During the month of July, I found myself reading more than I am usually able to because I was sick for several days. I am not kidding when I say that the only things I could do were read and sleep.
I read several genres including four horror novels, a fantasy debut from the author of my favorite book from 2025, two books publishing this fall (one a memoir and one a coming of age novel), a newly published novel with a unique take on death and grief, a classic work of literature for our book club, and my very first graphic memoir.
I kicked off the Fourth of July weekend with the history of the United States from a perspective that, I would say, a vast majority of people in this country were never taught at any point in their lives…me included. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz was a very enlightening read and I spent the entire month going through it slowly. I wanted to make sure I was grasping what I was reading, learning things I knew very little about or didn’t know at all. Written from an Indigenous perspective, the book provides a history that challenges the founding myth of the U.S. and shows how policy was designed to forcibly take control of Indigenous peoples’ territories by displacing or eliminating them. This one has been on my list for a while now and I thought, given the “celebration” of our 250th year as the United States, now was the time.
If you have stopped into the store within the last year or so, you’ve probably heard me talk about Something In The Woods Loves You by Jarod K. Anderson. It was my #1 book of 2025 and I feel like anyone who asks me for a nonfiction recommendation this is my go to book. It so poetically captures the way that intentional contemplation of nature can help someone through very dark times. Anderson’s first novel Strange Animals, which was published earlier this year, is full of similar language that just leaves me wishing I could articulate my appreciation of nature in any coherent way. While the genre and plot is not necessarily something I would typically be drawn to, knowing that he wrote it was enough for me to give it a read. Strange Animals is a magical fantasy about a man’s near death experience and his calling to the Appalachian Mountains. He befriends a cryptonaturalist and they work together to protect the region from a beautiful yet deadly cryptid.
Passing by Nella Larsen was July’s book club selection. I will probably say this about every book club selection, but I learn so much from the discussions that happen during our meetings. I feel like I probably read this classic work of literature a little too quickly to pick up on some of the subtlety that was contained within its pages. But because of our book club discussion, I was able to see that there was a lot more to the story than I originally thought. Set in the 1920s, Passing is the story of the reunion of two childhood friends living very different lives as adults. Clare has spent her adult life passing as white while Irene has embraced her Black community.
Fetch by Nicole J. Georges is the first graphic memoir I have ever read. I couldn’t pass up this secondhand book when it came into the store. There was something about the illustration of the dog on the cover that reminded me of my dog Rodney who is no longer with us and who was my heart dog. I flipped open the book and read a few pages about Bejia the dog and I knew that this book was going home with me. Fetch is a graphic memoir telling the story of the 15 years the narrator got to experience the unconditional love of her dog Beija who was fiercely protective and deeply misunderstood. The book also reflects back on the author’s tumultuous childhood and what led her to Beija.
Last year, I listened to Chuck Tingle’s book Lucky Day and fell in love with the absurdity and dark humor of his storytelling. His newest book, Fabulous Bodies is equally as dark and funny. In this gruesome horror novel, the main character, Poppy, is an influencer during the day and steals dead bodies to sell on the black market at night. One evening, she is asked to procure the body of her favorite rockstar. But little does she know that he is undead and can control the living who stand in his way.
Another horror novel I read in July was Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist. This book was a quiet, unsettling psychological horror. I feel like most people could relate to the main character’s desire to run away from her life, buy a house in the secluded countryside, and become a different person. I mean, I know I do! In this novel, Tamsin buys a home and moves to the Scottish countryside to flee her previous life. Unbeknownst to her, the home is actually a duplex and strange occurrences with her neighbor begin to take place that cause her to become extremely paranoid and make her question reality.
I think I was most looking forward to reading Carrion Crow by Heather Parry last month. It is a gut-wrenching, devastating, and heartbreaking story of a young woman who can see a very specific future for herself—marriage to her fiance, raising a child, and the continuation of a secret life that she’s kept hidden. She is locked away in an attic by her mother under the guise of preparing her to become a “good” wife. It is a book full of longing, sadness, and cruelty. What makes it even more devastating is the fact that it is loosely based on a true story from the late 1800s of a French woman, Blanche Monnier, who was locked in an attic to prevent her from marrying a man that her mother deemed to be of lower status.
Never Say Die is a memoir written by actor Ke Huy Quan who, as a child, starred in the movies Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. He also starred in the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once. My husband and I watch the movie The Goonies at least once a year so when I saw Ke Huy Quan was coming out with a memoir, I knew I wanted to read it. The book documents his journey as a Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to having the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history. It is a story of feeling like an outsider, listening to the voice within you that’s calling to you, and finding place. Never Say Die is out on September 15.
Bonnie Garmus’ new book Peck & Peck publishes October 13. I was fortunate enough to get an e-galley of the book and read it last month. I was a little uncertain about reading it because I started Lessons in Chemistry but was not compelled to make it much past the first few chapters. When I read the premise of her newest book, my interest was piqued. The story follows Batter Gray, who, from childhood, possesses a deep love and appreciation for poetry and secures a job at a prestigious poetry journal that he has admired since he was a kid. As the story unfolds, you get a look at the inner workings of the poetry journal and all of the characters who pull it together. Batter’s mother is a type designer so as a person with a background in graphic design, I was definitely drawn in by that aspect of it. I am a serious type nerd so I was super excited to see kerning being talked about in a book by a bestselling author!
The last book I read in July was Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves. I don’t know what I was expecting when I started this one but it left me feeling so many emotions. This book is deeply moving—it’s sad, it’s hopeful, it’s contemplative. The story follows Death—a gentle man named Travis who spends his time with people in their final hours of life. After meeting his neighbor Dalia and her daughters Layla and Nadine, he begins to question the role of death in the world. It’s beautifully and poetically written and excellently narrated as an audiobook. I highly recommend!
