#kate bolick
Nine Books I Want You to Read This Summer
If you haven’t read these books yet, you need to, and you need to do it soon. These are some of my favorite books by women about women that I’ve read over the last year or so, and they’re the ones that have stuck with me. I firmly recommend all of these, in no particular order.
A contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre set in NYC in 2001, Re Jane follows the titular character through not only her recognizable past but through a new future that tackles extended family relationships as well as contemporary woman- and adulthood.
The Girls from Corona del Mar, Rufi Thorpe
Rufi Thorpe’s debut novel is out in paperback this summer, following the lives of Mia and Lorrie Ann, childhood friends whose stories diverge and meet again over the course of what feels like a young lifetime. As both women struggle with bringing family baggage into their adult lives, they learn what the reality of adult friendship can be.
After her father died, Charley Bordelonfound she’d inherited a sugar cane farm in rural Louisiana, so she packed up her life and her daughter to move from Los Angeles to reunite with her childhood family and friends. As she learns, moving back home after many years comes with its own challenges, not limited to the struggle she faces on the farm.
The second book in Tana French’s tenuously-linked Dublin Murder Squad series, The Likeness follows Det. Cassie Maddox as she revisits her Undercover days after the body of a young woman is found, with her former false identity - and a practically identical face. Cassie finds herself deep undercover after taking back on the identity, trying to determine who the killer is without finding herself in trouble.
Based on Bolick’s widely-publicized Atlantic article, Spinster is a non-fiction exploration of not only what it means to be a single woman in the 21st century but how women push to distinguish themselves in careers, particularly as writers. She ties in the stories of well-known “spinster” women writers from the last few centuries, giving historical context to what turns out to be a not-so-new struggle.
The Gracekeepers, Kirsty Logan
Inspired in part by Scottish myth, Kirsty Logan’s ethereal debut tells the alternating stories of North, who travels with a floating circus, and Callanish, a gracekeeper who presides over a watery cemetery. As circumstance brings them together, both young women wonder if they’re really satisfied with where their lives have taken them thus far.
Charlie Wong is a young dishwasher in Chinatown who dreams of a life that will let her see the rest of the world, or, at least, the rest of New York City. When she gets a receptionist job at a dance studio uptown, she gains confidence in herself, but as her mother’s talent as a ballerina comes out in her own life, Charlie must learn how to balance the two halves of her life.
Roxane Gay’s debut novel follows Mireille, visiting her Haitian family with her husband and young son. When Miri is kidnapped for ransom and her father refuses to pay, she is subjected to the brutalities of captivity and must rely on herself to survive. Not for the faint of heart, An Untamed State is a gut-wrenching insight into an infrequently-mentioned topic.
Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
Celeste Ng’s debut novel begins with the death of teenager Lydia Lee in 1970s Ohio, and unravels a story of what happened to her and how her family deals with it. This is the story of a mixed-race family with some secrets laid bare and some secrets still to come.
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On sale 4/19/16
Some books I have LOVED reading that are on sale TODAY, 4/19.
- Eligible - Curtis Sittenfeld:This update to Pride and Prejudice nails every beat by smashing up the story and putting it back together. Set in Cincinnati, the book includes a Bachelor-style TV show, Crossfit, family barbecues, and more, all with the wit and love of the original.
- The Darkest Corners - Kara Thomas: A YA novel with a true-crime feeling about a teenage girl missing in a small town where a serial killer roamed ten years ago - and may be back now. The problem with this is that someone was jailed for this last time it happened, and Tessa Lowell’s childhood account was part of the crucial testimony to put him behind bars. More than a “lost girl” thriller, this is about the aftermath of a serial killer on a small town, the story of what life looks like ten years later, and the dark suspicion that maybe not everything was wrapped up as neatly as hoped for a decade ago.
- Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here - Anna Breslaw: Independent and caustic Scarlett is a staple in the fandom of her favorite TV show, and when it gets canceled, the Internet - and Scarlett - goes into a tailspin of what-to-do-next. This nails contemporary fandom without being condescending or unrealistic. If you liked Fangirl, you’ll love this.
New in paperback:
- Spinster - Kate Bolick: Bolick’s memoir-cum-deep dive into historical spinsterdom covers her own life as an unmarried woman and weaves into the narrative the lives of women writers considered “spinsters”. A real examination of the word and its history, as well as why we focus on marriage instead of what women can accomplish alone.
- Re Jane - Patricia Park:Inspired by Jane Eyre, this contemporary Korean-American novel set in NYC tells the story of Jane, whose story is loosely based on the classic. Breaking the mold works here, too, as Park examines the story through a contemporary lens.
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(via30 Best Pop Culture Spinsters – Flavorwire)
flavorwire‘s list of the “30 Best Pop Culture Spinsters” is excellent for two reasons: 1. It references Sabrina the Teenage Witch; and 2. It has us very excited for tonight’s event withSpinster author Kate Bolick.
Tickets are still available for the 7:00 pm event.
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As wedding season approaches, three leading ladies coming to Sixth & I are re-defining how we look at love.
washingtonpost wedding reporter Ellen McCarthy has watched over 200 couples tie the knot and now she’s sharing what she’s learned about marriage, relationships, and love. On Wednesday, April 22 at 7:00 pm, McCarthy discusses her book, The Real Thing: Lessons on Love and Life from a Wedding Reporter’s Notebook, in conversation with Sixth & I’s Rabbi Shira Stutman (who officiated McCarthy’s wedding).
Following her much-publicized 2011 Atlantic cover story, “All the Single Ladies,” journalist Kate Bolick makes the case for singledom in Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own. She discusses one of Flavorwire’s “10 Books That Will Define the Conversation in 2015” with Atlantic editor Scott Stossel on Monday, April 27 at 7:00 pm.
Finally on Monday, May 4 at 7:00 pm, actress, activist, and mother Maria Bello, best known for her roles in ER and Coyote Ugly, continues the conversation sparked by her New York Times Modern Love column with the column’s editor, Daniel Jones. They will discuss her forthcoming memoir, Whatever…Love Is Love: Questioning the Labels We Give Ourselves.
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