Let's do a traveling through books post today, okay? During the month of July I got to get out of town a bit and STILL travel through books. It was a good month for me.
In July I read seven books. Two of those books were considered non-fiction. That's pretty good for me.
1.) The first book I read in July was "More Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin. It wasn't quite as good as the first book, but it's still fun to travel to San Franciso in the late 70's. I believer there are seven in this series, so I hope to read all of them eventually.
2.) My second book trip was "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman. It takes place in England and it's a look at a woman who is on the spectrum and had a horrible thing happen to her in her childhood and she meets a friend who helps her see the world differently. I like this book more than I thought it would. I thought it was sweet and hopeful.
3.) The third book I read in July was "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly", by Anthony Bourdain. I had never read him before. I have many friends who worshiped him. So, after he died, I thought I'd check out what he had to say. I worked in tons of kitchens, bars, and coffee shops in my adulthood, so a lot of what he said struck a chord. Yes, he was a bit pompous and he admits that about himself, but mostly I found him endearing and entertaining.
4.) The fourth book I read was a reread. I originally read "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou when I was a kid, and it has always stayed with me. I've heard her read two times. The first time I went to a reading in San Francisco in 1986. It was at a small library and I got to speak to her afterward...Or I tried to anyway. As she held my hands in hers, all I could spit out was, "I can't even begin to tell you..." And then couldn't finish, so she said, "I guess you can't". I tell that story all the time and it always cracks me up. So, this book was a trip back in time to when the story takes place and then to when I first read it as a kid and then to when I went to her reading when I was 21. So many layers of trips and lives.
5.) My fifth book was "Mrs. Fletcher" by Tom Perotta. I thought it was a great read. It was about sexuality and how it is changing with the times in general, but how it changed for a divorced mom who is a recent empty-nester specifically.
6.) The sixth book I read was "The Mothers" by Brit Bennett. It is about a girls who's mother kills herself and how it changes how she looks at life and the decisions she makes based on what she thinks her mom would want her to do. It takes place in an African American community in San Diego. It made me want to go see the ocean and miss living in an urban area.
7.) My last book in July was David Sedaris' "Squirrel Meets Chipmunk: A modest Bestiary". It was basically Aesop's Fables for adults in the 21st Century. It was dark and entertaining and it was good Summer reading.
I won't be travelling and reading books in cool places this month like I did last month, but I will still take fun book trips from the sanctuary of my own home.
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