Books I Read and Loved in June & July
including 14,000 things to be happy about
Friends,
I’ve been shaking up my reading habits lately after reading this post by Petya on the topic of not finishing books. I've always finished books, no matter how much I've disliked them, and I’ve been following her advice but it feels odd and a little bit rebellious.
Petya offers this as a reframing:
“To those who struggle with not finishing books, I offer this: Take a deep breath. Remember that there's no test at the end, no one keeping score. Your reading life is yours alone.
You owe it to the authors whose work you love to read more discriminately, not less. Your loyalty should be to them.”
In other reading abandonment news - I have moved from GoodReads as my reading tracker in favour of the much more interesting visuals and graphs offered by StoryGraph. Let’s connect!
Scaffolding - Lauren Elkin (400 pages)
In a north-east Paris apartment, the echoes of two eras collide. Two couples, separated by time, grapple with the universal challenges of marriage and family, their lives mysteriously intertwined within the same four walls.
My French friend Salomée summarised it beautifully in her 5* review here.
‘Lauren Elkin explores bisexuality, claustrophobic marriages, motherhood, feminist activism, desire, transgenerational trauma (and more!) through psychoanalysis. Even though this can sound daunting, she makes it so accessible and relatable. I know that this book won’t be everyone’s cup of tea because of the lack of punctuation, the unconventional format, and the stream of consciousness writing style, but for me, it definitely worked.’
Glynnis MacNicol, aged forty-six, unmarried with no children, spent sixteen months alone in her tiny Manhattan apartment during the pandemic. New York City had emptied out and no one could have prepared her for the extreme loneliness she would feel. In August 2021, a friend offered Glynnis a sublet in their Paris apartment, and she jumped at the chance.
“The weeks in Paris are filled with friendship and food and sex. There is dancing on the Seine; a plethora of gooey cheese; midnight bike rides through empty Paris; handsome men; afternoons wandering through the empty Louvre; nighttime swimming in the ocean off a French island. And yes, plenty of nudity.
The pursuit of enjoyment is a political act, both a right and a responsibility. Enjoying yourself—as you are—is not something the world tells you is possible, but it is.”
Somewhat related (and also the dream):
The Cook - Maylis de Kerangel (112 pages | translated from the French by Sam Taylor)
The Cook tells the life story of Mauro, a young self-taught cook. We see the hard parts of being a chef, the long hours and tough bosses, but we also see the amazing food and how happy it makes people.
Told through an unnamed female narrator, the book follows Mauro as he tries different things in life: school, jobs, and traveling. He even falls in love. But in the end, he finds his way back to the kitchen. It’s a story about finding what you really love to do.
Found via one of my favourite newsletters to read.
Into a Star - Puk Qvortrup (240 pages | translated from the Danish by Hazel Evans)
A memoir about love and loss by Danish author Puk Qvortrup.
The synopsis says: "Puk was 26 years old, preparing for the birth of her second child, when her husband collapsed in the middle of his Sunday run. She dashed to the hospital, where Lasse lay unresponsive in a coma. He died a few hours later.”
This book is a heart-wrenching read, but Puk's humour and sharp observations provide unexpected moments of light relief.
Compiled by the author over the course of 20 years and illustrated by Pierre Le-Tan, the book celebrates all the random little things that make life worth living. I’ve been using this alongside my journalling every morning and it’s put me in such a good mood for the day :)
A few of my favourites so far:
the art in everyday life
the taste of cake batter
the pure joy of the sun
getting a really good haircut
quick postcards
the sensuality of a scalp rub
your first time in a foreign country
library tables
Found via this interview that I loved.
This little delight popped up on my Substack feed this week - close friends Henah & Kayti have just launched a newsletter that I immediately subscribed to!
“We started this newsletter to connect with other like-minded women interested in quiet travel which, for us, means prioritizing introspection and space for generative thought about the world and our place in it. We love the idea of having a gentler approach to vacations and remaining open-minded to new and unfamiliar experiences, especially when the world of travel can feel so noisy with “how-to’s” and “top 10 lists.”
With our combined decades of travel experience and over 100 passport stamps, we hope to share our love for seeing the world—sometimes on our own and always (always!) with a good book in hand. This means you can expect to see honest reviews of travel destinations, real (read: unfiltered, unposed) photos, and thoughtful writing about the travel industry, specifically through our lens as women.”
Have a read and subscribe here:
ps: in case you missed it:
OK.... blushing. And so glad you found my post helpful.
I am ALSO reading Scaffolding right now. It's not out in the States yet BUT Lauren Elkin has been my internet friend since before we had kids and she sent me a copy. I love her work so much, Flaneuse was the first book I read after giving birth ... and I thought it was perfect.
About to go on and subscribe to the other substacks that you mention and order the happy book. I am such a natural pessimist that I truly need it.
Yay!! Thank you for sharing Departure. Also I can’t wait to dig into this book list 🤓