July 2021, and i need a rainy day
If you like all of the things I said I liked when writing about With Teeth: With Teeth by Kristen Arnett. If you like graphic novels and/or history: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
I used to send these on the last day of the month, first thing in the morning, and slowly I’ve slipped away from that very good and organized habit - so here it is, well into the first day of August, the month I was born.
Rather than yammer on about the many messes in my life that made July a pretty grueling month - work, family, too many hot days, a pandemic - I thought I’d offer some words that have helped me. It is hard living in this very weird time where it seems like no one knows what to do or how to think or feel. Besides getting vaccinated, which is definitively something people who are able to do should do, everything else feels like a mystery. I’ve never lived through a time where I have been less certain about what is okay and what is not and it feels like there’s a new, scary CDC alert on my phone every few days. If you are like me and have no idea how to be a person, I hope these words I came across from my dear friend Mandi will help you.
“I’m vaccinated, masked, distanced, and I am cautious about the situations I engage in.”
Mandi has spent an extraordinary amount of time deciding how to act in these *all together now* unprecedented times. She works with the public in an area where folks don’t necessarily do the things that would be helpful to their community and she is often at risk, simply while doing her job. As Mandi put it, “I have so little choice in my working life, that I do everything I can in my personal life.”
Sorry to be all “my therapist said” but my therapist pointed out a few weeks ago that I don’t really let myself get messy, which is true and I hadn’t realized it because I was messy in my 20s, oh…so messy. But I guess I took that to heart immediately. I didn’t read much this month because I’d just sleep until right before work. I fucked up a few fixable things in my side job but I usually never fuck anything up anywhere. I reset my workout plan three times and still never got past the second day. It was just…so hot out and I never want the summer to be over because I’m terrified of the fall and I don’t want to go back to an office but I also really don’t want it to be hot anymore. Please rain. I promise if it rains, I’ll read a book again.
Okay enough dramatics from me but it is Leo season after all. I hope you are all reading something that makes you feel. Maybe one of these will do!
[Books I Read]
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, published 2017
Quick summary: A beautiful graphic novel about a family’s journey to escape war-torn Vietnam. | I tend not to pick up graphic novels, even though I took a graphic novel course in college and enjoyed it! (From what I remember, which is almost nothing.) I’m so glad I read this one. It was gorgeous, historically interesting, and hit the spot as far as my interest in family history, mine and everyone else’s.
[graphic novel, written by a Vietnamese cis woman, shorter read but of course you can spend a lot of time reading this]
Fake Plastic Girl by Zara Lisbon, published 2019
Quick summary: A bit of a mystery/thriller about a regular girl who ends up befriending a famous wild-child and becomes a member of her ~squad~ | I have wanted to read Fake Plastic Girl forever because Lisbon and I are internet pals and have been for years and years. It’s a funny thing when a pal writes a book — you just really hope it’s good and guess what? This one is! Lisbon has a real knack for writing about modern humanity. The only thing I do wish is that the Taylor Swift analysis was in its own book! She could easily write an entire book on that topic and I hope she does. I don’t know many people who can analyze Swift as well as Lisbon. I can’t wait to read Fake Plastic World next!
[fiction novel, suspense, written by a white cis woman who is a proud bisexual, medium-length read]
With Teeth: A Novel by Kirsten Arnett, published 2021
Quick summary: Two moms trying to raise a seemingly difficult son through it all. | I love Arnett’s writing. I fucking loved Mostly Dead Things, I fucking love books based in the thick humidity of Florida, and I love queer stories. Additionally, I love books about parenthood and reproduction and families that don’t look like the families shoved down my throat growing up. This is weird to say but whatever, it’s my newsletter, this book reminded me a tiny bit of We Need to Talk About Kevin, which is a book that had me up until 2am reading it a few years back. That is a heavy comparison and the kid in this book is not at all to Kevin’s level, but my mind went there more than once. Anyway, Arnett rules.
[novel, fiction, written by a white person who self-describes as “lesbian willie nelson” and also “dad,” medium-length read]
Red Clocks: A Novel by Leni Zumas, published 2018
Quick summary: Abortion is illegal and it has an effect on many people, their stories all intertwined in this small Oregon town. | Zumas’s novel has been on my radar for a long time and now that I am immersed in abortion advocacy, I want to brush up on the books that have been on my list for awhile. What I didn’t expect was for Red Clocks to cross over so much with adoption and foster care as well. All the things I do, all up in this little book. It didn’t 100% work for me at every turn and even though I liked it well enough, it didn’t stick with me and it was overall a bit try-hard.
[novel, fiction, written by a white person who self-describes as a “feminist killjoy,” medium-length read]
I also read a book by Dr. Patricia Love that I am not going to write about here but did take a good 10 days of my life to wade through. I love reading therapist recommended books but this one is a doozy with a tough title so I’m opting to leave it out. If you have a complex relationship with your parent(s) and are interested, I’m happy to tell you the title privately!
[Books I Heard]
Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth about Where I Belong by Georgina Lawton, published 2021
Quick summary: Georgina Lawton’s story is one of identity and discovery. Having been raised by white parents with no explanation as to why she herself was Black, after Lawton’s father passes, she begins to learn the truth. | A compelling memoir read by the author herself, whose voice is lovely. Here I am again, listening to another story about identity. I’ve always craved biracial voices, especially Black and white biracial voices, but the additional layer of confusion is something I never anticipated being able to relate to. There was never any question of who my parents were or if I was Black, and when I did one of those DNA tests myself, there were no surprises. But there is something to the not knowing exactly who your family is, or who all of the people you came from are. Anyway, this is not about me, this is about Lawton, whose story is fascinating, heartbreaking, infuriating, and inspiring at the same time. (Lawton is also very funny.)
[memoir, nonfiction, written by a Black-biracial cis woman, medium-length listen, read by the author]
[What I Recommend]
If you like all of the things I said I liked when writing about With Teeth: With Teeth by Kristen Arnett
If you like graphic novels and/or history: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Have a good month reading! That’s mostly a reminder for me but if you read, have a good month reading too.
