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My Favorite July Reads

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By BSS
Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon
{mentioned in previous post}

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

“…at some point in a woman’s life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is.”

I loved living vicariously through Vivian during 1940s-era New York.  It read slow and I kind of wondered where the plot was going at times, but I'm glad I finished it. I ended up liking this way more than I anticipated
.  
Wife After Wife by Olivia Hayfield
I thought this book, a modern retelling of the life and wives of England's King Henry VIII, was fantastic in a soapy kind of way.  Afterward I made my husband watch all four seasons of The Tudors with me.  

Heavy by Kiese Laymon

I can't find words of my own to describe this book, so I'm going to borrow a review from Roxane Gay.  I'm aware that this is lazy reviewing, but as a white person I lack the understanding of what it is to be a POC.  That's part of the reason I love to read so much, though:  to learn.  And as Maya Angelou once said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."  In this current political climate, I feel like some people are so lost in their racism, hatefulness, and ignorance that nothing will change their minds, so I'm planning for the future starting in my own home.  

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

“Big Jim’s eyeball fell out. Like, fell the fuck out of his head. It rolled onto the grass, and to be honest, Big Jim and I were both taken aback.”

This book was probably my favorite read of the month.  I love the Seattle setting and it is just so beautifully written, heartbreaking, sweet, and hilarious at the same time.

My Calamity Jane (The Lady Janies #3)
by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, then she should just go ahead and be one.
-Calamity Jane

This book tells the story of Calamity Jane, but with a twist.  I fell in love with this series when I read the first book My Lady Jane, which is about Lady Jane Grey and King Edward VI.  I clearly love anything and everything to do with British royalty; except Prince Andrew, of course.  

The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

“Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.”

I loved this thoughtful, sometimes melancholy, collection of short stories.  

Everything Is(n't) Terrible by Dr. Kathleen Smith
What can I say?  I love a good, well-written, and informative self-help book!

My Life, from {Army} Brat to Wife

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