It has been a busy summer of many things, including reading. Initially I had planned on writing a book blog near the end of the year to sum up the rest of what I had read, but this summer was such a big reading summer -- 2 book and counting! -- that it made sense to share some of my favorites now instead of writing a massive post in December.
I've been getting pickier and pickier when it comes to reading. Don't get me wrong -- I still like a little pop fiction now and then -- but my book spreadsheet keeps growing and growing and I can't keep up! So I've stopped reading a fair number of books when I realize that it's not worth it (I give myself 50-100 pages for any given book and if I'm not loving it by then, I'm done) and because of that, my list of books to recommend has grown longer because I'm doing a better job of picking them!
One last note -- I have a pretty broad taste in books, so if you have a more particular taste but still want to try something out, drop me a note! I love recommending books to people once I know their tastes -- it's much harder to do it blindly!
The Thorn Birds: I have a thing for epic novels -- Gone With the Wind will always have a special place in my heart -- so this one seemed like something I would enjoy. It follows the story of the Cleary family and their family farm, Drogheda, in the Australian outback. Though the story is told, or framed, by different family members over the years, the narrator seems to be third-person omniscient throughout. Like most epics, there is love, loss, marriage, death, hope, and failure -- and giving any additional details seems less than helpful. It seems that every woman I've mentioned this book to over the age of 40 or 50 is enthralled -- the lady who rang me up at Powell's was so excited that I was reading the book and warned me off about the mini-series -- but no one else seems to know about it. If nothing else, maybe this will help you consider picking up a "new classic" that might have escaped your notice.
This Is Where I Leave You: I love books about dysfunctional families. I'm not sure -- my family seems functional. The book follows the four Foxman siblings in the week after their father's death. They are brought together to sit shivah, a traditional Jewish mourning period that lasts seven days. What made this particular dysfunctional family so fun to read about was Tropper's sharp-edged dialogue, especially between Judd and his unfaithful wife, Jen, who he catches sleeping with his boss. It's the sort of book that made me think, "Where do I find a family that is this witty?" Of course, it might get tiring. But not for a few hundred pages.
The Light Between Oceans: Richly descriptive, this novel follows newly-married, but still childless, Tom and Isabel, who are isolated as lighthouse keepers miles off of the coast ofWestern Australia. Isabel, desperate to become a mother, suffers a series of miscarriages, but one day finds a lifeboat with a live infant and a dead man. Rather than report what happened, they decide to raise the baby, a girl, as their own. If you are thinking to yourself, this can't possibly turn out well, you're right -- and two years later when they return to the mainland, it all hits the fan. I couldn't stop reading.
The Chaperone: As I read about Cora Carlisle's life, I was reminded why never living in the Midwest would be an okay thing after all, at least not in the 1920s. Bored with life after her sons left the house, she volunteers to chaperone an up-and-coming fifteen-year-old dancer to New York for a month, hoping that she can help safeguard the girl's already precarious reputation. I have to admit that I have a thing for novels set in the '20s, though at times Cora seemed too thoroughly modern for me. Nonetheless, I was impressed with the way that story continued past my predictions and let you see how these two women turned out.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: A common pattern in my media-consumption pattern once I got Netflix is as follows. I'll notice an interesting movie Netflix things I should watch and think to myself, "Oh, I really wanted to read that book." I'll add the movie into my queue and stew over it for a few weeks before caving and buying the book, because I know that I'll never enjoy it as much if I go in the opposite order. True to form, while the movie was good enough, the book reminded me of a grown-up version of Dear Mr. Henshaw (and who didn't love that book??). Comprised from letters from Charlie, a somewhat lost and sometimes socially-awkward high school freshman to an unknown other person, we follow along as Charlie shares about making friends, getting kissed, and grieving as those friends move on. I'm not sure how a man in his forties can write about being fourteen so well, but I'm convinced.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: My dad and I read a lot of the same books -- either by chance or by choice -- but rarely does he text me five or six times to tell me how much he loves a book, as he did with this one. Harold Fry is a retired gentleman who spends most of his time at home or in his garden -- a normal-sounding man until you realize he has no contact with his son and has a very tenuous relationship with his wife, Maureen. When he receives a letter from a former colleague who is dying from cancer, he decides to walk several hundred miles to give her hope. What I loved most about this novel was the intermixing of Harold's journey with important stories from his past and the rough, gritty descriptions of some of the scenes, some that just made me cringe a little. It's a good sign when words on a page can make you react in that way!
Sweet Tooth: Ian McEwan, one of my all-time favorite authors, focuses his latest novel on a young Cambridge student in the 1970s that is recruited to join MI5. McEwan, even across almost thirty years of novels, maintains his signature attention to detail, not just within a particular scene (though he continues to do this and make you feel like you are standing right there with the caterpillars) but in helping the reader analyze and understand the characters and their experiences. As with all McEwan books, there are some serious twists, just enough to be realistic but keep you on your toes. I might say this every time I read another one of his books, but I'd recommend starting with Atonement or On Chesil Beach, though I recognize he's not for everyone!
The Secret Keeper: To confess first: I'm a big Kate Morton fangirl. I'm not sure how I came across her first book, but this is her fourth and I haven't gotten bored yet. I think she writes in a nice middle ground between literary and popular fiction. This story gets bonus points because it was set across multiple generations, including a portion set during WWII, one of my favorite periods for historical fiction. The story centers around a mother and daughter, Dorothy and Laurel, and a stabbing incident that Laurel witnesses as a teenager. Now Dorothy is slowly dying and Laurel has one last chance to understand what happened. I couldn't put it down.
Good Wives: Literary geek moment -- This summer while in the Northeast, I had the chance to visit Louisa May Alcott's girlhood home, Orchard House. Not only could you see the desk where she likely penned all of her novels, but you could imagine the four March girls tearing into the room. As we explored the bookstore/gift shop after our tour, my mom and I noticed this book, Good Wives, we realized neither of us had read it, and because it would come with a special Orchard House bookplate, I had to buy it there. Good Wives picks up where Little Women left off -- I always assumed it was Little Men -- and follows the three remaining sisters who remain at home after Meg has married. If you've seen the most recent film adaptation, nothing in this book will surprise you -- and I guess I'm not surprised that Hollywood threw the two books together. But discovering another book with some of your favorite literary characters? That's an #epicwin.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette: Wow -- I didn't realize that I really liked dysfunctional families, and yet, here we are again with Where'd You Go, Bernadette -- a book set in Seattle that follows Bernadette, an eccentric mother, her husband and Microsoft bigwig, Elgin, and her 15-year-old daughter, Bee. They live in a house that is literally crumbling around them, and Bernadette spends most of her time locked in the house -- that is, if she's not disagreeing with the other private school parents she sees in the school pick-up line. As the title suggests, one day, Bernadette just up and disappears, and we have to follow Bee's train of thought as she attempts to find what happened to her mother. I think this neglected modern family might be a bit extreme, but not that far from what some people actually experience today -- and that is the real tragedy.
Gone Girl: I know, I know -- I'm far behind on this book. I didn't pick it up until it was already popular, which makes me a book trend follower (thus super uncool). But now I can say that I understand what all the fuss is about, and why the story of Nick and Amy Dunne is so damn addictive. Nick wakes up on his five-year anniversary, but by midmorning she is missing and he is not sure where she has gone... or is he? Gone Girl is classic mystery writing at its best, with twists and turns as the author digs into the lives to two people who you hate and love. What set this book apart for me was that the characters were much more interesting and well-developed than the average mystery book and the writing was gripping and witty without falling into some classic mystery cliches.
Dark Places: I was so enamored with Gillian Flynn that I had to check out another one of her books. As the title suggests, this is a darker book about a seven-year-old named Libby Day whose testimony convicts her older brother of the murders of her mother and two sisters. Like Gone Girl, from the outset it is very unclear what actually has happened, and the book follows Libby as she explores her doubts about her testimony. This book was a little grittier, but I found Libby a little less relatable than the characters in Gone Girl, so I think she hit her stride in her latest book, but this one is a good read nonetheless.
Non-Fiction
The Gifts of Imperfection: In case you haven't seen it, you should check out my blog post about my experience with this book and the ugliness of perfection as I have experienced it. So I won't go into a deeper review here other than to say that I read a lot of books about change, exploring yourself, etc., and I particularly liked this one.
Beyond Belief: It seems that Scientology, or its famous members (Tom Cruise, anyone?), are often in the news and I realized that I never learned much about the beliefs of this "religion." Clearly a Wikipedia article was not going to give me what I wanted to know, so I found this book, penned by the niece of the church's leader, David Miscavige. If you are prone to disliking this religion, I suggest not reading this book because you will find it upsetting, probably much more so than I did. The author, while not a very strong writer, tells an incredibly compelling story of what it was like to have to clear words, do hard labor from the age of six or seven, and be shuttled around the country based on the whims of her church. But you start the book knowing there is a happy ending (she escapes as an adult) and it makes you wonder how a cult like this is allowed to operate in America.
Happier at Home: I fell in love with Gretchen Rubin's first book, The Happiness Project, because she is slightly OCD, completely determined, and funny in a dorky, geeky way. The sequel, Happier at Home, has a slightly narrower focus -- how to have a happier home experience. In her now trademark way, Rubin intertwines her personal experiences with anecdotes, stories, and ideas from books (she must read dozens and dozens as research) and it inspired me, as always, to do something about it, namely a deep clean of my own house. This book would make an excellent Spring Cleaning pre-read!
The Journal of Best Practices: David Finch is attempting to best-practice himself out of Asperger syndrome. Yeah, right! was my first thought when I read this. But he is incredibly motivated because he realizes that, after several years of marriage, it isn't going as well as he'd like it to. With an adult diagnosis, Finch is somehow freed from expectations and begins to work with his wife, obsessively constructing piles of Post-Its and notebooks of ideas on how to be a better husband. What comes, though, is something unexpected -- self-acceptance. Despite all of his quicks, it is clear how much his wife loves him, so I found the book very funny and charming.
Zoo Story: I have a soft spot in my heart for zoos -- whenever I have an opportunity to visit one, I do, so this book was an obvious choice. It details several years in the lives of the captive animals and humans of Tampa's zoo. From the zoo's mascot (a feisty male chimp) to the keepers who love snakes, or from the new herd of elephants to the controversial directors, I learned some surprising things about zoos (Did you know that many zoos pay their keepers minimum wage, putting them below the poverty line in major cities? I had no idea!). The book also explores a debate I've had with myself -- is it better to keep a small number of animals in captivity to "save" the species? I had hoped for a bigger call for reform at the end of the book, but took it upon myself to start researching zoo charities, which is a win-win.
A Fort of Nine Towers: I have read several books, both fiction and memoirs, about Afghanistan. The country itself fascinates me -- a mix of culture and ruin, tainted with this or that invading or "peacekeeping" force. This memoir, written by a young Afghani man named Qais, was the most gritty and depressing of the lot. Qais has early memories of a peaceful, civilized Afghanistan when his father and grandfather were well-respected, employed men and his mother dressed as Westerners did and worked at a bank. But over the years, different factions or foreigners drastically changed the lives of Qais and his family, forcing them to flee Kabul and spend many years away from their family home. It is a sad world that we live in, sometimes, and it is good not to forget it.
Drop Dead Healthy: But, to end on a healthier note, I laughed out loud many a time while enjoying the lasted volume by AJ Jacobs, who I first encountered in his most well-known book, A Year of Living Biblically (I highly recommend it as well). This is the fourth book of his that I've read, and of all the writers I've sampled who like to try experiments and write about them, well, Mr. Jacobs comes out on top. The man goes so deep into whatever he tries that you can't help but root for him while wondering, Could I ever possibly go there? He is on a quest to become the world's healthiest (which he later decides to change to "healthier") man by attacking his diet, exercise, his mental health, and anything else you can think of, literally from head to toe. If you are a little bit health-crazed, as I am, I'd wager you'll love this book too.
So, there you have them! It's been a busy summer but I hope you can find something here to carry you into the cooling fall months when you curl up at the fireside!
xo
Sarah
So, there you have them! It's been a busy summer but I hope you can find something here to carry you into the cooling fall months when you curl up at the fireside!
xo
Sarah
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