this month's reading:
how high we go in the dark, by sequoia nagamatsu (often, i really love stories with separate plot lines that all come together at the end. this book had some plot lines that i found really compelling - the theme park for terminally ill kids, the pig who learns to speak - there were SO many plot lines that i couldn't keep track of them all and i'm honestly not sure how many of them came together in the end. i didn't dislike this book at all, but i don't think it will stick with me.)
the best minds: a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentions, by jonathan rosen (i listened to the audiobook of this and found it SO compelling. the premise - what you'll read on amazon or the back cover - is that this book is the memoir of a friendship between the author and his friend, michael, who has schizophrenia and who murders his pregnant girlfriend. and that does happen, in real life and in the book, but the first 75% of the book is the story of their friendship and the onset and treatment of michael's mental illness. this book doesn't turn the event into a tabloid article, and by the time the event happens, you feel such sadness and compassion for all people involved. i'd highly recommend this - it was one of the new york times' 10 best books of the year, and i'm so glad it was because that's how it got on my list.)
tom lake, by ann patchett (i also listened to this, mostly because it is narrated by meryl streep! i don't listen to much fiction, but maybe i should - i really enjoyed listening to this in the car and on walks with emma. i have some bones to pick about certain elements of the plot that seemed implausible or out of character for certain characters, but overall i enjoyed this book for what it is - a 50-something women telling her 3 grown daughters the story of the summer she worked as an actress at a place called tom lake. my book club is reading it this month so i can't wait to debrief it with them in a few weeks. i have so many things i want their take on!)
