It took me a little while to “click” with what was going on in this story. Mainly because the author is female, the narrator in the first story of this collection is female. But the voice of this story is male. Once the penny dropped (I mostly blame the delay on baby brain), I thoroughly enjoyed this.
I know next to nothing of Jamaica. Besides Cool Runnings, so nothing. It was fun to read a story that was set in everyday, familial life there. The simplicities of everyday life seem so simple, until you look at them from the outside. And I was intrigued.
There was such a powerful underlying pain throughout this story. It was about life and love, but there was also this feeling of being inadequate. Wondering why the good wasn’t acknowledged when the bad so often was. And how this maelstrom of emotions can combine into a complex, mash up love.
I may not be entirely sure why this collection is called Hot Summer Nights. But it was definitely good fun. I had imagined that I would be reading four beach romance novellas. Or stories of summer flings. Not quite what I ended up with.
The majority of these stories have a fun and light small-town America feel to them. They’re cute and simple filled with interesting characters. Interesting characters that I want to meet again in some of the series that these novellas introduced me to. More books to add to the wishlist!!!
This was a wonderful collection that left me feeling content and happy. Exactly what you feel after reading a good romance. Or really, any good book in my case. Definitely one that I’ll be reading again.
Title: My Caesarean: Twenty-One Mothers on the C-Section Experience and After Author: Amanda Fields Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Essays, Memoirs, Pregnancy Pace: Slow Format: Anthology Year: 2019
Surprisingly, considering one third of Australians have a caesarean, after being blindsided by mine, I realised I had ZERO CLOSE FRIENDS who’d been through this. In the weeks after my daughter was born, this fact left me feeling surprisingly disconnected from my fellow mums. In a moment when I thought I’d feel even more connected by shared experiences. So I decided to do what I always do… find a book that could help me with this. And this was the perfect book to do that.
Every birth story is different. Including caesareans. Like everything, our stories run the gambit from seriously enjoyable to downright terrifying. My own sits somewhere in the middle, but leaning towards the positives. I love that this collection includes the different emotions and experiences. It’s not trying to paint caesareans in any light other than what they are… a modern medical intervention that has let countless mothers and children live. But one that is contentious and can leave people feeling like they somehow “failed”.
Although many of these stories take place many years ago (quite a few before I was was born), they still have that relatability. Even if the technology and process has continued to drastically alter and evolve, the process is still the same. This gave me so many moments of empathy and points that I could just smile and relate to. For someone that doesn’t have anyone in their personal life that can do this… it was incredibly cathartic. In some instances, this was a laughing moment or a secret smile. In others, I cried a few tears as I finished processing my own birth story.
Even if you haven’t or never will have a caesarean. If you don’t know anyone who has, or are just plain curious. This is well worth a read. It gives insight into the feelings and experiences of women who are unafraid to share their experiences and feelings. The good, the bad, the ugly and the out and out joyful.
Each and every one of these short stories is thought provoking. They all make you pause and just THINK about what, exactly, you are reading. About preconceptions and misconceptions. About what it means to move through the world. They’re all brilliant.
I have literally no personal experience with racism and immigration. I’m white, I’m Australian, I was born here. But, I did love the moments of immersion into this different reality that Arthurs provides. It’s… intense. And brilliant.
Normally with short story collections, I have to keep reminding myself to go back. With this collection, I didn’t want to STOP. Each and every tale felt like a revelation. Revelations that I look forward to rereading again and again.
I loved this collection. It was brilliant and intense. With a wonderful edge of satire and wit that I probably didn’t expect. Definitely one that I’ll be going back to in the future.
Erin McCarthy does it for me every time. She is fantastic at writing light, fun and incredibly cute romances. Ice Princess is no exception. My only feeling of confusion… why was a snow story in a collection titled Hot Summer Nights?
This novella may have one of my favourite Meet Cutes of recent. I mean, trying to jump off a balcony and falling (literally) into a gorgeous man’s arms? Yes please! The fact that the lead female is quirky and kind of has verbal diarrhoea… well, it had me giggling Kate at night when I really should have been sleeping.
The gutsy and willing to go get it attitude of both of the leads in Ice Princess is seriously amazing. I’m honestly jealous of how willing they are to take a leap. And, since this is one of those Happily Ever After stories, I love how it all turns out. I won’t ever be that gutsy and willing to jump into things. But it sure was fun travelling along and imagining that I could be.
Title: Lyrics Alley Author: Leila Aboulela Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Contemporary Pace: Slow Format: Novel Year: 2010
Lyrics Alley is one of those books that I’ll read again and again. There is so much going on that I found it impossible to keep up with every minutiae. And, in some books, like Lyrics Alley, I love this fact.
To be fair, even after reading this, I did look up a synopsis just to get my head further around the details of this novel. As much as I enjoyed it and found it to be wonderfully written, I did spend most of my time reading this trying to figure out if I’d missed something. And, honestly, I think that I did.
There are some books on my shelf that I consider great and genuine literature. This is one of those. It’s a read that I would read to expand my brain, not for a bit of diversion. Which means that although I plan to read this again in the future, it’ll be awhile before I feel like my brain is capable of absorbing all of the information.
We may have made leaps and bounds in our understanding, but mental health is still a pretty hard topic to broach. There is so much stigma remaining and it can be hard to convey what its like to live with a mental health issue to someone who has never had one. Which is why whenever I see a book that talks about it openly and honestly, I’m pretty quick to jump on it. The fact that I’ve JUST read another book by Kristy Chambers that I thoroughly enjoyed made me dive into this with much more excitement and impatience than I normally would.
Combining travel narratives with mental health just helped to draw me in further and further. I’ll be the first to admit that I am a pretty major home body. So I do love to live vicariously through other people’s travel adventures. I loved doing this with Chambers. She is so damn honest and sassy that you got the ugly alongside the good. Which is what travel is all about.
Throughout every chapter and adventure, Chambers draws back to her mental health and numerous breakdowns. Yet, where this could feel quite serious and negative, she talks about it in such an open and honest manner that you end up laughing. It takes a special someone to talk about their mental health. It takes someone even more special to joke about it with such abandon. Definitely my kind of woman.
I loved, loved, loved this book. It was that perfect blend of travel adventure and realistic recountings of the trials that this entails. Mental health and depression are unabashedly talked about and often joked about. And there’s even a beautiful happy ending that makes you want to read MORE about Chambers’ life, but content if you can’t do so.
Title: The Housekeeper and the Professor Author: Yoko Ogawa Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Japan Pace: Slow Format: Novel Year: 2003
I had no idea what to expect from this book. It looked pretty, and seemed intriguing. That is about the extent of my knowledge when I began this. And, honestly, this was one of those stories that so far overwhelmed my expectations that I can’t wait to read more of Ogawa’s books.
I’ve always found maths kind of soothing. There is something about the universality of numbers that makes me feel… comfortable. Ogawa obviously understands this feeling. Maths is used throughout this tale to communicate and highlight how sometimes we use different methods to communicate with one another.
Another part of this story that was strangely relatable and drew me straight in was the role of the housekeeper. Although I haven’t actually worked as a housekeeper, I have worked as a support worker for people with disabilities. The roles and the nuances of the housekeeper’s job were very similar to that role. The difficulties and the joys. The unbelievably difficult yet fulfilling role.
This was one of those stories that just made my heart soar. It was so wholesome and loving. Beautiful in a myriad of ways that I just want expecting. It definitely is the kind of novel that will stick with me for a long while yet.
Title: Get Well Soon! My (un)Brilliant Career as a Nurse Author: Kristy Chambers Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Humour, Medical, Memoirs, Nursing Pace: Fast Format: Novel Year: 2012
Nursing is a career path and life choice that holds a lot of fascination for me. It’s such a powerful thing to do, but I honestly can’t imagine dealing with people’s shit (both literally and figuratively) like that. I also have a couple of girlfriends who are nurses I’m different fields, so understanding their day to say lives is also enthralling.
Chambers manages to write about a pretty hectic and serious career with an amazing amount of sass and humour. I particularly like when she points out that ultimately her decision between teaching and nursing came down to who do I hate less, teenagers or sick people… and teenagers are assholes. It’s a sentiment that had me laughing out loud.
Alongside all of the wit and humour throughout this, there are some pretty powerful emotional moments. It’s a start reminder of the intensity of this kind of career. But, also a brilliant way to highlight how some people are able to deal with the horrors of a fairly intense career path.
This is one if those memoirs that I will read again and again. It has my preferred level of dry, witty humour; plenty of sass; and a subject matter that ceaselessly fascinates me. I may have read this through my kobo plus account, but its going on my wish list for a physical copy too…
Just from the title, I knew that I was quite likely to love this. I mean, it’s about a group of Disasters. I’m always a sucker for a tale of misfits and outcasts. And the fact that it’s set in space? Brilliant!!!
It was almost impossible to put this down. One insane high jinks after another had me laughing and smiling at the sometimes-bizarre difficulties the crew finds themselves in. England certainly has a gift for weaving a story that draws you in. I look forward to seeing what else she can do.
The variety in this cast added to my enjoyment. There is cultural diversity, sexual identities and familial relationships galore. Each and every character has a great structure and identity that is completely unique. One that quickly makes you bond differently with each of the characters.
This is definitely a book that I’ll read again. It’s fun and an easy read. One that took me on a fun and light adventure. Alright, there’s death and betrayal… but still…
Earth and Skye 