Book Report

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

 Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley – This book is the type that makes me – STILL – ask why some memoirs are so much better than others, why some people can write out their life story in such a compelling way. I still don’t know, but Crosley nails it. She describes a time in her life when two terrible things happened to her, and the aftermath of them. Sometimes “truth is stranger than fiction”. She’s also a very witty writer. Grade: 8

 

The Grace of Silence by Michele Norris – A memoir by an NPR journalist. She gives us deep dives into the lives of her parents, and their struggles. Her father, a Black veteran of World War II, faced racism as horrible as ever when he returned from the war, unable to even vote. The memoir itself isn’t that enthralling though. Grade: 5

 

Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru – I read this novel in only a few days. It takes place when the pandemic is new, and the main character Jay is living out of his car, delivering groceries to try to make ends meet when he runs into his ex, Alice. They used to be artists and their futures got entangled with a narcissist named Rob. In truth, I wanted to read more of Jay’s life in the margins and of everyone struggling during a pandemic, as opposed to all the flashbacks of the history between Jay, Alice, and Rob. Still, the book is good and the writing top-tier. Grade: 7

 

The Price of Stones by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri with Susan Urbanek Linville – I got this at a Little Free Library, and I notice the publication date of the book was about 15 years ago, but sadly it is so, so relevant now. Kaguri grows up in a small town in Uganda, and it is filled with “AIDS orphans”. So he decides to do something about it. He fundraises and builds a school to give the children a shot at a better life. He helps the school grow and he continuously fundraises for it. As you can see, this is not the “white savior complex” since Kaguri is a Ugandan. My heart hurts reading this book now, knowing that our evil president’s work to cut off funding means that literally children will die. (My god, how foul can one administration be?) Kaguri himself reflects in the book about one of the students who died (drugs that prevent mother-to-child transmission are too expensive for this village) and he says that he refuses to dwell in tragedy and he will keep focusing on what he can do. I guess that is all we can do. I want to fall into despair for the state of the world, but Kaguri doesn’t. Oh, as for the book as a book, it is very readable and never boring. Grade: 8

 

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker – Listened to it on audio – picked it up on a whim, since of course the audio options from the library are much fewer than the paper options. The book is all about planning good gatherings, whether they are business meetings or dinner parties. What I loved is that it is NOT written from the standpoint of the logistics of the meeting; it’s not telling you how to serve the best food or find the best room. It’s about the emotional, human connection aspect. How do your guests walk away feeling special? How does the business meeting move us forward? It was completely enjoyable. Grade: 7

Comments

[nytshd3]

It's sooooo true that some memoirs are AMAZING and some are meh, and it doesn't even seem to matter how compelling the *actual* life of the person is.

The price of stones sounds so beautiful. How terrible that so much is cut off now and people will just continue to suffer because of it. Ugh.

The Art of Gathering sounds fantastic! THat's the kind of thing that I think most of us need in order to put together a good gathering!!

THanks for sharing as always!