It Starts With Us | Colleen Hoover

A sequel to Colleens ‘It Ends With Us’. This addition brings a full circle moment of what it means to grapple with choices and the emotional processing that can occur post an abusive relationship.

The Club | Ellery Lloyd

Being a Reese Witherspoon pick, I assumed I would find this a rapid read, but not so. Be it the wrong timing for me or just simply not enjoying the writing style….
although read it - It was a struggle. I like the idea of a ‘who dun it’ set in a high society club / island retreat, but the execution of this read was hard to follow for me.

To Sir Phillip With Love | Julia Quinn

Another book in the Bridgerton series with perhaps my favourite character in the family. Eloise. Quippy, sassy, independent and gutsy we get to see her fumble her way through a relationship. I loved every page. A great indulgent ‘just for fun’ summer read.

TV / FILMS OF NOTE

Barbie - because not only is it the perfect summer film, but it also flips everything upside down in the most beautiful side wink way.
The Incredibles - because every eight year old needs to see this animation.
Jury Duty S01 - a social experiment done right. Although shocking in it’s premise, it is a heartwarming and beautiful work of art that has an uplifting outcome.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton | Julia Quinn

Despite the third season of Bridgerton not coming out until late 2023, I wanted to make sure I had read its ‘inspired by’ corresponding book. Bridgerton seasons are often different from the texts. Still, I enjoy reading how Julia wrote the characters and how Shonda Rhimes works magic to make a Regency-era series reflect a variety of cultures and tones of today. Shonda continues to break the ceilings in television and give us audience cultural nutrients in the guise of a dessert. In the fourth book, which will be the third season of the Netflix series, we get the story of Collin & Pen. I loved every delicious and sweet mishap. Any more, and I’ll spoil it, but let’s say it’s my second favourite book thus far in the series.

Dream More | Dolly Parton

Ms.Dolly constantly throws out truth bombs, and I loved this short, quirky little read.

Apples Never Fall | Liane Moriarty

Despite the somewhat slow start, this read is an excellent example of giving the reader just enough to want to continue reading and finding out ‘more.’ It is safe to say; I did not see the ending coming. Enough said.

TV/FILMS OF NOTE
Selena: My Mind & Me - I love how Selena lays out her mental health journey in a human way. It’s a normal human thing, and I hope our generation and those that follow can do it better. Open up our journeys and humanize them. They are not to be ashamed of. We learn so much from each other when we are honest.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - A sister film to Knives Out featuring the detective from the first film. A classic, quirky and twisty ‘who dun it.’
Succession S04 - If Shakespeare was making television…you would get Succession. Every episode was intense and equally dark in the most thought-provoking ways.
The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel S05 - ripped apart that this was the last season. Saying goodbye to these characters was torture, yet every episode was a joy, intellectually stimulating and earth-shifting in delivery. True art. Amy Sherman Palladino OUTDID herself with these characters.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: a child reads a book in a chair beside a stack of books. TEXT: February Reads 2023 byamygrace overtop image.

An Offer From a Gentleman | Julia Quinn

Although I know Book #4 will be the focus of the next instalment of Shonda Rhimes Adaptation of the Bridgerton Series, I will not be trying to rush the series. I picked up book #3 for the month and enjoyed its Cinderella influence. This book focuses on Benedict Bridgerton, and it’s a fun dessert of a read. No complaints. Simply sweet.

Hungry Hearts | Jennifer Rudolph Walsh

A collection of essays from Jennifer and multiple writers on courage, desire and belonging. This passage from Jennifer has stuck with me since closing the book.

“We need both sides of storytelling-listening to others’ stories and telling our own - to embrace one another in our full humanity. In bearing witness, we allow ourselves to be witnessed. This is the life-changing power of storytelling - to connect those of us who will never meet or have just met, as well as to deeper our connections to the people we love the most. Listen with an open heart and without judgement to what others have to share, and take courage from these pages as you go out and tell the world your truth.”

The Pull of the Stars | Emma Donoghue

Following a nurse in a maternity ward in 1918 during the height of a pandemic, aka “The Great Flu,” we get a peek into what it was like to be serving the many women who were coming in sick and pregnant. Many are without their husbands and support and are about to die. This read took me longer to get through than I would like, but topically it feels important enough to finish all the way around.

Beautiful Little Fools | Jillian Cantor

Jillian takes the classic The Great Gatsby and gives us the spin we all need. Form the eyes of the women. Daisy, Jordon and Catherine, Myrtle’s sister, all take the leading roles in this perspective shift. From Jordon on the golf course, Daisy on her mission to find a husband, and Catherine finding her own way in New York City, we get a whirlwind tale that, if I am being honest, I prefer significantly to the original.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Four books in a row: Hungry Hearts by Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue, Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor, An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

Run Towards The Danger | Sarah Polley

I liked to say I was a Sarah fan before anyone else talked about her. I first saw her in various Canadian mini and long-form television series as a child. Being precisely ten years apart meant that when I began taking in her work as a young adult, she spoke to things in her projects that I desperately needed. I am bold enough to believe she is the creative older sister and mentor out there, paving the way for deeply nuanced, raw and daring work.

Run Towards The Danger is another example of Sarah paving the way. She lets us in, yet again, to her life, reflections and processing as a way of healing, and although I know I am made more whole reading her thought-provoking words…I know she must have been broken open and made whole to write them.

I aspire to be as reflective, deep and concise as she has been in this memoir.

Come As You Are | Emily Nagoski

I first read Emily's work in the book she wrote with her sister, "Unlocking the Stress Cycle." It was a powerful look at how mind, bodies and souls are locked into play with each other and how our scientifically understanding of these entities allows us to better move through life as people, especially as women. Come as You Are is another excellent read by Emily on the process of the feminine body, mind and soul. Emily lays out the realities, the nuance and the vast differences of what it means to hold our sex lives not on a pedestal but in a sacred place that deserves to be respected for their unique journeys.

In a world where sex research has been targeted so much for results in men, it is beautiful to have more research on women.

Kristys Big Day | Ann M. Martin

Going back to nostalgia with this rapid read in The Babysitters Club series. I continue to be surprised by the real-life issues that Ann could easily weave into these characters.

Films / TV Series of Note:

This Is Us S06 - Finishing the last installment of the series was bitter-sweet, and our Favourite episode is second to last. A beautiful ending.

Only Murders In the Building S01 - Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez are fantastic in this light-hearted yet still suspenseful murder mystery.