The Reading List: Jen's Beach Reads
For 2021, I’m attempting (a probably impossible) 100-books-in-a-year challenge. I’m already 9 books behind schedule and probably should have done this DURING the pandemic instead of after, but what can ya do? In doing the challenge, I’m trying to read a ton of books across different genres and can say with some confidence that you’ll like at least one of the books I’m going to recommend for beach reads this summer. Without further ado, take a gander…
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The Girl With The Louding Voice
I loved this quick read about a girl in Nigeria finding her way out of an arrange child marriage and then out of indentured slavery. Through the novel as the main character learns English, the voice and words change, which I loved. There are also incredible facts about Nigeria sprinkled throughout the pages that made me want to know more about the country and its history.
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Untamed
I think by now, most white women have read Glennon Doyle’s memoir about becoming herself, coming out of the closet, and finding her “true voice,” but that doesn’t make it any less of a good beach read.
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How Much of These Hills Is Gold
I got very into this novel about two young Chinese kids struggling to survive and find what they call “home” in the wild west during the American Gold Rush era. This one also took me on a deep dive of the history of Asian people in the United States and how the west was settled. I wouldn’t say its a pick-me-up kind of book, but it is incredibly engaging, and reading it outside in the heat and sand will only give you a more visceral experience.
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The Death Of Vivek Oji
After reading The Girl With The Louding Voice, I wanted to read more authors from Africa. I came across Akwaeke Emezi and have been gobbling up their books whenever I find the time. This novel about growing up in Nigeria, experiencing loss and what it means to be a human in a body really stuck with me. Their other book, Freshwater, is also a must read.
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The Vanishing Half
Sooooo many people recommended this book to me and it did not disappoint. The novel follows two sisters as they experience life — one passing as a white woman and one embracing her Blackness. It’s a story that dives into the history of race in the south, but also race and gender in the present and what it means to belong.
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The Sympathizer
Before reading this book, I didn’t know much about the Vietnam War except that many people in the United States thought it was wrong. This story examines two sides of the war — from the Viet Cong to the U.S. Army through a main character who has to play both sides as a spy. I was gripped by the descriptions of Vietnam before and after the war and was so invested in the main character that I wanted to talk with him after the ending. Good news for me -- there’s a sequel (that I did eventually read called The Committed, also great).
What are you reading this summer?
-Jen
