July Books: Escape Plan

I read a lot last month.  I think it had  to do with the fact that the girls kept me crazy busy all day long and falling into bed at night with a good book felt like the best reward for surviving.  Diving headlong into fiction (or, on occasion, a personal essay), where I could focus on other people's problems, was my escape-from-reality plan.  Here are the books that helped me escape this month:

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This book, which is Young Adult fiction, is about a boy who receives 13 cassette tapes shortly after the suicide of a classmate.  In the tapes, the voice of the dead girl can be heard explaining why she did what she did.  I think the book is trying to say that we need to watch how we treat others because we never know the impact we can have on someone's life.  All it did for me was make me really glad I'm not in high school anymore.

Room by Emma Donoghue

This book is so creepy.  I'm dying for someone I know to read it so I can discuss it with them.  It's told from the point-of-view of a 5-year-old boy who is living with his mother in a tiny room.  I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say their circumstances are rather awful.  I couldn't put this down and I can't stop thinking about it.

Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh

This novel follows the three women who marry the awful Mr. Kimble.  Each enters into the relationship for a different reason.  Each one deals with him in a different way.  I can't figure why they married him in the first place, but the author mentioned in the interview that was included at the end that she was trying to explore why women in our culture today feel that marriage (any marriage to any guy) is the only way to feel complete.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

This book of personal essays was a quick read.  To be honest, I was expecting it to be funnier as I kept hearing how hilarious David Sedaris is.  I laughed out loud a few times, I admit, but Mr. Sedaris is no Dave Barry.  I did like the bits that took place in France, though.

Long Drive Home by Will Allison

Despite the good review I read about this book, I was sorely disappointed.  The characters were very unlikable and behaved in preposterous ways.  Skip this for sure.

Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman

I have to say, I adored this.  If you can stomach Berkley liberal thought (which I totally can), I think you might, too.  Ms. Waldman explores motherhood in modern society and just how impossible it is to feel like a good mother.  Very thought provoking, very funny, very intelligent.  VERY feminist.  Again, this is a book I haven't been able to stop thinking about this last week.  Those Waldman-Chabons are a very interesting family (just like I suspected!).

As always, I'm curious about what YOU read last month.  Any recommendations?  I still have to survive two more weeks of summer vacation, after all . . .