June 2022 Reads

Without book clubs and buddy reads and audio books, I am not sure how much reading I would have done this month. Thanks to the Supreme Court and the January 6th Committee, my attention is being drawn from the pages of books to the news. There is a part of me that is super frustrated by this. Reading is typically my escape and I miss it. But then there is a part of me that is trying really, really hard to just accept it. I think we need to face the fact that we are living through a crazy historical time and it makes sense that some of the things we do we fun, are harder to do. It is harder to have fun right now. On the other hand, I do believe we need to create space for fun and for the things that help our brains to take a little break. So I am grateful to have read four really good books this month.

Details below!

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros- This was our Fiction Matters May book club book and an example of a time where the discussion made me love the book much more than I did when reading it. The writing and the voice were remarkable- I just found it a bit long.

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn- I read this as part of a Read with Toni group and it was great. This book has been on my radar for awhile now and I was so grateful that I picked it up. It made me think a lot about the people who work at the resorts we all enjoy.

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow- As anyone who has followed me for awhile knows, I love a good multigenerational family saga and Memphis is no exception. I am guessing that Memphis will be on my favorites list this year- it is deserving of all the praise it is getting!

Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion- And another huge thank you to the Fiction Matters bookclub for putting yet another great book in my hands. Before reading this, I did not even know that Didion wrote fiction and wow- does she! This book ended up being incredibly timely and I was so grateful to spend an hour last weekend surrounded by intelligent and caring women discussing a woman’s right to choice.