August

Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson

Debt author Youngson uses the actual artifact of the Tollund Man (an Iron Age mummy) to explore a relationship between a grieving widower and head of the museum with an aging British woman who is questioning her life choices and future direction. The story unfolds through the letters these two write one another, as they share the lives of their children and grandchildren, the grief over marriages, and their exploration of the Tollund Man and what his place was in his time and community. The author speaks to those of us at a ‘mature’ age, which is a breath of fresh air in the literary world of page-turning thrillers, fabulously wealthy characters, and no one over the age of thirty. Be patient – this book will slowly and quietly wrap its arms around you and give you much food for thought about aging, love, and friendship.

Rust & Starlight by T. Greenwood
The infamous book Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov had an inspiration in the kidnapping of Sally Horner by a middle-aged child rapist in 1949 New Jersey. Author T. Greenwood uses this real crime to explore the story that inspired a classic. Told through the viewpoints of first the family, and then sprinkling in the various fictitious characters who interact with young Sally, the story unfolds slowly. We see the childhood taunting and bullying that begins the entire horror, the insidious mix of fear and charm that Frank LaSalle uses on his victim, and the cross-country odyssey of ugliness. Greenwood creates some quirky, creepy, and heroic minor characters that flush out Sally's tragedy and shows the need for strangers to care about other humans. It was a bit of a slow burn for me, even considering putting book down about 20% in, but ultimately the story gripped me, voraciously reading the last half, wishing so desperately for an elusive happy ending. The author uses the true-crime to tell a suspenseful, tragic, and fascinating story.


In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History by Mitch Landrieu
One might ask, why would a middle-aged woman who lives in the Pacific Northwest read a book written by a former mayor of New Orleans? Easy answer: it is on Obama's summer read list. More complex answer? Because the more one knows about every square inch of our country, the more I can wrap my brain around the direction our country is heading. Mitch Landrieu narrates the book himself, and he's got a unique, pugnacious style to his reading voice; I kinda enjoyed it. And the story itself is compelling, fascinating, and ultimately quite inspiring. We see Mitch's long-time politically involved family (dad was mayor and HUD secretary, sister was U.S. senator) but Mitch doesn't focus on the power around these positions, but more on the ordinariness of family life, of tough choices that were not easy but were right, and on the pull of government service. We see the devastation of Katrina, and how local politics led the way to recovery. We also see the powerful argument to take down the statues, the fact-based argument that is hard to ignore. One of the most memorable sections to me was when Landrieu discusses the reason of being for government: to serve and aid its citizens, not to make a profit. Powerful stuff.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
After seeing this book on everyone's Must-Read lists in 2017, I am not sure why it took me so long to read this one. Perhaps the length? Perhaps I hate to follow the crowd? Regardless, I now understand the rave reviews; this is a beautiful piece of story-telling. Lee tells of a Korean family from the early 1900's, following their broken lives as they emigrate to Japan and attempt to build a life: the young woman who marries a man with a cleft palate; the daughter who is unmarried and pregnant; the missionary who searches for health and God in Osaka; the brother whose only goal is to care for his family; the sister-in-law who becomes an entrepreneur; the brothers who seeks two different paths. All the strands of this family come together under the roof of a Japanese society who treats the Korean as less than human, who denies them citizenship, status, and common decency. I was riveted by this story. Yes it is long (500 pages), but it reads quickly as the tale is so compelling.

The World As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House by Ben Rhodes
I know, do we really need another political memoir of the Obama years? Is it only going to make me sad and depressed about an era that seemed normal in comparison to what the White House acts like now? Can it add anything to my knowledge base of the past decade? The answer is YES to all of these questions, but it also leaves one with hope for the future if intelligent, dedicated, thoughtful people can once again be in charge. Ben Rhodes was Barack Obama's closest advisor on national security, beginning from the time he ran for president as well as all eight years in office. Rhodes' memoir focuses merely on those years; his personal life is only mentioned as it impacts his professional life. So yes, this is truly a political memoir. I found it utterly fascinating as Rhodes only tells about what he was a part of, with no second hand stories told, only firsthand accounts. Benghazi, the financial meltdown, saving the auto industry, decisions on troop deployment, Osama Bin Ladin, the Russian hacking, you name it, it's in here if it is about national security. I listened to this book voraciously, as the behind-the-scenes look at what really happens on a grand scale is gripping.