What you should read next – December 2019

These are the books I read in November.

Becoming

by Michelle Obama

This is Michelle Obama’s memoir. I didn’t know she had IVF. Or that she failed the bar.

She’s a goddess.

Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?

This is her husband’s pitch. I see why it inspires.

I, meanwhile, had been so afraid of floundering, so eager for respectability and a way to pay the bills, that I’d marched myself unthinkingly into the law.

Yeah, that’s pretty easy to do, I think.

It hurts to live after someone has died. It just does. It can hurt to walk down a hallway or open the fridge. It hurts to put on a pair of socks, to brush your teeth. Food tastes like nothing. Colors go flat. Music hurts, and so do memories. You look at something you’d otherwise find beautiful — a purple sky at sunset or a playground full of kids — and it only somehow deepens the loss. Grief is so lonely this way.

Sad face.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

This is a classic read, following the life of a little girl and her family. It’s a delightful story and I see why it has stood the test of time. Although there’s lots of mundane details and it’s rather long, so I’m not sure if I recommend it.

Bellweather Rhapsody

by Kate Racculia

I didn’t dog ear a single quote from this book. The story was okay. It’s a murder mystery with the extra twist that the victim probably isn’t dead.
I do appreciate how the author ties up the story in the end so neatly.

********************

Here are my books from December. I’m trying to read a book a day and I’ve missed one day already.

The Poison Artist

by Jonathan Moore

The unreliable narrator gives this novel an interesting twist I did not see coming. Does telling you the narrator is unreliable count as a spoiler? Fiction doesn’t make me swoon.

The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel (Winternight Trilogy)

by Katherine Arden

This is a fantasy novel, the first in a trilogy. Our main character is a bad-ass girl who isn’t afraid of anything. She is one of the only ones who can see the various nymphs and gods and demons. When people worshiped the ancient gods and left out offerings, the sprites and fairies protected the humans, but an orthodox priest moves to town and convinces people to stop leaving the offerings and bad things start to happen.

Why borrow trouble?

That’s a great way of saying not to worry.

The Girl in the Tower: A Novel (Winternight Trilogy)

by Katherine Arden

This is book two of the fantasy series I just told you about. Our heroine is now out in the big city, dressing as a boy, and doing a lot of hero type stuff. She befriends death. That’s kind of interesting.

The Winter of the Witch: A Novel (Winternight Trilogy)

by Katherine Arden

This is book three of the fantasy series. Our heroine unites the people and the old gods and the new church. She also starts dating death. That’s kind of weird.

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

by Cal Newport

I practice what you’re preaching, brother.

I agree with the author wholeheartedly. Minimize social media and screen time and you’ll have a better life. Be intentional about your time and your minutes. Don’t mindlessly scroll.

He quotes Thoreau:

The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.

Very FIRE-y, eh?

Who could justify trading a lifetime of stress and backbreaking labor for better blinds?

Not me.

The author quotes Mr. Money Mustache and Frugal Woods. It’s a very FI-oriented book.

Lie With Me: A Novel

by Philippe Besson and translated by Molly Ringwald

Who knew Molly Ringwald translated French literature?

This is a very short novel about a love affair between two 17-year-old boys in the 80s in France. We jump forward in time and see their entire story. It’s a good, quick read.