This month was a little slower than last month, reading-wise. I think things just started heating up when it came to lacrosse and my interests shifted a little, too. I’ve enjoyed being more focused on relationships and that takes time – time that I used to spend reading, perhaps.
Here’s what I finished this month.
Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Gretchen Rubin and I have been for some time. I preordered this book without much thought about it – because it was her latest work, because I read everything she writes. It didn’t occur to me that outer order doesn’t have a lot of importance to me. Nevertheless, I read the book, a long series of short, stand alone snippets of advice around organizing, decluttering, simplifying and living intentionally, in is entirety. And it wasn’t all for naught. I did enjoy certain parts. For instance, you may recall that the chapter Spend Out was quite meaningful to me.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
There’s a reason this book is at the top of many to read lists. Don’t be fooled by its inclusion in Reese Witherspoon’s book club.
This book was pure magic in the way it felt like you were reading your way through the world we were exposed to via Almost Famous nineteen years ago. And I have loved that world ever since.
Daisy Jones is a singer who joins an existing band, The Six. Billy is the lead singer and his work with Daisy is as complex as it is productive. They make great music together despite a precarious relationship. The story isn’t only Daisy and Billy, however, the other members of the band, their managers, producers and Billy’s wife also contribute to the retelling.
This book is unique in the fact that it’s written in the format of many cut and pasted interviews with all of the characters mentioned above. I was intrigued by the concept and I think the authour succeeded in her concept.
I also cried for forty of the last fifty pages which is always a positive for me.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
When my friend Sarah messaged me saying that she’d made a special trip to the library to get this book out of her house and kind of challenged me to read it, I couldn’t resist. I didn’t hate it. In fact, if I could refer to a book as having an aftertaste, this one’s was delightful. I read it really quickly, in a day or two and when I look back on it, I like it more and more every time. I’d call it a psychological thriller, but when I double checked that I wasn’t the only one, it was also referred to as horror fiction. It’s a fast read that you’ll either love or hate.
Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks
This book took me a long time to read. I thought about giving up on it several times, but I finally decided to just push through. It is labelled a psychological thriller, but it was a little hard to find the thrill because everything just felt like it took so damn long to play out. I liked it, I did, but by the end I was really ready for it to be over.
Feeding My Mother by Jann Arden
I had no idea that Jann Arden was so eloquent and such an admirable person. I say that not about her decision to dedicate so much of her life to caring for her aging parents, but because of her thoughtful response to the experience. She is truly an inspiration in developing a healthy approach to living a good life.
I wrote more about reading this book here.
Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
This book had a funny structure. It was semi-short stories told about an overlapping group of friends. Each player appeared in stories related to the other characters, but they were never really woven together too tightly. I don’t have distinct feelings about that format, but it was definitely different than anything else I’ve ever read.
It was quirky enough to satisfy me and it felt like reading a slightly younger version of the Sex and the City crew’s stories which I liked. It’s a good book to pick up for some light summer reading if that’s what you’re into.
