Please enjoy this monthly round up of the books I’ve read, the music I’ve listened to, the podcasts I’ve binged, and a few other things I’m loving.
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I read a lot of books in May. Motherhood Discounted: Care Work in America Before and After Roe by Carolyn McConnell, Medusa by Jessie Burton, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian, and the Ex-Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon.
I interviewed Carolyn McConnell after reading her fantastic book, Motherhood Discounted: Care Work in America Before and After Roe. It’s deeply insightful and gave me a new awareness of the value of dependency, particularly through the lens of motherhood, capitalism, and raising children.
As a culture, we tend to dismiss dependency, even outright suggest dependency is a problem and something to avoid. Independence is prized as part of the American Dream and an indication of success. And yet, as McConnell writes, “To see women as fully human requires seeing dependency as an essential part of the human condition. This is the great unfinished business of feminism: As long as we devalue dependency work, women will never achieve equality.”
You can read my full interview with her here. I highly recommend buying her book and maybe getting one for a friend, too. I learned so much from reading her book, as well as in my chat with her.
*****
I bought Medusa years ago from one of my favorite DC bookstores and then proceeded to let it sit on my shelf for too long. I love a good retelling and this is an interesting one. We meet Medusa as the young girl she is, post-transformation. But we also learn her story. How she came to be a gorgon, instead of a girl. We learn why she lives on this desolate island with her 2 immortal sisters. We watch her fall in love for the first and possibly the last time.
This is short book—it’s just over 200 pages—but it was not a quick read for me. I lingered with this one. There is something about the way Burton wrote her. Medusa is both innocent and violated, so that her voice sounds young but also holds a deep knowing and pain and grief. This is a distinctly feminist vision of Medusa. The gods may have punished her but she refuses to be their victim or to take the blame they put on her.
It’s far more satisfying than most accounts of her myth in which she is portrayed as purely monstrous. In this book, she’s not even out of her teens. She’s a child, which absolutely changes the narrative.
If you enjoy Greek myths reimagined, you’ll enjoy Medusa.
*****
I am a Tia Williams fan and Seven Days in June met all of my expectations and more. That’s in spite of the fact that this is a second chance romance, which are not usually my thing.
Eva Mercy is our heroine and she is a black romantasy author who modeled the main characters of her best selling book series on herself and the boy who broke her heart when she was 18. Eva is a single mom (of an incredibly savvy, self-aware 12 year old) and she has a book to write, but she is out of ideas and plagued by intense, chronic migraines (which she has suffered since childhood) that require intense intervention.
Shane Hall, the boy who broke her teenage heart, is also a celebrated author and he has also worked Eva into the novels that have propelled him into being a literary darling. He and Eva reconnect when he shows up at a panel discussion with black authors. The sparks are still there and they reignite the flame in some really hot, spicy ways.
But of course it’s not that simple. They have to contend with their past and what tore them apart, as well as their potential future, which is complicated both by
I love how Williams weaves in Eva’s motherhood and navigating a love affair when you’re also a parent. That’s a rare thing in romance. I also love the chronic illness rep and how Eva manages her life as a writer, a mom, and partner with migraines that can leave her bedridden.
Books like this are why I love romance novels. They are about real humans trying to figure out life, including and perhaps especially, their most essential relationships.
(trigger warning: there is a storyline that references extreme drug use and addiction, so if that’s something you need to steer clear of, this book might not be for you)
*****
I read my first Cat Sebastian book last month and happened to see another on the recommendations shelf at my library. I read the first page in the library and immediately adored it, so I scooped up The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes.
In this story, we have a prickly heroine (Marian) who is nobility and a golden retriever hero (Rob) who is secretly nobility, but prefers his life of crime to having a title.
Marian and Rob “meet” when Rob tries to blackmail Marian for money. Instead of getting his blackmail money, he gets Marian. Actually, that sums up the entire story but it’s not as clear cut as that. They start exchanging letters, which are utterly delightful and flirtatious — it’s these letters that establish the foundation of their relationship.
Marian is a new mom, married to an absolute asshole of a duke. She ends up killing her husband and goes on the run with Rob — because she’s already drugged and kidnapped him and she also knows that he’s her best shot at sorting out the mess that she’s in. Their adventures across the English countryside are charming and hot.
Sebastian nails the language and tone of the time she’s writing in, as well as the verbal sparring that Marian and Rob engage in — which is so fun. It’s so clear why they’re drawn to one another even if they are complete opposites in nearly every way.
Plus, in the tiniest of spoilers, this is the first romance I’ve read in which the woman is the dom and the man is the sub. Sebastian handles this beautifully and believably for the time period.
*****
Do you like fake dating, enemies to lovers, an “only one bed” situation, and have a fondness for public radio? Then you will love The Ex-Talk.
Shay Goldstein is the longtime producer for a show on Seattle public radio. Dominic Yun is a reporter fresh from graduating with his masters in journalism. The station they both work for is facing budget cuts and they need a hit podcast. Through a series of romance novel circumstances, they end up pitching a relationship podcast hosted by exes who managed to remain friends. In spite of the fact that Shay and Dominic never dated, they end up hosting because their radio chemistry is great. Which leads to sparks flying off air.
As with most romance novels, there is more to this story than hot hook-ups. Shay’s mom is getting remarried 10 years after her dad died, so the story touches on grief and loss and finding love when you think it’s no longer possible.
There’s a 3rd act break-up, which I typically really dislike, but it allowed for a grand gesture that was truly necessary, so I’ll let it slide.
Loved this one.
*****
And speaking of reading, if you need a little support and inspiration for reading this summer, check out The Messy Summer Reading Club hosted by Kathryn Barbash, PsyD. It’s low stress and full of practical tips to make reading feel more possible.
(quick note: all of the links you see in the book review section are affiliate links at Bookshop.org and if you’re thinking about buying any of these, please consider using my links instead of using amazon. For one, I get a tiny commission when you use my links. But also important, bookshop.org directly supports small bookstores, which is of great value to me.)
My kids watched The Goat, which is an animated movie that has Major League vibes — just basketball instead of baseball and animals instead of humans. It’s fun.
In our continued tour of the 90’s, I watched Ever After with my kids. Honestly, the movie holds up. Well, everything but Drew Barrymore’s British accent, which wasn’t good in the 90’s either.
Oh, and I watched the 4th season of Bridgerton, which was a delight. Benedict has always been my favorite Birdgerton brother. I also really enjoyed the upstairs/downstairs contrasts this season and seeing more from the servants perspectives. It is a Cinderella story, after all, so we get to see more of the world that is less glamorous but allows for all of the glamour to happen. Also, Katie Leung (aka Cho Chang) plays the evil stepmother and she is phenomenal.
Meanwhile, if you are a 90’s kid and you want a laugh, watch this.
I’m not typically a country music fan but I’ve been listening to the new Kacey Musgraves album, Middle of Nowhere on loop. The whole thing, beginning to end, is just so good. If I had to pick a favorite, it might be Dry Spell.
Maisie Peters also has a brand new album out called Florescence, which I adore. Current favorites are Vampire Time, Old Fashioned, Flat Earther, and Questions.
Gracie Abrams has a new song out that’s pretty great. So does Olivia Rodrigo.
But I really love this song by MUNA, which has a RENT vibe (yes, the musical) crossed with some We Didn’t Start the Fire energy. It’s just so good.
I am still obsessed with Lez Go! by The Beaches and G-Flip. It’s my song of the summer. And it introduced me to G-Flip, an incredible non-binary Australian singer. Check out Bed on Fire.
In terms of podcasts, here’s what I’m still thinking about after listening:
I think everyone should listen to this episode of Movement Logic, which is about how the loss of strength and power is more important than the loss of muscle mass.
I got really into The United States of Kennedy podcast, which isn’t releasing new episodes anymore but is a nice distraction when I need one. I haven’t made it all the way through their catalogue of episodes and some are more interesting than others, but if you like digging deeply into the weird world of the Kennedy dynasty, you’ll enjoy this.
And I just listened to the Good Hang episode with Tom Holland. It was as lovely as you can probably imagine.
I wrote a piece published by my favorite online fitness platform, Fit Bottomed Girls, about Menobelly — the facts and the science that everyone should know because most of the influencers are wrong.
I really appreciated the Ozempification of Modern Society by Eve Simmons because we genuinely need to reckon with the impact of these drugs and their impact on normalizing disordered eating.
I loved Some Things I Wish People Knew About Fatness by Savala Nolan — all of this is so important and much of it are things people frequently dismiss.
I adored the piece Madeline Peltz wrote about Being Jewish at Rededicate 250.
I was annoyed by this article — honestly it just rubbed me the wrong way. Really curious about your thoughts. Maybe I’m just being weird. And full disclosure, it’s an entire year old, which I did not realize until I was looking it up again for this post.
And I am fairly certain Diana Fox Tilson, LICSW wrote this one for me (I mean, not really but it speaks to me on a soul level).
This one is a quickie — all you need is one weight and 5 minutes. And turns out, you can do it in jean shorts, if you so choose.
If you’re into accessible, body neutral fitness practices, there’s more like this on my YouTube channel and in my app, Strength in Midlife. My mission is to make movement more fun, more accessible, and less influenced by diet culture.
Oh and here are a few of my favorite moments from May:
full moon in the morning, snowy day in may, exact same spot 24hrs later, mothers day face masks with all of my kids, close up of an iris, a 1000-piece frankenstein puzzle that was so hard and so fun, tiny bloom, biking to school with my 10 year old on the last day of school.
That’s it for May from me, but I want to know, what are you loving lately? Hit me with your book recs, music, podcasts, and anything else moving you right now — drop them in the comments!
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