I always wish I could move through books faster, but I’m going to call reading four books since Evelyn has been born and in the middle of a busy work season a win.
{Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby}
I started this book the day before Evelyn was born, and I finally picked it up a month later. Juliet, Naked is the story of three people: a British man (or maybe we should say guy, because his lack of maturity is part of the story) who is obsessed with a retired American singer-songwriter, his girlfriend who does not understand his obsession, and the American singer-songwriter himself. It’s a fun book, a story about life purpose and dreams told in Nick Hornby’s classic dry humor. (And in case you’re wondering, it has nothing to do with anyone named Juliet being naked.)
{The Archaeology of Home by Katharine Greider}
I will tell you this right up front: this book is not a page turner. It took me quite awhile to get through. But in all honesty, I found it completely fascinating. The Archaeology of Home is the story of Greider’s family getting kicked out of their home in New York, an apartment they had bought and were quite happy with, because of structural issues with the building. When Greider started looking into the history of the building, trying to uncover the historic cause of the structural issues, she uncovered a series of stories of the various families who had lived there. The Archaeology of Home covers the history of New York City from the days of the Lenape tribe through early settlers and up through the 1990s. I’ve never known so much about the history of New York and it is so interesting.
{Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor}
Barbara Brown Taylor’s new book seemed exactly what I needed in the dark months of January. Learning to Walk in the Dark is Taylor’s exploration into all kinds of darkness: physical, spiritual, emotional. She feels that all of the positivity in the church doesn’t sit quite well with her (what she calls full solar spirituality) and she wants to learn the lessons of the lunar side of things. It’s an interesting read and puts into words things I (and I think a lot of other people) often feel. There are lessons to be learned in the dark if we will embrace it.
{Suffering Succotash by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic}
This book explains my life. Really. Suffering Succotash is all about Lucianovic’s exploration into picky eating, from the science behind it, to the way it affects a picky eater’s social life, to the way it affects parenting. Everything she said had me nodding my head in agreement, because this book explains exactly what it feels like to not be able to make yourself like certain foods. And better yet, she understands how, as a picky eater, you can grow to love food in general if you have food prepared the right way. This book was one of those books that validated things I have felt my whole life, and I highly recommend it for picky eaters and their families (especially parents who might be feeling frustrated at their child’s picky eating).
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