Summer
Notes on what I'm reading this summer
Ah! Summer.
I don’t know anyone who isn’t ready for summer, especially in Seattle. We are all longing for the sun in this grey little city of ours. I don’t have epic plans of travel this year, besides heading back east to see family and friends but I do of course have plans when it comes to reading.
This year I’ve been making my way through all of Roberto’s Bolaño work and this summer I am determined to finish his epic novel 2666 and the novel, Nazi Literature In America. I’m not surprised that Bolaño’s work is once again buzzing on the internet with the recent announcement of the publisher Picador reissuing many of his works with new covers. Some folks aren’t into the new cover designs, I however will be buying them all for my collection.
Two books I hope to dive into this summer are Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe and Notice by Heather Lewis.
I don’t know how many folks told me to pick up Say Nothing but I found a used copy at Serendipity Books on my last trip to Friday Harbor and was finally convinced after talking to the bookseller there. There was so much hype and praise for this book and sometimes hype turns me off and I think Say Nothing was the case for me. But I’m ready now to finally read this one.
Notice by Heather Lewis is something I picked up at work solely based on the cover. The orange flare gun and handcuffs felt like a warning as if I was about to read something that would hold me down and burn away at the nasty bits.
I did a little more digging and found an article by The Los Angeles Review Of Books about the late author and her short-lived career. Emmeline Clein writes,
“While Lewis’s life was brief, it was also vibrant, ablaze with feeling. Her blood ran hot, so to survive she let her voice go cold. Her prose iced into stalactites; her words became weapons of murder and vigilante justice. Her oeuvre is rife with inverted, feminized holy trinities: trauma, terror, and tenderness; mother, daughter, and lover.”
Oh hell yea! I seriously can’t wait to read this and more by Heather Lewis.
With the constant news coming out of Gaza, I’ve been compiling a list of literature from Palestinian writers. Two books on my summer pile are A Long Walk From Gaza by Asmaa Alatawna and The Trinity Of Fundamentals by Wisam Rafeedie.
I saw both of these books in photos of students at the college encampments in NYC and UCLA. (I sadly can’t find those exact photos)
I find it beautiful that many of the encampments at these universities have tents designated for books and reading. Literature and a space to foster literature are important to these kids. What reader doesn’t resonate with that??
It’s not summer without poetry.
Poetry should not only be read in the summer but at the park while your fingers dance in the tall overgrown grass or at the beach while the waves passionately kiss the shore or on your front porch while the neighborhood kids glide up and down the street.
Okay. Let me stop being so damn cheesy about poetry and get to it!
My summer poetry list:
Root Fractures by Diana Khoi Nguyen
I heard about this collection from Ocean Vuong who raved about it on their Instagram.
Good Monster by Diannely Antigua
The blurbs on the back from poets Eugenia Leigh and Deborah Landau sold me instantly.
Bluff by Danez Smith
I will read anything that this poet writes.
One of my most anticipated reads this year is First In The Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica Hoppe
Flatiron Books sent me an early copy of this book and I’ve been staring down at the cover for the last few weeks just waiting for the right moment this summer to read this memoir.
This blurb below by Lupita Aquino of LupitaReads tells me that this book will rewire my brain and change how I view addiction and sobriety.
"First in the Family is the book I've been waiting for: A powerful reckoning combined with an inspiring sense of freedom. Perfect for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol, and looking for an honest account of what it takes to navigate sobriety as a woman of color." -Lupita Aquino, LupitaReads
Folks who aren’t familiar with Lupita, click on those links above and get familiar!
There are so many other books I plan on reading this summer and I will be updating you all on here as time goes on but here is a picture of the first half of my summer TBR which I keep right next to my bed.
Oh, stay tuned for my next newsletter on my experience with Sally Rooney’s latest book, my thoughts on her as a writer, and the hype around her novels on social media.
Until next time, thanks for subscribing!
What I’m Watching
Interview With A Vampire (TV Series)
What I’m Listening To