Finding Joy: Reading

Age two, book in hand

If you were to observe me as a little kid, chances are I'd have my head in a book. I am so thankful that my parents got me so excited to read at such a young age, and it's a hobby that has carried.  Books are like crack to me -- I can't even explain it.

After I graduated from school, I started reading more... mindfully.  I expanded the types of books I read, broadening my nonfiction choices in particular -- as an English lit major, I was already reading broadly in fiction.  And I also started tracking all of the books I read every year to get a sense of what I like and what I didn't.  For some time, I was writing short little G+ posts for all of the books that I watched, but at some point it became too much, so I stopped.

But it's been a particularly busy reading year for me, so I wanted to share some of my favorites so far in the first six months -- I managed to get through 39 books!  There weren't a ton that I hated -- I'm at the point where if I don't like it pretty quickly, I'll dump it -- but I wanted to pull out the top books that I've read so far this year.  I've tried to include some information to help you decide if it's a good match for you, as books aren't generally "good" or "bad" (though I would argue that this is where enjoyment is concerned, and that, objectively, there are ways to sort books by the quality or depth of the prose...) but really depend on the reader and what he or she is seeking.

So, without any further ado...

Fiction

Beautiful Ruins (Jess Walter)
This book blew me away.  Beautiful Ruins is the the story, across 40+ years, of an Italian man, an American actress, and a supporting cast of characters that follows them as they try, in a few words, to find happiness.  The writing is incredibly rich and poetic, and I'd dub this a "new classic."  The story and the themes feel timeless, and I wished it wouldn't end.  I would say more, but I fear it would ruin the book.  It's the best book I've read this year so far, which is saying something...

This Is Where I Leave You (Jonathan Trotter)
I am going to put Jonathan Trotter's name on the list of authors I would want to write like.  That sentence wasn't even proper, but moving along... He is witty, cutting, and has the ability to break down days, people, and thoughts into exquisite detail.  I devoured this book.  It's about a slightly dysfunction family that comes together to sit shiva, a week-long mourning period, after their father's death.  The characters are perfectly flawed and their interactions were so entertaining to read.  Highly, highly recommend.

The Irresistible Henry House (Lisa Grunwald)
Henry House is a "house baby," an orphan adopted by a house mother at a home economics college.  He will be raised by a group of college girls, each taking a turn staying in the house and serving as his mother.  I was struck that this would be such an odd sort of life, and the book follows Henry into early adulthood, showing how a strange beginning plays out over the course of part of Henry's life.  Henry is, at times, and elusive character, and the story of his house mother is a good counterpart to the story.

A Partial History of Lost Causes (Jennifer Dubois)
Moving between 1980s USSR and the modern day, this book felt heavy, but I'm still recommending it because I have a thing for books that interweave stories -- my mind is always on a quest to figure out how they fit together!  A young American woman is dying from a strange disease, the same one that took her father, and as her father's passion was chess, she decides to reach out to a Russian chess prodigy that her father followed for years, thinking he might have the answers to her predicament   Sound weird?  Well, I thought so too. But by suspending reality (come again? she wanted to reach out to some chess guy?), the book was incredibly enjoyable.

Little House on the Prairie Series (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
I had been plowing through some thick, deep nonfiction (see Far From the Tree, below) and needed a break.  I had come across a book called The Wilder Life at Powells when we were visiting my family a few months ago -- it's about a woman who visits all of the Little House on the Prairie sites -- and so I plowed back into the nine-volume original series.  It was a childhood favorite of mine, and, judging by my handwriting on the interior cover, I must have started reading it at about six years old or so.  Anyway, it was a cool trip back in time (both to my childhood and to the prairie years). I have gone back and read childhood favorites a few times now, and I cannot recommend it enough.  So whatever chapter books you first immersed yourself in, go back again -- you'll be glad that you did!

All Woman and Springtime (Brandon W. Jones)
This novel follows two North Korean women who spend their days as grunt workers and live in an orphanage.  As someone who is fascinated by other cultures, picking up this book was a no-brainer, though I don't assume that the author really knew that much about one of the world's most secretive modern cultures.  Instead, I appreciated the interplay between the two main characters as they travel through the book's various settings, which I dare not say more about or else I'll spoil it (note: don't you hate it when people SPOIL good books?  I won't ever do that to you -- I promise!).

Wow, I'm not sure what I was reading.  But it was
very intriguing, clearly.

Non-Fiction

84 Charing Cross Road (Helene Hanff)
This very short (less than a hundred pages) book is a set of letters between a voracious American reader and British man who owns a small bookshop (and, occasionally, his staff) as they talk about books and exchange them back and forth.  What was amazing about this book was the casual intimacy that can develop through shared love of literature, and the correspondance stretches for many decades.  I love reading about reading, and this was a perfect length for such a book.

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (Neal Gabler)
Yes, I love Space Mountain as much as the next person, but what drew me to this particular biography was the man behind the mouse.  In some ways, the book wasn't entirely a surprise -- even if you know little about Mr. Disney, it doesn't take a genius to guess that he was a bit obsessive and a bit driven to launch one of the world's most recognizable characters.  What was surprising was how often Disney, and his companies, failed, and failed miserably, and how few of the early films we now call classics (Bambi, Snow White, Cinderella) almost bankrupted the studio.  I find biographies are a bit of a gamble (half of them seem good, the other half pretty dry), but this one, at a whopping 700 pages, never lost my attention.  What I was left wondering, though, was how the company evolved after his death, something that is not covered in this volume -- so if you have any recommendations, let me know!

In a Sunburned Country (Bill Bryson)
Australia is a place near to my heart, and though I've only been twice, if you made me leave the US, I'd probably move straight there.  Bill Bryson documents his travels around the continent, from the large metropolitan areas to Uluru and the remote, isolated Western coast.  Bryson tells the stories of the people who made the country what it is, and there's a sense that the people, the Aussies themselves, are why Bryson is so enamored with Australia.  I'd have to agree.

Far From the Tree (Andrew Solomon)
I'm not sure where to start.  Far From the Tree is an epic book that the author compiled through more than a decade of research and interviews.  To put it simply, he is studying the boundaries between identity and disability, and he explores this in two main ways in each chapter, which is devoted to what we might identify as a "disability" (though the word du jour seems to be "neurodiversity"): first, through the stories of children and their parents, and secondly through a history of the disability and the current state of how it is treated, perceived, etc.  Some of these chapters are long and dense (75+ pages), but because each is broken up and moves back and forth between stories and history, they move much faster than I would have thought (with the exception of one or two).  The stories are real and raw and are filled with both love and despair.  It's not often in books you'll go from a story of triumph to a story of a parent who wants to kill their child a few pages later.  This book was heavy -- very, very heavy -- and stunning.  Despite a pretty weak final chapter (which, sadly, is the author's personal story), I highly, highly recommend this book.  It's not a beach read, to be sure, but it will challenge you and amaze you.

I'm really looking forward to some of the books in my stack for the second half of the year -- especially since I'll spend so much of it on the road! -- so stay tuned for a few more picks in six months!

xo
Sarah