Tag: summer reading

Another Birthday and What I’m Looking Into for Fall

Published on by Christine Gabriélle2 Comments

It has been a marvelous 5 days, but today marks my return to work. My birthday was Thursday (hello 33) so I took a couple days off (plus the holiday made 5). I’m usually really excited about my birthday and make plans to do something special, but the way this year started and the way August went, had me in a state of uncertainty and stress.

I spent most of my time with my mom. We rarely have the same days off, so it was nice to hang out with her. We went furniture shopping, watched a lot of TV, and cooked. I spent yesterday in bed in my pajamas. I watched movies, created an entirely new set of business paperstuff for my cousin (FB cover, IG post, business card, and collection price tags and social media signs for her table when she does popups), researched new doctors (primary and gyno), and generally just relaxed.

I officially finished Hunger and started Long Division yesterday as well.

Oh! And the book cover is in its final edits too. I can’t wait for you all to see it! That was a lovely birthday surprise as well since we’d gone through a few rounds of “No, I don’t like that.”

Overall, it was a fairly productive and relaxing weekend. I’m hoping and praying that my workday will be kind to me. I really don’t want to go back today (or any day?). Having a few days in a row when you’re not in a constant state of stress will spoil a person.

Despite the pumpkin spice everything all over the place, SUMMER IS NOT OVER YET! I still have a couple weeks to finish my last summer read. However, I am going to grab my fall reads this week.

I don’t read a lot of Christian books, but I’m really interested in picking up Holier Than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry. I follow Jackie on Instagram and I like the way she speaks. She’s funny in general conversation and powerful when she’s speaking about God. The tone of her voice also makes me enjoy listening to her speak. Holier Than Thou seems warm and powerful and fitting for fall, and I think it’ll be nice devotional time reading.

I was also recommended a few books on slowing down, so I’m looking at An Unhurried Life, Drawing Near, and The Reset for fall as well. Not all three, though. I like to indulge in my books slowly so I don’t miss what’s happening. Also, I’m working two jobs for the next few months and preparing to release my book in early November, so there’s not going to be a whole lot of time for reading. I’m looking forward to December when things slow back down, but I’m going to enjoy the next few months (claiming it).

I can’t wait to see what Long Division has for me. I already love the way it’s designed. The cover is so soft! I’ll let you know at the end of the month how I like it.

Until then…

Happy Reading!

♥

Next Up… Hunger

Published on by Christine GabriélleLeave a comment

Now that I’ve finally finished the first book on my summer reading list, I get to dig back in to Roxane Gay. I’ve been intrigued by her work since reading Difficult Women, and reading Ayiti earlier this year further encouraged me to read more of her work, so here we are at Hunger.

Hunger is a memoir about Gay’s body. As a woman who has been overweight my entire life, I was excited to pick up this book. Now, I don’t know what conversations are to be had in this memoir, and I surely won’t relate to them all because everyone’s experiences are different, but I’m interested in having those conversations. I’m also interested in how this may inspire me to write about my own body (right now, I don’t feel like I have anything to say).

You already know I’ll come back once I’ve finished this read and discuss my thoughts. I know it’s good if I finish quickly, but I don’t want to rush through it.

Happy Reading!

♥

Terry McMillan: I Almost Forgot About You

Published on by Christine GabriélleLeave a comment

First, I’m only halfway through this book. Second, the characters are a bit older than I’d anticipated. Third, I really can’t stand the way these friends speak to each other most times.

I Almost Forgot About You is the story of a woman, Georgia, who is going through a life change. We’re not going to call it a midlife crisis. She wants to quit her practice (Optometry), sell her house, and go on a long train ride. She also decides, after a run-in with an old boyfriend’s daughter (and finding out he died), she wants to look up all her past loves and see how they are doing.

I initially thought this would be a great summer read. I thought it would be flirty, exciting, you know… summery. And I’m not saying I’m not thoroughly interested in the storyline, it’s just a little more subdued (so far) than I thought it would be, and that’s mostly because the main characters are in their 50’s. These are mature women with husbands (and/or ex-husbands) and grown children, some of whom have children of their own and others who are working on it. Everyone around her is going through something—one daughter is going through something financial and the other is having boyfriend drama, one of her friends is moving out of the cold with her husband and the other is on the verge of losing her entire career as well as her houseboat.

I don’t know if women in their 50’s generally speak to each other the way Georgia and her friends Wanda and Violet speak to each other, but it annoys me. Every conversation feels a little contentious, especially with Violet. They constantly sound annoyed with each other, even when they are teasing each other in a playful way. I find myself wondering why they are even friends. I was highly annoyed when Wanda tried to set Georgia up with an old “friend” of her husband’s that neither she nor her husband actually liked! Like, why would you bother setting your friend up with someone who was not a nice person? I was also highly annoyed when Violet asked Georgia for ten grand because she got herself in trouble and was about to no longer be able to practice law.

Georgia is really only looking to catch up with her top five exs, but along the way there are some other men from her past (many of whom she doesn’t even remember at first) who come across her path. She has strained relationships with her ex-husbands, so she’s not necessarily checking for them, but she does have to deal with them. She meets new men in the process as well, though not all of them have good personalities.

It’s been a slow read so far. Steady, interesting, but not something I can’t put down. I still intend to get all three of my summer reading books done by the end of summer (September 20-something). Between work (and finding new work) and book publishing, I just have to split my time into smaller pieces. If this book gets really exciting or ends in an interesting way, I’ll come back and update you. Otherwise, I just want to see what happens with Georgia and her men.

Happy Reading!

♥