June Reviews!
Book: Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough
Rating: Unrated
Genre: Memoir
Review: I did this on audiobook, and I did enjoy the parts that have some audio from Lisa Marie’s interviews. This one splits up the narration between Lisa Marie and Riley— a mother daughter duo that, if the name isn’t clear enough, are the daughter and granddaughter of Elvis Presley. Lisa Marie died in 2020, and her daughter, Riley, used past writings and recordings of her mother to construct this dual-memoir. The format wasn’t an issue for me in getting confused because I did audiobook.
Now last year I did the audiobook for Elvis & Me by Priscilla Presley too and came out with similar feelings. Do I think both narratives were overly generous to Elvis? Yeah. Do I think that both books had a little element of ‘let me set the record straight’, which isn’t always my favorite vibe to a memoir? Yeah that too.
But I found many of the stories really fascinating, especially the ones about Michael Jackson. I did get a little misty-eyed by the end in talking about Lisa Marie’s addiction and about the grief that they experience as a family. If you find some celebrity intrigue interesting and love to be nosy, you’ll enjoy this. If you’re going in looking for great writing, this isn’t the book for you. Riley’s writing was pretty good, and often times her reflections were insightful and well-timed. But Lisa Marie’s were much more casual retellings of stories, because most often, that’s what they were.
All in all, I had a good time!
Book: Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Literary Fiction / Essays
Review: I have varying opinions on all of the stories, so here’s a breakdown—-
1. Los Angeles & Oranges : Took me a minute to realize what was going on, but once I did, I looooved it. Promising Young Woman vibes. Contender for my favorite!
2. G: This one was also so fun. I loved the concept, and it reminded me of Black Mirror which is one of the highest compliments that I can give a book.
3. Returning: This one stressed me OUT. In a good way. I think the ending was haunting and made me almost emotional??? Enjoyed this one a lot too!
4. Office Hours: This one is probably my least favorite. I found it strangely harder to follow than the other stories for some reason, and it didn’t stick out to me as anything super memorable!
5. Peking Duck: At first I wasn’t obsessed with this one, but it grew on me by the end. The first four ‘sections’ that she has numbered weren’t enthralling to me, but after we got to section 5, I was hooked. The dynamic between the narrator and her mother in this portion was fascinating to me.
6. Tomorrow: I don’t…. Think i…. Get this one???
Book: Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza
Rating: Unrated
Genre: Non-fiction, Psychology
Review: This is my third Joe Dispenza book that I’ve read, and probably my least favorite of the three. I clearly am a fan of his meditations and I’m finding them helpful personally, but of course there are parts of Joe Dispenza’s whole shtick that feel kind of gimmicky. I say that as a woo-woo girl who also loves science and data. I think there’s enough research there to make me value his perspective, but I have a hard time with his presentation sometimes. I can never conceptualize how I feel about his work, so I’d be interested to know what you guys think if you know of his work!
Book: Ask Not: The Kennedy and the Women they Destroyed by Maureen Callahan
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Non-fiction, Politics/ Social Issues
Review: This one was written by the same author as American Predator, Maureen Callahan, who does excellent research. It’s so in depth and so enlightening and more than anything… ENRAGING. If the Kennedys were black or brown, lets be honest, they’d be called a gang and locked away on truly any number of charges. I think all of them were terrible, but I harbor a horrible hatred that will rot my soul for Joe Kennedy (senior, the dad), and Ted Kennedy. Closest rival in the one and only RFK. The story of his ex-wife who committed suicide was actually heart wrenching. I resonated so much with the image (not personally, obviously) that she painted of Jackie, and it gave me a new sense of empathy for her despite the fact that Maureen Callahan doesn’t mince words when critiquing . Jackie wasn’t always the saint of this story, but I think Maureen was fair and accurate in her judgements from the perspectives of lots of people. The part where she talks about in her healing journey and how her anger towards Jack’s death was in part that she was robbed of being able to be really fucking mad at him.
But as most of us know, one of the saddest parts of Kennedy’s history is probably Rosemary Kennedy. Did you guys know that the Kennedy sister with disabilities was taken by JOE KENNEDY TO GET A LOBOTOMY AFTER THE WHOLE FAMILY DECIDED THAT SHE SHOULD NOT GET ONE? HE SNUCK HER OUT OF THE HOUSE AND GOT HER A BOTCHED LOBOTOMY AND WHEN SHE COULDN’T FUNCTION ANYMORE THEY LEFT HER ALONE IN A DIFFERENT STATE IN A SANATORIUM AND SHE NEVER SAW ANY OF HER SIBLINGS AGAIN!!!! Rivaled in horrific sadness is the story of Mary Jo Kopechne who died after a drunk Ted Kenny drove his car off of a bridge into water below, and after he escaped and she was still very much alive and sinking, he left her there and called his lawyer without contacting any emergency responders until the next morning!!!! SICKOS!!!!
Every Kennedy man was a walking STD. They had so many affairs that they can’t even be called affairs. I hope to god that Jack Schlossberg is changing a generation of Kennedy men.
I loved this book and had a great time reading it. I think that the structure was a little weird for me and didn’t flow as great as i would have liked, but i also don’t know of a better way to do it that would make more sense. It also did a lot of that thing i talk about all the time where it “decided things for me”. Again, I think that might just be a personal quirk that I don’t like for nonfiction authors to paint me every detail of a picture when I can draw those conclusions myself. It’s always a weird critique to explain!
Book: For Small Creatures Such As We by Sasha Sagan
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Genre: Nonfiction, Science
Review: I enjoyed this one perfectly fine. I think if you have deconstructed Christianity and once resonated with the format and vibe of the way that Christian books (especially for women lol) are formatted, then you might like this one. It felt like that to me the way that the author told stories and set up the flow of the book in general.
There were some cool science things, some fun syncronicity stories, some awe and wonder. I guess I just can’t say that it left much of an impression on me really. It felt like a decent amount of just quoting her dad (Carl Sagan). It also could resonate more with moms and new moms specifically, because that clearly was the catalyst for much of this book which I don’t resonate with as someone who doesn’t have kids yet!
Book: Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Literary Fiction, Short Stories
Review: oooooooof BRANDON TAYLOR!!!!! I forgot about how good his writing is. Each story was so different and pulled you in each time. To me, he writes in a similar way to Toni Morrison (or its just the vibe I’m getting for myself??) where the way he described people’s minds and their motivations is very slow and detailed and intimate.
This is a collection of short stories, and of course with those there are some that resonate more with others. He’s a very visceral writer, and so some of the tougher imagery or sexual scenes (like the ones that involved force or the ones discussing consent) were a little hard to read. Not in a bad way— I think that they should be hard to read if they’re realistic. The stories touched the intersections of lots of different thinking, values, and ways of life. There’s some overlap in some of the stories with one story kind of weaved throughout the others. If you’ve read it, that makes more sense. Some of the lines, especially in that last chapter, made my jaw draw. OUCH!!!
Book: If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Literary Fiction
Review: Our Rereadables book club pic for the month of June, and it was as great as I remembered! I originally listened to this one over audiobook, but I quickly bought the physical copy and have been wanting to read it since. I got to annotate, and my GOD did I take that opportunity. Loved the format even more this time around.
Book: In Universes by Emet North
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Science Fiction
Review: I definitely can’t wait to hear more from Emet North, because their writing really enraptured me. It took me a while even for this short book, because I really wanted to savor the way that the author phrased things. I also thought that the premise of the book was so unique and well-crafted, and once I sort of “picked up on” what what going on, it was really intriguing. That being said, it got a little choppy with me by the end, and I found myself a little confused. I think it may have been ill-timed on my part and that at another time I would be captivated the whole way through, so don’t let me stop you. I thought it was great, and Emet North should be on your radar and mine!
Book: The Lost Letters of Martha’s Vineyard by Michael Callahan
Rating: 2/5
Genre: Literary Fiction
Review: Okay, I thought I needed something that was giving Hallmark/Lifetime movie, but evidently that urge was misplaced, because I think I’m being generous in considering this one ‘read’. It was more like a soft DNF, if we’re being honest. I have a hard time with men writing women, especially in this genre, but I had the book on my shelf and the premise sounded interesting. Yeeeeeeah and for a little bit it kind of was! I didn’t like the current timeline at ALL, but the old Hollywood feel was fun! Unfortunately after that part was over, it started to lose me. If you’re into the corny thing— NOT A DIG, I GET IT! IT HAS ITS APPEAL SOMETIMES— then this might be decent??
Book: House of Beth by Kerry Cullen
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genre: Thriller?? (Ish?)
Review: I was gifted this advanced copy of Kerry Cullen’s new book, and I promoted it to a higher rank in my TBR because I was really interested in the concept. In this we have a woman with Harm OCD who starts to unravel and finds herself back in her hometown with her recently widowed high school best friend: when the two strike up a fast romance and she finds herself living in the house he used to share with his very traditional wife. Beth’s haunting presence carries through the book, and as our MC tries to move on, she’s followed by nagging questions and concerns about her new life. I loved the Harm OCD elements that were incorporated in this that really kicked up the tension. I was intrigued by Beth’s presence which kept me reading, and once I understood the direction we were headed in, the pacing picked up for me from there. I also really enjoyed Kerry’s writing in the same way that I mentioned above about Emet North: it just sort of scratched an itch in my brain. I can’t wait to hear more from Kerry in the future as well!
Book: There There by Tommy Orange
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Literary Fiction
Review: This book takes the cake for the longest shelf life on my TBR— 3 years!! It took me three years to read this book! And finally, it is FINISHED! I had such mixed feelings about starting it, because the reviews of it are really polarizing! When I posted about it last week, I wasn’t expecting so many of you to have such strong feelings one way or the other. I mostly heard the critique from those who didn’t like it that there were too many characters to keep track of, and the integration of the character’s into each other’s lives was a little choppy. I read this one 1/2 audiobook and 1/2 physical, and a part of me wonders if i would have just done it using one medium, if I would have been able to follow it slightly better. There are some gaps of things I think I may have misunderstood or didn’t catch quite right for the story to entirely make sense the way I think Tommy Orange intended. That being said, I did really enjoy his writing! The way that he specifically portrays substance use in tribal communities was so fascinating to me, and it really personified a trend of alcohol abuse that I’ve heard about before but haven’t really seen portrayals of. (This is why we read diversely, folks!!!!)
Book: Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Literary Fiction
Review: Of course it was incredible. DUH.