My favorite Frida Kahlo books

Each week I participate in a baking challenge celebrating women in history, and this past week's theme was the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. I have long been a Frida fan, discovering her in high school at a time when I felt very much out of place in my family and my school. I was artistic (but not yet confident enough to call myself an artist), dressed semi-eccentrically, and had political ideas that were quite different from those of much of my family. As many teenagers tend to do, I looked outside of my family for others I might identify with. I'm not Mexican, didn't consider myself an artist at the time, and so on, but I still saw something of myself in Kahlo.

Years ago, I had a sizeable collection of books about Frida, but due to money woes in my 20s, I sold all of them -- this, my dear readers, is one of my biggest regrets when it comes to books! I wish I'd held onto them!

Fast forward to the past four or five years, and I've started to rebuild my Frida Kahlo library and thought I'd share my books with you (I'll share the dishes from my Frida Kahlo themed cooking in a future post). 

I have four Frida Kahlo books, of which two were bought at the Victoria and Albert Museum (or V&A) in London, England, one was bought in the United States, and one was bought at the beautiful El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore in Buenos Aires, Argentina (more on El Ateneo Grand Splendid in a future post). However, all four are available to purchase in the United States. I love these particular books because they are colorful and full of vivid images and don't shy away from some of the realities of her life. 

The first two books are children's books written in English. Despite being for kids, these are both easily enjoyable by adults too. 

Library of Luminaries: Frida Kahlo -- an illustrated biography by Zena Alkayat with illustrations by Nina Cosford

While the illustartions in this book are not Frida's own art, they are highly engaging and help to tell the story of Frida's life. The text and artwork are both equal parts whimiscal and serious. I love looking at the pictures and seeing little details that I've missed previously. It feels like every time I open this little book, I see something new. I also like that the text looks like handwriting instead of a normal book font. 

Buy it on Bookshop HERE.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

V&A Introduces: Frida Kahlo published by and For the V&A Museum, London, England

I had the great fortune to visit the V&A Museum in London when they had a Frida Kahlo exhibit in 2018 and it was one of the best museum exhibits I've ever attended! While photos weren't allowed inside the exhibit, you can learn more about it and HERE.

This little book is a highly colorful, richly illustrated children's book that, like the one above, does not shy away from the details of Frida's life and perhaps goes a bit further into them than the first book, though without being gruesome or too "adult" in theme. It is superbly illustrated and gives bite sized details and information rather than being a regular text that goes straight from start to finish.

Not currently available via Bookshop.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up published by and For the V&A Museum, London, England

This is the book that was developed for adult visitors as an accompaniment to the V&A Frida Kahlo exhibit I attended in London in 2018. And, wow, is it packed with information, photos, artwork, patterns, color, and so much! It's easy to dip into the book here and there or simply read it cover to cover. The book covers much of Frida's life, as well as how she presented herself to the world and to herself and those in her life.

You may notice that the title is a little bit of a play on words: "Her Self" versus "herself". Much of the exhibit was focused on a tension between Frida presenting herself as fiercely and proudly Mexicana while also contending with her incredibly damaged body which caused her pain for her entire life, contrasting both with her life as an artist, a wife, a daughter, a revolutionary, and more. There was also a strong focus on her clothing and artifacts from Kahlo's life, including beauty objects and tools, notebooks and journals, art supplies, family photos, professional portraits, her own artwork, her husband's artwork (Diego Rivera), and more. The exhibit included clever use of mirrors to create illusions and different ways of viewing many of these objects. And, many of the display cases were designed to look like beds since large portions of Frida's life were spent confied to her bed. Many of the objects and works of art had not been displayed until a couple of years prior to this exhibit, so it was interesting to see parts of her life that had been closed away from half of a century. You can explore some of the exhibit HERE.

Buy it on Bookshop HERE.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

Now....best for last!

Frida by Sebastian Perez and Benjamin Lacombe

While I truly love the above three books, I wanted to save the fourth for last. This book is truly one of my treasures! I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina around the time of its publication and first saw it at the gorgeous El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore, but I didn't buy it. I thought I would just pick it up when I returned home. Well, when I got home, I looked the book up on Amazon and the only copies available were over $100 each! I was shocked! My uncle was still in Argentina and graciously went back and bought the book for me. I treasure the book to this day because it's so incredibly beautiful and becuase my uncle was willing to go back and buy it for me. He died from a brain tumor just six months later and I miss him every day.

Anyhow, back to this amazing book! 

This book is a MASTERPIECE! While it does not contain Frida's actual art, the illustrator captured the essence of Frida and her art on every page. But, what's even more incredible is that every three to four pages are layered in such a way that pieces of the top two to three pages are cut away, revealing portions of the pages beneath. This book is so visually interesting that I don't even care that I'm not fluent enough (yet) to read the book (it's written in Spanish)! This book is a true piece of art in and of itself! Everyone that's come to my home and looked through it has been blown away! Like the other two children's books I've mentioned, this one also does not shy away from some of the harsher realities of Frida's life, but the artwork also includes many references to some of her more disturbing paintings (and those that are less difficult to view). Please keep that in mind if buying this for a child.

I'm happy to say it is now available in the USA for a much better price (ranging from $25 to $50 on most websites). 

Buy it on Bookshop HERE.

Buy it on Amazon HERE.

I look forward to sharing my Frida Kahlo cooking and baking with you in a future post, as well as photos from my visit to El Ateneo Grand Splendid, and more.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make purchases via these links, it may result in a small commission for me at no extra expense to you. Thank you in advance!

BOOK REVIEW: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Title: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Translator: H.T. Willetts

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Year published: This edition: 2014

ISBN: 978-0-374-53468-4

Genre: fiction, historical fiction, Russian literature

Pairs well with:

stale bread,

weak tea,

and extremely cold weather.

I initially started reading One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich with a tutoring student. My student was assigned the novella in the fall of 2019 for a high school course on Russian Literature, and we both enjoyed the book.

The novella is fairly stark and straightforward in both tone and style, but it was an interesting look inside a Soviet gulag or prison. Although the story takes place over a single day in a prisoner's life -- Ivan Denisovich -- it feels as if it takes place over weeks, if not a months. The author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and the translator of this edition, H.T. Willets, describe the prison, prisoners (called "zeks"), guards, and so on with such careful precision that it's hard to not feel almost as if you are right there next to them. The novella is both crisp and pared down to the raw bones of the story while also being rich with detail -- but the details add to the stark tone. 

While it was sometimes hard to keep track of characters -- the story jumps between their last names, middle names used like last names, full names, and nicknames --  the story moved along at a good pace and it's easy to keep track of the main character since the entire story revolves around his activities over the course of the day. The book moves from Ivan's first moments in the morning through to his last moments in the evening and much attention is given to warmth, work, and food. And, interestingly, although Ivan's life could be viewed as steeped in misery, he finds moments of enjoyment and clearly has found his place within the hierarchy of the prison guards and other prisoners.

The novella isn't long, but the subject matter and intricacies can be complex and heavy on the heart and mind. Despite the heaviness, I strongly suggest this book, particularly as an introduction into Russian literature. 

Find a copy on Amazon HERE.

3 ways to increase your reading during difficult times

I've heard from many friends and acquaintances that the global pandemic, and now social and police injustice sparking protests and riots across the country as more and more black lives are lost or brutalized by the police, plus our government seemingly preparing to attack its own citizens, has caused them to feel lost, confused, unfocused, and generally unable to engage with their usual interests and habits. 

And, I'm right there with all of you.

For the past couple of months, I've really struggled to keep reading and engaging in my other interests and hobbies, and the further I got from those things, the worse I felt about myself and life in general. 

Yet, I've been struggling with how to re-engage with my hobbies and interests.

I've spent hours and hours scrolling on my phone, watching television without really paying attention, picking up and setting down books and hobbies, and just not enjoying anything. I am already predisposed to depression and I felt like I was slipping pretty quickly into a massive depressive episode. Without making some concious changes, I knew it was going to just get worse and worse. 

So, I decided to be proactive and set up some rules around my needs, interests, and the way I was living life in order to create new habits or re-ignite old ones. I'm still struggling on some days and sometimes during moments of pretty good days, but I feel like the changes I've made have helped me to not sink too far down, and I've reinvigorated my reading habit. 

While they aren't perfect and life isn't happy rainbows and unicorns every day, these three tips have helped me to ramp up my reading again -- I hope they'll help you too.

1. Read first thing in the morning

Like making your bed, going for a run, or any other good habit, if you read first thing in the morning, you'll be able to tick it off your list of accomplishments for the day. And, if you love reading as much as I do, it will start your day on a positive note. 

I've been finding that if I start my day with 20 minutes of reading -- my personal minimum amount of time -- then I usually come back to reading later in the day.

2. Have a designated reading spot

I don't just read anywhere in my home. Instead, I consciously cultivated a corner as my reading nook. Is it special and fancy with grand bookcases and luscious furnishings? Nope. Not at all. But, it is comfortable with a stack of books at the side of my reading chair and ottoman, a few blankets, and a table for a cup of coffee or glass of water, and it has great natural light during the day with a lamp for darker days or the evening. I don't do much else sitting there. That spot is reserved just for reading. And, because it's cozy, I love to sit there, so I read a lot by cultivating a special, comfortable reading experience. 

3. Read something easy or familiar

My TBR (to be read) pile is quite large with some pretty heavy reading material -- I like complex topics, but also what my mom once called "depressing" genres. Right now, I just can't handle that type of material when the world feels darker, heavier, and more depressing than at any other time in my life. 

I've given myself a break and instead picked up lighter and easier books. I've been reading some chick lit, young adult, and humor. I've also been reading some very short books and children's books, as well as re-reading books I love and am already overly familiar with. 

A friend and I planned to read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and to have a virtual dinner date to discuss the book, but I found it so heavy and sad (it's about the effects of slavery through several generations and from Africa to the US) that I had to put it down. By following the three habits above, I've managed to go back to the book in small chunks, interspersed with some of my favorite chick lit novels. And, I'm glad because Homegoing is superbly written and incredibly timely.

It's ok to put in some focused work at renewing your reading habit. It's ok to set up a comfy spot that you use just for reading. It's ok to read books that you normally wouldn't pick up simply because the genre or reading level is easy. 

If you're looking for your next read, I'd love for you to check out my reading lists on Bookshop.org -- not only can you puruse books, but you can purchase too. Each purchase through Bookshop.org helps support independent book sellers across the United States.

Please note: links may be affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you in advance!

Comfort reading during difficult times: When in Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison

2020 has been....not what any of us imagined it would be. Am I right?

For many of us, the stress hasn't been just heightened, it's been completely disruptive to our normal habits and interests. In my case, I haven't been able to focus enough to read a lot, nor to read anything too heavy. 

A friend and I decided to read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi together with plans to do a virtual dinner date (we'd make the same dinner and then meet via Skype or Hangouts to discuss the book), but I started to find the serious nature and devastating scenes to be too much right now. I had to put the book down (I've since picked it back up).

Instead, I switched to something much easier to read in terms of subject matter, and a book I already have read and love: When in Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison. This is city girl chick lit (can we make that a new category, like a sub category of chick lit?).

Title: When in Doubt, Add Butter

Author: Beth Harbison

Publisher: St. Martin's Press 

Year published: 2012

ISBN: 9780312599096

Genre: fiction; chick lit

Pairs well with a big bowl of pasta,

cupcakes, comfy pajamas,

and your favorite comfort beverage.

Our protagonist, Gemma Craig, not to be confused with Jenny Craig of weight loss diet fame. Gemma is a single woman living in Washington, D.C., and a personal chef with a different client each night of the week. Two are what you might call wanna-be power women -- well to do women who care more about appearances than substance and who are clamboring to be among the D.C. elite. Then, there's the mysterious Mr. Tuesday, a bachelor that she never meets but flirts with by brief notes about the meals she prepares for him. Then we have Lex, owner of a department store and with a personality that's much like a doting and supportive uncle. Lastly, is the mysterious Oleksei family, owners of a lucrative dry cleaning business...or is that just a front for mafia ties? And, along the way, we also meet Willa, an obese, housebound gambler, and a few other supporting characters, not least of which are Gemma's cousin, Penny, and Penny's daughter, Charlotte. 

When in Doubt, Add Butter, will definitely make you hungry -- maybe for dishes you'd never normally try (eggplant in pomegranate walnut sauce, anyone?) -- but it will also warm your heart as you follow along on Gemma's adventures and misadventures as a personal chef, a friend, and a one night stand.

While the book does not include any recipes (pretty much my only complaint...), it is delicious in other ways. I've read other books by Beth Harbison, and this one is my favorite. The characters and plot are just tight enough to keep me interested, but not so tight that I can't reasonably understand what's to come in the story, and the characters are all well imagined with strengths, weaknesses, and the other characteristics that make them feel real. If Gemma were an actual person, I'd want to be her friend (and not just for her cooking skills).

Overall, this is a good, light read and perfectly filled my need for material that wasn't depressing or too serious.

Get your copy of When in Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison now via my shop on Bookshop.org -- you can find it and other chick lit novels I love HERE or click the image below.

Please note, this post does contain affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you purchase through these links. 

I will be upgrading links across my blog to point to Bookshop.org when possible -- Bookshop.org supports independent booksellers in the United States at a time when many are threatened through competition and under-pricing from mega-corporations. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Disappearance of Signora Giulia by Piero Chiara

Title: The Disappearance of Signora Giulia

Author: Piero Chiara

Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo 

Year published: 2015

ISBN: 9781782271048

Genre: fiction; mystery; Italian mystery; 1950s mystery

Pairs well with your favorite pasta dish,

crisp, white table linens,

and a strong Italian coffee.

Of all the unexpected places to find good reads, I found The Disappearance of Signora Giulia by Piero Chiara at The Dollar Tree (a deep discount store where nothing costs more than a dollar, for those not familiar). I'd purchased a few good books at The Dollar Tree previously, but had assumed maybe it was just a fluke. I guess not! 

The Disappearance of Signora Giulia by Piero Chiara is set in a small Italian town, near Milan, in the 1950s and is a mystery (as you might guess from the title). The volume is slim and a fairly quick and easy read, and perfect for a brief respite from reality. 

In the book, Signora Giulia is a wealthy woman married to a much older man who is an established lawyer. Their daughter, Emilia, attends school in Milan and Giulia went to visit every Thursday. Early in the novel, we learn that Giulia has also been visiting a lover in Milan. But, one day she appears to leave for her weekly visit and never returns home. Where did she go? Did she run away on her own? Did she run off with her lover? The clues lead towards the lover, but it's not that simple. There are many questions that come up and a few competing motives. 

Piero Chiara crafts a setting that you can easily see and place yourself into as you read -- you can feel the cobblestones of Italian streets and palazzos under your feet. You can picture big, heavy desks in the police and lawyers' offices. You can see the trees and lush landscaping of Signora Giulia's home. And, I greatly enjoyed the dialogue, carrying along the story. 

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novel and found it just suspenseful enough to keep my interest without going overboard into convoluted tangents and false leads. At first, I was disappointed with the ending which is somewhat vague, but the more I sit with it, the more satisfied I am that the unclear ending was actually perfect. You are left to come to your own conclusions about a couple of suspects in Signora Giulia's disappearance, but at the same time, everything is tied together and makes sense, even without a definitive resolution. Normally, I would find this type of ending frustrating and I'd vow not to read another work by the author; however, in this case, Chiara put together his story in such a way that I think it works and I'm satisfied that I know what happened to our main character. I liked it enough, even with the ending, to look for further works by Chiara. 

As I write this, we are in the middle of libraries and bookstores being closed due to Covid-19 racing across the United States and other parts of the world. I'd love for you to find the novel at your local library, but if you can't find it at your library or through your library's digital offerings, please try a local, independent bookstore -- they need your purchases more than ever if they are survive the massive financial losses of this pandemic. However, you can also try to get it from Amazon. Take your pick:

Many independent bookstores in the USA are offering shipping or curbside pickup even if their shops are closed due to the virus. PLEASE check with your favorite local independent shop before ordering from elsewhere.

If you are in the United Kingdom, you can order directly from the publisher (Pushkin Vertigo) HERE.

In the US:
-- Buy from Abe Books HERE.
-- Buy from Penguin Random House HERE (not an independent, but still better to buy direct or somewhat direct than through Amazon).
-- Buy from other independents HERE.
-- Support independent bookstores by getting the audiobook HERE.

If you really feel a commitment to Amazon, you can get the book HERE.
***This is an affiliate link and I may receive a small commission should you purchase from Amazon, but at no extra cost to you. As much as I'd love that, I still would rather you consider shopping independent first.

Have you read The Disappearance of Signora Giulia by Piero Chiara? Have you read anything else by him? If so, leave a comment with your thoughts. 

QUESTION: How do you decide when to quit a book?

Are you a hardcore "If I start the book, I have to finish it" type of reader or do you allow yourself to quit as soon as you decide you don't want to go on? 

I participate in an online book club with members from around the world, and every now and then the idea of either quitting a book or reading to the end NO. MATTER. WHAT. comes up in discussion. 

I used to be firm about finishing every book NO. MATTER. WHAT.

Now, I shake my head when I think of how much time I wasted forcing myself through books that I truly did not enjoy -- and a couple that I truly hated. 

WHY?

I think part of my obsession with finishing books I started had its roots in a sense of needing to be a "good girl" and "perfect." I felt a false sense of obligation to each book -- the book didn't care if I finished it. The author and publisher wouldn't ever know. The librarian or book shop owner would never know. No one would know unless I told them.

It is possible that someone said something along the way that supported this false sense of commitment and responsibility -- after all, my mom was a kindergarten teacher (with forays into grades up to third), her parents and her brother were teachers, various aunts and uncles were in or peripheral to education, and my grandmother was a librarian. 

Reading was basically in my skin, my blood, my bones. I identified myself as a reader from an incredibly young age, and I probably absorbed many false beliefs about what that means as well.

My friends, if you too feel compelled to finish every single book NO. MATTER. WHAT. -- free yourself! You don't need to waste your time and energy on books you truly don't like, don't connect to, or just want to put down for any number of other reasons. 

Right here, right now, I give you permisison to put down the book you don't want to finish and find something else to read. No one will know unless you tell them and most of them won't care anyhow.

Please note, friend, I am not talking about assigned reading for school -- those books should probably be read all the way through, even the ones you can't stand.

When I became a mom at 24, I found myself with a lot less time and energy for reading due to the obvious newborn in my arms, but also due to an unsupportive and abusive partner, needing to work too, and trying to finish my undergraduate degree despite my partner's multiple attempts to stop me. I was still committed to reading every book to the very last page. As a result, I read a lot less which wasn't great for my mental health.  

A few years later, I became a single mom and had even less time to read.

I can't pinpoint the moment or experience that changed my attitude, but somewhere in my late 20s or early 30s, I gave myself permission to quit a book after 20 if I just hated it or 40 pages if I sort of liked it but not enough to keep going if I wasn't hooked by that point. And, more recently, I've given myself to quit a book even when I'm almost finished -- I just set down a memoir that was OK and easy to read, but with less than 20 pages to the end, I was bored and fed up with what started to read like a flippant, unrealistic attitude on the part of the author. All I could think as I got further and further into the book was, "Why didn't the editor step in? Maybe this was the author's experience, but do most real women feel this way about life?" Ugh...I put it down, walked away, and feel no guilt!

If you aren't enjoying what you are reading, PUT THE BOOK DOWN!

Leave a comment and let me know how YOU decide to quit a book! OR if you are committed to finishing, even if you hate the book, let me know why!

BOOK REVIEW: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Folger Library edition

This post may contain affiliate links -- making a purchase through these links is at no additional cost to you, but may earn a much appreciated commission for my blog. Thank you.

As part of the Shakespeare 2020 reading challenge (see THIS post for more info), I started off 2020 by reading Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare.

Please note:

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

if you aren't familiar with the story line of Twelfth Night. 

I read Twelfth Night in high school, and frankly, I remember enjoying it a lot more. The play is one of Shakespeare's comedies and centers around deception and mistaken identities, as well as love triangles, with a bit of mischief thrown in. 

As one of my tutoring students put it, many of Shakespeare's plays -- especially the comedies -- start out and end with a lot of action and the middle is almost all explication and background. I found this particularly true of Twelfth Night. I loved the beginning and the ending, but the middle was just a slog. While I suppose some of the mischief and trickery involved was necessary to heighten the main comedic aspects of the love triangles set up earlier in the play, I found that these portions overshadowed the rest of the play and the main story: the separation of siblings who believe each other dead and the love triangles based on mistaken and disguised identities. 

I really wanted more at the end of the play -- more action surrounding the unmasking (of sorts) of Viola, more around the reunion with her brother, Sebastian, and more tension between Orsino and Olivia.

There are definitely comedic aspects to the play, but it really confirmed that I very much prefer Shakespeare's tragedies over his comedies. 

I am officially quite far behind in the reading plan for the challenge, but hope to eventually catch up. I started reading Henry VI, Part I last night, and I LOVE IT! This is my first time reading Henry VI, and I wish I'd picked it up sooner! 

A couple of notes about reading the plays of Shakespeare:

1. Although plays are meant to be watched, heard, read aloud, I find great enjoyment in reading them. There's quite a bit of controversy in one of the online reading groups I participate in with regard to reading plays in general. I love it.
2. I specifically chose to read the Folger Library editions of all of Shakespeare's work, unless I am unable to get my hands on a copy. While there are may editions available, I particularly like Folger's approach to the material. Each book starts with several explanatory sections, including a brief overview of the specific play in the book, and each also has a brief synopsis of each Act and Scene at the start of each part of the play. Additionally, on the left page, specific vocabulary and notes are listed by line to assist in understanding as you read. The right page contains the text as closely to the original as makes sense (the prefaces include notes about changes that may have been made to the texts and why).

What is your favorite work by Shakespeare? Is there a particular edition that you like over others? Drop a note and let me know!

BOOK REVIEW: The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani

Title: The Storyteller's Secret

Author: Sejal Badani

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Year published: 2018

ISBN: 9781542048279

Genre: contemporary fiction; cross-cultural and cross-generational fiction set in India and the United States

Pairs well with strong chai,

the laughter of children,

and a side of devoted friendship.

Wow.

That's the first word that comes to mind after finishing The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani. I just loved this book so much. I read it as an e-book via Amazon Prime Reading, but loved it so much that I'd like to buy a paperback copy. 

The Storyteller's Secret follows the path of a young woman in the United States, daughter of parents from India, who returns to her mother's childhood home in India after a third miscarriage. She is mired in the unfathomable loss and sadness, and with it the sadness and potential loss of her marriage. She escapes to India where she meets Ravi, the confidant and best friend of her grandmother -- a woman of strength and conviction who was trapped in tradition and had to make many hard choices. The story follows the main character, Jaya, as she learns the hard truths about her mother's childhood, her grandmother's sacrifices, and worlds of hurt. But, Jaya also learns the true value and meaning of friendship, love, sacrifice, and forgiveness throughout her journey.

The novel crosses cultures and generations. Although it starts in the United States, the book eventually is set primarily in India -- both modern day and colonial India under British rule. The reader is transported back and forth between the present and two generations past through dual storytelling. Jaya is telling her story and her experience as she flees a potentially broken marriage and three miscarriages, but she also hears the story of her grandmother, Amisha as told by her grandmother's best friend and servant, Ravi. Amisha's story is told in present tense, but because the author has taken great care with her story, it is quite easy to keep the timelines and stories clear. 

Jaya is young but brilliant and an incredible writer. However, her relationship with her mother is strained and she does not really understand why. When she flees her personal tragedies by traveling to India, she learns the tragic truth about her mother's childhood and a secret that led to her mother's own losses and fears. 

Ultimately, this is a story of homecoming for Jaya, Ravi, and Jaya's mother. 

The Storyteller's Secret is absolutely tied for my favorite book of my 2019 reading with Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I hope you will read and love both novels!

Find The Storyteller's Secret on Amazon HERE.

Find Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine on Amazon HERE.

I found The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani as a free e-book via Prime Reading, a membership perk of Amazon Prime. If you aren't a Prime member, you can get a free 30 day trial HERE. With Prime Reading (not to be confused with Kindle Unlimited), you may borrow up to 10 free e-books (the selection changes periodically) from the current selection. There are NO due dates as there would be with e-books from your library. Instead, you get to keep them until you return them (but if you have borrowed 10, you can't get another until you return one). As long as you haven't returned a book, you will also keep your access to the book even if it is no longer a Prime Reading offering!

***Links may be affiliate in nature. Purchases through these links may result in a small commission for me at no extra cost to you. Thank you in advance!

2019 reading wrap up

As 2019 comes to a close, I wanted to finish off the year with an overview of the books I have in progress and hope to finish. Even though the start of a new year is somewhat arbitrary, I like to go into the new year having finished all of my in progress reading. 

This year, five days until the New Year as I write this, I have five books in progress. I'll edit the post on January 1st with whether or not I've actually completed each book.

In the next five days (now to New Year's Eve), I hope to finish reading:

• The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani
• How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough
• Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee
• The Reckoning by John Grisham
• It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden

The Reckoning by John Grisham

To be honest, I'm struggling with The Reckoning. After enjoying the first half, I'm at a point that I find tedious. I normally give myself 40 pages to decide if I'll keep reading a book or give it up. I'm so far beyond that...I found this novel decent enough to keep reading until the halfway point and now I'm just not into it. If there's one book I likely won't finish, it's this one. And, I (probably) won't feel bad about it.

• Edited to add: I decided to give up on The Reckoning. It just hasn't been holding my interest and I have many other books I'd rather be reading. I'll put my copy in the my apartment building's laundry room for someone else to read.
• Because I'm not finishing The Reckoning, I am not including a link to buy it.

The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani

As I write this blog post, I have about 9 hours left before 2020 officially starts, and I will most definitely finish The Storyteller's Secret even if it means not finishing others on my "currently reading" list. 

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

The Storyteller's Secret is cross-generational and cross-cultural, spanning a US-born and raised young woman, her Indian born and raised mother, and her Indian born and raised grandmother, as well as an assortment of other characters. It also includes a British soldier and an Indian Untouchable. The story is steeped in the mysteries of womanhood, mother-daughter relationships, unlikely friendships, and forbidden loves. However, as much as it is partially a love story, I believe the bulk of the story is really about relationships and perceptions. Badani does a masterful job of writing about a very American young woman dealing with American customs and norms while grieving a marriage and miscarriage, while also writing about her mother who had to straddle two cultures and nations, and a grandmother who was rooted in a traditional Indian upbringing but longed for more. 

I found Badani's novel via Prime Reading, a perk of being an Amazon Prime member -- you have access to borrow up to 10 e-books at a time with NO due date, and you keep access to the books even after they are no longer Prime Reading offerings. Essentially, you have the e-book until you are ready to return it. Please note -- Prime Reading is NOT the same as Kindle Unlimited.

• To access Prime Reading, you do need to be an Amazon Prime member -- you can get a free 30 day trial of Prime HERE.
• Or, buy the novel HERE, via Amazon.

How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough

I really wanted to finish How Children Succeed  before 2020 begins, but that won't likely happen. I began reading the book in order to glean insight into how better to help my extremely intelligent tutoring students. Many of the students I work with are quite smart, but they lack grit -- they lack determination and endurance in the face of challenges or adversity. So far, I'm greatly enjoying Tough's book and have gained some insights into how to better serve my students, but overall, I'm just enjoying learning about other educators and methods around the United States. 

Very interesting and worth reading if you are a professional in education.

• You can buy How Children Succeed via Amazon HERE.

Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee

I started reading Joyful for an online book club, but it took me a while to get into it. I won't finish it before the end of today, but I am enjoying it enough to continue. Fetell Lee's book is a great look at how the environment around us shapes our interaction with it and with ourselves, as well as how that environment (natural and man-made) impacts our mental and emotional well being. I've made some changes to how I have my home and office organized and decorated based on what I've gleaned from Joyful, and those changes have indeed made a positive impact. 

If you've dabbled in Feng Shui but not really stuck with it, Joyful might be a good read for you!

• You can buy Joyful on Amazon HERE.

It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden

I have read It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be several times. It is my favorite self-help book, although it is written as a sort of business advice book through the lens of advertising. I first encountered Arden's book in my 20s (at the time of writing this post, I'm 45). It has helped me overcome both personal and professional slumps by allowing me to change my mindset from doing what is expected to doing what is expected to a degree -- Let's say 80% what is expected and 20% for myself. 

• Edited to add: I finished Arden's book while flying home from a two and a half day trip that devolved into me staying holed up in my hotel room with food poisoning. It's a fast, easy read and, in the end, how you apply the principles of the book is entirely up to you.  
• You can find Arden's book HERE on Amazon.

What books rounded out the end of 2019 for you? Would you recommend them or suggest a fellow reader take a pass? Drop a comment and let me know!

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