This month was a slow one. I only read 5 books. A total of 1,1771 pages. An average of 59 pages a day. Yes, that’s embarrassing.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati (482 pages). For those of you who don’t know, I’ve always had a fascination with Greek mythology. So a book that delves into it and adds more depth to a story is always a winner. This one was great. I didn’t know too much about Clytemnestra. She was married to Agamemnon. And killed him because he sacrificed their daughter to get favorable wind at the start of the Trojan War. And then she was killed by her son and another daughter as vengeance for their father. The murdering daughter was the inspiration for the term Electra Complex. Anyway, this novel gave her a truly wonderful story- she was loyal, strong, fierce. A true Spartan woman. I finished in 5 days.
Beach Read by Emily Henry (362 pages). January Andrews is a romance writer, currently in the throes of her life falling apart. When she ends up at a beach house for the summer to try to write her newest book, her neighbor is author Augustus Everett. Dark fiction author and college rival. Both of them are experiencing writers block, so Gus decides that that should write in each other’s style and see who can get published. As they help each other research rom-com montages and death cults, they realize that a modern day love story can come in any shape or size. I love a good enemies to lovers story! I finished in 4 days.
The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell (386 pages). Colin and Lorelei Bird have 4 very different children- sensible Meg, dreamer Beth and twins Rory and Rhys (and no, it is not lost on the Gilmore Girls fan that I am that the mom is Lorelei and the child is Rory. Even though this child is a son). The Birds have a very different home life than most. Lorelei is a bohemian hippie. And a hoarder. Period. Their house is slowly taken over by stuff. And when tragedy strikes, each family member reacts differently. And their family begins to fall apart. When another tragedy strikes, can this fractured family find their way back to each other. Lisa Jewell knows family dynamics in her novels. It was deep, it was sad, it was good. I finished in 3 days.
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis (335 pages). I finished in days. In 1936, Charlotte Cross was an 18 year old undergraduate student, traveling to Egypt for a study abroad program on an archaeological dig. While there, the team makes an amazing discovery. And is struck by disaster. The curse of Hathorkare might just be true. In 1978, the Metropolitan Museum in New York City is the place to see. They have just opened a new exhibit in the Egyptian artifacts department and associate curator Charlotte is in charge of it. Meanwhile, 19 year old Annie Jenkins has landed her dream job- assistant to the former editor in chief of Vogue and current head of the Costume Institute, Diana Vreeland. Annie gets to help plan this year’s Met Gala. But when one of the artifacts at the Egyptian exhibit goes missing, Charlotte and Annie team up to recover it. And find themselves back in Egypt. Learning that this was loosely based on a real female pharaoh who history attempted to erase was very cool. Obviously, only that fact was true. The story, while fun, was entirely fiction! I finished in 4 days.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. (206 pages). Pecola Breedlove just wants to be pretty. She wants blue eyes, the bluest eyes in the world. But Pecola isn’t pretty- she is dark skinned, with curly hair and dark eyes and comes from a poor family. And her life slowly starts to fall apart when her family is torn apart by one member’s actions. Honestly, this is one of those books that I’m not sure how I feel about it. It was heavy and heartbreaking and beautifully written. I finished in 4 days.
This month’s favorite was…. Beach Read. Although all of them were good this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment