Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater, Michael Sokolove
Touted as the ideal suburb when it was built, Levittown, Pa., is today a depressing, dead-end place. But in its high school theater program, generations of students have come alive under the direction of Lou Volpe, theater teacher extraordinaire. The author, a former student of Volpe’s, returns to his hometown to observe Volpe in action and watch his students develop several challenging, powerful shows. Fascinating and fun; took me back to my years watching all my best friends perform in high school plays. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Sept. 26).
Howards End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home, Susan Hill
While searching for an elusive book on her shelves, novelist Susan Hill encountered dozens of books she’d never read or wanted to reread. This collection of bookish, quirky, opinionated essays is a wonderful, often nostalgic tour through her shelves and her reading life. Catnip for fellow bookworms like me – so much fun.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, Sheryl Sandberg
Sandberg’s memoir-cum-business-book needs no introduction from me. I found it chock full of great stories from working women (Sandberg and others) who have struggled to balance career, family, and the ever-present guilt that comes from even attempting the balancing act in the first place. Sandberg freely admits her own privileged status, but I found many of her insights applicable to a broad range of women and workplace levels. A quick read, but deeply thought-provoking.
Songs of Willow Frost, Jamie Ford
In Depression-era Seattle, William Eng lives at the Sacred Heart orphanage with other children whose parents are dead or unable to care for them. While attending a movie (a rare treat), he sees a Chinese actress who looks like the mother he remembers. Is Willow Frost, the actress, really Liu Song, William’s mother? He embarks on a quest to find out. Shifting between the 1920s and the 1930s, Ford’s narrative exposes the often difficult lives of Chinese people in the Northwest at that time. Heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful – though the ending felt a bit abrupt to me.
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What are you reading?
cakes, tea and dreams 
I’m intrigued by LEAN IN. Wasn’t planning to read it, since I’d seen articles written about it that seemed to indicate that Sandberg’s ideas weren’t really flexible or family friendly. But from your recap, it seems that may not be accurate… Maybe I’ll check it out after all.
Sandberg definitely has a more demanding career than mine – and she admits to being able to hire help, which many women can’t. But there’s a lot of fascinating research about women and business, and she calls eloquently for women to “sit at the table” and to create the careers they want. I think it’s best read with the understanding that her ideas won’t work for everyone, but that some of them may be applicable to lots of women. (She also calls repeatedly for men to take on equal responsibilities in the home. Hear, hear!)