October was so busy that it’s taken me 5 days into November to post what I read. I really leaned into audiobooks this month. I’m grateful that I can add fast-paced thrillers to the list of what I like on audio (including memoirs and YA). Speaking of memoirs, I’m grateful that I read Matthew Perry’s book when it came out last year. I was devastated by his death last week and grateful to know more about his struggles told through his words. Memoirs are so powerful and I love when people can tell their stories in a way that we can connect to, even if we haven’t had similar experiences, and that shows the lessons they’ve learne. This month I read:

• The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand – I enjoyed this book less than some of Elin’s other books, but I think I just wasn’t in the mood for a light, beachy read in a busy Fall season. In this story famous food blogger Hollis creates a five-star weekend by inviting four friends from different eras of her life: high school, college, child-rearing years, and present day. She does this as a way to recover from her husband’s sudden death and to reconnect. Throughout the weekend on Nantucket we get to know the friends and the friendships and all the drama that came before. I found the women to be too real housewife-like and over-the-top too much of the time and I was underwhelmed overall.
• Thicker Than Water: A Memoir by Kerry Washington [audiobook] – I heard Kerry Washington speak on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast and I knew I needed to read her new memoir. Of course I chose to listen to the audio version because I LOVE listening to a celebrity read their own memoir and this one did not disappoint. Kerry is beautiful human, a talented actress, and a passionate story teller. In this memoir, Kerry shares the “revelation” about her family that her parents shared with her at age 43. She hints to it at the beginning of the book, then sets the stage for their family and her childhood and career, and then reveals it to us, the reader. She does this with great respect for her parents and for her own intuition. This was an excellent memoir! And it made me need to go back and start rewatching Scandal, which I am loving!
• None of This is True by Lisa Jewell [audiobook] – My favorite book podcast, Currenty Reading, talked about this thriller in the summer and I knew I wanted to read/listen to it. It was a fun, mixed media, propulsive story that I enjoyed! It’s hard to say much without spoiling any of the story, but it begins with Alex and Josie meeting each other on their 45th birthdays, when both are out celebrating with their husbands and realize they were born on the same day in the same hospital. That leads to them considering doing a podcast about this random meeting and then a lot happens as we get to know both of these women and their families and histories.
• Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma – This was a book club pick and I’m glad it was chosen because I wasn’t aware of it before now. In this collection of essays, the author attempts to grapple with the dilemma we face when the artist whose art we love (music, movies, paintings, etc.) is a monster, a terrible person. Ever since the Neverland documentary was released, I have not listened to a Michael Jackson song. Not once. And I grew up LOVING his music. Truthfully, I still do. But hearing about what he did to young children back when I was a young child, after we were lied to over and over again about his actions, made me so sick that I had to ban his music from my life. This book explores a number of male artists with horrible personal lives, and some women who are considered monsters for far less crimes, and whether or not we, as fans, can still love them. Because really it is about love. I’m still conflicted, but she did make some points that there are no perfect people and we are all terrible in our own ways. I might not start listening to the music on my way, but I might allow myself to enjoy the MJ musical I will be seeing in a few months. As a separate note, the writing was very repetitive and most of her examples were very old and outdated. Our book club discussion was fascinating because most people hated this book and were mad that she didn’t make a definitive statement about this dilemma we all face. From that discussion, I did learn about and highly enjoyed this podcast: Think Twice: Michael Jackson.
• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears [audiobook] – I love a celebrity memoir but this was a bit of a disappointment. Britney reads the prologue and then the actress Michelle Williams reads the book, which I was fine with because I’m not a fan of Britney’s speaking voice/baby talk voice. Before this book was released we had heard the most salcious parts already (Justin made her get an abortion, her father was controlling), but I was hoping there would be more depth within. I felt like this was a retelling of the timeline of her life, with the major highlights mentioned briefly, with no supporting details. Also, for a memoir I think this was seriously lacking in any lessons learned. I think Britney is not far enough out on her own yet, and still so stunted in her teenage years – she never seemed to truly get over her breakup with Justin and then her freedom being taken away for over a decade under the control of her father. I was sad reading this, and worried for her future, but not enlightened at all.
• Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau [audiobook] – I LOVED this book! This is a coming of age story about Mary Jane, a 14 year who takes a summer nanny job for a family down the street, in 1970’s Baltimore suburbia. As Mary Jane gets to know Izzy and her eccentric parents, she is soon a part of a family completely unlike her own. When a rockstar and his movie star wife have to move in, Mary Jane’s new family and her life get turned upside down. Seeing each character through the young and innocent eyes of Mary Jane was both sweet and endearing, especially as she learned some hard truths about life and her own parents. This was a beautiful story that made me want to google Jimmy and his fictional band. I love that the audiobook ended with a song performed for us. This is a must-listen-to book!
• Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese – This is a beautiful, sweeping family saga that covers multiple generations in this Indian family. We meet a young girl promised to marry an older man, taken from her home and brought to a strange place to make a new life, and we feel as scared as she was. As we watch her grow into a wife, a woman, and a mother, we meet so many other characters along the way. I love how different storylines, that seemed so unconnected, merged by the end. I could feel the heat, the fear and power of the water, the monsoons, and the elephant’s kind gestures as I lived through generations with this family. I loved this very long book!
• We Want to do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Academic Freedom by Bettina A. Love – I’ve owned this book for awhile, as I heard good things about this book and author. Bettina A. Love is a professor and a scholar determined to teach us, especially us white educators, who we need to do to change the educational system for Black children, who we continued to fail. She takes very personal examples from her own life as well as from research, to illustrate what it means to be an abolitionist. We need to do more than be allies, we need to be the abolitionists who move beyond what it means to be white in America and fight for systemic changes. The chapter that most impacted me was when she asked us to look at the educational gimmicks like No Excuses, Grit, Character Ed, and more, and see those for what they have become- ways to manage and control Black bodies. “There is no amount of grit that can fight off the intersections of living in poverty, being pushed out of school, facing a world full of patriarchy and racism, and sufferening toxic stress.” She shares the importance and necessity of joy and that educators must take care of themselves in order to do this work.

Favorite Books

Fiction: Mary Jane & Covenant of Water

Nonfiction: Thicker Than Water: A Memoir