Welcome to the Stacks
Fostering the love of reading, here are several reviews from myself.
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Maid by Stephanie Land
Star Rating: ★★★★
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A memoir of a woman who grew up in working lower middle class in the Pacific Northwest. She ends up pregnant before applying to college and, instead of working her way through college to a more stable life, ends up not applying and leaving an abusive relationship with a newborn for a homeless shelter. She then claws and cleans her way to a better life over years of scraping by and relying on the government systems in place.
Personally, I identified with a story a great deal. Among many other jobs through college, I was a maid at one point while working two other jobs and still not making enough, requiring me to still rely on FAFSA. I would not be where I am without the Pell Grant, HOPE scholarship, and so many people who helped as they could along the way. But, I was petrified to become pregnant because I knew my fate would be sealed.
"It felt like things were falling into place. So much so that I started to grow suspicious. Maybe it was too good for us. Maybe we didn't deserve something that good."
If you know that feeling, my heart goes to you.
I did not rate this 5/5 because, while I really wish for everyone to know the struggle of social mobility, I wish there was more about her childhood so the reader could see how hard the climb is when you start underground.
Holes by Louis Sachar
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I read this with my daughter and didn't know it was also a movie! She was given it as summer reading at school. We read to our children at night and I found myself very invested in this story. It's so good and really a heart tugger. Good for adults but also great for family reading!
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
Star Rating: ★★★★
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"The problem with is that we don't claim shame; it claims us."
- Brene Brown
The Gifts of Imperfection is 130 pages, so a quicker read than some of her other books. She advises starting with this book. I really enjoyed it but I'll still to audiobooks with Brene Brown. I find it easier to retain the information with her talking to me vs. me reading it.
I really enjoyed this part. If it resonates, read the book ASAP.
"Choosing to live and love with our whole hearts is an act of defiance. You're going to confuse, piss off, and terrify lots of people - including yourself. One minute you'll pray that the transformation stops, and the next minute you'll pray that it never stops. You'll also wonder how you can feel so brave and so afraid at the same time. At least that's how I feel most of the time...brave, afraid, and very, very alive."
- Brene Brown
Braving The Wilderness by Brene Brown
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Braving the Wilderness is probably the hardest book I have read in my life. It showed me all the ugly parts of my own life, which is never easy to see.
Listening to this book reminded me of how I grew up in the wilderness when I just desperately wanted to blend in. And fitting in is not pretty and this book reminded me of that. Now, as an adult, I spent 2018 and 2019 really breaking down walls I had built up and, as it turns out, braving the wilderness. I just didn't have the coined phrase on hand. I read this while still going through that process, which was incredibly helpful but also hard.
What you may not see about Braving the Wilderness is that the wilderness is a lonely place. Not always of course, as you can branch out and find people and places you belong. But, in the age of FOMO and social media? Sure. Braving the wilderness means not fitting in. Which means not being invited and involved in every social event. So, this book, while it provided some much needed clarity, it also meant coming to terms with some emotions from old work colleagues and old friends. Because fitting in and standing out can't be one in the same. I am in the wilderness, I probably never left it (but instead forced myself to "fit in"), and I am practicing every day becoming okay with that notion.
The more you try and become an "expert fitter-inner", the more of a stranger you become to yourself.
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I read this in 2019 and it is still the book I tell everyone is a "must-read".
After seeing many dramatic changes in students on college campuses, the writers conducted a comprehensive analysis to answer "How did we get here?" What was uncovered are three Great Untruths that modern parenting since the 1980s has led to, which has ultimately come to a head as iGen arrived on college campuses.
This book is not a parenting book. It is for anyone who interacts with this latest generation as it is one that our society has never seen. It is a generation of Safe Spaces, Trigger Warnings, Callout Culture, and Vindictive Protectiveness. The book's title immediately drew me in. I'll share that, as a people manager, at times I felt like the word "coddling" was appropriate.
This book finally gave me data behind everything I have observed and experienced in the last 20 years in the workplace as younger people entered the office behind me. I have peace of mine with so many experiences now and have a perspective for why this youngest generation is how it is as well as how to parent in support of better ways to grow adults.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Star Rating: ★★★
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Dr. Paul Kalanthi, an Indian-American Neurosurgeon, is diagnosed with stage IV metastatic lung cancer in his last year of residency. AS his entire life is finally about to begin, he is handed a death sentence and experiences life as a patient. He tells a vivid tale of the juxtaposition of the two roles from his experience.
This was a very quick read and I did enjoy it. But, I would have really liked more about Paul growing up. The book breezed through that part of his life but I feel there are some stories that rooted him as a person that would have added to the overall story.
How to Raise Successful People by Esther Wojcicki
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The title really turned me off. This is written by the mother of two CEOs and 1 Doctor. So, is that our level for the definition of "successful people"?
But, I read the Time article first. And I realized I literally judged a book by its cover. Don't judge the book by the choice word "successful". Give it a shot. The idea of implementing the T.R.I.C.K. method is worth trying if you're a parent.
"No one has ever changed the world by doing what the world has told them to do."
- Eddy Zhong, CEO Leangap
"The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do."
- Steve Jobs, Co-Founder Apple
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Star Rating: ★★★★
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If you know Neil DeGrasse Tyson's voice, you'll know that an audiobook was naturally my first choice of medium. I have heard his lectures in person many times, enjoyed his shows at the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History, and even enjoyed the occasional talk show appearance he does. He has a great voice. And a great way to explaining incredibly complex scientific data in a way that is digestible.
This is a very fast read/listen intentionally (hence the title). I really enjoyed the part where he discusses how the Periodic Table came to be. But my favorite section is the final section, where he discusses the perspective that the cosmos provides. How easily all of my problems fall away when I think about the perspective from the cosmos. It's hard to carry that perspective every waking moment, but it's a beautiful way to try and live.
"The cosmic perspective reminds us that in space, where there is no air, a flag will not wave -- an indiction that perhaps flag waving and space exploration do not mix." - Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I will admit that I unfairly judged this book before reading it. I thought it might be just another super affluent white woman talking to other super affluent white women about "lifting each other up".
This book is not that at all.
I reserved the Libby audiobook from my library and Melinda Gates is a great narrator! The Moment of Lift is a vivid way to describe what happens when women are lifted up because everyone benefits from lifting up a woman. This book dives into the beautiful and heartbreaking stories of women all over the world, using data analysis to explore areas where the moment of lift has occurred in villages, urban cities, and marriages. My favorite part of the book is at the end and I think it summarizes the theme of the book well:
"Every society says its outsiders are the problem. But the outsiders are not the problem. The urge to create outsiders is the problem."
-Melinda Gates
When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger
Star Rating: ★★★★
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If I had know Emily Charlton (from A Devil Wears Prada) was rebooted as a character into this book, I would have pre-ordered and read on day 1!
Super light and fast read. Took it with me on vacation and flew through it over the weekend. Wasn't thrilled at how cutesy the ending was but, at the same time, I needed a nonfiction break and welcomed the lack of reflection and processing after reading it.
Wild Things by Stephen James and David Thomas
Star Rating: ★★★★
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This is an older book that I discovered while reading the REI Blog.
It took me awhile to accept the idea of reading a book "just" about boys. I didn't understand the idea of a boys book vs. a parenting book. I read this initially when Buddy was 5 and I am SO glad I read it before puberty. WOW--I didn't know what I didn't know and I am glad to have insight to what is coming down the pike. There is so much good tween and teen stuff in here!
The end of the book has a chapter for mother and son and another chapter for father and son. I debated reading only the applicable chapter. But, I am happy that I read the father/son chapter. It gave me a little insight into the relationship they may have as well as insight into men in general. :)
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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It's always so refreshing to read a book where the plot is woman-centered but not revolving around a love interest or a child. While The Alice Network is a bit of a slow start for me, I really enjoyed this fictional book based on very real women who were daring spies in WW1. The book encompasses WW1 and WW2. My favorite part that really resonated is "Lili. So Eve had Lili, and I had Rose. "All these flowers." "There are two kinds of flowers when it comes to women, " Eve said. "The kind that sit safe in a beautiful vase, or the kind that survive in any conditions...even in evil. Lile was the latter. Which are you?"
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I really love books set in the South. This is set in Atlanta and Louisiana, so it's right up my alley. An American Marriage beautifully explores social mobility and questions if you can really climb the social ladder without your home and roots haunting you. For me, this is a deeply relatable topic and I enjoyed reading about it through someone else's perspective. The plot is much like the setup of Hamilton in that the plot is revealed upfront and you're left to explore the colorful details of the story itself.
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman
Star Rating: ★★★
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Here me out on this. This book needs a sequel. I feel this book was so slow to start and then, within the last 20 pages, all the things come together. And then the book just ends! It's a great story focusing on mental health. But, really, the more interesting part (to me) is what happens after you work to acknowledge your baggage. And this book stops before Eleanor can work through that. So, give us a sequel, please, and let us see Eleanor as she works through her healing! She is a witty character; I have no doubt the sarcasm in the trauma healing would be great reading.
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Star Rating: ★★★★
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It is not often that the physical book and the Libby audiobook become available at the same time. But, the stars aligned for this one right as I headed to Hilton Head, SC. Reading this while in the lowcountry was amazing. The book describes the scenery perfectly. The narrator wasn't my favorite but I did enjoy reading "along" with her in the book. I also felt that, while the story was overall amazing, the author could do a better job with specifics as she jumps to different points in time.
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Emily Giffin is one of my favorite fiction authors because she has a way of creating a fun and light story perfect for a summer read. This book though surprised me...in the best way! This book originally presented as straightforward about social media but it really turned and had more twists than I was prepared for. But, as a parent who doesn't have teens (yet), this story of wealth and privilege captivated me on what ends up happening while also making me silently hope for landlines and motorola razr phones without cameras to come back before my kids are driving!
Quiet by Susan Cain
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I read this book twice, back to back. It's outlined to take the reader through the parts of history and reflection on the subjects of introverts before leading you into a self-reflection ending. There is so much data packed into this book that grounds everything in the last section of the book. So, upon finishing, I immediately wanted to re-read it. Like you sometimes watch a movie again after knowing the ending so you can see the parts in the beginning and how they play into the ending.
I initially picked this book up to read as an effort to understand one of my children, who I think is an introvert. In reading Quiet, I came to identify that I myself am actually incredibly introverted, but with a tremendous toolkit for coping at work and in social settings. Chapter 9 in particular solidified it for me. If you think you might be introverted or "introvert extrovert", I implore you to read through for the first 9 chapters and see if you also have a lightbulb moment.
Class Mom by Laurie Gelman
Star Rating: ★★★★
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As easy read and great for summer or vacation. A much needed comic relief for the Class Parent (and maybe a note of sympathy for other parents to take it easy on the Class Parent?) I giggled so many times at the hilarity of the class emails in here and maybe even fantasized a little about the ability to be that blunt. Thankfully, I have not had the level of drama this book has in my 7 years as a Class Parent!