A review of all the books I read this summer
A little nonfiction, some coming-of-age, romance — all the good stuff.
Autumn is my favorite season of the year, but my favorite reading season is summer — traditionally when I knock out the majority of my reading for the year. That mostly had to do with being on summer vacation, but now that I’m a ~ working adult ~ I imagine/hope the pace I kept this summer will remain about the same year round.
Book time has always been special to me, but it has become even more sacred now that I literally spend like 90% of my waking hours looking at screen(s) — no longer do I have a 1.5-hour round-trip commute that I used to dread but now sort of miss(?) to break up my work screen time and leisure screen time.
So anyways, this is a long-winded way of saying I read eight books and now I’m going to rate them. Maybe I can convince you to read one (if you do, please talk to me because I obviously love discussing books).
(But before we begin, one note: in my last post I talked about taking AFAM 162, a free Open Yale African American studies course. I did commit myself to taking it, but it’s taking me a bit longer than I intended (having numerous major work projects this summer didn’t help). I have eight lectures left, and my goal is to finish by the end of October — so I’ll share my full thoughts on the course then.)
Now, on to the reviews, in order of reading (but an enjoyment ranking at the end):
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
I’ve been meaning to read Murakami for years now, and this summer I decided it was finally time. My Murakami expert/superfan friend Kenrick recommended I read Norwegian Wood followed by The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle as my introduction, although I have not read the latter yet. But I did really enjoy Norwegian Wood!
This one checked the two main boxes of a good coming-of-age story for me: not-annoying main character and very emo. I liked his writing style more than I expected. But I also know this book isn’t really demonstrative of the writing themes he is known for, so I do intend to read more of his work soon.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Girls by Emma Cline
This is a book that I got an ARC for a few summers ago when it was new and all the rage, but I always had other things I would rather be reading. The Girls is also a coming-of-age story, but unfortunately, I hated this main character. Evie Boyd is incredibly insecure, which can generally be relatable, but I could not get past her whininess and neediness. I found myself rolling my eyes as she pined for attention from pretty much every other character in the novel.
I feel like I’ve heard so many people rave about this novel, and I think the author did a good job, overall, creating characters that encapsulated the desires, fears, envy and insecurity of teenage girls and the relationships among each other. Unfortunately, Evie was just annoying to me.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
I LOVE the 2015 movie adaptation of this novel. It’s still one of my favorite period dramas, so I finally decided to pick up the novel I’ve had on my shelf for a few years (the theme of this summer's reading is books I’ve owned for years and finally reading now). I haven’t read a classic in a while, and this was an easy choice since I knew I liked this story already.
Compared to other classics of similar nature, I would say the story isn’t quite as compelling as, like, Pride and Prejudice. Bathsheba is young, beautiful and stupid in much of this book, and some parts will make you clutch your head in dismay at her choices. But, there is something redeemable about her, and this story leaves you with that satisfying, wholesome, happy-heart feeling that romantic classics are best at.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Hands down my favorite book of the summer. I feel like The Vanishing Half got the same amount of hype The Girls got a few years ago, but this time lived up to it (for me). I think I read this book in two days (significantly faster than all the other books I read this summer).
I loved this cast of characters and most importantly, none of them were annoying. Even though this story jumped around in the timeline, it was easy to follow and I found myself eager for the narrator changes (there was no point of view I was less excited for than the others). I felt like this novel’s exploration of the relationships between women — and their different approaches to motherhood, sisterhood, identity and love — was thoughtful. I’m excited to see who they cast for the adaptation.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
I really expected to like this memoir, which is about a young woman who works in New York publishing but decides to move to Silicon Valley to work in the startup world. And I did like this memoir, just not as much as I thought I would.
I think I was hoping to find guidance in someone else who was straddling the world of writing and tech like I am. But I think the things she was disillusioned by are not necessarily the same things that disillusion me, making her appear naive to me. I found myself annoyed with her disappointments (even though I definitely don’t know more about the industry or have more experience than she does). But, overall, the memoir left some food for thought and I’m glad I read it.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Another book that’s been sitting on my shelf for a while. This is a book I would have loved in high school that is just… cringey now. It’s high fantasy and a loose Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I was actually a little intrigued by the world-building, but the writing was veeeeerrrry YA.
That being said, I think the story got better as it progressed, and I liked Nyx, the main character. I probably would have read the other books in the series if I was younger.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Everyone I know in journalism has read this, and I finally acquired a copy from my nonfiction book provider (aka Jordan). And this really did live up to the hype. As I expected, the level of detail in the reporting is insane, and the fact that these are real events that happened makes it even more insane.
I don’t know how the narrative could have been any more compelling, and my heart was racing when Carreyrou discussed the various antics Theranos tried to prevent the initial story from publishing (my time in journalism haunting me). Anyways, I loved this.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Atomic Love by Jennie Fields
This story had all the elements of a good period romance: it’s the 1950s, and a beautiful and smart young scientist is still recovering from her time working on the Manhattan Project — both for the work and a betrayal from her former lover, a dashing British colleague. But when an equally handsome and also scarred FBI agent reaches out to ask her to reconnect with her ex-lover for suspicion of ties to the Soviets… you get the point.
I do like a good love triangle and I enjoyed this, although the writing was weaker than I expected and the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I craved. But this was one of the books I took to the beach, and this is like, the perfect beach read.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
And in conclusion, here is my overall enjoyment and satisfaction ranking for Summer 2020 Reading:
The Vanishing Half
Bad Blood
Norwegian Wood
Far From the Madding Crowd
Uncanny Valley
Atomic Love
The Girls
Cruel Beauty
I’m currently reading We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, both quite good so far.
I hope my summer reading review was somewhat interesting and helpful, and encourages you to pick up some new reading for the cozier months of the year.
And before I sign off, here are some other things I’ve been up to:
I went on an adventure with my talented photographer friend Marissa Wu to the Sunset District in San Francisco and froze my butt off at Ocean Beach, but it was worth it for the photos!
I helped produce a print magazine at work — never in a million years did I think I would get to do this at a tech startup, but it was a lot of fun! If you’d like a print copy, I can personally mail you one (or you can also fill out the form on the website).
I started a new side hustle writing for okko, a minimalist body wear line. It’s been fun getting to write about minimalism and lifestyle again.
Until next time!