We’re halfway through May (!) and the lilacs, cherry blossoms and tulips are glorious lately. So are the books. Here’s what I have been reading:
The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other, Charlotte Donlon
I struggle with loneliness, especially (but not only) since my divorce. Donlon writes thoughtfully about her own experiences with loneliness and mental illness (they are not the same but can sometimes be linked). I liked her honest, compassionate approach. Recommended on Instagram by Devi.
The Rose Code, Kate Quinn
During World War II, the codebreakers of Bletchley Park played a vital but little-known role in stopping Hitler’s advance. This propulsive novel follows three women – a whip-smart socialite, an East End girl determined to better herself, and a shy but brilliant puzzle-lover – who spend their war years at BP, and are torn apart by mutual betrayal. They come back together in 1947 to crack one last code. Quinn is a genius at compelling historical fiction featuring badass women. I loved it.
Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics, Heather Lende
I love Lende’s wise, practical memoirs about living (and writing obituaries) in tiny Haines, Alaska. This, her fourth, tells the story of her decision to run for the local assembly in the wake of Trump’s election, and the triumphs and struggles of her three-year term. Thoughtful, funny and thought-provoking, and a reminder that we can all pitch in (though it will rarely be easy), wherever we are.
The Color of Life: A Journey Toward Love and Racial Justice, Cara Meredith
Like me, Meredith is a white Christian woman who grew up surrounded by “colorblind” rhetoric, which did not give her a good foundation for conversations about race. Also like me, her world changed – both overnight and little by little – when she fell in love with a Black man. This memoir charts her wrestling with her own privilege, her first years of mothering biracial sons, and her complicated relationship with her father-in-law, James Meredith. Her writing style is quippy at times, but I saw myself so often in her experiences.
The Consequences of Fear, Jacqueline Winspear
October 1941: Maisie Dobbs is juggling top-secret government work with family obligations when a messenger boy tells her he’s witnessed a murder. Determined to keep the boy and his family safe, Maisie is shocked when her intelligence work brings her face-to-face with the killer. I adore this series and this 16th entry was complex and satisfying; Maisie’s personal life has also taken some interesting turns lately. So good.
A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars, Hakeem Oluseyi and Joshua Horwitz
Growing up poor and Black in Mississippi, James Plummer Jr. knew he loved science, but he never thought he’d become a renowned astrophysicist. But that’s where he is today, and his memoir tells that story: his peripatetic childhood, his contradictory persona of “gangsta nerd,” the addiction to crack cocaine that almost pulled him all the way down. Honest, vulnerable storytelling and lots of great science. Hard to read at times, but compelling. To review for Shelf Awareness (out June 15).
The Kitchen Front, Jennifer Ryan
As World War II drags on, along with rationing, the BBC holds a contest to find a female presenter for a popular cooking show. Four very different women, each with their own reasons for competing, decide to enter. A really fun story of wartime cooking and female friendship (shades of Downton Abbey/Home Fires).
Jane of Lantern Hill, L.M. Montgomery
I pick up this book nearly every spring when the world starts blooming – or when it’s rainy and raw and I need a little hope. I adore kind, practical Jane and I love watching her blossom on PEI and build a relationship with her dad and her new community. So good.
Most links are to Trident and Brookline Booksmith, my perennial local faves. Shop indie!
What are you reading?
cakes, tea and dreams 