The Reading Room

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

We have created a caste system in this country, with African Americans kept exploited and geographically separate by racially explicit government policies. Although most of these policies are now off the books, they have never been remedied and their effects endure.

This book is IMPORTANT. It is books like this that inspire me to get educated and VOTE (photo is right after I voted yesterday).

Summary - Rothstein calls upon his readers and American society at large to look at our countrys history of racist practices head-on. With detailed specific examples and carefully tracked source material, Rothstein explores the forgotten depths of multifaceted, often government-led, segregation that laid the foundation for many of the race-based inequities we are grappling with today.

Idea of You

Do not judge this book by its cover.

Its art. And it makes people happy. And thats a very good thing. We have this problem in our culture. We take art that appeals to womenfilm, books, musicand we undervalue it. We assume it cant be high art. Especially if its not dark and tortured and wailing. And it follows that much of that art is created by other women, and so we undervalue them as well. We wrap it up in a pretty pink package and resist calling it art.

Fresh Water

“You must learn to be generous with your absence to those who havent understood the importance of your presence.”

Summary - This tale evolves around a small graveyard in a small French town, Bourgogne. We meet an array of interesting, nuanced characters, including our main protagonist, Violette. The story of Violettes life is slowly revealed to us through her own words or through the interconnectedness with the lives of other people: Violettes difficult childhood, being born with nothing, her tragic marriage to Philippe, her daughter, her life working as a bartender, then as a level crossing keeper and finally her life as a cemetery caretaker.

Wellness

How do I even begin to describe this book…

First off, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this book. Thank you @negall for the ebook and thank you @prh for the audio – both were absolutely amazing but I ultimately ended up attached to the audio because the narrator did such a fantastic job.

Summary - When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the ’90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicagos thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting, they encounter numerous quandaries.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

WINNER, WINNER…

Immigrants, she said. Our lives are never fair. My dad nodded. We have to try, he said. We have to try and accept our fate. My parents were always going on about fate. Sometimes I wondered if this fate thing was just something adults made up to make themselves feel better, like the tooth fairy.

Summary - Mia Tang, the story’s protagonist, is a 5th grader when she begins working with her parents at the Calivista Motel just five miles from Disneyland. Front Desk details the family’s first year managing the hotel including little daily occurrences, diversity issues and the building of community at the motel.

Wandering Souls

“In the years to come, Thi Anh would let the harrowing memories of the boat and the camp trickle out of her until they were nothing but a whisper. But she would hold on to that last evening with all her might, from the smell of the steaming rice in the kitchen to the touch of her mothers skin as she embraced her for the last time.”

Summary - “Wandering Souls examines the human cost of large-scale trage through the story of 16-year-old Anh, her 13-year-old brother Minh and their 10-year-old brother Thanh, who are separated from their parents and four younger siblings when the family attempts to make the perilous journey to Hong Kong on two separate boats.”

You Could Make This Place Beautiful

Likewise, parents are not wise oraclestheyre just people trying to shepherd other people through the world. We may know the right path to take, but knowing the way and consistently walking it are two different things. Everything we learn, we learn from someone who is imperfect.

Summary - Smiths memoir about marriage, divorce, and parenting is a beautiful example of how metaphor and imagery can capture the essence of experiences that are difficult to explain, and it will lead readers to think more deeply about the relationships in their own lives.

Goodbye, Earl

This book was not what I thought it was going to be…

Based on the title and the cover, I thought this book was going to be full of shenanigans, a Finlay Donovan type of a book. It wasn’t, at least not until around 50 PERCENT.

Summary - Four women take fate into their own hands in this big-hearted story of friendship, resilience and revenge on monstrous men. Taking inspiration from the infamous, empowering song, GOODBYE EARL follows four best friends through two unforgettable summers, 15 years apart.

Magic Misfits

Ok, Mr. Neil Patrick Harris

This was our third summer family read-aloud and it has been my favorite so far My son says he can’t pick a favorite because he’s loved them all - so I’m considering that a win.

Summary - After a fateful encounter with the local purveyor of illusion, Dante Vernon, Carter teams up with five other like-minded illusionists. Together, using both teamwork and magic, they’ll set out to save the town of Mineral Wells from Bosso’s villainous clutches.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

This is a toughie…

Summary - A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowleys signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.

Five friends, for a reason that I won’t spoil, decide to have living funerals, or celebrations of life while they are still living so nothing is left unsaid about how their friends feel about them. They call it a pact and each person can use the pact at anytime in their life and the others have to come together.