Chosen because it was available immediately on Libby, I enjoyed this popular novel. Narrated by death during WWII, it's the story of a German girl, her foster parents, the neighbor boy who's her best friend, the Jewish man hidden in her basement, and her love of books. Like most fiction set in this time period, it's simultaneously brutal and beautiful. It's a testament to the power of words, whether used to harm or heal.
I've heard people rave about this one forever, but I tend to avoid books with lots of hype and it didn't intrigue me the one time I flipped through the pages of a physical copy. However, I was looking through Libby's "available now" titles a few days ago, this one came up, and I decided to give the audio version a try. I thoroughly enjoyed this epistolary novel about an author whose next book idea comes as a result of the letter she receives from a stranger. Not only does she discover a plot to write about, but she discovers a community of people who lived through the German occupation of WWII, developed close relationships with each other, and want to both tell her about that past and welcome her into their present.
This novel, set in the 1920's, takes place in a poor Pennsylvania community of Jewish immigrants and black people. A woman who runs a grocery store is adored by nearly everyone. A deaf boy is avoiding capture by the state. A man's trying to hide his guilt. Racism, crime, and deceit are rampant. Secrets and resentments are held for decades. Loyalty, kindness, and bravery are also present. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I liked the story.
This is Adachi's second book and it was different than I expected. (I read the first book first, but it's listed second here because I post books in alphabetical order instead of chronological.) Admittedly, I don't know exactly what I expected, but whatever.
Written in her conversational tone, it's instructive without being bossy, helping the reader figure out what matters most to them in regards to all things kitchen. She describes the five steps to Lazy Genius something (these will be familiar to her podcast listeners because she uses them for everything), then uses those steps to guide the reader through various decisions. For readers who may not have much experience in the kitchen or who lack confidence in working there, she also has a section of the book dedicated to explaining some cooking basics - terms used in recipes, what various tools are used for, and so on. No matter how much you love or hate your kitchen, meal planning, cooking, or feeding people, you'll find something in this book that will be helpful. It's concisely written, super practical, pressure-free, and light-hearted.
p. 24, When your priority is clear, it makes any sacrifices easier to swallow because you're getting what's most important.
p. 74, Comparison rarely leads us anywhere good, especially when we're comparing our situation to someone who has different priorities.
p. 177, Your value doesn't come from how well you succeed or how dramatically you fail. Your value is rooted in love, not lists.
The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done, written by Kendra AdachiI've listened to The Lazy Genius Podcast for several years, but never bothered to read Adachi's books because I know her principles from listening to the podcast (first book) or don't feel any need (second book). Her third book will be released in October and it intrigues me (already have the pre-order on hold at the library), so I figured I'd read the others first.
While the information in this one wasn't new to me, her guidance toward being a genius about the things that matter (to you) and lazy about the things that don't is always spoken in practical, compassionate, realistic, and funny ways. She's super down-to-earth, gives lots of examples of her principles, and makes it clear that there's no one right way to do things. I finished this book with some ideas and motivation for changing a few things in my life.
p. 18, Order isn't always fake, and chaos isn't always vulnerable.
p. 39, Small steps are easy.
Easy steps are sustainable.
Sustainable steps keep moving.
Movement, not necessarily a finish line, is the new goal.
p. 41, A life of meaning doesn't happen in one fell swoop but in small, intentional decisions day after day.
p. 101, When you put everything in its place and live within the space limits of your home, your home will be at peace and hold what matters most.
You don't have to become a minimalist; just put your stuff away.
p. 102, Make space for what matters, and you'll see more clearly what doesn't.
p. 109, Your house might be a reflection of your personality, but the state of it is not a reflection of your value.
p. 121, Crisis is not a prerequisite for seeking community and connection < snip > We're so good at putting qualifications on our struggles, and if the problems are too niche, too ordinary, too privileged, or too [fill in the blank], we don't share them. We keep people out and say everything is fine. < snip > But if you and I wait for tragedy to strike before we let people in, we miss out on all the beautiful, ordinary connections.
p. 148, True fulfillment comes from subtraction, from removing everything that distracts you from what matters and leaving only what's essential.
p. 150, Yes, we all live with choice, but some people have an easier path to implement those choices than others.
p. 172, If you want to embrace what matters, you need mindfulness. If you want to get stuff done, you need energy to do it. Both of these are fueled by rest.
A Long Way from Chicago, written by Richard Peck and narrated by Ron McLarty
This middle grade novel's about a brother and sister from Chicago who spend time with their grandma in the country every summer. She's a spitfire, which means their summers are always filled with funny, interesting, and memorable experiences as she often does the wrong thing for the right reasons. Tyler and I enjoyed listening to this one together. As he said, "I love Grandma!"
The Nickel Boys, written by Colson Whitehead and narrated by JD Jackson, with acknowledgments narrated by Colson Whitehead
A friend who reads different books than I do recently sent me a picture of what he's read this year. I asked if he had any favorites in the mix, looked up the five he named, and found two I might enjoy. This novel was one and it was available immediately on Libby, so I checked it out. It's a heavy book thematically because it's based on an actual reform school for boys in Florida that horrifically abused and sometimes killed kids for over a century, beginning in 1900. While violence and abuse is a strong theme in the book, I didn't feel like the references to and descriptions of it were gratuitous. It's also a story about racism, corrupt social constructs, those who fight for what's right, trauma, family, and friendship.
While it obviously wasn't a fun read, I value books that give me a better understanding of people whose experiences are far different than my own and this glimpse of recent American history does that. Heads up for those with a vocabulary similar to mine, there's definitely more profanity in this book than in what I usually read. The book was still worth reading for me, but I know language is a deal-breaker for some.
The Pecan Man, written by Cassie Dandridge Selleck and narrated by Suzanne Toren
Set in the mid-1970's, this novel centers on a childless widow, her long-time maid, and a homeless man she hires to work in her yard. With blatant racism, subtle bigotry, crime, lies, and loyalty, this story is one with characters to love, perspectives to learn from, and growing self-awareness to admire. In the setting of a small town, it points out greater societal problems while leading the reader toward compassion toward those who are making what they believe to be the best, or only, choices available to them. I'm home alone today and listened to this book non-stop, from start to finish, because the story pulled me in. I'm looking forward to the sequel, which I didn't realize existed until I finished listening.
The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, written by Catherine Price
I heard about this book on episode 306 of The Lazy Genius Podcast, What We Need to Have More Fun, in March of last year and it intrigued me. Price defines what fun is, as it's a word we use very broadly, distinguishing between two terms she created - True Fun and Fake Fun. In a conversational tone, and with helpful questions and tips for the reader, she writes about the three key factors of True Fun, its importance in our lives, what gets in the way of it happening, and how to increase its presence in our days.
p. 7 (about people constantly being on their phones), I could see that all of us were acting like addicts, but since everyone was afflicted, we were deluding ourselves into thinking that our behaviors were normal and okay.
p. 32, True Fun is the confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow.
p. 42, We can't control the fact that we will die.
But we can control whether we actually live.
We can control whether we merely endure our days or experience and enjoy them. We can control whether we arrive on our deathbeds feeling like we've wasted our time or end up satisfied with how we've spent our brief moment in the sun. While disconcerting, the idea that most things don't matter is also freeing.
p. 43, If you habitually direct your attention toward things that upset you - alarmist news headlines, for example, or social media screeds - then you will experience the world as alarming and upsetting. If you choose instead to pay attention to things that uplift you, or that offer opportunities for playfulness, connection, and flow, you will experience the world in a completely different, more positive light.
p. 56, Also, in many cases our devices are simply amplifying issues that we already had, such as not having good boundaries between our work and home lives, relying on external validation as a proxy for self-worth, overemphasizing money as a metric for the value of our time, and buying into the idea that the best way to achieve health, success, and happiness is to maximize every single thing we do.
p. 66, Instead of being consumed by the fear of what me might miss if we were to put down our phones, we should think about all the things we definitely miss when we pick them up.
p. 72 (about watching people's interaction with their phones), Notice your friends behavior. Notice your family's. Notice your own. Then imagine that instead of phones, we were holding cigarettes or syringes.
p. 170, If you say that your relationships with your friends or children or your spouse are the most important things to you in life, then you need to treat them as such - and put away distractions when you're together.
p. 173, We're trying to train ourselves to resist our dopamine-fueled cravings for the sake of ultimately much more satisfying - but also harder to come by - real-life experiences.
p. 177, Just as breaking up with a person doesn't have to mean never seeing them again, breaking up with your phone doesn't mean never using it again. It simply means giving yourself to evaluate what's working and what's not so that you can create a new, healthier relationship that keeps what you love and minimizes (or eliminates) what you don't.
p. 180, I call this exercise WWW, which is short for:
What for?
Why now?
What else?
p. 215, One way to loosen perfectionism's grip is to gently investigate what, exactly, you're afraid will happen if you do not perform perfectly - and then continue to ask questions until you convince yourself that it's going to be okay.
p. 233, Whenever I see a car with a bumper sticker that says, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention," I am tempted to point out that I actually am paying attention; I'm just choosing not to only pay attention to things that would outrage me.
p. 277, (S)pending money on experiences - especially those that involve other people - has been repeatedly proven to be a much more effective way to boost your sense of well-being and happiness than spending the same amount of money on objects or possessions.
p. 277, Speaking of investments, if you ever have the choice between spending money on an object and spending money on an opportunity to connect with other people, choose the latter. Similarly, if you have limited leisure time, prioritize anything that gives you time with friends.
p. 288, If our attention is like a spotlight, crisp-edged and narrow, for which life provides an infinite number of possible targets but only a finite number of days, then where do we want to focus it?
p. 289, Just ask yourself which you gravitate toward: ruminating or savoring? How much time do you spend hashing out your problems versus celebrating what's good? How does the energy you put into fulfilling your obligations or engaging in conflicts compare to the energy you put into creating opportunities that might lead to fun?
A Year Down Yonder, written by Richard Peck and narrated by Lois Smith
Tyler and I both thought this middle grade sequel to A Long Way from Chicago was just as much fun to listen to. This story is about the fifteen year old sister spending a full year living with her grandma, a woman who continues to be brash in her presentation and kind at heart. Tyler's eager to get the third book in the trilogy started, saying he never would have chosen these books, but that he's thoroughly enjoying them.
