book worm: quarter two

1. North Woods by Daniel Mason

2. Felicity by Mary Oliver

3. Norma Jeane Baker of Troy by Anne Carson

4. Meridian by Alice Walker

5. Famesick by Lena Dunham

6. Talk by Linda Rosenkrantz

7. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Halfway through 2026...barf! I always think of time going by quickly as a good thing, since, as they say, time flies when you are having fun! But with the start of school, it is clear that time flies even when you spend 12 hours bent over a desk, drawing tetahedrals and pretending you still remember the difference between polar and covalent bonds. So clearly time flies, period. As you can imagine, much of my reading time is being swallowed up by much more academic endeavors nowadays. Regardless, I have words to write, things to share, and if I don't, who will? There is only one me!

Due to the short reading list, let's keep it to a top two:

In second place, Talk by Linda Rosenkratz. This book is just completely up my alley, and I literally found it in an alley! Ok fine, no, not really; but it was found in a cardboard box on a sidewalk in South Park, that I serendipitously happened to be walking along one morning. The author brings her tape recorder along as she and two friends summer in the East Hamptons in 1965, and what is born of that endeavor is Talk. A book composed entirely of dialogue among three artist friends, as they think, analyze, regurgitate, gossip, and more on the endless topics friends always seem to cover: ex-lovers, trauma, sex, families, drugs, self-analysis, food, etc. At times it felt overly eccentric or detached from reality, but at most other times, it felt like listening in on conversations between my own friends and me. My idea of a perfect beach read, as in, you should read this on the beach!

An obvious first place to the queen herself, Lena Dunham, and her companion of a book, Famesick! God, where do I start? I always love a memoir, and listening to her narrate it in her familiar voice was the best treat. Girls (her show for those that don't know) was my best friend at the beginning of my year in Australia, when I knew no one and everyone I loved was time zones away. Girls was my escape into a life I knew very well, but wasn't currently living. It found me at the perfect time, and Lena imprinted (ps I love Twilight) on me from the very first episode. Her abilities as an artist are apparent and inspiring, but what I love most about her is her brutal honesty and self-awareness (as much as any one person can truly be), which she storytells in the most hilarious and disarming way. This book fed me for three short weeks and was totally enthralling. Finishing it felt like saying goodbye to your long-distance bestie as you drop them off at the airport, but of course pre-internet, when you wouldn't talk to them for days, weeks, who knows when next! OKAY! I am making all of this up again as I am a post-internet baby, but that is how it felt, so is it really made up? Anyways, do yourself a favor, and read this, then watch Girls. Or vice versa. Whatever you do, consume her genius-ness in all its flavors.

Happy Reading, Friends <3