Remember last month when I mentioned my little book nerd flex? 🤓 It’s here, along with everything else I read in September. Have you enjoyed any of these?
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Baumeister
Chef Lillian grew up in a challenging family situation and found solace and comfort in her kitchen. She taught herself to cook without recipes, primarily through trial and error. She connects deeply with food and understands more than most how it helps others connect and find themselves.
The story captures a sliver of the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. Each seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen and connects with others in the class who create warmth and comfort for them. It's a simple story I didn't find all that deep, but it offered a heartful look at love, longing, and connection.
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara B. Franklin
I'd never heard of Judith Jones despite her long career in publishing many prominent books, particularly cookbooks, that influenced American Culture. She was the force behind The Diary of Anne Frank, Julia Child, and many other books that became household names in our reading rooms and kitchens.
Her story of rising through the ranks in the heavily male-dominated publishing industry in New York City reminded me a bit of Barbara Streisand's rise to fame in broadcasting during the same period. Their political leanings were quite different. But they both weaved their way up corporate ladders with careful and intentional choices to prop themselves forward while maintaining "proper femininity" so as not to ruffle too many feathers on their way up. They both understood that they had to operate within the sexist confines of flashy, heavy-hitting New York industries and choose diligently when to advocate for themselves more assertively.
At a time when some in culture and politics aim to "put women back in their place" through messaging and legislation, these biographies and chronicles of how a previous generation of women fought to open doors for women today remind us that we are not going back. Too many women before us have worked hard to open doors to watch them slam back in our faces.
Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves by Emily Henderson
This book has so many good tips and ideas about how to style our homes. From creating vignettes to mixing materials and using accessories to bring a space to life, I thought this book was helpful. I borrowed it from the library and don't think I need to buy it, but I'll probably check it out again to refresh on the tips and ideas she shared. It's worth a look if you're in the market for some fresh ideas about making your spaces a little more elevated.
The New Design Rules by Emily Henderson
This interior design book introduces principles, language, and ideas about designing and renovating from start to finish. I thought this book helped lay a foundation of basic knowledge to understand and make informed designs about home design. Henderson includes many tips on keeping projects sustainable, where possible, and design taste that is simple but far from boring. It was right up my alley!
Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren
I choose almost every book I read based on reviews and intentional plans. This was the rare occasion when I grabbed a book from the library's Recommended display near the circulation desk. I didn't know until after I read it that it was part of the Meant To Be series, a light, clean, contemporary escapist rom-com based on the classic Disney fairy tale series.
This book was based on Tangled, which I haven't seen, so I can't say much about how it connects to the original story. The main character grew up off the grid on a homestead and, at 22, finally convinces her parents to let her go to college. At school, she meets a boy who does not seem very nice but eventually connects with the main character.
A simple assignment in their immunology seminar changes the course of their lives, and suddenly, they’re thrown out on a road trip that will lead them in the most unexpected directions. It was a quick palette cleanser that offered likable characters and was a fun read, easy read when you're in the mood for it.
A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Leavings
Tia Leavings is a former fundamentalist Christian who escaped a marriage that was abusive primarily because of the teachings of the church. With four children and despite having no work experience or a way to support herself, she fled her violent marriage and started a new life with her children against all odds.
In the memoir, Leavings tells her story of how she ended up in a painful marriage, the powerful forces that compelled her to stay for so long, and what prompted her to leave finally. Today, she shares her experience in fundamental Christian churches and is an advocate for women looking to escape the oppressive confines of the church.
She translates how fundamentalists see the world to explain why they act in political ways that seem, on the surface, to be out of alignment with Christian values. Her perspective is fascinating and also helpful to understand the momentum driving certain sects of Christianity to fight for a theocratic government controlled by fundamentalist Christian principles.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
A classic from school never assigned in my English classes, I chose to read this in anticipation of reading James by Percival Everett for Sharon McMahon's book club later this fall. According to The Atlantic, I'm not the only one who read the two books together. You likely know that the story follows a young Huck Finn down the river with Jim, an escaped slave, as they seek to make their way to freedom from an abusive father and oppressive slavery system, respectively.
James: A Novel by Percival Everett
This novel retells The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man with whom Huck travels down the Mississippi River. It is a fascinating and thoughtful book.
Early in the book, the reader learns that Jim is much more intelligent and well-read than Twain made him appear. Black people are more astute than they let on, basically tricking white people into thinking they are dumb and subservient. Doing this makes it easier to let white people believe they are more competent and in charge, which helps keep Blacks in less danger.
The story mostly aligns with the events of Huckleberry Finn, yet takes some turns and side stories that allow Jim to reflect on the relationships between white and Black people, slavery, and his place in the world, including comments like this:
“Without someone white to claim me as property, there was no justification for my presence, perhaps for my existence."
I highly recommend this book and think it provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on how different versions of history are told depending on who we ask and who tells the story.
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Whenever I attempt to summarize my thoughts on this book, I have little to offer. I thought the book was okay but a bit weird. Reviews of the book suggest that many people loved it - the prose, the story, revisiting the tumultuous times of 2020. I never connected with it. I don't have much to say about it. So, instead, I'll leave you with the blurb from bookshop.org. You can check reviews from other readers around the Internet and decide if it's a book for you.
"A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store's most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls' Day, but she simply won't leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading with murderous attention, must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning."
The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon
I'm a big fan of McMahon, so I preordered her book months ago, and it didn't disappoint. Sharon is always a proponent of doing what small things we can to help those who need it today, even if it's just one or two people. In that vein, the book celebrates a dozen Americans who changed history through small actions for their specific communities with whatever resources they had (often not much).
The book is a series of lessons in American history through the lens of, you guessed it, The Small and the Mighty among us. She weaves their stories into bigger-picture events and historical momentum that made our country better over time, even in imperfect ways and through imperfect humans. Like James, it’s also a book that highlights how the lens of history education shapes our perceptions of the past (and maybe doesn’t always offer a complete or accurate picture).
If you're looking for a hopeful outlook on our current existence, this book reminds us that things have been worse, and we have the agency to improve them, one small step at a time.
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