Recent Reading

I've been slacking in terms of talking about what I've been reading. Partly this is because I've been reading more slowly than usual lately--but that's what summer is for, right? Slowing down and embracing the lazy a little?

Anyway, here's what I've pulled from my shelves in the past month or so:

(Goodreads)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer: I love unreliable narrators, so naturally I devoured Mara's story. How genius was it to set a creepy, psychological thriller in sunny Miami? Sidenote: Between this and Dexter, I have a feeling that my perspective on Miami is getting pretty skewed.

(Goodreads)

How Should a Person Be?: Here's a description from Goodreads:
A raw, startling, genre-defying novel of friendship, sex, and love in the new millennium—a compulsive read that's like "spending a day with your new best friend" (Bookforum)
Reeling from a failed marriage, Sheila, a twentysomething playwright, finds herself unsure of how to live and create. When Margaux, a talented painter and free spirit, and Israel, a sexy and depraved artist, enter her life, Sheila hopes that through close—sometimes too close—observation of her new friend, her new lover, and herself, she might regain her footing in art and life.Using transcribed conversations, real emails, plus heavy doses of fiction, the brilliant and always innovative Sheila Heti crafts a work that is part literary novel, part self-help manual, and part bawdy confessional. It's a totally shameless and dynamic exploration into the way we live now, which breathes fresh wisdom into the eternal questions: What is the sincerest way to love? What kind of person should you be? 
Being a (very) late twentysomething, I started reading this with a huge chip on my shoulder. I thought it sounded kind of . . . narcissistic. And it was, but to my surprise, I really enjoyed reading it. I don't think I identified with much of the narrator's specific experience; but I can relate to the twentysomething struggle to figure out identity and authenticity and, well, how you as a person should be.

(Goodreads)

Laura Rider's Masterpiece: I have a soft spot for fiction about writers and the creative process; call me meta. This was a deceptively light farce about a novice romance author who engineers an affair between her husband and her hero. The tone was a perfect blend of light and literary.

(Goodreads)

Audrey, Wait!: The voice, the voice, the voice! Audrey's smart, sarcastic, and extremely funny voice, along with her music obsession and the great supporting characters, made this a fun and fresh contemporary one of my recent YA faves.


What have you read lately?

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