What I’m Reading! // June 2021

Summer Book Suggestions?

“DEVONY. (I’m sure you are all screaming internally) where are your latest book suggestions? We NEED some beach reads!” Never fear ya’ll, I am here and reading! But, I have to be honest. Moving and traveling has definitely taken precedence these past few months and I am ashamed to say it…

…but I have fallen behind on my book count by 5 BOOKS. *A GASP rings out through the audience* 😮

Yes I’m reading, but my book goal for the year was to hit 80 again. This is a HIGHLY ambitious goal, one I am sure I only hit last year because I spent such a significant amount of time indoors. Typically, I am more of a book-a-week kind of girl. Reading is a huge part of my life, but I am usually too busy to keep up with more than that while I’m out and about or working around the clock.

Andddd We’re Back!

2020 had a much slower pace of life and I wasn’t spending much time traveling or leaving the house. However, despite my snail’s pace, I did read some new books this month that I want to share!

I’m hoping to read at least 70% “new” books this year. New for me at least, as in ones I haven’t read before. I tend to re-read my favorites as a wind-down tactic before bed. Because who doesn’t love a nostalgic read to ease your anxious mind??

So, shoutout to library apps, Audible, and my partner’s bookshelf because that’s where I found all of these. 😂 If you want to stay more up-to-date with what I’m reading (and the bookshelves I am scavenging through), click here to check out my Goodreads profile!

I really enjoyed each of these books for different reasons and loved that I can recommend all female authors this month! Let’s get to it:

Sugar High by: Alexandra Park

Finished: ⭐⭐⭐ ½ (3.5/5 stars)

Believe it or not, I wasn’t familiar with Alex Park as an actress before reading this book. Known by most for her starring role on the TV series The Royals, Alex is also someone living and thriving with Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that can present at any time in life and hinders your body’s natural ability to produce insulin. This memoir follows her journey through not only this late onset diagnosis, but her almost simultaneous rise to fame as she books her first big TV show!

Though I didn’t fully connect with her writing style, she speaks from the heart and shares moments from her life in a very genuine way. The main reason I would recommend this read is because of its positive impact. So many movies and TV shows that feature characters with diabetes are presenting them in inaccurate ways, or worse, as a stupid punchline. This spreads a ton of misinformation and has left the general public with little to no real understanding of what a person with this disease deals with on the day to day.

As someone who actively has sought out books on Type 1 diabetes in particular, I can tell you this memoir falls into an EXTREMELY niche category. There are not many useful, informative, and emotion-based books out there that tackle this subject. So I really commend Alex for sharing her story, and it definitely gave me a greater level of understanding. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Type 1, I think this can be a really good book to start a conversation with!

It’s not about the mistakes we make, it’s about the way we handle our mistakes, what we decide to take from them, and how we choose to move forward.”

Sugar High by: Alexandra Park

One by One by: Ruth Ware

Finished: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)

This was an AWESOME find! I have read every book of Ruth Ware’s, but her stuff can be a bit of a hit or miss for me. I love some, and others are not as captivating in my opinion. However, this one definitely falls into the HIT category! Once I started reading, I could not put it down.

A fast-paced, captivating novel- One by One is crafted in a similar style to the Agatha Christie classic And Then There Were None! (Which I’m sure most of you will recall me loving when I read it for Book Club!). I was totally enthralled by the dual narrative style; Ware use two main character POVs that switch perspectives each chapter. Similarly to ATTWN, One by One is told in a lot of short chapters, broken up in such a way that keeps you flipping through excitedly to uncover more of the mystery.

Despite the snow-capped mountains serving as this book’s setting, I would still categorize it as a fantastic beach read. Fast-paced, fun characters, an extravagant weekend run awry, and a person (or a few…?) that turns up dead and sends everything further off the rails. The “whodunnit” aspect is enjoyable and suspenseful rather than scary, and I felt thoroughly satisfied with the finale!

“It’s not just the snow; it’s a hundredweight of unwelcome memories bearing down on me.”

One by One by: Ruth Ware

Big Magic by: Elizabeth Gilbert

Finished: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars)

Not a conventional beach read, but I would fully recommend this for any of my fellow artists/creators! I found so much joy and useful advice within the pages. Technically I listened to it on Audible, and I found myself rewinding frequently to jot down quotes or pieces of wisdom as I went.

Big Magic is written by the same author as Eat, Pray, Love and looks at the art of creativity through a spiritual and mindful lens. Gilbert stresses that taking ourselves too seriously and the concept of “suffering” for your art is pretty nonsensical, and not at all required for creating. As most art/theatre/film/dance/performance majors could probably tell you, this is the opposite of conventional wisdom being preached at colleges! 🙃

I also loved her voice reading this book, serene but not peaceful enough to put me to sleep. (Yes, I’m looking at you Eckhart Tolle reading The Power of Now. 😂 Not kidding, I had to buy a paperback copy of that book to finally finish it, because his voice really made me want to take a nap 😅).

In short- Face your fears and learn to create from a place of joy, not suffering. There is nothing noble about work that makes you miserable. You already have something inside that’s worth sharing. For these gems alone, I fully recommend Big Magic.

“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.” 

Big Magic By: Elizabeth Gilbert

Interested in reading any of these books?

Check out your local library or the Book Club/Currently Reading section of my BookShop Affiliate store to aid in their mission to financially support local, independent bookstores!