My reading was a little less productive this month. I wish I could blame it on being busy but really it’s just the ups and downs of quarantine. Thank you Random House for gifting me these books, noted with a star!
Florence Adler Swims Forever
Rachel Beanland
This book follows a 1930s Jewish family as they try to cover up the death of the family’s youngest daughter to keep the pregnant oldest daughter safe from miscarriage. It’s a beautiful story about the family trying to deal with their grief while also putting on a brave face for the daughter that’s still living.
Vanished Birds*
Simon Jimenez
I don’t normally delve into sci-fi but this was a great read set in a universe where people fly between planets, most of which are owned and run by corporations. When a longtime ship captain for hire meets an unusual and abandoned young boy they become inseparable, and intwined in a dangerous adventure.
Dapper Dan*
Daniel Day
I didn’t know much about Dapper Dan, a Harlem fashion designer, before reading this book. It was really interesting to hear how he built his brand by catering to the fashions of gamblers and drug dealers in the neighborhood he grew up in. This was a really interesting look at street style and street kids struggling to get out of the viscous cycle of poverty.
A Month in Siena*
Hisham Matar
In this travel piece Matar visits Siena on a quest to commune with the famous art in the city. The small book is his personal and philosophical ruminations during this trip. I thought Matar made some interesting points but I wasn’t in love with this book. The thing about art is that it speaks to everyone in different ways, so reading about the way Matar connected with different pieces didn’t necessarily make me feel the same way or incite me with the same enthusiasm.
Scarlet Fever*
Rita Mae Brown
This is a mystery novel about a fox hunting group in a rural town. It’s evidently one of a series of such novels by this author. To be honest I didn’t feel it. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood but I couldn’t bring myself to be engaged in the story or to care about the characters.
Hyman Bloom: Matters of Life and Death
Various Authors
I’ve been lusting after this catalog for months and I finally took the plunge as a treat during quarantine. The MFA show of Hyman Bloom’s work was stunning and I loved reading the curatorial essays about him and his process. If you’re an art lover and you don’t know much about Bloom, this is an interesting way to dive into his work.
The Paris Library
Janet Skeslien Charles
The Paris Library skips between two timelines, one follows a young woman working at a library in Paris during World War II. The other follows the same woman living in the Midwest in the 1980s. As she befriends a young neighbor the story of how she got there and what she lost along the way is revealed. This was an entertaining read, a bit heart-wrenching in a good way.
America is Immigrants*
Sara Novic
I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while and this turned out to be the perfect time to read it. It’s small essays about famous Americans who immigrated here from other countries. It’s VERY heartwarming to read about all the wonderful things immigrants have brought to the U.S.
A Long Petal of the Sea*
Isabel Allende
I love everything Isabel Allende does and this is no exception. True to her style this is a sweeping family saga of love and ancestry, but set during the Spanish Civil War. As it becomes clear that the wrong side is poised to win, two refugees flee to Chile posed as a married couple. Like in all Allende books: love conquers all.