Book Recommendations
There was a time when my book club actually discussed books. Once everyone started having babies, books set in India were replaced by “I Swear This Actually Happens to Your Body, Gross, Right?” pregnancy books. Once the babies arrived, most of us entered a kind of intellectual walk in the wilderness. It takes all you’ve got to read the relevant chapter of “Sleep, Child, Sleep For the Love of God, Sleep." "The Goldfinch" is simply not possible after you’ve only pieced together 4 broken hours of sleep over the last 48 hours. This is when many new mothers, myself included, fall prey to celebrity gossip. Look! Shiny magazine! Pretty people! Short paragraphs! Wait, what day is it again?
I look back on my celebrity gossip phase with a dash of shame, yet I also recognize it kept me company during some dark nights. I knew my brain was coming back to life when I actually started feeling sorry for the celebrities because they were not able to go to Walgreens without an audience. Going to Walgreens without makeup or brushed hair is a right that should not be denied anyone. I decided it would suck to be famous. In an effort to do my part to restore their privacy, I stopped paying attention to celebrity gossip. Don’t worry, somehow I’m still aware of every move the Kardasians make. Full disclosure, I continue to look at pretty pictures of my famous favorites in cute clothes, so long as they are in fashion-oriented magazines. It’s like checking in with an old friend on Facebook. Sure, there was a time we were a lot closer, but you look well, friend, you look well.
So, I’m back on the books. I’ve had a long sequence of non-fiction (parenting, biographies, etc.). Recently, I jumped back into fiction and it was like putting on an old pair of comfy yoga pants. Yessssssss. As many of us head to warmer parts of our great nation over the next couple of months, the following books are everything you want in a satisfying beach read: well written, clever insights into human behavior and a little bit of mystery and intrigue. All were written by an Austrailian author named Liane Moriarty. Disclaimer: I think at least one of these books was popular a few years ago. I’m sorry if they are old news, but they have been trapped in my Kindle and I only re-discovered them recently!
If you’ve ever found yourself at preschool pickup, this book will delight you. Moriarty absolutely nails the personality types and the subtleties of human, particularly parent, interaction. It’s clever and funny. The book begins with a mysterious death at the school fund raiser and goes back in time to the events leading up to the incident. Well crafted story. A page turner. They are also making a movie about this with Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and a host of other fancy pants actors I would have stalked in the celebrity gossip years.
Super cool premise. Alice bumps her head during a spin class and forgets the past 10 years. She finds that the life that she has built over the last 10 years is not necessarily the one she wanted or expected to have 10 years ago. This one is also a page turner as Moriarty reveals aspects of Alice’s past little by little. It’s fun to think about what’s happened in your life over the past 10 years and think if it would surprise your younger self. More good human behavior insights.
I found myself doing a lot of “what would I do?” type daydreaming while reading this book. There is some heavy material, but Moriarty’s clever writing style toggles between light and and dark.
Maybe there's hope for my book club yet! Happy Reading!
Keely