We Are The World

“Nothing is so privileged as thinking history belongs to the past.”

It’s been a minute, 2 at 27. I’ve been busy birthing babies and counseling kiddos. My reading game is still strong, but my writing game is weak. Luckily, I’ve got Rae and Tracky keeping the good reads and recs coming!

Recently, I picked up a non-fiction that was short, sad, sweet, and surprising. Anyone remember John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns? He just dropped a book that was so good that Sharon McMahon put it in her Summer Book Club. And that’s saying something coming from America’s History Teacher!

Can you name what the leading cause of death worldwide has been for the past 148 of the 150 years? I’ll give you a hint—you probably wouldn’t think it’s as impactful as it is. With the exception of the COVID-19 virus in 2020 and 2021, the world’s largest killer is….drumroll, please…tuberculosis! Even scarier, between the years of 1985 and 2005, about the same amount of people died from tuberculosis as in World War I and World War II combined. Do I have your attention now?

While on a humanitarian trip in 2013 to Sierra Leone, Green encounters Henry, a charming and thoughtful TB patient. Initially thinking the boy was his pre-teen son’s age, Green is shocked when he discovers that Henry has just turned 18 and entered adulthood. What started as a brief conversation between strangers develops into deep conversations and visits with friends as Green cheers Henry on through life-saving treatment as his quality of life declines.

The back and forth between history and Henry is incredibly captivating and gut-wrenching. Green paints a picture of the societal, medical, and financial issues that surround the reasons for the prevalence of the bacterial lung infection around the world. Henry’s words and story share the impact that the disease can have on a person’s life, and the power of saving it. A heavier read with a lot of hope, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Posted by Michelle

The Name Game

“If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.” —Elbert Hubbard

Book lovers, we’re in luck! My latest read, The Names by Florence Knapp, involves both loyalty and cleverness. It’s no secret we’re staunch Jenna fans—when it comes to lit recommendations, she consistently lives up to her secret service code name Twinkle. Other authors we feel a loyalty to also promoted this debut novel. Hello Beautiful’s Ann Napolitano gushed: “A truly gorgeous, heart-opening novel. I couldn’t put it down.” Jojo Moyes had this to say: “This beautifully written, wise, and tender first novel is an utter original.”

And who doesn’t love an utter original? We all likely agree that names carry significant weight, but how many of us believe that a name can completely change the trajectory of our lives? Knapp’s story revolves around Cora and Gordon, an off-kilter British couple. (By the way, off-kilter is a euphemism.) Gordon is a tyrant. He’s a well-respected physician by day, and a monster by night. Sadly, Cora is a shell of a human. When she and her daughter, Maia, walk to the registrar’s office to officially name a new baby boy, Cora has a decision to make. Does she defy Gordon? Appease Maia? Or follow her own inspiration?  The story follows the baby boy’s life as Bear, Julian, and Gordon. The stark differences between these lives will surprise you. They’ll make you think too. I liked this novel—I doubt I’d read it a second time because the unique and clever premise packs some power that works best the first time you pass Go.

 P.S. If you liked the movie Sliding Doors, this one’s for you.

Real Girl Status

"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” —Elizabeth Andrew

Who doesn’t love a volunteer? Better yet, who doesn’t doubly love a book volunteer? It’s hard to resist someone who has heart. I say we give it up for Sharee comin’ in clutch with the Mama Love recommendation. This memoir is getting bumped to the front of my book queue. Rae’s too. Thanks for the love, sis.

Some of you may be aware that Sharee is our resident Emily Henry expert. So, you can bet I phoned her up as soon as I finished the bestselling author’s latest Great Big Beautiful Life. We both liked the premise: two writers, one more decorated than the next, compete for the chance to write the biography of an American heiress who disappeared from public view decades earlier. The competitors have one month to gain the heiress’s trust and win the project. As the two forge ahead, they realize the American Royal is subverting the truth at times. But why? You’ll have to read to find out. I think it’s worth meeting Alice Scott, the young journalist who boasts real-girl status and oozes with optimism. She’s a character I can get behind. 

Sharee’s read 4 of Henry’s 5 romance novels. GBBL is her favorite. This story is different than the others. Ms. Henry said herself, Great Big Beautiful Life is a departure from her previous novels. One reviewer articulated the difference: “Sure, the Emily Henry signatures are back—cozy, vibrant small-town settings, heartwarming familial subplots, and laugh-out-loud dialogue. But this book does something different than Book Lovers or Beach Read—it centers the importance of familial love as much as the romance storyline.” I think it’s safe to say you’ve found your next substantive beach read.

Posted by Tracy

Mama Love Wins

“All I can be is who I am now, and then work hard to become the person I most want to be.”

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with book clubs. I won’t even try to explain why, but I never seem to last more than a few months. My record before now? I think I made it 182 days. In 2023, my daughter pulled together a group of “serious readers only.” When she invited me to join, I decided it was time to give book clubs another try—I’ve been a faithful member for 18 months. One of our attendees asked last month if we could bedazzle a book at our next meeting. What?!? Are you kidding me? That was a blatant offense to a book snoot like me. Needless to say, I think it’s time for me to jump the bedazzled ship. The one positive from last month’s book club was an amazing selection. The Many Lives of Mama Love was worth the pain I silently suffered at the sequined suggestion.

The Many Lives of Mama Love recounts Lara Love Hardin’s amazing true story. A soccer mom living in a posh community who seems to have it all, no one would ever suspect she’s hiding a shady secret. Mama Love is funding a heroin addiction by stealing her neighbor’s credit cards. Looks like Frost was right: “good fences make good neighbors.” Fortunately, he was right about mending too. After being convicted of 32 felonies, the recovering addict learns to bring love and healing to her fellow inmates and is affectionately called Mama Love. If only she can forgive herself and find a way to move beyond her troubled past.  

Upon release, Mama Love recreates herself as a ghostwriter, thanks to a kind man willing to give her a chance when no one else would. Her success is inspiring. Love’s rise from convict, to writer, to humanist (oh, how I’d love to meditate with the Dali Lama), to eventually meeting Oprah is one of the best inspirational stories I’ve read in a long time. This reviewer may have said it best, “The Many Lives of Mama Love is a heartbreaking and tender journey from shame to redemption, despite a system that makes it almost impossible for us to move beyond the worst thing we have ever done.”

Posted by Sharee

The Art of Good Conversation

"I don't read a book; I hold a conversation with the author." – Elbert Hubbard

Man, I am having some really good conversations lately. And I’m having them with new authors. I met Jane Yang thanks to Heather Morris (think The Tattooist of Auschwitz). Her praise for Yang’s debut novel caught my eye—of Lotus Shoes she said, “Brilliantly written, masterful storytelling, and hard to put down.” You had me at brilliantly written, Heather.

Lotus Shoes has all the elements of a good book, including a strong opening, compelling characters, sharp dialogue, and an absorbing story. I’m a tad surprised by how engrossing 1800s China was. Can I say that? I knew about the Chinese practice of foot binding—I didn’t realize that “golden lilies” were not only the mark of an elegant lady, but often a determinant where marriage was concerned. Marriage could offer a little freedom to women within a subjugated female culture. Or a prison. Little Flower, the star of Lotus Shoes, is a lot like an Austenian character: progressive. She is, in fact, gifted. Little Flower is an undeniable foil to her mistress, Linjing. This is “an empowering, uplifting tale of two women from opposite sides of society, and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph.” If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this one’s worth a read. Let me sign off by saying thanks, Jane. I really enjoyed our chat.

Posted by Tracy

Yammer Sessions: Part One

“Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit.” ― Neil Gaiman

Amen, NG! (I love that I continually see eye to eye with a man whose nickname is Scary Trousers.) I just finished a book that had staying power. In fact, after closing the cover of Wild Dark Shore, I woke up the morning after thinking about it. And it just so happens that when I got my hair cut last night, both my girl Devron and her amazing friend Ally had read Charlotte McConaghy’s latest. Boy did we have a yammer sesh about this new atmospheric novel. 

I’m new to McConaghy. Apparently, her books are “highly readable, with a skillful mix of plot and character, thought-provoking scientific and ethical problems, and a palpable sense of place that generates a sense of wonder. Wild Dark Shore’s setting is a foreboding island. Inspired by Macquarie Island (located between New Zealand and Antarctica), Shearwater is home to royal penguins, albatrosses, seals and a damaged family who’s charged with caring for a seed vault after a group of researchers flee the island because of rapidly advancing sea levels. During the final 6 months that they’re tasked with supervision and survival, a near-dead body washes up on shore after a ferocious storm. Mystery washes in with her. Not surprisingly, the Salt family (although broken) heals her and vice versa.

Wild Dark Shore has secrets, twists, intrigue—all the good stuff. Devron gave this spellbinder 4.5 stars, while Ally (the idealist) offered up 4 stars. In lieu of stars, I’ll make a promise: odds are Shearwater will immerse you too.

Posted by Tracy

A Big Novel Doing Big Things

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives only one."  —George R.R. Martin

I’ve never been a math girl, but I hope to skyrocket past a thousand lives. I think Rae’s already there. (She dusted off a few good reads in the womb.) LitHub, of all people, has done some math for me. Accounting for different types of readers and life expectancy rates based on gender, here are some sobering stats surrounding potential numbers of books I’ll get to read before I die: 

55 and female: 86 (31 years left)
Average reader: 372
Voracious reader: 1,550
Super reader: 2,480

Think about these numbers for a minute. They’re downright scary. I can’t wrap my noggin around the idea of meeting fewer than 400 more protagonists. Friends really. Of course, fear isn’t rational. I read well beyond the average 12 books a year. I revel in living colorful, unique, sometimes eye-opening and inspirational lives. No surprise there.

I’m elated to have lived for a time in the small town of Everton, New Hampshire. The Starlings are an unforgettable bunch. At the family’s helm is Clive—an eccentric poetry professor who plays in a band called Blacker Sabbath, hallucinates by way of seeing animals, and talks to the ghost of a naturalist patterned after Doctor Doolittle. Clive is dying. He has a terminal brain disease. His daughter Emma, born with natural healing powers, pretends to attend medical school in far away California. The prodigal daughter returns to Everton to face not only her dad’s deteriorating condition but town judgements because her ambitious life plan has gone awry. She and her quirky, dementia ridden, sometimes embarrassing father join forces to find Emma’s best friend (turned Heroin addict) who goes missing and is believed by all to be dead. Well not exactly “all”—residents of the Maple Street Cemetery who are optimistically sunny despite being dead, they believe in Clive and Emma’s rescue mission.

Annie Hartnett is clever. I love that she chose Everton’s dead to narrate her novel. Unlikely Animals is classified as tragicomic—a book that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms—a narrative that explores heartbreaking aspects of life alongside lighthearted and laughter-inducing moments. I laughed out loud several times. I’m with the reviewer who said, “This is a big novel doing big things….[Hartnett] explores how we construct the miraculous after our promise has left us, and challenges us to dream through disillusionment even as suffering derails us.” Now that’s a lesson for the ages, definitely one I need to learn.

P.S. I will, without a doubt, be reading Hartnett’s first novel Rabbit Cake.

Posted by Tracy

The Stars Are Calling

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”  —Shakespeare

Except for me, oh Bard of Avon. April hath put a spirit of fatigue in this old girl’s bones. Yes, there’s far too much work. But I think the lethargy has as much to do with the fact that it’s been five years this month since my sweet momma passed away. Missing her never wanes. Thankfully, Lady Di equipped me with so many good memories. All these years later, a goofy grin crosses my face whenever I think of my mom saying, “Some authors only have one winner in them.” More often than not, she was referring to Harper Lee—the Southern genius who funneled all of her glitter and gold into one solitary brilliant and timeless classic. I mean, how do you top To Kill A Mockingbird? Ranked just behind the Bible in 2009 as “the most inspirational book of all time,” Harper Lee knocked it out of the park into the literary stratosphere.

Do not think for one minute that I believe Harper Lee couldn’t craft other winners. After all, she helped Truman Capote write In Cold Blood, the first true crime novel. The question is how do you write a second novel that also rockets out of the earth’s atmosphere? I say we ask Georgia Hunter. If you haven’t read We Were The Lucky Ones, you are missing out. An unbelievable true story that is mind-blowing at times. Lauren Belfer, New York Times bestselling author, had this to say: “We Were the Lucky Ones is the most gripping novel I've read in years. Georgia Hunter pulled me into another world, vivid, horrifying, astonishing, and heartbreaking.” If you haven’t read WWTLO, you really should.

Then you can read One Good Thing as a chaser. Lili Passigili, the protagonist in Hunter’s latest, is a truly inspiring human. Like Rae, she is a once-in-a-lifetime friend. She and Esti meet in college. They form a bond that’s as strong as it is natural—and beautiful. In 1940 Italy, the girls encounter problems because they’re Jewish. When their problems grow exponentially, Esti pleads with Lili to take her son, Theo, and flee through war-torn, Nazi-occupied towns for safer Allied territories. Like the Kurcs’ experience, Lili’s journey is fraught with unimaginable horrors, biting pain, and lingering grief. But there is also spectacular courage, stirring resilience, and shining hope. Hurrah to the reviewer who shared, “Gripping. . . At once a riveting wartime story and a tender tribute to friendship, One Good Thing considers the small acts of kindness and the undergirding love that can sustain people through difficult times.” Way to go, Georgia. You poured some good hope into me.

Posted by Tracy