May was a month of re-reading, nothing in my to-be-read pile was inspiring me or wanting to be read. There’s also something so comforting about reading a book that you are familiar with, revisiting a story you know the ending to. It’s probably something to similar to how people on the internet say that psychologists say that people with anxiety re-watch tv shows because knowing the ending soothes the anxiety.
This is my ultimate comfort re-read. I got it from one of my Mum’s friends for my 7th birthday, so if you’re doing math, I have had this book for 20 years. It has moved country with me, it has survived a tornado, it has been read by every member of my family, and it shows it. But I just love this cover art. The book itself is also my favourite Harry Potter story. The discovery of magic, who he is, his family, learning about friendship.
My favourite thing about this series is how it grows with the characters and the audience. This book is very much a children’s book but then as you move through the themes become more adult without ever abandoning the central ideas of chosen family and love always being the most powerful force in life.
Also, just a note that you can still enjoy something that provided you with joy and happiness even if the author turned out to be a terrible, hateful TERF. Trans women are women (and they should be able to play women’s sport!).
I love this book. I bought it last summer, I think because I saw it on Grace Atwood or Becca Freeman’s instagram and I did NOT know that it was a murder mystery. This book took me for a ride. It is such a good summer read, and I love that we are finally starting to get some body positivity in our beach reads!
This was in a similar vein, in the body-positivity, summer/beach read genre. In this, the main character, a body positive influencer, drunkenly writes a blog post denigrating the lack of diversity on a The Bachelor/The Bachelorette style show, called Main Squeeze. As a result she gets lots of praise and flack on the internet, and gets asked to be the next Main Squeeze. She starts off doing it for her career, but as could be expected, emotion gets involved.
In addition to the body positivity angle, there is LGBTQ representation in the best friend and one of the final four contestants ends up coming out as aromantic during the show.
There is so much that is a straight up carbon copy of The Bachelor. The network is called ABS, the initials of the sexist founding producer are MF (clearly an allusion to Mike Fleiss), the dates are extravagant, the final four do hometown dates, the final three do overnights, the only real differences are the plus size lead and they meet her parents in like week 2 rather than in the final two.
I think I may buy some new books for the first time in months, I only have non-fiction in my TBR pile and lord knows I’m only capable of reading one of those a month. AND there are so many great books coming out at the moment for summer reading!
What are you reading this summer?
Laura
Thoughtful Millennial 