Tax Day

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Although Americans mark this day as the deadline for rendering to Caesar, I imagine most days to be taxing for many who still watch the news or try to manage on their own through the muddle.

Things could be worse. I recently attended a presentation with the speaker admonishing the audience not to start sentences with “at least,” as in – at least you can still swallow, even if you lost all your teeth. Well meaning is not always a comfort.

Books can be a balm or a distraction and lately I’ve gotten less choosy about what I will read. The Prize books are not as appealing, while fantasy and romance have been sneaking into my repetoire – they seem less taxing.

One of my favorites is Matt Haig’s “The Midnight Library.” I reviewed it back in 2020 – when life was taxing but at least I had a partner.

https://ncbookbunch.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/the-midnight-library-by-matt-haig/

More recent on my list:

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

and the Sarah Maas books.

What are you reading?

Clear by Carys Davies

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Davies use of beauty, calm, and fortitude amidst the turbulence of Scottish seas and a cruel historic mandate gives her short novel “Clear” an astounding force in its message. By combining two important nineteenth century hallmarks in Scottish history, the breaking away of Scottish Presbyterian ministers from the control of their wealthy land owning sponsors, and the Clearances, the cruel banishment of poor tenants from small islands in the North Sea to make way for profitable sheep grazing, Davies creates a story about two unlikely friends.

John Ferguson, a poor minister who has joined the freedom movement to establish a church without the encumbrance of wealthy patrons, decides to earn some money by agreeing to evict Ivar, the sole occupant of an isolated island off the coast of the Scottish mainland.

Within hours of finally landing on the island, John falls off a cliff, losing consciousness, and is rescued by Ivar. Although the two men do not share a language, Ivar tends John’s wounds and teaches him words in his language. They become friends and John is too ashamed to admit that he’s come to kick Ivar out of his home.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Mary learns something about this particular clearance that causes her to set off in search of her husband. The resolution is abrupt when Mary arrives to rescue her husband, and she manages a sensible solution reaffirming the value of human connection, but sadly not stopping the unleashed greed. Clear is a short read with a powerful impact.

Anne Lamont’s Reading List

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Someone mentioned Anne Lamont’s Ted Talk on “12 Truths…” so I looked for it on youtube -easy to find and something I will probably listen to again and again, both laughing and crying through it, and appreciating her last truth.

Next, I found her reading list; it’s short. I found the last book for $2.99 and a few in the library. I always appreciate a list of books to read and I’ve discovered books I never would have known about.

Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild

“I have been foisting this on everyone since the election. A famed sociologist from Berkeley spends months visiting the Louisiana Bayou and getting to know the people who live there—their values, problems, minds, hearts, lives, and dreams. What they tell us in their conversations and how Hochschild changes by listening to them give me hope for our country.” -AL

Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin

“This is a beautiful, hilarious, big-hearted novel about four really good, slightly odd mixed-up people (like us) as they form couples: shy, worried, and brave. I have given away THOUSANDS of copies.” -AL

Praying for Sheetrock by Melissa Fay Greene

“This is one of my favorite nonfiction books ever. It’s about a small backwoods county in Georgia in the 1970s struggling to be included in the progress for civil rights and about the idealists who lead the cause against entrenched racism. It’s a story that reads like a novel, filled with eccentrics and ordinary folks. Lovely in every way. If you read it, you will owe me forever.” -AL

The Illustrated Rumi by Jelaluddin Rumi

“I love Rumi so much. I can open this book to any page, read any one of his poems, study any one of the illustrations, and feel spiritually rejuvenated—or at least a little less cranky and self-obsessed.” -AL

Women Food and God by Geneen Roth

“This is the most profound and helpful book on healing from the tiny, tiny, tiny issues around eating and body issues that some of us have had for, oh, most of our lives. Charming, wise, funny, and deep.” -AL

How to Know a Person by David Brooks

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I’ve gotten out of the habit of watching PBS analysts going back and forth in the NewsHour since my favorite Mark Shields died. His parrying with New York Times essayist David Brooks always brought a new perspective to whatever was happening in the world.

Reading David Brooks’ book How to Know a Person is forcing me to think again. I’m tempted to jot down his questions and carry them in my wallet, but there are too many to fit.

A few I want to remember he describes as “big questions (that) interrupt the daily routines people fall into and prompt them to see their life from a distance.” Perhaps you’d join me in pondering a few.

1. “What crossroads are you at? At any moment, most of us are in the middle of a transition.” Mine has been crystallized with loss. None of Brooks’ references or examples help, but he really didn’t mean them to. After all, it’s personal, and we all have to figure it out for ourselves. But his stories are enlightening and encouraging.

2. “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?“ Covid changed how I act, where I go, what I do. How about you? Are you getting braver?

3. “Can you be yourself where you are and still fit in?” It’s comforting to know others may appreciate this issue.

Through chapters mixed with psychotherapy references as well as acute observations, Brooks explains how to be yourself by appreciating who others really are. He offers questions for probing through the superficial protective masks we all wear, and admonishes us to wake up and be real.

Apart from his opinions, which are Brooks’ stock in trade, he creates stories as examples as he progresses through seventeen chapters from the power of being seen to empathy and finally to wisdom.

With his unique style, Brooks creates not a self-help book but rather his philosophical approach to living a better life by asking the right questions and being present as you really listen to the answers – something we could all try. I hope to.

The Heiress

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Would you marry someone whose four husbands have all conveniently died, even if she were worth millions? Rachel Hawkins writes a complicated story of murder, romance, and the fight for control of Ruby McTavish’s mansion, land, and money – lots of money.

Although Ruby is the drive behind the story, she died 10 years before the tale begins, leaving her estate to her adopted son Camden (Cam). As Cam and his wife Jules return to claim the inheritance, his cousins are plotting how to steal it away.

But noone is who they seem and Ruby’s revelations through her letters with cliff hanging sign offs keep confusing the plot. The family drama builds as more and more about the McTavish family and the terrible secrets they have hidden for years threaten to change who will finally inherit.

Fun to read, Hawkins twisted plot has a Gothic undertone with lots of red herrings and a satisfying ending.

Review of Rachel Hawkins’ The Villa

https://thenochargebookbunch.com/2023/02/01/the-villa-by-rachel-hawkins/