Zoom In

Whenever I feel like the world is in shambles (and right now, it is) - I just zoom in.  I zoom in as close as I need to and remind myself that in my own little world, things are good (and right now, they are).  Lately I've zoomed out no further than my house and my family, but appreciate some good reading for both fiction and non-fiction glimpses of the outside world.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Book Club is currently reading this, so I don't want to give too much away, but....  LOVED.  Really good.  I've been thinking about it a lot.

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Shiner by Amy Jo Burns
I'd heard really good things about this one and I could certainly see why people would love this religious cult Appalachia mountain moonshine book and while all of the characters certainly had layers, it very much struck me as good (women) vs. evil (men) and frankly that story is getting old for me.  On the other hand, the writing was incredibly and the author did spin an interesting story.  I'd be interested to hear what others thought.

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The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
This novel had a few bright spots, but ultimately I didn't love this story about a sister and brother and the crimes with which they were connected.  I'd advise skipping it.

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With All Due Respect:  Defending America with Grit and Grace by Nikki Haley
I hesitate to make note of this, because I don't want anyone - not even my six blog readers - to align me with any political party.  My goal is to read memoirs of people who interest me, despite political affiliation.  At any rate, I believe Nikki Haley will be someone to watch in the coming years and I enjoyed this account of her time in the UN.  But her editor should've cut out some of her repetition - she was certainly trying to hammer home some points that made me feel a little like she was speaking from a podium.

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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Morena-Garcia
So much buzz about Mexican Gothic!  Plus, I think this counts as a horror novel, which is not a genre I have spent much time in since my high schools years.  This was pretty alright for what it was, but kind of gross and frankly I was ready to be done with it.  

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The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek
Oh, this was good!  Very up to the moment and bittersweet for sure.  Trebek had an interesting job but he wasn't a fascinating person, and yet this memoir is therefore a compilation of all that made him who he was - someone we felt comfortable inviting into our homes every night as we scooped up potatoes and grabbed the chicken legs while marveling at how much useless trivia our mom has in her head.  This is a quick read and while the end didn't have me sobbing, I definitely would've been had I been PMS-ing at the time.

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Next up - I'm reading some non-fiction about how to deal with my skin (because I'm almost 40 and I still go to bed with makeup on more often than not) and I'm about to dive into a big stack of awesome that I just picked up from the library that includes Seinfeld's new book.