The Power (2017) by Naomi Alderman is another book recommended by President Obama. Again, I had no idea what it was about going into it, but I’m really glad I read it. Not only does it give me something to talk about with Obama if I ever happen to run into him [very likely], but I thought it was interesting and thought-provoking. The Power begins five thousand years in the future. Neil Armon just wrote a book and is getting feedback from a fictional Naomi Alderman. They […]
We’re all just a mess
Anything is Possible (2017) is another book I picked up on President Obama’s recommendation. I remember reading Olive Kittredge (2008) many years ago–it must have been right after it was published. At the time I was impressed by the writing, but the details are fuzzy. Anything is Possible is similar in construction: a novel composed of interconnected short stories. However, these stories take place in a small, Midwestern farming community instead of a small town in Maine. Lucy Barton is the primary connection in these short stories. Everyone in the […]
Fifty shades of f*cked up
I am facing my fortieth birthday by setting out a number of different goals. One of these is to read 50 Books That Every Woman Should Read Before She Turns 40. I realize this list is pretty arbitrary, and nothing says that more than their inclusion of Fifty Shades of Grey (2011) by E.L. James. However, I am impressed by most of the other choices and I’m definitely a completist. I figured, at the very least, Fifty Shades would be a quick and easy read. I had such low expectations […]
We are all migrants through time
I found Exit West by Mohsin Hamid through two different sources. First, it was on President Obama’s 2017 recommended reading list. This was already more than enough incentive for me to start reading, but it was also on NPR’s Best Books of 2017, which has become one of my favorite sources for finding new books. Before I began reading, I only had the vague notion that this was a story about refugees, which seems especially relevant in today’s world. I was expecting a humanizing story of the danger […]
1970’s Feminism
I had not heard of Fear of Flying (1973) by Erica Jong before I saw it on my list of 50 Books Every Woman Should Read Before She Turns 40. I subsequently learned that Jong’s book was controversial for its racy sex; that it involves the sexual escapades of the protagonist in Europe; and it was important in second-wave feminism. Once I began reading, though, it was not what I expected. I found the protagonist grating at times, and the plot felt rambling. But it also grew on […]
A real-life Miss Hannigan
I saw Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate on NPR’s Best Books of 2017. I’d never read anything by Wingate before and wasn’t sure what to expect. On the whole, it was an interesting page turner. Loosely based on real events, Before We Were Yours, alternates between two story lines. Avery Stafford is a present-day federal prosecutor who has recently moved back to Aiken, South Carolina. She is there to help her father, a famous Senator from a long line of prestigious politicians, who is suffering from cancer. […]
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