What I Read and Loved | June 2024
8 books, a new hobby, and more
Welcome to this month's reading recap! June has been such a gift. I started my summer break from work and realized how much clutter my head accumulates from working in five schools. I'm trying to declutter both my mind and surroundings over these next couple of months, and I'm off to a good start. Fantastic reading has certainly helped!
I listened to most of the books I read in June but also tackled some eBooks and print copies. I love switching up not only the books I read but the format in which I read them. That's my homebody/introvert version of excitement. The novel I finished most recently is All Fours by Miranda July. I have nearly 500 words to say about that one, so stick around until the end if you're curious.
Here's what I read and loved in June!
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham: On the outside, Chloe Davis seems to have a good life. She's built a successful career as a psychologist, owns a beautiful house, and has a doting fiancé. But even though it's been 20 years, she still struggles with the past she's tried to leave behind. When Chloe was a kid, her dad was arrested and convicted of being a serial killer. He preyed on young girls, crimes to which he admitted. When some girls start to go missing once again, Chloe is sure her father or someone who admires him is involved.
A Flicker in the Dark is an excellent thriller. The complicated protagonist's past makes for a gripping storyline, and the addition of her suspicious fiancé and distant brother had me guessing who could be trusted. This novel is set in Baton Rouge and makes for an atmospheric summer read with southern noir vibes. There’s one plot point that didn’t make sense to me, but otherwise, I loved this book.
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray: Hera is a 24-year-old woman who's struggling with adulthood. She's had trouble keeping a job and feels like she's behind her peers in terms of success. When she gets a job as a comment moderator for a news organization, she's thankful but quickly learns how much she hates the work. The only thing Hera enjoys about her new career is Arthur, a journalist who sits across from her. Though Hera has been dating women, she begins a flirtation with Arthur, even though he's much older. Soon, he reciprocates, and the two begin a relationship with one little snag: Arthur is married and confesses his status to Hera, who's sure she's Arthur's true love.
Green Dot is a smart and witty look at the messiness of early adulthood and the persistent longing for community and love we all face. I also appreciate how Madeleine Gray used technology to explore a modern relationship. Thanks to the infidelity plotline and the couple’s seemingly neverending bad choices, this book won't be for everyone. It worked for me, though, and I'm glad I read it, especially to witness the growth Hera has by the novel's conclusion.
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Huang Bo-Reum; translated by Shanna Tan: This novel begins when a woman named Yeongju realizes a dream and opens a bookshop. She leaves behind her career and unsatisfying marriage for a new life. As Yeongju rebuilds, she encounters others who are also on important internal journeys. The novel follows several different characters whose lives are each connected through the bookshop.
This popular Korean novel is charming and uplifting. However, when I listened to it, I had a hard time keeping the characters straight, which made the story less enjoyable for me than it might have been in print. If you like your stories on the sweeter side, give this one a try. Otherwise, I don't think you'll miss much if you skip it.
What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall: Naomi was best friends with Cassidy and Olivia when she was a girl. The three spent a lot of time in the nearby woods and created a game involving magic and spells. Everything changed one summer when Naomi was attacked in the woods where the girls were playing. She survived over 15 stab wounds, and her attacker was arrested and convicted of being a local serial killer who was wanted in the deaths of six women. Over a decade later, the three girlfriends still have a secret from that summer, and Olivia wants to tell. When something terrible happens to her, Naomi must figure out who else might know their secret and if the man who tried to kill her was really who she said he was.
The tension in What Lies in the Woods never lets up, making this mystery a joy to read. There were twists galore, but I liked them all because they worked to further the story. All the loose ends are connected to make for a satisfying conclusion. I couldn’t stop listening to this one.
All Fours by Miranda July: This new release is about an unnamed middle-aged artist who sets out for a two-week road trip from her home in California to New York. She leaves behind her husband and child and sets out, only making it about thirty minutes away before she stops in a town called Monrovia. She quickly connects with Davey, a younger man who works for the Hertz rental car company, and she hires his wife to redecorate her hotel room, spending $20,000 in the process. Her connection with the younger man, who dreams of being a dancer, grows deeper and deeper until he becomes her obsession. The protagonist of All Fours is struggling with many things, including desire, aging, and PTSD from a traumatic birthing experience. She's afraid of what menopause will do to her life, body, and sexuality, and those fears fuel a sort of breakdown.
My thoughts about this book are complicated. I don't usually read reviews until after I've written my own, but I was struggling to process what I'd just read, so I looked at some reviews on Goodreads. Most readers either loved this book and gave it five stars or didn't finish it, saying it was distasteful and over the top. I understand both perspectives.
I loved seeing a female protagonist thinking about menopause and openly discussing it with her doctor and friends. I also applaud Miranda July's sensitivity to the protagonist's birth experience. Both of those perspectives need to be seen more in fiction. Representation is important.
One thing I didn't like about this novel is the protagonist's narcissism. Nothing else matters once she becomes obsessed with Davey, including her husband, child, or career. Another thing I disliked was several graphic and (for me) uncomfortable scenes, some of which are overtly sexual and some of which are just gross.
I always assign star ratings on Goodreads, but I can't decide on a rating for this book. July is a gifted writer and storyteller, which kept me reading, but this novel's protagonist was challenging to spend time with (and I just wrote about how I enjoy "unlikable" female characters). When I finished the book, I thought the takeaway being suggested was that the main character's life was worth blowing up because she was following her desires.
Our desires are valid, but I think we should control them instead of allowing ourselves to be controlled by them. The latter position often results in pain to those we love and have made promises to, like the husband and child in this book. For me, All Fours raises the question of how we should approach desire. How far do we follow it? What are the dead ends or rewards that could be waiting for us? I don't have all the answers, but this novel left me feeling sad and defeated, as if I witnessed a woman going through something that changed her entire life but who claimed the consequences were no big deal. In Green Dot, I saw some character growth by the novel’s conclusion, but I didn’t see that in this novel and wanted to.
(Check out this Substack post about All Fours by Petya K. Grady. I appreciate her thoughtful perspective that challenged mine.)
Organized Living: Solutions and Inspiration for Your Home by Shira Gill: Thanks to my time off, I’m on an organizing rampage. I checked out Organized Living from the library, but I liked it so much that I bought my own copy. The book is full of gorgeous photos, but what I like best is the series of interviews with a wide range of professional organizers. There are many great tips in this book, so I kind of want to give it a hug.
House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style, and Budget by Myquillyn Smith: If you enjoy the cozy minimalist aesthetic Smith is known for, you’ll like this decor book. I appreciate the author’s attempt to share advice that would work for a wide variety of people and spaces.
Bonfire Opera by Danusha Laméris: My friend Mary recommended this book to me over a year ago, and I just got around to reading it. I’m so glad I did! Laméris is a deeply gifted poet whose powerful use of language left me wishing I could underline and annotate my library copy of this book. Bonfire Opera is full of poems that made me pause so I could stay with a line or two a little bit longer. If you’re a poetry fan, pick this one up quicker than I did.
CREATIVITY: Adult coloring books
Toward the end of the school year, I needed mindless entertainment, but I didn’t want to just sit around and scroll social media. I decided to try pairing audiobooks or podcasts with coloring, and I fell in love with the combo. It gives me the mindless entertainment I crave sometimes, but unlike too much scrolling, it’s actually good for my mental health. I can’t recommend this pairing enough if you need something relaxing in your life.
YOUTUBE CHANNEL: Cozy K
I love turning to YouTube for inspiration when it comes to creative things. I stumbled upon Kennedy, who makes videos about hobbies, organization, and how to live a cozy life. Her videos are relaxing and full of good ideas for ways to get more out of your everyday routines.
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What I Read and Loved | May 2024
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If you made it until the end. . .
What did you read or love in June? Do you have thoughts to share on the books I read? Leave a comment below!
Last summer I had an eye surgery, and read What Lies in the Woods with the other eye. It was a struggle, but I couldn't put it down until the end.
Coloring while listening to an audiobook is GENIUS why didn’t I ever think of that! Or maybe one of those paint gem art things that get peddled to me in ads