September: What I Read

Only one quarter of 2018 to go-- HOW CAN THAT BEEEEEEEE?

There are some excellent books on this list.  The top 6, for example, are super.  What are you waiting for?

13. Jell-O Girls: A Family History by Allie Rowbottom:  This book was pretty good.  But the reviews!  I think they over claim.  Not sure what's going on here, actually.  Anyone read it and have a different opinion?

12. Take Me With You by Andrea Gibson: Poetry!

11. Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin: Total Chick lit, elevated by all the doctor talk.  Loved it.

10. You're On an Airplane by Parker Posey:  Worth the read for the tiny little part where she talks about filming the Christopher Guest movies.  Or, you know, you could just read that part.

9. The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter:  Like John Grisham for girls.

8. Like Brothers by Mark and Jay Duplass:  Funny.  Sweet.  Kind of weird.

7. Meaty by Samantha Irby: Now I want to read all of the things she has ever written.

6. The Dependents by Katharine Dion:  I LOVED THIS!  I also dug the Tolstoy references because she is exploring a particular unhappy family and unpacking the cultural truism that men die right after they are widowed.

5. The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writers, Writing, and Life by Richard Russo:  Bah.  Love the commencement speech.  Love "Imagining Jenny."  Hate how he lays bare the old boys' club that is writing in America even as he attempts to debunk that myth.

4. The Pisces by Melissa Broder:  SO WEIRD AND FUNNY.  I felt bad laughing at Lucy because she is seriously nuts, but wow.  Give this one a read and tell me what the hell happened, would you?

3. That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam:  This book is dreamy.  Like, the plot is actually really sad, but the main character is so detached from her feelings that everything feels like a dream.  She is so privileged I want to just shake her, and I think that's what the writer is going for?  Also, you know how I feel about dudes, but this is awesome.

2. Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday:  I ultimately really liked this spare little book, but I was really, really into the first story and when the perspective changed, I was sad to see it end.  I often have that problems with books that are told in disparate chunks.  I think maybe it's not my favorite style.

1. Trajectory by Richard Russo:   The first story is fantastic.  A little taste of my favorite kind of Russo-- the academic skewering kind.