Read in September 2023

 

September was full of fabulous reads and two duds. Read on to find out which is which! 

The Postcard by Anne Berest: This was an engaging, well-written novel that takes place during WWII with the author's own family as the inspiration. The characters are real people and you can even see pictures of them online, which made the whole story even more heartbreaking. The story is structured in an interesting way - I recommend this one to everyone!

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want To Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan: Unlike Yes Man, this book actually involved saying yes to opportunities. As an introvert, some of the things that Pan does are downright terrifying: stand-up comedy! Improv! Networking! She learns and grows along the way, which makes for the best type of memoir. If you are an extrovert you may not totally get this one, but read it to see how the other half lives.

My Murder by Katie Williams: In the future, those who have died can be cloned exactly and be given their life back. The main character of this book is a young victim of a serial killer who starts to question the circumstances of her murder. The premise of the book was clever and there is a twist I was not expecting.

The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams: I read the first book in this series and liked it enough to pick up this one, but was disappointed. It's like the author heard "cozy mystery" and then went over the top with the cozy to the point where it became ridiculous. Everyone is always eating "comfort scones" and sipping hot drinks from mugs with witty sayings. The main character is "bibilotherapist" which is not even a real thing; at one point she assists a man with a hording disorder by "prescribing" him a Marie Kondo book. Eye-roll.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby: This is a memoir by a former magazine editor who, after suffering a stroke, is "locked in" to a completely paralyzed body. His mind is intact, and the only way he can communicate is by blinking one eye. The situation is horrifying. Even if you've seen the movie made of this book, I suggest reading the book because it's beautiful (and they also changed the story for the movie.)

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer: I love a good adventure memoir, and this one is a classic of the genre. Krakauer was a part of a deadly expedition to Mt. Everest in 1996. I did find the book a little hard to follow though because of the barrage of names and locations. I never was 100% sure who a person was or exactly what happened. Also, stay away from these mountains, everyone!

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff: If you've seen the show Bad Sisters, this is the book version that takes place in India. Everyone thinks that Geeta murdered her husband, and her friends start asking her for help getting rid of their abusive husbands. The topic is heavy but this book is oddly funny. The characters have the best lines! A great read.

Tell Everyone on This Train I Love Them by Maeve Higgins: I checked out this audiobook purely because it was in the humor section and from the cover, it seemed that would be the case. This book was not humor. I'm not even sure what it was, not really a memoir either. It was mostly just an Irish lady trying to explain police shootings and American politics to Americans. She seems to be very down on this country but also wants to become a citizen? This book doesn't add anything new to these discussions.

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller: A global pandemic (sound familiar?) is raging and a group of test subjects have assembled at a hospital to test the newly-created vaccine. Before the test can really get underway, the pandemic spirals out of control, killing almost the entire population. The small group of survivors is left at the hospital. There's also some weird stuff about an octopus and a machine where you can relive memories. I love Claire Fuller so I really liked this book; but if you are not a fan of her work, then this book might be too much.

After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time by Helen Hester and Nick Smicek: Fair warning on this one, this book is written like assigned writing in grad school. Almost every sentence is cryptic in an academic way and that sort of annoyed me. The focus is on how even with advances in technology, we still are burdened with so much work outside of work: child raising, cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc. The reasons for this were the most interesting part of the book. It has a lot to do with rising expectations and the movement of tasks from specialists onto individuals. (For example, you used to have a few sets of clothes, and sent them out to be laundered; or your job was in a laundry. Now, everyone has way more clothes that need to be washed frequently, and we do them ourselves in our own homes.) The solutions outlined in the last chapter sounded amazing, but completely discount that people are PEOPLE and honestly, will eventually ruin everything.