The weekly post
The one where we gush for the re-read
Hi friends, I am home from Chicago, filled with gratitude and an overly healthy dose of joy. The trip was a whirlwind in every sense of the word - it challenged me professionally in new and exciting ways, and it provided the break from DC that I desperately craved at the end of this summer. As expected, I read about three minutes (max) each day and was so grateful to have brought a trusted (and motivating) reread with me for the journey. I am truly delighted to share this most recent review with you. It’s one that I first read in the summer of 2022, and because I didn’t have this newsletter then, I have never properly reviewed it.
While DC likely has several weeks left of unofficial summer, I must admit, I am getting ready for cozier fall vibes and easy excuses to curl up with a good book in the months ahead. There are so many books I have queued up for the cooler seasons, and I do hope you’ll keep sharing your recommendations. Wherever you are, whatever you’re reading, I hope you’re taking good care and enjoy the last long weekend of summer.
Currently Reading
MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY by Anna Tendler. I have been loving seeing Anna Tendler get her flowers during her book tour over the past couple of weeks. The reception to her memoir has been beyond incredible, and just a few chapters in, I fully appreciate why. Anna’s writing is thus far beautiful and raw, and I can only imagine the strength required to pull back the curtain and reveal such intimate vulnerabilities. While I know this certainly won’t be an easy book to read, I do think it will be an illuminating and relatable one, and I’m looking forward to sharing a full review soon.
Recent Recommendations
CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid (5 stars). I love this book. I loooove this book. This marks my third time reading Carrie Soto, and each time, I am blown away and overwhelmed with how much I love this book. I also seemingly have a real knack for picking it up right when I need to absorb some of its more powerful lines and messages.
Carrie Soto is Back tells the story of world-renowned tennis player Carrie Soto. When she retires, she is considered one of the greatest tennis players the world has ever seen: she holds the record for most Slam titles ever won, and in many ways, she has completely reinvented women’s tennis. Years later, as she watches competitor Nicki Chan overtake her Slams record at the US Open, Carrie decides she will come out of retirement at age 37 to win one more Slam and ensure she cements her place as a legend. What follows is Carrie’s journey retraining as an elite athlete - with her father as her coach - in preparation to play all four Grand Slams: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.
So much of what I love about this novel is in how inspiring it is, in so many distinct ways. To state what is perhaps the obvious, to come out of retirement at age 37 and train as an elite tennis player is an unthinkable feat and one that requires unparalleled physical and mental discipline. Taylor Jenkins Reid writes this novel in such a way that there is a palpable buzz that underlies Carrie’s training. Her athleticism and grit cuts across the page and makes for an extraordinarily thrilling read. Truly, on each of my rereads of this novel, I have not been able to recall the outcomes of each of Carrie’s Grand Slam endeavors - reading through each one of her matches is a nail-biter, and I feel as though I am actually there to experience them in person. What a remarkable testament to Reid’s writing style and the ways in which she understands Carrie as a character.
Even more than the sheer athleticism - that truly does create such a page-turning reading experience - is Carrie’s refusal to apologize for being the greatest at what she does. In addition to being known as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she is also known as a wildly unlikeable woman - pundits and fellow players have all sorts of nasty nicknames and unrealistic expectations for her. In one of the earliest moments of the book, Carrie reflects, “It wasn’t enough to play nearly perfect tennis. I had to do that and also be charming. And that charm had to appear effortless…It was okay to win as long as I acted surprised when I did and attributed it to luck. I should never let on how much I wanted to win or, worse, that I believed I deserved to win… The bulk of the commentators… they wanted a woman whose eyes would tear up with gratitude, as if she owed them her victory, as if she owed them everything she had.” If that feels heavy-handed in its message, I would offer that I have often craved the ability to be so heavy-handed in my own frustrations about how I am supposed to show up in all sorts of settings. Carrie Soto is unapologetically badass and deeply flawed; she is the greatest at her sport and deserves to declare that proudly, and she often unfairly directs her frustration and anger at those closest to her. Carrie embodies a female protagonist who does not feel the need to soften her edges to put others at ease, and frankly, that’s refreshing.
There’s too much to say about how much I love this book (clearly). As soon as I read it, I knew it would live on as one of my all-time favorites from Taylor Jenkins Reid, and on each read, I have found new little details to latch onto and love. This is a love letter to the sport of tennis, and I should only hope we can all carry at least a small piece of Carrie’s unshakeable confidence and strength forward.
Recommend for… fans of historical fiction, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and anyone tuning into the US Open this weekend
Up Next
THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Alison Espach and A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab. I’ve heard mixed reviews on the first, though I’m intrigued by the plot, and the second is one that I’m reading for book club (and it’s by the same author as The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue which was one of my standout favorites from last year). I’d love to hear if either of these are on your list!
Quote for the Week
“I am so grateful, right now, for every match and every win and every loss, and every lesson that I have behind me. It feels so good, right now, to be thirty-seven years old. To have figured at least some things out. To know the ground underneath my feet.” - Carrie Soto is Back
Three Words
Grateful, hopeful, joyful.