Blame it on writer’s block or maybe a lack inspiration but for the last few months I’ve been unable to blog. Heck, even my reading has dropped off. But here I am, struggling with WordPress’s new editing platform and trying to bang out a new post. In hopes of getting things rolling once again I’ll begin with a brief overview of the books I’ve read of late. Hopefully, in the near future I’ll be sharing my thoughts on these six books on my blog.
- Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker- After reading a glowing review of this book on one of my favorite book blogs What’s Nonfiction I knew sooner or later I’d read it. Kolker’s vivid and detailed look at a family ravaged by schizophrenia did not disappoint me.
- The Arrogant Years: One Girl’s Search for Her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn by Lucette Lagnado – Lucette Lagnado’s The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family’s Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World was one of the best memoirs I read back in 2011. After hearing the author interviewed on the Vox Tablet podcast and learning she’d written a follow-up book I immediately secured a Kindle edition through Overdrive.
- The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy by Masha Gessen- I kept seeing this one at the library but never borrowed it. But after reading Gessen’s outstanding The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia I needed to read more of her stuff.
- Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen – In keeping with my above-mentioned point, how then could I not resist reading Gessen’s most recent book when I spied a copy at the library?
- Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947 by Norman Lebrecht – I’ve said it before, I’m a sucker for Jewish history.
- Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever by Rick Wilson- Two years ago I caught Rick Wilson promoting his book on C-SPAN and was completely captivated. A few months ago I discovered his podcast The New Abnormal and can’t get enough of it. Just like his podcast, Wilson’s book is sick and wrong. But completely accurate.
Those do sound good! I’m especially curious about the Lebrecht and the Lagnado.
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I enjoyed both books. Lebrecht’s could wind up on my year-end best nonfiction list or at the very least an honorable mention.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting!
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I think we’re all going through phases where the reading and/or blogging just doesn’t happen. I call it pandemic brain. It’s frustrating, but then I’ll read some fluff book and get back on track. Good TV series (currently watching Endeavour on Prime) helps.
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Seems like it. I’ve also been distracted by some great podcasts. As the weather turns colder and wetter, I’ll probably watch more DVDs courtesy of my local public library. On an optimistic note, this morning I got up super early and did a lot of reading. It was great!
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YESSSSS, I am not the only one who DETESTS the new block editor format in WordPress! Glad to know it sucks all around. Hope to hear more from you in November!
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Thanks! Glad I’m not the only one!!
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