Hello, summer! I am so happy I’m officially on summer break. I have two work days this week, but after that I’m D.O.N.E. May is such a ridiculous time for teachers. I don’t know how I found time to read anything. Yes I do-audiobooks! Keep reading for what I read this month. Hopefully you’ll find one or two to put on your summer reading list.
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Kate Quinn comes highly recommended by a coworker. I’ve tried to listen to The Alice Network several times, but I cannot get into the audiobook. That being said, I didn’t have super high expectations for The Diamond Eye, but once I pressed play I was hooked. A lot of WWII historical fiction is about women in Paris or women who were nurses or women who helped people in an undercover fashion. But this story tells of Lady Death, a Russian sniper, and a real person, who fought against Hitler and also somehow developed a friendship with First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. I was completely captivated by the story and appreciated a different type of woman as a WWII main character. Highly recommend.
Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt? by Gare Thompson
Because I read The Diamond Eye, I had to pick up this one to give me a little more background on Eleanor Roosevelt. She seemed to be quite the character, and the same coworker recommended that I follow up with this quick non-fiction book to give me just a bit more info on her. I’m glad I did and learned a lot from this children’s book.
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
I’m going to go ahead and throw my mama under the bus here, though I was totally on board with her choice for a book club pick. She and I had both heard how wonderful The Swimmers was. One of our favorite podcasters even deemed it her favorite book of last year. I truly cannot see how this was her favorite one. It is honest and raw and weird and sad. It’s also short, so it makes the weirdness and the sadness of it totally doable, but I do not think most people will enjoy this book.
It tells the story of a group of people who swim at an underground public pool. One day the pool gets a crack in it. The author fixates on this crack in the pool for entirely too many pages. One of the swimmers is a woman who is slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease, and after the talk of the crack is over, the book jumps to the facility where she will be living. That part is equally as weird, though I did find humor in it. The last part is about everything that the woman’s daughter will experience as the disease progresses. This is the sad part. If you’ve experienced this within your own family, you’ll find similarities and maybe even comradery in the awful club that you become a part of when someone you love receives this diagnosis.
It wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read, but it certainly wasn’t the best. And I don’t think it’s one I will outright recommend to people. If you do give it a shot, at least you know now what you’re getting into. Also, I read and listened to this one. The reading was tedious. The narrator was good. I don’t think either was better than the other.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
I was not an Emily Henry fan. I had previously listened to Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation and hated both of them. I was telling this information to two of my bookish friends, and they both said not to give up. Book Lovers was their favorite, and I had to give it a try. However, they said I had to actually read it- no more audio. Well, I was wary and wasn’t about to waste my money on a book I likely would hate, so I borrowed the e-book from the library, and what do you know?! I LOVED it! I’m convinced the banter that Emily Henry so expertly writes is just not the same when someone else reads it to you. I needed to hear it in my head with my own imagination. If I didn’t have a TBR list as tall as the Empire State Building, I’d probably go back and read the other two that I hated just to see if it truly was the audiobook experience that I hated. However, her newest book, Happy Place is on that too tall list, so maybe I’ll knock that one out this summer. If you’re a book lover, you must read Book Lovers!
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
When you tell me that Leonardo di Caprio is going to be in a new movie this year and it’s based on a book, I’m doing all the research I possibly can to prepare myself. I listened to this one through the Libby App and really enjoyed the experience. There are three different narrators and all were excellent.
This story tells of the real murders of the Osage people. Early on in the story you learn that because of the oil that was discovered on their land and a very clever Chief, several of the Osage people were given a monthly payment for that oil for life. Well, we all know that money can make people crazy, and the crazy that is in this story…wowzah! I’m extremely interested to see what Martin Scorsese and Leo do with this one. The film comes out October 6 in theaters and to Apple TV+ October 20.
Killers of a Certain Age- Deanna Raybourn
Apparently killing was the theme of my monthly reading. This is the third book with murder in it. However, this one was the most fun! Y’all, this book was definitely my favorite of the month. Killers of a Certain Age follows four retired assassins who are in their 60s. They are sassy and completely badass. The are all celebrating their retirement on a cruise as the book starts. Well, while on the cruise they discover that perhaps their past isn’t completely in the past, and that maybe they are the ones on the hit list. All sorts of action and adventure ensues along with flashbacks to their time working with their organization. Seriously, this book was so much fun and is a an excellent choice to kick off your summer reading.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
First, I can’t believe I finally finished this series! The A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series has been a fun, grown-up way to reenter the world of fantasy. I had really only experienced that world with Harry Potter. Make no mistake, ACOTAR is not suitable for children! This one is for adults only. There are many open door romance scenes in these books along with adult language, though not a ton of it.
A Court of Silver Flames is the most recent book of the ACOTAR series and is primarily told from the point of view of Nesta. Nesta is a force to be reckoned with. I didn’t love her at the start of the book, but once it got going, I quickly joined her team and rooted for her to the end. I don’t want to give anything away. I was so happy to go in blind to this whole series and appreciate all the people who would not give anything away even when I asked. You have to read the books in order. You cannot just pick up this book and expect to understand anything. However, I highly recommend giving it a go. It lives up to all the hype that’s surrounding it.
Seven books completed in one of the busiest months for a teacher. Not bad! On deck is The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren. I am so excited to start that one and to kick off my summer reading. I’d love to hear about a good one you read this month. Leave it in the comments. Have a great one!
