A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

In September of 1986, I landed in London, England, to start a job at the publishing house Faber & Faber. I thought I had a room rental arranged, but when I showed up on the doorstep of the flat, the tenant knew nothing about a girl from California coming to live with him. With my plan in ruins, I scrambled to find temporary housing at a hotel, and that is how I landed at the Holiday Inn Knightsbridge. It was in that hotel where I spent the next two near-perfect weeks of my life. I worked in Russell Square in Bloomsbury during the day at Faber, and then at night took a tube and then a bus to my hotel. Once safe in my room, like a grown-up Eloise, I feasted on room service meals, perfectly chilled half carafes of white wine, and glorious hours of BBC programming. “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles is the fictional story of Count Alexander Rostov, who was sentenced by a Bolshevik tribunal in 1922 to house arrest in the Metropol, an elegant hotel across from the Kremlin. His offense was writing a poem that the Boshevik’s found subversive. Instead of becoming Rostov’s prison, the Metropol becomes his safe haven and sanctuary. Within the walls of the hotel, Rostov transforms from an aristocrat who has never worked a day in his life into a real person – one with a room in the attic of the building and a job as a waiter in the hotel’s restaurant. His confinement morphs into an awakening for the Count who spends four decades inside this hotel, surrounded by food, wine, literature and stories. While Russian history takes place outside of the hotel, the Count makes the best of his situation, living out his life, making friends and even raising a child. His rituals become his salvation, and his charm infatuates every guest and employee in this wonderful book. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” by Issa Rae

When I was growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the late 1970s we had a television with a 10-inch screen on our dining room table. It was not hidden tastefully inside a pine armoire; it was smack dab in the center of the dining room table. We watched television during all of our meals because that is how our dad paid the bills, by producing shows like “The Odd Couple,” and “Happy Days.” It was not a mystery to us because he would say things like, “I sold a new show called ‘Laverne & Shirley’ today so Penny gets a job, your mother can buy that new roof she has been asking for, and I can buy a new basketball net.” Thirty years after I moved out of my parents’ house I am still celebrating television, and I appreciate when someone gets a hit show because they can then buy a new air conditioner. One talented newcomer to television is Issa Rae and her TV show  “Insecure,” which will enter its second season on HBO later this summer. Born Jo-Issa Rae Diop in 1985 to Senegalese-American parents, she burst on the scene first with her YouTube show “Awkward Black Girl,” which drew 20 million views and more than 260,000 subscribers. This book is about her life growing up in California and Maryland, going to several different private schools, and later to Stanford. She shares funny stories about her siblings, parents and the fact she always feels plus-or-minus 30 pounds. Her tales are quirky, self-effacing, and charming. She makes it cool to feel anxious and at the same time celebrates the insecurities inside all of us. Her memoir about wanting to fit in, but always feeling uncomfortable and different, is a triumph of spirit, color, gender and humor. My dad always said in order to truly become a big success in television; you have to learn all of the jobs and become a writer, producer, director and actor. If that is the case, then Issa Rae is well on her way to a bright future in television and publishing. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“A Life in Parts” by Bryan Cranston

When most people see Bryan Cranston’s face they think Walter White from “Breaking Bad” the story of the terminally ill high school chemistry teacher who becomes a crystal meth king pin. I, however, think immediately of handsome Doug Donovan from “Loving,” because during the early 1980s ABC was my soap opera channel. No matter era you are drawn to when you see Cranston’s face, you have to recognize this is one incredibly intense, hard working actor. In “My Life in Parts,” Cranston details the dozens of other jobs he had in his life including paperboy, farmhand, security guard, hotel luggage handler and an ordained minister who married couples on Catalina Island. Raised in Hollywood with his brother and sister, Bryan’s mom was a radio actress and his dad was an actor and boxer who would eventually abandon the family. So Bryan’s drive to work while his dad never lived up to his full potential runs deep. Over the years he had been in dozens of movies and television shows including stand out roles in  “Seinfeld,” “The X Files” and “Malcolm in the Middle” before hitting the top with “Breaking Bad.” When the part was originally pitched to him the producer said his character was going to go from “Mr. Chips to Scarface” which piqued Cranston’s interest immediately. He is one of those actors who approaches each part in such an intense way that you can’t help but admire not only his talent but also his dedication and creativity. And, yes he is happily married too (to wife Robin for 28 years), which always makes the perfect end to any book for me. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Texbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal” by Amy Krause Rosenthal

On March 3, 2017 the New York Times published Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Modern Love column, “You May Want to Marry My Husband” in which she outlined her husband Jason’s qualifications and her plan to find him a new partner because she was dying. Jeff and I both cried when I read it aloud on a recent road trip. Ten days later, on March 13, Amy died of ovarian cancer at 51. More than 4.5 million people have read that column. If you have not read her Modern Love column, go there because it is heartbreaking but also so bold and brave at the same time that it will make you pause (for a long time) with admiration and awe. (And it turns out that Amy and I both shared the same Bay Area book agent, Amy Rennert, which made me laugh through my tears.) Amy K-R was a prolific author who wrote both children’s books and memoirs, so I am now trying to celebrate her life by reading all of these books. Published in August, 2016, “Texbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal” is a non-linear book that NPR called, “a noisy activity book for adults that is more Mad Libs than a memoir.” But the truth is that now that Amy is gone, this is a memoir in the richest sense of the word. The book is organized into academic chapter heads such as Math, Social Studies and Language Arts. She fills those chapters with whimsical musings on her life and the way words matter, though sometimes are confusing, too. Maria Modugno, editor at Random House said, “Amy ran at life full speed and heart first. Her writing was who she was.” There is a moment in this book when she ponders what her 80-year-old self will be like. It is sad that she will never know, but also hopeful, that she has left behind a legacy of inspiring and creative work. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly

I am not embarrassed to admit that when I was in high school I used to fall asleep during math. It was always right after lunch, the room was warm, and the minute the teacher started talking my head began bobbing. The only math I ever loved was geometry because I was quite good at making shapes and angles by wrapping colored rubber bands around nails hammered into a square board. But alas, I always knew I was not destined to be a math wizard like the women in “Hidden Figures.” I read the book by Margot Lee Shetterly because my mom told me to, and then I saw the movie. Both are very different but in their own ways each is brilliant. The book places the stories of many women working at NASA into a big historical context, while the movie focuses narrowly on the stories of three women who carpooled together. So while the book reads more like a university textbook, the movie offers an up-close-and-personal slice of what these women’s struggles were all about. I loved both because they compliment each other so well. The story of the African American female mathematicians who helped NASA enter the space race depicts not only the history of racism but also how women persisted through the ranks of a male dominated workforce. You wouldn’t think a story of this magnitude would have taken this long to come to light, but the truth is that before Shetterly’s book historians only thought a few black women were involved. It turns out there were hundreds. I suggest reading the book first and then seeing the movie. This sequence ensures that you will cry throughout the film as I did. The stories of the three women in the movie are groundbreaking and you just can’t help but tingle with goose bumps of pride and joy that they persevered and changed the world with math.  Quoting my favorite line from the movie, “ And yes, they let women do things at NASA and not because we wear skirts, but because we wear glasses!” To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

"Nine Women, One Dress” by Jane L. Rosen

I wore the same white lace Ann Taylor dress to my dad’s funeral that I had worn to my engagement party about one year before. I didn’t realize this until just the other day when I was getting milk from the refrigerator to put in my coffee. On our refrigerator in San Rafael, there is a picture of Jeff and I with my parents at our engagement party in May 2015.  I remember dad told a funny story about being from New York, like he always did. But by July 2016 my dad would be dead just three weeks before my wedding, and I would wear that dress just a week later as he was buried. The whole idea of me wearing a white dress at a funeral to begin with is odd. But I think I wore that white dress because I wanted to be peppy and not too sad, the way my dad would have asked.  I wanted to let him know that by wearing white, I was still going to get married and he would be there in my heart at the ceremony.  I went to an all-girls school that wore uniforms, which I loved, so fashion for me has always been as simple as a white dress, a black dress or maybe something as wild as dark blue.  “Nine Women, One Dress” is the story of a simple, yet classic and magical black dress that weaves together nine unrelated women. The concept is not rocket science, but the narrative is quite compelling and heart warming. The author Jane L. Rosen, who is a contributor to the Huffington Post, is not only a fan of the little black dress but also in love with New York City. This story celebrates the women’s hope and dreams in the book as well as the city itself. One of my favorite characters in the book is Felicia, who has been quietly in love with her boss for 17 years. She has one night to finally try to make her feelings known. I want everyone under the sun to have a partner, so the ladies in “Nine Women, One Dress” are my kind of women and this is definitely my kind of book.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Writer’s Desk” by Jill Krementz

The apartment my family was listing on Washington Street sold last week, in lightening fast time thanks to the terrific Ana Dierkhising. The good news is that my mother was able to sell the apartment. The bad news is that after 21 years of writing in this apartment, I was forced to move my office. When my mom first bought the apartment, I wrote at a desk that pulled out from an armoir we ordered from the Horchow catalogue. But the truth is that after just a few years of sitting at a tiny armoir desk, I moved my writing supplies over to the kitchen table – a lovely Guy Chaddock square top. And it was a good thing I moved to a larger space because soon after I was joined at that table by my writing partner, Joe Bwarie. Together we wrote many  fairy tale plays that were later produced at the Falcon Theatre, where Joe is no co-artistic director. “The Writer’s Desk” by Jill Krementz is a photography book that shows famous writers at their desks. First published in 1996, my mom gave me this book as a gift that same year and wrote, “Thank you for writing a short, wonderful speech that made everyone happy, especially me.” The black-and-white book takes the reader on a wonderful journey into the lives of  many iconic writers. You can see Susan Sontag writing at a large dining room table, John Cheever with his smokes in front of a typewriter, Pablo Neruda writing by hand at his stately desk, Toni Morrison writing on her couch, William F. Buckley  Jr., writing in his car, and Catherine Schine writing in her bed. One of my favorite pictures is Tennessee Williams standing above his cluttered desk. He reported to the author that all he needs to write well is not a desk, but wine. In the end, It doesn’t matter where I sit when I write, it just matters that I have the time to write.  This week’s LLP was written in San Rafael on a butcher block island from Ikea. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“South and West” by Joan Didion

My dad used to buy me unusual presents. For example – my high school graduation gift was an autographed picture of Joan Didion. I framed the picture and the letter that came with it. She wrote, “Garry, I’m sorry this took so long… Simon and Schuster had just sent a little publicity glossy, and I was trying to find an actual photograph – this one is not very good but it is most definitely not a publicity picture.” It shows Joan, standing in Hawaii on a balcony on a very windy day. The picture and the letter remain among my most treasured things, and Joan is still one of my favorite authors. Her new book, “South and West” is one long essay about a road trip through the South, and another shorter essay about California, both taken from an old notebook of unpublished work. The first essay opens, “The idea was to start in New Orleans and from there we had no plan.” Joan and her late husband, John Gregory Dunne, then drove east through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In Clarksdale there was a lunch of, “fried chicken and gravy, white rice, fresh green peas, and a peach pie for dessert. The heat was so intense that the ice was already melted in the Waterford water goblets before we sat down at the table.” Typical Didion: Stunning and simple at the same time. In the second essay she set off to California to write about Patty Heart, but ended up doing other things. “I did walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, wearing my first pair of high-heeled shoes, bronze kid De Liso Debs pumps with three-inch heels.” This is a tiny book, one could read it in one hour. However, like all of Didion’s books, it leaves you with the sense that you love her writing, and would inspire you to read just about anything she wrote, even something as mundane as her supermarket shopping list.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Tell Me Three Things” by Julia Buxbaum

People who have known me since I was little will tell you three things: I am not a dog person. I am a full 10 minutes early to any meeting or event, no matter what the occasion is. And, I found my high school boyfriend the first day of Kindergarten. We held hands during folk dancing in the fourth grade, played Spin the Bottle in the 6th grade, and dated 7-12th grade until I went to college. I foolishly broke up with him my freshman year so I could date sweaty fraternity boys who threw up beer on my shoes. Today he is still a close family friend and has a delightful wife and family. My point is that I grew up never knowing what it was really like to experience the boy-girl, topsy-turvy drama of dating in high school. So this is one of the reasons I love “Young Adult” fiction, especially books like “Tell Me Three Things,” by Julia Buxbaum. My friend Kelly sent me a list of books you could read in 24 hours and this was on it. “Tell me Three Things” is the story of Jessie, who at the beginning of her junior year moves to Los Angeles from Chicago with her dad after her mother dies. Living in the house of his dad’s new high-powered wife, she leaps right into life at a prestigious L.A. prep school. On the first day she receives an email from an admirer calling himself “Somebody/Nobody,” who wants to help her navigate the tricky waters of this new school. Is he a friend or a foe? Their exchange of emails is smart, funny and fascinating. There are enough twists and turns in this novel to keep any reader entertained. I was just sad when the book ended because tales about high school are stories I just want to revel in over and over. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“32 Yokes: From My Mother’s Table To Working The Line” by Eric Ripert and Veronica Chambers

In the winter of 2007, around the time I filed for divorce after 18 years of marriage, something strange happened: I started loving eggs. It was not just a passing phase like, “I’d like two scrabbled eggs,” it was more like filing divorce unleashed an obsession inside of me that screamed, “Give me eggs! I need eggs! Lori needs protein!” And I had never ever been an egg person before. As my divorce began, I dabbled in poached eggs, three-egg omelets, over easy, sunny side up, over hard and even deviled eggs. Subsequently, every year I get my cholesterol checked and it stays the same. My passion for eggs is unparalleled. So you can imagine that when I saw a book called “32 Yokes” at the library, it jumped off the shelf into my arms.  I love a good foodie memoir and this is a great one written by Eric Ripert, whose restaurant Le Bernardin is know as the “Temple of Seafood.” He grew up in the south of France where he learned to cook from his grandmother. His parents divorced when he was 6 years old, and he moved to Paris at 17 to work at Le Tour d’Argent and later Jamin. He served in the French military and then at 24 moved to America. What I love about this book is that he makes a lot of mistakes. He spills things. He drops things. He cooks things badly before learning to cook them perfectly. He once put some ducks in the freezer without separating them and later was stuck with a giant ice block of frozen ducks, impossible to pull apart. Cooking is a metaphor for the struggles of life, and Ripert writes beautifully about both. Bon Appetit. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“A Short Life” by Jim Slotnick

When I went away to college I know my mother let out a deep sigh of relief. From birth to 18, I was a full time job for my mom. I had several car accidents with my raspberry 530i BMW. I had many parties on the family tennis court during which beer bottles were broken. And my crowning bad-girl moment occurred in the 8th grade when I phoned her to say I took a Quaalude and chased it down with a few shots of rum. So you can only imagine that when I got my act together and went to Northwestern in the fall of 1982 Barbara Marshall had a ton of time on her hands. So, she went back to work. A long time Registered Nurse, she had taken time off to raise her children (the younger two were much lower maintenance). She got a job at the LA Free Clinic (now called the Saban Community Clinic). At the clinic she met some wonderful people, including a health educator named Laurie. Thirty five years ago, Laurie fell for a UCLA medical student named Jim Slotnick. Shortly after they met, he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. Before he died he was able to write this powerful memoir. Recently Laurie and her husband Don, along with Jim’s brother and sister published “A Short Life” and you can buy it on Amazon. All proceeds from the book go to the Saban Community Clinic where there is a fellowship in Jim’s name. Every year Laurie gives the Slotnick fellow a copy of this book so they can get to know Jim. Like Paul Kalanithi’s “When Breath Become Air,” this is the story of a man who is learning about medicine while facing his own death at the same time. There is a rawness and vulnerability to this book that is heartbreaking yet also uplifting at the same time. Laurie recently created a Facebook page as a complement to the book www.facebook.com/AShortLifeJimSlotnick. Laurie said Jim’s philosophy was “love life and take nothing for granted.” A good take away for today and every day.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl” Carrie Brownstein

Jeff and I are always working on a TV show together. By working, I mean we pick a television show with many seasons and we watch it on Monday and Tuesday nights which historically are nights that we did not have custody of our four daughters. Our first show was “Shameless” and from there we moved on to “Homeland,” “Breaking Bad” and more recently “Billions” and “Outlander.” Our current show is “Portlandia.” I know many people have probably seen this show but I had not seen a single episode until this winter, and now I am obsessed. I love Fred Armisen, but I’m over-the-moon about the female lead, Carrie Brownstein. She is this perfect blend of Carol Burnett and Kurt Cobain. On “Portlandia,” she doesn’t just wear wigs and make-up to create different characters, she also adopts different voices and well-developed postures to go with these personalities. I think she is a comic genius, and I wanted to know her backstory. So this autobiography was a wonderful trip into Carrie’s childhood and early career as a member of a punk-indi trio named Sleater-Kinney. We see her parents divorce when she was 14, and her mother struggle with anorexia. We see her get outed as bi-sexual to her family in Spin magazine at 21 years old. We see her suffer panic attacks and get severe hives, and later shingles. We meet her sincerely close but complicated friendships with Corin Tucker and the Miranda July. For those looking to read a book about the inside scoop on “Portandia” or her relationship with Fred, this is not your book. There is literally only one sentence about the television series, which leads me to hope that Brownstein is planning a second memoir about that show after it is finished. This book is a rock musician’s memoir in the best sense of the phrase. It is about touring with her band in the Pacific Northwest, trying to find out who she is and where she wants to go with her life. In “Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl,” Brownstein comes off smart, vulnerable, brave and quirky, and destined for fame. She is not only someone you would want to idolize but also someone you think you could be friends with at the same time. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Colors of Loss and Healing: An Adult Coloring Book for Getting Through Tough times by Deborah S. Derman, Phd with Lisa Powell Braun (illustrator)

Many people have asked me about how my mom is doing since my dad died in July. I think for a woman who suddenly lost her husband of 52 years, she is doing incredibly well. But then again, she has always been a pull-yourself-up-by-your bootstraps kind of woman. After my dad died, she said her first trip to Gelson’s Supermarket was hard. She found herself crying in the banana aisle. The reason for her  tears: she never ever liked bananas but habitually put them in her shopping cart for five decades because my dad loved them. As strong as my mom is, I find myself looking for ways to support and help her. At Christmas time I found myself surfing Amazon and looking for an appropriate Christmas gift for a new widow. I found this book: “Colors of Loss and Healing” by Deborah S. Derman and Lisa Powell Braun. Unfortunately I ordered this book late at night, after wine, without my reading glasses on. This combination can lead to disastrous results like the time I accidentally ordered more high intensity sports bras than a girl could use in a decade. But luckily I only ordered two copies of this book instead of one. So I took it as a sign that I should keep one for myself and learn to color again. So I did. This is a beautiful book written by a woman who is no stranger to loss. Derman lost her parents in a small plane crash, her husband young to a sudden heart attack and then was hit with her own mortality when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a testament to the fact that you can be hit with a truckload of pain and still survive. I started coloring this book last week and it felt hard. The next day felt a little less hard. And a week later, I started to see the benefits of coloring a simple piece of paper. I hope it will get easier over time for me, like the mourning process itself. My mom has not started to color her book yet, but I hope in time she will and be able to find the joy, too. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

When I heard that Carrie Fisher had suffered a heart attack, I was in the middle of listening to “The Princess Diarist,” her latest memoir on audiobook. The experience of learning about Fisher’s eventual death while listening to her read her memoir out loud was a little odd. Periodically in the dialogue she even mentions her own death. Add to that, the connection that my family owns the beach house where Carrie and her brother, Todd, grew up as children. The day Carrie died my brother, Scott, reminded me that near the door to this attic in our beach house there is a note scrawled on the wall that reads: “Carrie’s hide out. Keep out. No adults allowed.” I could just imagine Carrie writing that with a Sharpee as a little girl. Many people will remember her as Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” but I will remember her most for her wit and her writing. This book will not disappoint those fans of her most popular earlier books, “Postcards from the Edge” and “Wishful Drinking.” Her final memoir is based on the diaries she kept while filming the original “Star Wars” film in London. Her daughter, Billie Lourd, reads sections of these diaries out loud on the audio version. The big popular reveal of this book is that she had an affair with Harrison Ford during the shooting of “Star Wars.” He was married and she was young. Their affair was short. While the details of their relationship are fascinating, there is so much more to this book, as there was to Fisher the person. When I finished “Princess Diarist,” I didn’t’ want it to end. So I immediately watched the HBO special “Bright Lights,” about Carrie’s relationship with her mom, Debbie, who sadly died but hours after her daughter. Debbie and Carrie were not only Hollywood Royalty, but hardworking, tough talking women, too. I loved that about both of them. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

The Nine of Us by Jean Kennedy Smith

I don’t want to think about the inauguration today. I did not vote for the Orange One and I worry about what the future will bring. So today, I would rather flash back to a happier episode in the late 1980s. My sister and I were attending an opening night party at a bar on the upper west side of New York City where my dad had just opened an off Broadway play. Kathleen and I felt quite swell. We were wearing very spiffy new suits from Ann Taylor with oversized blazers containing shoulder pads that were quite fashionable back then. At the event, we were talking to a friend of my dad’s named Jack Winter. He was stunned at how grown up my sister and I looked, and how mature my brother, Scott appeared, too.  (Jack knew a lot of famous people and politicians. And so we hung on his every word when he spoke of public figures.) “You two remind me of Ross Perot’s daughters. “Very steady.“ “Why thank you,” I said, impressed. Jack continued, “But Scott reminds me of one of the Kennedys.” What? Come again?! I was outraged that I was classified as a ‘Perot Girl’ while my brother was allowed entry to Camelot. How was this possible? Why couldn’t I remind him of a Kennedy, too?! I have never forgotten that story or how much I wanted Jack to find me worthy of a Kennedy comparison. Since then, the Kennedy women and men have always fascinated me. I just saw the movie “Jackie,” which was slow but fascinating, the same week I was reading  “The Nine of Us” by Jean Kennedy Smith.  It is a small book that describes what it was like to be a young child growing up as a Kennedy. She is the last surviving child of Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. This book contains some of the most charming pictures that I have ever seen of the Kennedy family when they were young. You can see skinny John F. Kennedy, who was often sick and spent time reading in bed. You can see Bobby Kennedy, an avid stamp collector. And then there was the handsome older brother, Joe, along with the cherubic baby, Teddy. Joe and Rose raised their nine children to read and understand world events. Rose often clipped newspaper articles and safety-pinned them to her bathrobe to read them to the children later. And, the family posed quizzes to each other during dinner that often included questions such as, “What would you do if you were president of the United States?” Most of the tragedy that would befall the family years later is not discussed in this book. “The Nine of Us” is a charming look back on the early days of being a Kennedy when everyone had to learn how to be a sailor while the future was only filled with hope. I would buy this book for the pictures alone, but the text is also wonderful. Even if Jean’s memories are through rose-colored glasses, they are memories to be appreciated and treasured, too, especially today when the future of our country is so unpredictable. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Day Hikes on Oahu” by Robert Stone

When we were little our dad told us that we each needed to have a sport. I picked tennis. Kathleen chose swimming. And Scott played Little League baseball. We had to not only play our sports throughout the school year, but also attend summer camps in each discipline and read books by famous athletes who excelled at them. There was only one problem: I soon found out that tennis was not a good fit for me, but it was too late to go back. I loved hitting the ball and even running hard and sweating a lot on the court. I especially loved attending tennis camp in Ojai, California, each summer because the counselors and campers were so nice. But I hated the competition of tennis. I never wanted to win a tennis match that I played, not even once. My favorite part of every tennis game was when I got to go to the net and shake the hand of my opponent. I basked in the fact that the match had been completed. It was years later that I discovered what I really liked to do for exercise is hike.  I like a sport that requires no competition at all. (And yes I also have done yoga for more than 20 years.) This book, “Day Hikes on Oahu,” by Robert Stone is the best $1.99 I have ever spent. It is a book about hiking the trails surrounding Honolulu, where my family has gone to spend Christmas for many years. I bought this used book in 2012 and have brought it back every year since. Every December I try to complete at least two hikes and then I write the year by the number of the hike down on the map in the book. I always take pictures on the hikes, which can be challenging because it often rains. Some of the hikes are quite difficult, and some are so muddy that by the end of the hike I am covered in earth and water up to my ankles. But every single adventure reminds me that hiking is the perfect exercise for me because everyone sweats and no one wins or loses.  “Day Hikes On Oahu” has brought me a lot of joy, and buying a hiking guide to your favorite destination might do the same for you. To purchase this book n Amazon click here.

“Unforgettable: A Son, A Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime” by Scott Simon

I have been thinking about my mom a lot. She has been a widow now for five months. Her new status is not getting any easier for her but I do think it is getting more familiar. Although her three children are all in their late 40s or early 50s, she is now a single mom and that feels different for all of us. In the past, whenever I was happy, sad, mad, thrilled or confused about something I could call on either of my parents for advice and support, But now my mom has to take all of my calls and text messages. I’m sure some times she seems fine with this and other times dealing with three adult children (especially us) can feel overwhelming. “Unforgettable: A Son, A Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime” by Scott Simon is the inspiring story of a woman who pretty much raised her son on her own. Although she was married several times, for most of his life, Scott Simon had only his mom, Patricia Lyons Simon Newman, to depend on. Scott is a journalist and host of the Weekend Edition Saturday on National Public Radio. Many reviewers called his book “big hearted” and that is a perfect phrase for it. In July 2013, as his mother was dying at the age of 84 from a lung infection, Simon took to Twitter from her hospital room. His numerous tweets were soon followed by 1.2 million people, and later sparked the idea for a bigger story. Within the pages of this book, Simon recalled how his mother taught him to be honest, kind, polite, dignified and entertaining. His mother was not only a mom but also a supremely glamorous woman who dated mobsters, and for a brief time, worked as a hand model: Her thumb appeared in an advertisement for Diet Rite Cola. “Unforgettable” is a book that will resonate with any adult who has had to say goodbye to a parent, especially a terrific parent like Scott Simon’s mom. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Elements of Style” By William Strunk Jr. and E.B. Whit

Recently I started a new position at Hospice by the Bay. As a formality, human resources asked me to submit a resume just so they would have it on file. I sent it in a few weeks ago and only this week did I realized that there is a spelling error on my resume. In my attempt to use the word “discreet,” I spelled it incorrectly by using “discrete.” These words are homophones, which sound alike but mean something different. One means to show “reserve” and the other means something “distinct or separate.” This is obviously not the biggest sin ever committed on the planet but with my literary conscience I wanted to die. I wanted to go into the office in the middle of the night, sneak into human resources and replace the bad resume with one that uses the correct word. I was embarrassed because my resume describes my experience as a writer and editor. If it talked about my experience as a belly dancer maybe people would forgive me. (Yes I have taken belly dancing and I’m good - not great - at it). But I hold bachelor of science and master of science degrees from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. So a mistake like this rattles me to the core. But luckily, people write whole books about spelling and grammar, and today’s book is one of my favorites. I used to think that “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White was just for writers, but really it should be obligatory reading for everybody. (And, yes, E.B. wrote “Charlotte’s Web” and “Stuart Little” too.)  “The Elements of Style” is short, witty and teaches you writing and grammar rules without being preachy. I have never been a very good copy editor, especially of my own writing. My husband, Jeff, reads my library party every Thursday nights and usually offers several corrections. So I’m lucky to have him (not just because he knows the difference between there and their). I’m also lucky to have this book. One of the best things about “The Elements of Style” is the size. It is small enough to make an excellent stocking stuffer. So consider giving the gift of grammar this holiday season and make the world a safer place for words. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Today Will Be Different” by Maria Semple

I am an organized person and I have always operated under the belief that life should be organized in order to achieve happiness. However, life is really truly so messy most of the time I can hardly believe it. Crazy things happen all the time and I find myself wondering, “Is it just me? Or is hell breaking loose all the time?” Case in point: I once witnessed my sister blow her nose into the hem of her dress because she was about to attend a big event and had no Kleenex. My brother and I once had to quickly chase the runaway tire on my daughter’s wheelchair when it was making a bee-line toward Baltimore’s icy harbor. And my leg once fell asleep during sorority rush at Northwestern, so I had to drag my leg like a piece of heavy driftwood across the room as I then left the house with 35 pretty blonde girls staring after me. Life is most of the time chaotic. The authors who I love to read most, celebrate the mess that life brings to all of us, and make us feel like we are not alone. “Today Will Be Different” by Maria Semple is a book that chronicles a day in the life of a Seattle mom named Eleanor Flood. The narrator is a former television writer, married to a famous hand surgeon and mother of a little boy named Timby who attends the Galer Street School. Semple also is the author of the “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” a 2012 book about a wife, architect and private school mom who disappears. Both books take place in Seattle, and offer a glimpse into that microcosm. If you have not read  “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” you should read it first before “Today Will Be Different.” Although they are not a series, there are similarities between the two books that are tangible and amusing. Semple, a former television comedy writer (“Mad About You” and “Arrested Development.”) and daughter of a screenwriter, has an over all-hand-down funny perspective on the universe. Who else could write a book about a woman who hires a private poetry teacher, and then later sees him working his second job at Costco pushing samples of snacks. Semple’s writing is so fresh and spot-on. She refers to “People Magazine” as “People I don’t know.” The idea that a person – any person -- can juggle a relationship, a full or part time job, motherhood, friendships and just getting out of bed in the morning without going a bit crazy, is impressive. The fact that Semple writes about being a person in the modern world who keeps her shit together, who stays in the game and makes it all work -- makes her a writer that I want to read any day of the week. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“About Alice” by Calvin Trillin

Earlier this month I joined a grief group at my church. I have been going to Calvary Presbyterian Church on the corner of Fillmore and Jackson Streets since 1989, when I first moved to San Francisco. I love my church. I will not show up to church for one reason or another for more than a year, and then I can walk through those big doors on Fillmore and someone will casually say to me, “What a nice scarf!” or, “Great rain boots, Lori.” There is no preachy judgment, nor religious criticism about not attending, just many warm comfortable smiles from people who genuinely are happy to see me. So the timing of this grief group after my dad’s death this summer seems perfect. The commitment was two Sundays in November and two in December. The fact that the minister Victor Floyd, who married Jeff and I in August, organized this grief group was a clear sign I should show up. I’m so glad I did. Grief is strange and fussy, but I find it comforting to be in a room of people who understand what loss feels like and are willing to talk about it. “Ask Alice” by Calvin Trillin has offered me similar comfort. I read this book years ago after it was published in 2006, but when I recently saw it again at the library it jumped out at me as if saying, “Read me again!” Calvin survived his wife Alice’s death from lung cancer and heart problems, and I can survive my dad’s death, too. Trillin writes just beautifully about Alice, the mother of two daughters who thought that if you didn’t go to “every performance of your child’s school play the county would come and take the child.” Calvin has written several books about his late wife and to re-read them while grieving is to connect with his heartbreaking loss. He once wrote in the dedication of a book, “I wrote this for Alice. Actually, I wrote everything for Alice.”  As I read this book again I was touched by the fact that even though I knew Alice died in the end, I still wanted to read it because of her grace while dying. Trillin wrote, “For Alice, of course, the measure of how you held up in the face of a life-threatening illness was not how much you changed but how much you stayed the same, in control of your own identity.” This is just a lovely read from beginning to end. P.S. Jeff wants me to review happier books and I’m working on it. To purchase this book click here.