Safekeeping: Some True Stories From a Life by Abigail Thomas

A woman's memoir written in short essays and told in non-linear fashion.

A little confusing for me, so only a so-so read.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss

This is all about negotiating and the emotions involved in negotiating well.

I think this book had good content, but it wasn't executed very well due to its not-so-clear writing and poor organization.

Re Jane by Patricia Park

A re-telling of Jane Eyre except with a Korean-American protagonist in Brooklyn.

Creative and original. Also, in my opinion, better than Jane Eyre. :)

Miscellany

 Some notes I want to share with you, my fellow bookworms:

To be an informed citizen:
I like to keep current on news of the day. I used to watch World News Tonight with David Muir every single evening. Now, I find myself only tuning in once or twice a week. It's just too much. However, I do want to know what's going on, so I've been relying more on The Skimm. I highly recommend subscribing to The Skimm if you're looking for a hip, easy way to read the news each weekday. It's a 5-minute easy, entertaining read. Check it out and give it a try here!

Great for listening to while you're chopping up vegetables:
Thanks to fellow reader, Amy, for recommending the Sorta Awesome podcast to me! It's smart, fun, and informative.

Looking for some reading inspiration?
Summer is almost here! If you're looking for some book ideas, I'm linking to Modern Mrs. Darcy's Summer 2017 Reading Guide.

Dangerous Territory: My Misguided Quest to Save the World by Amy Peterson

Amy Peterson spent two years teaching English as a Second Language in Southeast Asia. She was willing and ready to share her Christian faith with her students. What happens over the course of the two years is actually more of a transformation of her heart and her view of God and Christianity.

Beautifully written. This book moves along at a fast clip but there is a depth and richness to it. It's only happened once that I've wanted to read a book again right after I've finished it for the first time (see my recent post on Short), but this one may qualify for a re-read right away! I am certain there are lots of things I missed that I will catch on the second time around. 

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert by John Gottman and Nan Silver

Boomer and I have been married now for seven+ years, and it seems like this is just around the time when couples who also got married around the same time as us are either 1) having their second (or third) child or 2) getting divorced (with or without kids). It's been new territory to navigate how to still stay friends with the couple now split, especially when we were friends with both people.

Anyway, all of that to say that The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work was a wake-up call to pay attention to my marriage! This book is so rich with content and exercises that I don't even know where to start. I've only started working through some of the exercises and there's a lot of work to be done and lots of things to talk about. I think I'll be referring back to it in the years to come.

Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott

A very short little book around the theme of mercy and what it looks and feels like. A bit confusing for me though as I don't think mercy was ever really defined. Or it was defined in many different ways.

Sometimes I read Anne Lamott's books at the wrong time and nothing really strikes me. This is an example. Who knows, maybe a few years from now I'll pick it up again and it will speak to me.

The French Chef in America: Julia Child's Second Act by Alex Prud'homme

Reading My Life in France was one of my literary delights in 2016. So it's super fun to be able to read a sequel so soon after!

The French Chef in America details Julia Child's life after returning home from Europe. She starts filming her cooking show, and she writes even more cookbooks.

I definitely prefer My Life in France over this one. This one gets a bit off subject and meandering in the second half. Still, it's pretty interesting. But if you haven't read My Life in France yet, start there!

The News From the End of the World by Emily Jeanne Miller

This is the story of a Cape Cod family under lots of pressure over the course of four days. Emotionally truthful, and at exactly the right pace.

Yes, this consumed my weekend. :)

The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy by Leigh Gallagher

Have you stayed in an Airbnb yet? I've stayed in about five Airbnb rooms/houses now, and the experience has been good so far. Except for that one sticky floor when we were in Monterey. Ick. Besides that, the places have been great and super clean, and the hosts have been generous and friendly. Boomer and I check out Airbnb listings now before we think about staying at a hotel.

I was interested in how Airbnb started, so this was the perfect book to answer that question. It was an easy read for me until the last one-third of the book that talks about the legal battles that Airbnb has been involved in, so I kinda skimmed through that. 

The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin

I was in high school when the O.J. trial was going on. I wasn't following it because I was in high school! I do remember the principal making an announcement over the loud speaker once the verdict came in. I think it was during fourth period? Physics class.

Anyway, I didn't know that much about the trial. So when I recently watched the FX series,The People v. O.J. Simpson, I was fascinated. It's an amazing series, so I highly recommend it if you haven't yet seen it.

I immediately checked out this book that the series is based on. It's a highly readable account of the trial and reads like fiction.