June 2022 Reads

What have you read and loved lately? Here are my thoughts on the four books I read in June.

"The Sentence" by Louise Erdrich was a complicated read for me. Erdrich is a beautiful writer and the premise of the book (about a haunted bookstore) is ripe for entertainment, but I think I was in too deep a feelings space while reading. In addition to continually getting mired in feelings (about relationships, colonization, racism, COVID, etc.) I also found myself heading down the research rabbit hole (e.g., re: atrocities against Indigenous people). It is an important read, and also a heavy one.

"By Any Other Name" by Lauren Kate was just the light, lovely read my brain needed after the intensity of "The Sentence." The book includes a fun premise (with deeper underlying meaning), likeable characters (brutally honest friend squads FTW), and great pacing.

"Counterfeit" by Kirstin Chen is a FUN ride of a read. Chen achieves the perfect balance of relatability of the exhausted, dissatisfied professional mom + suspension of disbelief as this mom enters the world of moving counterfeit luxury handbags, I really enjoyed this one!

It must be tough to follow a NYT Bestseller/Reese Witherspoon pick, and KJ Dell'Antonia rose to the challenge with "In Her Boots" and I enjoyed this book even more than KJ's much lauded "The Chicken Sisters"! I was hooked from page 1, found myself looking for 10-15 minutes snippets through the day to read, and thought I knew where the plot was going a couple of times (then was totally wrong, which I love). With a less skilled writer the main character's journey could have run cheesy, but KJ nails it. Added bonus? I was shocked and delighted and honored to make a character cameo (as editor Emily Koh).