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!!!**

Inspired | Rachel Held Evans

The Robe | Lloyd C. Douglas

The Girl on the Train | Paula Hawkins

The Sacred Enneagram | Christopher L. Heuertz

I thought it was time for another installment of reading in 2020. If you’re new – first off: welcome! – I am writing a short blurb about every book I read this year and sharing them with you all.

Honestly speaking, I’m pleasantly surprised at this year’s book accomplishments. I wrote myself a list in Jan. 12 books I wanted to get to this year, and as of now, I’m 11 books and 4 months early. Granted, COVID put a damper on which books I could read, but there are plenty of unread books in my room.

The comments are wide open if you care to share the books you’re reading, or rave about the ones I mention here. Let’s start, shall we?

I saw the movie last year and it struck me harder than most. I was intrigued by this woman who made a fortune for herself with little more than a desire to rise and be someone. Molly’s story is unbelievably unique. Her book is short (about 260 pg.), and easy to finish in a day. I couldn’t relate to her experience in the slightest, but I enjoyed the fascinating story of her rise to fame.

This is was a .50 thrift store rescue paperback I picked up last year because, you guessed, it’s Jodi Picoult.

Picture Perfect is the story of a couple dealing with the aftermath of a fairytale start to their marriage. Gradually their personalities, interests, and flaws drive them further and further apart. The book starts close to the climax– the wife has been found in a churchyard, disoriented and without memory of how she got there. In typical Picoult fashion, the pacing is immaculate, the characters true, the writing honest.

I’m not exactly sure why this one didn’t resonate. Sometimes books don’t, and it’s no ones’ fault.

I don’t remember much about this novel except it was set in Tehran, and a recommendation from Grace Ann. Not a reread for me, but still a lovely romantic story.

If you are going to read Jodi Picoult, may I suggest My Sister’s Keeper, over Picture Perfect??? I’ll quote from the discussion questions in the back, because it says it much better than I can. “My Sister’s Keeper explores the moral, practical, and emotional complications of putting one human being in pain or in danger for the well-being of another.”

This novel is riveting and unsettling and tense. I cannot recommend it enough.

I’d seen this one surface for a while before I finally decided to read it (and only because Olivia raved about it, and I trust her book recs). I was not prepared for the emotional powerhouse this memoir is. First, the subject matter alone. Second, the unveiling of today’s justice system (which is 100x worse than I thought it was). I have to give an enormous nod to the writing also. THIS WOMAN IS TALENTED.

If you have considered reading it but weren’t sure if it was worth it, IT IS. I was not disappointed.

Another recommendation from Grace Ann. She’s obsessed with the Anastasia story and part of me has also wanted to experience the hype myself. I confess that I knew very little of Anastasia and I worried that since this novel is about a woman claiming to be Anastasia and the subsequent investigation that followed, I was starting in the wrong place. Turns out, you don’t have to know anything about the Romanovs to enjoy the novel.

Although, “enjoy” is not the word I’d use to describe it.

This book is anything but enjoyable. It’s a dark tale. It’s a world in which none of the characters get what they want, but the villains do. There is no silver lining. Even in the few happy moments depicted a dark cloud looms.

In spite of this, I thoroughly loved it and the end. . .oh my goodness. I won’t say anymore.

*not freaking out, I promise.