Month: November 2019
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THE YEAR of MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion⠀ ⠀
It would appear to be a morbid book to read, yet this memoir about the year following Joan Didion’s husband’s death, was a systematic, matter-of-fact approach to try to make sense of the common process of grief. I mostly found it fascinating that our mind tries to make sense of something our heart cannot easily…
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ABODE: Thoughtful Living with Less by Serena Mitnik-Miller and Mason St. Peter⠀
This book sits on our coffee table, not as a decorative piece (although it certainly falls into that category) but as a reference book. Since purchasing it a few months ago, I have come back to it again and again for inspiration and ideas.⠀ Serena and Mason are the owners of General Store in San…
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LET’S JUST SAY IT WASN’T PRETTY by Diane Keaton⠀ ⠀
I listened to this book on Audible and now I can’t imagine reading it in its physical form. Diane Keaton’s narration made it all the more wonderful.⠀ Let’s Just Say…, Keaton candidly discusses non-conventional beauty, aging gracefully (and not-so-gracefully at times) and embracing the person you truly are. She offers encouragement and support for women…
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POET X by Elizabeth Acevedo
“The pages of my notebook swell from all the words I’ve pressed onto them. It almost feels like the more I bruise the page, the quicker something inside me heals.”⠀ Poet X is about Harlem high school student, Xiomara Batista, discovering the art of slam poetry. Batista doesn’t seem to fit anywhere in her world…
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PLENTY LADYLIKE by Claire McCaskill
“You’re too young. Your hair is too long. You’re a girl. Go find yourself a husband.” Thus began a 35+ year career of public service, as Claire McCaskill knocked on the door of a potential voter in 1983. Claire McCaskill is a former state senator from Missouri. Her influence in the Senate has been one…
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THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin
102-year-old, Fiona Skinner had been out of public life for 25 years. Questions about her body of work were numerous at her first public appearance. Wanting to skip ahead to the end of the evening, Fiona was not prepared when a question came from one of the audience members, “Who was your inspiration in your…
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The Crown
Have you started yet? Are we ready for the new cast? ⠀ Between seeing the Downton Abbey movie last week and refreshing my memory on The Crown (we watched the last two episodes of season 2), I am feeling all sorts of royal lately. We Americans sure worked hard to set up our own government,…
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Kiss the Cook
I don’t want to miss #stacksaturday with some of our favorite cookbooks. ⠀ It seems the cookbook pile in our kitchen changes seasonally, but not purposefully. It just depends on what we’re into at the time. ⠀ I am VERY lucky to have a spouse who loves to cook (he claims it’s therapeutic for him)…
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THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger
I’m reposting this book, This Tender Land, because I’ve been voting for it all over the place lately. End-of-year polls on Goodreads and Book of the Month, for example. It’s been nice to revisit the characters in my mind. ⠀ This Tender Land transfixed me and swept me right into the storyline, feeling as if…
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THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes
I’m excited to dive into my Book of the Month selection for November. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes looks like one of those burrowed-into-the-couch, throw-blankets-on, what-time-is-it-anyway, just-one-more-chapter type of read.⠀ Here’s a brief overview:⠀ Alice Wright marries in order to leave her life in England and moves to Kentucky during the American depression…
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