Spring Reading List
Posted March 15, 2011 by
My editor called yesterday to tell me that she read my whole book in 3 days and loved it. Hearing her say that was the most validating experience I've had as a writer. Not to mention what a relief it was. I'd been literally having nightmares ever since I sent it off. She said lots of other good stuff too, including that it's going to be an easy edit. I hung up the phone with her and was like, "I'm really going to publish a book." It's still hard to wrap my head around.
Anyway, speaking of published books I thought I'd share some of the great stuff I've been reading lately. Be sure to leave a note in the comments with what you're reading — I'm always looking for new books!
Spring Reading List
Gabrielle Hamilton's Blood, Bones and Butter (memoir) — I'm about 2/3 of the way through this one right now and can already say that this will go down as one of my top favorite books of the year. Anthony Bourdain calls it one of the best food memoirs ever written, but it's much more than that. It's a story of a woman from an eclectic family trying to make her way in the world and finding her passion in the kitchen. The language is impossibly beautiful.
Dani Shapiro's Devotion (nonfiction/memoir) — I'll read anything by Dani Shapiro and her latest book is an elegant exploration of faith and her search for spirituality, especially as it relates to her family of origin and her chosen family of husband and son.
Hope Edelman's The Possibility of Everything (memoir) — I'm a big fan of Hope Edelman. She wrote a book called Motherless Daughters a decade ago that has been a sort of touchstone for me. This latest book of hers is a memoir about traveling to South America with her husband in search of an alternative cure for her ailing young daughter.
Jill Bialosky's History of a Suicide (memoir) — A beautiful memoir about a woman trying to sort through the suicide of her younger sister. Gorgeous writing, eviscerating subject.
Christiane Northrup's Mother-Daughter Wisdom (nonfiction) — I adore Northrup (who wrote Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom) and this has been a great read about how our health is connected to our feminine lineage. I'm always looking for interesting alternatives to the Western medical model and Northrup never fails to deliver exactly that.
Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games (fiction) — Greg convinced me to pick up the first book in this series and I fell right into the second and third on my own. So much more than a young adult series. These incredibly well-written books take place in a post-apocolyptic world, and center around a really strange and terrifying premise, the results of which are addictive to follow.
Caroline Leavitt's Pictures of You (fiction) — A really fantastic and suspenseful psychological drama. Explorations of marriage and relationships, grief and parenthood.
Mark Bittman's Food Matters (cooking/health) — I'm a huge fan of Mark Bittman (no-knead bread guy!) and his latest book is a look at how what we're eating impacts our bodies and our environment. There's been lots on this topic in the last few years but Bittman provides a ton of great recipes and a reasonable approach.
Darrin Strauss' Half a Life (memoir) — So in love with this memoir, which just won the NBCC award for autobiography. When the author was a teenager he accidentally hit a fellow student with his car, killing her. This book chronicles the impact this tragedy had on his life.
The following are books I'm about to read:
Jonathan Evison's West of Here (fiction) — Greg just read this and says, "this was easily one of the best novels I've read in the last five years. Absolutely epic."
Joyce Carol Oates' A Widow's Story (memoir) — Joyce Carol Oates + Grief? I'm in!
Jennifer Egan's A Visit From The Goon Squad (fiction) — Just won the NBCC award for fiction. Anyone I know who's read this says it's utterly fantastic.
Patti Smith's Just Kids (memoir) — Need I explain?
Allison Gilbert's Parentless Parents (nonfiction) — Just read about this author on Motherlode and can't wait to read this exploration on the impact that having no parents has on you as a parent. Right up my alley, huh?
I'll leave you with a look at what my daughter is reading these days.
Finding Hope, After Mother-Loss
Home from NYC: A Love Letter to the Women in My Life
19 Comments
Thank you for the reading list. I just bought two of the books on Amazon to read for a trip I am taking this weekend!
Comment by Michelle Burger on March 15, 2011 at 9:13 am
Oh, I loved Devotion too. I’ve never heard of Northrup but she sounds really interesting. Thanks for the list!
Comment by Emma C. on March 15, 2011 at 9:13 am
The Hunger Games has been sitting on my shelf. I haven’t given it a chance yet as it was handed down to me. Maybe that will be my next proper book to read.
Comment by Megan on March 15, 2011 at 9:26 am
Ooh, these all sound great! I’m definitely going to pick up a few of them. I just read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and found it fascinating.
Comment by Joanne on March 15, 2011 at 9:48 am
Congrats on your editorial feedback!! And thank you for the reading list! I just finished The Hunger Games trilogy and I’m so glad another grown up as read/enjoyed it as I did! These won’t resonate with you yet, but I just finished reading 12, 13 and 13+1 by Lauren Myracle with my 11-year-old. She’s kind of a Judy Blume for today’s girls; not quite as graphic but gives us good role models and what seems like a realistic storyline. We are enjoying them! I am looking at your memoir suggestions with great interest …
Comment by Lisa on March 15, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I love her reading to Julie! So cute.
Comment by Liz on March 15, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Love the list and Veronica reading. Thanks for sharing. I just read Unbroken (nonfiction). It’s a moving and heartbreaking story about a man who’s plane crashes during WWII and his experience in Japanese prisoner of war camps. It made me think of your father and his heroic story.
Comment by Tasha on March 15, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Ooh, that sounds RIGHT up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation!
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 15, 2011 at 8:21 pm
She just kills me. I really love her little feet in the video, the way she twists them back and forth as shes reading. So sweet.
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 15, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Thanks, Lisa! I cant WAIT for the Judy Blume reading era Im going to enter into one day. So fun.
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 15, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Ive heard great things about that book!
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 15, 2011 at 8:22 pm
It really is just great. Give it a try!
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 15, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Wasnt Devotion lovely? And Northrup is astounding. Definitely check her out!
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 15, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Yay! Thats great! Enjoy, and let me know how you like them!
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 15, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Let me add one to your list in exchange for the generous handful I’ve just taken from it. (so many books, so little time)
I just bought four copies of Gavin DeBecker’s “Protecting the Gift” to give as baby presents to young families around here. Without a doubt, it’s a must-read for all parents, young or old. It validates a number of things I instinctively did when my kids were little (“Stranger Danger”? Bah! If you ever get lost, are scared, or need help for any reason, go to any adult in this order — a family, a mom with kids, or a woman and they will help you. Strangers who come to *you* asking for help? Not so much.) and has chapter after chapter of blunt, reassuring, and creative suggestions about ways I never even thought could be necessary to protect my kids. Choosing baby sitters? Evaluating day care?
Cost/value of this book purchase? Priceless!
Comment by Carroll on March 17, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Oh, and what a *wonderful* feeling to hear those good words from your Editor, Claire!
And the toes!!! Yes indeed, the wiggling toes!!!! I want to munch them
Comment by Carroll on March 17, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Ooh, sounds like I need a copy of that!
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on March 18, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Okay, so my mom went and bought two Jonathan Evison novels…and I finished “All About Lulu.” What an incredible read. I gobbled it up in just a few days. Thanks for the list. I just added a few to my library hold request list. And I agree, Vera’s wiggling toes and little voice “gobbled ornaments” is just adorable. Can’t wait to have her read to me in a few weeks!!!
Comment by Zora on April 27, 2011 at 10:38 pm
Oh, thats great that you got so many of those books and enjoyed them! Cant wait to SEE you soon!
Comment by Claire Bidwell Smith on April 28, 2011 at 1:29 pm
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