Does anyone else get these pop-ups all the time? I'm tempted to sign up every time because it is reasonably priced, I love getting mail, and it comes with a free tote bag! And sunglasses. Instead of pulling the trigger and handing over my credit card I decided to investigate library availability and get my name on the list for their July selections. Not to say that one day a BOTM subscription won’t win me over.
Missing, Presumed by Susan Steiner
- On order at APL but you can put your name on the list already
- Abstract not available yet at APL but it’s a detective mystery about a missing graduate student in England and the policewoman searching for her. They suggest that if you like Broadchurch, Kate Atkinson, or Tana French, you'll like this. You can read more on Amazon.
The Girls by Emma Cline
- APL Abstract: Mesmerized by a band of girls in the park whom she perceives as enjoying a life of free and careless abandon, 1960s teen Evie Boyd becomes obsessed with gaining acceptance into their circle. Evie, grateful for their charismatic leader's attention, the sense of family the group offers, and the assurance of the girls, is swept into their chaotic cult existence. As things turn darker, her choices become riskier. A wonderfully written debut novel about the harm we can do, to ourselves and others, in our hunger for belonging and acceptance. -- adapted from NoveList and Publishers Weekly.
- I'm currently reading this and the writing is so good that I'm really taking my time. Also, it's creepy and the way she is weaving that damp, uncomfortable humidity that I associate with Northern California into the writing already has got me hooked.
Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam
- APL Abstract: This irresistible debut, set in contemporary New York, provides a sharp, insightful look into how the relationship between two best friends changes when they are no longer coming of age but learning how to live adult lives. As close as sisters for twenty years, Sarah and Lauren have been together through high school and college, first jobs and first loves, the uncertainties of their twenties and the realities of their thirties.Sarah, the only child of a prominent intellectual and a socialite, works at a charity and is methodically planning her wedding. Lauren beautiful, independent, and unpredictable is single and working in publishing, deflecting her parents worries and questions about her life and future by trying not to think about it herself. Each woman envies and is horrified by particular aspects of the other s life, topics of conversation they avoid with masterful linguistic pirouettes.Once, Sarah and Lauren were inseparable; for a long a time now, they've been apart. Can two women who rarely see one other, selectively share secrets, and lead different lives still call themselves best friends? Is it their abiding connection or just force of habit that keeps them together?With impeccable style, biting humor, and a keen sense of detail, Rumaan Alam deftly explores how the attachments we form in childhood shift as we adapt to our adult lives and how the bonds of friendship endure, even when our paths diverge
There are two more books among the selections but these are the three I was most interested in. I only read one of the June selections: Modern Lovers by Emma Straub. It was really enjoyable. I have been reading a lot of period mysteries (England, 1930s and 1940s) so it was different to read something set in modern times that engaged with things like hashtags, the legacy of college friends, and the role of media in our lives. I enjoyed it so much that I also read another of her books, The Vacationers, while in Vancouver.
The Vacationers is available in both hard and digital copies from APL. Same goes for Modern Lovers.
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