Knowing I will be on vacation from the end of June through the beginning of July, I am posting what I read in June before I left. What I read over vacation will be covered in July. This month I read:

• Once and Again by Rebecca Serle – After finishing this sweet magical realism book, I realized that I have read and enjoyed at least one other book by this author (Expiration Dates). She writes romcom style stories with heart and not necessarily with the traditional tropes and plot lines. In this book, we meet the women of the Novak family, who all have one special gift – the ability to turn back time just once in their lifetime. If you had this power, when would you use it? How would you know what the right time or decision or life event would be to use such power? With each generation, the women grapple with the weight of their own decision and if or when to tell their daughters, as it is passed down from one woman to the next. I loved getting to know each of the characters through their life choices, which we learned through alternating chapters narrating each of their lives.
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar [audiobook] – I heard about this book when Hudson Williams, the actor from my beloved show Heated Rivalry, posted about it. I was intrigued because this book was not something that I would ever pick up on my own, nor had it crossed my reading sphere. This served as a window into Iranian culture for me, as I learned about Cyrus and his family. Cyrus, a young man fresh out of college, is an orphan whose mother died tragically in Iran when the US shot down her plane and whose father died once he entered college, in America, where they had moved. Our main character Cyrus is quite flawed, from his addiction issues, his relationship issues, and his half-hearted work to become a writer, while fighting his own depression. When Cyrus hears about an Iranian woman who is holding an art installation about her own death in a NYC gallery, he knows he must travel to meet her. He spends three days visiting with the artist each day, discussing life, death, art and martyrdom, which he believes will be the topic of his own book. The writing was poetic and cultural and dark and enlightening. I enjoyed the experience of entering this culture and this world, very unlike my own.
• Holly by Stephen King – This was the first book in my Stephen King Summer book club and I’m so glad! I read the Mr. Mercedes trilogy this year, and the character of Holly was a major character in all of those, and I enjoyed her spunk! In this story, she is the main character, after her original partner passed away. This book took place during COVID, so there was a lot of mask and vaccination talk (pro and con), which was a sad reminder of a darker time. Holly is hired by the mother of a missing young woman. While she tries to figure out what happened to this young woman, she stumbles across other missing people and she tries to make connections between the missing people to figure out what happened to them. What she discovers is dark and creepy, which we witness throughout as we meet the killers. This was disturbing and fun and quite a wild ride!
• How to Be Okay When Nothing is Okay by Jenny Lawson [audiobook] – I have loved Jenny Lawson’s writing for years, ever since I discovered the story of the giant metal chicken, which still makes me laugh uncontrollably. This book is a more personal collection of essays about her neurodivergence, her mental illness, and the ways in which she has learned to cope and survive and even thrive. Lawson provides a variety of tips and tricks to support yourself during hard times. This book is a great resource for people who need support, especially during trying times related to mental illness.
• The Crush by Ren Browne – I found this author because of videos she made about Heated Rivalry. This is a sweet, age gap romance that takes place in Texas in the 1990’s. Isabel returns home to her small town and nice but controlling family after college to find that her long childhood crush, Daniel Rios, has returned from his time working for the DEA. When Daniel and Isabel crash into each other, he thinks it will be a quick fing with his much younger family friend. Soon, their hidden relationship changes and so do they. I loved the writing, the characters, and the cultural depth of this story.