Welcome back to the blog! I ended up taking a mini-break due to domain issues. I’m glad to be back. I feel a little rusty writing again, but I have to start somehow. I’ve been reading a decent amount this July and I can’t wait to share them with you. Here’s to the books and songs of summer ‘23!
Books for summer of ’23
Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World by Sasha Fletcher
“Both Johnny and Jane went home alone because nobody knew they’d broken up. One day they just woke up and felt like strangers living inside a life they’ve built together, and it was scary. It was scary to look into the eyes of the person whose health insurance you were on every morning and have her look at you like a stranger. It was…scary to come home every day to the man who built your table your bed your couch your life, who’d scaffolded up your sense of self for five years, and have him tell you when you come home from the job that pays for his motorcycle insurance and gas, that he hadn’t even the inkling of a notion of how to start to talk to you now.”
This book was such a rollercoaster. I don’t think I ever have been on such a ride when reading fiction. I thought that this was just a simple romance and it’s not that at all. The romance was the core of this book. And yet, there was so much more. There were three different points-of-view. There was a narrator, whose name is not disclosed, but they talk directly to the reader. And there’s third person to tell us about the lovers.
It uses history and rambling and it’s not something I can describe at all. You’ll just have to read it to see what I’m talking about. I love a book that’s set in New York City. It made me want to go to Prospect Park boathouse.
Moral of the story: Wander around the library and pick something new.
Counting Descent by Clint Smith
“We are charred vessels vestiges of wood & wonder anchors tethered to our bows. It is the irony of a ship burning at sea, surrounded by the very thing that could save us.”
This book revealed a solution to a problem I had. Last year and this year I made one of my resolutions to read more difficult material. I didn’t mean classics, although I’ve read a few this year. But then I stumbled upon this book and it revealed to me my solution. It’s hard enough to read nonfiction for me. I usually find it too dry even if I’m interested in this subject matter. And with more serious subject matter, I found that poetry was an easier avenue.
Counting Descent was the perfect mix of poignant and insightful and serious. I highly recommend it! I want to read more of Smith’s poetry.
Moral of the story: Try a different genre to read new subject matters.
“And yet in Port William, as everywhere else, it was already the second decade of the twentieth century. And in some of the people of the town and the community surrounding it, one of the characteristic diseases of the twentieth century was making its way: the suspicion that they would be greatly improved if they were someplace else.”
Fidelity is the first of Berry that I’ve read. I love how his ideology is clear through his writing. These short stories really illustrate the old generation of farming, when it was family oriented and the land was more gently treated. I did dabble in Berry’s essays and poetry, but most compelling was the vision he painted of the membership. The membership being the interconnected community of people who work together, raise kids together, and ultimately live out the same values together.
If you value place and localism, Wendell Berry is the writer to read! I highly recommend his work.
Moral of the story: Stay somewhere and build community there. Grow deep roots.
Alienated America by Timothy Carney
“That’s why parents work hard to find the right school and community in which to raise their children. If people thought environment didn’t help determine outcomes, they wouldn’t expend so much time and money to obtain a great environment—family, school, neighborhood—for their children.”
Alienated America was a book I randomly came across. I was looking for a more sociological perspective on place, particularly small towns. This book was fascinating for being a nonfiction read. I loved learning about why different places thrived across the country. Carney’s book manages to cover politics without getting political, and I like that he discloses some relevant things about himself to show his own perspective.
Moral of the story: If you want a cheap way to surround yourself with community, go to church.
Songs for summer ’23
Now let’s get into the songs I’ve been jamming to this summer!
I’m desperate and longing
I’m hungry and thirsty
For You, Jesus
Torchbearers came out with their new album Fields this year. They make worship music but it’s all spontaneous. It’s both worship and prayer at once. I love it! Like all spontaneous songs, the songs on their new album are long, but it’s absolutely stunning.
Face to Face (Central Asia) by Torchbearers
We will pray We will fast
We miss Your face
We want You back
Torchbearers does it again! These songs are unpolished but that just makes them even more beautiful. Hope you’ll check them out!
Windowless Bedroom by Lily & Madeleine
Self-assured, drive me crazy
In New York City
I was absolutely surprised when this showed up on my Spotify. I thought this duo had quit music but they have announced a new album coming out in the fall! Lily & Madeleine is what I would call folksie–on par with The Staves.
Thank God I Do by Lauren Daigle
I heard this song on the radio while I was driving. From what I’ve listened to from Daigle’s new album, this is her best work. I wish she wrote more songs like this. She would do amazing as a Sara Bareilles-piano centric musician. This song is about realizing how important certain people that lift you up and help you stay there.
I hold the knife by the blade
I love a good enemy,
Baby it’s me
Pvris’ new album EVERGREEN is a pretty solid album. Almost a no-skip album for me. Lynn Gunn manages to reinvent her sound and sound like her iconic self. This song is about making choices that ultimately hurt you, but you can’t help making them. (Sounds like my Desperate Housewives addiction)
Can’t be breaking down
No, I barely cry
‘Cause I’m too worn out
Got me half alive
Friends are phasing out
Always say goodbye
Am I losing touch, do I feel enough?
Senti-mental is such a dance track about losing friends. This is such clever wordplay. It reminds me of how you slowly lose friends through post-grad and if you hold on too tightly, you could end up heartbroken. Lynn’s experience is that a loose grip keeps you from going crazy and I absolutely agree.
How to exit a room by The Maine
They’re strung out on the phone
They’re tripping dial tones
I’m dancing all alone
I’d rather be at home
So I, I got high, but it’s wearing off
I got holes in my camouflage
I have a story about The Maine. I think I started listening to them when I was 14, to American Candy, which came out in 2015. And is a no skip album. 2 years later, they dropped the flawless record that is Lovely Little Lonely, and secured a spot as one of my most beloved bands. But their last two releases have not been more my taste, so I stopped listening to them. Then this year, they released how to exit a room and I was blown away.
This track just embodies them as a band. They love to write songs about serious issues but they know how to have fun and sonically, I love this song so much! It makes you grab someone and go out on the dance floor!
Hope you share some of your books and songs of summer ’23 with me!
Signing off,
Gigi
Studying Life with Gigi 