Book Review

Friday Book Chats: Books to Match Your Mood

Books, like songs, each have their own tone. They have the ability to evoke certain emotions or associations. And just like I choose the music I want to listen to based on my mood, I often choose the book I want to read next the same way. Since I read so many different genres, there are lots of directions my reading could take me. Today’s book chat is a collection of book suggestions to match your mood. The majority of these I’ve read. A few I haven’t, but trust the sources that recommended them to me.

Books to Make You Laugh

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Mindy Kaling. If you like Mindy Kaling in The Office and The Mindy Project then you will like this book. I personally want to be Mindy’s best friend.

Bossypants. Tina Fey. I actually didn’t like this quite as much as Kaling’s book, but I’m in the minority. It is still really funny. I’ve heard it’s even better if you get the audiobook because Fey reads it herself. For fans of Mean Girls and 30 Rock and SNL.

Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life. Glennon Melton. This book from the author of the Momastery blog is not marketed as humor. It’s part memoir and part about parenting and part life reflections. But it made me laugh so hard I think I peed on myself. Several times. I read parts of it out loud to my mom and I thought we were going to die from lack of oxygen we were laughing so hard. I think it’s partly because I share Melton’s sense of humor, but I thoroughly enjoyed laughing my way through this one.

Books to Make You Cry

The Fault in Our Stars. John Green. Teenagers with cancer ponder the mysteries of the universe. Some of my favorite characters, but if you don’t cry buckets there’s probably something wrong with you.

Me Before You. JoJo Moyes. A directionless young girl takes a job as a caretaker for a young, handsome man who was hit by a car and is now a quadriplegic. I think you can see how this is fodder for all the feels.

Books to Creep You Out

I am easily scared and don’t like to read scary books, so bear that in mind.

Gone Girl. Gillian Flynn. Part mystery, part psychological thriller, all sensationalized. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this, but it definitely ranks as a creepy book.

Tana French mysteries. Of all the mysteries I read, these are the scariest and most suspenseful to me (but in a good way). My favorite is The Likeness.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Stieg Larsen. I don’t recommend this book because I found it too disturbing due to graphic violence towards women, but I had to finish it because I couldn’t stand not to know what happened. Only read it if you aren’t as easily disturbed as I am.

Books to Make You Think

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. Susan Cain. I wrote a whole post about this book, but it’s fascinating and hugely helpful in understanding my personality and how I’m wired. I recommend this to introverts and extroverts alike and I promise you will learn something about yourself through this book.

Thinking, Fast and Slow. Daniel Kahneman. A tour of the mind that explains the differences and capabilities of our brains’ two systems – the one that is fast, intuitive, and emotional and the other which is slower and more logical. Fascinating insight into how we as human being think.

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Brene Brown. I’ve written a whole post on this book but I think it is powerful and life-changing if you let it be.

Books to Let You Not Think

The most delicious of marshmallow fluffy books. I’ve done a full post on these books here, but just to quickly list a few go-to authors of mine:

Emily Giffin (except for her most recent which was awful). Rom-commy loveliness, though some of them are a little more nuanced and heavier than just boy meets girl.

Sophie Kinsella (especially her Shopaholic series). They might be predictable, but they sure are fun.

Jennifer Weiner. Really enjoyed In Her Shoes and her Cannie Shapiro books. Ooh and Little Earthquakes. Very easy reading, though not nearly as fluffy as Kinsella.

Books to Let You Escape (Books with atmosphere)

Kate Morton’s Books – Old houses full of family secrets are a recipe for some delicious, transporting stories.

The Night Circus. Erin Morgenstern. Seriously gorgeous. While I was reading this book I felt like I couldn’t do regular life because my imagination was so completely full of The Circus there wasn’t room for anything else.

Brandon Sanderson’s Books – Sanderson’s capacity for world-building continually boggles my mind. I haven’t read all of his books, but everything I’ve read has been amazing. Especially The Stormlight Archive and the Mistborn books.

Patrick Rothfuss’ Books – Rothfuss is also a great world-builder and storyteller whose beautiful writing paints such vivid pictures you won’t want to walk away.

Outlander series. Diana Gabaldon. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of this series, I admit that they do take you away to another time and place. Actually, many different times and places.

Books to Motivate and Inspire You

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading. Nina Sankovitch. I wrote more about this here. After the death of her sister Sankovitch sets out on a year of reading one book every day for 365 days and finds a way to slow down and heal. This will motivate you to read more.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen. Christopher McDougall In Mexico there is a tribe called the Tarahumara who are known for being incredible distance runners who run up to 50 miles through their native deserts barefoot. When McDougall is sidelined from running by recurring foot injuries, he sets out to discover the secret of the Tarahumara. Don’t read if you don’t want to be compelled to run.

The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful. Myquillyn SmithA great read for those who love decorating and feel like they can’t because of their budget, their space, or because they feel guilty for putting time and money into making a beautiful home.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Marie Kondo. Need help decluttering and getting organized? I’m told this book will change your life.

Books to Challenge You

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Michael Pollan. Pollan’s detailed trace of 4 meals through their entire production chain from the ground to your table will make you seriously consider the ethics behind what you eat and challenge you to be a mindful consumer.

Interrupted: When God Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity. Jen Hatmaker. I feel like the title of this is sort of self-explanatory. This book is a kick in the pants for Christians who are more concerned with feeling and believing the gospel than they are with doing it. (You know, me.)

Books to Make You Hungry

Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage. Molly Wizenberg. The story of Wizenberg and her husband and their quest to open the perfect brick-oven pizzeria.

My Life in France. Julia Child. Child is the master. This book will endear her to you and make you want to cook.

Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table by Shauna Niequist. One of my faves. Such a great reflection on food’s role in our lives and the importance of hospitality and nourishing our bodies and our souls with people we love around a table.

Books to Give You Wanderlust

I have to be careful about when I read these. Cause my wanderlust is always crazy-high anyway. Sometimes these books inspire me and sometimes they make me feel discontent with my life. Just my own personal struggle.

Home Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World. Lynne Martin. I think the title pretty much explains it.

Paris Letters Janice MacLeod. When Janice finds herself completely burned out she figures out how to cut back, save money, and buy herself two years of freedom in Europe.

Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage. Allison Vesterfelt. From the author. “Like many twenty-somethings, I tried desperately to discover the life of my dreams after college, but instead of finding it, I just kept accumulating baggage. Just when I had given up all hope of finding the “life I’d always dreamed about,” I decided to take a trip to all fifty states…because when you go on a trip, you can’t take your baggage.”

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you are one of the 4 people on the planet who hasn’t read this and you want to find yourself compelled to leave your life and globe trot then go ahead and give this a go.

Books to Make You Bored

Just kidding. Life’s too short to read dumb books.

What are your favorite books to match a mood? Did I miss your mood? Leave me a comment with your suggestions or let me know what kind of book you’re looking for and I’ll make some suggestions!

Friday Book Chats: My Teacher Made Me Do It

Today’s book chat is a tip of the hat to some of the literature teachers I’ve had over the years who assigned me some great works that I may have never read on my own. Of course, not every book I read in school was a smash hit. A lot of the books on my Books I’m Supposed to Love But Can’t Help Hating list were also assigned reading. But this post is about celebrating the gems I discovered and about saying thank you to the teachers who made me do something I didn’t necessarily want to do because they knew it would make my life richer. (Or because they were required to by state law, but either way…)

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I can’t say for sure that I would never have read this book if it hadn’t been assigned, but I certainly wouldn’t have read it when I did and I think this is a book that impacts you more when you read it as an adolescent. As a teenager in the American South this book had an impact on my developing understanding of race and justice in America.

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I wouldn’t call this a favorite book, but it is a book that I’m glad to have read. As a sophomore (or maybe junior?) in a small Christian high school I remember my sheltered self being appalled and disgusted by parts of this book (particularly the ending) but after a few years of maturing and, frankly, growing less prudish about literature, I came to really appreciate its message about the Haves and the Have Nots, the scope of moral vision, and the endurance of human dignity.

3. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. In retrospect, it’s strange that this book was assigned at my conservative Christian high school, but I think it had more to do with it being a story set in Louisiana and written by a local author. This book is considered a comedic masterpiece and follows the main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, “a Don Quixote of the French Quarter” on a series of comedic adventures.

4. Light in August by William Faulkner. I read this book in college having previously only read The Sound and the Fury (a book I was not thankful to have read in high school). Light in August is one of my favorite modern classics and its main character, Joe Christmas, is one of the most fascinating characters I’ve ever encountered.

5. The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare. I happen to love Shakespeare so who can say whether or not I would have gotten to this play eventually had it not been assigned, but it is one of the less famous of Shakespeare’s plays. I read this during a study abroad in England and later saw a stage production of it in Stratford that was so creative that it brought the play to life for me in a way I’ve never forgotten.

6. Dogwalker by Arthur Bradford. I had to write a paper on this collection of short stories while in college. Initially I thought it was bizarre and disturbing and I kind of hated it. The stories in this book are strange bordering on the absurd with elements of magical realism woven throughout. After studying the text and learning more about the author I came to understand these stories as showing the strange and unconventional beauty of the misfits of society.

7. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood. Elaine Risley is a painter who has returned to Toronto, the town where she grew up, for a retrospective, only to be confronted with the shadows of her childhood. As someone who has spent much of recent years trying to make sense of the complexities of my own childhood, this book resonated with me on a deep level. It was heart-wrenching and tender and funny all at once and I remember it as one of the most moving books I’ve ever read.

What I’m Into: June 2015 Edition

It’s that time for the monthly round-up, otherwise known as What I’m Into. As always, this is a link-up with the lovely Leigh Kramer.

I know I try to be all about living in the moment and embracing where I’m at, but to be honest I’m feeling pretty ready to kiss June goodbye. In the Korean school year, the first semester runs from March to July and in spite of this being my second summer here, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m supposed to be on summer vacation right now. I realized that I keep thinking of the time we leave Korea (August 14^th) as the beginning of summer since that will be our first break from teaching and we’ll be going home. In reality, it will be the very end of summer, especially since Jonathan has to be at school on August 18^th. (Yes, that is correct. We have 3 days to arrive in the US, get all of our stuff out of storage and drive it 12 hours from Louisiana to South Carolina while severely jet lagged. I feel tired just thinking about it.)

Here are all the things I’ve been up to in June while trying to avoid thinking about the move and how I still don’t have a job or a place to live.

What I’m Reading:

I read a lot of 3-star books this month (not typical for me since I can be a picky reader), but thankfully I ended the month with a bang. If you’re on Goodreads, I’d love to connect with you there!

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Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This was my first Ishiguro book and to be honest, I wasn’t wowed. This is a sort of dystopian novel along the lines of The Giver but set at an exclusive boarding school in England. Even though there is a first person narrator, I felt disconnected from her and from the other characters to the extent that I didn’t really care that much what happened to them. There was also a moment towards the end that is set up as though it’s a big reveal, but I personally didn’t find the information surprising as I’d assumed it all along. I also found it irritating how extremely non-curious the characters were about the world and their role in it. I know this book is pretty highly acclaimed, but for me it was just OK.

Mariana by Susannah Kearsley. Kearsley writes a lot of semi-historical novels set in England and Scotland. In this one, Julia Beckett buys a centuries-old Wilshire farmhouse on a whim, but she discovers that her draw to the house may be more than random chance when she starts to slip back in time, experiencing the life of Mariana, a woman who lived in this house in the 17^th century. This book was so similar to the only other Kearsley book I’ve read, The Winter Sea, that I couldn’t help feeling like maybe she’s a bit of a one-trick pony, but I liked it fine. I didn’t feel like I really knew all that much about the protagonist since the book is more driven by the plot than by character development, but there was still something pleasant about it. Like a not-as-good Kate Morton novel.

Interrupted: When God Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity, by Jen Hatmaker. This book challenged me, in a good way. I’m planning some posts on this in the future, but the central message of this book is what the Gospel is really about and whether we ought to be going out and being among people in need instead of trying to get them to come to us.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. I’m so proud of myself for finally getting around to this book! I don’t know what took me so long to read this since it has great reviews and it sounded like the type of book I’d like, but now that I’ve read it I can confirm that this is a great book. This novel is based on actual historical figures, Hetty “Handful” Grimke, a slave in a prominent Charleston household, and Sarah Grimke, the master’s daughter. The story begins on Sarah’s 11^th birthday when Handful is given to her as a present and continues on through the two women’s lives as each woman strives for freedom in their own way.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer. This is YA book that I literally read in one day while traveling. It was cute enough and the writing wasn’t distractingly bad or anything, but it was kind of a take-it-or-leave-it book for me. It won’t stick with me.

The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) Brandon Sanderson. Reading this took me as long as all of the other books combined, but even at a whopping 825 pages it was worth it. This book picks up a year after the fall of the Final Empire (where the first book ends) in the series and I liked it even more than the first one. If you’re into big fantasy series, definitely give this one a go.

What I’m Watching:

In theaters this month we watched Spy and at home we watched the movie Chef. Spy was much funnier than I expected it to be, but I also feel very uncomfortable recommending it to anyone as I know that they will judge me because this movie was VERY crude. It’s totally not my usual type of humor, but I admit that I laughed. A lot. But I’m not condoning it. And Chef was very touching. Plus I love movies about food.

On TV I finished the current season of Nashville, and am current on Pretty Little Liars. I’ve also made it to season 4 of The Good Wife and Jonathan and I have been watching a lot of Frasier together in the evenings now that most of our regular shows are off for the summer.

What I’m Listening To:

Podcasts, man. First my friend Josh turned me on to the Gilmore Guys podcast which is literally two guys who go episode by episode through Gilmore Girls and discuss everything they like and don’t like about each character and each episode. And they are serious. They are not being sarcastic at all. And then my friend Josh started his own podcast with his friend Kayla. It’s called Podcast! The Musical and is a podcast dedicated to discussing musical episodes of TV shows. It’s great! And then hubby and I started listening to Spontaneanation which is an improv Podcast done by Paul F. Tompkins. Each episode starts with him interviewing a special guest. The interviews are not always that interesting, but they use the information from the interviews in the following improv. And the improv is hilarious. My recommendation if you are first trying it out is not to judge it til you’ve listened all the way through the improve part. You’ve just got to muscle through the weird intro and the interview. It’s worth it. My favorite one I’ve heard so far was A Secret Society.

What I’m Eating:

I’ve managed to make June a pretty healthy eating month and can now fit in my summer clothes without assistance. I’ve made two food discoveries this month that have made eating mostly plants more enticing. The first is green smoothies which are simply some sort of milk (I use soy or almond or coconut or a combination, but you can use cow milk, too) plus whatever frozen fruits I have (usually one frozen banana plus a handful of something else) plus a big handful of spinach. If it’s not sweet enough I will add a dried, pitted date or two. You can’t taste the spinach, I swear, and they give me a lot of energy. Of course, I don’t eat a bunch of fruits the rest of the day on mornings I eat that, since it still ends up being a lot of sugar, but I’ve been really enjoying that!

And my other food obsession is making mini eggplant pizzas. Just slice and roast your eggplant in the oven for 15-20 mins, then top with tomato sauce, toppings and cheese and broil til the cheese melts. Super easy. Super yummy.

If you want to keep up with what I’m cooking and eating, follow me on Instagram and Pinterest.

On the Internets:

This guest post on my friend Brett’s blog about responding to difference.

This interview Rob Bell does with Elizabeth Gilbert

This post from my friend Sara about the temptation to live a safe life instead of embracing opportunities and then being left with regrets.

This post, which is not new, but which I just read again recently and still love about when you doubt your faith.

This post from Sarah Bessey about being a secret-keeper even though you are a writer, blogger, and over-sharer. I could relate so completely it was eerie.

On the Blog:

I went on 4 new adventures for my 52 weeks of adventure series (23, 24, 25, and 26). I wrote about fictional character crushes, books and place, middle child books, and YA fiction. I hosted Thankful Thursdays posts from Crystal Tripp, Kelsey Munger, Cara Meredith, and Meredith Bazzoli. I wrote about being an introvert, my battles with trust, and rediscovering music.

This month I published my most-read post of all-time, On Getting Married Too Young. It got shared around on Facebook and mostly got a great response which was exciting. It isn’t WHY I write at all, but when you guys comment and share my posts it makes me feel like there’s value in what I’m doing here and I appreciate you all.

What I’ve Been Up To:

We celebrated our 5^th anniversary with a weekend trip to Busan. We said good-bye to friends who were leaving for the summer and won’t be back before we go. We made a list of all the things we want to be sure to do before we leave Korea and started trying to sell some of our things. I picked up a couple of freelance gigs that will hopefully help cushion the blow as we move into a no-income situation. We did an awesome photo shoot with our friend, Laura. And we celebrated Jonathan’s 28^th birthday the right way – with Indian food and homemade cake.

What have you been up to?

Friday Book Chats: What Makes a Book YA and Some YA Books Worth Reading

I recently had a conversation with my husband about what criteria must be satisfied for a book to be classified as Young Adult. While there are obvious answers to this question like, “The protagonist is an adolescent,” this isn’t by itself an accurate answer. There are plenty of books that are not classified as YA literature that feature a child protagonist or even a child narrator. (Off the top of my head Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and To Kill a Mockingbird all come to mind).

What makes a book like The Book Thief a YA book while All the Light We Cannot See is a Pulitzer Prize winning adult novel? Both books have child protagonists. Both books are about WWII. Both books have a stylized, literary feel. And yet, they are considered different genres.

I brought this question up with a few different friends who made various suggestions. They postulated that YA books have a sense of immediacy not present in adult literature. They are often written in the first person and sometimes use the present tense. My husband suggested that there’s a certain simplicity to the language and syntax of YA books that allows for comprehension by a younger audience.

Some scholars and critics have suggested that YA as a genre is solely a construction of the publishing industry. How do you get more teenagers to buy books? By marketing certain books directly to them. And this seems to be working.

While these conversations didn’t provide me with a clear answer to my question, it did make me think about some of my favorite YA books. While publishers may have created a niche market that’s great for selling some of these books, I think they’ve also isolated some of those same books from reaching a wider audience who aren’t as likely to pick them up because they are stamped with that YA label.

Here are some books that (in my opinion) are worth your consideration even if you wouldn’t call yourself a YA fan.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Since I already mentioned it above I’ll just say that yes, it’s as good as it’s hyped up to be. This is a fantastic book that tells the story of a young German girl (with a penchant for stealing books), her adoptive parents, and the Jewish fighter they hide in their basement during the Holocaust, as narrated by the omniscient character, Death. I can’t possibly sum this book up in a few sentences, but it will pretty much wreck you.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Alina Starkov is nobody – an orphaned refugee whose never been noticed. Until her best friend’s life is threatened and a dormant power is awakened in her unlike an the world has ever seen. Alina is immediately taken into the Grisha court to study and train under the most powerful Grisha of all, The Darkling. Together he says they can destroy the Shadow Fold that threatens their country. Together they can remake the world. But nothing is as it seems and Alina must learn to see things that have long been hidden, even the things inside her own heart. This trilogy is masterfully done.

The Lunar Chronicles (series) by Marissa Meyer (The first book, Cinder, is only $2.99 for Kindle right now!) I’ve actually only read the first book in this series so far, but it blew me away. It’s set in a futuristic world where androids are essential to daily life and the moon has been colonized and become the home of a new species known as Lunars. This unique twist on the Cinderella story involves a cyborg/mechanic Cinderella, a handsome prince, and the search for a cure for the plague pandemic that is wiping out Earth’s population. This is not the sort of book I would normally gravitate towards, but it is so fresh and clever and well-done that I couldn’t put it down. I plan to read the rest of the series soon!

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials Series) by Philip Pullman. In a world where people’s souls exist as Daemon forms who walk beside them, orphaned Lyra Belacqua leaves her home among the scholars of Oxford’s Jordan College sets out on a quest to find her kidnapped friend, Roger. She carries with her an instrument given to her by her uncle, Lord Asriel, an instrument that tells the truth, an instrument that changes everything when she discovers that someone is kidnapping children and running experiments on them – experiments that will separate them from their Daemons. Honestly, these books are better as an adult than they were as an adolescent. As an adolescent you read these and think, “Yeah, down with the Magisterium. Stick it to the man!” As an adult you are fascinated with the implications of what it means to become an adult and the influences of society and religion in that process.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. This book is precious. A love story for the ages, but with real characters in real and difficult situations. Eleanor is the wrong size with the wrong hair and the wrong clothes and most definitely the wrong family. But to Park, she is the magic that holds the sky up. They know it’s destined for disaster. But they also know the real thing when they see it. I was enchanted.

The Fault in Our Stars and other John Green books. I assume I don’t have to tell you much about The Fault in Our Stars, but I will say that it is my favorite Green book. His books are all so compelling because they don’t flinch away from hard truths and big questions. They are serious and sad and funny and beautiful and his characters have something meaningful to offer the world.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants The premise of the magical pants aside, the stories of these four girls wove their way into my heart. There are things I love and identify with about each of them – Wild Bridget, Rebellious Tibby, Quiet Lena, and Dramatic Carmen. These books are portraits of friendship, of family, of growing up, and of what it means to live a meaningful life. There are five books in the series, with the last one, Sisterhood Everlasting, crossing over into adult fiction as it picks up the girls’ lives 10 years later as they are about to turn 30.

What do you think? What makes a book YA? What are your favorite YA books?

Friday Book Chats: “Middle Child” Books (Easily Overlooked)

I’ve been thinking lately about how very hard it must be to be a novelist. Not only is there so much work that goes into writing, and then the pressure of trying to get published and then hoping people buy it and then hoping it gets good reviews, etc. And even if you manage to achieve all of that, the buzz around a particular book only lasts for so long and then you have to do it all over again.

For today’s book chat I wanted to write about some really good books that you may not have heard of, or at least may not have heard about in a while. These aren’t exactly obscure books, but they are what I’d call “Middle Child” books.They are too old to still be hyped up and popular but they aren’t old enough to be classics and most have authors that are better-known for other works. While none of these books are all-time favorites, they are all books that I rate highly and would recommend.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley (1993). McKinley was one of my favorite authors growing up. She was writing young adult fantasy before that genre really existed. While I read and loved every one of her books (highly, highly recommend The Hero and the Crown), I remember being awestruck by this one, perhaps in part because it was one of my first forays out of true children’s books and into something weightier. Princess Lissla Lissar is on the cusp of womanhood, a beauty only equal to her dead mother, but she is forced to flee her kingdom when that likeness sparks her father’s lust and madness. She flees with her loyal dog, Ash, eventually finding a job working in the kennels for another king where the prince becomes captivated by the kennel maid and tells her stories until one day he tells her the story of Lissla Lissar.

The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards (2011). Edwards is best known for The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, but The Lake of Dreams is worth a read. This beautifully atmospheric book tells the story of Lucy Jarrett who has returned home to a small town in upstate New York after years of living abroad. When Lucy finds a collection of objects inside a window seat, she realizes she has stumbled onto some family secrets. Lucy begins a quest for answers about the objects she’s found and about the unresolved death of her father a decade earlier.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (2008). Brooks is a Pulitzer-prize winning author (for March in 2006, also a great book) whose books are heavily rooted in real historical events. Inspired by a true story, this book traces the story of a rare illuminated manuscript and the people who loved it and preserved it through centuries of war and exile. When the Sarajevo Haggadah is rescued from Bosnia, Hanna Heath, a rare-book expert, is given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study it. This book takes Hanna and the reader on a journey that is both historically fascinating and emotionally evocative. I’ve read reviews of this book from people who didn’t connect with it at all, but I thought it was fascinating.

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2008). Sittenfeld is probably best known for her debut novel, Prep, which I didn’t love. I was intrigued by this novel because it’s a complete work of fiction whose main character, Alice Blackwell, is heavily modeled after Laura Bush. One of the most interesting elements of this book to me was the exploration of a character who doesn’t hold all of the same political or social views as her husband and is put in position where she has to decide what it looks like to support someone she doesn’t always agree with.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2006). Krauss’ more recent book, Great House, is also well worth reading, but this was the first book of hers I read and I’m attached to it. Until recently she was married to writer Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) and I can see some similarities in their work. Leo Gursky is a tired old Polish immigrant who lives a quiet, lonely life, but once upon a time he was young and in love and he wrote a book. 14-year-old Alma was named after a character in that book and she is determined to find her namesake, even though it’s been 60 years since the book was written.

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon (2007). Chabon is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (which won the Pulitzer in 2000). The thing I love about Chabon is that he strongly believes that a book can be both literary and entertaining. He often experiments with classic genre fiction, and this book is a prime example. The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is a police detective story mixed with a dose of 1940’s noir. A small community of Jewish refugees have made their home in Sitka, Alaska where they were offered temporary asylum after WWII, but now their little world is about to change as their district reverts to Alaskan control. For homicide detective Meyer Landsman, this is just one more part of his life that is falling apart. When Landsman begins to investigate the murder of his neighbor, he receives instructions to drop the case from his supervisor – who is also his estranged wife. Landsman pursues the case anyway with startling results.

Do you have any books you wish more people knew about? Or books you love that don’t seem to get enough credit? Please share in the comments. I’m always looking for new suggestions!

I’m an Introvert, Not a Recluse: On Joining the Quiet Revolution

Sometimes people are surprised to learn to that I consider myself strongly introverted. To many people, introvert is a synonym for anti-social, shy, or awkward.

I understand why people are surprised. After all, I do talk to people. I don’t seem especially shy. Sometimes I’m even loud and boisterous. But what most people don’t see is how most of the time I have to fight my urge to back out of social commitments and just stay home. They don’t see how I get so anxious and nervous before a party, or meeting new people, or having an uncomfortable conversation, or hanging out with someone who feels out-of-my-league, that I sweat through my clothes and my whole body shakes so hard that my teeth chatter.

I’ve written here before about my (apparently well-hidden) social anxiety and how my classic remedy has often been to over-compensate, pushing myself to be overly cheerful, loud, energetic, and funny (and usually becoming pretty obnoxious in the process) when in social settings. I didn’t realize until fairly recently that all of these things are coping mechanisms of a sort. They are ways that I try to handle my anxiety and they are ways that I try to conform to an extroverted ideal.

Last year I read Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. This book was fascinating on so many levels. It helped me make sense of the parts of my personality I’d always viewed as contradictory or even flawed and it helped me recognize all the ways that Western culture embraces extroversion as the ideal and subtly (or not-so-subtly) encourages us to act like extroverts even if we aren’t.

I am introverted in the most classic sense of the word – I am more energized by being alone than I am by being with people. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like being with people and it doesn’t mean that I have no social skills. It simply means that being with other people takes more energy from me than it gives, so I have to spend time alone in a peaceful environment to reboot and regain energy.

However, I am also a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). As the name suggests, HSPs are people who are very sensitive to their surroundings. In Quiet, Cain presents research on HSPs that was very meaningful to me because it made sense of parts of my personality I couldn’t’ understand. HSPs can get easily irritated by loud noises or bright lights or harsh textures. They can be more easily upset by things like violent movies and can have difficulty handling stressful situations without becoming overwhelmed. But HSPs are also tend to experience empathy and compassion more easily, to appreciate the finer things in life, and to have a rich and complex inner life.

Not all highly sensitive people are introverts and not all introverts are highly sensitive, but a larger percentage of highly sensitive people are introverts than extroverts. Both my husband and I are introverts, but I am a highly sensitive and more social whereas my but my husband is quieter and is not highly sensitive

Before reading this book, I’d always felt confused by this seeming contradiction in my personality. Even in my own mind, introverts were quiet and stoic people, but my emotions were easily influenced by my surroundings. I laugh easily and cry even more easily. None of this seemed to jive with the rest of my introverted characteristics. Cain’s book helped me understand my own personality and wiring better and also helped me appreciate how some of the things I’ve always considered flaws in myself can actually add value to my relationships and community.

I know I’m not alone in struggling to understand myself, the way I’m wired, and how I fit in with my family, my community, and with society. In fact, so many people responded positively to Quiet that Susan Cain and a team of collaborators have decided to launch a lifestyle website dedicated to exploring the value of being an introvert in an extrovert’s world. The website, Quiet Revolution, launches today and is designed to empower and connect introverts across the globe.

If you’re an introvert, you should read Quiet. If you’re not an introvert, you probably love someone who is, so you should still read this book. And if you are interested in participating in an online community of writers, thinkers, and influencers who are all introverts, you should head over to the Quiet Revolution site and check it out.

The world needs to re-think Quiet, because introverts have ideas worth listening to, even if they aren’t the ones shouting the loudest.

What I’m Into: May 2015 Edition

Have you ever noticed that the moments you are most enjoying your life are always the ones that seem to got the fastest? Since the weather warmed up and the world turned green and we had some long weekends to travel life has been pretty enjoyable this month and it’s also flown by. We are about 2 1/2 months from leaving Korea and as excited as I am to go home, I sort of wish I could make time stand still. Life here is comfortable and there is so much unknown ahead.

I am linking up with the lovely Leigh Kramer for this little reflection on what I’ve been into in May.