A Resolution Worth Keeping

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It may seem a bit odd to post about New Year’s resolutions (NYR from henceforth) in early April, but if you think about it, it’s actually a good check point to see how you are doing. For me, NYR have always been a bust. (It’s only taken me about 20 years to realize that this isn’t an effective avenue to “lose weight.”)  So this year it seemed to me that the more comfortable choice was to approach my self-betterment from a different direction: Reading!

My NYR this year was to read one book a month, and while that may not sound too daunting to some, I felt like it represented a nice balance between self-improvement and enrichment. I love to read; making time to do so is always the problem, and since we live in an era of “self-care,” I set my mind on success for this resolution. Being a working and fully-scheduled mom of two young and energetic kiddos, fitting in time to read is hard! But I’m passionate about this goal and I want to achieve it.

As luck would have it, I was discussing my NYR with another ballet parent and she graciously invited me to join her book club. PERFECT! Not only do I get to digest a great read, but I get to discuss it with a group of intelligent and interesting women, and there is wine involved. Win-win!

So far, I’m ahead of my pace of one/month. I want to try to keep this post alive throughout the year as a collection and a quasi-review of the books I have read. Here’s a start:

  • House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner: Strong writing and a good book – the author really paints a beautiful and sometimes magical picture of this island that kept me entranced and interested. One drawback: It is VERY long. This is a beautifully written tale about a boy/man who ends up living his life on a little island off the coast of Italy, beginning in the early 1900’s. The interesting part of this talehouse edge was the perspective from a remote island as the world developed and experienced wars and revolutions. Living in WV, I can certainly relate to technology and “stuff” in general getting here later than everywhere else; we always seem to be a step or two behind. So I could certainly empathize with this little remote island that was always a little behind the times.

 

 

  • The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin: This was my first Book Club read, and right off the bat it showed me how fun and enriching a book club can be as I never would have chosen this book for me, but I’m so glad that the book club did. Much like House at the Edge of Night, there is a historical aspect to it as it is about the Lindbergh family and their journey through life told from the perspective of Anne
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    Morrow Lindbergh, Charles’ wife. It really brought forth some raw emotions during the chapters about the infamous Lindberg Baby told from a mother’s perspective. Once I got into this book, I couldn’t put it down. They were an interesting and dysfunctional family to read about. This book is classified as “historical fiction” and the author did a good job of outlining the parts that were factual and those that were simply for storyline.

 

  • Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: Book Club read #2. Holy cow. Couldn’t put it down! Quick and firesdevourable (is that a word?) read about some kids coming of age in the 90’s, which made it even more fun as these “kids” are technically my age based on their ages in the 90’s setting. There are a few intertwined storylines that really had me wondering how this was all going to play out. It touched on a few hot topics, such as adoption and abortion and parenting rights, and you could feel the very-relatable teen angst, as well as the struggle their parents faced. This would be a great spring/summer break or beach read! It’s fast and easy to read, and I really could not put it down. The characters were amazingly written, and the author’s attention to detail was amazing. And, oh, the drama of being a teen in the 90’s (without social media)!

 

 

  • The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty: I love books where I learn something interesting about a topic that I had never really contemplated before, such as hypnotism. This was another one I had trouble pulling myself away from as it had a hyplovelittle streak of “creepy” to it (in the form of a crazy-ex-girlfriend/stalker! Yikes!) It takes place Down Under, which added a bit of interest to the story line as I have always wanted to go to Australia, save the ridiculously long flight(s). Definitely put this one on your summer reading list!

 

 

  • Sometimes I Lie by Alice Fenney: I’m on a streak right now because my last two reads were SO good, and then this one comes along and WOW! I love a good liepsychological thriller, especially ones that involve a little bit of the medical field. Without spoiling too much, this main character is telling the story from a comatose state. There were twists and turns I did not see coming at all. This was my Book Club read for the month of April, and I cannot wait to discuss. I finished it in the first week. It’s one of those books with shorter chapters, and as a busy working mom, to me that is appealing so that I don’t have to stop in the middle of a chapter and can catch a quick snippet of the book easier. (I hate to stop in the middle of a chapter; I usually end up starting it over because I lose the whole train of thought.)

 

  • The Other End of the Stethoscope by Marcus Engel: This book was sent to me by stethMarcus himself as he is a motivational speaker I was researching for work. My job requires knowing and teaching a lot about empathy in healthcare, and Mr. Engel put together what is almost a manifesto of his healthcare experience after a devastating trauma. So, yes, it is technically a book for work, but he does such a great job illustrating what it felt like to go from a healthy teen to a completely helpless, blinded, and (literally) broken patient lying in a hospital bed, completely dependent upon his team of healthcare workers and unable to see a thing. If you’re in healthcare and want to know more about empathy and a patient’s perspective, go to his website and check him out! https://marcusengel.com/

 

  • To be continued….
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