Down to be wrong
My thoughts on perseverance and summer book recommendations
So…. I started a book club, hated the book, and ghosted you all for nearly 3 months. Chic, questionable, and mysterious? No, I just really could not get into Great Big Beautiful Life and I considered abandoning this endeavor entirely.
Nevertheless, I persist. I’m choosing to embrace the fact that I chose a book, hated it, and we’re moving on.
Though, I would like to hear your thoughts on the book if you read it. Spoil it for me! Tell me how it made you feel. Tell me if you also DNFed and faced buyer’s remorse.
What does this mean for bookclub? I’d like to pivot. We just passed the first official day of summer. A new season, a fresh start. And for my New York friends, I want to introduce an IRL element to this thing. (More on that later.)
What’s your perfect summer read?
Now that I’ve moved into my new apartment and finished my game of furniture Tetris, I’ve spent a lot of time staring at my bookshelves. They’re organized more by vibe and size of the physical book rather than author name or genre.
On the easiest to reach shelf are my favorite hardcovers — The Rachel Incident, Blue Sisters, Funny Story, Beautiful World Where are You? Above those, my beloved paperbacks — Talking at Night, Call Me by Your Name, A Novel Obsession, and One Day. At the top of the tower are the mismatched books I pretend I can’t see from all the way down here.
All of this is to say, I’m going to share three books that I’m excited to read this summer. If one of them strikes your fancy, pick it up! Give it a read. Send me a text, a DM, a letter to tell me how it made you feel and what you loved and hated.
I’ll allow myself this one cliche — you get out of this what you put into it. And I’m down to be all in. I want you to go there with me. So, take a look at my suggestions, and let me know which one you’re reading this summer. We’ll take it from there.
Madwoman
The cover of this book is mesmerizing. How great would it look on your bedside table? In your indie bookstore canvas tote? Poolside with a margarita?
That’s what first led me to pick this book up. I expected it to be literary fiction more than anything, maybe even a book of essays, but no! It sounds like a page-turning thriller set in the Pacific Northwest and I can’t wait to find out what Clove did that is worth burying and to watch it crack open her life. I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs.
The Gentleman from Peru
These two quotes told me everything I needed to know:
“Another masterful tale of longing and desire.' Glamour
'You don't so much read André Aciman's novels as tumble breathlessly into them.’ The Times
André Aciman is most famous for Call Me by Your Name (yes, the story popularized by the Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer adaptation) and it is truly one of the most moving books I’ve ever read. It rips your heart out and makes you nostalgic for an Italian summer you never had. Aciman has this incredible gift of crafting heartfelt relationships of every kind — and I’m excited to step into a world of his making once again.
One Golden Summer
Admittedly, this one is a bit of a cop out. I just finished reading this book and I loved every second of it. While it is technically a sequel to/spin-off of Every Summer After, you don’t have to read both. (Though I did in fact love both.)
It’s exactly what it says on the tin — our main character Ali (yep) is a photographer (hi!) who is burnt out and in need of an escape. So she decides to revisit the place where her love for photography started: the lake house where her grandma gave her her first camera. Naturally, there is an arrogant, self-obsessed heartthrob a few houses down that can’t leave her alone. It’s glorious.
Also I swear I didn’t know the main character had my name and profession before I started reading it.
If you buy one of the books, please (please, please, please) snap a pic and tag me in it. I want to see you enjoying these books as much as I hope I will. I’m always looking for more content to share on @books.and.brownstones and I hope to make this book club more of a part of that.
Until next time,
x Allie