I am so thankful for my friends, these books. I can't imagine not being a reader during this unprecedented time. Here are a few favorites from this summer.
The Vanishing Half
Brit Bennett explores 'passing' as a white person in the most brilliant way. This is how I like to explore history, through a fictional story that strikes a chord on every single page.
On The Come Up
The main character of this novel by Angie Thomas is Bri, and she is beyond likeable. Bri is sixteen, poor, and trying to make her dreams of being a big time rapper come true. I definitely danced, cried, laughed, and cheered my way through this one.
Hamnet
I usually read one Shakespeare play every summer. This season I instead opted for Maggie O'Farrell's fictional account of Hamnet, William's son who died at age eleven. I was fully intrigued from page one, and of course heartbroken at the end.
One by One
Ruth Ware is the modern, hip version of Agatha Christie. At a ski retreat for a popular app company, the bodies start dropping. The chapters were a blur as I furiously flipped all the way to the end.
Other Books Read Summer 2020
Followed by my personal ratings, out of a possible five stars.
Hunger by Roxane Gay ****
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander ***
The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper ***
For Jean: Poems, Songs, & Letters by Robert Burns ***
Normal People by Sally Rooney ***
His Family by Ernest Poole ***
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley ***
How to Save a Life by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke ***
The End of Her by Shari Lapena ***
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington **
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin ****
Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay **
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell **
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center ***
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett ****
Becoming by Michelle Obama ****
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi ****
Daddy by Emma Cline ***
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden ***
The Reivers by William Faulkner **
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