Every year around this time I look back at the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year and take stock of what I accomplished. My list of books to read is typically lengthy and I almost always get through it. This year with the aforementioned challenges my book game fell way off. Luckily I found a way to make some headway on my list quickly. I am borrowing audiobooks from the library. Not sure why I did not think of this before, but it is a great way to get through lots of books when you do not have a free hand to hold a book. I am using Libby, the app the friendly, stylish, tech-savvy librarian recommended two weeks ago. I love her it. In the two weeks since I downloaded the app I have listened to three books on my phone, and working on the fourth.
The first book was one I had at the bottom of my list, but on my list nonetheless. I wanted to know what Hilary ever did to make people hate her. If you are wondering the same Crisis of Character is the book for you. Man listen, this guy is salty about the both Hilary and Bill Clinton and Monica. It is one of those ripped from the headlines tell all books from a White House insider.
I dispatched with the Clintons fairly quickly and moved on to Toni Morrison's God Help the Child. Lawdamercy her books can be an intense intellectual exercise.
She did not disappoint. It is her first novel set in modern times, and as a special treat she is the narrator. Typical Toni themes: race, love and mother-daughter relationships are included of course, but also a female entrepreneur and a passionate love affair. The remarkable aspect of the book is that at 86 years old Toni is fluent in social media and current affairs. Not her best work, but there is a twist at the end.
The Underground Railroad is a book I put off for months because who wants to follow up Toni Morrison with a book about slavery, but just like real books someone borrowed the Aziz Ansari book, and Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize winner was ready for download. In it he reimagines the underground railway as a subway with an actual train. I sort of regret putting off reading it for so long. It is dark subject matter for sure, but Colson is delicate with the characters and their circumstances.
Next up was a book on parenting because I am in need of advice. We pledged to forgo corporal punishment when we first met. Ryan did not grow up in a spanking house. I certainly did and hated it, but it did not deter me from breaking the rules. Instead it made me resourceful; finding ways to get around getting caught. For now time-outs work on Hunter, but I don't know how long that will hold. The book was electronic, not audio. That is a no-go for me right now. I returned it with one click and stumbled onto The Language of Flowers. My Toastmaster mentor Terri recommended this to me months ago.
I started it tonight while Ryan was outside grilling an ax handle steak on the grill. Did I mention it was 75 degrees today? That is how this place got the nickname "God's Country", wait no this is the Peach State!
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