Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Seven: Britt-Marie Was Here

I enjoyed A Man Called Ove so much when I read it this summer that I knew I'd want to read some of Fredrik Backman's other novels, but I didn't want to gobble them all up at once.  Still, when I needed something that I knew would brighten up these dreary December days, I decided it was time to read another of his books, and I chose Britt-Marie Was Here.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, although--or perhaps because--it's fairly similar to A Man Called Ove, though with an undertone of female empowerment as our hero, a woman in late middle age, decides to leave her cheating husband and get a job.  But the only job she can get takes her to Borg, a small town that has been crushed by the global financial crisis.  Despite her misgivings and peculiarities, Britt-Marie, as one might expect, finds herself connecting with the people in the town and learning about herself as a person on her own, not just as someone's daughter, sister, and wife.  It's an empowering story about a woman finally deciding to recognize and go after what she wants in life, and I really enjoyed reading it.  If you liked A Man Called Ove or are looking for a character-driven story, give Britt-Marie Was Here a try.

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Six: The Princess Diarist

So I wanted something potentially fun to listen to in the car, and I'd say the audiobook of Carrie Fisher's newest memoir, The Princess Diarist, fit the bill just right. Fisher reads it herself, mostly, except for the actual excerpts from the diary she kept while filming Star Wars: A New Hope, which is read by her daughter, Billie Lourd. While a good part of the (relatively short) book is devoted to her affair during the filming with Harrison Ford, Fisher never goes into too much detail--as she says, this isn't soft porn for hardened science-fiction fans. (And if that line doesn't convince you that this is a book worth listening to or reading, I don't think anything else I can say about it will!) Of course, Fisher also muses on her unique relationship with Princess Leia, ranging from weightier feelings like being overshadowed by her to funnier consequences, like having countless men tell her she was their first crush--and of course, no discussion of Princess Leia could be complete without a mention of the infamous golden bikini. And a good portion of the book considers the realities of celebrity, especially of doing book signings, with several pretty funny tales of interactions with the fans.  The Princess Diarist is an interesting glimpse into Fisher's life during Star Wars--she was only 19 at the time, so prepare for some angst--and offers both serious reflection and a hearty dose of humor. If you're a fan of Star Wars or just looking for an interesting memoir, I'd definitely recommend The Princess Diarist.

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Five: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

So after years of meaning to read Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, the true story of a library cat in Spencer, Iowa as written by his loving library director, Vicki Myron, I decided I would listen to the audiobook by way of having something cheery and wholesome to enjoy while in my car.  In this regard, Dewey was an excellent choice!  A quick listen (only four discs long), this memoir of an abandoned kitten's transformation into a well-loved and world-famous library cat is heartwarming without ever quite veering over the edge into sentimentality (though it sometimes comes perilously close).  Like any cat, Dewey gets up to plenty of antics, and this book is peppered with them, which cat-lovers will surely appreciate.  It was definitely worthwhile to violate my general ban on books with animals on the cover to listen to this one.  Now obviously, if you're looking for a deep and serious work of Great Literature, Dewey is not the book for you, but if you're already pre-disposed to having your heart warmed, look no farther than Dewey.

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Four: Vinegar Girl

So Vinegar Girl, by Anne Tyler, is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (one of my favorite Shakespeares, incidentally) from Hogarth Shakespeare, a publishing company committed to commissioning modern retellings of all the Shakespeare plays.  Many elements of The Taming of the Shrew had to be adjusted to make sense in modern context, and it was interesting to see how Tyler chose to do so.  I particularly liked her choice to reimagine the reason for Kate's marriage as a plot to get her father's research assistant American citizenship since his visa is about to expire.  While many people may dislike The Taming of the Shrew as an example of misogyny, I've never read it that way.  (I'll email a copy of my tenth-grade English essay to anyone who wants to know why, upon request, but basically I've always seen it more as a commentary on the importance of behaving kindly, for both women and men, although I can certainly see how it could be interpreted as a play about the proper (ie subservient) role of women.)  Anyway, Vinegar Girl is quite short and what it lacks in sweetness (not that sweetness is altogether lacking) it makes up for in humor.  I found the end both satisfying and slightly discomfiting--an odd combination, to say the least, but I won't say more for fear of spoiling the book.  If you enjoy The Taming of the Shrew, I definitely recommend checking out Vinegar Girl, or if you're just looking for fiction that's both entertaining and thought-provoking, give Vinegar Girl a try.

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Three: Crosstalk

Okay, so it's actually been a month since I read Connie Willis's newest book, Crosstalk, and I really, really loved it!  But I wanted to wait just a bit to write about it to try to filter out my sheer giddy pleasure at reading it and say something even a bit sensible.  But why be sensible?  Let's be giddy just for a moment (or for most of this review) and reiterate that it's just the best book and that everyone should read it immediately!
Okay, now, to business.  Crosstalk is the hilarious tale of a young woman, Briddey, who in the very near future lets her boyfriend talk her into getting a new procedure done that allows the people in a couple to sense each other's emotions.  But as soon as she's had the procedure, Briddey finds to her horror that, instead of sensing her boyfriend's emotions, she's hearing the thoughts of one of her coworkers--and he can hear her, too!  And of course, chaos ensues.
I almost literally could not put this crazy, suspenseful and all too believable book down, devouring it in record time and thoroughly enjoying every second of it.  I haven't been so excited about a new book since J.K. Rowling's/Robert Galbraith's last mystery was published last fall--and when will the next one appear???--and that's about the highest praise I can offer to any book or author.  If you're looking for a funny book that will hold your attention and leave you feeling good, definitely read Crosstalk, and then recommend it to everyone you know!

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Two: What the Dog Saw

This collection of Malcom Gladwell's essays for The New Yorker brings together some of the bestselling nonfiction author's favorite short pieces, ranging across topics as diverse as women's health, the Dog Whisperer, the history of hair dye in the United States, and ketchup (a more involved subject than you might at first suspect).  Whatever the topic, Gladwell was always able to gain and sustain my interest, and I picked up plenty of trivia factoids along the way.  (Did you know ketchup is so satisfying because it invokes all five major flavor groups?)  If you like short nonfiction, I'd highly recommend What the Dog Saw.

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-One: One Summer: America, 1927

Ever since listening to Hamilton, I've really been feeling I should brush up on my United States history, and Bill Bryson's One Summer fits the ticket.  While its focus is pretty narrow--the summer of 1927, as per the subtitle--Bryson didn't choose that summer at random, but because its events reflected or epitomized many of the larger historical trends of the times.  From prohibition to racism and eugenics, baseball to talking movies, the rise of aviation to the fall of the global financial system, Bryson weaves together numerous historical threads to paint an expressive (if meandering) picture of not just 1927 but the years leading up to it and the effects of some of its events on future years.  If you're looking for a highly focused history with a clear thesis, One Summer is not the book for you, but if you're willing to wander at a leisurely pace through the long, hot summer of 1927 and enjoy listening to stories that end up being more interconnected than they seem at first, One Summer offers an interesting glimpse into part of U.S. history--or at least provides a lot of trivia factoids!