Behind the Stacks

I’m in the midst of a heck of a lot of books right now. Its a great feeling. Some people only read one book at a time and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I’ve always enjoyed putting one book down mid-read and reaching for another. Here are some I’m giving attention to right now:

• “My Wife Wants You To Know I’m Happily Married” by Joey Franklin. This is a book of humorous personal essays written by a Mormon missionary. I shouldn’t say it is just humorous essays because these essays address alot of things including the cultural divide between the United States and Korea where Joey Franklin was sent for two years as a missionary. There is an entire chapter on prayer, which I found very interesting. I consider myself religious, certainly not Mormon but it’s always interesting to get another person’s perspective on prayer, which I don’t do enough.

• “The People We Keep” by Allison Larkin. This is this month’s book club pick. I don’t really like it because the main character (who ran away from home after being badly neglected) is lying to everyone around her including a man who is in his late twenties. He believes she is nineteen. She is sixteen. She moves in with him and begins having sex with him, making him guilty of statutory rape. While I sympathize with the main character and all she’s gone through, I find this incredibly selfish of her. He was kind enough to give her a place to stay no strings attached and she takes advantage of him.

• “The Admissions” by Meg Mitchell Moore. An affluent family of five lives in a wealthy neighborhood. Life isn’t as easy as it is. Nora is trying to make it as a real estate agent while also being a good mother to her three daughters- Maya, who is in second grade and still can’t read, Cecily whose obsessed with Irish dance and the oldest Angela, a senior in high school. A lot of the book is about trying to get Angela into Harvard where her father once went. And speaking of her father is there something going on between him and his new intern? Angela, valedictorian, cross country champ, hasn’t even written her college essay yet. This book was published the year I also graduated from high school. I went to an elite private school that started prepping us for college in our sophomore years. I thought that was ridiculous. I never graduated college (which would would probably give my former teachers a heart attack) and the world didn’t come crashing to an end. There is way too much pressure on today’s kids to get into the Ivies which honestly aren’t any better than most other colleges.

• “Love Walked In” by Marisa De Los Santos. I’m reading this with  my mom. Cornelia is charmed by a man until he discloses he has a daughter he has been hiding from her. The daughter is eleven. She was living with her mother until her mother got mentally ill and disappeared. Essentially the girl had been abandoned by both parents. Although she has no children of her own, Cornelia’s heart goes out to the girl (Claire) in a way her father’s can’t.

• “Not That Bad” by Roxane Gay. When I finished “Bad Feminist” I was disappointed because I wasn’t sure if she had written anything I had read yet. I was thrilled to discover she had compiled a collection of essays in a book called “Not that Bad” which is about rape and rape culture. As a victim of sexual assault myself, I approached this book carefully but it’s so good. It really makes you think especially about the double standard: oh that girl was wearing a low cut shirt, oh that girl took that guys drink, oh that girl tried drugs, oh that girl went home with him, what did she expect? I’m not too far into it but it makes me furious and compassionate all at the same. I want to put my arms around these girls. “Yes that was rape and no it wasn’t your fault”

• “Confronting the Presidents” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. I haven’t gotten very far in this book but my aunt recommended it. It covers every president: Washington to Biden talking about trivial matters like what they liked to eat for breakfast but also the decisions they made as president and the world that surrounded them once they were in office.

• “Old Babes in the Wood: Stories” by Margaret Atwood. I know she is famous for “The Handmaid’s Tale” but I never read it.  I did read “Bluebeard’s Egg” which is another collection of short stories and I absolutely loved it. Might be one of the books I’ve enjoyed most this year so far. When it comes to short stories Margaret Atwood might  be my second favorite writer of the 21st century.

• “Lovely Dark Deep” by Joyce Carol Oates. And now we’ve come to my absolute favorite short story writer of the 21st century.. Maybe ever. Sometimes her stories are a little hard to comprehend and I feel like I missed something. But I like how she also leaves us to interpret her stories on our own. Even if they usually don’t have a happy ending.