What I’m Reading
I did something new. Well, something I have not done in a while; I joined two book clubs. Over the past few months, I have found more time to read. I always enjoy a good book recommendation, and this blog post was written to share my favorite and most recent book finds with you. In fact, these books have become my best friends over the past few months. I hope you enjoy and please comment or send your recommendations, as well. They are listed below in no particular order.
This book is written by Kelley Reid a graduate from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop who currently lives in Philadelphia. Such a Fun Age explores, family, race, and class. This page-turning book looks at how our beginnings and our actions bring consequences.
Is that still happening? Are things getting better? What does “better” look like? Originally written in 1997, and now Beverly Daniel Tatum’s TWENTIETH anniversary edition of her 1997 book is asking what has changed in the last twenty years? A dialogue for adapting by asking, “If we are dissatisfied with the way things are what can we do to change it?” This book has been a great starting point for discussions with friends.
Based in 1937, the parallels of the Depression and our world pandemic are insightful. This historical fiction is beautifully and brilliantly written by Amor Towles. If you read one book on this list, I would recommend this one. Interpersonal relationships intermingle with dreams as Katey Kontent makes her way into the high society circles of New York.
NEXT on my list; I have not started it yet. Rules of Civility was an all-time favorite read, and this is the second book released by Amor Towles. Friends and family who read his first release recommended this book over the other. I can’t wait to start reading it.
The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse
Bits of wisdom and healing told by the boy and his friends: the mole, the fox, and the Horse. This is what the world needs right now, and the pictures make each page a valuable lesson broken into bite-size pieces of knowledge. A gentle reminder of human kindness and personal triumph. Great for adults and kids.
From a poll with some friends, this book was either loved or thought as a nice read but not too much more. For me, the book was slow at first, but a few chapters in it turned out to be a lovely, quick read. I cried like a baby, and I personally loved the story and how it interweaved nature and details from the marsh.
Reading this now, as well. Highly recommended. A bit longer than some of the others listed, but a beloved New York Times and Pulitzer Prize book. This fictional bestseller is known for making you think differently about human resilience and showcases love, fate, brokenness, and inhumanity during war.
This book recently was turned into a Hulu series staring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. I am glad I read the book before I saw the series. While it took me a few chapters to get into the story, I loved how it ended. This book made me rethink how a town’s “normal” impacts others. This book contrasts two families in the 1990s who live in Shaker Village, Ohio. Pearl and Mia where my favorite characters, and I enjoyed the insight on race, family, and class.
Finally, this past week a colleague asked, “What are you grateful for?”
“Good books.” That was the answer given during our discussion, and it make me realize how blessed we are to have records of wisdom and creativity at our fingertips. We are given a lifetime to learn and transmit the knowledge from these books. It was a nice reminder to be grateful.
The books are also linked here on my LIKEtoKNOW.it page http://liketk.it/2VZsN
