Now that February is over, we’re entering into the “spring tease” season, where we have days with beautiful weather that makes it seem as if spring is just around the corner, followed by freezing cold (and often ice and snow) that reminds us that winter is still very much in charge around here. Oh well, warm or cold, I’m still here reading my books.
Here’s my February reading round-up:
Fiction Books
No Land to Light on by Yara Zgheib. Sama and Hadi, both originally from Syria, are married and living in Boston when Hadi learns of his father’s death. The night before his visa appointment Hadi leaves Sama, 5 months pregnant, to attend the funeral in Jordan. While he’s away President Trump implements the travel ban barring Syrian immigrants into the United States, and Hadi isn’t allowed entry to the country when he returns. This story is heartbreaking, and I loved the way it took a headline most people are familiar with—the travel ban—and illustrated how it could (and no doubt did) impact real people. This was emotional, beautifully-written, and thought-provoking. My rating: 4.5/5 stars.
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. Lucy Barton is in the hospital, slowly recovering from what should have been a routine surgery. Her mother, with whom she has a fraught relationship, unexpectedly comes to visit her, despite not having spoken to Lucy in years. This visit triggers conversations and reflections that have been on Lucy’s mind since her childhood, and witnessing how they come to the surface was somehow both powerful and ordinary at the same time. Alternating between the tension-filled conversations between mother and daughter, and Lucy’s own reflections about her life, this short, yet poignant novel, is one I won’t forget anytime soon. My rating: 4.5/5 stars.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy grew up at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school with mysterious rules, strange policies, and teachers, called “guardians,” who were always telling the students how special they are. Kathy narrates the story, which in some ways feels like any other coming-of-age story—many of her thoughts, worries, and friendship dramas are typical of any young person. Yet much of the story is shrouded in mystery and foreboding, and you don’t learn until later why that is, and what it is that makes her and the other Hailsham students special. This was slower-paced, yet deeply intriguing, and one I couldn’t stop thinking about or talking about both during and after I read it. My rating: 4.25/5 stars.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli move from Calcutta to Massachussetts soon after their wedding, where Ashoke adjusts to their new life and his job at a college as an engineering professor, while Ashima misses her family and way of life in India. The Namesake is the story of Ashoke and Ashima’s son, Gogol, and the push and pull of his life trying to fit in as an American and also as part of his Bengali family. I was equally enamored with and frustrated by Gogol, but what was clear was Lahiri’s talent as a writer to completely immerse me in his story and his inner struggles. I recommend this if you like a quiet, introspective novel with a lot of character development, and also like a thorough examination of an immigrant experience in America and how different generations are affected in unique ways. My rating: 4/5 stars.
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. I love Barbara Kingsolver, but this was the first time I’ve listened to her on audio. I was amazed that she was also the narrator, and surprisingly, I loved her narration. Unsheltered is the story of Willa, a freelance journalist, and her husband Yano, a Political Science professor. Willa thought they would have more security at this point in their lives and careers, but when the university where Yano taught closes, they find themselves starting from scratch once again in a new place in Vineland, Pennsylvania. They’re barely making ends meet and trying to support their grown children, their grandson, and Yano’s ailing father Nick while living in a dilapidated house. Willa starts digging into the house’s history in the hopes of getting a preservation grant, and she learns about Mary Treat, a scientist, and her friendship with William Thatcher, a science teacher, who were memorable figures in the history of Vineland. Kingsolver tells Thatcher’s story alongside Willa’s, alternating between the two timelines. While I did find the history fascinating, I didn’t always love jumping back in time and preferred the modern day story to the historical timeline. However, Kingsolver’s writing never lets me down, and I think on audio especially I was able to fully escape into her words and appreciate the way she tells a story. She remains one of my favorite writers, and I loved this book. My rating: 4/5 stars.
Passing by Nella Larsen. Irene and Clare are two Black women who grew up in the same neighborhood, and meet as adults in a chance encounter. Irene soon learns that Clare has been living her life passing as a white woman, and although Clare seems desperate to rekindle their friendship, Irene is wary of getting involved in Clare’s life of deception. Yet despite her hesitation, a complicated friendship is reborn between them. This book has been categorized as a classic, but other than the setting it read like contemporary literary fiction. It was a short book, but also intense and surprising, and made for a lively book club discussion. My rating: 4/5 stars.
The Pelican Brief by John Grisham. I’ve seen a few John Grisham movies but until last month I hadn’t read any of his actual novels. I had heard great things about this on, so I picked it up to read while on a recent vacation. In The Pelican Brief, two Supreme Court Justices are murdered, and an ambitious young law student, Darby Shaw, tries to figure out why. She writes a brief with her theory and shares it with her law professor boyfriend, who then shares it with a friend who happens to be an FBI lawyer in Washington DC. Soon after, Darby witnesses a car bombing that was clearly meant for her, and from there she’s running for her life. She connects with a reporter, and together they risk their lives to prove that Darby’s brief, nicknamed the pelican brief, wasn’t just an off-the-wall theory. This was fast-paced adventure and I loved every minute of it. My rating: 4/5 stars.
Nonfiction Books
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. Four Thousand Weeks offers a different take on time management. Instead of focusing on how to use your time effectively to get more done, it encourages the reader to accept the fact that time is limited, and even to embrace that fact. With a combination of research, anecdotes, and philosophy, the author helps us see why having limited time can be a good thing, and how it helps us focus on what matters. I think this book would be a good one to pair with Essentialism, which offers a similar message about doing more by doing less. As someone who lives and dies by my planner and to do list, I feel like this was a message I needed to hear, even if part of me doesn’t want to admit that I can’t do all the things. If you often feel overwhelmed by your to-do list or by lack of time in general, I think you would get a lot out of this book. My rating: 4.25/5 stars.
Cultish by Amanda Montell. Amanda Montell is a linguist, and Cultish is about the role of language in cults, fanaticism, and popular online communities. She explores the language that draws people into religious groups like Scientology and even Heaven’s Gate, but also discusses how CrossFit and SoulCycle use language to attract and retain their group members as well. This book was eye-opening, and despite being fact-based and well-researched, it never felt dry. For anyone who is interested in reading about cults and cult-culture, I think this book provides such a fascinating “behind the scenes” look. My rating: 4.25/5 stars.
Parkland by Dave Cullen. Parkland will forever be memorialized as yet another location of a tragic school shooting. Yet this book isn’t focused on the tragedy, instead, Cullen chronicles the students’ response to it, and how they bravely fought for better protection and safer gun laws. I loved this portrayal of the strength and bravery of these teens and how they refused to be remembered as victims but instead pushed back against the NRA and others who put gun rights above human rights. Cullen tells their stories, both the accomplishments they made and the personal struggles they experienced along the way. While there was of course a lot of sadness in their stories, this book felt hopeful and inspiring. My rating: 4/5 stars. [I didn’t realize when I read this how close to home it would hit; there was a school shooting at a high school in the school district we live in just last week. Miraculously no one died (as of the time I’m writing this—two were hospitalized, but stable), but our city has been shaken up just the same.]
The Polygamist’s Daughter by Anna LeBaron. Anna tells her story of growing up in a polygamist cult, as the daughter of one of several wives of Ervil LeBaron, and sibling to over 50 other children. She lived life on the run, being shuttled between her mother’s sister wives and their families in the United States and in Mexico, where she and her siblings were taught to respond to authorities’ questions with “I don’t know.” She was told her father was being persecuted for doing the Lord’s work, but she eventually learned that he was wanted (and eventually arrested) for murdering anyone who went against his teachings. Anna’s story was fascinating, and I loved listening to her tell it in her own voice, which was full of conviction, earnestness, and at times, emotion. My rating: 4/5 stars.
Did you read anything good last month?
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