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8 months since my last blog post.  I have a nagging need to get current, yet am overwhelmed at the thought of trying to summarize the last 8 months.  And it’s not like there was nothing to write about, I guess time and priorities were elsewhere.  Can you believe it is almost Halloween?  Another holiday season is upon us.  Another spring, summer, and fall have passed us by.

The last 8 months in books:

  • Finished the Neapolitan series by Elena Ferrante, the mysterious unknown author  whose identity was recently uncovered by a snoopy journalist. I mean, really, why not let sleeping dogs lie?  I prefer to keep her unknown in my mind.  And I truly loved these books.
  • Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums by Travis Barker.  Every now and then, I need to read for pure mindless escape.  I bought this for Ben, but read it myself.  Travis drums like it’s his job, and it is, among other entrepreneurial things.  Practices until his hands bleed.
  • Lesser Evils by Joe Flanagan. I know the author from Alexandria, where among my small circle of friends he was referred to as ‘Hot Joe’.  He looks a bit like Tim Robbins, but that is beside the point.  I don’t know Joe well, but have picked up little bits about him here and there.  Enough to know and see glimpses of his history and his experiences in the novel.  In Chapter 2, someone is called a horse’s ass.  That is so east coast.  Love it.
  • Elizabeth Street – I can barely recall any details, but I do remember loving this book. You should read it.  Great story.
  • The Residence – My mom recommended this one to me, and I happened to be between books at the time so I went for it. It was ok.  Somewhat interesting to see the history of the White House through the lens of the house staff.  I’m none the wiser for reading it though.
  • The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin – the 3rd and last book in The Passage Series, a post-apocalyptic novel about the survivors after much of the earth is wiped out by a virus. Ben made a smart decision by going back and re-reading the prior two books in the series.  I dove right in and suffered from not fully remembering all of the character’s stories.  Great books though.
  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by one of my favorite human beings, JK Rowling. Ah, I love her.  This is essentially written as a play, because it is a play in London right now, which I would love to see.  And I did something I almost never do – went back and reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows beforehand so I had a bit of a refresher in my mind.  Read both while on summer vacation on the east coast.  Ben’s 10-year-old niece and I were reading them together and trading notes.  Yes, I’m 40.
  • The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls – This was a mind-blowing story. Highly recommend.  Was on the beach in Cape Charles and someone recommended it to me.   Devoured it.
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – a modern classic. Again, a truly lovely story.  One of my favorite passages takes place after Francie experiences her first heart break.  From her mother, “It’s come at last,” she thought, “the time when you can no longer stand between your children and heartache.  When there wasn’t enough food in the house you pretended that you weren’t hungry so they could have more.  In the cold of a winter’s night you got up and put your blanket on their bed so they wouldn’t be cold.  You’d kill anyone who tried to harm them….Then one sunny day, they walk out in all innocence and they walk right into the grief that you’d give your life to spare them.”  Later she says to Francie, “You’ll be happy again, never fear.  But you won’t forget.”  I remember when I was a little girl and Big Poppy would always talk about protecting us kids.  But, what if a bomb was coming right for us, what would you do then, Dad?  I’d stand in front of you and block it, he’d say. I understand now that he really meant that.  The best part is that I truly believed he was so invincible he could stop a bomb in its tracks like a bugs bunny cartoon.
  • Organizing Schools for Improvement by Tony Byrk – a mandatory read for work. I read the better part of it on our long weekend camping trip to the San Juan islands, the weekend after Labor Day weekend when I could finally get a reservation at the campsite we wanted that was booked up all summer long.  We saw Orcas.  And I am grateful that I have this happy memory to think about when I think about this book.
  • Love Warrior by Glennon Melton Doyle – Glennon belongs to the Liz Gilbert/Brene Brown/Sheryl Sandberg camp of female authors pushing us to Lean In, get back in the ring, stay open, rise to the occasion, take risks and fail, etc. What I will say about this book is that her portrayal of bulimia and to some extent alcoholism is the truest thing I have ever read.  “The hidden, truest rules about how to matter as a girl are:  Be Thin.  Be Pretty.  Be Quiet.  Be Invulnerable.  Be Popular by Following the Powerful Boys’ Lead.  Sex and booze and eating disorders are simply ways for a high school girl to honor the hidden rules and to get from here to there.”  Her journey in this book, similar to mine in many ways, is how to rid yourself of all of your old ideas and become the truest version of yourself.
  • Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple – the follow up to ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’ about a day in the life of a woman that has it all yet struggles to be her best self. Maria’s wit and writing style give light to Eleanor Flood’s existential crisis (does that sound like it was copied off the back cover….because it pretty much was).  And similar to Bernadette, it is set in Seattle, my new home town.  A couple other things about this book – it is only the 2nd hard cover book I read this year and I feel slightly guilty for that.  My best self would buy books from local bookstores and support small businesses and authors.   But I mostly support the behemoth that is Amazon and read books on my iphone to/from work each day.  The other thing is that I brought a friend with me to hear Maria speak at Town Hall, where I was given said hard copy of signed book free with the price of admission.   So apparently I am that person that goes and listens to authors speak.  I guess it could be worse.  I love Maria.  Her creativity is inspiring.
  • And in case you thought this list would never end, we are now up to date with what I am currently reading, No Ordinary Disruption written by several McKinsey consultants, but recommended to me by our CFO as it relates to China.
  • Lastly, my Guilt List of books I started and have yet to finish:
    • How Asia Works by Joe Studwell – recommended to me by a colleague. Mr Studwell was a guest speaker at the foundation and I watched his keynote address, but have yet to finish this one.
    • The Trusted Advisor – a ‘work’ book recommended by a colleague. Maybe one day…
    • A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson – good, but not good enough to keep me from moving on without finishing it. Although I really do want to….
    • Mountaineers – The Freedom of the Hills – requisite reading for any dignified climber. I’m not dignified.
    • Winter of the World by Ken Follett – the 2nd in the Century Trilogy. I’ll read this when I feel like I am ready to take on a 1000-page book.  They’re so good, but require a bit of commitment.
    • Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows – Did I really purchase this book? Oh dear, I don’t even remember that.  I should get to this because ‘systems thinking’ still eludes me.
    • Rage by Zygmunt Miloszewski – was on sale for like a dollar on amazon, so I don’t feel bad for not getting to this one yet.
    • How Not to be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jorden Ellenberg – on Bill Gates’ recommended reading list.  I feel smarter already.  If a genie were to pop out of a bottle and grant me one wish, it would be for a photographic memory.  Without a doubt, that is a superpower.

I have no effin idea why I would write a ridiculously long blog post about books I read or why I felt like this was the one thing I really needed to get down on paper, or had to get down on paper before I put anything else in writing.  I mean, anyone can just look at my GoodReads page and know what I read.  Oh well.  So,that’s it, in a nutshell.