One To Watch by Kate Stayman-London

So, Colton is gay. I didn’t see that one coming. But then again that is what makes the “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” shows so interesting to watch. These are not actors but real people who, while looking for love, are also experiencing fame, many for the first time. The franchise is also realizing that they can’t continue to produce the show in the same cookie-cutter formula they have been doing for years. The show needs to grow, mature, expand and become more inclusive across the board. “One To Watch” by Kate Stayman-London is fictional account of a stylish, plus-size, fashion blogger named Bea. When she is not entertaining her legions of Instagram followers, she and her friends watch their favorite show “Main Squeeze,” a reality dating show much like “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette.” Watching all the size O women on the show, however, frustrates Bea and makes her scold the show for its lack of body diversity, and lament her own poor dating card. After her most recent broken heart, Bea has nearly sworn off dating until she gets a call from a producer on “Main Squeeze” wanting her to star in the upcoming season. Bea cannot deny that her appearance on the show will help boost her fame as a blogger. But at the same time, she is fearful of putting her heart on her sleeve. She decides to make a compromise: she will agree to go on the show, but personally not fall in love. She will simply commit to the experience and enjoy the sexy suitors, fancy couture outfits and free hot air balloon rides, without opening her heart. The best laid plans, however, are not often possible. When Bea finds herself falling for more than one of the potential suitors, she must decide if love is worth risking everything after all. Like all good romantic comedies, “One To Watch” has plenty of twists and turns, and was truly a delightful read. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

How do I even begin to describe the comedian and author Samantha Irby. If David Sedaris is sassy, Irby is sassier. If Anne Lamott’s words are soulful, Irby’s seem to radiate even higher. And if Glennon Doyle runs toward sad, awful days, Irby takes those bad days, looks them in the eye and kicks them right out the door. “Wow, No Thank You” is Irby’s fourth book and a collection of essays about aging, marriage and settling down. Much like her blog, “bitches gotta eat,” she writes personal stories about her struggle with Crohn’s disease, arthritis, depression, eating and sex. At only 41 years old her perspective on life seems wise beyond her years. In 2016, she married her partner Kirsten Jennings and the two now live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with Irby’s two step-children. After growing up in Evanston, Illinois, and later working as the receptionist in a veterinarian clinic, Irby has now given up that job to write full time following her success. In this collection, she turns her keen eye on her life in Michigan while also going back and forth to Hollywood to take meetings about future projects. She spends weekends in Los Angeles meeting with “skinny, luminous people” while being a “cheese fry-eating slightly damp Midwestern person” with neck pain and no cartilage in her knees. She just twists a phrase like nobody’s business, and she makes me laugh out loud. While she is friends with the writer Roxane Gay, just be sure not to confuse the two. In the review section of Goodreads, Gay wrote a comment praising Irby’s book and how she is baffled when people confuse the two writers. “She’s awesome. I am decent. We look nothing alike! There is more than one big black writer with tattoos,” write Gay. They are both amazing in my eyes, and I can’t wait to read what they publish next. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

One Life by Megan Rapinoe

In the summer of 2011 when I started dating Jeff, I would drive to his rental house in Fairfax where we would make pesto tortellini, drink Firefly Chardonnay and watch women’s soccer on his new, very large television. He said the big screen TV was a divorce present to himself, and I love people who treat themselves to divorce presents. Mine was a pair of $120 Bed Head leopard pajamas that I thought were just fabulous. So, when Jeff and I would sit on his couch eating the tortellini, in those hot summer days of 2011, he would always turn on women’s soccer. When he asked if I liked women’s soccer, I lied and said, “Of course I do! I’m such a big fan of the sport.” The truth was I had never seen a single women’s soccer match. As we watched the Women’s World Cup that summer, I tried to educate myself on the sport. The woman to watch was the fast and fearless super athlete with dyed pink hair, Megan Rapinoe. “One Life” by Rapinoe is her story about how a young woman from Redding, California, became an Olympic gold medalist, and two-time Women’s World Cup champion. In  2019, she was awarded Sports Illustrated Magazine’s Sportsperson of the Year, and then FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. She grew up in a loving family as the youngest of six kids with her twin Rachel, a mom who was a waitress at the local steak house and a dad who worked construction. When they were just six years old, Megan and Rachel started playing on soccer on teams with boys. Their parents would drive them all over the state to compete. College took them to Portland where their world opened up for the first time. We get to see how soccer catapulted Rapinoe to fame but also held her back financially. She quickly became an advocate and fought for equal pay, and an activist for LGBTQ rights. Her career has had highs and lows, and even controversy. In 2016, when she followed the lead of NFL player Colin Kaepernick and took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial justice and police brutality, she faced alienation from some fans and the media. The criticism only made her fight harder for her beliefs. From her early affair with one of my favorite soccer players Abby Wambach to her long-time relationship with basketball- superstar Sue Bird, this book is a page-turner. I am now a big fan of Rapinoe and admire that she continues to fight for justice and equality every day. To buy this book on Amazon please click here.

The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim

Tuesday at 5:40 pm my daughter, Charlotte, called me from Atlanta and said, “The app on my phone just sent me an alert that a man has shot several women at a spa just a few miles from my apartment.” Now this is the daughter who survived a military coup in Ethiopia, so I do not routinely worry about her safety, but this news made me pause. I quickly googled the developing story in Atlanta and discovered the majority of victims shot by the 21-year-old man were, in fact, women of Asian descent. This was not just a white man who had had a “bad day,” but rather this spree had all the markings of a calculated hate crime. In response to the shootings, my friend Broadway director Jerry Mitchell quoted Martin Luther King, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” How do we react to this horrific crime?  Here are some suggestions from The Skimm: Report hate crimes to Stop AAPI Hate, educate yourself on the history of discrimination, support AAPI businesses, get involved at your work, or in your community, to support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. I would also suggest reading more books by Asian authors. “The Last Story of Mina Lee” is a haunting mother-daughter story. The story begins on the day that 26-year-old Margot Lee finds her mother dead on the floor of her apartment in L.A.’s Koreatown. The death is suspicious, and leaves Margot wanting answers. She must comb through her mother’s early life in America, as a Korean War orphan and undocumented immigrant, who stocked shelves at a local supermarket. Margot discovers that her mother was hiding a secret love story that Mina was never able to share with Margot. The novel weaves together the two stories of the mother and daughter who both fought for hope and love, in the face of great grief and loss. Suspenseful, moving and timely, this book is an important examination of the Korean- American experience. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nancy Jooyoun Kim is a graduate of UCLA and the University of Washington, Seattle. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Guernica, NPR/PRI's Selected Shorts, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Asian American Writers' Workshop's The Margins, The Offing, and elsewhere. This is her debut novel. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

1st Case by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts

I used to read a lot of mysteries, and then somehow biographies and memoirs pushed their way to the top of the stack of books beside my beds. So,when I saw this new book “1st Case” by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts, I jumped at the chance to read a new mystery. I have known the co-author, Chris, for close to 40 years, as he lived in my dorm at Northwestern freshman year. He is among about 10 people who lived on the first floor of Willard Hall in 1982 with whom I still keep in touch. That was a magical time when all we needed was a twist-top bottle of Soave Bolla from Jarvis, and we called it a party. Chris is an extremely talented and prolific writer who has published more than 17 books, many with Patterson, as part of his Middle School book series. “1st Case” is a thriller that centers around a computer wizard named Angela Hoots who has just gotten kicked out of MIT for hacking into another student’s computer. When her academic career hits a rough patch, her mentor Eve gets her a job with the FBI in their Boston field office. Specifically, Angela joins the team’s Cyber Forensics Unit. Her first case involves a messaging app which surreptitiously tracks the locations of its users. The app’s beta users are all young women, who are only identified when they turn up dead in their bedrooms. Angela joins a force trying to track the killer’s location through the app. When the killer begins to track Angela’s own movements, she is thrust into the center of the investigation. When Angela decides to begin tracking the killer without the support of her team, she not only puts herself, but also her family in danger. Envisioning this thriller through Angela’s eyes was fascinating, and I was on the edge of my page the whole time. I would highly recommend “1st Case” for those seasoned readers looking to get their latest mystery fix, but also high school thrill-seekers who may not yet read detective books. I have a feeling we will be seeing Angela Hoots on a new case in the future. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion

The other day my ex-husband texted me and asked, “How tall are you?” Of the many texts I have received from him over the last 25 years this one actually amused me. How tall was I? We were married for 18 years and this was not something he knew? Had he forgotten? He is more than 6 feet-tall, so couldn’t he remember me standing next to him? Instead of posing questions, I quickly responded to him, as I have learned over the years is the most efficient thing to do. I would, however, fathom a guess that if someone asked him who my favorite author is, he would have said, without hesitation, Joan Didion. He would know this because a framed, autographed picture of her used to hang in our Sea Cliff home, along with all of her books, which I still treasure. “Let Me Tell You What I Mean” by Didion was recently published containing a dozen, previously uncollected stories written between 1968-2000. I listened to the book on audio tape, and loved every essay. In this collection, Didion crafts unique profiles on celebrities such as Ernest Hemingway, Nancy Reagan, Tony Richardson, Robert Mapplethorpe and Martha Stewart. In addition, she turns the spotlight on herself in the essay titled, “Why I Write” and describes studying at Berkeley in the 1950’s and discovering her true passion for writing. Thank goodness she did become a writer because we now have her essays and novels to read, and re-read for years to come. She once wore a dirty raincoat to a writing class at Cal because she wanted to feel invisible. She found the other writers more interesting and more experienced. But little did those other writers know that the invisible undergrad in the dirty raincoat was observing all of them, and taking notes for the future. At 86 years old, she keeps on writing because, “I’m totally in control of this tiny, tiny world right there at the typewriter.” To buy this book on Amazon click here.

The Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved my Life by Christie Tate

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

Sometimes we find a good book, and other times a good book finds us. “The Book of Two Ways” by Jodi Picoult found me like an arrow heading straight for a bull’s eye. I had heard there was a new Picoult book out. Then my sister-in-law Jen recommended it, and then I even recommended it (sight-unseen, without knowing the plot) to a good friend who used to work at my hospice. Finally, when I started reading it, I discovered the main character is a “death doula” at a hospice helping people transition from life to death. Now I admit, a story about a death doula is not everyone’s cup of team, but for me this was a wonderful read. Dawn Edelstein is on a plane back to Boston, where she lives with her husband and daughter, when the plane crashes, but she survives. After airline officials make sure Dawn is ok, they offer her transportation wherever she wants to go, instead of saying the sane choice of Boston, she impulsively says Egypt. As crazy as this may sound, on the heels of a near death experience, she longs to see Wyatt Armstrong, a colleague she once worked with (and fell in love with) on an archeological dig. Armstrong has spent years researching the ancient “Book of Two Ways,” the first known map of the afterlife. When Dawn shows up back in Egypt, after so many years apart, Wyatt is as confused as she is. Was she meant to be with him from the beginning?  Is he the love of her life instead of her husband?  Is Dawn experiencing something real, or is she just on a metaphysical journey to compare the choices she made versus the roads not taken? I don’t want to give away the details, but the plot is rich in romance, history and mystery. Many of us dream about missed opportunities, but few of us get to take a stab again at what might have been.  To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty

A few months ago, I had to learn DocuSign for my hospice job. Because of the pandemic, and being in a different part of the building from my colleagues, I had to basically teach myself, and it was frustrating. Each time I sent 5 separate, multi-page consent forms out to a patient’s family, I thought my head might explode with fear. I tortured myself for a few weeks, until I decided to turn my brain around. I decided that instead of being afraid of DocuSign, I should consider It an honor and a privilege to use it. I should remember that I was saving my nurses time in the home of Covid-positive patients, and also saving the family members’ time, so they would not have to wade through the paper consents. With this new attitude in place, DocuSign became easier and I was less afraid. This is all to say, the mind is a very powerful tool when you set it straight. “Think Like a Monk” by Jay Shetty is the true story about how a young man trained for three years to become a monk, only to come to the conclusion he did not want to be a monk. Instead, he would adopt most of the monks’ best practices into his regular life, as a married, successful motivational speaker and Podcast host of “On Purpose.” While training as a monk, Shetty immersed himself in the daily activities of what monks do (meditate) and also what monks avoid (negativity). The book is easy to read, fascinating, and best of all, provides you with ways you can quickly weave his suggestions into your own life. This is a self-help book on how to conquer your fears, and feed your soul. He discusses not only finding your passion, but also, more importantly, finding your purpose. Time and time again, Shetty comes back to what the monks treasure most: being of service to others is the key to finding your own happiness, and a way to live a more vibrant life, too. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

One of my favorite peopled died this week, and his name was Frederick K. Morris. He was the father of three and grandfather of nine, and my father-in-law since 2016. He died at the age of 85, after a fight against prostate cancer which he battled quite triumphantly for more than 20 years. From the moment I met him in 2011, I knew he was just like me. He loved to travel, enjoyed a great cocktail, was never found without a book, relished oysters, told the best stories, and loved his family. In addition, he had a big head, 95th percentile, just like me. Fred worked for aero-space-manufacturer Hamilton Standard for 40 years, and one of his many jobs was helping to design the NASA space suit, which is still used today. If a new helmet fit Fred’s head, it would fit the head of any astronaut, too. He had fantastic stories about working on the manned-space program, and his condo was filled with NASA treasures, including all the mission patches that went to the moon. A book Fred cherished was Tom Wolfe’s classic “The Right Stuff” about the early U.S. space program. While many saw the movie, the book stands alone representing “New Journalism,” a literary movement in the 1960s and ‘70s that combined journalistic research with fiction writing within reporting of real-events. Wolfe’s book takes us inside the lives of such greats as Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn and Chuck Yeager. In the 1970s, one in four navy pilots died in service. With a statistic like that you might wonder why anyone would pursue a flying career. But the answer is simple: the astronauts were not only dreamers, but also heroes and pioneers. They should be celebrated for their service to our country and space program. Just like the pilots he admired so much, we will honor Fred’s memory forever. We will continue to re-tell his stories, and encourage his grandchildren to carry on his legacy and love of new adventures. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

The Pull of The Stars by Emma Donoghue

Last summer, some friends and I zoomed with our friend Dr. H., who is an anesthesiologist at a local hospital. He was preparing to begin the night shift, and we were eager to hear what his job was like during the pandemic. When we asked what kind of patients he would see, he said, “It’s very quiet. I’m just waiting for the babies to be born.” And that is when it first hit me: Women would be delivering babies, as usual, during the pandemic. This is the territory of Emma Donoghue’s book, “The Pull of The Stars,” which details a maternity ward during the 1918 influenza outbreak an urban hospital in Ireland. The author’s note describes the novel as “fiction pinned together with facts,” and was completed before our Covid hit. The story centers around Julia Power (a midwife), Dr. Kathleen Lynn (a doctor with a criminal past) and Bridie Sweeney (a kind-hearted volunteer raised in the orphanage system). Short-staffed with hospital beds filled, the three women must treat patients in the “fever and maternity” ward, which includes pregnant women suffering with influenza symptoms. Armed with only the basic essentials (whiskey and chloroform), the three women must do the best they can to keep the patients comfortable. Like her 2010 bestseller “Room,” Donoghue is a specialist when it comes to describing details and emotions within the space of one room. At first glance, the early 20th century hospital ward might seem like an old-fashioned story, but the common thread of a pandemic, then and now, is chilling. Yet, as the death toll numbers continue to be counted around the world today, so do the stories of hope and survival. “The Pull of The Stars” provides an inspirational tale, and a testament of admiration to all those healthcare workers putting their lives on the line every day. We must be grateful for all that they do. Thank you, Dr. H., too. To buy this book on Amazon click here

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor

On Inauguration Day, there was a breakout star in attendance and her name is Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate. When she stood on that podium with her fierce yellow coat and bright read headband, she read her poem, “The Hill We Climb” with the skill of a more seasoned performer well beyond her years. Her poem was not only exciting, but also unifying. Her words provided hope and confidence, a road map for reconciliation. She gave us what we needed most: a sense of community. When she said, “and the norms and notions of what ’just’ is isn’t always justice” reminds me of this book, “The Women of Brewster Place.” Written by Gloria Naylor and first published in 1982, the book is comprised of seven stories about women living in urban housing development in an undisclosed city, such as New York or Chicago. The stories about Mattie Michael, Etta Mae Johnson, Cora Lee and others depict these women as they try to survive while holding fast onto their hopes, dreams and desires. The women’s stories seem unique to their surroundings, but are at the same time, stories that continue to happen across America every day: Economic struggles made harder by family pressures from parents and spouses, while raising young children. The fact that the women remain open hearted in the face of neglect and abuse makes the reader feel there is always hope, if only one remembers to continue to dream outside your own four walls. As Amanda Gorman concluded, “If we’re to live up to our time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we made. That is the promise to glade the hill we climb. If only we dare, it’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it.” To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig

Having been the mother of twins with Cerebral Palsy for now nearly 26 years, I would have given myself high marks for disability awareness last month. However, this month everything changed when I read “Sitting Pretty” by Rebekah Taussig. Her memoir took everything I thought I knew about being disabled, and threw it out the window, in an exciting and enlightening way. Taussig was paralyzed at the age of 3 following a lengthy-cancer treatment regimen. She chronicles how her disability led to early discrimination as a child and later uphill battles to obtain employment, housing, health care and even love. She confronts “stigma, isolation, erasure, misunderstanding, skepticism, and ubiquitous inaccessibility.” As she recounts so many painful experiences, some stories are just cringe worthy. For example, the time she was at a clothing store, and a young couple selfishly commandeered the handicapped dressing room so they could try on clothes together, while she waited outside. Even after they saw she was in a wheelchair, and even after she calls them out for using a dressing room meant for the disabled, they defiantly continue to carry on, undeterred. Her message is loud and clear: We as a society can do better. We are not putting enough energy into becoming a flexible, all-inclusive community of people who welcome everyone. Today she is a disability rights advocate with a doctorate, as well as wife and mother to a young baby boy name Otto. Taussig calls for changes in movies, television, books and other forms of media to demonstrate a greater understanding of how disability affects all of us. Her words are not only relevant and timely, but also logical and lyrical at the same time. “I’m not ‘wheelchair-bound’ or ‘confined to a wheelchair.’ My wheelchair is as precious and liberating as a tongue, fin, or airplane.” You can follow Taussig on Instagram @Sitting_Pretty. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

The Promised Land by Barak Obama

I was at work when the insurrection began on Wednesday, far from a TV or radio. But I knew something was wrong because the Apple watch my husband gave me for my birthday was buzzing like a bee with breaking news updates. When I finally got home and saw the alarming images of thugs storming the Capitol, I could not believe my eyes. It was ironic because the day before I had finished listening to this memoir, “A Promised Land” by Barak Obama. It felt blissfully nostalgic to look back on a time when  we had a different man in the White House, and a nod to the fact that we will soon have a different man and a woman in the White House, too. Like Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming,” this book focuses on the early years of their marriage, the campaign trail and his first term in office.  According to the “New York Times,” nearly every president since Theodore Roosevelt has written a memoir. This one provides a look at the presidency that is both honest, intimate and groundbreaking. When he won the election of 2008 in the middle of an economic crisis, one of his friends said to Obama, “Two hundred and thirty-two years, and they wait until the country’s falling apart before they turn it over to the brother!” He lets us follow him around the White House which begins with breakfast and the delivery of the “President’s Daily Brief,” which Michelle called “The Death, Destruction and Horrible Things Book.” The stress of the job, the responsibility to a nation, is something that motivates and inspires him to find answers whether the questions are about health care, an oil spill, the economy or the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. There is just one word I kept thinking about while I was listening to him read this book, and that word is dignity. The state of being worthy of honor and respect is what Obama personified during his eight years in office, and it was sorely missed this week. Let’s hope Joe Biden is ready for the challenge, and follows in Obama’s graceful footsteps. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

As I look back on this strange year, in addition to being grateful for my family, friends and hospice job, there is one thing that stands out as a shining light in this disappointing year: “Normal People,” both the book and the Hulu series. I have neither read nor watched anything as magical as “Normal People” in a very long time. So, it was with much anticipation that I ended this year by reading Rooney’s book “Conversations with Friends.” Her debut novel, this story also take place in Dublin and involves two friends who met in high school. This time it is not Marianne and Connell, but rather two women named Frances and Bobbi. After graduating from high school they go on to Trinity College together, and soon became lovers. They also write and perform spoken word poetry. One night at a performance, they meet an arty married couple named Melissa, a photographer, and Nick, an actor. When the married couple invites the two girls back to their house for a night cap, the dynamics begin to change. Initially Melissa and Bobbi are attracted to each other, but over the next few weeks it is Frances and Nick who begin an affair. Attraction and infidelity in the hands of Rooney often take such unexpected twists and turns. On the night they first have sex Frances says to Nick, “We can sleep together if you want, but you should know I’m only doing it ironically.” Like “Normal People,” the characters in this book are blessed by love but also tortured by it, which makes the story so beautiful and poignant. According to Google, Rooney is only 29 years old. So, the good news for the new year is that we have more Sally Rooney books to look forward, too. Here’s to a beautiful and bright new year ahead! To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

One Day In December by Josie Silver

I recently completed Tayshia's season on the “Bachelorette.” I am rather late in joining the Bachelor Nation’s party, but I have to say I loved this season. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. It is called entertainment people! It gives me the same rush I used to feel racing home from school to watch “General Hospital.” There is a lot of repetition, but also small gems of spontaneity. One of the most fascinating moments in the series this year, was in the very beginning when the original Bachelorette Clare met Dale for the first time. Within seconds of their meeting, as he walked away, she said out loud, "I think I just met my husband." Was it fate? Was it magic? Was it love at first sight? It sure seems like it because after only a few weeks Clare only had eyes for Dale, and they left the show midseason together. "One Day in December" by Josie Silver is book about love at first sight. When the main character Laurie sees a young man standing at a London bus stop as her bus pulls away, she can’t get him out of her mind. She even wistfully visits that bus stop and other ones like it in the hopes of seeing him again. She wonders if he might have been her perfect match, and she will never get the chance to meet him. She continues to ruminate over this mystery man until she is introduced to her best friend Sarah’s new boyfriend Jack. He just happens to be the man from Laurie’s bus stop. Laurie can see in Jack’s eyes that he remembers their bus stop meeting as well. What next? How can she get into the middle of her best friend’s romance? Over the next 10 years we see the situation from both Laurie and Jack’s perspectives. Love at first sight can be dreamy but also complicated. I enjoyed this and found it to be a cozy read for a winter day. I’m excited to read more romantic books like this, and watch the upcoming “Bachelor.” Bring on Matt James! To buy the book on Amazon click here.

The Best of Me By David Sedaris

I have a very off-the-beaten-path sense of humor, probably unlike most people. When it comes to books, television shows and movies, I steer clear of anything silly, zany, wacky or foolish. I have never met a mime, clown or fart joke I ever liked. Specifically, the humor I love most is when David Sedaris writes about this mother and father. There is something about the phrases he uses to describe them, and the way he imitates their voices in his audio books, that cuts to the true core of what I think is funny. “The Best of Me” is collection of his previously published essays, hand-picked to highlight his 25-year-writing career. What this collection demonstrates is how much he enjoys and excels at writing about his family. Whether he is talking about his brother Paul’s dramatic weight loss, his sister Amy’s penchant for creating family spa days, or his sister Tiffany’s suicide, his essays make you laugh out loud and even cry, like most families tend to do to one and other. In addition to the essays about his family, there are fantastic stories culled from the airplane trips he often takes on his book tours. He takes the rude, swearing, ill-dressed passengers he meets on planes and turns them into stars of his essays. He mines their every mood and phrase for humor. He said recently one of his biggest laments of the pandemic is that he cannot travel, nor read his work out loud to audiences like he once did. He mused that he is not sure if his next book is funny yet, because he has not had the chance to read it out loud to an audience. Well, I for one, know it will be funny, and I will be the first one in line to buy it. Let other people read silly and zany books, I will pick Sedaris every time. To buy this book on Amazon click here.

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

As we begin a second lockdown this week, I am starting to get yucky. That is a perfect word for how I feel, yucky. And I don’t want to keep my frustration inside because it makes me feel worse. My friend Chris sent me a picture the other day that said, “People Start To Heal The Moment They Feel Heard.” We all need to share our frustration and sadness, and poetry is one way to do it, and spoken word poetry can be even more cathartic for these turbulent times. “Poet X” is the debut novel by slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo, and explores the spiritual awakening for a young girl in Harlem when she finds her voice as a slam poet. The young girl, Xiomara Batista, struggles with the body changes and sexism that come with puberty, as well as the domination of her religious mother. When Xiomara joins a slam poetry club at school, a new door opens to a secret world that not only hears her, but also understands her. The poetry she writes in her leather-bound journal gives her strength, and new tools to understand her mother as well as her twin brother and distant father.  Residing in a world that wants to silence her, Xiomara rises above her oppressors and shouts her true feelings from the rooftops. When we are stuck, there should always be hope. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that where there is hope, there can also be growth, and a light at the end of the long tunnel. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

I once owned a big house in Sea Cliff where I lived with my twin girls and their dad for seven years. The house at 2910 Lake was grand but when the marriage ended, we sold it and moved on. The day I left, leaving behind my wedding silver and china, I got into my car and blasted Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” so loudly that my car shook. I did not look back, and the four of us proceeded to build new lives. A friend had told me you can’t love a house, but you can certainly love and miss the people inside that house. This is the theme of Ann Patchett’s beautifully crafted novel “The Dutch House.” The best way to read this book is to listen to Tom Hanks perform it on audio. His voice is so well suited for Danny the narrator, that I wish Hanks could win an award for it. The pairing is perfect. I literally cheered at the end. “The Dutch House” is the story of Danny and his sister Mauve, who following the disappearance of their mother, are raised by their father, Cyril, in a mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Danny and Mauve’s happy life inside the house with their dad is turned upside down when Cyril re-marries a woman named Andrea with two daughters, Norma and Bright. Shortly after the marriage, Cyril dies suddenly and Andrea, triumphant as the evil step-mother, forces Danny and Mauve to move out. Together, the siblings use the only resource they have: a college fund, which Danny can use to go to medical school. Danny eventually marries and discovers he does not want to be a doctor, but rather craves a career in real estate like his father. Danny and Mauve drive back to the Dutch House often to sit in the car to revisit their childhood and their past, and the grand life they once had inside that house. Their relationship to the house, and the bond they share, provides the landscape for this beautiful, poignant family saga.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.

Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes

Last spring, in the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to do something crazy: I subscribed to “Travel + Leisure” magazine. I decided that if I could not travel for a while, then at least I could use the time wisely to research where I would want to go next. Places like the Maldives, that had never been on my radar before, moved up the list because I saw the most beautiful pictures in the magazine. I also added destinations to my travel agenda including Croatia, Bermuda, Peru and Majorca. I started reading books about travel such as this one, “Paris for One and Other Stories” by Jojo Moyes, the best-selling author of “Me Before You.” In this volume, Moyes offers a novella, along with a series of other short stories about women juggling relationships, both good and bad. In the title novella, we find an English schoolgirl named Nell, who has planned a fabulous getaway with her boyfriend to Paris, a city on her bucket list. When her boyfriend does not show up as planned, Nell is forced to have-a-come-to-Jesus talk with herself. Should she cancel the trip and go home? Or should she continue the trip as she designed, but do it by herself? The later scenario is completely out of character for her, but she decides to forge ahead anyway, offering herself a much-needed period of growth and genuine relaxation.  The rest of the stories follow a similar pattern of women searching for hope and new adventures when stuck in a relationship that is less than perfect. For readers looking for a literary getaway, or just time well spent with Moyes and her lovely characters, this is the book for you. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.