School’s started and I’ve been doing lots of academic readings. Someone please give me a recommendation for books like Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino and Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener so that I have new references to make in class haha. As for pleasure reading, it’s been going slow and steady. I can’t tell you how badly I want to spend every weekend doing nothing but reading for fun. Still getting used to transitioning back to a “normal” pace of life… and having to commute!
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry // ★★★★
A friends-to-lovers second-chance romance. The last time Poppy felt truly happy was vacationing with Alex as they had every summer from college up until they stopped talking two years ago, and now she has a chance to fix their friendship.
A fun and cute summer read, but especially for Summer 2021. I know Summer 2021 is way over, but here in LA it could still pass. Even more delightful than living vicariously through Poppy and Alex’s travels to assuage the past two years of pent-up wanderlust was the anticipation of rekindled friendship, which I’ve experienced over and over throughout the pandemic. Something about these past two years really brought out the nostalgia from people I hadn’t heard from in years and with it, all sorts of feelings. The tension is palpable, and this book captured that so well.
A Killer by Design by Ann Wolbert Burgess & Steven Mathew Constantine // (gifted)
A forensic psychologist’s memoir pioneering criminal profiling at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. Highly recommended if you’re into Criminal Minds, criminal psychology, true crime.
Burgess’ pioneering research on sexual assault and trauma caught the attention of the FBI, where she was invited to give lectures, and quickly became an integral member in the creation of the FBI’s BSU. Included are the cases that helped build the BSU’s psychological research methodologies and their applications. Now, the concept of criminal profiling is not new to me, but still I was surprised by just how patterned the behaviour of serial killers are.
Burgess also briefly addressed the portrayal of serial killers in popular media and the disturbing acceptance of these archetypal stories into classic Americana, which I think is always important to consider when it comes to true crime.
Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim // ★★★★.5
A graphic memoir of a Korean “comfort woman.” Gendry-Kim interviews Lee Ok-sun at the House of Sharing, a nursing home in Korea for surviving “comfort women,” and illustrates her story. Even before Lee was forced into sexual slavery, she lived a difficult life in poverty, and after the Japanese occupation, she continued to suffer hardships. A powerful and emotional read captured in beautiful brushstroke.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi // ★★★★
A graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. While this memoir included some anecdotes, it also included lots of historical and political exposition. An educational read that gave a great overview of the history of the Islamic Revolution, but perhaps the broad strokes are more suited toward younger audiences, as I would have loved to learn about the history in more depth or from a more personal point of view. That said, this is only the first of four books, so maybe it was just to set the stage.
Matilda, The Witches, & The Twits by Roald Dahl // ★★★★
Suddenly felt an urge to revisit Dahl for the first time in a long time, so I borrowed these three from the library. The librarian was so excited when she saw my checkouts. Both of our favourites were Matilda, of course. I also randomly borrowed the Matilda audiobook and it was SO GOOD. Narrated by the one and only Kate Winslet! She did the voices so well. After my success with Matilda, I tried The Witches on audiobook too, but the character voices were too grating, and I couldn’t even tell what they were saying.
