If you loved Eleanor Oliphant is Perfectly Fine...

this belongs on your #tbr! Plus, the book so not-for-me that I actually RETURNED it on Kindle and a book bandwagon you'll be glad you hopped on.

Truth: once again, I’m in a reading slump. This time, we can put it down to two things: first, I’m at the point in a revision where much of my story energy is going in another direction, which means I’m reaching for non-fiction before bed, and second, I’m a bit slammed on a personal level with non-reading action in the form of travel, plans with family members and lots of conversation time.

No complaints there, I’m getting to do a bunch of things I’ve long wanted to do or am thrilled to get a chance at this summer (one I can tell you about: a dog training seminar at The Monks of New Skete, and one I cannot although soon, soon) and I’m also supporting family members while they try to pull off some big dreams. To sum up, things are busy here but all in a most delightful way.

But you want me to tell you about books! Fortunately slump does not mean none. Remember the packed Kindle and one print book I took on vacation? The print book (The Late Americans) was a miss for me. I just wasn’t in the mood for furtive male-male blowjobs in the shadow of a bleak hospice in a bleak town with a bleak protagonist clearly bent on shooting himself in the foot at every opportunity. I was almost there for the (bleak, but bitingly funny) depictions of the Iowa Writers Workshop poetry section but I just… I don’t know. I’m done with graphic ugly sex at this point and I wasn’t feeling it. I think I was hoping for Dear Committee Members but make it Iowa Workshop/Erasure, and this isn’t even trying to be that. So… not for me.

In the REALLY REALLY NOT FOR ME category, though, we find the new Kevin Kwan (Lies and Weddings). Kids, I sincerely think this was written at a fifth grade level and I almost wonder if that’s intentional? Because it probably reaches an international English reading audience? (That Spanish romance I’ve been reading for 6 months now is probably written at a fifth grade level and I am here for it.) I remember enjoying Crazy Rich Asians (not in 5th grade) so I’m guessing that was written differently, but I haven’t liked one of his since. This one, however, was beyond I’m not enjoying this. I just couldn’t. Three pages in, I found the vocabulary so basic, the characterizations so wooden and the dialogue… man, I’m having a hard time coming up with an adjective for that. It made the Fast and Furious movies look like James Joyce. (No shade on F&F, I am also here for fast cars and faster banter.)

So I returned it. A first. I took the time to dig around on Amazon, figure out how to send this book whipping back into the digital ether and then I did it. I do NOT support returning a book you’ve read (people used to do that when they read them quickly, but I think Amazon’s made it impossible and I hope that’s true) but if you’re on page three and there is no way you’re going to turn one more, then you know what? Get your $14.99 back. Know what though? Amazon reviewers LOVE this. So—not-for-me, but clearly for plenty of others.

Now on to the books you DO want to read!

First off, I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue. I loved this!! Flew right under my radar but I’m so glad I downloaded it. The protagonist gives definite Eleanor Oliphant (with a little less trauma), the workplace is gloriously real and also funny, and the gradual shift of the protagonist’s colleagues from evil annoying caricatures to real people in her perception is incredibly well done. I also adored that the book pulls us into the world of ex-pat Persian culture without being “about” being Persian. It’s just—who the protagonist is. And I loved it.

Next: Funny Story, Emily Henry. It’s a best-seller! Everyone is reading it! I know, I know. But it is also very very good. I loved Beach Read, enjoyed Book Lovers, put People We Meet on Vacation down bc I didn’t like the once-a-year structure and now… Funny Story has me back at Beach Read levels of joy and appreciation. It’s JUST SO GOOD. Pure, solid, everything you want from a smart, funny story that’s also a romance, with just so much satisfaction in the form of just desserts delivered and people you grow to love evolving in wonderful ways. I was a little salty about this one being hardback, I won’t lie—I’d grown used to having Emily Henry be lots and lots of paperback bang for the buck and I pre-ordered without noticing—but it was worth it.

And… that’s what I read! Other notes from the big vacation e-reader stack: Progress was made in Supercommunicators,. True to You: a Therapist’s Guide to Stop Pleasing Others and Start Being Yourself is very very useful and I needed it. (If you’re interested, I interviewed her for the #AmWriting podcast and it will air in early July, find the podcast here.) Lo Que la Nieve Susurra al Caer is chugging along, and Good As Gold is now one of my very favorite Sarina Bowen books (you want to talk satisfaction and just desserts, this book has it all). OH—and I loved the sample chapter of Ready for Absolutely Nothing by Susannah Constantine. I haven’t downloaded the full yet but I probably will.

Here I thought I had very little to share in the #AmReading world this week! Well, I was wrong. Go forth and read some of these and tell me what you think!