nomadreader

The backstory: The Boyfriend Project  was one of the May Book of the Month picks . Before that, I'd never heard of it, but it sounded so fun, I added it to my box. Most of the books I pick from Book of the Month are titles I already wanted, but I love when it introduces me to new things. The basics:  "Samiah Brooks never thought she would be "that" girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she's been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other "girlfriends," London and Taylor-have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men and no dating."--publisher My thoughts: This book is filled with fun, friendship, romance, and just the right amount of drama. It manages to be fun and made me feel good, but it also manages to feel real. It's the right combination of real and escapist. I lo...

The backstory:   Marlena  is Julie Buntin's first novel. The basics:   "The story of two girls and the wild year that will cost one her life, and define the other’s for decades." My thoughts: Marlena  consumed me as I read it. It opens in the present day, where we meet Cat. This glimpse into the present felt brief, but I soon realized the real action of this novel is in the past. Initially, I found myself hungering to return to the present, which is at least partly do to my fascination with knowing how things end because figuring out how characters move from the past to the present (or future) fascinates me. But as this novel went on, I found myself much less invested in present Cat, which surprised me. Buntin is a gifted writer, and she made me love reading about teenage angst in a way I haven't enjoyed in years. She made me prefer a teen storyline to an adult storyline. At times, she even made me remember my teen years with fondness, "Everyone has a se...

narrated by Tavia Gilbert The basics: Told in a non-chronological narrative, How to Start a Fire  is the story of friendship of Kate, Anna, and Georgiana. It stretches from their college days at UC-Santa Cruz in the early 1990's to 2015. My thoughts: At first I feared a non-chronological (and largely non-linear) narrative would be a challenge to listen to on audio. A quick glance at the table of contents gave me pause, but I'm so glad I opted for this one on audio. Tavia Gilbert gave each character a distinctive voice. At times I forgot there was only one narrator, as she excelled at this cast of voices. As I often listen to audios in short spurts while driving, I didn't always remember exactly what year and city I left off, but I was able to immediately get back into the story. The longer I listened, the more I learned about the timelines and geographies of the three friends, and I was able to fix the larger stories of their life quite well. How to Start a Fire  ex...

The backstory: How Should a Person Be?  was longlisted for the 2013 Orange   Women's Prize for Fiction . The basics: This novel features a narrator named Sheila Heti. Heti uses some actual conversations with friends in this genre-defying "novel of life." The character Sheila seeks answers to the titular question "how should a person be?" My thoughts: Going into How Should a Person Be? , I was excited. I have a fondness for experimental novels. I may not always love them, but I do enjoy exploring new and creative approaches to literature. As I read, I was as enraptured trying to figure out what Heti (the author) was doing as what Sheila (the character) was saying. There's a sense of late night, wine-fueled conversations about deep things in the early pages of this novel. That will likely either intrigue you or have you running for the hills, but I couldn't get enough of it. As Sheila struggles with her identity, to some extent, but really herself,  ...

The backstory: When Girls in White Dresses  started showing up on several Best of 2012 lists, I was surprised. I had dismissed it as chick lit based on the cover. As Rachel Fershleiser (are you following her tumblr ? You should) said best, Girls in White Dresses  is a great women-processing-their-shit book . The basics: Girls in White Dresses  is the story of three young women and close friends: Isabella, Mary and Lauren. Together and separately, they navigate the years following college, while some friends are getting married and having babies, while others are losing jobs or single or lacking direction. My thoughts: From the moment I started reading this novel, I was in love with both Close's writing and these beautifully developed characters: "New York in September was busy, like everyone was in a hurry to get back to real life after the lazy summer. Isabella liked the feeling of it, the rushing around, and she let herself get swept along the sidewalks. She wal...