FRIDAY BOOK DEBRIEF VOL 02

Every week we’re sharing what our writers are currently reading. Please join in the chorus and tell us what you’ve been enjoying or slogging through in the comments!

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides - Karla

This week I’m rereading what is probably my favorite book and definitely my most read book. I always love getting lost in the hazy, dreamlike world Eugenides creates within the pages of this book.

Buy it here.

Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas - Maggie

At sixteen trying to get a drivers license, Jose Antonio Vargas discoverers his life has been a lie and that his grandparents smuggled him into America from the Philippines. This is a captivating memoir detailing archaic immigration policy, the anxieties and fears surrounding your immigration status you had no control over, and trying to blossom as the world is trying to hold you in hiding.

Buy it here.

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner - Melissa

Jennifer Weiner never disappoints with each unique voice of her main characters, and Cannie Shapiro is no excuse. She's a plus-sized writer who struggles with her weight; the line that's been stuck in my head for the last few days because it made me laugh out loud is, "Do I have rickets? Oh, God, please not rickets. I don't think I can stand being fat and bowlegged."

Buy it here.

My Time Among the Whites by Jennine CapÓ Crucet - Marian

Capó Crucet, in this collection of memoir essays, is at one turn bitingly hilarious and at another seriously ruminating on themes such as assimilation, racism, and first-generation college experiences. Don’t let the humor detract from meaningful insight into the state of 21st century race relations in America, however.

Buy it here.

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy - Michaela

Diving head first into my first Levy and I don't want to come up for air. Halfway in and I'm not quite sure what path I'm being lead down but I'm wholeheartedly following this lyrical prose.

Buy it here.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey - Nikki

I picked this one up thanks to its comparisons to Lev Grossman's The Magicians trilogy (which you should bump to the top of your list if you haven't already read). Magic, murder, sibling rivalry: I'm only 60 pages in, but so far it's got all the ingredients for success!

Buy it here.

The Riverman by Alex Gray - Seonaid

Getting a little hometown buzz alongside a crime thriller! Fourth in a series, Gray presents another classic 'who-dun-it' all the while evoking Glasgow's vibe beautifully!

Buy it here.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

- Mel

I have yet to read her story collection (didn’t want it to be over!!) and I’m glad I’ve started with her memoir instead. I knew I’d appreciate her style—gut-wrenching and smart and honest, but I’m also loving the short chapter format in Dream House as she takes each vignette and slowly reveals, piece by piece, the secrets within her past.

Buy it here.

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Lucy

This book is a memoir about a fictional seventies rock band, and I was reluctant to pick it up at first because I thought it would be dry and slow. I was pleasantly surprised to find it instantly engaging and I've been unable to put it down since!

Buy it here.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo - Courtney

I simply couldn't resist continuing this duology. Trying to squeeze my last #nomennovember read in before what I have planned in December.

Buy it here.

How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell - Jessica

Would not be surprised if Ottessa Moshfegh read this and based the narrator of My Year of Rest & Relaxation on Cat. This memoir about the infamous pill-popping magazine writer is expectedly wild, and the audiobook is read by the author in her blasé style—I can be found laughing out loud on my daily drives to work this week.

Buy it here.