What I’m Reading (7.5.21)

Happy Monday, friends! I am grateful to have the day off work and there’s nothing quite like an extended weekend, am I right? Originally, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere to see the fireworks, but plans worked out that I did indeed go downtown for the fireworks show and it was a grand time. I’m glad I muscled through the social anxiety I was feeling about crowds and parking! My feelings toward the US and being an American are complicated, to put it lightly, but in a sense, this felt like a celebration of all we’ve been through (and still are going through).

Now, let’s change topics completely and talk about books! I finished three books over the past two weeks and here are my reviews:

Glass Houses by Louise Penny (★★★★★)

Louise Penny does it again! This was a five-star novel for me, mostly because I loved the unique way it was written. The story weaves back and forth in time: in the present day, Armand Gamache is a witness in a murder trial, a murder that happened while he was at home in Three Pines, the tiny Quebec community where most books in this series are centered. Throughout his testimony, we’re taken back in time to the days leading up to and following the murder to see how everything really went down. The ending was seriously heart-pounding! I also found the focus of the novel—which was about the opioid epidemic and drug running—to be so timely. It was fascinating to take a look at a drug epidemic like this from the eyes of police and investigators who are trying to stop it. All in all, a sensational read that’s always a good time on audio.

Heavy: A Memoir by Kiese Laymon (★★★☆☆)

The title of this book does it justice because it was certainly heavy, emotionally at least. Kiese Laymon grew up in the South, overweight and with a mom who didn’t give him the love and attention he needed. He writes this memoir as a letter to her, often writing “you” to refer to her. It’s a brutally honest portrayal of his life, his weight issues, and his career as a professor. For me, it wasn’t a standout in the genre of BIPOC memoirs and there were times that I felt he was trying too hard to be super literary and it lessened the impact of his message. But still, I’d recommend picking this one up.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (★★☆☆☆)

Oh man, this book was a slog for me. I loved Emily Henry’s previous romance, Beach Read, but this one didn’t have the same charm. This romance is about Poppy and Alex who met in freshman year of college and bonded after taking a road trip home together. It’s been a decade since that road trip and, in that time, they’ve taken a summer trip together every year. Well, aside from the past two years after something happened during their Croatia trip that caused an irrevocable rift in their relationship. Now, they send each other texts now and then, but their best friendship has been effectively tarnished. Until Poppy reaches out to Alex to ask him to go on a summer trip in the hopes of getting her best friend back. Throughout the novel, we go back in time to all of the other summer trips that Poppy and Alex went on, which were fun to read about. I think my main problem with the novel was the characters. I just didn’t like Poppy at all; she was immature and selfish and even a bit manipulative at times. Alex was a bit of a doormat and I just wanted him to take some ownership of their relationship. Plus, the whole thrust of the novel centered on miscommunication, and that’s just infuriating for me to read about. Just tell her how you feel! Be honest! Open up! It was really annoying.

What I’m Reading This Week

• The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard (audio) – This is our July book club pick, and it’s a bit of an older novel, published in 2006! (While I’m listening to the audio via Libby, it was originally produced on CDs so there are stopping points every hour or so to put in the next CD, lol.) I’m only a few hours in and not very captivated yet, but we’ll see how it goes.
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (print) – It’s not surprising in the least that I am loving this novel and never want to put it down. I don’t know how everything is going to turn out and I’m so intrigued!
• My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren (print) – There’s nothing like a Christina Lauren novel to put me in a good mood, and this romance is doing exactly that.

What are you reading?