In September, I got back into a bit more of a reading groove. I read 8 books- two of them read aloud to the kids, three nonfiction and three fiction reads! At least one of these will be in my top ten books of the year.
Let me know if you have ever read any of these, or if you have other recommendations for me!
Women Are the Fiercest Creatures
Synopsis: Anna Sarnoff is still reeling from her quickie divorce from tech wunderkind Jake Sarnoff. Forced out of the company that she helped Jake build, Anna is trying to pick up the pieces of her life, navigating the waters of solo parenting their two teenage boys and adapting to her new role of ex-wife. To make things more complicated, Jake seems to want her back…and his persuasiveness tempts her to say yes. Across town, the brilliant and striking Samanta Flores-Walsh, Jake’s college girlfriend, is busy raising her teenage daughter and running her thriving yoga studio. Although their relationship ended years ago, unanswered questions from their time together gnaw at her, and when she learns that Jake is planning to take his billion-dollar company public, she starts to wonder if perhaps it isn’t too late for justice. Finally, there’s Jake’s much younger new wife, Jessica, who’s struggling to stay afloat as a new mom while her high-profile husband grows increasingly distant.
My Review: I was a little bit worried that I would hate this one and that it would feel like I was a feminist bash against men…and there was definitely some of that in this book. But I was just so drawn in by these characters and how they were all connected and how their deepest hurts were all intertwined. And how they sometimes loved what was bad for them. I really enjoyed this book!
My Rating: 4 solid stars!
Hey, Hun
Synopsis: She signed up for the sisterhood, free cars, and the promise of a successful business of her own. Instead, she ended up with an addiction, broken friendships, and the rubble of a toppled pyramid . . . scheme. Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing is the eye-opening, funny, and dangerous personal story of author Emily Lynn Paulson rising to the top of the pyramid in the multilevel marketing (MLM) world, only to recognize that its culture and business practices went beyond a trendy marketing scheme and into the heart of white supremacy in America.
My Review: I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. It was so compelling and also extremely eye opening. I myself have tried once upon a time to sell something through an MLM, I’ve hosted friends parties, I’ve dipped my toes into that world. And I’ve never once made a dime (for sure have lost plenty of those along the way)…and while I’ve never had a terrible experience, the only experiences I’ve had have left me a little…disenchanted with the world of MLMs, and I swore off them forever many years ago. That being said…I do still like some of the products that are sold through MLMs and I would never take such a harsh take against everyone who is in an MLM as this author does. BUT…this book was WOW. Super eye opening and a tell-all of the behind the scenes of being a top dog in an MLM. Some of it is juicy gossip, some of it is horrendous, and some of it is downright icky. I did find that I felt the author when too far by the end of the book, and basically felt the need to slaughter anyone who is in an MLM. I wish the last chapter of the book had been left out, and this would have been a 5+ star read for me! I highly recommend getting your hands on this book!
My Rating: 5 stars
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Synopsis: A king and some unexpected companions embark on a voyage that will take them beyond all known lands. As they sail farther and farther from charted waters, they discover that their quest is more than they imagined and that the world’s end is only the beginning.
My Review: I think that this is my favorite in the Chronicles of Narnia series! I loved the adventures, Reepicheep the mouse, and the transformative (both literal and figurative) of Eustace! I have absolutely LOVED reading this series aloud to the kids at night!
My Rating: 5 stars
The Silver Chair
Synopsis: Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, a noble band of friends is sent to rescue a prince held captive. But their mission to Underland brings them face-to-face with an evil more beautiful and more deadly than they ever expected.
My Review: We really enjoyed reading this one, but we are also eager to be done and finished with the Narnia series. It has run it’s course and it’s time to wrap it up. I have so enjoyed reading this and of course we have enjoyed applying many of the lessons to our own lives and the lives of the kids.
My Rating: 4 stars
A Midwife’s Story
Synopsis: A gripping first-hand account of midwife Penny Armstrong’s journey from student midwife in Glasgow to running her own practice among the Amish in rural Pennsylvania, A Midwife’s Story never fails to enlighten, inform and surprise.
Going far beyond mere biography, Armstrong’s journey of self-discovery is ultimately very moving, and it is the honesty with which she describes the world she discovers which makes this book a classic, and essential reading not just for aspiring midwives but to anyone interested in natural birth.
My Review: This was a re-read for me as I try to read a lot of birth related books when I’m pregnant and preparing for birth. Well, I clearly put this one off for several months but since it was still on my TBR shelf, I picked it up and read it. I love memoir and I love hearing birth stories, so this one was a win for me. It does however have some trigger warnings in it for infant death and also some of the difficulties that midwives face in their private practices.
My Rating: 4 stars
The Accomplice
Synopsis: Owen Mann is charming, privileged, and chronically dissatisfied. Luna Grey is secretive, cautious, and pragmatic. Despite their differences, they form a bond the moment they meet in college. Their names soon become indivisible—Owen and Luna, Luna and Owen—and stay that way even after an unexplained death rocks their social circle. They’re still best friends years later, when Luna finds Owen’s wife brutally murdered. The police investigation sheds light on some long-hidden secrets, but it can’t penetrate the wall of mystery that surrounds Owen. To get to the heart of what happened and why, Luna has to dig up the one secret she’s spent her whole life burying.
My Review: As far as murder-thrillers go, this one worked for me. It was fast paced but also had character building in it. It was creepy, but not too dark and didn’t keep me up at night at all. There were some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, but they also weren’t too far fetched. That being said, I didn’t actually like any of the characters and struggled to want them to succeed. So if you like thrillers, murder mystery, and unlikeable characters…this one is for you.
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Africa Is Not A Country
Synopsis: So often, Africa has been depicted simplistically as a uniform land of famines and safaris, poverty and strife, stripped of all nuance. In this bold and insightful book, Dipo Faloyin offers a much-needed corrective, weaving a vibrant tapestry of stories that bring to life Africa’s rich diversity, communities, and histories.
Starting with an immersive description of the lively and complex urban life of Lagos, Faloyin unearths surprising truths about many African countries’ colonial heritage and tells the story of the continent’s struggles with democracy through seven dictatorships. With biting wit, he takes on the phenomenon of the white savior complex and brings to light the damage caused by charity campaigns of the past decades, revisiting such cultural touchstones as the KONY 2012 film. Entering into the rivalries that energize the continent, Faloyin engages in the heated debate over which West African country makes the best jollof rice and describes the strange, incongruent beauty of the African Cup of Nations. With an eye toward the future promise of the continent, he explores the youth-led cultural and political movements that are defining and reimagining Africa on their own terms.
The stories Faloyin shares are by turns joyful and enraging; proud and optimistic for the future even while they unequivocally confront the obstacles systematically set in place by former colonial powers. Brimming with humor and wit, filled with political insights, and, above all, infused with a deep love for the region, Africa Is Not a Countrycelebrates the energy and particularity of the continent’s different cultures and communities, treating Africa with the respect it deserves.
My Review: This one had my name written all over it! I grew up in West Africa, and I so often feel like I have my roots planted deep in Africa. However, I am not African and have never experienced what it is like to truly have the rich cultural heritage of being from a country in Africa. I enjoyed reading this book and learned a lot of history from it, but it unfortunately fell flat for me! It pains me to write that, because I wanted this to be a book that I could recommend for everyone. It was just kind of dry and hopped around a lot, so I felt like I couldn’t’ follow the exact point or points that he was making. Still, if you are into history, humanity, or even the rich cultural heritage of many African Americans, I think that this book may be for you!
The Woman with the Cure
Synopsis: In 1940s and ’50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. Outbreaks of the virus across the country regularly put American cities in lockdown. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god. But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a doctor –often the only woman in the room–she hunts down the monster where it lurks: in the blood. This discovery of hers, and an error by a competitor, catapults her closest colleague to a lead in the race. When his chance to win comes on a worldwide scale, she is asked to sink or validate his vaccine—and to decide what is forgivable, and how much should be sacrificed, in pursuit of the cure.
My Review: This read more like a textbook than a historical fiction novel. I was fascinated by the parts of the book that dealt with discovering how to cure polio, and how so many scientists got it wrong along the way. But I didn’t enjoy the parts of the book that fictionalized Dorothy Hortsmann. She seemed one dimensional, and the only thing that I learned about her is that she was tall, she was essentially married to her job, and she worked with a lot of men who looked down on her. I would have loved for her to have more of a personality. The story also felt disjointed as it spanned over 20 years of time and we would hop forward a few years but then have flashbacks of the years in between and I just felt myself saying “huh”? a few too many times. This book did remind me of a slower and drier version of Lessons in Chemistry, and if you are looking for a historical fiction novel that doesn’t deal with WWII, you could give this one a try! See if you enjoy it more than I did!
My Rating: 3 stars
And that is a wrap on my September reads and unfortunately that ends the season of light and fluffy, fun and compelling literature. All the books podcasts and blogs I follow are now pushing the dark and spooky books, and I just don’t like reading those! It takes some of the wind out of my sails when I don’t see great lineups or recommendations for books to read. I know I can read whatever my heart so desires, but I also really like don’t like to read in a vacuum so I always feel a little meh about books this time of the year. But I am planning to get my hands on some fun October reads, so come back at the end of this month for my October book review!