“Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence” by Nick Bantock

I am among a devoted dying breed: the traditional snail mail writer. I still have stamps, writing paper and even personalized stationary with my address embossed on the back of the envelopes. I also have two pen pals (Jackie and Siena) to whom I write regularly, and send postcards whenever I travel domestically or abroad. It makes me sad to think that some day mail might become obsolete and the thrill of opening an envelope addressed just to you will disappear. That brings me to this book: “Griffin & Sabine” by Nick Bantock. Published in 1991, this beautifully illustrated book has an interactive component in which some of the text is tucked away inside removable letters and postcards. I still remember the shear thrill of reading this book, and the true sadness I felt when the novel ended. The story follows the story of Griffin, a lonely postcard writer in London, who strikes up a correspondence with a postage stamp illustrator named Sabine, who lives on a small island in the South Pacific. To my delight, eventually a romance develops. Some of the illustrations chronicling their relationship are lovely while others are dark and more haunting. Will they meet in person? Will he travel to see her? Will she come to London for him? I don’t want to give away the plot. The good news is that this book is part of a trilogy created by Bantock. So if you finish the first book too quickly, there are two more to dive into next. If you missed this book the first time around, it is a must now. If you loved the book 28 years ago, you might enjoy reading it again. I recently started to prune through some of the books in my apartment. Some of them I am ready to part with, but “Griffin & Sabine” will remain in my personal library forever. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“In Pieces” By Sally Field

I met Sally Field a few years ago at a party in Los Angeles, and I remember thinking instantly upon meeting her, “My goodness. No wonder she is an actress. Her skin is so beautiful!” Little did I know then that her skin is not only lovely, but also tough as nails. Her recently released memoir “In Pieces,” which she wrote over seven years without a ghostwriter, is a deeply moving account of her life from child star to Oscar-winning actress. In a nutshell, her life was filled with men who disappointed her, and woman who supported her. A delinquent father, a sexually abusive step-father, a slew of bad boyfriends and toxic producers later, she is a proven survivor. It is quite amazing, I think, that she has turned out as seemingly sane as she is. She is able to find charming moments throughout her life that might leave other people running from Hollywood. Take for example, when she was starring in “Gidget,” she and her mom had to go on press junkets. Throughout the day her mom would gather in her large purse snacks, sandwiches and tiny booze bottles meant for the press. When Sally and her mom got back to their motel room at night, they would empty out her mom’s purse to survey their bounty before eating it for dinner. She was on a top rated TV show yet didn’t have enough money for dinner. Then later when she finally had money, producers would buy her fancy cars. She had no interest in cars, and didn’t even like driving very much. She worked her way through two husbands, a long relationship with Burt Reynolds, and a series of hit television shows and award winning movies. The story is bittersweet, insightful, charming and triumphant. I think for those who have enjoyed her performances, this book help you get to know Sally on a much deeper level. I was a “Flying Nun” fan, so I loved this book from page 1. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The IFs: Imaginary Friends, Real Baggage” by Colleen Weems

My friend Colleen and I had coffee yesterday down along the Embarcadero. There is nothing like two writers sitting in a Starbucks talking about the books they are writing. The hour felt so safe and creative, but also went by far too quickly. We talked about the subjects of our books, and where we are inspired to write each day. But there was still so much more to discuss. When we said goodbye, I felt sad that I had to go back into the real world, and leave our literary-infused cocoon behind. I hugged her goodbye, and then crammed myself into an Uber pool beside a medium-sized white poodle, and then wrote this LLP on my phone. In September 2017, Colleen published her first book “The IFs,” about a group of friends living in San Francisco in the not-too-distant future when social media has become obsolete. Left lonely from the absence of Facebook and Instagram, these friends create imaginary companions. There are good things and bad things about imaginary friends, and sometimes these new relationships can be fraught with real life drama. This book is smart, imaginative, cutting edge and funny, much like the author herself. “The IFs” has the community feel of “Friends” with the bite and sassiness of “Silicone Valley.” People both real and imaginary bond, fight and even fall in love. Colleen is busy at work on her next novel. I am excited to see where she takes us next, into another world, rich with characters and new adventures. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Wedding Date” by Jasmine Guillory

I want to know who gave romance novels a bad name, and I want them fired. When I was in elementary school I would sit in the way-way back of the station wagon reading books. My mom and dad would holler, “Don’t get nauseous from reading in the car, Lori.” But I would never get car sick because I was reading romance novels in the way-way back, and I couldn’t get enough of them. In October 2017, The New York Times published an article exploring the premise that the number of successful non-white, romance writers was on the rise but under-appreciated. And, these writers have a strong target audience: college educated black women, who represent a significant book buying demographic. In this article, it mentioned the author Jasmine Guillory and her first book “The Wedding Date.” Her editor at Jove Trade Paperwork in Berkeley, encouraged her to examine more closely the issues experienced by the black protagonist and her white boyfriend. Guillory, a lawyer based in Oakland, was delighted at the challenge, and so was I. So I read a paperback edition of “The Wedding Date,” and almost felt ashamed carrying it around because people would say, “There goes a girl reading a romance novel.” But you know what? This book was good. It was entertaining, smart, charming and quirky enough to make it feel like a modern day Norma Klein. The main characters, Alexa and Drew have a cute meet in the elevator of the Fairmont Hotel during a power outage the day before a wedding he is attending. He convinces her to go as his date because the bride –to-be is his ex, and Alexa agrees on a lark. He is an LA-based pediatric surgeon and she is the chief of staff for the mayor of Berkeley. Of course they have miles between them, two best friends to confide in and a whole lot of baggage. But who doesn’t? Just because a book is romantic doesn’t mean it can’t be well written and creatively crafted. Everything can’t be Plato or Proust. Sometimes a book can be just about passion and a happy ending. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road” by Finn Murphy

If you have met me once, you know I want everyone to find love and settle down with a partner. And if you have met me twice, you know I want everyone to love their day job, too. When I turn off the freeway in Larkspur and drive past the Hospice By The Bay sign where I work, I can’t wait to swipe my key card and get inside that building. I want everyone to experience that feeling of job satisfaction. This brings me to Finn Murphy’s book “The Long Haul,” about his life on the road as a long-distance trucker. He has been driving an 18-wheeler since he first dropped out of college in 1976 to join a moving company. His parents were not thrilled that he abandoned Colby College for life on the road, but Murphy knew he had found his passion and his calling. My friend Page heard Murphy interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air, and she immediately thought of me. I listened to the podcast, was smitten by Murphy, and ordered the book from my library immediately. Finn’s story is fascinating because he describes the behind-the-scenes life of a long-haul trucker, and the code of conduct and secret vocabulary used between truckers who move other cargo. This smacks of Kris Kristofferson in the 1978 movie “Convoy.” There is a hierarchy and sliding paycheck depending on what you are moving. Murphy, who is at the top of the pay scale, specializes in corporate relocations, which often involves moving an executive and his or her family across the country. The New Yorker Magazine called this book “an occupational memoir with an untold human story at its center. In crushingly hard work Murphy seems to be escaping from himself.” He tells quirky stories (like the time he moved a set of Qing-dynasty tombstones) and heart breaking tales (like the time his movers dropped a beloved family piano). But at the end of the day you are strongly convinced that Murphy’s life on the road is a never ending journey, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Nine Perfect Strangers By Liane Moriarty

For years, I have wondered what it might be like to go away to one of those fancy spa resorts like The Golden Door or Rancho La Puerta. I visit the websites a couple times a year and think, “A 10-day minimum? Very expensive? No husband? No children? No family? And no wine nor pretzels? No thanks!” But yes, I have always been fascinated by the concept of jump-starting my life at a resort health spa among a group of strangers. Apparently Liane Moriarty, the author of the book and hit television series, “Big Little Lies,” has this same fascination. Her latest book, “Nine Perfect Strangers” welcomes nine guests to a remote health spa called Tranquillum House. The arrivals are like the television series “Fantasy Island,” full of glitter and glamour. While the guests are looking for rest, relaxation and weight loss, they end up finding even more during their visit. The characters are quite interesting and their back stories are sometimes dark and complicated. This concept is something my dad used to call a “stuck-in-a” plot when he worked in television. When you put more than three people together in an elevator, a room, a train or even a glamorous health spa, fireworks are going to go off. And that makes for a wonderful plot, especially at the hands of Australian writer Moria

“The Great Alone” By Kristin Hannah

When I think about what I love to read, the words wilderness, survival, domestic violence and Alaska do not immediately jump to mind. However, I loved Kristin Hannah’s book “The Nightingale,” and a friend thought I would enjoy “The Great Alone,” as well. This book introduces the Allbright family in 1974, as they leave Seattle and move to the small town of Kaneq in Alaska in order to claim property left to the father, Ernt, by an old Army buddy. As they begin their journey, Ernt, his wife Cora and 13-year-old daughter, Leni are excited for a new start in a new state, but unfortunately Ernt’s post-traumatic stress from the Vietnam war manifests itself in consistent abusive behavior toward both mother and daughter. It is challenging not to make this plot sound grim, but there is plenty of light shining through the characters and the story line of this novel. What happens to the family in Kaneq is almost fairytale like. The quirky and loveable members of the small town, with names like Large Marge, Genny, Mad Earl, Tica, Tom and Matthew – band together to help protect the mother and daughter from the mentally ill Ernt. At the center of this book is the coming of age story of the young daughter, Leni, who falls in love and learns to protect herself at the same time (which is exactly the type of story I love to read—love, strength and personal growth). There is a lot to admire within the wilderness of this book, woven together so beautifully by Hannah.

“Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering The Elements of Good Cooking” by Samin Nosrat and art by Wendy MacNaughton

Great minds think a like. This Christmas my step-daughter Ellie gave me this book as a present, and coincidentally I gave it to her as well. We didn’t plan to do that, but we both just fell in love with this book’s companion piece – the four-part Netflix series of the same title. We both watched the series on our phones while we were traveling over Thanksgiving, and were sad to see it end. “Salt Fat Acid Heat” by Samin Nosrat is a fascinating journey into what she describes as the four most important elements of well-executed cooking: salt, fat, acid and heat. She travels to different countries to illuminate her hypothesis. I have read a lot of cookbooks, but this one is fascinating and unusual in its approach, because it can be enjoyed by sophisticated cooks, or those learning the basic skills. Nosrat worked for many years at Chez Panisse in Berkeley with the great Alice Waters. About this book, Waters wrote, “This beautiful, approachable book not only teaches you how to cook, but captures how it should feel to cook; full of exploration, spontaneity, and joy.” In the Netflix series you can see the book’s illustrator, Wendy MacNaughton, drawing pictures of vegetables for this book while Nosrat makes them salad for lunch. A salad sounds like such a simple dish, but in the hands of Nosrat it becomes a delicious masterpiece infused with happiness.

“The Jester Who Lost His Jingle” by David Saltzman

The festive, felt jester that typically comes with this book in its boxed set, has been staring at me pretty much all of December, and he never gets old. This particular jester belongs to my second husband Jeff because I lost my original jester in my divorce in 2009. I took the book and my first husband got the jester. This seemed appropriate: he got the toy and I got the story, and both meant a lot to us. “The Jester Who Lost His Jingle,” by David Saltzman, was self-published in January 1995 by his family after David died at the age of 23 from Hodgkin’s Disease. The story is about a kingdom that loses laughter, and the jester and his sidekick who try to restore it. The illustrations are charming and the message speaks to just about anyone who has suffered a loss, or overcome an obstacle. In 1995, my mom bought this book for us shortly after our girls were born three months premature, and later both diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Jeff’s mom gave him the book around the same time while his first wife fought back breast cancer as a 28-year-old mother. To this day, whenever I see the jester or think about this book, it makes me smile. We thought cerebral palsy meant the end of my daughters’ lives, but it was only the beginning of very exciting, inspiring and quite magical rides. Before he died, David wrote in his journal, “The best we can do is live life, enjoy it and know that it is meant to be enjoyed.” What a lovely sentiment to hold this time of year, or any time of year.

“Game Face: What Does A Female Athlete Look Like?” By Jane Gottesman, Foreward By Penny Marshall

What many people probably do not know about my father, Garry and my aunt, Penny is that they were both great athletes during different times in their lives. Garry played his last softball league game at the age of 81 years old, just three weeks before his stroke. Likewise, Penny did her own stunts on the set of “Laverne & Shirley,” and when growing up in the Bronx she was known as a “sewer hitter!” (Meaning she could hit a home run all the way past the sewer.) I wrote the introduction to this book with Penny, because for her, it was a tomboy’s dream come true. Sports for Penny was as essential as her favorite beverage-Pepsi and milk, and later her beloved Los Angeles Lakers. “Game Face: What Does A Female Athlete Look Like?” is a photography collection and tribute book to female athletes, both amateur and professional. It chronicles the history of women’s sports and highlights the pivotal Title IX decision, passed in 1972. Title IX was a federal civil rights law that made it illegal for educational institutions to discriminate against students or employees based on sex. When Title IX was passed, only one out of twenty-seven school-aged girls played sports. When this book was published in 2001, that number was transformed into one in three. This wonderful collection of photographs is historic, inspiring, brave and unique-just like Penny, herself. Garry and Penny always said if you are feeling blue, go outside and throw a ball. We will be having a catch on the beach this holiday season in honor of these athletes, who grew up in the Bronx along the Grand Concourse, within home-run range of the sewer. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“My Mother Was Nuts” by Penny Marshall

For most of my life people have mistaken Penny Marshall for my mother or my sister, but she is my aunt. Her memoir “My Mother Was Nuts” was published in 2012 and one of the things I love about this book is that I had nothing whatsoever to do with it. While for 35 years I wrote nearly ever day with her big brother, my dad, I only wrote speeches and magazine articles with Penny occasionally. So I found this book a pleasure to read because it was not a project that I had anguished over. “My Mother Was Nuts” is the story of Penny’s life, which comes with a heavier and much darker perspective than Garry’s own more joyful tale from the Bronx to Hollywood. The most unjust thing that happened to Penny growing up was that her sensitive-and-kind-older brother Garry and her beautiful-and-smart-older sister Ronny both went to Northwestern University, and left Penny alone at home with their parents. According to Penny, my grandparents, Tony and Marjorie, were not the best parents, and were miserable in their marriage, too. After reading this memoir, I realized that Penny’s eventual move to Hollywood to work alongside Garry and Ronny was her way of writing her own happy ending. She started out in Garry’s show “The Odd Couple,” and later rose to the highest spot in the Nielsen ratings with a cursive L on her chest as Ms. Defazio in “Laverne & Shirley.” She directed some wonderful movies including “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Big,” “Awakening,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” and her iconic film “A League of Their Own.” My dad bragged that with the movie “Big,” Penny hit a Hollywood home run by becoming the first female director to make a movie that earned more than $100 million. While I admire her incredible talent as a director today, I am always drawn to her abundant Lucille Ball-like energy as a television actress. Garry used to bring home videos from “Laverne & Shirley” and we would watch them together. “She is so funny,” I would say. “Yes,” dad would agree. “You think making people laugh would make her happy. But all she wants is better hair and a great boyfriend.” Maybe that’s where I adopted that sentiment, too. I love you, Penny. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Like Brothers” by Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass

My friend Jackie Stansbury and I were cool in high school, but not for the reasons you might think. Cool, to us, was seeing every independent movie we could drive to on the West Side. I remember the first time we saw John Sayles' film, “The Return of the Secaucus 7” in 1979. We were blown away by how much we loved it. The movie about the reunion of college friends at a summer house in New Hampshire was quirky, funny, off-beat, smart and just exactly the way we wanted to be. If you are a fan of independent movies today, you probably know Mark and Jay Duplass. Jay is best known for his role as the brother in the Amazon series “Transparent,” and Mark is from “The League,” but you might not know that they are brothers. Together they have written a book called “Like Brothers,” which is highly entertaining. They grew up in New Orleans, using a video camera to make movies just like Steven Spielberg used to do. They both attended the University of Texas in Austin, and eventually hit the big time when their feature “Baghead” was at the center of a bidding war at Sundance. Google Books called this one, “Part coming-of-age memoir, part underdog story, and part insider account of succeeding in Hollywood on their own terms.” Their close relationship often gets in the way at times, forcing them to take some time apart. But like all families with talented people, they work it out and move on to the next project. The two are going to be making television shows and movies for a long time to come so it is interesting to read their backstory. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“The Shadow of the Wind” By Carlos Ruiz Zafon

After I ran a grief camp for kids in the summer of 2016, the hospice affiliated with that camp asked me to stick around. My dad had died suddenly two weeks before the camp, and I thought maybe working for a hospice was a safe place for me to be. I floated within different departments until I landed in the intake/admissions department. My supervisor said, “Sit here between Lillian and Charlotte.” I immediately got the shivers because my twin daughters’ names are Lily and Charlotte. I accept signs from the heavens and this was certainly one, and I have been working in intake/admissions ever since. Everyone who works in my department is not only kind, but also incredibly wise and intelligent. Earlier this year when I was heading to Barcelona, Lillian said to me, almost like a fortune-teller, “Then you must take along the book, The Shadow of the Wind.” I had never heard of the book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, but of course I ordered it the next day. Originally published in 2001 in Spanish, the 565-page book is a novel-within-a-novel that takes place in Barcelona, circa 1945. The work of fiction begins as a coming of age story following the tale of an 11-year-old boy named Daniel and his widowed, book-dealer father. But when Daniel becomes fixated on one particular volume called “The Shadow of the Wind,” by the mysterious writer Julian Carax, the reader is taken on an odyssey through the streets of Barcelona. The twists and turns change Daniel and Julian’s lives forever, and bring harm and danger to the people around them.  This book has everything a good story should when you take it on vacation, including love, murder, mystery and even some magic. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer” by Heather Lende

For most people, obituaries are the end of their story, but for a journalist, obits are where you start learning to write. When my dad started Northwestern University’s Medill School in the fall of 1952, everyone in the class was given a still-living celebrity and only a few hours to write their well-crafted obituary. All of the students scurried off to library to do research. However, my dad got distracted, met a girl and took her to coffee instead. A few minutes before the assignment was due he wrote and turned in this: “It was rumored today that the comedian Danny Kaye died. The rumor, however, was false, and Mr. Kaye is very much alive.” The life lesson was that my dad was not cut out to be a journalist, but rather a comedy writer. “Find the Good” by Heather Lende is the story of how an Alaska-based obituary writer discovered a new-found positive outlook on life, while combing over late people’s lives. “The Los Angeles Times” called Lende, “part Annie Fillard, part Anne Lamott.” And I call her a writer with a big heart and deep soul. There are people who love to read obituaries and people who don’t. For years, I have found pearls of inspiration in nearly every obituary I have ever read. Lende’s book takes that philosophy to the next level and shows through the pages of her book, that mistakes and loss can be turned into victories and re-births. It might sound corny but it feels true and real, too. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Something in the Water” by Catherine Steadman

Jeff and his father travel quite often and one of the things they love to do on airplanes is read thrillers. They trade them back and forth between the two of them, and always have a book going. Sometimes I will be on a plane with Jeff and he will laugh, and I will say what is so funny? “My dad just gave me this book,” he will say. “And I already read it because I gave it to him a few months ago.” This is all to say a lot of the books they love to read are very similar in nature, and involve espionage, foreign money transactions and government coups. I like my thrillers to be sprinkled with a little more Bridget Jones powder if you will. “Something in the Water” was just the thriller for me. Written by Catherine Steadman, who played heiress Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey, this book follows a couple named Erin and Mark, two Brits on their honeymoon and Bora Bora. She is an up-and-coming documentary filmmaker,  and he has recently lost his job in Britain’s topsy-turvy financial industry. What begins as an extravagant romantic holiday, turns into a series of unfortunate events after they find treasure in the sea from the wreck of a plane crash. This discovery and the conflict over what to do with the treasure ends up changing their lives forever. What is so interesting about this book is that throughout the narrative you are not sure whether you trust Erin or Mark, and that fact makes the plot twists even more interesting. Like Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” and Paula Hawkins “Girl on the Train,” this book follows a couple of star crossed lovers on a tumultuous journey. Actress and book lover Reese Witherspoon is already attached to the future film production. To purchase this book on Amazon click here

“Katerina” by James Fry

“Katerina” by James Fry

Say what you will about the author, James Fry. Some call him a fabricator, others a liar and a con man. Regardless, I think he can really write, despite his reputation. Seriously, it mattered to me that his 2003 book, “Million Little Pieces,” was published as nonfiction and turned out to be more fiction than truth. I don’t like being deceived. But, at the same time, I remember the thrill I felt when I was reading “A Million Little Pieces,” and the excitement I felt when I cracked opens its sequel, “My Friend Leonard.” Both books held prized places on my shelf for many years, like an old boyfriend for whom I was still carrying a torch. Yet, it was fake. Fast-forward to today, and despite some new bad press, I found Frey’s new fiction book, “Katerina” a wonderful read, too. This book is a proper novel with a memoir hiding in side of it, sort of the inside-out reverse of his first book presented as a comeuppance to the literary world. And I found it just as compelling. Ron Charles of the Washington Post said, “Katerina” was “so heated with narcissism that you have to read it wearing oven mitts.” So maybe I…kind of…find narcissists to be interesting people, and very crafty writers.  Frey’s first adult novel in more than a decade, “Katerina” follows the story of a woman who contacts her former lover through Facebook. I was hooked just by this premise, of course. But there’s more: We see their relationship toggle back and forth between 1992 Paris, and present day Los Angeles, where the narrator, Jay, lives with his wife and children, and runs a successful commercial publishing company. Calling each other, “Model Girl,” and “Writer Boy,” back in the 1990s, Jay and Katerina rejoice over their cute meet-up in Paris where their courtship took place amongst its streets along with a whole lot of booze and drugs. As they become reacquainted via Facebook, we see up close, all that they had, and all that they lost. Frey still has a knack for making addicts seem vulnerable and loveable, as he does again within the pages of “Katerina.” Maybe I just like bad-boy writers, but a book that takes me on a wild ride, is the kind of book I love to read the most. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Small Fry” by Lisa Brennan- Jobs

The best thing about “Small Fry” by Lisa Brennan-Jobs is this: for 381 pages Steve Jobs is alive again. He is powerful, creative and exciting and you can almost think that perhaps he did not die of pancreatic cancer in 2011. Unfortunately, he did die and for most of his life, he was a very bad dad to this author. The big revelation in this book is that Lisa’s mom Chrisann, who was Jobs’ high school girlfriend, was also a prickly parent who suffered from depression. Despite growing up with two parents who made her feel unwanted and neglected most of the time, she has written a beautiful memoir full of amazing recollections and details from her childhood. She felt so invisible to her father that she would often steal small things, and once even money, from his house just to feel closer to him. The bulk of the book takes place during a short period of time when Lisa left her mother’s house to move in with Steve. Lisa was excited beyond belief to have her dad so close, but his behavior remained distant, cold, unpredictable, and sometimes even cruel. His marriage to Laurene Powell, the only woman he would ever marry, was not much help to Lisa, either. When Jobs and Laurene had a son in 1991, Lisa was relegated to the role of babysitter, while her dad and step-mother went out to lavish parties. The tragic father-daughter relationship rages on, until finally she moves out and into the house of two friendly neighbors, who support her dream of going to college at Harvard. As Jobs lay dying in bed, Lisa visited her father for the last time and seemed to get a thinly veiled apology for the years of neglect. But the true triumph and, I imagine, cathartic victory is that she was able to sit down and tell her story, and her truth once and for all. She survived and now is happily raising a family of her own, making sure to stay well connected to her children along the way. To purchase this book on Amazon click here

“My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward” by Mark Lukach

If you are a fussy person or a rigid person or a sensitive person or someone who likes things done a particular way, then I don’t suggest you get married. Buy a car. Adopt a dog. Rent a surfboard. Or purchase a yoga mat on Amazon. But don’t get married, because you are just going to be frustrated. Marriage is hard, not on certain days, but on almost every day. I’m not being a pessimist, I’m just stating it like it is: Marriage is not for sissies. “My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward” by Mark Lukach is the story of two people who fall in love when they are young, and then all hell breaks loose. This is not to say this is a depressing book, but rather I think it is a pretty uplifting book. Mark and his wife, Giulia, fell in love at 18, got married at 24 and then, when his wife was just 27, she suffered a psychotic break that landed her in a psych ward.  Delusional and suicidal, she fought back to the point where they both thought it would be good to have a child. This decision worried me when I read it, but they were young and in love and wanted a baby. They got to experience the joy of welcoming their son Jonas into the world, but their happiness was short lived when Giulia suffered a second, and later a third breakdown. You might be thinking why would someone want to read this kind of book? The answer is easy: because tragedy struck and Mark stayed, and he did not run away. He was mad, sad, frustrated and everything in between, I’m sure. But he stuck around during the good days and the bad days. When I finished the book I just kept shaking my head with admiration for the couple. What a good guy Giulia married. What a great husband. What an excellent book. I just looked on line to see how Mark and Giulia are doing today, and they are still married, now raising their two sons. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Meaty” by Samantha Irby

This book just blew me away. I was listening to it in my car and I had to pull over to the side of the road. I grabbed a napkin from my glove compartment because I wanted to write down this line: “Sometimes I like to just eat something in a bowl I can hold against my chest while I cry into it.” It is such a simple sentence, yet packed full of so much sentiment. This book, “Meaty” by Samantha Irby, is an explosive book about love, dating, eating, sex, acceptance, rejection, growing up black and, oh yes, Crohn’s disease. I love any woman with stomach problems, and Irby is one tough woman when it comes to her tummy. Originally published in 2013, this book was recently re-issued in May 2018 by Irby, who is a comedian, author and blogger. She is best known for her blog http://bitchesgottaeat.blogspot.com/, which carries the mantra of “books/snacks/softcore/despair.” She is so raw and irreverent like Roxane Gay, soulful like Ann Hood, raunchy like Amy Schumer, but she also makes you want to cry and laugh hard at the same time like Anne Lamott. It is hard to even describe this book because I just want people to read it, and witness it first hand. Even little throw away lines sing with pure intelligence like, “I once dated a man with a college degree who only ate angel hair pasta.” And when advising men she writes, “here’s what you say about a woman when she has her clothes off. . . absolutely nothing.” She is at her best when she is talking about food and sex and love, all at the same time. A romantic night is “lying in bed, holding hands and talking about how good pork bellies taste.” The Los Angeles Times said she is a writer who “peppers her heartbreak with humor.” She is just a hurricane of a writer and I can’t wait to read more of her work. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

“Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?” by Alyssa Mastromonaco with Lauren Oyler

When we were growing up, my sister Kathleen was a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House on the Praire” books. Four years older than her and very into David Cassidy, I found “praire lit” and tales of churning butter way too slow for me. I liked my teen books to come with a harder edge to them, like the way S. E. Hinton or Judy Blume wrote about love and rival gangs. However, as adults, my literary tastes have grown closer to my younger sister’s.  I always want to know what she is reading. Earlier this summer we were at the beach together and I saw her carrying this book, “Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?” by Alyssa Mastromonaco with Lauren Oyler. This is the memoir of the former deputy chief of staff to President Barak Obama, and it sounded fascinating. Unfortunately, a month later when I saw Kathleen still carrying this book I had to make a literary citizen’s arrest. “Get rid of it!” I said. “This book must be terrible if you can’t finish it. Don’t waste your time with a bad book.” To that she paused and said, “No. No. The problem is that it is so good I don’t want it to end.” So then I was hooked. For those of us in America who are nostalgic for the elegant two-term presidency of Obama, this is a funny and poignant walk down memory lane. Mastromonaco is clearly very smart and a skillful writer, but she also has a self-deprecating side that is laugh-out-loud funny. She worked for Obama for more than a decade, which included his years in the White House as well as his time as a United States Senator. You will get to know Obama as well as the author, who honestly describes her love life as well as her struggle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The story about her IBS attack at the Vatican is not to be missed. I love funny people with stomach problems and I miss Obama very much, too. Don’t forget to read this and always vote. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.