What I read in June

Summer is for reading!

I had TWO weeks with no children, so this list should be twice as long. In my defense, my book club picked Bono's Surrender, which I figured would be a short celebrity memoir but was TWENTY HOURS LONG. And yet, I'm not even mad about it!

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono

Climbing into the ring, the best-prepared fighter is the one who has tried to understand their opponent. Especially if it’s yourself.

So, here's what happened. It was my friend Mike's turn to pick the next book for our book club. Mike tends to procrastinate. So, Smith and I said he has 48 hours, or we're reading Bono's memoir (a suggestion I had made earlier that got scoffed at!). Mike didn't make the deadline and away we went. I quickly realized that audio was the only way to go with all the musical references, so I went on a 20-hour adventure with one of history's most well-known rock stars. 

Y'all, this. man.

My love knows no bounds at this point. First of all, he's been with the same woman and the same band since he was 16 years old. You can be a lot of things - all of which he calls himself - but you can't be a shitty, shallow person and stay in committed relationships that long. Second of all, his mother died of a brain aneurysm at his grandfather's funeral when he was 14! I had no idea. The story of the band's rise during the Troubles in Ireland was eye-opening, empowering, and almost unbelievable. 

Plus, he's hilarious, deprecating, and so wise. He's a man of deep faith who agrees most Christians are "arseholes." I'm telling you, I could NOT get enough.

Go on this adventure with Bono. You will NOT regret it. 

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

We value the individual supremely, and nature values him not a whit.

The last book in our Well-Read Mom "Year of the Seeker", Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was the book I had been most looking forward to. I knew almost nothing about Annie Dillard except I'd always wanted to read her. It was a controversial choice, and not everyone loved this narrative reflection on nature and God and the human species, but I loved it. 

Nothing happens in this book, and Dillard reveals almost nothing about herself or her life. Yet her observations on Tinker Creek and the wider universe kept me rapt and often left me in tears. It's not just beautifully written; it is observed with depth and wisdom. 

Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley

Bro!

When I first heard an excerpt of this new translation of Beowulf on one of my favorite podcasts, Poetry Unbound, I was entranced. We were on our way to Spring Break, and I suggested to Griffin we listen to a little bit every day as we walked the beach. He (reluctantly) agreed but got hooked as quickly as I did. 

Sadly, we didn't finish before we left the beach, and we ended up finishing the last hour weeks after we got back. However, it wasn't a total loss because by then, we were several seasons into The Sopranos, and it is an excellent accompaniment.

This translation is fast-paced and lyrical, making this 1000-year-old epic poem feel alive and, dare I say…modern. 

I absolutely loved it. 

Longbourn by Jo Baker

Work was not a cure; it never had been: it simply grew a skin on despair, and crusted over it.

As a Jane Austen devotee, this book has been on my list for a thousand years. When Kendra Adachi mentioned it a few months ago, I finally ordered it, and it sat in my book cart until I could no longer ignore it. 

It's as good as everyone says it is. I loved the story of Sarah and the other staff at Longbourn, the home of Elizabeth Bennett and her family from Pride and Prejudice. But more than the story, I loved how Baker helped me see new facets and angles of a story I thought I knew as well as a story could be known. 

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne, PhD

I loved people. I truly did. But the way I loved was different than most. And, if I was being honest, not all that compatible. I didn’t need to get love in order to give love. I never had. I preferred my affections to be anonymous. Independent. Not because I didn’t care, but because I cared differently.

When the New York Times interviewed Gagne in a piece called What It's Like to be a Sociopath, I could not quick preorder her memoir fast enough. I was so persuaded that learning more about people we consider "monsters" is always better than pretending they don't exist. 

Gagne does an expert job of taking you inside her unique psyche while taking apart the usual assumptions and stereotypes about sociopaths. Her ability to argue that her way of thinking is different - not less - while also holding her behaviors to account will go a long way in furthering understanding this psychological condition. 

All Fours by Miranda July

There did not have to be an answer to the question why; everything important started out mysterious and this mystery was like a great sea you had to be brave enough to cross.

Whew, boy. Here's the thing. I've read July before, so I was prepared for her … unique approach to storytelling. If you have not read any of her work before, I would like to recommend you gird your loins.

This book is explicit and… out there. All of her work is. I like it because I know what I'm signing up for, and I liked this exploration of perimenopause and midlife and marriage - even though I would do just about every single thing differently than the unnamed narrator in this book. 

Ok so tell me what you’ve been reading this summer!

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