What I’ve Read: HRC by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes -...

What I’ve Read:

• HRC by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes - This dense, comprehensive book about Hillary Clinton’s political comeback after her loss to President Obama in the 2008 primaries is fascinating. It’s not exactly a fast read: There are so many small player political names mentioned that it’s hard keeping them straight. Still worth the read, especially if you’d like some context about how/why a 2016 presidential run could happen. (Probably will happen.) (Almost assuredly is going to happen.)
• Dare Me by Megan Abbott - I read an interview where another author recommended this book and described it as “cheerleaders meet Macbeth” and I was like YEP GOING TO READ THAT. And I did. I read it in a day. This book is the juiciest. It’s dark and twisted and set against hair bows and back handsprings and sex and love. This is the beach or vacation book I will be recommending all summer. It’s so good, and I knew that as I was reading it, but I turned the last page and then it hit me—how insanely great it was and how I haven’t really read anything like it before. “But there are a million books about teenage drama and cheerleaders,” you say. Not like this. Trust me.
• The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon - Set in the 1930’s, this novel imagines what might have happened in the real-life mysterious disappearance of New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Crater. It’s all speakeasies and gangsters and showgirls and it is fabulous. It’s one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read in a while. There are a few twists that I absolutely did not see coming. I LOVE that.
• Bury This by Andrea Portes - So! This was an interesting read. It didn’t grab me right off the bat (a bit strange since the premise is an unsolved murder mystery and you know I love those), but once it got going, it went. Fast. The characterization makes this book, which is made more impressive by the fact that there is no main character. Every player (male or female) seems equally large and important and that is no small feat. There are no clear cut villains or heroes either: they’re just seemingly regular people with messy lives. (Some of that messiness is hard to forget.) Really good book. I was surprisingly moved by it.
• Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup - I waited to watch the movie until I’d had a chance to read the book and I’m glad I did that. This is a book I can barely find the words to describe. It is heart-breaking and completely arresting. It’s been over 150 years since it was first published and the emotions still jump off the page so vividly. It’s hard to explain the visceral reactions I had to the book. I don’t think I have the ability to put them into words. (Nor do I want to, really.) Suffice it to say that I am glad I read this before watching the movie. It brought additional context and emotional heft to the scenes on screen. If you have not read it yet, please do. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, wait until you’ve read the book.

Have you read any of these? I’ve been adding lots of new books to my list: What are you reading now?