June Wrap Up
June is the first month in a really long time that I have not slogged through my reading. I still don’t think I am fully out of my reading slump, but I do see myself finally enjoying what I read rather than seeing it as a chore. So, here are all the books I read and listened to this month, what I rated them, and what I think about them. There are rereads, new books, and books that have started changing my taste in reading.
Please note, I will not be recommending any titles with this post, which means I will not be providing trigger warnings. If you would like to read any of these books, please look up content warnings to see if the book has subject matter you may find harmful or triggering. Many of the books in this list include difficult and triggering subject matter.
Stats:
Books Read: 19
Pages Read: 5,245
Average Star Rating: 4.14 stars
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating: 5/5 stars
This is my millionth time rereading this book, and I still love it immensely. Each time I read this, I fall more and more in love with the characters. I truly feel like these people are real- that I am reading a work of nonfiction rather than fiction. I think because I know how the story pans out, I am able to pick up on smaller details that mean more to someone who is head over heels in love with these characters. And the pain displayed throughout the plot hits harder. I am also filled with so much joy while rereading this book. The joy these characters feel is a joy I feel and understand. This is a definite comfort read for me. And I am so happy I reread this book when I did. For me, this book makes life’s pains less painful. I love how I am at a place with this book where I can pick it up, flip through, and find the section that best reflects what I need at the moment.
This is my second reread of this book so far this year, and I am sure that it is not my last. When I read this book earlier this year, I left the book feeling somewhat sad at the ending- upset that it didn’t end in a way I would have liked. However, on this reread, I felt cautiously wistful. The ending had a new layer to me, and this layer was only able to exist with the experience I had gained since my last reread.
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
Rating: 5/5 stars
Simu is one of my favorite actors. I love how he is able to be so authentic while playing a role. In every character he plays, there is still a signature Simu-esque quality he brings to the screen. And I can’t help but fall in love with his smile-he is adorable, and I am only human. So, when I saw that he had written a memoir and narrated the audio version, I immediately downloaded it. I was so excited to find out more about Simu and how he became the actor I love today. And wow, did I learn a lot. Simu is incredibly personal, introspective, and charismatic in the telling of his story. I felt like I was sitting down with him, over a coffee, while he was just telling me about his past. And Simu did not have an easy childhood. But he never blames anything on his upbringing- he articulates the idea that something and someone can be both good and bad, that bad situations can end in good. And he’s funny and talks to the audience while also being serious. I just really enjoyed listening to this story. It did drag a tad in a few places, but it really didn’t take away from the story.
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
It is really hard to disappoint me when it comes to Greek retellings of epics and mythology. So, a recounting of The Odyssey from the perspective of Odyssey’s wife is a perspective that I was immediately intrigued with. I loved the style this was written in; the mix of poetry and prose is well executed. I also really enjoyed the sprinkling of perspectives from the servants. It finally gives a voice to the people who were considered objects on the original poem. And Atwood mixes the ancient story with modern language and perspectives which I found incredibly interesting.
Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison
Rating: 5/5 stars
This memoir blew me out of the water. I knew very little about Holly Madison before picking up this book, but I am so glad my brain wanted to learn more after listening to her on a podcast. Her story is wild, but she never talks about her past as if she is larger than life. She always remains humble, introspective, funny, and honest. I listened to this on audio, and I am so glad I did. Holly’s voice is soothing to me and having her tell me her story makes it feel more real and makes each line hit closer to home. She is able to make a story that so few can relate to easy to digest. She is able to be relatable, even when the situation itself is not relatable in the slightest. This book truly surprised me. I cannot get the contents out of my head. And Holly has quickly become someone I enjoy following and I look forward to hearing what she has to say about certain subjects.
Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be by Nichole Perkins
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Maybe collections of essays are not my favorite books to read. This is the first essay collection I read this year and it did not set me up on the right foot. I do really respect what this collection is doing, I just personally didn’t enjoy most of the essays. It was a short collection, but it took me forever to get through. It felt like my eyes were in mud- I just could not get through the words. I don’t think this book did anything bad or wrong, I just think that it personally was not written for my tastes.
My Evil Mother: A Short Story by Margaret Atwood
Rating: 4/5 stars
This was a fun, quick read. I got it for free through Kindle Unlimited; I don’t think I would pay for this short story but if you are able to get it for free then it’s a good read. It has a magical element that I still don’t know if it is real or metaphorical. I think that maybe it is both. But personally, I love stories where the magical elements are ambiguous. This didn’t blow my socks off, but it’s an Atwood story, so it’s enjoyable at the very least.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating: 5/5 stars
Of course, I reread this for the second time this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if u read this at least two more times before the year is over. This is my favorite book of all time, and that gets stronger and stronger with every read. I talk about this book at every opportunity (it’s even mentioned in my dating profile, that’s how much I bring it up). I love reflecting on Evelyn’s character because every time I read it, she changes. I know this book so well that at this point I can pick out every little piece of symbolism, foreshadow, metaphor, etc. which enhances the entire experience. I know this book has mixed feelings (people think it is over-hyped) but it just speaks to me. And it makes me feel sad, but incredibly safe. Once I enter this story, I know I am going to be seen. This book is my world, and no, that is not an exaggeration.
The Heroin Diaries: 10 Year Anniversary by Nikki Sixx
Rating: no rating
I know Mötley Crüe is a red-flag band, but I don’t care I love the music. I don’t love the band- those men treat women and people terribly and I could never condone what they have done in the past. But Nikki Sixx’s (bass player and creator of the band) story has always been compelling to me. The way Nikki writes about his addiction is raw, scary, and deeply human. This book is not for the faint of heart. And if you know nothing about Nikki or the band this book is useless to you. But for me, it was insightful and I learned a lot about Nikki and the band. I didn’t want to rate this book because it felt super weird to rate someone’s literal journal. Like, if someone opened my personal journal and gave it a star rating I think I would cry so I didn’t want to cross that boundary.
This is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi
Rating: 4/5 stars
This book was a lot of fun. It takes place all within a bookstore, so immediately it feels more comforting than most. I really liked the female characters and friendships of this book, but the male characters felt thrown in and added for a romantic subplot. But this book really is not about the men- it is about a group of employees (mostly women) who do everything in their power to save the bookstore they work at. The story is fun, but it also has elements of darkness woven in expertly well. I felt like the ending was rushed and we spent a little too much time developing the characters in areas that didn’t really need developing. The story takes place in twenty-four hours so there is not a ton of space to develop characters. With such a short timeframe, you cannot do a lot with characters you need to focus more on the plot. But overall, this was a good read and perfect for a quick, summer-time YA contemporary.
How to Fix a Broken Heart by Guy Winch
Rating: 3/5 stars
Am I embarrassed this book is on here? Yes, yes, I am. Please, just ignore the embarrassment, thank you. I felt like the advice would be really helpful for a teenager going through heartbreak because the author is very validating, but for adults it really does not add a lot of insight. The stories of patients were interesting, but this was a very forgettable read, to be honest.
This Will be Funny Someday by Katie Henry
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Part of me not loving this book was the fact that it is a YA novel, and YA just has not been hitting the same recently. I did love the humor and side characters in this book. I think the author does a great job of illustrating the place that the main character is in and why she does the things she does. This book didn’t do anything wrong, it just didn’t do anything extraordinary. It was overall enjoyable, but forgettable. Even as I write this I can’t remember any of the characters names. It was a nice, quick read but it did not really do anything special.
Just By Looking at Him by Ryan O’Connell
Rating: 4/5 stars
I didn’t read a synopsis of this book, so when it opened on a graphic description of male anatomy, I knew I was in for an interesting ride. This book was such a fun time, but my favorite aspect of it was the exploration of disability. Specifically, I enjoyed the narrative about physical disability as it relates to sex and relationship (both romantic and friendly). The main character has a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, and he doesn’t hold back in describing how uncomfortable he is in his own body and how his disability adds to his insecurity in a way that feels real. Like, he talks about his disability and how it affects his performance during sex, which is something I have not read before, but I found this insight very real. This book felt a little long, and one of the characters really bothered me, which is why this did not receive the full five stars. But the discussions in this book are very memorable, and it was overall a good example of dark, satirical humor.
*At this time I realized that I didn’t want to rate memoirs or nonfiction (specifically, nonfiction of people telling their experience) anymore. It just feels super strange to give someone’s life and experience a star rating.
Our Work is Everywhere by Syan Rose
Rating: no rating
I loved the artwork in this graphic novel, but the font used was really hard for me to read. I feel like I missed a lot of the history and the story because I physically could not read the font. But I really enjoyed learning about trans and queer art history. And I loved examining the bright colors and line work in this.
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
Rating: no rating
This is a great book for people who are just beginning to understand that gender is not binary. It felt a little repetitive and basic for me, but this book is written to be short, sweet, and give just a taste of what gender truly is.
Loveboat Reunion by Abigail Hing Wen
Rating: 5/5 stars
I loved the first book in this world by this author, so I had high expectations for this novel, and I was not disappointed. The writing feels young, but in a fun way not in a negative way. And when the contents of this book are happy, it makes me physically smile. The family drama in this book was intense, but not unrealistic for high-powered Taiwanese families. I really enjoyed how this book was not just centered around romance, it was about family and seeing that you can choose your family and about finding yourself and staying true to your values. I loved all of the tech in this book it just made me jealous that it wasn’t real. And our main characters were relatable, especially because I am around their same age (I think I am a year older). And Sophie’s struggle of being perceived as “too much” when she wanted to be seen as serious, but serious when she wanted to be seen as “too much” is a dichotomy that I fully relate to. This was a great read that toed the line between young adult and new adult; an experience that just made sense to me. My one critique is that it made me want to stop everything I was doing and hop on the quickest flight to Taipei.
Here For It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays by R. Eric Thomas
Rating: no rating
This was a humorous collection that covers deep topics surrounding issues of identity with layers of perfectly placed jokes that I really enjoyed. The authenticity in which Thomas writes from is refreshing. This collection did feel a little long to me, however once I started listening to this on audio the experience skyrocketed.
Wow, No Thank You.: Essays by Samantha Irby
Rating: no rating
I enjoyed listening to these stories, but I found the audio experience confusing. I couldn’t always tell when Irby was telling a story about her life, or someone else’s. I think if I read this book physically, I would have been less confused, but with my experience it all just blended together. This collection did not do anything wrong, but it just isn’t very memorable. This felt average.
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
Rating: 4/5 stars
This story threw me for a loop because I was expecting to read an LGBT story with an age gap, but instead I am reading a domestic story about an aging professor in a loveless marriage who falls in love with a younger coworker. I am not mad about this surprise, though. This book got really dark in places, and I really enjoyed the fact that the author did not put in any work to justify or scold the main character’s decisions. The main character does things, and there is no morality being forced upon the reader. Often times, when a character does objectively horrible things you can feel the author’s opinion on that action coming through. But that is not the case with this novel. It truly is up to the reader to decide whether the main character’s actions are justifiable. And the main character herself goes through a journey to discover whether or not her actions are good or bad and rectifies the actions she deems questionable. This story was tough to get in to, but around the halfway mark I was hooked and could not put the book down.
The Chosen and The Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
I knew nothing about the plot of the book other than it was queer, so when I realized that it was a retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, I knew I was in for an interesting ride. And just like The Great Gatsby, this novel took forever to get interesting. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorites, and even I will admit that it is hard to get into the story. However, this story features a Vietnamese immigrant who has grown up with our beloved characters (Jay, Nick, and Daisy). So, there is an added element of race conversations and how Asians and Asian Americans were treated in America. There is also a magical element thrown into story. That was jarring because I was not expecting it, so I was mildly confused for about ten pages until I realized what was going on. I enjoyed the story overall, but it took over half of it before I started to really care about the story. I enjoyed what this book was doing, I just wish that the pacing was better and more cohesive.