My July 2024 Reads
Happy August everyone! This summer is absolutely flying by, and we’re officially halfway through the year. Totally insane, right?
July was a fun reading month for me. I traveled a bit and was reading a few longer books to finish up some series I had started a while back, so I ended with 6 books read last month - four audiobooks and two books read on my kindle. Check the list out below for my full thoughts!
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This was such an interesting book, but it was also one of those reads where I got to the end and was unsure how I felt. The book tells the story of Lia, a woman dying from cancer. In it she looks back on her childhood, her first love and her life now as she comes to terms with her coming death. The book is told in part from the perspective of the cancer, which added a really interesting element to the story but also confused me at times.
I really enjoyed the author's writing style, dual-timeline and the story itself. If you're a fan of lit fic, complex stories and contemporary poetry, I think you'll enjoy it, too!
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Since I finished this book I've been trying to figure out why I don't see more people talking talking about it. I would classify this as horror as opposed to mystery, which is what it's tagged under online. It's creepy, deeply uncomfortable and a profound, scathing look at police violence and racism.
The book follows a pair of detectives in Mississippi investigating gruesome crimes against a string of racist white residents in a small town. As they begin to look into the crimes, which involve disappearing bodies, the murders spread to states outside of Mississippi.
I listened to this book in one sitting. Granted, I was on a long drive so I had the 7 uninterrupted hours to devote to it, but I'd still argue it was that un-put-downable. Highly recommend to horror fans and thriller fans as long as you don't mind some gore.
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This book tells the story of a seven generations of women, going all the way back to Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America. Each woman's story feels like a book in its own, and it all comes together to create a novel exploring generational trauma and its profound affect on our lives.
I enjoyed listening to this book on audio, but may have liked a physical copy more to help me keep track of the many generations of women and their stories. Overall I thought it was really well done and I loved the exploration of trauma and its long-reaching affects.
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This is the second and final book in the Letters of Enchantment series. I really enjoyed both books but felt the second was stronger than the first, which was mostly setting the scene for all of the action in book two. The series follows to competing reporters as they report on a war between two gods that humans are being drug into. Ultimately the pair begin working together to attempt to end the war.
There's no spice in the book (but there is romance), so younger readers can enjoy this series as well. If you like fantasy, magical realism and historical fiction, this series is for you.
Grab the first book or the second book.
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After reading Seven Days in June by Tia Williams last year and having it be one of my top books for the year, I was extremely excited for her latest. Published earlier this year, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde follows Ricki, an aspiring flower shop owner and chronic disappointment to her family, as she sets out on her dreams of entrepreneurship. Shortly after opening her shop in New York City, she meets a man she feels inexplicably drawn to who advises her to stay far away from him to keep herself safe, which is easier said than done.
I absolutely loved this story. Ricki is a funny and brilliant main character, and her love story is one that had me swooning. It has elements of magical realism in it, so go into it with an open mind. My only critique is the ending was a little too perfect, but you all know how much I love an imperfect, messy ending. Tia Williams is officially a must-read author for me, and I can't wait to see what she does next.
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I love a good poetry collection, and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, one of the greatest writers of all time, is one of the best out there. A few favorites of mine from this collection include:
Where We Belong, A Duet
Woman Work
One More Round
Call Letters: Mrs. V.B.
Caged Bird
Family Affairs
Grab a copy of Maya Angelou's complete poetry by clicking here.
Need other recommendations? Ask me for some ideas!