCOM communicating with the crew, and flashbacks to the years that group spent training. It’s also a romance.
What surprised me was how romance-forward this is. Taylor Jenkins Reid usually writes genre benders that mix elements of several styles, but I’d categorize this pretty definitively as a romance. It’s a very sweet one, but as someone who loves all things space, I found myself wishing the story spent more time on the adventure in space and the rescue mission back on Earth. That timeline, especially the ending, felt a little rushed.
That said, I applaud TJR for writing a queer love story. It’s important and will build empathy, especially for readers who don’t know many queer couples or haven’t thought about what it was like to be queer 40 or 50 years ago. I’m an ally, but even I haven’t read many (maybe any?) lesbian romances, so this was new for me.
My favorite part was the relationship between Joan and her niece Frances — it brought tears to my eyes. Their bond really hit me. The friendship between Joan and Lydia also made me laugh.
And I’m excited that more readers will understand what I love about NASA and astronauts after reading this. These are smart, courageous people doing something miraculous, something that takes a level of teamwork that’s hard to fathom. It’s a subject that will never stop inspiring me, and I’m glad this book might inspire others, too.
Anyway, TJR does it again. I wasn’t sure if this would work for readers who aren’t huge NASA nerds, but it does. And it works even for readers who don’t typically go for romance. I’ve had male friends text me saying this book made them cry. There’s something here for everyone.
It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
Annabel Monaghan has done it again with It’s a Love Story, a sweet story about Jane, a former child star turned Hollywood studio executive, and Dan, a quiet and slightly mysterious cinematographer. They team up to try and get a movie produced, but first they have to convince Jane’s childhood crush, now famous musician Jack Quinlan, to participate. That means traveling to Dan’s hometown, where Jack is about to play a concert. And suddenly, Jane falls for not just Jack, but his whole family.
I loved this book. I wanted to insert myself into Dan’s warm and wild family and dance with his niece and eat muffins with his dad.
What really resonated was the challenge, as you get older, of rewriting the stories you’ve told yourself about who you are, and realizing how those stories might be holding you back.
The only thing that didn’t totally work for me was how Jane was painted as this wacky lady who laughed too loud, wore her hair too curly, and was too funny. Like the anti-Reese Witherspoon rom-com lead or something. But honestly, she just seemed like a fairly normal person? Maybe the point was that she had convinced herself she wasn’t normal because of childhood trauma. That would make sense.
Anyway, as you can tell I really enjoyed this book, loved the characters, and recommend it to all fans of Annabel Monaghan and big-hearted romances.
Note: Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
My favorite book trope is celebrities dating normal people. So it’s no surprise that Funny You Should Ask, a romance about a reporter who falls in love with a Hollywood actor she’s profiling (inspired by that steamy Chris Evans GQ profile from 2011), is one of my favorite romances in recent years.
It takes place across two timelines: present day, as Chani reunites with Gabe ten years after their original interview, and ten years earlier, when they first met and spent several whirlwind days together.
I’ll be honest — I didn’t love it as much the second time I read it. The dual timelines and the blog posts, articles, and internet comments sprinkled throughout left me a little more confused than I remembered. It’s also sadder than I recalled and not nearly as swoony. The ending felt more rushed than I remembered too. I think I had just built it up too much in my mind.
Anyway, still a top-tier celebrity/normal person romance.
Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman
I’ve been waiting for years for a continuation of Elissa Sussman’s celebrity/normal person romance debut, Funny You Should Ask. And now we have it — another romance in Totally and Completely Fine.
Except, truth be told, this barely felt like a romance. The main character, Lauren (Gabe’s sister from the first book), is falling in love with Gabe’s friend and fellow actor, Ben. But she’s also grieving the loss of her husband, single parenting their daughter Lena, and still carrying trauma from being slut-shamed in her teens.
There’s a lot going on, and most of it doesn’t feel very swoony. I think it’s me — I’m the problem — for not enjoying this more. Sussman’s previous books were more romantic. This one is clearly not trying to be that. The description makes that clear. My fault for not paying attention.
I think if you go into it knowing what kind of book you’re picking up, and read it at the right moment, you’ll enjoy it more than I did. Just maybe don’t pick it as a beach read.
Note: Thank you to Dell for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
I’ve read Nora Goes Off Script three times. It’s the ultimate celebrity/normal person romance. Nora, a single mom, writes a screenplay about her divorce. Her house gets rented out for the film adaptation, and she ends up falling for the celebrity playing her ex-husband.
It’s one of my favorite books of all time — like the warmest hug. A story that always gives me hope. I’ll keep coming back to it over and over again.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
The Dead Romantics is about a ghostwriter who has to return to her small Southern hometown when her father dies. It suffers a little from Ashley Poston’s tendency to make every character just a bit too twee or off-kilter. But it’s still one of my favorite romances of all time.
There’s a little mystery, a little fantasy, and a lot of heart. The last 10 percent wrecked me in the best way. I’ve read it twice, and it got me in my feelings both times.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
I should love Emily Henry’s Book Lovers. Really, I should. It’s about people who love books, a small Southern town filled with quirky characters, and funny small businesses. It’s about family, and there’s some good banter between the male and female leads.
But I do not like this book. I get that the whole premise is based on tropes — enemies to lovers, big city people finding love in small towns — but it’s too trope-y for me. Too surface level. Charlie and Nora don’t feel like real people.
I’ve read it twice now, trying both times to like it, and I just don’t. That’s fine. I know I’m in the minority.
PS: I would read an entire book about Shepherd though, just in case you’re listening, Emily Henry.
Contemporary Fiction
Loved One by Aisha Muharrar (out August 12th!)
Loved One is the story of two women who both loved cult favorite musician Gabe and their attempts to reconcile their feelings for him after his abrupt death.
Julia, an LA jewelry designer, was his first love and best friend. Elizabeth, a chic Brit, was his last long-term girlfriend. After his death, they come together to find some of his missing belongings and return them to his mother, helping her gain closure.
Yes, there are plot threads that run throughout, but it’s mostly a character study—a nice little portrait of parts of London and an exploration of art and artists. This is a great read for fans of lighter literary fiction or fiction that lies somewhere between literary and contemporary.
Note: Thank you to Viking for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor
The reviews of Notes on Infinity, a sort of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow dupe that swaps video games for biotech, have been mixed, but I ate it up.
Zoe and Jack meet as sophomores at Harvard and quickly connect as research partners (and occasionally as more?) with giant aspirations of changing the world.
I don’t want to say much more and risk spoiling things, but I particularly enjoyed the shift in perspective that comes midway through. I think fans of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow will like this. Just know that while it’s very good, it’s not life-changing the way that book was. Set your expectations accordingly.
The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison
I loved The Other Side of Now, a bittersweet story about an LA TV actress who tires of her life and takes a trip to a small town in Ireland to get away from it all. When she gets there, she finds she’s somehow landed in an alternate reality — one where she’s not an actress and her best friend, who died in college, is still alive.
The “how” of it all was a little confusing for me, as it often is with time travel or alternate reality plots. But it was still a special story about grief and priorities that I’d recommend to just about any type of reader.
Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh
Sometimes a marketing team nails it so hard there’s nothing left to say. Park Avenue by Renée Ahdieh has been billed as Succession meets a Korean Crazy Rich Asians, with a little Gossip Girl thrown in too. That’s what it is.
If that appeals to you, you’ll love this. If it doesn’t, don’t read it. There you go.
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
Run for the Hills has the same great character development, distinct voice, and unusual plot choices as Nothing to See Here, my favorite of Wilson’s books to date. It’s a fun, short read and just a good time. I think any kind of reader would enjoy spending an afternoon with this one.
My only complaint is that it feels like the author focused more on coming up with a novel plot and didn’t fully flesh out the emotional core or the ending. I think Nothing to See Here felt a little rushed at the end, too. There are so many books that are too long, but I just wish Kevin Wilson’s were a little longer to really land what he’s trying to say.
The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram
The Summer We Ran follows two candidates running for Governor of Virginia—Tess, a Democrat, and Grant, a Republican. They share a history that dates back decades, though no one knows about it.
This was enjoyable enough. It kept me turning the pages and wondering what would happen. But the plot was fairly convoluted. The characters’ choices didn’t make a lot of sense to me, and some plot points were skimmed over and never fully explained. There was a lot of talking in circles.
I also found it hard to believe that two candidates with such different political values could find common ground. There’s no way Grant won the GOP Primary as a centrist candidate! But I’m a former politico and campaign staffer, so that kind of thing bothers me more than it would most readers.
If you’re just looking for a quick summer read about long-lost star-crossed lovers and don’t need it to be that deep, you may still enjoy this. The first 50% might be strong enough to make up for the flaws in the second half.
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
These Summer Storms is what you’d get if you turned Succession into contemporary summer fiction with a romance thrown in. Alice Storms is the daughter of a Steve Jobs-like tech billionaire who’s just died. She hasn’t seen her family in five years but has to return to their Rhode Island home for five days, or no one can touch their inheritance.
It’s an interesting plot and fairly well written, but it was about 100 pages too long and got repetitive. Could be worth reading, but I’d recommend it more strongly if it had been more tightly edited.
The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin
The Summer Pact is the latest from prolific author Emily Giffin. It’s about three best friends from college, linked by a shared tragedy. They reunite in their 30s to take a trip together, just as all their lives are falling apart.
I give Giffin’s books more of a chance than I should because she’s a hometown girl, an Atlanta-based author. And knowing a little about her personal life gives you insight into the personal nuggets (and, in this case, grudges) she’s sneaking into the book. That part’s fun. But it’s not particularly well written. The characters feel two-dimensional. I’m not sure I’d recommend this to most readers unless they’re die-hard Emily Giffin fans. My favorite of her books remains Meant to Be.
Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach
After reading and loving The Wedding People, I was excited to go back and read Alison Espach’s earlier book, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance. It’s narrated by Sally, whose sister Kathy dies suddenly as a teenager. The story follows the unique relationship Sally develops with Kathy’s boyfriend, Billy, over the years.
I don’t think it was the book’s fault, but I didn’t enjoy reading this at all. It was so depressing, and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Lots of readers whose opinions I trust enjoyed this book, so I think it just may have been the wrong thing for me to read at this particular moment. Or maybe I was just expecting it to have a similar vibe to The Wedding People and was disappointed when it didn’t.
For a similar vibe but better (IMO), check out Talking at Night by Claire Daverley. Or just read this one, because I really think I’m in the minority in disliking it (and it’s available on KindleUnlimited)!
Literary Fiction
We Loved to Run by Stephanie Reents (out August 26th!)
We Loved to Run, told from dual perspectives, follows the six star runners on a liberal arts school’s cross country team as they fight for the 1992 New England Division Three Championships. The story focuses on Danielle, the team captain, and Kristin, who’s becoming the fastest girl on the team as she runs to escape an incident she experienced over summer break.
This book is about running, teamwork, ambition, and 90s perspectives on alcoholism, disordered eating, and sexual assault. It’s propulsive (in a way that literary fiction rarely is, for me) and transportive. It really makes you feel like you’re on a cross country team with these women.
At times, I was confused about what was going on—what I was supposed to clearly understand, what was being alluded to, and what was happening with the four runners who are heavily featured but don’t narrate any chapters. But maybe that was intentional. It’s confusing inside the heads of college students, after all.
I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy literary campus novels, running, and/or Friday Night Lights. Just be sure you can handle the trigger warnings I mentioned above before picking it up.
Note: Thank you to Hogarth for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman
I Who Have Never Known Men is literary fiction meets dystopian fiction — short, and not at all sweet. Originally published in 1995, it’s having a resurgence now, probably because it feels totally timeless.
The story follows 39 women and one preteen girl who have been living in an underground cage for years. The women have vague memories of life before captivity, but the girl does not. They’re brought food by male guards but have no contact with the outside world. Then one day, through a mix of luck and ingenuity, they escape. But what kind of world are they escaping to?
This is a meditation on life, a long metaphor, and a character study. It’s totally ambiguous and left me wanting more, even though it delivered exactly what the narrator said it would. It’s getting buzz again for a reason. If you want a short (and sad) book that lingers in your mind, this is the one.
Historical Fiction
Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce (out August 5th!)
Dear Miss Lake was the perfect ending to The Emmy Lake Chronicles. Throughout the series, AJ Pearce did a fabulous job exploring the many phases of WWII that the British people lived through. This last book thoughtfully captures the heartache families felt in the final months of the war, wondering how and when their loved ones would return home.
The author had a knack for making the series feel light and cozy without being silly, even as she touched on serious topics. The characters, especially Emmy Lake, really make the books what they are. And in times like this, they remind us that we can get through anything by pulling together as communities and working together.
I highly recommend this series for readers interested in cozy historical fiction or those curious about life on the WWII home front in Great Britain. Readers who’ve been following Emmy Lake for years will enjoy how her story wraps up.
Note: Thank you to Scribner for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
Non-Fiction
Memoir
If You Don’t Like This, I Will Die by Lee Tilghman (out August 12th!)
If You Don’t Like This, I Will Die is a memoir from OG health and wellness influencer Lee Tilghman, aka @leefromamerica. I’ve never followed her, but I know plenty of people who did.
I picked this up because I’m always intrigued by the dark behind-the-scenes of influencing. That part was well done—she shares how she went from being an early Facebook user to an early Instagram influencer and how she built a living off it. It was fairly well written (although one reviewer notes her tendency to “show and not tell”) and propulsive. I read it in just a few hours.
The problem is that Lee doesn’t seem to have learned anything from her journey. She writes about how she discovered early on that confessional writing increased engagement and following. And it feels like she’s using that same tactic in this book. She lets readers in, but only on a surface level. Looking at her current content and her refusal to take accountability for her past behavior, it’s clear she hasn’t really grown. She was an early proponent of the MAHA mindset—eschewing fluoride, for example, only to quickly develop six cavities. Why not own that? Talk about it? If not in this book, then when?
If you can read this with a critical eye and the constant talk of disordered eating won’t trigger you, you’ll probably enjoy this book. I certainly did, at times. But don’t expect a story about someone who’s learned from their mistakes and come out the other side. This sounds really mean, but I’d give the book an A- and the author a C.
Note: Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
Open by Andre Agassi
I’ve been hearing for years that Andre Agassi’s Open is one of the best memoirs of all time. And it is.
I’ve never watched a minute of tennis in my life, but that didn’t stop me from falling head over heels for this book—and for Agassi. It starts with his last winning match before retirement, then flashes back to tell his life story from the very beginning.
You read about his childhood training under his maniac of a father, the early days of his career facing brutal media attention, and you just want to give him a hug. He hates tennis. Wants nothing to do with it. But it’s the only thing he’s good at, so he builds a surrogate family to help him succeed. And yes, he succeeds, sporadically, but there are many losses too. And yet he keeps going.
You’ll be fascinated by the inner workings of his relationship with Brooke Shields and will root for his second wife, Steffi Graf. You’ll want to hug Andre, his coach, his trainer, his brother – everyone who helps him succeed. And if you know nothing about tennis, you’ll still learn a lot and might even be inspired to watch.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough. One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. (And while Agassi doesn’t narrate the audiobook, the narrator is great—this would work well as an audiobook read.)
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Shoe Dog, Phil Knight’s memoir about the early years of Nike, is (ghost) written by J.R. Moehringer, the same man who wrote Andre Agassi’s Open. Reading them back to back, it’s hard not to compare the two.
Both are well written and captivating. I knew almost nothing about Nike’s history or Phil Knight before picking this up, so I learned a lot. Nike started as a distributor for Japanese-made Onitsuka Tiger running shoes before branching out into their own products. I grew up in Japan, so reading about Knight’s challenges doing business there was both fun and vicariously frustrating.
That said, my takeaway from Agassi’s memoir was that he’s an empathetic man who treats his team like family and gives back, even before he has much to give. My takeaway from Shoe Dog is that Phil Knight kind of seems like a jerk.
He treats his first employee, Jeff Johnson, the man who named the company, like an afterthought. He ignores Jeff’s letters, asks him to move across the country multiple times, and admits to never thanking him. His coping mechanisms (hugging himself in meetings, snapping rubber bands on his wrist) left me wondering if he’s undiagnosed neurodivergent, which might explain some of it.
I also really didn’t love how he wrote about his wife, Penny. There’s a lack of warmth. They met when he was her professor (he was 29, she was 18 or 19) and the dynamic feels off. She’s presented as someone who supports him but doesn’t have much of a presence otherwise.
For a book published in 2016, it also includes some surprisingly fatphobic commentary about members of Nike’s leadership team.
Still, it’s an incredibly well written account of a legendary company’s early days. The stakes feel high and the tension is real. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship or Nike, you’ll probably get something out of this.
Troublemaker by Leah Remini
Troublemaker by Leah Remini is the memoir I should have picked up years ago. I’ve been fascinated by Scientology since reading Lawrence Wright’s New Yorker piece on Paul Haggis in 2011 — though honestly, maybe it started with the whole Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes saga.
Then Wright’s Going Clear sent me into a full-on obsession with Scientology, but somehow I didn’t get around to reading Remini’s memoir until now. I’m glad I finally did. It’s excellent.
Leah is open, honest, and so likable. (No one I’ve read swears more than me — until Leah. I loved her immediately.) This book is absolutely worth your time if you’ve ever watched her on TV or have even a passing interest in Scientology. She seems like a total badass. I’m a fan for life now.
Nice Girls Don’t Win by Parvati Shallow
Nice Girls Don’t Win by four-time Survivor player Parvati Shallow is the first memoir by a Survivor winner in 20 years, I think. But to be clear, very little of the book is about her time on reality TV.
It starts with her early years growing up on a commune run by a cult-like figure, and the trauma she endured there. Trauma and the ways she’s responded to it are the through line of this book.
She uses therapy-speak even when talking about her time on shows like Traitors, which can make the tone feel a little all over the place. There’s one point where she puts on the show’s ridiculous green velvet cloak and writes, “It swallowed my innocence like a serpent,” and uh … okay! I don’t know how to respond to that.
I don’t blame her for capitalizing on her renewed fame, but it seems like she’s still deep in the process of figuring a lot out. That made the book feel a bit premature. Usually, the best memoirs come after more distance. But that’s just my preference. Fans of Parvati, or queer readers interested in her later-in-life exploration of sexuality, will probably still find something to enjoy.
Care and Feeding by Laurie Woolever
I’m constantly in search of the next great foodie memoir. Care and Feeding, by Anthony Bourdain’s former assistant Laurie Woolever, is not it. Despite the fact that she went to culinary school, spent time as a private chef, and wrote cookbooks with both Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali, this isn’t really a book about food. It doesn’t even convey that she cares much about food or food culture.
It’s really almost entirely about her addictions, affairs, and bad decisions. Her choices are upsetting, and even looking back, she doesn’t seem to have processed them in a way that shows remorse or growth. It made for an unpleasant read.
There was also a real opportunity to unpack her time with Mario Batali and the reckoning he faced in 2018 for years of inappropriate behavior. She doesn’t really try to process that for readers.
Woolever has lived an eventful life, but this book is a shallow exploration of it.
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Just like some episodes of 30 Rock haven’t aged well (see: the four episodes that were pulled for blackface), Tina Fey’s memoir Bossypants doesn’t quite hit the same way it did when I first read it in 2011.
Some memoirs feel timeless (like Open by Andre Agassi), and for reasons I can’t fully explain, this one doesn’t.
That said, if you’re a fan of SNL, 30 Rock, Tina Fey, or funny women in general and you haven’t read or listened to this book, you still should. Some parts are laugh-out-loud funny.
MISCELLANEOUS Non-Fiction
Calling in “The One” by Katherine Woodward Thomas
I started reading Calling in “The One“ over a year ago after author and influencer Danielle Prescod said it helped her manifest her boyfriend.
The book, written by Katherine Woodward Thomas (the therapist behind the concept of ‘conscious uncoupling’ made famous by Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin), promises you’ll attract the love of your life in seven weeks. That would mean finishing the book in seven weeks, though, which I’m not sure is realistic. It’s really more of a framework for introspection, and it takes time.
For me, it eventually inspired me to return to therapy to work through some of the things it brought up.
It’s been a year since I started it, and I’m not a very ‘woo woo’ person, but I do think the prompts helped me grow and trust my own intuition. With the help of the book, therapy, and time, I feel like I’m in a different place now. As cheesy as it sounds, I do feel closer to manifesting love and other goals in my life.
No Crying in Baseball by Erin Carlson
I would have loved to read a behind-the-scenes history of one of my favorite movies, A League of Their Own, but that’s not what No Crying in Baseball was. It felt like a bait and switch.
There was baseball history and a lot about the history of Evansville, Indiana, where much of the movie was shot. There were also some errors a better copy editor should have caught (like “could care less” instead of “couldn’t care less”). But I didn’t finish the book feeling more informed or more enthusiastic about the movie, which was a shame. It felt very amateurish all around.
August is going to be an eventful month in my life. There’s a lot going on and I already know my concentration will be pretty low. So expect a far more manageable number of reviews in August’s reading recap!
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