BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS
I have always been a book person. When I was a toddler, my mother would take me in the Taylor Tot (a popular stroller, very basic by today’s standards) to the nearby branch library for bunches of picture books.
I was an early and avid reader and 
soon bored by the Dick and Jane series. In 3rd grade, I recall being so engaged in silent reading period that I had be called back to attention after everyone else had moved on to the next assignment. I think the book in question was The Secret Garden.
Resources in my family were limited so we didn’t purchase a lot of books. A real treat was the box that would arrive from England at Christmas, the packages inside colorfully wrapped and tied with thin white ribbon. The wrapping paper was always slightly frayed at the edges as if the journey across the water had been a rough one, and you could see just a hint of the book cover. These were books from the Bishops and there was one for each of my sisters and me. My grandparents had met Mr. and Mrs. Bishop on one of their trips abroad (perhaps on sabbatical), and this couple, whom I never met, never failed to give us books each year for a number of years. I particularly remember some of the Noddy books about a boy puppet.
Since then, books have continued to feature prominently in our Christmas and birthday giving. My siblings and I all have Amazon Wish Lists and mine is mostly books. While I’m happy to receive selected titles for my Kindle, I still derive great pleasure from the look (different fonts and attractive covers), feel (different sizes), and heft of hardback and paperback books. This year was no different. Here are some recent gifts plus others, several of which I’ve already read.
RECENT AND UPCOMING READING
Falling: A Daughter, A Father, and a Journey Back by Elisha Cooper. It is a devastating moment when your young child is diagnosed with cancer. Children’s book author Cooper movingly in lovely straightforward prose shares his emotions and the impact Zoe’s illness has on him and the rest of the family. He candidly recounts episodes of anger when he just plain lost it. But he also reminds us of the preciousness of everyday life. It was a difficult journey, but for this family, one with a good result.
All at Sea: A Memoir by Decca Aitkenhead. It is often said that it is harder to recover from a loved one’s sudden death than from death after illness. Aitkenhead’s spouse drowned in Jamaica before her very eyes. This is her account of that event interwoven with the story of Tony’s life and how she and her two young sons coped afterward. Mostly it’s about Tony, a man I found a surprising choice for this journalist. He had a criminal record, had spent time in jail, had been a drug dealer, and was still growing and selling marijuana after he and Decca got together. His moral compass was widely divergent from mine and so, at times, I found it hard to fathom his appeal. It’s an affecting, poignant book and a heartfelt tribute to a man who ultimately gave his all for his sons. 
News of the World by Paulette Jiles. A finalist for the National Book Award, this novel is by an author previously unknown to me. Set in Texas in 1870, it presents an intriguing slice of western history. Small towns did not get much news beyond the local which meant that Captain Jefferson Kidd, a former printer and retired soldier, would draw an audience for readings of articles from big city papers like the Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Tribune, and London Daily News. When offered a princely sum to transport a former Indian captive, 10-year old Johanna, all the way south to San Antonio to her aunt and uncle, he reluctantly agrees. Traveling through rough country always mindful of being ambushed or attacked, the Captain (Kep-dun to her) and Johanna move from silent resignation to the flowering of a fragile friendship. This unlikely pair is finely drawn and I found myself fully engaged and rooting for both of them.
The Book that Matters Most by Ann Hood. The premise here is an attractive one—a monthly book club where each person selects and then leads a discussion about the work that had the most impact for him or her—and there were no real surprises about the books chosen. As a framework for this novel, it’s mostly successful in showing Ava re-engage with friends and come to terms with her husband’s departure after 25 years of marriage. The subplot about her wayward college daughter’s ventures into the drug scene abroad was less convincing, mostly because I don’t think a mother would be that gullible. For a work by this author I like better, try The Obituary Writer.
Be Near Me by Andrew O’Hagan. My son introduced me to this Scottish author. I’ve just started this beautiful novel about a priest published in 2006.
Novels, Tales, Journeys by Andrew Pushkin. This book of almost all of 19th century Russian poet Pushkin’s prose was an unexpected gift and one I’m looking forward to enjoying.
Owls Do Cry by Janet Frame. Occasionally I even buy myself books before Christmas. I’ve known of New Zealander Janet Frame for a long time, but never have read any of her works. Published in 1957, this early novel provides a perspective on mental illness. On my to-be-read list.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. I’ve read this one, but more about it after my island book group discusses it later this month.
Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume 3: The War Years & After, 1939-1962 by Blanche Wiesen Cook. I found volumes 1 and 2 fascinating and, having started this last volume, will finish it.
The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien. Novel by celebrated Irish writer which has received much acclaim. On my to-be-read list.
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance. I think this memoir about growing up poor will make a good pairing with Evicted. To be read.
Note: Stroller images from www.worthpoint.com
I read Paulette Jiles’ Enemy Women several years ago and really enjoyed it. It takes place during the Civil War and although fiction, every chapter began with a quote from a contemporary source, a telegram from a military officer, etc., so it made it feel very believable. It also deals with an aspect of the war that isn’t too often written about in my experience. I’ll let you read the Amazon write-up but I definitely recommend it. And I’ll put “news of the World on my list.