Books of 2014 - July

As I worked on this post, I noticed that I desperately needed to read some non-Jodi Picoult books. My boyfriend's been making fun of me, which is a let-down because now I can't tease him for being a John Green groupie.

This is a long post. Don't say I didn't warn you. ;)




Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.

This was another Picoult reread. More mothers who didn't realize their child had deep, dark secrets! More courtroom drama. This time, when I read the book I imagined Alex Cormier (judge and mother of Josie) looking exactly like ADA Alex Cabot from Law and Order: SVU. It made what is a pretty rough read (the story revolves around the aftermath of a school shooting) easier to handle. Unfortunately, every time I read this book I make Matt Royston (Josie's hockey player boyfriend) "look" like a high school classmate of mine named Matt. High School Matt was not a friend of mine, but he was a pretty good kid, so I'm not sure how this association stuck.

I would love to read an article or book about how readers' imaginations sometimes "cast" characters as people they know or celebrities. Or about how authors were inspired when they gave characters certain visual features. Jodi Picoult has a lot of female characters with big curly hair, which she also has. Some of my novel's characters, on the other hand, are "cast" as Idina Menzel or Paul Sorvino in my head. Which probably says something about my taste in movies and musicals.

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

This is actually a very recent Picoult novel, which means this is my first time reading it. It's my first Picoult book in the Kindle format. I like being able to flip through Picoult books since they have a lot of clues that become really significant when you're in the last third, but having a Kindle will help me delay graduating to 3 bookshelves. (My brother and I were brought up by crazy bibliophiles. My newborn nephew already has two small bookshelves in his room, which contain quite the library for someone who can't read yet).

This story features a Jewish baker struggling with grief from losing both her parents, her Jewish identity, and the Holocaust. There isn't an over-the-top court case. Instead, we alternate between baker Sage, her grandmother Minka (a Holocaust survivor), and Josef, an old man who tells Sage he was an SS officer and asks her to help him die. Because of the subject matter, I had to take several breaks from the book, but was impressed with how Picoult shows Minka's ways of coping with life in the Lodz ghetto, and Auschwitz.

In high school, I went on an educational tour of Holocaust sites in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Part of this trip involved visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, which features dioramas of hundreds of suitcases, pieces of cookware, and hair stolen from its victims. Picoult's depiction of Kanada (where prisoners' belongings were sorted) reminded me of those towers of suitcases. If you go to the camp, a lot of the buildings are no longer there, but the mountains of belongings are a helpful reminder of how many people were sent there. Words cannot fully describe what it felt like to see the suitcases, imagining families packing their last hopes and belongings into them, many unaware of what was to come.

***Abrupt transition to a much less depressing set of books***

Dr. Spock's Baby Care Guide 9th Ed.

Since I am taking care of a baby soon, my mom strongly pushed reading Dr. Spock. Since Spock died in the 90s, his guide is updated by a different doctor, to keep up with new safety and medical information. What I love about the book is how nonjudgmental and practical it is. There are a lot of very loud opinions on breastfeeding, where the baby sleeps, etc. but Spock basically says, "focus on the relationship with your baby. Do what you are comfortable with. Show the baby you love her. No judgment. We really mean it."

Succulents Simplified by Debra Lee Baldwin

A year ago, I got a succulent as a wedding favor. Two months ago, I decided to "behead" Wedding Plant and replant the top blossom in a Mason Jar and the smaller side blossoms in a terra cotta pot. Then I got some more succulents, and some more. Realizing I had a new hobby, my mom got me this book. (Thanks Mom!) One of the great things about this book is that it features a lot of design tips for container gardens.

The Animorphs #1-8 by K.A. Applegate

Netflix recently decided to personally remind everyone my age that the 90s are over. And by that I mean that they made the short-lived Animorphs TV adaptation available. For those of you who never watched it, it had cheap CGI (even by late-90s standards), a melodramatic theme song, and serious product placement from The Gap.

I decided to reread the books, as I highly enjoyed them in elementary school and middle school. In high school I gave away my Animorphs books (all ~60 of them) in the name of gaining more shelf space, thinking I wouldn't reread them again. It's amazing how many books I've given away, only to decide years later I want to reread them (or at least show people I read them). You can only get the first 8 on Kindle, but it's a start. Perhaps more will become available?

The Animorphs are 5 teenagers fighting parasitic aliens (Yeerks) that take over people's brains, in a battle to save humanity. The series features a nice mix of action, ethical dilemmas, pop culture jokes, and teenage melodrama. One of the more memorable aspects of the series (for me) is the intense descriptions of different animals' instincts and thoughts. It is one thing to read about animals, it is another to be immersed in how they see, smell, and move around.

***
Currently working on a book about a scientist (Dr. Weigl) developing a typhus vaccine during World War II, because I am apparently drawn to any book related to infectious disease, even if it also talks about the Holocaust and Nazi "medicine." So far it is extremely informative and not completely depressing. (Weigl helped Resistance fighters and Jews get access to typhus vaccines).