A little July 4th reading round-up

Maybe like me you are lucky enough to have  four days off for the July 4th holiday.   Which in my case has meant a party with lots of wonderful friends and family, some elder flower-lemonade with gin (highly recommend), and porch reading time.  Though admittedly, for this delicate flower it is a bit warm today so I am slumming in the air-conditioned house.
If you find yourself with a little reading time here is a list of some good reads that pair well with parades, fireworks and needing some alone time after all of that noise:

1. “Since We Fell” by Dennis Lehane – This book has been on every “highly anticipated book” list I have seen so I bit and bought it.  It is a really fun suspense novel.  There is some predictability here but that really didn’t ruin the read for me.  Like many of his other books, I would not be surprised if this is already in line for a movie.  It is something that will hold your attention even while parade folks are throwing tootsie rolls at you.
2. ” Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House” by Alyssa Mastromonaco – Alyssa was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in the Obama White House.  This book is also truly a blast.  Alyssa is funny and witty. Her stories about trying to find tampons in the White House, wearing jeans to meet the Queen, and a rather unfortunate IBS incident before meeting the Pope all made my life seem pretty organized and low in unfortunate moments (which is weird because I have plenty). What I also enjoyed was some of the insight into what goes into the day-to-day operations of being POTUS.  I listened to this on Audible and Alyssa reads the book so I think that made the experience even better.
3. “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging” by Sebastian Junger – Junger is an award winning journalist who spends time in this book looking at PTSD and how our lack of community is making our sense of reentry from crisis (be it war-torn areas or serving in the military) impossible to do in a psychological healthy way.  No, this is not a summer romp, but in a time where it just feels like our country is becoming more and more polarized I think our loss of community is really an important issue to start talking about.
4. “Today Will be Different” by Maria Semple – This book made me laugh, a lot. The books starts with Eleanor proclaiming to herself that today she will do all the things she should – work-out, shower and get dressed, initiate sex with her husband, not swear, she will really get it together.  But then life, as it often does, seems to make even those simple things very, very complicated.    This is a light, fast read and honestly, has so many goofy, relatable moments.
5. “Into the Water” by Paula Hawkins – Like “Girl on the Train,” Hawkins plays with our notion of truth and perception.  Women keep drowning in a river that runs through a small English town.  The question is why this keeps happening.  The story is told from several different prospectives which keeps it moving forward, though keeps the water just muddy enough (see what I did there) that you can’t really figure out where the story is going.  I find Hawkins to be a good story teller though her writing does belabor a bit.  Ultimately, the story makes it worthwhile.

 

Alright reading friends.  I wish you fun holiday times and lots of quiet reading moments as well.   I have the tough decision of what to read next from the book pile. I know, my life is so hard…and yes, there is a Philippa Gregory in the pile – don’t judge.