Thanksgiving week: the perfect opportunity to spend some extra time cozied up with a good book – especially with a slice of pie and a fire. Or just the pie if you’re in a warm climate. 🙂
Here’s what I’ve been reading lately; perhaps you’ll find a couple of ideas to check out (or buy) for some holiday reading!
Fiction
This post may contain affiliate links to bookstores, which means, at no extra cost to you, I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links. Please read full disclosure for more information.
The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristin Harmel
After reading another Kristin Harmel book a few years ago (The Book of Lost Names), I knew I’d want to read this book. I’m always both drawn to and repelled by books that involve Alzheimer’s or dementia, given my family’s history. I’m also getting a bit tired of the dual timeline stories that are so common with WWII historical fiction. I’ve had a break for a while though, so I was willing to give it another go.
Hope finds herself in increasingly challenging circumstances at the start of the book: she owes money on her family’s bakery, her daughter seems to hate her, her husband decided he’d rather be with someone else, and her grandmother is dying. Though all things pointed to the ridiculousness of following her grandmother’s request, Hope is convinced to go to Paris to find out what happened to her grandmother’s family during WWII. She really is going on scavenger hunt, but she does find help along the way.
There’s some sweet romance, intrigue, and a whole lot of heartfelt goodness at the end. I enjoyed how the pieces were slowly stitched together to find out what happened to Hope’s grandma and her family, despite the heartache that was ubiquitous during the war.
Recommended for: all those who eat up the heart-wrenching-yet-hopeful historical fiction stories of WWII.
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Beth Hoffman writes a book similar in feel to the Secret Life of Bees: strong female characters who work together to restore the life of a young girl whose heart is in shambles.
CeeCee Honeycutt has had to care for her increasingly unstable mother with only intermittent help from her mainly-absent father.
After her mother passes away unexpectedly, a distant relative offers to care for her, and it changes CeeCee’s life. She is unable to talk about her grief, and her aunt doesn’t completely understand the depth of CeeCee’s agony until it comes out in bits and pieces.
I can’t recommend this book without offering the caveat that there are some, shall we say, spicy characters who speak their minds quite freely about all sorts of things. There is also a neighbor who is having an affair and CeeCee witnesses some of the action, along with another neighbor.
However, if you’re looking for a book that has a feel-good ending, and some strong female characters, this will likely hit the spot.
Nonfiction
Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff
Confession: I’m not quite done with this one. I had about 2 hours left on the audiobook when Libby automatically returned it to the library. But I’ll finish it once it’s my turn again!
As the subtitle says, Doucleff studied firsthand how 3 different hunter-gatherer cultures parent and gave them each a shot at teaching her tips on parenting her feisty, fiery toddler. She structured the book into a few sections, with one section for each culture she visited.
Not only is this book helpful for me as I look at ways to parent my little guy, I’m finding it extremely applicable to my role as a teacher as well. The biggest part that is sticking with me is how to maintain my calm when I’m with a child who is either angry, frustrating me, or both.
I don’t agree with all she says, but overall it was fascinating and thought-provoking, so I’d recommend it to parents and teachers who would like some non-western perspectives on training children.
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Again, not quite finished with this one. I’m reading the hard copy, though, so it won’t get automatically returned 🙂
This book has reminded me in several ways of Reclaiming Conversation which I read a few years ago. However, it was published in 2015 – just 8 years after the release of the very first iphone generation. Haidt is able to draw on data from twice that many years of research, and the findings are sobering, and alarming.
The first part of the book goes into the data that shows how smartphones and social media has affected boys and girls differently – yet with similar, haunting results: isolation, loneliness, and skyrocketed anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses.
In the second part, he calls for collective action to help stem the tide of mental illness in our young people. This is the part I haven’t gotten too far into.
I had to pause my reading because, well, it was making me anxious. Ironic, I know. My older readers, who did not grow up affected by social media, could probably read this from a more objective standpoint. I grew up without a cellphone, yet my friends were on Facebook and were starting to get smartphones while I went through high school and college. Thankfully, I was not allowed on social media until my senior year of high school, and for that I’m grateful.
But I hear very clearly what he says about how even the kids who don’t have phones or social media accounts are affected by those who do. I experienced this, albeit less intensely than the kids of today. Responding to this reality requires a group effort, not just one family or even five.
Read this. Then let’s do something about this epidemic together.
Kid Lit
A Duet For Home by Karina Yan Glaser
What a delightful read! If you’re a teacher or a parent of a middle grade kiddo, get yourself a copy of this!
You’ll be seeing this book again later in my Wholesome Reads for Preteens series. It’s such a fantastic example of writing a book about kids who aren’t normally seen in literature, but painting them in a realistic and hopeful light.
The main character is a 6th grader who finds herself in charge of her younger sister because her mom can’t pull herself out of her grief enough to take care of them. Since her mom can’t hold a job, they find themselves at Huey House – a homeless shelter for families.
June meets Tyrell at Huey House, and since he’s lived there for about three years, he winds up showing her the ropes. Together, they discover a plan from the city officials to move families out of transitional housing in less than 90 days, and they fight together to let the mayor know that the policy would wreak havoc on their families.
I can recommend this wholeheartedly to parents and tweens alike. It’s clean, no foul language, and will help all readers develop more empathy for families who are struggling with things like grief and homelessness.
Doggies: A Counting and Barking Book by Sandra Boynton
Recommending a board book is outside the norm for me, but I couldn’t help myself. Sandra Boynton is an author who was recommended to me by one of my oldest friends who is also a teacher and a mom herself. She gave Boynton high praise at my baby shower. (Hi, C!)
After reading this one with my little nugget, I have to agree. Baby boy loves him some barking dogs! The baby giggles when he hears the barking are the best. I love that she uses all sorts of dog sounds and dog breeds – and she manages to make it far more interesting than any other counting book I’ve ever seen. When you read it, make sure to get into it and sound as dog-like as you can. You won’t regret it!
True, this review has more words than the book itself. But Sandra Boynton has far and away earned them all!
Do yourself – or your friends with babies – a favor and get them a copy. I myself used the ebay link below to get a copy for each of my siblings who have babies this Christmas. It’s not an affiliate link, so I won’t earn anything if you purchase through ebay. 🙂
What have you been reading lately? I’m always looking for suggestions! Comment below!
Have you heard of Buy Me a Coffee? It’s a site where you can support creators like me. Reading my blog posts is free for you, and I love that. But writing them is not free for me. Each post takes time and energy, though I find so much joy in writing. Maintaining my website costs me money too.
Would you consider buying me a “coffee” to help support my work? Click the image or the heading to navigate to the webpage.
a Look at a Book 
Leave a comment