July Reading Recap
Hello, fellow book lovers, and welcome to July’s reading recap. And just like that, August is underway. This year is flying by, but it’s been filled with a ton of great books. July was no exception. I had a few books that I would highly recommend. Hope you can find something to add to your TBR. Until next time, happy reading!
Worry by Alexandra Tanner
Quick Synopsis: Two neurotic, anxiety-filled sisters try to navigate their 20s in New York City.
Strong/Weak Points: This is a book where nothing happens. Usually, I’m not a fan of books without plots. However, the banter between the sisters was so relatable and hilarious that I enjoyed it. The characters could have only come from experience. They felt personal, like the author was writing from experience, like she had these people in her own life. The situations and how the characters reacted were too specific and on point. There seemed to be a lot of parallels between the main character and the author herself. For example, the main character and the author both attended a graduate writing program in New York and both work for e-learning companies. The author was very successful in writing about neurotic, anxiety-filled girls in their 20s. However, I’m interested to see if she can follow this book up with fresh ideas and characters because the writing itself wasn’t that great.
The author said in an interview that her dream novel is reading about the boring minutiae of someone’s days over and over again. She could read hundreds of pages of someone doing the same thing. She then went on to say that maybe she’ll write a book like that one day, but she felt like Worry wasn’t the book for it. HAHA! So, the author is clearly not very self-aware, because that's exactly what this plotless book was about.
Overall, it was an entertaining book. Could it have been 100 pages shorter and still said the same thing? Absolutely.
Writing Style: 3/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 2/5
Flow/Pacing: 3.5/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend
For Fans of: Piglet by Lottie Hazell, Housemates by Emma Copley Eisent, and All Fours by Miranda July
All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians by Phil Elwood
Quick Synopsis: A top Washington PR businessman unveils the dirty work he did while working for Middle Eastern dictators and some of the worst people in the world (Muammar Gaddafi, for example).
Strong Points: Is what Elwood does a bit deplorable, and does he seem like a bit of a douche? Well, yes. Is it fascinating to read about? Definitely. Because the fact of the matter is, if he wasn’t the one doing it, someone else would be.
Weak Points: I didn’t quite believe that he felt ashamed about what he was doing since he did it for so long and was mostly worried about getting caught doing these unethical things. He’s also a master manipulator for a living. So at times, it was hard to empathize with him and feel connected to him.
Overall, the stories were wild, and if you’re interested in hearing about the craziness of the PR world for the “bad guys” of the world, it’s worth the read.
Writing Style: 3.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Flow/Pacing: 3.5/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend
For Fans of: Cue the Sun! by Emily Nussbaum, Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia, and I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol
Wellness by Nathan Hill
Quick Synopsis: Jack and Elizabeth met in Chicago in the 90s and instantly fell for each other. But, after marrying, having a child, and settling into the routine of their everyday lives, they find themselves growing apart and longing for their youth.
Strong Points: I loved Hill’s The Nix and was so hoping he’d deliver a good follow-up novel, and he did. The storytelling was great, the writing was beautiful, and the characters were rich. Hill flashes from the present to childhood to pull back the curtain on how these characters became the people they were. I feel like this type of writing can easily fail if not properly executed, but this was a success.
Weak Points: And this is nitpicking, but I didn’t care for some of the writing that took on a different form of media than the story. It took me out of the story, and I’m not sure it added a whole lot. These sections could have been told in the same format as the rest of the book. Again, this is just me being critical.
Writing Style: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Flow/Pacing: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
Highly Recommend
For fans of: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, Real Americans by Rachel Khong, and North Woods by Daniel Mason
The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan
Quick Synopsis: George is a Hungarian immigrant, a closeted gay man, and a movie writer living in LA during the '50s, when the studios were filled with spies and Communists and the Lavender Scare was prevalent. When a famous actress offers George a place to be himself at her Malibu estate, he finds himself enjoying life for the first time.
Strong Points: Nathan found inspiration for this book while spending time at a diner in Minneapolis. While waiting for his food, he saw a movie poster on the wall for Earth vs. the Spider with the name László Görög in huge letters. This is where the inspiration for George and his story came from. I really enjoy reading books set in 1950s Hollywood. It feels so rich and glamorous. It almost had a The Great Gatsby theme and writing style to it.
Weak Points: This book was not rememberable whatsoever. In fact, I had to revisit my notes on what it was even about. That’s usually not a good sign. There was a section in the second act that completely lost all of the momentum, and I became less interested. In the third act, it took too long to get to the climax.
Overall, very meh.
Writing Style: 3/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Plot: 3/5
Flow/Pacing: 2/5
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
Probably Not Recommend
For fans of: Henry, Henry by Allen Bratton, All the World Behside Garrard Conley, and In Tongues by Thomas Grattan
The War We Won Apart: The Untold Story of Two Elite Agents Who Became One of the Most Decorated Couples of WWII by Nahlah Ayed
Quick Synopsis: The true story of two secret agents, one British woman and one Canadian man, from the Special Operations Executive during WWII. After falling in love and getting married during their training, they are separated to go undercover in some of the most dangerous Nazi-occupied areas in France.
Strong Points: Absolutely riveting and well-researched. I enjoyed how the author gave the reader a look into their lives after the war. Since they met during their training for the war and their lives and romance revolved around it, it was interesting to see how they coped when they returned to civilian life. The pictures throughout were wonderful as well.
Weak Points: Nothing of note stuck out.
Writing Style: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Flow/Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Highly Recommend
For Fans of: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn, The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes, and All the Colour in the World by C.S. Richardson
Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum
Quick Synopsis: From the earliest reality-based radio shows to present-day shows like Survivor, Nussbaum documents the game shows, prank shows, soap operas, and clip shows that the world has come to love.
Strong Points: If you’re a Survivor fan, you’ll love the behind-the-scenes look at how the show was developed and the early days of casting. I also loved the Trump digs sprinkled throughout. What a big ol’ idiot that guy is, huh?
Weak Points: Nussbaum is a writer for The New Yorker, and perhaps this would have worked better as a New Yorker piece and not a very long 464-page book. It felt long, dry, and yet watered down in parts. I think you’d have to be a reality show fiend to really enjoy this one.
Writing Style: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Flow/Pacing: 2/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Eh Recommend
For Fans of: The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne, There Is No Ethan by Anna Akbari, and When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Quick Synopsis: A wealthy businessman, Carl, was kidnapped in his driveway and held for ransom. After the money was collected and Carl was set free, the family moved on with their lives as if nothing had happened. Forty years later, the cracks in the family begin to appear. Maybe they haven’t moved on like they thought they did.
Strong Points: I have been recommending this to everyone near me. I was immediately lulled into the story with her writing and quirky but also real-feeling characters. This felt very Jonathan Franzen-esque, which I loved. It made me want to read her other popular book, Fleishman Is in Trouble.
The author has a friend whose father was kidnapped for ransom, and the family returned to their lives as if nothing had happened. She couldn’t believe it, and that is what inspired this book. She was quick to say that her friend’s family was nothing like the Fletcher family in the book and even promoted the book that her friend wrote about his father’s kidnapping. I really enjoyed the concept because, really, how would families cope after something like this? Family counseling? Move to a new town? Wallow in it forever, or move on and try to continue to live life?
Weak Points: It took me a little bit to get into the stories of the other siblings and family members when the perspectives were switched. Their voices and lifestyles were all so different. But I don’t think this is necessarily a weak point, but maybe more of a me problem.
Writing Style: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4.5/5
Flow/Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Highly Recommend
For Fans of: Liars by Sarah Manguso, Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, and The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Godwin by Joseph O’Neill
Quick Synopsis: Two brothers go searching for an African soccer prodigy that they believe will make them a lot of money if brought back to the US.
Strong Points: I learned about soccer (or football) agents… Perhaps more than I would have liked to, I did learn something from this thick book.
Weak Points: This felt like a shell of a book. The stakes didn’t feel high enough for me to care. The characters were vexatious. The story switches between two characters (one being the brother and the other his random boss at his 9-5 job) are so loosely connected and forced until the last 3% of the book. This made for a disjointed story. There wasn’t a reason for me to root for or care for anyone or anything in this story. And for that, I’m slapping this one with a big “would not recommend."
Writing Style: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Plot: 1/5
Flow/Pacing: 2/5
Overall Rating: 1.5/5
Not Recommend
For Fans of: Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel, The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry, and Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru
“Believe what you believe, my dear, but believe gently. Believe compassionately. Believe with curiosity. Believe with humility. And don’t trust the arrogance of certainty.” - Wellness by Nathan Hill
