HRC: State Secrets and The Rebirth of Hillary Clinton by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes

Every once in awhile, I like to pick up a hefty political memoir or biography.

 This one follows Hillary Clinton from her 2008 defeat in the Democratic primary and through her time as Secretary of State. (Did you know that she visited 112 countries during her time as Secretary of State??)

An ever-present question is: Will Hillary run for president in 2016? This books bats this question around. Maybe and maybe not.

A fascinating look at Hillary, her team, her husband, her relationship with Obama, and the factors that would help and hinder her possible presidential run.

A dense 400+ pages, and not for the mildly interested.

Delicious! by Ruth Reichl

Billie drops out of school to work for Delicious! magazine, but when it folds, she's the only employee left to answer the customer help line. As she's poking around, she finds a series of letters written by a young girl to James Beard. Who was this girl and where is she now? Billie is determined to find out.

Overall, Delicious! was a nice summertime read. However, there were down sides about it. One, even though it took place in the present-day, it seemed strangely dated, like it was taking place in the 50s. Two, the story was predictable, there were too many characters, and it was pretty clunky in spots. It needed some good editing and focus.

I did finish it and mostly enjoyed it though.

I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star by Judy Greer

Her face might look familiar, but you're not really sure where you've seen her. Maybe it's because Judy Greer usually plays the sidekick/best friend roles, and is not the main character. She's in 27 Dresses (which I am checking out today to watch her in!) with Katherine Heigl. Anyway, a fun book about her childhood, work, and life as a wife and step-parent. The ending was particularly thoughtful and meaningful.

Not an excellent book or anything like that, but it's fun. And that's what summer reading is for! Fun!

Thanks to Rebecca for the recommendation!!

Library Love

Hope you had a wonderful weekend that included a trip to the library!!!! :)

By the way, if you have any good summer book recommendations, please send them my way!

Summer Catch Up! Three Book Reviews

Below are three books that I've recently read with two/three-sentence reviews:

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

A 24/7 San Francisco bookstore with mysterious clientele prompts the newly hired clerk to investigate into what is really going on here. A so-so book with a so-so plot, but I still read through it pretty quickly.

 


 

Otherhood: Modern Women Finding a New Kind of Happiness by Melanie Notkin

Notkin interviews dozens of women in their 40s who thought they would be married with kids by now. The book goes around in circles and feels like one long interview with well-dressed, articulate, successful women. I'm glad that there is a voice out there speaking up for women whose lives don't look like the "norm, but I only found this book to be somewhat interesting. Maybe just opening up the conversation is good.

 

Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave by Patty Chang Anker

The mother of two girls, Patty Chang Anker decides to face some of her own fears so that she could be a role model to her daughters. She takes on surfing, public speaking, and heights to name a few. Slow and contrived in parts with some clunky and cheesy transitions, this book was a bit too long and dragged out for my taste and attention span. Some chapters were interesting though.

New Life, No Instructions: A Memoir by Gail Caldwell

"You can't change the tale so that you turned left one day instead of right, or didn't make the mistake that might have saved your life a day later. We don't get those choices. The story is what got you here, and embracing the truth is what makes the outcome bearable." --Gail Caldwell

Caldwell contracted polio very early on in her life, so early that she never remembers life without it and its consequences. She learns to live with a limp and fights through the pain. Until one day when a new doctor finally orders a new test that reveals that what Caldwell needs is a hip replacement. And so she undergoes surgery and begins the slow process of recovery.

"The other thing I know now is that we survive grief merely and surely by outlasting it. The ongoing fact of the narrative eclipses the heartbreak within, a deal that seems to be the price we pay for getting to hold on to our beloved dead." (p. 158).

I loved Caldwell's last memoir, Let's Take the Long Way Home, and this one was pretty good, but not as good. Still, a pleasant and thoughtful book about facing life head on, not letting it get you down, but also being gentle to yourself in the process and allowing yourself to grieve.

Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor

"No one asks, "On what is your heart set? No one asks, "What powers do you most rely on? What is the hope that gives meaning to your life?" Those are questions of faith, not belief. The answers to them are not written down in any book, and they have a way of shifting in the dark." -Barbara Brown Taylor

I LOVED Barbara Brown Taylor's first memoir called Leaving Church. In her latest book, she explores darkness in its literal, emotional, and spiritual sense.

I wasn't impacted that much by this book, not like I was with Leaving Church and An Altar in the World. Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind. Perhaps the content might speak more to me at another time.

Gone Feral: Tracking My Dad Through the Wild by Novella Carpenter

I enjoyed Novella Carpenter's first book, Farm City, about her urban garden in Oakland. Now, she is thinking about starting a family and wanting to make peace with her father who was in and out of her life. Well, it doesn't go as smoothly as expected.

The inside cover flap is a bit misleading. It tries to hook you in by saying that Novella gets a call informing her that her dad is missing and it suggests that this book is about finding him. Well, he reappears after a few days. She's actually going after who her dad is, what his story is, and how she can relate to him.

A short book, but it had me in its grips for two days (in between work and chores and swimming).

And The Dark Sacred Night by Julia Glass

The only books in personal library at home are ones that I know that I'll re-read again and again. Julia Glass' first book, Three Junes, is one of them. And The Dark Sacred Night is a different story but with some of the same characters that were introduced in Three Junes.

Kit Noonan is an unemployed father of two who sets out to find his biological father. The story takes us from New Jersey to Vermont to Cape Cod and brings in characters that are rich and complicated.

I loved it! So human, real, and heartbreaking. I've complained lately about some books being too long, but this one at 379 pages was just right and I savored each word and page. This was one of those books that I wish could have just kept going.

If you're looking for good summer read, check this one out. Or maybe start with Three Junes and then check this one out!

Other Things I Read

I love to read books, but I also read other things too...like community bulletin boards!

1. My favorite blog right now is The Simple Dollar. Trent writes posts about managing your money, living a frugal lifestyle, and making sure you invest in what and who is important to you. My friend, Grace, introduced me to The Simple Dollar when we were talking about making homemade laundry detergent. I now make my own laundry detergent (it's so easy!), and I faithfully read The Simple Dollar.

2. The local newspaper. When friends find out that we get the paper delivered, they are confused and ask, "Like the real newspaper?" Yes, although the real newspaper these days is not at all like the newspaper of my youth. Sigh. Ah well. Hearing the loud thump of the Sunday newspaper landing on my porch in the early hours and then dozing back to sleep is one of the small joys in life. I can fall asleep again knowing that there is a Sunday paper waiting to be read just outside the door. There is talk in my house about upgrading to The New York Times, but we'll see. We do like those Sunday funnies.

3. Real Simple magazine. I used to subscribe to a bunch of magazines but then I realized that The Economist stressed me out and that the Atlantic Monthly stressed Boomer out. So now I've whittled it down to just Real Simple. I am delighted when I find it in the mailbox, not stressed out like when I would see The Economist. However, Boomer is talking about subscribing to The Economist again...so we'll see.