I finally have another reading update for you. As much as I truly love to read, it took me a while into the quarantine before I found my reading groove again. I just found it hard, at first, to really concentrate on reading – it was hard for a book to really keep my attention. Watching Netflix was just so much easier, and didn’t require me to really focus on anything.

But I’m back now, and I have about 7 other books waiting to be read on my iPad. So this list might be a bit short, but hopefully the next makes up for it.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
I got this recommendation from a Twitter thread of another author that I like, and I’m so glad that I stumbled on it. It’s loosely based on the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme story, but you could still love the book even if you know nothing about Madoff. It follows a few different characters over different years, and they’re all so captivating. It’s really great – not necessarily an uplifting read, but great nonetheless.

She Regrets Nothing by Andrea Dunlop
This was a lighter read, which was exactly what I needed. I read a description somewhere where it was compared to the love child of Gossip Girl and Crazy Rich Asians, and that’s pretty accurate. It was a fun escape to read all about the glitz and glamour of a wealthy New York City right now, when my own life is anything but.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Another fantastic pick from Reese Witherspoon’s Sunshine Book Club – there have been so few books from her list that I haven’t ended up enjoying. This novel looks into race, and class/privilege, and is so compelling and really draws you in.

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is one of my absolute favorite authors. She tells stories so beautifully, and I am always so invested in her characters and their lives and stories. In this book, she followed a family across years and countries, in an attempt to find home, and showed how people’s lives change and intertwine in ways that you might not have expected.