In October I finished six books and have found that I am definitely gravitating much more right now towards mood reading. I am picking up quick thrillers/suspense and my likely reasoning is a need to get far away from reality. Within all of the twisty crazy reads, there was a non-fiction stand out in October to help fill us all with hope. Here are the books I read in October:
The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement – Sharon McMahon
I’ve made it no secret that I am a Sharon McMahon fan. Sharon is a Government/Civics/History teacher who has gone from a traditional classroom size to millions as she continually makes learning about history, the government and politics interesting. Her core principles are about facts – you may not like the facts, but they are the facts and she does her best to dispel the lies and non-facts that have become prevalent today.
One thing I love that she does online is her deep dives; she take a topic or a person and really gets in there with the nitty gritty – these are things you never learned in school. She did just that with her book debut and highlights Americans from all walks and did so beautifully. There were a few in her book that I had known of, but I certainly learned much more about them than I knew before.
Common themes ring throughout the book – Hope is a choice, not a feeling. Do the next needed thing. It may not be big but it is the next needed thing. Be audacious. We are the plan.
The last couple of weeks have been filled with chaos and uncertainty. I found my self skimming through Sharon’s book again this week to be reminded of everything she said. Afterwards, I did feel a bit lighter (just a bit) and washed over remembering that hope is a choice. I am not supposed to FEEL hopeful. I have to CHOOSE to be hopeful.
Among now being my #1 book of the year thus far, The Small and The Mighty spent a few weeks as #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for Non-fiction and there are accolades galore all over the place. You won’t have to look far to find them. And if you ever have the opportunity to hear Sharon speak, just do it. Even my husband loved her event when I dragged him to downtown Denver at the start of her book tour. On top of everything else, she is very personable and really quite funny. As for reading print or audio (read by Sharon) – you can’t go wrong with either. I did both.
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Behind Every Good Man – Sara Goodman Confino
Confino has become know as a contemporary women’s writer that tackles some topics with what I call a maturity hook – she takes real women and real issues and blends them together while still adding the whipped cream and cherry on top. In this case the meet Beverly in 1962 as she kicks her jerk-face husband out after catching him with his secretary. He’s a campaign manager for a senatorial incumbent candidate and Beverly has spent years listen to his political-speak. So when she is forced to find a job to support her children, she becomes the campaign manager for the challenger of the same seat. I had a fun time diving into this one and brought some political lightness to our chaotic real-time election season.
🍷🍷🍷🍷
Here One Moment – Liane Moriarty
Right off the bat I will say that if you enjoyed last year’s The Measure, you will likely love this book. While The Measure was not a favorite for me, I did love the conversations that came with other book friends and so I dove in. The premise is, on a short flight in Australia, the “Death-Lady” starts walking around the flight predicted when and how each passenger will die. Fun, right? Nope, not for me. She is written off as a crazy until some of the predictions happen and then the world starts freaking out a bit. Lots of examining of each passengers’ life and their paths to avoid “certainty” of a death in a chaotic and uncertain world. Overall I liked this one, (probably more than The Measure) but there was a lot of characters to follow and it kept some of their stories thin, even at an 500+ page book.
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The Night We Lost Him – Laura Dave
The Night We Lost Him was part dysfunctional family drama and part mystery. While I found this book entertaining enough, I would be willing to bet that the author wrote this trying to make it enticing to become another screenplay for a series. I would prefer a book be written to be a book and let the screen magic happen after that. I also think the absence of much story line of one of the family members leaves room for a sequel/season 2 on the screen. Fairly entertaining but that’s about it.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
Like Mother, Like Daughter – Kimberly McCreight
NYU student, Cleo, arrives at her mother’s Brooklyn home for a planned dinner to find her mom missing and a host of evidence to suggest fowl play. We quickly learn that while everyone thinks her mom, Kat, is a boring attorney, she is actually a “fixer”, and has a lengthy reputation for being very good at her job. She’s kept many secrets from her family and they are all about to come crashing together. This was an entertaining one but I did find the ending a bit forced and chaotic and just a tad too out there to move this into the 4 range.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
Long Island – Colm Tóibín
I still can’t figure out what it is about this series (Brooklyn prior to Long Island) that is making these books so beloved – I would say that while they are a little interesting, they are not “it” for me. Like Brooklyn, I found Long Island slow and boring and it’s saving grace was its short length. We pick back up at the beginning with Ellis and Tony, they are married and living in a cul-de-sac neighboring Tony’s brothers and parents. A big altering life event happens quickly and Ellis makes decisions for herself and how she will move forward. If you want to know what happens after Brooklyn, read it. If you don’t care, there are better similar stories out there to dive into.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
