Continuing on with what I guess is the theme of the year, less reading this month. There were a few really good ones in here, however!
68) Wedding at Wildwood by Lenora Worth—Isabel Laundry comes back to Wildwood to take photos of a high school friend, a high school friend marrying an arch enemy. Isabel was once friends with the groom’s brother, Dylan, but much pain as passed between them. Still, sparks fly when Isabel and Dylan continually run into each other. More is at stake than romance, though: lives, livelihoods, and home. I struggled to wait for the resolution in this story, but it was a good one, and a meaningful one in terms of addressing still lingering prejudices, especially in the South. The book starts and ends with a wedding, but in the middle is so much more!
69) Choosing to Run by Des Linden with Bonnie D. Ford—As @ArunnersPlate commented to me on Instagram, “I didn't want it to end!” This is a great book about America's underdog, small and scrawny Des Linden who pushed through terrible weather conditions and her own medical complications to win the 2018 prestigious Boston marathon. The book intersperses miles of the race with tales of Linden's upbringing, time at the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, and subsequent training on her own. She has faced a lot, and yet she still chooses to run—inspiration for us all. (*Note, Des likes the “F” word, so be prepared for that if you choose to read.)
70) Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan—I really cannot recommend this book. I expected a book about an introvert saying, “Yes” to social invitations and writing about the results. Instead, I found a book of social experiments the author designed for herself, challenges that often had her seeking expert advice and support. The book is riddled with swearing and taking God’s name in vain, and also includes forays into drinking and psychedelic use. I enjoyed the last chapters about her dinner party and learning the joys of living outside the small world that introversion can cause. Unfortunately these chapter were not enough to redeem my reading, leading to my hard, “No” for this book.
71) Eat the Year: 366 Fun and Fabulous Food Holidays to Celebrate Every Day by Steff Deschenes—One part journal, one part cookbook, one part encyclopedia, this is a record of one woman’s journey to celebrate a food holiday every single year. I found reading this book a bit tedious (at least all at once). The author celebrated a lot of alcohol related holidays, which was not my thing. She also included quite a bit of adult humor and some political statements, especially related to her decision to eat vegetarian. All in all, I could see using this book as a reference for celebrating food holidays, but I unfortunately did not find that much fun reading it.
72) How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis, LPC—“You don’t exist to serve your space; your space serves you,” and if it’s not, you need to be gentle with yourself. This is the premise of KC Davis’ book. As a mom of two who struggles with anxiety, depression, and ADHD, she knows what it’s like to feel like she’s drowning. Using her knowledge as a therapist, and building on the works of Brene Brown and Kristin Neff, she writes this gentle book about self, space, and others care. She includes gentle, simple, practical, no-judgment suggestions for handling tasks like cleaning, dishes, and laundry. When it comes to division of household labor, she doesn’t suggest mental gymnastics as books like Fair Play do. She just advocates for equal rest. Davis purposely writes short chapters in clear type to make the book easy to get through . While the book includes a little bit of language, some political agenda, and discussion of “morally neutral” things that some may argue are not, this really is a book written for everyone. If you’re not struggling to keep house, you probably know someone who is. And even if you’re not struggling with household tasks, everyone could probably benefit from being a little gentler with themselves.
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