If You Only Read One: August 2020
We know that we read — and review — a lot of books. It definitely helps that there are three of us, in that regard. So with this feature, we want to tell you our favorite read of the month - if we only recommend one book to pick up, what would it be?
Moira
I picked up “Everyone Knows How Much I Love You” by Kyle McCarthy (Bookshop | Kindle) as one of my first library books since reopening! I thought this would be a light thriller, but it shocked me with just how literary it was. Rose, a struggling writer, relocates to Manhattan and quickly pulls a Single White Female on her childhood best friend, Lacie. Their relationship has always been complicated, and the episode that caused their original falling-out is slowly revealed through the first half of the book. It is a truly creepy exploration of the intricacies of female friendship, and the dark side of intimacy.
Shannon
I cannot recommend “The Mothers” by Brit Bennett (Bookshop | Kindle) enough. Brit Bennett’s beautiful debut is almost lyrical in its prose and is what a novel about Black families should be—simply Black families living their lives. Racism is present, but it isn’t the point. The novel introduces us to Nadia Turner, a high school senior whose mother has recently committed suicide. Nadia turns to the pastor’s (older) son for comfort, and their intense but brief relationship ends up having lasting consequences. But before Nadia escapes her Southern California town for the University of Michigan, she develops a close friend with Audrey, another young woman without a mother. The novel follows the lives of Nadia, Audrey, and Luke as they live their lives, judge one another and themselves, and examines the intricacies of all types of relationships—parent/child, sisters, husband/wife, close friends, acquaintances…it’s truly a remarkable novel.
Elizabeth
Admittedly, I had a weird month of reading — it was busy at work (which shouldn’t happen in government affairs in August!) and well, “Midnight Sun” may have broken my brain. It was so bad that I lost my desire to read, but when I put it down, I powered through a few books to close out the month. If I had to recommend only one: “The Lions of Fifth Avenue” by Fiona Davis (Bookshop | Kindle), which I even called as one of my most anticipated books of summer. I know Shannon touched on it in a recent post, but I loved the dual story lines (though felt like even 1993 or so felt historic!), I loved the focus on women’s rights, and I was surprised by how everything ended up going down at the end. It’s got romance, it’s got mystery, it’s got women trying to take down the patriarchy, it’s set in one of my favorite buildings in the world — what’s not to like?
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