Overall, I read fewer books this month and it was probably due to our family vacation and the start of my new job. However, of the books I did read, my favorites were The Water Dancer, Louder Than Words, and Trust.
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates: This was a masterful storytelling of the journey of an enslaved man from Virginia who ends up working for the Underground Railroad. The descriptions of the times and the plight of the Tasked (as he calls themselves) are so vivid that I found myself absorbed with the book even when I wasn’t reading it. There’s a bit of mythic fantasy involved so if you’re not a fan of things that don’t happen in real life this might not be the book for you. But if you let go and just go where the book takes you, it really does take you to another place.
The Power of Fun by Catherine Price: I had a hard time getting through this book because it has assignments and “homework” (which I’ve found I don’t really like doing when I’m reading). But I have to say it helped me recognize the short bursts of fun I have on a daily basis (thanks to a happy and playful 3 year old), and that has overall created a positive light in my life. I also am able to keep myself from dragging my feet when it comes to social situations (being the true introvert that I am), by telling myself that these are opportunities of True Fun (Price’s words) and it’ll be an overall benefit even if I don’t feel like going right at that minute. I think this is a worthwhile book to pick up if you’re looking to add more brightness to your daily life.
The Manager Mom Epidemic by Thomas Phelan: I picked this book up this parenting book when it was mentioned in the Family Firm by Emily Oster (that I read in June). Since I’ve also read Phelan’s first book 3-2-1 Magic (which worked for my kid though I know it doesn’t work for everyone), I thought his newer book would be worth reading. Well, it was ok. It relies heavily on stereotypes like the nagging mom and unhelpful dad. Maybe I’m lucky in that my husband is helpful and we already try to divide our labor around house and kid fairly equally (I would say it’s a 55/45 split where I do 55). Plus Phelan talks a lot about the Mommy ID (where the mom does everything and then nags everyone to do their work, while feeling guilty if they’re not there to make things perfect or if their child presents to others as less than perfect), and I just don’t really identify with it much. I guess this book at least gave me some ideas on how to give my kid more responsibility around the house so that she can be more independent. Phelan thinks by age 9 all kids should mostly be able to take care of themselves as well as help in the household chores (including cooking!). So those are my goals for the next 6 years when it comes to training Emi lol.
The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry: I kept seeing the name of Wendell Berry pop up from time to time so I finally decided to check this writer out. And having read a collection of his “essential” essays, I can see why he showed up on my radar: he’s an environmentalist that eschews the excesses of modern living and advocates the return to a more “natural” way of life. He’s a writer/farmer (or agrarian writer as he calls himself) and I have to say I really like these kinds of authors (another book by a farmer/writer I read this year was One Straw Revolution and the same themes run through both of these books). Farmers are the closest to the land and have firsthand knowledge of how their natural environment is changing. I have to admit, his writing is dense and it took me quite awhile to finish this book. But there are so many nuggets of wisdom that it was worth slogging through the rest. Here is one of my favorite quotes from this book: “What is most conspicuously absent from the industrial economy and industrial culture is the idea of return…Mostly we take without asking, use without respect or gratitude, and give nothing in return. Our economy’s most voluminous product is waste—valuable materials irrecoverably misplaced or randomly discharged as poisons. To perceive the world and our life in it as gifts originating in sanctity is to see our human economy as a continuing moral crisis.”
Trust by Hernan Diaz: This was a book recommended by Kathy and after toiling through Wendell Berry’s writing, this novel was a wonderful treat! This book was a tad confusing at first because it’s written as 4 separate pieces (fictionally) authored by different people. But all four, written by Diaz of course, are various takes on the same story. The central story is about a cold and successful financier, in the early 1900’s) who can make large sums of money with the stock market but has little success socially and in his marriage. The first part is a fictional novel of events, the second a rough draft of an autobiography written by the financier, the third is from the point of view of the secretary tasked with helping write the autobiography, and the fourth is the papers of the wife of the financier. I’ve never read a book like it and quite enjoyed it!
Louder Than Words: Harness the Power of Your Authentic Voice by Todd Henry: I probably found this book to be interesting because I’m a blog writer and I think about my voice here and about my authenticity on this platform. I always try to be my authentic self on here, but sometimes I myself need to figure out my own sense of identity and values. I had a chance to think about this when I changed my name to Fairly Curated last year, but it’s something I need to be reminded of time to time (sort of like being brought back to the center). I think this book was great for me since even though I feel like I have an authentic voice here, it’s not enough. To “harness the power” of my authentic voice, I need to also think about the what you guys value and what would be helpful to you. And combine that with what is the most impactful change I can do in this world.