May & June Reads — Casey Scieszka

More good ones!

I am only a little embarrassed to say I picked up WALKING PRACTICE by Dolki Min because of the cover. I bought it and read it because it’s raunchy and dark and totally bizarre and every once in a while I love to just go somewhere super weird with a read and think with satisfaction, as I close the book upon finishing it, Man, I would have never come up with a story like that.

My friend passed along I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jeannette McCurdy around and I found myself reading it—I kid you not— at the playground on Mother’s Day. I KNOW! I made sure to hide the cover from onlookers. It’s as compulsively readable as everyone says. I was particularly moved by the early chapters about her young childhood before she got into being a child/teen star and all the messiness that came with. She does such a good job capturing the mindset of a tiny kid so desperate to please.

My dad loaned me ERASURE by Percival Everett and I’m so glad he did! A real gets-you-thinking-about-art-and-publishing kind of novel. The main character felt so real to me, just writing this right now had me thinking, Hm I wonder what he’s up to right now? as if he were a real person I’ve met before. The kind of book that makes you feel smarter after reading, like you’re absorbing someone else’s intelligence through reading osmosis.

Made a real 180 and dipped into Book 4 of Sarah J Maas’ series for A COURT OF FROST AND STARLIGHT. It was so feel-good compared to the other books in the series it felt almost like a Hallmark Xmas movie interlude, BUT then I read her afterward about how when she was writing this manuscript her father had a serious health scare and she gave birth so she really just needed to write something a little more gentle and hopeful and I thought Hells yeah Sarah J Maas, you write whatever you want, you KNOW we are all here for it. You better believe I’m going to finish the series next month and get Book 5.

I saved THE GUEST by Emma Cline for a whirlwind trip Steven and I took to Italy. (I officiated our friends’ wedding in Tuscany and yes it was as dreamy as it sounds, though it also HAILED for an hour right after the ceremony?!) I knew I would want to devour it given the nerve-wracking premise and I absolutely did. It’s summer reading at its finest. Fancy Hamptons? Check. A shady past? Check. A totally unlikeable main character who keeps making worse and worse choices but magically keeps your readerly attention? Check!

I also bought Samantha Irby’s latest book QUIETLY HOSTILE at the airport bookstore because I knew I’d want some laughs, and laughs I got. Man, she just cracks. Me. UP. I will read anything she writes. Anything! Send me your grocery lists Irby!

I read LITTLE EYES by Samantha Schweblin in the 25 hours it took us to get home from Italy. (1 boat, 2 trains, 1 tram, 2 planes, 1 shuttle, and 1 three-hour long drive!) It’s creepy in a kind of Black Mirror-ish way aka showing you how different make make tender and/or terrifying choices with the same technology.

YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang is a publishing world thriller, a genre I didn’t even know I needed! I absolutely ripped through this one. I love when delusional narrators lie to themselves and I love freaky tales of plagiarism. This one felt so particular to this era of book making right now. It makes me want to read Kuang’s other previously published books and see what else she’s nailed on the head.