August Reviews

Oh man, August kicked my ass. We had some crazy hot days, I went back to work, Sawyer started distance learning, I had some extremely hard personal days, and Ellie is an actual puppy tornado. Somehow we managed to make it out alive, though, and September is here. I got through four books last month, which is nothing short of a miracle- here they are:

I reread The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger for what seems like the thirty-eighth time, when in reality it was probably the sixth or seventh. I teach it every other year and, despite my easy annoyance with Holden, I think it has been the perfect book to start distance learning with a group of juniors I don't yet know. 

I finally finished Bill Bryson's The Body: A Guide for Inhabitants, which was just amazing. In his typical witty, fascinating, expertise tone, he talks about basically every aspect of the body, from the skin to the heart to reproductive system. It was a great combination of accessible biology and unknown facts. I need to buy more of his books. 

I adored David Mitchell's newest, Utopian Avenue, a more literary, gritty, well-written version of Daisy Jones & the Six. This book had a kaleidoscopic narrative, which isn't for everyone, but I really loved. He delves into the lives of four band members, which of course all includes variances of the typical sixties drugs, sex, rock-n-roll. This book meets my trilogy of greatness for a book- the writing, characters, and plot are all spot on. 

Finally, I, a self-proclaimed hater of poetry, read a small volume of poems this month called Build Yourself a Boat by Camonghne Felix. I saw the book on Instragram and loved the cover and title instantly. Build yourself a boat- take care of yourself, be your own advocate, don't want for anyone else to save you. Yes times a million to all of it. I saw Roxane Gay read it as well, which made me even more curious. It was timely, heartbreaking, and extremely well-done in terms of structure.