reading recap: august.

Can I be honest for a second and say that August is pretty much my least favorite month of the year? The books I managed to finish provided a few bright spots.

Book: Faithful Place
Finished: Early August

I finished this book so quickly that I almost left it off this list, forgetting I turned its last page early in August. Tana French is one of my favorite mystery/suspense writers (read my brief review of The Likeness here); I own and loved her previous two novels, recommending them to friends and family (with a warning that strong language is included). Faithful Place delivers the same type of drama I'm accustomed to from French, but it wasn't nearly as edge-of-your-seat suspenseful as her other two works. I also just wasn't as invested in Frank Mackey's story as I had been with the other characters in In the Woods and The Likeness, so I felt like I kind of had to drag through portions of the story. (If you read French's books, you'll recognize that she reuses characters from her other books, something that I really appreciate. Typically, it makes me care a lot more about the characters than I might otherwise. I feel like I have a dog in the fight, so the mystery and action become even more intense.) Faithful Place wasn't my favorite of French's novels, but I still think it's worth reading. I consider her books to be a step above a lot of other mystery/suspense novels, and Faithful Place is no exception to that.

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Book: Waiter Rant

Finished: Mid-August

Like I mentioned in my last set of reviews, I've found myself being drawn toward these food memoirs lately, and even though Waiter Rant is ancient history to some (the author's since written a sequel), I decided to pick up a copy before Borders closed its doors forever. Again, this wasn't much of a page turner; I read it rather slowly, not necessarily for lack of interest, but because it's a book that kind of lends itself to being put down and picked back up again. Although I was appalled at some of the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that occurred in the restaurant Steve Dublanica described, most of the goings-on weren't all that shocking. I think we all kind of know what's going on behind the scenes; we just pretend not to for the sake of our stomachs. And while I didn't always find Dublanica likable, he certainly is an able writer. I enjoyed his take on the restaurant business; I even found myself whispering little tidbits of "insider" information to Jordan when went out to some of our favorite dining establishments. Waiter Rant is a fun read, and it's changed the way I look at restaurant servers (and, as a result, changed the way I tip).

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Book: Swamplandia!

Finished: Mid-August

I'd heard good things about this book but probably never would have picked it up on my own. Instead, a coworker lent me her copy, and although I didn't devour it like I thought I would, I did enjoy Karen Russell's writing style and the quirky and slightly-dysfunctional Bigtree family. The narration of the story begins with Ava, the youngest Bigtree and a beginning alligator wrestler who's devastated when her family's tourist attraction, Swamplandia!, begins to go under. The remainder of the book wavers between Ava's first person narrative and her older brother Kiwi's adventures, told in third person, which I found rather odd. I think I would have preferred the book to be entirely Ava's voice or entirely third person. The story itself is also rather strange, and in parts of the book, that strange feeling becomes wonderful, and in other parts, it's just plain weird. (Props to Russell, though, for writing a book that -- minus a couple of scenes --  I found entirely original.) I did really love Ava, and I wanted so badly for her family to have a happy ending. Swamplandia! also opened my eyes to such a unique part of Florida's culture, and I learned a lot of history about the native Americans who first inhabited our land. (P.S. After finishing Swamplandia!, I've watched an inordinate amount of Swamp People on Netflix. You've been warned.)

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Book: Maine
Finished: Late August

Maine came highly recommended by a few bloggers, but I was a little deterred by the cover. (I know, I know.) I like the occasional piece of "chick lit," but that's not what I was looking for in Maine. And guess what? Despite the cover, that's not what I found. Instead, I discovered a really delightful take on three generation of women as their stories weave in and out during their overlapping visits to the family summer cottage in Maine. I found myself becoming really attached to each of the characters, in spite of their very worst characteristics, which are definitely on display. I've never read any of J. Courtney Sullivan's other works, but I enjoyed how she told the story of the Kelleher family from four varying perspectives. I finished this one in a couple of days, and as I got nearer and nearer the end, I got more and more frantic. I just didn't understand how Sullivan was going to wrap it all up in a few short pages! I found myself laughing and wincing at varying points in the novel, and I can't really decide what I loved more: the heartbreaking tales of a flawed family, or the dreams I now have of my own cottage by the sea.

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Book: Cinderella Ate My Daughter

Finished: Late August

I was inspired to read Cinderella Ate My Daughter after reading this article on how to talk to little girls, originally published in the Huffington Post, though I think I may have found it via Joanna. Anyway, I think you know by now that I think a lot about how the world and the church treat our girls: the younger ones and the older ones. Cinderella Ate My Daughter offers some pretty valuable insight. Don't get me wrong: I played "Pretty, Pretty Princess" and watched Beauty and the Beast just like any other little girl. My bedroom was pink until I was 12 years old. But Peggy Orenstein offers some interesting -- and sometimes devastating -- information about how girls today are being raised and the obstacles they face as a result of this "girlie girl" culture and its underlying messages. I loved what Orenstein had to say about American Girl dolls (I was an American Girl doll aficionado back in the day -- no worries, my grandma sewed most of the clothes, and my uncle made my doll furniture), and her chapter on little girl beauty pageants was especially eye-opening. I'd really recommend this books to moms, youth workers, and teachers. Read with an open mind; I didn't agree with everything Orenstein said, and some of her conclusions are different from the ones I might have reached given the same information. But, overall, I found the book to be fascinating and enlightening; it really made me think, and was the catalyst for some great discussions I had with both family and friends. Orenstein turned what could have been yet another mundane study of girl culture into a page turner. I finished this one in just a couple of days.