What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe: I really liked this memoir of the last few years of Schwalbe's mother's life and the books they discussed together. It's part reflections on reading, part Being Mortal-esque reflections on quality vs. longevity of life, and part biography of his mother's remarkable life, all of which I enjoyed.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman: This has been recommended to me for years, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. Through the lens of one girl's medical drama, it's a comprehensive look at the importance and difficulties of crosscultural communication.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman: This was my third-ever read of this book (in preparation for actually reading the whole series this time), and I found the full-cast audio production delightful. Pullman has created a fascinating world and an immersive, action-packed plot.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie: I enjoyed some of the unique concepts underpinning this world (the idea of a consciousness with many bodies, and a language without gendered pronouns rendered into English with exclusively female pronouns) but their execution wasn't quite airtight enough for me and left me with questions and frustrations. I also had trouble keeping the people and places straight, which was vital for understanding the twists and turns of the plot. Still definitely recommended for sci-fi fans, but it wasn't a favorite for me.

Talking Across the Divide: How to Communicate with People You Disagree with and Maybe Even Change the World by Justin Lee: This is a solid guide to why and how we should communicate with those we disagree with. Having worked at the intersection of the Christian community and the LGBTQ community for decades, Lee's examples lean a little too heavily in that direction and he conflates separate communities with mutually exclusive belief systems, but on the whole it's a good read.

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock: This is an excellent and, dare I say, important memoir that fills a gap among existing narratives with Mock's story of being a trans woman of color growing up in poverty. Her experience differed greatly from those white, middle- to upper-class trans kids who comprise many of the stories we know and who have had access to educational resources and health care that Mock never had. Her writing style can be a bit clunky at times, but the story itself is worth the read.

Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel: Yay, I finally read this! I'm probably not the target audience because I'd already typed myself in all the frameworks she covers, but if you're looking for a comprehensive yet easy-to-read introduction to the best-researched personality frameworks out there, I highly recommend this.

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel: It's an Anne Bogel kind of month! Her new release is the perfect gift for a fellow bibliophile: nothing too profound, but a sweet, slim read about life as a reader that will have you nodding or laughing in recognition.

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts by Julian Rubinstein: This took a bit to get into because there's a lot of backstory, but ultimately it pays off with this truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tale of how a low point in Hungary's history allowed a bumbling, alcoholic hockey goalie to commit 29 robberies over the course of a decade.

Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear by Kim Brooks: This may be my favorite book of the year. Brooks captures perfectly what it is like to be a parent in modern-day America, how the majority of your decisions are spurred by fear of screwing up your kid or fear of judgment from others. She delves into history, psychology, and real-life tales of mothers (including herself) who faced criminal charges for trusting their kids with a tiny bit of independence. I read the whole thing in under 24 hours.

Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane: Mathabane published this story of growing up black in apartheid South Africa while apartheid was still the law, so in his effort to show Americans why apartheid needed to end, the book is a bit bleak as it's mainly a catalog of one atrocity after another without much else thrown in. Still, he succeeds in clearly documenting why apartheid was a horrific system and how rare it was that he made it out.

City of Thieves by David Benioff: This was a pretty straightforward quest story wrapped in the setting of WWII Russia, which I find well written but predictable. My biggest complaint was that every time the narrator met a female character, he spent the following pages mentally undressing her or wondering what it would be like to sleep with her.

What have you been reading this month? Share over at Modern Mrs. Darcy!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Leviathan Wakes and Bleak House
Five years ago I was reading: How to Be a Woman
Ten years ago I was reading: The Runaway Jury

Top Ten Hidden Gems

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic is hidden gems; I did similar lists in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Here are another ten books I haven't yet mentioned — these ones all have fewer than 5,000 ratings on Goodreads.

1. 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
I've referenced this book many times, and I was surprised to realize that it's not that widely known. Vanderkam uses a wealth of data to help readers determine how they're spending their time, how they'd like to be spending their time, and how to close the gap.

2. American Hookup by Lisa Wade
One of my favorite books of 2017, this book hasn't gotten the press it probably should have. It's an honest and insightful read about hookup culture on college campuses, incorporating historical and sociological context while keep students' voices front and center.

3. Ask a Manager by Alison Green
This book just came out this year, so it's not surprising that it hasn't garnered many ratings yet, but it is a must-read for anyone in the workforce. It's a compilation of useful scripts for the most common and most difficult conversations you're likely to have at work.

4. Fortunately by Remy Charlip
This was one of my favorite picture books as a child, and I'm happy that my son now enjoys it as well! Our protagonist, Ned, encounters alternating good luck and bad luck in his quest to make it to a party in another state. Will he ultimately be fortunate or unfortunate?

5. How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen by Joanna Faber and Julie King
The original book co-authored by Faber's mother, Liberated Parents, Liberated Children, is also a hidden gem, but I'll recommend this modern version instead. The authors provide valuable advice for problem-solving with young children and making everyday tasks less of a battle.

6. Mink River by Brian Doyle
We sadly lost Doyle to a brain tumor last year, and I was glad to have read at least one of his books before he died. In this book, Doyle doesn't just tell a single story; he immerses you in the life of a coastal Oregon town, where the different inhabitants' stories are interwoven with the stories of the ocean, the animals, the trees, and the eponymous river. It's a slow but rewarding experience.

7. Radical by Michelle Rhee
I'm not surprised this has few (and mixed) ratings given Rhee's controversial career, but I still think it's worth the read. It's both a memoir of Rhee's career in education reform and a battle cry for parents, teachers, students, and politicians to use their voices to fight for every student to have a quality education.

8. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog
This book, which I picked up on a whim, is not necessarily the best written but has fascinating insights about our relationship with animals that I still think about five years later.

9. Winter of Fire by Sherryl Jordan
I believe this book is now out of print, but I got a library copy after a friend said it was one of her favorites. It's a bit of a predictable "chosen one" story, but it subverts some typical fantasy tropes and provides a good way for kids to be introduced to the idea of racism and how people's hearts and minds aren't changed overnight just because the laws change.

10. The World According to Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers
The compilation of Mister Rogers quotations inspired me to get a daily desk calendar so that I could reflect more slowly on each one individually. We could all benefit from these reminders about how to be the best kind of human, especially coming from someone who modeled everything he taught.

What hidden gems do you recommend?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Leviathan Wakes and Bleak House
Five years ago I was reading: Things Fall Apart and How to Be a Woman
Ten years ago I was reading: Generation Rx

Best of the Bunch: August 2018

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in August.

Apparently either my standards have fallen or I just had a really good month, because of the 7 books I read this month, I had four 5-star reads:

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

I'm not going to go with We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves only because it was a reread and is a favorite book that I've mentioned many, many times here already. So my best of the bunch would be...

I've heard The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down recommended many, many times over the years. (I added it to my TBR more than four years ago.) Through the lens of a specific girl's medical drama, Fadiman shows just how difficult it is for Hmong culture and Western medicine to even begin to understand one another if neither has the time or resources or inclination to make the effort. In the afterword, Fadiman clarifies that this should not be taken as the definitive history of the Hmong people but instead a book about the pitfalls of crosscultural communication, and for that, it is excellent.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Infinite Jest and Taken at the Flood
Five years ago I was reading: Paper Towns
Ten years ago I was reading: Lolita

Top Ten Books with/about Teachers

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week it's a back-to-school freebie. I picked ten books that either highlight teachers in general or include a memorable teacher!

1. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
I can't remember if college president Affenlight actually teaches... but close enough. He does what no teacher or college president should do with one of their students!

2. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
This quiet book follows the friendship of two college professors and their wives.

3. Good-Bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
This is a sweet novella covering the breadth of one schoolmaster's career at a particular boys' school in England. From a fearful young teacher trying to learn the art of discipline, to a doddering but wise old retiree still living across the street from the school grounds, we see how his life and the life of the school are intertwined.

4. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Obviously this series isn't strictly about teachers, but there are plenty of memorable teachers at Hogwarts!

5. Matilda by Roald Dahl
This book is about a lot of things, but one of those things is the difference that one special teacher can make.

6. Radical by Michelle Rhee
Rhee's memoir focuses heavily on the importance of teachers — both why effective ones should be better rewarded and why incompetent ones should not be protected.

7. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The characters at the heart of this novel are drawn together by one strange teacher, for whom they have to drop all other classes and only take his.

8. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sacher
Mrs. Jewls is the main teacher in this book, but throughout the series we get memorable substitutes, including Mr. Gorf, Mrs. Drazil, and Ms. Nogard. In this world, teachers can turn students into apples or steal their voices via a third nostril.

9. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
McCourt is most well-known for Angela's Ashes, but he wrote two more memoirs, including this one about his thirty-year teaching career.

10. To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite
While McCourt was a white Irishman teaching mostly black American students in New York, Braithwaite was born in Guyana and ended up teaching lower-class white children in the "rough" part of London. Both memoirs are worth a read.

What are some other great books about teachers?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Infinite Jest and The Labors of Hercules
Five years ago I was reading: Paper Towns
Ten years ago I was reading: The Book of Sarahs

Top Ten Books to Get You Out of a Reading Slump

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

Some housekeeping first: I can not get Disqus to send me notifications as of my last three blog posts. It just stopped working, and Disqus will not provide personal troubleshooting unless you're a paid customer, which is ridiculous. So I apologize for not realizing I was getting comments on here! If anyone has any suggestions (besides disabling and re-enabling notifications, which I already tried), please let me know!

Most avid readers have had the experience at least once of getting into a reading slump. For me, this looks like making excuses to do other things rather than pick up any of the books I'm currently reading. When I do pick up a book, I can't focus on reading because it's not holding my attention. In those times, it's great to pick up a book that sucks you in and can be read in a couple of days. Here are ten of my recommendations if you find yourself in a reading slump.

1. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
This book is like Forrest Gump meets Ocean's Eleven where Forrest is now 100 years old. After a century of unwittingly getting involved in most of the major world events, our protagonist leaves his nursing home and falls in with a group of small-time criminals. It's bizarre and funny and the characters are delightful, and the book never takes itself too seriously.

2. Bossypants by Tina Fey
This is the female comedian memoir that every female comedian has tried to emulate since it came out. It's both funny and fascinating, a good combination of jokes, true stories, and life advice that you'll eat up in no time.

3. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
A suspenseful thriller is one good option for getting out of a reading slump. This book is narrated by a high schooler accused of murdering her best friend, told in nonsequential passages flashing between the fatal Spring Break trip and the trial. It's definitely young adult (having my book club of mostly older adults read it was an adventure) but I loved it.

4. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Frankie isn't allowed to join her school's secret society because she's female, but she finds a way to infiltrate it and pull the strings to get the guys to do her bidding and pull off subversively feminist pranks. It's a fast-paced, suspenseful book as you wait to see if and how Frankie will get caught, and also a great read about some of the less-obvious consequences of a patriarchal society.

5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
If you've somehow managed to get this far without reading this yet, this will definitely pull you out of a reading slump. Even my husband, who rarely reads, blew through this in no time at all because he couldn't put it down. The farther in you go, the twistier the plot becomes!

6. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
I dare you to read this without laughing out loud! Lawson is hilarious and weird and has the most bizarre true stories.

7. Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber
"Shit," I thought to myself, "I'm going to be late to New Testament class." So opens this amazing, honest, beautiful, cranky memoir about how to navigate being a Christian when you generally hate people but just can't stop believing in God. This may just pull you out of a reading slump and a faith slump.

8. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
This is another book that my non-reader husband couldn't put down. It's more or less a straightforward adventure book, but set in a virtual world in the near future with a puzzle to solve that requires both skill and knowledge of '80s trivia.

9. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
This book about early-onset Alzheimer's definitely isn't a fun or light read, but I did find it very readable and would recommend it as a book to get absorbed in when everything else is too dense or dry at the moment.

10. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
When all else fails, read an adorable YA romance! Unlike most YA romances, which I find too cliché (it was love at first sight!) or dramatic (OMG which boy will I choose?), Dimple and Rishi are both sweet, realistic characters who are trying to navigate conflicting life priorities and expectations.

What books would you recommend for a reading slump?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Infinite Jest and We Should All Be Feminists
Five years ago I was reading: The Age of Innocence and The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Ten years ago I was reading: The Book of Sarahs

What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf: This was a reread for book club. She argues well that without the societal and monetary structures in place, even women of genius did not have the ability to write good fiction in previous centuries (previous to the 20th century). The structure she uses of a fictional narrator is a little odd, but I think ultimately it works to showcase her points.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater: It's hard to pitch the end of a series just right, and this certainly wasn't perfect, but it hit a lot of beautiful notes along the way. There were a few aspects that bugged me, but overall I enjoyed this finale to the series and wouldn't mind rereading the series someday.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay: I do not understand how this book is so highly rated. The writing is awful and the two main characters have no personality. They are just stand-ins meant to educate us on the author's key points, while the present-day narrator also goes through a bunch of personal drama for no apparent reason. There are so many better books out there, both about the Holocaust and the occupation of France during World War II.

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka: The techniques in this book are helpful, but the more important aspect is simply the acknowledgement that yes, your child is "normal but more" (her phrase) and they're not the only one out there. We're already using many of her techniques, but the overall philosophy was still excellent (even if the book seems targeted at stay-at-home moms with high-earning spouses).

Precious Little Sleep: The Complete Baby Sleep Guide for Modern Parents by Alexis Dubief: This book is primarily for parents of newborns, so I'm tucking it away for our next kid, but I still liked it a lot. Rather than selling a particular sleep method, Dubief boils down the existing methods into two main buckets and then shows you step by step how to accomplish each approach. Her humor didn't always land with me, but I'd recommend the book anyway for the valuable information.

Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings: It's unfortunate that this series ends with my least favorite parts of high fantasy — there's a lot of political and military strategy combined with the characters walking long distances. I still enjoyed finishing out my reread of this series, even though I previously enjoyed the follow-up Malloreon series more and am looking forward to rereading that.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon: This is a compilation of several things I don't like in one book: hardboiled detective novels, alternate histories, stereotypical female characters, and self-loathing, alcoholic, lying protagonists who break all the rules and put themselves in constant danger. Despite all that, it was moderately interesting and kept me reading, but I can't say I'd recommend it.

The Professor and the Madman: Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester: This was a very interesting story told by not a great writer. At times the information given was directly contradictory, which was frustrating, and the book could have been better edited. Still, if you're interested in the OED's history, then it might be worth the less-than-stellar organization and writing.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler: This 100% stood up to rereading and is still one of my favorite books. I love everything, from the fascinating segues into psychological experiments to the ruminations on memory, from the heartbreaking family drama to the larger-than-life character of Harlow. I'm looking forward to my book club's discussion.

What have you been reading this month? Share over at Modern Mrs. Darcy!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Infinite Jest and Bel Canto
Five years ago I was reading: The Age of Innocence and The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Ten years ago I was reading: The Book of Sarahs

Top Ten Bookish Websites

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic is our favorite book blogs or bookish websites! I went to my Feedly to see which sites I subscribe to and came up with ten — here you go!

1. 500 Books
I'll admit I skip over Gabby's book reviews because I already follow her on Goodreads, but I enjoy her Top Ten Tuesday contributions and her monthly wrap-ups. We have similar taste in books so I like to see what she's reading!

2. The Ardent Biblio
I learned about Rikki and Michaela from Modern Mrs. Darcy's What Should I Read Next podcast and have been following them since. They have great weekend roundups of bookish links from around the web and what they're reading, and they plan and host these intense literary-themed dinner parties.

3. the (book) supplier
My fantastic book club co-organizer! Eli posts quick reviews (Sticky Note Reviews), thought-provoking discussion questions, the occasional Top Ten Tuesday, and interesting videos about recent reads and life in the field of education.

4. Bookish and Awesome
I don't remember how I originally came across Shelumiel's blog, but I've been subscribed for a while. Unfortunately, he hasn't posted since May, so I don't know if he's planning to return to blogging.

5. Bumps Along the Way
I was already following Diana on Goodreads when I found her blog and discovered that 1) our sons are both adopted and 2) we went to the same university! They just adopted their second after a long waiting period, while we're still in the waiting period for our next one. I like hearing about what books her older son is into as well as what she's reading!

6. Disability in Kidlit
This site is no longer posting new articles, but it's well worth diving into the archives. Even though it specifically focuses on kidlit, it's made me as a reader much more conscious of the portrayal of disabilities (good and bad) in all the books I read.

7. Goodreads
Obviously I adore Goodreads the site for tracking my reading, but I also follow their blog. I am a huge analytics geek and love when they use their gigantic data set to share the most-read, most-anticipated, or highest-rated books for particular genres or time periods. They also have occasional guest posts by big-name authors, and each week they share which new releases are on the most readers' Want to Read shelves. I love it!

8. Modern Mrs. Darcy
I've been reading Anne Bogel's site since before she focused on books and reading as her niche, and eventually I switched blogs to do the same. She still intersperses the book talk with thoughts on life, which I enjoy, and I look forward to her podcast each week as well. Definitely check her out if you're not already a fan!

9. Read All the Things!
Aj's been reading and commenting on my blog for a while, and I finally realized I wasn't following her blog and needed to be! It's a fun combination of short reviews and bookish lists, my favorites.

10. Writing with Color
This site has taught me as much or more about race in writing as Disability in Kidlit taught me about disability representation. The intended audience is writers, but reading their advice has made me a better reader and person in the world. This site pointed me to this excellent post by N.K. Jemisin on why it isn't an exercise in futility for privileged writers to write about marginalized groups.

What are some of your favorite bookish sites?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Infinite Jest and Bel Canto
Five years ago I was reading: The Age of Innocence and The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Ten years ago I was reading: The Book of Sarahs