Missy’s curated August reading list
- Melissa Herrera: Not Waiting for Friday
- August 13, 2023
- 1735
I went on a girl’s weekend last week, and before we left our homes to gather, I sent a link to the group thread of a recommendation for a podcast. “Take a listen. It’ll be just the right length for the drive.” One of my friends told me she clicked on the link, and it took her straight to my Spotify playlists instead of the podcast. “I really, really enjoyed your music. I didn’t even skip a song!”
I chuckled to myself and wondered which one it had taken her to — Summer ’23, Missy’s Metal or maybe Total Mexicano? I realize I have the worst names for playlists but that I really enjoy my curations. My summer jams have been mostly ‘70s easy listening and Mexican love songs. I have them on repeat, interspersed between my daily news pods.
I’m a better curator of music than I am of books these days. My bedside table is groaning with a stack that is begging to be read. Instead, I mostly read the first several chapters, letting the rest of the book languish without remedy. I am sorry to the pages that await me. Mostly, I feel sorry for myself because I can’t concentrate enough to read the physical page.
In the spirit of reading, I’m giving you my August list of Missy’s must-reads that she can’t seem to finish. It’s a lengthy list, so I’m going to pick and choose.
“I’ll Be Gone in
the Dark” by
Michelle McNamar
Ever heard of the Golden State Killer? Michelle spent lots of time tracking him, and in the end — after many, many years — her freelance investigation brought him down. I inhaled this docu-series and wanted to read the book down to every detail. But I stalled out after several chapters, not because it wasn’t a delicious read, but because of me and my blasted inability to focus and read physical media. I will finish it.
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins
This book is the prequel to “The Hunger Games,” which helps me to remember “The Hunger Games” series may have been the last trilogy I read and was able to fully finish. This book has already been made into a movie, which will debut in November of this year. I want to finish the book before the movie comes out because I so loved this series. I did a quick rewatch of “The Hunger Games” movies when they were briefly on Netflix in the spring. They really hold up.
“Once I was You” by
Maria Hinojosa
Maria is a Mexican American journalist of 30 years (PBS, NPR, et cetera) who grew up on the south side of Chicago. She is a powerhouse and created the Futuro Media company. This book is a call to open our eyes to the “immigration crisis and understand it affects us all.” I wanted to buy this book but won a copy in a giveaway she was doing online, so I have a signed copy. This book is important to me for obvious reasons but is most important for a wider audience to read so they understand.
“The City of Mirrors”
This is the third book in The Passage Trilogy that includes “The Passage,” “The Twelve” and “The City of Mirrors.” I stumbled upon “The Passage” and inhaled every word, then barreled through “The Twelve.” “The City of Mirrors” came out four years later, and I had forgotten about it. I bought it a little while back and haven’t picked it up yet. It’s an epic series about catastrophe and survival set in a dystopian world. It’s nothing like I’ve ever read. I heard they made it into a series that was canceled after one season. That makes me sad, but that’s life right now for streaming series.
“Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret” by Judy Blume
Judy Blume must have known me down to my very core when she wrote her very beloved novels. She was clear, writing about things we worried about, and never talked down to kids in her books. Aside from this title, which I quickly reread before the movie came out last spring (watch it; I cried.), my favorites of hers were “Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself,” “Blubber” and “Forever.” “Forever” was all the rage when we were in the upper elementary grades. Mom bought it for me, and everyone else was jealous because I was allowed to read it. I reread it last winter, and it is such a special book that talks about the normal, everyday things in a teen’s life, the choices they must make.
My friend gave me some steps to get into physical reading again, and I’m going to implement them so I can get back to my first love. I’ve always believed you can’t write good stories unless you read good books.
Melissa Herrera is a published author and opinion columnist. She is a curator of vintage mugs and all things spooky, and her book, “TOÑO LIVES,” can be found at www.tinyurl.com/Tonolives. For inquiries, to purchase her book or anything else on your mind, email her at junkbabe68@gmail.com or find her in the thrift aisles.