I guess it’s the price I have to pay for travelling, but I am just getting over a head cold. This is the first time, other than our brief bout with Covid, that I have been sick since October 2018, when I came down with the flu exactly one week before my scheduled flu shot. I had a good run of good health, but sheesh, I forgot just how irritating a cold can be. There’s no way out but through, I thought as I dug out my Neti rinse and nighttime Advil. Well, my tissue usage is now approaching normal, I can laugh without it ending in a coughing fit, and although downward dog still makes me feel like my sinuses might explode, a Peloton ride no longer makes me feel like my lungs are on actual fire and has me mentally going over signs you may be having a heart attack.
So, books! I haven’t had a book update in – checks blog – OVER TWO WEEKS, IS THAT RIGHT? No wonder I have so many to go through! Here we go!
Beautiful Country. I was absolutely not prepared for this. Wow. This is a memoir of a woman who was brought to New York at age 7, and who lived an illegal and undocumented life there. I was not prepared to read about the abject poverty, the complete lack of health and dental care, the hunger and malnutrition, and the absence of clothing and hygiene, experienced by a small child. She’s not alone of course. I just wasn’t prepared to read about it, nor the sweatshops her parents worked in to eke out a meager existence, living in constant fear of deportation. Her parents were professors in China, fleeing a system in which they could not speak freely. Professors, turned sweatshop workers, for very little. This is a terribly sad story, and it’s one that happens every day. The author herself is incredibly inspiring and a wonderful writer.
Marrying The Ketchups. Lisa (HI LISA) recommended this and I’m so glad she did – it’s perfectly light and lovely, with a big dash of hopeful optimism. It centres on a large family and their restaurant, and the story begins after three things happen: the patriarch dies, the Cubs win the world series, and you know who wins the 2016 presidential collection. It follows the adult grandchildren and their lives and relationships and it’s so REAL I felt like I knew them personally.
I Miss You When I Blink. Elisabeth (HI ELISABETH) mentioned this book and as soon as she said “memoir” and “essays” I was 100% in. I like a good memoir and I like a good essay! The author is a woman who seemingly had it all and believed with enough hard work comes happiness. Instead, she found herself longing to make a change. It’s part mid-life crisis, part charming anecdotes, and part self-deprecating humour. Some essays resonated, some didn’t, but I do love different perspectives as well as the acknowledgment that “one person’s more-sad doesn’t cancel out another person’s less-sad.” Truth!
Interpreter of Maladies. I actually recently read the title short story recently, as it was featured in David Sedaris’ collection Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules. This is a fantastic collection of stories about Bengali people living far from home, and their experiences as immigrants and in going back to India. I loved it!
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch. WHOA NELLIE!!! I listen to a podcast called Gen X, This Is Why, where they recap Little House on the Prairie episodes, and this book was mentioned. Of course I had to read it – who didn’t love to hate Nellie Olson? This memoir was so much fun to read. I was shocked to learn that Alison Arngrim had an incredibly traumatic childhood full of sexual and physical abuse, but she has overcome those traumas to become a children’s activist, as well as an AIDS activist. These are heavy, heavy topics, but she writes with a lightness and humour that is impossible to resist. Her behind-the-scenes stories about Little House are so wonderful. Mary really WAS snooty and awful, and Carrie really couldn’t speak well! It’s a great book and I recommend it to all Little House fans.
Mindy Kaling: Nothing Like I Imagined, Essays. There are six of these essays but I didn’t want to post every photo. Just know that these are lovely, light essays by a beloved celebrity.
The Namesake. This book. THIS BOOK! This was just incredible. What a beautiful story about identity, change, assimilation, and the many directions life can take us. I don’t know if it’s this time of year or what, but I found I was identifying so strongly with one of the characters near the end of the book that I had to just stare out into space, teary-eyed, for a long while. This is a gorgeous book and I really didn’t expect it to take the turns that it did.
There! I’m all caught up on my “books read,” and maybe some of those will appeal to you as well! More to come on Monday. xo
Sounds like you got a lot of reading time in. How fun.
I got sick in April 2021, when North’s school went hybrid, though I don’t think North got sick then. It might have been because I also started riding public transportation more around the same time. Hope you feel better soon.
I really noticed a difference in the number of times I got sick when I used to take the train to work, versus when I drove, way back when I used to work in an office. The train seemed like a petrie dish!
I hope this comment find you feeling better. Head colds are stupid.
I keep seeing people mention Marrying The Ketchups so I suppose I’d better get it. Sounds delightful. I just ordered a copy of I Miss You When I Blink and am looking forward to reading it. I like essays, I need to read more books of them.
Marrying The Ketchups is just such a REAL book, Ally. The characters are so real and the relationships are just so life-like. I really enjoyed it!
Glad to hear you’re feeling better! Summer headcolds are awful. Your descriptions of the books you read make want to go back to reading more again. That last book caught my attention — so I looked and I see it’s a free Prime reading! Score! I have yet to go to the 2 libraries to inquire about why my cards aren’t working so this comes in very handy.
Yes! That’s exactly how I got it – free Prime reading! It was excellent!
I’m glad you enjoyed Marrying the Ketchups! It was a good, light read for me, too. You might enjoy Philpott’s next essay collection which is about processing the emotions of having your children move out of the house, which is complicated by the fact that her oldest son gets diagnosed with a chronic illness. Lahiri is an amazing author. I usually don’t love short story collections but I adored The interpreter of maladies. Those essays really made me feeeeel all the things. I also loved Beautiful Country and was also so appalled by what they experienced. I want her to write a part 2, though. How did she go from that childhood to attending a prestigious law school? There is so much more to tell! But overall, it’s appalling how a nation of immigrants, which is how I view the US, treats immigrants. How have so many people forgotten that our ancestors came to the US generations ago to pursue better opportunities? But now we treat modern-day immigrants so horribly.
Lisa, you and me both – I wanted a part 2 as well. I wanted to know so much more! I wanted to know how she got into law school, etc. It felt like it ended too soon but it was probably long enough as is so YES, part 2 please! I was distraught reading it, the thought that this happened in the 90s. Like, this woman was about 10 years younger than me. I just tried to imagine what that would have been like.
I put the other essay collection on my list, thanks!
Beautiful Country was amazing and heartbreaking – particularly because you imagine life like that far in the past, not in the 1990s in New York. It was eye-opening for sure. Jhumpa Lahiri is one of my favorite authors; the only book of hers I wasn’t super into was the latest, where she wrote it in Italian and then translated it.
Oh, interesting – I saw that she had a new book and wondered about it. Maybe I’ll read it and report back!
It’s so hard to believe that Beautiful Country took place in the 90s. I mean, that wasn’t long ago and it’s just horrific.
Oof! It’s so annoying to be sick, even when it’s the minor stuff. I hope you feel better soon!
SO ANNOYING *grabs another tissue*
Wow! I’m always impressed when someone reviews half a dozen books and they’re all hits. What’s your secret for curating a book list like that?!
This was pure luck! Although I did plan for the Kindle books for vacation, so I had high hopes for them! I’d been looking forward to them for a while and they did not disappoint.
That Little House tell-all book looks very interesting.
I read a Mindy Kaling book years ago and it was very good.
I’m glad you’re feeling better. ❤️
I like the way Kaling writes – smart and funny! The Little House book was so good. It was just really fun.
Oh nuts – sorry about the cold. Glad you are feeling better. The little guys I sit for already shared a cold with one another. Glad it is a long weekend here.
I always appreciate your book recommendations. I am interested in what Nelly had to say. I just listened to Prairie Fires – my first audio book. I wonder if audio books aren’t for me, of maybe it was just that the book Prairie Fires was not my fav. I found the book to be a bit sad. These were not easy times, but the books depict life so much more manageable.
Ooof a cold already, it’s only been a week!!! Prairie Fires was good for the first half of the book, I thought, then I found it super boring. I haven’t listened to any audio books, but that seems like it would be dry and also sad.
Sorry about the cold, Nicole–hope you’re feeling yourself today. 🤗
What a lovely book haul! I’m putting the Wang and Close books on my list right away. Your description of the Wang book reminded me of one of my favorite novels Atticus Lish’s “Preparation for the Next Life,” so I definitely want to read it.
Also, if you liked the Namesake, you may like the movie (it’s beautifully done). And Lahiri’s “Hema and Kaushik” section of three linked stories at the end of her other short story collection (Unaccustomed Earth) is amazing. Here’s a pdf, if you’re interested: https://silo.pub/unaccustomed-earth.html
You’re the second person who mentioned the movie! I didn’t even know there was a movie! I don’t tend to like movies made from books but should I make an exception for this? Thanks for the pdf link! xo
I feel the same about book to movie adaptations, but The Namesake was transcendent! (All of us called our parents back home the day we saw it lol)
Good to know!
Glad you’re feeling better! Yes, we spent two years wearing masks and being so careful, i kind of forgot about colds. They can be really miserable!
These books all sound good. i have to laugh at the Nellie Olson memoir. So Mary was snooty? I can picture that! This sounds like it would be fun to read, in spite of the heavy topics. i Miss You When You Blink has been on my TBR forever, but i have so many other books to read. I’ll get to it someday.
I know, I had a good run!
The Nellie memoir was SO fun to read! Mary was apparently a real see-you-next-Tuesday!
Wow-you did get a lot of reading in. I also love a memoir, so I wrote down some of yours that you read. Not saying I’ll ever get to them as I’m the worst reader…it takes me forever to finish a book.
Sorry about the Vacation Cold. I swear, it’s the airplanes that always get us!
I wore a mask on the plane and I am suspicious that it might have been the karaoke…worth it though!
Thank you for all the books — I finally got back to re-read this post & put ALL the books on hold at my library. I only had a lineup of 10 or 12 books and I was getting nervous! I love memoirs, particularly immigrant stories. I just finished Rebel, My Escape from Saudi Arabia to Freedom, by Rahar Mohammed. It is just unbelievable what life is still like for women in Saudi Arabia; very disturbing. Time for a light read now.
Hahahah I know what you mean, I get panicky if my list gets down too low! I think you’ll love the books I mentioned!
I read The Namesake a few years ago and loved it, and Angus ended up reading it in high school. I had also just put Marrying the Ketchups on hold after seeing it somewhere, and I don’t know Lisa, so that is a little bit weird.
I think you’ll like it! It’s so good! My kids never read anything like that in high school (well, J is in English this term so maybe?)
So many great books in this set! The only one I’ve read is I Miss You When I Blink. I have Marrying the Ketchups on my list! I’m impressed at you reading heavier books while on vacation. I always shoot for something light and fun!
I think you’ll enjoy Marrying the Ketchups!
I’m so interested in the Nellie Olson book – I loved Little House! Thanks for all the great book recommendations. I hope you’re feeling better.
I am – thank you! That book was so fun – I recommend!