A detailed look at last week’s reading habits: two new books read, one DNF, currently reading four books from my lengthy Up Next shelf, three new books I want to read which centre character development and antiracism and three coveted books releasing this week.
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My original plan was to add my Kindle book haul to my August Wrap but it just made the post way too long and convoluted. So, I’ve decided to post a separate book haul dedicated to all the books I’ve purchased as ebooks, which, for me, are Kindle books.
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Series: Standalone
Release Date: March 3, 2020
As freshmen at Cooper Union, Tess and Tazio were the ambitious, talented future of the art world—but by thirty-six, Tess is married to David, the mother of two young boys, and working as an understudy on Broadway. Kind and steady, David is everything Tess lacked in her own childhood—but a recent freak accident has left him with befuddling symptoms, and she’s still adjusting to her new role as caretaker.
Meanwhile, Tazio—who once had a knack for earning the kind of attention that Cooper Union students long for—has left the art world for a career in creative branding and politics. But in December 2016, fresh off the astonishing loss of his candidate, Tazio is adrift, and not even his gorgeous and accomplished fiancée, Angelica, seems able to get through to him. With tensions rising on the national stage, the four friends are forced to face the reality of their shared histories, especially a long-ago betrayal that has shaped every aspect of their friendship.
Elegant and perceptive, The Body Politic explores the meaning of commitment, the nature of forgiveness, the way that buried secrets will always find their way to the surface, and how all of it can shift—and eventually erupt—over the course of a life.
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
(more…)A detailed look at last week’s reading habits: three new books read, no DNF, no books knocked off my lengthy Up Next shelf, three new books I want to read which centre family issues and challenging family history and a reverse harem romance that’s releasing this week.
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A detailed look at August’s reading habits: 24 books read, 3 DNF, 6 books knocked off my lengthy Up Next shelf, 12 new books I want to read and a contemporary romance that released yesterday with my favourite hero trope, the grumpy hero (which I’ve already read).
(more…)A detailed look at last week’s reading habits: four new books read, one DNF, only one book knocked off my lengthy Up Next shelf, three new books I want to read which centre challenging the heteronormative patriarchy and a contemporary romance that’s releasing this week with my favourite hero trope, the grumpy hero.
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Series: Standalone
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Many predicted that pageants would disappear by the 21st century. Yet they are thriving. America’s most enduring contest, Miss America, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2020. Why do they persist? In Here She Is, Hilary Levey Friedman reveals the surprising ways pageants have been an empowering feminist tradition. She traces the role of pageants in many of the feminist movement’s signature achievements, including bringing women into the public sphere, helping them become leaders in business and politics, providing increased educational opportunities, and giving them a voice in the age of #MeToo.
Using her unique perspective as a NOW state president, daughter to Miss America 1970, sometimes pageant judge, and scholar, Friedman explores how pageants became so deeply embedded in American life from their origins as a P.T. Barnum spectacle at the birth of the suffrage movement, through Miss Universe’s bathing beauties to the talent- and achievement-based competitions of today. She looks at how pageantry has morphed into culture everywhere from The Bachelor and RuPaul’s Drag Race to cheer and specialized contests like those for children, Indigenous women, and contestants with disabilities. Friedman also acknowledges the damaging and unrealistic expectations pageants place on women in society and discusses the controversies, including Miss America’s ableist and racist history, Trump’s ownership of the Miss Universe Organization, and the death of the child pageant-winner JonBenét Ramsey.
Presenting a more complex narrative than what’s been previously portrayed, Here She Is shows that as American women continue to evolve, so too will beauty pageants.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Note: I received Here She Is through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to FSB Association for the opportunity.
(more…)A detailed look at last week’s reading habits: two books read, one from my Up Next shelf and one book DNF’d; three new books I want to read exploring everything from mental illness, sweeping romance and paranormal activity. The weekly wrap also unpacks three books I’m planning on reading this week, in-depth and a reverse harem romance that is releasing this week.
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My first ever book haul is covering three months of book purchases! To ensure the post doesn’t go on forever I’m going to split my hard copy and kindle purchases between this post and my August monthly wrap. In this haul, I am featuring all of the books I’ve purchased in hard copy!
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Series: Standalone
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.
His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.
With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right?
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars
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