Hey friends,

I realize I haven’t done a book update or favorite reads for this year. I hope you still enjoy reading them because I *could* write about the blanketing smoke instead. But nobody really wants to hear that I will be texting my friend every day this week to find out if the fire is closer than the 10 miles away it was on Saturday. I’m so ready for it to be over.

I was surprised looking at my list that I reached 20 books in July! That’s a lot for me to read in 7 months. I probably read twice that when I was younger, but you know how it is: adulthood squashes reading time. Anyway you know the drill. . .read on for my bookish thoughts.

The Rainmaker

I’m a great fan of the movie, and then I found the book for $1 and thought, “well I’ve never read Grisham before but how bad can this investment be?” In the middle of writing this I went and looked up his Goodreads pages, and I found, he writes mainly criminal/law fiction. Knowing this, I will probably go and read a few more titles (people were saying good things about Pelican Brief, so maybe I’ll start there).

I read The Rainmaker in Jan. It’s a thick one (419 pages) but not boring at all! It’s a page turner but in a quiet way. It tells the story with enough detail, not too much fancy language, and all around great pacing.

Long story short: this is the story of Rudy Baylor a budding lawyer who is trying to find a place for himself in the professional world. He meets the Black family his last semester of college, through a pro-bono advice group. Their son, Donny, is suffering from cancer and the insurance company strictly refuses to pay for treatment Rudy agrees to represent them. It’s a classic story of underdog-goes-up-against-establishment, but I found it so realistic and heartfelt. Highly recommend!

Educated

Educated is the most touching, insanely well-written book I’ve read this year. I will be buying it for my book self. <<<< that is my two sentence review but of course you need more details.

Educated is the recollection of Tara - her childhood and teenage years growing up in the mountains of Idaho, the daughter of Mormon conspiracy extremists (I’m sorry but that is the only way I can think to describe them)

Reading it felt very real and close to home, because it *is* - I know many of the places she mentions because I live here. I know the mountains and Ruby Creek and a little backcountry. It felt very vivid reading about their lives because in a lot of ways, I still see glimpses of that world. I have neighbors who haul water from the creek and use flashlights when the sun goes down. They don’t believe in hiding from the government but they live by more skill than most of us.

That said: reading this book was really hard for a lot of reasons. I will have to read it again, just to come to terms I think. But I came away with a greater appreciation of the triumph of the human spirit and that’s never a bad thing.

The Actor’s Life: a survival guide.

I tried watching The Office (unsuccessfully) last year, but this book intrigued me because film has always been a side passion of mine. I think all kids at one point or other want to be in a movie, so reading about it appealed to that dormant childish dream.

I loved this book for its honesty. Jen writes about acting as one of the most challenging creative careers, and it certainly is. It’s a career for the dedicated. It is actually way less glamorous than red carpet/interviews/Oscar moments that the public gets to see. Jen started out as an acting. . .nobody. She worked as an actor for 8 years before she booked Pam in The Office. For 8 years, she went to countless auditions, worked as an extra, guest starred in friend’s films and failed pilots. She really does have experience in what acting is. . .and what people make it out to be.

It was a fascinating look at the behind the scenes life of an actor – or surviving one.

Hamilton: the revolution + In the Heights: finding home

These are not technically “reading” books as much as they are behind the scenes ones, but I’m still adding them here. They are a marvelous creative reference as well as beautiful to look at. The photographs + design are SO good I could stare at them forever. I loved the stories and annotations and personal essays, SO MUCH.

They served as wonderful reminders that making stuff is more about the process than the arrival.

Code Name Helene

You will have likely seen this book on Grace Ann’s blog but if you need more convincing, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TOO. (I’m going to link her review of it here, because I fully agree with it and I’m too lazy to write one of my own :)

Washington’s Spies

I read this because I lllooovvveeed TURN on Netflix (it’s one of my favorite series)*

*watch with caution but I really have to say that about everything these days.
Who knows if I have secret 10 year old readers.

It’s hard to say if I would have enjoyed this without the tv series. Since I was already invested in the characters, reading about their lives with historical detail was fascinating (also I learned what parts of the show they fictionalized for dramatic effects).

I recommend this book as an excellent accompaniment to the tv show but I cannot say more than that.

Bridges of Madison County

I read this after I’d obsessed over the musical (it has been in my commute playlist since April). Whatever you might think of the story itself, the morality of it – whatever - I love it quite a lot and will not try to defend it beyond that. I was surprised to find upon reading, that it is based on a true story!

Again I feel similarly about this one as Washington Spies, not sure what my thoughts would have been had I not already loved the musical. But. . .it is a wonderfully written book. And a short one, you could def. read it in a day.

. . .

**I feel that I should mention Vanishing Acts even though I didn’t write a blurb. It is a Picoult book, and what can I say? it was great. All her books are!!!**

happy august!
k.

What are you reading these days? Anything amazing I should add to my TBR? THE REAL QUESTION IS: have you read John Grisham or Educated and will you chat with me about it?????