Finished another eight books in May with an even mix of fiction and non-fiction. Overall, I’m feeling pretty good about my pace for making my goal this year, but my reading always slumps somewhat in the fall, so I’m trying to build up a big of a buffer.
The Searcher, by Tana French
I love French’s writing style and I enjoyed the plot of this book. Its central relationship (a mentoring one between and adult and a child) was wonderful. There is mystery, a wonderful sense of place, and even some action. That being said, this book is a slower burn than some of French’s other work (from the Dublin Murder Squad series), so be aware it may take a bit to get into it.
Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell
This book was beautifully written and has received a lot of positive press. Hamnet was the real-life son of William Shakespeare, and this book is a fictionalization of his life as well as the lives of his family members. The book largely focuses on his mother and her complicated life, including her difficulties fitting into her world (think more modern-minded woman stuck in a society that doesn’t value women), the pain of loss, and the frustration of being married to a famous playwright who, quite frankly, isn’t around much. Keep in mind that this is a work of fiction; little is known about the personal lives of the people this novel focuses on. So, while O’Farrell clearly did a lot of research to make this book accurate in a historical sense, it is not a biography.
*Please note that this novel does include the death of a child, so be aware if you try to avoid such topics.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, by Brene Brown
This was the first Brene Brown book I’ve read and I enjoyed it. she has the ability to inspire while not simply falling into a “Rah rah! Go you!” cheerleader formula. If you’re at a place in your life where you feel you need to be a bit braver, this is a book I would recommend.
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History, by Erik Larson
Somehow in my reading of all the other works my Larson, I missed Isaac’s Storm. It focuses on the early days of the National Weather Service and two brothers working for it in Galveston, TX during the 1900 Galveston hurricane, a storm that killed approximately 8000 people. The topic is fascinating when you consider how much we take relatively accurate forecasts (particularly for catastrophic events) for granted. I mean, it would be impossible for a hurricane of this size to “sneak up” on a country. The book is intense, and it does discuss the tragic aftermath of the storm, so be aware that there are some gruesome details and, as one can expect, not everyone survives the storm.
The Gifts of Imperfections, by Brene Brown
Another good book by Brown (this one was actually written prior to the first one I read, oh well). I will say that there was some redundancy between the two, so I think that picking one or the other would be the way to go. As a (super) maladaptive perfectionist, some of this book’s lessons were ones I sorely needed.
The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig
In this book, a woman on the brink of death is given the opportunity to live out alternative versions of her life via The Midnight Library. The experience gives her the ability to see the unique benefits, losses, and joys of various other paths. Overall, I found the book a compelling read if only because it is a natural human instinct to wonder “what if?” about our own lives. Trigger warning: mental health and suicide both play a role in this novel.
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
I’ve been reading this book for a couple of months now, which is not because the novel wasn’t good (it is!), but because it was my default Kindle “read it while at appointment” books which meant it didn’t get a lot of dedicated time. The Color Purple won both the National Book Award (Fiction) and the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 1983. The book was nothing like I expected, and I enjoyed that. The story follows the complicated, often tragic, sometimes uplifting, story of Celie, a young black woman living in the American South in the early 1900s. The novel begins when she is 14 and follows her into adulthood. The characters are complex and beautifully drawn. The book contains sensitive topics (e.g., sexual assault, domestic violence) and some are graphically described, so be aware when reading.
Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It, by Ethan Kross, Ph.D.
Kross began teaching at Michigan around the time I finished my Ph.D., so I didn’t really get a chance to know him or his work. My brain is a constant hive of activity (Rumination? Check. Anxiety? Check. Making grand plans that I will forget almost immediately? Check.), so a book that explored this tendency was right up my alley. It offered some interesting insights into how to use this tendency to our advantage as well as how to recognize when it is leading no where good. One helpful tip: using distanced self-talk to help regulate emotion and advise yourself (i.e., Don’t think about yourself as “I” but rather refer to yourself in the third person or as a general “you” when thinking through a difficult topic. Bear in mind, this tip is for internal dialogue — please don’t walk around referring to yourself in the third person to other people.)
*Picture from Pexels Free Images
Katherine Tuttle, Ph.D. 