Books I Read in JUNEAs usual, I am late getting this post up; but there were some good ones to share. It’s tough to say which was my favorite for the month, but if I picked one… I would say go read The Summer of Songbirds… before Summer is gone. It was a great, feel-good story.
OPEN an Autobiography by Andre Agassi
You probably need to be some type of tennis fan to want to read this, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am a sucker for a good memoir. It is a really well written story that started from when he was a young boy and goes through adult hood. There were plenty of new things that I learned about Andre and there were some things that I related to and recognized that he talked about from my young life as a competitive soccer player. There is a lot of tennis talk and recaps of matches, so if you’re not a tennis person, it may lose your interest. I listened to this one on audible and loved it.
My Review: ✮✮✮✮
Amazon Summary
Andre Agassi had his life mapped out for him before he left the crib. Groomed to be a tennis champion by his moody and demanding father, by the age of twenty-two Agassi had won the first of his eight grand slams and achieved wealth, celebrity, and the game’s highest honors. But as he reveals in this searching autobiography, off the court he was often unhappy and confused, unfulfilled by his great achievements in a sport he had come to resent.
Agassi writes candidly about his early success and his uncomfortable relationship with fame, his marriage to Brooke Shields, his growing interest in philanthropy, and—described in haunting, point-by-point detail—the highs and lows of his celebrated career.
My Review: ✮✮✮✮
I saw Natalie Mason (@snoopnattynat) share this on instagram and thought it would be interesting to read. I read this one on my kindle and found it pretty fascinating. I knew two of three the influencers that the author follows and reports on and she dives into the secretive and growing world of influencing. I think this one would be interesting to someone in the influencing world and not!
Amazon Summary
An unfiltered, colorful romp through the IRL world of influencers that spills the tea on the multibillion-dollar industry of content creation.
If you’re anything like journalist Stephanie McNeal—aka, a millennial woman—you spend hours every day indulging in Instagram’s infinite scroll. The influencers on the platform aren’t just providing eye candy; these tastemakers impact how we cook, consume, parent, decorate, think, and live. But what exactly is going on behind the curtain of the perfectly curated Instagram grids we obsess over the most?
Through intimate, funny, and vulnerable reporting, McNeal takes us through the looking glass and into the secretive real world of three major influencers: fashion and lifestyle juggernaut Caitlin Covington of Southern Curls & Pearls, runner and advocate Mirna Valerio, and OG “mommy blogger” Shannon Bird. Swipe Up For More! is based on three years of unprecedented, fly-on-the-wall access that offers a rare glimpse into how these influencers build their empires, struggle with the haters and snarkers, fight for creative control from the tech platforms that enable their businesses, parent in public, and try to look good while doing it.
Along the way, McNeal answers burning questions, like: Why are there so many Mormon mommy influencers? What is it like to work for a popular influencer? What do they do with all the free swag? How do brand partnerships work? And how much money do they really make?
Irresistible, juicy, and voyeuristic, Swipe Up For More! reveals all about the women some love to hate (and many actually, secretly, genuinely love).
My Review: ✮✮✮✮✮
Ohh I just loved this one so much. It was perfect timing for Summer as all the kids are heading to Summer camp and it brings back all the old memories. Kristy is such a talented writer and this heart felt story of three best friends is just what we all need to read this summer.
Amazon Summary
Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for, and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.
June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard things, from heartbreak and loss to substance abuse and unplanned pregnancy, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.
Lanier, meanwhile, is struggling with tough decisions of her own. After a run-in with an old flame, she is torn between the commitment she made to her fiancé and the one she made to her first love. And when a big secret comes to light, she finds herself at odds with her best friend…and risks losing the person she loves most.
But in spite of their personal problems, nothing is more important to these songbirds than Camp Holly Springs. When the women learn their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they band together to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.
From an author whose “writing coats your soul with heart” (E! Online), The Summer of Songbirds is a lyrical and unforgettable celebration of female friendship, summertime freedom, and enduring sisterhood—and a love letter to the places and people that make us who we are.
My Review: ✮✮✮✮
I always have to have a good thriller going. I listened to this book on audible and really loved it. It kept me guessing until the very end. Hannah is willing to potentially turn her entire life upside down to investigate who really killed her It-girl college roommate a decade ago.
Amazon Summary
April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the year, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.
Books I Read in JUNE
Books I Read in MAY
Books I Read in APRIL
Books I Read in MARCH
Books I Read in FEBRUARY
Books I Read in JANUARY
