Must Read
Educated by Tara Westover
Run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore and get this book. This powerful memoir of Dr. Westover's early life growing up in a survivalist family that didn't believe in schools or modern medicine will astonish you. Westover taught herself enough math to get an ACT score sufficient to gain entrance into Brigham Young University. She sat in a classroom for the first time in her life as a seventeen year old college freshman. She would go on to complete her degree, spend time at Harvard, and eventually earn her graduate degree and PhD from Cambridge University. Her story of tenderness and abuse, family ties and estrangement is gripping, compelling, unforgettable. Educated is the story of one woman's journey to knowing her own mind and it resonated deeply with me. Look for another blog soon where I'll be reflecting on the tremendous impact of this book on my life. And spoiler alert, you'll see her name on my annual list of heroes and inspirations coming out next week!
Recommended
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
This novel, which inspired the HBO series of the same name, was such an enjoyable read. Moriarty's characters are vivid and fully-realized. Her dialogue is witty and sharp. Her pace is engaging. And the plot (if you haven't seen the show, which I had) keeps you guessing until the end. The big mystery in this novel is not just whodunnit but also who it got done to! It's not till the end of the book that we find out the identities of both the killer and the victim. The Australian setting is different from the Southern California backdrop of the TV series, but the themes of friendship, secrets, betrayal work in any setting. I'm still tinkering with the draft of my own first novel. If it reads anything like Big Little Lies when I'm done, I'll feel pretty good.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The comedian's memoir of growing up in South Africa at the tail end of apartheid is funny (naturally) but also moving, revealing, and thought-provoking. I like Trevor Noah a lot--I think he's filled John Stewart's shoes well at The Daily Show. His book showcases the same wit and insight that makes his show such a treat. It's remarkable to learn the extraordinary circumstances of this wildly successful man's childhood. The title comes from the fact that his birth was literally a crime. Sex between white and non-white people was a crime in South Africa at the time and Noah stood as proof of his parents' lawbreaking. In his earliest days he literally had to be kept in hiding to prevent his parents arrest. More than Trevor Noah's story, it is also a beautiful tribute to the indomitable spirit of his mother.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood
I'd seen and liked the Hulu show and finally got around to reading the source material. Atwood did not disappoint. The show remained surprisingly faithful to the book with a few departures. Atwood had the Waterfords as older than depicted in the show and she leaves the fate of Luke unknown. Other than that viewers of the show will find the book very familiar territory. (and vice versa). Atwood imagines a future in which the the United States has been taken over by a radically theocratic government of which the extreme subjection of women is its key feature. A mysterious inability of most women to conceive provides justification for the Christian radicals in control to designate the few fertile women left as Handmaids. The Handmaids are tasked with producing children on behalf of the barren wives of the leaders of the new order (think of the Biblical story where Rachel provides her handmaid to Jacob when she can't conceive). One really cool addition not included in the show (for obvious reasons when you want to have future seasons) is the "historical note" at the very end. This sudden pulling back from one woman's dystopian tale to the larger sweep of human history is profound on many levels.
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
I picked up Nine Perfect Strangers after reading Big Little Lies. When I really like a book I'm always interested in what else the author might have produced and this book, Moriarty's most recent, met the expectations set by her previous work. In this story the aforementioned strangers meet at a retreat center, each with their own reasons for needing a cleanse, detox, or reset. As they get to know one another they also begin to realize that the owner of the retreat center has some methods that are, to put it mildly, highly unorthodox. While not quite as good as Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers is a solid, entertaining read.
Leave it on the Shelf
Chances Are by Richard Russo
My expectations were high when I began this book. Russo is a Pulitzer prize winning author and the premise seemed intriguing: three old friends meet up at an old hangout some forty years after the mysterious disappearance of the woman all three of them loved. What happened to Jayce is the central mystery of the story. But for some reason I never really connected with Chances Are and I'm not sure why. I wasn't drawn to any of the three main characters--two of whom alternate chapters narrating the story, the third only tells his own story late in the book for what in retrospect are predictable reasons. Maybe it's because it was a Boomer tale that deals with the 60's, the Vietnam War, and a stage of male life that is still another twenty years off for me. Maybe it was that I didn't find the portrayal of Jayce and her friendship with the men believable. She felt less like a real woman and more like a man's idealized fantasy--a manic pixie dream girl. Whatever the reason this book didn't speak to me. Take your chances with Chances Are if you like. Maybe you'll like it better than I did.
Kingdom of Lies by Kate Fazzini
I selected this book intrigued by the promise of a book that would reveal the secrets of hackers, identity thieves, and other criminals of the digital age told in a face-paced, novelistic style. It was a letdown. Much of the book felt like a song building to a crescendo that never comes. There was a tone of urgency in each chapter that consistently failed to pay off with any new revelations or insights. The pace was quick and jaunty but in the end I didn't feel I'd really gone anywhere. This collection of disparate hacker types across the world never coalesced into anything meaningful or insightful. I don't know much more about the how and why of hackers and identity thieves than I did at the beginning. Fazzini promises a lot, but like that Nigerian prince who would like to gift you with millions of dollars, she fails to deliver. At least with Kingdom of Lies the only cost to you is the cover price (or in my case the five minute drive to return it to the library). Or better yet, like you would the email from the Nigerian prince, ignore it in the first place.
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