I struggled to get in the mood to read this month. I usually am pretty good about reading consistently, every day. But for whatever reason, I found myself reading in bursts… unable to put a book down for an entire weekend afternoon and then not being in the right mindset to read for days. It was on and off. It’s a constant goal of mine to be OKAY with what I read and to not feel like I’m “failing” myself. (Why do I do that to myself?! I don’t know, it’s just reading and should be enjoyed!)
Anyway… here’s what I read this month:
THE BEAUTY IN BREAKING: 2.75/5 Stars
This is a memoir written by a Black emergency room doctor and I had really high hopes for it. While very easy to read, it just didn’t work for me. Each chapter was a different experience for her with a lesson she learned from it, but I thought the book lacked a flow. I think if you work in medicine, particularly in a hospital, you might enjoy the memoir more. (I did read other reviews because I wasn’t sure if I was the only who felt this way and it seems to be pretty divided in terms of enjoying and not enjoying.)
BREATH: 4/5 Stars
I was so intrigued by the premise of this book, which examines the lost art of breathing. Mike’s brother is HUGE into breath work and I’ve learned a lot through him so I was excited to learn even more. I would say about half the book was new-to-me information and the other half just reiterated some things I already knew through my personal experiences with anxiety and my practice of meditation. I thought the evolution (or in this case, devolution) aspects of breathing was the most eye-opening to me. So much so that I am now actively trying to figure out how to stop mouth-breathing at night.
THE GAME: 4/5 Stars
If you liked the series Pretty Little Liars and/or like Agatha Christie novels, I think you’d like this book. It’s quite a quick read. The Game is about a group of high school seniors playing a game of assassin before their graduation. The game becomes a little too real though, and it’s a mystery to figure out who the real murderer is.
JUST MERCY: 5/5 Stars
WOW. THIS BOOK. Definitely the best I read all month– a contender for best non-fiction of the year. Just Mercy is a true story about an attorneys efforts to help people on death row. The author, Bryan Stevenson, set up the Equal Justice Initiative and writes about some of the memorable stories of those he helped. It’s a powerful story about the criminal justice system and those who fall victim to it. I listened to the audiobook (highly recommend) and at one point literally had to pull my car over because I was sobbing. I believe this book should be required reading.
THE SWITCH: 4.25/5 Stars
This was such a fun light read. I needed a nice and easy story to get sucked into and this fit the bill. Very Nancy Meyers meets British Rom Com. A grandmother and a granddaughter trade places (think The Holiday) because they’re both craving a change of scenery and a change of pace. Leena, the granddaughter, has a breakdown at work and takes a forced two month break in a tiny English village. And Eileen, the grandmother, goes to London in search of love! It’s fun, it’s flirty. Very hilarious at points. I could totally see this being adapted into a movie, the characters and scenery felt so real and lifelike to me.
A ROOM CALLED EARTH: 4.5/5 Stars
A Room Called Earth is about an autistic woman written by a woman with autism. It takes place in Australia and describes her experiences throughout one night. I didn’t “get” the book at first and really struggled with reading. I almost put it aside in my “did not finish” pile. I am SO GLAD I stuck with it though because by the end of the book I was fully, fully hooked. It’s brilliantly written– you are submerged into the idiosyncrasies, anxieties, and personal triumphs she experiences in real time. Once I finished the book, I simply couldn’t stop thinking about it. (And need people to discuss it with… so please read!)
WILD GAME: 3/5 Stars
Wild Game is a memoir written by a daughter about her complicated relationship with her mom. Honestly I was hoping for… more. I thought it was really beautifully written and I was definitely engrossed at times but it just didn’t do it for me. I thought it was kind of your cliche narcissistic mom and impressionable daughter story.
Do you know what people first language is? You should educate yourself. Why point out the first book was about a Black ER doctor? You didn’t point out all of the other characters in your other books were white. Also, it’s not “autistic woman”…it’s woman with autism.
I actually followed the lead of the publishers and author. In this case, both describe themselves as a “female African American emergency room physician” (The Beauty in Breaking) and “autistic woman” (A Room Called Earth).
You May find this post interesting as I learned from it myself recently. https://www.facebook.com/591976210904363/posts/2739516656150297/?extid=XkledlODisKkmMuY&d=n
Lisa, can you please provide the link to your book reviews so we can all read and examine your “better” take on everything?
I don’t mean to pile on, but as a woman with a disability, I want to second what Carly said. There’s a growing movement within the disability community to use identity-first language, and following the author’s lead is absolutely the way to go. People are increasingly embracing their identities as disabled (autistic, in this case), and that pride in identity can help to decrease the stigma that still exists surrounding disability.
Wow, thank you all so much. This conversation was truly enlightening. My work is actually with individuals with disabilities and I have to say in NYS the way I have presented the information is the “norm” but I think asking the person how they would like to be described could not be more person first! I will take this feedback and begin implementing it. Thank you all so much!
Lisa, a quick glance at the synopsis of The Beauty in Breaking would show you that the author’s sex and race are central to the premise of her book. Emergency medicine is still a very white, male dominated field, and this book addresses these issues and then some.
Signed, a female emergency room doctor
The Switch sounds like a fun and light hearted book and perfect for a new month! Thanks for your recommendations and reviews! I love your book reviews!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Just Mercy was THE MOST life changing book I ever read, no joke. I think I’m due for a a re-read, so thanks for the reminder 🙂
I couldn’t agree more with your take on Just Mercy! I read it this month with my co-workers and we were all blown away! I thought it does SUCH a good job of illustrating how racism is a SYSTEMIC issue. It was a frustrating read (I found myself so astounded at how these stories are real and happened to real people), and had to take breaks every once in a while, but it really was an amazing book. At times I was also frustrated at myself for not being aware of the extent of these issues before I read this book. I thought it was so interesting that this book was published back in 2014 and yet it feels so poignant now in 2020. We as a country still have a long way to go.
I started two books this week that I couldn’t get into at all, so I’m really excited to see your recommendations today!
These are some of my favorite posts! I love seeing what you’ve read. I can’t wait to check out Just Mercy – it sounds amazing.
http://alexagmarsh.blogspot.com/
I completely agree with your review about The Beauty in Breaking. I had such high hopes for the memoir but it let me down. One other thing I noticed is that the author was quick to point out the flaws in her coworkers, family members, etc. However she did not admit to any flaws of her own. I understand that most of us cast ourselves as the hero in our own story, but some more self reflection would have been admirable.
I always love and look forward to your end of the month book reviews! I just added three of your recommendations to my list. I recently finished American Dirt. It was so powerful and one of those books that will stay with me for a very long time. Have you read it?
I didn’t read American Dirt– there was a lot of controversy around it so I opted for different reads.
I also read about the controversy before I read it. While I can see points to all those discussions, my eyes {and heart} were still very opened to the whole issue from reading it.
Completely agree with your review on The Beauty in Breaking. I found the author somewhat self absorbed and she couldn’t seem to make up her own mind on what the book was about. I think I expected more hospital/ER stories and less woe is me and vague references about her personal life. Oh well on to the next. Right now it’s Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi so I’m ready to read Transcendent Kingdom, which I believe is Jenna’s pick for September.
I love these posts every month. Whenever I’m done with a book and don’t know what to read next, I come to your blog/Goodreads account and always find something good! Last month I read The Vanishing Half and All Adults Here and really enjoyed both. Thank you for taking the time to review your books every month.
http://www.thehomemadehost.com
I wanted to thank you for pointing out specifically that the book with an autistic character was written by an autistic woman. I think the “own voices” movement is so important for underrepresented authors – and personally, I’m always looking to read more books by authors with disabilities.
I love Just Mercy! Bryan Stevenson was one of my professors at NYU Law and he is so inspirational. The great thing about that book is that it’s an excellent gateway into racial justice issues for non-BLM supporters and can help to open people’s minds in a very approachable way.
The Switch is slated for a tv series starring Rachel Brosnahan! Can’t wait!
I finished Just Mercy last week and it was SO powerful. It made me sad, happy, hopeful, and angry all at the same time. What an excellent read.
What shocked me about Just Mercy was how much evidence there was to support his innocence from the beginning. Check out the movie as well, and the book The Sun Does Shine – a similar story about a man in the same jail that was an Oprah’s Book Club book.
Came on here to read your thoughts on the book Breath. I finally got it from the library (after seeing you talk about it on IG stories) and am feeling a weird sense of, “WOW, this makes sense, but also AHH, I’m doing it all wrong.” This is my issue with too much self help for me. It starts to make me feel as though I have problems I did not previously worry about… Anyways, LOVE your book recommendations in general. I definitely need to add Just Mercy to my list.
On a final note, I loved Wild Game. I just thought the story, the setting, the characters and the writing, I found it all so good. Especially given it was a memoir and not a novel.