Books In Her Head

Greetings! As with much of my cohort, the summer plans I had intended have been cast aside due to COVID-19. However, I feel as though I’ve recently settled into a good routine of gardening, nannying, practicing piano, and of course, reading. Most recently, my library has reopened for check-out. The’ve even shifted from pickup only to allowing in person browsing! While I haven’t chosen the latter option, I have found myself marching through a hefty stack of library books. It reminds me a lot of my late elementary/early middle school years when my mom would judge me for “having too many books checked out from the library”. Additionally, my favorite local indie bookstore The Novel Neighbor has reopened by appointment, so I stopped in to pick up and pre-order some new reads. Here is what I’ve hauled recently.

purchased

All Adults Here by Emma Straub // All of Straub’s books are currently on my TBR, but something about the plot of All Adults Here just sounded different and drew me in. I’m a HUGE fan of family stories (it’s pretty much my favorite subject matter) and I’m excited to see what Straub has to offer.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet // ANOTHER multi-generational family story!!!! You know I had to purchase. This was one I had been eying for awhile and brought home in part to celebrate the Black Out Bestseller Lists movement in support of Black Lives Matter. I cannot wait to dive into this one.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander // This has been on my radar since I first watched the documentary 13th, which I highly recommend! Michelle Alexander is interviewed in the documentary and after hearing her speak I knew that I wanted to familiarize myself with her work. Luckily, the movement to mass purchase books by Black authors coincided with a new book club I joined–that picked The New Jim Crow as our first book–and thus I found it in my hands. I’ve already started this one and am so glad that I purchased the 10th anniversary edition because it contextualizes everything that has changed since Alexander first published.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid // Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid // Taylor Jenkins Reid has been an auto-buy from me for YEARS, so it made sense that it was about time I rounded out my collection with her historical fictions! I’m a big fan of historical fiction and these two are cult favorites–and are even more popular than her romances. Suffice to say these seem to fit well into my collection and I’m excited to read.

The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States by Walter Johnson // As a native St. Louisan and self-proclaimed history buff, the second I read about The Broken Heart of America I knew that it was a book I needed to bring home with me. I’ve always been interested in St. Louis history, but an exhibit at the Missouri History Museum a couple years back that focused on the role of St. Louis in the early Civil Rights movement sparked my more immediate interest, and the connection between this most recent vein of the Black Lives Matter moment and the Ferguson Protests beginning in 2014 solidified for me that this was a book I needed to bring home (and likely share with anyone who will listen.

Everything Here is Under Control by Emily Adrian (Pre-Order) // The second I read the premise of this one…I was hooked. I think with the amount that I talk about multi-generational family stories here I sound like a broken record…but I can’t help it! This one appears to be more of a family centered story than a MULTI-GENERATIONAL family story but I can’t wait to get my hands on this one either way!!! Side note…pre-orders mean A LOT in the publishing industry. This sort of demonstrated interest indicates to publishers and booksellers that you are excited about a book. So if you are planning to buy a book and it’s currently unreleased…go pre-order from your local indie bookstore!