Emma Donoghue is a favorite of mine (Room, Frog Music, The Paris Express, The Pull of the Stars, Akin) and I was lucky enough to find a copy of Haven in a Little Free Library around the corner from ours (and it’s now in ours – love the way they work!). “In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks—young Trian and old Cormac—he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God. In such a place, what will survival mean?” This was a good survival story, though short, and a decent read. Not a favorite of hers, for me, though.

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams has been written up all over the place. Amazon: “From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite. Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences the challenges and humiliations of working motherhood within a pressure cooker of a workplace, all while Sheryl Sandberg urges her and others to ‘lean in.’ Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade—told in a sharp, candid, and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the consequences this has for all of us.” Most of this book was fascinating, gripping, and hard to believe. It got a little dull about 2/3 of the way in, but I am glad I stuck with it. A good read that I recommend.

Freida McFadden is always great for a listen. The Housemaid is Watching was no exception. “‘You must be our new neighbors!’ Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter’s hand and smile back, but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way…I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors. Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here? I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?” (Amazon) This was a good listen with a twist. Recommend if you have read the others in the series.

Crush was an interesting listen. Ada Calhoun’s novel was autobiographical and, certainly interesting, but not a favorite. Amazon: “She’s happy and settled and productive and content in her full life—a child, a career, an admirable marriage, deep friendships, happy parents, and a spouse she still loves. But when her husband urges her to address what the narrow labels of “husband” and “wife” force them to edit out of their lives, the very best kind of hell breaks loose. Using the author’s personal experiences as a jumping-off point, Crush is about the danger and liberation of chasing desire, the havoc it can wreak, and most of all the clear sense of self one finds when the storm passes. Destined to become a classic novel of marriage, and tackling the big questions being asked about partnership in postpandemic relationships, Crush is a sharp, funny, seductive, and revelatory novel about holding on to everything it’s possible to love—friends, children, parents, passion, lovers, husbands, all of the world’s good books, and most of all one’s own deep sense of purpose.” It’s a quick audiobook, but wasn’t a favorite.

A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings was recommended by one of my best book-recommending buddies. “Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles––a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, ‘keepers of the home.’ Tia knew that to their neighbors her family was strange, but she also couldn’t risk exposing their secret lifestyle to police, doctors, teachers, or anyone outside of their church. Christians were called in scripture to be “in the world, not of it.” So, she hid in plain sight as years of abuse and pain followed. When Tia realized she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women, she began to resist and question how they lived. But in the patriarchy, a woman with opinions is in danger, and eventually, Tia faced an urgent and extreme choice: stay and face dire consequences, or flee with her children.” (Amazon) This was a good choice and I really enjoyed it.

Lovely One by Ketanji Brown Jackson was an incredible memoir. While it was 18 and a half hours of listening, it was totally worth it, especially to hear one of Justice Jackson’s daughter read her college essay, her other daughter sing the national anthem, and to remember the times of which Justice Jackson wrote. Amazon: “With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji BrownJackson invites listeners into her life and world, tracing her family’s ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America’s highest court within the span of one generation. Named ‘Ketanji Onyika,’ meaning ‘Lovely One,’ based on a suggestion from her aunt, a Peace Corps worker stationed in West Africa, Justice Jackson learned from her educator parents to take pride in her heritage since birth. She describes her resolve as a young girl to honor this legacy and realize her dreams: from hearing stories of her grandparents and parents breaking barriers in the segregated South, to honing her voice in high school as an oratory champion and student body president, to graduating magna cum laude from Harvard, where she performed in musical theater and improv and participated in pivotal student organizations. Here, Justice Jackson pulls back the curtain, marrying the public record of her life with what is less known. She reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don’t look like you, and to reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood. Through trials and triumphs, Justice Jackson’s journey will resonate with dreamers everywhere, especially those who nourish outsized ambitions and refuse to be turned aside. This moving, openhearted tale will spread hope for a more just world, for generations to come.” Get this one and listen to it, you won’t regret it!

Looking to read a book that’s like a reality TV show? That’s The Compound by Aisling Rawle. Amazon: “Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door. Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?” This is a total beach read and definitely a guilty pleasure. While I enjoyed it, it was candy – little substance, but delicious nonetheless.

Stop everything and grab this book!! The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a wonderful, wonderful epistolary novel that I could not put down. Aside from the absolutely gorgeous cover, everything about this book was delicious and incredible. I absolutely adored it. “Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime. Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.” (Amazon) I cannot recommend this book more highly and, if I could give it more than five stars, I would.

Happy Labor Day – the weekend I publish my summer reading reviews. This summer, I held myself somewhat accountable to my summer reading list (published here). As usual, I kept a printout of the covers above my desk for reference and checked off each as I completed it. But, for the first time since I can remember, I didn’t read all the books I selected. I’ll chalk it up to the new job and my bargello obsession, and hope to read the missing two selections this fall.

Please let me know if you read anything amazing this summer. I love having good recs from those of you who share my reading vibe.

So, now for the overall reviews and recommendations from those I had chosen for the summer and those that weren’t on the list:

Best Books of the Summer (5-Stars)
Culpability
A Little Less Broken
What Kind of Paradise
Everything is Tuberculosis
Pending: Lovely One…only halfway through, but LOVE

Summer Reading List Reviews
Rabbit Moon (4.5-stars)
Wild Dark Shore (4.5-stars)
Great Big Beautiful Life (4.5-stars)
Heartwood (4-stars)
Isola (4-stars)
Show Don’t Tell (4-stars)
Chances Are (3.5-stars)
Hope (4-stars)
A World of My Own (didn’t read, but bought)
My Name is Emilia Del Valle (didn’t read, but bought)

What a way to end the summer! Culpability by Bruce Holsinger was an excellent read. First recommended to me by Gayle Weiswasser of the Everyday I Write the Book blog and Wonderland Books and then chosen as Oprah’s June read, it’s been top of mind all summer. There were so many things to ponder from this novel and I am going to be thinking about it for a long time. Amazon: “When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident. During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident—suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.” This book was terrific and I highly recommend.