July-August 2024 Book Marks
I’ve been doing more writing than reading this summer, and that feels good. There’s nothing like being in “the flow.” And all writers and creative folk know that’s not something you can just “call up” at will.
As I write, the crickets are singing their August song, which is the sound of fall approaching. So let’s get right down to what to read…
Fiction:
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
A civil servant in London is recruited to become a “bridge” for people traveling back from the past through a magical door to the present. These “expats,” as they are called, will ostensibly provide information on how to go back in time and correct decisions that have brought the planet to the brink of extinction. Commander Graham Gore was on an arctic expedition in 1845, and he died when his ship froze in the bay. In present day England, he is living with our protagonist, having been introduced to everything from the internet to air travel. And what happens next could alter the future for everyone in unexpected ways. With plot twists and intrigue, time travel and sci-fi, this is a story that will suck you in.
Fiction:
The Memo by Rachel Dodes & Lauren Mechling
Jenny Green is turning 36, and she’s dreading her college reunion. All her friends are “killing it,” with amazing careers and happy relationships, while she didn’t get “the memo.” Jenny’s in a dead end job and living with a cheating boyfriend, but when she bumps into the campus college counselor, she learns there really IS a memo. Jenny gets the opportunity to be in the club, and is given the ability to return to pivotal moments in her past and make different choices to lead the life that’s always eluded her. But nothing comes without a cost, and Jenny will have to make some tough decisions, including the ultimate one. It’s a fun romp through life and society today, in our quest to have it all and make it look oh so Instagram perfect and easy.
Fiction:
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
As a follow-up to the witty “Fleishman is in Trouble,” this book is based on a real life kidnapping that happened in Long Island. The book begins in 1980 when the scion of a wealthy family is taken in his driveway and held for ransom. A week later, he is returned, and no one speaks of it again. But over the next 40 years, it’s clear that the unsettling event ripples out to have many implications for the characters and their relationships to money and safety. Ruth, the wife of the kidnapped Carl, tries to protect her husband emotionally, but their three children are frozen in their own ways, unable to move forward in life. When they learn the family fortune has dwindled to nothing, they must face some hard truths in life that have been holding them back. It’s a inter-woven, sometimes too interior story of a American Jewish life and the ways in which unspoken love and shared experience can bind and unite a family.
Fiction:
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
The story begins in Tehran in the 1950s, where woman worked, wore miniskirts and mingled with men. Ellie lives in the wealthy part of town, but when her father dies, their fortunes change. She soon meets Homa, a brave girl with a carefree heart. When the 1979 Iranian cultural revolution overthrows the Shah, a repressive regime erases the advancements for women and society, and over the years, these two best friends become separated by more than revolution. Their bond endures, until one act of betrayal changes everything. This is a tale of friendship, family, class and upheaval that strikes a chord with anyone who had a pivotal childhood friend with whom they are no longer in touch.
Fiction:
Same as it Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Julia Ames is the mother of two adult children, and she’s hit a middle-aged slump in life. She didn’t have the best role model in her own mother, a single parent who was more egocentric survivalist than nurturer. Julia runs into a woman from her past, which brings up previous events that caused shock waves in her marriage. When her son announces he is marrying his pregnant girlfriend, her angsty teenaged daughter is also going through the college application process, and everything feels alienating. As this interior novel switches between past and present, we get a bird’s eye view into the complexity of relationships and marriage in the middle part of life.
Fiction:
All Fours by Miranda July
A woman known for her artistic talent decides to drive solo from Los Angeles to New York for an important meeting that could raise her creative profile. But after saying goodbye to her husband and child, she unexpectedly makes a detour, checking into a motel to begin an entirely different journey than the one she planned. And so begins the saucy romp of this novel; sexy, explicit writing, desire and pleasure, the author’s taut prose pushes boundaries with intimate dialogue. It’s the story of a 45-year-old woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom, a sexual reinvention that delivers. July’s skill as a wordsmith works as well as a toy with a battery.
Fiction:
God of the Woods by Liz Woods
It’s the 1970’s at an Adirondack camp, and a counsellor discovers that camper Barbara Van Laar is not in her bunk. She’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp, and this is the second time this has happened. Fourteen years ago, Barbara’s older brother vanished and was never found. The search begins and the drama unfolds, as the secrets of the wealthy Van Laar family are juxtaposed against the local community that serves as the back bone of the camp. It’s a completely engrossing story about secrets and second chances, and it grabs you by the neck in the first few pages.
*These are books I genuinely love and am thrilled to recommend to my friends. These are Bookshop.org affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Alternately, if you prefer to check books out of your local library or buy from your local bookstore, I very much support that!
