You’re Wondering What Post-Roe America Looks Like

Are following summer celeb romances or participating in a library’s summer reading program

Hi friends,

Happy (belated) Fourth of July! I spent the long weekend sitting by the apartment pool with good friends and good books. Did you read anything good this weekend? Let me know.

Before diving into this week’s recs, a quick request: Please do not buy, read and then return books on Amazon. Self-published authors are reporting they owe Amazon money because of this practice, which trended on TikTok. While Amazon refunds the buyers, it charges authors when someone returns their book, so writers are losing money as customers purchase, read and return entire series. 

I know we’re all on a book budget, but please use your library to get free books instead of going this route.

And, now, what to read if …

You’re Wondering What Post-Roe America Looks Like

The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler

I wanted to hold off on writing about the Supreme Court’s decision determining there is no federal right to an abortion until I had time to pull my thoughts together and write something coherent. I’m not sure I’m quite there yet, but I’m ready to try. I tend to come down in the “safe, legal and rare” camp when it comes to abortion — and firmly believe people make the right decisions for themselves and their families. 

 My biggest immediate concern is the sheer amount of bad state laws — passed when overturning Roe vs. Wade seemed like a pipe dream — now going into effect. South Dakota and Texas have banned abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. Anti-abortion activists have floated the idea of banning women from traveling out of state for the procedure (a measure Justice Kavanaugh wrote would be unconstitutional in his concurring opinion). People looking to grow their families through IVF could face new complications. There’s a chance doctors and patients could be prosecuted. It’s, in a word, a mess.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about Ann Fessler’s The Girls Who Went Away, a book I first read a decade ago that has stuck with me ever since. Fessler documents the lives of women and girls sent to pregnancy homes, where they were coerced into giving their babies to adoptive families, between the end of World War II and the landmark Roe decision in 1973. Their families — ashamed of the pregnancies — urged them to move past their “mistake” and simply restart their old lives.  

Fessler, an adoptee herself, interviewed more than 100 women who spent time in pregnancy homes. Her book shows these women could not just move on. “Guilt was always such a pervasive part for me. Not that I was sexual, or not that I was pregnant, but that I let somebody take my child,” one woman told the author.

The Girls Who Went Away isn’t really a book about abortion but rather a deft exploration of what happens when reproductive choices are limited, and of our obsession with policing women’s bodies. An interesting read for this moment. 

Bingo boxes this book checks: Book set before 1975, book that teaches you something new

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You’re Following the Celebrity Marriage Gossip

Act Like It by Lucy Parker

For something much lighter: rumors swirled last week that Taylor Swift and her long-term boyfriend Joe Alwyn, star of Hulu’s “Conservations With Friends” are secretly engaged. (Before you get too excited, Jezebel reminds me this “report” circulates every few months.) On top of that, Elizabeth Olsen revealed she and musician Robbie Arnett secretly eloped before the pandemic started. If the news has you craving a celebrity romance, look no further than Lucy Parker’s Act Like It. 

The book follows Lainie Graham, a beloved actress, and Richard Troy, an actor known equally for his talent and temper, starring in a play in London’s West End. After a photo of them goes viral, the show’s producers pressure Lainie and Richard to pretend to date, a stunt devised to drive ticket sales. Lainie signs on to the plan when the producers agree to donate a portion of the play’s proceeds to a charity she supports, and Richard recognizes a chance for Lainie’s solid reputation to boost his. Their fake relationship works, perhaps too well. While the press breathlessly covers each of their outings and ticket sales surge, Lainie and Richard catch feelings for one another.

Lucy Parker is a gem and this series, in particular, is a standout. The dialogue sparkles and the banter between Lainie and Richard is topnotch. I’ve listened to some of the books in the series and read others — each experience is fantastic.

Bingo boxes this book checks: First in a series, book set outside the U.S.

You’re Participating in the Library’s Summer Reading Program

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

I love library summer reading programs so much that I made my own. They’re a great way to get people excited about reading and visiting the library. If you’re a library lover — and if you’re a subscriber of this newsletter, you probably are — consider grabbing The Reading List, a love letter to all things books and libraries.

As the book opens, its two main characters — elderly widower Mukesh and teen Aleisha — are both a little lost. Mukesh is still grieving his wife’s death, and Aleisha is attempting to manage her mother’s severe, untreated mental illness. They both start to come out of their shells when Aleisha finds a list of recommended books hidden at the library where she works. She begins to work through the suggestions and shares them with Mukesh. The pair begin to find solace in fiction and each other.

The Reading List is perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove, Mike Gayle’s All the Lonely People or any similar books about isolated folks forming unlikely friendships. It’s a life-affirming book that reminds us of the importance of community and the comfort a good book can offer.

Bingo boxes this book checks: New-to-you author, book with multiple narrators, book set outside the U.S.

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That’s it for me this week. You can catch up on last week’s recs here and read my Q&A with Anne Trubek, the founder of Belt Publishing, here.

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What to Read If is a free weekly book recommendation newsletter. Need a rec? Want to gush about a book? Reply to this email, leave a comment or find me on Twitter @elizabethheld.

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