August 2021 Reads

I false started on a few titles this month (my 50-page ripcord litmus test) but here are the three books I loved and finished:

"When The Stars Go Dark" by Paula McLain is not for the faint of heart as it focuses on predators and adolescent girls. I also subsequently could not put it down. I did not predict the ending at all and despite the darkness of the story line, did finish the book feeling threads of hope for the protagonist, Anna Hart. Definitely recommend this one if your heart can handle this subject matter.

I loved "The Startup Wife" by Tahmima Anam. The narrative around tech startups was fascinating to me but I loved Anam's clever, funny writing style, both in the internal and external dialog. There were a number of things that the protagonist Asha would say or think that made me laugh because I could imagine those narratives playing out. The book also is a story about feminism and patriarchy, so of course I loved that too.

Maybe because I have been laser focused on reading/supporting women authors, I have not read any of Chris Bohjalian's work since "Midwives" (which I found incredibly captivating). I am grateful to have returned to his work because "Hour of the Witch" was SO GOOD. I initially wasn't sure whether my brain could handle colonial times speak (not to mention rampant misogyny) but ultimately this was a story of women persevering to support women. I loved it.